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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)

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[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.

[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.

Mga boladas sa pakanang ChaCha

Ni Nuel M. Bacarra

Sa dinaranas na mataas na presyo ng mga bilihin na tinutuwangan pa ng kawalan ng dagdag na kita o sahod, hibahib na si Juan dela Cruz sa kakakayod sa lansangan para lamang makaraos. Pinapasan niya ang krisis sa ekonomya na pinalalala ng mga garapal na patakarang pabor sa dayuhan at mga kapitalista at ng mga palsong hakbang ng pamunuan para sa pansariling interes.

Nakapako ang sahod ng manggagawa. Ang mga nagsitaasang presyo ng mga batayang bilihin tulad ng bigas, gulay, isda at marami pang iba ay natural na tendensya ng patakarang iasa sa importasyon para matugunan ang batayang mga pangangailangan ng bansa. Ang mga lokal na prodyuser ng mga produktong agrikultural ay ibayong pinahihirapan pa ng laganap na ismagling na siyang namamayagpag sa pagpapabaha ng mga angkat na produkto sa merkado. Kaya kung may anunsyo ng ayuda, asahang pipilahan ito ni Juan.

Sa isang taon at siyam na buwang panunungkulan ng pangkating Marcos Jr., kalabisan nang singilin ang rehimen kung nasaan na ang ipinangako nitong ₱20 na kilo ng bigas. Hindi ito plataporma kundi buladas ng isang tipikal na politiko. Ngayon, may bagong pambubuladas na muling inilalako sa mamamayan na gagastusan ng bilyun-bilyon na hindi maglulutas ng krisis sa ekonomya bagkus ay ibayo pang magsasapanganib sa lupa, kabuhayan, kalayaan at kasarinlan ng bansa—ang planong pagbago ng konstitusyon o Charter Change (ChaCha).

(Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Mamamayan ang puhunan sa pag-unlad

Kahit ang karaniwang masa sa kalsada ay nagsasabing hindi ang konstitusyon ang problema kundi ang mga pulitiko na may hawak ng kapangyarihan. Panis na ang linyang “para ito sa kaunlaran ng bansa.” Kung nais sana ng kaunlaran, dapat mamuhunan ang pamahalaan sa mamamayan na siyang tunay na tagapaglikha ng yaman ng bansa.

Dapat paunlarin, suportahan at pakilusin ang pinaka-produktibong pwersa ng lipunan na walang iba kundi ang mga magsasaka at manggagawa.

Hindi pa rin nagbabago ang komposisyon ng lipunan sa loob ng ilang dekada. Ang magsasaka pa rin ang dominanteng uri sa usapin ng bilang na aabot pa rin sa 70%. Kung lulutasin ang problema nila ng kawalan o kakulangan sa lupa, mas magiging produktibo sila at tiyak na uunlad dahil ang malaking bahagdan na dating inaangkin ng mga panginoong maylupa sa pamamagitan ng mataas na upa sa lupa, ng mga kumprador at usurero, sa pamamagitan ng mataas na interes sa pautang ay mapupunta na sa kanila.

Dahil pinakamalaking bilang sila ng bansa, sisigla ang mga industriya dahil magiging pangunahing konsyumer sila ng mga produkto nito ng mga pagawaan. Sila ang magtutulak sa bansa para mag-industriyalisa. Ang tunay na reporma sa lupa ang magpipihit ng direksyon para sa tunay na industriyalisadong pagsulong.

Kailangan ding ilapit sa tunay na pangangailangan ng mga manggagawa ang sahod nila. Kung pananatilihin ang sahod na nakasayad sa antas lamang ng “kape at pandesal,” na kundisyon ng pagpapatuloy lamang ng sikdo ng dibdib para huminga at makapagtrabahong muli, patuloy ang pagkabansot ang industriya.

Ang silbi ng mga manggagawa at magsasaka sa kasalukuyan ay tagalikha ng yaman ng mga kapitalistang dayuhan at lokal at pagtugon sa kapritso ng naghaharing uri.

