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[Statement] Joint Letter to Senator Lindsey Graham from Clergy, Civil Society, and Advocacy Groups -HRW

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

Below is the letter Human Rights Watch and several other NGOs/CSOs sent to US Senator Lindsey Graham of the Senate Appropriations Committee urging the Senate to retain the restrictions on US military aid to the Philippines Army due to continuing human rights abuses and impunity in the Philippines.

Human Rights Watch

Joint Letter to Senator Lindsey Graham from Clergy, Civil Society, and Advocacy Groups

Senator Lindsey Graham
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
July 1, 2015

Re: Human rights concerns in the Philippines

Dear Senator Graham,

We, the undersigned members of civil society groups, advocacy organizations, and clergy, are writing in the context of the Senate’s current mark-up of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill to urge you to retain key provisions from past legislation restricting military funding to the Philippines.

As you know, every appropriations bill since 2008 has imposed a restriction on foreign military financing to the Philippines because of its military’s alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, commonly known in the Philippines as EJKs. The most recent restriction places limits on assistance to the Philippine Army while allowing assistance to the Navy. These limits can be lifted if the Secretary of State certifies that the Philippine government is achieving sufficient progress on addressing EJKs.

The Philippines restriction has been at least a partially effective incentive. In response to this conditionality, the administration of President Benigno Aquino III began taking the EJK issue more seriously and since 2013 has indicted and begun prosecuting a small number of suspected perpetrators, including a high-profile case involving retired Army general Jovito Palparan, who was accused in several enforced disappearances in 2006. Palparan was finally arrested last year.

However, the Philippines’ response so far has been insufficient. EJKs and other violent abuses implicating members of the security forces remain a serious problem. In the context of counterinsurgency operations against the communist New People’s Army (NPA), who themselves are responsible for serious abuses, members of the armed forces and paramilitary forces have been responsible for numerous unlawful attacks on activists, human rights defenders, priests and other church workers, and labor organizers. In recent years, environmental activists and tribal leaders have also been targets of assault.

Outside of the context of counterinsurgency, security force personnel have also been responsible for killings of politicians and political workers involved in local disputes and journalists reporting on corruption and other criminality.

The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks the Philippines as the third most dangerous place for journalists in the world after Syria and Iraq. While the perpetrators of these crimes and the motives are often unknown, in many instances there are credible allegations of government forces’ complicity. According to the International Federation of Journalists, 36 journalists have been killed since President Aquino took office in 2010—the latest a shooting just last week of CNN Philippines cameraman Jonathan Oldan. In many cases, journalists have been killed after receiving threats from people believed to be linked with the Philippine security forces or local government officials.

Recent killings demonstrate the problem is ongoing. On June 25, Ricky Basig, a survivor of Typhoon Pablo turned environmental activist, was fatally shot in his home on the southern island of Mindanao; Philippine military had in recent statements branded him an NPA member because of his advocacy work. Other cases in recent months include an incident in which military personnel were alleged to have killed four peasant leaders in the Davao Region, also in southern Mindanao. In late May, a land rights defender and his wife were shot and killed in Negros Oriental, in central Philippines, after threats by military forces stationed in the area. The military typically denies involvement in such attacks, even when there is strong evidence pointing to the involvement of military personnel.

The State Department’s most recent Human Rights Country Report on the Philippines highlighted this continuing human rights challenge, noting that the Philippines “most significant human rights problems continued to be extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances undertaken by security forces and suspected vigilante groups.” It cited the case of activist and human rights defender William Bugatti, who was shot and killed on March 25, 2014 in Ifugao province, allegedly by soldiers from the Philippine Army’s 86th Infantry Battalion, 5th Infantry Division.

Although the Philippine Department of Justice has taken action in some cases, the government’s overall record in investigating and prosecuting serious human rights violations by the security forces has been extremely disappointing. According to police records, since 2001 there have been only two convictions in extrajudicial killings, and no senior officials have been among those convicted, only gunmen. To our knowledge, the vast majority of alleged EJK cases are either uninvestigated or are supposedly still under investigation. Simply put, the Philippine government needs to do a lot more to satisfy the existing legislation’s requirements.

To lift the current restrictions now would be sending the wrong message to the Philippine government: that the US is unconcerned by serious continuing rights abuses by the Philippine Army and that the Army should no longer be treated as the abusive force that it continues to be.

Lifting the restrictions is also strategically unnecessary: the current, well-tailored restriction focuses entirely on the Philippine Army, while the bulk of assistance requested by the Pentagon would be directed at the Philippine Navy.

We urge you to leave the conditions in place in the appropriations bill to serve as a continuing incentive for the Aquino administration to address this serious human rights issue.

Sincerely,

Scott Wright
Director
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Missionary Society of St. Columban (Catholic Church)

Terrence Valen
President
National Alliance for Filipino Concerns

John Sifton
Advocacy Director for Asia
Human Rights Watch

Rev. Fr. Primitivo C. Raimondo
St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church
Chicago, IL

Richard and Eunice Poethig, Fraternal Workers
United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Presbyterian Church USA
Chicago, IL

Bishop Eliezer M. Pascua
Philippine American Ecumenical Church, UCC
Chicago, IL

Yves Nibungco
National Chairperson
Anakbayan USA: Filipino Youth & Students for National Democracy in the Philippines

Jackelyn Mariano
New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines
New York, NY

Helene Lustan
Philippine U.S. Solidarity Organization
Seattle, WA

Milegua F. Layese, Coordinator
Philippine Study Group of Minnesota
St. Paul, MN

Mark W. Harrison
Director, Peace with Justice Program
United Methodist General Board of Church and Society

Judy Gearhart
Executive Director
International Labor Rights Forum

Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast
National Ecumenical Forum for Filipino Concerns
Benicia, CA

Haniel R. Garibay
National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists
Washington, DC

Bernadette Ellorin
Bayan USA
New York, NY

Paul R. Bloom, PhD
Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines
St. Paul, MN

Nerissa N. Allegretti
National Alliance for Filipino Concerns – Midwest
Chicago, Il

Katrina Abarcar Katarungan
Center for Peace, Justice and Human Rights in the Philippines Washington, DC

[Statement] Justice and Peace to the “Fallen 44” and to the Victims of an Unjust War in Mindanao -BMP

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

Justice and Peace to the “Fallen 44” and to the Victims of an Unjust War in Mindanao

The militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) joins the Filipino people in their seething cry for justice and peace to the “fallen 44” of the police special action force, as well as to the unnamed Moro civilians and rebels who were also killed in the Mamapasano tragedy.

We likewise convey our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones of our dearly-departed brave servicemen. May your gallant sons rest in peace, knowing that millions of Filipinos will never forget their self-sacrifice.

Justice to the Fallen 44! Not the kind of vengeful justice that seeks an eye for an eye, pursued by warmongers like Erap Estrada, Raffy Alunan, Allan Cayetano, Bongbong Marcos and Teddy Boy Locsin. These publicity-hungry politicians are now eager to beat the war-drums. Yet, if an all-out offensive is declared, they would never trade their pampered comforts for the unfathomable hardships in the frontlines of war.

