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

Pamalakaya seeks ban of off shore mining
Government told to scrap 26 service contracts available to oil and gas hunters

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Sunday said the Philippine government should order an across-the-nation ban of all offshore mining activities, citing extreme dangers it posed to marine environment, food security and to the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of small fishermen across the country.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap issued what he called an urgent call after receiving reports from its provincial chapter in Negros that two large ships and black submarine belonging to the Japan Exploration Incorporated (Japex) began drilling waters of Tañon Strait for potential oil and gas reserves beginning this month.

“Transnational giant ships used in oil and gas explorations are now working double time to mine the country’s vast reserves of black gold and precious gas at the expense of our people’s food security and the country’s marine environment. These oil search ships are performing their search for oil and destroy the environment activities as if our territorial waters are their private properties designed for uncontrollable oil extraction,” Hicap said.

The service contract for Tañon Strait, a protected seascape separating the island provinces of Cebu and Negros was awarded to Japex and Forum Corporation, a Canadian firm. The government through the Environmental Management Bureau Region IV issued an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to Japex last March to proceed with the oil drilling.

Hicap said the while seismic tests in Bohol were stopped by day-to-day protests and vigilance on the part of the Cebu-Bohol Strait covering 204,000 hectares of marine waters , the Australian based oil group NorAsian Energy Limited had already conducted a seismic survey on the part of Cebu, and is planning to conduct another seismic test this time Cebu-Leyte Strait covering 244,000 hectares of marine waters off the waters of Northeastern Leyte.

According to an initial study made by the Department of Energy, oil exploration in Tañon Strait could yield not less than 1 billion barrels crude of oil.

The Pamalakaya leader said ships used by NorAsian in oil and gas exploration were in the Cebu-Leyte Strait conducting seismic tests in the area. Hicap also learned that another service contract is being offered off the waters of Iloilo province and Panay Island for possible oil and gas deposits.

Aside from the reported oil and gas exploration activities in Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Iloilo, Panay and Leyte, Pamalakaya said the DoE is also targeting several areas of Palawan. Mindoro Occidental and Maguindanao.

Based on the initial data obtained by Pamalakaya from the energy department the Arroyo government has identified the areas of Octon (service contract 6), Nido (service contact no.14), Linapacan and West Linapacan(service contract no.14), Malampaya condensate (service contract no.38). Bantac (service contract no.65) and Galoc (service contract no.14), all in Palawan, Maniguin in Mindoro Occidental (service contract no. 60) and Sultan sa Borongis (service contract no. 73) and Tukanakuden (service contract no.73) in Maguindanao province.

“The great chase for rich oil and gas deposits in the Visayan Sea and other parts of Luzon and Mindanao will promote a national calamity of bigger proportions. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her corporate clients in Japan, Australia and Canada must be stopped from executing this unprecedented massacre and uncontrollable destruction of people’s livelihood and national environment in the name of national plunder, bureaucrats’ fat kickbacks and corporate super profits ,” Pamalakaya said.

Pamalakaya warned of severe fish crisis if the government will not cancel all offshore mining activities in the Visayan Sea, in Palawan and other parts of the country adding that the far reaching effect of oil and exploration could lead to decrease of 600,000 metric tons in the yearly production of fish in the country or approximately 20 percent annually.

The group said the offshore mining in Central Visayas and other parts of the Visayan Sea alone, will affect not less than 100,00 small fishermen and 500,000 dependents, will further exacerbate the problem of food security of 87 million Filipinos.

Pamalakaya said the left-and-right oil and gas exploration in the Visayan Sea will affect fish
production in Region VI composed of provinces Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental which account for an average for 350,000 metric tons of fish harvest per year, while Region VII composed of Negros Oriental, Bohol, Cebu and Siquijor account for 205,000 metric tons of fish produced.

Region VIII made up of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Western Samar and Southern Leyte yield and average of 100,000 metric tons of fish per year. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 04:11 | link | comments |

Leftists slam JdV over Mikey, Iggy’s chairmanships
of energy, natural resources
House Speaker acting like a first rate political prostitute- Pamalakaya

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Tuesday called House Speaker Jose de Venecia a first rate political prostitute for paving the way to the election of presidential son Pampanga Rep. Jose Miguel Arroyo and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s brother-in-law Ignacio Arroyo as chair of the House Committees on energy and natural resources respectively.

“Where is political decency here? That is not the sense of the House, much more the sense of the people. This is the sense of the ruling political mafia in the House of Representatives,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in press statement.

The lower House yesterday continued its organization Monday with the election of the chairpersons of more committees and the members of the chamber’s powerful committees. The election of the presidential son and the brother-in-law as chairs of the two influential committees came in the wake of looming power and water crisis facing the country.

“The House of De Venecia gave the chairmanships of the two committees to the Arroyos for supporting the speakership of the ungentleman speaker from Pangasinan. The environment community must lodge their strongest protest ever against JdV and the Arroyos for making a mockery out of the people’s search for pro-people energy and pro-environment development programs,” the Pamalakaya’s Hicap stressed.

The militant group said the Arroyos will serve as the House counterparts to the appointment of former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Angelo Reyes to the Department of Energy (DoE) and former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza to the DENR.

“The Reyes-Atienza-Mikey Arroyo-Iggy Arroyo quartet completes the casting coup of people that would work for Mrs. Arroyo’s grand plan to sell the country’s source of energy and national patrimony to all time plunderers both here and abroad,” Pamalakaya said.

The militant group said affected sectors and other environment groups planning to submit petitions to the lower house to investigate issues related to energy and natural resources will ask the Arroyos to inhibit themselves from the investigation to put credibility to any congressional inquiry undertaken by the committees on energy and natural resources.

“They have to inhibit themselves. We don’t want lawmakers like them checkered and corrupt past, and  with close working relationships both personally and politically speaking with Malacañang to work on the cases. That’s suicide,” Pamalakaya said.

Pamalakaya is set to approach a number of lawmakers and concerned committees at the House of Representatives regarding their request to investigate the mushrooming of oil and gas exploration in the Visayan Sea which had threatened the marine environment, and the health and livelihood of small fisherfolk surrounding the Visayas basins.

The militant group would ask members of the House of Representatives to enact a law that would either impose a moratorium or total ban of all oil and gas explorations in the Tañon Strait, Cebu-Bohol Strait, Northeastern Leyte, Antique, Palawan, Mindoro Occidental and Maguindanao.

