PinoyAbrod.net

“Whatever twaddle they claim, the current jeepney operators will not be able to survive the fleet management and consolidation ordered in the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines.”

By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Thousands of jeepney drivers and operators are set to join a planned “big transport rally” on February 19 in protest of the ongoing jeepney phaseout. From different parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan, leaders of transport associations said they will gather at Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City, hold a program, then march to Chino Roces (Mendiola) Bridge near Malacañang.

“February 19 is a day of protest to make Duterte and his administration accountable for the destruction of livelihood of jeepney drivers, operators and assemblers, and its harsh effects on commuters,” said George San Mateo, national president of Pinagkaisang samahan ng Tsuper at Operytor Nationwaide (PISTON). Their group is supporting the February 19 transport rally to be led by the No To Jeepney Phaseout Coalition.

The transport protest is “just a rally and not a strike,” the local transport leaders said. They clarified that they are after jeepney modernization, too, but the government’s program is “just a grand marketing scheme”, not sustainable, and will make transportation costlier to the riding public.

Rooting for genuine modernization of jeepneys

The government’s jeepney phaseout program is premised on a positive note of seeking an environmentally healthy alternative to the current jeepneys. But to the local drivers’ groups, it is just a smokescreen. Same with the “road-worthiness” standards sought by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in apprehending drivers under their oplan “Tanggal-Bulok, Tanggal-usok”.

“Tanggal Bulok- Tanggal Usok is just a marketing scheme for selling new jeepneys,” San Mateo said. He said the current action of the government is itself proof that it is not really after road-worthiness and that it just wanted to force the introduction of corporate owned, imported and costlier jeepneys. In Baguio City, a member of PISTON spent up to P600,000 rehabilitating his jeepneys to comply with the LTFRB’s Oplan Tanggal-Bulok requirements.

But “No matter how much you’ve complied with the listed requirements, your jeepney is set for phaseout by 2021,” San Mateo said.
Even if your jeepney gets registered this year, it can only run as public transport till end of 2020.

‘Govt lacks moral ground to insult ‘dilapidated’ jeepneys given its decrepit MRT‘

The local leaders of No To Jeepney Phaseout Coalition also chided government transport officials for being all high and mighty at disparaging the “bulok” (dilapidated) jeeneys. Yet, as San Mateo said, the government has no moral ascendancy to insult jeepney operators considering that the government is bungling the running and maintenance of the Merro Rail Transit System (MRT3).

“Between the MRT3 which has public funding, and the jeepney transport system which is being maintained by small operators out of their own pocket, and against government policies that impose taxes, oil price hikes, numerous fines, the government has no moral high ground to disparage the “bulok” (dilapidated) jeepney,” San Mateo said at a press conference.

The jeepney transport system originated at the end of World War 2. The need for mass transportation and the absence of government investments drove Filipino ingenuity to produce and run jeepneys out of abandoned military jeeps.

The Marcos dictatorship ordered the conversion of jeepney machines from being gasoline-run to diesel-run to avert protests against the spiking prices of gasoline in the 70s to 80s, San Mateo recalled. But the diesel-run machines are more pollutive. Given the continuous price hike in oil, spare parts, government fees and fines, which are all traceable to government policies, San Mateo said the result is the state now of jeepneys.

“The government has not contributed in producing and maintaining the jeepney transport system. On the other hand, the government is armed with public funds for maintaining the MRT3, yet it continues to be hobbled with technical problems even on the second year of the Duterte administration,” San Mateo said.

Jeepney Rehab and genuine modernization instead of phaseout

The No To Jeepney Phaseout Coalition appealed for support to their cause saying the government’s so-called modernization program is not sustainable, affordable nor really for modernizing the transport system.

“Whatever twaddle they claim, the current jeepney operators will not be able to survive the fleet management and consolidation ordered in the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines,” San Mateo said. The local operators have complained that their small jeepney operation will be eaten up by corporations as dictated by the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG).

