March 16, 2010 in Featured
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MEAGER HARVEST. Fisherfolks in Agoo, La Union painstakingly sort out their catch. Photo by Donna Peta
STARTING THEM YOUNG. A father lets his boy try the gong in Tadian, Mountain Province. Photo by Alma Snumlag
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
Union said mining company not complying with the MOA
MANKAYAN, Benguet — The rank-and-file employees headed by the Lepanto Employees Union-National Federation of Labor Unions-Kilusang Mayo Uno (LEU-NAFLU-KMU) picketed the general office of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC) to demand the company to pay its workers.
The picket-rally started by the workers with their wives, children and supporters on March 8 sought a dialogue with the management of the Lepanto Mine Division (LMD) and an explanation on the continued delay of wages and non-payment of SSS contributions. Around three to four hundred participated in the said picket since then.
According to LEU president Manuel Binhaon, they like to have a dialogue with the management but as of press time, they got no reply. “Nalawag a saan kami nga agis-strike, kayat mi lang nga ammuen nu apay nga aginggana itatta ket kasla saan a matungtungpal ti nagtungtungan mi (It is clear that we are not staging a strike, we just like to know why the agreements with the management are not being complied with)”, said Binhaon.
Last December 22, 2009, LCMC President Brian Yap promised that the company will pay P14 million for the unpaid salaries of the mineworkers and P9.2 million for backwages. Binhaon said that Yap promised this in a dialogue between the officers of the union and the management in the Makati head office of the company.
Same issue, same story
Binhaon said that the management seemingly does not want to fulfill its commitment to resolve the issue of unpaid SSS premiums, back wages and regular pay of the workers. He said that what is only being addressed is the stoppage of work rotation imposed by the management last year.
According to the last statement of the Research and Education committee of the union, LCMC owed them a total of P265.2 million. The management did not submit around P91 million for the SSS and Pag-ibig premiums. The union also noted that the unpaid wages from June 2009 has reached P85 million.
The union said that because of the non-payment of their SSS and Pag-ibig, the mine workers cannot apply for loan and enjoy other benefits. They also complained of delayed paying of their salaries.
On March 11, a worker reported that they were partially paid by the management just P1,500 each. “Kas-ano kami ngayen, anya manen ti ipakan kadagiti ubbing nu kastoy manen ti aramiden da kadakami (How will we live, what will we feed our children if management will give us partial payments again)”, said one of the workers who requested for anonymity.
Binhaon informed this paper that they will continue with the picket until the management will face them in a dialogue. “Awan dakes a rangta mi, kayat mi lang a matungpal dagiti naikari kadakami idi (We do not mean harm, all we want is for management to fulfill their promises to us),” said Binhaon.
The picket was also attended by the Tignayan dagiti Babbai iti Minasan a Lepanto (Movement of Women in Lepanto Mines or TBML), the members of the Anakbayan-Lepanto together with the children of the mine workers as well as their relatives and supporters. #nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By ALDWIN QUITASOL and BENZENT PUMAY-O
www.nordis.net
Photo courtesy of Benzent Pumay-o
BAUKO, Mt Province — In a resolution passed during the Katribu partylist provincial convention held in Sagada, Mt. Province, March 11, the participants called for the pull-out of AFP troops from their communities and the removal of cannons from Kin-iway and “their return to where they came from.”
As the local elections is fast approaching, people affected by the military build-up especially in the northern barrios of Sagada fear that they cannot campaign freely and openly because of the presence of armed personnel of the AFP.
This is partly due to the fact that military personnel have been holding symposia in the province where progressive partylists like Katribu and other peoples organizations have been branded by the military as “enemies of the state.”
The resolution also called for the relevant government agencies to investigate allegations that the military has willfully started a fire in some parts of the mountain areas supposedly to flush out the rebels from their mountain hide-outs.
“The overall effect of the presence of the army in our communities is not peace, but fear and hunger, for people already fear going to their swidden farms, pastures, and even in simply hiking in the mountains,” the resolution added.
During the convention itself, intelligence operatives of the military were seen in and around the venue with some of them taking pictures of the participants surreptitiously. Task Force Montanosa head, Col Soliba himself was also seen mixing with the participants.
Despite all these forms of low-key intimidation, the convention ended successfully with participants drawing up plans for the on-going campaign for national candidates as well as the campaign for local candidates.
The Mt. Province provincial convention was the third held in the Cordillera region, after those in Tabuk, Kalinga and Bangued, Abra held earlier.
Some candidates for local positions graced the occasion to expresss their support for Katribu partylist whose first nominee, Ms Beverly Longid, hails from Sagada, Mt. Province. Among those who delivered their solidarity message were Atty. Leonard Mayaen of the NP who is running for governor and Tom Killip who is gunning for the lone congressional seat of Mt. Province as an independent candidate. Others included Glenn Manao, Boni Lacwasen and RB Talastas, all runing for the vice-gubernatorial seat.
Beverly Longid explained the brief history and rationale for setting up the Katribu partylist, while Manny Loste of the Makabayan Coalition expounded on the role of parliamentary struggle in the peoples’ movement for change. Chie Galvez of the Katribu secretariat explained how voting will be done under the automated election system.#nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Neri Javier Colmenares lambasted House of Congress Speaker Prospero Nograles for failure to lead the members of the Congress into passing a law of succession on who will temporary take over as acting President should the 2010 election fail.
Colmenares said that with the appointment of Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit as the chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) whom he said is a fierce loyalist of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the nationwide brownouts and the admission of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that the printing of ballots will not be finished on time, failure of elections is a very distinct possibility. Colmenares said a military takeover once the election fails as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile predicted is a serious matter that should be addressed by Congress.
