Philippines: We condemn extension of Martial Law in Mindanao (tags)
The extension of martial law in Mindanao to the end of 2018 by Congress comes as no surprise to Laban ng Masa (Fight of the Masses). Over the last year and a half, the Senate and the House of Representatives have been completely transformed into pliant tools of President Rodrigo Duterte, with the vast majority of the members of these two chambers surrendering their remaining shred of self-respect to become accomplices to Malacanang’s authoritarian agenda.
Philippines: Vocal DAP critic Bayan Muna Neri Colmenares also got P25M from fund (tags)
MANILA, Philippines–One of the most vocal critics of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) in the House of Representatives was allocated the economic stimulus fund that the Supreme Court recently declared unconstitutional.
Philippines: 5 Makabayan bloc legislators got P481M pork barrel (tags)
Documents from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) last year showed that five congressmen belonging to the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives received a combined P481 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) since President Aquino assumed office in 2010.
BEAUTY QUEEN AND ACTIVIST MAITA GOMEZ, PASSES AWAY. (tags)
he Former beauty queen-turned-activist Maita Favis Gomez died on Thursday from a heart attack, a family source said. Gomez won the 1967 Miss Philippines beauty pageant and represented the country in the Miss World contest in the UK. She was also a model for local fashion designer Pitoy Moreno and was even compared to the British model Twiggy.. She was married to a top San Miguel Corporation executive. But even before the declaration of martial law, she was very active in women’s causes led by the group, MAKIBAKA who picketed beauty contests during he First Quarter Storm. (FQS)
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Deal with disasters, not blame the masses (tags)
The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) based in the United States wrote to your newspaper to vehemently condemn the criminal neglect and the breast thumping of the Aquino III?s NDRRMC , the agency and its head, Benito Ramos. The NDRRMC is the agency who is task to mitigate disasters and warn the people of the impending disasters and conduct relief work such as the fury of the Thypoon Pedring and Quiel that hit the Philippines and devastated most of Northern and Central Luzon. Very poor Response And yet with no less than President Benigno C. Aquino in attendance during their televised briefing, there was nothing new on the typhoons and floodings that hit the country recently. Pedring has passed and another storm came in and had passed but still the waters released by the dams still has flooded the whole Metro Manila and Central Luzon.
PESANTE-USA CONDEMNS EXTRA JUDICIALS KILLINGS UNDER P-NOY REGIME (tags)
The Philippine Peasant Support Network (Pesante-USA), a human rights, environmental and a peasant advocacy group based in Los Angeles condemns the latest rounds of extra-judicial killings under the new Aquino III regime. At the the same time, Pesante -USA supports Anakpawis Party-list Representative Rafael Mariano call to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to make a “decisive action” against the military in connection to the killing of a peasant leader in Nueva Ecija. Pesante learned that seventy-eight-year old Pascual Guevarra was shot dead by a lone gunman on Friday.Guevarra was head of the local Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association and the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid na Nagkakaisa.
DEBATE SA PTOWN, APRIL 21 at KAPISTAHAN GRILL (tags)
Friends, "Debate sa P'town" is our maiden voyage so please bear with us, but we can assure you that it will be successful. Our volunteers are working very hard to make this thing happen in Los Angeles, a city as sprawling as Metro Manila hence outreach is a challenge. It could have been easier if we succumb to the temptation of soliciting corporate sponsors, but we decided on the getgo to be totally independent and not answerable to any interest that could compromise our positions. Salamat sa lahat ng handang tumulong sa poyektong ito.
Cory Aquino and GMA; Similar scorecards (tags)
(The EPCC NEWS decided to reprint the editorial of the Inquirer in Manila to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the EDSA People's Uprising) On the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution, it might be useful to review the records of the two beneficiaries of Edsa 1 and Edsa 2: the late President Corazon C. Aquino and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. We will then see if the nation has attained some progress in the past 24 years.
