Tag Archives: Cha-Cha

[From the web] Workers’ Coalition Slams House Urgent Call for Chacha | NAGKAISA

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#HumanRights #Workers

Workers’ Coalition Slams House Urgent Call for Chacha

The biggest labor coalition in the country slams the House leadership’s “hell-bent” effort to amend restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution amid the raging fight against CoVID 19 pandemic.

Instead of resuming plenary debates and deliberations on the proposed constitutional amendments in his Resolution of Both House No. 2 (RBH 2) when sessions resume this week, NAGKAISA holds that Speaker Lord Allan Velasco needs to prioritize the passage of the Bayanihan 3 and other measures to help displaced workers and to ease the burden of the CoVID 19 pandemic.

NAGKAISA said it before and will repeat it again that this is not the time for charter change. The money for the charter change campaign should be appropriated for “ayudang sapat para sa mga manggagawang nalaglag sa trabaho o kung may trabaho man ay di nakakapasok sa trabaho.”

First, on procedure, the alleged political “consensus” in the House has no counterpart support in the Senate. Under Article XVII of the Constitution, without the uppet chamber, such initiative is already dead on its track before moving an inch.

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[Video] Lakbay ng Taumbayan! -KALIPUNAN

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Alamin ang kuwento ng pagpupunyagi, pag-asa at paghamon ng mga manlalakbay mula Marawi at Baguio hanggang Manila, kung bakit kinakailangang isulong ang adyenda ng taumbayan, labanan ang Chacha at Pederalismo, at magkaisa ang mga batayang sektor tungo sa lipunang para sa lahat, hindi sa iilan.

Ito ang mga kwento ng #LakbayNatin

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[Event] Miting de Avance ng Taumbayan, May 10

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Makiisa sa Miting de Avance ng Taumbayan!

Tatlong araw bago ang national midterm elections, dinggin ang #AgendaNatin para sa isang malayang senado laban sa chacha at diktadura.

Kita-kits sa May 10 sa People Power Monument! Simula ng programa: 4:30 pm.

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Panalangin ng Taumbayan para sa Malayang Sanado
5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Miting de Avance ng Taumbayan

https://www.facebook.com/events/265792554212732/

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[From the web] Why we should not dance to Duterte and Arroyo’s Cha-Cha: Unpacking the neoliberal and authoritarian agenda behind federalism -Focus on the Global South

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Since his presidential campaign in 2016, Rodrigo Duterte has promised to change the country’s form of government to federalism. Now, more than two years after he was elected President, the following proposals that seek to revise the constitution have been filed in Congress: (1) Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 8; (2) PDP-Laban Federalism Institute’s (FI) draft constitution; (3) summarized proposals from the House committee on constitutional amendments; (4) Bayanihan Federalism drafted by the Consultative Committee; and (5) RBH 15, primarily authored by former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The most prominent among these is Arroyo’s draft, which has been swiftly advanced for approval by its supporters in the House of Representatives. In fact, plenary debates on said proposal lasted for only three session days, despite 67 percent of Filipinos not being in favor of Charter Change (Cha-Cha) and 69 percent having little to no knowledge of the proposed federal system of government.

There are several compelling reasons to block these orchestrated efforts to revise the constitution. Essentially, the Duterte administration’s push for Cha-Cha and federalism is a populist authoritarian project that seeks to further consolidate wealth and power in the hands of the elite while appearing to cater to the interests of neglected and underdeveloped regions. This becomes clear once we deconstruct the Cha-Cha/federalism campaign and examine its aspects:

• Interests: The political actors behind revising the constitution, most notably Duterte and Arroyo, have long had ambitions to further entrench the neoliberal agenda and consolidate power and wealth in the hands of the elite and ruling class.
• Content: Being reflective of these interests, the proposed amendments essentially push the state towards having a more liberalized and globally integrated economy on the one hand, and an authoritarian government on the other.
• Context: Viewed within the larger context of a fascist administration, Duterte and Arroyo’s Cha-Cha can be regarded as the final, decisive step towards the administration’s dictatorship project.
• Propaganda: Meanwhile, the campaign’s politically motivated proponents are able to conceal these self-serving interests by giving emphasis to the problem of “Imperial Manila”—the perceived concentration of power, wealth, and resources in the region—and presenting federalism as the solution to the country’s ills.

Therefore, in order to uncover the authoritarian and neoliberal agenda driving the push for federalism through Cha-Cha, it is necessary to first examine and refute the populist ideas and approaches used as a veneer for the campaign.

