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Gov’t must ensure efficient and accessible transport for all–IBON

Carlito Parungo

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March 1, 2018

Gov’t must ensure efficient and accessible transport for all–IBON

Policy study baring unsound transport policies released

Research group IBON said that the Philippine government’s policies have increasingly opened the transport sector to profit-oriented control, thereby privatizing the transport system and undermining public usage of this very basic service. Government should reverse this trend and strengthen the public transport system to improve people’s mobility and thus contribute to national development, said IBON.

“The intolerable traffic in Metro Manila, the daily MRT breakdowns, the lack of public transit systems in other parts of the country, the pollution, and the state of disrepair of vehicles available for public use are just the tip of the iceberg of the problems besetting the country’s transport system,” said Rosario Bella Guzman, IBON executive editor and research head.

According to a study released by IBON during a transport conference in the University of the Philippines, government’s economic policies have resulted in a privatized, individualized and private car-intensive transport system in the country including in its urban centers. Private cars reportedly account for 72% of vehicular traffic but only 33% of passenger travel, the group noted. Only 6% of commuters ride mass transport, which is much less than the estimated 20-40% benchmark for developed urban areas. Rail transport meanwhile is privatized, and is not only expensive for the average commuter but concentrated only in Luzon.

Public access to transportation is bound to narrow with the Duterte government’s Build! Build! Build! Program, said IBON, which is opening the transportation sector to big business control. “This is profitable for countries such as China, South Korea and Japan, and international financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the World Bank, which have committed to finance big-ticket projects,” said Guzman. “Big businesses like the Ayalas, San Miguel Corporation, Pangilinan, and their foreign partners, have also expressed interest both in bidding projects and offering unsolicited proposals.”

But by experience, business-run public services and utilities in the country such as power, water and telcos charge the majority low-income riding public additional user fees for profit, Guzman said. The public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program is headed the same way, she added.

Government should be able to ensure an efficient, reliable, affordable and environmentally sound mass transport system, Guzman said. It should have an active role in the provision of this service and make sure that mass transport systems – which should be planned well with the rest of the economy – serve the Filipino people’s mobility as the country’s nation builders.

IBON’s policy study titled “Mass Transport Systems in Metro Manila and the Quest for Sustainability” exposes the country’s dismal and decrepit transport system as a symptom of a backward and underdeveloped economy. It proposes for a sustainable public mass transportation system broken down into steps that can be undertaken by any government genuinely looks after the interests of the nation and its people, said Guzman.

The policy study was launched during what was dubbed as the 1^st People’s Transport Conference, which IBOn co-organized with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM) and the Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Konsyumer para sa Ikauunlad ng Bayan (SUKI). ###

Slow TRAIN cash transfers highlight govt’s insensitivity–IBON

Carlito Parungo

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March 1, 2018

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Slow TRAIN cash transfers highlight govt’s insensitivity–IBON

The poor will get relief about three months into suffering TRAIN-induced price increases with millions of others only getting it much later

Research group IBON said that the slow implementation of the Duterte administration’s social mitigation measures including its cash subsidies highlights how these are just an afterthought to cover up how the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion’s (TRAIN) program is anti-poor and pro-rich. TRAIN was railroaded last year to already be able to raise revenues starting January 2018 even if the supposed mitigation measures were not yet clear.

This is in reaction to the Department of Finance (DOF) announcement about the looming implementation of the government’s unconditional cash transfer (UCT) to supposedly help the 10 million poorest Filipino families cope with the impact of TRAIN. The DOF said that the 4.4 million existing Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries and three (3) million indigent senior citizens will start receiving the Php200 per month cash subsidy in March. The balance of 2.6 million households are supposed to start receiving theirs in August.

IBON executive director Sonny Africa noted that the DOF was last year quick to undertake the staff work for raising taxes on the poor and giving income tax relief to the rich. Yet, in contrast, it was grossly unprepared to implement any of the supposed social mitigation measures even nearly two months into the law’s effectivity. As it is, the poor will get relief about three months into suffering TRAIN-induced price increases with millions of others only getting it much later in August or after eight months.