“How can we have an objective investigation and assessment of these oil and gas hunts all over the country if we have the likes of Reyes, Atienza, Mikey and Iggy? We have a perfect storm and uncontrollable disaster in the making,” Pamalakaya said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 03:06 | link | comments |

Militants ask COA to audit P 10-B subsidies to GOCCs in first half of 2007
Pamalakaya puzzled why subsidies shoot up by 200 percent during May 2007 polls

Short of accusing the Macapagal-Arroyo government of spending over 10 billion pesos of taxpayers money during the May 14, 2007 elections, the left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) today asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to conduct an immediate but comprehensive assessment of the P 10.58 billion in total subsidies granted to state-owned corporations within the first half of the year.

“This record-breaking performance of Malacañang as far as providing questionable subsidies to graft-ridden government owned and controlled corporations or GOCCs must be assessed in the interest of the tax paying public,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

The Pamalakaya leader added: “Malacañang was only allowed to spend P 3.17 B to subsidize GOCCs, but the Department of Finance showed subsidies for state-owned and controlled firms went up by an unprecedented increase of 200 percent. And this took place during the election period where the government is being accused of mobilizing taxpayers’ money for its favored senatorial and local bets in the May 2007 elections.”

The DoF said the subsidies have already breached the full-year limit, which was officially set at
P 4.89 B and represented a 55-percent increase from the P 6.82 B recorded in the first half of 2006. The increase in subsidies in the first half of 2007 was in contrast to the objective of reducing the financial independence of GOCCs and government financing institutions (GFIs) to the national government.

“The public wants to know where is that P 10.58 B. P 10.58 B is P 10.58 B. It can make or unmake senators, congressmen and other political wannabes. A fraud free and credible audit is needed to know the truth and nothing but the truth. The COA must do its assignment now and locate where our taxpayers’ money is and how the government used these hard-earned funds,” Pamalakaya said.

The DoF records showed that the National Housing Authority (NHA) received P 2.213 B in total subsidies, followed by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp with P 2.048 B, the Technical Livelihood Center with P 1.368 B, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) with P 1.286 B and the Philippine National Railway (PNR) with P 926 million.

The funds which went to LBP were used to finance the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), a financial official said. The DoF official said the failure of Congress to enact a higher budget for 2006 forced the government to use the 2005 reenacted budget for 2005.

Meanwhile, Pamalakaya asked Senate President Manuel Villar to immediately appoint the chair and members of the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and take the case of P 10.58 B subsidies to government owned corporations for full-blown investigation.

“Senate President Villar must take into account that the government could have spent over 10 billion pesos of taxpayers’ money somewhere else in violation of national and collective interest of the Filipino people. The ongoing political intramural on the chairmanship and membership of the Blue Ribbon Committee might derail if not spoil the people’s objective to know the real score why the government subsidies for GOCCs skyrocketed by as much as 200 percent increase,” the group said.

“The Senate is currently pre-occupied over debates regarding who’s in and who’s out in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. This is not good for the Filipino people asking where their taxes go, especially with the character and track record of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her political associates in Malacañang,” Pamalakaya added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 03:47 | link | comments |

Lawmakers told: Beware of GMA asking for emergency powers
to deal water, power crisis

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Thursday cautioned lawmakers that they might soon fall to a Malacañang trap that would require Congress to grant President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo extra powers to deal with water and power shortage.

“Is GMA doing a President Fidel V. Ramos to snatch emergency powers from Congress under the pretext of water and power shortage?” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

In the early 90s, the administration of President Ramos managed to convince Congress to extend him emergency powers to deal with the problem of power shortage all over the country. The result was the mushrooming of independent power producers (IPPs) that exacerbated the problem of the power sector rather than solving the problem of shortage and excessive rates of power supply across the country.

“Lawmakers should refer ex-President Ramos successful clinching of emergency powers from Congress as dark day of history and use it as political reference in analyzing the statement of President Arroyo drumbeating the scenario of water and power shortage in the country and directing all national agencies to prepare for the worst. She and her national ruling syndicate in Malacañang are up for something big,” the Pamalakaya leader said.

President Arroyo yesterday urged the public to conserve water and ordered national agencies to address the looming water shortage in the country. Also yesterday, brownouts in Luzon have begun because the power generated by hydroelectric plants has fallen.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) yesterday implemented a rolling brownout in some parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces causing households and business establishments to suffer two hours without electricity.

“Senate President Manuel Villar and House Speaker Jose de Venecia must be informed about the possible agenda of Malacañang to get congressional approval of extraordinary powers to deal with the hyped situation of power and water shortage. It happened before, there’s no reason why President Arroyo will not entertain a repeat of it,” Pamalakaya said.

The militant group said it is quite impossible for the Philippines being an archipelagic country with 7,100 islands separated by bodies of waters to suffer water and power shortage. Pamalakaya said the country’s total marine territorial area is 2.2 million square kilometer, with 421 rivers and 59 lakes enough to address the country’s need for water supply and electricity.

“President Arroyo is not telling this nation of 87 million Filipinos that the control of water and electricity supply in the country is in the hands of few powerful monopolies and oligarchs, and its privatization policy is the main reason why we are experiencing this problem,” Pamalakaya said.

The militant group said the privatization and sell-out of the country’s national patrimony for mining, logging and other corporate undertakings are contributing largely to the destruction of water resources across the country.

Pamalakaya said the government policies such as the privatization and corporatization of public water service providers, privatization of water supply management such as the construction of dams for hydropower production and corporatization of irrigation systems and privatization of water resource utilization such as aquaculture, water rights given to mining corporations, bottled water drinking, transportation and tourism projects destroyed the country’s water resources and materials for electricity generation. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 03:37 | link | comments |

Leftists welcome US Congress move
to slice US military aid to RP by $ 19 million

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the US Congress to slice Washington’s military aid to the Philippines by $ 19 million from $ 30 million to $ 11 million dollar per year.

“The painstaking work and collective efforts of Filipino-American in the United States, the US-based church led human rights organizations in US and in the Philippines, the relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings and the international pressure on US President George W. Bush were behind this landmark piece of legislation by American congress,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Aside from stashing the total military aid to RP, the US Congress compelled the Bush administration to closely monitor the disbursement of all military aid granted to the Philippine government to prevent Malacañang ang the Armed Forces of the Philippines from using US taxpayers’ money against leftwing activists and members of the political opposition in the country.