We seek a justice that is rooted in solidarity with “wage-workers in police and soldiers uniform”. Like us, they are toilers. They are at the bottom of a chain of command like workers and the propertyless masses at the base of an unjust social pyramid.

Like workers, who are first to sacrifice during economic crises but are last to benefit from growth and prosperity, waged soldiers and police are always the first to sacrifice during armed conflicts but would be the last to benefit from a peace that they have paid for in blood.

Thus, we join the Filipino people in their demand for a thorough investigation of the Mamasapano mis-encounter in Maguindanao.

The BMP, however, calls on the public to consider the following points:

1. The immediate cause of the slaughter of the PNP-SAF servicemen was the apparent lack of coordination between their team and the Western Mindanao Command of the AFP, the Maguindanao PNP, local government units and the reckless disregard of carefully-laid down procedures agreed to by both MILF and the Philippine government;

2. The lack of coordination, that caused the bungled operation, was induced by the overzealousness to cash in from the $6 million bounty for the capture of terrorists Zulkifli Abdhir alias “Marwan” and Basit Usman, who are the global terror watchlist of the US State Department;

3. Officials – both civilian and military – were more intent on capturing the bragging rights for the arrest of Marwan and Basit in order to appease imperialist America, rather than ensuring the success of the PNP-SAF mission; and,

4. Lastly, and more importantly, the root cause of the problem is not with the Bangsamoro people but with the elite-dominated Philippine state. It is an elitist government that perennially tramples upon the right to self-determination of the Moro people. The Philippine government has a history of subservience to external powers – not just to the American government but to an entire legion of transnational monopoly corporations. Hence, not only does not it respect the heroic and historic sacrifice of the Bangsamoro to keep it free from colonizers, it also sought to subjugate the Bangsamoro and other indigenous tribes to the control of foreign powers.

More so, it is callous and insensitive regime, headed by an absentee landlord who would rather grace the opening of a multinational car factory in Laguna than honor his dead soldiers with his commanding presence at the Villamor Airbase. Once more, Noynoy paraded a conduct unbecoming of a president of the republic and of a commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Also, we extend our solidarity to the PNP and AFP, especially to its rank-and-file, who share a common plight with us as members of the working class, as proletarian wage slaves.

You deserve a better commander-in-chief. One that has the guts to own up to his errors, especially if it caused the untimely and avoidable death of his subordinates. One that honors the supreme sacrifice of his men by highlighting their lives rather his own (or his parents in yesterday’s necrological services) and by making sure that they are not sent to fight and die for unjust wars for colonization.

We deserve a better government. One that is truly run by the people, of the people and for the people. Unlike this non-performing elitist state that continues to wallow in the showbiz politics of grandstanding, and the economics of wholesale plunder by local and foreign capital.

Finally, for us to truly give justice to the “Fallen 44” and the nameless Moros who were also killed in the Mamasapano mis-encounter, we must address the root and immediate causes of their untimely demise.

Wage workers – both unarmed civilians in the public and private sectors, and armed public servants of the military and police – must unite and fight for social change – not just regime change. The oppressed proletarians in both the Philippines and “Muslim Mindanao” must unite against our real enemies: the ruling landed or capitalist classes — foreign, Filipino, and Moro — who profit from our collective toil and seek to sabotage our unity as a class.

We must work tirelessly for peace based on justice to reign in Mindanao. Put an end to exploitation based on creed, color, sexual preference and social status. Forge the unity of Filipinos and the Bangsamoro towards just and peaceful communities; where those who work truly enjoy the fruits of their labor; where human sources of life, both nature and labor, have the primacy over corporate profit; where the interests of the toiling majority rule over the privileged minority; and where everyone is able to develop their full humanity, their full potential as human beings. #

January 31, 2015
Contact person: BMP President Leody de Guzman @ 09205200672

http://www.workerspartyphilippines.com/2015/01/on-fallen-pnp-saf-44.html

Statement

[Statement] Climate justice group slams PH support for unjust climate deal -PMCJ

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Climate justice group slams PH support for unjust climate deal

The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), a broad coalition of 109 grassroots networks and organizations, denounced developed-country governments for pushing for an unjust climate change deal at the UN climate change negotiations in Lima, Peru while at the same time slamming the Philippine government’s for supporting this deal.

Breaking ranks from the majority of other developing countries and with many climate justice organizations, and choosing to line up instead with the US, EU, other rich countries, and a small number of developing countries, representatives of the Philippine government threw its considerable moral weight behind a draft “decision text” that sells Filipinos—and others most affected by climate change—down the river.

This is an unacceptable deal for the following reasons:

NO INCREASED AMBITION: It does not even compel developed-country governments to increase their pre-2020 emissions reduction targets

NO ‘LOSS & DAMAGE’: It does not even bind those responsible for climate change to commit to providing resources to those who suffer from climate change

NO FINANCE, ADAPTATION, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: It does not even oblige those responsible for climate change to commit to provide finance and technology to those less responsible

NO GUARANTEE FOR ENSURING ADEQUACY: There is no mechanism for ensuring that those most responsible for climate change can be compelled to increase their pledged targets if they fall short of what is required by science and equity

All this will result in a deal that condemns millions of Filipinos and other peoples worldwide to a future of even more catastrophic super-typhoons—a deal that condemns them to carry even more of the burden of addressing the crisis.

The Philippine government representatives argue that they can still fight for a more balanced decision and for the inclusion of “loss and damages” as negotiations resume on the “elements” of the 2015 agreement next year.

This is a weak defense because they, more than anyone, should know that if the Philippines makes these concessions now they make it even more difficult to justify asking for them again in the future.

The Philippine representatives claim that they have undertaken a “pivot” by championing “human rights” in the negotiations. But the deal they embraced actually violates a basic right of millions of Filipinos and other vulnerable peoples: the right to survive.

MEDIA STATEMENT 13 December 2014

Statement

[Petition] A Call to Restore the Budget Needed in 2015 for the Proper Implementation of Overseas Voting in the 2016 Elections Petisyon -change.org

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Pinepetisyon si Budget Sec. Florencio Abad
A Call to Restore the Budget Needed in 2015 for the Proper Implementation of Overseas Voting in the 2016 Elections
Petition by Overseas Filipinos

Overseas Filipinos, many of them working under harsh conditions, are called mga Bagong Bayani (New Heroes) by the Philippine government. They not only support entire clans. They also prop up the national economy, sending more than $25 billion in remittances in 2013 and nearly $13 billion in the first half of 2014.

While the Philippine 1987 Constitution enshrined Overseas Filipinos’ right to vote, it took us 16 years to get Congress to pass the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003. Since then, a million of us have registered to vote.

Some 10.5 million Filipinos are overseas. The monumental project for massive political enfranchisement has just started. Now, this noble cause is in peril with the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) decision to slash P89.6 million required to properly implement the Overseas Voting Act from the 2015 national budget.

The decision jeopardizes our opportunity to vote in the 2016 presidential election. How callous can a government get to not want to spend P89.6 million pesos (a measly fraction of the proposed P2.6 trillion national budget) to fund the proper implementation of overseas voting? We are appealing to you, our relatives and friends, to help us push Congress and the Executive Department to return the P89.6 million overseas voting budget. You can do so by signing this petition and sharing it with relatives and friends.

