By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said that the business groups are once again justifying their opposition to wage increases by using the threat of retrenchments. KMU said this is a long discredited excuse because workers lose their jobs even without any wage hikes.

The labor group said this in reaction to the recent warning of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) that businesses will be forced to retrench workers in case of wage increases. KMU said ECOP reiterated its position against granting wage hikes.
According to KMU chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog, ECOP is reviving a myth and a worn-out alibi which has already been debunked by workers. Labog said this excuse can never convince workers to let go of the justified demand for wage increase amid rising prices of basic commodities and services.

For years, workers led by KMU and Anakpawis partylist have been struggling for a P125 legislated wage increase across the board nationwide. This they insist instead of pegged wage hikes being pushed by other labor groups.
Labog said that it is gravely insulting that the Ecop and other business chambers are forcing Filipino workers between wage freeze and mass retrenchments. Labog added that workers all over the country are suffering from mass retrenchments and wage freeze since last year amid price hikes.

KMU slams Ecop’s claim that companies are still recovering from the impact of the global financial and economic crisis. KMU said the workers are suffering more from the adverse effects of the said crisis.

“These business groups consistently justify status quo on wage rates to supposedly make room for recovery for companies. But what about the recovery of workers? How do you expect us to recover with measly wages and continuing retrenchments?” Labog asked.
KMU vowed it will intensify its struggle for a P125 wage hike especially that the International Labor Day is nearing. KMU also said it will challenge presidential bets and other candidates to take a position and include in their agenda a legislated increase on the Filipino workers’ wages.

“The way these economists and businessmen picture recovery is simply absurd – a “recovery” of businesses, not of the people. In fact, they are overlooking the roots of the global crisis. They are glossing over the fact that major lending institutions collapsed partly because workers’ wages have remained depressed, denying them any means to pay loans,” Labog ended.#nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

CANDLELIGHTING. On the 5th month since the Ampatuan massacre, Atty. Daniel Mangallay, President of the local IBP joins the nationwide march for justice accountability. Photo by Brenda S. Dacpano

BAGUIO CITY — “The Ampatuans may be absolved of their criminal acts in the books of the Department of Justice, but not in the books of Justice of the Filipino people,” stated the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Baguio-Benguet chapter (NUJP-BB) on the dropping of charges against the two principal suspects in the killing of 58 people including 32 journalists.

Members of the media led by the NUJP-BB, lawyers and friends gathered at the Baguio Justice Hall grounds to commemorate the 5th month of the Ampatuan massacre. This is part of the nationwide commemoration of the massacre and protest against the order of the Department of Justice Acting Secretary Alberto Agra to drop multiple murder raps against Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and mayor Akmad Ampatuan.

According to NUJP-BB, Agra had blood dripping from his hands when he ordered the dropping of charges. The group added that he did not only fail the families of the victims of the massacre but denied justice to the whole Filipino people. They added that the decision was not only a blow to the Philippine justice system but a degradation to the principles of justice as a whole.

On April 16, a day after Agra spoke with the families and relatives of the massacre victims, he released a resolution ordering the dropping of murder charges as he claims that there are no concrete evidence and there was no witness against Zaldy and Akbar.
The NUJP national chapter meanwhile praised the National Prosecution Service (NPS) headed by Chief State Prosecutor Claro Arellano. NUJP said they did the honorable thing in protesting the resolution of Agra absolving the two main suspects on the gruesome murder.

Several days ago, Arellano on behalf of the members of NPS issued a statement protesting the said resolution of the Acting Justice Secretary. “ The Department of Justice is supposed to be the sword and shield of law and order. We are deeply concerned that the resolution will all the more convince a long skeptical public that our criminal justice system is impotent when the accused are politically influential,” the statement reads.

NUJP said that Agra’s scandalous resolution was not unexpected at all. The group said what was surprising was the suddenness and the brazenness with which it was issued. “ And, of course, that Agra would never have committed such a brazen act without the knowledge of or, most probably, order from his ultimate superior, she who is beholden to the Ampatuans, “ NUJP added. The NUJP was referring to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Baguio-Benguet chapter President Atty. Daniel Mangallay read the IBP’s statement questioning Agra’s resolution. According to the IBP, the proper process was not followed.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) issued a statement on the said resolution. “The IFJ believes the decision, made by the Philippines’ Acting Secretary for Justice, Alberto Agra, suggests political interference in the judicial process,” IFJ stated.
The IFJ challenged all presidential candidates in the Philippines to make a public commitment to overturn the country’s culture of impunity for the killing of journalists and to observe and respect the independence of the judiciary. IFJ also urged the Arroyo administration not to tarnish its record further by impeding justice at its last term in office.

NUJP-BB led a candle lighting in front of the Justice Hall to remember the victims of the November 29, 2009 carnage. “The Ampatuan massacre killed journalists, women, lawyers, who are all civilians. And we will never forget,” stated the NUJP further.# nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — “Nalawag iti amin a kayat ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal Arroyo nga agtalinaed iti turay uray malpas ti termino na kalpasan ti June 30, 2010 (It is clear to all that President Arroyo wants to remain in power even after her term on June 30, 2010),” said Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF) Simon “Ka Filiw” Naogsan.

“Ka Filiw” sent media including Nordis a video interview of the CPDF’s position on the elections of 2010.

On the failure of elections
According to Naogsan, all remedies and scenarios are being prepared by the regime like failure of elections and the declaration of martial law. Another way is to let Arroyo win a congressional seat and together with her allies in the House of Congress control it and declare her Speaker of the House. That way, he added, they will be able to change the Philippine Constitution and succeed in making Arroyo the prime minister.

