I may not be on the frontlines, side-by-side the Red fighters, but I can feel their loss ten thousand miles away.
Bayan Muna proposes free funeral services for ‘extremely poor’ families
Bayan Muna called for the fast-tracking of a bill aimed at giving substantial discounts for funeral services for the poor. As high inflation rates affect even the dead, House Bill 3028 should be immediately passed to give indigent families a 50 percent discount in funeral services, Bayan Muna explained. Authored by Bayan Muna Representative Carlos […]
Sumifru worker in Comval gunned down
A union member of Sumifru company was gunned down by unidentified men in Compostela town on Wednesday evening.
Paco residents decry eviction
Paco residents staged a ‘unity walk’ to protest the impending eviction threat due to the North-South Railway Project under President Duterte’s Build, Build, Build program.
The group marched from Philippine National Railway (PNR) Paco Station to nearby barangays that are expected to be carpeted to pave way for the said project.
They called out to onlookers to support and join the protest appealing to suspend and review the construction of the railway project.
“Sa halip na igiit ng PNR ang right of way na makakasagasa sa daang kabahayan, dapat pagtuunan nito ang rehabilitasyon ng mga bagon at mismong riles.” said Rey Navarro, spokesperson of Sta. Mesa-Pandacan-Paco People’s Alliance.
[Instead of PNR asserting the government’s right of way that would trample hundreds of homes, they should focus on rehabilitation of the train’s coaches and the railway.]
Thousands of families in Sta. Mesa, Pandacan, and Paco in Manila City in 112 barangays would be displaced due to the construction of the railway project.
In Paco, residents estimate that hundreds will be evicted to pave way to the construction of a PNR Central Station.
Residents of these communities expressed their dismay by tying white ribbons with written demands against their impending eviction.
“Hindi kami tatahimik sa harap ng napakalaking banta ng pagpapalayas sa amin sa aming mga komunidad at tahanan,” said Navarro.
[We will not be silent in the face of this huge threat to displace us from our communities and homes.]
The group challenged the Duterte administration to stop and review the said project and consider the appeal of residents.
“Dapat maging makatwiran ang pamahalaan sa lahat ng plano nito,” said Navarro.
[Government should be reasaonable in all its plans.]
Navarro said the residents were also ready to dialogue with authorities to relay their demands and their call to stop the demolition of their homes.
The post Paco residents decry eviction appeared first on Manila Today.
Martyr Piece # 1
“You don’t know what it’s like to watch one of your brothers die.”
Guiller… JP… I felt your deaths this past September. I did not know you, but I know we took the same oath—to arduously serve the people, even if it meant offering our lives. I know you were my age and chose to forgo bourgeois education to take up arms in the countryside. When your stories traveled to your overseas kababayan, we mourned you—we still mourn you.
Kamil and Jo—Our hearts were still bruised once we learned of your sacrifices. Women youth, carrying on the revolutionary tradition of our foremother, Lorena Barros. Small but militant women. You were not allowed to die peacefully. Pictures of your corpses were spread and mocked. We could not share stories or pictures, or else the government will target those mourning you. But collectively, behind closed doors, we cried and honored your memories.
Geary—I lay in my bed that was once yours, thinking about your spirit, still laying heavy on our hearts. I think about your sacrifices, of not just your physical life, but of your potential life, the one you were starting to build. Your scribbled words of revolutionary wisdom treasured among kasamas. Thank you for continuously guiding us. “Job well done.”
Guiller, JP, Kamil, Jo, and Geary—We sang “Anak ng Bayan” for you. We wrote and performed poems and songs for you. You were not terrorists. You are our martyrs.
I did not fight by your side, but we are all part of the same fight for liberation for our people. I did not watch when the cowardly state took your lives, but your memories will never rest easy on my heart, for your sacrifices will always be heavier than a mountain.
“Even when we mourn you,
Even when we cry,
We know the struggle’s always worth it.
We will honor you with our lives.”
The post Martyr Piece # 1 appeared first on Manila Today.
Php18,855 already lost–Jeepney drivers among biggest losers from TRAIN’s oil taxes-IBON
Research group IBON said that jeepney drivers and their families have suffered huge income losses from rising pump prices on top of facing rising prices of basic goods and services. The initial and impending fare hikes give immediate relief but only temporarily. Fare hikes only worsen the burden on commuters and the government needs to take a broader view of the situation including taking both short and longer-term measures.
Jeepney drivers have lost a total of Php18,855 from start of the year until September because of the oil excise tax under the first package of TRAIN and rising global oil prices. TRAIN is to blame for around Php13,104 of this amount, said IBON. The estimated cumulative Php18,855 loss in the first nine months means an average loss in income of Php2,095 monthly, IBON explained.
Jeepney drivers and operators petitioned for a Php2 fare increase to help the sector cope with the rising prices of goods and services and the impact of TRAIN.
IBON however said that the fare hikes are still not enough to compensate for drivers’ income losses since the start of the year. Driver’s incomes fell drastically in the first six months of the year. The provisional Php1 jeepney fare hike in July compensated for pump price increases in July and August but were not enough in September when their incomes again fell as pump prices rose.
Even the full Php2 jeepney fare hike to be implemented this November, which includes the July Php1 fare increase, will not be enough to restore their earnings to pre-TRAIN levels.
IBON estimated the income losses of drivers assuming 200 passenger trips and 20 liters of diesel consumed daily, prevailing fares, and incorporating expenses for maintenance and other miscellaneous expenses. Monthly incomes from January to September were compared to that in December 2017 as the baseline income.
IBON pointed out that the government’s narrow focus on fare hikes is pitting jeepney drivers against the riding public. Both already bear the brunt of relentless price increases not just of oil but also of other commodity items including food, said the group.
The interest of both drivers and commuters is better served by giving greater attention to the drivers of inflation. “Suspending TRAIN’s oil excise taxes immediately starting with those implemented in January 2018 will give immediate relief to jeepney drivers and consumers,” IBON executive director Sonny Africa said. “The additional oil excise taxes in January 2019 should also be suspended so as not to add to already considerable inflationary pressures,” he added.
“Further fare hikes can be prevented and a rollback may even be possible if oil firms’ overpricing is reined in,” said Africa. “The long-term solution should include fuller and more responsible regulation of the oil industry,” he concluded.
PH Income Inequality
It is not yet a severe economic crisis as such but the accumulation of economic bad news is worrying. It is clear that the fundamentals are unsound and the economy is weakening aside from increasingly vulnerable to a political upheaval or to a renewed global downturn. The majority of Filipinos are poor and gained little when times were supposedly good – but they will be hit the worst when the illusion of progress is finally and thoroughly broken.” – From PH Economy Duterteriorating – http://ibon.org/2018/08/ph-economy-duterteriorating/
PH Wealth Inequality
It is not yet a severe economic crisis as such but the accumulation of economic bad news is worrying. It is clear that the fundamentals are unsound and the economy is weakening aside from increasingly vulnerable to a political upheaval or to a renewed global downturn. The majority of Filipinos are poor and gained little when times were supposedly good – but they will be hit the worst when the illusion of progress is finally and thoroughly broken.” – From PH Economy Duterteriorating – http://ibon.org/2018/08/ph-economy-duterteriorating/