There could have been no better time to begin this column but now, no other way to begin but like this – a kind of exposé, an assertion, a kind of empowerment at the face of existing and impending terror in all its forms. By identifying and unpacking systemic injustices in different levels and contexts, I intend to incite to envision a kind of society stifled voices deserve. For one, where teachers’ labor is properly compensated and students are treated as thinking individuals who are capable of dissent without fear of being silenced.
In one day, 4 farmers killed by suspected state agents
“It is martial law without martial law, but worse: it is legalized butchery, targeting peasants and workers whose attempts to seek redress for their systemic exploitation have been criminalized.”
By JUSTIN UMALI
Bulatlat.com
SANTA ROSA, Laguna – Combined police and military operations in Iloilo and Northern Samar resulted in the massacre of four farmers and injuring three, June 20.
At around 10 a.m. Saturday, combined elements of the 20th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army and the Northern Samar Police Mobile Force Company strafed the house of Zaldy Meraya in barangay Bagacay, Palapag, Northern Samar. Meraya and a companion, Bebe Tobino, were killed in the attack.
Meraya’s wife and two children were also injured in the encounter. His daughter, Jolina Calot, is currently in critical condition. Calot is a student of the University of Eastern Philippines and a member of the League of Filipino Students.
That same day, suspected state forces ambushed and killed Harold Tablazon and Glenn Bunda in sitio Passi, barangay Mayang, Tubungan, Iloilo. Investigators found the two with multiple gunshot wounds, and 32 9-mm bullet casings and six .45 caliber slugs in the crime scene.
Who were the victims?
Before Zaldy Meraya and Bebe Tobino were killed, the military accused them of being members of communist group, according to a statement from the League of Filipino Students. A warrant of arrest was issued against Meraya on May 11 on accusations of attempted murder, signed by Judge Decoroso Turla.
The 20th IB claimed that Meraya opened fire at the soldiers who were about to issue the arrest warrant. The soldiers then retaliated by riddling the house with bullets, killing Meraya and Tobino, and injuring Meraya’s family.
Tablazon, 33, was a long-time organizer of the Federation of Iloilo Farmers Association (FIFA). FIFA is a peasant organization affiliated with Pamanggas-KMP, the regional chapter of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in Panay. Tablazon also served as a barangay councilor in barangay Ago, Tubungan.
Bunda, 24, worked with Tablazon in installing solar panels to make ends meet. Bunda was the Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson in Brgy. Tagpuan. Bunda and Tablazon were riding a motorcycle when they were killed early in the evening.
Both Tablazon and Bunda had charges filed against them. Tablazon was the victim of a police raid last December 2019, where he was charged with illegal possession of firearms.
Latest in a series
KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos stated that the recent cases of extrajudicial killings were not isolated incidents, blaming “the Duterte government’s Memorandum Order No. 32, the Executive Order No. 70 and the military’s rabid anti-insurgency campaign Oplan Kapayapaan that also targets mass activists, former activists, and government critics.”
“We blame the 61st IBPA of the 3rd Infantry Division and the PNP [Philippine National Police] Iloilo for the latest killings. We believe that they had everything do with Tablazon and Bunda’s ambush in the same way that state forces and mercenaries are responsible for the killing of peasant leader John Farochilin and Bayan Muna leader Jory Porquia,” Ramos said.
Both Farochilin and Porquia were long-time organizers and victims of extrajudicial killings. Farochilin, Tablazon’s fellow organizer for Pamanggas-KMP, was killed by the 61st IBPA in Miag-ao, Iloilo, April 18, before being reported to be a casualty in a staged encounter with soldiers of the revolutionary New People’s Army. Porquia was a founding member of progressive party-list Bayan Muna and was killed on April 30 after a series of harassment from police for conducting feeding programs and relief operations in Iloilo.
Similarly, Tablazon’s family believes that the killing was connected to the June 15 ambush of Master Sergeant Arnel Paurillo of the Tubungan Municipal Police. The NPA’s Napoleon Tumagtang Command has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming revolutionary justice for Paurillo’s protection of drug syndicates in the area.
The NPA, however, has stated that Tablazon was not a member of the revolutionary organization.
KMP also noted that since February 2020, the Philippine National Police and the 61st IBPA have been launching “sprees of fabricating ‘fake encounters with the NPA’ while actually targeting farmers in hinterland peasant communities” in Iloilo.
The same is true in Northern Samar, said the group, where the 20th IBPA has engaged in multiple hamletting operations since October 2019.
Terror without the terror bill
Progressive groups also expressed dismay at the worsening state of violence in the country. Artist group Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo (SAKA) commented that “the anti-terror bill railroaded by the Senate and Congress then handed to President Duterte on a silver platter will give teeth to EO 70, making possible what amounts to the implementation of MO 32 on a national scale.”
“It is martial law without martial law, but worse: it is legalized butchery, targeting peasants and workers whose attempts to seek redress for their systemic exploitation have been criminalized,” SAKA added.