Naogsan said there are many possibilities for a failure of elections. One is the failure of the first automated election in the Philippines because of the power outages not only in Mindanao but in the whole country. This, according to him, will pave the way of the probable sabotage of the automation process.

The declaration of martial law is also a probability as the president had succesfully done it before. The CPDF spokesperson cited the declaration of martial law in the case of Maguindanao after the infamous Ampatuan massacre where 58 people including 32 journalists were slaughtered.

After more than a week after the massacre, Arroyo through proclamation 1959 placed the whole of Maguindanao province under a state of martial law. Before the declaration, hundreds of government troops were deployed in Maguindanao. Later, armories allegedly belonging to the Ampatuan clan were raided where powerful firearms and a mmunitions were confiscated. Around 198 suspects were arrested by government forces most of them police men and goons of the private army of the Ampatuans.

The CPDF spokesperson said, “Ken daytoy panangipuesto ni Arroyo kada (Gen. Delfin) Bangit iti Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ken dadduma pay a sensitibo a posisyon ket makitkita a panangisagana iti deklarasyon iti martial law,” (The appointment of Bangit in the AFP by Arroyo and other sensitive positions can be seen as a preparation to delaring martial law),” said Naogsan.

“If this happens, the reaction of the Filipino people will be militant and widespread protests.” Naogsan added that it cannot be denied that the Filipino people are long fed-up with the administration’s inaction on the basic problems and demands of the people.

“Nu kasano met ti panagbuya ti rebolusyonaryo a tignayan, awan ti ilusyon ti rebolusyonaryo a tignayan a daytoy a maiyaramid nga eleksiyon 2010 ket isu ti mangited ti nawadwad a panagbalbaliw ti kagimongan,” ( From the point of view of the revolutionary movement, it has no illusion that this 2010 elections will bring a big change in society), Naogsan said. He said the option of the revolutionary movement is how to continue to arouse, mobilize and organize the people while solidifying their ranks and intensifying the tactical offensives by the New People’s Army (NPA).

On the permit to campaign fee
On the issue of the Permit to Campaign Fee (PTC), Naogsan explained that there are two existing governments in the Philippines. One, he said, is the reactionary government ruled by the elite and the other is the revolutionary government that can be found in any part of the country that has reached different stages of governance.

According to Naogsan, all of the candidates as well as businessmen upon entering the territories of the revolutionary government should respect the integrity of the said government. “Kadagitoy kandidato a sumsumrek, katkatungtong dagiti puwersa ti rebolusyonaryo a gobyerno iti panggep a kuma ket awan ti agar-aramid iti ranggas ken ikkan ti patas ken nalinis a panagkampanya kadagiti luglugar,” (To candidates who enter our territories, the forces of the revolutionary government talk with them so no one will use violence and they should give equal opportunity and conduct a clean campaign in these places), he said.

On the “hit list”
Naogsan denied the allegations of the military that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP-NPA) has an alleged hit list. He said that they believe in due process and they have their own way of revolutionary justice. He said that before a person will be punished, he should first undergo a series of investigations and hearings and will be given the right to defend himself in the people’s court.

Ka Filiw said it is the AFP and the Philippine National Police instead who have hit lists of the people they plan to neutralize. He said victims like Pepe Manegdeg and Romy Sanchez among others and James Balao who was abducted more than a year ago were included in the AFP and PNP hit list.

Naogsan further said, “Option dagiti mangiyem-implementar a yunit ti NPA kadagitoy warrant of arrest kadagiti napatawan iti pannusa ti people’s court nu itatta a panawen ti panagkampanya nga ited wenno iyemplementar dagitoy iti dadduma a panawen. Basta ti kangrunaan nga ikonkonsidera da ket nu anya ti kasayaatan a maipaay iti interes ti rebolusyon ken umili.” ( It is the option of the implementing units of the NPA to serve or implement the warrants of arrest to those who are tried by the people’s court whether in the present campaign period or some other time as long as they put into consideration what is best for the revolution and the people.) # nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

Photo by Aldwin Quitasol

TADIAN, Mt. Province— Around 500 indigenous peoples from different communities of this province with local and foreign visitors attended the decentralized celebration of the 26th Cordillera day 2010.

On the theme “Kawwanan nan biag ya katagowan, pangabaken nan Katribu, Boses tako id Kongreso” (Uphold life and livelihood, let Katribu win, our voice in Congress), the delegates opened the program with an opening pattong or community dance. As the beating of gongs sounded in the air, participants from nearby municipalities continued to arrive in the venue.

Sumadel Barangay Captain Daniel Ticagan welcomed the delegates and expressed gratitude for letting their barangay host the important activity. Ticagan said that despite the negative words they heard on the Cordillera Day celebrations, they did not see anything wrong about the activity.

He said that the message and purpose of the Cordillera Day celebrations is not at all bad for the lives of the people instead it unites them into reaching a common goal.

Tadian municipal Mayor Constipo Masweng also welcomed the delegates. He said the activity brings consciousness to the people on ways to protect their lands and livelihood from further destruction.

Elvira Taguba of the regional secretariat of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) shared the challenge for the defense of land, life, livelihood and resources. Taguba discussed the ongoing campaign on the adaptation and mitigation of the present climate crisis.
Imelda Tabiando of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) shared the present situation of the 2010 elections. Tabiando discussed the updates and scenarios of the first Automated Election System (AES) in the country.

