For commuters, the recent P1 increase in jeepney fares may seem small. But for workers who rely on public transportation every day, the additional peso can add to an already tightening budget.

For jeepney drivers, meanwhile, the bigger burden is not the fare increase itself but the fuel prices behind it.

After several rounds of oil price increases, diesel prices have continued to eat into drivers’ daily earnings, leaving some struggling to provide food, pay rent and keep their children in school.

The pressure was among the reasons transport groups, including the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahang Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON), held a nationwide strike on Sept. 29 and 30, calling for lower petroleum prices and relief from fuel taxes.

For 52-year-old jeepney driver Teody Bermejo, National Capital Region and Alabang Pasay President said that the additional peso in fare does little to address what drivers actually spend to keep their vehicles running.

Bermejo, who has been driving for around 30 years, said he now spends much of his working day trying to recover the cost of diesel.

He drives from around 4:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., or as long as 16 hours a day. When diesel was around P50 to P55 ($0.80 to $0.88) per liter, he said he could take home around P1,000 ($15.98), sometimes reaching P1,500 ($23.97).

Now, he said, his take-home income has fallen to around P500 to P600 ($7.99 to $9.59), despite the long hours on the road.

“That is really not acceptable to us because diesel prices have increased by around P52 to P55 ($0.83 to 0.88), while they only added P1 to the fare. There is a huge difference. It really won’t be enough for us.”

For Bermejo, the impact of rising fuel prices has reached his household. He has four children in school, but his income can no longer cover their needs at the same time.

One of his children who was in college had to temporarily stop studying and find work to help the family.

“My child in college had to stop studying for now. In a way, they also had to find a job to help me because my income now is not enough to support all of them in school at the same time.”

He said the family is now trying to continue the education of his other children while making ends meet with his reduced income.

When fuel costs reach the household

The same struggle is felt by 50-year-old Janet “Arja” Tumbaga Pocsidio, a member of Piston Women who helps operate a Cubao-Divisoria route.

Pocsidio is a mother of five and helps provide for her children and grandchildren. When diesel prices reached around P140 to P145 ($2.24 to $2.32) per liter, she said their earnings from driving became too small to sustain the family.

On some days, her husband would earn only P70 to P80 ($1.12 to $1.28).

The family eventually stopped operating their jeepney for periods because the cost of fuel outweighed what they could earn from passengers.

Pocsidio then worked as a barker, earning around P250 to P400 ($3.99 to $6.39) a day, which she used for food and her children’s school expenses.

The rising cost of basic necessities also changed what the family could afford to eat.

She said they often relied on dried fish and eggs, while even small increases in food prices became noticeable in their daily budget.

Housing became another burden. Pocsidio said their family was paying P6,000 ($95.88) in monthly rent, aside from electricity and water.

Eventually, they were forced to leave their rented home because they could no longer keep up with the payments.

“We were evicted, and we ended up sleeping in our jeep. Yes, we were evicted because we couldn’t afford to pay,” Pocsidio told Bulatlat. 

The family later stayed at the Piston San Juan office for about four months, where they paid for electricity.

For her, depending on the organization for shelter was difficult.

“I feel ashamed. I’m extremely ashamed. I’m quite self-conscious, but I have no other choice. I just told myself that I would leave it in the Lord’s hands.”

A fare increase does not solve the fuel problem

While drivers struggle with operating costs, commuters are also adjusting their budgets.

Bench Cuabo, a government worker, said that the P1 ($0.02) fare increase may appear minimal but still affects his daily transportation expenses.

He said his usual P15 ($0.24) fare has increased to P17 (0.27), and when drivers cannot provide change, he sometimes ends up paying P20 ($0.32).

“Although the increase is P1, it will still affect the daily budget of transportation.” He added.

Cuabo also said rising fuel prices also affect his transportation choices. When jeepneys become unavailable or drivers stop operating because of high fuel costs, he sometimes resorts to taking a taxi, which costs significantly more.