Former Anakpawis representative Ariel Casilao also echoed the sentiment, saying that “the looming enactment of Duterte’s Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 will further intensify human rights violations across the country, and human rights workers, farmers, and sectors asserting for democratic rights could be among the most vulnerable targets.”
The Anti-Terrorism Bill is currently pending action from the Office of the President. Unless vetoed, the bill will lapse into law on July 9.
The post In one day, 4 farmers killed by suspected state agents appeared first on Bulatlat.
1983 Nagbabanta ng 1972
Malawak ang hanay ng mga tutol sa Anti-Terrorism Bill ng rehimeng Duterte: mula bise-presidente ng bansa at mga lider ng Liberal Party hanggang midya at malalaking negosyante, mula mga unibersidad hanggang mga artista at abogado. Nariyan syempre ang mga progresibong organisasyon at maraming karaniwang kabataan at mamamayan na malakas at tuluy-tuloy na nagpapahayag sa social media.
Sa gitna ng pandemya at physical distancing, paglalabas ng pahayag ang naging porma ng pagtutol, na mainit na sinasalubong sa social media. Isang rurok ang protestang “Grand Mañanita” noong Hunyo 12, araw ng huwad na kalayaan. Pahayag ito ng galit: sa kabila ng pandemya, quarantine at panawagang physical distancing, at labag sa pananakot ng gobyerno, nagprotesta ang libu-libo. Sa social media, nariyan pa rin ang mga trolls ng gobyerno, pero mas malawak ang suportang inani: ang libu-libong dumalo, suportado ng lampas-lampas na bilang.
Sabi ni Solita Collas-Monsod, neoliberal na ekonomista, ang mga kritiko ng panukalang batas “ay umaabot mula dulong kaliwa hanggang dulong kanan ng pampulitikang ispektrum.” Sabi naman ni Joel Rocamora, komentaristang sosyal-demokratiko, “Ang dapat pansinin ay ang lawak at tindi ng pagtutol. Ito ay di-hamak na mas malawak na hanay ng pagtutol kumpara sa anumang isyu sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte.” Kapansin-pansin, taliwas sa nakagawian, ni walang patutsada ang dalawa sa Kaliwa.
Ang malawak na pagtutol na ito ang dahilan kung bakit maraming kongresista ang bumawi ng boto ng pagpabor — na bihirang mangyari sa kasaysayan, dahil noon, nakatago ang mukha nila at mahirap pahiyain — sa puntong kinailangang iratsada ang panukalang batas ng pamunuan ng Kongreso at Senado para papirmahan sa pangulo. At hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin ito tuluyang mapirmahan.
Kagyat na dahilan ang nilalaman mismo ng panukalang batas: masaklaw ang depinisyon ng terorismo, pwedeng tiktikan at arestuhin nang walang warrant ang mga babansagang terorista, pwedeng ikulong ang sasali sa organisasyong tatawaging terorista, at magtatayo ng konsehong anti-terror na may napakalawak na kapangyarihan. Kasama rito, ayon kay Antonio Carpio, dating hukom ng Korte Suprema, ang pag-aresto sa sinuman kahit walang nagagawang krimeng terorista.
Marami sa mga pahayag ng pagtutol sa panukalang batas ang nagsabi na posibleng gamitin ito ng rehimen laban sa mga kritiko. Maraming ibig sabihin: ang rehimen, hindi tumatanggap ng kahit anong puna, walang sinasanto sa mga tumutuligsa, labis-labis kung gumanti, at marahas nga sa sukdulan. Ang mga kritiko naman ng rehimen, hindi na lang ang mga dati-rati nang nagsasalita, kundi marami nang bago.
Pero paanong naging tutol ang malawak na hanay ng mga mamamayan at pwersang pampulitika sa panukalang batas? Ilang patakarang mapanupil, atake sa kritiko, at maging mga gera na ang pinawalan ng rehimen, pero bakit pinakamalawak ang pagtutol sa pinakabago? Ang kahulugan ng panukalang batas, sabi nga, ay nasa laylayan ng pahina nito; nasa konteksto ang kabuluhan ng teksto. Isang dahilan ang pagkamalay, pagkabuo at pagkapuno sa lahat ng pag-atake at pandarahas ng rehimen.
Isa pang dahilan, at mas malamang pangunahin: dahil sa naging pagharap ng rehimen sa pandemyang Covid-19. Nangangamba para sa sarili at mga mahal sa buhay, namalagi sa bahay ang mga Pilipino at tumutok sa social media at midya. Nasubaybayan nila ang mahabang listahan ng mga isyu na nagpakita ng kalupitan sa nakakarami, lalo na sa mahihirap, at pagkanlong sa iilang kakampi ng rehimen. Kasabay nito ang samu’t saring kasinungalingan, kababawan at kabulastugan na pagdepensa.