Kailangang iwaksi ng pamahalaan ang pagsunod sa dikta ng dayuhan upang maiangat ang sarili tungo sa pag-unlad. Sa paglikha ng mga produkto para sariling pangangailangan ang susi. Bilang isang agrikultural na bansa, nakapanlulumo na inaangkat natin sa ibang bansa ang bigas, asukal, asin, maging isda (sa kabila ng pagiging pulu-pulo ng bansa natin) at gulay mula sa mga kanugnog na bansa. Hindi wasto na tinutugunan natin ang pangangailangan ng ibang bansa sa kapinsalaan ng lokal na produksyon para sa sariling pangangailangan na siyang susi para sariling industriyalisasyon.

(Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Mga kontra-mahirap na batas

Ano pa nga bang dapat asahan sa naghaharing uri? Interesado lamang sila kung ano ang pabuya sa kanila ng mga among imperyalista para sa pananatili sa poder at gamitin ito para makapagpayaman. Hindi kailangang baguhin ang konstitusyon ng Pilipinas dahil lamang sa ambisyon sa pulitika ng mga nagsusulong nito. Bagamat hindi sapat ang mga probisyong nagbibigay ng proteksyon sa mamamayan, agrikultura at industriya sa kasalukuyang konstitusyon, ang mga panukalang pagbabago rito ay lantarang ibayong magsasadlak sa bansa sa kahirapan sa pamamagitan ng todo-largang pagbubukas ng ekonomya sa dayuhang pagmamay-ari at pamumuhunan at pagtanggal sa mga probisyong nagpoprotekta sa lokal na industriya, agrikultura at sa mamamayan. Dagdag na papasanin na naman ito ng mga Juan at Juana bukod pa sa dati nang nariyan.

Nang isabatas ang Rice Tariffication Law o R.A. 11203, inilarga nito ang todo-todong importasyon ng bigas ng mga sindikato sa loob at labas ng gubyerno at lumumpo sa lokal na produksyon ng bigas. Nagdiwang ang malalaking korporasyon sa yutilidad sa pagsasabatas ng R.A. 9136 na mas kilala bilang Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA). Kanya-kanya ang kooperatiba sa kuryente sa pagtataas ng bayarin sa nakokonsumo ng publikong tagatangkilik. Tuliro ang sambayanang Pilipino nang isabatas ang Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act ng 1998 o R.A. 8479 dahil hindi na bumaba ang presyo ng mga produktong petrolyo sa nakaraang 25 taon taliwas sa propaganda ng gobyerno ng episyenteng regulasyon para mapababa ang presyo nito. Habang tila naman nanunuhol pa ang pamahalaan sa malalaking lokal at dayuhang negosyante noong panahon ng pandemya nang isabtabatas ang Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act o R.A. 11534 para diumano bigyan ng kaluwagan ang mga korporasyon sa mga bayaring buwis at makaakit pa ng pamumuhunan. Ang dating 30% buwis sa kita na ipinapataw sa mga korporasyon ay ibinababa sa 25% na lamang.

Sa ganitong tunguhin ng mga mga sinasabing batas para sa kaunlaran, hindi ito para sa mamamayan. Patuloy itong nilalabanan at hinahamon ng mga tunay na nagmamalasakit sa bansa. Ngayon, muling nahaharap ang bansa sa isang hamon ng katinuan kung talagang kailangang- kailangang baguhin ang konstitusyon.

