By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed by the military rulers on November 13. This is a welcome regional development. I remember some leaders of the Association of Southeast Nation or ASEAN urging Burma’s military rulers during their 14th Hanoi meeting to immediately release Suu Kyi as a gesture of the association’s move to realize the promotion of human rights as a main goal in the region.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the past seven years. This curtailed her rights to travel, issue positions on issues, be visited by family, friends and opposition members, among other rights. The questionable and illegal imposition of the house arrest was actually seen as a move by the military rulers in Burma to ensure the weakening and total withering of the opposition. They (military rulers) saw Suu Kyi and the opposition as a threat to their absolute military rule.

Suu Kyi should have been the president of Burma. Inspired by the Philippines 1986 Peoples Power Revolution, she led a peacefull protest in 1988 against the military junta who ruled the country since 1962. Such protest led to the 1990 elections where Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won decisively. But the military junta failed to hand the political power to Suu Kyi. Instead, they arrested the oppositions one by one. Trumped- up cases were levelled against the opposition leaders, which included Suu Kyii. The opposition, students, and Buddhist monks led a strike against economic issues lately, which led to the death of thousand of protesters.

Burma is a country in Southeast Asia ruled by the whims and caprices of a military junta. As Burma had been pressured to respect human rights, the military held the latest elections. That was after it ensured that Suu Kyii’s NLD would not participate in the elections and ensure their political party’s easy win. When they were assured that the political terrain was under their control, they freed Suu Kyi.

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Aung San Suu Kyi was a consistent freedom fighter like her father. His father Aung San was among the leaders of the students and Buddhist activists who struggled for independence since the 1930s until they were able to achieve independence after World War II. In the post World War II elections in 1947, Aung San and his party won most of the Assembly Seats.

Aung San rule was a brief though. On July 19, 1947, he and his cabinet officials were assassinated by their enemies. That started the instability in Burma where power was grabbed by one military leader after another. But continuous military rule actually started in 1962 when a military coup grabbed power and perpetuated itself as the rulers of Burma.

It was from this nationalist example of Aung San that the Burmese people put their trust to her daughter Aung San Suu Kyi. And she did not fail them in their quest for a truly democratic nation. She is now leading her people for a realization of democracy.

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Before the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Pres. Noynoy Aquino also called for her release when he attended the ASEAN Hanoi meeting. It was understandable as his father Ninoy and her mother Cory had also suffered from the Martial Rule under the dicatatorship of then Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.

The call of Noynoy for Suu Kyi’s release is a laudable one. But he must also apply his concern on political persecution in his own country. He should move for the release of political prisoners like what her mother Cory did when she ascended to the presidency via people’s power. He should extend his concern for human rights in his own country.

As Noynoy also favored an amnesty for Sen. Antonio Trillanes and his Magdalo group who staged the Oakwood mutiny, then he should also apply such amnesty to the Morong 43. The charges against the Morong 43 who are mostly health workers are clear trumped-up cases invented by the military. They should also be released now! # nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

“No cause for action arises from bare promise” — Legal Maxim

The Lepanto mine workers are again facing a blank wall as the company promises to pay its debt. As usual, the company employs all means to convince the workers not to go on a strike and settle the issue the way they (company) like. This, I view, is a scheme to lure the workers to give up their fight for just compensation for the worked they already rendered – yet unpaid, and their call to restore their retrenched colleagues.

For years, the workers’ right to their hard earned wages have been violated by the company through delayed payment of their wages. Helpful in raising the workers issues were the objective reporting by some regional and national newspapers which religiously put in their headlines the news of non-payment of wages, non-remittance of the workers’ SSS and Pag-ibig premiums by the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC). Some news reportage however are biased to the mining company where they parrot the LCMC line that the workers are being paid squarely and fairly. If only they had an actual encounter with the workers and their families, and see with their own eyes the workers’ real situation.

The members of the security and rank-and-file unions in Lepanto mines filed Notices of Strike (NOS) against the company for unfair labor practices and union busting. The workers met with the management both in the mine site in Mankayan and in their main office in Makati City to tackle the issues. But the workers’ issues remain unsettled.

It can be recalled that the workers staged a three month-strike in 2005 for a fair Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and the recognition of their right to self-organization. While many of them sacrificed, the workers under the Lepanto Employees Union (LEU) learned what collective unity meant for their collective interest amidst company harassment coupled with assault from the state forces. In their struggle for recognition, they stood firm.

Anytime, the workers decided to go on strike, determined as one. They face the same situation likened to that in 2003. They are standing firm to fight not only for themselves but for their fellow workers, particulalry the officers who were retrenched by the company.

