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OSLO, Norway. Peace negotiators of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines begun arriving in the Norwegian capital for the start of the second round of formal peace negotiations starting tomorrow. Read more
CONSULTANTS of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) emphasized the need to address genuine land reform and nationalist industrialization at the second round of their formal peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).
At a press forum in Cubao, Quezon City last Friday (September 23), the consultants said both genuine socio-economic programs are the most crucial issues to the Filipino people that they will discuss with the GRP on October 6-10 in Oslo, Norway. Read more
PROGRESSIVE groups marched to Mendiola last Wednesday, September 21, to mark the 44th year since dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law and to press their opposition to talk of another military rule in the country.
Martial Law survivors and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultants narrated their torture under Martial Law and called for the release of current political prisoners numbering more than 500.
First Quarter Storm Movement chairperson Bonifacio Ilagan said that tyranny has not been completely eliminated by the ouster of Marcos in 1986. Read more
NATIONAL Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) representatives met Tuesday and Wednesday (September 20 and 21) at the Royal Norwegian Government’s (RNG) Embassy in Taguig City to discuss the possibility of revitalizing their Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) on human rights and international humanitarian law and the possibility of a bilateral ceasefire.
In an effort to further accelerate their peace negotiations, the NDFP and the GRP agreed to hold committee and sub-committee level discussions on both issues facilitated by Norwegian Special Envoy for the Philippine Peace Process Elizabeth Slattum.
The discussions’ agreements are currently being reviewed before their elevation to the negotiating panels for approval at their formal negotiations in Oslo, Norway on October 6 to 10.
“Whatever was agreed upon by the working groups in the Philippines will be elevated to the panel level during formal talks in Oslo for discussion and approval,” GRP Negotiating Panel member Hernani Braganza said.
“This is another breakthrough in the peace process,” Braganza said.
The NDFP was represented by panel members Fidel Agcaoili and Coni Ledesma as well as consultant Concha Araneta-Bocala while the GRP delegation was led by its committees on JMC and Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms chair Efren Moncupa at their discussion on the JMC last Tuesday.
On the verge
Formed after the February and March-April 2004 formal peace talks, the JMC is tasked to monitor the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
After JMC’s Joint Secretariat office was established in June 4, 2004, however, the GRP under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno C. Aquino governments has refused to undertake joint activities with the NDFP Monitoring Committee.
The NDFP also revealed that the Aquino administration through its Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles asked the RNG to terminate its support for the JS.
“The RNG disagreed with the proposal. They told the GPH they could not unilaterally cease their support of the JS as it is part of the agreement enshrined in the CARHRIHL,” NDFP Negotiating Panel member and Human Rights Committee chairperson Fidel Agcaoili said.
He added that the RNG reminded the GPH that closing down the JS must be a mutual decision of the parties to the CARHRIHL.
The GRP Monitoring Committee nominated section of the JS has since been noticeably downsized while the NDFP counterpart has maintained its full complement of staff members involved in organizing and attending peace forums, publishing books and various other peace-related and human rights activities.
A total of 6,397 human rights violations complaints have been filed at the JS office in Cubao, Quezon City, as of last May 23.
Four thousand four hundred seventy one complaints have been filed against the GPH while 1,926 complaints have been filed against the NDFP.
Many of the human rights violations complaints against the GPH were connected to retired Major General Jovito Palparan and the various units under his commands during the Arroyo government.
“More durable and permanent ceasefire”
The discussions in Taguig City yesterday talked about the possibility of extending the ongoing GRP-NDFP mutual, unilateral and indefinite ceasefire declarations and proposed agreement on a joint ceasefire.
“What we have at the moment is a unilateral ceasefire declared by both parties. We hope to sign a bilateral agreement in Oslo for a joint ceasefire, which is more durable and permanent,” said Braganza, supervising panel member for the JMC and GRP ceasefire committee.
“Our aim is to harmonize the operational guidelines of the GRP and the NDF during ceasefire to avoid mis-encounters or other violations of the agreement. We are also expected to come up with a mechanism for reporting of ceasefire violations,” Braganza said.
Braganza noted that the GRP and the NDF panels earlier agreed “to reconcile and develop their separate unilateral ceasefire orders into a single unified bilateral document within 60 days.
