This is Gerry Albert Corpuz and this is my life and political journey to the world of class struggle and class emancipation
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Pamalakaya rejects plan to
turn Taal Lake fishers into cultural hosts and performers for tourists
The fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Saturday rejected the national and local government plan to transform fishermen and their families into cultural hosts and performers for visiting tourists in Taal Lake.
In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said Malacañang through the Department of Tourism (DoT) and local government officials are persuading lake fisherfolk and dwellers to work as “ cultural attaché” for tourists in vain attempt to shift their livelihood from fishing to cultural hosting, posing as tourist guides and perform native cultural shows before their tourist guests.
The move will divert local livelihood to allow the “ conversion of Taal Lake and its surroundings as a major tourist destination under the Metro Taal-Tagaytay development project.
“ Tourists are always welcome to integrate with us and know our simple dreams and ordinary conviction in life. The cruel intention of this cultural drama is to divert the attention of fisherfolk from the lake and pave the way for the massive encroachment of agri-business and corporate tourism project in Taal lake”, Hicap said in a press statement.
“ The government wants to change us from productive forces to cultural hosts and performers in the name of their transnational clients dressed in tourist suites. This corporate takeover of Taal Lake deserves wholesale condemnation of the Filipino people, nothing more, nothing less”, the militant leader added.
Hicap said the corporate agenda of the national government and the local government units in Cavite and Batangas is to convert the municipalities surrounding Taal Lake into eco-tourism and agro-industrial parks under the Metro Taal-Tagaytay Development Plan (MTTDP) which was introduced in 1993 by former President Fidel Ramos.
In 1993, the Presidential Commission on Taal and Tagaytay was established as a policymaking body in-charge of implementing the MTTDP and the corresponding master plan for the development plan. The integrated master plan for Taal and Tagaytay started in 1993 and expected to wind up by 2013. The plan would cover the upland towns of Silang, Amadeo, Mendez, Alfonso and Tagaytay in Cavite, 11 lake towns of Batangas namely Balete, Talisay, Laurel, Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Santa Teresita, Cuenca, Lipa City and Mataas na Kahoy.
“ The Manila government and its local government units in Cavite and Batangas will sell Taal Lake to the highest bidder in the name of eco-tourism and agro-industrial interests and not for the common goal and general welfare of farmers and fisherfolk around the Taal Lake. President Arroyo and her cabal of corrupt officials will deny this to high heaven but the truth will always find a way to tell the real score to the public”, Pamalakaya said.
Data obtained by Pamalakaya revealed the extent of the projects and how these projects would affect farmers and fisherfolk families dependent on Taal lake resources:
· Green Square Properties Corp. plans to develop 611 hectares of upland areas in Barangay Sta. Maria and another 50 hectares in Barangay San Gabriel for its Las Haciendas project that would displace 1,745 farmers and fishermen
· The JAKA group of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, Fil-Invest and Sta. Lucia Realty Corp. are planning to develop a 300 hectare first class subdivision and golf course in Barangay Dayap Itaas and Paliparan in Laurel town.
· The Belle Corporation will construct a racetrack and a first class subdivision in the 150-hectare upland areas in Barangay Tumaway, Talisay, Batangas.
· Another Belle Corporation project this time in Barangay Maria Paz, Tanauan that will entail the conversion of 198 hectares of agricultural lands into an Asean Village that would include golf courses and first class subdivisions.
· The Department of Tourism will create a national park, a tourism receiving and information center also in Taal Lake that would be constructed in the 2,500 hectare area located in Isla Pulo and nearby barangays in Tanauan, Batangas.
Pamalakaya said a total of 4,691 hectares of agricultural lands situated along Taal Lake had been earmarked for conversion for tourism purposes under the MTTDP. #
DND chief collapsing gov’t peace talks with Reds
Atty. Cruz statement on the defeat of communist insurgents within 6 to 10 years, recycles ex-President Cory Aquino’s Total War Policy
A militant group supporting the peace talks between the government and the communist-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) on Friday said Defense Secretary Atty. Avelino Cruz Jr. was recycling the “ Total War Policy” approach of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino to defeat the communist insurgency in the country.
In a press statement, the fisherfolk activist group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) stressed that the pronouncement of Defense Secretary Atty. Cruz that the Armed Forces of the Philippines would defeat the communist insurgents was an endorsement of the total war approach characterized by the escalation of unjust war and wanton violation of basic human rights and civil liberties.
“ Sec. Cruz merely laid down the political statement for the collapse of the peace negotiations and on the other hand, endorsed the all-out military offensives and left-and-right political assassination and persecution of activists identified with the mainstream or aboveground left, including other critics of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration and the military establishment”, says Pamalakaya information officer Gerry Albert Corpuz in a press statement.
Defense Secretary Cruz on Thursday said the communist insurgency will remain a national security threat for the next decade and the AFP needs six to l10 years to put an end to the 36-year old Maoist rebellion waged by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA).
Corpuz said aside from laying the ground for another Total War policy.
“ Sec. Atty. Cruz is a poor student of history, a senseless political animal and a dogmatic follower of AFP’s Jurassic resolution to the armed conflict and ongoing civil war in the countryside.
He added that other internal security threats such as the Abu Sayyaf Group and the local operatives of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah should have been licked by then.
"The AFP can defeat the CPP-NPA in six to 10 years," Cruz told the Manila Overseas Press Club Wednesday night.
"If we are going to be attuned to the 21st century, it is an unacceptable attitude that we will have the communist insurgency for another 30 years," he added.
Cruz said such timetable is consistent with the Philippine Defense Reform Program which his team at the DND has formulated.
Pamalakaya wants Secretary Gonzales to inhibit self from any probe on jueteng
Militants blast DoJ chief for raising national
security to force Inquirer to reveal sources on jueteng scandal
A militant group on Friday slammed Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales for requiring the Philippine Daily Inquirer to furnish the Department of Justice (DoJ) the names of B1, B2 and O1 who revealed that First Gentleman Atty. Miguel “ Mike” Arroyo and eldest son Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “ Mikey” were receiving millions of monthly payoffs from jueteng operations.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the issue of national security was raised to pressure the Inquirer to disclose its’ sources not in the name of public interest but at the behest and narrow interest of the Office of the President and members of the First Family accused of pocketing millions of pesos from jueteng payola.
