Gerry Albert Corpuz presents

This is Gerry Albert Corpuz and this is my life and political journey to the world of class struggle and class emancipation

Comelec’s nod on AFP voters’ education forums could be a ground for impeachment of poll commissioners

The leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Thursday said top poll officials who would grant the request of the military to conduct an education and awareness campaign in the National Capital Region (NCR) may be impeached for gross violation of the 1987 Constitution, the agreement between the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Comelec resolution no.7747.

Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis nominee Fernando Hicap said Comelec commissioners who would approve the military’s proposal, allowing the latter to conduct voters’ education program will face impeachment raps, saying the 19-year old charter insulated the military from engaging in partisan politics by prohibiting it from engaging directly or indirectly in the election process.

The Anakpawis nominee and fisherfolk leader issued the statement, after Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. said he did not find anything wrong with the AFP organized voters’ awareness and education forums as long as they are nonpartisan.

“Chairman Abalos is missing the point. There is a case pending before the Comelec complaining about the military’s partisan political activities in Metro Manila and the rest of the country against militant party lists critical of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration and the AFP,” Hicap said.

The Pamalakaya leader also said complaints harassment and election-related human rights violations had been filed against government troops before the Commission on Human Rights. “The Comelec is not doing its’ assignment for honest, orderly and peaceful elections. It is busy providing the venue for the military to violate the 1987 Constitution and all pertinent election laws,” Hicap added.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis urged Chairman Abalos and the rest of the Comelec poll commissioners to act decisively in accordance with national interest and refrain from following orders from Malacañang and the military establishment.

“If Chairman Abalos wants to leave a long and lasting legacy in Comelec, he should rise above the occasion and protect the national sentiment and collective interest of the Filipino people against any Palace-AFP maneuver to dictate, if not influence the outcome of the May 14, 2007 polls,” both groups said.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis also urged the organizers of HOPE Covenant led by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), the National Press Club, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster Sa Pilipinas (KBP) and the CHR to oppose the plan of the AFP-NCR Command under Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino to engage the military in voters’ education program, which the militant groups said were not part of the election duties of the AFP.

This morning, militant groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and party list groups Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan and Suara Bangsa Moro staged a picket rally outside the CHR National Office in Quezon City to press the human rights body to act on election related human rights violations perpetrated by the military deployed in NCR against leaders and members of leftwing party lists.

The activists also prodded the CHR to convince the Comelec to heed on public’s call for the pull out of government troops currently deployed in 27 urban poor barangays in Metro Manila. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 11:59 | link | comments |

Militants: Military politically unfit, morally
decadent to educate voters on election

The leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Friday said government troops currently deployed in urban poor communities in Metro Manila are politically unfit and morally decadent to stage a Metro wide voters’ education about two weeks before the May 14, 2007 elections.

“The Hello Garci scandal is a solid piece of evidence why the military should not be allowed to take part in the elections,” Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis nominee Fernando Hicap said in a press statement commenting on AFP-NCR command chief Benjamin Dolorfino pronouncement yesterday that the military deployed in Metro Manila would be engaged in an advocacy to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections.

Hicap brought the issue of Hello Garci tapes suggesting that Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. was involved in the massive fraud during the May 2004 presidential elections that benefited President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over her rival the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. in the close fight presidential fight three years ago.

“The AFP has no moral and political right to take up the cause for fraud free elections. All election watchdogs should include the military establishment in their watch list as one of the government institutions capable of performing massive fraud for Palace-backed candidates in the May 07 polls,” the militant leader said.

Hicap said the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) should instead keep a close eye on the possible role of the military to perform fraud related activities in accordance with Malacañang’s plan to ensure the victory of Palace-backed candidates.

“The reactionary AFP is always engaged in dirty elections, either as undeclared private armies of powerful warlord politicians or cheating machinery of any incumbent ruling clique in Malacañang. If we want to have a fraud-free and violence free polls, the military should top the list of most distrusted and highly guarded group of armed personnel in the country,” the Anakpawis nominee added.

Hicap said the AFP-NCR command signed the covenant with Church and anti-fraud groups to allow them to expand their duties, including the all-out campaign against leftwing party list groups in Metro Manila, one of the bailiwicks of militant party list groups like Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan and Suara Bangsa Moro.

“The AFP signed the covenant to justify and put moral premium to their anti-militant party list campaign and counter-insurgency program under Oplan Bantay Laya II,” the Anakpawis nominee added.

Earlier, Pamalakaya and Anakpawis party list urged Comelec Benjamin Abalos Sr. to reject the military move to conduct voters’ education forums in Metro Manila. Both groups warned the Comelec chair and other commissioners that granting such request by the military would lead to the impeachment of Abalos and other Comelec commissioners.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis party list asserted that allowing such move would violate the 1987 Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code and Comelec Resolution no. 7747. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 11:58 | link | comments |

Team Unity candidates urged to file vote-buying complaint
vs. DoJ Secretary on P 10,000 offer for 12-0 sweep

The left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and militant party list group Anakpawis on Friday asked administration backed senatorial candidates to lead the filing of vote-buying complaint against Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales in connection with the P 10,000 offer the controversial cabinet official made to all barangay officials in Iloilo province in exchange for 12-0 sweep in favor of Team Unity.

“We urge the 12 senatorial candidates of Team Unity to cross party line and hold Justice Secretary Gonzales responsible for this big election related offense against the Filipino people,” Pamalakaya and Anakpawis said in a joint statement.

Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap and Anakpawis nominee made the challenge after two pro-administration congressmen Rodolfo Albano of Isabela and Isidro Real Jr. of Zamboanga del Sur rejected calls for Secretary Gonzales to resign or go on a leave.

