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SERYE BABAE: Agenda ng kababaihan, iniindak kontra ChaCha

Ni Nuel M. Bacarra

Naging makulay ang kahabaan ng España sa Maynila sa paggunita ng Internasyunal na Araw ng Kababaihang Anakpawis noong nakaraang Biyernes, Marso 8. Naging dominante sa araw na ito ang kulay rosas at lila na kasuotan ng iba’t ibang grupo ng kababaihan mula sa iba’t iba ring sektor ng lipunan. Makukulay rin maging ang mga istrimer at plakard na nagpapahayag ng kanilang mga panawagan at kahingian.

Nagsimula silang magtipon bago mag-alas otso ng umaga. Habang hinihintay ang mga kasamahan nila, panay na ang kuhanan ng litrato. Matamang inaayos ang trak na gagamiting entablado sa programa at may mga nag-eensayo na ng mga talumpati.

Nang sinimulan ang programa, okupado na ng mga raliyista ang halos kalahati ng kalsada sa direksyon patungong Quiapo o ang papuntang timog na bahagi. Sa kanto ng España at kalye dela Fuente ang unang programa na bagaman maikli ay naglinaw na antimano ng kanilang mga usaping nais nilang patampukin sa paggunita ng Internasyunal na Araw ng Kababaihang Anakpawis: kabuhayan, karapatan, kasarinlan, hindi charter change.

Ang martsa ng kababaihan sa Maynila noong Marso 8, 2024. (Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Isyu ng bayan

Hindi alintana maging ng nakatatanda ang pusikit na init ng araw na nakipag-sabayan sa mga manggagawa at empleyado at nakababatang estudyante at kabataan sa hanay ng mga demonstrador. At bakit nga ba hindi? Kaisa ang kanilang tinig pagdating sa usapin ng paggigiit ng umento sa sahod. Ang ₱610 kada araw na sahod ng mga manggagawa ay kulang ng halos ₱520 upang matugunan ang kabuuang pangangailangan ng isang lima-kataong pamilya sa isang araw. Ang nakabubuhay na sahod ay malabong ibigay ng rehimeng Marcos Jr. na ang tingin ay nakatuon sa pagratsada ng Charter Change o ChaCha.

Ang kawalan ng pagtataas ng sahod ay higit na mas mahirap sa kababaihan na kalahati ng kabuuang populasyon ng Pilipinas na siyang may pasan ng usapin ng pagbababadyet para sa buong pamilya. Kaya giit nila na sa halip na baguhin ang konstitusyon, dapat asikasuhin ang tumitinding suliranin ng mababang sahod, kawalang-trabaho at kahirapan. Marami ang nasasadlak sa mga impormal na trabaho ng pag-raket sa online selling at iba pa para lamang maka-agapay kahit paano sa mataas na presyo ng mga bilihin o makipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa kahit iwanan ang pamilya.

Ang panawagan ng kababaihan sa Internasyunal na Araw ng Kababaihang Anakpawis. (Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Hindi nararamdaman ng mamamayan ang serbisyo publiko na dapat ay pangunahing tungkulin ng gubyerno. Kinakaharap nila buwan-buwan ang mataas na bayarin sa kuryente, tubig, pamasahe at iba pa. Bawal ang pagkakasakit.

Malaking usapin sa kababaihang magbubukid at sa buong pamilya nila ang kawalan at kakulangan sa lupa para makaagapay sa pag-abandona ng gubyerno sa pagpapaunlad ng lokal na produksyon na lalo pinalala ng kontra-insurhensiyang programa ng pamahalaan sa kanayunan. Buo-buong komunidad ang dumaranas kapwa ang mga magsasaka at pambansang minorya ng pagtataboy sa kanila sa kanilang lupain dahil sa mga operasyon ng mamalaking pagmimina, plantasyon at iba pang proyektong pang-imprastruktura ng gubyerno mismo.

Tawag ng paglaban

Ang mga usaping ito ay hindi simpleng hinihingi sa kinauukulan. Nakikibaka ang kababaihang anakpawis dahil ang sistemang malakolonyal at malapyudal ay isang sistemang dapat baguhin sa pamamagitan ng pakikibaka kasama ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan laluna hindi sa pamamagitan ng pagbago ng saligang batas. Marami nang naging martir na kababaihan dahil sa pakikibaka. Sa kasalukuyan nga ay 20.5% ng 799 na mga bilanggong pulitikal sa buong bansa ay mga babae na marami ay may mga sakit at matatanda na rin.

Mula España hanggang Morayta, ipinakita nila ang pagkakaisa at isinisigaw ang kanilang mga kahingian. Nagsisayaw ang kani-kanilang mga lider masa sa saliw ng tugtog na kontra-ChaCha. Ngunit ang Morayta ay hindi España. Maluwag ang kalsada sa mapayapang pagmamartsa nila sa kahabaan ng España. Pagtuntong sa Morayta, ang init ng pakikibaka ay tumindi dahil sa nakabalandra na ang ilang suson ng kapulisan sa parehong pakpak ng daan patungong Mendiola.

Ang mga kababaihang matapang na humarap sa mga naghaharang na pulis. (Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Pakiusapan. Tulakan. Negosasyon. Subalit ang hangganan ay iginuhit ng malalaking trak para hindi na makaabante ang mga demonstrador. Bagamat ganito, itinuloy ng mga mga demonstrador ang programa na may sangkap na mga kultural na pagtatanghal. Bawat tagapagsalita ay naglilinaw ng mga isyung kinakaharap ng sektor at ng buong samabayanan at ang mga dahilan kung bakit kailangang tutulan ang niraratsadang pagbago ng konstitusyon.