“This landmark piece of legislation for the defense of human rights and civil liberties in the Philippines will prevent US President Bush and her no.1 terrorist ally in Asia- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from spending millions of dollars for extrajudicial killing projects and wholesale massacre of human rights and civil liberties across the country,” the Pamalakaya leader said.

The law likewise requires the US State of Department to submit report 90 days under the Foreign Military Financing Program. Peace activist Mark Harrison, who joined the Filipino lobby group against extrajudicial killings before the US Senate and House of Representatives, said the Filipino human rights groups and relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings were instrumental in getting US Congress support in the fight against political executions of leftwing activists and critics of President Arroyo.

Hicap urged Senate President Manuel Villar and House Speaker Jose de Venecia to rally senators and congressmen to file parallel bills and enact these bills into a law in support to their American counterparts move to stop spate of unabated political killings in the Philippines by stashing the country’s budget for the Department of National Defense by a significant portion of the defense and military budget in 2007.

“ We ask Senate President Villar and House Speaker de Venecia to initiate the same measure to disempower the extrajudicial killing republic of Mrs. Arroyo by cutting the military budget this year and make this administration penniless as far as extrajudicial killing project is concerned,” the Pamalakaya leader stressed.

Pamalakaya also said the US Congress move should also rally the powerful European Union to legislate a fresh law calling on all European governments to stop if not slash EU aid to the Philippines and monitor funds granted to the Philippine government,

The Filipino human rights activists and relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings had appeared and testified before the US and House Committees on East Asia Pacific Affairs regarding the human rights violations committed by members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and military created death squads.

Pamalakaya’s Hicap said the move of the US Congress to stop the use of American taxpayers’ money against leftists and critics of President Arroyo must also serve as a powerful political indicator for the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to consider the Philippine government’s dismembership from the council. “The UN human rights body should consider this development as a rallying point to pursue the elimination of the Manila government from the list of human rights conscious countries in the world, and immediately consider widespread clamor for the UN trial of President Arroyo,” Pamalakaya added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 03:43 | link | comments |

Pamalakaya slams international group for
rejecting Guimaras oil spill claims

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Tuesday assailed the London-based International Oil Pollution (IOPC) for rejecting the second batch of damage claims in connection with the Guimaras oil spill.

“They want a walk-in-the park escape. This is foul, a blatant attempt to score a wholesale injustice to the victims of Guimaras oil spill tragedy,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

The IOPC has identified less than 200 of the over 100,000 claims included in the second batch of clams for further review and validation, according to Rafael Coscolluela, Malacañang designated presidential assistant for Western Visayas.

The IOPC has paid out around P 177 million settlement to the first batch of claims made by over 22,000 claimants whose livelihood were affected after Solar 1 sank off waters of Guimaras on August 2006, spilling 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel.

Coscolluela learned from IOPC claims manager Patrick Joseph that the international compensation board rejected 99,800 claimants because they failed to meet the criteria for filing claims. He said the IOPC said most of the claims were politically accommodated by local government units.

The IOPC said the claims were filed before the elections. Since many people heard that the first batch of claimants received claims of up to P 30,000, the group said somebody might have advised other people to file their claims before the international pollution body.

The international oil pollution compensation body said majority of the applicants failed to comply with the documentary requirements, adding that most of the claimants in the second batch were not listed as residents, were not registered voters and were not listed as members of any fishermen’s organizations, of were underage. “This is preposterous. The set of criteria is short of saying that the IOPC will no longer entertain claimants,” the Pamalakaya leader said.

“Where is IOPC’s sense of truth and justice? The victims were neither begging for alms nor conspiring with local government units to get funds from the international pollution group. They want justice and to move on from the environmental catastrophe orchestrated by Petron and Saudi Aramco,” Pamalakaya’s Hicap added.

The militant fisherfolk leader said the IPOC is treating and presenting the case of Guimaras fisherfolk against Petron and owners of Solar 1 to the international community as nothing but a money making scheme in the name of political accommodation.

“We cannot stomach this kind of immoral and absurd excuse so they can get away with their obligations to the people. It is highly insulting to the collective intelligence and interest of the Guimaras folk,” Hicap said.

Pamalakaya likewise pressed the IOPC to issue a public apology to the Filipino people for maligning the Filipino people. “We strongly demand a public apology from the IOPC people. The statement they issued before the international community shows their disregard to the dignity of the Filipino people and how they regard us as a nation of low life people and alms begging community,” the militant group said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 08:15 | link | comments |

JPEPA foes asked Senate President: “Is Ok of RP-Japan trade pact part of deal with Malacañang?

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Wednesday asked re-installed Senate President Manuel Villar if the approval of the controversial Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA was part of a deal forged between him and Malacañang in exchange for pro-administration senators support to his fresh bid on the senate presidency.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap asked Senate President Villar to categorically issue an honest-to-goodness statement regarding their inquiry, a day after Press Secretary and Palace spokesperson Ignacio Bunye told Palace beat reporters that the Senate ratification of JPEPA would be an acid test for the Senate President.

“If we read between the lines, the message that will get is that Malacañang is now asking Senate President Villar to put JPEPA in the first order of business of the Senate, ratify the one-sided agreement in exchange for Malacañang’s support to his senate presidency,” Hicap said.

“Is the Villar senate presidency ready to collaborate with the pioneers and brains of this blasphemous trade agreement? Is the Senate President really working hard on JPEPA because that is his commitment to Malacañang? We want a substantiated yes or no from him,” the Pamalakaya leader added.

Hicap admitted that Senator Villar and other senators currently composing the Philippine Senate are not really anti-JPEPA. He said majority of the senators would like to see the removal of the agreement’s provision on Japan’s toxic wastes as a precondition for the immediate ratification of the agreement.

Pamalakaya leader said among the senators, it is only Senator Jamby Madrigal who has declared a strong opposition against the treaty. But the group was optimistic that senator Antonio Trillanes IV and other senators from the opposition camp will oppose the treaty upon learning the disastrous impact of the RP-Japan trade agreement.