Enrile said that the military as a defender of the nation whose job is to preserve peace and order in case there will be a failure of elections and no President, Vice-President and no Senate President are elected must prevent chaos. Enrile said the military must takeover and choose an Officer-in-Charge who will run the country temporarily.
Bayan Muna recently filed a bill that will designate the Chief of Justice as acting President in case of failure of election due to the breakdown of the automated election.
Colmenares criticized the justification of House Speaker Prospero Nograles that members of the majority cannot assemble into a quorum should a special Congressional session be called as they are busy campaigning. Colmenares said the alibi of Nograles is certainly shocking.
“Speaker Nograles has practically admitted that majority congressmen from Lakas-Kampi, NPC and the Liberal Party are conducting the illegal act of campaigning even before the start of the campaign period on March 26,” Colmenares said.
Colmenares also expressed doubts over the Comelec’s announcement of contingency plan in resorting to manual elections should the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines fail due to brownouts and other possible problems. He said this will not save the country from a failure of election but will, on the contrary, only make things worse.
The representative said it is easy to cheat in a manual election using the already shaded automated ballots. He said the ballots with votes for opposition and critical to the administration candidates may be altered ala “Garci” in the Comelec to void them. Colmenares added there is also a possibility of ballot switching in the precincts and this will be very easy under this mixed system.# nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By SLOAN RAMOS
www.nordis.net
BANGUED, Abra – Katribu partylist successfully held its Abra Provincial Convention Sunday, with the theme “Reppeten ti pigsa ken boses tayo. Pangabaken ti KATRIBU sadiay Kongreso! Saan a lipatan MAKABAYAN a kandidato. Baro a pulitika, itandudo!”
The convention was attended by almost 220 participants from different local government units, peoples organizations, and non-government organizations, representing 25 out of the 27 municipalities in the province. The convention was done in coordination with the provincial and local officials, led by Abra Provincial Governor Eustaquio “Takit” Bersamin and Bangued Municipal Mayor Dominic Valera.
The convention started with a discussion on the national electoral situation by Katribu partylist first nominee Beverly Longid. She discussed the importance of the coming 2010 national elections, as well as the need for strengthening the voice of indigenous peoples in Congress. Longid noted that indigenous peoples have long suffered from government neglect and lack of social services, and that it is time for the indigenous peoples to have a representative who will fight for their rights. She stated that “a true and genuine representation of our people should be placed in Congress to address the real issues we are facing, and resolutions should be made immediately to alleviate such sufferings.”
The convention continued with a discussion on the specific programs and platform that Katribu is fighting for, including the indigenous peoples right to ancestral domain and self determination; genuine land reform and food security; sufficient and suitable social services including health care, education and livelihood; the fight against destructive projects like large dams, large scale mines and large plantations; the promotion of traditional ways of natural resource management; enhancing the capacity of disaster and climate change mitigation by indigenous communities; the respect of indigenous socio-political and economic systems; and standing up for justice, human rights, and equality.
An Electoral Training and Orientation was also given by Longid with focus on the automated elections system (AES). It was noted that a lot of indigenous peoples communities in the province were not familiar with the AES given that PCOS demos were not held in hinterland areas of the province.
Longid also discussed the role of progressive partylists and candidates in the struggle for genuine change. She also said that it is also time for the people to vote for candidates that truly represent the interest of the people, including Makabayan senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza.
The Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan ( Makabayan) is a coalition of progressive partylists, of which Katribu is a member.
In the afternoon, the convention appointed the provincial coordinator of Katribu. Irene Timbreza of the Abra Human Rights was named the overall provincial coordinator. One coordinator per municipalilty and one each in the barangay was also appointed.
Participants of the convention also participated in a caravan in the streets of Bangued in time for the provincial “Kawayan Festival.”
According to Xavier Akien, regional coordinator of Katribu partylist for Northern Luzon, the convention was a success because “it made the people appreciate the role and essence of the partylist system,” as well as educating them in the automated nature of the elections. # nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By MLM
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BAGUIO CITY — Pagbabago! Baguio-Benguet chapter was formed this Friday at the Saint Louis Center.
Convenors said that Pagbabago or People’s Movement for Change is a movement of concerned citizens who aspire for more meaningful change in our society. That is, not just a change of leadership in government but a decisive break from the poverty-ridden, unjust and corrupt social system that grew worse even after two EDSA uprisings.
A forum was hosted by the Parents Teachers Association of Saint Louis School Center to inform parents and teachers and the public of the new automated electoral system (AES).
Jo Perez of the Cordillera Ecumenical Movement for Action and Transformation (CEMAT) who spoke on the AES noted that there are not enough voters education forums being conducted by the COMELEC. Even testing the machines (PCOS) had been minimal in most areas.
Pointers on how to vote and how to monitor elections were given. It was emphasized that massive cheating and fraud during elections can be prevented by an aware and watchful citizenry, she said.
It was also pointed out in the forum, that the scenario for a failure of elections is real considering the conditioning the public is being subjected to about brownouts. Many areas in the country do not have internet connectivity.
It is also alarming that for 342,075 precincts all over the country, only 82,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines will be used. Thus the need for precincts to be combined or clustered with one PCOS machine.
Each of the 73,000 clustered precincts will have one PCOS unit that will automate the voting, counting, electronic transmission and consolidation of votes from 1,000 registered voters. Granting that it will take one voter one minute to place their ballots in the machine in a cluster with 600 voters, it will already take 10 hours before everyone can vote.
After the AES discussion, Pagbabago! was introduced. Dr. Ramon Paterno, a medical doctor who had worked for community health in the Cordillera, is one of the original convenors.