Instead of this OFG, they are demanding a new one where the current drivers and operators will not lose their livelihood. Instead, they hope their transport system will be enhanced with subsidies such as in rehabilitating the jeepneys so it runs better and cleaner.

It should be sustainable, too, said San Mateo. The government “modernization” program is largely import-dependent, he said. The Philippines had all the needed raw materials for manufacturing vehicles. What it lacks is the technology, according to San Mateo. The government can remedy that by making vehicle manufacturers build their plants here and allow for technology transfer after a few years. That is, the Philippines shouldn’t just be an assembler but a manufacturer of vehicles.

Eileen Lizada, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Board Member, had previously told reporters that the new jeepneys will be made here, but apparently, only external parts will be assembled here. San Mateo said it will be sustainable if the Philippines would manufacture the machines and chassis here and not just the body and the peripherals.

The post Big transport rally for genuine jeepney modernization set on Feb 19 appeared first on Bulatlat.

“The lockdown and the said operations are part of the Duterte administration’s anti-communist hysteria, and has no objective other than to ‘pacify the human rights movement in Davao, which has a proud history of advancing civil and political rights.”

By RUTH LUMIBAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — Late in January, the Philippine National Police (PNP) declared that it has planned to conduct anti-terror drills in Davao City. A consequent lockdown of the whole city is scheduled on the second or third week of February.

The PNP said the drills will be conducted in order to test the readiness of state agents to respond to terror threats. No one will be allowed to enter the city during the lockdown.

On Feb. 8, Task Force Davao already had to close down an entrance to Davao City in Lasang village for three hours. They claimed to have found an improvised explosive device (IED) supposedly belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA).

The Southern Mindanao chapter of Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (Karapatan-SMR), however, criticized the lockdown as an excuse to justify more human rights violations perpetrated by elements of the State.

In order to curb criminality in Davao City, where President Rodrigo Duterte first launched his drug war campaign and localized tokhang when he was mayor, the Davao City Police Office launched two operations: Oplan Fortification of Residences towards a Restful Environment that is Secured and Safe (Oplan IRON FORTRESS) and Oplan Integrated Revitalized Operation of Neighborhood-Watch of the Mega City (IRON City).

Oplan IRON City focuses on street crimes. As a result of which, 910 police auxiliaries have been deployed to Davao City, who shall receive honoraria from the city government itself. Meanwhile, Oplan IRON FORTRESS maximizes barangay captains, homeowners’ association presidents and officers, and security officers of malls, hotels, and resorts in crime prevention.

This is besides the fact that Davao City is already heavily guarded with thousands of elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deployed to the region. Three full-fledged Army battalions — the 3rd, 16th, and 89th Battalions — the Marines and Navy, Task Force Davao, the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs), and auxiliary forces of the Special Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (SCAA) are now being used in the Duterte administration’s anti-terror campaign.

According to Karapatan-SMR, the lockdown and the said operations are part of the Duterte administration’s anti-communist hysteria, and has no objective other than to “’pacify the human rights movement in Davao, which has a proud history of advancing civil and political rights.”

PNP Head of Directorate for Operations Pancratius Cascolan said the lockdown would last for only 15-30 minutes.

“The timeframe is dubious considering that the massive simulation exercises are said to be implemented by thousands of military forces, Marines, police, and members of Civil defense and Bureau of Fire Protection in downtown Davao and other key areas. The military had early announced it will conduct the lockdown simultaneous with counterinsurgency operations,” Karapatan-SMR said in a statement.

Sixty eight victims of politically-motivated extrajudicial killings have been recorded in the Southern Mindanao Region. Legitimate organizations and partylists have been vilified as supporters of the New People’s Army. Progressive leaders have been branded criminals as “Wanted” posters were scattered around the city for a trumped-up charge dismissed by the court years ago. Recently, military and police have been seen making rounds near the Haran Sanctuary, where lumads have taken refuge after being forced to evacuate from their ancestral lands because of intensified militarization.

