PinoyAbrod.net

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Consultants as well as other people involved in the peace negotiations are supposedly protected under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) which both the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Philippine government approved in 1995. But even then, these consultants are not spared from arrests. There were even cases of them going missing and being killed.

The arrest and detention of peace consultants also violate the Hernandez political doctrine or the Supreme Court ruling which prohibits the criminalization of political offenses.

The NDFP consultants are charged with common crimes to hide the political motive behind their arrest and detention and to portray them as ordinary criminals. Their lawyers have maintained that the evidence against them were planted.

In Rey Casambre’s case, for example, the police claimed to have found inside the couple’s vehicle one colt commander caliber 45 pistol; one magazine for cal. 45; seven live ammunition for cal. 45; one bundle electric detonating cord; one fragmentation grenade, cellphones, a laptop and cash. Four days later, his wife Cora was released pending the conduct of investigation on the said case as the Bacoor City prosecutor found the allegation as “preposterous.”

In this timeline, Bulatlat documents attacks against the peace consultants and Duterte’s statements pertaining to the resumption of the peace talks and issuance of the orders which the NDFP viewed as hindrance to resume the talks in the negotiating table.

Feb. 5, 2017 – President Duterte declares he is calling off the peace talks with the NDFP. He also threatens to arrest NDFP consultants and tags the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA) and NDFP as a “terrorist group.”

Feb. 6, 2017 – Soldiers arrest NDFP consultant Ariel Arbitrario and his two companions Jun Sinday and Roderick Mamuyac at a military checkpoint in Toril, Davao City. According to human rights alliance Karapatan, the three are brought to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group XI (CIDG – XI) office in Camp Leonor, San Pedro. CIDG personnel bring Arbitrario to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) 11, Branch 1 in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley. Sinday is eventually released.

Feb. 12, 2017 – NDFP consultant Ferdinand Castillo is arrested by combined forces from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Intelligence Services Group-Philippine Army (ISG-PA) and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). He is accused of illegal possession of firearms and heinous crimes, such as murder and attempted murder.

May 11, 2017 – Rommel Salinas, NDFP peace consultant and his companions, Bishop Carlo Morales of the Iglesia Filipino Independiente, his wife Ma. Teofilina and driver Isadome Dalid are arrested at a checkpoint in Ozamis City. Salinas is pushing for the continuation of the formal peace talks. He reportedly shows his document of identification as proof that he is protected under Jasig but it was ignored. While his companions are released, Salinas remains in prison.

Nov. 23, 2017 — Duterte signs Proclamation No. 360 cancelling peace talks between the GRP and the NDFP.

Jan. 11, 2018 – Manila RTC Branch 32 Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina orders the re-arrest of Wilma and Benito Tiamzon as well as Adelberto Silva. They are previously granted bail on August 11, 2016 to participate in the peace negotiations. According to the decision, “the court found no reason to further allow their temporary liberty following President Duterte’s Proclamation No. 360, which terminated the peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP.”

Jan. 31, 2018 — NDFP consultant Rafael Baylosis, 68, and his companion Roque Guillermo Jr. are arrested along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City by CIDG-National Capital Region (NCR) elements. The police claim that Baylosis and Guillermo have two caliber .45 pistols and a grenade in an eco-bag with brown rice. They are charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives. On Jan. 15, 2019, Quezon City court dismisses the charges against Baylosis and Guillermo. The judge finds the police’s claims as “more imagined than real.”

Feb. 24, 2018 — Lora Manipis, NDFP consultant and husband Jeruel Domingo, an NPA commander in Saranggani and South Cotabato go missing. According to a news report, they are last seen in Kidapawan City. The NDFP-Far South Mindanao fears that the couple may have been executed by the military. Prior to their disappearance, the NDFP stresses that the couple are busy conducting dialogues with peasant and indigenous people allegedly affected by the Xstrata Mining operations in Tampakan, South Cotabato.

June 14, 2018 – President Duterte postpones scheduled resumption of peace talks in The Netherlands. He reportedly needs more time to review past agreements between the NDF and the Philippine government.

July 12, 2018 – Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque says that the government will only resume peace talks through localized peace talks, a policy eventually rejected by the NDFP.