One of the top Palace officials, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Malacañang found nothing wrong with the offer of Secretary Gonzales, saying the administration was even urging all cabinet officials to campaign for TU candidates.

The militant fisherfolk leader also said Ermita’s statement was an open endorsement of Secretary Gonzales’ vote-buying act, and should also be held responsible as conspirator for the electoral crime the secretary wishes to perform in the name of TU senatorial candidates.

“The best group of persons to teach Secretary Gonzales and Secretary Ermita regarding this syndicated election crime is no other than the members of the Team Unity. If they refuse to take this cause, then something is really, really wrong about them,” Hicap said.

Hicap, also a nominee of Anakpawis party list said he is supporting the public outcry for Secretary Gonzales to resign from public post and retire in his hometown in Iloilo. “Gonzales should resign and quit from using the justice portfolio as staging ground in attacking the electoral sensibility and decency of the Filipino people,” he added.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis expect senatorial candidates Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto would lead in castigating Secretary Gonzales for offering a P 10,000 prize to village chiefs that would ensure the 12-0 sweep for the administration ticket in the province.

Arroyo and Recto were two of the eight senatorial candidates endorsed by militant party list groups Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan and Suara Bangsa Moro in a press conference last Wednesday. The six other senatorial candidates endorsed by the five party list groups were Loren Legarda, Manny Villar, Koko Pimentel and Allan Peter Cayetano of Genuine Opposition (GO) and independent candidate Francis Pangilinan.

“We hope Senator Arroyo and Recto will come out openly denounce Secretary Gonzales. They are politically, morally and legally obliged to teach the secretary a lesson of a lifetime. Something must be done to stop this aging, has-been and puppet politician from displaying extreme political arrogance at the expense of the Filipino electorate and the public’s general collective sentiment against any form of fraud,” Hicap added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 11:57 | link | comments |

Chairman Abalos urged to put
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales under Comelec control

“The best way to stop Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales from engaging in vote-buying activity and other political partisan acts in Iloilo province is to put him under the Commission on Elections (Comelec) control,” the left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the militant party list group Anakpawis said in a joint statement.

“Chairman Abalos has no choice but to take this proposal seriously,” both groups said.

Despite the self-imposed gag order undertaken by Secretary Gonzales, Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis party list nominee Fernando Hicap insisted that the Comelec should pursue the investigation and eventual indictment of the controversial secretary over allegations that he engaged in vote-buying when he made the P 10,000 prize offer to all village chiefs in the province if they can assure him a 12-0 sweep for the Team Unity senatorial candidates.

“Abalos is tasked by the Filipino people probe, prosecute and put Gonzales behind bars,” the Pamalakaya leader and Anakpawis nominee added.

Hicap also asked allies of Secretary Gonzales in Team Unity ticket s to lead the filing of vote-buying complaint against the justice secretary in connection with the P 10,000 offer the controversial cabinet official made to all barangay officials in Iloilo province in exchange for 12-0 sweep in favor of Team Unity.

“We urge the 12 senatorial candidates of Team Unity to cross party line and hold Justice Secretary Gonzales responsible for this big election related offense against the Filipino people, “he said. Hicap
made the challenge after two pro-administration congressmen Rodolfo Albano of Isabela and Isidro Real Jr. of Zamboanga del Sur rejected calls for Secretary Gonzales to resign or go on a leave.

One of the top Palace officials, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Malacañang found nothing wrong with the offer of Secretary Gonzales, saying the administration was even urging all cabinet officials to campaign for TU candidates.

The militant fisherfolk leader also said Ermita’s statement was an open endorsement of Secretary Gonzales’ vote-buying act, and should also be held responsible as conspirator for the electoral crime the secretary wishes to perform in the name of TU senatorial candidates. “The best group of persons to teach Secretary Gonzales and Secretary Ermita regarding this syndicated election crime is no other than the members of the Team Unity. If they refuse to take this cause, then something is really, really wrong about them,” Hicap said.

Hicap said he is supporting the public outcry for Secretary Gonzales to resign from public post and retire in his hometown in Iloilo. “Gonzales should resign and quit from using the justice portfolio as staging ground in attacking the electoral sensibility and decency of the Filipino people,” he added.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis expect senatorial candidates Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto would lead in castigating Secretary Gonzales for offering a P 10,000 prize to village chiefs that would ensure the 12-0 sweep for the administration ticket in the province.

Arroyo and Recto were two of the eight senatorial candidates endorsed by militant party list groups Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan and Suara Bangsa Moro in a press conference last Wednesday. The six other senatorial candidates endorsed by the five party list groups were Loren Legarda, Manny Villar, Koko Pimentel and Allan Peter Cayetano of Genuine Opposition (GO) and independent candidate Francis Pangilinan.

“We hope Senator Arroyo and Recto will come out openly denounce Secretary Gonzales. They are politically, morally and legally obliged to teach the secretary a lesson of a lifetime. Something must be done to stop this aging, has-been and puppet politician from displaying extreme political arrogance at the expense of the Filipino electorate and the public’s general collective sentiment against any form of fraud,” Hicap added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 11:56 | link | comments |

Leftists ask European parliament to drop economic aid to
RP because of government failure to stop extra-judicial killings

Leftwing activists belonging to the fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the party list group Anakpawis on Saturday asked members of the European Parliament to pass a resolution ordering the European Union to drop all economic aid intended for the Philippines because the present government failed to extra-judicial killings across the country.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis party list nominee Fernando Hicap said it was high time for the European Parliament to take a drastic step against the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, unless the Philippine government improves its human rights record and punish military officials behind the continued political killings of leftwing activists in the country.