However, he highlighted that fare increase should not be treated as the only solution.

He said transportation services have not necessarily improved alongside the higher fare.

“The fare increases because of the rising cost of fuel but the transportation remains the same, no changes.”

Beyond fares, Cuabo said the government should consider measures that would reduce fuel prices and help workers cope with the rising cost of living. Among his suggestions are the temporary suspension of fuel excise taxes and an increase in workers’ wages.

His concern reflects the larger gap facing both commuters and drivers: transportation costs are rising, but household incomes do not necessarily rise at the same pace.

For Bermejo, lowering the price of diesel remains the more immediate solution.

“First and foremost, we really need the price of diesel to be rolled back. Second, if it really cannot be rolled back, perhaps the VAT and excise tax on fuel could be temporarily removed.”

The fuel crisis has also fueled continued protests from transport groups. During the September 29–30 strike, Piston members and other groups marched in Metro Manila to demand government action on petroleum prices.

On September 29, seventy-eight-year-old Piston driver Elmer “Tatay Elmer” Cordero was rushed to a hospital after suffering a heart attack during the protest, according to the group.

For drivers like Bermejo and Pocsidio, the issue goes beyond whether passengers can afford another peso in fare.

It is about whether the income from a day on the road can still cover the basic needs of the families waiting at home.

And as fuel prices continue to affect transportation, food, education and housing, the question for many jeepney families is no longer simply how much a passenger can afford to pay—but how much longer a driver’s income can keep a household afloat. (AMU, RVO)

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“Since coming to power, the (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) government has sustained a systematic pattern of repression against activists, harassing those who defend human rights with the use of trumped-up charges or anti-terror laws,” said Josef Benedict, Asia researcher of CIVICUS. 

The Philippines has been rated “Repressed” for five consecutive years — the second worst rating a country can receive — indicating severe restrictions to the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

The country was included in the Monitor Watchlist last March 2026, flagging serious concerns about its crackdown on dissent, criminalizing protesters, and targeting activists.

Read: Philippines on human rights watchlist due to crackdown on dissent

“The government must reverse course to protect the rights of activists and allow them to work without fear, interference or retaliation,” Benedict added.

Such a rating was a product of failure of the Philippine government to fulfill its human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which it ratified in 2007.

For example, the government failed to implement the recommendations on civic space during the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in November 2022 at the United Nations Human Rights Council. It includes the need for the Philippine government to ensure enabling space for civil society and human rights defenders, end red-tagging or the linking of activists and human rights defenders to armed insurgency.

The ICCPR mandates all state parties to respect and protect civic freedoms, including freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly: all of which are also enshrined in the 1987 Philippines Constitution.

Among the significant forms of attack against activists is the use of fabricated charges under the twin terror laws. 

Karapatan reported as of September 2026 that at least 259 individuals had been charged with the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA).

Activists are also being charged with violations of the Public Assembly Act of 1985, a relic from the Martial Law of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr used against protesting activists.

The Marcos Jr. administration has been warned several times this year for its low performance on human rights and civic space. In Safety from the State metric of the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, the Philippines scored a “very bad” performance for freedom from arbitrary arrest, which is the lowest score recorded among Southeast Asian countries surveyed.  Its freedom of assembly and association metric also falls under “bad” score.

Read: Philippines’ human rights record worse than average in Southeast Asia

The CIVICUS report also flagged the persistence of red-tagging and killings against activists and journalists. The Philippines remains the deadliest country for environmental and land defenders in Asia since 2012, while it maintains a low rank of 114th in the World Press Freedom Index of the Reporters Without Borders due to its press freedom violations this year.

Moreover, the impunity for the killing of 19 people in Negros Occidental this April 19, 2026, is also highlighted in the report. Not one has been held accountable for the killing of nine civilians and ten revolutionaries, with the Philippine Army maintaining that all of them died in armed encounters.