Oct. 16, 2018 – Adelberto Silva, 71, vice chairperson of the NDFP Negotiating Panel’s Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms, is arrested together with four companions in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. According to news reports, the basis is a ” warrant of arrest related to the 15 counts of murder in the Inopacan, Leyte masscre.” The police claim there are two .45 caliber pistols and explosives found inside the car of Silva et al. They are charged with illegal possession of firearms. Silva is among the 19 consultants released in 2016 to participate in the formal peace negotiations between the NDFP and the GRP. His name is also included in the more than 600 individuals of Department of Justice’s proscription list.

Nov. 7, 2018 – Peace consultant Vicente Ladlad, 68, is arrested together with elderly couple Alberto and Virginia Villamor, in barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City at around midnight. According to news reports, the raid of a house in Novaliches is done by a joint team of the police and military. The latter claim to have recovered various rifles, pistols, ammunition, grenades and subversive documents from Ladlad and the couple. However, Ladlad’s wife, Fides Lim denies all allegations and stresses that the firearms are planted. She says Ladlad is also a chronic asthmatic which has degenerated into emphysema.  Charged with illegal possession of firearms, Ladlad and the Villamor couple are currently detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan.

Ladlad is also being implicated in the Hilongos, Leyte case.

Dec. 4, 2018 – President Duterte signs Executive Order No. 70 “institutionalizing the whole-of-nation approach to attain inclusive and sustainable peace.” In this EO, a national task force will be created to end local “communist armed conflict.” NDFP Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison describes this as “presidential issuance to terminate and prevent the resumption of peace talks at the appropriate national level between authorized representatives of the Philippine government and NDFP.”

Dec. 7, 2018 – Peace consultant and Philippine Peace Center executive director Rey Claro Casambre, 67 and his wife Patricia Cora, 72, are arrested while on their way home in Bacoor, Cavite. Casambre is arrested by a virtue of a warrant issued by Davao Oriental Regional Trial Court on Nov. 23, 2018. He, together with six others, are charged with murder and attempted murder in relation to a supposed armed encounter on Sept. 13, 2018 in a remote village in Lupon, Davao Oriental.

Jan. 30, 2019 – Peace consultant Randy Felix Malayao, 49, is gunned down while asleep inside a bus in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya at 2:30 a.m.

The police claim that the NPA is responsible for killing Malayao as the latter allegedly mismanaged funds and ran off with a woman. But the CPP disputes such claims and criticizes the police for spreading intrigues and trying to cover up the murder. Recovered from Malayao is his document of identification proving he was covered by the Jasig. He is the first peace consultant killed under the Duterte administration.

Feb. 19, 2019 – President Duterte once again expresses openness in the resumption of peace talks.

March 21, 2019 – NDFP peace consultant for the National Capital Region Renante Gamara and his companion, retired priest Arturo Balagat, are arrested by the Regional Special Operations Unit of the National Capital Region Police Office-Philippine National Police, Philippine Army and intelligence agents. They are charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

March 25, 2019 – NDFP consultant Frank Fernandez, his wife Cleofe Lagtapon and Ge-ann Perez are arrested in Liliw, Laguna. Military says he had a bounty of P8 million for his capture on charges of rebellion, murder and attempted murder in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental province. His companions, meanwhile, are charged with murder and robbery case in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental province.

Other NDFP consultants Leopoldo Caloza, Emerito Antalan and Eduardo Sarmiento were convicted of trumped-up criminal charges and are serving their sentences at the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa.

According to Karapatan, there are 532 political prisoners in the country, 209 of whom were arrested under President Duterte’s administration.

Kapatid, families and friends of political prisoners, have been calling for the release of their loved ones.

The post Timeline | Attacks on peace consultants under the Duterte administration appeared first on Bulatlat.

Halos lahat ng mga bayang naging maunlad at nakaranas ng malawakang industriyalisasyon ang napaunlad sa tulong ng makabuluhang paggamit ng mga makinarya sa produksyon, para sa transportasyon ng mga tao, produkto at gamit sa agrikultura at industriya, at para sa pagkonsumo ng mga tao sa mga bagong likhang produkto.

Simula nang gamitin ang mga uling (coal) sa industriyalisasyon, naisakatuparan na ang pagpapabilis ng paggawa ng mga bagay mula sa hilaw na materyales tungo sa mga yaring produkto. Ang mga uling din ang nagpagalaw sa mga bagong likhang makinarya upang maging mabilis ang paggawa ng mga bagay sa pamamagitan ng paglalapat ng teknolohiya at bagong kaalamang siyentipiko sa paggawa.

