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[Statement] Five years of Aquino’s straight path led Filipino workers into poverty, deaths, rights violations -CTUHR

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

STATEMENT

25 July 2015

Five years of Aquino’s straight path led Filipino workers into poverty, deaths, rights violations

Five years of Benigno Aquino III’s “daang matuwid” led Filipinos into a road where beggars and cadavers are scattered due to policies that kept more Filipinos mired in poverty at the same intensifying attacks on trade union and human rights.

Since Aquino took office in July 2015, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) recorded 554 cases of trade union and human rights violations. Contrary to Aquino’s promise to end human rights killings, there were 24 victims of extra-judicial killings among the workers and the urban poor. Most recent case of EJK within the labor sector was last March 8, 2015, when Florencio “Bong” Romano, an organizer of Organized Labor Association in Line Industries and Agriculture (OLALIA) and a provincial coordinator of the National Coalition for the Protection of Worker’s Rights-Southern Tagalog (NCPWR-ST), was killed. “Ka-Bong” actively participated in the campaign to regularize contractual workers before his dead body was found shot in the chest one morning at Brgy. Soro-Soro, Batangas City.

Workers were burdened not only by mounting pressure from work but were also met with heightened political repression. Cases of harassment, fabrication of criminal charges, detention, and physical assault, totaling to 1,650 recorded victims from 2010 to 2015.

Harassment of trade unions intensified this 2015 as the military desperately seeks to fulfill its target under Oplan Bayanihan, Aquino’s notoriously deceitful counter-insurgency program. At least 32 individuals (leaders, members, staffs and advisers) from the Confederation for Unity Recognition Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) and Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) alongside other activists were threatened, intimidated, and put under surveillance by military agents starting April this year.

In the last five years, 290 trade unionists and labor activists were slapped with fabricated criminal charges from petty crimes like stealing to more serious offenses maliciously linked to armed operations of the New People’s Army (NPA) like robbery in band, possession of illegal explosives, and frustrated murder.

Collusion of state and capitalist

Workers holding peaceful and legitimate protests were suppressed with iron hands as demonstrated by the violent dispersals and physical assaults inflicted by “hired goons” of Lucio Tan on Tanduay Distillers Inc. workers. The series of violent dispersals from May 18 to 22 led to 68 injured workers and two others detained. Despite workers plea for help, police and authorities remained as bystanders while goons were beating Tanduay legitimate workers and their supporters. Clearly, these actions violate the workers’ right to peacefully assemble and right to redress. Tanduay workers are struggling to be recognized as permanent workers which the company continue to deny despite the workers’ three to11 years of service as contractual workers.

The Aquino regime fostered conditions hostile to unions as shown by 27 cases discrimination against trade unionists, and 43 cases of union busting and 47 cases of harassment of unionists in the workplace Unionization rate remains very low at 8.6 percent of to total wage workers or roughly only 1.95 million out of the total 22.64 million wage workers as of June 2015. Of this unionized workers, only 202,517 are covered by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) as of June 2015 leaving more than 20 million wage workers virtually at the mercy of their employers, powerless to negotiate better wages and benefits. . Thus, government and employer propaganda that wage increase can happen through CBA negotiation is is plainly ridiculous, a wicked slap on the face of minimum wage earners.

Even with this low unionization rate and a tiny number of workers covered by CBAs, there were still 152 combined cases of violations of the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining affecting over 11,000 workers from 2010 to 2015. In the last five years, capitalists became much bolder to deny this right as the number of unions shrinks and ability to effect demands weakens.

Aquino’s policy to increase labor flexibility relentlessly attacked workers right to security of tenure as cases of retrenchment and illegal dismissals become rampant thereby bloating the number of unemployed and workers in precarious jobs. The cases of outsourcing of Philippine Airlines in 2010, the massive retrenchment of thousands of workers in Hoya Glass Disk and Carina Apparel last year dismissal of over 200 GMA Network employees (editors, cameramen, mediaworkers, etc.) who served the network from a range of 2 to 18 years are few cases in point. Four years of implementation since 2011, DOLE Department Order 18-A s2011 ably facilitated the rapid erosion of workers’ right to security of tenure, aiding the destruction of regular jobs while boosting short-term or contractual employment. In Tanduay for example, workers were forced to sign a one-year service agreement after many years in service to the company–those who refused were dismissed. DOLE DO 18-A is being used by labor contractors to legalize unjust contracting out practices, divesting principal employers of their responsibility to the workers.

Under Aquino, the public witnessed the deaths of at least 206 workers in 34 workplace accidents as in the case of Kentex factory fire last May 13, where 74 workers (45 were women) were burned to death in the worst factory fire in thehistory of Philippine industries. Last July 18, nine workers in Semirara Coal Mining, a company that uses open-pit mining, in Antique were buried alive from erosion of 500 tons of soil. . Prior to these,there were 11 Eton workers who died instantly when the gondola they were riding collapsed, 17 women workers in Novo Jeans burned to death , 3 septic tank workers trapped, 5 Keppel workers were crushed to death when the foundation of a stern ramp to a docked ship collapsed. All these deaths could have been avoided if capitalists and and Department of Labor and Employment had not only look at productivity and profit and if implementation of occupational safety and health standards are stricter and government had not left this to company’s voluntary compliance. DO 57-04 and DOLE’s Department Order 131-13 that replaced it failed miserably.

Enriching the few by impoverishing the poor majority

Aquino’s government has been trying to convince the Filipino people of the promise of sustained economic growth. But growth for whom? The disparity between the rich and the poor had only widened as wages were kept depressed and dragged further down by the two-tier wage system which replaces “minimum wage” with a “floor wage” that is largely pegged to the poverty threshold of 1.25 USD a day. At present, the highest minimum wage of P481, which does not even come close to the cost of everyday living for an averaged Filipino family of six which is P1,088 a day. In other regions, real wages have fallen by as much as 21 percent. Even then, an outstanding 46 percent of the nation’s workers are still paid under the minimum wage. This puts to shame AYALA, Corp. net income of 14.8 Billion Php for the year 2014 alone.

Joblessness and precarity continue to hound millions of Filipino workers with unemployment in the country still among the highest in the ASEAN region for the past five years despite the much-touted “robust” economy. It seems that economic growth to Aquino is 15.8 million Filipino unemployed and 7 out of 10 workers in precarious (contractual or informal) employment. The government’s labor export policy continue to push Filipinos to seek employment abroad as exposed by the the number of OFWs deployed yearly outpacing the the number of job opportunities within the country.

Clearly, Aquino’s “tuwid na daan” has led Filipinos to deepened poverty and suffering. But BS Aquino’s last state of the nation address (SONA) draws near and his “daang matuwid” reaches its dead-end, the Filipinos are now ready themselves to corner and collect a president’s five-year debts.

For reference: Daisy Arago, Executive Director, Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, +63.2.4110256; +63.916.248.4876

Statement

[Press Release] Aquino Should Deliver on Rights Promises Final State of Nation Address Should Emphasize Reform -HRW

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Philippines: Aquino Should Deliver on Rights Promises
Final State of Nation Address Should Emphasize Reform

(Manila, July 22, 2015) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III should commit his administration to meaningful human rights reforms in his final State of the Nation Address on July 27, 2015, Human Rights Watch said today. Aquino’s address may be his last major public policy speech before his term ends after the next presidential election in May 2016. Under the Philippine constitution, presidents serve a single six-year term.

Aquino won the 2010 election on a political platform that included explicit human rights commitments, including a promise to tackle the lack of accountability of the military and police. However, his five years as president have been marked more by rhetoric than concrete action to address serious human rights violations in the Philippines such as extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances, Human Rights Watch said.