“The authorities must respect the right to protest and ensure that when arbitrary arrests occur or excessive force is used, that the perpetrators are held to account,” Benedict said.

Some of CIVICUS recommendations for the government include the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), adoption of Human Rights Defenders Protection Act, decriminalization of libel and cyber-libel, and the withdrawal of the Digital Media Anti-False Information Bill. (RTS, RVO)

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Ang mga dapat itanong: sino ang may-ari ng mga planta, sinu-sino ang may kontrol ng transmisyon at distribusyon, at para saan ba talaga ang Electric Power Industry Reform Act o EPIRA?

Renewable energy 

Patuloy ang pagdami ng mga wind at solar farm sa Pilipinas. Noong 2022, 1,530 megawatt (MW) na kuryente ang mula sa solar, at nadoble ito noong 2025 sa 3,003 MW. Umaabot na ngayon sa 3,892 MW (3.9 GW) ang kapasidad mula sa solar, habang ang wind farm o kuryenteng mula sa hangin ay nananatili sa 427 MW lamang.

Sinasabing malinis at mas mura ang kuryenteng nagmumula sa modernong teknolohiyang Renewable Energy (RE) tulad ng solar at wind farm. Ang RE ay teknolohiyang gumagamit ng mga likas na yamang halos di-nauubos tulad ng araw, hangin, at tubig. Mahigit 22 porsyento ng kuryente sa bansa ang galing sa RE — nagmumula ito sa geothermal plants (9.1%), hydroelectric dams (8.7%), solar farm (2.2%), wind farm (1.1%), at iba pang planta ng enerhiyang hindi umaasa sa petrolyong rekurso.

Sinasabi na kapag nagtayo ka ng RE tulad ng solar farm, ito ay mas mura kaysa sa paggamit ng coal power plant na karaniwang itinatayo ngayon ng mga pribadong korporasyon sa enerhiya. Nasa P2.99 kada kilowatt-oras (kWh) lamang ang gastos sa kuryente kapag solar ang gamit, habang PHP3.50/kWh naman kapag hangin ang gamit. Malaking mura ito kumpara sa paggamit ng karbon o coal na may presyong PHP3.80–5.50/kWh, o sa imported na diesel na umaabot sa PHP15–28/kWh. (Tingnan ang Talahanayan 2.) Hindi na rin bumibili ng panggatong tulad ng langis, diesel, o coal ang mga pribadong kumpanya upang paganahin ang kanilang mga planta, dahil tuloy-tuloy at libre ang suplay ng rekurso tulad ng hangin at araw.

Kung kaya ito ang paborito ngayon ng gobyerno at ng mga monopolyong korporasyon sa enerhiya tulad ng MERALCO at First Gen ni Manny Pangilinan, ng Aboitiz Power ng mga Aboitiz, San Miguel Global Power ni Ramon Ang, Prime Infrastructure ni Enrique Razon, at ACEN ng mga Ayala. Sinasabi ng mga korporasyon na magpapababa ito ng singil sa kuryente. Sa ilalim ng Philippine Energy Plan 2023–2050 ng gobyernong Marcos Jr., layunin nitong pataasin ang suplay ng kuryenteng nagmumula sa RE hanggang 35 porsyento sa 2030 at 50 porsyento sa 2050. Sa kasalukuyan, tumaya ang DOE sa 16,337 MW na solar farm at 5,377 MW ng wind farm na proyekto sa buong bansa — lahat ng ito ay pag-aari ng mga pribado at dayuhang korporasyon.

Bakit hindi bumababa ang singil sa kuryente?

Kung mura ang teknolohiyang RE, bakit patuloy pa ring tumataas ang singil sa kuryente? Bakit hindi nakikinabang dito ang mga mahihirap at maliliit na konsumer? Sa kasalukuyan, nagbabayad ang mga konsumer ng P13 hanggang PHP16 kada kWh sa mga distributor ng kuryente. Ang Pilipinas ngayon ang may pinakamahal na singil sa kuryente sa Asya, habang isa naman ito sa mga bansang may pinakamababang minimum wage sa rehiyon. Mahal na ang kuryente, mababa pa ang kita ng mga ordinaryong pamilyang Pilipino.

