Activists scored another victory against the government’s use of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 as the Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) dismissed charges against Makabayan secretary general Nathanael Santiago and dozens others.
Malolos RTC Branch 12 Presiding Judge Julie P. Mercurio in a joint order dated September 3 dismissed the charges against the activists “for lack of probable cause.”
Aside from Santiago, other respondents included Rosario Brenda M. Gonzalez, Servillano E. Luna Jr., and Anasusa Salonga San Gabriel.
An activist since 1984, Santiago had been League of Filipino Students chairperson and secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN). He is concurrently Bayan Muna Party secretary general.
Gonzalez is a long-time development worker, San Gabriel is a church ay worker, while Luna was former campaign director and secretary general of Anakpawis Party.
The Court also dismissed the same accusations against 30 other unnamed activists, including trade union organizers Rodrigo Esparago and Ed Cubello.
The Court said the evidence submitted by the government prosecution was insufficient to show that the accused were present in a New People’s Army ambush on October 8, 2023 in Laur, Nueva Ecija.
The prosecution likewise failed to show the activists were in actual possession of weapons in the firefight with elements of the 84th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army where a government trooper was killed, the order reads.
Part of the Court order dismissing the charges against the activists.
BAYAN president Renato Reyes Jr. hailed the dismissal of the “trumped up charges,” saying: “This is a major win. Gov’t continues to weaponize terror law vs activists. “
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said that at least five similar charges using the ATA have earlier collapsed in court due to the State’s inability to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims.
“All cases involved perjurious testimonies and false accusations from military elements and/or so-called rebel returnees,” the NUPL said in its reaction to the dismissal of the charges against its clients.
The same Court previously dismissed terrorism charges against Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) coordinator Aurora Santiago and the RTC of Batangas City, Branch 7, dismissed charges of financing terrorism against Tanggol Quezon spokesperson Paul Tagle and Kabataan Partylist – Quezon coordinator Fritz Labiano, which stemmed from a July 2023 incident when the two delivered grocery items to political prisoners Rowena Dasig and Miguela Piniero.
In another case, the courts also cleared Roel Alconera, vice-chairperson of the Unyon ng mga Panadero sa Gardenia Philippines-Olalia-KMU, of financing terrorism charges.
Judge Mercurio said the pending issuance of warrants of arrests against the accused are rendered moot by the dismissal of the charges.
The NUPL said it reiterates its demand to repeal the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act amid the spate of dismissals.
“These laws have become blunt weapons wielded not (just) to suppress but to sow terror, standing in the way of the very freedoms and liberties they purport to protect,” the group said.
NUPL said government’s ambition to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list or meet arbitrary prosecution quotas cannot, and must not, serve as a justification for the harassment and criminalization of activists and rights defenders.
“These are people who take the blows so that others may live with dignity. To brand them as terrorists is a grotesque distortion of truth,” it said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/nath.jpg10801920Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-09-05 16:54:072024-09-05 16:55:59‘Weaponized terror law’ suffers another defeat; Court dismisses trumped-up charges against Nath Santiago, 33 others
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Peace Negotiating Panel reiterated its commitment to the resumption of formal peace talks as it urged Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) top officials to resolve contradictory views on the negotiations.
In a statement Wednesday, September 4, NDFP panel chairperson Julie de Lima said they remain open and ready to engage the Manila government in peace negotiations but have “observed with concern” mixed and contradictory signals from the GRP.
“On the one hand, General Eduardo Año stated that peace talks are unlikely to proceed. On the other hand, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said they are optimistic that the talks would resume,” de Lima said.
In a dinner-dialogue hosted by the National Security Council (NSC) for members of the press last August 18, Año ruled out the resumption of formal peace negotiations in the near future, alleging that revolutionary forces are in disagreement on the issue of renouncing armed struggle.
“There are objections, resistance from the local level. That’s what is needed to be resolved by the other side. While they can’t resolve their disagreement over whether or not to renounce the armed struggle, nothing will come out of any talks just like in previous negotiations,” Año, the NSC chairperson, claimed.
“Why would we start discussions when the other side can’t even agree amongst themselves?” he added.
But Año’s fellow GRP official, Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., readily contradicted him, telling reporters in a Malacañang press briefing last Monday, September 2, that exploratory talks with the NDFP are ongoing.
”Ongoing pa rin iyong ating exploratory talks at nakikita po natin na iyong last November nagkaroon tayo ng final, iyong tinatawag nating mission statement,” Galvez said. (The exploratory talks are ongoing and we saw last November that we had a final mission statement.)
“We have three processes in our negotiation. Number one is getting the vision statement, then having the framework agreement, and the final peace agreement,” Galvez explained in a mix of English and Filipino.
The presidential peace adviser assured that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is “very committed to finishing all the peace agreements and implementing them during his term.”
The New People’s Army in Mindanao. (Photo by Breakaway Media)
Reds in the regions speak out
Año’s claim that revolutionary forces in the country are debating whether or not to renounce armed struggle prompted various NDFP formations and New People’s Army (NPA) commands to issue statements refuting the NSC chief.
“National Security Adviser Eduardo Año is once again proving to be the leading peace saboteur in the Philippines,” Patnubay de Guia, of NDF-Southern Tagalog spokesperson, said. “This is clear case to again derail the peace talks,” de Guia added.