CPA-Mt. Province chapter Loreta Batay-an then shared the report on the campaigns and activities that their chapter led and facilitated. Batay-an also talked about the relief and rehabilitation operations they did after Typhoon “Pepeng”.
She clarified issues met during the relief operations.

After an introduction by one of the staff of CPA-MP, 5th nominee of the Katribu Partylist Engr. Vergel Aniceto spoke for the politics of change. Aniceto shared the visions and goals of Katribu and why it will be the real representative of the Filipino indigenous peoples in the Lower House of Congress.

Local candidates in the province also delivered solidarity speeches during the program.

After the speeches, lunch was served where the delegates and Sumadel folks mingled with each other.

In the afternoon, four workshops were held among the participants. Delegates grouped themselves for the workshops on the effects of El Niño phenomenon, basic human rights, the role of the Mountain Province youth on the automated polls and indigenous dances like the eagle dance and the Sakuting or stick dance.

Delegates presented their workshop outputs through cultural presentations.

After the workshop, a voters’ education forum followed. Benzent Pumay-o showed a powerpoint presentation on the hows and whys of the AES.

The second part of the activity was opened with a tribute to the martyrs of the province in the defense of their land against foreign domination and development aggression.

A solidarity night graced the closing of the activity with sharing of cultural performances and community dances.# nordis.net

By QUISHELLE GAHID and OFELIA EMPIAN
www.nordis.net

Baguio City — Santos Mero, deputy secretary general of Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) in a press conference informed the press that 6000 delegates are expected to join the 26th Cordillera Day as it focuses on its theme, Advance the Politics of Change.
Mero said that the theme will also serve as a focus for this coming local and national election in May 2010. He explained that the celebration and its theme will be the guide of whoever candidate gets the chance to get elected to positions this 2010.

Also, it is for them to focus more on the issues of the people such as: economic crisis, human rights violations, climate change, development aggression, militarization, and illegal mining in specific places of the Philippines where the rights of indigenous peoples are mostly violated.

The CPA’s Baguio Chapter Tongtongan Ti Umili is host to the centralized celebration the whole day today, April 25, 2010 at the Melvin Jones, Baguio City. Expected are representatives from the different provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), progressive party lists, local and national candidates supporting politics of change, advocates from Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Manila and other parts of the country and overseas.

Mero said there will be a cultural parade, solidarity night and messages from indigenous people’s rights advocates. The celebration is also the Cordillera mass movement’s tribute to martyrs like: Ama Macliing Dulag and Pedro Dungoc.

Mero reiterated that the two prominent leaders are reverently remembered for supporting the people of Kalinga and Bontoc fight against the World Bank- funded Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam Project of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
In addition, the celebration will also be in memory of the late Francis Macliing, son of Dulag. #nordis.net

By APRILLE ERIKA GINNE A. MANGUBAT and JOEMARK G. RAMISCAL
www.nordis.net

HAPPY BIRTHDAY. James’ family, colleagues and friends gathered together at the St. Scholastica Convent last April 19, on his 49th birthday. Messages and prayers were shared. Also present during the event is Mrs. Edita Burgos of Desaparecidos. Photo by Brenda S. Dacpano

BAGUIO CITY— Family, friends and colleagues of James Balao sang “Happy Birthday” as they celebrated his 49th birthday last April 19 at 2 pm, at the Sta. Scholastica Convent, Baguio City.

“ It feels sad and we hurt so much inside. Talagang gusto naming mapalaya siya,” ( We really want him to be freed) Arthur Balao, James’ father said hopefully.

Attended by Kabataan Partylist, Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), Katribu Partylist, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center (CWEARC) and headed by the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) and Desaparecidos, solidarity messages were offered to James on his birthday and 580th day of enforced disappearance since September 17, 2008.

Some friends and groups abroad including the Monday Protest Group also sent their messages of sympathy, hope and encouragement.
Ms. Editha Burgos, mother of Jonas, who was also abducted by elements of the military intelligence, gave the inspirational talk. She spoke of her pain and longing for the quick return of Jonas.

Like the Balao family, she had trooped from camp to camp looking for her son. She said she has survived the harsh treatment she faced at the hands of the militay when she went to the military camps.

However, she said she did not succumb to the angry taunting and ridicule she was subjected to. She had survived martial law with her husband, Jose Burgos, who was considered a fearless journalist and publisher who valiantly opposed Marcos. She also admonished all friends of the desaparecido not to stoop down to the level of the inhuman and animal torturers, for the cause for justice is bigger than our rage.

In addition, 49 colorful prayer flags were planted on the Healing Gardens of Sta. Scholastica Convent by his family and friends. Flags were in red, blue, green and white. Red flags symbolize fire; green, the earth; blue- the water and white, the air.
Written on them were messages and prayers for James’ freedom and for justice.

Also, a short video on James presented by the Tan-aw Multimedia Collective was shown remembering his childhood days until he was molded as a mass leader.

James is the eldest among the children of Artur Balao and Jane Balao. One of his niece described him as a ‘’fun- loving uncle”. Aside from sharing special ocassions with her uncle, she also remembers how she understood the beliefs and advocacies of her uncle while they were once in a jeepney ride to a Cordillera Day celebration.

Since the start of President Arroyo’s term, hundreds were extrajudicially killed and almost 200 were victims of enforced disappearance. Many of these are journalists, religious leaders and activists who were accussed of being terrorists and tagged as communists. This is a part of Arroyo’s counter-insurgency program, the Operation Plan Bantay Laya or Oplan Bantay Laya (Operation Plan Freedomwatch).

