NZ Groups Call for Unconditional Release of Andrea Rosal and all Political Prisoners, Prison and Military Authorities must be held accountable for Baby Diona’s Death

PRESS RELEASE
21 May 2014

New Zealand Philippine Solidarity groups are distressed by the death of baby Diona Rosal, the daughter of political prisoner Andrea Rosal. Baby Diona died aged two days old on May 18th due to hypoxemia, a deficiency of oxygen in the blood.


“The inhumane conditions of Andrea’s detention are likely to have contributed to this tragedy. At the time of her arrest, Andrea was due for a pre-natal check but was not granted adequate medical or pre-natal care while in custody. This is in direct conflict with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners which states for pregnant prisoners ‘there shall be special accommodation for all necessary pre-natal and post-natal care and treatment,’” Cameron Walker, Spokesperson of Auckland Philippines Solidarity (APS) lamented.

“Rosal was held in a 5x10 metre cell with 31 other inmates at the Philippine National Police’s Camp Bagong Diwa in Manila, hardly suitable conditions for an expectant mother,” Walker continued.


TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE: Death of Baby and Continuing Detention of Andrea


“Two months ago Andrea lost her freedom and now she lost her baby. It would be a travesty of justice to keep Andrea in illegal detention on trumped-up charges.”

“We call on Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III to heed the appeal for immediate release of Andrea Rosal and over 400 political prisoners unjustly detained on trumped-up criminal charges.” Auckland Philippines Solidarity (APS) and Wellington Kiwi Pinoy (WKP) declared in a joint statement.


“The deplorable conditions under which Rosal was detained and the tragic death of baby Diona strengthen our resolve to support the international campaign for an unconditional amnesty for political prisoners in the Philippines,” Walker concluded.


Reference:
Cameron Walker, Spokesperson of Auckland Philippines Solidarity (APS)
ph.solidarity@gmail.com

Justice for Melissa Roxas--Open Letter to President Barack Obama

Open Letter to President Obama
May 19th, 2014

Dear President Obama,

I write to you, Mr. President Obama, on the five-year anniversary of my abduction and torture by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. On May 19, 2009, while conducting health care work in the community of La Paz, Tarlac, Philippines, I was abducted by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

As a U.S. citizen, your recent trip to the Philippines deeply disturbed me, because while there are still no genuine steps being taken to address past and present human rights violations in the Philippines, your actions did nothing to help. In fact, the signing of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the U.S. and the Philippines made the situation in the Philippines worse. EDCA is an unequal agreement in favor of the U.S. and in violation of the sovereignty of the Philippines. Agreements like this, and the possible signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, embolden the already corrupt B.S. Aquino administration and worsen the human rights situation in the country.

Five years ago, I disappeared from those I love: the communities I dedicated my life to serve, my family, my friends, and my colleagues. I was held in secret detention and tortured for six days inside the military camp of Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, residence of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army.

I was suffocated with plastic bags, my head was repeatedly banged against the concrete wall, and for six days I suffered other severe forms of torture that caused lasting physical injuries. Every time I see the scars on my body, it reminds me of the torture I endured.

After I was surfaced, I requested the assistance of the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Essentially the U.S. Embassy told me I was on my own. I later found out that the U.S. Embassy’s portrayal of their correspondence with me after I was surfaced was inaccurate, as revealed by the three Wikileaks cables that came out in 2011. The Chief of the American Citizens Service of the Embassy misreported that I was “in good physical condition.” In fact, I had sustained physical injuries and suffered psychological trauma after the incident. The Embassy also initially offered three options for me to provide more information about my case. But when I took the option of having a representative come to my relative’s home because I felt unsafe to leave the house, they withdrew that option. There was a lack of meaningful assistance given to me, and the U.S. Embassy abandoned their responsibility to me as a U.S. citizen.

Five years later, there is still no justice in my case nor the countless others, like Jonas Burgos, Sherlyn Cadapan, and Karen Empeno, who were all forcibly disappeared under the presidency of Arroyo. No one has been prosecuted for these human rights abuses. The Armed Forces of the Philippines—the very military that was involved in my abduction and torture and the torture of others—continues to receive funding and training from the U.S. government. As a U.S. citizen, I don’t want my taxpayer dollars going towards funding the Philippine military that continues to commit heinous crimes against humanity.

Under President B.S. Aquino III’s administration, human rights violations continue with impunity. Massive human rights violations are part of the counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan and have caused displacement of peasants and indigenous peoples.

According to the human rights organization, Karapatan, in the last four years, there were 192 cases of extrajudicial killings; the majority of them were farmers, indigenous and environmental rights defenders. They also reported there are 489 political prisoners—a majority of whom were abducted and detained on fabricated charges. Nearly 40,000 people have been internally displaced, and 134,110 individuals affected due to the illegal use of schools, homes, hospitals and places of worship for military purposes.

Through war, the U.S. acquired the Philippines as a colony and occupied it for the first half of the twentieth century. Since then, the United States has enjoyed an unequal relationship with the Philippines—using the country as its colonial and now neo-colonial outpost to advance U.S. hegemony in the Asia Pacific region. Despite rhetoric about “cooperation,” “friendship” and “partnership,” the U.S. has shown no interest in genuinely addressing the problems of the Philippines and instead advances the economic and political interests of the elite of the United States and the rich few in the Philippines who benefit from the inequities.