Karapatan-SMR secretary general Jay Apiag was also falsely implicated in the killing of a police officer in Buhangin, Davao City.

“The so-called ‘development’ in Davao comes with a price – the murder of its human rights legacy and civil and political rights movement, and the repression of a people who have a brave and proud spirit in fighting for what is right,” the human rights organization said.

The post Rights group slam Anti-terror drill as license to suppress mass movement appeared first on Bulatlat.

BULATLAT FILE PHOTO: The Supreme Court on June 13 opens oral arguments for the petitions seeking to invalidate President Duterte’s martial law in Mindanao. (Photo by Ian Irving Bazarte/Bulatlat)

By RUTH LUMIBAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — “We cannot afford to emasculate, dilute, or diminish the powers of government if in the end, it would lead to the destruction of the State and place the safety of our citizens in peril and their interest in harm’s way,” Justice Tijam, as ponente, wrote in the Lagman vs. Pimentel (2018) decision.

In a vote of 10-5, the second extension of martial law in Mindanao, six months longer than its first extension, was declared constitutional. Almost the same justices who voted in favor of the first extension also voted in favor of the second.

Read: ‘A prelude to 24/7 martial law’ | SC urged to junk second ML extension

Seen as a precedent to nationwide military rule in the Philippines, human rights groups and advocates and freedom-loving individuals readily opposed the second extension and denounced the Supreme Court’s decision.

“Another year of martial law in Mindanao will no doubt create a favorable condition for the military to continue its rampage on people’s rights with impunity,” Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (Karapatan) Secretary General Cristina Palabay said in a statement.

Read: ‘There is no legal basis to extend martial law in Mindanao’ – petitioners

The following are the salient points in the SC’s decision:

1. Rebellion persists and threat to public safety exists

Despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission, supported by statements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) after the three leaders of the Maute group were killed, that the conflict in Marawi City has already ended, an extension of martial law for a year was recommended.

“I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from the terrorist influence that marks the beginning of the rehabilitation of Marawi,” the President said.

Betraying his own admission, the President formally asked Congress in December 2017 for a second extension of Martial Law in Mindanao for a year.

“…to ensure the total eradication of DAESH-inspired Da’waful Islamiyah Waliyatul Masriq (DIWM), other like-minded local/foreign terrorist groups (L/GTGs) and Armed Lawless Groups (ALGs), and the communist terrorists (CTs) and their coddlers, supporters, and financiers,” the President stated in his letter to Congress. With a supermajority of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) members in Congress, the second extension was approved.

Aside from the Maute group, the Duterte administration included the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Turaife Group, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), and the New People’s Army (NPA). The BIFF and the ASG have existed even before martial law was imposed in Mindanao, and the NPA has been waging a revolutionary struggle for almost fifty (50) years — despite and in spite of the intense militarization of areas and declaration of martial law in 1972.

In its decision, the SC admitted that the NPA was not included in the list of rebel groups that triggered the first declaration of martial law in Mindanao. With the turn of events, however, citing that the NPA continued operations during the peace talks and took advantage of the military’s distraction with the Maute fighters, they are now included as one of the reasons for the second extension of martial law.

Although all petitioners questioned the factual grounds upon which the Duterte administration proposed the extension, the Court decided to go back to its decision in Lagman vs. Medialdea, on the first extension of martial law, and said that “the Court will have to rely on the fact-finding capabilities of the [E]xecutive [D]epartment; in turn, the Executive Department will have to open its findings to the scrutiny of the Court.”

“Even during the joint session, human rights victims and survivors of martial law in Mindanao were not allowed to speak in the halls of the Congress to tell the horrors’ they faced under martial rule. And now the SC believes that it is just to extend the martial rule for another year. This decision is an insult to their plight and to the terror they have to face every day,” said Gabriela Women’s Partylist (GWP) Rep. Arlene Brosas.