Pamalakaya maintained that JPEPA is not all about toxic wastes. The militant group said the RP-Japan trade pact was super one-sided on the part of Japan, and the Philippines will only be reduced to as the millennium dumping ground of Japan’s surplus products and idle capital for fast-track plunder of the country’s resources and national patrimony and round-the-clock exploitation of the country’s labor force.

According to Pamalakaya, JPEPA will allow the entry of Japanese substandard fish and other agricultural products to the Philippines, including the entry of 8,000 metric ton Japanese fishing fleets to drain the country of its rich tuna deposits in Mindanao high seas and Moro Gulf.

The militant group said Japanese tuna corporations are interested to harvest 100,000 metric tons to 150,000 metric tons of Philippine tuna every year. Pamalakaya said Japanese energy groups are also eying parts of the country’s archipelagic waters for offshore mining in search for potential billions of barrels of oil and rich gas deposits.

Bunye said JPEPA would be one of the top issues to be discussed in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) to brief lawmakers on the agreement, which would allow the entry of Filipino nurses in Japan, in exchange for free entry of Japanese made products and investments, including the controversial entry of Japanese toxic wasters to RP. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 08:14 | link | comments (6) |

Pamalakaya on Arroyo’s 7th SONA:
“Nation being led by a national serial killer, a mass murderer”

“This country is being led by a national political serial killer to ultimate destruction.”

The rural based fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) issued the strongly worded statement several hours before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered her 31-minute speech State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Chief Executive’s 7th since 2001.

“President Arroyo is a national serial killer and a mass murderer of activists and critics of her administration. She has no moral, legal and political right to address this nation of starving 87 million Filipinos and treat them with her with her own version of Alice in Wonderland under the Human Security Act regime,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

President Arroyo is expected to focus on the government fight’s against terror through the Human Security Act of 2007 together with her economic plans in the next three years, including the her programs anchored on the development of what she called super regions all over the country.

“Imagine a president charged for slaughtering 865 activists and journalists and enforcing the involuntary disappearances of 197 leftists, accused of stealing billions of taxpayer’s money and regarded as the biggest thief, super stealer of people’s mandate and economic plunderer in the history of any reactionary republic is taking the center stage for the 7th time around to address the nation. This is horrible and first-rate condemnable,” Pamalakaya’s Hicap said.

Farmers and fisherfolk activists from Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon yesterday arrived to join their colleagues in the National Capital Region (NCR) ahead of the President Arroyo’s SONA to inform residents of Metro Manila about the collective position of the rural people on several issues including but not limited to HSA, extension of bogus CARP and the president’s removal from power.

Pamalakaya said the Macapagal-Arroyo government is behind the impoverishment of 80 percent of the population or roughly 65 million Filipinos now struggling to survive equivalent to P 96 or less per day.

To further counter President Arroyo’s First World sounding SONA, Pamalakaya said the government hastened the widening gap between the rich and the poor, with the net worth of the country’s 10 richest individuals estimated at US $ 12.4 B was equivalent to the combined annual income of the country’s poorest 9.8 million Filipinos.

“The government failed to create jobs, and on the contrary further contributed to the worsening problem of joblessness across the country. Under the present government, unemployment stayed at 11%, with 11.6 million Filipinos or about 1/3 of the country’s total labor force were either jobless, or even if employed still needs additional jobs to make both ends meet,” the group added.

Pamalakaya said the President was having a hard time preparing her SONA speech that it took eight times to revise it because there’s no good news to be announced to the people. The group said the President will only resort to motherhood statements and sloganeering to cover up her crimes against the Filipino people.

“President Arroyo’s SONA is a certified product of uncalled creative writing anchored on the preservation of an illegitimate, corrupt and criminal regime. That’s why she has been kept busy to revise and make her speech First World sounding that would take everybody to the world of make-believe,” Pamalakaya said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 01:56 | link | comments |

Leftists say HSA triggers active spy work on them

The leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Sunday said the implementation of the controversial Human Security Act of 2007 triggered massive spy work on them by operatives of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp), placing militants’ offices in Quezon City under round the clock surveillance.

“The spy glass of the terror law is now monitoring offices of militant organizations courtesy of Isafp and the V.Luna based National Intelligence Coordinating Agency. We have received a report that a special group of Isafp and NICA have set up a composite team near our offices to monitor the day-to-day work of militant groups, “Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Hicap added: “This is done in the name of HSA and the national security state policy and agenda of the current ruling regime in Malacañang.”

Hicap said on July 11 from 9 am to 2:00 pm, a dirty white Toyota Revo with plate no. XRF 784 was seen roaming around, changed parking one at a time near the offices of several militant organizations based in Quezon City.

The following day July 12, at around 5 pm, a navy blue Starex van with plate no. WRV 374 parked in front of the office of Center for Environmental Concern (CEC), a non-government environmental organization. Staff of the NGO said she saw two men, one inside the van while the aircondition was on, and his companion was outside the car observing who was coming in and out of the office.

On the same day, at around 4:00 p.m Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) Deputy Secretary General Willy Marbella said, while walking from the office of Pamalakaya office, he saw a burly man with a gun tucked in his waist. Fearing for his safety, he want back to the fisherfolk headquarters.

The man with a gun tucked in his waist has a maroon Toyota Revo with plate no. XSB 464, and left the vicinity at around 7:00 pm. However, a Pamalakaya staff noticed that at around 8:15 pm, a dark color Honda AUV with plate no. XML 314 was parked near their office.

On July 16, a military looking man passing himself off as a buyer of old newspapers and empty bottles parked his blue cart near the office of CEC between 9:00 am to 1:30 pm. One of the staff of CEC noticed that cart was almost empty with only 2 empty plastic bottles of 1.5 liter Coke soft drink.

On June 28 at around 7:22 pm, a white Honda Civic with plate no. WHX 147 briefly parked in front of the office of CEC and monitored the people coming in and out before leaving the area.

On July 4, Amihan peasant women group deputy secretary general Teresita Vistro, whose bag containing organization documents was snatched by a taxi driver who drove past her in front of their office in Quezon City.

The following day, Amihan staff started getting weird calls from a man, who asked about Vistro, her whereabouts and the time she reported work. The mysterious man who claimed he was a general inside Camp Aguinaldo tagged Vistro as the lady boss of Amihan.

