Ten Years On, Where is Jonas Burgos?

Modesty may have been the motif of his upbringing, but the life Jonas Burgos lived was anything but simple.

Duterte Turns His Back on Peace

President Rodrigo Duterte has made no secret of his love affair with the Philippine Left. Even during his time as mayor of Davao he expressed high regard for the radical leftist New People’s Army (NPA), crediting their passionate stance to alleviate the plight of the poor. During the 2016 presidential elections, Duterte was rumored to have […]

Forty-Five Years of Terrorism

At high noon on Saturday, March 29 the commanders and foot-soldiers of the New People’s Army along with leaders of their umbrella organization, the Communist Party of the Philippines will gather to celebrate 45 years since the establishment of their armed struggle. According to a party statement in their website, the event will include flag-raising […]

Seeing Red

Election period in the country usually draws out the heinous and sinister sides of Filipinos. Politicians desperate to win go an extra mile in asserting their competitiveness. The most appalling atrocities this country has seen usually happened in the lead-up to national polls: the Maguindanao massacre being the most prominent example with the Plaza Miranda […]

The Red Flag is Rising

Not that long ago, a Philippine president made a bold statement to “beat the odds”. The plan included crushing extremists in the south, ending a decades-old communist rebellion, stabilizing food prices and providing millions of rural jobs. As we all know, none of those bullet-points can be justifiably ticked off the list albeit a peace agreement framework […]

The Plague of Maoism

It has been over forty years since the New People’s Army (NPA) was formed. The group, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), was organized to topple the Marcos regime, and has well served its’ purpose. Democracy had been restored. Marcos is long gone. But four decades had passed and the guerrilla group still lives and could recruit […]