Arrest try of injured Red commander humanitarian law violation, NPA says
The New People’s Army (NPA) in Southern Mindanao Region condemned the attempted arrest by combined military and police troopers of its commander recuperating from a major operation in a Bukidnon hospital. The NPA said Zaldy Cañete, injured in a fierce gun battle in Barangay Kipilas, Kitaotao, Bukidnon Thursday, is obviously an hors de combat and […]
Caraga Reds declare ceasefire for barangays polls
The New People’s Army (NPA) in Caraga Region has announced it has suspended military operations against government forces during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. In a press statement, the NPA-North-East Mindanao Region said that in deference to the people’s right to vote freely during the polls, its local command has directed its units as […]
TRAIN-induced price increases are permanent—IBON
The inflation spike marks the start of increases driven by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) in the prices of basic goods and services for the next three years, research group IBON said. Further inflationary surges are likely to happen in 2019 and 2020 when the next two rounds of additional taxes on […]
Homeless, jobless, and penniless, residents resist closure of the Philippines’ Boracay island
Residents and workers of the Philippines’ Boracay island are speaking out against the government’s order to shut down the world-famous resort destination for six months in order to carry out renovation work that includes the upgrade of the island’s obsolete sewerage system. With the signing of Presidential Proclamation 475 on April 26, 2018, the country’s president, Rodrigo Duterte, placed Boracay under […]
SC has fallen, lawyers’ group says after Sereno’s ouster
Human rights lawyers said Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno’s ouster means the Supreme Court (SC) has surrendered its independence to political pressures. The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) called the SC decision granting the Quo Warranto petition against Sereno as “deplorable, contemptuous and a contortion of the Constitution.” Eight SC associate justices voted to […]
The paramilitary versus the Lumad: A history of state-sponsored oppression
On the term paramilitary, the US Defense Department defines it as “forces or groups distinct from the regular armed forces of any country, but resembling them in organization, equipment, training or mission” (US Defense Department, 2010). There are different types of militia groups in the Philippines and they are classified according to the involvement of the […]
‘Palayasin ang mga tropa ng ‘Kano’
Armed detainees engage in hostile takeover of Indonesian high security prison
A prison riot involving forty convicted terrorists is currently unfolding in Depok, a West Javan city adjacent to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. The riot began on Tuesday evening local time at Mobile Brigade Command Headquarters (Mako Brimob), a high security prison whose inmates include those convicted of terrorism. According to official reports, a standoff occurred as a […]
The NUJP on the number of media killings
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) stands by its findings that nine (9) journalists have been killed under the Duterte administration. NUJP bases its stand on independent investigations done by its Media Safety Office and chapters nationwide. NUJP considers all cases of media killings as work-related, unless duly proven otherwise. This is […]
Activists protest RP-US military exercises
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and other groups, together with Central Luzon organizations, held protest actions against the 34th Balikatan exercises in Clark and Basa air bases last May 8. The protesters said it is a violation of Philippine sovereignty that foreign military forces continue to exercise power in the country through agreements such as the Visiting […]