The NPA’s Melito Glor Command (MGC) in Southern Tagalog for its part said that in essence, “fascist general Año” is challenging the armed revolutionary movement to lay down its arms as a condition for reopening negotiations.”
“This tactic of undermining the peace talks to weaken the NPA and destroy the revolutionary movement is overused,” MGC spokesperson Armando Cienfuego said.
Cleo del Mundo, NPA-Quezon (Apolonio Mendoza Command) spokesperson, also refuted Ano’s allegations, saying “The entire revolutionary movement of the CPP-NPA through its national leadership is united up to the most basic local organizations in engaging and participating in the peace talks.”
Dionesio Magbuelas, NPA-South Central Negros (Mt. Cansermon Command) spokesperson, described Año as a war freak, adding “Año’s statement that the revolutionary forces should first declare not launching an armed struggle before the GRP agrees to the negotiation is illogical and full of contradictions.”
“Año must realize that it is impossible for the Red fighters to simply surrender while so much reason to fight and take up arms prevail,” Magbuelas said.
“Perhaps Año forgets that the armed struggle has prevailed for 55 years,” Bayani Obrero, spokesperson of NDF-Negros Island, meanwhile said.
“No sitting puppet regime has been able to defeat the NPA despite repeated declarations,” Obrero pointed out.
Año’s refusal to talk is a reflection of his personal background as a militarist and conforms to the dictates of US imperialism and Marcos Jr.,” said Cecil Estrella, NPA-Northern Negros (Roselyn Pelle Command) spokesperson.
“The people of Negros reject this militaristic approach, especially in the communities that suffer from the 79th IB’s heavy militarization,” Estrella pointed out.
“The desire…for the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA-NDFP and all the struggling people to surrender and lay down arms is insane,” Madaay Gasic, spokesperson of the NPA-Mindoro (Lucio De Guzman command), said.
“Being anti-peace negotiations is being anti-people,” Rosa Guidon, spokeswoman of the NDF-Ilocos, also said. “It closes the opportunity to continue and finalize the substantive agenda that would have solved the root cause of the chronic poverty of the masses of farmers, workers and other poor Filipinos.”
“The US-Marcos regime itself blocks the way to true peace for the Filipino people,” Samuel Guerrero, spokesperson of the NPA-Sorsogon (Celso Minguez Command), said.
“The entire revolutionary movement in the province of Sorsogon stands firm that only by solving the root causes of conflict and civil war in the country that are hunger, lack of services, corruption, dispossession of land and others, can genuine, just and lasting peace be truly achieved in the Philippines,” Guerrero added.
The NDFP said Año has a long record of derailing peace talks, including spreading “false information” such as the impending talks are “new” and do not stand on previous agreements.
“He also immediately disputed the measures that would facilitate the reopening of the negotiations such as the release of NDFP consultants and other political detainees and the removal of the ‘terrorist’ designation on Louie Jalandoni,” the group said.
Jalandoni, former Negotiating Panel chairperson, is currently NDFP’s senior adviser to the talks.
“Instead, he stressed that military operations of the AFP and NTF-Elcac, the perpetrators of numerous war crimes and human rights violations against civilians, will continue,” it added.
(CPP image)
Causes of the civil war
In a separate statement, CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said that, without a doubt, there is urgent need to resume peace negotiations between the NDFP and the GRP.
“This is because the social and economic problems and political repression which underlie the civil war continue to worsen under the Marcos puppet and fascist regime. They demand urgent attention and resolution,” Valbuena said.
He pointed out that majority of the Filipino people are plagued with incessant increases in the prices of basic commodities and services, low wages, lack of income, widespread joblessness and low quality of employment, land grabbing, dispossession of livelihood and other social ills.
He added that human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings, unlawful arrests and prolonged detentions, abductions and disappearances, torture, anti-communist witch-hunting, militarization and hamletting of rural communities, anti-union activities and other forms of repression remain unabated.
“The lack of social justice and absence of genuine democracy continue to force people to take up arms to defend their rights and fight for their aspirations of a brighter future,” Valbuena said.
He added that the NPA continues to wage revolutionary armed struggle across the country “with the deep and wide support of the people.”
Valbuena said that while waging armed resistance, the CPP and revolutionary forces welcome the possibility of resuming peace negotiations in order to serve as an additional platform for the people to assert their aspirations for social justice and genuine democracy,
“At this point, the prospect of the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations moving forward depends greatly on how strong the Filipino people can raise their voices and collectively push the Marcos government to heed the long-standing clamor for genuine land reform and national industrialization and the demand for an end to the abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law,” he explained.
“Peace negotiations are not just about ending the armed conflict. They are, more importantly, about resolving the problems that give rise to the civil war,” he said.
Valbuena also pointed out that “dissonant voices” within the Marcos cabinet are disconcerting, with some officials claiming that “nothing will come out” of the NDFP-GRP peace talks while other say they are “very optimistic.”
“In any case, the NDFP maintains a policy of keeping its doors open to any offer from the GRP to talk peace in accordance with mutually acceptable principles of national sovereignty, democracy and social justice,” he said.
“We are fully confident that the (NDFP) will continue to represent these aspirations and bring these to the negotiating table,” he added.