(Larawan ni N. Bacarra/Kodao)

Galaw ng dayuhang kapangyarihan

Ang pagiging pursigido ng mga kongresista sa ilalim ni House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez at ng mga senador na isulong ang ChaCha, bagamat magkaiba ang nais na pamamaraan, ay udyok ng dayuhang kapangyarihan na pumaypay sa apoy na pansariling interes na makapanatili sa poder at para sa pagpapayaman. Kahit pabor lamang diumano si Presidente Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa mga pang-ekonomyang probisyon, hindi maipagkakaila ang ganap na basbas niya sa pagbago ng konstitusyon dahil nasa interes niya ang manatili sa poder para buhayin pa rin ang imahe ng pamilya nila na hindi niya kakayaning gawin sa saklaw ng kanyang kasalukuyang termino. Buhay pa rin sa diwa ng mamamayan ang popular na pag-aalsa sa EDSA na siyang pangunahing dahilan sa pagkakaroon ng konstitusyon ng 1987. Gayunpaman, hindi ito inisyatibang bunga ng malasakit ng rehimeng Marcos Jr. sa bansa kundi lantad na maniobra para sa sariling kapakanan at tagapagpaganap ng programa ng dayuhan sa mas malaking saklaw.

Ang agresibo at butangerong postura ng China sa West Philippines Sea (WPS) ay reaskyon nito sa ginagawang pang-uupat ng gera ng US sa pamnamagitan ng mga ehersisyong militar sa Pilipinas, pagtatayo ng mga basa militar at pagmobilisa sa iba pang bansa kontra China. Paghahanda ito ng US sakaling okupahin ng China ang Taiwan.

Mula sa dating limang base militar sa ilalim ng kasunduang Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) noong 2014, sa maagang bahagi ng panunungkulan ni Presidente Marcos Jr, noong Abril 2023, idinagdag ang apat pang lugar para sa pagtatayo ng mga base militar ng US sa bansa na nakapwesto sa mga estratehikong lugar na malapit sa Taiwan. At nakatanggap ang rehimeng Marcos Jr. nang $100 milyong “pabuya” mula sa US.

Kaya kapag tumindi ang alitan sa pagitan ng US at China kaugnay sa Taiwan na maaaring lumundo sa aktwal na gera, hindi na kailangang pumunta pa ang mga aircraft carrier at jet fighters ng USsa mga base militar nito sa Japan at Guam para sa refueling dahil seserbisyuhan na sila sa mga base militar na nasa Lallo at Sta. Ana sa Cagayan at Gamu, Isabela o ng dalawa pang base militar ng US sa Palawan na nakaharap sa China. Agresibo itong ginagawa ng US dahil nasa balangkas pa ito ng programang “Asia Pivot” ng dating rehimeng Barrack Obama. Kaya asahan nang iigting pa rin ang pagiging butangero at agresibo ng China sa WPS.

Samantala, kapag ibinukas ang syento porsyentong pag-aari ng lupa at negosyo ng dayuhan dito sa bansa sa pamamagitan ng pagbago sa konstitusyon, ang mga komunidad ng mga pambansang minorya at mga lupain ng mga magsasaka ay maaaring maging pag-aari ng mga dayuhan para maging instrumento sa gera bilang mga base militar o ng mga dayuhang negosyo para sa ibayong pagsasamantala.

Malinaw na ang rehimeng Marcos Jr. ay tuta ng US kontra kay Duterte na maka-China. Ang pagkatig ng dating Pangulong Duterte sa China at ang banta nitong ipawalambisa ang Visiting Forces Agreement sa pagitan ng US at Pilipinas ay larawan ng pulitika sa bansa na nakaangkla sa kumpas at basbas ng dayuhang kapangyarihan.  Ang ganitong hanayan ng malalaking pulitiko ay magkakahugis nang lubos sa darating na eleksyon sa 2025 at 2028 at kung anong kahihinatnan ng impestigasyon ng International Criminal Court na tila nagiging armas ng rehimeng Marcos Jr kontra kay dating pangulong Rdorigo Duterte.

(Bulatlat photo)

Tumindig at lumaban

Ang isang anim na taong termino ng isang presidente sa pwesto na nakasaad sa saligang batas ay sapat na upang patunayan ang kanyang kakayanang pamunuan at paunlarin ang bansa. Dahil kung kung may ekstensyon, pag-upo pa lamang sa pwesto, ang magiging prayoridad ng nakaupong presidente ay pagplanuhan na kung paano muling mananalo sa susunod na eleksyon.

