By Carlos H. Conde
“Clearly the MILF are really frustrated. After years of back and forth negotiations, breakdowns in talks, etc, they finally reached a territorial deal. But the Supreme Court imposed an injunction, stating that the agreement could be unconstitutional, something that I have warned about. For the MILF, it is not checks and balances of democracy but evidence of a fundamental lack of commitment to the peace process by the government.”

By Claire Delfin
It was 1984. Hadja Amina Jed, then 29 years old, packed her things, left Maguindanao in Western Mindanao and sailed north to Manila. “Life was hard. During times when father had no catch, we also had nothing to eat,” says Amina. Amina was determined to change her family’s fortune. Going to Manila and finding work seemed the only option.

(The report below is from The International Tobacco-Control Network and was prepared by Ronald M. Davis, M.D. in 1998. Dr. David was the director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention of the Henry Ford Health System in the United States.)
CONTENTS
1. Background and author’s qualifications
2. How tobacco [...]

Children across the Philippines are being denied the right to an education which is contrary to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which states that “everyone has the right to education.”

They paid fixers operating around the Philippine consulate to be able to go back home but were instead made to live under a bridge. They asked the assistance of the consulate but were taken to the Saudi police. They endured cramped cells with very little food and water in two deportation centers. And now, some of them are back to describe their harrowing experiences, of dreams turning into nightmares.

SPECIAL REPORT | By Jeremaiah M. Opiniano | Reliance on money from Filipinos overseas hasn’t helped the country get out of the poverty rut. In fact, according to an economist, remittances may be contributing to the persistence of high inequality in the Philippines.

The first Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines at the UN Human Rights Council takes place on April 11.

Despite efforts by Philippine call center companies to glamorize the industry, call center agents are resigning, job-hopping, transferring or being fired by the hundreds as fast as they are being hired.

Spratly Deals Cover 6 Philippine Islands

OFWs Struggle for Survival in Kuwait

Sheila, Valerie and Bridget hail from poor families in Mindanao and have set their sights to as far as Manila, Brunei and Japan for jobs as domestic helpers. But instead of finding work, they ended up as prostitutes.

Did the Philippines surrender to China its claim over the Spratlys islands? Such a surrender, the suspicion goes, is seen as the reason why Beijing is showering Manila with billions of loans, several of which are hounded by allegations of corruption.

The violence in Sulu the past weeks, which was punctuated by the series of bombings in three key cities on Feb. 14, indicate that the objectives of the 1996 peace agreement are far from achieved.
By Carlos H. Conde
MANILA – Nearly a decade ago, the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the first [...]

By Carlos H. Conde
More than any other Moro leader, Salamat Hashim reawakened the Islamic consciousness of the Moro people. He made them proud of their identity. He gave them a vision.

By Carlos H. Conde
In 1976, Nur Misuari capitulated to the national government when he signed the Tripoli Agreement that severely constricted the Moro National Liberation Front’s position. This capitulation was sealed in 1996 when Misuari signed the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) with the Ramos administration. As the events the past weeks have shown, Misuari is now convinced what a mistake his capitulation had been. It is tragic enough that it took him 25 years to realize that; doubly tragic is the fact that his former trusted comrades pushed this capitulation a step further by conniving with the government against Misuari, apparently convinced with (or deluded by) the belief that Misuari is the reason why Muslim Mindanao is in perpetual unrest.

By Carlos H. Conde
“Because they (the government) have never unlearned their treacherous tendencies. We thought when they betrayed us during the time of Marcos that that was enough. Then they repeated it during the time of Aquino. Again and again and again. And I tell you this is probably the worst betrayal, under the regime of Arroyo.”

By CARLOS H. CONDE
Even his eyes betrayed him. They looked weary, as though they had not had a wink for days. If you looked into them, you would get the sense that this man had gone through hell. Betrayed is probably the right word, and that is exactly what Nur Misuari has been feeling nowadays.

By CARLOS H. CONDE
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A bitter and indignant Nur Misuari finally ended three weeks of silence and a self-imposed seclusion in his hometown in Jolo by accusing the government of betraying the 1996 Final Peace Agreement signed exactly five years ago yesterday.
He also accused a Cabinet member, Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto [...]