Click the link below to read more.

Why we should not dance to Duterte and Arroyo’s Cha-Cha: Unpacking the neoliberal and authoritarian agenda behind federalism

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[Press Release] Strengthen the Justice System at the local level -Lakbay ng Taumbayan

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MASBATE ISLAND — Marchers of Lakbay ng Taumbayan representing farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, labor, urban poor, women, youth, LGBTQ, and PWD gathered at Masbate City on May 1, 2019, to stress crisis in the justice system.

Lakbay ng Taumbayan marchers insist that when the mining industry is not well regulated by the government, corporations can easily trample on people’s lives and the environment.

Lakbay ng Taumbayan marchers say, in 2007, Filminera Resources Corporations (FRC) in Aroroy, Masbate began installing a pipeline for its plant’s wastewater treatment without the residents’ knowledge. Waste from the tank that was contaminated with cyanide overflowed and polluted the surrounding area. When the rain poured hard, the contaminated soil was washed into streams. It was reported that a number of goats roaming around the mining area died after consuming water from a stream nearby.

“Naaamoy ng mga residente ng Brgy. Panique yung cyanide sa hangin, habang yung mga teacher at estudyante sa school malapit sa dumpsite ng FRC ay natatakot na mabaon nang buhay kapag gumuho yung bundok ng basura. Ang dapat diyan ay panagutin ang FRC ng mismong local government kasama ng mga taong naapektuhan.”, said Anastacio “Ka Tacio” Vergil.

(Residents of Brgy. Panique could smell cyanide in the air, while teachers and students of a school near an FRC dumpsite fear that bury them alive if the mountain of waste erodes. What should be done is for the local government and the affected residents to hold FRC accountable)

The group said such violations should be punished by the local government. However, Masbate has a spate of political killings which makes the justice system ineffective not just for holding businesses accountable but even violence and corruption among political rivals.

During the time of a general election in 2010, 154 murder cases and 30 homicide cases occurred in the province. Masbate Governor Antonio Kho, known as Masbate’s “reigning political kingpin” employs violent means to silence political opponents. He was jailed in 1995 for allegedly giving the directive to murder Rep. Tito Espinosa. He is also implicated in other violent ordeals such as the death of Rep. Moises Espinosa Sr., Rep. Fausto Seachon Jr, and Gov. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete. Kho considers himself as the “liberator” of Masbate from the Espinosas who used to be the most powerful family in the province.

The marchers reiterate that the capacities of the justice system must be reinforced to provide deterrence to political killings, human rights violations, and exploitation of the people and environment by corporations and vested interests.

#LakbayNatin
Contact Gil 09266489903
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Lakbay ng Taumbayan is an 18-Day March-Caravan Campaign from Marawi to Manila (April 23-May 10) and Baguio to Manila (May 6-May 10) promoting the agenda of marginalized sectors–workers, farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, women, urban poor, youth, PWDs and LGBT–as an alternative to the administration’s agenda of federalism.

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[Press Release] Lakbay at Ilo-ilo: Prioritize people’s welfare in the development of urban and rural areas, block Cha-Cha -Lakbay ng Taumbayan

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ILOILO CITY — Lakbay ng Taumbayan marchers representing farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, labor, urban poor, women, youth, LGBTQ, and PWD gathered at Iloilo City on April 30, 2019, to highlight the issues on land conversion, food security and climate change in the region.

Aggressive Development and Land Conversion a Threat to Agrarian Reform, Food Security

The marchers representing the basic sectors discussed the current trend of rapid urbanization and development shaping Iloilo and its implications for the rights and wellbeing of the region’s workers and farmers. They note the considerable expansion of the BPO industry in the area, especially in Iloilo city which houses a steadily expanding urban workforce. They argue that the problems produced by urbanization and development, not Cha-Cha, should be the main focus of local government action and spending.

With the increasing degree of urbanization and subsequent population growth, the private-led development of the province has also led to the intensification of conflict over agrarian reform. One of the biggest cases in the region is the current dispute between the residents and communities of Sicogon island organized under the Federation of Sicogon Farmers and Fisherfolk Associations (FESIFFA), representing about 700 agrarian reform beneficiaries and residents and private sector developer Sicogon Development Corporation (SIDECO), which is engaged in a business partnership with Ayala Land Inc. for the commercialization of lands identified by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for redistribution.

