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Rally held at San Francisco airport in support of detained Filipino activist

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Dozens of supporters held a rally at the arrival area of the San Francisco International Airport upon learning that Sandugo co-chairperson Jerome Aladdin Succor Aba was held by the United States Immigration Service and denied entry despite a valid 10-year multiple entry visa.

Aba was supposed to address church groups and go on a speaking tour about human rights violations in the Philippines.

Aba was nonetheless deported back to the Philippines on board Philippine Airlines at 12:30, San Francisco time.

He is expected to land in Manila on Friday, April 20, at six o’clock in the morning.

NUJP condemns Army’s attempt to bar reporter from covering Marawi protest

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Indeed, it is for those in authority, particularly the armed services, to observe proper decorum as any misstep could result in grievous harm not only to journalists but to all other citizens of this land.

March 31, 2018

We have long been under the impression that Colonel Romeo Brawner was one of those who fit the definition of an “officer and gentleman.”

Regretfully, he has just disabused us with his non-sequitur on the attempted eviction of journalist and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) member Kath Cortez from covering the March 30 protest of Marawi residents seeking to return to their homes inside the shattered city’s main battle area by an Army officer who also sought to have our colleague’s identification documents and equipment confiscated.

In a statement, Brawner, the deputy commander of Joint Task Force Marawi, tried to justify the officer’s action as having been “influenced by the fact that leftist and non-Muslim organizations attempted to infiltrate the ranks of the legitimate Maranao internally displaced persons (IDPs) reportedly to agitate the peace-loving rallyists to become aggressive and even violent.”

We are sure our Meranaw brethren who participated in the protest can and will respond to Brawner’s claims.

But even if the good colonel’s allegation of “infiltration” were true, how does it explain the officer’s clear reaction to seeing Cortez’s ID?

“Uy, taga-Davao. Kumpiskahin ang ID! Kumpiskahin ang camera! Palabasin ‘yan ng Marawi!”

(Hey, she’s from Davao! Confiscate her ID! Confiscate her camera! Get her out of Marawi!)

This, to our mind, had nothing to do with any imagined infiltration or instigation and everything to do with a deliberate effort to prevent Cortez from covering a public event of national significance, even to the point of physically booting her out of Marawi.

That Brawner links this incident to his theory of infiltration is misguided at best and, worse, could actually endanger our colleagues by implying that security forces’ suspicions are enough reason for them to suppress journalists from coverage and/or subject them to clearly unconstitutional acts like confiscation of their property and arbitrary eviction, which not even martial law justifies.

Nevertheless, we welcome Brawner’s assurance that the 103rd Brigade “is now investigating this incident and will remind all army personnel in Marawi, of the proper decorum during events such as this.”

Indeed, it is for those in authority, particularly the armed services, to observe proper decorum as any misstep could result in grievous harm not only to journalists but to all other citizens of this land.

‘Actors can enter Marawi, why can’t we?’ residents ask Army, Police

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About a thousand displaced residents of Marawi City were prevented from visiting the so-called ground zero Friday by combined elements of the city police and 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army.

Wanting to hold a M’balingan (Meranaw for “coming home”) and Jumaat (Friday Congretional Prayer), the residents wanted to march from the city center to the most devastated parts of Marawi but were blocked by security forces at the foot of Pumping Bridge at about nine o’clock in the morning.

“We just want to visit the destroyed homes and hold a prayer event. Why are they still preventing us?” Tindeg Ranao national coordinator Aida Ibrahim told Kodao.

Police and army personnel blocking displaced Marawi residents who want to hold a prayer event inside the city’s so-called ground zero. (Kilab Multimedia photo)

The military has identified at least 24 Marawi City barangays as off limits to residents and landowners due to so-called security issues.

Some of the baranggays are Marinaut, Padian, Pamping, Lilud Madaya, Raya Madaya, Kibulog, Banggolo, Proper Madaya, Tolali, Upper Tolali, Pangarongan, Norlaya Village, Baryo Paypay, Baryo Naga, Monkado Colony, Kadingilan, West Marinaut, Upper Marinaut, Timbangalan, Papandayan.

Ibrahim said they could not understand why movie actors such as Zanjoe Marudo and other celebrities have been allowed inside “ground zero” but Meranaws themselves are barred from visiting their communities months after the so-called liberation of Marawi.

Marudo played an army officer who participated in the siege of Marawi in a recent television special.

“It is high time for residents to see their homes, salvage what was left of their belongings and rebuild their houses. For 10 months, they were deprived of their right to come back to their homes and were angered at reports that President Rodrigo Duterte would convert their communities into a military camp, a tourism hub and commercial center instead of rebuilding their houses,” Tindeg Ranao’s statement said.