Africa also said that the DOF was merely scrambling to report 10 million helped “no matter how sloppy the figures.” “The numbers don’t even add up,” he said, “because many of the 3.3 million poor elderly will likely already be among the 4.4 million CCT beneficiary households so double-counting is already happening, more so two or more elderly are in these poor households.”

Meanwhile, TRAIN’s promised fuel subsidies for public utility vehicles (PUVs), fare discounts for the poor and other social mitigation measures still remain unrealized, said Africa.

Lastly, Africa said, it is worth repeating that the cash subsidies are temporary and only from 2018 to 2020. “These are also the three years when oil taxes keep rising and prices keep getting pushed up higher and higher,” Africa noted. “The real TRAIN shock happens in 2021 when the UCT gimmick is gone but the prices that the poor pay for their basic goods and services will be immensely higher,” he said.

Double taxes on oil show govt’s lack of concern for poor – IBON

Carlito Parungo

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March 1, 2018

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Double taxes on oil show govt’s lack of concern for poor – IBON

Slapping additional taxes on oil products makes the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law anti-poor, research group IBON said. Contrary to the argument that the new law is ‘fair’, the group said that these oil taxes should be scrapped for the benefit of millions of Filipinos who will otherwise continue to suffer the weight of TRAIN beyond 2018.

The Department of Finance (DOF) argues that fuel excise tax “is wrongly perceived to be anti-poor”, explaining that the top 10% richest households consume 51% of total fuel consumption, while the top 1% richest households consume 13 percent. “Fuel excise is clearly a tax that will affect the rich far more than the poor,” says the DOF, while explaining that not imposing excise levies has cost the government some Php140 billion in potential revenues per year.

However, according to IBON, having to pay double taxes through excise taxes on top of value-added tax (VAT) will inevitably affect the country’s more than 60 million living on very low incomes.

Oil products widely used in households, farms, fishing communities, and transportation such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, and kerosene, are being slapped with excise taxes under TRAIN. LPG excise tax starts at Php1.00 per kilogram (kg) in 2018 and increases to Php2.00/kg in 2019, and Php3.00/kg in 2020. Diesel excise tax starts from Php2.50/liter in 2018 and increases to Php4.50/liter in 2019, and Php6.00/liter in 2020. Kerosene excise tax starts at Php3.00/liter in 2018 and increases to Php4.00/liter in 2019 and Php5.00/liter in 2020. Existing gasoline excise levies meanwhile are set to increase from Php7.00/liter in 2018 to Php9.00/liter in 2019 and Php10.00/liter in 2020.

IBON pointed out that the final increase in prices of petroleum products is even higher because the higher excise taxes are themselves also subject to 12% VAT. Consider, for example, diesel gas, priced at Php36.00 per liter inclusive of VAT. In 2018, diesel gas will increase to Php38.80/liter adding the Php2.50/liter excise tax and the Php0.3 VAT on excise.

“The government is obliging both the rice farmer, who struggles to earn Php5,000 every month, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of San Miguel Corporation, who earns almost Php6 million every month, to pay the same tax per liter of diesel that they consume,” IBON illustrated.

According to IBON, TRAIN aggravates the impact of volatile oil price movement due to deregulation on prices, which low-income households have had to bear. Reports indicate that diesel prices have increased by Php5.90/liter for diesel and Php5.12/liter for gasoline from January 1 to February 6. Price hikes have consequently been observed on rice, meat, fish, and some vegetables and grocery items.

Aside from excise taxes and VAT on oil, government should rethink the imposition of other indirect taxes such as additional taxes on sweetened beverages and VAT on power and shipping, said IBON. These will cause the prices of goods and services to rise and compel the poor majority of Filipinos to pay more no matter how small and insufficient their incomes are. This runs opposite to progressive taxation, which taxes citizens according to their capacity to pay.

People have the power: EDSA 32 years on

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March 1, 2018

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Some called it a revolution, but it was hardly ever one.

After the fall of dictator Ferdinand Marcos on February 25, 1986, the Philippines’ so-called restored democracy meant no land for farmers, low wages for contract workers, land grabbing and militarization for indigenous peoples.

Nothing much has changed since then except the names and faces of those in power. Prices of food and utilities continue to soar, as do the number of those killed in the drug war and martial law atrocities in Mindanao.

If the Philippines had won its revolution in 1986, then why do the people continue to fight tyranny?

