For almost 30 years, I was granted the privilege of being issued a permanent resident VISA. I have been living my mission in the Philippines and I have no further desire than to continue my mission among the oppressed workers.
The soft cry fades away into
the core of a clenched fist
to shout out as
a cry of protest,
a cry for freedom.
Once you curtail freedom, social unrest will rise. We have gone through this. Those who are drunk with power never learn from history.
It didn't surprise me when bright, gentle Amanda passed the highly competitive exam for the Philippine High School for the Arts and then UP Diliman, and scripted a whole play about feisty Nanay Mameng, urban poor leader Carmen Deunida. I learned she could also paint and write poetry, a true Renaissance talent maybe owing to her illustrious genes.
They kept Rey jailed because he had another case. This was in Lupon, Davao Oriental, where he has never set foot until case trial started after over a year in prison. Yet he was charged with murder and attempted murder against government troops in an alleged encounter between them and the New People’s Army (NPA).
So no, it's not mainly about the money. It's more on how we want this important part of journalism to be accorded the respect that it deserves and not to be neglected by these gatekeepers.
The immediate effect was to facilitate a conversation, if not an outright stand on imperialist wars waged by the U.S.
Remote learning cannot continue in the wake of the global pandemic and the strong typhoons, not to mention the incompetence and indifference of the Duterte administration.
So, how does this contact tracing really happen? In my case, wala (none). It didn't happen. I hope this is an isolated case but if this is the norm in most cases, gets ko yung sinasabi ng matanda na we just wait for a vaccine. For the meantime, use gasoline to clean your face masks but do not add fuel to the fire.
But her death will be a living testimony that terror-tagging is dangerous, that senseless murders happen under a regime that does nothing but to sow fear among the people.
It is not only COVID - but it made everything: hardest. DO NOT MAKE US CHOOSE WHO DESERVES TO LIVE. Because neither of us, wants to hear and utter these words: "maam, sir..sorry guid..wala lugar". (Sorry, we don’t have space.)
Will the courts show compassion and grant Ina provisional liberty so she could care for and nurse her baby girl somewhere safe? Will they recognize Ina's right to breastfeed her child who equally has the right to her breastmilk? Ina's breastmilk is her baby girl's natural immunization and best source of nourishment, especially at this time when her organs have not fully matured and there is a raging pandemic.
I realized it is easier to see yourself, at least in my case, bike commuting when you are working in an air-conditioned office mostly doing mental labor. Riding a bike for maybe 5-10 kilometers then becomes a welcome form of exercise to make up for the lack of physical activity during those long hours seated at your desk. That you are not stuck in traffic and you lessen your carbon footprint are also encouraging. But this is a position of privilege many bike commuters do not have. Many of them are forced to take on this burden of additional labor before and after a day of performing backbreaking work in factories and other such places where you actually sweat it out to earn a living.
“Basta aksyon, Bad yon” tawa naming lahat. Siguro nga, kung si Ka Bea, bilang chairperson ang ‘nanay’ ng organisasyon, si Ka Inday iyung tita mong makulit, si Karlets naman ang inabutan kong tito na ‘bad boy’ ng kilusan ng maralitang lungsod. Hindi dahil pasaway siya o mahirap pakisamahan, pero dahil may taglay lang siyang swabeng angas na maganda kasama mapakwentuhan, sa init ng pagtuligsa sa bulok na gobyerno, at syempre sa pagharap sa masa.
Habang pinagninilayan ko ang mga pangyayaring ito, marahil ay bahagyang natalo ang mga Lopez ngunit mas malaki ang pinsala nito sa mga sambayanang Pilipino kasama kaming ilang libong empleyado. Ito ay dahil sa pinagdamutan na sila ng estado na makakuha ng libangan at impormasyon sa panahon na may kinakaharap na krisis ang ating bansa, lalo na sa mga komunidad na tanging ABS-CBN lang ang napapanood nila sa pamamagitan ng analog broadcast.
I am now able to process this, thinking I am lucky to be able to have myself tested, as scores of Filipinos struggle with symptoms while ensuring that they will still have something to eat. But is it all luck? Is it just my luck to live in a territory with satisfactory practices in dealing with a pandemic? And what of it? What of the millions of Filipinos dealing with the pandemic on their own, with barely any government support? Is it their luck to die miserably, alone?
May nagsasabi na tapos na ang laban dahil tinanggap na ang “sorry”. Pero paano matatapos ang laban kung wala pa ring hearing para sa prangkisa? Paano matatapos ang laban kung nandyan pa ang banta ng quo warranto mula sa OSG?
Yes, we could have a better life like what people would say but remembering the demolition threats among several barangays in Tacloban, the land grabbing cases in Tacloban and Leyte, the illegal arrests of farmers and other activists, the strong Junk STS (socialized tuition scheme) and free education campaign, WE'D STILL MAKE THE CHOICE WE MADE YEARS AGO.
In just under six months of fieldwork, we saw the extreme and terrifying change of landscape in the affected areas: hundreds of trees were felled, creeks dried, and mountains flattened; this, despite claims from the Philippine government that New Clark City is “environment-friendly.”
Dapat igalang ang pasya ng anak para sa sarili at dapat ipagmalaki anuman ang kanilang desisyon, lalo na ang pagsilbihan ang mamamayan.
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