Ang isang anim na taong termino ng presidente ay mekanismo ng konstitusyon para hindi maabuso ang kapangyarihan para sa pansariling interes.

Sa manera ng kondukta ng ChaCha, katakut-takot na ang anomalya para ihirit ito sa pamamagitan ng People’s Initiative na isang paraan na nasa konstitusyon mismo para baguhin ito. Ginamit ang pondo ng bayan, nangako ng ayuda na inireklamo na ni Juan dela Cruz na matapos makapirma ay nananatiling pangako lamang. Nasa yugto ngayon ang mamamayang nalinlang ng pakanang ito na bawiin ang pirma nila para hindi sila maging bahagi ng 12% na kailangan sa buong bansa para baguhin ang konstitusyon. Huwad ito kung gayon!

Ang Konstitusyon ng 1987 ay bunga ng pakikibaka ng mamamayan na nagpabagsak sa diktadurang US-Marcos noong 1986. Ginulantang ng pakikibakang ito ang kalakhan ng daigdig. Ito ay turo ng kasaysayan at aral na marapat isapuso laban sa mga mapagsamantala at mapang-api at sa mga pagtatangkang lapastanganin ang mga karapatan ng taumbayan.

Batbat ng anomalya ang mga isinasalaksak na pamamaraan para baguhin ang konstitusyon na ibayong naglalantad rito kung para kanino ito. Kailangang tumindig at labanan ito ng mamamayan.

Mayaman ang karanasan ng sambayanang Pilipino sa pakikibaka at sa pagkakataong ito, kumakaway ang pangangailangang isalba ang bansa sa nakaambang banta ng ibayong pagpapalakas ng kontrol ng dayuhan sa bansa at pagsasamantala sa mamamayang Pilipino dahil sa pagbago ng konstitusyon. #

IRENE KHAN: Red-tagging remains common under Marcos

“The practice is not new. State forces have practiced it for decades and was intensified, online and offline, under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, especially with the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). It has been reported by the National Human Rights Commission and by several reputable international organizations, including OHCHR in 2020 and 2022 and the ILO High Level Mission last year….While the practice was particularly rampant under the previous administration, it remains common also in this administration, though at a lower level.” —UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan (February 2, 2024)

(Image by Jo Maois Mamangun)

[THIS IS THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF NOTABLE STATEMENTS MADE BY UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND OPINION IRENE KHAN ON HER INVESTIGATION IN THE PHILIPPINES]

New AFP spox contradicts Marcos, amuses CPP

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is only amused at inconsistencies in pronouncements made by government officials about the strength of the New People’s Army (NPA), its chief information officer said.

In a statement Wednesday, CPP officer Marco Valbuena said it was quite amusing to observe how new Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla contradicted her commander in chief President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. a few days into her new job.

In repeating the annual AFP announcement it will eliminate the NPA by the end of the year, the new spokesperson “already sounded like a broken record,” Valbuena said.

In a press briefing last Monday, Padilla said the AFP vows to defeat the NPA by the end of 2024, a promise made anew in the military’s first command conference of the New Year.

“We were given specific deadlines to do such.  So within a span of a year, we are looking at eliminating the threat of the internal insurgency situation,” Padilla said.

Valbuena however pointed out that Marcos himself declared only last January 13 that there are no more NPA fronts, which Brawner in turn rebuffed

“What was interesting, however, is the fact that she issued her statement just days after Marcos, their commander-in-chief, declared that ‘there are no more NPA fronts,’” Valbuena said.

AFP chief of staff Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner himself rebuffed Marcos two days later by saying the NPA has “eleven weakened fronts,” instead of zero.

“To say the least, these disconnected statements reveal inconsistencies in the Marcos government’s public assessment of the state of the revolutionary armed movement, arising from contradictions in its self-serving objectives,” Valbuena said.

Neither declaration of having strategically defeated the NPA after 55 years or eliminating it can cover up the AFP’s ongoing military offensives and large-scale military operations across the country, Valbuena said.

The CPP officer added that the AFP continues to squander hundreds of billions of public funds in a strategy bound to fail in ending the civil war, he added.