Kailan lamang pinayagan ng Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ang MERALCO na magdagdag ng singil sa kuryente. Kalakip dito ang pagtaas ng FIT-All (Feed-in Tariff Allowance) mula P0.2011 patungong P0.3359 kada kWh. Ayon sa batas, garantisado ng gobyerno ang pagbayad sa mga korporasyon para sa kanilang mga proyektong RE sa loob ng 20 taon — dagdag na mabigat na pasanin sa mamamayan sa loob ng dalawang dekada.

Hindi pa rito natatapos ang pangongotong ng mga kumpanya sa elektrisidad. May nakaambang dagdag na singil sa tinatawag na GEA-All o Green Energy Auction Allowance, na nagpopondo sa mga inaprubahang proyektong RE ng gobyernong Marcos — ilan sa mga ito ay nabanggit na sa itaas. Ibig sabihin, ang mamamayan mismo ang pinagkukuhanan ng puhunan para sa pagtatayo ng mga bagong proyektong RE. Mamamayan ang magpopondo sa mga proyektong ito, at sisingilin pa tayo ng mahal na presyo ng kuryente. Ginigisa tayo sa sarili nating mantika!

Tubong lugaw

Ayon sa mga taunang ulat ng mga kumpanya, kumita ang MERALCO ng P38 bilyon, P45.86 bilyon, at P51.13 bilyon noong 2023, 2024, at 2025, ayon sa pagkakasunod-sunod. Samantala, kumita naman ang San Miguel Global Power ng P9.9 bilyon, P40.9 bilyon, at P48.3 bilyon sa parehong mga taon. (Tingnan ang Talahanayan 3.) Dalawang kumpanya na kumita ng daan-daang bilyong piso mula sa hirap at pawis ng milyun-milyong mahihirap na mamamayan!

Ibig sabihin, hindi ang pagmura ng teknolohiya sa enerhiya ang sagot sa pagmura ng singil sa kuryente. Ang nagtatakda ng presyo o singil sa kuryente ay kung sino ang nagmamay-ari ng mga planta ng enerhiya at kumukontrol sa industriya ng elektrisidad. Ang ganitong kalakaran ay legal at pinoprotektahan ng batas ng gobyerno tulad ng Electric Power Industry Reform Act o EPIRA. Tinitiyak ng batas na nasa pribado hindi sa publiko ang kontrol ng industriya ng kuryente sa bansa. 

Suplay

Mahigit kalahati ng suplay ng kuryente sa bansa ay monopolisado lamang ng tatlong pribadong kumpanya — Aboitiz Power, San Miguel Global Power, at First Gen. Ang limang pinakamalalaking kumpanya ng pamilyang Aboitiz, Ang, Lopez, Ayala, at Pangilinan ay kumukontrol sa 68.3 porsyento ng kabuuang suplay ng kuryente sa bansa. Halos wala nang sariling suplay ng kuryente ang gobyerno.

Transmisyon

Ang kaisa-isang pambansang pasilidad sa transmisyon ng kuryente ay ang National Grid Corporation of the Philippines o NGCP. Pag-aari ito ng pamilyang Sy at Coyiuto, kasosyo ang korporasyong Tsino na State Grid Corporation of China o SGCC. Tinitiyak ng gobyerno na kikita ang NGCP ng humigit-kumulang 11.9 porsyento at hindi malulugi kada taon sa kanilang operasyon sa transmisyon ng kuryente. Mula 2016 hanggang 2022, kumita ang NGCP ng P336 bilyon; mula 2023 hanggang 2027 naman, tiyak na kikita sila ng P380 bilyon. Tubong lugaw ang kinikita ng mga pribado at dayuhang korporasyong ito.