“These guys from Isafp and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency think we are not thinking and that we let just let them go unnoticed. We will match their brazen and blatant intelligence work with counter-surveillance work to frustrate whatever sinister agenda they have in mind,” Pamalakaya said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 02:51 | link | comments |

Rejection of terror law and CARP extension, ouster of GMA headline rural militants agenda in SONA

Rural activists affiliated with the leftwing peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) will join the Manila-based activists on Monday’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) to call for the rejection of the Human Security Act of 2007 and the proposed extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and reiterate the six-year old demand for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down.

“This is the agenda of the 80 percent of the country’s total population on the occasion of the 7th SONA of the illegitimate and brutal regime in Malacañang,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Farmers and fisherfolk activists from Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon are expected to arrive today in the National Capital Region (NCR) ahead of the President Arroyo’s SONA to inform residents of Metro Manila about the collective position of the rural people on several issues including but not limited to HSA, extension of bogus CARP and the president’s removal from power.

“We will deliver the rural state of the nation address ahead of Arroyo’s SONA. We will stress on the three junk calls: Junk HSA!, Junk CARP!, Junk Gloria!,” the Pamalakaya leader said.

Hicap added: Slogans like Enough of US-Arroyo terror partnership, Stop Political Killings and Justice to All Victims of State Terrorism will be echoed all over Manila which we will literally and politically paint red on the occasion of Arroyo’s 7th blasphemous SONA.”

Bayan and affiliated groups like KMP and Pamalakaya said between 15,000 to 20,000 activists will joint the rally on Monday. Tomorrow the Southern Tagalog contingent numbering 1,000 to 2,000 activists will arrive in Manila for the huge protest on Monday’s SONA. They will hold a vigil along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Aside from HSA, the extension of CARP, extra judicial killings and the ouster of President Arroyo in Malacañang, Pamalakaya said it would also present reports on the sad plight of the Filipino people under the Arroyo administration. Part of the reports read that:

1. The government is behind the impoverishment of 80 percent of the population or roughly 65 million Filipinos now struggling to survive equivalent to P 96 or less per day. 2. The government hastened the widening gap between the rich and the poor, with the net worth of the country’s 10 richest individuals estimated at US $ 12.4 B was equivalent to the combined annual income of the country’s poorest 9.8 million Filipinos. 3. The government failed to create jobs, and on the contrary further contributed to the worsening problem of joblessness across the country. Under the present government, unemployment stayed at 11%, with 11.6 million Filipinos or about 1/3 of the country’s total labor force were either jobless, or even if employed still needs additional jobs to make both ends meet.

The Pamalakaya leader said the President was having a hard time preparing her SONA speech that it took eight times to revise it because there’s no good news to be announced to the people. Hicap said the President will only resort to motherhood statements and sloganeering to cover up her crimes to the Filipino people.

“President Arroyo will not deliver the real state of the nation. Her SONA will be a product of uncalled creative writing anchored on the preservation of an illegitimate, corrupt and criminal regime. That’s why she has been kept busy to revise and make her speech First World sounding that would take everybody to the world of make-believe,” Pamalakaya said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 02:50 | link | comments |

“GMA’s joke to run for Congress and represent Pampanga in the House of Reps in 2010 not a joke”- Pamalakaya

Leftwing militants belonging to fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakayta) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was not joking when she announced yesterday about her plans to run for a congressional seat anywhere in her home province.

“She wants immunity from suit. If that is the way to escape from an avalanche of lawsuits, she will go for it by hook or by crook,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

“Remember her promise several years ago that she will not run in 2004 presidential elections. The rest is history. In 2004 she orchestrated the biggest fraud in the history of national elections to keep the presidency and barbarized the people’s mandate for her own narrow interest,” the Pamalakaya leader added.

“GMA’s joke is not a joke. It’s for real. We are talking from experience and from what’s inside Arroyo’s dirty and savaged mind as read and analyzed by the people of the Philippines,” Hicap said.

“As far as we are concerned the political career of President Arroyo since 2004 when she cheated her way to the presidency. She is surviving on the strength of the corrupt military establishment and criminal activities of the national security cluster in Malacañang,” he added.

At the Luzon Urban Beltway Infrastructure Conference held in Malacañang, President Arroyo told participants that she was not prepared to retire from politics even after her term end in 2010 and might seek a seat in the House of Representatives in 2010 national elections.

Mrs. Arroyo was quoted as saying,” Who knows, I may run for Congress in my hometown.” The President also made clear on the controversial proposal on Charter Change, saying the revision of the 1987 Constitution will remain a platform commitment of her administration.

The President is expected to reiterate the needed change in the 19-year old charter to effect the shift in the form of government from presidential to parliamentary, as she stressed the need to put in place the necessary infrastructures for the super regions.

Pamalakaya said President Arroyo is expecting a deluge of criminal and administrative cases to flood the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Office of the Ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court and the regular courts emanating from election fraud, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, gross violations of basic human rights and civil liberties and high crimes of corruption involving national raids of taxpayers’ money since 2001.

Pamalakaya has filed several plunder and other criminal and administrative complaints against President Arroyo before the Office of the Ombudsman regarding the controversial P 728 million fertilizer scam, the P 130- B coconut levy fund, the offshore mining operations in Tañon Strait separating the island provinces of Cebu and Negros, the re-opening of Lafayette Philippines Inc. and scores of criminal complaints regarding the spate of political killings before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other government agencies.

The militant group said these cases filed in the country; as well cases of human rights violations filed before the United Nation’s Human Rights Council are still pending, because as of now President Arroyo still enjoys the presidential immunity from suit.

“But once her term expires, President Arroyo will be compelled and obliged by the local and international court to face and answer these charges. We will not allow to her to stage a daring escape from justice,” Pamalakaya said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 03:28 | link | comments |

Pamalakaya rates Atienza’s appointment to DENR a 21st century crime
Leftist group vows to challenge ex-Manila Mayor’s designation as environment chief before CA

Dismissing the appointment of former Manila Mayor Joselito Atienza as the new secretary of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as a first rate 21st century crime, the leftwing fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) vowed to challenge Atienza’s newly appointed position before the powerful Commission on Appointment.

“We will challenge Atienza’s cabinet post before the appointment body. A strongly worded petition seeking his rejection as secretary of the DENR is now being prepared by the propaganda and para-legal team of our group,” revealed Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap.