Valbuena explained that the AFP’s annual declaration of crushing the NPA always fails because its strategy results in worsening forms of human rights and international humanitarian law violations.

He added that civilians remain the main targets of AFP’s operation through brutal suppression extrajudicial killings, rounding up people and parading them as “surrenderees,” looting, encampment amid civilian communities, curfews and other arbitrary restrictions on people’s movements and economic activity, food blockades, checkpoints, aerial bombing, artillery shelling and other bloody and dirty tactics.

“The vain objective is to break the people’s spirit and make them cower to submission. The result is the opposite,” he said.

Valbuena cited the recent killings of peasant activists Boy Baloy and Ernesto Torres in Negros Occidental by the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army who claimed the victims were NPA fighters killed in an armed encounter.

Such crimes help make the NPA numbers grow amid the CPP’s new rectification campaign launched last December, Valbuena said.

“All in all, we anticipate steady growth during the rest of the year and succeeding period…the Filipino people have no other recourse but to intensify their revolutionary mass movement and armed resistance,” the CPP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Groups slam ‘EDSA-pwera’ video as deceitful, misleading

Survivors of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s martial law dubbed as deceitful and misleading the advertisement alleging the 1987 Philippine Constitution is to blame for the country’s poverty and the government’s corruption.

The group Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) in a statement said the “EDSA-pwera” (left-out) campaign that seeks amendments to the Constitution said personalities behind it are also “grossly anti-people.”

“What they think of as witty wordplay is not only misleading but deceitful,” CARMMA in a statement said, adding that the ad also falsely claims that Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship was an era of economic prosperity in the Philippines.

Released as signature-buying sprees for a so-called people’s initiative for charter change have been reported, the ad said it is time to discuss amendments to the 1987 charter—also called the EDSA Constitution after the 1986 People Power uprising that ousted the Marcos Sr. dictatorship.

The ad, placed by the firm Gana Atienza Avizado Law, claims the Constitution encouraged neglect of social services, corruption and gross profiteering while prohibiting foreign ownership of lands and businesses, thus preventing economic progress.

But CARMMA said that while the 1987 Constitution does not fully represent the interest and demands of the people, the claims made in the video are a misrepresentation of the real problems of the people.

“In fact, this provision in the 1987 constitution was included to remedy the Marcos dictatorship’s unhampered exposure of the Philippine economy to foreign plunder, to the detriment of local production, especially manufacturing. This, coupled with the Marcos clique’s own rapacity, bled our country dry,” the group added.

Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III, a supporter of the People Power uprising, also called the video “untruthful and inaccurate,” adding the charter is not the problem but the people who implement it.

Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman, whose activist brother Atty. Harmon Lagman was disappeared under the Marcos dictatorship, also criticized the video, saying “”The ad is crudely crafted and there is nothing substantial conveyed in the message.”

“The ‘EDSA-pwera’ Charter Change ad campaign is part of the Marcos family’s continuing demonization of the EDSA People’s Power Revolution which ousted the Marcos dictatorship and helped install the ‘Cory Constitution’ or the present 1987 Philippine Constitution,” Lagman said. 

Meanwhile, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives said they are considering asking Congress to conduct investigations if public funds have been used in the production and broadcast of the video and signature-buying activities in Albay and Sorsogon provinces.

Gana Atienza Avizado Law said the ad is a private initiative by their “small law firm,” assisted by an advertising agency.

Website abogado.com.ph said the law firm counts among its clients political big-wigs such as the Romualdezes who are cousins with president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

CPP-NPA declares 2-day ceasefire

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) declared a two-day ceasefire effective Christmas Day and its 55th Anniversary, December 25 and 26, respectively.

In an announcement on its website, the CPP Central Committee as well as the New People’s Army (NPA) National Operational Command ordered all NPA units across the Philippines to suspend offensive military operations starting 00:01 of December 25 to 23:59 of December 26.