Dahil na rin sa paggamit ng uling, naisakatuparan ang pagpapabilis ng ugnayan ng mga tao sa iba ibang lugar ng daigdig. Napalitan na ang paglalakbay sa dagat mula sa paglalayag (na nakasalalay sa ihip ng hangin) tungo sa bapor na pinapatakbo ng singaw na nagiging enerhiya para umusad ang mga barkong naglalakbay sa iba’t ibang karagatan. Sa kalaunan, nakita ang masamang epekto ng paggamit ng uling sa kalikasan at kapaligiran kaya nagpaunlad na ngayon ng maraming alternatibong pagkukunan ng enerhiya na maaaring paulit-ulit na gamitin nang hindi nakakapaminsala sa kalikasan.

Sa transportasyong panlupa, naging susi ang paggamit ng mga tren na nag-ugnay sa mga lugar na interyor na dating mahirap, matagal at mabagal na mapuntahan ng mga tao at industriya. Ang mga halimbawa ng ekstensibong pag-unlad ng sistema ng tren sa Amerika at India ang nagpatunay na mapapadali ang transportasyon, komunikasyon at ugnayan ng mga tao at lipunan sa pamamagitan ng bagong sistema ng daang bakal.

Maraming maiaanak na industriya ang daang bakal. Napapaunlad nito ang mga bagong bayan at lungsod na nagiging sentro ng kalakalan sa pagbubukas ng mga bagong istasyon ng tren sa iba ibang bayan. Naglulunsad ito ng mga bagong industriya ng bakal at asero na kailangan hindi lamang sa mga tren mismo, kundi sa mga daang bakal. Nagbigay ito ng maraming trabaho sa mga manggagawang kasangkot sa paggawa ng tren, pagpapaunlad ng mga daang bakal at istasyon, at pati na sa pagpapanatili ng kondisyon ng mga makina at daang bakal.

Dahil din sa tren naging posible ang pagpapaunlad ng mga produktong agrikultural sa malawakang pamamaraan. Napag-ugnay ng mga tren ang mga sentro ng produksyong sakahan sa mga lungsod na nakapagpaunlad ng industriya. Dahil dito, natatamo ang pangunahing tulak sa industriyalisasyon ng isang bayan na nagtitiyak sa kakayahan nitong gumawa ng mga yaring produkto mula sa hilaw na sangkap.

Subalit hindi ganoon kadali ang pormula ng industriyalisasyon. Maraming sagabal sa pagtatamo ng kaunlaran ng bayan. Kung ginugugol ang kabang yaman ng pamahalaan hindi para sa pagpapaunlad ng ekonomiya kundi sa ibang hindi produktibong gawain, madaling mauubos ang pondo na dapat sana ay nakalaan para sa pagpapaunlad ng industriyalisasyon at transportasyong nakabatay sa tren.

Isa na sa magastos na gugulin ng pamahalaan ng pakikisangkot sa napakaraming gyera at ekspedisyong militar sa mga lugar na gusto nitong ‘mapapayapa’ sa pamamagitan ng pananakop pangmilitar. Malaki ang nagiging gastusin kung ginagamit ang pondo ng pamahalaan sa panggegera sa sariling lugar na dapat sana ay pagmumulan ng kaunlaran. Mauubos din ang pondo ng pamahalaan kung walang direksyon ang paggastos nito at napupunta na lamang sa mga bulsa ng mga indibidwal at pinunong hindi alam ang dapat gawin upang mapaunlad ang mga pamayanan.

Noon pa lamang ika-19 na dantaon, nakilala na ng ilang intelektwal ang ganitong suliranin ng kawalan ng kaunlaran sa bansa. Sa kanyang pagsusuri sa kawalan ng progreso sa Pilipinas, sinabi ng bayaning si Isabelo de los Reyes (higit na kilala bilang Don Belong) ang kalagayang pumipigil sa pag-unlad ng bansa. Sa kanyang aklat na “La Sensacional Memoria de Isabelo de los Reyes sobre la Revolucion Filipina de 1896-97”, sinabi niya na

Nais ng bansa na ang gagastusin (sa mga ekspedisyong militar) sa Mindanao at sa mga kanugnog-isla ay gamitin na lamang sa paggawa ng mga tulay, kalye, at mga riles ng tren, dahil nananaghili siya sa mga kalapit bansang pag-aari ng mga Ingles na mga nakauungos na sa larangang ito, dahil sa ang Filipinas naman ay likas na mayaman din sa mga bagay para roon.