GRP and NDFP Panels at the resumption of formal peace negotiations in August 2016 in Oslo, Norway. (Jon Bustamante/Kodao)
‘Unwavering determination’
De Lima echoed the CPP’s declaration, saying ongoing talks between NDFP and GRP delegations are meant to come up with an “agreed framework for the negotiations” towards forging an agreement that will address the root causes of the armed conflict.
“Our dedication to achieving a just and lasting peace remains steadfast, as we believe the negotiations present an effective means to address the underlying causes of the civil war,” de Lima said.
She added that the NDFP panel is engaging in meaningful discussions that can lead to comprehensive solutions benefitting the Filipino people, including addressing key issues of agrarian reform and national industrialization among other substantive socio-economic concerns.
“The path to peace is indeed long and arduous, but it is a path that we must tread with unwavering determination, mutual respect and a genuine commitment from both parties if it is to succeed,” she said.
“We look forward to continuing exploratory talks with the GRP and hopeful to resume formal negotiations to achieve just and lasting peace in the Philippines,” de Lima said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/julie.jpg10001500Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-09-04 20:06:532024-09-08 10:19:14NDFP steadfast, ready to negotiate with GRP; urges Marcos officials to resolve ‘mixed signals’
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol (KMB) said Bicol farmers need urgent compensation and subsidy from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Office of the President due to flooding during Tropical Storm Enteng (International Name: Yagi).
KMB said its initial assessment and interviews among the affected farmers in Libon, Albay and in Bato and Nabua in Camarines Sur revealed that almost 400 hectares of rice fields that were scheduled for harvest this month had been inundated.
More than 400 farming families were affected by the floods that reached from three to seven feet, the group said.
KMB added it may take at least a month before the flooding subsides.
“Wala nang inaasahang maaani. Kung mayroon man, nasa lima hanggang 10 kaban na lamang at ito ay hindi na rin magandang klase ng palay at pagtiya-tiyagaan na lang na kainin ng pamilyang magsasaka na nasalanta,” KMB lamented.
(We could only expect zero harvest. At best, only five to 10 sacks of poor quality palay may be salvaged per hectare, which only the poor farmers may consume.)
KMB said the farmers are set to lose at least ₱30 to ₱40 thousand per hectare in production cost that could go to as high as ₱60 to ₱70 thousand if they used commercial fertilizers.
The farmers harvest from 60-150 sacks per hectare, depending on their respective fertilizer inputs and irrigation.
Bicol farmers trying to salvage what remains of their rice crop inundated during Typhoon Enteng. (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol photo)
The regional peasant group said the farmers in the affected municipalities have given up on earning in this current cropping season due to the floods. It revealed that capital inputs are loans that have now become debts by the farmers.
“Suma-total, ang nawala at lugi ay ang ginastos at ang inaasahang kikitain sana mula sa aanihin. Dagdag pasanin pa ng mga magsasaka ang pagdoble ng porsyento ng kanilang mga utang dahil hindi sila makakabayad,” KMB explained.
(In total, the farmers lost their capital and expected income from the harvest. They also have to shoulder the burden of doubling interest on loans that they could no longer pay.)
KMB urged the DA to investigate the effects of the floods and ask the farmers they assistance they need.
“[S]ana ay makita ang kanilang palayan at sila ay matulungan. Panawagan nilang maibalik man lang ang gastos at ang nalugi o nawala na dapat nilang kikitain sa pag-ani nang sa gayon ay muling makapagtanim paghupa ng baha,” the group said.
(We hope the agency visit their rice fields and help them. The farmers are hoping that government reimburse the money they spent and their expected income to allow them to plant again after the floods subside. )
“The (DA) has budget for this and it should take into consideration the heavy losses the farmers incurred,” KMB said.
A destroyed flood control project in Bicol. (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol photo)
Meanwhile, the Camarines Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management office reported that more than 20 municipalities are flooded since Monday, September 2.
Many roads and spillways are still impassable, the office added.
Classes are still suspended since Monday in all levels in Albay, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur provinces.
Authorities said that flood affected families in the region have reached 2,000. #
Duterte accusation another ‘squid tactic,’ progressive lawmakers say
The Makabayan coalition of progressive lawmakers denounced Sara Duterte’s accusation it is in an alliance with the Marcos-Romualdez dynasty, saying the vice president’s allegation is another attempt at employing squid tactics to hide her misuse of public funds.
Following Duterte’s statement that the Makabayan is partnering with her erstwhile Uniteam allies President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and House of Representatives Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, ACT Teachers Party Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Youth Party Rep. Raoul Manuel denied the accusation as a “fabrication.”
“It is imperative to set the record straight: no such alliance exists,” the progressives said in a statement.
In an interview Tuesday, September 3, Duterte said, ““There was no misuse of any funds. There is, however, [an] unending political attack by the Makabayan-Romualdez-Marcos alliance to mask the real problem of the country right now,” she said.
Duterte also said: “Dapat magtrabaho muna bago pulitika.” [You must work first before politicking.]
The Makabayan legislators however retorted the vice president is only trying to get back at them for leading the opposition against her controversial requests for confidential and intelligence funds they said are not part of her mandate.
