The world celebrates press freedom today with a spotlight on the crucial role of the media in covering the environmental crisis. Indeed, the task of journalists to provide timely and accurate information on the environment, and to hold governments and corporations accountable for their role in...
THE dominant media have either mentioned only in passing or completely ignored US imperialism’s role in the Mamasapano incident of January 25, 2015. That absence is also notable in the reportage of the peace process between the Philippine government and the Moro...
Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, at the recently concluded International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu City, lamented individualism which skews people's values and the emerging "throwaway" culture. It's no coincidence that these themes resonate in...
Read Tatanda Ka Rin: Social Security for Lolo and Lola (Part 1) So what is to be done? The P2,000 SSS pension hike is a start and the SSS unambiguously has the resources for this. The SSS Act of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8282) also authorizes the national government (NG)...
When Pope Francis visited the Philippines last year, the Catholic Church called upon Filipinos to give mercy and compassion to the poor. One year on, it seems that this message has been lost on us. The lives of those in poverty have barely improved; indeed, their...
ON FEBRUARY 4, cause-oriented groups will file a motion for reconsideration to question the Supreme Court decision on the controversial Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The day is significant in Philippine history because a shot fired by a US...
THE PRIMARY challenge to the alternative press and media has always been to provide the information and analysis that the people need so they may, by understanding the state of Philippine society, proceed on their own power to change it. For over a hundred years, 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...
The Supreme Court (SC) decision banning field trials of genetically modified eggplant, also known as Bt talong, and stopping applications for (GMOs) is a wise decision. It upholds the people's basic right to health and to a healthful environment as guaranteed by the...
THE LATE TEODORO LOCSIN, SR., for a long time editor of the pre-martial law Philippines Free Press, once described the Philippine press and media as cheap rather than free. He was then referring to how easy it was to corrupt practitioners—and its consequent impact on...
AlterMidya, a national network of alternative media outfits and individuals, supports veteran journalist and press freedom advocate Inday Espina-Varona as she seeks redress for malicious and dangerous red-baiting engaged in by a top military official, the Philippine...
IT is Pres. Benigno Aquino III’s last year in office but justice remains elusive for the victims of Ampatuan massacre. No perpetrator has been convicted, the victims still cry for justice. Aquino’s vow six years ago to immediately resolve the gruesome massacre...
The full text of the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was finally disclosed after years of being negotiated in utmost secrecy. The public, including the US Congress itself, were kept in the dark on the details of the US-led trade pact until it...