Workers believe a strike is inevitable now. Management is again giving promises but such promises actually address only a portion of the workers demands but failed to address the very reason on why they filed an NOS. According to the union, the management representatives during one of their conciliation meetings said the recall of the retrenched union officers is up to the top management based in Makati City. The union members who are among those retrenched will be recalled based on the result of the company’s review on their performances.

But the union’s position is no one should be removed. They knew that once one of their colleagues will losehis job, they and their family will go hungry. The company claims retrenchment of workers is due to their inefficiency. But why remove workers even cited by the company as “model employees” during its 76th anniversary celebration!

The Lepanto workers are wise enough to realize the truth as to the company’s claim that they are losing heavily and why it hires contractual workers. The workers are not just resorting to strike, they are fighting for their right to live.# nordis.net

By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied.” — I Samuel 17:45

Pacquiao vs Margarito fight

“David versus Goliath repeated” – This is how some people described the recent boxing bout between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, wherein the Pinoy champ amazingly garnered his eighth boxing title. Certainly, no one in boxing history has been able to win eight titles in various boxing divisions, except Manny Pacquiao. Not even the legendary Muhammad Ali.

Before the fight, many boxing analysts were entertaining some doubts whether or not Pacquiao would be able to defeat the three-time world boxing champion Mexican boxer, Margarito, who is taller, bigger, and even heavier. Such advantages, however, did not work against Pacquiao’s fast and heavy punches. The Pinoy champ dominated the whole fight and won by unanimous decision. He was not able to knock out Margarito like his previous opponents, but he was able to deliver many solid punches that made the Mexican boxer land in the hospital just after the fight and made him believed and said that Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter after all.

David vs Goliath

Watching the Pacquiao versus Margarito boxing bout, people were reminded of the popular Biblical story of David and Goliath found in I Samuel 17. Let me just give a brief summary of the story.

The Israelites were in the process of building up their independent monarchial government when their independence was threatened by their arch enemies, the Philistines.

From the Philistine camp, there was a man named Goliath who kept on challenging the Israelites for a fight. He was bullying them saying: “Choose one of your men to fight me. If he wins and kills me, we will be your slaves; but if I win and kill him, you will be our slaves!” (vs. 8b-9). When King Saul and his men heard this, they were terrified, because Goliath was a giant. He was over nine feet tall.

From the Israelite camp, there was a young shepherd named David, whose three brothers were in King Saul’s army. He was bringing food for his brothers when he heard Goliath challenging the Israelites. No one among them dared to fight the giant. Realizing this, David volunteered himself to fight Goliath in spite of all the apprehensions of his own brothers, and King Saul himself. To alleviate their fears, David courageously said: “The Lord has saved me from lions and bears; he will save me from this Philistine” (v. 37).

Young David bravely faced the challenge of the giant Goliath. He said to this Philistine bully, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied” (v.45). David used a sling shot, a weapon that he was good at to knock down the Philistine giant, and finally killed him using Goliath’s own sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran away, and the Israelite army shouted and ran after them.

David’s victory over the giant Goliath affirmed the great faith that with God’s abiding presence the Israelites would be able to face and defeat their enemies, even if they are giants like Goliath.

Lesson from Pacquiao’s victory

There are several lessons that we could learn from David’s victory and also that of Pacquiao. First and foremost is the power of faith in God. Great faith in God creates great faith in one’s self. David believed that he could defeat the giant Goliath, because he believed that God will give him the strength and power to do so.

Similarly, Pacquiao is the only boxer I’ve seen who would kneel down and pray to God before and after his fight inside the ring. He is the only boxer I know who would conduct a worship service before and after his boxing fight. These are all indications of great faith in God as well as faith in one’s self and in other people, something that Pacquiao did not hesitate to express in words in his interviews.

Second is love of country and people. Young David loved his own country and people. He would not like the Philistines to look down on them, much more to conquer and enslave them. He could not accept that a giant Philistine named Goliath would despise him and his fellow Israelites. Young as he was, he was willing to offer what he had and what he could do to save his country and people from further shame.

Pacquiao has always been dedicating his fight inside the ring to our country and people. He would face his opponent with our country and people in his heart and mind. Our country and people are his inspiration to do the best that he could and to achieve victory. At the same time, Pacquiao’s achievements, his rags-to-riches story also serve as a challenge and inspiration to a lot of Filipinos all over the world.

While our leaders are putting our country to shame by their graft and corruptions, Pacquiao has been restoring dignity and pride to our country in the eyes of the world by his victories. Truly, Pacquiao is the people’s champion. He epitomizes what is best in the Filipino. # nordis.net