“This is the right time to say no more economic aid to the Philippines, unless Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo takes the issue seriously and order her military generals and government troops to quit from committing crimes against leftist activists and ordinary critics,” Hicap said.

The Pamalakaya leader and Anakpawis nominee welcomed the resolution arrived at the recent meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Germany, which expressed alarm over the continued political killings in the Philippines and called on the Macapagal-Arroyo government to improve the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

“It is welcome news. It means the international community from South to North has taken the issue of political killings in the Philippines a paramount concern for the cause of human rights and civil liberties,” Hicap added.

The Parliament also voiced grave concern at the increasing number of political killings that have occurred in recent years in the Philippines and the urges local authorities to make necessary investigations in a timely, thorough and transparent manner and to bring those responsible to justice.

Pamalakaya’s Hicap said some members of the European Union had promised the government to help secure a total of $ 25-B economic and development package in Mindanao after the Macapagal-Arroyo government succeeds in pushing a peace agreement with armed groups in the island like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

“We strongly appeal to the European Parliament to pass a resolution scrapping all planned economic aid to RP. The European people will not allow their hard earned taxes to go the criminal regime and support the bloody career of President Arroyo,” he stressed.

Hicap said aside from dropping the European Union’s development and economic aid to RP, they would also campaign for the delisting of the Philippines as member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying the Philippine government has no moral, political and legal rights to stay in the council as member, since President Arroyo and the military establishment was responsible for the death of 842 political activists and forced disappearances of 197 since 2001. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 11:56 | link | comments |

Leftists slammed Army exec for harassing May 07 poll candidates supporting militant party list groups

Leftwing activists belonging to the fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the party list group Anakpawis on Sunday assailed a top military official of the Philippine Army for equating candidates open support to militant party lists as good as if they have paid permit-to-campaign (PTC) fee demanded by the communist rebels.

Brig. General Arsenio Arugay, commanding general of the 9th Infantry Division based in Pili, Camarines Sur asserted that the New People’s Army employ different ways of demanding fees from the candidates like cash payment through ATM, supply of firearms and ammunition and support for party list groups serving as front organizations of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

The Army general said a big number of candidates in Bicol region had already paid their PTC fee to the NPA but some of these reports were still being validated. He said a military report state that a gubernatorial candidate in Albay shelled P 40 million to the NPA to harass and intimate a rival candidate.

The Army general warned candidates against these ploys, adding they could be charged of treason to give aid and comfort to the enemies of the state, among them the groups and organizations which serve as fronts of the communist guerillas.

But Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis 4th nominee Fernando Hicap dismissed Gen. Arugay claim as supreme act of terrorism, all-out harassment, electioneering and partisan political activity rolled into one.

“What’s wrong if candidates decide to support and endorse Anakpawis and other militant party lists in the May 2007 elections? Is that a crime? Gen.Arugay, the starlet but all-out terrorist general in the Bicol region is so insecure of our party lists and he is resorting to this kind of extreme militarist venture, harassment and all-out persecution of candidates and their preferred party lists,” Hicap said.

The militant fisherfolk leader said Arugay committed another act of electioneering and partisan politics when he tagged Anakpawis, Bayan Muna and Gabriela as front groups of CPP-NPA-NDF and enemies of the state.

“Aside from electioneering, Gen. Arugay has placed all our party list leaders, members and supporters in Bicol region as open targets for assassination of AFP death squads. Something must be done to stop the criminal general for executing the Arroyo administration’s national policy and project of killing leftwing activists under Oplan Bantay Laya II,” Hicap added.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis urged the senatorial candidates, whom they endorsed last week to condemn Arugay’s statement against candidates supporting militant party list groups. The group’s said the dangerous statement of Arugay might have a direct impact on their campaign for the militant party lists, as well as the 8 senatorial candidates they have endorsed for the May 2007 elections.

The groups said senatorial candidates Loren Legarda, Manuel Villar, Francis Escudero, Allan Peter Cayetano and Koko Pimentel of Genuine Opposition (GO), Ralph Recto and Joker Arroyo of Team Unity (TU) and independent candidate Francis Pangilinan should denounce Arugay’s latest political spin against the militant party lists and their endorsed or supported candidates.






“We have to work and get our acts together and stop the military from pursuing its all out campaign against militant party lists and their favored senatorial and local candidates,” Pamalakaya and Anakpawis added.

Earlier, Pamalakaya and Anakpawis asked the European Parliament to pass a resolution ordering the European Union to drop all economic aid intended for the Philippines because the present government failed to extra-judicial killings across the country.

The groups said it was high time for the European Parliament to take a drastic step against the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, unless the Philippine government improves its human rights record and punish military officials behind the continued political killings of leftwing activists in the country.

“This is the right time to say no more economic aid to the Philippines, unless Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo takes the issue seriously and order her military generals and government troops to quit from committing crimes against leftist activists and ordinary critics,” the groups said.

The European Parliament passed a resolution at the recent meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Germany, which expressed alarm over the continued political killings in the Philippines and called on the Macapagal-Arroyo government to improve the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

“It is welcome news. It means the international community from South to North has taken the issue of political killings in the Philippines a paramount concern for the cause of human rights and civil liberties,” Pamalakaya and Anakpawis said.

The Parliament also voiced grave concern at the increasing number of political killings that have occurred in recent years in the Philippines and the urges local authorities to make necessary investigations in a timely, thorough and transparent manner and to bring those responsible to justice.