The NDFP and allied organization Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) have reported ceasefire violations by GRP forces, however.
“Disrespect of Duterte”
The CPP reported that the 50th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) has arrested Marcos “Ka Munroe” Aggalao, a 73-year old retired NPA fighter at Balbalan, Kalinga last September 10.
Tipon Gil-Ayad, spokesperson of the Lejo Cawilan Command of the New People’s Army in Kalinga Province said Aggalao’s arrest violated the ongoing ceasefire declarations and the CARHRIHL because of Aggalao’s age and non-combatant status.
NDFP-Mindoro reported that Philippine National Police-Region IV B has arrested NPA member Jeffrey de los Reyes in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro last September 21 “while fulfilling his tasks for the peace process.”
Ka Ma. Patricia Andal, NDF-Mindoro spokesperson, accused the PNP as “traitors” and “insincere towards the peace talks.”
“They are boorish for disrespecting the ceasefire directive of their commander in chief Rodrigo Duterte,” Andal said.
The Celso Minguez Command of the NPA also reported that the 31st IBPA are still operating in Barangays Sinibaran, Bon-ot, Coron-coron, Cabagahan and Bariis in the town of Matnog and in Barangay San Antonio, Barcelona in Sorsogon despite the Armed Forces of the Philippines’s reported confirmation that GRP troops have been recalled from their combat operations in accordance with President Duterte’s ceasefire declaration.
“They remain in these areas. Meanwhile, they again conducted operations in Barangay Calateo in the municipality of Juban (Sorsogon) since the morning September 15, 2016,” NPA’s Celso Minguez Command spokesperson Samuel Guerrero said in a press statement.
“The actions of the 31st IBPA troops violate its own ceasefire and the order of their Commander-in-Chief, President Duterte, to strictly abide the Suspension of Offensive Military Operations (SOMO) of the AFP,” Guerrero said.
Meanwhile, OPAPP announced the composition of the GRP and the NDFP’s ceasefire committees.
Ceasefire committees formed
“The GRP ceasefire committee is chaired by Dr. Francisco Lara, currently Philippine Country Director of Philippine Alert; with members that include Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip, Atty. Adel Abas, retired police Senior Supt. Wilmer Panabang and Atty. Marie Dinah Tolentino-Fuentes,” OPAPP in a statement said.
It also said that Agcaoili is NDFP’s ceasefire committee chairperson with NDFP consultants Benito Tiamzon, Rafael Baylosis, Tirso Alcantara and Alfredo Mapano as members. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
A special report by Abril Layad B. Ayroso
“IT took eight months,” senior citizen Constancio Favor said of his attempts to get benefits from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through his district congressman.
“I was only asking for medicine. I had to return to the office of Quezon City Third District Rep. Jorge Banal many times to complete the requirements for a guarantee letter,” Favor said.
When he was finally given an endorsement, the DSWD under then Secretary Corazon Soliman made him undergo a completely different process from the one he went through with Banal’s office.
Favor was among the tens thousands of poor citizens who were told to secure endorsements from their representative before the DSWD under previous secretaries attended to their requests.
When new DSWD secretary Judy Taguiwalo learned of their complaints she immediately sought to stop the practice through her Memorandum Circular No. 9 issued last August 6. Among others, MC9 ordered the entire agency to act on requests from intended beneficiaries even without a letter from lawmakers. The circular also reminded DSWD employees that so-called guarantee letters from congressmen is not a requisite in the identification of beneficiaries.
Some lawmakers, thinking the circular was an attempt to disregard them, reacted strongly against it.
Well-attended budget hearing
Sixty lawmakers lined up to grill Taguiwalo at the two DSWD budget hearings of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives earlier this month. Many of them asked Taguiwalo about MC9, saying it prevents them from helping the poor in their respective districts through DSWD services.
At the first hearing last September 1, Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin claimed that congressmen were the first people that their constituents seek help from and that MC9 implies that their guarantee letters were in violation of the Supreme Court ruling against pork barrel.
Negros Oriental Representative Arnulfo Teves challenged Taguiwalo whether it was the DSWD or the lawmakers who know the poor’s plight better.
House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo Farinas for his part threatened DSWD and its proposed budget.
“We are not asking money from you. You are asking money from Congress. No budget can be spent on your programs without the (Congress) granting it,” Fariñas said.
