His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. Malacanang Palace
Through Honorable Jesus Crispin Remulla Secretary of Justice Padre Faura, Manila
Dear Mr. President:
Peace Be With You!
It has been six years since former Senator Leila de Lima was arrested and detained for trumped up drug charges. Separated from family and friends, she has suffered from loneliness, depression and anxiety. Prevented from discharging her duties as a duly elected Senator of the Republic, her constituents were deprived of her service. The latest hostage taking revealed her exposure to risks and vulnerability to attacks inside the Camp Crame Detention Center.
Mr. President while you have repeatedly said to let the courts decide, we are all witness to how the judicial process is painfully slow. In the two cases filed against her, five judges have inhibited, two opted for early retirement, and two acted as temporary/acting judges. For Criminal Case 165, the current judge is the fifth assigned judge. For Criminal Case 167, the current judge is the sixth judge.
Grant bail to women’s rights and children’s rights advocate Ma. Salome “Sally” Ujano now!
Long-time women’s and children’s rights advocate, Ma. Salome “Sally” Ujano was arrested by agents of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on 14 November 2021 in Malolos, Bulacan on rebellion charges filed against her in 2006. PNP Chief PGen Dionardo Carlos asserted that Sally’s arrest stemmed from her alleged involvement as a high-ranking official of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the ambush of two military personnel in Quezon Province in 2005. The PNP also said that Sally has been in hiding for fifteen (15) years.
The Kaliwa Dam Project violates legal processes and the Philippine constitution, is destructive to the environment, and is against the country’s national interest.
With the increasing demand for water supply in Metro Manila, costly options appear to seemingly solve this concern. In fact, the recent “water crisis” was used to expedite and justify the New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project as the solution to such.
More than five (5) years!!! after typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) ravaged part of central Philippines in November 2013, the 1,500 farmer and fisherfolk families of Sicogon Island, in Carles Iloilo, are threatened to lose their right to land, food, housing, and water. The families lost everything due to the typhoon and since that time they are struggling against two powerful Philippine corporations converting their island into a world-class, high-end tourist resort and trying to evict the residents from their island. The residents are organized in the Federation of Sicogon Island Farmers and Fisherfolks Association (FESIFFA).
Support the families in their right to live on the land they and their ancestors have been lived and worked on for over a century.
Add your name to their petition on: AVAAZ petition to support them in their struggle.
Please SIGN and SHARE their call as widely as possible with your friends, family and networks, and ask them also to spread the word about their call: secure.avaaz.org
Stop Ayala’s #monstertourism on Sicogon Island!
———–
READ their story here:
When Typhoon Yolanda struck the Philippines in 2013, Sicogon Island was among the most severely devastated areas. The government assigned Ayala Land – one of the most powerful real estate developers in the country – to lead the reconstruction and rehabilitation of our island.
But instead of helping us, Ayala formed a joint venture with Sicogon Development Corporation (SIDECO) to realize SIDECO’s longstanding plan to convert the entire island into a high-end resort. SIDECO is a private company that holds a title for 809 hectares land of the 1,163-hectare island of Sicogon.
In fact, the corporate-led disaster response disrupted our livelihoods and forced us to give up our hard-won land rights. Ayala and SIDECOleft us hungry for two weeks and their armed security guards prevented us from rebuilding their houses.
They took advantage of our vulnerability by pressuring us to accept either of two options: to take a small one-time payment of 150,000 Pesos (about 2,850 USD) and leave the island immediately or to take 10,000 Pesos (about 190 USD) and relocate on the mainland.
Under duress, many families took either of the two options. The 784 families, who refused and are members of FESIFFA, opted to stay but had to endure sustained harassments and intimidation by Ayala and SIDECO’s armed guards and corporate agents. We barely survived through the support of relatives and a few engaged humanitarian organizations.
