“I have only a simple concrete question: No doubt that it is highly commendable that you have cleared the major streets of Manila of the graft-laden anarchy of vendors. But are there provisions for the poor vendors to peddle their goods in some permissible areas or to have alternative means of livelihood?” Sison asked.
‘Impunity rules the land’ — kin of Morong 43 on junking of charges vs military, police
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — After nine years of searching for justice, the 43 health workers arrested, detained and tortured by the military are still facing a blank wall.
This after the Sandiganbayan 7th Division dismissed the charges of violations of Republic Act No. 7438, otherwise known as “An Act Defining Certain Rights of Person Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation as well as the Duties of the Arresting, Detaining and Investigating Officers, and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof” filed against several military and police officials. In a resolution dated July 1, the Sandiganbayan junked the charges for “insufficiency of evidence.”
Roneo Clamor, Karapatan deputy secretary general and husband of one of the Morong 43, Dr. Merry Mia Clamor, said in a statement, “The decision of the 7th Division of the Sandiganbayan on the Morong 43 case is one of the most stark indications that despite strong evidence and testimonies of human rights violations by State actors, impunity rules the land.”
The Sandiganbayan said that the prosecution failed to prove that private complainants have counsel(s) of choice at the time of arrest and during detention, and that accused obstructed, prevented or prohibited said private complainants from conferring with their counsel of choice.
Lawyers of the Morong 43 are frustrated with the decision.
Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said with sarcasm, “Lesson: next time, all individuals, especially those labelled “enemies of the State,” must have a written engagement (notarized preferably) of a specifically named lawyer of choice in one’s wallet, purse or backpack saying: “In case of any arrest, detention, torture or disappearance, pls contact Atty ABC at the following numbers XXXX”. That is, if the police or military do not help themselves to your wallet and let you eat that piece of paper.”
In their testimonies, the Morong 43 health workers said they were denied counsel when they were arrested on Feb. 6, 2010 in Morong, Rizal. They were held incommunicado in Camp Capinpin, a military camp, where they were interrogated and tortured to falsely admitting they were members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army.
The Sandiganbayan decision, signed by Associate Justices Zaldy Trespeses, Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta and Georgina Hidalgo, also ruled that the prosecution failed to establish conspiracy among the accused in the commission of the offense charged.
The court said the complainants failed to identify the accused.
Merry Mia Clamor, Mercy Castro and Ma. Teresa Quinawayan, three of the Morong 43, testified that they recognized the voices of military officials who interrogated them while they were blindfolded.
Among those charged were Jorge Segovia, then commanding officer of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army; Joselito Reyes, then chief of staff of the 2nd Infantry Division; Aurelio Baladad, then the commanding officer of the 202 Infantry Brigade, which had operational control over the place of the arrest in Morong, Rizal; and Marion Balonglong, as he was part of the arresting team.
Also charged were Allan Nobleza, chief of the Intelligence Branch of the Philippine National Police-Rizal Province; Jovily Carmel Cabading, spokeswoman of Camp Capinpin under 2nd Infantry Division, and; Cristobal Zaragoza, then the Intelligence Officer of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army.
Clamor recounted the torture experienced by his wife and 42 other health workers. “They were blindfolded, handcuffed, and deprived of sleep and rest…Some of them received beatings from their captors. They were subjected to humiliation when the soldiers refused to give them privacy when they used comfort rooms.”
“They were told that they have no other choice but to admit the trumped up charges filed against them, because their lawyers, families and organizations have abandoned them. They were threatened to be killed, along with their families,” Clamor said.
A Commission on Human Rights (CHR) resolution dated April 21, 2015 said that the health workers were tortured and deprived of their rights against unlawful search and seizure and their rights as detainees.
The CHR listed down the rights violated at the time of their arrest. These were:
1. Right to counsel immediately after arrest
2. Right against incommunicado status
3. Right against prolonged and repeated interrogation to elicit information
4. Right to sleep
5. Visitation rights of families and relatives
6. During tactical interrogation, they were threatened with death and forced to admit membership in the New People’s Army
7. They were alternately threatened, and convinced to cooperate with the military in exchange of getting their cases fixed or rewards
8. They were deprived privacy, and sexually harassed
Karapatan pointed out that many of the respondents, including Segovia, Baladad and Zaragoza have been promoted to higher posts in the military hierarchy.
Segovia was appointed as 10th Infantry Division chief of the Philippine Army and consequently Commanding General of the Eastern Mindanao Command. Baladad was assigned as 3rd Infantry Division-Philippine Army chief and also commanding general of the Eastern Mindanao Command.