Mula pagtanggi’t pagkutya sa mga panawagang magsara sa mga eroplanong galing China, magpatupad ng mass testing at magpaunlad ng mga ospital, hanggang pag-atake sa nangungunang midyang ABS-CBN at Rappler. Mula pagkanlong kina Sen. Koko Pimentel, Hen. Debold Sinas, at Mocha Uson hanggang pagpatay kina Winston Ragos, Jory Porquia at Carlito Badion. Mula pandarahas sa mga nagprotestang maralita ng Sitio San Roque hanggang sa kalupitan sa mga drayber ng dyipni.
Mula mabagal na ayuda, at dagdag-bayarin pa nga sa mga Overseas Filipino Workers, hanggang malupit na pagpapatupad ng quarantine. Mula pagkulong kay Teacher Ronnel Mas hanggang kaapihan nina Joseph “Mang Dodong” Jimeda na nakulong ng 12 araw. Mula pagkulong kay Tatay Elmer Cordero, drayber na kasama ng Piston 6, hanggang pagkamatay ng nanay na si Michelle Silvertino. Mula garapal na paghingi ng emergency powers at higanteng pondo hanggang anti-mamamayang paggamit sa mga ito.
Dahil sa pagkamulat sa mga isyu sa kasalukuyan, marami ang nagbalik-tanaw at nakita ang pagkakatulad. Nagsilbing kumpirmasyon ang mga nasaksihang krimen ngayon na tama ang mga inakusang krimen noon na isinantabi, o pinaniwalaan pero hindi pinakialaman.
Mas marami na ngayon ang handang makinig at maniwala sa hatol ni Jose Maria Sison, palaisip ng Kaliwa sa bansa: “mas masahol ang masamang rehimen ni Duterte kumpara sa rehimen ni Marcos dahil sa loob lang ng apat na taon, malapit na ang pagtataksil, brutalidad at katiwalian ng rehimen ngayon sa lawak at lala ng katulad na mga krimeng ginawa ng rehimeng Marcos sa loob ng 20 taon.”
Malaking bigwas ang naging pagharap ng rehimen sa pandemya sa magastos at marahas nitong paghahari sa pamamagitan ng sunud-sunurang militar at pulisya, napatahimik na burgis na oposisyon, todong inaatakeng Kaliwa, bayarang tagapagsalita at trolls, dinoktor na mga sarbey, at suporta ng atrasadong masa. Malaking bigwas din ito sa kagustuhan nitong manalo sa 2022 gamit ang nilutong eleksyon.
Nang dumating ang pandemya, babala ni Luis V. Teodoro, progresibong mamamahayag, ang mga patakarang tugon ng gobyerno ay magpapalala sa “indibidwalismo at pagkakahiwa-hiwalay (isolationism)” gayundin sa “panlipunan at pampulitikang kawalang-pakialam at pakikiayon.” Ang “bagong normal” ng gobyerno, aniya, ay “tungkol rin sa ideolohikal at intelektwal na pagkakatiwalag, pagiging sunud-sunuran sa awtoridad,” at “pananahimik kahit sa harap ng pinakalantad na abuso.”
Pero dahil sa pandemya, nanganib ang kalusugan, buhay at kabuhayan ng milyun-milyong Pilipino. Napanatili sila sa bahay at napatutok sa mga hakbangin ng gobyerno at nagaganap sa bansa. Nakita nila ang mabagsik na pulitika ng kakampi-at-kaaway ng rehimen, at ang iba’t ibang antas ng kasinungalingan at panlilinlang. Naramdaman-namalayan nila ang pagiging ilang ulit na biktima. Naging praktika nila ang pagsubaybay, at tiyak ang pagsasalita at pagpapahayag.
Sabi ni Richard Levins, Marxistang biologist na tila nagteteorya sa mga kampanyang masa: “nakasandig ang pakikibaka para magbago ng kamalayan sa paglikha ng mga pagkakataon para sa mga karanasang nakakapagpabago (transforming) habang nagbibigay rin ng mga pamamaraan para bigyang-interpretasyon sila. Hindi mananaig ang adbokasiya, pagtuturo, at kahit ang pinaka-inspirasyunal na modelo laban sa mga karanasan na bumabangga sa kanila. Pero kapag kinumpirma ng pang-araw-araw na buhay ang isang posisyong teoretikal, pwedeng magtagumpay ang magagandang argumento, modelo at pangaral.”
Dagdag pa niya, “Nagbabago ang kamalayan kapag ang iba’t ibang paniniwala at damdamin na nagtutunggalian pero karaniwang napaghihiwalay sa parehong kamalayan at hindi nagtatagpo, ay ngayo’y nagbabanggan. O, kapag binangga (contradict) ng mga bagong karanasan ang mga lumang ideya sa puntong hindi na sila pwedeng hindi pansinin, sa ganoon nagaganap ang pagbabago (readjustment) ng ideolohiya [“Rearming the Revolution: The Tasks of Theory for Hard Times,” 1998].”