“ What threat to national security Justice Secretary Gonzales is talking about? The issue here is super crimes of corruption involving members of the First Family. The issue here is public interest pressed down to the level of the gutter by the alleged involvement of the Arroyos in the jueteng scandal”, said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap.
The militant leader said the DoJ made a wrong move when it asked the Inquirer to name its sources in the name of national security. Hicap said the issue of national security is gravely abused by a highly insecure regime to the extent of violating the codes and principles governing the exercise of press freedom in the country.
Hicap said the “ extreme behavior” displayed by Secretary Gonzales only shows that he is after the “ welfare” of the Arroyos currently in hot seat over the jueteng scandal. “ The DoJ chief merely expresses his allegiance to the Arroyos and certify his position that he serves at the pleasure of the ruling Macapagal-Arroyo circle in Malacañang”, the militant leader added.
In his letter to Inquirer editor-in-chief Leticia Jimenez-Magsanoc, Secretary Gonzales said the newspaper report naming the First Gentleman, son Mikey and PNP Director General Arturo Lomibao has serious implications to national security of the nation and that the report quoting the undisclosed sources had smeared the names of the Arroyos.
The DoJ chief also asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into allegations that the jueteng money was reaching members of the First Family and tasked the agency to locate the key personalities named in the Inquirer report and to unmask the sources identified by their code names such as B1, B2 and O1.
But Pamalakaya’s Hicap was not impressed. “ Secretary Gonzales is the Chief of DoJ, not the lawyer of the Arroyos. He should keep that in mind. What he did was grand showoff of political affection and loyalty to the Arroyos and subtle repression of press freedom for the political convenience of his master or masters in Malacañang”, he added.
Meanwhile, Pamalakaya asked Secretary Gonzales to inhibit self from any investigation on the jueteng scandal involving members of the First Family. The group said the DoJ chief failed to show a high level of objectivity and fairness when he castigated the Inquirer for reporting the “ highly explosive issue” concerning the Arroyos and their connection with the jueteng payola.
“ The DoJ secretary should not get involve in the process of finding the truth about the jueteng payoff. He has made publicly his bias and affection for the Arroyos and we don’t see any reason why he should be made part of any process that would put the issue to its logical and objective conclusion”, the group added. #
Palace tapping of Viva’s Boss Vic as presidential adviser
for entertainment irks militant group
Pathetic, senseless and grossly irresponsible says Pamalakaya
Pathetic, senseless and grossly irresponsible.
This was how a spokesperson of a left-leaning fisherfolk group described the move of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointing the owner of Viva Entertainment Vicente “ Vic” del Rosario as presidential adviser for entertainment.
“ We find it pathetic, senseless and grossly irresponsible on the part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to appoint the Viva Entertainment’s big boss as presidential adviser for entertainment. The Filipino people need sweeping but meaningful economic and political reforms, not cheap thrill and dime-a-dozen entertainment”, said Pamalakaya information officer Gerry Albert Corpuz in a press statement.
‘ If Mrs. Arroyo wants to join the Viva Hotbabes, then she better resign her post and join the sing and dance group of Mr. del Rosario”, Corpuz added referring to the all female sexy group currently in exclusive contract with the entertainment company.
But Pamalakaya’s Corpuz clarified that he has nothing against Viva Entertainment and the Viva Hotbabes and that what he was questioning was Mrs. Arroyo’s desperate act to use industry moguls and artists as part of her PR blitzkrieg in vain attempt to recover her waning popularity and trust rating.
“ Showbiz people should reject the corrupt and criminal regime of President Arroyo, the way ordinary folks distrust and detest her government. It is time for the movie industry to take an activist stand similar to what the people from the film industry did at the height of the Marcos dictatorship. They should stop the people in power from exploiting them for political convenience”, Corpuz added.
Malacañang Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told a news conference in Malacañang that the president of the Viva Entertainment Company will "help inform the public about the programs of the President. The” little president” said the entertainment industry will generate a very strong effect on the public, announcing that President Arroyo will throw a ‘ thanksgiving dinner” for Boss Vic and select members of the entertainment press.
“ This is part of the makeover campaign of President Arroyo. We hope the showbiz people will rise above the occasion and deny the President’s cruel intentions against this beleaguered industry and the Filipino people”, Pamalakaya said.
Ermita admitted the President's problem was her "projection before the public." But he was quick to explain that every incumbent president is unpopular because the country's problems are blamed on him/her. For his part, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said that Del Rosario would act as the government's "conduit" to convince other film producers to make "wholesome movies."
But Pamalakaya has this to say on the proposal of Malacañang for del Rosario to convince other film producers to make wholesome movies. “ While Malacañang was asking film producers to produce better quality films and wholesome movies, the Office of the President and the Chief Executive’s associates and cohorts are grossly involved in obscene crimes of corruption, bold acts of plunder and pornographic display of ill-gotten wealth”, Pamalakaya said. #
Let the war of the worlds begin
President told: Tell husband, son to face
accusers in Senate inquiry on jueteng payoff
Rabid critics of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday urged the Chief Executive to tell her husband First Gentleman Atty. Miguel “ Mike’ Arroyo and son, Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo to face their accusers in the scheduled Senate inquiry on jueteng payoff and refrain from rushing Malacañang to her husband and son’s defense.
“ Let this war of the worlds begin between the whistleblowers and the Arroyos over the newest jueteng scandal in town. President Arroyo should be barred from rallying the political resources and power brokers in Malacañang in behalf of the Father and Son tandem”, said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap in a press statement.
Hicap issued the challenge to President Arroyo because of past experiences with Malacañang where the Office of the President took the cudgels for presidential relatives accused of having been engaged in alleged super crimes of corruption.
“ President Arroyo should take a ‘ hands off policy’ on the jueteng scandal and allow objectivity, truth and fair play to determine the outcome of any probe looking into the alleged involvement of her controversial husband and son to the jueteng scandal”, Hicap asserted.
“ If Mrs.Arroyo refuses to take the challenge, then the public have the right to conclude that the Office the President is behind this cesspool of scams and scandals of corruption arising from jueteng”, the militant leader added.