Karapatan said that numerous reports of human rights violations have been documented during Segovia and Baladad’s stints in Mindanao and Panay.
Zaragoza, meanwhile, was previously assigned to the 4th Infantry Division in Northern Mindanao and is now commander of the AFP’s Joint Task Force-National Capital Region.
“When torturers and human rights violators are rewarded with promotions and acquittals for the crimes they have perpetuated against individuals and communities, this means that the infrastructure of impunity has been so ingrained in the justice system in the country,” Clamor said.
Clamor vowed to continue to struggle for justice and accountability.
The torture charges filed by Morong 43 were also dismissed in October 2015 . The civil case, meanwhile, is pending with a Quezon City local court, according to Olalia.
“We call on all freedom-loving Filipinos to condemn this blatant use of the country’s justice system to enable murderers and torturers in uniform to evade accountability,” Clamor said.
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Pasaka asserts Salugpongan compliance to govt requirements
The Pasaka Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao, denied allegations that the Salugpongan Ta ‘Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center (Salugpongan) administrators did not acquire Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) before putting up the schools.
Karapatan decries Sandiganbayan decision on Morong 43 case
Karapatan today lambasted the recent reported ruling of the 7th Division of the Sandiganbayan, which dismissed the illegal arrest and detention charges of health workers collectively known as the Morong 43.
“The decision of the 7th Division of the Sandiganbayan on the Morong 43 case is one of the most stark indications that despite strong evidence and testimonies of human rights violations by State actors, impunity rules the land,” said Karapatan Deputy Secretary General Roneo Clamor, who also testified in the said proceedings as husband of Dr. Merry Mia Clamor, one of the tortured and illegally detained members of the Morong 43.
Approval of water privatization deal in Bacolod ‘hurried,’ ‘without proper study’ – GM
By Visayas Today
BACOLOD CITY — The decision to approve a “certificate of successful negotiation” for ongoing talks between the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) and Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. for a controversial 25-year joint venture agreement was “hurried” and done “without proper study,” the general manager of the water utility said.
“Naga-ugtas ako (I am exasperated),” Juliana Carbon declared in an interview.
Carbon stressed that, while she saw nothing inherently wrong in allowing private sector participation in improving Baciwa’ s services and systems, the local utility has, given the needed funding and direction, the capacity to accomplish the task.
A joint venture, she said, “is only one of the solutions and it is not the best; there are many other options.”
From daily noontime rallies staged by the Baciwa Employees Union, opposition to the proposed deal, which many consider “privatization,” has grown steadily. As of this week, four barangay councils – those of Sum-ag, Pahanocoy, Tangub and Barangay 21 – have passed resolutions against the joint venture, with others expected to follow suit.
The joint venture, says the BEU and others against the joint venture, would turn water from a natural resource to a profit-generating commodity, to the detriment of consumers. For starters, the union says, a 12 percent value-added tax will be automatically tacked onto water bills once the deal is closed.
The BEU, like Carbon, has pointed to other options, most of which, it says, can be carried out by Baciwa itself – for example, entering into agreements to purchase abundant surface water from neighboring water districts like those of Murcia, Bago or Talisay.
While Carbon acknowledged that Baciwa does not have the funds for expansion, she pointed out that the Development Bank of the Philippines “has written us, offering us standby credit of P3 billion.” The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged Baciwa to take advantage of this.
Yet, in the end, “the board makes policy and it is their decision to go into the (joint venture agreement) as head of the procuring entity” even as she stressed that the governing body created the Joint Venture Selection Committee to study and evaluate (offers) if these are for the good of Baciwa, the people and the workers.”
Carbon said she herself has “practically no role.”
But even if a joint venture were really necessary, Carbon said, the one being negotiated with Prime Water is fraught with problems, not only for Baciwa but, more important, its employees and its consumers.
In fact, Carbon said that, in comments she was asked to make on the negotiation report following the Joint Venture Selection Committee’s last meeting on July 4, she concluded that “the negotiations are not over yet and in fact failed in some aspects.”
Despite these findings, the board approved the issuance of the certificate of successful negotiation.
While admitting she had yet to receive a copy of the certificate, “I understand that there were refinements based on some of my comments.”
However, she noted that these changes were “most likely done by the board” outside the regular JVSC meeting and should, therefore, be subject to a board decision.
The issue of Baciwa’s earnings from the joint venture readily stood out as a major problem.