The groups said aside from dropping the European Union’s development and economic aid to RP, they would also campaign for the delisting of the Philippines as member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying the Philippine government has no moral, political and legal rights to stay in the council as member, since President Arroyo and the military establishment was responsible for the death of 842 political activists and forced disappearances of 197 since 2001. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 11:55 | link | comments |

Militants warn Chico dam like resistance against
P 47.93 B dam project in Tanay

The top leader of the leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Friday said the proposed P 47.93 B Laiban Dam project in Tanay town, province of Rizal will spark a monumental protest among affected residents in the tradition of Chico Dam in Kalinga and Mt. Province during the Marcos regime.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis party list 4th nominee Fernando Hicap said the project which was approved by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the National Economic and Development Authority will compel over 3,000 families to stage a major class war and ethnic revolt against the multi-billion dam project.

“A Chico Dam like resistance is in the offing if the government will not accede to the demand of the residents and other affected persons to stop the construction of the anti-people and anti-environment project,” the militant leader said.

In the early 70s, affected communities protesting the construction of Chico Dam entered into peace agreements with one another so they could concentrate the fire against the Marcos government’s plan to put up the ambitious dam in the Cordillera that would eliminate several indigenous communities in Kalinga and Mt. Province.

Hicap recalled that in 1974, anti-Chico dam protesters engaged in various acts of civil disobedience and silent protest to protest the construction of the destructive water system. In that same year, members of an indigenous community twice dismantled the work camp of the National Power Corporation (Napocor) in Maswa, Basao. The camp was set up for survey purposes in preparation for the construction of Chico Dam.

“Whenever the military came, elderly women bare their breasts to remind government troops that they cannot fight from where they came from. The ethnic group in Tanay known as the Dumagats and their women elders can do the same thing to frustrate the government and the military,” the Pamalakaya leader and Anakpawis nominee added.

President Arroyo signed the Laiban Dam project last Tuesday before she leaves to China on an official state visit. Sources said funding for the ambitious project will come from the Chinese government. Formerly called the Manila Water Supply Project III, the proposed dam project intends to deliver 1,900,000 liters per day or 22 cubic meters per second, and address an existing gap of 1,220,000 liters in Metro Manila’s water supply.

The NEDA also said aside from water supply, the project has a hydropower plant component that could produce about 25 megawatts of electricity. But Pamalakaya and Anakpawis party list said the main objective of the national government was not to provide service to the water-starved populace.

“The dam project ultimate goal is to please and serve transnational water concessionaires like Manila Water of the Ayalas and the Maynilad of the Lopez family. The corporate groups’ gluttony for super profits is the principal motive, and not public interest is the moving spirit behind the Laiban Dam project,” both groups said.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis said they are not anti-development, but the P 47.93 B dam project in Tanay was not meant to serve the people, but to ensure huge return of investments for the Chinese government and the water concessionaires at the expense of the people and the water consuming public.

“We will not allow corporate vultures and their clients and puppets in Malacañang to steal the people’ patrimony in the name of super profits for corporate interests and fat kickbacks for sitting presidency in the Palace,” the groups added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 06:23 | link | comments |

Militant friends of Inquirer correspondent
urge thorough probe on slay attempt against hard hitting reporter

Militant friends of Philippine Daily Inquirer correspondent Delfin Mallari Jr. on Friday condemned the assassination try against the reporter and urged government authorities to launch an all-out investigation on the slay attempt perpetrated by still an unidentified assailant Thursday morning in Lucena City, Quezon province.

In a press statement, Gerry Albert Corpuz, public information officer of the leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said they have to look for the stories the Inquirer correspondent have written for the major broadsheet and for the local community paper Ang Dyaryo Natin to get a good lead on the case.

“His well researched, breathtaking and objective stories on illegal gambling and illegal logging operations in the province, as well as his day-to-day write ups and commentaries on various issues of the day from high crimes of corruption to militarization and political killings could lead police authority to an objective and logical conclusion of this case,” Corpuz said in a press statement.

Pamalakaya, Corpuz’ group regularly sends press statements and grants interviews to Mallari whether these issues, local or national in scopes. “Sonny is a hard-hitting journalist whose main advocacy in life is to deliver the truth to the people, and those despotic and criminal political and militarist elements in the province hate his penchant for truth, justice and accountability,” Corpuz added.

Aside from Pamalakaya, militant groups like Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), human rights group Karapatan and party lists Anakpawis and Bayan Muna also send press releases to the Inquirer correspondent.

Mallari also frequently receives press releases from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and done interviews with CPP spokesperson Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal.

Corpuz recalled that the latest story written by Mallari for Pamalakaya was “Army checkpoint, militant leader suddenly neighbors”, which appeared in the inside page of the Inquirer last March 18. The news report was all about a military checkpoint put up by the military 10 meters away from the house of Pamalakaya national and Anakpawis nominee Fernando Hicap.

The latest press release Pamalakaya had sent to Mallari was “PNP asked to name, charge politicians with private armies”.

But despite asking local government authorities to look into the case of Mallari, Pamalakaya’s Corpuz said an independent fact-finding mission should be conducted to investigate the blatant attempt to silence Mallari and his cause for responsible and pro-public journalism.

The Pamalakaya media liaisons officer suggested that the independent investigation body should be conducted by trusted media groups and institutions in the country. Corpuz proposed the mission be led by the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), foreign media groups like the Reporters Without Borders, legal and para-legal groups and alternative media practitioners in cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights, and sanctioned by the Senate and House Committees on public information.