As a way of presenting the group, he started on why he got involved in this movement for change. He was a doctor to communities in the Cordillera in the late 70s and 80s where he saw the pressing need for health care to be brought to the barrios where it is most needed.
He was a witness to the struggle of the people of Mt. Province and Kalinga against the Chico river mega-dam project of the Marcos dictatorship. He showed pictures of mothers who attended trainings and graduated as health workers who could help communities greatly in need of health services.
Much needed health services and other social services are badly neglected, Dr. Paterno noted that after decades of elite officialdom, we have not improved social services for the people. So what we need is not just change in leadership but a change to eradicate the deepening poverty, end injustice and impunity, corruption and the culture of selfishness.
Pagbabago! cautioned the people of the possibilities for 2010 election and beyond. There might be massive cheating. There could also be failure of elections and the possibility of a continuing GMA regime after June 2010. Or a declaration of national emergency. Another scenario is if GMA is elected as a representative of Pampanga, she will be elected as Speaker of the House. She and her minions will then move for cha-cha to change the system of government to parliamentary one, where she will again be head of state.
Pagbabago! presented a People’s Criteria for candidates in the 2010 elections. The people’s candidates should be patriotic, democratic and pro-people. They have listed 12 questions under the headings of: Truth, Accountability and Justice; Economic Progress and Environment; People’s Welfare; Peace and Equality and Love of Country as bases in selecting which candidates to vote for. Voters should also ensure that the winners of the election keep their promises and be held accountable for their actions. Pagbabago! has a website for more information: www.pagbabago.org. # nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By SLOAN RAMOS
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LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — The “United Front for Jojo Binay for Vice President” was launched in the San Jose High School Gymnasium in La Trinidad Saturday with the theme “Uplifting the Lives of the Filipinos through Proper Selection of National Leaders.”
The launching was attended by almost 200 delegates from multisectoral groups and people’s organization of the six provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region (Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga, Benguet, Mt. Province) and the City of Baguio.
According to Lacub Mayor Ceasar Baroña, Convenor of the United Front for Jojo Binay for Vice President, the group aims to “honor and recognize the invaluable services of Jojo Binay to the peoples in the Cordillera,” by supporting his vice presidential candidacy. In addition, Baroña clarified that this united front is not necessarily supporting the whole slate of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino-Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino Coalition (PMP-PDP-LABAN). Rather, the united front stands for the idea of “Nagduduma a Presidente, Maymaysa ti Bise! (Different Presidents, One Vice President!).” Jojo Binay is running under the PMP-PDP-LABAN coalition, whose standard bearer is former President Joseph Estrada.
Baroña noted the reason many people in the Cordillera support Binay is because of their “memories of his involvement in the problems of the Cordillera, especially in the issues of the Chico River Mega Dam Project in Mountain Province and Kalinga, and the Cellophil Resources Corporation in Abra.” Barona noted that Binay was one of the legal counsels under the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) who helped the indigenous peoples affected in these projects fight for their human rights and assert their rights to ancestral land. He also added that Binay was one of the lawyers who went to Macliing Dulag’s burial in Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga.
Baroña argued that among the vice presidential candidates, Binay is the one most conscious of the problems of the Cordillera region, as manifested in his platform. He said that the centerpiece of Binay’s platform is the strengthening of the local government units (LGUs), especially in giving them a higher budget appropriation. He added that the reason for the lack of basic social services in the Cordillera is that budget appropriation favors the national government, with LGUs having no funds to deliver basic social services in their respective communities. Baroña argued that Binay’s platform of giving a higher appropriation of budget to LGUs will surely help in delivering basic social services to the community, like Binay did in Makati City.
What attracted Cordillera voters to support Binay, Baroña added, is his commitment to develop the agricultural sector of the upland regions. He said that Binay favors the development of agricultural infrastructure in the upland areas of the country. Baroña said, “Kayat mi nga nu anya ti inaramid ni Binay diay Makati, isu met laeng ti aramiden na iti intero a pagilian (We want that Binay would implement for the whole country what he did for Makati).”
The United Front launching was supported by Mayor Felicio Bayacsan of Buguias, and ex-governor of Benguet Atty. Raul Molintas. Among the different organizations that supported the launching was the Tinupeng Community Organization, Baguio Association of Retired Persons, Knights of the Roundtable, Pinget Dizon Operators and Drivers Organization, Benguet Youth Solidarity, Baguio Benguet Taxi Drivers and Operators Association, Baguio Tomay Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association, BE NICE Movement (Benguet Chapter), Alpha Phi Omega Baguio Benguet Alumni Association, Barangay Alapang Multipurpose Cooperative, Alpha Phi Omega Educators (CAR) and Sabivan 76. # nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
Photo by Aldwin Quitasol
BAGUIO CITY — Someone should be there so the voice of the people will be heard against the destruction of their land,” said Cristina Bati-el Moyaen of Conner, Apayao who seeks the position of Vice-Mayor in her town.
Tina Moyaen was interviewed when she came to Baguio to attend the Cordillera Women’s Summit. She said the poverty of the people of Conner and the continuing resistance of her townmates against the entry of big mining and logging companies prompted her to file her candidacy.
She said the demands of her townmates should be heard in the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) and that something substantial should be done.
Moyaen said the applications of Cordillera Exploration, a subsidiary of a British-owned Anglo-American Co. and Copperfield Co., also a subsidiary of Climax Mining and Oceana Gold were readily approved.
She said it was made possible through the collaboration of these companies with government agencies like the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). The said agencies were instrumental in deceiving the people to give in to the entry of the mining and logging companies, Moyaen added.