James is one of the founders of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. Defending indigenous people and serving the people against discrimination and suppression perhaps triggered his abduction.

On a statement made by the CHRA, it was proven by the Regional Trial Court ( RTC) that James was abducted because of his “political beliefs” and that the Court is holding Pres. Arroyo and her companions as responsible for James’ disappearance and reappearance.

In the coming 2010 election, the Balao family hopes that this will bring change to their son’s state.

“ Keep hoping that after this election, mapalaya sila (they will be freed)…” , is Dad Arthur’s message to the families whose family members were also abducted.

James Balao was abducted in La Trinidad, Benguet almost two years ago allegedly by military forces. Up to now, calls and statements for his freedom continue.# nordis.net

By MLM
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Teachers have challenged Katribu to work for indigenous peoples’ (IPs) culture and history appreciation and promotion in the curriculum. This was posed to Beverly Longid, Katribu partylist first nominee at a fund raising dinner for the party last month.

The challenge was first posed by Dean Dr Willy Alangui of the College of Sciences of the University of the Philippines-Baguio. He said there are plenty of misconceptions and historical distortions regarding IPs that need to be corrected. It is about time to institutionalize an appreciation of the achievements and contributions of the IPs in the country thru the curriculum starting from the grade schools.

The travesty and injustice against the IPs must be rectified and focus should be placed on the bravery exemplified by the IPs in fighting off colonizers and keeping their heartland unmolested. The unique culture and traditions of the IPs including the now eroding practices of appropriate technology should also be cultivated and allowed to flower.

Appropriate technology and practices like building rice terraces, using rivers to irrigate farms without building megadams, seeds propagation and stockpiling, watersheds management, community self-help methods and the like should be broadcast to a wider audience. it was pointed out that the best way to do this is through the schools.

It is a sad state of affairs that there are a lot of suggestions from teachers on values formation, apro-tech, teaching history from the point of view of the actors and not the conquerors that do not get the attention it deserves. Principal Ligaya Annawi, seconded the suggestion of Dean Allangui and asked Katribu to write legislation that will incorporate teaching IP culture and history from the point of view of the IPs themselves.

She noted that as an IP and a woman, Longid can work for the protection and appreciation of indigenous peoples’ culture and history and the protection of women and children. These are marginalized sectors that need protection the most.
The Pinikpikan fund raising dinner was attended by friends and supporters of Katribu including some politicians of Baguio.#nordis.net

By KATHLEEN BALIGAD, JAMAICA MAY DUCO, JEWEL JADE FERNANDO and ESTELA SAYAN
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — To fight possible fraud in the upcoming 2010 Automated National Election, Workers Electoral Watch (We Watch), a project funded by the European Union and formed by labor organizations was launched on February 22, 2010.

It is spearheaded by the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (Eiler) and works hand-in-hand with Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente). It does not distinguish the political affiliation to any labor organization as long as people want to join the said organization.

It targets 12 major cities and industrial centers with biggest concentration of workers in formal and non-formal sectors such as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Metro Baguio, Subic (Olongapo City), Cavite City, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Bacolod City and Iloilo City.

We Watch holds trainings and seminars in the aforementioned places to educate worker-voters on the automated election system and its vulnerabilities and conduct its own monitoring of fraud through the use of readily available technology available in the Philippines.

“Whether there will be failure or fraud, the more we need monitoring to objectively show to the public that there is massive fraud because of the rush implementation of AES (Automated Election System). If We Watch will succeed, we will extend it for the succeeding elections,” said Joselito Natividad, Lead Convenor of We Watch.

They are still recruiting volunteer rapporteurs and poll watchers to observe irregularities and guard the votes. Anyone who has a report may text the following contact numbers: Smart subscribers – 0929-3361581; Globe – 0915-6701434; and Sun Cellular – 0923-5320142.

“With the fomation of this nonpartisan network of worker-volunteers, we commit ourselves to promoting good governance, human rights and social justice,”concluded Natividad.#nordis.net

By JAN MICHAEL R. VILLA
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — A voters’ education and a mock election was held Monday at the vegetable section of the Baguio public market. Over 500 participated in the said activity.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in cooperation with Baguio-Benguet Market Plaza Cooperative, Multipurpose (Bamapcom) sponsored the activity aimed to give voters a better understanding on the first automated polls in the country.

PPCRV is the COMELEC’s partner in safeguarding votes for a clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful May 10 election.
PPCRV Secretary General (National Executive Board) Brother Clifford T. Sarita said, “Monday’s mock election was only part of the organizations activity covering 89 dioceses in the country including Baguio City. PPCRV’s information drive started last February and ends April 30.

“This mock election aims to train the voters to use the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the automated election”, Sarita added.

The Voters Education campaign was mostly participated by vendors and buyers at the market who are residents of Baguio and from other provinces. The voters registered, were given sample ballots with corresponding names of the national and local candidates.

Meanwhile, a screen projected the ads used by Comelec to inform voters of the new system. A large sample ballot with the list of national and local candidates with their corresponding numbers and parties was posted in the venue.

Moreover, voters practiced shading the ovals next to the names of the candidates they chose. With the PCOS machines, voters were oriented and trained to insert the ballots to the black counting machine. They were shown how to handle the long ballots and not fold them. They were told not to overvote so the machine will not reject their ballot.

Comelec has assured the public that the PCOS machines have batteries that can operate if a brownout occurs.

