Keeping EDSA alive
Such efforts at twisting history should be met with resistance. Resist by exposing the lies, shedding light on the truth, and preserving our collective memory.
COMMENTARY
#Bulatlat24 | A commitment to serve the people
#Bulatlat24 | A commitment to serve the people
Alone we cannot do it. A big part of that is because of our readers and supporters, and our reason for being – the marginalized and oppressed sectors, the ordinary Filipinos whose miseries and victories we strive to amplify in every story we produce.
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 | Called, transformed, sent
In the First Reading from Isaiah (6:1-8), the prophet Isaiah has a powerful vision of God’s holiness. He sees the Lord in all His glory and is overwhelmed by His presence. Isaiah realizes his own unworthiness and sins, but instead of being turned away, God purifies him and calls him to be His messenger. Isaiah’s response is simple yet profound: “Here am I, send me.”
Balik-Tanaw | Good news
I was walking with a colleague to the Surigao house we share and came to talk about her first foray into the city. A development worker, she had come from Iligan and had just been onboarded into a response team here in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Odette in 2021. Her work then must have been challenging, made even more difficult by the prevailing Covid. Being new here myself and getting a lot of help settling in, I was immediately reminded that I arrived at a better time.
Balik-Tanaw | Tubig ng buhay sa uhaw na mundo: Water to wine: A call to justice and transformation
In Jesus’ time, while water is essential, it is often unsafe to drink due to high possibility of contamination. Waterborne diseases were very common and were a major cause of death especially to the poor. Historically, wine being fermented, was a safer and more practical option, frequently diluted with water to purify it and extend its use. In our scripture reading, at Cana, there were six stone jars filled with water for purification, these were meant for ritual purposes, yet as we look beyond the narrative and fill the gaps of the story, these tapayans, or clay jars were not just religious objects but practical necessities. These are symbols of survival in a world of scarcity. If there’s no clean water and no wine, what else could there be?
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.
Baliksaysay | San Roque sa panahon ng matagalang pandemya
Sa isang makabuluhang pag-aaral sa kasaysayan ng mga pandemya, sinabi ng historyador na si William H. McNeill sa Plagues and Peoples (1976) na makabuluhan ang papel na ginagampanan ng pagkalat ng mga nakahahawang sakit sa kinahinatnan ng mga kalagayang panlipunan....
BLOODRUSH
SARAH RAYMUNDO
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.
Defend Jodi Dean: Fight the Ban, Free Palestine!
Clearly, the Hobart and William Smith Colleges teaching ban on Jodi Dean is a symptom of a broader and systematic assault on the freedom of association through US Counterinsurgency.
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 | Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians
No matter what history timeline you believe in, you cannot deny the fact that the State of Israel was only established 75 years ago. If you read up on the diaries of the founders of Zionism, you will find out that the land where Israeli Zionists are settling in right now was already inhabited by the Palestinian people. No, it was not a desert.
First Person | An intern’s random thoughts during the martial law commemoration coverage
The 51st Martial Law commemoration protest in Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on Thursday was a deeply moving experience that went beyond my duties as an intern at Bulatlat.
First Person | One year in detention
Jail, after all, is not exempt from society’s great divide based on economic and social status. And even here, the movement for freedom and democracy considers our situation as part of the struggle.
KALIBUTAN
KALIKASAN-PEOPLE’S NETWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Red lines for the Global South at COP26
By LEON DULCE This speech was delivered as part of a panel in the ‘People’s Struggles and Priorities on the Road to COP26’ webinar by the Southern People’s Action on COP26 last October 22, 2021. Good evening comrades and colleagues! We thank everyone for coming...
Standard Chartered, stop funding our destruction!
A Filipina climate activist tells a British multinational bank: "Your money kills people, fuels the climate crisis, and destroys our homes."
In defense of the Philippines
Ever since Duterte declared the longest standing COVID-19 lockdown in the world back in March 15, 2020 up to the present, we have monitored at least 555 environmental defenders who have suffered human rights abuses.
KONTEKSTO
DANILO ARAO
Konteksto | Liham
Para sa ating dalawa, susing salik sa mas malakas na pagsasama ang pagkakaroon ng isang anak. Sinisikap nating palakihin siya nang matino, gamit ang dangal at husay hindi lang mula sa libro kundi mula sa nakakasalamuha niya.