According to Moyaen, the mining applications cover over 81% of their land. They came to know of the applications as early as 2005. She said the companies with some of the local officicials made promises of educational assistance, employment and even farm-to-market roads. But she said, they did not allow themselves to be fooled by the promises as their deepest concern is the preservation of the land for the next generation.
Moyaen and her townmates organized the anti-mining and anti-logging resistance. To strengthen their ranks, they formed the Save The Apayao Movement (SAPO). The members of the SAPO undertook an education and information campaign on the destruction caused by foreign, corporate and large-scale mining and logging.
They conducted dialogues and signature campaigns to which many of their provincemates responded. They protested the so-called Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) that was used as basis for the approval of the mining applications and questioned the government officials behind it.
Because of this, SAPO members including Moyaen earned the ire of officials who favor mining. They received death threats through text messages and even letters. Moyaen was told that she was in the order of battle of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at a that time, extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances victimizing political activists were at its height in the country.
But this did not discourage Moyaen and her fellow SAPO members. Instead they boldly continued with their militant stance. She attended fora and sympossia on mining struggles here in the country and abroad. They were able to popularize their anti-mining struggle and gained support from environment and indigenous rights advocates.
Moyaen ran for vice-mayor in Conner in the 2007 elections. She did not win as many of the voters especially her supporters were harrassed and threathened. Moyaen said that she is not afraid to run again and win a seat in the SB of Conner. She said she will pursue the anti-mining struggle of her townmates. If ever she wins the elections, she will see to it that the people’s demand to stop the entry of large, corporate mining companies through a resolution to ban such applications will be approved.
According to Moyaen, the people of these places should be the ones who will benefit most from the richness of Apayao and not outsiders who would only exploit the environment for their profit like what happened in the past where logging companies did not improve the lot of the people and the province.
“Ti maaramid tayo nu makatugaw tayo a saan laeng a kari ket diay maited tayo ti pudpudo a serbisyo publiko kadagiti umili imbes a dagiti makadadael a proyekto dagiti ganggannaet. Nu kasano ketdi a matulongan dagiti umili iti kabibiag da kas iti serbisyo medikal, pagbiagan, edukasyon ken dadduma pay (What I can do if ever I will win, and that is not only a promise, is that we will deliver genuine social sevices to the people instead of destructive foreign projects. We will pursue programs that will help the people like accessible medical services, livelihood, education among others)”, she ended.# nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By SLOAN RAMOS
www.nordis.net
Photo by Aldwin Quitasol/www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — Katribu Partylist president Beverly Longid, speaking at the Cordillera Women’s Summit on Good Governance last March 8, said indigenous women are doubly burdened with gender discrimination and discrimination as indigenous people.
Longid noted the added discrimination that indigenous peoples (IPs) are experiencing such as “low government budget appropriation, government neglect, and making them least priority in economic projects being implemented.” According to her, this situation only proves that IPs, especially women, are still regarded as “second class citizens” in the country.
Longid pointed out that it is indigenous women who are also most affected by militarization in the countryside, given that the IPs domain or “kaaw-awayan” is reputed to be the lair of the guerrilla New People’s Army. Longid said “Nalaklaka nga ibaga a ti nainsigudan nga umili ket terorista” (It is so easy for the government to brand indigenous peoples as terrorists) due to the perception that they are harboring the NPA. It is lamentable that whenever indigenous women troop to the streets, protest and assert their rights, the government always accuse them as “aramid ti terorista” (terrorist actions).
Meanwhile, Ms. Gertrude Ranjo-Libang of Gabriela Women’s Party, one of the main speakers of the Cordillera Women’s Summit, highlighted the miserable plight of women under the GMA administration. Ranjo-Libang said that due to a low budget for health services, 11 women die everyday in childbirth-related complications. She said almost 70% of health workers are in the private sector and are concentrated in the cities to the detriment of the majority — poor rural women who desperately need health services. She stated that only 30% of the population have the capacity to pay for health care.
The worse part, Ranjo-Libang said, is that community health workers who are sacrificing to deliver basic health services in the countryside are “demonized” by the government. She said that the 43 health workers detained by the military, dubbed as the “Health 43” should be praised as heroes, for they are the ones who are striving to bring much needed health care to interior areas forgotten by the government. They are tagged by the government as guerrillas, arrested and tortured. Ranjo-Libang noted that majority of the Health 43 are women, and that the Gabriela Women’s Party has consistently campaigned for the release of the 43 illegally detained health workers.
Ranjo-Libang also said that women continue to suffer from violence against women (VAW). She noted that in 2009, one woman suffers from VAW” every hour.” Every day, eight women are raped and 19 women are battered by their husbands. She said that poor women continue to suffer the most from VAW, with almost 50% of them falling victim to domestic violence.
Ranjo-Libang added that women continue to suffer from state-perpetrated human rights violations. She reported more than a thousand cases of extra-judicial killings have been committed under the GMA regime —153 of them women. She said that women constitute 31 of 200+ cases of enforced disappearances, and 771 out of 1107 cases of illegal detention. Ranjo-Libang concluded that “until this culture of impunity prevails, women will continue to suffer from violence.”
The Cordillera Women’s Summit on Good Governance, held in the Baguio City Multi-Purpose Hall last Monday, is a commemoration of the 100 years of the declaration of March 8 as International Working Women’s Day. This was participated by the different women’s organizations, progressive partylists, including the Gabriela Women’s Party, Katribu Partylist, Cordillera Women’s Education and Research Center (CWEARC), Innabuyog Gabriela, Association of Women in Theology (AWIT), Gender Desk of the University of the Philippines Baguio Student Council, Lesbians for National Democracy (LESBOND), Baguio Pride Network, Engkwentrong Babae (EBA), and the Sigma Delta Pi Sorority. # nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By ALDWIN QUITASOL and BENZENT PUMAY-O
www.nordis.net
Photo courtesy of Benzent Pumay-o
SAGADA, Mt. Province — The Makabayan Coalition and the Katribu Partylist hosted a dinner-meeting with some of the local politicians of Mountain Province to discuss points of cooperation for common goals in the nearing 2010 elections.