Lolim Gomez, a flower vendor, said that the new voting system is easier and faster compared to manual election. “This voters’ education is a great help for the automated election”, Gomez added. Bamapcom Board of Director Nenita Chadey said that those who participated in the voters education learned and they are now ready for May 10.

According to Robert Andress, a theater artist who volunteers and helps organizations taking part in the voters’ education, this is a chance for voters to learn the new voting system. Andress added that national elections occur once every six years and Filipinos should practice the right to vote.

The mock election results were not printed because the sample ballots used were ordinary paper and not the real ballots recognized by the PCOS machine. The voters though were able to practice placing the ballots in the machine.
PPCRV advised the voters that before election day, they should know their chosen candidates, know their precint and not overvote.
PPCRV held a similar activity in Naga City. # nordis.net

By QUISHELLE GAHID
www.nordis.net

TUBA, Benguet — The Provincial officials and beneficiaries of Philippine national Red Cross (PNRC) here expressed their gratitude to donors from Germany and Switzerland for Shelter Repair Kits they received.

Oscar Paris, Chapter Administrator- PNRC- Benguet Chapter, reported that the Shelter Rehabilitation Project for the typhoon Pepeng victims were given to the beneficiaries qualified by the PNRC in the form of Shelter Repair Kits and the Full Shelter Repair Kit.

The model houses were showcased in order to show the public that the same house will be put up in other provinces. He added that there are 327 beneficiaries who were provided the shelter repair kit where there houses were just partially damaged while 220 recipients who were granted with the full shelter kit where houses were totally wrecked by the typhoon.

Paris said that there are still 113 beneficiaries who are still waiting for relocation sites .
Mayor Florencio Bentres , Board of Director-PNRC-Benguet Chapter, thanked them in behalf of Tuba where 19 displaced families received the shelter repair kit .

Hans Keller, Construction Delegate of Swiss Red Cross, said that the project aims to give shelter to the affected community especially the rainy season is approaching. He added that the project supports the beneficiaries to get back to their normal lives.
Jurg Casserini, Cousellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Switzerland, said that with their help, he is hoping that the beneficiaries will have the chance to live normally. He then also added that prevention is as much help to repair the damages.

Richard Labaoig, Abelardo Depayso, and Genita Bengwasan where one of those beneficiaries who were given the full shelter kit and they are thankful enough that they were given help. Despite the election ban, Paris said that it did not stop them to find ways to help the affected community.

In behalf of Governor Nestor Fongwan, George Camhit, Executive Assistant, said that the government of Benguet is hoping that the partnership will continue and that the local officials will play more active role towards helping their own community. #nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounced the secret meetings between US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Garry Reid and the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) officials and other senior security and military higher ups of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

According to the official website of the CPP, the regime of US president Barack Obama is plotting to intensify US military intervention in the Philippines in the last days of Arroyo presidency amid the sprouting situations in the nearing May elections. The CPP said that Garry Reid met secretly with DND undersecretaries Antonio Romero and Arturo Lumibao and other Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) generals.

The CPP said that US imperialism and its defense and security officials are gravely concerned with the continued growth of the Filipino people’s revolutionary armed struggle and the failure of the terminal US-designed Internal Security Operation Plan Bantay Laya (OBL) to defeat or even cripple the revolutionary movement in the Philippines.

“The Obama administration has also become highly concerned with the volatility of the present elections in the Philippines and the possibility of recourse to military rule to support the extension of the Arroyo puppet regime and suppress the people’s resistance,” added the CPP.

The CPP further stated that the US military has long been giving military aid and advice to its puppet government in the effort to fight revolutionary forces and the rest of the anti-imperialist Filipino people. The CPP also said that the US maintains the loyalty of its surrogate armed forces which is the AFP in order to continue using the country as launching ground for the US military in the Asia-Pacific region.

The US military has a 600-strong contingent in Western Mindanao under the US Pacific Command since 2001.

According to the CPP, Reid is expected to inquire about the AFP’s implementation of the US isnpired OBL with the aim of pinpointing further areas of military advice, assistance, coordination and even more direct means of intervention.

The CPP said that US imperialists are plotting to increase military intervention especially amid the declaration of the CPP to further strengthen and advance its gurilla warfare and reach the stage of strategic stalemate in it people’s war within the next five years.
The CPP said that the US defense official has the objetive of conditioning the AFP and identify points of intervention in the face of a possible failure of elections on May 10.

“The CPP denounces US interventionism and its surreptitious involvement in the counter-revolutionary war of the reactionary regime to suppress the people’s revolutionary resistance and intervene in the political and military affairs of the country.
The US is increasingly meddling in the raging civil war in the Philippines and setting the stage for another Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or Haiti,” ended the CPP.#nordis.net

By WENDY F. RANCHE and LESLIE Y. VALDEZ
www.nordis.net

Photo by Aldwin Quitasol

TADIAN, Mt.Province — The Montañosa Research and Development Center (MRDC) together with the farmers/gardeners of Mountain Province held a workshop on El Niño during the decentralized 26th Cordillera Day celebrations here.

The purpose of the said workshop is how the farmers/gardeners from different parts of MP can adapt their ways of farming to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon. The said workshop was facilitated by MRDC representatives Carol Bagyan and Leon Ambatcan.
The participants shared their experiences and views on the onslaught of the long dry season and the problems they met because of the water crisis.

Peter M. Gawec, a farmer from the nearby municipality of Bauko was the one who shared their experiences. “Gapu iti El Niño nagbettak ti daga nga taltalunen mi ket kas resulta na bimmassit ti apit mi pati pay ti kalawa ti taltalunen mi.” (Because of El Niño, cracks appeared in our farm land that resulted to low harvest of crops and even the area we are tilling is reduced.)