For his part, Pamalakaya information officer Gerry Albert Corpuz asked the Senate to proceed with the investigation on the alleged involvement of top presidential relatives and government officials in the jueteng fiasco.
“ The Senate should start doing their homework. This issue needs to be tabled in the soonest time possible to prevent the jueteng lords and their co-accused from obscuring the truth and stage their walk-in-the park escape from public condemnation”, Corpuz said.
The group’s information chief also asked the Senate to enlist Atty. Arroyo, Pampanga Rep. Arroyo and even Negros Occidental Rep. Iggy Ignacio in the list of those who would be invited to the inquiry on jueteng scandal.
“ The Senate leadership should commit itself to produce the Arroyos before the senate committee on Games, Amusement and Sports or any other appropriate committee that would be tasked to probe the biggest jueteng scandal of the millennium”, Corpuz added.
As expected, Atty. Mike Arroyo dismissed the allegations that he and son Rep. Arroyo were receiving jueteng payola from gambling lords as mere fabrications, black propaganda and a ‘ trying hard attempt to undermine the presidency and embarrassed the First Family.
“ If there’s smoke, there’s fire. In the name truth and public interest, the Arroyos should come to the Senate inquiry for a face-off with their accusers. They should be stopped from using the political blanket of authority of President Arroyo,” Pamalakaya added. #
Maj. General Palparan “ admits” he is behind
the spate of political killings in Samar, Leyte--- militant groups
Leaders of the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the peasant activist group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said on Monday that Maj. General Jovito Palparan had admitted that he was behind the spate of political killings of activists in Samar and Leyte provinces.
“ The search is over as to who is the mastermind behind the killings of political activists in Samar and Leyte provinces . Maj. General Jovito Palparan, Malacañang’s favorite military general had already admitted to the public as part of his own crowning glory as the new Butcher of Eastern Visayas”, KMP and Pamalakaya said in joint statement.
KMP deputy secretary general Willy Marbella said the pronouncement of Palparan during a public meeting in Tacloban City that military would be abducting one peasant activist every month from so-called NPA infested areas is a “ material basis” to file murder and other criminal charges against the general tagged as the “ Butcher of Mindoro”.
“ We will just organize the materials and evidence that would pin down Palparan as the orchestrator of the left and right political assassinations of peasant activists and progressive elements in Eastern Visayas. The filing of criminal charges will take place within the soonest time as possible”, Marbella said.
Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said the admission by Gen. Palparan of his leadership in the mass murder of peasant activists, progressives and critics of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the military establishment in the region also confirmed a policy statement known as ‘take no prisoner policy” carried out by Malacañang and the military intended to assassinate, kill and intimidate critics of the Macapagal-Arroyo clique.
Citing an interview conducted by Bantay Jasmin, a radio station based in Tacloban City, Hicap said the controversial military officer almost admitted categorically his “ starring role” in the mass abduction, forced disappearances and summary executions of political activists in Samar and Leyte provinces.
When further asked by the radio program host about the abduction of peasant activists in Samar and Leyte, Palparan had this to say: “ Pasensya na kayo sa paisa-isang kinukuha at ninunyutralisa natin sa mga baryo. Kailangan nating gawin iyon dahil kung hindi inaalis ang paisa-isang bulok na mansanas ay mabubulok lahat.” ( I’m sorry if we have to seize and neutralize these rotten apples one-by-one. If we don’t, it is these bad apples that will spoil the whole brunch).
Pamalakaya’s Hicap also said Maj. General Palparan confirmed his role in the series of abductions of political activists identified with militant party list groups and cause-oriented organizations in Catbalogan, Northern Samar.
Maj. Gen. Palparan said “ Yung masasamang tao na nawawala, mabuti naman na mawala sila. These are the bad eggs. Gumagawa sila ng kagaguhan. They are the ones killing people. If you don’t do anything, patuloy silang gagawa ng masama. Ngayon kinuha ang mga ito, tinatanong-tanong, galit kayo. ( It is a good thing that those bad elements are missing. They are the bad eggs. They do bad things. They are the ones killing people. If you don’t do anything, they will just go on doing bad things. Now that they’ve been seized you question why. You are angry).
“ Maj. Gen. Palparan has become the epitome of state terror courtesy of President Macapagal-Arroyo and the rabid anti-militant and anti-people military officers within the inner circle of the ruling syndicate in Malacañang”, said Hicap in allusion to Palparan’s statements.
Likewise KMP’s Marbella scored Palparan for the military officer’s insulting and downgrading statement against farmers in Samar and Leyte provinces. The militant leader recalled that when Palparan was asked by Bantay Jasmin why the NPA is strong in Samar island, the controversial general lashed back and said ‘ dahil tamad ang mga tao rito at ayaw magtrabaho para pahusayin ang kabuhayan nila’ (It is because the people here are lazy and don’t want to work to improve their lives).
“ Kapal ng mukha. Hindi niya ba alam na ang kanin na kinakain niya at ng pamilya niya ay mula sa dugo at pawis ng mga magsasaka? Hindi niya ba alam na ang sweldo niya ay mula sa walang katapusang buwis na ibinabayad ng mga magsasaka? Hindi lamang siya arrogante, psychotic pa” ( Thick face. Does he know that the rice he and his family is eating come from blood and sweat of the farmers? Does he know that his salary come from the endless taxes paid by the farmers? He is not only arrogant, he is psychotic too”), Marbella lamented.
Palparan said he was more inspired everytime media referred him as the Butcher of Mindoro although he neither deny or admit that he was a butcher in real life. The controversial military officer also admitted that the Alsa Masa, a paramilitary group accused of killing mass activists in Mindoro Island between 2001 to 2004 was created when he was the commanding officer of the 204th IBPA in the island province as he recognized the death squad’s help in the counter-insurgency campaign of the government against the NPA. #
Feisty senator’s proposal to reduce military gets backing of militant group
Miriam urged to file bill downsizing AFP
While fellow politicians snubbed her “ extreme challenges” during the groundwork for political unity summit held last week in Manila Hotel, a group of left-leaning fisherfolk activists over the weekend found the proposal of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago to downsize the military and purge corrupt generals worthy of political consideration.