The EDSA Shrine, a testament to the people’s unity in toppling a dictator 32 years ago, is once again witness to the people’s struggle against a rising tyrannical leader. Photos by Erika Cruz

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Protesters gather at the EDSA Shrine and prepare to march to the People Power Monument, not minding the afternoon heat. Photo by Erika Cruz

Reminiscent of a past that saw church people on the forefront of People Power, priests, pastors, nuns, lay ministers, and seminarians led the march to the People Power Monument. Photo by Joshua Acpal
Photo by Rica Silva

Church workers illustrate the difference between the 1987 Constitution—nicknamed the ‘Freedom Constitution’—and the proposed Constitution under Duterte’s Charter change. Photo by Joshua Acpal

The 1987 Constitution crafted under Corazon Aquino’s presidency was one of the first acts of the president to supposedly guarantee the democratic rights of the people. Even then, fundamentals rights such as the right to own land only remained on paper. Less than a year after People Power, 13 peasants were gunned down at the gates of Malacañang. Thousands of farmers marched to Mendiola on January 22, 1987 to demand Cory’s campaign promise of land reform. Their demands were met with bullets instead.

During his campaign, President Rodrigo Duterte rallied supporters to push for a federal form of government. Legislative measures are now underway to change the fundamental law of the land.

Neri Colmenares of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) call Duterte’s Charter change “the worst” among the proposed changes in the Constitution that Duterte’s predecessors put forward. The president’s version of cha-cha would give him absolute powers, practically making him a dictator.

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Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) leads the march to the People Power Monument. BAYAN played a significant role in mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people that led to the Marcos presidency’s downfall. Photo by Joshua Acpal

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Photo by Patricia de Luna

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Danilo dela Fuente was one of the 70,000 who were tortured during Marcos’ martial law. He was subjected to electrocution, water cure, long hours of interrogation and psychological torture, and incarceration under harsh conditions. Photo by Erika Cruz

Today, there are over 400 political prisoners in the country. Sixty of them were arrestd under the Duterte administration. BAYAN Metro Manila campaign officer Ferdinand Castillo was arrested in February last year. Photo by Erika Cruz

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People from all sectors pour in at the People Power Monument. Photo by Rica Silva.

The Marcos regime inspired many to write and sing about freedom and democracy, among which is the iconic ‘Bayan Ko’. Shortly after Aquino came in power, a band formed in 1979 called The Jerks wrote a song about how the people suffered under a false democracy ruled still by elite families and a meddling United States government.

Buwan ng Pebrero

Buwan ng pagbabago

Anong klaseng pagbabago?

Ano sa palagay mo?

The first lines of ‘Sayaw sa Bubog’ mirror Nick’s opinion of the People Power movements. “Edsa 1 at 2, parang nawala yata. Veteran kasi ako. Dapat ituloy ang laban,” he says.

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Nick, 56, is a psychologist and a member of Karapatan and LODI (Let’s Organize for Democracy and Integrity). By Lanz Varon and Marilou Morales

Like Nick’s family, Carla’s relatives are martial law veterans. She continues the fight against tyranny as she struggles for the emancipation of the LGBT. “Cha-cha is a tool to manipulate people,” she argues.

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Carla, 17, is a student of Bulacan State University. By Lanz Varon and Marilou Morales.

Luis was already working in the docks when Marcos declared martial law in 1972. He now works as a crane operator at Harbour Centre Port Terminal, a privately owned establishment in Manila. Last year, Harbour Centre contractual workers won a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) case versus their employers, but many of them still work on a contractual basis.

20180224-luis-3 Luis, 56, attends the protest with his co-workers who are also members of Samahang Manggagawa sa Harbour Centre.

Baby Senobio journeyed with her fellow farmers to Metro Manila all the way from Northern Samar. Since supertyphoon Yolanda ravaged Eastern Visayas in 2013, a huge chunk of the population, mostly small farmers, have not yet fully recovered amid delayed government rehabilitation efforts. “Nagkakampo ang mga sundalo sa aming barangay. Alam natin na ito ay paglabag sa karapatang pantao. Sa halip na bigyan kami ng tulong at pagkain dahil naghihirap kami sa sunod-sunod na bagyo, ngayon mas lalong mahirap ang kalagayan namin. Ang aming kailangan ay tulong at totoong rehabilitasyon, hindi militarisasyon,” she says.