Carbon said Baciwa, which she stressed “has never been losing,” had asked Prime Water for P80 million a year, “which is our current average net income.”
“But Prime would agree to only P35 million a year from year 1 to 5, and P36 million a year from year 6-10,” she said. “This includes money for wages.”
Under this arrangement, Baciwa will hardly earn anything, Carbon said, something the Commission on Audit would surely question.
Another major flaw Carbon sees is the lack of detail in many of the proposed agreement’s provisions which, she says, could make the deal grossly disadvantageous to the government.
“If they say they will build a building for Baciwa, the dimensions – the floor area, the number of stories – should be specified” otherwise, Prime Water could build a small building and claim it as compliance with its commitments, she explained.
“If you enter into a partnership, you have to lay down all your reasonable goals and then convince the partner to agree and comply with these. It cannot be only what the partner wants. We cannot leave this to Prime Water to decide,” Carbon stressed.
She pointed out that in the terms of reference, Prime Water committed to supply a minimum of 10 pound-force per square inch (psi) during the first year of the joint venture.
“But in the new TOR, this has been moved to the fourth year,” she said.
The Baciwa general manager notes that while Presidential Decree 198, which created local water districts, mandates that water districts acquire, install and facilitate water systems, the joint venture hands over management and operations to Prime Water and “relegates Baciwa to a mere regulating and monitoring unit,” a point critics of the deal raise to argue why it is privatization in all but name.
Carbon also questioned why Prime Water is not obliged to assume Baciwa’s obligations, like the P400-million balance of its original P507-million debt to the DBP.
Although Prime Water will give Baciwa the funds to meet its annual payments, “what if somehow it becomes unable to do so? Since all revenues go to Prime Water, what happens to Baciwa since, in the contract, Baciwa remains the debtor?”
In contrast, she said, Metro Pacific paid off the debt of the Metro Iloilo Water District.
Another snag Carbon saw is Prime Water’s use of Baciwa’s assets, which she said COA has opined “should be considered asset rentals and subjected to a separate agreement.”
“But the negotiation terms provide that Prime Water will pay net usufruct – a legal term meaning to use and enjoy a thing and which is usually free – payments of P25 million a year. This is really still rental,” she said.
But what riled Carbon most are the provisions covering Baciwa’s personnel.
Baciwa executives have given assurances that employees will be “absorbed” under the joint venture, a claim disputed by both the BEU and Carbon since what they say will happen is that the personnel will be transferred from government to private employment. The union says this is evident since their social security coverage will shift from the GSIS to SSS.
“I cannot understand how a mere contract can change the status of employees from public to private,” Carbon wondered.
“Under the agreement, the employees have only two options,” she said. “Be absorbed and become private sector employees, or retire.”
Also, the proposed agreement is silent on the fact that permanent employees have to resign and go through the pre-hiring process all over again, which she said is definitely not absorption.
And even if employees opt for retirement, “there is another problem.”
This has to do with “propriety – some even call it a bribe,” she said.
Carbon was referring to an admittedly generous offer of financial assistance equal to 250 percent of an employee’s current wage.
“But why should Prime Water, a private entity, give Baciwa employees, who are government workers, this incentive and then pass it on to the consumers? Is the employee even allowed to receive this?” she asked.
And then, she added, there is a third question: “What if the employees choose to remain with the district as government employees? Can Baciwa force them to resign or retire?”
Aside from these and other problems in what the Baciwa board has declared a “successful negotiation,” Carbon said “there are so many horror stories of what happened to the districts that partnered with Prime Water.”
“I wonder why the representatives of the water district did not see this and instead signed the certificate of successful negotiation,” she said. Reposted by
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Southern Tagalog kicks off protest caravan, calls for Duterte’s ouster
By JUSTIN UMALI
Bulatlat.com
CALAMBA, Laguna — Hundreds of activists from different sectors of Southern Tagalog kicked off their protest caravan on July 18 in Calamba, Laguna.
Entitled Daluyong 2019: Paglaban at Pakikibaka ng Mamamayan ng Timog Katagalugan para Wakasan ang Tiranikong Rehimeng US-Duterte (Struggle of the Southern Tagalog People to End the Tyrannical US-Duterte Regime), the protest caravan aims to counter President Duterte’s upcoming State of the Nation Address by registering the “real conditions of the Filipino people.” They are calling for the ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte
The theme of the day’s protest was “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos” (Three years without God), calling out President Duterte’s brazen attacks on religion.