In a press statement, the militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said Senator Santiago’s proposal was logical, objective and a product of political scholarship.
“ Why spend billions of tax payers money for the work of mercenaries, certified violators of people’s basic human rights and civil liberties and first-rate corrupt generals? The senator has a very interesting point there that should be given political premium”, Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya national chair said in a press statement.
Hicap urged Senator Santiago to file a bill reducing the number of AFP troops by a considerable number and re-channel funds for basic social services like health, education and mass housing. As for the rank and file members of the military, Hicap said, the national government should provide decent jobs that would remold and erase their mercenary thinking and way of living.
The proposal of Pamalakaya to Sen. Santiago to file a bill downsizing the AFP stemmed from the refusal of Major Gen. Jovito Palparan to stop military atrocities against the civilians in Samar and Leyte provinces which had been going on since February this year.
“ It his high time to downsize the AFP and stop the military establishment from producing military officials like Gen. Palparan and terrorist troops like elements of the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army now both involved in the mass murder of activists, ordinary people, church workers and lawyers in Eastern Visayas”, the group said.
Pamalakaya also advanced the call for the downsizing AFP following reports that Major. Gen. Palparan and military officials under his command in Eastern Visayas refused to heed on the demand of lawmakers and local politicians to halt the military staged killings of activists identified with left-leaning groups like Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Pamalakaya and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), as well as the military offensives in upland areas which had displaced thousands of civilians since February this year.
“ We be believe that the proposal of Sen. Santiago to downsize the AFP becomes relevant and necessary nowadays following reports that the military under the command of Gen. Palparan in Eastern Visayas had converted the region into a major killing field”, the group added.
Pamalakaya informed Sen. Santiago that Gen. Palparan and the troops under his command had rejected the calls of Representatives Catalino V. Figueroa (2nd district, Samar), Reynaldo S. Uy (1st district, Samar), Gerardo J. Espina Jr. (lone district, Biliran), Marcelino Libanan (lone district, Easter Samar), Remedios Petilla (1st district, Leyte), Trinidad Apostol (2nd district, Leyte), Eduardo Veloso (3rd district, Leyte), Eufrocino Codilla (4th district, Leyte), Carmen Cari (5th district, Leyte), Roger Mercado (lone district, Southern Leyte), Harlin Abayon (1st district, Northern Samar), Romualdo Vicencio (2nd district, Northern Samar) and An Waray Rep. Florencio Noel to investigate the spate of killings in the region and put the perpetrators to justice.
“ The principle of civilian supremacy over the military is in grave danger in Eastern Visayas because of Gen. Palparan and his men engaged in a roaring rampage of military atrocities in the region. Sen. Santiago should consider this current situation in Region 8 as one of the prime factors in considering a bill that would downsize and reform the AFP”, the group added. #
The 13 congressmen wrote President Arroyo on April 11,2005 calling her administration to probe the left and right killings and other violations allegedly committed by government soldiers in the region against civilians, mass activists and other concerned groups.
The House is set to investigate the unbridled killings and harassment of political activists in the region, including other cases of human rights violations like frustrated killings, abductions, bombings, illegal arrest and detention, forced evacuations and disappearances.
As of last week, in Northern Samar, the human rights group documented four cases of indiscriminate bombings victimizing 18 persons in four communities. In Western Samar, Pamalakaya said, human rights group documented 10 cases of summary execution, 5 cases of forced disappearances, 9 cases of abduction, 12 cases of illegal arrests, 5 cases of torture, 36 cases of harassment which victimized over 100 persons, 12 families and 9 communities.
There were also cases of human rights violation documented in Biliran, Metro Tacloban, Northern Leyte, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.
Pamalakaya said leaders, mass members and staff of their Samar wide chapter Samahan ng mga Maliliit na Mangingisda sa Samar Laban sa Kahirapan (Samaka) and the region wide Pamalakaya-Eastern Visayas were being threatened and harassed by military elements belonging to the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army under Gen. Palparan.
“ The local government officials, the congressmen and the people of Eastern Visayas are all complaining of the military atrocities perpetrated by Palparan and his league of extraordinary butchers in the region, but President Arroyo remained unperturbed, insensitive and appeared like enjoying the killing rampage of her military men in Eastern Visayas”, the group lamented. #
CREEPING MILITARY DICTATORSHIP IN EASTERN VISAYAS
13 Eastern Visayan solons asked to recall Gen. Palparan, pullout of troops due to left and right AFP atrocities in Region 8
The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Friday urged the 13 congressmen in Region 8 to recall the designation and deployment of Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan as the commanding chief of the 8th Infantry Division, Philippine Army in Eastern Visayas.
“ In aid of legislation, we appeal to the 13 lawmakers of Region 8 to uphold civilian supremacy over the military by recalling the deployment of Gen. Palparan and subsequently order the pullout of government troops in the region”, said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap in a press statement.
Earlier, the 13 congressmen----Representatives Catalino V. Figueroa (2nd district, Samar), Reynaldo S. Uy (1st district, Samar), Gerardo J. Espina Jr. (lone district, Biliran), Marcelino Libanan (lone district, Easter Samar), Remedios Petilla (1st district, Leyte), Trinidad Apostol (2nd district, Leyte), Eduardo Veloso (3rd district, Leyte), Eufrocino Codilla (4th district, Leyte), Carmen Cari (5th district, Leyte), Roger Mercado (lone district, Southern Leyte), Harlin Abayon (1st district, Northern Samar), Romualdo Vicencio( 2nd district, Northern Samar) and An Waray Rep. Florencio Noel asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to investigate the spate of killings in the region and put the perpetrators to justice.
The 13 congressmen wrote President Arroyo on April 11,2005 calling her administration to probe the left and right killings and other violations allegedly committed by government soldiers in the region against civilians, mass activists and other concerned groups.
“ The Eastern Visayan solons must assert their supremacy and uphold the civilian’s political and moral right against the creeping military dictatorship in the region. Gen. Palparan, enjoying Malacañang and top generals of the Armed Forces is sweepingly implementing military dictatorship in Region 8 at the expense of human rights and civil liberties”, Hicap said.