The dinner sponsored by Katribu-Mt. Province chapter discussed support for the Makabayan senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza and for the Katribu Partylist in congress.
Gracing the meeting were Thomas “Champag” Killip who is vying for Congressman for the lone district of Mt. Province, Glen Manao who is running for Vice Governor, Bontoc mayoral bet Atty. Florence Taguiba and incumbent Sagada Councilor Regina Tambiac, local candidates and their representatives, a representative from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of Sagada, friends and supporters of Makabayan and Katribu.
During the meeting, Makabayan Baguio Chairperson Manny Loste discussed the principles of the politics of change. Loste also shared the history and the victories of progressive partylists such as Bayan Muna, AnakPawis and Gabriela among others since joining the partylist electoral system in 2001.
Loste also shared the present scenarios and the possibilities for this year, a first attempt in holding election with an automated election system. He also discussed the senatorial candidacy of Ocampo and Maza, their platforms and why they should be supported.
Katribu Partylist First nominee, Beverly Longid who hails from Sagada shared the history of the formation of the Katribu partylist and why it is joining the elections.
Longid discussed the programs and platforms as well as who the nominees of Katribu are. She invited the group to the Katribu provincial assembly the next day.# Aldwin Quitasol with reports from Benzent Pumay-o# nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By QUISHELLE GAHID
www.nordis.net
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — As the strawberry festival is all set and ongoing, the evacuees of typhoon Pepeng are still looking for a permanent place to rebuild. By the end of March, they are obliged to leave their temporary refuge.
The government has been assuring through media statements that a portion of the Benguet State University will be the permanent relocation area for the evacuees. In a visit, the evacuees revealed their true situation.
They said the local officials have not yet identiffied a definite place for them to stay after March. The said property of Benguet State University already has claimants.
According to one of the evacuees, there are 43 of them who are supposed to be relocated but 12 of their fellow evacuees chose to go back to Little Kibungan because of the slow response of the government of La Trinidad.
For 31 evacuees left in the tent site, going back to their former dwelling in Little Kibungan is dangerous and reminds them always of the trauma that the landslide brought them.
The evacuees added that there are organizations who are giving relief goods and donating resources to them but there is still no definite place for them to re build their homes.
Aside from the relocation project, the evacuees were promised P70,000 per family as calamity assistance but nothing was given. They were told to comply with the requirements of the assistance which they did. They ask where did the money go.
There is a livelihood program for them but it is not enough. They have been making and selling baskets from recycled paper. One basket can fetch about P25. They admitted that it can be a big help if they could make more. As beginners they can only create one basket in 6 hours and some are even rejected because they are not yet experts at it.
According to them, they are seeking ways to find a living because relying on promises alone leads to hopelessness.
The evacuees are pleading that if the relocation for them cannot be given, the government of La Trinidad should at least give them the calamity assistance of P70,000 in order for them to start a business for their families.# Quishelle Gahid
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By NONETTE BENNETT
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — John Hay Management Corporation with its president, chief operations officer, chief executive officer and chairman of the Board, Ma. Cristina R. Corona were ordered by the National Labor Relations Commission Regional Arbitration Branch last March 9 to pay two former employees their backwages and to reinstate them to their former positions.
NLRC labor arbiter Monroe Tabingan in his decision on February 26, ordered JHMC to reinstate Eugene Galicia to his position as a contractual paralegal officer after he charged the company with constructive dismissal and non-payment of his wages in 2009. Tabingan also released on the same date the decision to reinstate Hector Hugh Ngales to his former position as Examiner/OSAC Processor and payment of backwages after he filed a case of illegal dismissal in 2009. Galicia was awarded a total of P187,220 as backwages, holiday pay, 13th month pay, and attorney’s fees, while Ngales was awarded P211,914.84 for backwages and attorney’s fees.
Tabingan in his discussions of the case of constructive dismissal of Galicia and contract of employment with JHMC said, “it would seem that the respondent company is so ill-prepared and unorganized that they prepare employment contracts after they hire an employee.” Galicia started to work with JHMC on April 15, 2009 but was not paid his salary until he left on June 15, JHMC alleged that the contract was under revision. Tabingan said that it was “not normal” that, while the employee “has to grovel with an empty stomach for his hard earned wages” contracts have “to be presented through the echelons of top management for revision, amendment, alteration and, ultimately, approval and finalization.”
Meanwhile, JHMC also faces two more labor cases at the NLRC. Utility men and gardeners, Bertito Bermundo and Ruel Ducusin charged JHMC with illegal dismissal and unfair labor practice last February 19 through their counsel Jessie Lacsigen. Bermundo and Ducusin alleged that they were advised by JHMC management on the first week of February to have their clearances signed because they were no longer employees as of February 1 and to report to an agency. They alleged that they were not informed about the transactions made by the two companies and had not been paid their salaries for the period of January 15 to 30 at the time of their filing of their case.
JHMC and president Ma. Cristina R. Corona, wife of Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona, also faces libel raps after Nonnette Bennett, former Public Relations Officer of JHMC, filed her case before Fiscal Ruperto Vergara at the Baguio City Justice Hall last March 10. Bennett’s libel case against Corona was dismissed by the Regional Trial Court of Kalinga for improper venue on December 6, 2009.
