Stand Point

We of Kapayapaan, an alliance of advocates for a just peace, are disheartened by President Rodrigo Duterte’s rash and harsh statements cancelling/terminating the peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), ordering the re-arrest of NDFP consultants and tagging the CPP/NPA as “terrorist”. These constitute a complete turnaround from his avowed policy of talking peace with the CPP/NPA/NDFP by negotiating much-needed socio-economic and political reforms to end close to five decades of armed conflict with the revolutionary movement.

The launch of Defending Journalism comes at an auspicious time. Within the next few days, on 23 November, we will commemorate the 8th anniversary of the Maguindanao/Ampatuan Massacre.

It has been said that those in power and the media have always been at odds.

We, public utility jeepney drivers, operators and commuters are united in holding the 2-day nationwide transport strike and people’s protest on October 16-17 to demand the junking of the Duterte administration’s Jeepney Phaseout Program.

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s idea of a “revolutionary government” is nothing else but the one-man dictatorship that he has been repeatedly dreaming of since last year.