Imahe ng protestang Black Lives Matter sa Oakland,California sa US. Larawan ni Ryan Sin c/o Irma Shauf-Bajar
Maihahalintulad ang mga pangyayari sa US. Nitong Abril, nagmuni si Corey Robin, progresibong teoristang pampulitika, sa epekto ng pagkakahiwa-hiwalay bunsod ng pandemya, sa demokrasya doon. Sa isang banda, “Namamayagpag ang mga tirano, itinuturo sa atin ng tradisyon ng pampulitikang teorya, sa paghihiwalay sa mga mamamayan sa isa’t isa.” Sa kabilang banda, “hindi gaanong sigurado ang mga sulatin hinggil sa demokrasya pagdating sa usapin ng pagkakalayu-layo.”
Sa dulo, sabi niya, “Pero totoo rin na madalas, ang pagkakapatiran (solidarity), ang mga ugnayan na nalilikha at nagsusustine sa demokrasya, ay kwento ng sorpresa. Dumarating ang pinakamakapangyarihang yugto nito, halos lagi, matapos ang mahaba at teribleng gabi.”
Ngayon, sa kabila ng itinutulak na paglalayu-layo bunsod ng pandemya, at sa harap ng mga protestang tugon sa pagpatay ng mga pulis sa Aprikano-Amerikanong si George Floyd noong Mayo 25, sinabi ni Angela Davis, progresibong teoristang pampulitika: “Hindi pa tayo nakakakita ng mga tuluy-tuloy na demonstrasyon na ganito kalalaki at nilalahukan ng iba’t ibang klase ng tao. Kaya tingin ko, ito ang nagbibigay sa mga tao ng malaking pag-asa… Nakukuha na ng mga tao, sa wakas, ang mensahe. Na hanggang ang mga mamamayang Itim ay patuloy na tinatrato nang ganito, hanggang nananatili ang dahas ng rasismo, walang sinuman ang ligtas.”
Mahalaga ang tinawag nang “pag-aalsa” sa demokrasya, o sa tunay na demokrasya. Sabi nga ni Zillah Eisenstein, teoristang feminista, “sa kaibuturan, ineetsapwera ng mga demokrasya sa Kanluran ang mga katutubong mamamayan, kalalakihang walang pag-aari, lahat ng kababaihan, at mga Aprikanong alipin.” Sa kabila nito, “nagmula rin ang mga ideya ng indibidwalidad at kalayaan ng tao sa mga taong itong inetsapwera, sa kanilang mga hakbangin ng paglaban [Against Empire, 2004].”
May mayamang karanasan ang Pilipinas sa pagkabulok ng naghaharing rehimen, paglawak ng paglaban dito ng sambayanan, at pagpapatalsik o halos pagpapatalsik sa kanila. Minumulto nito ang mga rehimen at mahalagang mabalik-tanawan ng sambayanan ngayon, kung kailan sila kailangan. Baka isa ito sa pagpapakahulugan sa sinabi ni Walter Benjamin, Marxistang palaisip: “pag-aangkin sa isang alaala sa pagkislap nito sa sandali ng panganib [Hinggil sa Konsepto ng Kasaysayan, 2013].”
Ipinapaalala ng pandarahas ng rehimeng Duterte, lalo na sa panahon ng pandemya, ang Batas Militar ng diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos, na idineklara noong 1972. Para sa henerasyon ng kabataan noon, na nakatatanda na ngayon, parang deja vu ang mga nagaganap: paparurok patungo sa inaasahang deklarasyon. Para sa bayan, may mga tungkuling kaakibat ang ganitong pagbasa — na hindi pwedeng balewalain.
Pero mahalaga rin ang paalala, sa lahat pa naman ng tao, ni Monsod: “Huling nagkaroon ng ganitong pagkakaisa ng sentimyento, sa pinakamalayong naaalala ko, ay noong mga protesta laban sa diktadurang Marcos simula 1983.” Huwag muna nating pansinin na may katulad ding malawak na sentimyento noon laban sa rehimen ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, kingmaker ni Duterte, pero kumampi siya rito.
Taong 1983, pinaslang si Ninoy Aquino, at sinasabing nagsimula ang katapusan ng diktadurang Marcos. Ang katahimikang ipinataw ng Batas Militar noong 1972 at binasag sa Kamaynilaan ng welga ng mga manggagawa ng La Tondeña ng 1975, lalong napawi sa paglawak at pagtapang ng mga protesta simula 1983 hanggang mapatalsik ang diktadura noong 1986. Panandang-bato ang 1983 ng isang malaking krimen, kung kailan “parang nawala na ang takot ng mga tao,” ayon sa isang kakilala.