Bennett cited the May 10, 2009 paid advertisement of the John Hay Management Corporation on page 11 of the Baguio Midland Courier as the source of the libelous statements. Bennett with Hector Ngales were said to have flunked the written exams and the interviews administered by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and also to have been caught in “activities inimical to the best interest of the corporation”. Bennett won her labor case of illegal dismissal against JHMC on January 14, after labor arbiter Tabingan ordered her reinstatement and for the payment of her backwages, moral damages and lawyer’s fees. She filed her labor case at the NLRC on May 4, 2009 through counsel lawyer Milton Balagtey. #nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
www.nordis.net
Newly-installed AFP Chief, Gen. Delfin Bangit, has promised the nation during turn-over ceremonies at Camp Aguinaldo that the military will be non-partisan in the coming elections, and will help ensure that the elections will be fair and free. Further, he promised that he will be the instrument of no one else, but God.
But why is it that despite such repeated assurances from the top-brass of the military establishment, the public takes it with a grain of salt?
The reason is quite simple: the military’s pronouncements usually do not match its deeds. And this has been going on for such a long time that the public tends to believe the opposite of what the AFP spokesman says, especially in sensitive political and security matters.
Take for instance the events surrounding the supposed election of GMA in 2004 elections. During the campaign season, the AFP assured the nation that it would be non-partisan. It would turn out later on that GMA used top military personnel to ensure her victory, especially in the Muslim areas in Mindanao and elsewhere. This was revealed by a top military officials in a post-election hearings in the Senate during the “Hello, Garci” scandal.
In another instance, the military has repeatedly denied any involvement in the extra-judicial killings of activists and the enforced disappearances of critics of the administration. But the United Nations Rapporteur on Extra-judicial killings, Philip Alston, and even the Melo Commission would pinpoint military involvement in widespread violations of human rights. But the military just kept on insisting on its innocence, hoping that such denials would eventually be believed by the public.
Lately, the military has ramped up charges against the NPA for collecting “permit to campaign fees” from politicians.. The NPA does not deny this. But when the military started decorating its case by naming politicians and the amount being collected, including pinpointing Brgy Aguid in Sagada, Mt. Province as the place where the decision was supposedly made to collect fees, then its entire case fell flat on its face.
Apparently, military propagandists simply does not know when to stick to facts and when not to mix fact with fiction, so much so that their storyline strains the public’s credulity.
Imagine a propaganda line charging senatorial candidates Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza as having ties with the underground and, then in the next breath, accusing them of paying “permit to campaign fees” to the same outfit.
It is this kind of military intelligence that has led some observers way, way back then to conclude that the phrase “military intelligence” is an oxymoron – a contradiction in terms.
Meanwhile, military personnel continue to conduct black propaganda against progressive partylists and tearing down even their posters and streamers, as if these are illegal materials. To the military that is non-partisanship.
So, when the AFP brass assures us that the military will be non-partisan in the on-going campaign and elections, we are well-advised to believe in its exact opposite and prepare accordingly. # nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO
www.nordis.net
Though it was brief and weak, the shower last Friday night was refreshing. Ayyayay, I thought, it is raining!… just after I had washed a whole hamper of dirty clothes and five heavy blankets from the cold season? Still as I listened to the drizzle I prayed waiting and hoping it would get stronger so the drying and dried up grass in the yard would be revived. I was disappointed this morning to find that the moisture was but an inch deep. The clothes I had hung out the afternoon before to dry was just damp on the outer side and almost dry on the underside. This is one time I believe we all have to pray for rain lest the farms in the country would no longer yield enough food for all of us.Yesterday, started with the launching of the local “Friends of Jojo Binay for vice president movement”. It was quite a show of force for people in Benguet and the Cordillera considering he has been faraway Makati’s mayor for almost forever and rarely related with Cordi issues. He though was one of those young lawyers who travelled all the way from Manila to stand beside the likes of the late Senators Tanada and Diokno, and remain in Bugnay, Kalinga for a week or so to listen and pick-up the issue of the people against the Chico River Dam. In this gathering here in Benguet, showed that Cordillera does remember him and recognizes him as that defiant Mayor of Makati who took care of his city and seeks position to do the same for his country.
Also, yesterday, Mayor Mario Godio of Itogon in the traditional Igorot gathering of friends, tribemates, townmates and extended family, formally announced and shared his plans to vie for the seat of representative of the lone district of Benguet. For the past three terms as mayor of Itogon he stood by his people and was supported by his constitutents. May this support reflect more in this election year for his candidacy. I look forward for Benguet to have a representative who will not be a member of the “silent committee” nor a representative “always absent”.
Last night too, was a fundraising dinner for first nominee Beverly L. Longid of the Katribu Partylist. It became a reunion of sorts for many. The Loss-of-faith in the elite-comprador politician as the representative of the people’s sentiments showed up at this gathering. May more and more Katribung masa put their support behind their sectoral representative; the candidate-representative selected in several community people’s gahterings by an enlightened, organized and united people among the masses.
As this weeks starts, may it rain a little more support for all the farmers’ produce lest we starve, may it rain a little more to replenish our drying reservoirs lest we die in thirst, may it rain a little more to replenish our strength so we may dare to fight and dare to win the battle against misrepresentation, graft, corruption, fascists and tyrants.# kto@editors.net# nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
Men do not lack strength, they lack will. — Hugo Chavez.
It has been said poverty is the mother of all crimes. As hunger and despair envelop a man, he can kill if only to eat and survive. Loving fathers and mothers can do anti-social activities to feed, clothe and send their children to school. Young children as could let their young bodies be used in order to have money to support their brothers and sisters. Many of them would prefer to sniff solvents or take in drugs to try to forget the hardships of life.