Often, as the leaders of nation-states like the Philippines and United States determine the fate of their people, they do so in disregard to the everyday struggles of workers, peasants, the various indigenous groups, women, youth and students in the Philippines. Within these communities, massive human rights violations are committed and compounded with increased militarization.

One such area is near Davao, Mindanao, where the peace-loving, indigenous Talaingod Monobos were uprooted from their lands by an overzealous military trying to push them from their ancestral lands to make way for illegal mining and logging operations.

This past April 2, 2014, over three hundred Talaingod Manobo families had to flee their homes because of military bombings and occupation of their villages. Some families were forced to starve because they were prevented from going to their farms by the military. A twelve-day old boy died during the evacuation. His mother cried in silence as they escaped the military. The boy’s father buried him by digging a shallow grave with his bare hands and a bolo. A newborn baby was not given the chance to live and his family was driven away from their home.

The brutality of the Philippine military knows no bounds—they intentionally damaged the corn and rice mill that the Manobos rely on for food and their livelihood. In a household in another village, a soldier excreted feces into their cooking pot meant for rice and boiling water.

The Manobo tribes have suffered a long history of human rights violations perpetrated by the military—including harassment, destruction of farms and killings. Stationing U.S. troops and equipment permanently in the Philippines under the new EDCA will further exacerbate the militarization of communities like the Manobos. There should be a permanent withdrawal of the Philippine military from their areas and a stop to U.S.-designed and funded Oplan Bayanihan. These atrocities have to stop.

The U.S. cannot conscionably and legally continue to provide training and equipment to the Armed Forces of the Philippines knowing they commit crimes against humanity. Providing U.S. military aid to the Philippines is in violation of existing U.S. laws. The Arms Export Control Act, the Leahy Law and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 state that no funding should be provided to foreign security forces where the United States has knowledge that they have committed “gross violations of human rights.”

You said in your first presidential victory speech on November 7, 2012 that “I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.”

People all over the world want the same things that we want here in the U.S. They want the same things that you want as a man, as a father, as a leader of a nation—to live in a world of freedom and peace. They cling to that hope that one day they will achieve it, and they are willing to do what they can to keep fighting for it.

You cannot achieve freedom and peace through war or occupation of other lands like the Philippines. You cannot pretend that agreements like EDCA do not violate the sovereignty of the Filipino people. You cannot turn a blind eye on the extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture still happening in the Philippines. By entering into agreements with the Philippine government and continuing to fund the Armed Forces of the Philippines, you are in effect giving your seal of approval for the B.S. Aquino administration to continue its corruption and deceit, and to continue to commit human rights abuses.

What should be said about the United States, which supports governments like the Philippines that are corrupt and which silences dissent through extrajudicial killings, abductions, and torture? Are you willing to sacrifice the sovereignty and well-being of the Filipino people as well as the well-being of the majority of the American people, for the sake of profit and power for the elite few of the United States? Are you willing to continue draining away billions of dollars from education, housing, healthcare and sustainable energy for poor and struggling American families in order to continue enriching the giant military corporations?

Like you, I continue with a stubborn hope that things will change and that something better awaits us. That is why I write this letter to you. Five years later and there is still no justice for my case. As President of the United States, I hope that you will push for the genuine investigation into my abduction and torture and demand that the Philippines punish the perpetrators.

I also demand that our taxpayer dollars are not used to fund the Philippine military which continues to commit human rights violations. I demand that the U.S. withdraw our troops from the Philippines and terminate unequal agreements like EDCA.

I hope that one day there will be a world without torture, a world with a just and lasting peace. But unlike you Mr. President, I don’t want to side with oppressive governments like the administration of B.S. Aquino in the Philippines. I want to be on the side of history that aligns itself with the basic masses of the people who continue to fight to overcome oppression and exploitation. I want to be on the side of history that believes in the right of all people to live with genuine freedom and democracy.

Sincerely,

Melissa Roxas

Posted in Melissa's Words
http://justiceformelissa.org/

No mother deserves this kind of indescribable heartbreak many times over

Press Statement
19 May 2014

On the death of Andrea Rosal’s newborn baby

From the time of her arrest on March 27, 2014, the treatment of then pregnant Andrea Rosal was dehumanizing and heightened by obvious bad faith if not disregard for basic human rights. She was subjected to undue stress, tension, anxiety and discomfort in infernal, humid and crowded jail conditions.

Immediately after birth last May 17, 2014, her baby daughter was placed in the incubator of the Philippine General Hospital’s Natal Intensive Care Unit. She was not given the once-in-a-lifetime, irreplaceable chance to see her baby daughter Diona Andrea while she was still alive. She was deprived the opportunity to hear her baby cry and to cuddle her, and to give her the comfort and care which only a mother could give. The maternal instincts of a first-time mother like Andrea is no less any other mother’s.

Even as Andrea remains distressed, devastated and even inconsolable with such avoidable tragedy, the wake of her baby daughter has been arranged through her family and friends at the Church of the Risen Lord at the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus the whole day of May 20, 2014 while the burial is scheduled on May 21, 2014 at Andrea’s hometown of Ibaan, Batangas.