20180224-baby-senobio-4 Baby Senobio is a member of Northern Samar Small Farmers Association (NSSFA). By Lanz Varon and Marilou Morales

Doray brought her three grandchildren to the protest action. “Ayaw kong hawakan ng isang diktador ang Pilipinas,” she asserts.

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Doray lived through Marcos’ martial law and doesn’t want her grandchildren to grow up in a country ruled by another tyrannical leader. By Lanz Varon and Marilou Morales

John Peter shares Doray’s sentiment: “Para sa kabataan ang labang ito.”

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John Peter, 18, with his cousin Froilan. By Lanz Varon and Marilou Morales

The People Power Monument’s symbol of struggle and freedom was brought to life with speeches and performances by martial law veterans, youth activists, progressive leaders, artists, and relatives of political prisoners. It was a gathering of peace and struggle, of hope and resistance.

For farmers, the only cha-cha they want is the dance originating from Cuba but is widely popular in the Philippines. Photo by Patricia de Luna

A farmer from Eastern Visayas carries a scarecrow to “scare off the crows in government who try to steal the freedom away from the people”. Photo by Patricia de Luna.

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Members of Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo (SAKA) “overthrows” Duterte by catapulting an image of him printed on a volleyball. Photo by Estelle Gwee

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A young Lumad girl inspects her bead necklace. She and her mother are seeking sanctuary in a Manila church after her mother received death threats from the military for allegedly being a member of the New People’s Army in Bukidnon. Photo by Kate Simple

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Around a hundred killings of indigenous peoples have been documented from July 2016 to the present. Under the Duterte government, 33 Lumad have been killed by members of the military or paramilitary groups. Photo by Joshua Acpal

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A farmer from Northern Samar calls to end militarization in their communities. The government’s ‘counter-insurgency’ program Oplan Kapayapaan seeks to crush New People’s Army guerrillas in the countryside, but largely targets civilians through encampment and aerial bombings. Photo by Kate Simple

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Cultural group Sinagbayan calls to end Duterte’s anti-people policies on intricately detailed placards. Photo by Rica Silva

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Farmers from Eastern Visayas address the crowd and the media. The farmers’ lakbayan in Metro Manila will be until March 8th. They are currently staying at the MCCCD-United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Manila. Photo by Estelle Gwee

Photo by Patricia de Luna

The Filipino people may have won the battle against Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. But, as the saying goes, the war isn’t over yet. Six Philippine presidents have since come to power, bearing slogans and policies that promised change. But, like “Bagong Lipunan”, a new society that is ruled by the broad masses is yet to be seen and felt.

The thousands who attended the anniversary protest of the Edsa People Power Revolt may have carried different calls, but their stories when weaved together form a single struggle: the struggle for genuine democracy and freedom from foreign intervention. Their shared struggle targets a common enemy: those few in power who forget that it’s the people who have the true power.

In the coming days and months, as the system allows leaders like Duterte to rule iron-handed over the people, those few will be reminded again and again that the revolution isn’t over. The people, as the poem by Dylan Thomas says, will “rage, rage against the dying of the light”.

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Photo by Erika Cruz

The post People have the power: EDSA 32 years on appeared first on Manila Today.

The other ‘Big One’: Youth Quake shakes Metro Manila as students walk out of classrooms

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March 1, 2018

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The other ‘Big One’: Youth Quake shakes Metro Manila as students walk out of classrooms

The 7.2-magnitude ‘Big One’ hasn’t happened yet, but Metro Manila trembled with thousands of footsteps and cries.

“Ngayong araw, yayanigin natin ang sistemang matagal nang nang-aapi at nagsasamantala sa ating bayan. Yayanigin natin ang dayuhang interes sa ating sariling bayan. Yayanigin natin ang pamamayani at paghahari-harian ng mga panginoong maylupa sa ating bayan. Yayanigin natin ang korap at pasista ng ating pamahalaan. Yayanigin natin ang sistema na nagbubunga ng mga tuta, pasista, at diktador na katulad ni Marcos at Duterte,” said Kabataan Partylist representative Sarah Elago.

