THE jeepney strike that kicked off this week drove home the point that needed to be made about the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed jeepney modernization program.
First, that in fact jeepneys are not the main cause of our traffic crisis, because despite the fact that there were barely any jeeps on the roads, traffic was still terrible.
In light of the apparent information blackout concerning the fire that devoured the House Technology Industries main building (HTI) inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone, various labor institutions and people’s organization initiated a National Fact Finding Mission to probe the extent of casualties, the circumstances of the incident and possible labor standards violations that resulted in one of the worst workplace tragedies in history.
The initial findings of the Quick Response Team on February 2 and the NFFM conducted on February 4 and 5, indicate the following:
Against Normalization: The Lesson of the “Munich Post”
By Ron RosenbaumIs there any comparison? Between the way the campaigns of Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler should have been treated by the media and the culture? The way the media should act now? The problem of normalization?
… At 10:59p.m. on February 1, Governor Boying Remulla via PTV 4 said that 300 people were in the building when the fire broke out, that 40 were brought to the hospital so far, and “May mga naipit pa sa loob.” (PTV 4 on Twitter)
Close to midnight on February 1, Jonvic Remulla would post on his Facebook page: “We are all one tonight in prayer for those who perished and are yet to be accounted for in the HTI fire.” (11:53p.m.)
Cover-up?
Around 2a.m. of February 2, I had noticed a change in the conversation about the HTI fire on Facebook comment threads. The conversations were being shifted from talking about workers trapped and survivor testimonials, to insisting that no one had died. Read more…