According to the participants from Sagada, their harvest this year was lessened by 10% because of the El Niño. Participants from Bontoc, Lenga and Abungo said the same.

Furthermore it was observed that aside from El Niño as a main problem of farmers and gardeners, added problems like birds, giant earthworms, otot (field rats) and other pests which destroy their crops were prevalent.

After sharing all their problems on farming, the participants listened to a lecture about the positive effects of using organic fertilizer over commercial fertilizers. The farmers also discussed ways of adaptation and mitigation on the El Niño effects. # nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

Cessation of work is not accompanied by cessation of expenses. — Cato the Elder Quotes

To a worker, having a stable job is like a halleluiah especially if there are many mouths to feed. He will have the pride of being a responsible husband if he regularly gives his salary to his wife. He will feel the utmost joy if he sees his children staying healthy as they eat nutritious food and have medications as he can afford to buy them the necessary food and medicines and medical services. He will be proud if he sees his children are knowledgeable enough as they go to school since they can afford the quality education. He will be the happiest man in the world if he sees his family enjoying the beauty of life as he has the time to be with his family after coming home from work.

But, to a worker, it is a hell of a feeling if he has no steady job and he is on the brink of being laid-off or unemployed as he needs to feed his family. He will have worried and sleepless nights thinking where in the world he will get money to buy food and medicines so that his children will not die of hunger and sickness.

He will feel guilty if he sees his children roaming the streets since they cannot afford to go to school and get some education for the privileged. He will have the heaviest heart as he sees his family living a miserable life.

It is so hard for a father of a family who sees his children staring with hungry eyes and full of envy at other children as they eat food and play with nice toys. Most of the time, it pinches his heart whenever his children will ask money from him to buy some little things but he has nothing to give. And most of the time, he cries even if he does not show it, whenever his wife asks him how they will live this kind of life.

So upon hearing that his co-workers are planning to start a union, he agreed to be involved as he knows that through the union, he can fight for a stable job. Together with his co-workers, he can fight for just wages and a humane workplace. Through the help of the unity in their union, he can hope for a bright future for his family.
For the capitalists, the unity of the workers and the unions are pains in their asses. Any increase in wages, their huge profit will be lessened and their luxurious life will be affected. They consider the unity of their workers like the uprising of slaves that will devour their masters. And they really do not like that to happen.

So the capitalists will do everything to quell the workers’ union. They use intimidation, arrogance, divisiveness and force. They will close their shops without any justification. They will collaborate with government agents and officials to harass and silence the struggling workers.

To a worker, losing his job is losing not only his life but also the life of his family. It is losing their dignity, their right to live as humans. So he will fight for his job even to death. He knows, he is not the only one who is struggling to live, he is one among the many people of the world who are fighting against inequality. He knows, he is not only fighting for himself and his family, but for the future generation of workers where society knows how to care.

A working man is proud to belong to a class that shapes the future. His class builds the world’s economy through their collective skills, muscles, sweat and blood. A disciplined class that will mold a new society where no one will be afraid of losing his job. # nordis.net

By WORKERSWORLD.ORG
www.nordis.net

The U.S. presides over the Nuclear Security Summit held April 12-13 in Washington. U.S. spokespeople keep repeating that its purpose is to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. But U.S. imperialism is the one that has wielded its nuclear arsenal as a terror threat, both against the Soviet Union in the days it existed and against all sorts of states that had no nuclear weapons. U.S. imperialism is the only power to actually use nuclear weapons — against the civilian populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in the last days of World War II. And the Pentagon is still “improving” its nuclear weapons.

Then the U.S. invited Israel to this summit. Israel possesses nuclear weapons yet refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Washington excludes Iran, which has no nuclear weapons and has signed the treaty. Besides trying to get sanctions against Iran, Washington is using the summit to attack the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). As the country under unrelenting attack from the Pentagon for the past 60 years, the DPRK has the strongest right to arm itself with whatever weapons it can.

April 22 is Earth Day. Following the disgraceful, imperialist-led negotiations in Copenhagen last December, it is a breath of fresh air — in all senses of that term — that President Evo Morales of Bolivia has called together another kind of summit for April 20-22 in Cochabamba. Even its name is inspiring: The Global Conference of Peoples on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. An April 11 release says President Morales will call for forming a multilateral Organization of Original Nations and Workers.

There is much to say about protecting the environment from profit-driven industries and climate change. We’ll report on the results of this conference in Bolivia, which will surely raise the questions in a more effective manner than the world’s exploiters did in Denmark.

Meanwhile, those who want to stop terror, especially the most destructive terror — state terror — and those who want to stop the most drastic assault on the environment can turn their attention to stopping two dirty wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is hard to imagine anything more wasteful and destructive of the environment than high-tech Pentagon wars against masses of people, nor anything so destructive of peace and human rights.

Recent media exposures have shown once again the disgusting criminal acts that occur when an oppressor state wages an unjust war of occupation against what were once sovereign countries.

In Iraq, a video leaked by some courageous soldier or Defense Department worker has shown what day-to-day murder was like in Baghdad in 2007. To the troops in the helicopter, any Iraqi was an enemy, any cylinder was a weapon, and slaughter was not only justified — it was orders. In a complete misunderstanding of history, the helicopter soldier on the radio referred to his unit as “Crazy Horse.” The original Crazy Horse was a leader of the resistance, who fought against the U.S. military. Look it up.