Despite the dreadfulness of our situation, we fervently hoped that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will redistribute the struggle-won 334.6 hectares of land placed under the national agrarian reform with us rightful beneficiaries. The redistribution never transpired as the previous administration lacked the political will to implement the reform amidst corporate giant Ayala Land’s tourism plans.
In 2014, we were pressured to sign an agreement with Ayala and SIDECO. The agreement promised us 70 hectares residential area and conventional farmland, livelihood support, and funds for housing and land development. In exchange, we renounced our land rights to the said 334.6 hectares.
Ayala and SIDECO breached the agreement and hastily embarked on converting the island into a tourism resort. Today, a port, an airport, and two hotel facilities are already operating. They also diverted the mountain spring, which served as our major source of household and drinking water for more than a hundred years. Now, we are facing a severe water crisis.
Recently, we were able to get the DAR to issue an order that temporarily halts further tourism development on the island. But this is not enough. Our human rights to land, food, and water will continually be violated if the conversion of the whole island into a high-end tourism project will not be permanently stopped.
Now, Ayala and SIDECO have started to file eviction cases against some of us and prevent – again – our supporters from entering the island.
We urge the President of the Republic of the Philippines to take immediate actions to secure our land tenure and access to fishing grounds and to resolve the human rights violations against us.
“We, therefore, call on all people in the world, tourists and investors to support us in securing our human right to land, food, water, and housing. Add your name and be one with us in our struggle.”
Stop Ayala’s #monstertourism on Sicogon Island!
Further information:
> Aljazeera Article “Typhoons and Tycoons: Disaster capitalism in the Philippines”
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Burying Ferdinand E. Marcos alongside our nation’s heroes who fought for our freedom is an affront to the thousands of lives tortured and murdered during his reign. A hero does not take away freedom, he campaigns for it and fights for its survival for the sake of others. Laying him to rest at the Heroes’ Cemetery is a disdainful act that will send a message to the future of our nation – our children – that the world we live in rewards forceful and violent hands. Several other reasons why Ferdinand E. Marcos should not be buried in the Philippine’s Heroes’ Cemetery: 1. According to you, Presumptive President Duterte: “The issue on the burial of President Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani has long created divisions among our people,” – This is not what’s causing the division. It will in fact further sever the opportunity for unity since this is an injustice to the victims of Martial Law and the families they left behind. It is a known historical fact that Ferdinand E. Marcos proclaimed Martial Law in 1972 which stayed in effect until 1981. Under Martial Law 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were killed.
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Impartial and fair verdict for human rights defender Cocoy Tulawie! Ensure his safety and security!
Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie is a human rights defender from the Sulu region in Mindanao, the Philippines. He is the founder of the local human rights group Bawgbug and member of several civil society organizations where he was responsible for campaigns for the democratization of local politics, transparency in government and the preservation of civil rights of people living in Sulu. His campaigns uncovered numerous human rights abuses and violations on the part of the local government, among them mass rapes of women and girls committed by the sons of prominent politicians and their paramilitary protection forces and the unconstitutional declaration of a state of emergency by the provincial governor Abdulsakar Tan.
After a bomb attack against provincial governor Tan in May 2009, Tulawie was accused of being the mastermind behind it, even though evidence was lacking. In 2012 he was arrested and detained in Davao City. The trial started in October 2013 and is supposed to come to an end in late 2014.
The prosecution of Tulawie is an attempt to silence his protest against severe human rights violations. Judicial bodies and criminal prosecution authorities, especially in the rural areas of the Philippines are often highly dependent on local power brokers and can be systematically abused by the latter for personal interests.
Tulawie has been imprisoned for three and a half years now with his trial awaiting verdict on July 17, 2015. We, the International Peace Observers Network (IPON), a German independent, non-governmental organization, have accompanied and monitored the criminal case of Cocoy Tulawie since January 2013. We consider him a Prisoner of Conscience. While the trial has been conducted within reasonable time and in a fair manner, we are nevertheless worried about a conviction and further harassments due to Tulawie’s continuing activism.