We implore fairness and beseech the basic sense of humanity that Andrea be allowed to attend the wake of her baby Diona Andrea as well as to attend her burial to give her the opportunity to properly mourn the death of her baby.

This will give both mother and child due respect, civility, and decency; as what the child Diona Andrea was not given in life, may she be shown in death.

No mother deserves this kind of indescribable heartbreak many times over.
We plead to make haste in assuaging the pain visited by the cruelty and barbarity of the callous. #
Reference
Edre U. Olalia
NUPL Secretary General
+639175113373


--

National Secretariat
National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL)
3F Erythrina Bldg., Maaralin corner Matatag Sts. Central District,Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax no.920-6660
Email addresses: nupl2007@gmail.com and nuplphilippines@yahoo.com
Follow us on twitter @nuplphilippines and facebook @https://www.facebook.com/nuplphilippines
Visit the NUPL website at http://www.nupl.net/


Photo credit: KARAPATAN

NAT’L MISSION IN TALAINGOD, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES, PRESS FOR JUST AND LASTING PEACE, RESUMPTION OF GPH-NDFP PEACE TALKS

NEWS RELEASE
May 16, 2014

Reference: Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general (+63917-3162839)

http://www.karapatan.org/Nat%27l+Mission+in+Talaingod+press+for+just+and+lasting+peace%2C+resumption+of+GPH-NDFP+peacetalks


“We need peace, respect for our right to the land we till, and protection for the environment, for our children and the future generation.”

This was the statement of Datu Guibang Apoga, leader of the Salugpungan ’Ta Igkanugon (Pagkakaisa sa Pagtatanggol ng Lupang Ninuno), in a rare audience with representatives of human rights and people’s organizations in Talaingod, Davao del Norte sometime during the four-day National Solidarity Mission organized by Defend Talaingod, Save Pantaron Range Alliance from May 11-15, 2014.

Datu Guibang has led the Talaingod Manobos in the Pantaron Range in their defense of the mineral and resource-rich biodiversity area against the entry of mining and logging companies and military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) since 1993.

Recently, more than 1,300 Manobos forcibly evacuated from the area after a series of aerial bombings, indiscriminate firing and other human rights violations of the the 68th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) , 60th IB PA of the 1003rd Brigade, and the 4th Special Forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which started in March 3, 2014. After the successful negotiations with the local governments of Davao City and Davao del Norte for the pull-out of the military in the area, the Manobos returned to their homes during the first week of May.

The solidarity mission validated reports on the threats, harassment, divestment of properties, encampment of schools and health centers, destruction of farms, and even sexual molestation in the various sitios in Talaingod.

“The AFP’s operations through Oplan Bayanihan in Talaingod and in the rest of the country have only resulted to grave human rights violations, and social and economic impact on the lives of the people. The need to resume the peace talks between the Aquino government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines is more pronounced than ever. The GPH and the AFP should stop its dirty war against the people and instead should address the roots of the armed conflict in the country,” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general who led the delegation of national organizations which joined the mission.

In a press conference after the mission, Palabay scored the AFP on the failure of Oplan Bayanihan’s militarist objectives, in addressing the plight of the Manobos and communities. “In the case of Talaingod, the AFP has miserably failed in breaking the organized strength of the Manobos in upholding their right to land, despite continuous military operations,” she added.

Palabay said that necessary social and economic reforms are vital components of an environment for just and lasting peace, reforms which are the next major agenda of the stalled GPH-NDFP peace talks.

“It goes to show that the Aquino administration and the AFP are not at all serious in addressing these urgent and comprehensive concerns, if all they do is unleash their war against the people through Oplan Bayanihan,” Palabay concluded.
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PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
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Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Bldg., #1 Maaralin corner Matatag Sts., Central District
Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.

Environmental activist abducted and detained in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, Philippines

Case:

Illegal arrest and detention; Violation of rights of persons arrested and detained; Torture (psychological); Violation of domicile;Threat, harassment and intimidation

Victims:

ROMEO “Gingging” RIVERA, Jr.,

- Male, 52 years old, married, employed as Carpenter/technician of
VermiCulture Project under the Department of Agriculture in Tampakan, South
Cotabato

- Co-convenor of Tampakan Panalipdan (Defend Tampakan), an
organization opposed to large-scale and destructive mining in Tampakan

AREL RIVERA, son of Romeo



Place of Incident: Barangay (village) San Roque, Koronadal City, South Cotabato

Date of Incident: May 2, 2014, at around 1:30 p.m.

Alleged Perpetrator(s): At least 20 soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army in plain clothes and wearing bonnets over their
faces. Capt. Anthony Albuera was identified as the leader of the group.


Account of the Incident:


On May 3, the Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), through its spokesperson Capt. Alberto Caber, released a statement to the media claiming it has captured the “notorious NPA front secretary Felix Armodia who operated in Davao del Sur, South Cotabato and Tulunan, North Cotabato.”


Contrary to the claims of the AFP, they illegally arrested and detained 52 year-old Romeo Rivera, an environmental activist who is a co-convenor of the Tampakan Panalipdan (Defend Tampakan), an organization campaigning against large-scale and destructive mining in Tampakan, South Cotabato.