Tumining ang tindig ng kababaihan kontra-ChaCha. Naging malinaw ang mga dahilan bakit nais itong isalaksak sa mamamayan. Ang mga diumanong pang-ekonomyang probisyong nais na maging bahagi ng konstitusyon ay dikta ng dayuhan. Ibubuyangyang nang lalo ang likas na yaman ng bansa at ang buong kalupaan sa neoliberal na imperyalistang imposisyon at maniobra na siyang adyenda ng dayuhan sa pagbago ng konstitusyon. Pero ang ekstensyon ng termino ng mga pulitiko kabilang na ang mga nasa tuktok ng kapangyarihang pampulitika ay maaaring ilusot sa pamamagitan ng pandaraya, manipulasyon at pagbubuhos ng pondo para sa higit na panlilinlang.

Kinatigan ng Konggreso ang opinyon ng election lawyer na si Atty. Romulo Makalintal na ang pagsasabay ng plebesito sa mid-term election sa 2025 ay ‘di-konstitusyunal dahil ang pagbago ng konstitusyon ay dapat idaan sa isang plebisito at hindi sa isang eleksyon batay na rin sa naunang desisyon ng Korte Suprema.

Batid ito ng kababaihan at nakakasa sila para muli’t muling labanan ang anumang hakbang ng Kongreso na siyang matigas ang pusisyon para sa ChaCha.

Ang pagkilos ay idineklara nilang tagumpay at muli nilang paghahandaan ang mga serye pa ng laban para sa kinbabukasan ng bansa. Handa ang kababaihan sa mga hamon ng pakikibaka at sasayaw silang muli sa bawat tagumpay na likha ng kanilang pakikibaka para sa mamamayang Pilipino. #

Methodist pastor tells UN of PH government harassment using anti-terror law

GENEVA, Switzerland—A Filipina clergy spoke before the ongoing 55th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in this city complaining of trumped up charges against her by the Philippine government using the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA, Republic Act No. 11479) of 2020.

United Methodist Church (UMC) Pastor Glofie Baluntong said both the Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos governments use the ATA and other repressive laws in the Philippines to harass human rights defenders

At the UNHRC’s discussion of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism Ben Saul last Tuesday, March 12, Baluntong narrated that on June 17, 2019, Philippine National Police forces barged into her church compound in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro without a court-issued warrant, demanding she surrender of Karapatan Southern Tagalog members she was hosting. She was then accused of aiding alleged rebels, she added.

“Since then, I have endured harassment, intrusive visits, and questioning by the Armed Forces (of the Philippines),” she revealed.

Rev. Baluntong, also a member of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, also told the international body that she was subsequently charged by the Philippine government of attempted murder on August 18, 2021.

“[They cited] an armed encounter that allegedly occurred on March 25 of that year—a day on which I was conducting funeral rites for a departed church member,” Baluntong told the UN.

“I was also wrongfully charged with [violation of] the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and grave threats from state forces have forced me to flee my town,” she added.

Baluntong’s testimony at the UNHRC discussion followed former senator Leila de Lima’s own intervention via video, narrating her seven-year ordeal as a political prisoner for her opposition to Duterte’s bloody drug war.

Baluntong called upon UN member states, including the Philippines, to heed Saul’s recommendations to ensure that counter-terrorism laws and practices, including efforts to combat terrorism financing, respect human rights.

Baluntong said that governments must make sure they do not curtail the legitimate activities of civil society organizations, impede civic space, or hinder humanitarian endeavours.

“Saul’s report testifies to my own lived experience,” Baluntong said.

United Methodist Church Rev. Glofie Baluntong delivering her oral intervention at the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. (Screengrab from UN TV)

Increasing number of cases

Meanwhile, rights group Karapatan, a member of the Philippine UPR (Universal Periodic Review) delegation attending the ongoing UNHRC session here said at least 27 individuals have been charged by the Philippine government of violating the ATA.

These are in addition to several Islamic groups charged as terrorists groups under the ATA and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10168).

“Charges under ATA against three political prisoners had been dismissed, but they remain in jail due to other trumped up criminal charges.  Eight political prisoners who were detained and faced charges under Republic Act No. 11479 had been released,” Karapatan legal counsel Atty. Ma. Sol Taule said.

The constitutionality of the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 had been contested by 47 petitions before the Supreme Court that in turn struck down some of its most questionable provisions.

The high court however deferred judgement on other contested points citing lack of actual injury pending it’s the law’s full implementation.

“There has been no reported conviction under both laws strongly indicating the infirmities of the trumped up charges and of the law itself,” Taule said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

[DISCLOSURE] The reporter is a member of the PH UPR Watch delegation as chairperson of the People’s Alternative Media Network that also spoke with UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan during her visit to the Philippines earlier this year.

SERYE BABAE: Hiling

Ni Nuel M. Bacarra

Hindi katanggap-tangap kahit kaninuman ang mabilanggo dahil sa mga gawa-gawang kaso. Ang bisyo ng pagtatanim ng ebidensya ng mga tinatawag na “awtoridad” ay isang pamamaraan para diumano ay nyutralisahin ang mga itinututuring nilang “kaaway ng estado.”

Sa karanasan ko ilang taon na ang nakakaraan, may dalang search warrant ang mahigit sa 30 pulis at sundalo na armado ng mahahabang baril na animo’y susugod sa isang gera para bigyang-katwiran na may mga baril at pasabog sa bahay na inuupahan namin, na sila naman ang nagtanim para maging ebidensya.