Staunch anti-corruption advocates, Castro, Brosas and Manuel also initiated investigations into Duterte’s questionable expenditure of P125 million in intelligence funds in a matter of 11 days in December 2022.
The Commission on Audit’s (COA) issued a Notice of Disallowance against the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for alleged “surveillance” activities across 132 areas.
The state auditor also demands the return of PHP 73 million from the said funds due to this egregious spending.
Makabayan again tangled with Duterte in the ongoing budget deliberations for the Office of the Vice President’s 2025, the vice president refusing to answer questions from legislators, even getting personal with the three progressives.
More misuse of funds
In yesterday’s budget briefing for the Department of Education (DepEd) that Duterte just vacated, billions worth of questionable expenditures were also revealed.
COA’s audit report on DepEd for 2023, the last full year of Vice President Sara Duterte as head of the agency, showed notices of suspension amounting to P10.1 billion; notices of disallowance worth P2.2 billion, and notices of charges worth P7.38 million due to “noncompliance with existing laws and regulations” in its implementation of department projects.
COA also reported the accumulation of un-liquidated cash advances amounting to nearly P7 billion that were either disallowed or had no specific purpose.
“Vice President Duterte must answer the extreme under utilization of the Department of Education budget while she had 100% utilization of confidential funds,” Makabayan said.
Vice President Sara Duterte with her controversial book “Isang Kaibigan. The former education secretary requested P10 million for the reproduction of the book. (DepEd photo)
‘Dismal low accomplishments’
Makabayan also pointed out that Duterte had “dismally low accomplishments”as DepEd secretary as revealed in Tuesday’s budget briefing.
The coalition said DepEd under Duterte’s watch was only able to repair 208 classrooms out of their own target of 7,550 and only three Last Mile Schools constructed out of its own target of 88.
It also underscored that according to the same COA report, DepEd also had a “zero-accomplishment rate” in its computerization project “due to the (central office’s) inability to complete the procurement process for 2023.”
Makabayan’s interpellations of Duterte’s replacement, Sonny Angara, also revealed that aside from delayed delivery of laptops for teachers, the government may have lost close to P1.6 billion during the questionable re-bidding for the DepEd computerization program.
“There is also the P5.6 billion DepEd feeding program issue, where “nutribuns” delivered were stale, moldy and insect-infested, while some of the milk were already spoiled,” Makabayan said.
Makabayan said it is ironic for Duterte to tell lawmakers to work (“Magtrabaho muna.”) when she has a very little to show as DepEd secretary.
“So, enough with VP Duterte’s squid tactics, we demand accountability. It is the right of the people to know how their money was spent, and it is our duty to ensure that public officials do not betray their trust as this becomes an impeachable offense,” Makabayan said.
The misuse of public funds of the OVP and DepEd is an impeachable offense, particularly given the severe lack of funding for social services, the coalition added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/makabayan.jpg6751293Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-09-04 12:23:322024-09-04 12:23:34Makabayan denies alliance with Marcos-Romualdez dynasty
Environmentalist 15th enforced disappearance victim under Marcos Jr.
A cycling buddy of missing activist James Jazmines has also gone missing, five days after the younger brother of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Alan has been reported abducted, rights group KARAPATAN said.
Felix Salaviera Jr. had been abducted in Barangay Cobo, Tabaco, Albay on the morning of August 28, KARAPATAN said, most likely by armed State forces.
KARAPATAN said Salaviera was tending to his garden when taken by men in civilian clothes from his residence at about ten o’clock in the morning of August 23.
The victim was forced into a silver van with plate numbers VAA 5504 which was later found to belong to a red Toyota Rush.
The decals on the van belonged to a Laguna-based information technology company, KARAPATAN added.
Salaviera’s daughters said the incident was captured by closed circuit television cameras and was witnessed by bystanders.
Uniformed members of the Tabaco police later went to Salaviera’s house that night and took personal belongings “for safekeeping.”
Salaveria celebrated his birthday last August 23 with his cycling budding, including Jazmines who had gone missing that night.
It was Salaviera who informed KARAPATAN that James had gone missing, the group’s secretary general Cristina Palabay said in an online press briefing today.
“KARAPATAN believes that State forces are responsible for their disappearance, and demand that any information on their whereabouts should immediately be disclosed,” the group said.
Palabay said they suspect the 49th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army to be involved in the abductions as Tabaco is within its “area of responsibility.”
She said they also asked assistance from the provincial government and the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights.
Palabay said they are also asking Congress to conduct investigations on the abductions.
Jazmines and Salaviera are the 14th and 15th cases of enforced disappearance of activists under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government.
Planet lover
Former Ateneo de Manila University College of Law Dean Antonio La Vina said it is hard to understand why Salaviera was abducted.
“Bakit niyo siya kinuha? Gardening, cycling, eco waste ang buhay niya,” the lawyer asked. (Why did you abduct him? He is just into gardening, cycling, eco-waste advocacy.)
Felix Salaviera Jr. (in white eyeglasses) with cycling buddies. [Photos from CYCAD through KARAPATAN]
La Vina said Salaviera is, “A good man, an environmental defender…a friend to nature and committed to his country. He is frail and he needs to be surfaced immediately.”