Konteksto | Sampaguita
Napanood mo ba ang viral na bidyo? Sige, panoorin mo pang muli. Sana nama’y higit pa sa 42 segundo ang pagninilay-nilay sa konteksto ng mga pangunahing karakter. Huwag din sanang mabilis na maghusga, lalo na sa ginawa ng guwardiya.
Konteksto | Pag-asa
Walang problema kung nais paniwalaan ang kasabihang “Habang may buhay, may pag-asa” pero mas mainam na isakonteksto ito sa mahigpit na pagkakaisa ng mas malawak na mamamayan.
LAB NOTES
Advocates of Science and Technology for the People
Lab Notes | El Niño 2024: another disaster, another government failure
Since disasters always include human components, there is nothing natural about it. Therefore, there is no such thing as a “natural” disaster; there was a human failure somewhere in how social, economic, and political systems were set up.
Lab Notes | Rosario’s black sand: That which we call home
Juan is just one out of many fisherfolk unable to make a living from the sight that greets them in the morning and lulls them at night. When reclamation started in Manila Bay and in Bulacan Aerotropolis, it meant finding source material for dumping, and there is no need to look farther than Cavite whose coasts are rich in black sand. High in iron content, the black sand can be used for concrete and asphalt production—a vital ingredient for built infrastructure.
Lab Notes | What must be done to the suspended land reclamations in Manila Bay?
By KELVIN S. RODOLFO, PhD* Note: Over two months have passed since the verbal announcement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the suspension of reclamation activities in Manila Bay. However, no clear guidelines have been released yet. Reclamation activities such...
OPINION
BULATLAT EDITORS
Repression on a loop
This atrocious prohibition is not at all new. Seventeen years ago in September of 2007, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board under Consoliza Laguardia imposed an X rating on a short indie film titled “Rights”, made to press for the safe release of Jonas Burgos.
Rooster or Chicken? On why some disappearances are silenced
That is why I think this is a missed opportunity for a festival to demonstrate how it can protect, through its mandate, a work which, like the rest, claims to reveal truth in the face of power.
Namber wan delubyo
Ano ang hinaing ng maralita pagkatapos ng SONA at bagyong Carina?
ON THE FRINGES
BULATLAT STAFF
#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.
#Bulatlat24 | The decisiveness to give journalism a chance
Now, I write stories, join people’s organizations in fact-finding missions, and, like in my previous work, engage with partners. Sustaining relationships with our sources, especially those in the grassroots, is a significant part of my work. Communicating with sources, partners, and even readers makes me feel more grounded in reality.
#Bulatlat24 | Heartbreak turned into a meaningful purpose
This is my purpose in life, I thought, to fight for the people and with the people. Eventually, I coped with my first heartbreak as I have found my true purpose.
QUESTION EVERYTHING
MONG PALATINO
Hello, laban again! The people’s fight for accountability and justice
Let us end the year with a resolve to defeat the politics represented by Marcos and Duterte and to fight for a just future.
Friendship and politics in the Philippines
Friends sometimes turn a blind eye to the shortcomings and excesses of their friends but we have always overlooked what the US has done to our country over the past century. The myth of friendship persists which allowed the US to expand its bases and military presence while claiming that all this is for our own good. To punish us for the sins of the few ungrateful ones, they even asked a former bully to play their war games in our backyard.
Batch 2024, angkinin ang mga posibilidad, piliin ang paglaban
Nakaangkla ang transpormasyon ng edukasyon sa buod ng namamayaning politika sa bansa. Paalala ito na hindi pwedeng ang tore ng kaalaman sa loob ng klasrum ay ihiwalay sa kalagayan ng lipunan. Hindi pwedeng malaya ang unibersidad pero nananatiling pyudal ang kaisipan sa bansa. Ang paniwalang ito ang nagtulak sa akin, sampu ng iba pa, na suungin ang isang landas na maaaring palabas ng paaralan subalit ang inspirasyon at motibo ay pagbutihin ang kagalingan ng lahat ng paaralan.
ROOT ACCESS
COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS UNION
Root Access | Fraud in the 2022 elections and our ways forward
One year after the elections, the Computer Professionals' Union takes a look at everything that's gone wrong in the automated elections system, and puts forward recommendations.
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.
Ubuntu GNU/Linux sa araw-araw na computing
ROOT ACCESS Rick Bahague Bulatlat.com Isang dekada na ang Ubuntu. Sa karaniwang computer at internet user, bago sa pandinig ang operating system na GNU/Linux at Ubuntu. Gayunpaman, mahigit 36% ng mga web server na nagpapatakbo ng internet ang pinapatakbo ng...