“President Aquino has an opportunity in his final State of the Nation Address to outline lasting measures to address the human rights problems too often ignored during his five years in office,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This is Aquino’s best – and last – chance to demonstrate that his human rights commitments are not empty political rhetoric.”

In his inaugural speech on June 30, 2010, Aquino gave “marching orders” to the Department of Justice to “begin the process of providing true and complete justice for all.” Human rights violations during the term of his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, were rampant, with hundreds of activists and journalists killed, tortured, or abducted.

In December 2010, during the commemoration of International Human Rights Day, Aquino said that “the culture of silence, injustice and impunity that once reigned is now a thing of the past.” In his second State of the Nation Address in 2011, Aquino reiterated this commitment, saying, “We are aware that the attainment of true justice does not end in the filing of cases, but in the conviction of criminals.”

That rhetoric has led to some significant, if limited, results for improving human rights, Human Rights Watch said. The government has worked closely with the Justice Department and the Supreme Court to implement programs designed to improve the investigative capacity of the police, the prosecutorial competence of the Justice Department, and the capabilities of the courts to handle cases. The government has appointed more judges and prosecutors to address chronic court volume congestion. The government has also convened the Human Rights Victims Claims Board and tasked it with making reparations to victims of the Ferdinand Marcos regime from 1972 to 1986.

However, the impunity of the Philippine security forces that Aquino promised to eliminate persists, Human Rights Watch said. Killings of both leftist activists and journalists continue. A “superbody” that Aquino created in 2012 to resolve these killings has not made significant progress. Torture by members of the security forces remains routine. Elements of the military continue to be implicated in serious abuses, particularly in the countryside as part of its counterinsurgency operations. Police have been linked to summary killings, particularly “death squad” operations carried out in complicity with local officials such as in Tagum City and other urban areas.

Records released to Human Rights Watch in May 2015 by Task Force Usig, the main arm of the Philippine National Police for investigating and monitoring extrajudicial killings, show that the government has secured only one conviction out of the 130 cases of killings of activists it recorded since 2001. The domestic human rights group Karapatan recorded 262 extrajudicial killings from the time Aquino came to office in 2010.

Task Force Usig recorded 51 cases of journalist murders from 2001 to May 2015, 8 of which resulted in convictions.

In his State of the Nation Address, Aquino should make the following policy commitments to:

Direct the Philippine National Police and Task Force Usig to improve its investigation and documentation of cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, and submit a regular – preferably monthly – progress report on the status of these cases;
Direct the interagency body (the so-called superbody) created by Administration Order 35 and led by the Justice Department to expedite the inventory of the “priority cases” begun in 2012 and to make public the status of these cases, and require the “superbody” to provide monthly updates on the status of these priority cases and the reasons for any delay in initiating prosecutions;
Publicly disavow “death squads” in urban areas as a legitimate crime-control strategy and investigate and appropriately prosecute any government official involved in extrajudicial killings;
Issue a public order to all security forces rejecting the threat or use of force against political activists, unionists, and members of civil society groups for expressing their political views. In addition, reiterate to all forces the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan’s emphasis on international human rights and humanitarian law as one of its two “strategic imperatives”; and
Rescind executive order 546 signed in 2006 that allows local politicians to effectively form their own militias or private armies, such as that implicated in the Maguindanao Massacre in 2009.

“President Aquino’s record on human rights is five years of squandered opportunity,” Kine said. “Aquino should use his State of the Nation Address to demonstrate that that he will use his last year in office to focus on ending human rights abuses rather than turning a blind eye to them.”

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Philippines, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/asia/philippines

http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/21/philippines-aquino-should-deliver-rights-promises

For Immediate Release

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Press Release

[Press Release] End Police Torture, Killings! Aquino Should Act Decisively to Punish Perpetrators -HRW

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Philippines: End Police Torture, Killings
Aquino Should Act Decisively to Punish Perpetrators

(Manila, January 31, 2015) – The Philippine government of President Benigno Aquino III should take decisive action against torture and extrajudicial killings by the police and other state security forces, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2015.

The Aquino administration took some important steps in 2014 to improve rule of law, but the government’s overall record in addressing serious human rights violations remained poor. A November Justice Department report implicated police officers in the torture and ill-treatment – including near suffocation and stapling of nipples and genitals – of suspects following the September 2013 attack by Islamist militants on the southern city of Zamboanga.

“The Aquino administration needs to ensure that police responsible for serious abuses are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Ending the culture of impunity for police torture should be a top priority for Aquino in his final two years in office.”

In the 656-page world report, its 25th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth urges governments to recognize that human rights offer an effective moral guide in turbulent times, and that violating rights can spark or aggravate serious security challenges. The short-term gains of undermining core values of freedom and non-discrimination are rarely worth the long-term price.

Positive measures by the administration included the creation of “justice zones” where criminal cases, warrants, and subpoenas are filed electronically as a means to accelerate court proceedings that have stranded thousands of suspects in prolonged pretrial detention. The government also achieved a success against impunity with its August 2014 arrest of retired army General Jovito Palparan, who is implicated in the alleged enforced disappearances of activists in 2006.

Progress in the justice system was overshadowed by failures to address other longstanding problems, Human Rights Watch said. Despite the passage of the Anti-Torture Act in 2009, the courts have yet to convict anyone of torturing suspects in custody.

Police officers and public officials have been involved in a “death squad” in Tagum City in the southern Philippines, as Human Rights Watch reported in May 2014. The death squad targeted suspected petty criminals, among them children, and also functioned as a guns-for-hire operation. To date the Philippines government has not yet prosecuted any government or police official implicated in the Tagum killings.

With less than two years left in his term, President Aquino continues to send mixed signals about his commitment to tackling longstanding human rights problems in the Philippines. While the number of cases of extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances by state security forces have declined since the previous administration, their regular occurrence is no basis for complacency, Human Rights Watch said.

“The crucial missing ingredient in addressing the Philippines’ human rights problems is a lack of political will,” Kine said. “The Aquino administration needs to bring security force personnel implicated in rights violations to justice to send the message that official tolerance for such abuses is at an end.”

To read Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2015 chapter on the Philippines, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/philippines

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Philippines, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/asia/-philippines

Press Release

[In the news] Aquino, Abaya lying about fare hikes -Manila Standard Today

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Aquino, Abaya lying about fare hikes
By Christine F. Herrera, Vito Barcelo, Manila Standard Today
December 30, 2014

THE youth group Anakbayan on Monday called President Benigno Aquino III and Transport Secretary Emilio Abaya “barefaced liars” after Abaya said the extra revenue from the planned fare increases in the MRT and LRT train systems will not go to improve the trains but will be used to pay for the onerous deals with private firms.

Malacañang and the Transport Department had previously said that the fare hikes would go to improve the train service.

“The Aquino government and Liberal Party president Emilio Abaya are barefaced liars. They have been decieving the public to justify the train fare hikes,” Anakbayan national chairman Vencer Crisostomo said.

“In fact, they are implementing the fare hikes to fund the onerous and corrupt deals with private firms which have been getting super profits and are set to gain more from these hikes.”

Read full article @manilastandardtoday.com

In the News

[Petition] Benigno Aquino III Sign and Ratify the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance -AFAD

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

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.

Sign petition @www.change.org

Petition

[Event] State of the Indigenous Peoples Address 2014 -LRC-KSK

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Dear Partners, Friends, and Advocates,

This July 28,President Benigno Aquino III will deliver his 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) and in the last 4 SONAs he is not even mentioning the plight of the indigenous peoples in their right to self-determination.