In Afghanistan the U.S. troops near Kandahar, where they are supposedly preparing a major offensive to win “hearts and minds,” recently strafed an ordinary bus with machine gun fire. At least five people were killed and 18 wounded. In the following days thousands of Afghans poured into the streets to protest the U.S. occupation.

Those protesting Afghans had the right idea. They should be joined by millions in the United States who also pour into the streets and take the first step to save the environment and stop terror as they demand that all U.S. military forces — official and mercenary — get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Articles copyright 1995-2010 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. # nordis.net

By NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES-Baguio-Benguet Chapter
www.nordis.net

“The decision of Justice Secretary Agra to drop the charges against Governor Zaldy Ampatuan and Akmad Ampatuan is extremely disturbing, indicating that what prevails in this country is not the rule of law but political expediency.”

23 April 2010 

Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra set a bad precedent.  
Acting Secretary  Agra had blood dripping from his hands when he dropped the murder charges against ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and Mayor Akmad Ampatuan, as if the gruesome death of 58 people was not enough evidence to prosecute the perpetrators of murder. 

On the 5th month commemoration of the Ampatuan massacre, it is just but fitting to condemn the eroding justice system, particularly Acting Secretary Agra and the Arroyo administration, for coddling criminals who would be remembered in the history as political warlords who magnified the culture of impunity even more. 

The Ampatuan massacre killed journalists, women, lawyers, all civilians. And we will never forget.  

Agra did not only fail the families of the victims of the massacre, it also denied all the Filipino people of justice. The decision only proved that Filipinos have a long way to go for such a struggle, and a long way to go to lengthen their strings of sacrifices, to attain justice that will favor people who have less in power, but who have more in passion when it comes to fighting the unjust and corrupt. 

The decision was not only a blow to the justice system, but a blow to the principles of justice as a whole. Justice is supposed to favor the truth, it is not supposed to strengthen a string of cover-ups that will only perpetuate and venerate lies at the behest of the abusive criminals.

The decision brings this call to forth THAT JUSTICE SHOULD BE REFORMED! 
The images of violence the blood, the dead bodies sprawling on the forbidden forest that became a symbol of a gruesome tug-of-war between political warlords, shall forever haunt us.  
The Ampatuans may be absolved of their criminal acts in the books of the Department  of Justice, but not in the books of Justice of the Filipino people.

(Sgd) Desiree Caluza –  director, NUJP national, secretary general, NUJP Baguio-Benguet 
(SGD) Kathleen Okubo, chairperson, NUJP Baguio- Benguet Chapter #nordis.net     

By KABATAAN PARTYLIST
www.nordis.net

It is graduation time yet again!

To students and their parents, this momentous event is always a cause for celebration. On the students’ part, graduation time marks a stage where they can be compensated after years of laborious studying. To their parents, their graduation can be equally meaningful. It is the time when they can feel proud of their children’s success. It is also a cheerful time for the parents who have been a huge part of their children’s success.

However, behind all these moods of celebration lies a daunting reality every graduate must face after the march and obtain their diploma.

With the present condition of the country, there is no guarantee that this year’s graduates are off to a bright future. The rates of unemployment and underemployment remain high despite hopeful claims being said by running candidates. In the latest statistics released by the National Statistics Office last January showed that the country’s unemployment rate stands at 7.3%, up a little from 7.1%. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate was at 19.7%, slightly above the 19.4% it posted by October last year.

In a related study made by the IBON Foundation, it was found out that seven out of ten graduates will be jobless after they march for graduation. This only means that 70% of the 542,000 estimated graduates of batch 2010 will add up to the already high number of unemployed citizens.
The mushrooming of call centers all over the country does not spell out signs of progress either. Call center agents are still being exploited by the owners of the foreign companies where they are working. These foreign companies employ Filipino workers because of the lower amount of compensation they shell out to them compared to American workers.

In most cases, the call center agents end up being such because of lack of other options. Even if their degrees are not related to the available jobs, most job hunters, out of desperation, take the bait of a job that is quite far from their courses. In reconsideration, this event only implies the purposelessness of taking up a four-year course when in the end one cannot use it for his job.
These painful truths ask for no melodramatic acceptance. In knowing these things, in knowing how our society operates in such a way that even an event that is worth celebrating is being spoiled, we must act accordingly.

To all the graduates of 2010, choose to serve your country by working here, and not abroad. It is now, upon your graduation, that you can do bigger things for your country. Choose to serve the Filipino people and partake in advancing its interests and waging its struggles! # nordis.net

Baguio City: Site of the 2010 regionally centralized Cordillera Day celebration

26th Cordillera Day

BAGUIO CITY – This year’s regional celebration of Cordillera Day will be hosted by the Tongtongan ti Umili (TTU), the Baguio City chapter of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA).

Baguio is the only city in the Cordillera Administrative Region. It is about 250 kilometers north of Manila. It is located within the province of Benguet, at an elevation of roughly 1,500 meters above the mean sea level. The average temperature is 18.3 Celsius, but actually ranges from a low of 8 C on the coldest mornings of February to a high of 29 C in the hottest noons of May. The incidence of rainfall is high and can reach 1.8 meters in July or August.

Baguio is a growing urban center, with a weekday population of more than 350,000. This reaches 450,000 during weekends and holidays due to the arrival of tourists. During the yearly Panagbenga Flower Festival, which lasts from late February to early March, the number of people in Baguio sometimes approaches a million. Yet Baguio is a small city, with a land area of only 4.9 square kilometers.