Privilege speech of Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano (tags)
Anginyo pong natutunghayan ngayon ay ang actual footage, bidyo-dokumentaryo, ng isa sa mga pinakamadilim na bahagi ng kasaysayan ng pakikibaka ng uring magsasaka, ang Masaker sa Mendiola na naganap noong Enero 22, 1987. 23 taon na ang nakakaraan nagmartsa ang libu-libong magbubukid sa pangungana ng Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas upang igiit sa noo’y rehimen ng yumaong Pangulong Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, na naluklok sa kapangyarihan sa pamamagitan ng aklasang bayan, ang pagpapatupad ng tunay na reporma sa lupa. Tunay na reporma sa lupa na ang sentral na layunin at laman ay ang libreng pamamahagi ng lupa sa mga nagbubungkal. Isang makatwiran, makabuluhan at makatarungang kahilingan ng mga magsasaka sa rehimeng Aquino. Ang kahilingang ito ay sinagot ng rehimen ng magkakasunod na lagitik ng gatilyo’t nagbabagang punglong ibinaon hindi lamang sa katawan ng mga magbubukid kundi maging sa kamalayan at kasaysayan ng kanilang pakikibaka. G. Speaker, mga kapwa kinatawan, labintatlong (13) magsasaka, sina
Reform: The Making of a Philippine Presidential Campaign (tags)
There is real possibility for a significant leap in the reform process in the Philippines after the 2010 elections. If, as seems likely at this time, Noynoy Aquino wins the presidency, a number of converging developments could produce the conditions necessary for change. The first is Noynoy himself, who has successfully embodied the political legacy of his mother Cory, and his father Ninoy. This, in turn, has introduced a new dimension of enthusiastic voluntarism to the election campaign. Finally, the people running Noynoy’s campaign constitute the leading core of an enlarged reform constituency.
Melissa Roxas Submits Torture Case Before UN in Geneva (tags)
Melissa Roxas Submits Torture Case Before UN in Geneva. Visit Justice for Melissa Roxas Website at http://justiceformelissa.org
MELISSA ROXAS SUBMITS TORTURE CASE BEFORE U.N. IN GENEVA (tags)
Melissa Roxas, the first known American Citizen under President Obama’s presidency to have become a victim of abduction and torture by military agents in the Philippines, filed through her counsel, Arnedo S. Valera, of the Migrant Heritage Commission’s Legal Resources program, her torture claim by way of “An Urgent Appeal and Allegation vs. the Philippine Government, before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture , Professor Manfred Nowak under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland . The case was received at the Geneva Office at 4:15 P.M today , July 28, 2009. Among the specific answers in response to the questionnaire on the torture of Melissa C. Roxas, 31 years old, where the dates of May 19 through May 25, 2009 as the date on which the incident of torture occurred; and Kapanikian, La Paz, Tarlac , the Philippines identified as the place of abduction. The victim believes the torture was carried out in a military camp in Nueva Ecija, known as Fort Magsaysay. Fort Magsaysay, about 150 kilometers north of Manila, is the largest military camp of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is home to the Army’s 7th Infantry Division. It also named the Special Operations Group (SOG) and those wearing military uniforms as interrogators and torturers.
Philippines: An urgent call to the NDF and the GRP regarding the recent killings of farmer (tags)
An urgent call to the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) regarding the recent killings of farmers!
AJLPP Condemns US War Games (tags)
As Philippine and US troops began Wednesday a two-week integrated ground and air training meant to improve their forces' skills in fighting terrorism and responding to disasters and security situations,the AJLPP condemns such acts of brazen military intervention in the Philippines. More than 60 military exercises or war games were conducted in the Philippines since the VFA was approved in 1999 according to AJLPP. The US-RP military war games commenced in the former US Clark Air base in Pampanga. It is now callled Diosdado Macapagal Airport after the current president 's father.