Romeo Rivera was falsely charged with slight illegal detention, robbery with violence, murder and murder with frustrated murder. But the name Romeo Rivera does not appear on any arrest warrant presented by the authorities. Said warrants were issued against Armodia. The National Democratic Front in Southern Mindanao also issued a statement saying Rivera and Armodia is not the same person.


On May 2, 2014, at around 1:30 p.m, Romeo Rivera, 52 was taking his nap on a hammock outside their house at Barangay San Roque, Koronadal City when some 20 armed men in plain clothes and bonnets on their faces arrived and surrounded Rivera.


With the guns pointed at him, Rivera was immediately handcuffed and blindfolded. He pleaded that he be allowed to put his shirt on, but the men disregarded his request. The men seized his cellphone and took him inside a car.


Romeo’s son, Arel, was inside the house when he heard screaming and commotion outside. When he looked up, several armed men already entered their house. Arel was ordered to lie on his stomach. He was hit and ordered to crawl outside the house.


According to witnesses, the armed men fled on board a grey Toyota Tamaraw FX (NIC316) and two Hilux vans with a “For Registration” card instead of a plate number.


Rivera was kept blindfolded and handcuffed inside the vehicle as they drove off to Digos City. The abductors forced Rivera to admit he is “Felix Armodia,” allegedly the secretary of a guerrilla front of the New People’s Army. One of his abductors told Rivera that his case would be reduced if he cooperated, while another threatened to kill him.


After hours of travel, Rivera was transferred into another vehicle where the interrogation continued.


At around 7:40 p.m. they reached Digos City. Rivera’s blindfold was removed and he was turned over to the Digos City police by Capt. Anthony Albuera of the 39th Infantry Battalion- Philippine Army (IBPA).


Speaking to a news reporter inside Digos police detention center, Rivera gave names of his relatives who can vouch for his identity, and places where he lived.


Rivera is the third Karapatan-documented case of illegal arrest and false charges, because they were said to be mistaken for NPA leaders. There was security guard Rolly Panesa who was captured and tortured because he was mistaken to be “Benjamin Mendoza” allegedly a CPP leader in Southern Luzon. Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay also cited the case of farmer Olegario Sevas, 65, who was illegally arrested on December 25, 2011 in Negros Oriental by elements of the AFP and PNP because he was mistaken to be “Filemon Mendrez,” purportedly a leader of the NPA. The warrant of arrest issued against Sevas did not bear his name.


“Benjamin Mendoza” had Php 5.6 million and “Filemon Mendrez” Php 5.25 million on their heads as reward for their capture. The reward system is contained in a hitlist of the Department of National Defense and the Department of Interior and Local Governments known as Joint Order Number 14-2012.


Karapatan believes that Rivera was targetted because of his work as leader of Tampakan Panalipdan. On April 22, Tampakan Panalipdan spearheaded a Mindanao-wide forum at Tampakan National High School opposing the Tampakan Project operations of the Sagittarius Mines, Inc. The Tampakan project targets the 15 million tons of copper and 18 million ounces of gold in the area. SMI is largely operated by Anglo-swiss company Glencore-Xstrata and Australian Indophil Resources NL.


Karapatan has documented several cases of human rights violations in the Tampakan area including at least 10 victims of extrajudicial killings related to the operations of GlencoreXstrata-SMI. Among those killed are members of the Capion family – Juvy Capion, her two children – who were strafed by soldiers of the 27th IBPA in October 2012. Juvy’s brother-in-law Kitari was killed in January 2013.


UA Date: May 15, 2014

Recommended Action:

Send letters, emails or fax messages calling for:

1. The immediate release of Romeo “Gingging” Rivera from detention, and the dropping of charges against him;
2. The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look into the arbitrary arrest and detention of Romeo Rivera.
3. The end to the policy of labeling and targeting of human rights defenders as “members of front organizations of the communists” and
“enemies of the state.”
4. The withdrawal of Oplan Bayanihan, the Philippine government’s counterinsurgency program, that victimizes innnocent and unarmed civilians.
5. The Philippine Government to observe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all the major Human Rights instruments that it is a party and signatory to.

You may send your communications to:


H.E. Benigno C. Aquino III
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
E-mail: op@president.gov.ph



Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
(OPAPP)
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City 1605
Voice:+63 (2) 636 0701 to 066
Fax:+63 (2) 638 2216
stqd.papp@opapp.gov.ph



Ret. Lt. Gen. Voltaire T. Gazmin
Secretary, Department of National
Defense
Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo,
E. de los Santos Avenue, Quezon City
Voice:+63(2) 911-6193 / 911-0488 / 982-5600
Fax:+63(2) 982-5600
Email: osnd@philonline.com, dnd.opla@gmail.com



Atty. Leila De Lima
Secretary, Department of Justice
Padre Faura St., Manila
Direct Line 521-1908
Trunkline 523-84-81 loc.211/214
Fax: (+632) 523-9548
Email: lmdelima@doj.gov.ph, lmdelima.doj@gmail.com, lmdelima.doj2@gmail.com



Hon. Loretta Ann P. Rosales
Chairperson, Commission on Human
Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Voice: (+632) 928-5655, 926-6188
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com, lorettann@gmail.com



Please send us a copy of your email/mail/fax to the above-named government officials, to our address below.