We overseas Filipinos are familiar with government condescension. While Bagong Bayani is routinely inserted in political speeches and bannered at the airport, state negligence often renders this meaningless. We risk life and limb to find work in every conceivable corner of the globe. In many cases, far from the protective reach of underfunded consulates, we’re left to face alone the ugly consequences of our bold decision. Employer abuse and exploitation is common knowledge; sometimes, abuse and exploitation is perpetrated by our own bureaucrats. The unlucky ones return home in body bags, others return with the ugly scars of cruelty, and some with debilitating ailments—many are thrown back into the same vicious cycle of poverty they tried to escape.

If the government is incapable of appreciating our personal sacrifices as a context for its budgetary priorities, perhaps it should be reminded of our economic contributions. We contribute $144 billion or P6.336 trillion every presidential election cycle, way more if we factor in projected remittance growth and revenues sent outside of monitored bank channels.

We strongly demand that the DBM restore the P89.6-million budget needed in 2015 for the proper implementation of overseas voting. This is our basic right. This is the least the government owes us. Please help our cause by signing this petition.

Sign petition @www.change.org

Petition

[Press Release] CSOs urge PH government to push for HR binding treaty in Geneva -ATM

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

CSOs urge PH government to push for HR binding treaty in Geneva

Activists staged a protest in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office on June 24 to urge the Philippine government to support the push for a binding treaty on human rights and transnational corporations.

In solidarity with the Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity mobilization in Geneva, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) and Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) with many other civil society organizations suited up and posed as corporate executives to mockingly represent the transnational corporations (TNCs).

According to Jaybee Garganera, ATM national coordinator, the mobilization “signifies the CSOs demands for the Philippine government to support the binding treaty that will establish a mechanism to hold corporations accountable for their impunities.”

The proposed binding treaty aims to construct an international instrument that can enforce the implementation of corporate human rights and corporate accountability of TNCs.

Photo by Focus on the Global South

“Our government needs to prioritize the protection of human rights against corporate impunity as the situation is getting worse here in our country.” Said Garganera.

He added, “A case to transcend the global problem in our national setting is the human rights (HR) abuses of Glencore/Xstrata against the indigenous people (IP) of Bla’an in Tampakan.

“Had there been a legally binding treaty holding transnational corporations accountable for their actions, anti-mining advocates like Juvy Capion, his two sons, and other Bla’an leaders and members would not have lost their lives.” stressed Garganera.

Currently, Fr. Joy Pelino and Rene Pamplona from Social Action Center of the Diocese of Marbel (SAC MARBEL) are in Geneva to represent the Philippines in the UNHRC council meeting and in the global action against corporate impunity and to expose the HR abuses of Glencore in Tampakan.

Photo by Focus on the Global South-ATM

In a statement, Fr. Pelino said that Glencore “has desecrated people’s freedom, dignity and identity.” And thus “should be stopped” with their “monstrosity.”

Pelino also urged “the people of goodwill to stand with those who are already marginalized and further excluded by the TNCs.”

Presently, Glencore is on trial for allegedly committing human rights abuses to four (4) – Peru, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia – other countries aside from the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the Philippine mission in Geneva attending to the UNHRC meeting keeps mum on the stand of the Philippine government on the alleged abuses by Glencore in Tampakan and the binding treaty being deliberated.

In a closing statement, Garganera called on the Philippine government especially on the DFA to “make the voices of the marginalized be heard.” He also urged the gov’t to “protect its people from corporate abuses by speaking up and giving a clear stand against corporate impunity.”

For more information:

Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0917) 549.82.18 <nc@alyansatigilmina.net>

Check Zabala, ATM Media and Communications Officer, (0927) 623.50.66 <checkzab@gmail.com>

Press Release

[Statement] On the US-PH deals and the closure of the USTR GSP review of the PH -CTUHR

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

On the US-PH deals and the closure of the USTR GSP review of the PH

What is at stake for Filipino workers in the recent deals between the Philippines and the United States that purportedly aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation in addressing development and security issues?

The signing of a new defense agreement (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement-EDCA) alongside economic deals (including the move to change the Philippine constitution) between the two countries prior to US President Barrack Obama’s visit to the Philippines in April this year, seems to have an immediate negative impact on Filipino workers’ bid to keep the government responsible for past and continuing violations of trade union rights.

The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) recently reported to its Philippine partners that the US Trade Representative is closing its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) review of the Philippines this year because the Philippine Government has been taking steps in improving workers’ rights situation by instituting mechanisms such as the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) to address cases brought forth to the ILO in 2009 and making amendments to the Assumption of Jurisdiction law.

The GSP is a set of a set of trade and economic benefits provided to US trading partners for mutual gains. Trade benefits include allowing certain products for export or removing quotas for products exported to the US. A country may be under review and thereby risks losing its trading privileges when it does not meet certain standards in terms of product quality, protection of intellectual property, and compliance to internationally-recognized workers rights.

The Philippines has been under GSP review since 2007 when successive violations of trade union rights especially extrajudicial killings gained international attention as a result of continuous campaign done by trade unions and NGOs both local and international. Notably, the review process created strong pressure to the Philippine government to accept the ILO High Level Mission in 2009.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights is deeply concerned over this imminent closure of the GSP review process for the Philippines which the USTR is bound to announce in the coming weeks.

We deem that closing the review process is a setback on the workers’ longstanding struggle to bring to justice perpetrators of previous and prevailing trade union and workers rights violations. We resent the implicit recognition that the Philippine Government is on the right path affording workers internationally-accepted rights. On the contrary, we contend that:

• Steps taken by the Philippine Government to address past cases of human rights and trade union rights violations can only be taken at face-value yielding no concrete positive results. The NTIPC Monitoring Body which the government revived since 2010 to investigate the extra-judicial killings committed against trade unionists during the Arroyo presidency merely cut down the list of cases forwarded to the ILO during the ILO-HLM but have not resulted to strengthen any single case to bring justice to the victims of trade union and human rights violations let alone hold any single perpetrator accountable.

• Violations of trade union rights under the current Aquino government continue. In 2013 alone, two trade unionists were killed, more than a thousand unionists experienced union busting and union harassment while criminalization of workers, whether unionized or not, is growing mode of attack to quell labor’s dissent or grievance redress.

• Reforms aimed at strengthening tripartite councils benefit largely the “industry” and employers but barely worked to increase protection of workers’ rights.

• Unless the repealed, the Assumption of Jurisdiction law—despite being amended—still run contrary to ILO conventions and will continue to legally curtail workers right to strike.

Meanwhile, the new defense and economic agreements signed in April lopsidedly favors the US, designed primarily to serve US pivot to Asia policy. EDCA undermines Philippine sovereignty turning the entire country into a US military base. With strong lobbying from the American Chamber of Commerce, the Congress is fast tracking charter change to allow 100 percent foreign ownership of land and property as a necessary requisite for the Philippines to be part of the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement led no less than by US’ top corporations.

Given US’s larger interest in securing military presence and economic dominance in the Asia Pacific region, we are wont to believe that lifting the GSP review on the Philippines is a quid pro quo, albeit too small in comparison to what the US government is about to gain, but nevertheless the Aquino Government is still very pleased to accept.