[Today, we will shake the system that for so long has oppressed and exploited our country. We will shake foreign interests in our land. We will shake the tyranny and enforced rule of landed elites in our country. We wil shake the corrupt officials and the fascists in government. We will shake the system that allows lapdogs, fascists, and dictators like Marcos and Duterte to rule.]

Students from universities and colleges across Metro Manila gathered in front of the Far Eastern University gates today to protest the Duterte government’s “rising tyranny and looming dictatorship”.

Led by Youth Act Now Against Tyranny, ‘Youth Quake’ gathered thousands of people in Morayta and Mendiola Bridge to register their collective dissent against the Duterte government’s various anti-people policies.

Pat Cierva from the University of the Philippines Manila cited the irony of the Duterte government’s policies. “Bilang mga estudyante ng UP Manila, karamihan sa amin ay nagsasanay upang magsalba ng mga buhay. Sobrang nakakabastos itong si President Duterte at kanyang rehimen dahil sa kanyang kawalan ng respeto sa buhay ng mga mamamayan,” she said.

[As students of UP Manila, most of us are training to save people’s lives. It angers us to see how brazen Duterte’s regime is because of its lack of respect for the lives of the people.]

UP Manila students protested in front of the university’s Oblation statue, found along Taft Avenue. Photo by Agatha Rabino.

Cierva further noted that if the drug war did not kill one with a bullet to the chest, various policies like the tax reform law would “slowly kill the people”.

Students, peasants, and workers protested against the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law. Photo by Kate Simple.

In the University of the Philippines Diliman, several colleges suspended classes altogether to allow students to walk out of their rooms and join the protest.

Students held a snake rally at the College of Arts and Social Sciences in UP Diliman before heading to Manila. Photo by Shane David.

Despite having been barred by security guards from exiting the gates, Far Eastern University students managed to join the mobilization.

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Youth protesters enjoined FEU students to walk out. Photo by Kate Simple.

Students protested against unreasonable school fees despite the government’s policy of free tuition in colleges and universities. Students from the K+12 program slammed exorbitant graduation fees and the labor export policy which justifies Filipino skilled labor abroad.

Members of student publications and communication students were also there to assert press freedom amid the government’s iron hand on journalists and media workers.

“Ang mga manunulat ay organisador. Ang mga manunulat ay aktibista dahil hindi nila hahayaang ang magsulat ng kasaysayan ay mga mamamatay-tao, mga sinungaling, at mga magnanakaw,” said University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication Student Council chairperson Mikko Ringia.

[Writers are organizers. Writers are activists because they will not allow butchers, liars, and thieves to be the ones to write history.]

Not only did we see a solid unity of college and senior high school students in the protest — who together recognize the potential of the youth to actively engage and take part in shaping society — we also witnessed how the students linked their struggles to the struggles of the basic sectors.

“Alam natin na malaki ang potensyal ng mga kabataan. Ngunit alam din natin na lahat ng panlipunang pagbabago ay mapagtatagumpayan ng mamamayang Pilipino kapag mahigpit silang makiisa sa malawak na hanay ng mamamayan,” said a senior high school student from the University of Santo Tomas who together with others attended the protest, despite having received warnings from school administrators that they would be expelled if they walked out.

[We know that the youth have in them potential. But we also know that societal change can only be won by the Filipino people if the students link themselves with the broad masses.]

Present in the protest were jeepney drivers fighting for the scrapping of the PUV modernization program wherein old jeepneys will be replaced by new unaffordable units; farmers from Eastern Visayas demanding agricultural support for typhoon-stricken provinces and an end to militarization; and workers struggling for regularization and just wages.

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Various sectors also joined the youth-led protest in Morayta, Manila. Photos by Shane David, Kate Simple, Vanni Urbiztondo, and Patricia de Luna.

As they marched to the gates of Malacañang, the protesters marked today as the first day of a series of student walk-outs towards “overthrowing the tyrannical Duterte presidency”.

An effigy of President Duterte as the "King of Fake News" for "failing to fulfill his promises to the people". Photo by Kate Simple. — An effigy of President Duterte as the “King of Fake News” for “failing to fulfill his promises to the people”. Photo by Kate Simple.