The main languages spoken are Iloko, the lingua franca of Northern Luzon, Filipino, and English. Inibaloy, the language of Baguio’s original occupants, is now spoken by less than four percent of the population.

Baguio was originally occupied by small Ibaloy communities who lived on swidden farming, wet-rice cultivation, cattle raising, and the trade of gold that was produced by their small-scale mining neighbors in what are now the municipalities of Tuba, Itogon, and Tublay. After American imperialist forces defeated the Benguet contingent of the Filipino revolutionary army in 1900, they hurriedly established a headquarters in Baguio from which they could launch politico-military as well as mineral-prospecting expeditions into the ore-rich areas nearby. This set off Baguio’s development as a major center of government and business activity throughout the succeeding century.

Because of its temperate climate, Baguio was also chosen by the American colonial government as a summer capital, and a rest and recuperation station for US soldiers in the Far East. In post-colonial times, the Philippine government carried on the American practice of relocating its capital to Baguio every summer; it also allowed the United States to maintain Camp John Hay, in the southeastern corner of the city, as an R&R haven for American servicemen.

Along with many public figures, Filipino sugar barons, as well as American captains of the Philippine mining industry, established posh holiday residences in colonial and post-colonial Baguio. They bought up land in those parts of Baguio that were expressedly segregated for the affluent by the architect whom the United States commissioned to design the city, Daniel H. Burnham. Although his plan allowed relatively vast acreages to be occupied by a summer training camp for teachers, a constabulary school, and a military institute, in addition to Camp John Hay, Burnham primarily envisioned Baguio as a resort for the elite. The Burnham plan did not take into account how the development of the mining industry in Benguet would inevitably turn the only city here into a crossroads for workers, clerks, and professionals; a market for food producers and small entrepreneurs; and an educational center for the children of the working classes and the petty bourgeoisie.

Accommodating the masses who have flocked to Baguio since mining’s heyday has thus been a haphazard affair.
Within the vacation housing districts outlined in the Burnham plan, the empty villas of the rich are surrounded by tall pines, sprawling lawns, or luxuriant gardens. Meanwhile, middle class and urban poor neighborhoods that had no place in the Burnham plan are tightly congested. And except for those of the Philippine Military and National Police academies, school compounds and student dormitories are bursting at their seams.

Since the 1980s, when most mines in Benguet started to get played out, education has become Baguio’s leading “industry”. More than 40% of all students in the Cordillera are concentrated in Baguio and the adjacent town of La Trinidad, which hosts the region’s prime institution for agricultural development studies. Baguio’s colleges also draw in students from other parts of northern Luzon and, indeed, from all over the country. Hundreds of South Koreans enroll in the score of schools that their countrymen have established here for the study of English as a Second Language. Students are now the primary patrons of the city’s commerce in goods and services. It is this commerce from which the majority of Baguio’s permanent residents now derive their wherewithal.

To the indigenous peoples of the Cordillera, Baguio is not only a center of education but also a refuge – from tribal war, from the state’s war on the countryside-based insurgency, and above all, from rural unemployment. Agricultural production resources are extremely limited in the harsh mountain environment of the Cordillera. Agriculture has thus been unable to absorb the region’s steadily growing labor force.

In Baguio, most of the surplus labor from the Cordillera countryside may not be able to find steady urban employment, given that the city hosts only a few small factories. But they can eke a living as sidewalk vendors, street sweepers, gardeners, laundrywomen, artisans, stonewall-builders, construction workers, etc. About 35% do find work in commercial establishments, handicraft production firms, and the Baguio export-processing zone, but usually on a casual, contractual, or piece-rate basis.

In 1984, indigenous Cordillerans who had established urban poor communities in Baguio federated with the Organisasyon dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili ti Syudad (ORNUS), affiliated with the CPA. The federation is aimed at building the collective capacity of the urban poor sector in Baguio for attaining their basic rights, common interests, and welfare. It has been engaged in a continuous battle against the demolition of homes and, indeed, entire settlements whose establishment their occupants have not been able to legalize because of the city’s outdated regulations on land-use zoning and land acquisition. ORNUS has served as a vehicle for the various sectors of Baguio society to address common issues such as corruption in the city government and the program that the national government launched in 1992 to privatize utilities, social services, and public facilities, including the city market.

Already halfway towards completion, the privatization program has resulted in the sky-rocketing of charges, making access to electricity, water, and hospital care extremely difficult for the urban poor and even the lower-income brackets of the middle class. It has also resulted in widescale retrenchment of staff, particularly from public hospitals.

Corruption has provided at least one racketeering outfit entry into the privatization program. The outfit is Jadewell, into whose hands the city council once surrendered the management of pay-parking along the streets of the city’s central business district. The small entrepreneurs whose stores lined these streets worked hand-in-hand with TTU members and other consumers to oust Jadewell by means of citizen action.

Corruption has also funneled precious funds from the national treasury towards unnecessary and environmentally hazardous infrastructure projects, such as the construction of the Marcos Highway fly-over, whose foundations are being driven through one of the city’s major groundwater sources.

In hosting the 2010 celebration of Cordillera Day and situating this in the heart of Baguio, CPA and TTU hope to reach out to political parties and candidates with the call to Advance the Politics of Change in the light of the local and national elections in May 2010, where many Filipinos, including indigenous peoples, hope for reforms in government and response to the burning issues they face. It is also a call to the broad public to support political parties and candidates genuinely espousing the politics of change. #nordis.net