Maiksi man ang 33 taon na ating nakapiling si Alex, ito nama’y naging makabuhulan para sa kanyang kapamilya, kaibigan, kasama, at kapwa manunulat at makata. Hindi matatawaran ang kanyang dedikasyon at sinseridad sa pakikibaka at sa pagsisilbi sa bayan sa pamamagitan ng kanyang panulat.

Sa University of Santo Tomas sa Maynila unang nahubog si Alex bilang aktibista. Kasapi sya ng militanteng League of Filipino Students. Una siyang sumama sa mga protesta upang tutulan ang pagtaas ng tuition at iba pang bayarin sa kolehiyo. Mula noon ay namulat si Alex sa iba't ibang isyu hindi lamang ng mga estudyante, kundi maging mga manggagawa, magsasaka, katutubo at iba pang aping sektor ng lipunang Pilipino. Ang presensya ni Alex sa halos lahat ng aktibidad ay testamento sa kanyang tunay na pagmamahal sa bayan.

The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan called on Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno to resign after he revealed before a government investigating panel that he treated the August 23 hostage crisis as a “local crisis” because it happened in Manila.

“Puno should resign. It was obvious that the Luneta hostage crisis was anything but a local crisis. The fact that it involved foreign nationals and was already being broadcast worldwide, it should have from the onset been considered as a major national concern with serious international implications. Puno’s admission should be enough reason for him to quit his post,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

The move of some pro-Arroyo Congressmen to ask Committee Chair Neil Tupas, Jr. to inhibit himself from the hearings is a desperate attempt to delay and undermine the impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Even when they are with the Minority and are no longer the dominant force in the House of Representatives, the pro-Arroyo congressmen think they can still get away with their cheap maneuvers.

President Benigno Aquino II’s first foreign trip, an official visit to the United States, will serve as another major test of the new government’s foreign policy according to the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.

“The US trip is doubly important since it is the first foreign trip of the president and it will involve a country that has a tumultuous relationship with the Philippines. People are eyeing the trip as a test of the resolve of the new government to uphold national interest over foreign impositions,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

Exactly two months into his term as chief executive, President Benigno Aquino III is again at the receiving end of criticism for his failure to bring justice for human rights victims. The criticism came as various groups marked International Day of the Disappeared with a march to Mendiola Bridge.

“Today we march for Jonas Burgos, Karen Empeno, Sherlyn Cadapan, Luisa Dominado, Nilo Arado and all the victims of enforced disappearances. Their families continue to cry for justice. It has been two months since Aquino took office and there are still no encouraging signs that justice will be achieved for the victims of human right abuses,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.