… Paunlarin muna natin ang industriya at kalakalan sa Luzon at Bisaya, sa pamamagitan ng paglalagay ng mga riles ng tren na kailangang kailangan doon. At kapag maunlad na ang mga iyon, maaakit na natin sa mga lalawigan ang mga kapitalistang Europeo at Amerikano, at pagkatapos noo’y mapagtutuunan na natin ng pansin ang kalagayan ng mga isla sa Timog, Ito’y kung sakaling hindi iyon napabuti ng komersyo dahil sa pansariling interes, kung ipinahayag yaon na isang ‘puerto franco’ (bukas na daungan) katulad ng ibang mga nasa Luzon.

Ano ba ang dahilan kung bakit hindi maisubasta ang lahat ng plano para sa riles ng tren sa Luzon? Kailangan ba na magtipid ng napakaraming libong piso? Kung gayo’y hanapin iyon sa gastusin ng burokrasya, pero huwag nang pahirapin ang pagtanggap ng mga gawaing panriles ng tren dahil kailangang-kailangan ito ng agrikultura, ng komersyo, at ng industriya ng bansa.

Malinaw ang pahayag ni Don Belong kung bakit napag-iwanan tayo ng ibang karatig bayan sa usapin ng kaunlaran, transportasyon at kalakalan. Sinabi niya na magastos ang paglulunsad ng maraming ekspedisyong militar na hindi naman nagbubunga ng pag-unlad sa kalagayan ng mga mamamayan. Dahil dito, ang ilang pondo na dapat sana ay gugugulin sa industriya ang napupunta sa panggegera sa ibang teritoryo sa loob ng bansa. Kahit nga ang mga lugar sa Carolinas at ibang mga karatig isla ng Mindanao ay pinaglunsaran ng mga ekspedisyong militar ng mga Espanyol kahit na halata namang walang mapapalang ganansya sa panggegera dito.

Pinanukala ni Don Belong ang pagsisimula ng industriyalisasyon sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng pondo na dating inilalaan sa panggegiyera, at gastusin ito sa pagpapagawa ng mga daang bakal at sistema ng tren sa Luzon at Visayas. Sinabi niya na kung mapapaunlad ang mga rehiyong ito, matutulungan nilang mapaunlad ang Mindanao sa pagpapalawak ng kalakalan at susunod na ito sa industriyalisasyon.

Binigyang kritisismo din ni Don Belong ang malaking gastos ng burokrasya sa mga pasweldo sa mga taong wala namang gaanong ginagawa para sa bayan. Kung gagamitin ang mga ito sa pagpapaunlad ng sistema ng ten, malaking ginhawa ang matatamo ng bayan.

Magkagayunman, hindi pa rin ganap ang pagiging mapagpalaya sa ekonomiya sa yugtong ito ng pag-unlad ng kaisipan ni Don Belong. Iniasa pa rin niya sa dayuhang kapital ang pagdaloy ng inisyatiba sa pagpapaunlad. Hindi nakita ni Don Belong na maaaring maging pagkakataon ito na malagay sa kamay ng dayuhang mamumuhunan ang pangunahing mga industriya kung sa mga kapitalistang Amerikano at Europeo pa rin nakasalalay ang pagpapaunlad. Ikalawa, nakasampay pa rin sa pagpapabukas ng mga daungan sa pandaigdigang kalakalan ang programa ng kaunlaran ayon kay Don Belong. Ang pagbubukas ng mga daungan sa pandaigdigang kalakal ang hudyat ng pangingibabaw ng banyagang kapital sa lokal na kabuhayan. Ito ang pinanukala niya, hindi ang lokal na industriyalisasyon na magtitiyak na may kabuhayan ang mga pamayanan mula sa sariling yamang likas at sa paggamit ng makabagong teknolohiya. Ikatlo, tila tinanggap na ni Don Belong na mapag-iiwanan talaga ang Mindanao sa usapin ng kaunlaran kung ang prayoridad na naman ng pamahalaan ang unahin ang Luzon at Visayas sa programa ng industriyalisasyon. Magiging hindi na naman pantay ang lagay ng ekonomiya kung ganoon ang mangyayari.