According to Article 12 (1) of the 1999 United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders), human rights defenders, like Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie have the right “individually and in association with others, to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms”. Even though the Philippines have acknowledged this declaration, human rights defenders and other political activists often face legal and physical harassment due to their work.
The criminalization of human rights defenders does not only violate basic rights of individuals, but also undermines the rule of law and hinders the development of an active civil society in the Philippines. “Individuals, groups, institutions and non-governmental organizations have an important role to play and a responsibility in safeguarding democracy, promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms and contributing to the promotion and advancement of democratic societies, institutions and processes” (Article 18 (2), UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders).
Successfully petitioning the relevant state authorities to ensure a fair and impartial verdict and the safety of Cocoy Tulawie not only protects Tulawie’s rights, but also contributes to improving the situation of human rights defenders in the Philippines in general.
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Today, we are facing real threats to lives and livelihoods as a result of the severe and potentially irreversible impacts of climate change. The scientific community conveys this message with increasing urgency: we must act quickly to stop the extraction of fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions.
But despite these warnings, the fossil fuel industry—which has a vested interest in halting progress on climate action—continues to delay, weaken, and block climate policy at every level. Too often, big polluters and industry groups are peddling false solutions to protect profits while driving the world ever closer to the brink of climate catastrophe.
We are joining forces with our allies to call on world leaders to kick big polluters out of policymaking. We will deliver these petitions at pivotal climate treaty talks in Bonn, Germany, the first week of June.
The more names we can deliver, the stronger our voices will be.
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Never Forget Mary Jane Veloso: Our Fight for Clemency #grasiuntukmaryjane
Dear all,
The ASEAN Youth Forum (AYF) started a campaign a few weeks ago in need of support to ask President Joko Widodo to grant grasi or clemency for Mary Jane Veloso, Filipina migrant on death row yet is now proven victim of the drug trafficking ring in the region, during or after Ramadhan.
To support and sign a petition, please visit: Ramadan Clemency for Mary Jane Veloso #grasiuntukmaryjane
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The Issue
For more than a decade, the Philippines Congress has delayed taking action on the enactment of a comprehensive anti-discrimination bill. Now, a broad coalition of Filipino activists is urging Congress to take action and Stop the Discrimination!
Congress is currently considering numerous draft bills aimed at stopping discriminatory policies and practices in schools, places of employment, commercial establishments, hospitals and health care facilities, the civil service, police and military.
What YOU Can Do
Join IGLHRC and the multi-sectoral coalition of marginalized groups in the Philippines in our campaign “Stop The Discrimination”, urging the Philippines Congress to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people, indigenous peoples, persons with disability, persons living with HIV, religious minorities, young people and old people from discrimination and exclusion.
Sign our petition! Urge the Philippines House of Representatives and Senate to Stop The Discrimination by passing a Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Law!
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Pls. sign the petition to support an oil palm moratorium in Palawan
Dear all,
An international campaign to support the indigeneous peoples’ and farmers’ call for an oil palm moratorium in Palawan has now been lauched by our partner Rainforest Rescue. Our tentative target is to obtain around 100,000 online signatures to pressure the Provincial Government in Palawan to issue a moratorium on the expansion of oil palm plantations. As of now almost 53,000 online signatures have been collected, PLEASE ALSO ADD YOUR OWN, to give a strong message to Governor Alvarez and to the Provincial Government as a whole. This international effort will further contribute to sustain the local petition already been signed on the ground by more than 4,200 members of oil palm impacted communities in Palawan and which has been submitted to Vice Governor Dennis Socrates on 29 September, 2014.
The online petion can be accessed online through this link: https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/
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Pinepetisyon si Mr. Ben Chan Stop degrading women in your products and advertisements. Take concrete actions to ensure this degradation does not happen again.
