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Int’l coalition slams Blinken visit, US military expansion in the PH

International human rights defenders praised the rallies held in Manila against State Secretary Antony Blinken’s visit, opposing the Philippines’ involvement in the United States’ preparations for war against China.

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) said it salutes the protests organized by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) last Tuesday, March 19, against the extension of US military installations in the Philippines.

“The Filipino people don’t want to be a battlefield for a great power war, and ICHRP urges all nations in the region – South East Asia and North East Asia – to deescalate the frightening military buildup towards war,” ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy said.

In his meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacanan Palace last Tuesday, Blinken said he reiterated the US’ “ironclad commitment” to defend the Philippines as tensions with China over South China Sea disputes continue to rise.

In a joint press conference with his Philippine counterpart Foreign Affairs secretary Enrique Manalo, Blinken said that under the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty Washington is bound to defend Manila from “armed attacks on the Filipino armed forces, public vessels, aircraft – including those of its coast guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”

Shifting from the pro-China stance of the previous Rodrigo Duterte government, the Marcos Jr. administration in February 2023 agreed to provide four more military installations to the US under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Arrangement (EDCA).

These are the Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; Balabac Island in Palawan; and Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan.

Three of the four are oriented towards Taiwan, the flashpoint for a potential war by the US against China, ICHRP said.

Filipino anti-imperialist activists protest against US State Secretary Antony Blinken’s visit.
(Photo by Nuel Bacarra/Kodao)

On its own, the US maintains a strong presence in the South China Sea, with military aircraft overflights, so-called freedom of navigation operations, and naval patrols.

It also conducts regular military exercises with the Philippines and other allies, the biggest of which was held in April last year that China sees as an escalation of US aggression in the region.

ICHRP said it opposes US military expansion in the Philippines, also accusing Australia, Canada and Japan remaining silent on gross human rights violations under the Marcos Jr. government in favor of deepening military cooperation and arms sales to the Philippines.

This is part of the countries’ broader China containment strategy, the coalition added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Fil-Am activists hound Marcos Jr.; accuse President of putting PH in crossfire of war

Filipino-American activists hounded President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who is in Washington DC for an official visit, protesting the Philippine government’s military deals with the United States of America (USA).

Staging rallies at the White House and at the posh Ritz-Carlton Hotel where Marcos had dinner with some members of the Filipino community in the American capital, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-USA said the President’s visit signifies the “further selling out of the Philippines.”

The activists said Marcos’ visit are to secure deals to further enrich those in power and expand US military presence throughout the archipelago.

Marcos’ visit came at the heels of the biggest war games between the two countries and the approval of four additional US military sites under an expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

In a statement, BAYAN-USA said additional US military presence in Cagayan, Isabela, and Palawan provinces “will only put the Filipino people in more danger of being in the crossfires of war.”

Both governments have earlier denied that the new EDCA sites and the biggest war exercises between the two countries in history is connected with the Chinese government’s aggressive military actions in the region.

On his way to the United States, Marcos stated: “We will not encourage any provocative action that will involve the Philippines by any other country… We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action.”

BAYAN USA in return asked, “Have you not read the provisions of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement? Prepositioning equipment is clearly and has historically been part of war preparation.”

The group added that no assurances made by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs nor statements from Marcos that the president is allowing the country to be used as a staging post for war.

“The Filipino people must not allow this to continue,” the group added.

‘Ironclad military alliance’

In their White House meeting Monday, US President Joseph Biden reaffirmed US’ “ironclad alliance” commitments to the Philippines, “underscoring that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including the South China Sea, would invoke his country’s mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1952 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty.

Both leaders also affirmed the importance of maintaining “peace and stability” across the Taiwan Strait following heightened military tensions between the Republic of China and the People’s Democratic Republic of China.  

Biden and Marcos also talked about economic development, environmental protection, human rights, the war in Eastern Europe, among other mutual concerns.

With Marcos in his visit were former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, eight Cabinet secretaries, First Lady Marie Louise Marcos and Rep, Zandro Marcos. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Makabayan solon, DND condemn Chinese envoy’s threat against OFWs in Taiwan

A Makabayan solon and the Department of National Defense (DND) separately condemned an alleged threat made by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian against Filipinos in Taiwan.

House of Representative Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party Rep. France Castro said Huang’s statement is a threat and an imposition on a sovereign country.