“Enough is enough. These work-related and politically motivated killings, slay attempts and harassment of media persons by armed criminal syndicates should stop there, and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should order her military, AFP backed death squads, politicians’ for hire goons and mercenaries and private armies trained by the military from carrying out assassination plans against members of the press advocating genuine public service through media as medium,” Corpuz said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 06:21 | link | comments |

IPU mission asked to send observers to monitor May polls

The leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the militant party list group Anakpawis on Thursday urged members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) currently in the country to investigate reported harassment of leftist party list groups to dispatch another team of lawmakers from other countries to observe the conduct of the May 14, 2007 elections.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chairperson and Anakpawis 4th nominee Fernando Hicap appealed to Canadian senator Sharon Castairs, head of the three-day IPU mission in the country to consider his proposal for the international group of lawmakers all over the world to monitor the election process next month, which include the election of party lists.

“In behalf of my colleagues in Pamalakaya and Anakpawis party list, we call on the IPU through Senator Castairs to send another team of lawmakers to observe and see for themselves how the present ruling political mafia in Malacañang would maneuver the outcome of the mid-term elections in favor of their close political associates through the use of gold, guns and goons,” the militant leader said.

Hicap added:” An IPU involvement in the May 07 elections might frustrate if not discourage the cheating and killing machinery of the ruling military-civilian junta in Malacañang from deciding the outcome of the May 2007 elections.”

The IPU headed by senator Castairs, vice-president of the union’s committee on human rights is joined by IPU Secretary Ingeborg Schwarz and IPU Secretary General Anders Johnson. They will be here until April 21 to investigate the case of Batasan 6 composed of Bayan Muna party list representatives Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño and Joel Virador, Anakpawis Reps. Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano and Gabriela party list Rep. Liza Maza.

The six militant lawmakers were charged by the government with rebellion in connection with the foiled power grab February last year that sought the ouster of President Arroyo. But the leftist lawmakers denied the charges and accused the Macapagal-Arroyo government of political persecution.

The Pamalakaya chair and Anakpawis nominee made the appeal during the Rural People’s Endorsement of Anakpawis party list by rural-based activist groups Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Unyon ng Mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), Amihan-National Federation of Peasant Women and National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Youth Sector at Plaza Miranda this morning, which was followed by a 10-vehicle motorcade from Quiapo, Manila to Baclaran Market in Parañaque City.

Hicap said the harassment of leftwing party lists like Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan Party and Suara Bangsa Moro will continue during the last leg of the campaign and even after the May 07 elections.

He said the government and state security forces will continue to subject these party lists, their leaders and mass members to government engineered election related-harassment, black propaganda and massive fraud to prevent their representatives from gaining party list representation in Congress.

“We hope the IPU will consider our request. The government of President Arroyo is moving heaven and earth to disenfranchise our constituents by engaging in a bloody campaign and election-related criminal activities against Anakpawis and other party lists critical of the Arroyo government,” Hicap added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 06:20 | link | comments |

PNP dared: name, charge politicians behind private armies
Leftist groups accused police of hiding identities of warlord politicians maintaining armed goons

The leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the militant party list group Anakpawis on Wednesday urged the top of leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to name the powerful politicians behind private armies, 10 of which police authority claimed had been dismantled or weakened as a result of the government’s aggressive campaign to eliminate private armies all over the country.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chairperson and Anakpawis 4th nominee Fernando Hicap said PNP Chief Oscar Calderon, PNP Directorate for Operations Chief Wilfredo Garcia and PNP Deputy Director Avelino Razon Jr. are legally obliged to disclose the identities of 10 politician-warlords, whose private armies were dismantled by the police and charge them before the appropriate court.

“Why they are hiding the identities of the 10 warlord politicians? It is the PNP’s constitutional duty to inform the public and proceed with the filing of legal and administrative charges in the name of public trust, accountability and transparency, “said Hicap.

Razon yesterday confirmed that the PNP campaign against private armies yield the dismantling or weakening of 10 private armed goons funded and maintained by powerful political clans in the country, but he did not name the politicians keeping these private armies.

Razon also said the PNP was able to reduce the number of private armies from 41 last month to 31 this month, adding the remaining private armies, are mostly in the province of Abra and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. “Is it the policy of Malacañang and the PNP to hide the identities of politicians maintaining private armies? If it is a national policy, then what are the constitutional and legal underpinnings of this national policy,” asked Hicap.

The Pamalakaya leader also questioned the publicized statistics issued by the PNP regarding the number of private armies operating all over the country. Hicap said, last month the police said there are 93 private armies around the country.

But the number of private armies was reduced by more than one-half this month, indicating that the PNP was able to dismantle more than 50 private armies within the span of one-month. “We don’t believe in overnight success, perhaps the PNP is blatantly engaged in gross distortion of facts and massive disinformation campaign to put premium on the P 644 million budget the PNP is asking from the Commission on Elections,” Hicap said.

Hicap said during the May 10, 2004 elections, the PNP reported that there were 125 private armies operating across the nation. The number was reduced to 93 last March 2007 , indicating that the PNP succeeded in dismantling 28 private armies from 2004 to March 2007.

The Anakpawis nominee said not a single warlord politician caught maintaining and operating private armies had been charged before the proper court, and their identities had been withheld from public scrutiny.

Hicap said most of those found to be commanders and members of private armies are active members of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), who are also enlisted in the payrolls of warlord politicians.

“In 2005, former AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga ordered the pullout of the entire 41st Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army in Abra, because he found out that 529 soldiers under the 41st IBPA were serving as private armies of warlord politicians and engaged various criminal activities,” he added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 06:19 | link | comments |

Militants urged CHR to probe Army’s burning of Pamalakaya activists’ houses in Masbate

The top leader of the leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and militant party list group Anakpawis on Wednesday urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate the burning of 10 houses owned by its members in Masbate province last April 2 and 3.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis party list nominee appealed to CHR chairperson Purification Quisumbing to personally lead the probe involving members of the Philippine Army under the command of the 2nd Infantry Batallion based in Sorsogon province, who were pinpointed by victims as responsible for the burning of their houses in Sitio Bogang, Barangay Altavista, San Fernando, Masbate.