Kahit na may limitasyon ang ideya at panukala ni Don Belong sa ilang bagay ng pagpapaunlad, tila nakita nito ang maaaring posibleng problema kung hindi mabibigyan ng pansin ang pagkakaugnay ng kawalan ng sistema ng tren, ang panggegera sa Mindanao, ang kakulangan ng kaunlaran sa ekonomiya, at ang kalagayang napag-iwanan na tayo ng ilang karatig-bayan. Parang ang kasalukuyang panahon ang binabanggit ni Don Belong sa kanyang mga tinatalakay na problema ng kahirapan ng bayan noon pa lamang panahon ng mga Espanyol. Bulok pa rin ang mga tren. May nagaganap pa ring digmaan sa Mindanao. Nasa kamay pa rin ng dayuhan ang nakararaming bahagi ng ating ekonomiya. Pinagkakakitaan pa rin ng mga burokrata ang mga proyekto sa pamahalaang gingagastusan ng taumbayan. Ang alaalang itinala ni Don Belong ang patunay na marami pang aral sa kasaysayan ang magtuturo sa mga solusyon ng kasalukuyang problema ng ating bayan.

Ref.
Isabelo de los Reyes. La Sensacional Memoria de Isabelo de los Reyes sobre la Revolucion Filipina de 1896-97. isinalin sa Filipino ni Teresita Alcantara bilang Memoria: Ang Madamdaming Alaala ni Isabelo de los Reyes Hinggil sa Rebolusyong Filipino ng 1896-97. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 2001.

The post Si Don Belong, ang bulok na tren, ang gyera sa Mindanao at ang pambansang industriyalisasyon appeared first on Bulatlat.

“What they demand is just and proper. But it seemed like the government forgets that enough wages, proper benefits and the right to form a union are our constitutional and labor rights.”

By ALYSSA MAE CLARIN and JOHN AARON MARK MACARAEG
Bulatlat.com

CABUYAO, Laguna — Multisectoral groups held a caravan July 9 to express their solidarity with the striking workers of Pepmaco and NutriAsia.

The contingent led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) first joined Pepmaco workers as they staged a protest in front of the factory. They marched from the workers’ picket line toward the front of the Pepmaco factory where guards have barred the entrance to the company.

Two weeks ago, Pepmaco workers were violently dispersed by goons at one o’clock in the morning, forcing them to move their picket line behind the factory. Twelve were injured.

Brenda Ebero, one of the workers, said, “After we went on strike, we got fired from our jobs.”

Despite this, the group of workers continued their protest.

“They (workers) refuse to stop their protest because they know they are fighting for what is right!” said Jerome Adonis, Kilusang Mayo Uno secretary general in his speech.

Pepmaco workers have been working 12 hours a day, with only three 15- to 30-minute breaks, and with no regular day of rest for the past months.

They reported how they have been handling hazardous chemicals with their bare hands because the company refused to provide them with gloves and face masks.

Christine Gudoy, Pepmaco workers’ union secretary, recounted how the company’s guards even barred the entrance of their supporters who only wanted to bring them food.

“Where is your humanity?” asked Gudoy, turning to the security guards, “We are all workers here!”

The workers’ union of Pepmaco is fighting for regularization, as well as the right for more humane working conditions.

READ: Why Pepmaco workers are on strike

When asked for how long are they willing to pursue their demands, Ebero said they will continue the fight for as long as it takes. “We’ve already sacrificed so much, we will stay until we get what we want,” she said.

NutriAsia workers detained for trumped-up charges

The delegation then proceeded to Cabuyao City Hall, where 17 Nutri-Asia workers are being detained after they were arrested last July 6.

It was the first day of the NutriAsia workers’ strike when policemen and security guards dispersed the workers using a bulldozer.

The giant condiments company filed several criminal cases against the workers, including malicious mischief, grave coercion, theft, robbery, arson, serious and slight illegal detention and direct and indirect assault.

“What they [arrested workers] demand is just and proper. But it seemed like the government forgets that enough wages, proper benefits and the right to form a union are our constitutional and labor rights,” said Adonis.

He condemned how easily the government could brand labor rights leaders and union members as terrorists for demanding basic labor rights.

“It is high time for workers to unite, and fight the injustice of capitalists and the current administration.”

Supporters have called for a boycott of Pepmaco products such as Champion detergent powder, Calla fabric conditioner and Systema toothpaste and of NutriAsia products such as Datu Puti, Mang Tomas, Jufran, among others.

The post Multisectoral groups support Pepmaco, NutriAsia workers appeared first on Bulatlat.