In their letter to President Arroyo, the 13 congressmen said they were shocked at the series of brutality and lawlessness in the region. They also said the people of Samar and Leyte were in living in fear and repression because the military had been searching homes without court-issued warrants and ordinary people were apprehended without orders from the court.
“ We write in our collective capacity as members of the House of Representatives from Region, to bring to the attention of Her Excellency the recent spate of killings and other violent incidents in Samar and Leyte”, the letter said.
In his own personal letter to President Arroyo, also dated April 11, 2005, Rep. Figueroa according to Pamalakaya said certain military elements under the command of Brig. General Jovito Palparan Jr. have undertaken illegal searches of homes on the mere suspicion that there were New People’s Army in the areas.
Palace refused to take on Danding, Marcos cronies for the sake of political accommodation
Even Danding Cojuangco enjoyed perks, privileges from CIIF fund, two groups bared
Even San Miguel Chairman and businessman Eduardo “ Danding” Cojuangco enjoyed perks and privileges from the use of the coconut levy funds now pegged at P 140 B.
The left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), which last week advanced the proposal for coconut farmers’ organizations and cooperatives to takeover the control and operations of coconut oil mills funded through the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) revealed that some of the expenditures had nothing to do with improvement of the coconut industry.
Pamalakaya and UMA said at the height of the Marcos dictatorship, Cojuangco, for his personal use purchased a plane, a Sugar King Air 200 at the cost of 1.4 million US dollars, while another 1 million US dollars were spent for a twin-engine helicopter for his personal use.
Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap citing the book Some are Smarter Than Others said Cojuangco drawn an initial outlay of $ US 58 million from the CIIF between 1974 and 1979 for his coconut seed garden project in Bugsuk Island in Palawan.
Hicap said Cojuangco was given another $ US 59 million in 1982, representing “ liquidated damages” bringing the total coconut levy sunk into Cojuangco’s seed garden to $ US 117 million.
“ The CIIF since time immemorial had been one of the good providers for aristocrats and oligarchs in the government. It all started during the Marcos regime and this blasphemous tradition has been continued and still the tall order of the day under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration”, he said.
“ Cojuangco’s first-rate crimes of corruption were never assailed or condemned by the accommodating regime of President Arroyo, because there is a state policy granting plunderers their crowning glory under this administration for the sake of political accommodation and lion’s share on ill-gotten wealth”, Hicap added.
UMA national coordinator Roy Morilla said coconut levy funds were also used to acquire foreign milling and trading forms aside from the local coconut oil mills under the United Coconut Mills (Unicom) through the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and the investment arm CIIF.
Morilla said the foreign companies acquired through the use of coconut levy funds were as follows: Nouvelles Hulleries et Reffineries Unipol, France; Societe Anonyme de Produit Excel, France; Pan Pacific Commodities, Los Angeles, California, Crown Oil Corp., US; Granexport Corp., San Francisco, California; Coastal American Traders, Santa Monica, California and Legaspi Oil International Ltd. in Hong Kong.
“ This is history. But this history was never made known to the public by the present administration because President Arroyo does not want to engage Danding in a major clash because her government also wants to score a good share of the loot”, Morilla said.
Earlier leaders of both groups said the ownership and operations of coco levy funded coconut oil mills should be transferred to coconut farmers organizations, saying these mills were purchased from the coco levy funds contributed by millions of small coconut farmers.
Pamalakaya and UMA said the following coconut oil mills which where procured from the coconut levy funds since1977, in which ownership and full control should be given to coconut farmers organization are as follows: Southern Luzon Coconut Oil Mills, Legaspi Oil, Cagayan de Oro Oil, Davao Gulf Oil, Granexport Corp., Iligan Bay Oil Mill, Mindanao Coconut Oil Mills, Philagro Edible Oil Inc., San Pablo Manufacturing Corp., Southern Island Oil Mill and Indophil Oil Mills.
Pamalakaya said a total of $ US 136 million from the coconut levy fund were drawn from CIIF in the mid 70s to finance the purchase of oil mills and marketing of copra which was part then of Marcos dictatorship’s program for the rationalization of the coconut oil milling industry.
“ The takeover of these coconut funded oil mills by the small coconut farmers’ groups and cooperatives for their own national and collective interest is politically necessary, socially just and morally upright”, the group said. #
Pamalakaya told Inquirer’s Doronila: There is an alternative
Militants set sight on transition government that would implement sweeping reforms, call for the election of the new government
Contrary to Inquirer’s editorial consultant Amando Doronila’s view that opponents of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo calling for her ouster failed to present an alternative in case the President is ousted from power, a leftist group on Monday said it is eyeing a transition government composed of anti-Arroyo forces as immediate replacement to the regime that would be tasked to implement sweeping reforms and that would call for the election of the new government.
“ Definitely there is a tactical and long term alternative to a discredited regime and the system that it represents. That is why the rule of constitutional succession that would benefit Vice President Noli de Castro in case President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is ousted from Malacañang is gallantly being opposed at the arena of political battle”, said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap.
Doronila said the public clamor for the overthrow of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration may not have a mass base or military base, but what made its dangerous is that it is taking place against a background of an increasing nostalgia for strongman rule.
“ The Filipino people firmly reject the revival of strongman rule in whatever form and substance as an alternative to the soon-deposed administration of Mrs. Arroyo. The horrible experience under Martial Law is always a lesson that keeps people from going against military backed, US supported dictatorship”, Hicap said.
Pamalakaya said they would not subscribe to the idea of constitutional successor once President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is ousted from Malacañang.
“ Instead of VP de Castro as constitutional successor, anti-Arroyo forces should agree to establish a transition government that would call for the election of new government. The new transition government and the succeeding newly elected administration should implement sweeping economic and political reforms for the benefit of the people”, the group added.
Pamalakaya said the installation of VP de Castro as the successor of the soon to be deposed President Arroyo is politically unacceptable, adding that majority of the Filipino people will not agree to have an Arroyo ally or protégé to succeed as the next administration.
“ At this very early period, we want to inform the Vice President that he will not benefit from the ouster of President Arroyo from power. His political standing whether he would stay as vice-president or not will be decided by the transitional government”, Pamalakaya added.