“It is condemnable that China seems to be issuing a threat not just against the Philippines as a country but to innocent overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were obligated to work abroad to create better lives for their families,” Castro said in a statement Saturday, April 15.

In a public speech Friday, the Chinese envoy said, the “Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to the military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs.”

“The Taiwan question is entirely China’s internal affair, as is the Mindanao issue to the Philippines. You will never allow any third party to meddle with resolving rebel issues in Mindanao,” Huang said.

This did not sit well with the progressive solon who said Huang’s statement must be condemned.

The DND in a separate statement took exception to Huang’s assertion the Philippines is “meddling” in Chinese internal affairs concerning Taiwan.

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the Philippines’ primary concern regarding the heated situation between China and Taiwan are the expatriate Filipinos in the island.

Pique at new EDCA sites

While it appears to directly threaten Filipino workers in Taiwan, Huang’s speech was in fact obviously directed at the Philippine government’s decision to open four new military sites the for United States military to be closer to China.

“Obviously, the US intends to take advantage of the new EDCA sites to interfere in the situation across the Taiwan strait to serve its geopolitical goals, and advance its anti-China agenda at the expense of peace and development of the Philippines and the region at large,” Huang said.

The Chinese Ambassador also likened the situation in Taiwan to Mindanao, implying that China does not meddle with Moro independence struggles in Southern Philippines. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Fil-Am activists condemn high level US-PH meeting they say undermines Philippine sovereignty

By Nuel M. Bacarra

Filipino-American activists belonging to the United States of America, District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia chapter of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and its member organizations condemned the high-level meeting earlier this week between US and Philippine cabinet secretaries they said further undermines Philippine sovereignty.

In a statement, the activists said the meeting purported “to reaffirm the United States commitment to (its) alliance with the Philippines which has contributed to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region for more than 70 years,” was meant to bolster the ongoing US-led war games that started on that day in the Philippines.

The group also condemned the addition of four new Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines widely seen as a containment maneuver against Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

“The four new locations… indicate a considerable motive for the US to intervene in the country and intimidate China. The amplified scale of the Balikatan exercises also aligns with accelerated motions to provoke China before actual combat ensues,” BAYAN-USA-DMV said.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III met with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Philippine Department of National Defense officer in charge Carlito Galvez Jr. in a ministerial dialogue that discussed Indo-Pacific security, Philippine military modernization, economic and environmental security and alliance partnerships.

DFA Secretary Manalo said, “We especially welcome the United States pledge to fast-track and to ramp up support for the modernization of our defense, civilian law enforcement and humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities, especially in the maritime domain, as well as the implementation of EDCA projects and investments in and around EDCA-agreed locations.”

BAYAN-USA-DMV however said the event was only meant to justify the Balikatan military exercises that see a 140% increase in US military presence in the Philippines involving 12,000 US forces, 5,000 Filipinos and 111 forces from Australia.

The group added that US support to the Philippines uses US taxpayers’ dollars in arming and funding of the Philippine military and police known for gross human rights violations, including the indiscriminate bombings in Mindanao, in Negros, military encampments on indigenous and farmer communities and the massacre of human rights and peace advocates, activists and environmental defenders.

More groups abroad oppose war games

The International League of Peoples’ Struggles-Hong Kong and Macau held a protest rally against EDCA last April 11. (Provided photo)

The group Malaya Movement in New York called for the junking of “unequal military agreements” between the US and the Philippines because as “ineffective and unnecessary” as well as contradictory to Philippines sovereignty and the interests of the Filipino people.

“[T]here is no doubt that [the Balikatan] is a military build up to war in Asia Pacific…meant to provoke China and to stoke the flames of world war,” the group said.

International League of Peoples’ Struggle – Hong Kong and Macau also condemned “US military’s intervention in the Philippines undermining our national sovereignty under the pretext of its humanitarian assistance and disaster response propaganda.”

“We denounce the move of the US government to undermine our national sovereignty through the EDCA additional sites and the Balikatan exercises. We demand the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,” the group in a statement said.

“The Balikatan exercises are not beneficial to the Filipino people. The funds allotted for the war games should instead be used to resolve more worthwhile concerns such as hunger and poverty, failing health and education services. War games are costly in financial terms while entailing massive environmental destruction. It breeds human rights abuses, corruption in the military and intensifies local conflict,” it added. # (with reports from Raymund B. Villanueva)

Farmers to Marcos: Talk to China about veggie smuggling

Farmers have asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to call the attention of the Chinese government to the rampant smuggling of agricultural products to the Philippines.