URGENT ACTION Prepared by:


Karapatan Monitor 2014 issue 1 (Jan-Mar 2014) now available for download
publicinfo May 15 10:36AM +0800

Dear friends,

We are happy to announce that the First Quarter 2014 Karapatan Monitor January to March 2014) is now available for download via this link:

http://www.karapatan.org/Karapatan+Monitor+2014+Issue+No.+1

​
Please feel free to circulate and share.
Thank you for your support for the promotion of human rights.

JUSTICE FOR ALL VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) risks violating the country’s national sovereignty and invites American forces’ occupation of the Philippines under various ruses set forth in the new pact

Issue Analysis
ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 04
Series of 2014

EDCA and the Price of Inequality

By the Policy Study, Publication, and Advocacy (PSPA)
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
May 6, 2014

Signed on April 28 by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) risks violating the country’s national sovereignty and invites American forces’ occupation of the Philippines under various ruses set forth in the new pact.

Constitutionality and extraterritoriality

In the guise of “enhanced defense cooperation,” EDCA construes U.S. military basing in the Philippines that is more expanded and extensive than its previous military facilities under the 1947 Military Bases Agreement. In the agreement, the U.S. will “preposition and store” military equipment, supplies, and materiel at AFP bases and other territories. Under their operational control, they can use airfields, ports, public roads, and community areas; as well as construct infrastructures and other facilities in so-called “agreed locations.”

The agreement may remain in force beyond the 10 years contemplated in the absence of any prior notice for its termination which is unlikely considering that the U.S. will not spend so much money for building the facilities aside from operations without being assured of a longer or permanent stay. The new facilities, continuing prepositioning and rotation of U.S. forces and military equipment as well as the use of airfields, ports, public roads, and other territories including waters throughout the Philippines are nothing less than a basing system.

There is no other way to call this new U.S. military presence particularly in so-called “agreed locations” such as within AFP camps – where they will operate for free - than as a base. An example is the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P) facility for espionage, psy-ops, and other covert operations of the U.S. Special Forces built inside Camp Navarro, Zamboanga City since 2003. The JSOTF-P has become a permanent site with at least 500 U.S. special operations forces involved in secret operations inside and out at any time. AFP authorities have to ask for permission in order to access this secret and high-security base. The JSOTF-P and other facilities set up by U.S. forces since the VFA have been described by Pentagon documents as “forward or advance operating bases.”

Is there a basis for invoking the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the U.S. and the Philippines to justify EDCA? The MDT was a cold war instrument whereby the Philippines at that time was made to believe that an “external threat” was poised against her and the U.S. – the “totalitarian USSR," the newly-liberated communist China, and North Korea which sent forces into South Korea. The war in Indochina from which emerged the U.S. “domino theory” would heat up much later.

Conversely in the context of EDCA, there is no imminent “external attack”: The Philippine government can always say that China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) is an “armed threat” to the Philippines that warrants the treaty allies’ defensive or counter-offensive posture and the operationalization of the MDT. But the other treaty partner – the U.S., through President Barack Obama – has been non-committal to fighting on the side of the Philippines against China clarifying that the U.S. maintains “constructive” relations with China and calls for the rules-based peaceful settlement of the maritime disputes in the SCS/WPS.

Nuclear weapons will come in. Art. IV, Sec. 6 of the agreement which excludes nuclear weapons refers only to prepositioned materiel. The whole agreement is silent on the entry or access to Philippine territories of warships, warplanes, aircraft carriers, and submarines – most of them nuclear weapons-equipped whose presence in the country is prohibited by the 1987 Constitution. In fact since 1992 upon the dismantling of the first U.S. military bases, the U.S. has docked its nuclear-armed warships and flown its aircraft on Philippine territory with the quiet acquiescence of Philippine authorities. The U.S. has notoriety for its “neither confirm nor deny” policy on nuclear weapons. In 1995, a Top Secret document revealed that the U.S. stored as many as 70 nuclear weapons in the Philippines during the cold war. Then as now, Philippine authorities are powerless at preventing the entry of these weapons of mass destruction given that whatever “access” is allowed does not carry the right to inspect on either prepositioned materiel or mobile vehicles such as nuclear-armed warships and warplanes.

Extraterritorial rights are granted to the U.S. in further violation of the Philippine constitution and other sovereign laws. Anything goes and the culprits will not be bound by Philippine laws. Because the “agreed locations” and other territories contemplated in the agreement will be under the “operational control” of the U.S. no Filipino will ever know what happens inside those locations especially activities and incidents that violate Philippine laws. U.S. laws and policies – not those of the host country – will govern defense contracts that include construction projects and installation of facilities such as telecommunications and radar systems.

Extraterritoriality suspends not only Philippine but also international laws. As in the VFA practice, the criminal jurisdiction over erring U.S. military and civilian personnel – who are expected to enter the Philippines in massive numbers never before imagined – remains vague. The agreement says all legal disputes and other matters will be left to an equally ambiguous “consultative mechanism” of the two countries. Victims of U.S. crimes are thus estopped from seeking justice and protection provided by Philippine laws; even international laws remain frozen. And yet in the EDCA preamble both parties uphold the primacy of the Philippine Constitution and national laws as well as international laws and UN conventions. How such “consultative mechanisms” for legal disputes and other matters will play to protect the rights of victims is not guaranteed so that the same unwritten rule of protecting erring U.S. forces so they can evade arrest and prosecution – both under the 1947 MBA and current defense agreements – will prevail.

