Anakbayan secretary general Einstein Recedes were among the 19 NutriAsia workers, supporters and journalists jailed by the Meycauayan police last July 30. A few hours after their release last Wednesday, Recedes narrated to wellwishers and reporters about a promise he made with hundreds of fellow inmates at the Meycauayan police station. (Video by Joseph Cuevas) […]
On the 20th year of landmark peace and human rights agreement between GRP, NDFP, rights violations continue unabated
Karapatan, along with Kadamay and Balikwas Kadamay, filed 15 complaints on human rights violations under the Duterte government at the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Monitoring Committee on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) on August 7, 2018.
Poorest 60M Filipinos suffer income loss due to first 6 months inflation in 2018
Lowest-income households lost as much as Php2,700 since start of 2018
Accelerating inflation since the start of the year has eroded the incomes of the country’s poorest families. Research group IBON estimates that the poorest 60 million Filipinos have suffered income losses of anywhere from Php993 to as much as Php2,715 because of worsening inflation since the start of 2018.
Inflation rate increased from 3.4% in January 2018 to 5.2% in June. Measured using the 2012 as the base year, the June inflation rate is already more than double the 2.5% rate in the same period a year ago and four times the 1.3% inflation rate in June 2016 at the start of the Duterte administration. Measured using 2006 as the base year, the inflation rate would be 5.7%, making it already the highest monthly rate in nearly 10 years or since March 2009, said the group.
The Department of Finance (DOF) has estimated the first to sixth income deciles in the country as having monthly household incomes of Php7,724 to Php21,119 in 2018. Assuming these to be constant in the first semester and deflating them monthly by the prevailing inflation rate allows the erosion of household purchasing power to be estimated. Each decile covers 10% of the country’s approximately 23 million households arranged from poorest to richest.
IBON estimates that in the first six months of the year so far, households in the poorest first decile with Php7,724 monthly income have cumulatively lost Php993 due to inflation, those in the second decile (Php10,711 monthly income) have lost Php1,377 and those in the third decile (Php12,835 monthly income) have lost Php1,650. Households in the fourth decile (Php15,132 monthly income) have lost Php1,945, those in the fourth decile (Php17,309 monthly income) lost Php2,225, and those in the sixth decile (Php21,119) lost Php2,715.
The peso’s depreciation, rising global oil prices and the newly-implemented Tax Reform of Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law are among the most important proximate sources of inflationary pressure. Of these factors, TRAIN Package 1 is most directly within the Duterte administration’s control, said the group.
TRAIN’s mitigating measures are so far failing to support the incomes of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable, said IBON. Six months into high inflation, only 3.8 million out of the target 10 million families have received their supposed unconditional cash transfers. This leaves some 6.2 million families struggling with higher TRAIN-driven prices for their basic goods and services, said the group. ###
Nat’l ID system, a wolf in sheep’s clothing
“Time and again, we have reiterated that this law, the national identification system, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay on the ratification of the national ID system, adding that this will lead to wholesale rights violations, primarily of the people’s rights to freedom of movement and privacy, right against surveillance, and right to unhampered and non-discriminatory provision of social services.
Phividec official: Plastic wastes from Korea legal, to be used for recycling
An official of a government-owned economic zone in Misamis Oriental has clarified that the thousands of tons of discarded plastic materials that come from South Korea do not pose any environmental threat and that these entered the local port legally.
UP holds Black Friday Protest vs NutriAsia violence
Students of the University of the Philippines denounced the violent dispersal of striking workers by condiment manufacturer NutriAsia in a Black Friday Protest last August 3. The students said the Rodrigo Duterte government is equally liable for the violence on the workers and their supporters as the incident is symptomatic of intensifying state fascism all […]
Groups launch #DefendSecLiza campaign
Various groups launched a campaign to defend National Anti-Poverty Commission lead convenor Liza Maza in a press conference in Quezon City last Monday, August 6. Saying they are composed of groups outside the Makabayan bloc, they said they want to show that support for Maza is wide and committed in defending the embattled Cabinet secretary […]
Pagsasalita ng puki kontra sa pangulong takot dito
Nina Hazel Gane Pilapil at Isabel Magsino
Sa pagdiriwang ng ika-20 anibersaryo ng V-Day Movement, pangungunahan ng New Voice Company ni Monique Wilson, sa tulong ng Gabriela, ang muling pagsasabuhay ng The Vagina Monologues (TVM), isang dulang pumapaksa sa violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Ang TVM ay serye ng mga monologo hango sa mga panayam sa kababaihan na nagtatampok sa katawan at ari ng babae, na sumisimbolo sa pangkalahatan, hindi lang sa sining kundi sa pulitika. Sinulat ito ni Eve Ensler. Ginawang daan ng V-Day ang TVM upang iangat ang kaalaman ng nakararami sa pang-aabuso at diskriminasyong dinaranas ng kababaihan sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo.
Sa isang press conference noong Hulyo 30, inanunsiyo ito ng mga aktor nito na sina Wilson, Missy Maramara, at Mae Paner, at si Thea Tadiar, direktor ng TVM, Rossana Abueva, executive producer, at kasama si Joms Salvador, pangkalahatang kalihim ng Gabriela. Tinalakaynila ang halaga nito sa kasalukuyang panahon ng rehimeng Duterte.
Ayon kay Wilson, nagtatag ng NVC at global director ng pandaigdigang kampanyang kontra VAWG na One Billion Rising, ang produksiyon ng TVM ang magsisilbing tugon ng kababaihan sa lumalalang karahasan sa kababaihan sa bansa, lalo na laban sa misogyny (pagkagalit sa kababaihan) ng mismong si Pangulong Duterte.
Sinuportahan ito ni Paner na kabilang sa #BabaeAko Movement. Naniniwala siyang malaki ang gampanin ng TVM noong unang itanghl ito sa Pilipinas noong 2000. Pero may espesyal na halaga ito ngayong tumitindi ang pinagdaraanan ng kababaihang mahihirap sa kasalukuyan. Para naman kay Salvador, napakahalaga ng ganitong pagkakataon para sa pagpapalawig ng kaalaman at malinaw na pagpapaunawa sa mga pang-aabusong natatanggap ng kababaihan sa araw-araw. Dagdag pa niya, maaaring ilapat ang pulitika sa sining, at ang sining sa pulitika.
“Kami’y patuloy na LALAVAN (la-love-an) at gagawa ng mga masisining na bagay para maipakita sa nakararami ang magandang kinabukasan. Na sa kinabukasang ito, ay malaya na ang kababaihan, walang pambabastos, hindi inaalipusta kundi nirerespeto at minamahal,” ani Paner.
Nakatakdang ipalabas ang The Vagina Monologues sa Agosto 11, ika-8 ng gabi sa Ingles nitong bersiyon, at Agosto 12, ika-3 ng hapon sa Filipino nitong bersiyon na gaganapin sa RCBC Plaza sa Makati. Maaaring kontakin ang NVC para sa tickets. Walumpo sa mga manonood nito ay manggagaling mula sa mga komunidad ng Lumad.