“The two-day ceasefire aims to allow the peasant masses and NPA units in their area to conduct assemblies, meetings or gatherings to celebrate the Party’s anniversary, look back at past achievements, and pay tribute to all heroes and martyrs of the Philippine revolution,” the announcement reads.

“This ceasefire declaration is also in solidarity with people’s traditional holiday celebrations,” it adds.

The CPP and NPA last declared a suspension of military operations in March 2020 in response to the global appeal by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres for an end to hostilities because of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier that month, then Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) President Rodrigo Duterte also announced his administration’s own ceasefire order in order to focus on its anti-Covid19 response.

The Ferdinand Marcos GRP has yet to respond to the new CPP-NPA ceasefire declaration.

Last month, the CPP-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the GRP simultaneously announced the signing of the November 23 Oslo Joint Statement revealing both parties have been engaged in a series of dialogue to look at the possibility of the resumption of formal peace negotiations between both parties.

In its ceasefire announcement today, the CPP and the NPA however cautioned all their units to remain alert “in the face of the relentless offensives, state terrorism and fascist crimes of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).”

“[A]ll units of the NPA are placed in high alert and must be vigilant and ready to act in self-defense to counter and frustrate hostile movement or actions of enemy units within the scope of the NPA’s guerrilla fronts and areas of operations. The NPA and the masses are advised to maintain a high level of secrecy in the conduct of their activities,” the announcement reads.

The NPA can resume its military offensive actions at 00:00 of December 27, it added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Jeepney strike paralyzes major Metro routes

PISTON says Marcos misleads public with 70% consolidation claim

Striking jeepney drivers and small operators declared a 90% paralysis of major routes in the National Capital Region on the first day of their to-day protest action against the abolition of their livelihood.

Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) also said 85% of several regions outside of the capital have also been paralyzed, forcing Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III to hold a dialogue with their leaders.

“We found out [from Guadiz] it is Bongbong Marcos who is pushing for consolidation of jeepney franchises on December 31. Now we know who to blame,” PISTON said in a statement.

The group also said President Marcos blatantly misled the public when he said that 70% of all jeepney franchises have already been consolidated under the government’s Public Utility Vehicles Modernization Program (PUVMP).

“Let their data speak for itself. There are 64,639 unconsolidated units nationwide, 30,862 of which are PUJs (public utility jeepneys) and 4,852 UV (utility vehicle) Express units in NCR,” PISTON said.

“This amounts to an estimated 60,000 PUJ drivers and 9,000 UV Express drivers; 25,000 PUJ operators; and 4,000 UV Express operators in NCR alone,” the group added.

Commuters along Commonwealth Avenue waiting for rides. (PISTON photo)

PISTON said Marcos’ decision to ban jeepneys and other forms of public transportation such as UV Express vans would result in a transport crisis starting January 1, 2024.

Major areas of Metro Manila saw a marked decrease in the number of plying public utility vehicles on the road on Thursday.

PISTON said their strike affected routes from Commonwealth in Quezon City in the north, Pasig in the east, Manila in the west, to Alabang in Muntinlupa in the south of the metropolis.

Longer commuter queue at the Pasig Central Market area. (PISTON photo)

Local government units and the Metro Manila Development Authority fielded hundred of buses throughout the metropolis, even as they sought to downplay the effect of the strike.

READ: WHY JEEPNEY DRIVERS ARE STRIKING

Meanwhile, various groups expressed solidarity with the strikers such as the Kilusang Mayo Uno, Concerned Seafarers of the Philippines, Rural Women’s Advocates, and even the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).

“ICHRP supports the call of drivers and operators to junk the PUVMP, and instead push for a genuinely pro-people modernization program, by supporting the development of the local jeepney manufacturing industry,” ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy in a statement said.

Various groups also joined PISTON members in their overnight vigil in front of the LTFRB headquarters in Quezon City Thursday night. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Marcos government no better than Duterte’s, rights defenders say

Like previous governments, the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration is failing to comply with its obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a human rights group said.