Definitely, the impact of abovementioned agreements on workers and Filipino people is far more strategic and devastating on people’s livelihood and rights far. The closure of the USTR review as an instant result of compromises is foreboding of worse things to come.

We reiterate that the Aquino government in its four years in office has done nothing to improve workers condition. The ITUC report citing the Philippines as among the worst countries in the world for workers rights strengthens this. We strongly believe that the Philippines should remain under review as violations of workers’ rights remain rampant under the Aquino administration.

STATEMENT
19 June 2014
For reference: Daisy Arago, CTUHR Executive Director, +632.411.0256

Statement

[Statement] STOP the PRIVATIZATION of the Philippine Orthopedic Center. -Bp. Gerardo A. Alminaza, D.D

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

We support and join the call to STOP the PRIVATIZATION of the Philippine Orthopedic Center.

In the Philippines,around 70% of the population, or some 66 million Filipinos, are living off less than P104 per person per day. The majority are so poor that they cannot afford adequate medical attention. It is, therefore, a CRIME OF NEGLECT for the government to privatize this government hospital. The Philippine government would be reneging on its constitutional obligation to take care of the basic needs of the people, one of which is adequate medical care.

Church doctrines identify the following as basic human needs: peace, housing, food, religious freedom, work, education, and health care. The responsibility for attaining the common good, besides falling to individual persons, belongs also to the State, since the common good is the reason that the political authority exists (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1910).

We therefore say, “Instead of privatizing government hospitals,BUILD MORE GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS, especially in the rural areas! Moreover, strengthen the program to mobilize young doctors, nurses and other caregivers to the rural areas before they go abroad.”

It is the poor workers, farmers, and fisherfolk who provide the BASIC NEEDS of Philippine society (FOOD and SERVICES). If they are healthy, the Philippines will be healthy.

As Christ lives,

+ GERARDO A. ALMINAZA, D.D.
Bishop, Diocese of San Carlos
Head Convenor, Visayas Clergy Discernment Group
Head Convenor, Church People and Workers Solidarity

STATEMENT AGAINST THE PRIVATIZATION
OF THE PHILIPPINE ORTHOPEDIC CENTER (POC)
May 14, 2014

Statement

[Press Release] IP leaders lobby for full inclusion of rights in the Bangsamoro Basic Law

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

IP leaders lobby for full inclusion of rights in the Bangsamoro Basic Law

Manila – On May 19 to 21, non-Moro Indigenous Peoples in the Bangsamoro will intensify their plea for the recognition of their own rights in the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) – currently being written and reviewed by the Office of the President – through visits and discussions with various organizations and government institutions in Manila.

The 6-person IP lobby delegation, led by Timuay Alim Bandara, a Teduray leader and Head Claimant of the Ancestral Domain claims of the Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo in the ARMM, and other IP women and men leaders from Erumanen ne Menuvu and Obo Monovu tribes aim to call on the Philippine government to include in the due diligence and eventual passage, a BBL that fully recognizes their distinct identity as non-Moro Indigenous Peoples and their fundamental rights to govern their fusaka inged or ancestral territory.

“We support — as we have from the beginning — the peace process and the agreement reached between the Philippine government and our brothers MILF. We congratulate them on this historic achievement,” said traditional leader timuay Alim Bandara, who is also council member of the Indigenous Political Structure registered as Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG).

“However, as a community with our own customary practices and beliefs, culture, history, and identity and territory, my people, the Teduray, are appealing to the Philippine Government to take notice and to help us in our struggle to survive and live with dignity,” Bandara added.

Another timuay from the Teduray community, a member of the TJG, and former commissioner of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Santos Unsad also said: “Let not our distinct identity as a people be ignored and erased from our history. Instead, let us continue to walk this road to justice and peace carrying our rights, our lands, our identities.”

Among the issues to be raised in the visit are the IP’s right to identity, ancestral domains, self-determination and self-governance, and respect and protection of their other existing rights – issues that have been raised by the IP groups in the different peace talks, but, which have not been certainly reflected in the documents that came out of the negotiations process between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The IP lobby mission is convened by the Timuay Justice Governance (TJG) and the Gempa te Kelindaan ne Kamal, the indigenous political structures (IPS) of the Teduray, Lambangian and Erumanen ne Menuvu tribes, respectively. With the support of the IP SYNERGY IN THE BANGSAMORO – a coming together of various Civil Society Organizations (CSO) – the lobby mission will kick off with ‘Kapihan sa Aristocrat’ in Malate on May 19 at 9:00 am. Among the confirmed attendees in the Kapihan are Senator Grace Poe, Professor Harry Roque, representatives from CENPEG and Cong. Nancy Catamco. Kapihan will be followed by a media briefing on May 20, the time and venue of the event to be announced.

###

For more information please contact:

Alim M. Bandara -Timuay Justice and Governance, 0926.986.8488 and 0930.808.1422, timuaygovernance@yahoo.com
Grace Villanueva – Executive Director, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), 0918.943.6119, grace.villanueva@lrcksk.org
Mabelle Carumba – Minadanao Peoples’ Peace Movement – 0999.872.1405, al_carumba@yahoo.com
Lyndie Prieto – Initiatives for International Dialogue, 0917.724.7579, lyndeeprieto@yahoo.com

Press Release
May 16, 2014

Press Release

[Statement] Adopt a human rights-based rehabilitation plan for ‘Yolanda’ victims -NFC

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines One comment

Adopt a human rights-based rehabilitation plan for ‘Yolanda’ victims

We urge the Philippine Government to place the people’s basic human rights up front and center in its rehabilitation plan for those affected by the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda (also known by its international name, ‘Haiyan’). Included in these basic rights is the right to adequate food. Indeed, Super Typhoon Yolanda has interrupted the people’s enjoyment of this basic human right, taking its toll especially on the most vulnerable in our midst.

Any rehabilitation plan must adopt a human rights-based approach, and should ensure the right to adequate food. This is the right of the people to have regular, permanent and unrestricted access, either directly or through purchases, to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate and sufficient food. Such food should correspond to their cultural traditions, and ensure a physical and mental, individual and collective, fulfilling and dignified life that is free of fear.

In this regard, Aurea Miclat-Teves, convenor of the National Food Coalition, suggests that the Philippine Government explore, as possible elements of a rehabilitation plan, the following:
1)sustainable agriculture, which is farming that observes sound ecological principles;
2) resilient cropping, which is farming that anticipates and prepares for adversity, such as extreme weather events, fuel cost spikes, and restricted access to irrigation; and
3) organic farming, which employs crop rotation, green manure, compost,and biological pest control.

These practices are consistent with disaster risk reduction that aims to protect people’s livelihoods from shocks, and to strengthen their capacity to recover from disasters, such as super typhoons. These practices are also in keeping with a human rights-based approach to climate change. As we have stated before, it is essential to align climate policies with the right to adequate food. Climate change-induced super typhoons and other similar events compromise food production and interfere with the right to adequate food.

By way of emphasis, clear and comprehensive polices that promote the right to adequate food are urgently needed. In this regard, we reiterate our call for the immediate adoption by the Philippines of a right to adequate food framework law.