The victim’s daughters, Gab and Felicia, said their father survived a stroke in 2023 and is partially paralyzed on the left side of his body.
They said their father is into cycling and has fallen in love with Bicol, prompting him to relocate in the province when he retired.
Salaviera is a founding and active member of Cycling Advocates (CYCAD), a founding member of indigenous peoples organizations Tabak (Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa mga Katutubo) as well as Katribu (Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino).
He is an eco-waste management advocate and maintained a small community garden Tabaco where he was taken.
A San Beda High School graduate in 1976, Salaviera later majored in Sociology at the University of the East. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/felix-5.jpg7451080Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-09-03 14:22:562024-09-03 14:22:57James Jazmines’ cycling buddy also abducted
A brother of a National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant is missing, possibly a victim of enforced disappearance, a rights group said in an alert.
On the eve of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, human rights group Karapatan announced that James Jazmines had been missing since August 23.
The victim was last seen in Barangay San Lorezon in Tabaco City, Albay.
Himself an activist, James is NDFP peace negotiator Alan Jazminez’s younger brother. He is 63 years old.
“As of today, efforts by his wife, friends and human rights groups to ascertain his whereabouts have been in vain,” Karapatan said.
A 1978 graduate of the Philippine Science High School and a BS Psychology student at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, James served as editor of Commitment, the official paper of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) in his younger days.
He later became the executive director of the Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center, a cultural institution.
From 1988 to 1992, he served as the information officer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) labor center.
James was an information technology (IT) consultant of a development NGO up to the mid-2000s, and has been working freelance in the IT sector since then, Karapatan said.
“Members of the Jazmines family, including James, have suffered surveillance, threats and harassment over the decades because of the military’s relentless operations to locate Alan and arrest him,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.
“In fact, James’ wife, a development worker, was red-tagged several times last year and was even erroneously referred to as Alan’s wife in an episode of ‘Laban ng Masa,’ a rabid red-tagging program aired over the Quiboloy-owned SMNI,” Palabay added.
Palabay said they believe that James’ disappearance is either the latest in the military’s arsenal of dirty tricks to force his brother Alan to surface, or is a vicious example of palit-ulo, given the military’s continuing failure to find Alan.
Palit-ulo (literally, exchange of heads) is a tactic where state forces kidnap family members to force wanted persons to surrender themselves.
“We denounce this foul maneuver by the military and demand that James be surfaced safe and sound and reunited with his family,” Palabay said.
As of November 2023, Karapatan has documented 263 victims of enforced disappearance since 2001.
The Commission on Human Rights meanwhile said it has monitored 145 victims of enforced or involuntary disappearance since the enactment of Republic Act 10353, also known as the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012.
Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances every August 30 highlights the grave injustices faced by countless individuals and their families around the world. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/james.jpg7451131Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-08-29 15:37:152024-08-29 15:37:16Rights group raises fear NDFP consultant’s brother is latest enforced disappearance victim
Bayan Muna said Sara Duterte’s tirade against ACT Teacher’s Party Rep. France Castro at yesterday’s hearing by the House of Representatives for the Office of the Vice President’s proposed 2025 budget was “malicious intrigue and disinformation.”
Bayan Muna executive vice president and himself former congressman Carlos Isagani Zarate criticized fellow lawyer Duterte on her remarks that Castro should not be sitting in ongoing budget deliberations because of her recent conviction of some form of “child abuse.”
Zarate said Rep. Castro’s is simply fulfilling her legitimate role and vital oversight functions as a lawmaker.
“Kahit ang isang first year law student ay alam niya na kapag nakaapila pa sa Court of Appeals o maging sa Supreme Court ang ano mang decision ng Regional Trial Court (RTC), hindi pa ito final at hindi pa maaaring ipatupad,” Zarate stated.
(Even a first year law student knows that if a Regional Trial Court judgement is under appeal before the Court of Appeals or even the Supreme Court, it is not yet final and executory.)
Zarate pointed out that Duterte should know the principle and should not leverage Castro’s case to evade questions about the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP)’s budget, especially its use of so-called confidential funds.
He emphasized the constitutional right and duty of Rep. Castro and other congressional members to scrutinize the budget proposals of all government agencies, including the OVP.
Duterte turned her office’s budget hearing Tuesday upside down by refusing to answer questions from House Appropriations Committee members, even demanding that presiding officer and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo be replaced.
The OVP is seeking a budget of P2.037 billion for 2025, an increase from the P1.885 billion for this year.
Misuse of funds
Duterte particularly refused to answer questions on how she spent P125 million in confidential and intelligence funds in a matter of 11 days in December 2022.
Zarate pointed that that the Commission on Audit (COA) red-flagged the misuse of P73 million of the confidential funds, ordering the OVP to return the amount to the national coffers.
The COA Notice of Disallowance revealed that at least P69 million of the P73 million involved P10 million for reward payment; P34.857 million for payment of reward (various goods); and P24.93 million for payment of reward (medicines).
COA said that the OVP did not submit documents showing the success of information gathering and/or surveillance activities to support the acknowledgment receipts for around P69 million of payments of rewards in cash, various goods, and medicines.
Likewise, COA said that P3.5 million of the disallowed P73 million “were used for payment for tables, chairs, desktop computers and printers without specifying that they were intended for the confidential operations/activities undertaken by the OVP, non-compliant with the requirement of Item 4.8.4 of the Joint Circular governing use of confidential fund.”
