The country witnessed an unexpected spectacle on Monday when former president, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo engaged in a tug of war with Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez on the speakership of the House of Representatives.
We are called to respond to the situations of misery and injustice, wherever we work and whatever our specific tasks may be. The poor are always at the centre of our concerns. We believe that the poor, especially among the indigenous peoples, are not only those who do not have the means to satisfy their material needs, but also those who, on the level of human dignity, are excluded from full social and political participation and unable to exercise their right to self-determination, to decide for themselves.
A soldier belonging to the 28th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army assigned in Davao Oriental was captured by the New People’s Army last June 10.
Unfazed by criticisms, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to continue his brutal war against illegal drugs during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) before a joint session of Congress on Monday, adding that it would be “relentless and chilling.”
Most of the Indigenous People’s in Mindanao are currently facing some “dangerous games” being played by big capitalists and the government, particularly state forces. And these perilous undertakings are taking its tolls on the IPs – to their homes, communities, and identities. When the greed for huge profits play with graft and corrupt practices of those in power, the end result is catastrophic.