Petisyon ni
Edna Aquino
Manila, Philippines
Shoemart and Bench have violated the Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act 9710) provision on “non-discriminatory and non-derogatory portrayal of women in media and film to raise the consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity of women and the role and contribution of women in family, community, and the society through the strategic use of mass media.” (See Section 19)
The t -shirts that were sold in Shoemart with a slogan “rape as a struggle with a snuggle” and the portrayal of women in Bench’s The Naked Truth Fashion Show are degrading, offensive and reinforce society’s sexist view of women. The slogan trivialises rape which is a major human rights issue confronting the country today. A woman model wearing skimpy clothing being walked on all fours — like a dog — and tied to a leash being held by the male model Coco Martin playing master to his ‘pet’ is dehumanising.
Bench’ apology on its Facebook page was later withdrawn without any explanation. Shoemart, on the other hand, has promised to withdraw the t-shirts from its shelves and will investigate. But there is no commitment to take measures that would ensure that this will not happen happen. Shoemart should also divulge who the suppliers of those t-shirts as these too are equally liable for having produced these t-shirts.
The public has the right to demand that Shoemart and Bench must prove how they will put into actions their respective promise to end this dehumanizing and demoralizing culture they’ve promoted. Boycotting these companies, bringing them to court for their violation of the Magna Carta of Women are options which the public will consider if they do not respond to this call.
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Take action for women workers’ rights and an end to gender-based violence at work!
Gender-based violence in the workplace is a pernicious and global labor and human rights violation that particularly impacts women, their well-being, and their participation in the economy and society.
Whether occurring at the actual place of work or on the way to and from work, it can take on multiple forms, including:
Physical abuse, including assault, battery, attempted murder and murder
Sexual violence including rape and sexual assault
Verbal abuse and threats of violence
Bullying
Psychological abuse and intimidation
Sexual harassment
Threats of violence
Economic and financial abuse
Stalking
Worldwide, 35% of women have experienced violence, and 40 to 50% of women experience unwanted sexual advances, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at work.1
This global problem demands a global response. Trade unions are calling for a new international Convention on gender-based violence at the workplace, and are using their voice at the International Labour Organization’s Governing Body (ILO GB) to put the topic on the agenda of the International Labour Conference (ILC). The ILC is where international labour standards get negotiated and agreed upon by employers, governments and workers. A proposal is currently pending before the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to develop an international standard to guide governments and businesses on developing strong laws and policies to prevent and remedy the problem. Developing an international standard will promote global equality and foster safer workplaces.
You can take action now to support women workers’ rights and stand against gender-based violence at work, by urging Coca-Cola, Disney and Procter & Gamble — leaders in the United States Council for International Business — to support the call at the ILO Governing Board in November 2014 to put a standard-setting conversation on gender-based violence in the world of work on the agenda of the International Labour Conference.
Add your voice here.
Thank you,
Judy Gearhart
Executive Director
International Labor Rights Forum
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Pinepetisyon si Budget Sec. Florencio Abad A Call to Restore the Budget Needed in 2015 for the Proper Implementation of Overseas Voting in the 2016 Elections Petition by Overseas Filipinos
Overseas Filipinos, many of them working under harsh conditions, are called mga Bagong Bayani (New Heroes) by the Philippine government. They not only support entire clans. They also prop up the national economy, sending more than $25 billion in remittances in 2013 and nearly $13 billion in the first half of 2014.
While the Philippine 1987 Constitution enshrined Overseas Filipinos’ right to vote, it took us 16 years to get Congress to pass the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003. Since then, a million of us have registered to vote.
Some 10.5 million Filipinos are overseas. The monumental project for massive political enfranchisement has just started. Now, this noble cause is in peril with the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) decision to slash P89.6 million required to properly implement the Overseas Voting Act from the 2015 national budget.
The decision jeopardizes our opportunity to vote in the 2016 presidential election. How callous can a government get to not want to spend P89.6 million pesos (a measly fraction of the proposed P2.6 trillion national budget) to fund the proper implementation of overseas voting? We are appealing to you, our relatives and friends, to help us push Congress and the Executive Department to return the P89.6 million overseas voting budget. You can do so by signing this petition and sharing it with relatives and friends.