On the 75th anniversary of the signing of the international treaty last Sunday, December 10, human rights alliance Karapatan said the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government, much like the preceding Rodrigo Duterte regime, is committing various violations of human rights and the international humanitarian law amid widespread and intensifying poverty of Filipinos.

“Among the most violated is the right to life. As of November 2023, (we have) documented 87 extrajudicial killings in the course of the Marcos Jr. regime’s brutal counter- insurgency war since he began his term in July 2022,” the group said.

Among those killed by government personnel was a nine-year old girl to a mentally ill farmer,” Karapatan revealed.

The group also said there have been 12 victims of enforced disappearance; 316 victims of illegal and arbitrary arrest; 22,391 victims of bombing; 39,769 victims of indiscriminate firing; 24,670 victims of forced evacuation; 552 victims of forced surrender; and 1,609,49 6 victims of threats, harassment and intimidation, including red-tagging.

Karapatan added hundreds are facing “trumped up charges,” including 795 political detainees in the country’s notoriously overcrowded prisons.

At least seventeen of political prisoners are peace consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in its peace process with the Manila government.

Rights defenders pelt effigies of Marcos Jr., Duterte-Carpio and US imperialism with red paint and eggs in Manila on International Human Rights Day 2023. (Karlo Manalansan/Bulatlat)

Violations in the name of counter-insurgency

The country’s most active human rights alliance said the Marcos government has continued to implement repressive laws such as the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to suppress dissent as well as derail development and humanitarian work.

“The wrongful designation of peace consultants and negotiators, as well as community and indigenous people’s leaders, and the baseless charges against human rights defenders have exposed the weaponization of these laws to violate the people’s constitutional rights,” Karapatan said.

The group also condemned the government’s counter-insurgency program and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) as a “militarist whole-of-nation approach” that go after human rights defenders, instead of addressing the roots of the civil wars in the country.

Karapatan, which co-organized the 2023 International Human Rights Day protests in Manila with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan last Sunday, said killings under the government’s anti-drug programs continue.

It revealed that the Dahas Project of the Third World Studies Program of the University of the Philippines has documented at least 474 drug-war related killings under Marcos.

This belies Marcos government’s claims that its version of the drug war is “bloodless”, the group said.

“Despite Marcos Jr.’s cultivated facade, the sordid figures on rights violations prove that he is his dictator-father’s son and his regime, a continuation of that of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte himself is accountable for up to 30,000 deaths in his bloody war on drugs and the killings of 422 activists, on top of other grave violations of human rights,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said.

Rights defenders elsewhere in the Philippines also held protest rallies in Baguio, Southern Tagalog, Naga, Legazpi, Bacolod, Iloilo, Roxas, Kalibo and Davao while Filipino activists at the Climate Change Summit in Dubai also attended international human rights day in the emirate. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Dubai OFWs to ask Marcos about high prices of goods in PH during UAE visit

By Angel L. Tesorero

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates–President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. will arrive in Dubai on November 29 to attend COP (Conference of Parties) 28 and also to visit the huge Filipino community in the emirate. It will be the first time in 14 years that a Philippine president will come to the country and meet his compatriots.

Marcos shall participate in the United Nations Climate Summit, but there are other concerns his fellow Filipinos would also like to hear from him, including “effective response to economic issues besetting Filipinos back home, while underscoring the urgency for effective solutions towards a more environmentally-resilient Philippines.”

They would like to hear solutions to soaring prices of commodities as much as they would like to know the Philippine government’s stance on mining, decarbonization and transition to clean energy.

The reporter spoke to Filipino community leaders, entrepreneurs and long-time residents to capture the collective spirit of more than 600,000 Filipino expatriates and know their agenda and expectations during a meeting with the Filipino community on Wednesday (November 29) at Dubai World Trade Center.

More than a diplomatic trip

Rex Bacarra, Ph.D., university professor of Philosophy and Ethics, said: “As a Filipino expatriate living in the UAE for 16 years, I view the official visit of President Marcos as more than a diplomatic trip. It is set against the backdrop of the Philippines navigating through the turbulent waters of rapidly rising prices of everyday goods. I look with anticipation and scrutiny his engagement with the Filipino community would mean addressing the questions about pressing economic issues while underscoring the urgency for effective solutions towards a more resilient country.”