For Ireneo “Ka Rene” Cerilla, lakbay marcher representing the country’s farmers, the forced land grabbing and conversion of agrarian lands is a huge injustice. He says that “the experience of FESIFFA reflects the centuries-old reality of opression, marginalization, neglect, and resistance that defines the lives of Filipino farmers”.

Aside from cases of blatant land grabbing by corporate interests, the people of Iloilo are also confronted by the problem of food security. The increasing conversion of agricultural land into commercial areas and subdivisions is drastically reducing the land and resources available for sustaining the needs of the population. Indeed, instances like the conversion of first-class irrigated rice lands by corporations such as the Villar-owned Camella Homes are hugely responsible for the current concerns on food security in the region.

Address Climate Change not Chacha

Compounding the issues raised above are the effects of climate change. Specifically, Iloilo is currently struggling from the effects of drought brought about by an intensified El Nino which has lead to widespread destruction to fishponds, crops, poultry, livestock, and other agricultural products, as well as threatening the local supply of potable water. Climate change thus presents a fundamental challenge to the sustainable future of the farmers, workers, and residents of Iloilo

For the Lakbay marchers, Iloilo’s experience of development and the danger of climate change is a clear indicator of the need to articulate an alternative understanding and practice of development, one that puts the needs and concerns of Iloilo’s basic sectors and communities at its heart, to prevent further damage and risks brought about by private and profit-led commercialization. For them, the campaign for federalism and Cha-Cha does nothing to address these concrete needs and problems of the region.

#LakbayNatin
Contact Gil 09266489903
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Lakbay ng Taumbayan is an 18-Day March-Caravan Campaign from Marawi to Manila (April 23-May 10) and Baguio to Manila (May 6-May 10) promoting the agenda of marginalized sectors–workers, farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, women, urban poor, youth, PWDs and LGBT–as an alternative to the administration’s agenda of federalism.

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[Press Release] Give land ownership to farmers who till it; no to Cha-Cha that threatens a 100% land ownership for foreign business entities -Lakbay ng Taumbayan Bacolod

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BACOLOD CITY — Lakbay ng Taumbayan marchers representing farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, labor, urban poor, women, youth, LGBTQ, and PWD gathered at Bacolod City on April 29, 2019 and highlighted issues on agrarian reform in the region.

Lakbay ng Taumbayan stresses that solving the country’s agricultural problems entails first and foremost allowing farmers to own the land they till. This would ensure stability and diversity in food production as well as secure livelihoods for the farmers. They call for a proper implementation of CARP instead of a Federal Charter which threatens to open arable land to 100% foreign ownership.

The group says land tenure program of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has terribly failed farmers as the agency has largely sided with landlords. Due to the concentration of power in the hands of landed elites in the region and their subsequent manipulation of land titles, huge backlogs and slow processing remain so that lands won’t be covered by CARP. There is also a huge lack in support services for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) such as modern technological advancement for farmland development. DAR data shows that 60% to 80% of land distributed to small family farmers under CARP are back in the hands of the landed elites.

“Nakompromiso ang kaunlaran ng agricultural sector ng udyok ng gobyerno at mga panginoong may-lupa para sa mataas na kita kaysa sa kapakanan ng mga tao. Dahil sa mahina na suporta mula sa gobyerno, naging bulnerable ang ating mga sakahan sa kompetisyon ng malalaking dayuhang korporasyon.” said Lakbay ng Taumbayan marcher, Reggie Galaritta.

(“Government and landlords’ impulse to yield high profit over people’s wellbeing compromised the development of the agricultural sector. Poor government support has made our farmlands vulnerable to big foreign business competitions.)

The group says hacienda work is largely seasonal so farm workers usually have to look for another job for 4 to 6 months until the next season. Insecurity of employment makes it difficult to accumulate savings to ensure a prosperous life for farming families. On top of that, majority of hacienda owners don’t abide by minimum wage laws.

Reggie Galaritta further stated, “Ang mga panginoong may-lupa na mismong may posisyon sa lokal na gobyerno ang nagdidikta na seasonal mono-cropping ang gamitin na nakakasira ng sustansya ng lupa. Dahil ang mga panginoong may lupa ang nag mamay-ari ng lupa, wala kaming [mga magsasaka] boses sa kung anong mangyayari sa sektor ng agrikultura na kami naman mismo ang bumubuhay. Dapit unahin ang mga isyu ng mga batayang sektor tulad nito imbis na Cha-Cha na magpapalala naman ng sitwasyon naming magsasaka.”