AJLPP Condemns RP-US war games in Luzon, Says It's An Act of Armed Intervention (tags)
As Philippine and US troops began Wednesday a two-week integrated ground and air training meant to improve their forces' skills in fighting terrorism and responding to disasters and security situations. the AJLPP condems such acts of brazen military intervention in the Philippines.
Very few people know that the US military is directly involved in the fierce fighting going on in the Philippines between the Moro insurgents and the corrupt and brutal Arroyo regime supported by the Bush neocons and the warmongering Pentagon planners. Will you continue to allow US tax dollars to be wasted in this barbaric genocidal war against indigenous peoples? Over a thousand extrajudicial killings and "forced disappearances" under Arroyo's tenure, plus a few hundred Muslims dead as "collateral damage," may be the signs of US "benevolent hegemony" (Robert Kagan) and US "magnanimous imperial power" (Dinesh D'Souza). McKinley's "Benevolent Assimilation" lives on!
The commanding general of the Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Lt. Gen. Pedro Inserto, says that “the Palparan solution” failed. The so-called solution is named after the notorious Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., now retired. In all his assignments,
Resolution adopted unanimously by the IPU Governing Council (tags)
Referring to the case of Mr. Crispin Beltran, Mr. Saturniño Ocampo, Mr. Joel Virador, Mr. Teodoro Casiño, Ms. Liza Maza and Mr. Rafael Mariano, who, apart from the latter, are all incumbent members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/182/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 181st session (October 2007),
Conversion of rice fields created rice shortage (tags)
In the Central Luzon plains, Nueva Ecija is unique. In this farming province, the biggest rice producer in this region, you see rows upon rows of rice paddies. But it had more rice lands before the phenomenon of land conversion in the late 80s. The large landowners converted their lands to non-agricultural use so these would not fall under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law enacted in 1988. Land conversion was also necessitated by population rise and the urbanization of many towns of the province.
RELEASE KMP LEADER RANDALL ECHANIS- Pesante-USA (tags)
The Philippine Peasant Support Network (Pesante)-USA. a Filipino peasant., human rights and environmental advocacy network in the United States and a member organization of the AJLPP, strongly condemns the arrest and detention of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) deputy secretary general Randall Echanis, 60 years old in the island of Negros last Monday, January 28,2008 in the Philippines. Pesante Coordinator Arturo Garcia said : “the arrest of Echanis, is a strong warning to legal activist to stop organizing the Filipino peasantry. It is also a strong arm tactic of the AFP and the PNP to implicate legal mass leaders to the Communist Party of the Philippines and the NPA as a part of their legal offensive.” “With the extension of Esperon as AFP Chief of Staff, the US-Arroyo regime will try to make out KMP and other legal mass organizations as “communist organizations” in order to present them as war trophies.
Pananalanta ng pasistang estado, Nagpapatuloy (tags)
Nagpapatuloy ang pasistang pananalanta ng AFP sa buong Pilipinas. Ayon sa ulat ng AJLPP,walang puknat ang mga pamamaslang at iba pang abusong militar sa bansa. Isang lider magsasaka ang pinaslang sa Masbate at isang lider kabataang Moro ang pinatay sa Zamboanga Sibugay nitong Enero. Patuloy din ang harasment sa mga progresibo at panggigipit sa masang magsasaka sa kanayunan. Ayon pa rin sa ulat mula sa Pilipinas ay nagpapatuloy ang mga pagpataya mga lumalaban sa pamahalaan.
The CPP-NPA-NDF “Hit List” - a preliminary report (tags)
It is essential to understand the real scope of the assassination policy of Left activists pursued, after the 1992 crisis, by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), its military arm, the New People’s Army (NPA) and its politico-diplomatic arm, the National Democratic Front (NDF).