Other members of the committee suggested to have DSWD’s proposed 2017 budget drastically reduced from Php130 billion to Php500 million — good for only one month of its employees’ salaries.
Taguiwalo for her part repeatedly explained that MC9 does not prevent congressmen from issuing guarantee letters to poor constituents who seek services from the DSWD. She said MC9 only clarifies that a guarantee letter is not a prerequisite to access to DSWD services.
“We have regional offices that can coordinate with you with the referrals. But there are people who have similar needs but do not have access to your referrals. We want to serve them also,” Taguiwalo said.
At the second hearing last September 13, Taguiwalo again clarified that congressmen may still make referrals to DSWD. She said that she believes that these referrals should not be treated as instant passes to benefits. She further said that MC9 is in compliance with Commission on Audit guidelines that executive branch agencies, like the DSWD, are the only authorities in identifying beneficiaries of government projects.
“MC9 was not aimed at relegating to the sidelines the prerogatives of the members of this (Congress) body to give referral letters to their indigent constituents who seek to avail of DSWD programs. Nor was it intended to shut the doors of DSWD cooperation with legislators, government officials, or private individuals. It was, however, aimed at democratizing access to services,” she said.
Taguiwalo’s circular received popular support from the government’s social service front liners.
Reform measure
The Social Welfare Association of Employees in the Philippines (SWEAP), the DSWD rank and file employees union defended what it called Taguiwalo’s “efforts for reforms towards better public service.”
In a statement, the group said that the memo “aims at preserving the dignity of social work by ensuring that key processes in program implementation are done by the diligent workers of the Department.”
SWEAP national president Manuel Baclagon called on the congressmen to stop the politicking, as they saw no reason for the lawmakers to react negatively to the memorandum.
“In principle, this MC is a policy aimed towards ensuring an efficient, fair and transparent provision of services to the needy,” Baclagon said.
Baclagon also emphasized that not all poor people can get endorsement letters from their respective congressmen.
“Secretary Judy is focused on ensuring that the programs and services of DSWD are indeed equally provided and made available to the needy. She wants those who are in need to have equal access to programs and services with or without a referral letter from politicians or government officials,” he added in response to statements by several of the congressmen.
Taguiwalo’s MC9 also received support from outside her agency.
Pork Barrel. Activists say that the lawmakers’ insistence on dictating on how the DSWD delivers services is a continuation of the unlawful ‘pork barrel’ system. (Photo above and featured image by Raymund B. Villanueva)
“Pork barrel”
Veteran journalist and opinion maker Inday Espina-Varona in a Facebook post said there is a deeper reason for the lawmakers’ frustration at Taguiwalo and MC9 and why “the fat, fat pigs in Congress are getting ready to sink their claws into Judy Taguiwalo.”
Varona said that the many congressmen are against MC9 because it seeks to stop the continuation of patronage politics that make the beneficiaries feel like they owe politicians and feel obligated to keep supporting and voting them.
“Simply put, Congress ‘piggies’ want to dictate the flow of DSWD services so they can force people to kneel in thanks and be able to extract voters for services,” she said.
Varona added that because the congressmen are not accountable for the funds being distributed by the DSWD, the lawmakers are free to send the money wherever they please.
The congressmen’s threats against DSWD drove progressive groups to the streets.
Activists defend a government agency
Last September 13, progressive organizations trooped to the House of Representatives to support Sec. Taguiwalo against the congressmen opposing her.
Gabriela-Quezon City chairperson Nerissa Guerrero said she believes the DSWD under Taguiwalo is changing for the better.
“Under previous administrations, I seldom went to the DSWD to seek help. As someone from the lower income brackets, I was not informed enough about all the benefits I should be receiving,” Guerrero said.
“Now, with Ma’am Judy as secretary, the DSWD is trying to inform the people about its programs and reach out to the beneficiaries, especially those affected by calamities. We can rely on the department now, because we know that its chief has a heart that is pro-poor and pro-people,” Guerrero added.
Among those who participated in the rally in front of the House of Representatives before the second budget hearing was Favor. He said he supports Taguiwalo and DSWD’s MC9.