The Aquino government caused serious concerns on his development agenda relying on the Private-Public Partnershipwhich favors corporate profit than responding to the needs of the peoples, has brought more problems than solutions, more hardships than ease to the lives of the indigenous peoples and rural communities. The increasing large-scale mining permits issued, coal operating contracts, agro-industrial conversions and escalating human rights impact to these businesses.

The promise of change has been central to the Aquino’s campaign. Has the first 4 years showed concrete steps towards the direction of change? How does this administration inform itself of the issues and problems faced by the indigenous peoples? And how has it position itself to be able to address these issues?

The women and men leaders of the indigenous communities will come together in their annual gathering of SIPA to reflect and assess on how the Aquino government took seriously its promise of change. This time, the SIPA 2014 will continuously remind the government on the Indigenous Peoples agenda.

With this, we invite you to join the culmination event on July 25, 2014 (Friday) at Bulwagan ni Rizal Hall, Faculty Building, UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City from 9:00am to 1:30pm.

The SIPA or the State of the Indigenous Peoples Address is a national gathering of indigenous peoples to present to the President of the Philippine government and the Filipino people the true state and plight of the indigenous peoples, their issues and concerns, their aspirations and their struggles to protect and promote their rights as communities and as peoples; and how these have remained to be neglected and ignored by the Philippine government. The first SIPA was held in 2008, and has become an annual event since then.

For additional information or clarification, please contact Carl Cesar “Cocoi” Rebuta at 0905-327-2676 or email at cocoy.rebuta@lrcksk.org or visit FB page Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center.

Event

[Event] Bakit ang isyu sa Calumpit bridge ay isyu ng karapatan ng mga riders at karapatang pantao? By Lyndon Pangan

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Bakit ang isyu sa Calumpit bridge ay isyu ng karapatan ng mga riders at karapatang pantao?
By Lyndon Pangan

Una , ang kawalan ng kongkretong aksyon ng pamahalaan (partikular ang local na pamahalaan) sa daing ng mga riders na masolusyonan ang mahirap na kalagayan nila sa paglalakbay ay labag sa karapatan.
(Obligasyon ng gubyerno to “Respect, Protect, and Fulfill the Human Rights of the people)

Ang halos 150 pesos na bayad sa mapanganib na Bangka sa pagtawid sa ilog ay masakit sa bulsa ng mga manggagawang mananakay na sumasahod ng P336.00 kada araw (source: National Wages and Productivity Commission –Minimum Wage in Region 3) Halos kalahati ang nababawas na sa kanyang arawang sahod.

Ang alternate route na may layong humigit kumulang sa 24 kilometers ay dagdag gastos din sa gasolina at pagod sa araw araw na biyahe.

Halos isang taong (o higit pa yata) ganito ang kalagayan ng mga kapatid nating riders sa Bulacan at Pampanga habang ginagawa ang nasabing tulay sa bayan ng Calumpit. Hindi ko lubos maisip kung bakit natitiis ng pamahalaan na magdanas ang mga mananakay ng ganitong kalunus lunos na sitwasyon.

Ikalawa, opo ang konstruksyon ng tulay ay para sa karapatan ng mas nakararami ito ay “Right to Development” Ngunit ayon sa United Nations human rights principle, ang karapatan ay dapat INTERRELATED AT INTERDEPENDENT, ito rin ay dapat NON-DISCRIMINATORY. Tama lang na ayusin ang mga tulay sapagkat ito ay daan para sa kaunlaran, ngunit ang mali ay habang inaayos ito, may isang bahagi ng populasyon na nakakaranas ng kagipitan. Ito ay nagiging sagka sa karapatan ng mga riders na makapaglakbay ng maayos, at tulad nga ng nabanggit sa itaas, obligasyon ng gubyerno na siguruhin na hindi nalalabag ang karapatan na ito.

Ang panawagan at solusyon: Umaksyon ang pamahalaan upang maibsan ang kahirapang nararamdaman ng mga riders, pinatunayan na natin na delikado at hindi mainam ang kasalukuyang alternatiba. Lumikha ng paraan para magkaroon ng solusyon o alternatiba na abot-kaya, ligtas at aksesible para sa lahat. Nang sa gayon ay walang nalalabag na karapatan.

TANDAAN PO NATIN NA KAPAG SINISINGIL ANG GUBYERNO SA PAGLABAG SA KARAPATAN NG MGA TAO, ITINUTURING NA PAGLABAG SA KARAPATAN ANG KAWALAN NITO NG AKSYON SAPAGKAT HINAHAYAAN NITO ANG ANG ISANG SITWASYON NA KUNG SAAN ANG MGA KARAPATAN NATIN AY NALALABAG (NON-COMPLIANCE).

Sa Ika-30 ng Disyembre ako po bilang isang indibidwal na mananakay ng motorsiklo ay lalahok sa panawagan ng Bulacan Motorcycle Riders Federation (BMRF), ARANGKADA Riders Alliance at iba pang grupo na magsasagawa ng isang symbolic ride sa Bulacan. Maari po tayong magkita-kita (mga manggagaling ng NCR)sa Total Valenzuela Branch (Tapat ng SM) ganap na 11 ng umaga. Tutulak tayo patungo sa CALTEX-BSU sa Malolos (1pm call time dun). Upang sumama sa makasaysayang lakbay para sa KARAPATAN.

[Blog] Human rights week 2013 and beyond. By Mokong

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

HUMAN RIGHTS WEEK 2013 AND BEYOND.

By Mokong Perspektib

With the theme, “Sa kulang-kulang na pamamahala, TAO ang kawawa. Dapat Tao Muna,” the right of the people to government’s response in tragedies, climate change and all human rights was the focus of the campaign by human rights groups and activists in the Philippines that commemorated the Human Rights Week for more than one week.

Here are 10 of the events that I was aware of that groups and individuals conducted in contribution of the 65^th year commemoration of the UDHR and/or in the promotion of human rights.

NOVEMBER 23 –JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF AMPATUAN MASSACRE

Four years have passed since 58 people were murdered in the deadliest attacked made against media called the “Ampatuan Massacre” on a hilltop in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao. Four years, and still justice remains illusive at nagiging pahabaan ng pisi ata ang laban.

Also worldwide, the International Day to End Impunity (IDEI) is commemorated annually on November 23 by advocates for free expression. IFEX (the global network defending and promoting free expression) declared the day as the International Day to End Impunity in 2011. It is a day dedicated to a call to action to demand justice for those who have been targeted for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and to shed light on the issue of impunity.

They chose November 23 because it marks the day of the Ampatuan Massacre.

http://daytoendimpunity.org/about/

Media groups and people’s organizations held protest action in Mendiola on the night of November 23 and called on PNoy to make good of his campaign promise that the case would be resolved before the end of his term, and that the government would grant financial assistance to the families of the victims.

Photo extracted from Rappler/LeAnne Jazul

NOVEMBER 25 -16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE

An international campaign originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991.

In the Philippines, From 25 Nov to 10 Dec, Take Back The Tech! Philippines posted videos of advocates declaring their commitments to end VAW.

See videos @ https://www.facebook.com/takebackthetechPH

Take Back the Tech Philippines is a collaborative campaign to reclaim information and communication technologies (ICT) to end violence against women (VAW) in the Philippines, and around the world..

NOVEMBER 30 – BONIFACIO @150

Photo extracted from Yuen Abana FB

Some 5,000 strong contingent of the broad labor coalition NAGKAISA marched to Mendiola to celebrate the 150^th birth anniversary of the plebeian hero Andres Bonifacio.