Kung tila nag-aala-1972 ngayon ang rehimeng Duterte, iyan ay dahil alam nitong 1983 rin nito ang 2020. Sa pagharap nito sa Covid-19, nakagawa ito ng malalaking krimen na kumikitil at naglalagay sa panganib ng maraming buhay — at nagpapalawak at nagpapalakas ng galit ng sambayanan. Ngayon, totoong-totoo ang sinabi ni Sison sa isa pang pahayag: “Bawat hakbangin” ni Duterte na “mapang-api at mapagsamantala ay gumagalit sa sambayanan para manlaban.” Simula sa protesta ng mga maralita ng Sitio San Roque noong Abril 1, bumubuhos ang suporta sa mga kumikilos laban sa mga kaapihang dulot ng rehimen.
Huwag nang banggitin pa ang malalagim na datos: nag-uuwian ang mga OFW, salbabida ng ekonomiya ng bansa. Pinakamatas ang kawalang-trabaho sa 22 porsyento, na itinatago ng gobyerno. Mahigit 40 porsyento ng maliliit na negosyong Pinoy, hindi makakabangon sa quarantine at pagkatapos. At lalong bumabagal ang ekonomiya.
Sa puntong ito mainam isingit ang pagpapatalsik kay Joseph Estrada, na sumunod din sa lohika ng 1983-1986 sa mabilis na panahon. Maganda ang obserbasyon ni Richard Heydarian, komentaristang pampulitika: tulad ni Duterte ngayon, tinamaan din ng pandaigdigang krisis pang-ekonomiya ang dalawang napatalsik na pangulo — si Estrada sa Asian Financial Crisis ng 1998, at si Marcos sa krisis sa langis ng dekada 1970 at krisis sa utang panlabas sa bungad ng dekada 1980.
Pero sa karanasan ng bansa, hindi laging sa pagpapatalsik ng 1986 tumutungo ang krimen ng 1983. Nagkaroon din ng Hello Garci ng 2005 at NBN-ZTE ng 2007 si Arroyo, at sa puntong iyun, siya na ang pinaka-inaayawang pangulo sa kasaysayan sa lawak ng tutol at lumalaban. Pero hindi siya napatalsik — bagamat sinamantala ng pangkatin ni Noynoy Aquino ang sitwasyon para palabasing iyan ang nangyari noong eleksyong 2010.
Ayon sa mga pag-aaral sa karanasan, para makapagpatalsik ng pangulo, kinailangan ang papalaking protesta sa Kamaynilaan at bansa — isang hamon, sa sitwasyong quarantine. Para magawa ito, kinailangan na ang mga pinaka-desidido sa paglaban sa rehimen ay tuluy-tuloy na mag-ambag sa paglaban, na magagawa sa balangkas ng organisasyon. Kinailangan din nilang abutin at organisahin ang pinakamalawak na hanay ng mga mamamayan, lalo na ang mga manggagawa, magsasaka at maralita.
At para magawa iyan, kinailanganing lumiko muna sa mga batayang pang-ekonomiyang pakikibaka bago tumbukin ang mga pampulitikang laban, kasama na ang mismong pagpapatalsik. Ipinapakita naman ng protesta ngayon ng mga maralita ng San Roque, mga drayber ng dyip, at maging mga OFW na ang mga kagyat na kahilingan ng masa sa gitna ng pandemya ay direkta nang nagdidiin sa rehimen.
Sa puntong ito, nagtutugma ang kaisipang progresibo at ang kasaysayan ng bansa sa paglaban sa mga pangulo: ang materyal na pwersa ng pagpapatalsik ay protesta ng malawak na mamamayan — na nagluluwal ng pagbaklas ng mga naghaharing uri at militar at paglaglag ng among imperyalista. Malawak na organisado — na humahatak ng malawak na ispontanyo. Pang-ekonomiyang pakikibaka — na tuntungan ng pampulitikang pakikibaka.
Sambayanan ang magpapasya.
19 Hunyo 2020
The invisible terror in universities
There could have been no better time to begin this column but now, no other way to begin but like this – a kind of exposé, an assertion, a kind of empowerment at the face of existing and impending terror in all its forms. By identifying and unpacking systemic injustices in different levels and contexts, I intend to incite to envision a kind of society stifled voices deserve. For one, where teachers’ labor is properly compensated and students are treated as thinking individuals who are capable of dissent without fear of being silenced.
Activism hits BTS fandom
Fast track this to the current Duterte regime and the Filipino artists, in the mainstream or alternative circles, continue to fight for causes, even at the risk of being red-tagged and branded a “terrorist”. They have lent their names and influence and, whenever necessary, appeared in media or in crowds to fight for democracy and justice, very recently against the so-called Anti-Terrorism Bill which could be worse than martial law. In a way they have become idols of resistance, raising the awareness of their fans and encouraging them to fight for their own rights as citizens.
By YANNI ROXAS
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – There is more to fandoms than just screaming for idols.
Days before Korea’s megahit boy band BTS donated $1M to the Black Lives Matter movement, its followers worldwide called the ARMY already took matters into their own hands and stormed social media against police brutality and racism.