As Marcos starts his state visit to China today, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said the concurrent agriculture secretary must discuss with Chinese authorities the illicit trade of agricultural products the group says contributes to the uncontrolled rise in prices of some vegetables in the local market.

“Despite China being the Philippines’ top trade partner in 2021, with total trade valued at $38.35 billion, there is still an unimaginable extent of illicit trade. Smuggled onions from China have pushed up onion retail prices to as much as P700 per kilo in local markets. This is very alarming,” the KMP in a statement said.

KMP said Marcos should ask Chinese law enforcement to curb smuggling activities and crimes at their Customs control areas especially Hong Kong.

“We know that China customs carry out heavy-handed policies against smuggling. They should do their very best in apprehending big-time Chinese smuggling syndicates who are in cahoots with local smugglers,” KMP leader Danilo Ramos said.

Ramos added that majority of frozen and fresh vegetables intercepted by the Philippine Bureau of Customs in the past year were from Hong Kong and China.

“The Philippine government is losing billions worth of revenues as a result of these smuggling activities,” Ramos said.

Transparency in trade

The KMP said Marcos must also reveal if he wishes to continue with the China-Philippines agricultural cooperation signed by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in 2016.

The said agricultural trade agreement led to China becoming the Philippines’ third-largest export destination of agricultural products and its second-largest import source of Philippine farm products, the group revealed.

The agreement negatively affected local food self sufficiency as it heightened the country’s exportation of agricultural products, KMP’s Rafael Mariano said.

KMP said the since the trade agreement has been signed, the Philippines started exporting fresh coconuts and avocados to China while securing more than half of the market share of bananas in Chinese markets.

Chinese investments in agriculture also grew exponentially over the years as China also supported irrigation and agricultural technology projects, particularly the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology that cultivates China-origin commercial hybrid rice.

“Dapat palakasin ang local na produksyon ng pagkain at agricultural products para sa mga Pilipino mismo. Lalabas, mas malaki pa ang pakinabang ng China sa ating agrikultura kaysa sa mga Pilipino,” Mariano said.

(Local food and agriculture production must be strengthened for Filipinos. As it is, China benefits more from our agriculture than Filipinos.)

Marcos Jr. is expected to sign at least 10 bilateral agreements with China during the state visit, including agreements on trade and investments, agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, development cooperation, people-to-people ties, and maritime security. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

China wipes out LGBTQ channels on WeChat with no explanation

Some believe the crackdown is related to the three-child policy.

The following post is the English version of a Chinese report written by Rex Yung and published on Hong Kong-based CitizenNews on July 7, 2021. It is published on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement.

By CitizenNews

At least 14 LGBTQ public channels on WeChat, the most popular Chinese social media platform, were permanently blocked on July 6, 2021. All their content vanished without a trace. 

The majority of the channels were run by university-based LGBTQ groups including Purple at Tsinghua University, Colorsworld at Peking University, Gender Equality Research Association at Wuhan University and Zhihe Society at Fudan University. 

Chinese Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on July 8 that the removal of LGBTQ channels on WeChat was in accordance with Chinese law:

CitizenNews’ reporters reached out to a number of group administrators through various channels, but they all declined to comment on the incident. 

An LGBTQ activist commented anonymously that the incident had hit the community very hard as they don’t have many in-person opportunities to connect with other LGBTQ people — and now even virtual channels are blocked.  

He revealed that many sexual minority groups had been under pressure because of June’s LGBTQ Pride Month and the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. The community had faced many verbal attacks on social media in the past few months, but they were shocked that all their accounts were shut down so abruptly. 

According to a report from Reuters, the Chinese authorities have been investigating the loyalty of the university-based LGBTQ groups since May 2021:

Many of the LGBTQ groups blocked on WeChat have been established for many years. For example, the Guangzhou-based Gay and Lesbian Campus Association of China was founded in 2006. In 2014, they published a report entitled ‘Report on the Misrepresentation and Stigmatization of Homosexuality in Chinese High School Textbooks’, criticizing textbooks that reinforced stigmas on homosexuality. One of their members even sued the Ministry of Education for discrimination. 