“The Meranaw landowners and residents want to go back to their communities which they considered as their ancestral homes, decades of ownership dates back before it was identified as military reservation area or secured by President Duterte for other purpose than landowners rebuilding their homes,” it added.

The group said landowners were angered at learning that some “ground zero” areas were targeted as military camps such as Brgy. Kapantaran and other areas as economic zones.

Tindeg Ranao said the displaced residents are united in protesting against an additional military camp inside Marawi, saying Camp Ranao already serves as the camp for the 103rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army as well as an undisclosed number of US soldiers under the US-RP Balikatan Exercises.

Landowners are demanding that consultations are held before planning for the reconstruction of Marawi starts, it added.

They are also demanding for the indemnification of landowners whose houses were destroyed by “excessive” military airstrikes, Tindeg Ranao said.

Displaced Marawi residents forced to hold their Jumaat at the foot of Pumping Bridge. (KIlab Multimedia photo)

Humanitarian crisis

Tindeg Ranao said the five-month old siege in June to November last year has caused a humanitarian crisis among the people of Lanao del Sur.

Citing Department of Social Welfare and Development figures, the group said there are at least 7,551 evacuees that have yet gone back to Marawi City four months after its so-called liberation from ISIS-inspired gunmen.

But there are still an undetermined number of evacuees that are still in the evacuation centers or staying with their relatives, it said.

Tindeg Ranao said transitional houses built for these residents at the Sagonsongan area at the boundary of Marawi City and  Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur have been abandoned due to lack of services such as water.

Journalist threatened

Meanwhile, a journalist covering the march was threatened by an unidentified Army officer at the Pumping Bridge barricade.

While taking photos of the displaced residents at the PNP-PA blockade at the city’s Rapitan Bridge, the unidentified officer saw Davao Today reporter Kath M. Cortez Cortez’s media ID and reportedly shouted: “’Uy, taga-Davao. Kumpiskahin ang ID! Kumpiskahin ang camera! Palabasin ‘yan ng Marawi!” (Hey, she’s from Davao! Confiscate her ID! Confiscate her camera! Get her out of Marawi!)

Before soldiers could carry out the order, Cortez had safely retreated to the back of rally where she has been joined by fellow journalists from Davao City.

But even when Cortez was at the back, soldiers kept ordering her to leave.

“Kaha-harass lang ulit sa akin. Pinapa-alis na talaga nila ako. But patapos na ang program,” Cortez told Kodao two hours after the first incident. (They harassed me again. They really want me out of here. But the rally is about to end anyway.) # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Appeal to Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte

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“We appeal to you to let Marawi be rebuilt the way our ancestors did: one house at a time, one masjid at a time. One village at a time.”

Mr. President:

We, the people of Marawi City and those who are one with us, would like to appeal to your kind office to intervene in the planned rebuilding of our beloved city and to stop the plan to establish an Ecozone that was presented to us by Sec. Eduardo Del Rosario, Chairman of Task Force Bangon Marawi, and Usec Adoracion M. Navarro, Regional Development Office of the NEDA on March 21-22, 2018 during the Multi-Sectoral Consultation on Marawi Rehabilitation held at the Social Hall, Capitol Complex, Marawi City.

We are Mranaw, the people of the lake. Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful has given us this land, this lake. Long before the Spaniards came. Long before the Americans came. Long before the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines, we were and have always been the people of the lake. We determine our fate since our ancestors first settled in this land guided by our leaders, the will of our people and the guiding will of Allah (swt).

Under the eyes of He who is the giver of life, we lived and built our community. In peace. In harmony. In freedom!

A freedom we so loved that we resisted those who dared deprive us of this freedom. Resisted Spain. Resisted the United States. Resisted all invaders. With our blood. With our lives. With fierce determination to keep our people free and dignified.

With the same determination, we built Marawi. Slowly. Gradually. One house at a time. One masjid (mosque) at a time. One village at a time. We built this City of Our Dreams and Aspirations. The embodiment of our culture and identity. The expression of our faith. Through the years, Marawi stood fast. Thrived and flourished.

Marawi was, is, and will always be our pride and our symbol. Marawi that is now in shambles. Devastated. Ravaged by a war we never wanted. Forced upon us by the exigencies of these times and historical imperatives.

Mr. President, we understand the urgencies that led to the war. We may not all agree to the manner it was waged and won. What we can do now is to face the future and do what is best to be done.

Right now, the future seems threatening. Forces are moving that threaten to do far greater damage to our people than what the war has done. The bullet-riddled, crumbling remains of the Grand Masjid in our beloved Marawi, silent as it is now and absent of prayers, cries out.