On credible defense capability, modernization, and humanitarian aid

For decades now – except for a few years after its bases were dismantled in 1991 – America has in exchange for supporting its geo-strategic interests provided the Philippine military with sizeable amounts of military aid, arms supplies, military scholarships and training in the U.S. and, since the VFA, has conducted joint Balikatan war exercises and special forces training. Billions of pesos have also been earmarked for the AFP’s modernization in post-Marcos years – much of it remaining unaccounted for since Ramos. Now EDCA is being rationalized to help the Philippines develop its defense capability and modernization program – a tacit admission that the 60-year defense partnership has yielded no positive results in terms of at least strengthening the AFP. Today the Philippine military is considered among the weakest in Asia.

In truth, Pentagon reports reveal the unilateral advantages the U.S. gains by using the Philippines as a training ground for its own forces such as jungle warfare and as a laboratory for counter-insurgency, unconventional war, psywar and torture techniques to enhance U.S. military manuals that are then tested in warfronts such as Iraq, Afghanistan and, during the cold war, in Indochina, South America, and other regions. Humanitarian missions and recently, disaster relief, have nothing to do with American sympathy to disaster victims. These non-traditional missions have been part of the U.S.’ modern counter-insurgency and anti-terrorist intervention doctrines aimed at winning “the hearts and minds” of people against insurgencies and as a soft power to promote hegemonism.

Thus the alliance architecture crafted over the past 60 years around the now-defunct Military Bases Agreement (MBA, 1947), MDT, VFA, the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA), EDCA, and other agreements as well as military assistance, military scholarships, as well as special trainings and war exercises has been one-sided. The alliance compelled the Philippines to support U.S. wars of aggression and allowing the free use of military bases from the Korean war, to the Indohina war, and the first U.S. Gulf War (“Desert Storm”) in 1991, and most recently the “war on terror.” In effect, the alliance system has always been used by the U.S. to draw support for its wars in Asia – which, anyway, ended in either stalemate or in debacles to the U.S. as in Indochina – and to maintain its military hegemony in Asia Pacific. In the end, the alliance system has left the Philippines more and more militarily dependent on the U.S. and gave the latter the leverage to intervene in Philippine affairs.

The EDCA is an unequal agreement: For all the occupation and extraterritorial rights enjoyed by a foreign army – all for free - the Philippines is merely given the glorified role of providing security for the new bases and U.S. forces. Free security these foreign forces will enjoy whether doing covert operations or enjoying the country’s world-renowned beaches, paradise sites, as well as new prostitution communities that will rise once more all over the archipelago to cater to the Americans forces’ “R&R” requirements.



For reference:

Bobby M. Tuazon
Director for Policy Studies
Center for People Empowerment in Governance
3F CSWCD Bldg., Magsaysay Avenue, University of the Philippines, Diliman 1101, Quezon City
TelFax +9299526; email info@cenpeg.org, cenpeg.info@gmail.com
www.cenpeg.org

Support the workers of NXP! Reinstate union officials terminated during CBA nego! Stop union-busting in big electronics firm!

_

Background:  

About NXP

A union-busting drive is carried out by one of the biggest electronics firms in the Philippines based in the Light Industry and Science Park 1 (LISP 1) in Cabuyao, Laguna. The company terminated 24 union leaders of NXP Semiconductors Inc. Workers’ Union (NXPSCIWU-NAFLU-KMU)  in the midst of negotiations for a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The company, which has a workforce of more than 5,000 in the Philippines and manufactures micro-chips, has stopped at offering a 3.5 per cent raise while workers demand an 8 per cent increase for the duration of the next CBA. It has also refused to heed the union’s demand for the regularization of contractual workers.

NXP is a private equity-owned company and listed in NASDAQ. The major stockholders are private equity firms led by KKR Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts, one of the biggest US financial oligarchs. NXP supplies Apple, Nokia, Huawei, Continental, Asus, Flextronics and Foxconn. According to the NXP website, it is operating in more than 25 countries, and gathered a revenue of $4.82 billion in 2013.

The struggle of NXP workers

Last May 5, 24 union leaders were fired by NXP Semiconductors Inc. The company’s defense: illegal strike – many workers did not report for work on April 9, 17, 18 and May 1.

That is just an excuse. Those dates are regular holidays: It was Day of Valor on the 9th of April, while the 17th and 18th of April were Maundy Thursday and Holy Friday, respectively, and Labor Day is celebrated every 1st of May. Even in accordance with the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement or CBA, the company acknowledges the workers’ right to participate in May 1 activities.

What is the real reason? There is an ongoing negotiation between the union and NXP’s management for a CBA. The union demands a significant wage hike for workers – an 8% increase, while the management wants only a 3.5% raise. The union also insists that contractual employees be regularized, to which the company disagrees.

The demands made by the NXP workers and their union are valid and reasonable. They are merely upholding workers’ rights. The NXP’s management, which is now owned by American capitalists, is clearly anti-worker.