Rex Bacarra, Ph.D., university professor of Philosophy and Ethics. — Supplied photo
Rex Bacarra, Ph.D., university professor of Philosophy and Ethics. — Supplied photo

“As somebody who regularly sends money to the Philippines, the visit of President Marcos to the UAE presents a unique opportunity for critical dialogue to know and understand if there are clear, practical solutions to address the concerns of Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad,” he noted, adding: “Do we have long-term policies to ensure sustainable growth and stability of prices?”

Bacarra continued: “As Pres. Marcos will be participating in COP28, I also would like to know his administration’s stance on mining and environmental protection, as well as protecting our economic interests and border security in the West Philippine Sea.”

Better consular services

Streamlining immigration procedures for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), broader protection abroad and better consular services are also among the pressing issues Filipinos want addressed.

Community leader Josie Conlu. — Supplied photo
Community leader Josie Conlu. — Supplied photo

Community leader Josie Conlu would like to hear from Marcos “ways to streamline and simplify the immigration procedures while ensuring the protection of Filipino workers’ rights and welfare. He should address concerns such as visa processing, employment contracts, and the prevention of human trafficking.”

Long-time Dubai resident Joyce Villalino-Alexander added: “To lessen the burden on OFWs, there should be consistent consular services on weekends at the Philippine missions and Migrant Workers Office (MWO) so we don’t have to take time off from work on weekdays. Charges for contract verification fees should abolished or at least reduced.”

Long-time Dubai resident Joyce Villalino-Alexander. — Supplied photo
Long-time Dubai resident Joyce Villalino-Alexander. — Supplied photo

Rights and welfare

Migrante Middle East, an organisation promoting migrants’ rights and welfare, would like to hear about sustainable job creation in Philippines. They noted “the lack of employment opportunities has resulted in unabated exodus of Filipino overseas workers.”

They also asked for more welfare officers at MWO to address the needs of distressed OFWs and effective response to unfair labour practices and human trafficking.

Boost to bilateral relations

Meanwhile, nurse and entrepreneur Junah Balungcas would like to see Pres. Marcos “fostering stronger economic ties with the UAE for the benefit of more Filipino entrepreneurs and businesses in the country.”

Nurse and entrepreneur Junah Balungcas. — Supplied photo
Nurse and entrepreneur Junah Balungcas. — Supplied photo

“As a business owner and healthcare professional, I appreciate the opportunities and support offered by the UAE. I am also fully supportive of Pres. Marcos and I appreciate the positive steps he is taking for the betterment of our country,” added Balungcas, founder and CEO of Baofriend Restaurant FZCO.

Rolly Brucales, managing director of Off The Hook restaurant. — Supplied photo
Rolly Brucales, managing director of Off The Hook restaurant. — Supplied photo

Filipino businessmen are also calling for the immediate passing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which began in February 2022. Filipino restaurateur Rolly Brucales, managing director of Off The Hook restaurant, said: “We need to strengthen the trade relationship with the UAE. We also would like to see stricter implementation of trademarks and franchises.”

Climate action

For her part, Bobbie Carella, chairman emeritus of Philippine Business Council-Dubai and Northern Emirates, would like to hear Marcos “championing climate action by embracing renewable energy sources, managing forestry and natural resources, and strengthening and enforcing environmental policies, among others.”

Bobbie Carella, chairman emeritus of Philippine Business Council-Dubai and Northern Emirates. — Supplied photo
Bobbie Carella, chairman emeritus of Philippine Business Council-Dubai and Northern Emirates. — Supplied photo

“This isn’t solely about today; it’s about ensuring a vibrant, cooler, greener, and sustainable world for future generations. After all, there is no planet Earth B,” she added. #

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This report is originally published on Khaleej Times where the reporter is a senior deputy editor.