a

COMMENTARY

AT GROUND LEVEL

SATUR OCAMPO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phl now open to ICC probe on ‘war on drugs’

The Marcos Jr. administration now says it’s willing to sit down with the International Criminal Court to discuss “certain areas” of cooperation on the latter’s investigation, started in 2018, on former president Duterte’s “war on drugs.” The timeline goes back to the time he was Davao City mayor.

Corruption top concern for businessmen in 2025

As the new year begins, it’s the flourishing corruption that the country’s business executives are most worried about, according to a survey towards yearend 2024 conducted by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

Two bits of good news lighten up the start of 2025

Surely, the increasing number of self-declared poor among our people is a cause for national concern. The government’s poverty-reduction program definitely needs serious evaluation, what with the contributory negative causes such as calamities, both natural and man-made, that come aplenty every year. This negative trend notwithstanding, two positive developments at the beginning of the new year provide us reasons to cheer up.

BALIK-TANAW

PROMOTION OF CHURCH PEOPLE’S RESPONSE

Balik-Tanaw | Nakaliligalig ang paligid

Ang pagtanggap sa panauhin ay sadyang nakakabagabag kundi man nakakaligalig. Subalit pinapapaalala sa atin ng linggong ito ang dalawang bagay sa pakikipag -ugnayan natin kay Hesus. Una, hindi natin siya panauhin para maligalig tayo, ikalawa, siya ang ating pagkaing nagbibigay buhay. 

BALIKSAYSAY

FRANCIS GEALOGO

Baliksaysay | GOMBURZA, Hanggang hangganan

Ipinahayag ng 1872 na ilusyon ang reporma at liberalismo sa kapuluan. Ang pagkagarote sa tatlong pari ang simbolikong paalala ng lupit at dahas ng kolonyal na kaayusang hindi kayang tapatan ng ilusyon ng ideyalismong liberal na isinulong ng mga naglalayon na maging kapantay lamang sila ng mga mananakop.

Baliksaysay | Sina Chad at Rizal sa Mindanao

Gaya ni Rizal na nagsanay sa agham ng medisina, matapos ang kurso sa Computer Science at palagiang nakikilala sa kanyang katalinuhan mula pa ng pagkabata. Gaya ni Rizal, nakita ni Chad na higit na malawakan ang kaalamang maiaambag sa mga katutubo – pagbasa, pagsulat, pagkilala sa kalikasan, paglalapat ng mga konsepto sa aktwal na produksyong agrikultural at paglinang ng kapaligiran.

BLOODRUSH

SARAH RAYMUNDO

Nakba commemoration in the Philippines

Occupier-Occupied, not two equal sides

This entanglement between settler colonialism and imperialism has been exposed by non-stop protests worldwide. More recently, the brave and impactful university and college encampments in North America and Europe have made at least one thing clear: the war on Palestine does not consist of two equal sides, occupier-occupied.

Creativity and the broad united front

...creativity is a response to the urgent question of “How do we get across our struggles despite material limitations thaw we face? What strategies of organizing, educational activities can be done overcome the same limitations?” As for building the broad coalitions with multi-class character, she stresses that "being honest and open about difference and not turning a blind eye to contradictions create a healthy space of cooperation and criticism; and where people will be encouraged to exercise political maturity to overcome a common enemy.”

FIRST PERSON

BULATLAT CONTRIBUTORS

First Person | The Pope Who Spoke My Language

By all accounts, Pope Francis had impeccable timing. He passed from this world on the eve of Earth Day — a date freighted with symbolism, a secular feast day for the sacred theme that defined much of his pontificate: the care for our common home.

First Person | A journey of hope with the struggling people this Lent

For this, we must first experience hope in our faith. Amid the struggles of our brothers and sisters, there is hope if we continue to work for justice and peace; there is hope when we allow ourselves to be with our brothers and sisters in their struggle; there is hope when we journey together as brothers and sisters.

KALIBUTAN

KALIKASAN-PEOPLE’S NETWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

30 Years of Mining Plunder: A Comprador Capture of the Philippines

Oligarchs wielding vast political and economic influence have exploited the Mining Act to expand their empires, amassing immense fortunes at the expense of displaced communities, polluted water sources, and deforested landscapes. Enabled by bureaucrat capitalists—corrupt officials who manipulate regulations, grant permits, and overlook environmental violations for personal gain—these mining operations thrive with little accountability.

KONTEKSTO

DANILO ARAO

Konteksto | Baha

Sadyang walang maniniwala sa anumang palusot habang nagbabasa, nanonood o nakikinig ng balita mula sa bubong ng bahay at naghihintay na iligtas sa matinding pagbaha. Normal ang pagsuspetsahang kinurakot ang kaban ng bayan kung halatang tumataba ang bulsa ng mga nasa kapangyarihan.

Konteksto | Imburnal

Sa bawat pabirong post na kailangan nang maghanap ng imburnal para magkapera, nalalantad ang karumal-dumal na sitwasyon ng mahihirap na napagkakaitan ng batayang serbisyo tulad ng libreng pabahay.

LAB NOTES

Advocates of Science and Technology for the People

OPINION

BULATLAT EDITORS

SONA 2025: Anti-corruption, good governance as Marcos Jr. legacy?

The most obvious irony is that the flood control projects are his initiatives under the Build Better More infrastructure program, and that some of the public officials involved in the corruption behind the defective projects are the same ones who are applauding the President enthusiastically in the plenary hall.

ON THE FRINGES

BULATLAT STAFF

The Mishil Complex

It’s time we stop waiting for saviors in barong or military uniform. The real leaders are not in palaces or halls of Congress. They’re in factories, classrooms, farms, and communities. They are the ones who serve, not rule.

Peace is possible after an intense battle

When I went back to Cagayan de Oro, I recalled our visits to Camps Abubakar and Darapanan. It made me believe that the current situation there showed proof that peace is possible even after an intense battle. It made me also think that a similar success may be possible for a group that has been continuing its armed resistance. I hope the Philippine government will consider the resumption of the peace process with the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

#Bulatlat24 | My proudest commitment: choosing ‘journalism for the people’

I chose to be part of Bulatlat, the longest-running online alternative news site in the country and the authority in human rights journalism in the Philippines, primarily because I believe in its principles and brand of journalism, which amplifies the voices of marginalized and oppressed. Bulatlat frames their stories based on the perspective of ordinary Filipinos while adhering to the highest standards of journalism.

QUESTION EVERYTHING

MONG PALATINO

Political Dynasties and their Plutogogues

Denialists, legalists, and apologists are the plutogogues of political dynasties who make a career in legitimizing the irrational and unjust rule of the few even if it contravenes the interests of the majority.

ROOT ACCESS

COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS UNION

Root Access | Pursuing digital justice in the Philippines

Filipinos have the right to be properly informed of and have control over the collection, storage, processing, and transmission of their data. The government must prepare and equip the people with the knowledge, tools, and safeguards against possible ill effects of digitalization, automation, AI, and other social and technical changes.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This