Under the theme “Kalayaan Mula sa Pulitikong Kawatan, Delubyong Kahirapan, Trahedyang mula sa Kalikasan,” they called on PNoy to urgently address corruption, poverty and climate crisis.

The group also demanded that Gat Andes Bonifacio be declared as the first president of the Philippine republic.

NOVEMBER 30 –BAYANIHAN REPUBLIC

Photo extracted from DAKILA FB page

Cyclists, artists and volunteers gathered together as one on November 30, 2013 as they take part in Bayanihan Republic, a fundraising festival for continued relief operations, psychosocial support, and on-ground initiatives to rebuild communities in areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda.

Bayanihan Republic is an initiative of Dakila in partnership with Jam 88.3, with the support of The Asia Foundation and the Fully Abled Nation and in cooperation with the Quezon City Memorial Circle.

DECEMBER 2- 3^RD HR PINDUTEROS CHOICE AWARDS NIGHT

Photo by Rommel Yamzon

For the third time since 2011, Human Rights Online Philippines or HRonlinePH.com gave recognition to human rights defenders’ efforts to promote, assert and defend human rights by maximizing online platforms. The event celebrated the assertion for freedom of expression and opinion online and offline with the theme “Internet Freedom… our rights, our choice, our voice.”

Winners are

POSTS	AUTHOR	CATHEGORY
Project Byline: Rights All- You-Can campaign	UPCJ	HR Campaign
PR: Teachers ask DEPED to expedite the release of bonus	TDC	HR Network’s Post
[Appeal] An Open Letter to Pond’s and All Whitening Products	Renee Juliene M. Karunungan	HR Pindutero’s Post
WE ARE NATURE rodgalicha.com	Rodney Galicha	HR Blogsite
philippinehumanrights.org	PAHRA	HR Website
Love is…Freedom from Violence!	World March of Women – Pilipinas	HR Event
Rated PG at PETA Arts Zone: “Love Does Not Hurt” campaign launch	Dakila and PETA Arts Zone	HR Photo
March 8, 2013 International Women’s Day	World March of Women – Pilipinas	HR Video
Dissidente!	Jose Mario De Vega	HR Off the shelf/Resources
Hey Coke! RESPECT workers’ rights! FB page	APL	HR featured site
MD4HR.net	MAG	HR featured site

DECEMBER 6 –CSO NATIONAL CONSULTATION ON AICHR TOR

Photo by TFDP

Civil Society National Consultation on the review of the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Terms of Reference (ToR) was held on December 6, 2013. at Sequoia Hotel in Quezon City.

The AICHR was established in 2009 and since then CSOs in the region have been trying to engage and advocate for its independence from States and assert relevant space for Civil Society participation for its effective performance as a Regional Human Rights Mechanism. The AICHR’s continuous denial of CSOs participation may be rooted in the limited mandate that is provided in its ToR, which has vague explanation on the role of CSOs in the work of the AICHR.

The ToR, as stated in it, is set for review in 2014 which will be five years after its entry into force. This may be seen as an opportunity for CSOs to propose and assert improvements for strengthening AICHR as a regional human rights body.

Organized by FORUM-ASIA, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) and Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), the consultation was attended by Regional and national Civil Society organizations working on different human rights issues and themes.

DECEMBER 7 –POLITICAL PRISONERS DAY

Photo by TFDP

Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) and Balay Rehabilitation Center together with the Medical Action Group (MAG) and other groups held the annual political prisoners’ day on December 7, 2013 in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

DECEMBER 10 -LIGHTUP4 YOLANDA VICTIMS, LIGHTUP4 RIGHTS

In commemoration of the December 10 International Human Rights Day of 2013, human rights groups held nationwide solidarity candle lighting in several parts of the country, for victims of typhoon Yolanda and other natural disasters and victims of human rights violations.

“We devote today’s commemoration of International Human Rights Day for all those who suffered and continue to suffer the result of climate change and environmental destruction caused by greed, development aggression and government neglect,” said Emmanuel Amistad, Executive Director of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP).

Photo by TFDP Mindanao

While the group extended their heartfelt solidarity to all victims, they also called on government leaders to prioritize the needs of the victims and refrain from politicking.

“We Light UP for Yolanda Victims, we Light Up for Human Rights, dahil higit sa lahat ay dapat unahin ng pamahalaan ang kapakanan ng mga taong nasalanta kaysa pagpapabida. Dapat matauhan na ang mga kurap na pulitiko at tigilan na ang pamumulsa ng pondo ng bayan at ilaan sa dapat nitong puntahan. Dahil dapat Tao muna! Hindi tubo at kita, dahil dapat tao muna hindi pamumulitika at pabida,” Amistad added.

“Although our fellow Filipinos in disaster stricken areas, especially in Leyte needs all the help, relief and support we can provide, it will not be enough to solve the problems. Other future disasters will come and if the government will not be serious and sincere in performing its duty to protect its people instead of profit and corruption, all these will just be repeated,” Amistad said.

Photo by TFDP Visayas

In Visayas, members of TFDP and its allies from the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) held their “Light UP 4 Yolanda Victims, Light UP 4 Rights,” at the University of the Philippines Cebu. “We light candles in solidarity for all victims of climate disaster, mining and other profit driven development projects that does not benefit the people, instead harm them and lead to violations of their human rights.”

In Mindanao, human rights defenders, TFDP, PMCJ and Freedom from Debt Coalition together with other social and climate activists led the candle lighting activities in Centennial Park, San Pedro Street, Davao City. Candle lighting activities at Bukidnon, Surigao Del Sur and Iligan were also held simultaneously.

According to the group they are also dedicated the solidarity candle lighting for victims of Zamboanga siege, Bohol and Cebu Earthquake, and other natural and manmade disasters that devastated our peoples and communities. Saying, “We hope we can help inspire them to stand up and we are with them in struggling to regain what has been damaged and lost from them.”

Photo by TFDP

Youth and students in several universities also gave their solidarity LightUP activity. Students from De La Salle College of Saint Benilde participated in the Quezon City Memorial Circle LightUP activity. Members of Youth for Rights (Y4R) and Teatro Kahimanawari of Marikina Polytechnic University held their candle lighting in front of Marikina City Hall Freedom Park. Others participated in the online solidarity in the social networking site Facebook.

In Quezon City, more than 300 members of the Philipppine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), Amnesty International – Philippines and Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), held the LightUP for Yolanda Victims, LightUP4 Rights activity at the fountain area in Quezon City Memorial Circle.

The group lamented that “Sa kulang-kulang na pamamahala, Tao ang kawawa.” The group also reminded PNoy of his obligation to issue a National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) in compliance with the recommendation of the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

DECEMBER 14 -1^ST PHBS HEALTH BLOGGERS MEET AND LAUNCHING OF HEALTHACTIVIST.PH

Photo by HealthActivist.ph

The Philippine Health Bloggers Society (PHBS) in cooperation with HealthActivist.ph and @IYCPilipinas held the 1^st PHBS Health Bloggers Meet on December 14, 2013 in Quezon City. The event was graced by guest speakers like Ana Santos, Grace Nicolas, and Alvin Dakis (IYC PH Chair).