PRESS STATEMENT
13 December 2013

Statement

[Press Release] End Hunger in the Philippines, adopt a Right to Adequate Food Framework Law -FIAN

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

End Hunger in the Philippines, adopt a Right to Adequate Food Framework Law

Quezon City -Super Typhoon Yolanda (also known by its international name as ‘Haiyan’) has caused unprecedented devastation in the Philippines.

“It is therefore necessary for the Philippine Government to consider climate change from a human rights-based perspective, and, in the process, to align its climate policies, with the right to adequate food. Climate change-induced super typhoons and other similar events, compromise food production and supply, and interfere with the enjoyment of the right to adequate food”, the National Food Coalition said in a statement.

The NFC, a group calling for the adoption of a right to adequate food framework law in the Philippines, has also expressed solidarity with the victims of the typhoon. “We express our deepest sympathies for those who have lost relatives and friends. We likewise express our heartfelt gratitude to the local and global community, which have provided humanitarian aid, accompanied by words of encouragement in our time of need. This has given us much reason to hope. Everyday, with the ongoing search and rescue operations, as we sift through the debris, and the death toll mounts, we realize more and more the extent to which we are subject to Mother Nature’s power, and being at the mercy of her fury.”

The NFC is composed of over 50 organizations and federations with more than 10,000 members from the urban poor, peasants, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk and the middle class. The NFC has highlighted the main drivers of hunger in the country like poverty, inequality and the resulting failure of the poor to access available resources.

“We appreciate the Philippine Government’s ongoing disaster and relief efforts. Certainly, fulfilling the right to adequate food of those affected is central to these efforts. Super Typhoon Yolanda has interrupted the people’s enjoyment of this basic human right, taking its toll especially on the most vulnerable in our midst,” the NFC statement.

But the group also stressed that “the time for the Philippine Government to act could have been sooner. For the Philippine Government, disaster risk reduction is essential. It includes protecting people’s livelihoods from shocks, and strengthening their capacity to recover from disasters, such as super typhoons.”

“Concrete and meaningful steps must be taken early on to prevent a crisis from happening, or at least, to mitigate its effects, to save precious life. There is an urgent need for the Philippine Government, in embarking on disaster risk reduction, and in considering climate change from a human rights-based perspective, to ensure the right to adequate food. This is the right of the people to have regular, permanent and unrestricted access, either directly or through purchases, to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate and sufficient food, which corresponds to their cultural traditions, and which ensures a physically and mentally, individually and collectively, fulfilling and dignified life that
is free of fear” said Aurea Miclat-Teves NFC Convenor.

“Clear and comprehensive polices that promote the right to adequate food are urgently needed. In this context, we reiterate our call for the immediate adoption in the Philippines of a right to adequate food framework law”, the NFC statement added.

Press Release

[Press Release] Protect Civilians in Southern Fighting; Some 70,000 Displaced; Residents Trapped in Zamboanga Standoff -HRW

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Philippines: Protect Civilians in Southern Fighting
Some 70,000 Displaced; Residents Trapped in Zamboanga Standoff

(Manila, September 16, 2013) – The Philippine government should take all necessary measures to reduce the risk to civilians while conducting military operations against Muslim rebels in the southern city of Zamboanga, Human Rights Watch said today. The fighting began on September 9, 2013, when several hundred fighters of the Moro National Liberation Front moved into five coastal villages of Zamboanga City and allegedly took dozens of residents as hostages.

An undetermined number of civilians remain trapped in at least five coastal villages as a result of an armed standoff between rebel forces and the Philippine military and police. Several residents who escaped the villages told Human Rights Watch that many civilians left in the villages could not leave for fear of getting caught in the crossfire or are being prevented from leaving by Philippine security forces because they lack identification documents and thus are suspected of being rebels.

“Both sides to the fighting need to be doing more to protect civilians from harm,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Government forces should not be making blanket assumptions about whether individuals are rebels based on whether they have proper documents or not. Officials can check those leaving the conflict zone, but they need to ensure that civilians have safe passage and are not put at unnecessary risk.”

Residents who had escaped their coastal villages told Human Rights Watch they feared that civilians left behind would be accused of being rebels and could be subject to government attack or mistreatment in custody. Aside from demanding documentation, it is unclear how the authorities are distinguishing civilians from rebel fighters as required by international law. Police sources told Human Rights Watch that more than half of the individuals arrested since September 9 have subsequently been released.

In the village of Rio Hondo, dozens of civilians, perhaps as many as 300, are trapped in an ice plant building, having abandoned their homes for the safety of the concrete structure, one resident told Human Rights Watch. Several residents told Human Rights Watch that many of them decided to stay in the villages to safeguard their homes and belongings. Others could not leave because they did not have the money to pay operators of outrigger boats, which became the only safe way to escape the coastal villages caught up in the fighting.

The government responded to the rebel occupation of the coastal villages on September 9 by sending in thousands of troops, blocking off the villages, “constricting” the area, and, by September 14, “clearing” some villages of rebel elements, officials said. Between 70,000 and 84,000 residents – or about 10 percent of Zamboanga City’s population of around 810,000 – have been displaced by the fighting, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local nongovernmental organizations.

The fighting has resulted in numerous fires, including one that burned down dozens of homes. As of September 14, officials said as many as 500 homes in Zamboanga City were razed. Authorities alleged that rebels started the fires, with rebel snipers targeting the fire trucks that responded to the blazes. Human Rights Watch could not confirm these allegations.

Philippines military forces may also have violated the laws of war by turning the largest hospital in Zamboanga City, the Zamboanga City Medical Center, into a veritable garrison, Human Rights Watch said. After the hospital staff evacuated all the patients on the first day of the crisis, the military promptly moved its forces into the hospital, parking their trucks inside the hospital compound and even sending snipers to two spots on the rooftop to fire on rebels a few hundred meters way.

There have been reports that the fighting has spread to nearby Basilan island, where officials said the Moro National Liberation Front rebels have forged an alliance with the armed Abu Sayyaf militant group to stage attacks to ease the pressure on the rebels in Zamboanga. Local human rights monitors on Basilan Island have reported that the Philippine army has fired 105mm artillery shells that have struck near populated areas. Heavy artillery that has a large blast effect should not be used against enemy forces near civilian areas because of its indiscriminate effect, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch expressed concern that all sides to the fighting abide by international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, particularly with respect to ensuring the protection of the civilian population.

The intensity of the fighting between Moro National Liberation Front forces and Philippine government security forces in Zamboanga City has risen to that of an armed conflict and the laws of war are applicable. Under the laws of war, all sides are prohibited from deliberately attacking civilians, conducting attacks that do not discriminate between civilians and combatants, or could be expected to cause disproportionate civilian harm.

Forces must take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and to avoid deploying in densely populated areas. Civilians must be allowed to safely leave combat areas. It is unlawful to take hostages or use individuals as “human shields” by deliberately using them to prevent enemy attacks. Civilian structures, including hospitals, are protected from attack, unless they are being used for military purposes. Medical personnel, transport, and facilities have special protections.

Parties to an armed conflict must treat everyone in their custody humanely. The government must promptly bring anyone apprehended before a court and either charge or release them.

“Civilians who fled their homes without proper documents are still civilians and must be treated that way,” Adams said. “Even though this is a very complicated situation, the military and the police cannot take shortcuts by jeopardizing the rights of the civilian population.”

