It was April 26 when more than a hundred repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) awoke to the news that a fellow balikbayan had hung herself in a stairwell in Room 43. They had been housed under the same lodgings for almost a month—twice the mandatory 14-day period—when the tragedy...
As the easing of movement restrictions begins in some parts of the country, many Filipinos remain unsure about the real extent of the spread of COVID-19, and anxious about the government’s capacity to control it. Has the government used the past two months of a...
Angeline dela Karsada was crafting a pouch out of abaca when we arrived exhausted at her hut. Apologizing for the disturbance, we asked if we could use her bench to eat our very late lunch. The light was already slant and golden. On the doorpost, a small, rather faded...
Tinanong namin ang ilan sa mga taga-Mindanao na dumalo sa kilos-protesta noong Disyembre 10, International Human Rights Day, sa Mendiola: Paano nilabag ng administrasyong Duterte ang inyong karapatang pantao? JAMCY PINATUGAO, ASAWA NI PINA PINATUGAO, PINATAY NA LUMAD...
“AS LONG AS THERE ARE MANY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, THERE IS RAPE…WHO AGREES TO DO IT ON THE FIRST REQUEST ANYWAY? WILL THE WOMAN ALLOW IT? NO. ‘DON’T, NO, AHHH.’ EVEN WHEN THEY’RE INSIDE THE CINEMA, SHE WILL PUSH HIM AWAY. BUT IF YOU HAPPEN TO SIT BESIDE SOMEONE TOOTHLESS,...
“Kalabaw lang ang tumatanda.” Ito ang nakalagay sa coffee mug na pinresenta ng Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) kay Agrarian Reform Sec. Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, sa ika-8 Pambansang Kongreso ng KMP sa Legazpi City kamakailan. Sa kanilang assessment sa unang...
At some point, in one of the numerous checkpoints one has to pass through travelling the highway (smile, show some ID, say where you've been and where you're going to), a fully armed soldier went into our bus carrying a laminated roster of wanted terrorists, their...
One farmer is killed every two days. This was revealed by Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today in a press conference in Quezon City, denouncing the killing of 46 farmers under the Duterte administration. According to the KMP, the killings escalated since the...
It is safe to say that majority of peace-loving Filipinos do not want “all-out war.” This kind of war has been launched repeatedly by administrations past—only to end in eventual failure, massive human rights violations, and zero efforts to address the roots of the...
It was quite a shocker to have president-elect Rodrigo Duterte hit the media as hard as he did last week. The words “kill journalism” and “don’t f*ck with me”—no matter the context—were enough to send shivers down my spine. But after the initial shock, one realizes...
Kidapawan City is under virtual martial law as soldiers and police impose a food and medicine blockade on the farmers who sought sanctuary at the Spottswood United Methodist Center. Photo by King Catoy/Altermidya. Like any other Filipino citizen, I am aghast and...
“The world is in turmoil." This was what Uma Tanuku, festival director of the 12th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival, told me upon arriving in New Delhi to present my documentary, Daughters of Cordillera. It was understandable—the past few weeks in Delhi had seen the...
No doubt about it: Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential run is turning out to be one of the most hotly contested topics of the 2016 elections. His candidacy has opened up a Pandora’s Box of evils we have had to live with but have not been adequately brought...