Later that night, the Committee on Appropriations approved at its level DSWD’s proposed 2017 budget. But it will have to go through at least two more stages—the approval of the House of Representatives in plenary and the bicameral sessions with the Senate—before it can serve the millions of Guerreros and Favors faster. #
THE Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) has announced that the second round of peace negotiations between the Duterte government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) will be moved to earlier dates.
“The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP have agreed to adjust the schedule of the second round of the peace negotiations in Oslo from October 8-12 to October 6-10,” the OPAPP in a media advisory said.
It also announced that the next round shall be at the Holmenfjord Hotel, venue of the only formal talks between the Benigno Aquino government and the NDFP in February 2011.
Patmei Ruivivar, OPAPP information officer, said that GRP chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III is scheduled to attend the National Public Employment Service Office Congress with President Duterte on October 13 in Cebu City.
Bello is concurrently the Duterte government’s Department of Labor and Employment secretary.
“It was a mutually agreed adjustment communicated through representatives from both panels and coordinated with the Royal Norwegian Government,” Ruivivar said. # (Report and featured image by Raymund B. Villanueva)
PROGRESSIVE groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) marched to the US Embassy last September 16 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Philippine Senate’s rejection of the extension of the Philippine-United States of America Military Bases Agreement and to support “President Rodrigo Duterte’s independent foreign policy.”
The protest celebrated the 1991 rejection by 12 senators of the agreement despite great pressure exerted by then President Corazon Aquino to the Senate to extend the treaty.
The activists also condemned the current Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement which they say allow American troops to treat the Philippine as their “playground.”
Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr said the VFA and EDCA signed by the US and subsequent Philippine administrations allow offending US troops to escape punishment for their criminal activities in the Philippines.
The Manila District of the Philippine National Police tried to prevent the protesters from reaching Roxas Boulevard but were outwitted when the march split in two and rushed past the hastily assembled police line.
‘No longer a colony’
Duterte had previously emphasized his government’s pursuit of an independent foreign policy from the US.
He recently called out US President Barack Obama on the latter’s reported intention to bring up the issue of human rights violations at their planned meeting in Laos last week.
Duterte also called on US troops to leave Mindanao.
He said he will not allow the US to further meddle into the country’s political and military affairs as it has yet to acknowledge and apologize for atrocities in Mindanao.
Duterte mentioned the massacres of Moros at Bud Dajo and Bud Bagsak during the US occupation of the Philippines which killed thousands of civilians.
Beyond words
Bayan challenged Duterte to take the matter of foreign policy beyond words.
“We support Duterte’s call for the withdrawal of US troops from Mindanao. However, he must go further if he truly wants to pursue an independent foreign policy,” Reyes said.
The group issued a list of demands for a Philippine independent foreign policy, namely:
THE Social Welfare Employees Association of the Philippines (SWEAP) denies it is keeping quiet on the case of temporary employees fired by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary Judy Taguiwalo.
Responding to a complaint posted online by immediate past secretary Corazon Soliman, SWEAP said it will always defend the rights of employees and urged her to name the MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) employees she claims to have been unjustly fired by Taguiwalo.
“Who were the employees that were allegedly unjustly terminated or are being terminated? It is certainly difficult for us to offer help those who do not seek our help,” SWEAP’s statement said.
The DSWD rank and file employees union was reacting to Soliman’s accusation that it is being “selective.”
“My heart is heavy… Some of my former colleagues in DSWD [MOA workers] are being terminated for loss of confidence and trust by the current leadership. Is it because they are associated with me, they cannot be trusted despite their outstanding and very satisfactory ratings on their performance contracts? Is this fair? Is this just?” Soliman’s post said.
“Is power consuming the ideals of fairness, workers right to due process? When the test for fairness and just cause is implemented, I think there is failure in the current situation. So where is SWEAP? In the end could it be selective justice?” Soliman asked in a post that has since been deleted.
But SWEAP said its track record shows it has never abandoned the fight for employees’ rights.
“In fact, SWEAP unqualifiedly fights for the rights and welfare of all employees of the agency, as reflected in our new 2016-2019 Collective Negotiation Agreement. The agreement is clear that we stand for the rights of regular, casual, contractual and event MOA workers, especially those who have been with the DSWD for a long time,” SWEAP said.
The union also refuses to be drawn to what it calls “politicking and selfish interests.”
“We will never allow the union to be used by traditional politicians who use their positions in government to amass wealth or selfish political power,” SWEAP said.