Militarisasyon sa kanayunan ng Pilipinas lalong tumitindi-AJLPP (tags)
Patuloy ang pamamaslang ng mga berdugo ni Arroyo sa mga lider-masa at tagasuporta ng progresibong kilusan. Nitong Disyembre, isang makamasang konsehal ng bayan ang binaril sa loob ng kanyang upisina sa Masbate. Sa Quezon at Surigao, biktima ng dislokasyon ang libu-libong mamamayan kabilang ang maraming bata dahil sa militarisasyon. Sa Compostela Valley, isang lider-manggagawa ang pinagbantaang papatayin. Samantala, dalawang pinaghihinalaang kadre ng Partido ang dinukot at tinortyur sa Nueva Ecija noong huling linggo ng Nobyembre.
NDFP strongly condemns the illegal arrests (tags)
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) strongly condemns the illegal arrest, torture and detention of NDFP Consultant Emeterio Antalan and his staff Mr. Edgardo V. Friginal as another gross violation of the GRP-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). Mr. Antalan, 48 and Mr. Friginal, 41, were beaten up, kicked and hit with rifle butts, by ten soldiers of a joint force of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on 28 November 2007 at about 5 pm, in Barangay Dimasalang Norte, Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
AJLPP Express Concern Over NDFP-GRP Peace Talks and NDFP Consultant Elizabeth Principe’s F (tags)
The Alliance For Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP) national coordinator Mario Santos express its utmost concern over the reported abduction of an NDFP consultant in Quezon City last November 28,2007. NDFP Chief Peace Negotiator Luis Jalandoni reported that Elizabeth Principe, 56 years old and a mother of two from Bongabong, Nueva Ecija was abducted by eight armed men in black uniform last November 28,2007 AJLPP Express Concern Over NDFP Consultant Elizabeth Principe’s Fate
AJLPP Express Concern Over NDFP Consultant Elizabeh Principe’s Fate (tags)
The Alliance For Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP) national coordinator Mario Santos express its utmost concern over the reported abduction of an NDFP consultant in Quezon City last November 28,2007. NDFP Chief Peace Negotiator Luis Jalandoni reported that Elizabeth Principe, 56 years old and a mother of two from Bongabong, Nueva Ecija was abducted by eight armed men in black uniform last November 28,2007
NDFP condemns abduction of NDFP consultant Elizabeth Principe (tags)
The NDFP vigorously condemns the abduction of NDFP Consultant Elizabeth Principe in broad daylight at 11:20 a.m. on 28 November 2007 in Cubao, Quezon City by eight men in black uniform similar to that used by the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit of the Philippine N
PHILIPPINES: 2 desaparecidos escape from military captors (tags)
Two farm workers who claim to have been detained and tortured for a year-and-a-half by military men before managing to escape have petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) for protection. Represented by lawyers from the civil rights group Free Legal Assistance Group (Flag), the two brothers in their 13-page petition yesterday also asked the high tribunal to designate either an incumbent or retired SC justice to act as a commissioner and verify the allegations. The two brothers, Raymond, 26, and Reynaldo Manalo, 38, filed the suit for prohibition, injunction and temporary restraining order (TRO) through Flag lawyers Jose Manuel Diokno, Theodore Te and Ricardo Sunga.
MGA TAGUMPAY NG KILUSANG MAGBUBUKID SA PILIPINAS (tags)
Ipinahayag ngayon ng rebolusyonaryong kilusang sa Pilipinas ang mga tagumpay ng pakikibakang agraryo ng mga magsasaka sa iba't ibang panig ng bansa. Ayon sa pahayag sa internet ngayong Hunyo 22, 2007, sa kabila ng panggigipit at pandarahas n reaksyunaryong estado, tuluy-tuloy na umaan ng mga tagumpay sa mga pakikibaka niton nagdaang 20 taon ang masang magbubukid sa bansa Kabilang sa pinakatampok ang tagumpay ng mga magsasaka at manggagawang bukid sa Hacienda Luisita noong 2004. Sa pamamagitan ng militanteng pakikibaka at paglulunsad ng malawakang welga, natamo ng masang magsasaka ang malawak na suporta at tagumpay sa kanilang paglaban sa stock distribution option bukod sa iba pang mga kahilingan, kabilang ang pagbabalik sa mga sinesanteng manggagawa ng Central Azucarera de Tarlac at pagtataas sa sahod nila at ng mga manggagawang bukid.