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

Press Release

[Event] Caravan set to call on GPH-NDFP peace talks resumption

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

Caravan set to call on GPH-NDFP peace talks resumption

An alliance of major peace networks – PHILIPPINE ECUMENICAL PEACE PLATFORM, WAGING PEACE PHILIPPINES, PILGRIMS FOR PEACE and SULONG CARHRIHL – who collectively call themselves as CITIZENS ALLIANCE FOR JUST PEACE, will be holding a Peace Gathering and a Caravan from Quezon Memorial Circle to Plaza Miranda on Monday, September 2 to kick-off the Peace Month celebration. The gathering is also a part of the commemoration of the Hague Joint Declaration, an agreement signed by the Government of the Philippines (GPH formerly known as GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in September 1, 1992 which lays the framework of peace negations.

“This initiative is a part of our effort to gain the much needed support for the GPH-NDFP Peace Process. We believe that peace talks should immediately resume, thus we call on the GPH and NDFP to go back to the negotiation table.” Said Joeven Reyes, Executive Director of Sulong CARHRIHL.
The caravan will start at Quezon City Memorial Circle at 8:00AM and will head to Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila. Few stops will be made along the caravan’s route, one in Sto. Domingo Church grounds and another in University of Sto. Tomas where short programs shall be conducted.

For details:
Kaye Limpiado(Sulong CARHRIHL)
09175152184/434 0289/sulongnet@yahoo.com
Agong Capus(Pilgrims for Peace)
09198312010/pilgrims.peace.phils@yahoo.com

*Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) is a member of Sulong CARHRIHL.
———————
Activity: CARAVAN TO CALL FOR GRP-NDF PEACE TALKS RESUMPTION
Date: September 2, 2013, Monday, 8:0 0AM at Quezon Memorial Circle
Details:

CITIZENS’ ALLIANCE FOR JUST PEACE, a broad alliance of major peace networks – PHILIPPINE ECUMENICAL PEACE PLATFORM, WAGING PEACE PHILIPPINES, PILGRIMS FOR PEACE and SULONG CARHRIHL will be holding a Peace Gathering and a Caravan from Quezon Memorial Circle to Plaza Miranda
This is a kick-off event for the Peace Month celebration and the commemoration of the Hague Joint Declaration, an agreement signed by the Government of the Philippines (GPH formerly known as GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in September 1, 1992 which lays the framework of peace negotiations
The caravan will start at Quezon City Memorial Circle at 8:00AM and will head to Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila
Few stops will be made along the caravan’s route, one in Sto. Domingo Church grounds and another in University of Sto. Tomas where short programs shall be conducted.
Teacher-members of the TDC will be joining the caravan as part of the group’s peace building advocacy in armed conflict areas

For details:
Kaye Limpiado (Sulong CARHRIHL)
09175152184/434 0289/sulongnet@yahoo.com

Agong Capus (Pilgrims for Peace)
09198312010/pilgrims.peace.phils@yahoo.com

Event

[Statement] Pnoy’s announcement on PDAF falls short of justice for our people! -FDC

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines One comment

Pnoy’s announcement on PDAF falls short of justice for our people!
August 23, 2013

President Aquino’s announcement today abolishing the Philippine Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) falls short of the demands for justice emanating from the massive public outcry against the pork barrel.

P-Noy’s policy declaration is double-edge. While he abolishes the PDAF,he only decries the abuses in the pork barrel institution which includes less visible forms of pork. More importantly, he still accommodates every congressman and senator to propose and therefore, horse-trade, on specific projects for specific districts or sectoral constituencies. The door thus remains open to pork.

P-Noy also limits his line of attack to the results of the Special PDAF Audit for years 2007-2009 and what has come out from the Napoles scam. PDAF has existed since 1990. It continues into the first half of his term. Justice for our people demands that no one be spared. The investigation must encompass not only the term of his predecessors but his own as well. Let the chips fall where they should, whether they be rivals or allies of the President.

The stolen public money so far unearthed is of unbelievable magnitude. The impunity with which they have been dispensed and misused strongly suggest a very corrupt system of pork allocation which extends to the entire budget process itself, and an extensive involvement at the top levels of officialdom down to the local governments. Thus, the investigation must be carried out independently, objectively and fairly.
At this point, many members of Congress are already implicated in these monumental pork barrel scams. Possibly, there may be more. Congressional inverstigations therefore lack the necessary credibility to do the job. While the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman are expected to conduct an independent, objective and fair investigation, there is value in setting up an independent citizen committee to parallel the effort.

The reckoning has to be thorough. Freedom from Debt Coalition ( FDC ) reiterates its earlier statement: The hundreds of billions of pesos that have gone into the Congressional pork barrel should put to shame a Government that has fallen so short of the necessary educational, health and housing services to our people and has been a failure in solving the scandalous poverty in our country.

Once these stolen money are accounted for, they should be added to the massive social debt the Philippine government has owed our people – the unfulfilled obligations to our people as a result of prioritizing debt payments over education, health, housing and other public services by a debt-dependent government.

While the investigations and the prosecutions are being done, radical political reforms to bring transparency and accountability and genuine citizen stakeholdership be brought to the system of governance. The enactment and faithful implementation of a Freedom of Information Law, Anti-Dynasty Law and measures to realize citizen participatory budgeting from the local up to the national levels have become more pressing than ever.

Source: fdc.ph

Statement

[Blog] Heroes March to Scrap Pork Barrel by Rod Rivera

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Heroes March to Scrap Pork Barrel
by Rod Rivera

The reports of the Commission on Audit raised the question on the disbursement of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), as it clearly show that the Filipino taxpayer’s money, P10 billion pesos of hard-earned money from the labor force and the businesses in the Philippines is plundered by greedy politicians and fake NGO’s.

PDAF is an open source for the opportunist to amass wealth from the nation’s treasury. Clearly, it is not just the Philippine Government which loses here, but the Filipino people – the taxpayers who deserve the services of the government from what they share in the national treasury. The posh lifestyle of the Napoles family, their properties, their bank assets have been exposed to be linked to PDAF in those years.

In the thread of events, they are accomplices to the crime of corruption against the Filipino people. They are not the culprits, there are many of them, sitting in power and now washing off their hands and finding the best means to save their face. That could also be one reason, why it appears to be difficult to find the Napoleses.

As accomplices, they are also witnesses who can point the finger to the politicians who shared with them the plunder from the Filipino people. Who are those senators and congressmen and executive officials who dealt with the Napoles’ enterprise. By law, non-government organizations are not allowed to be such enterprising. They are registered as non-stock and non-profit.

The COA report is indeed a tangible evidence of how PDAF is an open source for greed and corruption. Never in the history of contemporary Philippine government, that such massive form of corruption is exposed. Never in the history of the Filipino people that various sectors are stronger in number to voice their opinion against such corrupt practice.

Read full article @rodrigo75.wordpress.com

Blog

[Press Release] Labor group asks Taiwan government to ensure safety and job security of Filipino workers -PM

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

Labor group asks Taiwan government to ensure safety and job security of Filipino workers

A Philippine labor group, on Wednesday, called on the Taiwanese government to ensure the safety and job security of thousands of Filipinos working in Taiwan.