Hicap said aside from bringing their case against Atienza before the appointment body, they will stage a protest on Atienza’s first day as head of the environment agency. The Pamalakaya leader said Atienza should realize that his political career is over and he should stop using the environment portfolio to keep himself in the limelight and seek another term as Mayor of Manila in 2010 elections.

“The appointment of a forest park destroyer to the DENR is highly insulting and grossly revolting to the highest order,” the Pamalakaya leader added.

Hicap was referring to the case of Arroceros forest park in Manila, the 2.2 hectare property which was bought by the City of Manila from the Land Bank of the Philippines for P 65 million using the city’s education fund.

Atienza during his term, announced that the city government plans to construct buildings in the 2.2 hectare forest park to host offices of Manila school divisions and provide dormitory for the city’s school teachers. The construction led to the decimation of 70 percent of the 3,500 trees inside Manila’s last forest park.

Pamalakaya insisted that Atienza’s appointment as DENR secretary was both a payback and a backpay for the former Manila mayor who is a close political associate of President Arroyo. “It is a political payback and at the same time a backpay to Atienza for banning rallies in Mendiola over the last three years,” the group stressed.

The militant group has also harsh words for former DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes’ appointment to Department of Energy (DoE), asserting that President Arroyo brought the former environment chief to energy department to make more money for the ruling clique in Malacañang.

“This is a terrible partnership. We have Atienza approving left and right environmental compliance certificates being applied by the Reyes as secretary of DoE for land based and sea based oil and gas explorations across the country. If this is not a money making scheme, then what is it?”, Pamalakaya added. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:20 | link | comments |

Pamalakaya lists 10 things PGMA should address during SONA

Rabid critics of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today challenged her to address 10 most important issues which the more than 87 million Filipinos would like to hear in her 7th State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the opening of Congress’ 14th session.

In a press conference called by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) dared President Arroyo to answer various crimes her government had committed against the Filipino people ranging from extrajudicial killings to economic plunder.

“We compel the extra judicial killing republic of Mrs. Arroyo to answer the charges hurled against the ruling political syndicate in Malacañang, instead of reading her 45-minute speech to the public which is devoid of truth, highly immoral and grossly metaphysical” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Hicap added:” We don’t want that Alice in Wonderland show, what we want is Gloria admitting to the public her gory crimes against the people like extrajudicial killings and the mass slaughter of people’s economic and political rights.”

The 10 ten issues that Pamalakaya has lined up for President Arroyo to respond with all the required honesty, transparency and objectivity are:

1. The US-Arroyo terror partnership resulted to extrajudicial killings of more than 800 activists perpetrated by the state security forces loyal to the ruling Macapagal-Arroyo clique in Malacañang, within the national security cluster and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

2. President Arroyo and her minions orchestrated unprecedented crimes of election fraud and election-related terror, bigger and dirtier than 2004 to ensure the victory of her political bets from the national down to the local level.

3. The US authored Human Security Act of 2007 is meant to eliminate from the face of the earth all leftist foes and political critics of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration and ensure the survival of the detested government of Mrs. Arroyo.

4. The government is employing a systematic process and well supported machinery to tolerate high crimes of corruption in her government that would benefit close political associates in the House of Representatives, in the military and police establishments.

5. The government is behind the impoverishment of 80 percent of the population or roughly 65 million Filipinos now struggling to survive equivalent to P 96 or less per day.

6. The government hastened the widening gap between the rich and the poor, with the net worth of the country’s 10 richest individuals estimated at US $ 12.4 B was equivalent to the combined annual income of the country’s poorest 9.8 million Filipinos.

7. The government failed to create jobs, and on the contrary further contributed to the worsening problem of joblessness across the country. Under the present government, unemployment stayed at 11%, with 11.6 million Filipinos or about 1/3 of the country’s total labor force were either jobless, or even if employed still needs additional jobs to make both ends meet.

8. The government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) is a dismal failure, and further worsened the problem of landlessness among the country’s peasant and rural population. The proposed extension of CARP is nothing but political-economic ticket for landed groups to accumulate more lands at the expense of peasants’ land rights.

9. The government is selling not only government owned corporations and controlled institutions to raise funds for the bureaucrat capitalists and other corrupt officials of the government. This government has put the country’s remaining natural resources in the auction map at the expense of our people’s economic rights.

10. The ruling military civilian junta and the serial extrajudicial killers in Malacañang have not given up Charter Change as a mode to open the country’s resources to foreign monopolies and make it easier for President Arroyo not only to finish that illegally acquired term, but as well rule beyond 2010.

The Pamalakaya leader said the President was having a hard time preparing her SONA speech that it took eight times to revise it because there’s no good news to be announced to the people. Hicap said the President will only resort to motherhood statements and sloganeering to cover up her crimes to the Filipino people.

“President Arroyo will not deliver the real state of the nation. Her SONA will be a product of uncalled creative writing anchored on the preservation of an illegitimate, corrupt and criminal regime. That’s why she has been kept busy to revise and make her speech First World sounding that would take everybody to the world of make-believe,” Pamalakaya said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:18 | link | comments |

Preview of HSA
13 Pamalakaya leaders almost charged of committing “acts of terrorism” in fight against Navotas dumpsite, leftwing group recalls

Nearly two years ago, 13 leaders of the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) leading the fight against a landfill in Obando, Bulacan were almost charged of committing acts of terrorism when they led the community blocking of a barge used to ferry Metro Manila garbage to Navotas dumpsite.

“If my memory serves me right, Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco and the garbage contractor- the Philippine Ecology Systems Incorporated wanted to charge our leaders with hijacking, kidnapping and robbery for their concerted action to stop the barge from dumping Metro’s waste in Obando. All the violations mentioned are included in the controversial Human Security Act of 2007 as acts of terrorism,” recalled Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya national chair.

Hicap said sometime in middle of September 2005, Obando fishermen led by 13 Pamalakaya leaders blocked the barge used by contractor PHILECO when it tried to pass the Binuangan River on its way to Navotas Controlled Disposal Facility.

The fisherfolk residents used 20 motorized bancas to prevent the barge from passing through the Binuangan River and forced the garbage contractor to go back to Manila. Immediately after the incident, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) then headed by the late NBI chief Reynaldo Wycoco and lawyer Atty. Nestor Mantaring subpoenaed the Pamalakaya leaders to appear before the NBI to answer allegations that they committed acts of terror namely hijacking, kidnapping and robbery, now all falls as acts or crimes of terror under the new anti-terror law.

