In his first State of the Nation Address last July 25, President Rodrigo Duterte urged indigenous peoples to make use of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to protect their rights and welfare. “Government has given you the legal tool to improve yourself financially, economically and socially.…
Note: This review was published by Bulatlat.com. It was also read during the book launch and International League of People’s Struggle 15th anniversary gathering at the Carillon Tower, Baclaran Church on May 28, 2016. Why read Jose Ma. Sison, known by his comrades as Ka Joma, if you’re not a red flag-waving activist? Sison’s writings are being read in leftist…
IT APPEARS that another student was forced to death by the outrageously high cost of education in the Philippines. Last Feb. 11, Jessiven Lagatic, a fourth-year student at the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, committed suicide reportedly after losing his scholarship. Three years ago, University of the Philippines freshman Kristel Tejada also took her…
The growing acceptance of glowing myths of the Marcos era is therefore not just the outcome of Filipinos’ innate forgetfulness or “forgiving culture.” It has more to do with the absence of a real settling with the past and the failure of an “elite democracy” characterized by unabated poverty, injustice and rampant corruption.
This is why the son of the dictator can brazenly call on the public to forget the past in his run for the second highest position in the land. This can also explain the lure of the iron fist, as exemplified by the tough-talking Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s open endorsement of the killing of petty criminals.
I have withdrawn some haphazardly-done “theory-related” posts from circulation online through this blog. While these write-ups could serve as markers of my past opinions, I am removing them in order to prevent spreading confusion and unstudied formulations to a wide number of people. Of course, most of the political commentaries, book reviews, hack work I did for…
President Rodrigo Duterte’s tough talk against the oligarchy would come up empty if his administration does not implement genuine land reform, national industrialization, meaningful wage hikes, and other pro-people economic policies. Duterte promised that change is coming. But this is only possible if he breaks away from neoliberal economics that have benefited the elite few…
Anakbayan is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to back off the proposed revival of mandatory service to the Reserved Officer Training Corps (ROTC). The program has never instilled nationalism, social responsibility, or discipline to the youth. It is a training ground for fascist repression and corruption that must be abolished and not made mandatory. Let us…
In La Jornanda, I read a fascinating story. The night they took San Cristobal, the Zapatistas burned the municipal archives, the financial records, the land titles. The director of the historical archive negotiated with them: “You aren’t going to burn the historical archive. The papers there tell the history of the origin of the city. The…
Originally posted on QUANTANG SABID:
Bilang proyekto ng Gantala Press, isang bagong palimbagan ng at para sa cis at trans na kababaihan, inilunsad ang IKIRAN Workshop Series sa Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) kung saan tinalakay ang mga usaping copyright at publishing. Kasabay ng mga talakayang ito ang iba’t iba pang palihan hinggil…
Anakbayan calls on the Filipino youth and people to strongly oppose the efforts of the Duterte government to bury the remains of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, Bicutan. At least 70,000 people were illegally imprisoned, thousands more summarily executed, and millions victimized by various forms of…
Youth and student groups led by Anakbayan held protest actions in various schools and sites last August 11, 2016 as part of a nationwide “Day of Action” against the spate of extrajudicial killings in relation to the Duterte regime’s anti-drugs drive and counterinsurgency war as well as the menace of Martial Law. “Youths, students, teachers, and…