BULATLAT FILE PHOTO. (Photo by Carlo Manalansan/Bulatlat)

Read: Rights abuses on the rise after Mindanao martial law extension

With this decision seemingly absolving or ignoring the human rights violations, Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate warned that the AFP would be “further emboldened to commit atrocities against Lumads and other Mindanaons.”

“Terrorism does exist in Mindanao — a terrorism perpetrated by the Duterte administration itself in order to sow fear among the people and suppress their dissenting and grieving voices, to suppress the exercise of their rights,” Elago said in a statement.

Read: Second extension of Mindanao martial law brings more rights abuses, says Karapatan

3. Safeguards, laws still exist to protect the people

Similar to its decision regarding the constitutionality of the first extension of martial law, the SC declared that civil liberties and human rights were still protected because existing laws provided recourse for those who fall victim to the atrocities of the military.

The SC cited the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, Writ of Amparo, Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other safeguards that will serve as protection to the rights of the people. Instead of issuing an injunction, the SC declared that the victims could instead lodge individual complaints against the perpetrators.

Instead, as Karapatan warned, the legitimization of martial law for another year in Mindanao furthers the culture of impunity.

During the period of martial law in Mindanao, terror-tagging and ‘wanted’ posters of progressive leaders, activists, and human rights advocates circulated in Davao. How the SC expects the people to get a favorable decision at a time when all institutions are either controlled or heavily influenced by the Executive Department is ludicrous and insensitive to the victims of human rights violations who have been denied justice for too long.

“Just as the Duterte-controlled super majority in Congress colluded to approve the extension of martial law last December 2017, the SC followed through with a rubber stamp to legitimize martial rule, completing the ingredients for a full-fledged tyranny,” Palabay said.

Following the Marcosian template of having the SC legitimize the ratification of the 1973 Constitution, the Duterte administration is near the completion of its process toward dictatorial rule.

“This SC will go down in history as the Court that chose to turn a blind eye to the reality of the political situation, allowing another fascist leader to rise into dictatorship. This SC will repeat the mistake of its seniors made four decades ago in allowing the Marcos dictatorship to change the Constitution and thereafter declare Martial law,” Elago criticized.

And just as history repeats itself, the people are once again reminded that while a person in power has all the tools of oppression, the power of the people will always be stronger than the strength of an isolated tyrant.

The post How SC decided on the second extension of martial law in Mindanao appeared first on Bulatlat.

MANILA — Multisectoral groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) trooped in front of the Chinese Consulate in Makita on Feb. 10 to denounce the continuing invasion of the West Philippine Sea.

China was reportedly building an airtstrip in the Philippine Rise, formerly known as Benham Rise. Progressive groups criticized the government for not protesting against the latest Chinese construction within Philippine territory. The progressive groups consider it as subservience to the Chinese government in exchange for a loan to the Philippine government.

“A foreign policy held hostage by foreign loans is not an independent foreign policy. It is a subservient foreign policy,” Bayan said in a statement.
“The Duterte regime has refused mounting calls to protest China’s military build-up in the disputed islands, relying instead on the non-existent ‘good faith’ of Duterte’s Chinese benefactors,” it added.

Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya-Pilipinas) also criticized President Duterte for neglecting the Philippine victory before an international tribunal. Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap said President Duterte had many opportunities to raise the issue to the Chinese government during several meetings.

“However, he consistently avoids the issue in the name of foreign investments,” Hicap added.

Bayan said the government’s reliance on loans for the country’s infrastructure program “has severely undermined our sovereign rights to these islands.”
“So while the Philippine government builds foreign-funded bridges and ports, it will be ceding our islands, waters and vast resources to China. It is an utterly shameful situation. It is a betrayal of national interest,” the group said in a statement.

Text by Anne Marxze D. Umil
Photo by Arkibong Bayan

The post Groups protest continuing invasion of China in West Philippine Sea appeared first on Bulatlat.

Against the few for the many appeared first on Bulatlat.

By RENAN ORTIZ

The post Kamay na bakal appeared first on Bulatlat.