Greed is the maker of poverty. Some said the love of money is the root of evil. It is a reflection of greed, the love of being on top at the expense of other lives. Greed produces poverty for the majority, poverty produces hunger.
Because of the greed of the few, many suffer extreme poverty and restlessness. Because of the greed of staying forever in power, countless human lives are extinguished by the evil claws of monstrous greed.
In many countries like the Philippines, unionists and workers stage strikes and other protest actions in their struggle to defend their job and get better working conditions. Many from their ranks believe that their condition will not change unless the society where they are working change to a better one.
Because of the stand and resistance against oppression by the workers, many from their rank were killed, abducted and tortured and most fingers are pointing the blame to the state agents. Around the world, many workers are being killed because of their struggles.
But heroic workers don’t give up the fight. They persist to realize their human potential.
* * *
The workers of Lepanto Mines in Mankayan, Benguet are dead tired of waiting for the management of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company to pay them. They have waited for years since their strike in 2003 and in 2005. The management promised to give what is due to them. The workers were able to make the management negotiate and sign a Memorandum of Agreement to fulfill their legal obligations to the workers.
Year after year and after many dialogues and meetings, the workers got nothing but empty promises while their families starve and the children stopped going to school. Their wives are worrying where to get the budget for their families to survive the day.
The workers have no other option but to troop to the office of the management. If they have a choice they would not have resorted to the picket. But their empty stomachs and the uncertain future of their children pushed them to do it. As much as possible, the workers do not like to delay their work and the production because they depend on it for their livelihood.
They work hard day and night, yet they are not paid fairly and many times their wages are delayed, their benefits are not given. They have to do something to compel the management to fulfill its promise.
* * *
March 20 will mark the seventh year of aggression of the imperialist United States over the oil rich Iraq. As posted in the www.workers.org, “U.S. imperialism’s crimes against the Iraqi people are so great that no amount of lying in the corporate media can wipe them out. That doesn’t stop these manufacturers of instant misinformation from trying. They have hypocritically presented a patently fraudulent election, held under an occupying power and administered by a puppet regime, as a sterling example of democracy and courage”.
A mobilization to protest the continued occupation of Iraq will be led by progressive organizations in the different parts of the US and the world. The working class will be at the forefront to call for the end of the imperialist aggression not only in Iraq and Afghanistan but all over the world. They will shout to the heavens for the liberation of the oppressed from the rotting system and the upliftment of life.# nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By CPP-NPA-NDF
www.nordis.net
March 10, 2010
Recent ridiculous allegations by theArmed Forces of thePhilippines linking a presidential candidate and more than 50 politicians to the New People’s Army highlight once again the apalling ineptitude of the Arroyo regime’s propaganda and psywar machinery. As proof, the AFP presented an intelligence report that listed the names of politicians supporting the NPA, and said a decision to support a presidential candidate in exchange for money was passed by the Communist Party of the Philippines during its anniversary meeting in barangay Aguid, Sagada, Mountain Province last December 28, 2009. The depths from which the AFP dredges up data for its intelligence report is so murky and slimy that even its own officers are confused. The CPP anniversary is on the 26 of December, and no meeting to decide whom to endorse for president ever took place last December in barangay Aguid or in any part of the Cordillera.
A few weeks ago, an AFP report leaked to media claimed that the NPA collected P56.71 million in the 2004 elections and P27.67 in the 2007 elections. Last March 8, media reported that Maj. Gen. Ruperto Pabustan, commander of the 9th Infantry Division, and several other high-ranking AFP officers appeared before the COMELEC to seek the disqualification of candidates they suspect to be giving financial and material support to the NPA in the form of permit-to-campaign or permit-to-win fees. Commisioner Rene Sarmiento quickly supported the AFP by quoting a spurious report that the NPA collected P1.5 billion and P2 billion during the 2004 and 2007 elections, and might raise up to P5 billion in the coming elections. The AFP report that politicians paid tens of millions of pesos to the NPA is wrong and unbelievable. Sarmiento’s statement is truly out of this world.
The NPA views elections under a reactionary state as a power struggle amongst various factions of the ruling class. It neither participates nor can it decide the outcome of these elections. On the other hand, the NPA upholds that the genuine democratic elections that reflect the peoples’ choices take place among local organs of political power organized in revolutionary base areas in the countryside.
It is the COMELEC that manufactures electoral victories, even for candidates who were not the peoples’ choice. It did so when it proclaimed Gloria Arroyo as president in 2004. It continues to do so when it recently proclaimed as winners: Lilia Pineda, BenjaminDy, and Roberto Pagdanganan, over incumbent and known critics of Gloria Arroyo. If the AFP and the COMELEC want to disqualify candidates whom they claim paid the NPA for permits-to-campaign, then they should start with presidential son Dato Arroyo whom the military says paid up to P7 million. While they are at it, they should include presidential economic adviser and Albay Gov. Joey Salceda whom the military allege delivered the young Arroyo’s payment. Dato Arroyo and Gov. Salceda are within the area of responsibility of the 9 ID. Let’s see if Maj. Gen. Pabustan can walk the talk.
(Sgd) Martin Montana
Spokesperson
Chadli Molintas Command
CPP-NPA-NDFP# nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By ANAKBAYAN-SLU CHAPTER
www.nordis.net
ANAKBAYAN condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on holding Fora/Symposia tagging progressive mass organizations as fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on March 7, 2010 at Saint Louis University.
In that event, the AFP showed a documentary film titled “Knowing Thy Enemy” citing several legal and progressive people’s organizations and partylists such as the League of Filipino Students, Gabriela and Anakpawis Partylist are fronts of the CPP and the New People’s Army.