Commission on Audit’s Notice of Disallowance against the Office of the Vice President.
“Kapag humihingi ka ng budget galing sa pondo ng bayan o public funds, kailangang ipaliwanag mo kung saan, paano at bakit mo ito gagamitin, kahit pa pambili mo ito ng office supplies o pambili ng daing na pusit,” Zarate said.
(If you request for a budget from the people’s money, you must explain how, where and why you need it, including office supplies or dried squid.)
Zarate underscored the importance of transparency and accountability in government spending, calling on public officials to justify their use of taxpayer money rather than resorting to deflection and disinformation. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/calor.jpg15921970Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-08-28 11:16:082024-08-28 11:16:10Bayan Muna tells Sara: It is France Castro’s duty to ask you questions
Duterte refuses to answer questions, turns budget hearing chaotic
The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives resumed its probe into past confidential and intelligence funds expenditures by the Office of the Vice President (OVP), driving Sara Duterte into a familiar aggressive stance in the ongoing budget hearing.
In the 2025 budget deliberations for her office today, Duterte immediately refused questions from House appropriations committee members.
“I would like to forgo the opportunity to defend the budget in the question and answer format. I would leave it to the House to decide on the budget submitted,” Duterte said after her opening statement.
Duterte is seeking a budget of P2.037 billion for 2025, an increase from the P1.885 billion for this year.
Committee vice chairperson and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo however went ahead with the usual hearing format, leading to Duterte tangling with Makabayan bloc representatives Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT Teachers, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, and Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel.
Castro asked Duterte about her confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) worth P125 million in 2022, of which P30million were spent on “tables, chairs, desktop computers.”
“Can you explain why these were purchased?” Castro asked.
Duterte however refused to answer the question and tried to direct the discussion instead to the lack of confidential funds request for next year.
Legislators regularly ask how agencies have spent previous years’ budgets as part of their deliberation of requested funds.
Castro also quizzed Duterte about how the P125 million in confidential funds were spent in just over 11 days, P72 million of which the Commission on Audit said were not used in accordance with Joint Circular No. 15-01.
The COA has subsequently ordered the return of the amount to the government.
Utilization of confidential and intelligence funds as reported by the vice president. (Supplied image)
Irritably, Duterte asked why Castro, recently controversially convicted of “other forms of child abuse” in connection with her rescue mission of evacuating indigenous children in Mindanao, is allowed to speak in the hearing.
Castro was quick with a quip of her own, saying: “Kapag nasusukol na ang pusit ay naglalabas ng maitim na tinta. Ayaw natin ng ganoon. Ang pinag-uusapan dito ay budget. Huwag naman mag-ugaling pusit ang Office of the Vice President.”
(A squid is quick to squirt black ink when cornered. We do not like that here. We’re talking about the budget here. The OVP shouldn’t employ squid tactics.)
Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel for his part revealed that then Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte used confidential funds in partnership with various military units to finance red-tagging activities in 2023.
Manuel said DepEd distributed pamphlets in so-called ‘Youth Leadership Summits’ and ‘Information Education Campaigns’ ordering those wearing “Serve the People” t-shirts should be reported.
“It seems it is DepEd’s accomplishment to endanger students and teachers’ lives,” Manuel said
It was the Makabayan bloc that first questioned the confidential and intelligence funds of the vice president that led to the eventual disallowance of such funds from her agencies in last year’s budget hearings.
It’s not only with the Makabayan representatives that Duterte displayed irritability, repeatedly interrupting Quimbo and even asking the appropriations committee be replaced with the finance committee in handling her budget request.
Last week, Duterte also picked a quarrel with Sen. Risa Hontiveros about her P10 million request for her controversial children’s book.
Activists urge Congress to abolish pork barrel in the 2025 national budget. (Photo by N. Bacarra/Kodao)
Unacceptable
Outside the House of Representatives, activist groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) condemned the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act of the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government that “features massive allocations for pork barrel programs and other items that can be used by politicians ahead of the midterm elections.”
Specifically, Bayan highlighted the presidential pork barrel amounting to two trillion pesos it said should instead be spent for social services.
“This includes the confidential and intelligence funds (P10 billion), unprogrammed funds (P156 billion), and special purpose funds (P1.89 trillion). These are all lump sum items which means their distribution is based on the discretion of the president,” Bayan said.
These funds can be used by Marcos Jr. for political patronage to consolidate power and dominate the 2025 elections,” it added.
Bayan said it is unacceptable that politicians are rewarding themselves with pork barrel funds at a time when there is rising hunger, poverty, and joblessness in the country.
The proposed budget reflects not just the distorted priorities of the government but also the systemic appropriation of public funds for shameless aggrandizement of those in power, it pointed out.
“Congress should realign the presidential pork barrel to ensure cheaper price of food, particularly rice, and accessible social services. The budget should also include adequate funding to compensate victims of flooding, EL Nino, and other disasters,” Bayan said.
Aside from Marcos Jr., Bayan also scored Duterte it said should be held accountable for her questionable use of her CIF in 2022.