Pagdating sa Camp Crame na halos alas dos na ng madaling araw, may ipinakita pang warrants of arrest sa akin para sa mga kasong pagpatay diumano, at dalawang iba pa. Sino ang aking pinatay sa mga lugar na hindi ko pa nararating? Bagabag ito sa isip dahil alam kong nilambang lamang.

Sa pitong taon at limampung araw—mula Camp Crame, Caloocan City Jail (CCJ) hanggang Camp Bagong Diwa sa Bicutan—sinanay na lamang na palipasin ang bawat sandali sa kung ano ang pwedeng pagtuunan ng pansin para labanan ang pagkainip, ang bigat sa pag-iisip kung kailan makakalabas at kung gugulong nga ba ang hustisya sa tamang direksyon.

Sa Caloocan ko higit na naramdaman ang hirap at ang pag-aalala sa kung ano ang mangyayari sa mga kasong isinampa sa akin. Pero higit pa rito ay ang pag-aalala sa asawang dumadalaw nang dalawang beses isang linggo nang walang palya na bitbit ang kinakayang dalhin para lamang may makain ako  hanggang sa susunod na dalaw. Hindi ko tinangkang tanungin siya hinggil sa dinadanas niyang pisikal at mental na hirap sa takot ko sa drama na baka ako ang unang manlupaypay at makadagdag pa sa kanyang alalahanin. Sinikap kong kumuha ng lakas sa kanya mula sa sakripisyong ginagawa niya para sa akin.

Mangungumusta siya pagdating kahit bakas na bakas ang pagod sa mukha niya. Ayaw ko na rin siyang mag-alala pa kaya kahit ang hirap ngumiti sa ganoong sitwasyon. “Okey lang at wala namang problema,” ang laging tugon ko. Minsan may mga kasama siya na kaopisina niya, minsan naman yung mga kaibigan namin galing sa probinsya.

Kapag tapos ng oras ng dalaw, hatid na lang ng bulong ng payo ng pag-iingat at kaway ng pamamaalam. Babalik ako sa selda kasabay ng iba pang bilanggo. Makikita kong muli ang bakas sa mga mukha nila na hindi mawari kung ano ang sasabihin. Maaaring pag-aalala, o inggit dahil may dumadalaw sa akin o manghihingi ng konting pagkain. May mga naging kasama ako sa CCJ, na ilang taon nang nakakulong ay hindi man nakaranas na mayroong dumalaw.

May signipikanteng bilang ng mga bilanggo ang mga may-asawa o kinakasama na iniwan. Pero hindi ko ito naging suliranin kahit nang malipat ako sa Bicutan noong ikalawang linggo ng Oktubre 2019. Tuloy ang padron ng pagdalaw.

Subalit ang regular na pagkikita ay sinansala ng pandemya. Marso 11, 2020 nang huli siyang nakadalaw sa akin sa Bicutan. Kinabukasan ay lockdown na ang buong pasilidad hanggang sa makalaya ako noong Abril 23, 2022. Ang pagpapaabot ng mga pagkain at iba pang pangangailangan ay inihahatid na lamang sa bukana ng tarangkahan ng Camp Bagong Diwa. Dalawang taon na ganito ang pamamaraan para lang makapaghatid ng pangangailangan at sulat.

Sa Bicutan at at CCJ ako naging inspiradong magsulat ng tula. Ang kalagayan ng mga bilanggo sa Caloocan City Jail ang ibayong naging inspirasyon ko sa pagsusulat ng mga tula na nagpatuloy hanggang sa Bicutan.

Ang tulang ito ay isa lamang sa mga nasulat ko noong anim na buwan pa lamang ako sa Caloocan na handog ko sa aking mahal na asawa, na hindi matatawaran ang sakripisyo bilang isang kasama, asawa,  babae.

HILING

(Para kay “S”)

Bakit ba mahal mo pa rin ako?

Sa kabila nang di miminsa’y

            mag-isa kitang iniiwan

            nang halos isang taon…

                        ilang buwan…

                        ilang linggo…

Halik at yakap pa rin

            ang salubong mo.

Bakit naging mabait ka pa rin sa akin?

Kahit nang isilang ang

            panganay natin

            ay wala ako sa tabi mo

At pagkatapos lamang

            ng walong buwan

            saka ko nasilayan ang

            supling na luwal mo.

Ngiti at pangungumusta pa rin ang

            naging tugon mo.

Bakit nagtitiyaga ka pa rin sa akin?

Hanggang ngayong nakakulong ako

            dahil sa gawa-gawang mga kaso

            ng estado

Mahigpit pa rin ang yakap mo

            Sa tuwing dadalaw ka sa

            Pinagkukulungan ko.

Mahal…

Hindi ito mga tanong ng pagdududa

            Hindi mo nga kailangang sagutin ang mga ito.

Paghanga ko ito sa ‘yo!

Na sa panahong NARITO ka at NAROON ako

Walang hinanakit, ni tampo akong

            narinig o nadama sa ‘yo

Tila hindi ka napapagod…

            nagsasawa…

            o nagrereklamo

Kahit sa mahigit tatlumpung taong singkad

            ay nandito pa rin tayo.

Mayroon lamang akong tanging hiling:

Dumating man ang mas

            matitinding bagyo

            o delubyo

            na hahamon sa tatag ng prinsipyo

Magkaagapay nating haharapin ito!

Sakali mang may

            magtanong kung alin o sino

            ang mas mahal mo

            kung ang BAYAN o AKO

Unahin mo ang BAYAN at MASA bago AKO

Dahil dito rin nakatuntong

            Ang PAGMAMAHAL ko sa ‘yo!