Pamalakaya said 1,000 leaders of sectoral and multi-sectoral alliances calling for the ouster of President Macapagal-Arroyo will convene late this month or early June to discuss the campaign for the removal of the Chief Executive and prepare for the establishment of transition government that would replace the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.
Billed as the Peoples’ Summit, all sectoral and multi-sectoral groups will be asked to present their respective people’s agenda which will be submitted to the transition government for quick implementation after the fall of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime.
Pamalakaya said the Peoples’ Summit will serve as a counterpoint summit to the political summit that House Speaker Jose de Venecia would call either this month or the following month. The group said they would not participate to de Venecia’s summit, and, instead would ask all politicians and political parties to boycott the Palace-de Venecia initiated political summit.
“ We expect the opposition bloc to support and participate in the Peoples Summit to strengthen the anti-Arroyo unity among forces opposed to President Arroyo’s continued stay in Malacañang, the group added. Pamalakaya said that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration no longer enjoys the trust and confidence of the majority of the Filipino people and the degree of political isolation is extreme and irreversible.
“ The people hate this regime so much due to avant-garde crimes of corruption, puppetry and betrayal. The journalists are not in good terms with this regime. The revolting bishops of the Roman Catholic Church want the president to quit and only a few military and police generals are supporting the government”, the group added.
Pamalakaya said among the issues which his group will raise to President Arroyo’s successor will include agrarian and aquatic reforms, globalization, liberalization, privatization and deregulation and particular issues like wage, oil price hike, water and electricity, housing and social services, debt servicing, human rights and civil liberties. #
Militant groups propose coconut farmers ‘takeover
of coco-levy funded coconut oil mills
A day after they called for the abolition of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) and the immediate return of coconut levy funds to coconut farmers, two militant groups on Sunday proposed the takeover of levy funded coconut oil firms by coconut farmers’ organizations nationwide.
The proposal was advanced by the militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and Unyon ng Mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), the biggest agricultural labor union in the country.
In a joint statement, leaders of both groups said the ownership and operations of coco levy funded coconut oil mills should be transferred to coconut farmers organizations, saying these mills were purchased from the coco levy funds contributed by millions of small coconut farmers.
Pamalakaya and UMA said the following coconut oil mills which where procured from the coconut levy funds since1977, in which ownership and full control should be given to coconut farmers organization are as follows: Southern Luzon Coconut Oil Mills, Legaspi Oil, Cagayan de Oro Oil, Davao Gulf Oil, Granexport Corp., Iligan Bay Oil Mill, Mindanao Coconut Oil Mills, Philagro Edible Oil Inc., San Pablo Manufacturing Corp., Southern Island Oil Mill and Indophil Oil Mills.
Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said a total of $ US 136 million from the coconut levy fund were drawn from CIIF in the mid 70s to finance the purchase of oil mills and marketing of copra which was part then of Marcos dictatorship’s program for the rationalization of the coconut oil milling industry.
“ The takeover of these coconut funded oil mills by the small coconut farmers’ groups and cooperatives for their own national and collective interest is politically necessary, social just and morally upright”, Hicap said.
As for his part, UMA national coordinator Roy Morilla explained that the coconut oil milling companies bought using the coconut levy funds were part of the conglomerate known as the United Coconut Mills or Unicom which was initiated and later controlled by Cojuangco and other associates of the Marcos regime.
“ Every Filipino coconut farmer has the right to declare to the public that these coconut oil mills belong to them and that they have the political and economic right to utilize these mills free of charge because these are products of their hard labor, nothing more, nothing less”, Morilla added.
Pamalakaya and UMA urged small coconut farmers associations to resist attempts of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, top executives of CIIF and Cojuangco to cover up their respective and joint crimes against them.
“ Let’s call a spade a spade. The acts of plunder and first-rate crimes of corruption arising from the P 130 B coconut levy fund will persist in the national government while continue depriving the small coconut farmers of the legitimate rights to the coco levy fund as long as the control of the fund remains in the hands of coconut levy syndicates and the equally bankrupt regime”, the groups added. #
PGMA snub Eastern Visayas solons call to
stop AFP atrocities in Eastern Visayas, says militant group
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has remained silent over the widespread human rights violations in Eastern Visayas region despite the call of 13 congressmen from Samar, Leyte and Biliran provinces for her administration to conduct a full-blown investigation on the spate of killings and other forms of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by members of the military.
Citing an April 11, 2005 letter addressed to President Arroyo and signed by 12 congressmen and one party list representative, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the Chief Executive failed to response to the call of Eastern Visayas lawmakers to stop military atrocities in the region.
“ President Arroyo did a complete snub on the immediate call of Eastern Visayas solons to break her silence on the fresh wave of political killings in the region. The Chief Executive by her own act has relinquished the civilian authority to the military by allowing AFP personnel to dictate the political life in the region through sheer display of state terror”, said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap.
According to the letter, the 13 congressmen said they were shocked at the series of brutality and lawlessness in the region. They also said the people of Samar and Leyte were in living in fear and repression because the military had been searching homes without court-issued warrants and ordinary people were apprehended without orders from the court.
“ We write in our collective capacity as members of the House of Representatives from Region, to bring to the attention of Her Excellency the recent spate of killings and other violent incidents in Samar and Leyte”, the letter said, according to Hicap.
The letter was signed by Representatives Catalino V. Figueroa (2nd district, Samar), Reynaldo S. Uy (1st district, Samar), Gerardo J. Espina Jr. (lone district, Biliran), Marcelino Libanan (lone district, Easter Samar), Remedios Petilla (1st district, Leyte), Trinidad Apostol (2nd district, Leyte), Eduardo Veloso (3rd district, Leyte), Eufrocino Codilla (4th district, Leyte), Carmen Cari (5th district, Leyte), Roger Mercado (lone district, Southern Leyte), Harlin Abayon (1st district, Northern Samar), Romualdo Vicencio( 2nd district, Northern Samar) and An Waray Rep. Florencio Noel.
In his own personal letter to President Arroyo, also dated April 11, 2005, Rep. Figueroa according to Pamalakaya said certain military elements under the command of Brig. General Jovito Palparan Jr. have undertaken illegal searches of homes on the mere suspicion that there were New People’s Army in the areas.
