IBON Foundation
The IBON 2018 Midyear Birdtalk
July 5, 2018
The Duterte administration has marked its second year in office. It was ushered into power amid a popular clamor for change but has earned international criticism for its controversial war on drugs and human rights record. It made many promises to the people but economic growth and more foreign investments have not resolved joblessness and […]
Duterte aggravates the Filipino people’s woes
July 4, 2018
The Duterte administration’s second full year in office sees the people’s condition worsening and the need for genuine reforms even more urgent. The government is however digging in its heels and pushing more harmful neoliberal measures that aggravate the people’s plight instead of implementing policies that overcome economic backwardness. Filipinos struggle to cope with fast […]
WPN presses MWSS: Show us the numbers
June 29, 2018
The Water for the People Network (WPN) is dismayed that the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System – Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) would not readily reveal the numbers involving water companies’ petitions for tariff increases in public consultations that the MWSS-RO itself convened this week. The group said that by doing so, the government agency effectively hindered […]
MWSS urged: Conduct proper consultation, uphold transparency
June 29, 2018
Dissatisfied with the nature of the fourth rate rebasing public consultation held Wednesday, consumer network Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Konsyumer para sa Ikauunlad ng Bayan (SUKI) urged the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) to conduct a genuine consultation and exercise in transparency in presenting the data used to justify the proposed […]
Stop rate rebasing until onerous fees resolved – WPN
June 25, 2018
Advocacy group Water for the People Network (WPN) is appealing to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System – Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) to halt the ongoing rate rebasing process that is expected to raise water rates in Metro Manila and its environs, saying the basis for determining future water rates remains unresolved. Concessionaires Maynilad and Manila […]
Raising the bar: Demanding a decent minimum wage
June 22, 2018
Before being retrenched for protesting condiments manufacturer NutriAsia for its various labor rights violations, Alvin Lascano, a machine operator, used to receive Central Luzon’s (Region III) minimum wage of Php380.00. According to the government, wages in the country have to vary because of varying costs of living in the different regions. “Pero hindi naman nagkakalayo […]
Severe Income Inequality in the Philippines (2)
June 19, 2018
Aside from only a few super-rich families holding one half of total Filipino family income, there is a huge gap between how much majority of ordinary Filipino households earn monthly, and that of the country’s top earners. But government’s market-oriented policies tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, such as slapping more […]
From one invader to another (Excerpt from History of the Filipino People – Challenges and Responses to Nationhood)
June 13, 2018
On June 12, 1898, Philippine independence was declared in a ceremony in Kawit, Cavite. For the first time, the national flag made by Marcela Agoncillo in Hongkong was raised, while the bands played Marcha National Filipina written by Julian Felipe. Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista wrote and read the Declaration of Independence. Aguinaldo announced the separation of […]
Jobs crisis intensifying under Duterte – IBON
June 12, 2018
Over 700,000 jobs lost in agriculture and fisheries Research group IBON said that despite recently hyped growth of 6.8% in first quarter 2018 the country’s jobs situation continues to worsen under the Duterte administration. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the employment rate grew slightly to 94.5% in April 2018, while the unemployment […]