The ARMY stands for Adorable Representative MC for Youth. It was organized by BTS’ agency Big Hit Entertainment in 2013 at the same time that BTS made its official debut with its first single and album. BTS is also referred to as Bangtam Boys, Behind the Scene, Bantan Sonyeondan or Bulletproof Boy Scouts.
ARMY is not to be taken lightly. Its official membership is 26.3 million, atlhough Quora places the number at 136 million, which could be inclusive of all fans apart from ARMY. No other fandom is as big or as tight or as passionate as the ARMY today. BTS owes it success to its ARMY more than anyone else, a fact that the famous septet openly acknowledges.
The George Floyd issue has shown how this fandom can flex its muscle not just for music but for social causes. And in the sweeping turn of events their idols had followed suit. Combine the ARMY with all other fandoms of other known K-pop artists such as BlackPink, EXO, or Momoland who also expressed support for Black Lives Matter and the movement has dug a groundswell of support from strong international allies, not to mention their generosity.
Why the action?
What is it about black lives that has sparked outrage from fandoms led by the ARMY and moved them to act? Reasons could be the following.
First, most members of ARMY are people of color and blacks (who call themselves Black Army). In 2017, of the top ten countries with the biggest number of BTS fans the US is the only country predominantly white. According to @btsanalytics, and surpisingly, the Philippines is ranked no.1 (21% of total) followed only by South Korea, then Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Mexico and Brazil. Racial equality is an issue close to home and dismantling the structures of racism in America and elsewhere would augur well for all races suffering from discrimination.
Second, the BTS brand of music is inspired by Black culture. So much is borrowed from it and is popularized in K-pop music like rap, hip-hop and R&B. The BTS idols loudly claim influence from Motown. The fans are grateful too and support for Black Lives Matter is a way of giving back. And so relying heavily on global fan support and encouraged by them, BTS had broken its silence, even as inside South Korea they usually distance themselves away from local or controversial issues.
Third, over the years the fans have embraced the content of BTS songs as relatable. Many swore these helped them in their dark days. Despite its swag, BTS is a socially conscious group, incorporating personal and social issues such as mental health, self-doubts, frustrations and criticisms of their own society into their music. BTS is allowed to write their own songs, as its agency believes they embody the spirit of the times. Billboard.com had run a commentary of select songs of BTS from 2013 to 2016 and delved into to tracks with underlying socio-economic and political meanings. Prior to their debut, one BTS member, Suga, had a solo track that raps about not forgetting the Gwangju uprising in South Korea. BTS also stood for ending violence especially against children and young people, partnered with Unicef and spoke before the United Nations. The consciousness where their idols stand gears and prepares the fans for solidarity action.
The real powerhouse
So how exactly did the ARMY and the rest of other K-pop fandoms unleash their power? While a hundred cities in the US were marred in street protests, they conquered social media and became frenzied keyboard warriors. Using K-pop fan accounts, they encouraged their following to train their guns against their “enemies” with a massive flood of idol videos and memes. The website Vice.com in several articles cited these incidents.
• In Texas, a police snitching app called iWatch Dallas was taken down “due to technical difficulties” when it was overwhelmed by idol videos and memes. The app was meant to report/identify protesters allegedly committing crimes.
• In Minneapolis, the place where George Floyd died in the hands of police on May 25, the website of the police department became a target of distributed denial of service attack and became inaccessible at one time.
• K-pop fan accounts shared or possibly did tweets or hacks in the name of hacktivist group Anonymous, which went viral as well. A university scholar and professor from McGill University who has studied Anonymous and other hacktivist groups had remarked that the hacks were so massive it was nothing like he had seen before.
• Popular protests and social justice hashtags were amplified. Racist hashtags such as #White Lives Matter were taken over and caused their crash, again drowning them with idol videos and memes, anti-racist posts, and nonsensical messages
While all of these were happening, ARMY was not about to leave their idols behind. They went smack into their idols’ social media accounts, tagged them in posts, and appealed to them to speak.
A message from a BTS fan (@namusnzn) exemplified this a day before BTS showed its support: “Can you please use your large platform to talk about the current black lives matter issue and donate? Here’s a link that you could tweet along with petitions, and donation sections in it.”
Unexpectedly, the link (blacklivesmatters.carrd.co) even included a section to junk the terror bill in the Philippines.
The following day, June 1, BTS and its recording label, gave $1M for Black Lives Matter.
Within hours after the announcement, ARMY self-started a fundraising campaign– #MatchaMillion– that trended internationally and reached their goal in just over 24 hours. This was led by their fundraising arm called One in an ARMY. When last heard, the fans were still calling and aiming for US$2M. Nothing in this scale has ever happened in fandom. Part of the donations went to bailing out protesters arrested during rallies.
By June 4, BTS officially tweeted their support to Black Lives Matter: “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we, all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”
The voices of fans were too loud to ignore.