“Advocacies are not something you will just talk about, you need to walk the talk. Go Offline to become credible and to show your real passion.” – Grace Bondad Nicolas

“To change the way we view sex, we have to change the way we talk about it”- Ana P. Santos

DECEMBER 15 -PADYAKARAPATAN

Photo grabbed from AIph FB

More than a thousand participated in the Amnesty International Philippines’ Bike for Rights PadyaKarapatan 2013. They cycled through 7 cities of Metro Manila. The event aimed to remind the Aquino administration and the 16th Congress of their obligation to enact and implement legislation necessary for protecting human rights of Filipino citizens.

“Before the 2010 and 2013 elections, Amnesty International presented its Philippine Human Rights Agenda to the candidates and promises were subsequently made. As the year ends, we ask 10 questions – ‘Sampung Tanong ng Bayan sa Pamahalaang Aquino at Kongreso’ – to remind the Aquino government and the 16th Congress about important human rights agenda which they need to act upon immediately starting 2014,” explained Dr. Aurora A. Parong, Director of Amnesty International Philippines.

Visit the Mokong Perspektib @ http://mokongperspektib.wordpress.com/2013/12/22/human-rights-week-2013-and-beyond/

Blog

[Statement] Apathy and alibis -NUJP

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Apathy and alibis

It says much when the president of a country that time and again boasts of being a democracy insists that one of, if not the, worst wave of media murders does not constitute a national catastrophe.

No, we don’t believe President Benigno Aquino III is in a state of denial about the three latest killings, which happened in all of two weeks’ time, bringing the death toll for media since he came to office in 2010 to at least 21.

We believe he is clearly aware of how serious the problem is. The problem is, he keeps on looking for excuses to play down what the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has called the worst annual incidence rate under any president.

In short, he just doesn’t care.

In a meeting with Filipino journalists in Tokyo, Aquino, as reported in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said he would not treat media killings as a national trend unless “somebody can say that there is some sort of an established policy to kill a journalist of this particular position, mentality.”

According to the PDI report, Aquino said a “’correlation’ must first be established: ‘What’s common among (the killings) besides (the reality) that somehow they are connected to media’.”

“’Now if you don’t identify the problem correctly, you will not come up with a solution. The point is … we are 95 million Filipinos. It’s difficult to see the intent, especially for those … some might really be wanton and merciless and totally wrong,’ he said.”

Evidently, Mr. Aquino has not been listening, if he ever did in the first place.

Mr. Aquino, in case you missed it, we have never claimed the murders of our colleagues were the result of any “established policy” unlike, say, the extrajudicial killings of activists, environmentalists, indigenous people and other dissenters that human rights experts both here and abroad have rightly linked to a murderous counterinsurgency program that deliberately targets members of legal organizations.

What we HAVE said is that these killings are the inevitable offshoot of governance by expediency, which has seen administration after administration, bar none, allowing the corrupt, the warlords, the crime lords to reign supreme in their respective personal fiefdoms in the regions and provinces in exchange for their support.

It is a system of governance that has allowed local tyrants to keep their populations cowed and silence any attempt to unmask them while the national government turns a blind eye for fear of losing their loyalty.

But of course, no self-respecting president, especially one who has staked his name on “tuwid na daan,” would ever admit to that.

Thus the search for alibis, like Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma’s describing some of the victims as “not legitimate” to justify describing the problem as “not so serious,” or the attempt by an investigator to explain the recent killings as the offshoot of the victims’ less than impeccable ethics.

Admittedly, Philippine media have their work cut out to improving ethical and professional standards. But before sanctimoniously dumping the blame on the individual practitioner, especially the grossly overworked and underpaid variety that populate our provinces, shouldn’t we look first to those who keep them so overworked and underpaid that not a few succumb to the blandishments of those would have the news slanted in their favor? And if corruption were to justify murder, shouldn’t we be wondering, given the surfeit of evidence, why our corridors of power continue to be populated by the foremost purveyors of graft and who, by all indications, are the most likely brains in the murders of our colleagues?

So there, Mr. Aquino, is the “correlation” you claim to seek, the problem identified to which you must now find a solution.

That is, if you even care a whit to.

For reference
Rowena Paraan
Chairperson

Aquino doesn’t consider media killings a national catastrophe (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
Gunmen kill Bukidnon radio Broadcaster (businessmirror.com.ph)
Radio commentator shot dead in Iligan City (rappler.com)
Radio commentator shot dead in Bukidnon (rappler.com)
‘Act on media killings,’ gov’t told (bulatlat.com)

Statement

[People] The War Against Journalists in the Philippines. By Carlos Conde

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines 2 comments

Dispatches: The War Against Journalists in the Philippines
By Carlos Conde
December 11, 2013

The ongoing deadly attacks on journalists in the Philippines are no less than a war against themedia. In just the past two weeks, the body count in this war has surged: three dead journalists and one wounded in attacks perpetrated by unidentified gunmen.

Unidentified attackers shot dead radio journalist Rogelio Butalid in Tagum City on December 11. Police suspect Butalid’s murder was linked to his on-air criticism on Tagum’s Radyo Natin, but have not arrested any suspects.

The previous day, unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle shot and wounded Jhonavin Villalba, a reporter for Aksyon Radyo, at his home in Iloilo City. Police have not released any details on the motives for the attack and there have been no arrests.

On December 6, unidentified gunmen shot dead Michael Milo, a commentator on DXFM in Tandag City. Exactly a week before that, on November 29, another broadcaster, Joash Dignos, was gunned down in Valencia City. Police suspect both attacks were linked to the victims’ on-air commentary, but there have not been any arrests in either case.

These attacks have raised to 12 the number of journalists killed so far in 2013. Altogether, some 26 journalists have been killed in the first 40 months of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, and no one has been successfully prosecuted in any of these cases.

The Aquino administration’s response has been discouraging. While officials say the government is committed to ending impunity for these attacks, they have nevertheless sought to downplay them. On November 22, a presidential spokesman described the killings of Filipino reporters as “not so serious.”

Such official inaction is unacceptable. The Aquino administration needs to declare that the attacks on journalists are a national catastrophe that threatens fundamental liberties. The police should give priority to investigations of journalist killings and look beyond the gunmen to the individuals ultimately responsible. They should probe threats against journalists to prevent and deter future attacks. The government also needs to work with media companies, particularly broadcast networks, on strategies to better protect journalists.

It’s time for the Philippine government to intervene in the war on the press rather than ignore it.

People

[Campaign] switch off the Christmas lights -PM

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

switch off the Christmas lights -PM

switch off the Christmas lights -PM

Partido ng Manggagawa

Kapag manggagawa ang humingi ng dagdag sweldo, pahirapan pang ibigay ang P10.

Kapag power cartel ang nagsabing magtataas ang presyo, walang kibo ang gubyerno. Ang P4.15/kWh na dagdag singil ng Meralco ay dagdag P830 sa may konsumong 200 kWh kada buwan. Ang dating P12/kWh na singil ay magiging P16/kWh na, na siyang pinakamataas na presyo ng kuryente sa buong mundo.

Kaya hindi sapat ang magalit. Kailangang magprotesta.

Campaign

[Press Release] Philippines Visit Should Highlight Rights -HRW

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Australia: Philippines Visit Should Highlight Rights
Foreign Minister Should Raise Concerns About Paralyzed Criminal Justice System

(Sydney, December 6, 2013) – Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop should ensure that human rights are a part of her discussions with Filipino leaders, Human Rights Watch said today. She will visit the Philippines from December 7 to 8, 2013, after China and Indonesia. The new Australian government should reverse its policy of downplaying human rights in its contact with other governments, particularly in Asia.

“It would be an affront to the victims for Bishop to stay silent in the face of serious human rights abuses in the Philippines, Indonesia and China,” said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch. “The new government thinks silence on human rights buys goodwill with Asia’s leaders, but a democracy like Australia should care more about its standing with the region’s people.”