For the applauding protesters, Bluei Fausto of the University of Santo Tomas couldn’t have said it better: “Pinipilit niya tayong patahimikin. Sa tingin ni Duterte ay mapapatahimik niya tayo, pero nagkakamali siya, dahil siya ang mapapatahimik. Duterte, ikaw ang mapapatahimik, dahil sa oras na magsasalita ang masa, wala ka nang masasabi.”

[He (Duterte) tries to silence us. If Duterte thinks he can silence us, then he is wrong. He will be the one to be silenced. Duterte, once the masses speak up, you will no longer be able to say a thing.]

And did Malacañang tremble in silence. Only the shouts of the people and the crackle of the president’s burning image could be heard.

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Students, peasants, and workers protested against the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law. Photo by Kate Simple.

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Various sectors also joined the youth-led protest in Morayta, Manila. Photos by Shane David, Kate Simple, Vanni Urbiztondo, and Patricia de Luna.

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Youth protesters enjoined FEU students to walk out. Photo by Kate Simple.

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An effigy of President Duterte as the “King of Fake News” for “failing to fulfill his promises to the people”. Photo by Kate Simple.

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Students held a snake rally at the College of Arts and Social Sciences in UP Diliman before heading to Manila. Photo by Shane David.

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Photos by Shane David, Agatha Rabino, Kate Simple, Rica Silva, Vanni Urbiztondo, and Patricia de Luna

The post The other ‘Big One’: Youth Quake shakes Metro Manila as students walk out of classrooms appeared first on Manila Today.

Killing, illegal arrest, militarization, harassment of fact finding mission recorded as nation remembers EDSA People Power

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March 1, 2018

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Killing, illegal arrest, militarization, harassment of fact finding mission recorded as nation remembers EDSA People Power

As the 32^nd anniversary of the EDSA People Power was expected to be commemorated with prayers and protests, more human rights violations were reported. On February 22, international rights organization Amnesty International likened President Rodrigo Duterte to other world leaders ushering “a new era of human rights regression”.

The historic People Power uprising on February 22 to 25, 1986 served the last blow to the 14-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

Farmer killed in Negros

An urgent alert from Karapatan Negros announced the death of Ronald Manlanat, 30, a member of a local chapter of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) in Hacienda Joefred, Barangay Luna, Sagay City, Negros Occidental. At 5am on February 22, 2018, Manlanat was brutally shot in the head and killed by unknown assailant(s) in a farm he worked in the said hacienda. He was shot at the back of his head by an M16 rifle and his face was beyond recognition.

The killing of Manlanat is the latest incident of killings of farmers in Negros. Manlanat is a member of NFSW local chapter where he is actively involved in organizing and giving assistance to sugar workers in the surrounding areas. The issues of underpayment of wages, labor repressions, poverty and labor rights violations is a perennial problems of laborers and farmers in the haciendas in the area.

Hacienda Joefred is formerly owned by Mirasol family and the Certificate of Land Ownership Award were recently given to the agrarian reform beneficiaries through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Manlanat was recorded as the 21^st victim of extrajudicial killing in Negros under Duterte.

Manlanat was brutally shot in the head and killed by unknown assailant in a farm he is working in Hacienda Joefred in Sagay, Negros Occidental. Photo by National Federation of Sugar Workers/Karapatan Negros.

KMU organizer arrested

Marklen Maojo B. Maga, a staff of labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) tasked to organize workers’ unions in the port area, in factory belts in Valenzuela (among them are Kentex workers), and in Central Luzon was reported abducted in San Mateo, Rizal.

The police spot report said the joint forces of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines served Maga a warrant of arrest for murder at a basketball court in Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal.

Maga has just brought his son to school when he was arrested. His whereabouts were unknown for hours. It was only in the evening that his family and lawyers were able to confirm that he is being held at the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group compound in Camp Crame.

Maga’s arrest followed the arrest and detention of his father-in-law National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant and labor rights advocate Rafael Baylosis in Quezon City last January 31.

The Children’s Rehabilitation Center demanded Maga’s immediate release and dismissal of trumped-up charges against him. They said that Maga is the eldest son of a politically detained labor organizer in Caloocan at the height of Marcos’ dictatorship.

Political persecution

NDFP peace consultant Rafael Baylosis was reported arrested without warrant on January 31, charged with illegal possession of firearms in the police spot report that would be amended to include a grenade during the inquest on February 1.

