The anomaly of transport modernization

Hunyo 26, 2020

FEATURES

If there is anything that COVID-19 has emphasized, it is the fact that the Philippine transport sector is in its worst crisis – a reality that the Duterte administration had repeatedly denied before the pandemic. If the economy has to transition to a genuinely better shape, the government has to address the basic woes of the transport sector. Vice versa, if the mass transport system has to be more efficient, the economy has to be transitioned to a genuinely better one.

Open-air jeepneys safer against COVID-19 than enclosed modernized counterparts

Hunyo 21, 2020

NEWS

With only modernized jeepneys allowed to resume operations next week, traditional jeepneys off the road inconveniences commuters and also denies them potentially safer means of transport. The traditional open-air jeepney is likely even safer against COVID-19 than its air-conditioned modernized counterpart.

Govt jeepney ban has already cost drivers Php78,000

Hunyo 19, 2020

NEWS

Thousands of small jeepney drivers have lost as much as Php78,000 each from three months of mass transport suspensions since the lockdown. The government has been insensitive and stingy assistance has pushed jeepney drivers and their families into poverty.

PH Debt: All’s well that swells

Hunyo 13, 2020

The finance department underscores the need for government to borrow from foreign sources to fund its economic recovery plan. Multilateral and country creditors have unsurprisingly exploited the situation and recycled funds to lend. But do we really need to borrow for COVID-19 response? How are we going to pay for all of these debts?

Anti-Terrorism Bill Silences Dissent, Curtails Democratic Rights

Hunyo 12, 2020

Amid the current challenges facing Filipino educators nationwide, we cannot simply stay silent or neutral as increased ranks of Filipinos call for the junking of the Anti-Terrorism Bill. When it is not only us but our children’s and students’ rights and freedoms that are at stake, we stand in unison in opposing a more draconian version of the Human Security of Act of 2007 and in defending the values and principles that our ancestors have fought for.

Anti-terror law worsens economic policymaking for a few at the expense of the many

Hunyo 8, 2020

STATEMENT | The Duterte administration wants an anti-terrorism law giving it unchecked power to surveil, harass, arrest and detain government critics under the pretext of fighting terrorism. It has been on a trajectory of violating human rights, due process, rule of law, and accountability since the start of its term. With the new law, the government will achieve authoritarianism unmatched since Martial Law in the 1970s.

COVID-19: How prepared are we now?

Hunyo 6, 2020

BIRD FEED

After two and a half months of lockdown, the public healthcare system remains unequipped with the necessary weapons to fight COVID-19.

Jobless figures confirm poor govt response to COVID-19 crisis

Hunyo 5, 2020

The country’s record joblessness demands extraordinary measures from the Duterte administration to help tens of millions of families losing incomes. Unfortunately, the response so far has been stingy and the supposed recovery program does not appear to give much more.

Statement on government’s COVID-19 stimulus measures

Mayo 30, 2020

STATEMENT

Fiscal decisions are critical especially in times of crisis – when the need is greatest for the State to commit to its obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the social and economic rights of the people.