“The Lower House and Executive Department’s insistence on restoring the P54-billion cut proposed by the Senate can be summed up this way: a higher DPWH budget means higher kickbacks, or so-called SOPs, for legislators and executive officials,” BAYAN said.
“The knee-jerk reaction of the AFP and PNP to the CPP’s unilateral ceasefire declaration shows that Marcos has nothing to offer the people during the traditional holidays but bullets and bombs, as it orders the AFP and the PNP to mount relentless combat operations in the coming days,” CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said.
“Instead of heeding widespread calls to cut or substantially reduce pork and patronage programs, the Bicam expanded funding for two of the most notorious channels of political pork: farm-to-market roads and the medical assistance program under the Department of Health,” BAYAN said.
The CPP said the temporary ceasefire order is being issued in solidarity with the Filipino people as they conduct simple celebrations of their traditional holidays, amid grave social and economic conditions.
Prison authorities at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City are making it difficult for Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) professors and students to hold traditional Christmas visits to persons deprived of liberty (PDL), a rights group complained.
“We must be wary of false notions about reporters: no one gives their lives for journalism — it is taken from them; journalists do not just die — they are killed,” RSF said.
Rights defenders and other activists gathered at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila to commemorate this year’s International Human Rights Day, denouncing continuing human rights violations under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government.
Paalala ito na laging may pagkakataon para sa pagkakabuo at katarungan — ang makapiling muli ang pamilya at maranasan ang pagmamahal na karapat-dapat sa bawat bilanggong pulitikal sa kanilang paglalakbay tungo sa paglaya.
The Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government is one of the deadliest regimes against environmental defenders with 107 killings in less than 42 months, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment reported.
“BAYAN condemns the duplicity of the Marcos Jr. government, which claims to be against corruption but whose 2026 budget contains pork barrel projects through “allocables” of lawmakers, bloated unprogrammed appropriations and higher confidential and intelligence funds for the Office of the President.”