Founded in 2005, the Zhihe Society of Fudan University is the first student organization that focuses on gender equity in China. Since its establishment, the society had run a play called ‘Monologues from the Vagina’ on campus annually until 2018 when the University authorities stepped in to ban their performance. 

Earlier this year, the Society was punished with a three-month suspension for repeatedly violating the Fudan University Student Association Management Regulations. One of the violations cited by the university administrator was that it had forwarded the announcement of an online lecture on feminism organized by the University of Michigan in the United States. The act was flagged as a ‘very serious violation’ as it mobilized students to participate in activities organized by foreign forces outside of the university. 

In recent years, thanks to the ideological struggle against Western culture, there is a general belief that feminist and queer movements in China are colluding with foreign forces.

Regarding the disbanding of LGBTQ accounts on WeChat, reactions are very polarized on Chinese social media. Those who support equal rights for LGBTQ people are outraged by the crackdown. Some believe that the action has something to do with the three-child policy. One comment on Weibo said: 

“A surge of conservative forces. First they targeted the feminist, then they went after LGBT people. They just want you to go to bed and give birth to three children.”

Another said:

“Gays and Lesbians can’t give birth to three children, this is a policy-backed crackdown on difference.”

As for those who are against LGBTQ rights, they celebrate the disbandment of the public channels on social media and praise the authorities for stepping in to ban LGBTQ groups’ campus activities. 

For example, Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Ministry of Commerce, wrote in a WeChat post, 

“This is the right way. In dealing with the perverted LGBT, we could allow their existence in silence, but we could not let them enjoy the privilege of standing above other normal people. This is an attempt to protect national security and save the Chinese society from extinction.”

Many criticize the LGBTQ community for taking part in the pride month activities on Weibo. For example, one comment said

“You can say ‘I am gay and I am proud’. But what is the point of saying that in public? Whether you are proud of not has nothing to do with the general public. Have you been oppressed? Are the gay and lesbian being discriminated upon? The rights that they demand is a privilege in the name of the sexual minority.”

A number of posts circulating online speculate that the Chinese LGBTQ community has been infiltrated by foreign forces. Though this is widely viewed as a conspiracy theory, some cited a Weibo post by the U.S. consulates in China supporting LGBTQ rights as evidence.

One such post summed up the US’s plot against China in two points: 

“First, LGBTQI divides people into different groups. This would give space for the US to sow discord and destroy the unity of the Chinese people and instigate internal conflicts; 

“Second, China’s fertility rate has become so low that it must intervene, and while the country has launched the three-child policy and encouraged fertility. Against such background, LGBTQI movement would encourage more Chinese people to become infertile and sabotage China’s population plan.”

China’s official stance on homosexuality has followed a ‘Three No’ policy for many years — no support, no encouragement and no opposition.

The country decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses in 2001. 

In early 2019, China accepted the UN Human Rights Council’s recommendations on improving LGBTQ people’s rights. Though it did not recognize same-sex-partnershipin its updated Civil Code last year.

Suppression of feminist and LGBTQ communities’ online presence has escalated in recent months.

In April, the Chinese social media platform Douban closed at least eight feminist channels. The platforms said the action was taken to prevent the spread of extremism and radical political views. One month later,  Xiao Meili, a well-known feminist, was accused by online nationalists of colluding with foreign forces and supporting Hong Kong independence. Eventually, Xiao, together with more than a dozen feminists who spoke out for her, had their accounts blocked by Weibo.

However, no authority has given any official explanation on the suppressive policies. An LGBTQ rights supporter described the situation as:

“Something covers your mouth and you can’t make any noise. Who should I file the appeal to? You can’t identify who exactly is in charge. Which government authority is staging the clampdown? What kind of power are you confronting? The whole thing is so repressive, suffocating and ridiculous.”

(This report was also published by Global Voices, a content-sharing partner of Kodao.)