06 Hulyo 2016

Caloocan City Jail

Jhed, Jonila fail to attend UN rights council session

GENEVA, Switzerland—Environment activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, alleged military abduction survivors, failed to attend the ongoing 55th regular session of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in this city due to the filing of grave defamation charges against them by the Department of Justice, the Philippine UPR (Universal Periodic Review) Watch revealed.

Wanting to personally narrate their ordeal before the international body, Tamano and Castro were forced to forego their trip to attend to court hearings after the 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division filed the new charges against them later this month.

The Philippine UPR Watch condemned the Department of Justice’s recommendation to file the grave defamation charge and elevating it to the courts as “a deliberate attempt at preventing them from telling the world of their ordeal.”

“Jhed and Jonila wanted to deliver oral interventions at the UNHRC general debates as survivors of abduction by the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government that also tried to falsely present them to the public as so-called rebel surrenderees,” Karapatan legal counsel and Philippine UPR Watch delegate Atty. Ma. Sol Taule said.

Castro and Tamano were also scheduled to speak at various regular session side events at the UN as well as in various other countries throughout Europe in the coming weeks.

“Both survivors had already secured travel visas but were forced to cancel when the DOJ and 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division filed new trumped up charges against them,” Taule added.

Castro and Tamano each posted bail last February 21 at the Dona Remedios Trinidad Municipal Trial Court in Bulacan on charges the anti-Manila Bay reclamation activists deliberately defamed the military and the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government in a press conference organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict last September 19 in Plaridel, Bulacan.

“That is not prosecution but political persecution,” Taule said.

In an earlier statement, Castro and Tamano said the DOJ is in collusion with the NTF-ELCAC and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in telling the courts a “patchwork” of stories to save face and cover up its practice of abduction and presentation of fake surrenderees.

“This decision proved that our questioning of the DOJ’s capability to conduct fair investigations was correct, adding the department conveniently ignored the fact that they were kidnapped and coerced into surrendering and admitting that they were members of Communist groups,” the young environmentalists said after posting bail last month.

Despite their physical absence however, Castro and Tamano’s ordeal shall be told in side events and dialogues with permanent missions of UN member states as well as officials of international civil society organizations in the UN nonetheless, the Philippine UPR Watch said.

“If the government thinks that it could cover up its abductions and other human rights violations by preventing Jhed and Jonila from personally telling their ordeal to the world, it is mistaken,” Center for Environmental Concerns executive director Lia Mai Torres said.

Torres added that foreign governments are very interested in knowing more about the case of the two young environmental defenders who bravely revealed their abduction and 17-day imprisonment in a Philippine Army camp in front of their abductors.

“The case of Jhed and Jonila helps reveal that human rights situation is no better under Marcos Jr. and environmental defenders are among the victims,” Torres said.

A network of human rights groups, churches, and people’s organizations, the Philippine UPR Watch is an active participant in UNHRC sessions through oral interventions, forums, dialogues and reports on the state of human rights in the Philippines. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

[DISCLOSURE] The reporter is a member of the PH UPR Watch delegation as chairperson of the People’s Alternative Media Network that also spoke with UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan in her visit to the Philippines earlier this year.

Rights defenders at UN press calls for NTF-ELCAC abolition, junking of anti-terror act

GENEVA, Switzerland—The Philippine UPR Watch again called for the abolition of the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the junking of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 in its ongoing participation at the 55th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) in this city.

A delegation of the group informed various permanent missions of member states and international civil society organizations based in Geneva last Monday and Tuesday of the results of two recent visits of UN special rapporteurs who denounced government’s red-tagging practices.

The group said they it is attending the session to testify on continuing human rights violations under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government.

“We are here to inform the international community that the findings by both special rapporteur on climate change and human rights Ian Fry last November and special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan last February that human rights violations continue are true,” Center for Environmental Concerns executive director Lia Mai Torres said.

Philippine UPR Watch said the rest of UN member states must be informed that both experts recommended the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and called for the review of the anti-terror law that are being used against human rights defenders and other civilians.

A network of human rights defenders in the Philippines, the Philippine UPR Watch said it is scheduled to deliver oral interventions at the UNHRC session and its other events to give updates on the government’s lack of compliance to its commitments to the international body 20 months after the last review on the Philippines.

 “The Marcos Jr. government wants to paint a rosy picture of so-called improved rhetoric and improved conditions but we are here both as victims and witnesses that anti-people policies have not changed as evidenced by the exit statements by Mr. Fry and Ms. Khan,” Torres added.

Clergywoman as victim of weaponized law

Among the main topics in the 55th UN HRC session are discussions on countering religious hatred and social security and public services.

With the Philippine UPR Watch delegation is Rev. Glofie Baluntong of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines who was among the first charged by the government under the controversial Anti-Terror Law of 2020.

Based on an earlier murder charge in August 2021, Baluntong was slapped with an alleged violation of the Anti-Terror Act in August 2022 which was recently dismissed by the public prosecutor for lack of merit.

“But the dismissal came with the warning that the case may be re-filed anytime that the military or the police decides to do so,” the clergyperson said.

The United Methodist Church pastor was charged by the military of assisting the New People’s Army.

But the pastor said she was performing necrological services to a member of her church at the time she committed the alleged murder she was initially charged with.

“The government is saying that my work with the indigenous people’s communities make me an enemy of the state,” Baluntong said.

Baluntong said that red-tagging attacks and trumped-up charges prevent her from performing her ministry with the indigenous peoples and poor communities in her home province of Mindoro.

With Baluntong and Torres is IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa who said that his participation in the 55th session is in preparation for the anticipated official visit of the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty.

Africa is also expected to participate in the panel discussion on challenges and good practices to realize the right to social security and to provide quality public services.