“I personally beg for CHR chair’s personal and lead involvement in the investigation of this case. What the military did in the name of its counter-insurgency program is highly condemnable, grossly barbaric, illegal and totally revolting to the highest order,” Hicap added.

Reports reaching the Pamalakaya headquarters in Quezon City revealed that between 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm of April 2 until early noon of April 3, the Army unit belonging to Bravo Company of the 2nd Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army set on fire 10 houses belonging to Santos Ramirez, Lito Ontog, Ronnie Dellamas, Eddie Cabiles, Felipe Cabiles, Ricardo dela Peña, Lino Bona, Danilo Bona, Ligaya Bartolata and Dominador Cabiles, all members of the leftwing fisherfolk federation and supporters of the party list group Anakpawis.

“Our members wept in tears as the military burned their homes one by one. The military has gone berserk and went on a rampage to harass and terrorize the fishing community known as bailiwick of Pamalakaya and Anakpawis party list,” Hicap said.

Another Pamalakaya member and Anakpawis volunteer Leonardo Cabiles, was reportedly abducted by the military on the same day his house was burned by the military.

Hicap said the government troops responsible for the burning of their houses were under the command of Lt. Masaad and Col. Antonio, and should be the key military officials who should be called and summoned by the CHR together with Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane and the Chief of the AFP Southern Luzon Command.

“The CHR should not wait for the formal complaint to be filed before their office. It is time for the human rights commission to take the initiative and assert the people’s basic human rights and constitutionally guaranteed constitutional rights and civil liberties in investigating this mass burning of people’s homes, personal belongings and economic properties,” the Anakpawis nominee added.

Pamalakaya and Anakpawis said the arson case against officers and members of the 2nd Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army based in Sorsogon province will be filed before the local court, the CHR and United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) once all the information pertaining to incident are verified by the human rights group Karapatan.

“What is definite is that this crime of arson staged by Mrs. Arroyo’s mercenaries will reach the UN Human Rights Council and other members of the international human rights community. We will take this case to highlight the growing clamor for the removal of the Philippine government from the UN human rights body, until such time, this government acknowledges its crimes against humanity and gross neglect for human rights and atone for its grave blunders,” Pamalakaya and Anakpawis added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 10:05 | link | comments |

Army in Masbate burned 10 houses belonging to Pamalakaya activists

The military deployed in Masbate for counter-insurgency operations had burned 10 houses belonging to fisherfolk activists, all members of Lakas ng Maliliit na Mangingisda ng Masbate (Lambat-Masbate), an affiliate of the leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya).

A report reaching the Pamalakaya headquarters in Quezon City said on the afternoon of April 2 until early noon of April 3, the Army unit belonging to Bravo Company of the 2nd Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army based in Armenia town, Masbate set on fire 10 houses belonging to Santos Ramirez, Lito Ontog, Ronnie Dellamas, Eddie Cabiles, Felipe Cabiles, Ricardo dela Peña, Lino Bona, Danilo Bona, Ligaya Bartolata and Dominador Cabiles, all members of the leftwing fisherfolk federation.

The militant group also said their members in Masbate we active and effective campaigners for the party list group Anakpawis, and the military wanted them to stop joining or supporting groups like Pamalakaya and Anakpawis and quit from campaigning for the left-leaning party list group. “This is horrible, a super crime against humanity. A nightmare to the highest order perpetrated by the ruling military-civilian junta in Malacañang,” Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis nominee Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Hicap said a certain Lt. Masaad and Col Antonio ordered the burning of the fishermen’s houses last April 2 and April 3 in Ticao Island, Sitio Bogang, Barangay Altavista, San Fernando town, Masbate. “The military has resorted to arson and mass burning of houses belonging to Pamalakaya activists in vain try to execute the campaign of political repression and state terror in the province,” the Pamalakaya leader added.

“We will charge them with arson and other appropriate criminal charges. Something must be done decisively to stop the lapdogs of Malacañang from terrorizing legitimate people’s organizations,” the Anakpawis nominee added.

Pamalakaya’s Hicap also recalled that sometime in February this year, the military deployed in Castilla town, Sorsogon province also threatened to burn his house, but temporarily shelved the plan because several houses surrounding his house might be set on fire.

“The people in the barrio were told that they could have burned my house, but they did not pursue because my house is surrounded by several households and near the house of barangay captain, who is my uncle. Nevertheless, the threat is still there and the military arsonists under 2nd Lt Gamboa at any given time can set our house on fire,” Hicap remembered.

Hicap said he only knew the threat last week, although it was openly broadcasted by the military in one of its mass meetings with barangay residents sometime in February, when the military started establishing military checkpoints in Barangay Tomalaytay, where his family resides.

Prior to military’s threat to burn his house in Barangay Tomalaytay, government troops set on fire the house of Roberto Brucelo, a farmer in nearby Barangay Pandan, who was suspected by the military as supporter of New People’s Army operating in Castilla town.

Hicap also said the military was insisting that he is a top commander of the New People’s Army or a high official of the Communist Party of the Philippines, because in the military document Knowing the Enemy, which the group exposed to the media two years ago, tagged Pamalakaya not as front group, but a certified underground organization of the CPP-NPA.