Pamalakaya said Rep. Figueroa who had been involved in Samar politics since 1988 was shocked with the reported atrocities of the military in the province. The veteran solon said the situation was worse than Martial Law because the military feels free to violate the sanctity of homes and privacy of persons without being cloaked with any sort of whatever authority.
“ President Arroyo cannot break her silence on the fresh wave of state terror in Eastern Visayas because Malacañang blessed the military’s roaring rampage of AFP brutality in the region under the command of Gen. Palparan. She had subverted the civilian authority to the military in exchange for the generals support to her weak, fragile and detested administration”, the militant group added.
Pamalakaya acquired a report of human rights violations in the region from human rights watchdog Karapatan. It said in Northern Samar, the human rights group documented four cases of indiscriminate bombings victimizing 18 persons in four communities.
In Western Samar, Pamalakaya said, human rights group documented 10 cases of summary execution, 5 cases of forced disappearances, 9 cases of abduction, 12 cases of illegal arrests, 5 cases of torture, 36 cases of harassment which victimized over 100 persons, 12 families and 9 communities. There were also cases of human rights violation documented in Biliran, Metro Tacloban, Northern Leyte, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.
Pamalakaya said leaders, mass members and staff of their Samar wide chapter Samahan ng mga Maliliit na Mangingisda sa Samar Laban sa Kahirapan (Samaka) and the region wide Pamalakaya-Eastern Visayas were being threatened and harassed by military elements belonging to the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army under Gen. Palparan.
“ The local government officials, the congressmen and the people of Eastern Visayas are all complaining of the military atrocities perpetrated by Palparan and his league of extraordinary butchers in the region, but President Arroyo remained unperturbed, insensitive and appeared like enjoying the killing rampage of her military men in Eastern Visayas”, the group lamented. #
Anti-dumpsite groups vow to block barge of garbage
Leaders of the various groups opposed to the three-year old Navotas Controlled Dump Facility in Tanza, Navotas today vowed to block the further entry of barge carrying garbage from Pier 18 of Manila North Harbor to Obando River going to the dumpsite in defense of the fisherfolk livelihood and protection of residents’ health.
The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), its local chapter Pamalakaya-Bulacan and the multi-sectoral alliance Obando Peoples’ Alliance Against Dumpsite (Oppose Dumpsite) in a press conference said their groups are mapping out plans on how to sustain the campaign preventing the barge from passing into the Obando River.
Pamalakaya-Bulacan spokesperson Ricardo de Armas recalled that more than 2,000 fisherfolk and residents participated in blocking the barge carrying tons of Metro Manila garbage last April 26. He said there would be adjustments as far as how to sustain the campaign following the deployment of marines and police personnel in two barangays in Obando adjacent to the Navotas dumpsite.
“ We will not be cowed by the presence of mercenaries in uniform. The people will continue the fight, block the barge carrying garbage of Metro Manila and clinch the closure and cleaning up of the stench-producing dumpsite come what may”, de Armas said.
On April 29, de Armas said, the Philippine Marines and the provincial police of Bulacan started beefing up their forces in Barangay Binuangan and Barangay Salambao to dissuade the people from staging their protest and allow the barge of the Philippine Ecology Systems Inc. to proceed in dumping Metro Manila garbage to the site of the controlled disposal facility.
“ The heavy deployment of military and police forces near Navotas dumpsite is meant to instill fear and terrorize the fisherfolk and the residents protesting this garbage dumpsite. But there’s no turning back as far as Obandeños are concerned”, de Armas added.
Filing of charges before Office of the Ombudsman mulled
For his part, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said his group is now consulting its legal counsel regarding its plan to file graft and corruption charges against Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Michael Defensor and Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco, including officials of Phileco contracted to operate the controversial dumpsite.
“ The operation of Navotas dumpsite is against public interest. There is a strong case against Sec. Defensor, against Phileco and town mayors of Obando and Navotas for allowing an immoral and anti-people project to progress to the detriment of fisherfolk livelihood, people’s health and the environment”, Hicap added.
The militant leader said Defensor and Tiangco violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act when they allowed to Phileco to operate despite the lack of Ecological Compliance Certificate (ECC). Hicap said the three officials violated Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Revised Penal Code, Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for allowing Phileco the right to operate.
Pamalakaya said Phileco regularly transports one to two barges of 800 tons of Metro Manila garbage and cross the Obando River going to the dumpsite. The garbage were dump to the 10.9-hectare dumpsite, which was a former fishpond. #
Pamalakaya slams employers P 30 wage hike
Way below pay hike to spark “ class war”
Prepare for an unstoppable class war to be waged by Filipino workers against their foreign and local employers.
The warning came from the left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) a day after an official of a major business group bared that employers’ associations were willing to raise the minimum wage by P 25 to P 30 a day, equivalent to 8.3 percent to 10 percent increase in the current minimum wage.
“ The workers will burst into flames. They are fighting for survival and not begging for alms. The P 125 across-the-board wage increase in the daily take home pay is non-negotiable and beside, it is long overdue”, said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap in a press statement.
Hicap, whose group is supporting the P 125 across the board, pay hike demanded by the militant labor union Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), said the proposed P 25 to P 30 increase in the minimum wage was a direct affront to the legitimate rights of the workers to higher wages and better working conditions.
“ This is modern-day slavery to the highest order. The move further exposed the anti-labor character of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her corporate clients in Malacañang who are advocating this peanut-type increase in the minimum wage of Filipino workers”, said Hicap.
Hicap also said Malacañang did not only assault the rights of the workers on the national scale, it also displayed its puppetry to capital by allowing employers’ group to impose their own on the issue of wage hike.
“ The P 25 to P 30 pay increase is a syndicated response by the Macapagal-Arroyo administration and the employers groups to frustrate the national fight for P 125 across the board wage increase. The conspiracy is well established between the Office of the President and the employers groups backing the corrupt, puppet and anti-labor administration of Mrs. Arroyo”, he said.