(“Landlords who themselves have positions in local government command seasonal mono-cropping that robs fertile land of nutrients. Because landed elites own the land, we farmers have no voice in what will happen to the agricultural sector which we work give life to. We need to prioritize basic sector issues such as these instead of pushing for Cha-Cha which will only worsen farmers’ situation.”)

#LakbayNatin
Contact Gil 09266489903

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Lakbay ng Taumbayan is an 18-Day March-Caravan Campaign from Marawi to Manila (April 23-May 10) and Baguio to Manila (May 6-May 10) promoting the agenda of marginalized sectors–workers, farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, women, urban poor, youth, PWDs and LGBT–as an alternative to the administration’s agenda of federalism.

Support #KarapatDapat na Agenda campaign! Click the video to know more.

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

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[Press Release] Youth group calls for environment policy change not charter change -Y4R

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Youth for Rights launches Green Mask Campaign
Calls for Environment Policy Change not Charter Change!

Photo by Y4R

A youth rights defenders group called on President Rodrigo Duterte to prioritize changes in environment policies rather than changing the constitution.

Youth for Rights (Y4R), a group of young human rights and environmental rights defenders added its voice to the growing number of groups resisting the charter change project of the Duterte administration. In a forum dubbed “A.S.K. for your right to environment” held in Quezon City in July 14, 2018, the youth group expressed their concern over the proposal of the Cha-cha proponents to amend the provisions on Foreign ownership of businesses to 100% in the guise of federalism and the promises of development.

“The agenda to change the constitution, together with development aggression, that favor businesses over people will surely bring about more danger to our environment, affecting the next generation,“ Youth for Rights said.

“Green bills like the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) are still pending enactment and mining operations continue to damage our natural resources and affect the lives of the people specially the indigenous peoples and rural communities. We demand the repeal of the mining act of 1995 and the enactment of AMMB and not CHA-CHA!” the group added.

The group also launched their education-action campaign dubbed as “Green Mask campaign” which aims to encourage millennials like them to A.S.K. for their right to environment. According to the group A.S.K. stands for A for Aral, S for Sama-sama and K for kilos para sa karapatan sa kalikasan.

“We the young people still maintain our potential as one of the drivers of change in society. We are the voice of the generation that will inherit the damages brought about by greed and disregard of the environment, the more reason for us to defend and assert our right to environment and urge the public for the urgent need to take action now,” Teod Cortez Bulan, Y4R Marikina said.

“The campaign is a series of education-information activities, networking with youth groups in schools and communities and creative actions,” Bulan added.

“We also get our inspiration from Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si” which says that we should listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

The youth group ended the forum with their version of the famous Bboom Bboom dance by Momoland, “this symbolizes our resistance with the government’s plan to change the Constitution. We are dancing Bboom Bboom with a green twist and not CHA-CHA,” the group concluded.

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Facebook: @y4rofficial

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[Statement] Reject Charter Change, Uphold Democracy, Defend Human Rights! -iDEFEND

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Reject Charter Change, Uphold Democracy, Defend Human Rights!

Crafted by a Congress that propped up the failed war on drugs, extended martial law in Mindanao, legislated TRAIN, reintroduced death penalty, lowered the age of criminal responsibility of children, pushed for the term extension of President Duterte and applauded his misogynist jokes, the new draft Constitution spells further political and economic crises for the Philippines.

On February 25th, the country commemorates the 32nd anniversary of the people power that ousted a dictator and ushered in the 1987 Constitution, under a threat of nationwide martial law, attacks on press freedom, the economic burden of surging prices of goods and the plummeting standards of living. The new federalized government being pushed by Congress’ Charter change does nothing to solve these crises. Federalism is farthest from the minds of ordinary Filipinos who grapple with everyday hardship from broken public transport systems, rising food prices, war in Mindanao, worsening unemployment and fears of being killed in the government’s war on drugs.

A Constitution expresses a people’s collective will to undertake the highest level of achievement for the nation; it usually follows a great historical event that defines the changing times in the country. The current charter change effort is being forced upon us by a body of landed elites from family dynasties who aim to institutionalize the rule of local dynasties and plunder the economy. Previous attempts to change the constitution have had the same Marcosian agenda of extending the terms of government officials and establishing a dictatorship.

We absolutely reject a Charter which erodes our people’s sovereign rights and our patrimony; we reject a Charter without a Bill of Rights and Social Justice; we reject a Charter that strengthens elite rule and foreign ownership of our land. We say no to Charter Change via dictatorship; no to federalized elite rule!