Baylosis and his companion were arraigned today, after a Quezon City court denied their lawyer’s motion to suppress fake and manufactured evidence.

The 69-year old Baylosis was transferred to Quezon City Jail, near Kamuning police station (Quezon City Police Department Police Station-10), from Camp Crame Custodial on February 21. His lawyer noted the jail has a congestion rate of 1000+%, being fit only for 200 but now held 3,000.

Peace consultant Rafael Baylosis and his companion Roque Guillermo Jr were arraigned today by a Quezon City court, after denial of Pilc Phils motion to suppress fake and manufactured evidence. Photo from Atty. Kristina Conti's Facebook account. — Peace consultant Rafael Baylosis and his companion Roque Guillermo Jr were arraigned today by a Quezon City court, after denial of Pilc Phils motion to suppress fake and manufactured evidence. Photo from Atty. Kristina Conti’s Facebook account.

Fact finding mission harassed

In the morning of February 21, around 14 delegates of a team of a an international fact finding mission was detained for more than an hour in a military checkpoint in Brgy. Palian, Tupi, South Cotabato. The delegates, including five foreign human rights observers, were on their way to General Santos City. All participants were ordered to show their identification cards.

According to initial reports received by Karapatan, the IDs issued by the Bureau of Immigration for two foreign church workers of the United Methodist Church were confiscated by police. The two were escorted to Bureau of Immigration Region 12 field office in General Santos City reportedly for “verification.” Police personnel who accosted the mission delegates did not present any written document to specify reasons for their actions. According to Tudla Productions, who was part of the mission when the incident happened, the five delegates were interrogated for two hours before they were released.

The international fact finding mission was organized by International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines and the Mindanaoans for Civil Liberties. It was conducted to investigate the reports on human rights violations in Mindanao, with the implementation of martial law and counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan.

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Fact finding mission held for an hour or so at checkpoint. Photo by Tudla Productions.

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Foreign church and human rights workers presented their passports and Bureau of Immigration (BI) IDs but were still brought to the BI office in General Santos. Photo by Tudla Productions.

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After two hours at the BI office, foreign delegates of the international fact finding mission were released. Photo by Tudla Productions.

Lumads flee their homes

Barug Katungod also reported this morning that at least 187 Lumad residents and members of Pig-akuman Lumad Organization, a chapter of Kalumbay, today fled their homes at Purok 11, Sitio Bulak, Brgy. Lower Olave, Buenavista, Agusan del Sur. Among those who are currently evacuating are 83 children, two pregnant women, six elderly and four sickly individuals. Soldiers of the 23rd Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army led by Julito Caban conducted a military operation and encamped in the community.

Protests continue

Nationwide mass protests were set on February 23 and 24 in commemoration of EDSA People Power.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, in a statement released on February 16, said “This year’s protests are imbued with a great sense of urgency as the Duterte regime pushes for Charter change, extends Martial Law and wages all-out war against the people.”

“It is ironic that on the same month the nation is set to commemorate the downfall of the dictator Marcos, President Duterte saw it fit to label himself as a dictator. It is ironic that as the nation remembers the evils of dictatorship, Duterte’s congressional allies are pushing for term extension ala-Marcos,” said Bayan in their statement.

Student activists spearheaded today the ‘National Day of Walkout’, using the social media tag #WalkoutPH. Members of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman community converged at the AS Steps of Palma Hall before noon for a symbolic shutdown of the campus. Jeepney drivers from all UP routes, vendors and professors also joined the protest. Students from other UP units also held a protest at their campuses, such as in UP Manila and UP Baguio.

UP Manila students protest in front of the university's Oblation statue, found along Taft Avenue. Photo by Agatha Rabino. — UP Manila students protest in front of the university’s Oblation statue, found along Taft Avenue. Photo by Agatha Rabino.

The protest from Diliman would proceed to UST at 2pm for songs and prayers and march to Mendiola at 5pm.

The February 24 protest led by Movement Against Tyranny would assemble at EDSA corner Main Avenue at 2pm, march to EDSA Shrine at 3pm and hold a program at the People Power monument at 4pm.