Hicap said the P 25 to P 30 pay increase will be met with massive upheavals from the ranks of the workers. He warned Malacañang and the employers groups that a major political storm is brewing if they failed to act on the legitimate call of the labor groups for P 125 pay hike.
“ We have a make or break situation here for President Arroyo and her capitalist clients. Give in to workers’ demand for P 125 or brace themselves to an earth shaking workers’ revolt that would teach them lessons of a lifetime”, he added.
Pamalakaya said the proposal for P 25 to P 30 increase in the minimum wage also sabotaged efforts by militant party list groups in the House of Representatives to push for a legislated P 125 across the board wage increase.
The group was referring to House Bill 345 seeking a legislated P 125 pay hike in the minimum wage of private workers and P 3,000 monthly increase in the salaries of government employees. The wage bill was sponsored by Bayan Muna party list representatives Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño and Joel Virador, Anakpawis party list representatives Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano and Liza Maza of Gabriela Women’s Party.
“ It is like telling Congress to slam the door to any legislated wage increase”, Pamalakaya said stressing that the employers’ group proposed increase was a signal to House of Representatives and Senate to drop the wage bills pending in Congress. #
Militants slam presidential son for calling Archbishop Cruz’ testimony on jueteng hearsay
Blasphemous, highly unethical, says Pamalakaya
The left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Wednesday castigated presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo for trying to embarrass Pangasinan Archbishop Oscar Cruz about his allegations concerning jueteng operations in the country.
At the hearing of the House Committee on public order and security last Tuesday, Congressman Arroyo confronted the former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) saying Cruz only got his information about the illegal numbers game from secondary source and therefore should be considered hearsay.
The presidential son also raised the libel case filed against Cruz by employees of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) whom Archbishop Cruz were allegedly branded as guest-relation-officers.
Rep. Arroyo was referring to the birthday party of his father First Gentleman Mike Arroyo last year, where Pagcor female employees were allegedly asked to entertain the guests of his father although Archbishop Cruz denied he said such statement. The Pangasinan bishop said Pagcor employees were made to act as GROs during the birthday party of Atty. Arroyo.
“ Why the young Arroyo is so desperate to destroy the credibility of Archbishop Cruz’s testimonies about the illegal numbers game? This should serve as major political puzzle among members of the committee investigating the issue of jueteng in aid of legislation”, said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap in a press statement.
Hicap said Rep. Arroyo’s actuations during the hearing were blasphemous and highly unethical. The militant leader said the Pampanga solon went beyond objectivity and violated the rules of the committee by issuing unfounded statements deeply rooted from Cruz’s expose on Pagcor and jueteng operations linking the first family and close associates of the Arroyo clan.
“ Mr. Arroyo is using his legislative immunity to get back at critics of the president and the First Family, which is foul and immoral. Instead of exploring the congressional venue as mean to ferret out the truth in the name of public interest, the young Arroyo is using his position to engage in blasphemous and highly unethical activities and gross persecution of those who opposed the Macapagal-Arroyo administration”, Hicap added.
Archbishop Cruz disclosed those earnings of operators and their beneficiaries from the popular illegal numbers game under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration was bigger than what they were getting during the administration of deposed President Joseph Estrada.
“ Perhaps this could explain the behavior of Rep. Arroyo. He is reacting with fear that this issue might soon reach the Office of the President”, Pamalakaya said.
The ex-CBCP chair said he got his information from secondary sources as well as from high-ranking officers. Cruz was invited by Paranaque Rep. Roilo Golez to the hearing and admitted during the hearing that his information really came from secondary sources that the government should exert more efforts to verify the information and gather more information to find the truth about the P 13-B jueteng industry in the country.
Cruz, chair of the anti-jueteng group Krusadang Bayan against Jueteng claimed that 20 million pesos of the jueteng payola go to national officials. He submitted a list of alleged jueteng operators to the committee investigating the jueteng payola scandal on condition that their names would not be disclosed to the public. #
Bishops’ wake up call a sign that Gloria’s days
in Malacañang are numbered, says critics
Rabid critics of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday said the call of some Catholic bishops for her administration to implement sweeping reforms or face a deluge of mass protests is a sign that the President’s days in Malacañang are numbered.
“ The bishops’ wake up call for the ruling Macapagal-Arroyo administration to shape up or shape out is a lucid testimony that the President’s government is on the brink of collapse unless President Arroyo carries sweeping reforms that would correct social, economic and political injustices within the next two months”, said the left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) in a statement.
Bishop Julio Labayen of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME) said time is running out and that no force on earth can ever stop the coming deluge of change as pent-up emotions of our poor suffering people are about to explode.
The outspoken bishop was joined by Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez and Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias in denouncing President Arroyo’s insensitivity to the plight of the poor people and had called for a national day of mourning and protest on June 12 to show the Filipino people’s discontent with the administration.
“ This is it. The political configuration is now shifting to the side of impoverished folks with the high officials of the Roman Catholic faith making their presence felt in the snowballing movement to remove an unwanted and detested regime in Malacañang”, Pamalakaya.
Pamalakaya information officer Gerry Albert Corpuz said the bishops’ stinging statement against President Arroyo was a preview of a brewing political storm that would challenge and decide the political leadership and survival of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.
“ Who knows the president’s forthcoming State of the Nation Address this July would be her last public appearance because of the Filipino people’s clamor for regime change and style of governance”, he said.
Pamalakaya’s Corpuz said the bishops were correct in calling for and predicting the possible ouster of President Arroyo if she failed to address the people’s intolerable sufferings due to surging prices of fuel, water and power rates and several tax measures largely connected to debt servicing.
The group’s information chief said the anti-Gloria gospel of Bishops Labayen, Iñiguez and Tobias is expected to create a bandwagon of discontent against President Arroyo among the ranks of Catholic bishops and followers of the Roman Catholic church.
“ An avalanche of anti-Gloria sentiments within the echelons and religious followers of the Roman Catholic church will figure out in the next couple of weeks because of the President Arroyo’s anti-church and anti-people gospel in the name of her corrupt, criminal and puppet regime”, Corpuz added.
Pamalakaya urged other high officials of the CBCP to speak out against President Arroyo and her anti-people government to help galvanize and generate strong public opinion and pressure for the president to step down from public office. #
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