In a picket held at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Makati City, the Partido ng Manggagawa (Labor Party-Philippines) likewise appealed to the Taiwanese people to refrain from using violence against Filipino workers who have nothing to do with the current diplomatic row between the two countries over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman off the Balintang channel last May 9.

“We appeal to both the Taiwanese and Philippine governments to solve their diplomatic row not at the expense of our OFWs. Pending the result of investigations and the satisfaction of Taiwan’s demand for justice for fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, the safety and job security of Filipino workers in Taiwan must also be ensured as they face actual physical violence and threats of job loss,” stated Partido ng Manggagawa spokesperson Wilson Fortaleza.

Fortaleza said President Ma Ying-jeou’s order to freeze the hiring of Filipinos and a veiled threat of expulsion against the 87,000 OFWs currently working in Taiwan are both unfair and unjust.

“As workers, we are likewise interested in seeing justice served finally to fellow worker Hung and we won’t condone failure or inaction on the part of the Philippine government. But the quest of justice for Mr. Hung should not lead to unjust actions of fury against thousands of Filipinos in Taiwan,” said Fortaleza.

The labor party reiterated that migrant workers and their families are protected by international conventions (International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families) as migrants’ rights are human rights.

Migrants have the right to equal protection, non-discrimination, to work in safe working conditions and to be protected against unjust dismissal.

PRESS RELEASE
Partido ng Manggagawa
22 May 2013
Contact: Wilson Fortaleza
09053732185

Press Release

[Events] Activities in commemoration of the INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE DISAPPEARED- AFAD/FIND

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

INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE DISAPPEARED
May 27 -31, 2013

Dear Friends:

The Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), the International Coalitions Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED) and the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD are organizing two activities in commemoration of the INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE DISAPPEARED (May 27 -31, 2013).

The May 28 Roundtable Discussion on Restitution for the Victims of Enforced Disappearance which will be held at the Minority Hall of the Philippine Congress from 2 to 5 pm, aims to bring together various stakeholders to come up with a common understanding of the concept of restitution and to identify its different forms and the necessary operational mechanisms for its provisions.

The May 30 Roundtable Discussion (RTD) on the Lobby Efforts for the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance which will be held at the Blue Room of the Ateneo Professional Schools, Rockwell, Makati City from 9:00 to 11:30 am, aims to discuss the complementation of the lobby work of human rights NGOs and the diplomatic community for possible accession to ICPAPED by the Philippine government.

WE SHALL TRULY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU CAN TAKE PART IN THIS AFOREMENTIONED EVENTs.
THANK YOU.

For inquiry, please contact:

Mr. Darwin Mendiola
Mobile No. 0917.8968459
Office Phone No. 490.7862

Email address: afad@surfshop.net.ph

Event

[Statement] Aquino Admin, Solve the Ph-Taiwan Dispute & Protect the Rights and Welfare of Fil Migrant Workers -KAAGAPAY OFW

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

Demanding and Calling for Urgent Action of the Aquino Administration in Solving the Philippine–Taiwan Dispute and Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Filipino Migrant Workers in Taiwan

This is in relation to the current face-off of the Philippine and Taiwanese Government which have put the welfare of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan at risk. The alleged intentional shooting of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to a Taiwanese fishing boat which was an act of ‘self-defense and were only performing their duty of stopping illegal fishing and poaching inside the Philippine territory’ after claiming that the said boat ‘had tried to ram its vessel near Batanes’ actually killed a 65-year old Taiwanese fisherman. This then flared up the outrage of the Taiwanese not only towards the Philippine government but to the Filipino people. As a way of its dissatisfaction to the response from the Philippine government on the matter, it banned the recruitment of Filipino workers, banned its citizens in travelling to the country, and even its own citizens refused selling goods to Filipinos in Taiwan. If this is not resolved, 95,000 documented OFWs in Taiwan will be affected.

Thus, we are calling for both parties to immediately resolve this dispute in any peaceful and diplomatic means.

We call for the Philippine Government to immediately craft solutions addressing the dispute while executing measures that would protect and uphold the welfare of OFWs in Taiwan.
We call for the Taiwanese government to be open for diplomatic negotiations and discussions with the Philippine government on how to resolve this issue.

We call for all the workers in Taiwan to remove divisions created by culture and nationality and to be united instead for the workers’ welfare and rights.

As we always demand and call, Philippine government should strengthen self-sustaining local economy that would provide decent employment for Filipinos.

KAAGAPAY OFW Resource and Service Center, Inc
Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines
kaagapaycotabato98@gmail.com

Statement

[Statement] of the UP Center for Women’s Studies and the UP Law Center Institute of Human Rights on the Status Quo Ante Order of the Supreme Court on the RH Law

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

Statement of the UP Center for Women’s Studies and the UP Law Center Institute of Human Rights on the Status Quo Ante Order of the Supreme Court on the RH Law

March 19, 2013

The UPCWS and UPIHR wish to express their extreme disappointment with the status quo ante order issued today by the Supreme Court on the RH Law. This is tanamount to a TRO couched in terms that may only confuse and therefore delay the anger of those who support the law.

This is particularly insulting that it comes during women’s month.

We are unsurprised that this law is yet to go through yet another barrier. However we are concerned that yet another delay will add to the death count of women dying in the act of giving life. Based on the Philippine government‘s family health data, 14 maternal deaths a day occur because of the lack of basic reproductive health services. This is 1,680 women who will die in the 120 days that the order is effective.

Through the course of the crafting of the bills, the ammendment period and even in the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations, the views of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy have been taken into consideration. Real changes have been made. Yet at every step, despite these attempts to meet half way, the Church refuses to endorse the outcomes. In short it has negotiated repeatedly in bad faith. This latest step is just another indication of its refusal to heed the views of a majority of our people. It is sad that the Supreme Court should be instrumental in revoking human rights already claimed by our people under the RH law.

There are times when legal processes and exhaustive measures no longer serve the purposes of democracy and social cohesion. Times when the hard institutional power of government and social entities must yield to the urgent needs of those most in need of succor. We were hoping the Surpreme Court would have the wisdom to see that this is one of those instances.

We are not discouraged. The social movement that has coalesced to save women shall not stop.

We encourage all to begin again, the actions that made the executive and legislature answerable. So that the Supreme may made accoutable, too.

Elizabeth Aguiling Pangalanagan, LLM
Director UP Law Center Institute of Human Rights

Sylvia Estrada Claudio MD, PhD
Director
UP Center Women’s Studies

Contact Details: UPCWS- 920-6880/920-6950 or 0920-9089187

The purple vote (manilastandardtoday.com)
SC slammed for suspending implementation of RH law (globalnation.inquirer.net)
Supreme Court issued SQAO against RH Law (rojan88.wordpress.com)
SC stops RH law implementation (rappler.com)
SC stops RH implementation (leytesamardaily.net)

Statement

[Press Release] The Asia Foundation Launched Report on “Gender and Conflict in Mindanao”

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

The Asia Foundation Launched Report on “Gender and Conflict in Mindanao”
New book examines women’s roles as mediators and peace advocates

Last week, a historic peace Framework Agreement was signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The agreement seeks to end the separatist insurgency the rebel group has waged for decades in the Southern Philippines, home of one of the world’s longest-running violent conflicts. In this troubled area, a new book examines the dynamics of gender and armed conflict in the Southern Philippines, primarily the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The Asia Foundation (TAF) last Friday launched a timely and insightful book, “Gender and Conflict in Mindanao,” which examines the complex gender dynamics of conflict by looking at the Philippines as a case study.

