Category Archives: reds

The Honorable Proletarian

By admin | April 28, 2011

Review of Ka Bel: Mga Liham “Can you imagine a tricycle driver being able to draft a law?” Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo asked the petitioners who wanted to disqualify Mikey Arroyo as a partylist representative. This remark can be dismissed as sheer intellectual elitism but it is a popular thinking among the chattering […]

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Truth will take care of itself*

By admin | December 6, 2010

What are the ‘facts’ of the online tussle between Rep. Walden Bello and Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino? Bello delivered a privilege speech in the Lower House criticizing the expanded Conditional Cash Transfer Program of President Noynoy Aquino. A few days later, he sponsored a resolution praising the CCT as an innovative poverty containment program. […]

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Ugly leftist

By admin | April 27, 2010

‘Ugly’ refers to the politics of Risa H. and her media officers who issued a press statement accusing Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, and the Makabayan political coalition of having ‘sold-out’ their principles by aligning with Manny Villar in the 2010 elections. Risa also described Makabayan leaders and organizations as members of ‘nondemocratic left’ who are […]

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Senior citizen activists

By admin | January 29, 2010

A 20-year old student activist in 1970 is now 60 years old. The First Quarter Stormers are now senior citizens. What makes them special? They belong to a generation that defied a dictator. They were young revolutionaries who wanted to change the world. Many of them went underground after the declaration of martial law. The […]

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Misunderestimating The Philippine Left

By admin | January 3, 2010

There are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ leftists. ‘Good’ leftists must belong to a partylist group. They demand the inclusion of civil society groups in government transactions. They participate in tripartite meetings, they attend UN conferences, they hate Joma Sison, and they endorse the candidacies of Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas. The ‘bad left’ is always wrong. […]

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Politics: Micro, Small, Medium, Large

By admin | October 28, 2009

We live in a micro nation. We are fond of micro objects, micro concepts, micro activities. National Artist Nick Joaquin once criticized our “heritage of smallness.” He was wrong. What we have is a heritage of micro-ness. In the past, the government encouraged the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Today, the government is […]

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Balik probinsiya. Balik kanayunan

By admin | October 20, 2009

The generous state claims to offer a win-win solution to informal settlers: leave Metro Manila; return to the provinces. The national government will shoulder the transportation cost while local governments will provide a small financial incentive for Balik Probinsiya beneficiaries. Why should the poor return to the provinces? Because they are viewed as eyesores, their […]

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East-West

By admin | October 3, 2009

North-South refers to the political-economic division between rich and poor nations. This designation is still relevant when analyzing the worsening economic inequality in the globe. The North-South divide is also a North-South conflict. The North exploits the South; the North accumulates its wealth by dominating the South. In the Philippine context the North-South divide refers […]

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