Salungguhit by Cartoonist Zach

Salungguhit by Cartoonist Zach
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Four years after its enactment, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA) has been used as a weapon against human rights defenders and non-government organizations. In this episode of Teka, Sandali, we explore how the ATA, alongside the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 is being wielded by the state to stifle dissent.
Malacañang recently announced the four new sites for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a treaty that the progressives dubbed as lop-sided for the Philippines. In this episode, we unpack what deals may burden the Filipino people and its violent nature.
Extrajudicial killings, fabricated charges, arbitrary arrests and detentions, red-tagging, and other human rights violations continue under Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s administration.
The overwhelming price increase continues to cripple millions of Filipino families, with inflation climbing to 7.7% in October 2022, the highest rate since the last decade.
Aida Cabradilla, an indigenous Isnag, works on her cornfield in Madduang village, Kabugao, Apayao. Although their field is in an upland location and will not be submerged when the Gened-1, Gened-2, and Madduang dams are built, she fears they will no longer be able to farm because of strict prohibitions on kaingin (slash-and-burn farming) intended to prevent contamination of the reservoir.
Nilbert Marquez, 28, is a Dumagat from Quezon province, stands on a dried-up streambed, sharing stories of the changes he has witnessed since his first day as a forest ranger at Masungi. During his first year, this stream alone would only hold water for about three months each year. Today, it retains water for up to six consecutive months – a clear sign of improvement brought about by consistent and effective conservation efforts.
John Amoyo, 23, skims across the water of Borongan City, Eastern Samar, as he trains for an upcoming competition. Skimboarding and surfing have become popular pastimes among the youth in the province, drawing tourists — especially during competitions.
An activist pulling one of the effigies toward the main program area along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City during the People’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2024. This year, progressive sectoral groups and human rights defenders are once again expected to take to the streets to expose the true state of the nation under the Bongbong Marcos Jr. administration. Delegates from the Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon will highlight the struggles of communities amid rampant development aggression, intensified militarization, and the continued criminalization of activists and progressive organizations.
Mong Palatino, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said that the current genocide in the Palestine did not start two years ago, but a culmination of over a century of conflict.
Progressive groups stormed Luneta in a mass action to denounce what they called massive corruption in flood control and other government infrastructure projects. They condemned the diversion of billions of pesos to anomalous contracts and kickbacks, stressing that such public funds could have been channeled instead to essential social services. They argued that the money pocketed on corruption could have strengthened the country’s ailing public hospitals, financed the construction of much-needed classrooms, and provided long-overdue salary increases for workers.
"It's time to make militant resistance the defining characteristic of the youth again."
Thousands gathered at Luneta earlier today, Sept. 21, to denounce corruption and demand accountability over flood control projects mired in controversy.
Balikan natin ang inagurasyon ng Philippine General Hospital o PGH noong ikasampu ng Setyembre, 1910.
Last T?h?i?s? week in people's history, balikan natin ang pagpirma sa U.S.-Philippines Military Bases Agreement (MBA) noong March 14, 1947—isang kasunduang umano'y magtitiyak ng seguridad ng bansa. Pero sa realidad, nagdala ito ng pang-aabuso at pananatili ng impluwensyang kolonyal ng Amerika. Ano nga ba ang naging epekto nito, at bakit hanggang ngayon ay may presensya pa rin ang U.S. military sa ating teritoryo?
Balikan natin ang pagtatatag ng Peace Corps noong 1961—isang volunteer program na kunwari’y tungkol sa “pagtulong,” pero ayon sa mga kritiko, isa rin palang anyo ng neokolonyalismo ng U.S. sa mga bansang tulad ng Pilipinas.
Balikan natin ang itinuturing na isa sa mga pinakamadilim na yugto ng ating kasaysayan, ang pagdedeklara ni Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ng martial law noong 1972.
Hanimay Suazo is a high-profile human rights defender in Davao City. In 2019, she was disappeared after being red-tagged by an Army general.
It's the eighth Cordillera Day since James Balao was disappeared.
For the Dayak, it is not just about the food but it is about preserving their connection to the land that defines their identity and survival as Indigenous Peoples.
While the Masungi Georeserve continues to fight on all fronts – legal, political, and territorial – forest rangers like Nilbert remain on the ground, steadfast in their daily work of protecting and growing the forest.
In 2022, as tourism in the Philippines began to reopen after the pandemic and Kaputian Falls gained popularity online, the youth of San Gabriel saw the need to establish a group dedicated to protecting their community’s natural resources.
“Our victory in EDSA is a temporary victory. It is not final. Because there is still inequality, injustice, poverty, and corruption in the Philippines. Our enemy today is not only Marcos, not only Duterte. But our enemy right now is the political families reigning in the Philippines.”
Their message is clear: environmental protection and biodiversity conservation are not optional: these are human and environmental rights that demand concrete commitment from the government to safeguard nature and the people who defend it.
Copra farmers in Bicol have endured decades of misery due to feudal conditions.
For years, Southern Tagalog has been one of the priority areas in the government's counterinsurgency program. Social injustice breeds resistance, and the struggle for land, jobs and decent life has been met by vicious attacks.
Despite attempts to deviate himself from his predecessor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr has continued a counterinsurgency policy which resulted in gross human rights violations.
In this podcast-documentary, let us hear the stories of migrant Filipinos who continue to soldier on despite the personal struggles that they have to go through.
Isang premyadong makata, mamamahayag, at manggagawang pangkultura, inialay ni Richard Regadillo Gappi (1971-2022) ang kaniyang sining sa pagsisilbi sa bayan. Naging masugid na kontributor ng bulatlat.com si Gappi, kilala rin sa palayaw na “Insad.”
All ears, journalism students. There's no other way but to love Math. Bulatlat journalists Rein Tarinay and Dawn Cecilia Peña sit down for a huntahan on the importance of research, and how numbers and data can be used to speak truth to power.