Bishop’s visit to victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines should not ignore human rights concerns in the country, Human Rights Watch said. Australia’s close military ties with the Philippines put Bishop in a strong position in her meetings with Foreign Secretary Albert Rosario and other cabinet ministers to call for an end to security force impunity for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture.

She should also raise concerns about the impact on freedom of the media of the reported 10 killings of journalists in the past year, and the killings of a total of 24 media workers since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010.

Bishop should raise with the Philippine government efforts to promote the rule of law and its stalled proposal to create a “superbody” to investigate and prosecute extrajudicial killings, one of the Aquino administration’s promised reforms to the criminal justice system.

“Bishop should be asking questions about the Philippines’ paralyzed criminal justice system that fails to prosecute the people responsible for killings and disappearances,” Pearson said.

Given the recent tension over spying allegations, Bishop should take a united stand with Indonesia against indiscriminate practices such as mass surveillance, interception, and data collection, both at home and abroad, and support the recent United Nations General Assembly resolution on digital privacy, Human Rights Watch said.

Bishop should also urge Indonesia’s leaders to end the military’s unlawful surveillance of peaceful activists, politicians, and clergy in the easternmost province of Papua. This is part of a repressive policy that includes requiring foreign journalists and human rights groups to obtain official permission to travel to Papua. Bishop should publicly call for lifting these restrictions.

Bishop should raise the lack of protection mechanisms in Indonesia for asylum seekers and migrants, including unaccompanied children. Asylum seekers and migrant children are subject to arbitrary and indefinite detention in squalid conditions at Indonesian immigration facilities, where they face torture and other ill-treatment from guards. Even when asylum seekers are released – which can take over a year – they cannot legally work or move freely in the country and their children cannot go to school.

“If Australia really wants to address the influx of asylum seekers coming by boat, then it should help Indonesia develop its capacity to assess asylum claims and provide safe and humane conditions for refugees,” Pearson said.

In China, Bishop should publicly call on the administration of President Xi Jinping to enact major reforms to protect human rights. She should raise human rights issues alongside commercial and security concerns, especially in discussions with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Foreign and Strategic Dialogue. Acknowledgement of the scale and scope of human rights abuses by the Chinese government has been noticeably absent from Australia’s public diplomacy with China, Human Rights Watch said.

Bishop should specifically press for the release of political prisoners, including the Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year-sentence for “incitement to subvert state power,” and an end to the unlawful house arrest of his wife, Liu Xia.

Although the two countries have an annual human rights dialogue, it is largely ineffective, lacking in transparency and benchmarks, while allowing human rights issues to be sidelined from high-level meetings. Bishop’s position should reflect the view that Australia’s long-term business interests in China depend on genuine rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights.

On Tibet, Australia’s Coalition government has said it will continue to push for “Chinese respect for Tibetan human rights.” Bishop should raise religious repression and ethnic discrimination that have fueled self-immolations to protest Chinese policies toward Tibet. Bishop should stress that counter-terrorism efforts should not justify ethnic repression and discrimination in Xinjiang or other areas of China.

“Having once-a-year chats with Chinese officials behind closed doors at a low level and with the wrong people does little or nothing to address large-scale human rights abuses in China,” Pearson said. “Bishop has spoken about being inspired by the Burmese Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Jailed activists in China, including the Nobel winner Liu Xiaobo, also deserve her attention.”

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Australia, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/asia/australia

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on the Philippines, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/asia/-philippines

Press Release

[Event] PERSONALAN NA! (100 Days Deadline) By Million People March to Scrap Pork Barrel

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

PERSONALAN NA! (100 Days Deadline)
By Million People March to Scrap Pork Barrel

100 araw na ang nagdaan, patunayan ang tuwid na daan, panagutin lahat ng kawatan!
Ibasura ang Pork Barrel System!
Ilatag lahat ng pinagkagastusan!

Dec 6, 2013 4pm, Ombudsman Building, Agham Road, Diliman, QC. At 5pm, the 100 Days’ deadline, there will be a NOISE BARRAGE (bring bells, cymbals, tambourine, gongs, etc.), followed by a march (carrying our torches, candles, laser swords, lanterns, anything that lights up) towards Quezon Memorial Circle where we will hold a program. Wherever you are, feel free to hold a parallel/simultaneous event! Please invite and share!

This is a #ScrapPork Network event to support 100 Days’ Countdown to Justice https://www.facebook.com/events/565677033491951/

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/ScrapPork

Tweets by Scrap_Pork

http://scrapporknetwork.com/scrappork-network-unity-statement/
scrapporknetwork@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MillionPeopleMarchForum/

https://www.facebook.com/events/386097468189389/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Event

[People] Dispatches: Four Years On, No Justice for Maguindanao Massacre Victims. By Carlos H. Conde

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Dispatches: Four Years On, No Justice for Maguindanao Massacre Victims
By Carlos H. Conde

The threat was unambiguous. If Bong Andal testified against one of the Philippines’ most powerful political families about their alleged involvement in the November 23, 2009 massacre on the southern island of Mindanao, his family would suffer. “They came again last month, showing our pictures to my relatives, letting them know that they’re watching us,” Andal told me by phone this week.

Those threats – and the Philippine government’s inability or unwillingness to stop them – speak volumes about the glacial pace of judicial proceedings against alleged perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre, in which the Ampatuan family’s “private army” murdered 58 people. Four years after the bodies of the victims were located off of a highway outside of the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, the massacre remains a shameful exemplar of impunity in the Philippines.

The basic facts of the case are undisputed. Armed men paid by the Ampatuan family, including local police and soldiers, stopped a convoy that included the wife of opposition politician Esmael Mangudadatu, his supporters and family members, and more than 30 media workers.

Mangudadatu had sent them to file his candidacy for provincial governor in elections scheduled for the following year.

The gunmen herded everyone in the convoy to a hilltop a few miles away and promptly executed them. Many were buried in mass graves excavated by a backhoe operated by Bong Andal. In his statements to prosecutors, Andal said he witnessed members of the Ampatuan militia shoot several of the victims. The crime was the worst single attack against members of the media in history and one of the Philippines’ worst single incidents of political violence.

Four years later, the case is in effective judicial limbo. A total of 94 suspects remain at large. Bail petitions and testimony challenges by the defense lawyers of the 101 suspects in custody have overwhelmed the court.

But the problem of the Maguindanao massacre case is more than a failure of judicial process. It is about whether those threatening Bong Andal rather than the authorities control the proceedings. It’s a cruel reminder to activists, journalists, and politicians critical of the status quo that they too might be targeted with impunity. The human rights rhetoric of the government of President Benigno Aquino III has not transformed the dangerous reality on the ground. As Aquino enters the last half of his six-year term in office, he should recognize that he will be ultimately judged by his actions, not his words.

November 21, 2013

People

[Urgent Action] Harassment Against Resident-Farmers and Aeta IP Group in Porac Pampanga -TFDP

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Urgent Action
November 20, 2013

(PHILIPPINES) Harassment Against Resident-Farmers and Aeta IP Group in Porac Pampanga

Issues: Harassment, Threat and Intimidation; Forced Eviction; Damaged to Property; Denied of Means of Subsistence

Dear friends,

The Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) is forwarding to you an appeal regarding the harassment and intimidation against resident-farmers of Hacienda Dolores in Porac, Province of Pampanga who were forcibly evicted by two private firms who claimed ownership of a disputed land.