Delegation co-leader and Karapatan legal counsel Ma. Sol Taule  said, “This delegation supports suggestions made by the UN experts who recently visited the Philippines to continue our engagements leading to the submission of their respective final reports to the UN HRC.”

The Philippine UPR Watch delegation is also scheduled to speak at forums in various cities in Switzerland and throughout Europe during the duration of the UN HRC session. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

= = = = = =

[DISCLOSURE] The reporter is a member of the PH UPR Watch delegation as chairperson of the People’s Alternative Media Network that also spoke with UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan in her visit to the Philippines earlier this year.

Youth group: No future under Marcos cha-cha

By Maujerie Ann Miranda

An anti charter change (cha-cha) alliance urged fellow youth and students to oppose ongoing moves by the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government to change the country’s constitution, saying proposed amendments to the country’s charter shall result in robbing them of a bright future.

The Movement Against Charter Change Youth Alliance (MATCHA) said among proposed changes that will severely impact the youth are plans to approve total foreign ownership of educational institutions that are feared to hamper quality education and intensify campus repression.

“Gusto natin ng nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented education. Hindi natin ‘yun makakamit under Marcos, lalo na ‘pag naipasa ‘yung cha-cha,” MATCHA convenor and Philippine Collegian journalist Gie Rodelas said in an interview.

“Commercialized na ‘yung education natin at ‘pag pumasok pa ‘yung foreign ownership, lalo lang mapa-privatize ‘yung educational institutions,” Rodelas added.

The convenor explained that 100% foreign ownership of educational institutions will lead to regular tuition increase as well as constriction of academic freedom due to business considerations.

Launched last month, MATCHA is composed of student councils, campus publications and student organizations as founding members.

MATCHA declared it is a multi-sectoral youth alliance against the government’s “deceptive, anti-Filipino and self-serving efforts for charter change.”

After weeks of silence amid bickering members of both houses of Congress, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. finally came out in support of moves to change the country’s charter, ostensibly its economic provisions to allow for greater foreign ownership of business, including education.

MATCHA however said it will not be farfetched to assume that legislators moving to change the constitution would also lift term limits of elected officials, including the president.

“We don’t want Marcos to extend his power. Ngayon pa lang na two years pa lang tayo under Marcos, ramdam na natin yung repression [at] hindi naman umuunlad ang Pilipinas,” Rodelas said.

Rodelas encouraged the Filipino youth and student organizations to join MATCHA, announcing academic freedom and other education campaigns alongside opposition to charter change.

MATCHA noted the Marcoses have a history of changing constitutions to extend their term of office.

In 1972, the late dictator and the current president’s father Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law and created a new constitution, extending his term to a total of 21 years before being ousted in a popular uprising in 1986. #

SERYE BABAE: Hinagpis ng isang ina’t hamon sa kababaihang biktima ng dahas ng Estado

Ni Nuel M. Bacarra

Naalala ko ngayong buwan ng kababaihan ang isang kanta ng aking ina noong siya’y nabubuhay pa. Ani ng kanyang awit: “Mahirap nga pala itong mahirap / Api-apihan sa pagliyag / Mayaman sa dusang masasaklap / at aliwan ng dusa’t bagabag.”

Bagamat tila sagot ito sa isang harana, larawan ito ng pagtitiis ng mga ina, na siyang sariling danas at katangian ng aking ina. Hindi dumadaing kahit nahihirapan at sagad sa buto ang pagtatrabaho para sa pamilyang itinataguyod ng nag-iisa. Single parent ang siyang tawag ngayon sa mga katulad niya.

Ngunit nais kong bigyang halaga ngayon ang mga ina at kababaihan. Hindi maitatatwa ninuman ang kanilang papel sa buhay ninuman. Karaniwang katawagan na kabiyak sila ng buhay, ilaw ng tahanan ng isang pamilya. Sila ang punlaan ng buhay na nagluluwal ng mga anak na siyang magtutuloy ng lahi.

May mga babaeng tipong Maria Clara. Meron din namang tulad ni Gabriela Silang. Meron ding naghuhubad na para lang kumita at meron ding nagpapayaman lamang gamit ang bulok na pulitikang namamayani sa bansa.

Sa kasalukuyan, hindi na solong gawain ng kababaihan ang magluto, maglaba, mag-alaga ng mga anak, mamalengke, maglinis ng bahay o magtrabaho sa mga upisina at paggawaan. Malayo na ang inabot ng pakikibaka ng kababaihan sa buong mundo pagdating sa paglaya nila sa tradisyunal na konsepto sa papel ng kababaihan sa buhay. Mayroon nang mga drayber ng bus, dyip, traysikel at habal-habal, mga welder, construction worker, piloto, sundalong sumasabak sa gera at samutsari pang gawain sa ibang bansa.

Isa na rito si Rodaliza Baltazar. Babae. Ina.

Isa siyang babaeng katuwang ng asawa na nagtataguyod sa pamilya sa pamamagitan ng pagiging overseas Filipino worker (OFW) sa Middle East. Ina siya na nagsasakripisyong mawalay sa mga anak para lamang matiyak ang magandang kinabukasan. Nais niyang maging marino o seaman ang pinaslang niyang anak na bunso. Magpapadala pa sana siya ng pera sa kanya bilang regalo kahit nakalipas na ang kaarawan niya noong paslangin ito.

Umuwi sa bansa si Rodaliza noong Agosto 11, 2023  dahil napatay at “napagkamalan lamang” si Jerhode, 17 taong gulang at mas kilala bilang si Jemboy. Inakala ng mga pulis na ang menor de edad ay suspek sa isang kaso ng  pagpatay. Gumuho ang pangarap ni Rodaliza para kay Jemboy at nagpasya itong huwag nang bumalik sa Qatar para tutukan ang paghahanap ng hustisya.

