FOR AS LONG AS ANYONE who came to Guinoman can recall, the hills of Balabag on the northern edge of the sleepy town of Bayog, Western Mindanao had been a peaceful forest of maple-leafed trees and bamboo. Certainly if one goes on foot, by bike, in a truck on the brow, the impression is that it takes you deep into the heartland of the peninsula. That Guinoman, like the meaning of its name is unlike any other place. Here the municipality seem to lose its central force. The netwo

International solidarity mission to the Philippines Guinoman, Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines - On July 16, three vans stuffed with passengers traveled the badly eroded, muddy, narrow road from Pagadian City to the village of Guinoman in Western Min-danao, in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. On the roof of one of them was a dog, standing on all fours, that managed to stay on its feet through one of the torrential downpours that are a daily occur-rence in July. The vans inclu

Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines - Starting July 16, there will be hundreds of activists from the U.S., Canada, Europe and around the world in the Philippines in a show of international solidarity. Organized by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, this is taking place as developments in the international and national economy have seen a rising level of attacks on Filipino working people and the environment. There is also a growing level of imperi