Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kara Santos MANILA, Apr 14, 2011 (IPS) – At the tender age of 10, Rodel Morozco was working in a goldmine and crawling inside tunnels, until one day he fell 200 feet underground because his father had blasted the tunnel with dynamite. "I had to run and [...]
PHILIPPINES: Migrant Workers Put Jobs Before Safety in Libya
April 1, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kara Santos MANILA, Apr 1, 2011 (IPS) – Amidst political turmoil in Libya, thousands of migrant workers from the Philippines face a dilemma – either they risk their lives working in the conflict- ridden country, or they return home and face job insecurity. Exequel Masucal, a former [...]
Death Sentence Looms for Filipino Drug Mules in China
March 29, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kara Santos MANILA, Mar 28, 2011 (IPS) – Time is running short for three Filipino workers in China. Ramon Credo, Elizabeth Batain and Sally Villanueva – who were convicted of smuggling heroin in 2008 – are set to be executed by lethal injection Mar. 30. The Department [...]
PHILIPPINES: Building Schools From Soda Bottles
February 28, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kara Santos MANILA, Feb 28, 2011 (IPS) – It takes roughly three to five centuries for the average plastic bottle to biodegrade. But some environmentalists have found new uses for it, turning it into durable material for building classrooms. "What used to be a problem in the [...]
PHILIPPINES: Call Centre Boom Breeds New Culture – and Risky Behaviour
October 1, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Diana G Mendoza MANILA, Oct 1, 2010 (IPS) – Anthony, a 22-year-old call centre agent, goes to work at 6 p.m. and finishes at around 2 a.m. But instead of going home, he heads to a bar to meet another male agent over beer, and if the [...]
PHILIPPINES: Despite Ad Ban, Tobacco Industry Seduces Customers
August 12, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kara Santos* MANILA, Aug 12, 2010 (IPS) – Adventure motorcycle tours, and driving and racing events organised by tobacco firms. Canopies bearing cigarette brands in popular restaurants. Tobacco brands appearing beside the signages of convenience stores, whether along the Philippine capital’s urban alleys or provincial roads. These [...]
PHILIPPINES: Gov’t Smokes Out Tobacco Industry with Higher Taxes
August 11, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Aug 11, 2010 (IPS) – Tobacco multinational Philip Morris may have had good reason to send out victory smoke signals when Filipinos elected Benigno Aquino III to be president in May. After all, he is a regular smoker who has said he will not [...]
MEDIA-PHILIPPINES: Citizen Journalism Gets Public Involved
July 20, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kara Santos – Asia Media Forum* MANILA, Jul 20, 2010 (IPS) – Television news images of a phony policeman on a motorcycle escorting a sedan travelling against the flow of traffic – submitted by a passing motorist – is a sign of the changing face of journalism [...]
PHILIPPINES: Death Penalty Dashes Migrant Workers’ Hopes
May 11, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics Net Sites / IPS By Kara Santos MANILA, May 11, 2010 (IPS) – Every day some 4,500 Filipinos leave their homeland in search of the proverbial green pastures. But some of them end up facing death instead. Jakatia Pawa, 33, a mother of two working as a domestic helper in Kuwait, was convicted [...]
Arab Uprisings Are Not Exciting Asian Youth
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Kalinga Seneviratne IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis SINGAPORE (IDN) – Two issues that have been attracting headlines recently, one in Indonesia and another in the Philippines, perhaps explain why Asian youth are not all that excited about the youth uprisings and their dramatic success in the Middle East. Both [...]