Political Fiefdoms Dig In (tags)
A look at the election outcome in some of the political turfs would show whether the geopolitical balance of power has changed without necessarily shaking the infrastructures of political dynasties in those areas. The clan of Macapagal-Arroyo has been in power for 58 years, broken only by the Marcos dictatorship. Even if the clan has spun out its political presence in Camarines Sur and Negros, it has a lot of damage control coming up what with the province of Pampanga - considered Mrs. Arroyo's bailiwick and father Diosdado's birthplace - going to a new governor,
PHILIPPINES: Kontra Daya( AGAINST CHEATING) post election report (tags)
Kontra Daya ( Against Cheating) congratulates the Filipino people for their continuing vigilance against poll fraud, election violence and other anomalies. This report would not have been possible were it not for the vigilance of ordinary people who acted as Kontra Daya volunteers, sent us their texts and emails or called the Kontra Daya hotline. We also congratulate the various people’s organizations, the vigilant media, the election watchdogs and international observers and other allied groups for their efforts in monitoring the conduct of the Philippine elections. The elections this year saw the rise of a more vigilant and conscious people who would not allow a repeat of the fraud-tainted 2004 polls. Kontra Daya’s preliminary post election report is based on the groups’ own documentation, field date from the Task Force Poll Watch, reports from the People’s International Observers Mission, correspondence with other watchdog groups such as Namfrel, Alliance of Concerned Teachers as well as media reports. The fight against election fraud and violence is by no means over. Kontra Daya expects more incidents of wholesale vote rigging to emerge in the following days. The dark forces trying to subvert the people’s will are working overtime. The people’s vigilance and collective action are needed now more than ever.
PHILIPPINES: AS ELECTION DAY COMES NEAR, VIOLENCE ESCALATES (tags)
Nobody can beat the brazen violence and blatant machinations of the US-Arroyo regime. It is even surpassing the US-Marcos regime in its brazenness and fascist terrorist acts. Again, the AJLPP reiterates it call for the Filipino people to stand guard against legalized vote buying, cheating and violence in this coming elections. AJLPP also expresses its deepest concern over the escalating violence and the propaganda in “rationalizing” its cheating activities “ in the coming elections. More than 100 armed incidents have been reported since the election season started late February 2007 in the Philippines.
AS ELECTION DAY COMES NEAR, VIOLENCE ESCALATES (tags)
Nobody can beat the brazen violence and blatant machinations of the US-Arroyo regime. It is even surpassing the US-Marcos regime in its brazenness and fascist terrorist acts. Again, the AJLPP reiterates it call for the Filipino people to stand guard against legalized vote buying, cheating and violence in this coming elections. AJLPP also expresses its deepest concern over the escalating violence and the propaganda in “rationalizing” its cheating activities “ in the coming elections. More than 100 armed incidents have been reported since the election season started late February 2007 in the Philippines.
LUMALAPIT ANG ELEKSYON, TUMITINDI ANG PATAYAN AT KARAHASAN (tags)
Wala nang tatalo pa sa pagkagarapal ng Rehimeng US-Arroyo. Mula sa panuhuhol, panadaraya at lalo na sa karahasan, dinaig na nito ang pasistang rehimeng US-Marcos sa pagiging makapal ng mukha at pagiging manhid lalo na sa pagkunwari. Dahil dito muling nanawagan ang AJLPP sa mga mamamayan ng Pilipinas na dapat pag-ibayuhin ang pagmamatyag at pagbabantay laban sa karahasan at pandaraya . Lubhang ikinababahala ng AJLPP ang paghdami ng mga insidente ng karahasan at ang lantaran at garapalang paggamit ng gobyerno ng suhol sa masa.