The fight of the NXP workers is a fight of all workers, of everyone. All of us need a wage increase that’s significant, not just morsels of alms. All of us deserve employment that’s regular, not just contractual. Many have already been dismissed from their jobs just because they asserted what’s due to them.

The union of the workers of NXP is one of the few unions in the country’s special economic zones. Capitalists and the Aquino government really want to suppress and bust it. The government has been deploying thousands of police forces to suppress the NXP workers’ protests. If capitalists and the government succeed, they will further oppress and exploit the numerous workers at the enclaves.

Let us support the NXP workers’ fight. Let us spread the word about their plight and struggle, our struggle, to everyone. Let us support and if possible join the protests on May 19 and 26. Let us condemn the capitalists of NXP together with its ally, the government of Noynoy Aquino. 

Philippine President Aquino is anti-worker and is a puppet of big capitalists!

 

Suggested letter:

We are deeply alarmed with the union-busting drive being carried out by one of the biggest electronics firms in the Philippines based in Cabuyao, Laguna, when the company terminated 24 union leaders of NXP Semiconductors Inc. Workers’ Union (NXPSCIWU-NAFLU-KMU).

We believe that the illegal dismissal was carried out in relation to ongoing negotiations for a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the union and management and the management’s refusal to implement a significant wage hike and regularize contractual workers.

The demands made by the NXP workers and their union are valid and reasonable. They are merely upholding workers’ rights.

All of us need a wage increase that’s significant, not just morsels of alms. All of us deserve employment that’s regular, not just contractual.

We are also alarmed that the capitalists and the Aquino government want to suppress workers’ union at NXP and bust it. The Philippine government has been deploying thousands of police forces to suppress the NXP workers’ protests. 

We demand that Department of Labor (DOLE) and the Philippines Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) take actions to uphold the rights of the workers.

We support the NXP workers’ fight. We will spread the word about their plight and struggle, our struggle, to everyone. 

We will support their protest actions on May 19 and 26.

We condemn the capitalists of NXP together with its ally, the government of Noynoy Aquino. 

The Philippine President Aquino is anti-worker and is a capitalist puppet!

We demand:

• Reinstate the 24 laid-off workers! 
• Resume negotiations for a CBA in NXP! 
• Implement a significant wage hike! 
• Regularize contractual employees! 

Philippine President, uphold the right of NXP workers and all Filipino workers!

Target emails: 

Richard Clemmer, CEO
rick.clemmer@nxp.com
rick.clemmer.office@nxp.com 

Jose Miguel Orleans, GM
mike.orleans@nxp.com 

Atty Riza E.Mendoza
HR Labor relation officer and corporate secretary
riza.e.mendoza@nxp.com

Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz
Secretary, Department of Labor (DOLE)
National Capital Region
ncr@dole.gov.ph  

Ma. Zenaida Angara-Campita
Regional Director 
Department of Labor (DOLE) Region IV-A
ro4a@dole.gov.ph /dole4a_observe@yahoo.com

Dr. Lilia De Lima
Director General, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)
info@peza.gov.ph

For more information:
nxpsciwu@yahoo.com 
and kmu.intl@gmail.com

Mothers, who are they?

It is not just about women who bore, fed, clothed, sheltered and reared-up biological children, neither it's about regretting of not having or seeking the image of a perfect mother in one's life. Rather it is about knowing that there was, is and will be women who assumed mothering for the creation of a family, community and nation where all children find love, live in secured homes, are fed and cared for, respected and assume responsibility to make this world a just and peaceful place to live in. Thank you all mothers. HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!

APPEAL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION- JUSTICE FOR SUMMARILY KILLED PEASANT LEADERS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Call for justice for the killing of Menelao "Boy" Barcia and
for the persecution and harassment of Antonio Tolentino and other farmers of Hacienda Dolores, Porac, Pampanga


Dear friends,

Please join us in our call for justice for the human rights violations of farmers in Hacienda Dolores, Porac, Pampanga.

Killing of village councilor

Initial reports from Karapatan-Central Luzon cited the killing of Menelao "Boy" Barcia, 57. Barcia was a Barangay councilor (kagawad) and an official of Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Hacienda Dolores (Aniban or Alliance of United People of Hacienda Dolores).

On May 2, at around 10:00 p.m. Barcia picked up his wife Maria at a gas station in Angeles City where she worked. While driving their jeep back to Brgy. Hacienda Dolores, two motorcycles drove alongside them. There were two unidentified men on each of the motorcycles.

Suddenly, the men fired at Barcia's vehicle, killing him instantly. Barcia sustained four gunshot wounds—three in the chest and one at the back of his head. Maria was also injured and was brought by residents nearby to the Mt. Carmel Hospital in San Fernando, Pampanga. As of this writing, Maria’s foot is scheduled for operation.

Witnesses of the incident are afraid to speak for fear of retaliation. Farmers of Hacienda Dolores believe that state security forces or goons hired by Triple L were involved in the killing.

Menelao Barcia had been monitoring of the administrative charges against Barangay captain Antonio Tolentino. With Tolentino, Barcia was also involved in uniting the farmers of Hacienda Dolores against the moves of the Triple L Company to grab their lands.