Distribusyon

Ang pinakamalaking distributor ng kuryente ay ang MERALCO. Monopolisado nito ang pagbebenta ng kuryente sa 8.1 milyong kustomer sa 38 lungsod at 83 munisipyo sa Metro Manila at mga katabing probinsya. Samantala, may kontrol ang Aboitiz sa tatlo sa anim na pinakamalalaking distributor sa bansa — ang Visayan Electric Company (VECO), Davao Light, at Cotabato Light — na nagbebenta ng kuryente sa humigit-kumulang 1.05 milyong kustomer sa Visayas at Mindanao. Masasabing ang dalawang pinakamalaking kapitalista sa distribusyon ng kuryente ay kumukontrol sa halos siya. na milyong pamilyang umaasa sa serbisyong ito sa buong bansa.

Ano ang dapat nating gawin?

Sa isang lipunang bansot at atrasado ang ekonomiya, laging nasa kamay ng pribado at dayuhang kapital ang kontrol sa iba’t ibang industriya tulad ng enerhiya at kuryente. Habang kumakamal ng limpak-limpak na bilyong piso ang mga korporasyon, ang mga mamamayan naman ay nasasadlak sa patuloy na pagmahal ng serbisyo at singil sa kuryente. Hindi napapakinabangan ng bansa at ng mamamayan ang modernong teknolohiya tulad ng solar at wind power. Mananatiling mahal, pabigat, at pahirap sa masa ang serbisyo sa kuryente hangga’t sinusulong ng gobyerno ang kapakanan at interes ng mga pribadong korporasyon. Kung wala kang pambayad, wala ka ring matatanggap na serbisyo — ito ang negosyo at mapagsamantalang kaayusan ng industriya ng kuryente sa bansa. Ngunit hindi tayo dapat manatiling nakadepende sa sistemang ito. Bilang mga tanggol kalikasan at siyentista ng bayan, kailangan nating lumubog sa mga komunidad upang ipalaganap ang mga community-based solutions: solar panels sa mga tahanan at paaralan, micro hydro power systems sa mga ilog, at iba pang inisyatiba ng mamamayan.

Kasabay nito ang mga pagpapanawagan sa pagbabasura ng batas ng EPIRA na nagsusulong ng pribatisasyon sa industriya ng kuryente. Iginigiit natin na dapat  isabansa ang MERALCO at iba pang mga supplier, at ng buong industriya ng enerhiya. Kailangan nating itaguyod ang pambansang industriyalisasyon na magreresolba sa daang taong pagka-atrasado ng ating ekonomiya na laging naka-asa sa dayuhang kapital at produkto. Kasabay nito, kailangang ipaglaban ang mga reporma upang maibsan ang pagpapahirap sa mga konsumer at mamamayan — tulad na lamang ng pagbaba ng singil sa kuryente. Dapat nating igiit ang pagtanggal ng VAT  at ang pag-alis ng system loss charge sa singil sa kuryente, na dapat sagutin ng gobyerno at ng mga pribadong kumpanya sa enerhiya, hindi ng konsumer.

Subalit magiging kapos ang mga kampanya o laban na ito kung walang radikal na pagsisikap para sa sistematikong pagbabago sa sistema ng lipunan. Hangga’t ang gobyerno ay isang burukrasyang naglilingkod sa kapital at negosyo, sa interes ng mga korporasyon at dayuhan, at hangga’t ang mga batas at patakaran ay para sa pribatisasyon ng mga industriya at hindi para sa pambansang industriyalisasyon, maliit ang makukuhang reporma mula sa mga pagsisikap na ito na magpapababa sa presyo ng kuryente at magsusulong ng teknolohiyang RE. Hindi mangyayari ang mga ito nang walang pagkilos at paglaban ng masa. 

Para sa isang progresibong ekonomiya at maunlad na industriya ng kuryente, kinakailangan ang isang sistemang panlipunan na ganap na malaya sa kontrol ng dayuhan at ng mga pribadong korporasyon, at isang gobyernong tunay na pinamamahalaan ng mamamayan at para sa mamamayan. Malakas dapat nating ilaban ito kasabay ng ating kampanya para sa reporma sa industriya ng kuryente sa bansa.

