The matter of collective rights, held in common by social groups and nations, as opposed to individuals, is “premised on the concept of humans as social beings, who belong to distinct social groups and whose interactions are greatly shaped by their groups.” Especially in a country like the Philippines, where collective action is often the only weapon that laborers and peasants can wield against capitalists and landowners, the notion of people’s rights is truly empowering. It posits the attainability of social transformation through a democracy founded on people’s sovereignty.

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People's Rights

The Tumandok’s Unwavering Spirit of Resistance

Soleil Santoalla

SIDEBAR: A quote from Marevic Aguirre, Tumandok-Panay Chairperson

After the Storm: The Continuing Struggle Of Eastern Visayas Farmers

Larissa Mae Suarez

SIDEBAR: Plight of the displaced

The NXP Workers’ Struggle: Reaffirming Workers’ Collective Power In The Era Of Neoliberal Globalisation

Ivan Phell Enrile

BOX STORY: NXPSCIWU: A brief history

BIGWAS: Banana Workers’ Fight Against Contractualization And Militarization

Bryan Ziadie

SIDEBAR: SUMIFRU Union Leader Threatened and Ambushed

People's Sovereignty

Tug-of-War: The Hacienda Luisita Peasants’ Unwavering Exercise Of Will And Power In Claiming Their Right To Land, To Life

Lyn Angelica Pano

BOX STORY: Women's Collectives at the Forefront of Bungkalan

Bungkalan: Asserting Collective Land Ownership

Ilang-Ilang Quijano

SIDEBAR: Escalante Massacre: Theater of grief and rage

ALCADEV: A Continuing Lesson In Resistance

Rowena Cahiles

#BigasHindiBala: Food aid through militancy

Ilang-Ilang Quijano

BOX STORY: A martyr family’s quest for justice