Dissent is a requirement for a dynamic democracy to prevail. Yet recent developments in the social movements such as the Lumad struggle for their right to ancestral land and children’s education highlighted in the social and mass media bring us to a mode of reflection what these rights are in light of the historic needs of the indigenous peoples of Mindanao.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is fondly called “Digong”, has been reported to have already decided to run as presidential candidate for the coming 2016 elections.
It is Pres. Benigno Aquino III’s last year in office but justice remains elusive for the victims of Ampatuan massacre.
This piece was originally part of the UP Mindanao Department of Social Sciences discussion entitled “Flawed Revolutionaries, Anti-Heroes, and the Philippine Left” for the 2015 UP Mindanao Month last February.
On November 20, I will deliver a short lecture as part of a panel in a forum of literati dubbed Philippine International Literary Festival (PILF).