Those summoned by NBI were Pamalakaya-Bulacan chairperson Ricardo de Armas, brother Sonny de Armas, Celso Balasta, Obet Calbadores, Adriano del Rosario, Racelito San Diego, Rey Silangan, Nading dela Cruz, Arthur Burgos, Isidro dela Cruz, Cecilio Alcantara, Virgilio del Rosario and Orland de Vera, the latter was allegedly killed by military assassins inside his house on August 16 last year.

“The government was planning to test the Anti-Terror Law ahead of its passage two years ago by reducing legitimate protests with legitimate, moral and lawful cause and demand as acts of terror in the case of Pamalakaya 13 leaders,” Hicap said.

Pamalakaya said the case of Pamalakaya 13 is a living testimony on how the Macapagal-Arroyo intends to use the Human Security Act of 2007 to quell legitimate dissent and suppress all forms of protest and criticism in the name of the corrupt and criminal interest of the national government.

“The experience of Pamalakaya 13 suggests that the government will use the anti-terror law to terrorize the people and massacre legitimate and constitutionally guaranteed rights. This is why the anti-terror law by design and by orientation is a security threat and a terror law imposed on the people,” the militant group said.

Pamalakaya recalled that upon the advice of their lawyer, the 13 fisherfolk leaders did not appear in the NBI, asserting that what they did was a form of protest against the anarchic dumping of waste that had threatened the livelihood of the small fishermen, and the health and environment of the people.

However, some of the 13 Pamalakaya leaders decided to leave Barangay Binuangan, few days after they snubbed the NBI scheduled hearings and after they received a report that military death squad in Bulacan were out to liquidate them if they will not stop the protest against the Navotas dumpsite.

Pamalakaya said some of their leaders sought the protection of religious groups in Bulacan, while others left the place for fear of military harassment and possible liquidation by government death squads. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 04:41 | link | comments |

“8Xs revision of GMA’s SONA
speech shows she has nothing to tell but lies”- Pamalakaya

Less than a week from now before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivers her 7th State of the Nation of Address (SONA) at the opening of 14th Congress, rabid critics kicked off their pre-SONA offensive by questioning the president’s revision of her SONA speech eight times, an indication they said that President Arroyo will lie again to 86 million Filipinos.

The left-leaning fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Wednesday said the cause-oriented groups are expecting President Arroyo to deliver another bogus SONA on Monday.

“Mrs. Arroyo, the President of the Extrajudicial Killing Republic in Malacañang and the chief representative of the ruling military-civilian junta is expected to deliver the extreme opposite of the national situation,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

The Pamalakaya leader said the President was having a hard time preparing her SONA speech that it took eight times to revise it because there’s no good news to be announced to the people. Hicap said the President will only resort to motherhood statements and sloganeering to cover up her crimes to the Filipino people.

Palace press secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President’s SONA speech will avoid politics and would instead focus on the future of the economy. The Palace press secretary said President Arroyo would talk about her vision of transforming the country into a First World country in 20 years. The President yesterday rehearsed her 45-minute speech in front of selected Cabinet officials according to latest report.

“It took President Arroyo to revise her 45-minute speech eight times to downplay or worse reject a striking truth that some 65 million Filipinos or around 80 percent of the population struggle to survive on the equivalent of P 96 or less per day,” Hicap said citing a recent study made by independent think tank Ibon Data Bank.

Pamalakaya said the President’s speech will not state facts such as 11.6 million Filipinos or one third of the country’s total labor force were either jobless or even if employed are still seeking more work to survive the increasing cost of living in the country, that while it took six years for the manufacturing sector to create 153,000 jobs, last year 105,000 jobs were lost last year.

The militant group took note that while there was an increase of jobs in the agriculture sector, about one third tend to be unpaid family work, that corporate profits were rising consistently in double digit rates for the last six years, and that the combined net worth of the country’s richest individuals of US$ 12.4 B in 2006 was equivalent to the combined annual income of the country’s poorest 9.8 million households composed of some 49 million Filipinos.

“President Arroyo will not state these facts of life. Her SONA will be a product of creative writing anchored on the preservation of an illegitimate, corrupt and criminal regime. That’s why she has been kept busy to revise her speech that would take us to the world of make-believe,” Pamalakaya said.

The militant group said President Arroyo will skip controversial issues such as extrajudicial killings, the controversial Human Security Act of 2007, the results of the 2007 May 14 elections and corruption cases hurled against her and her immediate family over the last six years.

“She will not come clean just like her previous SONAs. She’s not clean. For us she looks and smells like a janitor fish, a creature regarded by the Filipino fishermen as an all-time monster and livelihood and marine environment wrecker,” Pamalakaya said. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 04:38 | link | comments |

Esperon denies extrajudicial killing as state policy
Militants to AFP Chief: It is a sin to tell a lie

Leftwing militants belonging to fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakayta) today reminded the highest military official in the land that it is a sin to tell a lie.

The militant group issued the comment a day after Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. denied that extrajudicial killings as a policy does not exist.

Speaking yesterday at the first day of the two-day Supreme Court summit on extrajudicial killings, Esperon denied that such policy is being implemented to silence leftists and journalists critical of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. The AFP Chief dismissed allegations that military agents behind the spate of political killings of leftwing activists as black propaganda of the left.

"Esperon is in the state of absolute denial. He is the grandfather of all liars in this country. No one in his or her decent mind will take or stomach Esperon's dirty and incorrigible statements," said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap in a press statement.

“This swashbuckling military general is a certified liar, period, period, period," the Pamalakaya leader added. “More than 800 activists were killed, almost 200 of our colleagues are still missing There are several military documents unearthed that such policy exists, excluding testimonies from victims and their relatives. What proof this general needs? May the God of History and Justice curse this Hello Garci general," Hicap said.

Pamalakaya likewise assailed Esperon for imposing a condition before the suspended peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the communist-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) could resume.

Esperon said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP0 and its armed wing- the New People's Army should first declare a three-year ceasefire for the talks to resume. The AFP chief also made the same proposal yesterday at the opening of the two-day summit on extra-judicial killings initiated by the highest court of the land.