If you wish to make any inquiries please contact the Research, Documentation and Information Program of TFDP at: 45 St. Mary Street, Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines 1109; or call: +632 4378054.
____________________________________________________________________________

Case Title: Harassment of Porac Farmers
Case: Harassment/Forced Eviction
Name of Victims: Hector Angeles, etal.
Date of Incident: 2011-2013
Place of Incident: Barangay Hacienda Dolores, Porac, Pampanga
Alleged Perpetrators: employees and security personnel of LLL Holdings Incorporated (LLHI) and FL Properties (FLLH)

Account of the Incident:

Farmers and their families experienced series of harassment from employees and security personnel of LLL Holdings Incorporated (LLHI) and FL Properties (FLLH). Cases of harassment happened inside a 700 hectare contested land by the said companies who claimed as owners.

The squabble started when the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) issued an order exempting the LLL and FL landholdings from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) coverage in 2005. LLHI claimed about 298 hectares of the land, while FLLH claimed the other 456 hectares.

In September 2013, farmers are prohibited to do farming inside the supposed company property. Their crops were destroyed. Trumped up charge of illegal possession of firearms has been filed against Hector Angeles and 2 Aetas (an Indigenous group). There were also incidents of verbal abuse of the company personnel against farmer residents.

At present, Victor Tolentino, Ruben Salta, Fortunato Salta and several of the farmers are still receiving death threats.

Aside from the latest incident that happened, on June 25, 2013, Antonio Tolentino and Victor Tolentino’s house were demolished by 30 hooded persons when he refused to reconcile and agree with the terms offered by Atty. Carlos, lawyer of LLL Holdings for allegedly staying inside the company’s property. They even stole their livestock (chicken and ducks) and destroyed their crops (papaya, banana, bitter gourd, yam, chilies, eggplants, rambutan, guyabano and avocado)/

The Conflict intensified when the claimant FL Properties (now Terrafirma Holdings, Inc.) and LLL Holdings, Inc., forcibly evicted 8 families from their homes, and started to put up boarders and fences on July 14, 2013.

Houses demolished are those owned by families of Herminio M. Santiago, Boy Angeles, Edgar O. Angeles, Ignacio S. Ignacio, Cesar M. Santiago in Maniknik; and, those of Roger Parungao, Rexsy P. Santiago, and Mario P. Santiago located in Mapita.

On July 28, 2013, , at around 9 AM, a certain Jimmy Alvarado identified with FL and LLL Holdings, encroached Urbano Barcia’s farm land and damaged his fruit bearing plants such as: 30 guyabano trees, 50 guava trees, and crops like yam, mulina trees including fences using a bulldozer and a back hoe.

The farmer residents asserted that they are in actual possession and cultivation of the large tract of land before the contested land was exempted from CARP coverage. The Aniban ng Nakakaisang Mamamayan ng Hacienda Dolores (ANIBAN), representing the farmer claimants formally petitioned the DAR on June 7, 2011, to revoke the Exemption Order dated March 15, 2006 on the grounds that: (a) the subject areas are being actively cultivated, planted with various crops by tillers who were born and raised in Hacienda Dolores whose parents and their grandparents passed on to them their land; and, (b) the landholdings covered are mostly plain, while there are hilly portions (18% slope), the same constitute a minor part of the landholding, and are agriculturally productive.

It was revealed that the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) had already issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title RO3POR-0709 123, covering some 18 hectares, for the Ayta Tribes of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga. But some 200 hectares of these areas also claimed by the Aetas are already acquired and titled to FL and LLL Corporations.

The Municipal Council of Porac currently moved to call on both parties to refrain from resorting to violence, while there is yet no final decision on the case. The Provincial Board of Pampanga is planning to make an official statement and discuss the issues raised in an official session.

Suggested Action:

A. Call upon competent authorities to intervene, observe and uphold the rights of resident-farmers and the Aeta (Indigenous group-IP) and recognized their land claims
B. Facilitate a continuous dialogue between the LLL Holdings Incorporated (LLHI) and FL Properties (FLLH) with the resident-farmers and indigenous groups to come up with an acceptable and justifiable resolution of the case;
C. To provide immediate protection for resident-farmers and IP group against possible physical and emotional harm;
D. Guarantee the means for the victims to access their land, rebuild their houses, cultivate crops and raise their livestock without any fear of reprisal
E. Assurance the
E. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution and international human rights standards.

Please send your letters to:

1. Hon. Benigno Simeon Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
Philippines
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
Email: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph

2. Secretary Virgilio R. Delos Reyes
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines
Fax: +63 2 920 0380
Tel: +63 2 929 3460; 928 7031, Local 401
e-mail: secretary@dar.gov.ph / gildlr2010@gmail.com

3. Chairperson Loretta Ann P. Rosales
Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
Philippines
Tel: +63 2 928 5655, +63 2 926 6188
Fax: +63 2929 0102
Email: rosales.chr@gmail.com

4. Police Director General Alan LA Madrid Purisima
Chief, Philippine National Police
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City, Philippines
Fax: +63 2 724 8763/ +63 2 723 0401
Tel: + 63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
Email: feedback@pnp.gov.ph

Urgent Action

[Statement] Pork Barrel Regime a bane to Filipino workers -NAGKAISA

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Pork Barrel Regime a bane to Filipino workers

NAGKAISA! Labor coalition marched from España blvd to Mendiola bridge- File Photo by PhilRights

Official numbers and figures tell no lies—pork barrel, which include the Palace’s Special Purpose Fund (SPF) and Congress’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)–has reached all-time highs under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III. SPF, which are funds under the discretion of Mr. Aquino, is set to be pegged at more than P400 billion in 2014 and out of that, PDAF will be pegged at P25 billion.

The public coffer is overflowing with money, yet this huge amount of money is spent upon the discretion of whoever sits in Malacanang, with no transparency and direct engagement with the people in determining government projects. Such ill-transparency and fiscal dictatorship is ridiculously upheld through Mr. Aquino’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), a rip off from former dictator Marcos’ decree (PD 1177 of 1977) which seeks to fast track government spending, but again, under the discretion of one person that is the President, making him the chef of quick fry pork.

This has been the system in past administrations, and this, in the eye of Filipino workers, is the legacy of Mr. Aquino—the leader of the current Pork Barrel Regime fueled by the undemocratic spending of our hard-earned money.

With Mr. Aquino defending and upholding the pork barrel system in his nationally televised public address, and with him hitting anti-pork groups, we in Nagkaisa—the biggest labor coalition in the Philippines—join in the people’s call of scrapping ALL forms of pork barrel which, as government records show, is a major source of corruption in government.

We also the demand the filing of criminal cases against all government officials who have benefited, directly or indirectly, from the pork barrel. Justice and law enforcement must know no influence or position, and it must be dispensed without delay. Officials who determine the budget under the current system, such as Budget secretary Florencio Abad, Senate President Franklin Drilon, and House Speaker Sonny Belmonte must also be held accountable for crafting pork-filled budgets.

Instead of a Pork Barrel Regime, we want a government built upon genuine democracy, wherein working Filipinos who automatically pay their taxes are engaged in budgeting and policy making. Such participative budgeting system, in our view, is a major step toward combating corruption.

Finally, we in Nagkaisa demand the government to allocate our money, in the most transparent and democratic way, to social services and real jobs creation especially since the Filipino worker is getting poorer due to contractual labor and small wage.