Nitong Pebrero 28, dalawang araw bago ang buwan ng kababaihan, tila pinatakan ng asin at kalamansi sa sugat sa puso ng pamilya. Nag-baba ng desisyon ang Regional Trial Court 286 ng Navotas ang kaso na hindi katanggap-tanggap sa pamilya.

“Lima silang makakalaya, isa lang ‘yung na-convict, tapos apat na taon lang. Pero ‘yung anak ko habambuhay siyang wala na,” hinagpis ni Rodaliza. Isa na namang kaso ito ng tila hindi pantay pagtimbang ng batas. Mula sa kasong murder, ginawa lamang itong homicide. Sentensyado si Staff Sgt. Gerry Maliban, PNP, at pinagbabayad ng tig-₱50,000.00 na bayad-pinsala kaugnay ng pananagutang sibil at moral. Ayon pa sa Huwes, “Walang dudang ginampanan lamang ni PSSgt. Maliban ang kanyang tungkulin sa pangyayari.”

“Hindi ba nila alam yung itsura nung hinuhuli nila? Tapos yung anak ko yung pinagbabaril nila, tapos pinabayaan nila sa ilog,” hinagpis ni Rodaliza.

Maraming katanungan ang namutawi sa labi ng mamamayan sa nangyari kay Jemboy. Bakit hindi muna nag-imbestiga ang mga pulis sa tinarget nila na nasa ilog? Bakit ninais na palabasin pa nila na may dalang baril at droga ang biktima, tulad ng testimonya ng kaibigan ni Jemboy na pinaglalabas siya ng salaysay para sabihing may dalang baril at droga noon ang pinaslang? Mga tanong ng pagdududa, ng paghahanap ng mga karagdagang impormasyon, ng patas na imbestigasyon, ng katiyakan bago kumitil ng buhay at, higit sa lahat, katarungan.

Maging ang estado ay hindi rin mapakali sa naging desisyon ng korte. May pabalat-bungang utos naman si Justice Sec. Jesus Crispin Remulla kay Justice Asst. Sec. Jose Dominic Clavano na repasuhin ang kasong ito dahil mukhang may mali sa desisyon at kung gayon ay maaaring mag-apela.

Ayon naman kay Clavano, batay sa inisyal nilang pag-aaral, may mga kailangang argumento para kwestyunin ang desisyon tulad ng elemento ng pagsasabwatan, kapasyahang pumatay, at ng pagiging makatwiran ng aksyong ginawa ng mga pulis.

Ang lahat ng ito ay panibagong hiwa sa puso ng nagdadalamhating ina, maging ng buong pamilya. Hindi na kayang sukatin ng dami ng luha at tindi ng hinagpis, ni ng mga pampalubag-loob para lamang pagtakpan ang kawalang-katarungan.

Hindi nag-iisa si Rodaliza Baltazar sa ganitong sinapit—isang inang naulila ng anak na biktima ng dahas ng estado. Hindi biro ang mga binitiwan niyang salita na larawan ng dalamhati at pagpupuyos sa desisyon ng korte kaugnay sa kaso ng pagpatay kay Jemboy. Ani Rodaliza, “Nararamdaman ko ngayon at ng pamilya ko ang sakit dahil inaasahan namin na anim silang mahahatulang may sala subalit kabaligtaran ang nangyari.”

Isang araw matapos ang pagbababa ng hatol ng korte, dagdag ni Rodaliza sa isang press briefing sa Senado: “Tila pinatay nila nang paulit-ulit ang anak ko dahil sa desisyon ng korte sa anim na pulis. Napakasakit nito para sa aming pamilya. Napakahirap talagang makakuha ng katarungan kung ikaw ay mahirap.”

Ramdam ko sa aking kaibuturan ang sakit na nararamdaman ni Rodaliza. Nakikita ko sa kanya ang wangis ng sarili kong ina.

Marami pang pamilya, hindi lamang ang kababaihan, ang dumaranas ng iba’t ibang uri ng pisikal, emosyunal at mental na karamdaman dahil sa matitinding dagok sa buhay. Maaaring ito ay aksidente, bunga ng pagkakasakit, mga maling desisyon sa buhay, mga suliraning hindi hinaharap nang mabuti o anupaman.

Subalit kung ang trahedya ay bunga ng patakarang ipinapataw ng estado sa mamamayan, tulad halimbawa ng pambobomba sa mga komunidad sa kanayunan, ekstrahudisyal na pamamasalang, sapilitang pagkawala, at iba pang paglabag sa mga karapatang pantao, para lamang malubos ang sabwatan, lansakang pagyurak sa mga saligang karapatan at para lamang may masabing may ginagawa ang pulisya at militar, hindi ito kailanman magiging katanggap-tanggap. Marapat itong tutulan at labanan.

Ang pagpaslang sa kanilang bunso at ang tila kawalan ng hustisya para kay Jemboy ang nagbubukas sa pintuan para kay Rodaliza at kanyang pamilya para humanay sa mamamayang naggigiit ng katarungan, kapayapaan at pagbabago ng sistema ng ating lipunan. Hindi dapat pahintulutang mamayagpag ang pwersa ng estado sa paggawa ng krimen laban sa mamamayan, ang inhustisya at kawalang-pananagutan sa mga kaso ng paglabag sa mga saligang karapatan ng mamamayan. Laging may paraan at angkop na entabaldo para lumaban na kasama ang nakikibakang taumbayan.

