Because this innovative approach of new politics has apparently gained popularity, it is loathed by the likes of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez precisely because it can disenfranchise the powers that be by raising the political consciousness of the people. Bereft of visions and programs that address the people’s democratic interests, they trivialize the elections through manipulation, disinformation and the spreading of more myths.
Amancio Carmelo, the secretary-general for Southern Mindanao of the progressive peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, survived an assassination attempt in Tagum City Monday afternoon. According to initial reports, armed…
ELUSIVE JUSTICE. On Jan. 22, 1987, government security forces opened fire on farmers and peasants protesting at the historic Mendiola, the site of many anti-government demonstrations. Thirteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured.
In the wake of the signing earlier this month of an Asean Convention on Counter-Terrorism, the Arroyo administration has been pushing for the passage of the anti-terrorism bill now pending in the Philippine Senate, arguing that it would strengthen the country’s war against terror and would serve as a model for other Asean nations. But Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. argues that Senate Bill No. 2137 (pdf) is “the most terrifying piece of legislation ever submitted for the consideration of the Senate.”
MANILA — Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have become the country’s biggest source of dollars, and this has made the country among the most dependent on such inflows in the world. This was revealed during independent think-tank IBON Foundation’s Birdtalk, the organization’s year-end economic and political briefing.