12 work-related killings under the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III • Miguel Belen (dwEB, Camarines Sur, July 31, 2010) • Gerardo Ortega (dwAR, Palawan, Jan. 24, 2011) • Marlina Flores Sumera (dzME, Malabon, Mar. 24, 2011) • Romeo Olea (dwEB, Camarines Sur, June 13, 2011) • Niel Jimena (dyRI, Negros Occidental, August 22, ⇒

MANILA, Philippines – The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) on Thursday, April 25, assured Philippine President Benigno Aquino II that there is no reason to doubt the 1st semester poverty statistics. In an interview with Rappler CEO Maria Ressa on #Talkthursday, NSCB Secretary General Jose Ramon Albert said the numbers merely pointed to the percentage ⇒

MANILA, Philippines – The percentage of Filipinos living below the poverty line has remained almost unchanged in the past six years, according to the latest poverty data released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) yesterday. The recorded poverty incidence for the first half of 2012 was 27.9 percent, slightly less than the 28.8 percent ⇒

A state witness said then colonel Gringo Honasan headed the Special Operations Group, under the Defense department, that abducted and killed labor leaders Rolando Olalia and Leonor Alay-ay in 1986. By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – Along with former Air Force Col. Eduardo “Red” Kapunan, former colonel Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, now a senatorial candidate, was ⇒

MANILA – The Senate has ratified a bill granting compensation to victims of human rights abuses during Martial Law. The chamber approved the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2012 almost a week after the bicameral conference committee reconciled the respective versions of the House and the Senate. The measure declares it a ⇒

By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Advocates of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill have called for transparency in governance but what if the version that awaits approval by the Congress would institutionalize secrecy? The consolidated bill House Bill 6766 or the FOI bill lists ten points of exceptions, all of which are present ⇒

By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Still recovering from a recent kidney operation, poet and songwriter Ericson Acosta was all smiles after receiving the good news that he had been waiting for. After more than a year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) finally acted on the petition for review filed by Acosta’s lawyers and ⇒

By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – Former Air Force Col. Eduardo ‘Red’ Kapunan, supported by former Mayor Filomeno Maligaya, bribed state witness Medardo Dumlao Baretto to recant in 2009. This was the allegation repeatedly made by Kapunan’s lawyer, Lorna Kapunan, as she cross-questioned the state witness in January 23 and 29 and fumed at his ⇒

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com MANILA – One Billion Rising is taking the world by storm. “It is something that has gone across class, social group and religion. It’s like a huge feminist tsunami,” Eve Ensler, the brainchild behind One Billion Rising, said in a report. Ensler, recently interviewed by The Guardian during her ⇒

MANILA, Philippines – The moment I heard about Rachel Andal, I was immediately reminded of another story we ran in October 2012 about a 7-year-old girl from England who had written her first opera, “The Sweeper of Dreams.” Her name is Alma Elizabeth Deutscher. Rachel reminded me of Alma because, like Alma, Rachel started composing ⇒