Mirroring each other
The symbiotic relationship between BTS and ARMY that was spurred by love of music has carried them beyond music to social justice. This is not unusual as from the start BTS and ARMY were meant to be the mirror image of each other.
ARMY is a fandom largely of youths in their teens and twenties which is the age group of BTS idols. BTS has successfully captured this market globally and became the world’s biggest boy band since the Beatles. Audiences could easily get glued to their upbeat music and slick choreography coupled with their youthful energy, good looks, clean image, and individual diversity. Their songs, however, are all in in Korean with just a smattering of English. ARMY goes to the rescue and translates or interprets, unpaid, the lyrics, tweets and interviews of BTS to non-Korean listeners and readers, meaning in various languages. Talk about breaking barriers.
The impact of BTS to their fandom was displayed when they came to Manila for a concert tour in 2017. The Mall of Asia Arena was instantly turned into a karaoke stadium when Filipino fans simply broke out into song after song in Korean as their idols too were singing and left BTS dumbfounded. As RM, the BTS leader, remarked: “In the Philippines we do not sing for our fans, they sing for us.”
What cuts BTS from other K-pop idols is the mastery of looking out for their fans. Direct contact with fans is deemed the strategy. They have each other’s backs. There is rapport, reciprocity and intimacy, as BTS, be as a group or as individuals, constanly interacts or engages fans on screen (the idols open a lot of themselves to fans except for romantic relationships). Both are creatures of social media and Big Hit Entertainment struck gold when it made social media the platform for launching BTS.
In return the ARMY has invested enormous time and money for BTS. Among others, membership is paid (like $30) and entitles one to first pick to contests or events, pre-reservations to BTS concerts and fan meetings, and priveleges to exclusive merchandise. Though tickets to concerts could be highly priced ($172-$700, even $8,000 for best seats) they are sold out within hours. Then there are numerous volunteer projects such as Black Lives. Also, the race for BTS to top Billboard charts successively for three years meant endless hours on the net using numerous accounts, even by families’ and friends’, to jack up votes for their idols (one hard-core fan said she did this 20,000 times!).
Closer to home the Filipino ARMY shows how it is to be part of the best and most devoted fans in the world. They sprung into several fan pages that one loses track of their names and numbers. They even organized a Philippine K-Pop Convention. Apart from Black Lives, of which they zealously called out for donations and monitored the registers like hawks, they are into other projects. This pandemic they have called out for donations for frontliners and PPEs. They also went into the protection of coral reefs. And earlier in January, during the Taal Volcano disaster, they organized relief operations for victims. Knowing this their ARMY counterparts abroad responded with support, sympathy and encouragement and BTS idols RM and V messaged their concern for the Philippines.
Spirit of advocacy
Reverting to advocacy or activism, however, is not something new to Filipino idol fans or to their local idols as well.
One recalls the phenomenal ALDUB duo in 2015 that captivated the entire nation, reaching up to overseas Filipinos in countries where they reside or work. Out of this was born the fandom ALDUB Nation which led a Twitter breaker of over 40 million hits in one day for an ALDUB event in October that year. The spike in traffic downed servers in many countries as well. In due time ALDUB Nation channeled some of its energies into charitable projects such as relief operations in the aftermath of typhoons, book donations for underprivileged children and, more strongly, support for the Lumad (indigenous people) struggle for self-determination.
Of late the fans of Kathniel (monicker for the love-team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla) as well as Vice Ganda’s had braved threats of harm as they openly sided with their idols to protest the shutdown by government of media giant ABS-CBN and in defense of press freedom. Fans of Coco Martin, Kim Chu, Angel Locsin and other movie stars also engaged their idols’ bashers who tried to humiliate, abuse and physically threaten their idols who were standing up for freedom of expression, job security, and assistance to the needy during this pandemic.
As far back as the 70s, during the time of the Marcos dictatorship, activism had run deep among Filipino artists in film, theatre and music. More often, though, they were ahead of their fan base, possibly influencing them more than the other way around in taking up national and social issues. Luminaries like movie directors Lino Brocka and Behn Cervantes were among the first known artists to have braved arrest and imprisonment as they protested oil price hikes along with repression under Marcos. An alliance of progressive artists called the Concerned Artists of the Philippines came into being during this time and is active until today.
Fast track this to the current Duterte regime and the Filipino artists, in the mainstream or alternative circles, continue to fight for causes, even at the risk of being red-tagged and branded a “terrorist”. They have lent their names and influence and, whenever necessary, appeared in media or in crowds to fight for democracy and justice, very recently against the so-called Anti-Terrorism Bill which could be worse than martial law. In a way they have become idols of resistance, raising the awareness of their fans and encouraging them to fight for their own rights as citizens.