“Pamalakaya is a legal fisherfolk organization and has been in people’s advocacy for genuine empowerment and change almost 25 years. But the military in Bicol is insisting that our group is illegal and underground, and that I am a top official of the CPP because of the military document Knowing the Enemy which described as an underground fisherfolk group in charge of transferring logistics and supplies to NPA in Bicol region,” the militant leader said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 10:04 | link | comments |

Militants smell something fishy over P 2.7 B for school feeding in NCR
“The grade schoolers are on vacation, so whose mouths are they going to feed?

Leaders of the leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the militant party list group Anakpawis on Saturday questioned the government’s move to allocate P 2.7 B in the National Capital Region for school feeding program beginning this month until June this year.

“The grade schoolers are on summer vacation, so whose mouths are they going to feed? Something fishy is going on here and this syndicated move is done for the sake of electoral campaign of the administration bets that are not making headway in the May 14, 2007 elections, “Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Hicap, also a nominee of Anakpawis said the school children are on summer vacation and resumption of classes will start by June 2007, so it is totally questionable for the government to undertake a mass feeding program beginning this month until the opening of the classes.

“What Malacañang is trying to accomplish is an election related super crime of corruption, bigger in scope and extensive than the P 728 million fertilizer scam in 2004, nothing more, nothing less,” he said.

Hicap asserted that the P 2.7 B allocation for the school feeding program in NCR would be used to boost the chances of 12 Team Unity candidates and ensure the victory of pro-Arroyo mayors and congressmen in Metro Manila.

“The electoral strategists of Malacañang are exploring and exploiting the starving condition of the people to be able to steal billions of taxpayers’ money and use it for the campaign of Mrs. Arroyo’s favored bets in the May 2007 polls,” he said.

Hicap added: “Mrs. Arroyo is very much aware that her senatorial candidates are not doing very well in Metro Manila, the richest vote region all over the country, and she wants to make a difference by deluging NCR with billions of pesos either to court or engage in massive vote-buying.”

The militant leader said Malacañang was very worry about the poor performance of the Team Unity senatorial candidates in Metro Manila, as shown by the previous surveys of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia Inc. that the government senatorial candidates are doing poorly in the ratings.

“President Arroyo is determined to mobilize government resources in Metro Manila to improve the winning chances of her senatorial candidates who are totally clobbered by the Genuine Opposition team in the surveys of SWS and Pulse Asia. She is not relying on the promise of Lakas-NUCD that the administration party could deliver 9 million votes for the Team Unity Ticket,” Pamalakaya’s Hicap added.

According to the latest survey of the SWS, the GO candidates will win over the TU with 8-2-2, eight from the opposition, two from Team Unity and the other two are declared independent candidates.

The Department of Education (DepEd) the P 2.7 B government fund will be used for the purchase of rice to be distributed to school children and the grade schoolers in public elementary schools are expected to receive one kilo of rice everyday for 90 days beginning this summer vacation.

The government’s school feeding program was re-launched last week at the Maximiano Hizon Elementary School in Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Manila. The public re-launching was attended by Anti-Hunger Task Force officials led Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, and other officials of DepEd, the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:24 | link | comments |

Pamalakaya: “9 million Lakas command votes
for TU senatorial bets an extreme imagination”
Only leftwing parties can deliver command votes

The projection of the ruling Lakas-NUCD party that it could deliver 9 million votes for the 12 senatorial candidates of the administration ticket Team Unity continues to receive flak, this time from the leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya (Pamalakaya), a rabid critic of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In her keynote address at the national convention of Lakas-NUCD, attended by 2,000 Lakas members nationwide and 5,000 supporters, President Arroyo said the victory of Team Unity’s 12 senatorial candidates would bring an end to gridlock between Malacañang and the Senate, and would pave way for the implementation of her economic reforms.

Dismissing it as a political farce and a product of extreme imagination, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Lakas president, and Lakas secretary general Marcelino Libanan must undergo a comprehensive reality check and stop engaging in day-to-day grandstanding in the name of President Arroyo’s political survival.

“Lakas, like the GMA Kampi party does not have what we call the command votes as far as the senatorial election is concerned. A corrupt political machinery, how big and moneyed it is will not deliver votes even if they resort to massive vote buying, unless the administration will execute the biggest election fraud project in history in May 14 elections,” Hicap said.

“If there is a major unsolicited advice Lakas-NUCD could get from us is for them to break away from Mrs. Arroyo, renege its fragile ties with Kampi syndicate and make up for their shortcomings and start doing a new job as fiscalizers of the corrupt and brutal regime .In that way, they could redeem whatever prestige they achieved in the past, if there’s any,” the Anakpawis nominee added.

Hicap, also a nominee of Anakpawis said the parties which could deliver the command votes are leftwing and progressive party lists led by front runners Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela.

The Pamalakaya chair and Anakpawis party list nominee said, based on his own personal assessment, the militant left could deliver command votes between 3 million to six million command votes.

“This is my own personal estimates based on surveys and feedbacks from the grassroots. But what is definite is that the Left is the only political bloc which can exercise command voting as proven by the past two elections,” Hicap added.

The militant leader said the Left swing votes is politically material for the victory of any senatorial candidate, especially under a very tight senatorial race, where a difference of hundreds of thousands of votes could make or unmake senators.

“Malacañang is really afraid of the Left swing votes, that is why it is doing practically anything, everything to stop the rising tide of the left political influence in the May 14, 2007,” Hicap said. “It is undertaking a day-to-day persecution of militant party lists to deny them from representing the marginalized sectors in Congress and preventing them from endorsing senatorial candidates supportive of the Left or highly critical of Malacañang,” Pamalakaya’s Hicap added.

