(Bangkok, 2 November 2019) – Today, for the first time in five years, a formal inter-face meeting took place between ASEAN Foreign Ministers and representatives of ASEAN civil society groups. The civil society organizations came as representatives of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum (ACSC/APF), which was held in Bangkok in September 2019. The…
Green group cites quakes and ASEAN statement to protect the environment Quezon City – Green group Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) asked Pres. Duterte to stop the Tampakan Copper-Gold Mining Project in Mindanao, citing the recent quakes caused by the Cotabato Fault System. In a letter received by the Office of the President last Nov. 4,…
On October 31, elements from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, and the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, armed with search warrants issued by a Quezon City court, raided the offices of Bayan Muna, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela, Anakpawis and the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW)…
Whoever came up with these clichés must not have known a desaparecido. The vivid narratives about their lives, heroism, and martyrdom endlessly told and retold by their families interweave truthful memories of those forced out of sight but can never be forced out of mind. The families’ vacillation between the hope of finding the disappeared…
“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” ― Shannon Alder TODAY, November 2 in the Philippines, marks All Souls’ Day where families come together to visit the graves of their loved ones. But for many families of the disappeared,…
Assessment of stability of mine facilities demanded Quezon City – Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is calling on the MGB to suspend all mining operations in Mindanao and immediately conduct assessments to determine the stability of mine areas, given the recent series of earthquakes that hit Mindanao region in the past weeks. With the recent Magnitude…
Quezon City – The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is dispensing fake news. Our alliance denounces in the strongest possible terms the attempt of the MGB, particularly its Regional Director for Region 12, EngineerFelizardo Gacad Jr to promote destructive mining in South Cotabato. In an article…
Unity statement of UPV-USC, LCCS, and student organizations against the doxxing and harassment targeting members of the Skimmers Academic Organization by State-sponsored trolls of the Duterte administration Last Wednesday, October 16, 2019, UP Visayas kicked off its Pahampang Season through the annual Cheering Competition where all academic organizations best each other through cheers that tackle…
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines condemns in the strongest terms the shooting of teacher-unionist Zhaydee Cabañellez, by 4 masked men today, leaving her in critical condition with two gunshot wounds on the chest and two on the feet. The vicious attack happened around 8:00am, during the school’s flag ceremony at Dalet Elementary School…
World Day Against Death Penalty October 10, 2019 Immediately upon assuming office, neophyte Senators Bong Go and Ronald De La Rosa filed proposed legislation reinstating the death penalty, along with 19 others in both Houses of Congress. This is in keeping with the order of President Duterte during his 2019 state of the nation address.…
(Pahayag ng TDC sa naganap na Technical Working Group meeting sa Senado nuong Oktubre 8) Kahapon ay lumahok tayong muli sa isang pulong ng technical working group (TWG) ng Senate Committee on Government Service and Reorganization para talakayin ang mga panukalang umento sa sahod ng mga guro. Nasa siyam na mga panukala ang nakatakda sanang…
Mula Setyembre 5 hanggang Oktubre 5 bawat taon ay ipinagdiriwang ng ating bansa ang National Teachers’ Month, samantala deklarado naman bilang World Teachers’ Day ang Oktubre 5. Panahon ito ng pagkilala at papuri sa mga guro. Panahon ng pagbibigay ng bulaklak, mabubuting talumpati at paulit-ulit na pagbigkas ng mga gasgas nang linyang “Pagtuturo ang Pinakamarangal…
We are greatly disappointed with this development. ATM believes that OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI) had failed to substantially comply with the requirements of a renewal for FTAA. It did not inform the local governments about its application and has not secured the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the affected indigenous peoples. This interim…
Authoritarianism and liberal democracy are two distinct form of governance, yet workers under both circumstances suffer different degrees of human rights violations. Democracy and human rights, in other words, are permanent demands and agenda that workers will be fighting for in either condition of elite governance. We remember how workers and their trade unions were…
ATM Statement on the arrest of environmental women activists in Manila Sept. 10, 2019 ATM strongly condemns the arrest and detention of women activists who staged a non-violent protest action inside Sofitel Hotel in Manila, earlier today. The six women conducted a “mannequin challenge” inside the lobby of Sofitel Hotel to protest against destructive mining…
ATM Statement on the Opening of Mining Philippines 2019 September 10, 2019 Quezon City –“Responsible mining” is a myth, and even the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) has stopped pretending it exists. The concept didn’t find any space in the theme nor in the program for the annual international mining confab that opens…
Lilak strongly condemns the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines’ (CoMP), Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila’s, and the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) violent response to what was meant to be a peaceful and non-disruptive protest action. On September 10, Tuesday, a silent protest amid the Mining Philippines International Conference and Exhibit by young women from the…
Statement of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) for the Senate Hearing on Salary Increase Proposals September 10, 2019 We are present here today to ask for the collective wisdom of the Senate as regards to our request for compensation and benefits for public school teachers and DepEd employees on top of the generic Salary Standardization…
10 September 2019 On September 10, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) joined fellow labor and human rights defenders and advocates at the Commission on Human Rights’ public inquiry on the attacks on human rights defenders in the country. “We welcome these efforts of the CHR to hear the plight of human…
World March of Women – Pilipinas Statement Mayor Antonio Sanchez, convicted rapist, and murderer, clearly did not demonstrate good behavior while in jail. He was found to be in possession of illegal drugs in 2006. After 4 years, he was caught with a kilogram of shabu hidden in a Virgin Mary statue. And in 2015,…