The list of idols, or “celebrities”, is becoming longer in the fight against the terror bill. To name a few — From the music industry: Ely Buendia, Chikoy Pura, Paolo Benjamin of Ben&Ben, IV of Spades, Unique Salonga, Dong Abay, Plagpul, Tubaw. From the film sector: Liza Soberano, Nadine Lustre, Anne Curtis, Dingdong Dantes, James Reid, Bea Alonso, Heart Evangelista, Janine Gutierrez, Enchong Dee, Angel Aquio. And from the theatre arts: Lea Salongs, Mae Paner, Bonifacio Ilagan, Jose Miguel Severo. Even Ms Universe beauty queens from the Philippines Catriona Gray and Pia Wurtzbach could not keep their views to themselves and voiced their opposition to the bill.
As idols make a stand — whether for local, national or global issues — the respect for them as artist and person is heightened, pulling their fan base to become even wider, broader, and progressive. Which is heartwarming because fandoms are redirected to something more meaningful and substantial.
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Threats mount vs. Coca-Cola workers as union elections near
“In the five years that the union has existed, it has succeeded in the struggle for regularization when the workers went on strike in 2017, sorted out the union fund after the previous leadership left nothing, conducted multiple series of educational discussions to help the workers understand their rights, its leaders have studied how to best run the union in order to serve its workers, and advanced the struggle for livable wages and benefits through [Collective Bargaining Agreements].”
By JUSTIN UMALI
Bulatlat.com
SANTA ROSA, Laguna – Harassment and accusations of being linked with communist groups continue against workers of the Coca-Cola FEMSA plant in Santa Rosa in the days leading up to their local union elections.
According to watchdog Defend Coca-Cola Workers, police and intelligence officers visited the houses of Coca-Cola workers to dissuade them from voting the incumbent union’s slate in the upcoming June 23 local elections, claiming that “Team Roger” had links to the revolutionary New People’s Army (NPA).
“It seems like the capitalists have run out of tricks that even during the campaign period they do not wish to give union members the freedom to practice their right to campaign,” said the group in a statement posted on their Facebook account.
In a video posted by the group, two unidentified men were talking to the wife of a union member, ostensibly to dissuade her husband from participating in union activities.
The group also reported an incident where at least three individuals went to the house of a union officer to intimidate him. The individuals introduced themselves as members of the Philippine National Police, and two of them identified themselves as Sacyanan Gerbel and Luis Mario Cuevas Yusi.
A third individual refused to give their name.
The individuals informed the labor leader that their “comrades have surrendered” and that they should “clear their name as leaders of the CPP-NPA.” They then mentioned that should the Anti-Terrorism Bill be passed then they will use it to “hunt down the terrorists.”
Defend Coca-Cola Workers decried the incidents, stating that it was “evidence that the bloodthirsty police and military will use and abuse the Anti-Terror Bill to intimidate and illegally arrest the people.”
The group contended that the incidents were in line with the upcoming union elections. “There is clear collusion between the capitalists at Coke and the AFP/PNP in going house-to-house with the opportunist turncoats Raffy Baylosis and Rey Medellin,” the statement read.
Both Baylosis and Medellin have figured before as labor leaders-turned-police assets in the previous months.
Baylosis was former president of Liga na Pinalakas ng Manggagawa sa Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines Sta. Rosa Plant (LIGA). In 2018, they staged a picket demanding regularization for 675 contractual employees, some of which have worked in the plant for 18 years. Baylosis and the other contractual employees succeeded in their call and were subsequently regularized.
On May 1, Baylosis acted a spokesperson for 16 Coca-Cola employees who were presented as “NPA surrenderees” during a sham ceremony in Camp Vicente Lim, Calamba. The 16 employees were taken to the military camp immediately after their shift the day before, with vague explanations of what was going on.
Medellin was also a former high-ranking labor leader who was himself a victim of harassment and red-tagging from a certain Tom Garcia owing to his union involvement. He was also plagued with financial trouble and struggled to raise his 10 children.
Last March 29, Medellin appeared in Camp Vicente Lim as “Rebo”, posing as one of 40 “surrendered” New People’s Army soldiers. A few days later, Medellin was identified visiting union leaders’ houses with the PNP to coerce them to surrender as “members” of the NPA.
The workers of Coca-Cola remain steadfast despite the threats, and have asserted that their union was a true union serving the workers’ interests.
“In the five years that the union has existed,” Defend Coca-Cola Workers stated, “it has succeeded in the struggle for regularization when the workers went on strike in 2017, sorted out the union fund after the previous leadership left nothing, conducted multiple series of educational discussions to help the workers understand their rights, its leaders have studied how to best run the union in order to serve its workers, and advanced the struggle for livable wages and benefits through [Collective Bargaining Agreements].”
“Despite the scare-tactics by the AFP/PNP, these fascist attacks will never shake the workers from their fight for salary, benefits, and security of tenure.”
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Hidden Victims of the Pandemic: The Old Man, the Jail Aide, and the Convict
Three persons deprived of liberty describe how inhuman conditions in the country’s jails and prisons are placing them at greater risk amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The post Hidden Victims of the Pandemic: The Old Man, the Jail Aide, and the Convict appeared first on Kodao Productions.