No time for interference
DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo in a statement said that she would rather focus on her work and perform her responsibilities to ensure prompt and compassionate service to the poor.
“I will not be derailed by unfounded criticisms and the unwelcome interference from former DSWD senior officials,” Taguiwalo said.
Taguiwalo said that the hiring and termination of DSWD personnel are in line with existing guidelines and the terms of contracts of individual staff.
Sources from DSWD said Taguiwalo has fired two MOA employees closely associated with Soliman and her 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program).
They refused to give the names of the fired employees and the nature of their engagement with the 4Ps, however.
Taguiwalo said her administration is still unearthing problems left behind by her predecessors.
“Reports from various ranking officials, rank and file employees, and, more importantly, beneficiaries and ordinary citizens have to be addressed,” Taguiwalo said.
The Commission on Audit reported last July that Soliman and other previous DSWD secretaries have yet to liquidate a total of P6.39 billion in funds as of 2015, including payouts from 2008 to 2014. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
HUMAN RIGHTS groups held another rally in front of the Supreme Court (SC) last September 7 during the second round of oral arguments on the petition against the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB).
The rally was in support of the petitioners and their lawyers who said that instead of healing, the Rodrigo Duterte government’s plan to bury the late dictator at the so-called cemetery of heroes would open old wounds.
Bonifacio Ilagan, Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang (CARMMA) convenor, questioned the use of the term “healing” on the issue of Marcos’ burial at the LNMB.
“Whose wounds are going to be healed? The victims are scarred. Will their scars be healed through Marcos’ burial? I don’t think so,” he said.
“If we want healing, then give Martial Law victims justice,” Ilagan said.
“Even if they say that a burial is a simple thing, it means a lot to us, because it would mean the rehabilitation of the Marcoses and the reversal of our history,” he added.
The group Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) also said it is important not to allow Marcos, his heirs and cronies to escape punishment.
“As long as the Marcoses remain unpunished for their crimes, the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the LNMB will only add to our pain, as it allows for the warping of the truth and the recognition of Marcos as a hero,” the group said.
More than a hundred Marcos “loyalists” held their own rally farther down Padre Faura Street.
Rally at the Supreme Court protesting Marcos’ burial at the LNMB revives old slogans against the former president.
No burial yet
Before the Supreme Court en banc, Solicitor General Jose Calida and Marcos family lawyer Hyacinth Rafael-Antonio defended Marcos’ ‘right’ to burial at the LNMB.
Calida said that the government does not see any law violated by Duterte’s plan and, in turn, cited Armed Forces of the Philippines Regulation No. 161-375 allowing soldiers, commanders in chief and war veterans burial at the LNMB.
Calida and Rafael-Antonio said the burial would not affect the issue of compensation of the victims of Marcos’ Martial Law.
Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, however, found fault with Calida and Rafael-Antonio’s argument that Marcos would be buried only because he was a president and a soldier.
Leonon also questioned their treatment of Marcos the President and Marcos the soldier as two different people.
“Which part of Marcos is President? Which part is being accused by the victims of human rights violations? Why is it that government wishes to take only (a) part of Marcos’ life and use it as a justification to bury him in the LNMB?” Leonen asked.
Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, for her part, spoke against the potential use of public funds for the burial, saying that public funds should only be used for public purposes.
Calida denied that public funds would be used and said that Marcos would receive “simple graveyard military honors.”
Calida added that the public purpose would be Duterte’s policy of healing and reconciliation.
But Sereno countered Calida, saying, “There is a campaign promise. That is a political purpose. That is not a defined public purpose. And public money cannot be used to fulfil a political promise.”
At the end of the hearing, the SC announced a status quo ante order to October 18, preventing Marcos’ planned burial in the LNMB on September 18.# (By Abril Layad B. Ayroso)
THEY are killing farmers again.
Just a few days after the killing of four farmers in Fort Magsaysay, Laur, Nueva Ecija on September 3, peasant leader Ariel Diaz was gunned down last Thursday, September 7 in Villa Pereda, Delfin Albano, Isabela.
These incidents occurred at a time when the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philuippines peace talks resumed with renewed commitment and vigor. Topping the agenda are fundamental socio-economic reforms including genuine land reform directly affecting 75 million Filipinos out of the present population of about 100 million.
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