Protesta sa Araw ng Kalayaan upang ipaglaban ang West Philippine Sea laban sa agresyon ng China

Ipinagdiwang ng mga progresibong grupo sa pangunguna ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan ang ika-123 anibersaryo ng deklarasyon ng kalayaan ng Pilipinas mula sa Espanya sa pamamagitan ng isang kilos protesta sa harapan ng konsulada ng Tsina sa Makati city noong Sabado, Hunyo12. Tinutulan nila ang anila’y kapabayaan ng gubyernong Rodrigo Duterte sa West Philippine Sea at pang-uupat ng Tsina sa mga mangingisdang Pilipino sa loob ng Exclusive Economic Zone ng bansa. (Bidyo nina Jek Alcaraz at Joseph Cuevas. Editing ni Jek Alcaraz)

San Beda alumni criticize Duterte’s ‘defeatist’ stance on WPS

Rodrigo Duterte’s fellow San Beda University (SBU) alumni criticized the President’s statements belittling the nation’s victory in the international arbitral tribunal on the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In a statement Sunday evening, an informal group of SBU alumni called on Duterte to uphold the Philippine Constitution by retracting his “defeatist” statements on China’s occupation of internationally-recognized Philippine islands at the WPS.

 “When a part of our country’s territory is taken against our will by the People’s Republic of China and our countrymen, particularly the fishermen, are threatened with force from exclusively enjoying our nation’s marine resources, the President is solemnly bound to uphold, defend and protect his countrymen and the integrity of our national territory,” the statement said.

Signed by former SBU student leaders, the statement is the first ever statement issued by Duterte’s fellow Bedans critical of the President.

The statement, also posted on online petition platform change.org called on the President to:

• Retract his public statement that China is in possession of the West Philippine Sea;

• Retract his declaration that the Arbitral Award “is a mere scrap of paper, and should be thrown in the wastebasket” in order that it will not be used as an admission against the interests of the Philippines; and to

• Categorically, demonstrably and publicly uphold the mandate of our Philippine Constitution that: “The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.”(Art XII, Sec. 2).

President Duterte’s fellow Bedans ask him to uphold the Philippine Constitution.

The statement, which was uploaded on the social networking site Facebook and on public advocacy platform Change.org, continues to gain signatories from San Beda alumni.

In his recent late night addresses to the nation, Duterte repeatedly justified the presence of Chinese boats within the Philippine exclusive economic zone near Palawan province.

Duterte said the international tribunal’s upholding Philippine rights on the West Philippine Sea is merely a piece of paper he could throw in a wastebasket.

He also said his earlier promises to personally stake Philippine claims to the territory were mere campaign jokes.

Senator Leila de Lima, Makabayan President Neri Colmenares and former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairperson and bar examinations topnotcher Winston Ginez were among those who signed the statement.

Former presidents and officers of the SBU College of Arts and Sciences Student Council, former editors of college student newspaper The Bedan, as well as former presidents of national youth and students organizations were also among the early signers of the petition.

Duterte earned his law degree from the then San Beda College in 1972.

After winning the presidency, Duterte has appointed a number of SBU classmates in his Cabinet.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte as commencement speaker at SBU’s May 2018 graduation ceremony. ALBERT ALCAIN/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Student Duterte

Duterte is the first Bedan who became Philippine President.

Early aspirants included Ramon Mitra and Raul Roco, both editors in chief of The Bedan, and Ambassador Roy Señeres. Benigno Aquino Jr. was also believed to have aspired for the presidency.

Duterte nearly failed to graduate after shooting a fellow College of Law student a few weeks before graduation.

Then College of Law acting dean and former Senator Rene Saguisag recommended his expulsion but was overruled by the administering Benedictine monks on “humanitarian reasons.”

A tabloid also quoted Duterte bragging he once threatened to burn down the school after a disagreement with a law professor.

Before enrolling at SBU, Duterte also matriculated at the Ateneo de Davao University (which expelled him for disciplinary infractions), Holy Cross College of Digos (now Cor Jesu College), and the Lyceum University of the Philippines. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Contradicting himself

Cartoon by Crisby Delgado, PUP/Kodao

In a public address last week, President Rodrigo Duterte tried to explain that his campaign promise to ride a jet ski to the disputed islands at the West Philippine Sea to assert Philippine sovereignty was merely a campaign joke. He however contradicted himself in what could be one of the more bizarre rants by the chief executive already notorious for often bizarre rants. #

Bizarre ‘debate’

Cartoon by Crisby Delgado, PUP/Kodao

President Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge to retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio to a debate on the West Philippine Sea issue has gone more weirder and weirder. After the latter has accepted the challenge, presidental spokesperson Harry Roque said the president is ready anytime. The President has since gone silent however, followed by Roque’s announcement that he had been designated to be his representative. Roque then enumerated issues to be debated upon, an imposition promptly rejected by the retired magistrate. #