Ang mga inang naghahangad ng magandang bukas sa mga anak ay hindi dapat manahimik. Bagkus ay kailangang maging dagdag na tinig para sa hustisya, kaunlaran at pagbabago ng lipunan. #

= = = = =

Ang pitak na ito ay una sa serye ng awtor para ngayong Marso, buwan ng kababaihan.

[KODAO KLASIK] ‘Sayaw sa Bubog’ by Chickoy Pura of The Jerks, Nato Reyes of BAYAN

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the EDSA People Power revolt that ousted the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who was replaced by Corazon Aquino of the landlord class. The Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government did not bother to declare today as an official holiday.

This performance by Chickoy Pura of The Jerks and Renato Reyes Jr. of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan was performed in a Benigno Aquino ouster rally in March 20, 2015. The song warns against blindly placing one’s hopes for social change in members of the ruling elite.

There have been two Marcoses and two Aquinos as presidents.

Bar passer, 4 NPA comrades massacred by AFP—CPP

[CLARIFICATION: Ms Cesista deliberately chose not to take the oath and sign the roll of lawyers after passing the bar examinations last year. Instead, she chose to join the NPA full time. Technically, she was not a lawyer.]

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) accused the Philippine Army of massacre that killed a bar examinations passer and her four New People’s Army (NPA) comrades in Bilar, Bohol last Friday, February 23.

In a statement on its website, the CPP said the 47th Infantry Battalion (47IB) of the Philippine Army and the Bohol Philippine National Police (PNP) captured bar passer Hannah Cesista, Domingo Compoc, Parlio Historia, Marlon Omusura and Alberto Sancho in a house they stayed in Sitio Matin-ao 2, Barangay Campagao Friday morning.

“Contrary to international laws of war, the victims were tortured and killed,” the CPP said.

CPP’s statement was accompanied by a photo of Compoc, alledgedly a top CPP leader in the province, while being held captive by a government soldier.

Compoc, 60, was tortured in front of residents despite suffering from arthritis. He was hacked at his neck and torso, the CPP said.

The group added that according to a witness, young lady lawyer Cesista was ordered to crawl on mud before being executed.

Authorities said the five were killed in a three-hour gun battle that also killed a Police Corporal Gilbert Amper.

The CPP however insisted the NPA fighters were captured alive and publicly executed to intimidate the residents from supporting the guerrilla army.

The residents were also ordered to leave after the crime, the group further revealed.

It added that the so-called scene-of-the-crime report by the police is an attempt at whitewashing the massacre, also citing the statements given by the PNP over local radio stations that the victims put up a fight while being served a warrant of arrest.

“The 47th IB and the Bohol PNP, the AFP and the PNP leadership, as well as (President Ferdinand) Marcos himself are liable for this war crime and must be prosecuted and punished,” CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said.

Tribute to a martyred lawyer

Meanwhile, revolutionary youth group Kabataang Makabayan (KM) paid tribute to fellow youth Cesista.

In a statement Saturday, the group said it salutes Cesista and her four other comrades who shall serve as “fuel to the revolutionary flame in our hearts that can never be extinguished until the national democratic aspirations they offered their lives for are achieved.”

“We particularly raise our fists to our fellow youth, Hannah Jay “Ka Maya” Cesista, whose revolutionary martyrdom serves as inspiration in expressing our militancy through joining the ranks of the NP,” KM said.

“Her pursuit of championing human rights took her to the difficult path of armed struggle after witnessing state fascism and terrorism and, by extension reactionary law, as but utilities of the ruling class to exploit and oppress the people,” it added.

KM said Cesiste offered her expertise and intellect to strengthen the revolutionary ranks of the NPA in Bohol.

“Ka Maya’s life was far from wasted. In fact, she has proven, along with the thousands of martyred Red fighters, that the revolution continues through the ceaseless flow of new blood from the youth who are radicalized in the cities and the countryside, eager for genuine national democracy and lasting peace,” KM said.

Who was Atty. Cesista?

The slain NPA fighter was a graduate of the Political Science Department of the University of the Philippines-Cebu, trained in different theories that shaped her worldviews and analysis, a Kodao source wrote.

Cesista was a member of various campus organizations, including Youth For Christ-UP Cebu Chapter, Cebu Students for Justice and Peace, and Kabataan Partylist-UP Cebu.

She integrated into the different sectors in Central Visayas where she was further exposed to worsening conditions and plights of the basic sectors, the source said.

Cesista then proceeded to law school at the University of San Carlos (USC) and volunteered as a paralegal for human rights groups.

Earlier, AFP Visayas Command mistakenly described the victim as a University of Cebu (UC) – Banilad Campus law alumna, prompting Dean Ria Lidia Espina to issue a correction.

“On behalf of the University of Cebu School of Law, we would like to extend our condolences to the family and send prayers for the eternal repose of her soul, though she was not a UC Law graduate,” Espina said in a Manila Bulletin report.

Philippine Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala also alleged Cesista became an NPA fighter in 2020 at a time when the victim was a full time law student in Cebu.

As a USC law student, Cesista spent her free time volunteering giving free human rights and paralegal workshops to poor communities.

She was also one of the pioneer members of the National Union of People’s Lawyers Students-Cebu Chapter and was elected as secretary-general.

Cesista graduated in 2022 and passed the bar in 2023. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

(Updated: 28 February)

UST-OSA takedown of ‘controversial’ photo exposes long-standing student repression

By Maujerie Ann Miranda

The University of Santo Tomas’ Office of Student Affairs’ (UST-OSA) takedown of a student publication’s photo exposed the systematic student repression inside the campus, journalist Leo Laparan II said.

In an interview, Laparan, a journalism professor at the university who resigned as the publication’s adviser to protest the decision, shared that the takedown of the “controversial photo” goes beyond the issue of media censorship.