For in the guise of rebuilding our home, in the guise of laying down the foundations of a better, progressive and modern city, the will and vision of those who live far from us who built this city are being imposed upon us. This is an invasion of a different kind. This one threatens to rob our soul.

Plans have been made without our participation. Plans that neither bear the stamp of our will nor reflect our culture. Plans whose mechanics and implementation are not clear to us. But one thing is clear: the people of Marawi are largely left out. Those who came to present the plan dismissed our comments, recommendations, and protestations as though we knew nothing and have no business getting involved in rebuilding our very own city.

Mr. President, as former mayor of a great city, you must know that a city is not merely the sum of its buildings. Not merely an occasion for economic gain. Not merely a blueprint of a well laid out interconnection of industrial, commercial, entertainment parks, however grand.

A city symbolizes its people. Built upon the aspirations and dreams of its people. Nurtured by and reflective of the identity of its people. We are not building a city from debris. We are rebuilding a city from history and from memory.

The blueprint of this city is in the hearts and minds of the Meranaws, and not in the drawing boards of urban architects and master planners.

Mr. President, you belong to our people. You know we will not keep quiet and simply accept this. We cannot accept that those who know so little of us would map out how to rebuild our city. Our home for since time immemorial.

We appeal then to you, Mr. President, to grant us, the people of the lake, the rightful heirs to this land, our right to rebuild this city with your guidance, support and protection.

We appeal to you to let Marawi be rebuilt the way our ancestors did: one house at a time, one masjid at a time. One village at a time. We welcome those who are willing to help us in this endeavor, for the challenges are daunting and the costs are high. We appeal though that please help us rebuild according to our will in pursuit of the will of Allah (swt). Stand with us, help us, please, be one of us.

Mr. President, please put a stop to the proposed Eco zone and military camp plans until we have been heard, until our dreams and aspirations, our cultural sensitivities and our faith find expression in the rebuilding of Marawi City, our home.

This is the cry of our people. This is the cry of Marawi. This is our appeal, Mr. President.

-Ranaw Multi-Sectoral Movement-

Sitio Sandugo as a cultural center

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Sitio Sandugo is what the national minority groups participating in Lakbayan 2017 call their camp at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

On most days and nights, the camp is a bevy of activities that include those who visit them such as students, artists, medical workshops and others.

Watch this slideshow of how Sitio Sandugo becomes a center of cultural activities.

(Photos by Raymund and Pom Villanueva)

Lakbayan 2017 arrives in Metro Manila

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Here is a photo slide of the first day of Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya 2017 last Thursday, August 31 in Mendiola and UP Diliman.

Click this link: https://spark.adobe.com/video/3KnmOOvtegiIG

Bangsamoro and Lumad activists slam martial law in Mindanao

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Leading Moro and Lumad activists slammed human rights violations on the 11th day of the Duterte government’s martial law in Mindanao.

In a forum in Quezon City with several church representatives, the activists said military rule on their island is giving rise to many abuses from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The abuses range from harassment to food blockades of civilian communities, the leaders said.

While the groups are against the terrorist Maute group, they urge the Duterte government to lift its martial law declaration over the entire Mindanao region.

They held a noise barrage along EDSA after the forum. (Videography by Ivan Dexter Tolentino and Esther Anne Cabrillas / Editing by Jo Maline D. Mamangun)

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Mindanao activists protest Duterte’s martial law in Mindanao

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Bangsamoro and Lumad activists led a protest action in Camp Aguinaldo after the Rodrigo Duterte government declared martial law in Mindanao.

The protesters said incidents of human rights violations have increased immediately after the May 23 declaration while paramilitary forces with outstanding warrants of arrests are brazenly coming out in the open in the company of the very state units tasked to arrest them. (Videography by Ivan Dexter Tolentino and Esther Anne Cabrillas / Editing by Jo Maline D. Mamangun)

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Activists hold rally for peace and justice in Mindanao

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After President Rodrigo Duterte declared Martial Law over the whole of Mindanao earlier this week following attacks by the Maute Group, progressive organizations held a rally at Plaza Miranda last Wednesday afternoon to call for peace and justice in Mindanao.

Protesting what they say is an unwarranted military rule to quell an attack at certain locations in the island, the activists said martial law is not the proper response to the crisis in isolated areas in Mindanao.

They instead called on President Duterte to revoke his declaration in fear of massive human rights violations against innocent civilians. # (Videography by Ivan Dexter Tolentino and Esther Anne Cabrillas / Editing by Jo Maline D. Mamangun)

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