Prior to this report, little research has been done on the nature or extent of conflict-related psychological distress in Mindanao, and how it impacts on how women and men function socially, and how it could be addressed effectively. Co-written by Leslie Dwyer, Assistant Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution of the George Mason University, and Rufa Cagoco-Guiam, Director of the Institute of Peace and Development of the Mindanao State University – General Santos City, the book reports on women’s roles as mediators between warring clans, and as peace advocates in the rural communities in Mindanao. The book was launched to the development community, media, national government agencies, and civil society organizations last October 19, 2012 in Makati City.

In August 2010, the Foundation commissioned a study to examine the dynamics of gender and conflict in Mindanao. The study focused on the various transformative processes that take place during and after armed conflict, especially those that have serious implications on the traditional roles of men and women in grassroots communities. A field-based research and a literature review were conducted to identify the challenges and opportunities for women and men in community and national peace building.

In this report, Dwyer and Cagoco-Guiam discussed among other things – the psychosocial impacts of armed conflict on men: its implications on their mobility, and eventually, their educational attainment. The book also discusses the importance of pushing for mobile livelihood that strengthens communities and non-traditional programs both for men in women in areas vulnerable to armed conflict. Lastly, the book illustrates the need to intensify efforts in training and supporting women as mediators of community conflicts.

Background on “Gender and Conflict in Mindanao Report”

• In Chapter I, the book initially gives an introduction on gender and conflict zones, and then provides a backgrounder in Chapter II on the conflict situation in Mindanao: geographic and ethnic profile, a brief history of Mindanao’s long-running conflict, and an initial profile of gender dynamics in the conflict zone.
• Chapter III then illustrates the impact of the conflict on women, and on gender dynamics in Mindanao discussing some issues on gender and mobility, displacement, economic burdens, young women and girls, psychosocial effects, and the nexus of gender role transformations and cultural values.
• After tackling women’s roles in peace building in Chapter IV, it then discusses in Chapter V how to make assistance “more gender sensitive” including the need to strengthen women’s civil society to play a more influential role in peace negotiations and conflict resolution. Chapter V also reports on the importance of enhancing gender and conflict policy and ensuring its grassroots relevance – building on women’s strengths as community conflict resolvers; strengthening holistic approaches to conflict, and strengthening the knowledge base on gender and conflict in Mindanao.
• For its conclusion, the book emphasizes the transformative potentials of gender analysis– incorporating women’s experiences and capacities and acknowledging complexity and making space for difficult conversations to address gender issues. The report argues that programming is more effective when comprehensive gender analysis is utilized and that such an approach can be transformative in societies trying to emerge from conflict.

The study was funded through The Asia Foundation’s annual US Congressional appropriation, and with support from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. In the Philippines, The Asia Foundation’s programs on conflict are funded by AusAID, DFID, USAID, and the World Bank.

About The Asia Foundation in the Philippines

Since 1954, The Asia Foundation’s programs in the Philippines have been strengthening good governance and economic development. The Foundation has supported programs in Mindanao for more than 30 years through its assistance to local governments, the private sector, and non- government organizations to work toward peace and prosperity in the southern Philippines.

About The Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. The Foundation supports Asian initiatives to improve governance and law, economic development, women’s empowerment, the environment, and regional cooperation. Drawing on nearly 60 years of experience in Asia, the Foundation collaborates with private and public partners to support leadership and institutional development, exchanges, and policy research.

With 17 offices throughout Asia, an office in Washington, DC, and its headquarters in San Francisco, the Foundation addresses these issues on both a country and regional level. In 2011, the Foundation provided more than $97 million in program support and distributed nearly one million books and journals valued at over $41 million.
For more information, please visit: http://www.asiafoundation.org.

Media Contact:
Steven Rood, Ph. D. Country Representative
The Asia Foundation
Tel. +63 (2) 851-1466
srood@asiafound.org

Press Release

[Press Release] New ‘Cybercrime’ Law Will Harm Free Speech -Human Rights Watch

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Human Rights Online Philippines Leave a comment

Philippines: New ‘Cybercrime’ Law Will Harm Free Speech
Supreme Court to Rule on Act That Worsens Criminal Defamation

(New York, September 28, 2012) – A new Philippine “cybercrime” law drastically increases punishments for criminal libel and gives authorities excessive and unchecked powers to shut down websites and monitor online information, Human Rights Watch said today. President Benigno Aquino III signed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 into law on September 12, 2012.

The law’s criminal penalties for online libel and other restrictions are a serious threat to free expression in the Philippines, Human Rights Watch said. Several legal cases have been filed in the Philippines Supreme Court, including for the law to be declared unconstitutional because it violates guarantees to free expression contained in the Philippines constitution and human rights treaties ratified by the Philippines.

“The cybercrime law needs to be repealed or replaced,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It violates Filipinos’ rights to free expression and it is wholly incompatible with the Philippine government’s obligations under international law.”

The new law defines several new acts of “cybercrime.” Among the acts prohibited are “cybersex,” online child pornography, illegal access to computer systems or hacking, online identity theft, and spamming.

A section on libel specifies that criminal libel, already detailed in article 355 of the Philippines Revised Penal Code, will now apply to acts “committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.” The new law drastically increases the penalty for computer-related libel, with the minimum punishment raised twelve-fold, from six months to six years. The maximum punishment is doubled from six to twelve years in prison.

“Anybody using popular social networks or who publishes online is now at risk of a long prison term should a reader – including government officials – bring a libel charge,” Adams said. “Allegedly libelous speech, online or offline, should be handled as a private civil matter, not a crime.”

Human Rights Watch called on the Philippines government to repeal its existing criminal libel law. The Aquino administration has shown little inclination to support legislation pending in the Philippine Congress to decriminalize libel.

Aside from the section on libel, the new law has a provision that grants new powers to the Department of Justice, which on its own and without a warrant, can order the shutdown of any website it finds violating the law. It also authorizes police to collect computer data in real time without a court order or warrant.

The use of criminal defamation laws also has a chilling effect on the speech of others, particularly those involved with similar issues, Human Rights Watch said.

When citizens face prison time for complaining about official performance, corruption, or abusive business practices, other people take notice and are less likely to draw attention to such problems themselves, undermining effective governance and civil society.

Several journalists in the Philippines have been imprisoned for libel in recent years, leaving a blot on the country’s record on press freedom. In the case of Davao City radio journalist Alexander Adonis, who was convicted in 2007 of libel and spent two years in prison, the United Nations Human Rights Committee determined that the Philippine government violated article 19 on the right to freedom of expression and opinion of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The committee called on the Philippine government to decriminalize libel.

“So long as it stands, the new cybercrime law will have a chilling effect over the entire Philippine online community,” Adams said.

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

To view the 2010 Human Rights Watch report “Turning Critics into Criminals,” please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2010/05/04/turning-critics-criminals