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Losing CMFR feels a lot like losing a home.

By Penzer Baterna 

I’ve seen many posts about the closure of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), and what it means to Philippine journalism.

But to me, it is deeply personal.

Losing CMFR feels a lot like losing a home.

For over 13 years, the center has been the foundation of everything I’ve built in my career. I joined CMFR simply wanting a job experience that would look good on my resume. Never intended to stay because, as a young adult from the Visayas, the goal was to eventually go mainstream.

But a rocky love-hate relationship with my superior during my early years at the organization challenged me to prove my worth as a staff writer. What started as a constant need to prove myself turned into a genuine appreciation for the work and a deeper understanding of why it mattered.

Before I even realized it, I had become deeply involved in its advocacy — tracking threats and attacks against journalists, assessing news reports on various issues, and conducting comprehensive research on media coverage.

CMFR opened doors for me to travel across the Philippines and the world, expand my network, and meet incredible people. But most importantly, it gave me a space to discover stories that I would often draw inspiration from for my own creative side hustles.

Over the years, I built relationships with my colleagues and my bosses. Work no longer felt like work. The office had become a home, and the staff had become my family.

When people ask me how I feel about the closure, I tell them I’m fine. I already knew months prior, so I had time to process everything.

The truth is, it hurts.

Imagine waking up one morning and realizing you are no longer doing the work that defined your life for more than a decade. It’s the abrupt end of a 13-year relationship, and it’s going to take time to truly move on.

There is nothing I can do about its folding. CMFR tried, and I’d like to believe we — especially our boss, Ma’am Melinda Quintos De Jesus — did everything we could to keep it going.

To many, CMFR may be viewed as a lesson learned or a valued organization that should have lasted, but unfortunately didn’t.  But to me, it will always be a home I am forever grateful to have been a part of.

So here’s to the memories, the lessons, the people, the stories, and the years that CMFR gave me.

Closing this chapter with a bittersweet “cheers” to that home.

The post First Person | Losing a home  appeared first on Bulatlat.

The Philippines is not just being exploited from their resources but it is also exposed to the enemies of the U.S.

Condrad Belasa, 28, witnessed military aircraft of Iran and the United States carrying out bombings while working as a seafarer. Although their route was far from the Strait of Hormuz, he said that he still felt afraid. 

He recalled an incident on March 11, a month after the U.S started its attack on Iran, when their ship passed through the Green Zone. They saw military aircraft bombing one another in real time. Their crew could do nothing but hope that no missiles or ammunition would hit their ship. 

“While we are sailing, we see in the radar that we are being followed by military aircraft. Some of my colleagues said it was a fighter jet but in my personal opinion, I think it was a drone,” Belasa told Bulatlat in an interview. 

In his five years of working as a seafarer, this was the first time he found himself caught in the middle of a war. The experience worried him, especially because he has a two-year old child waiting for him to come home.

He and other seafarers gathered at Redemptorist Church, Baclaran for National Seafarer Day on September 25 and condemned the government’s lack of action to protect their welfare as well as its strong military ties with the U.S., which they said put them more at risk.

“I told my wife jokingly that she will be instantly rich when something bad happens [to me] because of the benefits that she will receive.  But on a serious note, it is difficult for my family if something happens to me because the benefit they will receive is not for a lifetime,” Belasa told Bulatlat in Filipino.

There were reportedly five seafarers who died in the Strait of Hormuz.

Stop US war

“Whoever the enemy of the U.S will make the Philippines prone by their retaliation. Just when the U.S. bombed schools in Iraq, it retaliated and bombed US military facilities,” said Atty. Edwin Dela Cruz, president of International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC).

In terms of critical minerals, Dela Cruz said that the U.S. resorted to aggression, citing the kidnapping of former Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and the attacks on Iran to gain natural resources.