Rehimeng Arroyo, Naghahanda sa Malawakang Pandaraya sa Eleksyong Mayo 14 (tags)
Wala nang tatalo sa pagkapalalo at lantarang pagiging garapal ng mga tauhan ng Pangulong Arroyo. Mariing kinokondena ng Alyansa-Pilipinas o AJLPP ang lantarang ipinamamarali ng mga kandidato at susing mga tauhan ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ang kanilang makinarya at salapi para bumili ng boto. Nakakasuka ang pagmamayabang ng TEAM UNITY at ng Malacanang ang kanilang “makinarya” at “command votes” na magpapanalo daw sa kanila sa eleksyong Mayo 14. At sa huli, pupulutin si GMA tulad ng mandarayang si Marcos noong 1986, sa kangkungan ng kasaysayan. Sa huling pagtutuos, hindi makakasa ang masa sa eleksyon. Nasa masa ang huling pagpapasya para sa tunay na pagbabago sa lipunang Pilipino. ###
IPAGTANGGOL ANG MGA KARAPATANG PANTAO AT MANINDIGAN PARA SA KAPAYAPAAN (tags)
Matinding kinokondena ng Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) ang mabangis na todo-gyera ng rehimeng US-Arroyo laban sa mga mamayang Pilipino sa halos lahat ng dako ng Pilipinas. Ayon sa mga tala mula sa Pilipinas na sinusubaybayan ng AJLPP, lubos na nakababahala para sa alyansang ito na nakabase sa Estados Unidos at sa mga organisasyong pangkarapatang pantao, simbahan at iba pang grupong internasyunalista sa Amerika, ang lalo pang bumabangis na pagsalakay ng rehimeng US-Arroyo sa masang Pilipino sa pagpasok ng 2007. Muli, nanawagan ang AJLPP sa komunidad Pilipino Amerikano sa Estados Unidos at iba pang nasyunalidad na tumulong sa pakikibaka ng sambayanang Pilipino para sa kapayapaan at pambansang dignidad. Dapat nilang pagibayuhin ang pagkilos para sa kapayapaan at karapatang pantao. Makakaasang mananatiling kaisa ng mamamayang Pilipino ng AJLPP para sa pagkilos tungo sa kapayapaan, pambansang kalayaan at katubusang panlipunan.
Women's Day marchers beaten up in Manila (tags)
The Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) denounces the attempt of the police to brutally disperse the rally of APL-women commemorating International Women's Day.
US bishops mag-aatras ng suporta kay GMA (tags)
Iaatras ng pamunuan ng United Methodist Church (UMC) na nakabase sa Estados Unidos ang kanilang suporta sa administrasyong Arroyo hanggang hindi nareresolba ang mga nagaganap na extra-judicial killings sa bansa kabilang na sa mga taong Simbahan. Ito’y matapos na dumating sa bansa ang 17-kataong "mission team" sa pangunguna ni Bishop Beverly Shamana buhat sa California-Nevada Conference ng UMC. Layon ng grupo na pag-aralan ang mga nagaganap na political killings at mga paglabag sa karapatang-pantao sa bansa. Ayon kay Bishop Soli to Toquero, binisita ng grupo ang mga lugar ng Nueva Ecija, Leyte, Samar, Davao at Cagayan de Oro. Nagulat umano ang grupo nang malaman na maging mga taong-Sim bahan ay hindi pinapalagpas sa naturang mga pagpatay. Dahil sa natuklasan, nakatakdang makipagpulong ang grupo sa kanilang mga mambabatas sa Estados Unidos upang magsulong ng imbestigasyon at pilitin ng kanilang pamahalaan na iatras ang suporta sa administrasyong Arroyo.