We overseas Filipinos are familiar with government condescension. While Bagong Bayani is routinely inserted in political speeches and bannered at the airport, state negligence often renders this meaningless. We risk life and limb to find work in every conceivable corner of the globe. In many cases, far from the protective reach of underfunded consulates, we’re left to face alone the ugly consequences of our bold decision. Employer abuse and exploitation is common knowledge; sometimes, abuse and exploitation is perpetrated by our own bureaucrats. The unlucky ones return home in body bags, others return with the ugly scars of cruelty, and some with debilitating ailments—many are thrown back into the same vicious cycle of poverty they tried to escape.
If the government is incapable of appreciating our personal sacrifices as a context for its budgetary priorities, perhaps it should be reminded of our economic contributions. We contribute $144 billion or P6.336 trillion every presidential election cycle, way more if we factor in projected remittance growth and revenues sent outside of monitored bank channels.
We strongly demand that the DBM restore the P89.6-million budget needed in 2015 for the proper implementation of overseas voting. This is our basic right. This is the least the government owes us. Please help our cause by signing this petition.
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Pinepetisyon si Benigno Aquino III Sign and Ratify the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance
By AFAD
Enforced disappearance is a crime involving secret abduction and/or imprisonment that violates a number of a person’s basic rights such as the the right to security and dignity, right to fair trial, right not to be tortured, right to truth, right to family life, and when the disappeared is killed, the right to identification and proper burial or cremation. It is a tool often used by tyrannical governments to stifle dissent and terrorize communities.
The International Convention on Enforced Disappearance (Convention) recognizes the right of any person not to be subjected to enforced disappearance. Its a non-derogable right which means that no circumstances may be invoked as a justification to carry out enforced disappearances. its is the first instrument to recognize this right.
The Convention is a product of decades of struggle of families of the disappeared around the world to have a normative human rights instrument that crystallizes the right not to disappear and seeks to guarantee non-repetition by establishing accountability on the government. A Philippines under the Convention is a Philippines committed to human rights, justice and truth.
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Tell Philippines’ seafood giant Citra Mina to respect the human rights of their workers!
IUF.org
Seafood giant Citra Mina is the Philippines’ second largest exporter of tuna, doing billions of dollars in sales to the European, Asian and North American markets under the Philfresh brand. This hugely profitable Group, however, is violating the human rights of its workers.
In response to poor health and safety conditions, precarious employment and issues around pay and social security contributions, workers last summer formed the Samahang United Workers of Citra Mina Group of Companies Union, which was legally registered on July 24. The company responded with waves of dismissals targeting union members and supporters between September and January 2014, leaving the workers and their families without income. However 78 of these workers continue to demand reinstatement with full back pay and recognition of their union. At home, they are supported by the national center SENTRO, which on June 19 launched national action in support of the Citra Mina 78.
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Sign petition to urge our government to vote for the resolution on the establishment of a treaty on Business and Human Rights at the Human Rights Council, voting on the resolution will be on June 26 or 27. Sign petition now!
It is the obligation of the Government to protect human rights of its people. The binding treaty will compel Governments to protect us against corporate impunity and greed.
AMB REBONG: Support the reso on the establishment of a treaty on Business & #HumanRights @ HRC
Appeal for President Aquino to release Juanito “Nitoy” Itaas
Photo by TFDP
Dear President Benigno Simeon Aquino III:
Greetings.
Juanito Itaas is one of the country’s 328 political prisoners and detainees. It has been 25 years since he was arrested, tortured, wrongfully accused, and eventually, unjustly convicted and imprisoned for the killing of U.S. Army Col. James Rowe in 1989.
Nitoy was a Davao resident and farm worker when he was arrested. It was his first time in Manila in 1989 when he was presented to the media. Rowe was killed in Quezon City. Nitoy was a fall guy and only admitted killing Rowe because he was tortured.