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KMU organizer ‘abducted’ by police, later found detained in Camp Crame

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March 1, 2018

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On the first day of 3^2ndEDSA 1 People Power uprising commemoration, Marklen Maojo B. Maga, a staff of labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) tasked to organize workers’ unions in the port area, in factory belts in Valenzuela and in Central Luzon, was abducted in San Mateo, Rizal. It was only in the evening that his family and lawyers were able to confirm that he is being held at the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) compound in Camp Crame.

In KMU’s narrative of the arrest, Maga was abducted by plainclothes men who identified themselves as elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) at around 8:40am on February 22 in a basketball court near their house. This happened after Maga brought his son to school.

In the police spot report on Maga’s arrest, joint personnel of PNP-CIDG Manila NCR, PNP-Internal Security Operations Division, PNP-Intelligence Group, and Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) served the warrant of arrest for murder issued by Hon. Cesar P. Bordalba, 10^th Judicial Region, Cabadbaran City, Agusan Del Sur. The report also mentioned that a .45 caliber gun, one piece magazine with seven live ammos were recovered from his possession inside his backpack. The report did not say when, where and who was murdered.

Maga’s arrest followed the arrest and detention of his father-in-law National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant and labor rights advocate Rafael Baylosis on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City last January 31. Baylosis was reported arrested without an outstanding warrant, charged with illegal possession of firearms in the police spot report that would be amended to include a grenade during the inquest.

The Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) demanded the immediate release and dismissal of trumped up charges against Marlen Maojo Maga, or Maoj. In their statement, they relayed that ‘Maoj is the eldest son of a politically detained labor organizer in Caloocan at the height of Marcos’ dictatorship. Earlier in his life, Maoj has witnessed state perpetrated violence against workers and urban poor communities and his family are among the human rights victims which also pushed him to defend his and others’ rights.’

KMU decried the “fascist Duterte regime’s intensifying crackdown against unionists and labor rights advocates opposing his anti-worker and anti-people policies.”

The labor center said 22 unionists and labor leaders were killed since Duterte sat in the presidency.

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Stand With Samar | QCPD demolishes campout of Visayan farmers

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March 1, 2018

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Photo by Ruth Lumibao/Bulatlat

By RUTH LUMIBAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — On February 26, farmers from Eastern Visayas who have travelled all the way to Manila to bring to the attention of the government and general public their plight, amplify their calls, and gather support for their campaigns.

“Nandito kami sa Maynila dahil ang mga magsasaka na lumilikha ng pagkain, nagugutom at naghihirap dahil napeste ang mga pananim namin, (We travelled to Manila because farmers who produce food are hungry and becoming poorer because our crops have been destroyed by pests.)” said Jun Berino, leader of Samahan Han Ngan Gudti Parag-uma Sinirangan Bisayas (SAGUPA-SB).

To seek a dialogue with Agriculture Sec. Emmanuel Piñol, the farmers planned to hold a three-day camp out in front of the Department of Agriculture (DA) office at the Elliptical Road in Quezon City. As reported by the Northern Samar Small Farmers Association (NSSFA), they have already submitted their letter-request for a dialogue to Piñol’s office as early as February 8, but have yet to receive a response. In the letter, they also informed the DA about the campout.

Upon building their camp, however, elements of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) demolished their tents and even harassed some of the farmers.

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) promptly condemned the violent dispersal of the Samar farmers.

“We condemn the violent dispersal of the camp-out of farmers from Samar at the Department of Agriculture national office in Quezon City. More than twenty armed Quezon City PNP led by Police Major Gerry Adriano dispersed the camp-out despite the assertion of farmers,” said KMP secretary general Antonio Flores.

“We have exhausted all means possible to appeal, protest and plead with local agriculture officials in our provinces, but our demands were not answered. We were hoping that Sec. Manny Piñol would face us and hear out our demands but it turned out that he has snubbed us and disregarded our demands,” Berino said.

“We only wanted to talk to Sec. Piñol, he added.

There were reports that the QCPD would demolish the campout again in the morning of February 27, but through a series of negotiations, the farmers have now been allowed to stay in front of the DA office. The farmers are requesting for material, food, or financial assistance, and are set to stay in Manila until March 8.

The post Stand With Samar | QCPD demolishes campout of Visayan farmers appeared first on Bulatlat.