Philippine Human Rights Victims, rights groups presented cases to UNSR Mr. Alston (tags)
Witnesses and relatives of about 20 victims whose cases were documented by KARAPATAN presented their cases to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings Mr. Philip Alston at an undisclosed place this morning. Among the cases presented were those of Armando Javier, Jr. and Romeo Malabanan, victims of extrajudicial killings. Armando and his wife were shot inside their home on 2 October 2005. Armando was Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Party List Municipal Coordinator in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija and was being harassed by soldiers prior to his murder. Romeo Malabanan, a Bayan Muna Coordinator of Bay, Laguna was shot in front of their home on 23 December 2003.
Philippine Armed Forces target: 5 communist reb fronts (tags)
Reports from Northern Command Camp Aquino, said, five communist guerrilla fronts in four regions where the New People’s Army has first taken root since its founding in 1969 are targeted for dismantling this year, the Army’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) chief said on Thursday.
Bayan Muna leader Killed in Sorsogon, Bicol Region, Philippines (tags)
Another BAYAN MUNA activist was killed yesterday morning—the third in Sorsogon province in the Bicol Region, Southern Luzon in two weeks—and the manner of his death was particularly brutal. Francisco Bantog, provincial chair of the militant party-list group Bayan Muna in Sorsogon, was shot 20 times by yet unidentified men in Barangay Dancalan in Donsol town, news sources in Bicol reported.
DOJ declares Ilocos militant’s killing solved (tags)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has declared the 2005 gunslaying of the Ilocos secretary general of the militant party-list group Bayan Muna solved, the victim’s wife said. Elvie Sanchez, wife of slain Bayan Muna regional leader Romy Sanchez, said she has received a letter from Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez saying the killing was solved with the alleged gunman identified and a warrant of arrest issued against him. "We are not convinced with the letter. They (DOJ) only want to clear the military, which we believe is behind the death of my husband. The killing of Romy (had) the same pattern as that applied by the military to other militant leaders," she said.
NPA GUERILLAS STRIKES IN NEGROS, WESTERN VISAYAS (tags)
About 50 communist rebels, posing as policemen, attacked the construction site of a foreign-funded international airport in Silay City, Negros Occidental, early Sunday, burning down P30-million worth of equipment. The P4.3-billion airport is one of three newly developed airports in three provinces mentioned by the President in her State of the Nation address in July.
Subic rape won’t affect US-RP war games’ (tags)
A spokesman for the US military said yesterday their troops "will not allow" the Subic rape case to affect their operations in the conduct of the forthcoming "Talon Vision" joint military exercises. Noting that five American servicemen have been accused of raping a Filipino woman last November, US military spokesman Capt. Burrel Parmer said the troops are still looking forward to participate in the forthcoming Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise (Philblex) and take the opportunity to help the needy.
Alliance Philippines (AJLPP-USA) September 22 (tags)
The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace In the Philippines (AJLPP)-USA Community Forum: PHILIPPINE UPDATE AND THE EVILS OF MARTIAL LAW last Friday, September 22 at 7;00 PM on September 22, 2006 in Los Angeles was a success. Scores of participants in the forum mostly survivors, victims and those who witnessed and experienced martial law in the Philippines and who now are living in the U.S shared their experiences and the lessons they learned during martial law.
US to beef up hunt for Abu-JI terrorists (tags)
The United States is increasing its support for the ongoing military offensive in Sulu against the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah to hasten the capture of Abu Sayyaf chief Khadaffy Janjalani and Umar Patek and Dulmatin of JI, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz said here yesterday. Cruz said Rear Adm. William VanMeter Alford Jr., chief of staff of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), made the commitment in a meeting with President Arroyo during her stop here on Sunday.
Cabua, not Palparan to the NSA (tags)
The World Council of Churches has condemned the killings and called on the government to disband the death squads, private militias, and paramilitary forces operating in the country. The church group also asked the United Nations Human Rights Council, wherein the Philippines is a member, to take up the issue of extra-judicial killings in the country. Danilo Ramos, secretary general of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said Palparan should be punished not commended. "His appointment (to a new government post) is like unleashing the butcher on the whole nation to carry out a bloodbath."