“Even if the CIF of Sara Duterte has been withdrawn, her office should not be given funds for programs that are not part of her mandate or projects that are intended for her personal benefit,” Bayan said. # (Raymund B.Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/inday-scaled.jpg13742560Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-08-27 20:02:242024-08-27 20:48:15Makabayan resumes probe of Sara's past confidential funds expenditure
The Makabayan Coalition formally presented its 10 candidates for the Senate in the 2025 national elections in a gathering at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila today, August 26, National Heroes’ Day.
The slate is the biggest that progressive parties and organizations are fielding for the Senate, even more than Partido ng Bayan’s (PnB) storied run in the 1987 elections.
The coalition said it is also fielding PISTON chairperson Mody Floranda, Kadamay secretary general Mimi Doringo and Filipino Nurses United secretary general Jocelyn “Alyn” Andamo in next year’s elections.
PISTON’s Mody Floranda, KADAMAY’s Mimi Doringo and Filipino Nurses United’s Alyn Andamo are the latest additions to MAKABAYAN’s slate in next year’s elections for the Senate. (R. Villanueva/Kodao)
Floranda had been leading the country’s biggest and most militant transport organization against the government’s plan to take away jeepney franchises from individual drivers and operators.
Aside from campaigning for affordable housing, Doringo had been fighting for lower prices of basic commodities and better social services for the urban poor.
Andamo for her part is the nursing profession’s champion, campaigning for just wages and better working conditions for health workers in the country and abroad.
Earlier, ACT Teachers’ Party Rep. France Castro, GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general Jerome Adonis, former National Anti-Poverty Commission chairperson Lisa Maza, PAMALAKAYA vice chairperson Ronnel Arambulo, BAYAN chairperson Teddy Casiño, and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairperson Danilo Ramos made separate declarations of their inclusion in the Makabayan slate.
“The unveiling of the Makabayan senatorial slate is a significant step towards promoting the interests of the marginalized sectors and advancing the struggle for genuine social change in the country,” Makabayan said.
“The slate embodies the principles of nationalism, democracy, and social justice that are at the core of the Filipino national democratic movement,” it added.
Since 2010, Makabayan had been fielding two candidates at most for the Senate.
It fielded former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and former Bayan Muna and Gabriela Rep. Maza in 2010.
Former Bayan Muna Rep. Casiño was its lone candidate in 2013 while former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares was its champion in 2016 and 2019.
In the 2022 national elections, its candidates were Colmenares and KMU chairperson Bong Labog.
Makabayan’s 10 candidates is the biggest slate progressive parties have fielded in any election for the Senate in history.
The PnB in 1987 had seven organic and two guest candidates in the first ever elections for the Senate after the fall of the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. dictatorship the year previous.
Labor leader Crispin Beltran, press freedom icon Jose Burgos Jr., New People’s Army co-founder Bernabe Buscayno, top notch human rights lawyer Romeo Capulong, former political detainee Horacio Morales, women’s rights activist Nelia Sancho, and peasant leader Jaime Tadeo were the progressives’ candidates.
Labor lawyer Augusto Sanchez and Wigberto Tañada were guest candidates. Sanchez lost but Tañada, also an administration candidate, won.
Last July, Makabayan said it planned on fielding a full slate in the May 2025 elections.
“Our primary consideration is whether they can present a comprehensive platform that would respond to the interest of the people. The track record of Makabayan shows consistent representation in the fight for decent wage, genuine land reform, and national sovereignty,” Makabayan executive vice president and former ACT Teachers’ Party Rep. Antonio Tinio said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1000008426.jpg6311019Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-08-26 11:50:392024-08-26 11:56:13Makabayan fields biggest progressive slate for Senate race, presents 10 candidates on Heroes’ Day
The family of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Maria Concepcion Araneta-Bocala has acknowledged her demise, listing the date of her death as August 15 that coincides with the Philippine Army’s claim she was among those killed in Calinog, Iloilo.
In a Facebook post, Bocala’s survivors said they plan on holding a public wake for the revolutionary and peace negotiator on September 11 to 13 in Roxas City, Capiz.
Her family’s announcement ended speculations the remains the Philippine Army said were Bocala’s may not be her given the difficulty of visually identifying them.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) earlier announced that Bocala’s family is planning on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing to make sure it was indeed the legendary revolutionary leader who died, along with several others in a series of military operations in central Panay since August 5.
The CPP said Bocala’s remains and fellow revolutionary leaders Rewilmar Torrato, Vicente Hinojale have been desecrated by the military.
“The manner with which the remains have been handled, and how families are being given a hard time, harassed and intimidated by the AFP, speak of their low regard for international humanitarian law (IHL), which specifies how remains of fallen combatants should be handled with dignity and respect,” CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said.
Bocala was last publicly seen attending formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the NDFP in Norway, Italy and The Netherlands in 2016 and 2017.
Along with fellow NDFP peace consultants, Bocala was again forced underground when former president Rodrigo Duterte unleashed a total war policy against the CPP, New People’s Army (NPA) and the NDFP since mid-2017.
She would have turned 74 years old tomorrow, August 26, also National Heroes’ Day.
Unexpected revolutionary
Born to a rich family, very few expected Bocala to live the life she had—a top-level leader of revolutionary groups in the Philippines.