“That is why the Philippines is not just being exploited from their resources but it is also exposed to the enemies of the U.S. even though we don’t see them as the enemy,” Dela Cruz said.

Just like the other Filipino seafarers, Belasa hoped that the U.S should stop its aggression against any country as they only gained a little but lost a lot of innocent people’s lives. “We just want to make a living and to be with our family safe and sound.”

Unprotected

Xavier Bayoneta, chairperson of Concerned Seafarers of the Philippines (CSP), said that there has been a lack of protection for the seafarers whose lives were at risk every time they worked at the sea. 

When the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers was signed on September 23, labor lawyers and seafarers groups criticized it.

Bayoneta pointed to the requirement to post a financial bond when a seafarer wins a labor dispute if the employer appeals the decision to a higher court. He also cited the bank “escrow” framework which he said prevents seafarers from immediately receiving medical or death benefits.

“If before we’re worried about pirates, now our worries doubled due to advanced military aircraft like drones. Instead of protecting our rights, the DMW [Department of Migrant Workers] is not doing anything or we don’t feel it if they are doing something,” Bayoneta said.

Belasa said that laws are meant to protect its constituents and not to suppress their rights. “There should be a proper consultation with us seafarers before they come up with laws that genuinely protect us instead.”

He also urged his co-seafarers to speak up despite the consequences of being blacklisted. (AMU, DAA)

The post Seafarers demand end to US war appeared first on Bulatlat.

Salungguhit by Cartoonist Zach

The post Deeply rooted appeared first on Bulatlat.

MANILA — A movement of cultural workers against demolition and police brutality expressed political dissent through a cultural event on September 26 at Vinzon’s Hall, University of the Philippines Diliman. 

Dubbed “Gobyerno Sindikato, Panagutin,” Defend the Hood called for an end to fascist measures of the Philippine National Police, including the demolition of their communities. 

Skaters, B-boy dancers, graffiti artists, and other performers got together to showcase their talents.

Youth skaters used the occasion to denounce the Marcos Jr. administration’s use of force in repressing and illegally arresting activists, including minors. They also condemned police brutality, citing the violent arrest at the last state of the nation address (SONA) in July where the police illegally arrested 51 protesters. 

Among them was Dupa, a member of Defend the Hood and a skater from Pook Malantic in barangay UP Campus.

Read: ‘Overkill; | Groups slam police arrests of activists during SONA 2026 protest

Dupa and their community are no strangers to being labeled as deviant or dangerous by authorities even within campus premises. Nevertheless, skateboarding has become essential for their community as a means to express themselves and their way of activism. 

For Dupa, they skated to “raise people’s awareness of what is happening in our communities, because of plans of demolition and harassment from authorities.”

Dupa’s community is threatened with displacement due to the construction of the UP SDG Park, a 24-hectare project that covers Area 17, Pook Aguinaldo, and Pook Malantic in barangay UP Campus. As early as July, the community began setting up barricades to prevent the construction of the project and to resist police surveillance. 

“Why do they not care about the youth’s livelihoods? Our education?” Dupa asked during the program.

B-boy dancers like ElloRisco joined in solidarity with the community. “B-boying is just something you do, it’s like fliptop but you instead converse through movement.” (AMU, DAA)

Real names are withheld for security reasons.

Photos by Viggo Sarmago/Bulatlat

The post Cultural workers vs fascism, demolition appeared first on Bulatlat.

Salungguhit by Cartoonist Zach

The post Double standard appeared first on Bulatlat.

On Sept. 29, 2023, peasant organizers Lee Sudario, 34, and Norman Ortiz, 25, were abducted by suspected military men in barangay Bantug, Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija province. They are still missing to this day.

Read more about their story:

Surface our brothers – Kin of missing activists

Sisters of abducted farmers demand their release

Redtagging military visits to kin of missing activist warrant investigation

Women brave the frontlines to find the disappeared

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