Defend the people’s sovereign and democratic rights! Oppose Duterte’s Authoritarian project!

Follow iDEFEND @
Website: iDEFEND.ph
Facebook: @iDEFENDofficial
Twitter: @idefendHR

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[Press Release] Foreign agenda is bad cha-cha – PM

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Foreign agenda is bad cha-cha – labor group

The House of Representatives (HOR) is on the verge of making the biggest historical mistake and disservice to the country today once its members vote for the removal of economic restrictions imposed upon foreign interests by the 1987 Constitution, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement.

pmLogo1

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. indicated lately that the HOR is going to pass his pet Resolution, the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH1), once absolute majority of the House membership are present in today’s session.

PM Chair Renato Magtubo stated that, “Although the mode that is being smuggled for approval today is an untested formula for charter change, the push for it appears to be so powerful it is able to marshal the big quorum and solid vote of both the smart and shabby politicians in Congress.”

Magtubo said powerful interest groups were behind the big push for economic cha-cha as disclosed by no less than the Speaker of the House himself.

Belmonte admitted last year that the biggest lobby groups behind the economic cha-cha were the foreign chambers of commerce led by the American Chamber of Commerce, Australian New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, European Chamber of Commerce, Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Korean Chamber of Commerce, and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc.

Magtubo said: “The primary mandate of Congress is to uphold the full protection of the country’s sovereignty, patrimony and social justice which exclusively pertain to our natural and human resources. Hence, a cha-cha with foreign agenda is a bad cha-cha.”

Full freedom for foreign capital

According to PM, Belmonte’s economic cha-cha carries the same old agenda of giving foreign capital full ownership freedom and flexibility in doing business in the country.

RBH 1 seeks to further ease restrictions on foreign capital by amending specific provisions of the Constitution particularly Articles XII (National Economy and Patrimony), XIV (Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports) and XVI (General Provisions), by inserting the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law.”

This phrase, Magtubo said, “is comparable to an aircraft carrier loaded with all sorts of lethal weapons and with our Congress people assigned the new role of launching these warheads to annihilate the constitutional barriers for the complete rule of foreign capital in the country.”
The former partylist representative explained further that while the current provisions restricting foreign ownership of land, corporations and public utilities will remain in the Constitution, Congress, under the RBH1 insertion, can anytime pass a law removing these.

100% ownership

PM said the country have had enough of free trade and investments with other countries and the global community since the Galleon trade – the free trade agreements with America, the IMF-WB/WTO regimes, and under the latest BOT and PPP programs, yet the country has remained in the state of underdevelopment.

The group believes that foreign capital wanted full control of their businesses in the country, including 100% ownership of land and corporations as they eye the country’s booming real estate business as well as the lucrative industries in power, water, infrastructure, telecommunications, transport, and even in education and healthcare.

The group said a good exhibit to this foreign drive for cha-cha is the case of PLDT where ownership of a big chunk of its shareholdings were found to be under the control of an entity which is neither a registered corporation nor a citizen of the Philippine Republic, violating in effect the 60-40 rule Constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership.

Reports indicate that these shares are actually owned by the Indonesia-based Salim group whose entry into the country was facilitated by PLDT Chair Manuel Pangilinan known in the industry as MVP.

“Perhaps MVP does not want a ‘foundling’ tag attached to PLDT’s alien shares,” added Magtubo. And the same is true for other businesses where foreign interests are concealed under the skirt of local dummies.

No guarantee to foreign investment

The claims that economic cha-cha would mean more foreign investments in the country remains highly speculative as there are major factors that hinder their entry into the country, according to PM.

“During the last decades, China, Vietnam and Thailand received the bigger chunks of FDIs than us despite their more restrictive policies on foreign ownership. Aliens cannot own land in China yet it gets the biggest FDI in Asia. In other words, there are other bigger factors such as corruption, poor infrastructure and high power rates that discourage the entry of FDIs into the country,” said Magtubo.

He added that in terms of employment, for 40 years jobs, in the most liberalized EPZAs, which now include the BPOs, hardly reach 4% of total employment. Meanwhile employment benefits in mostly foreign firms can never offset the social costs of destructive mining operations in the country.

“If these were the only gains we got from more than a century of dancing with foreign agenda, then perhaps the country, on the contrary, does not need more of them,” concluded Magtubo.

NEWS RELEASE
Partido Manggagawa
10 June 2015
Contact: Renato Magtubo
09178532905

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