The fifth of 10 siblings, she was a relative of the rich Araneta clan that included Judy Araneta-Roxas, mother of former senator and once presidential aspirant Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.
Those who knew her in childhood expected her to live the life befitting their class: comfortable, affluent, economically and politically powerful. But Concha (her nickname) broke molds early.
Despite being enrolled at convent school Assumption Iloilo from grade school where decorum was premium, vivacious Concha sometimes got into trouble. Her father was once summoned to the school because of some mischief. She was also reprimanded for wearing earrings and some jewelry, prohibited in all convent schools across the country. Decades later, Concha displayed her old effervescence by wearing the most colorful dresses and hairstyle at peace negotiations in Europe. Her earrings though, while still flashy, were no longer expensive but those made by her fellow political detainees.
Still, Concha was allowed to finish her secondary education at the strict school, topping the editorial examinations for the student paper in her junior year and graduating valedictorian of the Class of 1967.
Concha Araneta’s high school graduation photo. She was Assumption-Iloilo Class of 1967 valedictorian. (Assumption-Iloilo yearbook ‘Tidings’ photo)
Bocala told Kodao in 2016 that her father wanted her to take a business or other course that would allow her to enroll later at a law school. But because her editorship was denied in her junior year, it made her intent on taking up journalism. Unsurprisingly, she went against her father’s wishes when she passed the University of the Philippines entrance examinations and took up mass communications.
In her first years at UP, Bocala was busy socializing and attending parties and jam sessions. But the rich and spirited colegiala was not oblivious to social injustices around her. She was also opposed to the US’s imperialist aggression in Vietnam that was using the Philippines as one of its staging points.
Concha joined the Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan as a student, later starting her lifelong revolutionary career as an organizer in her home island of Panay even before Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law in 1972.
Dying in the mountains
Concha died in the mountains, close to communities of farmers and the indigenous Tumanduk of Panay Island she served for five decades.
Her revolutionary activities made her a marked person by the military. In 1979, she suffered her second arrest and imprisonment in Talisay, Negros Occidental. She had just given birth then to her second child. She was subjected to sleep and food deprivation despite her condition. The next year, Bocala and seven other political detainees escaped from Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City by climbing through the ceiling of their stockade.
When Marcos was ousted in 1986, Bocala surfaced as one of the leaders of the NDFP in Panay who met with then President Corazon Aquino at her alma mater Assumption Iloilo. But after militarists in Aquino’s government sabotaged the peace negotiations, Bocala again went underground but was recaptured in April 1987 in her parents’ house in Jaro District in Iloilo City.
Concha returned to underground life when she regained her freedom. She was arrested for the last time in August 2015.
After 13 months, in August 2016, she was freed to allow her to join the peace negotiations in Europe.
Concha Araneta-Bocala (at the table, second from left) in Rome, Italy on January 2017 as NDFP peace negotiator. [Jon Bustamante/Kodao]
‘Will be stubbornly missed’
Bocala’s second husband and fellow revolutionary martyr Reynaldo was also killed by the military in Panay Island last May 2021. Concha said her life-long partner and partner Reynaldo and his companion Willy Arguelles were “unarmed and traitorously and brutally murdered by the fascist mercenaries of the tyrant Duterte.”
In a Facebook post, Concha’s eldest child said he will stubbornly miss their mother.
The son recalled that on his ninth birthday, Concha gave him a card with the words: “Like the flutter of leaves and wings, let your spirit be restless until you find freedom.”
He said their mother’s passion inspired and her love melted him. “I loved hugging you, laughing with you, and listening, mesmerized by your stories and adventures. I drank it all in, knowing that the day would end, and who knew when I would see you again?” he wrote.
The son described her mother as a “fiery, stubborn, hard-headed, passionate, brave, daring, inspiring, funny, gentle, and caring” person. “She did not mind hardship, hunger, thirst, sacrifices, or the dangers,” he recalled.
It is not only in her family that Concha is as highly regarded. In her five decades as a revolutionary, she has become one of the most storied leaders of the underground movement in the country. The military itself said the dimunitive guerilla served as the CPP’s top leader in Panay Island with about a PhP8 million bounty for her capture.
But Concha always tried to downplay her luminance. “[N]obody is indispensable and there will always be leaders to take over our work,” she said in a 2016 feature on her by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Human rights workers offer flowers toNDFP peace consultants Ma. Coronacion Araneta Bocala, Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria who were killed in the month of August, International Humanitarian Law month, at their alma mater, the University of the Philippines. (Photo by Lito Ocampo/Kodao)
War crime victims
Last August 24, Concha and fellow UP alumni and peace negotiators Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria were honored at their alma mater. Dozens of human rights defenders said the three were victims of international humanitarian law (IHL) violations on the month when IHL is celebrated worldwide.
Like Concha, the couple Tiamzon and Austria were released to join the peace negotiations in Europe in August 2016. The couple were brutally killed on August 21, 2022 off Samar Island while Concha herself was killed last August 15.
The group Hustisya said the three, along with other martyrs, should also be remembered tomorrow, National Heroes Day, for laying their lives in serving the people. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1000008409.jpg5871021Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-08-25 12:47:202024-08-25 18:11:15From heiress to revolutionary martyr: Family acknowledges Concha’s demise