Harassment suits and trumped-up charges against ANIBAN members

Before Barcia was killed, on April 16, 2014, around 30 members of San Fernando City and Porac City PNP, all in combat gear, arrived at the barangay hall of Brgy. Hacienda Dolores and arrested village chief Antonio Tolentino.

Tolentino was talking with Barcia and the barangay treasurer when members of the PNP arrived. After briefly showing Tolentino a warrant of arrest for carnapping charge, the police grabbed and pulled Tolentino into a waiting police vehicle. Two residents who were also at the barangay hall at that time accompanied Tolentino despite attempts of the police to ward them off.

Tolentino is currently detained at Angeles City District Jail for charges of carnapping and kidnapping with serious physical injuries. The village chief was also slapped with an administrative complaint for grave misconduct, oppression, abuse of authority and acts prejudicial to public service. The bail for the carnapping charge is PhP 180,000.

Two days after, on April 18, the policemen returned to Brgy. Hacienda Dolores and surrounded several households in Sitio Balucboc, Purok 8, Brgy. Hacienda Dolores. The police operation was conducted to arrest all of Tolentino's sons, namely: Tirso, Ener, Ed, Erwin, Eddie. All were named in the carnapping charge but none were arrested at the time of the police operation. According to witnesses, some of the police were in full combat gear but without nameplates; while several others including Porac PNP Chief Miro were in civilian clothes. Some security personnel of Triple L accompanied the police.

Lucila Tolentino, wife of Tirso Tolentino, was in their house when the police arrived. She trembled in fear when she saw the armed policemen.

Antonio Tolentino was earlier arrested with his son Ener in January 13, a day after Triple L security guards shot and killed farmer Arman Padiño and injured Noel Tumali. The Tolentino's posted bail for charges of slight physical injuries and grave threats.

As early as October 2013, members of Aniban were subjected to harassment and intimidation, illegal arrests and detention. During an assembly, while members of Aniban were discussing concrete steps to take to stop the Triple L Company from seizing their farm lands, several members of the PNP arrived and sat in the meeting. PSupt. Juritz Rara also talked to barangay chairperson Antonio Tolentino who was facilitating the farmers' assembly.

While the assembly was going on, security guards of the Triple L tried to fence off the lands being tilled by the farmers of Hacienda Dolores. But they were stopped by the women farmers who are members of Aniban. Village councilors Menelao Barcia and Cornelio Pineda demanded from the guards proof that they have permission to fence off the said areas. The security guards were forced away by the residents when they could not show any proof.

As a result, 30 Aniban members were charged of grave threats, grave coercion and usurpation of real rights in real property. The charge was filed by the security guards of Triple L. Those charged received a subpoena in March ordering them to appear before the provincial prosecutor of Pampanga.

The farmers of Hacienda Dolores face threats of eviction from the land they tilled for generations as the Leonardo-Lachenal Leonio Holdings, Inc (LLL), FL Property Management Corporation (FL) and Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) eye the vast tracts of lands of the hacienda.

We call on friends and human rights advocates to send letters of concern calling for:
1. Justice for the extrajudicial killing of Menelao Barcia and the frustrated killing of his wife Maria.
2. The iimmediate release of Barangay Captain Antonio Tolentino, and to stop filing of fabricated charges and arbitrary arrests against members of Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Hacienda Dolores (Aniban or Alliance of United People of Hacienda Dolores) and farmers.
3. The immediate formation of an independent fact-finding and investigation team composed of representatives from human rights groups, the Church, local government, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look into the incidents of human rights violations, to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators, and to investigate the landgrabbing in lands in Hacienda Dolores, Porac, Pampanga by the Triple L Company.
4. The PH government and its state security forces to stop labelling and targeting human rights defenders as “members of front organizations of the communists” and “enemies of the state.”
5. The withdrawal of Oplan Bayanihan, the Philippine government’s counterinsurgency program that victimizes innocent and unarmed civilians.
6. The Philippine Government to observe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all the major Human Rights instruments that it is a party and signatory to.

You may send your communications to the following agencies through mail, e-mail or fax:

H.E. Benigno C. Aquino III
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines
Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
E-mail: op@president.gov.ph

Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
7th Floor Agustin Building I
Emerald Avenue
Pasig City 1605
Voice:+63 (2) 636 0701 to 066
Fax:+63 (2) 638 2216
stqd.papp@opapp.gov.ph

Ret. Lt. Gen. Voltaire T. Gazmin
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo,
E. de los Santos Avenue, Quezon City
Voice:+63(2) 911-6193 / 911-0488 / 982-5600
Fax:+63(2) 982-5600
Email: osnd@philonline.com, dnd.opla@gmail.com

Atty. Leila De Lima
Secretary, Department of Justice
Padre Faura St., Manila
Direct Line 521-1908
Trunkline 523-84-81 loc.211/214
Fax: (+632) 523-9548
Email: lmdelima@doj.gov.ph, lmdelima.doj@gmail.com, lmdelima.doj2@gmail.com

Hon. Loretta Ann P. Rosales
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., UP Complex
Commonwealth Avenue
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Voice: (+632) 928-5655, 926-6188
Fax: (+632) 929 0102
Email: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com, lorettann@gmail.com

Please send us a copy of your email/mail/fax to the above-named government officials, to our address below.

URGENT ACTION Prepared by:



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KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights