Author Archives: admin

Activism After College

Published by Squeeze For many student activists, the ‘long march’ encounters a fateful challenge immediately after the graduation march. This is when youthful idealism is tested by mainstream ideologies which many equate with realism. The lifelong commitment to fight for social justice is suddenly put on hold. Will he resume his role in the struggle […]

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Fact or fiction: Lawbreakers, professional rallyists, blind followers and other labels about activists

Published by Bulatlat Vow of poverty. Activists are encouraged to live simply, but unlike priests, they don’t have a vow of poverty. They don’t fetishize poverty; instead, they work with the poor to fight the structures that engender oppression in society. Indeed, activists renounce material riches and the glorification of wealth but it doesn’t mean they […]

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Philippine Midterm Elections: Is Duterte’s Win Democracy’s Loss?

Candidates belonging to the coalition endorsed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won in the senate amid reports of widespread vote tampering and other irregularities documented on election day. Election monitoring groups said there were more cases of faulty vote counting machines this year compared to the 2016 election. Local poll officials solved the issue by […]

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IFEX Roundups: July, August, September 2018

Cheers and jeers: Tainted elections, Liu Xia’s release, and court rulings in the Asia-Pacific Pakistanis and Cambodians vote amid claims of irregularities; Chinese poet Liu Xia is free; Malaysia withdraws sedition cases against cartoonist Zunar; disappointing court rulings in Burma and Indonesia; and Singapore holds its 10th Pink Dot LGBTQI+ event. Read more Freedom and […]

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Are you biased against activists?

Published by Bulatlat When you see a rally, you assume it is a hakot crowd. Maybe you think rallies are similar to the assemblies organized by trapos during campaign sorties. But only politicians pay people to attend events and their own self-serving rallies. Unfortunately, too, there are educated people who insist that urban poor rallyists get […]

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Will Duterte Finish His Term in the Philippines?

Speculation is running rampant in the Philippines regarding Duterte’s health, not to mention political forces aiming to see him removed. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year single term is scheduled to end in 2022, but there has been speculation about his capability to finish his mandate. In the past 30 years, two of five Philippine presidents […]

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Lessons in Resistance: Defying repression and impunity in Cambodia

Civil society groups, the independent media, and grassroots activists have shown resilience in the past several months, struggling hard to push for reforms in governance, the protection of human rights, and the reversal of laws that are impeding the country’s transition to democracy. Whether Cambodians will vote or avoid going to the polling stations in […]

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Marker at Chicago Haymarket Square honors Kilusang Mayo Uno

Published by Kodao A plaque honoring Philippines’s Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) was installed at the Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois, USA last May 1 at the monument honoring workers whose deaths led to several labor reforms, including the implementation of an eight-hour work day. The installation of the plaque was organized by the Illinois Labor […]

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From Portland to the Philippines: A call to ‘stop the killings’

Published by Pinoy Weekly, 12 May 2018 The ‘Stop the Killings’ caravan organized by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – United States chapter conducted a rally in Portland on May 5, 2018. Speakers of the rally included community leaders, human rights, activist, a representative of Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and […]

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Solidarity as Resistance in the United States

Written for Bulatlat ‘Resistance is Our Right, Solidarity is Our Duty’ was the call to action printed on t-shirts, tote bags, and flyers distributed during our speaking tour across the United States about the human rights situation in the Philippines. It meaningfully captured the political orientation guiding Filipino activists in the US: The legitimacy of […]

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