United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) Pastor Rev. Nehemias Millares, who led an ecumenical mass in Calamba, decried Duterte’s “slanderous and mocking” remarks against God, and the spate of killings perpetuated by the administration’s cavalier attitude towards violence.
The groups emphasized the three major sins of Duterte against the people – ruthless killings, theft and corruption, and dishonesty.
Casey Cruz, spokesperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Tagalog criticized Duterte’s war against the people.
“Duterte’s lapdog Bato dela Rosa told the media that ‘shit happens’ in buy-bust operations. This exemplifies how they perceive a human being’s life – an inadvertent casualty,” Cruz said.
Dela Rosa made the remark after three-year-old Myca Ulpina was killed in anti-drug police operations in Rizal.
According to international reports, the death toll on drug-related cases rose to 20,000. Cases of extrajudicial killings in rural communities are also on a steady rise as the government implements its counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapanatagan. Heavy military operations in Mindoro have resulted in the killing of Frentes Gutierrez, an 80 year-old community leader who was accused of being a member the New People’s Army.
Spearheaded by BAYAN-ST, along with the Southern Tagalog Ouster Movement (STORM), DEFEND-ST, and Karapatan-ST, the delegates came from various sectors and mass organizations, and converged following the Laguna province’s State of the Province Address.
The program began with a cultural performance by Southern Tagalog Cultural Alliance, depicting the human rights violations perpetrated by state security forces in the provinces.
Speakers from the workers, women, the youth sector, farmers, revealed their conditions, which were exacerbated by the Duterte administration’s anti-poor policies.
The delegation has begun their caravan today, moving from Calamba, Laguna towards San Pedro. They will be making short stops in Cabuyao, Biñan, and Santa Rosa to expose the realities under the Duterte administration.
Each day of the protest caravan will focus on an aspect of the Duterte administration’s policies and programs, such as TRAIN Law, Oplan Tokhang, the continuing deals with US and China, attacks on Philippine national sovereignty, and Oplan Kapanatagan, among others.
The Southern Tagalog delegation expects to unite with the national delegation in time for the United People’s SONA on July 22.
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LODI statement on the PNP-DOJ sedition charges
The objective here, as what has been done in other cases, is to confuse, corrupt and crush every one who dares to stand up against Duterte.
Groups denounce ‘political persecution of Robredo, critics’
MANILA — Several groups have condemned the filing of sedition, cyber libel and other criminal charges against Vice President Leni Robredo and 35 other individuals by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
Robredo, members of Otso Diretso, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and members of the Church and other individuals critical of Duterte were being sued for the release of “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos. The six-part video series, which was uploaded in social media platforms, links the family of President Rodrigo Duterte and his close allies to the illegal drugs trade.
In a statement, media and arts alliance Let’s Organize for Democracy and Integrity (LODI) branded the PNP’s action as “a cheap attempt to clamp down on dissent.”
Inday Espina-Varona, LODI convenor, said, “It seems this is less about the ‘Bikoy videos’, but more a continuation of the now-discredited ‘matrix’ and Red October yarns. They want a new ‘chismis’ to drive a wedge in the broad opposition ahead of the United People’s SONA.”
President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver his State of the Nation Address this Monday. Various groups have announced their plan to stage the United People’s SONA in the streets of Manila and other urban centres.
“The objective here, as what has been done in other cases, is to confuse, corrupt and crush every one who dares to stand up against Duterte,” Espina-Varona said.
The veteran journalist also took a swipe at the police’s absence of credibility and of moral grounds.
“There is no reason to believe a flip-flopping witness and police officials whose main moves, whether in the matter of extrajudicial killings or other rights abuses, have been geared to protect an abusive government from accountability,” she said.
In a separate statement, Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate dubbed the charges as “harassment suit.”
Zarate also believes that the case was filed “to steal the thunder from the broadening movement against the excesses and tyrannical policies of the Duterte administration.”
Zarate, a lawyer, said that the case against Robredo and the others “is destitute of merit and would not stand credence in a fair court.”
Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said the allegations are “most probably contrived.”
“At any rate, they smack of political persecution and shotgun repression on its face using again the legal system as a potent political weapon through the law of rulers,” Olalia said.
Colmenares noted that “the same template being utilized by the Duterte regime against progressives and activists is being used wholesale against opposition figures.”
“They file trumped up charges against critics of the regime to silence them from exposing the rottenness of the administration,” Colmenares said, citing the detention of peace consultants Vic Ladlad and Rey Casambre and Sen. Leila de Lima.
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