Leftist murders spark fear in Philippines (tags)
James Ayunga thinks of death whenever a motorcycle roars past. "I get goosebumps when I hear one come up behind me," said the farmers' activist and father of three. Across the Philippines, masked gunmen on motorcycles have killed scores of left-wing community leaders and Ayunga fears he could be next.
New CL Army chief to keep ‘cedula’ drive (tags)
THE incoming Army commander in Central Luzon on Wednesday vowed to continue the military’s anti-insurgency drive in the region, including the cedula campaign of his predecessor, Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan.Maj. Gen. Juanito Gomez, the incoming commander of the 7th Infantry Division, said, however, that he would be more “refined” in implementing the campaign.
International Church leaders Condemns Political Killings in the Philippines (tags)
Condemnations as well as outrage over the unabated and rampant political killings in the Philippines is swelling in the international Christian community. More and more Protestant denominations have expressed alarm over the killings, with the Methodists issuing a statement calling on the US government to pressure Philippine President Arroyo's administration into decisive action. This came on the heels of the latest Amnesty International statement condemning the Arroyo government’s inaction and apparent crackdown of political dissent.
International Church leaders Condemns Political Killings (tags)
Condemnations as well as outrage over the unabated and rampant political killings in the Philippines is swelling in the international Christian community. More and more Protestant denominations have expressed alarm over the killings, with the Methodists issuing a statement calling on the US government to pressure Philippine President Arroyo's administration into decisive action. This came on the heels of the latest Amnesty International statement condemning the Arroyo government’s inaction and apparent crackdown of political dissent.
4 ‘NPA sympathizers’ slain in CL (tags)
Four suspected sympathizers of the New People’s Army (NPA) have been gunned down in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija in the past three days, and the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) in Central Luzon has again pointed an accusing finger at the military.
Privilege Speech of ANAKPAWIS Rep. Rafael Mariano (tags)
Ang bumabalot na pasistang terror sa buong Gitnang Luzon laluna sa lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija ay hindi senyales na nagtatagumpay ang AFP laban sa NPA. Bagkus, lalo lamang nitong ginigising ang mayaman at makasaysayang militante at rebolusyonaryong tradisyon ng mamamayan ng Gitnang Luzon sa pakikibaka laban sa tiranya, pang-aapi't pambubusabos tulad ng ipinamalas nila sa nakaraan.
Esperon’s marching orders: Crush Reds (tags)
President Arroyo has given incoming Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon his marching orders: Crush the 37-year-old communist rebellion and the groups plotting to destabilize the administration.
2 leftists killed in wake (tags)
The blood of leftist militants just won’t stop flowing. A week after men on a motorcycle gunned down former New People’s Army leader Sotero Llamas in Albay province, a lone assassin wearing a bonnet over his head shot dead a Bayan Muna member and a leader of a farmers’ group during a wake on Sunday night here. Bayan Muna’s David Costuna, 48, and Arcadio Macale, 60, president of the local Barangay Agrarian Reform Council, were the 19th and 20th militants murdered around the country in the past two months. Their deaths brought to 228 the total number of activists assassinated since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed office in 2001, according to an Inquirer tally.
Condemn Political Killings in Central Luzon, Philippines (tags)
Pesante-USA reprinted an interview by Ang Bayan of Salud Roja, a revolutionary leader in Central Luzon. it was printed at the QC Indymedia regarding the political killings in Central Luzon on June 4.
BAYAN USA CONDEMNS KILLINGS & EXPRESS CONCERN FOR INT'L HUMAN RIGHTS JUSTICE CAPULONG (tags)
Threats against the Philippines’ premier human rights lawyer linked to Hacienda Luisita massacre, derailment of peace talks and U.S. “war on terror”