Nitoy is now 50 years old and married to Glenda Itaas. They have three children, a son and two daughters, all of whom were conceived during conjugal visits at the New Bilibid Prison. Their children never experienced a normal and happy family life. It is Nitoy’s fervent wish to be a full-time husband to Glenda and a full-time father to their children.
In 1992, Nitoy was recommended for release, but the U.S. government interfered and protested. Appeals have been made to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), but to no avail.
Mr. President, we humbly request that you look into the case of Juanito Itaas and release him for humanitarian reasons. This is also your chance to fulfill your administration’s promise in 2011 in relation to the release of all political prisoners in the country.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada: RESIGN IMMEDIATELY..because honor must be restored in the Senate
By #ScrapPork Network
More than seven months after the August 2013 Million People March, which called for an end to pork and the punishment of all abusers of pork, the Office of the Ombudsman has finally indicted three very high government officials: Senators Juan Ponce-Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla, for allegedly diverting more than P600 million of taxpayers’ funds.
In other countries, executive and legislative officials step down from their posts when their wrongdoings are exposed. This is why the Scrap Pork Network launched a petition calling on Enrile, Estrada and Revilla to resign immediately from the Senate. The petition also says that if they don’t, the people should pressure the Senate to start moves for expulsion.
If you agree with the Scrap Pork Network’s call, sign this petition, share it on social media, and invite friends and kin to sign:
Rice is the Philippines’ main staple and is also consumed by more than half of the world’s population every day. The diversity of our rice is a valuable resource for developing new varieties with improved yields and can withstand diseases and environmental conditions without compromising human health and the environment. However this resource is now being threatened by plans to release and commercialize Golden Rice to address Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in the country.
However, these should be our concern:
► Golden rice is a genetically engineered crop, that can have irreversible damage to health, food security, environment, culture, farmers and communities. More than 60 countries have imposed moratoria or outright bans on GMOs to adopt the precautionary principle.
► The Philippines does not have a biosafety law nor the capacity and resources to conduct robust risk assessments for GMOs intended for field testing, food, feed and propagation. The current regulatory process for GMOs is flawed and is only based on risk assessments conducted by the company who owns these GMOs.
► Any deliberate release of GMOs can contaminate conventional crops. This also means that the more than 63 GMOs allowed for importation for food, feed and processing and 8 GMO corn varieties allowed for commercial propagation in the country actually challenge the integrity of the 2010 National Organic Agriculture Act.
► Covered by expensive patents, Golden Rice and other GMOs can deprive farmer’s access, control and stewardship over plant genetic resources which have been nurtured, exchanged and shared across communities for generations.
► The incidence of VAD have been significantly reduced to 15% for children as of 2008 and there are already solutions in place to address VAD and other micronutrient deficiencies. The funds that are being wasted on Golden Rice research and development should instead be used on solutions that are already working which include fortification of foods and Vitamin A supplementation capsules. Having a diverse diet is still the best solution to VAD.
Say no to Golden Rice! Let us demand access to safe, healthy, nutritious and sufficient food that is produced through ecological agriculture.
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HRonlinePH.com signed this petition to safeguard Snowden and defend democracy everywhere. Please sign the petition too.
The world’s greatest whistleblower is stuck in the Russian winter, facing solitary confinement, ridicule, and life in prison if US agents grab him. But this week, we could help get him to safety.
Edward Snowden exposed the mind-boggling and illegal level of surveillance the US government is conducting on, well, all of us. His welcome in Russia runs out soon, and he’s got nowhere to go. But Brazilian President Dilma is angry at US surveillance and experts say she might brave massive US pressure to consider asylum for Snowden!
This is about much more than one man. If Snowden’s act of truth-telling leads to crippling punishment, it sends the wrong signal to abusive governments and whistleblowers everywhere. If 1 million of us take action now, we can send President Dilma the largest citizen-supported asylum bid in history — sign to safeguard Snowden and defend democracy everywhere.
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