Scrap all pork! Filipino workers, unite for a democratic, transparent, and accountable government! ###

NAGKAISA is the broadest coalition of labor groups in the Philippines to date composed of labor centers, federations and national unions, which include the Alliance of Filipino Workers (AFW), affiliates of the Associated Labor Unions–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), members of SENTRO, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Confederation of Independent Unions in the Public Sector (CIU), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan (MAKABAYAN), National Federation of Labor Unions (NAFLU), National Mines and Allied Workers’ Union (NAMAWU), National Confederation of Labor (NCL), Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA), Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), Philippine Transport and General Workers Organization (PTGWO), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority-Association of Concerned Employees (TESDA-ACE).

NAGKAISA Statement
November 7, 2013

Contact Persons:
Leody De Guzman (BMP) – 09205200672
Joshua Mata (APL) – 09177942431

Statement

[In the news] After hacking spree, Anonymous Philippines takes anti-pork protest offline -InterAksyon.com

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

After hacking spree, Anonymous Philippines takes anti-pork protest offline
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com
November 5, 2013

MANILA, Philippines — After hacking government websites over the weekend in protest of the pork barrel system, members of the hackers’ collective Anonymous Philippines took their protest offline on Tuesday with a rally near the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

Around 200 protesters, wearing Guy Fawkes mask, said they represent Filipinos‘ sentiment against the misuse of billions of pesos in pork barrel funds, including those controlled by President Benigno Aquino III.

“We should sustain the protest in denouncing the use of pork,” said one of the masked protesters.

Read full article @www.interaksyon.com

In the News

[From the web] Clipping the President’s fiscal powers: A short-term sacrifice to ensure the long-term gain of the people -Akbayan

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Clipping the President’s fiscal powers: A short-term sacrifice to ensure the long-term gain of the people

Akbayan welcomes President Benigno Aquino III‘s attempt to elucidate some of the issues that have since surfaced because of the pork barrel scam in his recent public address. We also welcome his resolve to make accountable the pork barrel plunderers and apply the full weight of the law to all those who have robbed the people of their money. At a time when there are attempts to obfuscate the people’s anti-pork, anti-corruption campaign from those who stand to lose much from it, we are glad that President Aquino has heeded the public’s call for clarity and transparency by making himself open to public engagement.

In the same spirit of openness, Akbayan conveys to President Aquino some of the points where it diverges from his public address on the pork barrel issue. First, even as we recognize his effort to explain the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), we assert that this must go hand in hand with the commitment to clip the fiscal powers of the Executive to further reform the country’s budget system. We remind the President that the DAP is one the facets of such vast and unbridled fiscal powers of the Executive–powers that have been gravely abused in the past and coveted by
some of those who seek to replace him after his term.

Second, the President must realize that not all those who are expressing their concern on DAP are diverting the issue away from the PDAF plunderers. Even though there is a need to remind the public of the important and pressing tasks of the anti-pork campaign, it is wrong to dismiss DAP, more so the executive’s fiscal powers as non-issues in the over-all reform process. Of all people, President Aquino knows too well the dire consequences of the unregulated fiscal powers of the executive having filed a Budget Impoundment Control bill when he was still a Senator during Gloria Macapagal Arroyo‘s pillage of the people’s fund.

Lastly, President Aquino must understand the necessity of implementing under his term deeper reforms particularly those that address the Executive’s unregulated fiscal powers. It is not enough to say that he has not stolen a single cent from the nation’s coffers. It is also severely inadequate for the people to solely rely on an incorruptible leader to assuage their fears that the nation’s coffers will not be abused while our budget system remains prone to corruption and other abuses. President Aquino must make necessary steps to ensure that future administrations will not abuse the people’s fund to entrench their interests, such as what have been displayed in the past.

Thus, we reiterate our call to the President to certify as urgent the passage of House Bill No. 2256 or the Savings and Augmentation Bill, House Bill No. 2257 or the Budget Impoundment Control Bill and House Bill No. 3128 or the Budget Reform Bill to regulate the Executive’s fiscal powers
and further democratize the budget system.

President Aquino must not only persevere and be courageous in punishing the pork barrel plunderers. He must go beyond courage and make the short-term sacrifice of clipping his own fiscal powers to ensure the long-term gain of the people. ###

Source: akbayan.org.ph

Purge system not only of pork but also of Marcosian features (opinion.inquirer.net)
[Statement] A fight against an entire system of corruption and political patronage -#ScrapPork Network (hronlineph.com)
The pork barrel and the Left (opinion.inquirer.net)
[From the web] Alternatives to the pork barrel system By Herbert Docena (hronlineph.com)
BPO group to Aquino: We are not stupid (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
Various groups bash Aquino’s speech (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
Aquino gets ultimatum (manilastandardtoday.com)
[Statement] You miss the point, Mr. President, pork is essentially patronage, not only fund misuse -Kilusang #KonTRAPOrk (hronlineph.com)

From the web

[From the web] Alternatives to the pork barrel system By Herbert Docena

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Alternatives to the pork barrel system
By Herbert Docena
October 31, 2013

Although the government has yet to heed our demands, the anti-pork movement has already scored a major victory: It has freed our imagination and empowered us to ask, what can replace the pork barrel system?

That may sound like a hollow win, but as sociologists have emphasized, one of the most underrated achievements of social movements is their ability to shake up taken-for-granted beliefs, to challenge the “naturalness” of the existing order.

Thanks to the organizing work of such networks as Kilusang KonTRAPOrk, Abolish Pork Movement, and the broad Scrap Pork Network, few today believe the claim—repeated by the President the other night—that there is no other way to provide social services and public goods but for politicians to dispense them almost any way they please to anyone who pleases them.

The movement has punctured one of power’s cherished claims: that there is no alternative. That victory clinched, the struggle to spell out and put in place a different system escalates.

Read full article @www.rappler.com

From the web

[Statement] A fight against an entire system of corruption and political patronage -#ScrapPork Network

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

#ScrapPork Network Responds to President Benigno S. Aquino III’s October 30, 2013 Address to the Nation

In his Address to the Nation, the President presented the DAP, or the Disbursement Acceleration Program, as an expression of ‘Tuwid na Daan’. He also expressed displeasure at persons who, he said, criticized him unfairly and maliciously in relation to the pork barrel issue, and who called him names such as Pork Barrel King.

The #ScrapPork Network (SPN) has consistently taken the position that the pork barrel issue is not about personalities per se. As we in SPN have repeatedly and clearly proclaimed, this is NOT a fight against just one person. Neither is the solution in the hands of a single person only. It is an all-encompassing concern for all citizens of this country which necessitate fighting against an entire system of corruption and political patronage.

We acknowledge the efforts of government at proposing changes in the budget process and the public finance system, and at investigating and holding persons liable for the massive pork barrel scam. We also acknowledge the achievements that our country has gained in the arena of international political economy. But these are not enough.

A systemic flaw in governance requires a systemic response. The pork barrel system has long plagued our institutions to the detriment of the entire citizenry. Nothing and no one are spared from the corrupting effects of the pork barrel system. It is therefore a challenge to the President that while he does not solely hold the solution to this systemic problem, he is in the best position to lead the nation out of this rut.

If he truly meant what he said about guiding the people towards the tuwid na daan, then, Mr. President, the pork barrel system is blocking the way. Join the people in destroying this barrier.

***

#ScrapPork Network Unity Statement & sign-up form: http://scrapporknetwork.com/scrappork-network-unity-statement/

#ScrapPork Network’s 8 Concrete Calls to the Government and to the People
http://scrapporknetwork.com/8-concrete-calls-to-the-government-and-to-the-people/

http://scrapporknetwork.com/scrappork-network-responds-to-president-benigno-s-aquino-iiis-october-30-2013-address-to-the-nation/