Last February 16, the UST-OSA had a photo of two College of Information and Computing Sciences students in front of a convenience store taken down because it alleged it has become a source of “public ridicule.”

The photo went viral as it showed the uniform’s likeness to the outfit worn by 7/11 workers.

TomasinoWeb, the online student publication that posted the photo in an album, was also asked to issue a public apology or face closure by school authorities.

The humorous TomasinoWeb photo UST-OSA did not find funny.

Media censorship

Laparan revealed that this is the fifth time under his advisory of TomasinoWeb that UST-OSA censored the publication.

“Matagal nang kinikitil ng OSA ang dapat ay malayang pamamahayag ng TomasinoWeb,” Laparan said.

UST-OSA also censored TomasinoWeb posts on the jeepney phase out struggle, student comments on student activities and a photo of LGBTQ+ couple, the lecturer added.

Laparan said TomasinoWeb was also not allowed to cover the university’s Homecoming Walk.

TomasinoWeb executive editor Miguel Angelo Sumalinog added that the UST-OSA only considers TomasinoWeb as a student organization even if “by nature, the work that we do falls under the publication category.”

“Being under OSA didn’t really stop us from producing news content that’s different from the likes of The Varsitarian or The Flame. Some complications that we do face however is that sometimes we don’t get invited to as much events as the others and some content that we put out, like the current trending one, are being stopped or asked to take down,” Sumalinog revealed.

Laparan said that it is very difficult for a media organization to be under a very controlling and restrictive office such as the UST-OSA.

Thomasian students’ reaction to UST-OSA’s media censorship and repressive policies. (Panday Sining-UST photo)

School intervention, intimidation

Laparan said that the issue exposed student repression in the university.

“‘Di lang Tomasinoweb ang nakakaranas niyan. Maraming student organization ang kinikitil ng OSA,”  he added.

He said that the office requires student organizations to submit documents for events months before the actual date, only for the approval to be delayed.

Laparan said, “Ang aga sinasabmit pero ang tagal natutulog sa opisina ng OSA. ‘Di ba malaking problema yun sa mga estudyante na walang magawa kundi sumunod?”

Meanwhile, a student leader who participated in a condemnation rally last February 19 against the TomasinoWeb takedown was ordered to submit show cause letters by the UST-OSA.

Panday Sining-UST chairperson Raven Racelis revealed that the office ordered her to submit proof that they did not violate the university’s code of conduct in attending the rally outside the campus.

She said that the administration had been witch hunting and intimidating students for a long time.

Anakbayan UST chairperson Allen Ballesteros received a similar order last year, demanding they explain why he joined a so-called unrecognized organization.

Racelis said that in 2021, then Grade 12 student Datu Zaldy “Shoti” Ampatuan was dismissed for joining an organization not sanctioned by the school.

The student activist also said that the UST administration had long been intervening in student organization activities.

She cited the recent postponement of a Faculty of Arts and Letters concert in fear of the event turning out to be a venue to protest student censorship, she added.

“Hindi kinikilala ‘yung kapangyarihan ng mga kabataan na pamunuan ‘yung buong student body. Kahit yung Central Student Council (CSC) ay pinipigilan ng OSA na maglabas ng mga ‘politikal’ na mga statement,” Racelis shared.

Student initiatives such as the student code containing the rights of Thomasians and the CSC Constitutional Revision systematizing student leadership were difficult to process, also revealed.

“Wala daw kakayahan ang mga estudyante na bumuo ng mga polisiya,” the student leader said.

Thomasian students’ reaction to UST-OSA’s media censorship and repressive policies. (Panday Sining-UST photo)

Reflection of education system

Racelis said that recent developments in one of the country’s oldest universities are a reflection of the colonial, commercialized and repressive system of education in the Philippines.

She added that UST was originally built to pacify students during the Spanish colonization and is still continuing this orientation.

“Tinuturuan nilang maging tuta ang mga estudyante,” she said.

Laparan for his part said that the UST-OSA is going against the mandate of the university to nurture students.

“Tinatakot ang mga estudyante, hinahayaan maging sunud-sunuran lang. Paano mahuhubog ang mga talento at husay ng mga ‘yan?,” the journalist lecturer asked.

Continuing clamor

Laparan demanded accountability, saying that UST-OSA director Maria Cecilia A. Tio Cuison and her deputy should step down.

“Hindi dapat binibigyan ng kapangyarihan ang mga mapanggipit, mapaniil, at lango sa kapangyarihan,” he said.

Racelis said her organization supports Laparan’s call, adding however that the university must amend its policies on students.

“Kahit na sinong ipalit mo na opisyal sa pamantasan nandiyan pa rin ang pananakot at panunupil dahil ang problema ay hindi ‘yung tao kundi ‘yung sistema na kailangan natin baguhin,” she added.

The student activist said UST students should also demand for a nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented (NSMO) system of education as a solution to repressive school policies.

“Sa NSMO, hinuhubog ‘yung mga kabataang estudyante hindi para maging cheap and docile labor force at maging tuta na lamang. Huhubugin ang mga kabataang estudyante na maging makabayan at tuloy-tuloy na maglingkod sa malawak na hanay ng sambayanan,” she explained.

UST students and alumni meanwhile have mobilized to provide support to TomasinoWeb, condemning media censorship and student repression.

Student organizations held rallies at UST’s P. Noval gate while the alumni have signed unity statements condemning UST-OSA’s decisions.

Students also held a black mask event at the UST Grandstand and a prayer vigil in the front of the Arch of the Centuries last February 23, the first rally held inside the campus in nearly seven years. #