Hicap said the progressive party lists and allied leftwing groups are still evaluating the senatorial candidates in the May 14, 2007 elections. The criteria for selection and outright endorsement include the stance of the candidates on various issues like extra-judicial killings, the P 125 across the board wage increase, land reform, human rights, civil liberties, foreign debt, impeachment to mention a few. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:23 | link | comments |

Colleagues likened Satur, Beltran’s ordeal to Christ’s passion

Leftwing colleagues of leftist lawmakers Bayan Muna party list Rep. Satur Ocampo and Anakpawis Crispin Beltran likened their present ordeal to the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

“Ocampo and Beltran are reliving the passion of the Christ in this modern-day era of slavery, betrayal and oppression. They are being politically persecuted for serving the interest of the people and for challenging the evil empire of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said in a press statement.

“Jesus Christ was wrongly accused of crimes he did not commit. He was persecuted, oppressed and grossly humiliated by the corrupt and brutal dispensation in his time. The same thing is being inflicted to Ka Satur, Ka Bel and other militant party list representatives who have effectively exposed and opposed the crimes of the ruling political mafia in Malacañang,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said.

Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the release of Ocampo after posting a P 100,000 cash bond to the high tribunal for his temporary release from detention. The high court did not give a reason for ordering Ocampo’s provisional release, but a legal expert said detainees had be been ordered release in past cases when the evidence of guilt against them was weak or insufficient.

Ocampo, along with 52 others on 15 counts of murder allegedly committed during a purge of government spies and counter-revolutionaries within the ranks of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) between 1985 and 1991.

Anakpawis Rep. Beltran was arrested on rebellion charges over an alleged plot to overthrow the Macapagal-Arroyo government last year. He is currently detained at the Philippine Heart Center.

Hicap welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court, and claimed it as an initial victory for a political and legal fight that is still a long way to go. “The Arroyo government cannot put a good man down. We hope this case will be decided in soonest time possible with Ka Satur and other persecuted colleagues emerging from total and complete political victory over Arroyo and her militarist gangmates,” he said.

Hicap, also a nominee of Anakpawis in the May 14, 2007 elections under the party list system, said three of his colleagues Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano, Gabriela party list Rep. Liza Maza and Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño are the new targets of the regime for political persecution and incarceration. The three were charged for the alleged murder of two former NPAs in Nueva Ecija few years ago.

While Hicap likened Ocampo and Beltran’s crusade for truth and justice to that of Jesus Christ’s quest for a just and humane society, the militant leader tagged President Arroyo, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. Defense Chief Hermogenes Ebdane, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales as false prophets and ultimate carriers of injustice.

“The country will not move forward, with these people and their ruling political syndicate at the helm of national government. The quest for justice will be achieved in the parliament of the street and the court of public opinion,” the Anakpawis nominee and Pamalakaya chair added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:22 | link | comments |

Endorsement of troops in Metro another ground for impeachment
Militants call GMA “ultimate military showgirl” over OK of AFP troop deployment in Metro

Leftwing militants belonging to the fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and Anakpawis party list on Sunday assailed anew President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s open endorsement of government troops deployed in Metro Manila’s urban poor barangays.

“President Arroyo, no doubt, is the ultimate military showgirl in this country under the extra-judicial killer republic,” said Pamalakaya national chair and Anakpawis nominee Fernando Hicap in a press statement.

Top military officials had quoted President Arroyo congratulating them their good work in urban poor communities and took the president’s words as approval of the AFP decision to deploy soldiers in at least 26 depressed barangays in Metro Manila to boost the military’s counter-insurgency drive.

“Mrs. Arroyo’s congratulatory remarks to the military over the deployment of government soldiers is a go signal for the AFP to add more troops in Metro Manila. Malacañang and the national security gang of Mrs. Arroyo are now preparing for the full-blown militarization of the metropolis based on the latest political-military statement of the President,” Pamalakaya’s Hicap assessed.

But the fisherfolk leader and Anakpawis nominee warned President Arroyo that her endorsement of AFP troop deployment in Metro Manila could be another ground for impeachment. Hicap said the President violated the 1987 Constitution for allowing the deployment of government soldiers without any constitutional basis.

“Under the 1987 charter, the President can only mobilize the military if there is armed rebellion, there’s foreign military invasion and the country is under the state of lawlessness. None of the following is present in urban poor communities, so there’s no reason why the government should deploy these mercenaries in Metro slums,” Hicap asserted.

President Arroyo yesterday visited a military detachment in Baseco compound in Tondo and praised the soldiers deployed in the settlement area for job well done. The Chief Executive said the Baseco barangay officials and residents approved the deployment of government troops, and a barangay chair asked Mrs. Arroyo if the soldiers can stay.

But the Pamalakaya leader and Anakpawis nominee said President Arroyo was compelled to visit the military detachment in Baseco compound to counter strong criticisms lodged against urban militarization and clear the military from accusations of human rights abuses, harassment and partisan political activities.

“As a willing hostage of the military and the AFP’s no.1 promo girl, President Arroyo took the streets last Saturday to defend her government’s policy on urban militarization and all-out campaign against left-leaning party lists currently leading the party list race in the May 14 elections,” Hicap added.

Pamalakaya, Anakpawis and other militant party lists and cause-oriented groups had filed several complaints against military electioneering and partisan political activities before the Commission on Elections.

The first hearing was held last March 23, but counsels for respondents Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol, Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. asked for 30-days since they were not prepared to answer charges filed against their clients.

But Comelec rejected the appeal and instead set the next hearing on April 2, Monday. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:21 | link | comments |

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