Also, an ANAKBAYAN member who attended the said event reported that one of the presentors in the said forum named 1st Lt. Adriano M. dela Cruz Jr. said, “for instance, dito sa SLU, may isang student leader dito na ang surname ay nag-start sa O, C at nagtatapos sa R. ‘Yan yung mga sinasabi namin na mga pronta (front).”
He is obviously referring to Niño Joseph Oconer, Chairperson of ANAKBAYAN-SLU. It is alarming that they single him out. What is the motive behind this? Are Mr. Oconer and other progressive student leaders under surveillance? For what reason?
ANAKBAYAN is a legal mass organization of the youth nationwide and in several cities of the U.S. and Japan promoting the rights of Filipino youth. And in SLU, it has hundreds of members and a strong chapter.
The true motive of tagging progressive organizations as communist fronts is aimed solely to sow intrigue and division among youth and students and to demonize youth organizations and leaders critical of anomalies in government.
This incident is a clear form of harassment and human rights violation.
The AFP’s accusation are baseless and ignorant of facts. The tactics of the AFP are not new to the students and youth organizations. These malicious accusations are still fabricated because of their fear that the students and the youth will join progressive organizations like ANAKBAYAN, League of Filipino Students among others.
This move is clearly meant to silence, harass and repress youth and students who are committed in the fight for meaningful social change. But all the more, these militarist and tyrannical ways are prodding the students to join progressive organizations and take action.
These incidents are clear and desperate moves of the military to discredit, vilify and malign student organizations and their leaders.
We will never apologize for what we are doing to change the real situations in the society and for the advancements of the rights of the people and the Filipino youth.
We ask the SLU-NSTP, as their partner in organizing the event, to clear these untruthful facts to the students. We also ask for an explanation from the office in allowing this kind of fora/symposia that maligns students and their organizations. Such imputations are immoral and malicious.
Likewise, we demand the Armed Forces of the Philippines to issue an unconditional public apology as soon as possible. They should revoke the malicious and baseless accusations they have said.
We would like to clear our names. We are legitimate organizations with legitimate principles.# nordis.net
March 16, 2010 in Featured
By CWEARC, INNABUYOG-GABRIELA
www.nordis.net
It was an auspicious day as the centennial of March 8 brought a new strength for the women of Cordillera. A Cordillera Women’s Agenda for Good Governance was conceived by 320 women’s delegates who are indigenous, peasants, urban poor, former OFWs and dependents of OFWs, workers and professionals including church workers at the Baguio City Hall’s multi-purpose hall. The Agenda will serve as the minimum frame of criteria in choosing and supporting candidates and political parties for elections on May 10, 2010.
The event was spearheaded by the Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center (CWEARC) in partnership with Innabuyog-GABRIELA, UP Kasarian Gender Desk, Association of Women in Theology, Samahan ng mga Maralitang Kababaihang Nagkakaisa (SAMAKANA) and student organizations of the University of the Philippines Baguio and the City Government of Baguio.
The Women’s Agenda highlighted five major concerns that the upcoming leaders should take into consideration in their bid for positions in government: food security and environment sustainability of indigenous women and their communities; regular employment and equal economic opportunities for women; sufficient social services for women; protection of women from all forms of violence and respect for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT); and justice for victims of human rights violations especially women victims.
To pursue food security, delegates suggested that upcoming officials bear in mind that the control and sound use of land and natural resources should be in the hands of the communities, not for government to sell to corporations and to people already in power. A good leader should have a firm stand against large corporate and profit-oriented projects which threatens the indigenous peoples’ rights on their food and natural resources. Subsidies for agriculture and relief in times of disasters should be provided including the impact of climate crisis like droughts and typhoons. These should reach the indigenous and peasant women and their communities who are the poorest and least capable to cope.
Candidates and elected officials should prioritize support for local jobs which are sustainable and cater foremost to local workers. Government livelihood programs should be sustainable. Mechanism to measure and monitor how women are empowered by these projects should be in place. Livelihood created by women should not be allowed to be devoured by big businesses. Ensuring jobs and livelihood opportunities could lessen sending our women overseas as slaves.
To best deliver social services, candidates and elected officials should enable more access of poor women in the rural and urban areas to social services. Elected officials should not use social services as another source of graft and corruption.
Candidates and elected official are to continue advocating women’s rights and against all forms of violence against women and children (VAWC) to include men. There should be action for the prevention of VAWC and services for the victims including the LGBTs. Suppression of rights especially among LGBT should be prevented. Candidates and elected officials should enforce effective implementation of positive laws protecting women and children from abuse and violence like the Anti-VAWC Law of 2004, Anti-Trafficking of Persons Law of 2003, Magna Carta of Women of 2009 and 5% GAD Fund .
Deserving leaders should ensure that the 5% GAD fund should really be allocated to activities that facilitate women’s empowerment. Aside from the 5% GAD fund, budget should be allocated to support initiatives of women’s organizations seriously working on the prevention of VAWC and for the respect for LGBT rights.
The Cordillera Women’s Agenda was shared to the wider public through a solidarity march for women in the main streets of the City and a program at the Igorot Park. This was led by Innabuyog and the Cordillera chapter of the Gabriela Women’s Party.
The delegates of the summit, along with supporters and advocates of women’s rights, have spoken of their criteria for a responsive leader. This agenda is the voice of women in dealing with candidates and political parties who will woo the votes of women. This agenda is another step of women empowerment making them a force to contend with during elections. This agenda should advance the Cordillera women’s aspirations for good governance and politics of change.# nordis.net
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