Pamalakaya said Esperon has no legal, political and moral right to talk or set the terms for the
resumption of peace talks. "He is not even a member of the GRP panel. How come this political military animal is talking in behalf of the GRP? Worse, the GRP is taking his proposal as a rallying point. This confirmed that the administration is held hostage by the AFP," the militant group said. #

Instead of imposing conditions, the Pamalakaya leader advised the GRP to create a favorable environment for the resumption of talks. Aside from the repeal of the Human Security Act of 2007, the GRP should call all troops and military agents engaged in extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearances to stop the practices and surface those they have abducted over the past six years.

Hicap said the GRP must also work hard for the delisting of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People's Army (NPA) from the terror lists of the United States and the European Union. He also said the release of all political prisoners is another positive step to push the resumption of the peace talks which was sabotaged by the National Security cluster in 2004.

On top of the immediate concerns, The militant fisherfolk alliance Pamalakaya said the Manila
government must honor 17 major agreements it signed with the NDFP since 1994, which include the landmark human rights pact Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law signed by the Manila government and the NDFP on March 16, 1998. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 04:37 | link | comments |

CBCP asked to open churches for anti-HSA drive

Critics of the controversial Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007 on Monday asked the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to allow them to discuss their critique against the anti-terror law in Roman Catholic churches, parishes and institutions.

In a press statement, the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) appealed to CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo to let them inform the people and members of the Christian faith all over the
country, why HSA is a serious threat to people’s security and extreme opposite of the Church’s gospel and doctrines on human rights, civil liberties and good governance.

The appeal to the country's influential bishops coincided with the opening of the two-day summit on extrajudicial killings spearheaded by the Supreme Court, in which representatives of militant groups are expected to bring the serious implications of the anti-terror law on basic human rights and civil liberties.

“We submit this humble appeal to the leadership of the CBCP. The people must be informed about the evil agenda of the ruling clique in Malacañang," Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement. Hicap added: "As a nation of Roman Catholic Christians, we should not allow Satan’s disciples in the Palace to massacre the rights of the people in the name of US-puppet President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her terror law and her evil regime’s survival."

The militant group said CBCP's divine intervention is politically and morally necessary to stop Malacañang from using the law to quell legitimate dissent and persecute critics and political foes, including ordinary citizens critical of the Arroyo government.

Pamalakaya’s appeal to CBCP came a day after Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales asked Malacañang to defer the implementation of the controversial anti-terror law until the gray areas are in the law are clarified.

Cardinal Rosales although not opposed to the anti-terror law, said the law’s interpretation of
terrorism is very wide and maybe misinterpreted. The Manila archbishop said the unclear provisions of the law could be abused by some people or groups.

Yesterday, the militant groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) trooped to Mendiola Bridge to greet the first day of HSA implementation with protest.

Pamalakaya for its’ part had distributed the militant’s primer exposing and opposing the harsh
impacts of the law to basic human rights and civil liberties to its 43 provincial chapters nationwide and had furnished copies of Bayan primer to ambassadors of European Union and 14 European states.

This week Pamalakaya leaders and staff will personally hand carry copies of Bayan critique primer on HSA to mayors of Manila, Makati, Pasay, San Juan and Navotas to convince these opposition mayors and their constituents to oppose the anti-terror law. Next week copies of militant’ primer on HSA will be sent to the mayors of Quezon City, Caloocan, Malabon, Valenzuela, Paranaque, Las Piñas, Taguig, Pateros, Marikina and Cainta.

According to the 12-page Bayan primer, the Macapagal-Arroyo government will use the anti-terror law as an instrument to quell legitimate expressions of political dissent and social protest. The primer said mass actions calling for the ouster of President Arroyo, protest actions or workers strikes would be considered as act of terrorism under the law.

The Bayan primer also scored the proscription powers given to the ATC, which will make it easier for the government to categorize all militant groups, political organizations and individuals critical and opposed to the present administration as terrorists. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:27 | link | comments |

BATTLE OF THE PRIMERS ON HSA
Militants ranged own versionvs. Palace HSA primer

Primer vs. primer.

The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on the eve of the implementation of the controversial anti-terror law said it would use the militant primer The Anti-Terrorism Act: Recipe for Undeclared Martial Law crafted by mother multisectoral alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) to counter the government’s version on the anti-terror law authored by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).

“The battle of the primers is own. But our version is superior, objective and reflective of the national evaluation, sentiment and collective interest of the Filipino people. The government version is authored by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her terrorist officials in Malacañang, therefore it is anchored on the criminal and corrupt interest of the ruling clique in Malacañang,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Malacañang officials on Friday said the law will take effect on July 15 as scheduled, saying the government has prepared a primer, instead of Implementing Rules and Regulations for the implementation of the anti-terror law.

Pamalakaya, Bayan and other human rights and cause-oriented groups will stage a protest action tomorrow at Mendiola Bridge to test the execution of the anti-terror law which they billed as a death sentence to basic human rights and civil liberties of the people.

Hicap said the 12- page primer critique of Bayan on anti-terror law is now being circulated in 43 provincial chapters of Pamalakaya all over the country, and discussions on the devastating impact of the government’s terror law on basic human rights and civil liberties and how to fight the anti-terror law is ongoing and would be finished by the third week of July in preparation for across-the-nation protest during the State of the Nation Address of President Arroyo.

According to the 12-page Bayan primer, the Macapagal-Arroyo government will use the anti-terror law as an instrument to quell legitimate expressions of political dissent and social protest. The primer said mass actions calling for the ouster of President Arroyo, protest actions or workers strikes would be considered as act of terrorism under the law.

The Bayan primer also scored the proscription powers given to the ATC will make it easier for the government to categorize all militant groups, political organizations and individuals critical and opposed to the present administration as terrorists.

“We will fight this national project of the Macapagal-Arroyo government to terrorize the people in the parliament of the streets, in the court of public opinion and in the Supreme Court. Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts should expect a major political battle royale with us,” Pamalakaya said.

Last week Pamalakaya sent copies of the militants’ anti-terror law primer to the ambassadors of the European Union office in Makati, and the embassies of Austria, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Pamalakaya will also send copies of Bayan’s primer on anti-terror law to ambassadors of Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, India, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Thailand, Russia and other former socialist states of Soviet Union, Latin American countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina and South Africa and other countries in the African continent. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 10:30 | link | comments |

BATTLE OF THE PRIMERS ON HSA
Militants to send Bayan primers to Metro Manila mayors

Critics of the controversial Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007 will go on another offensive this week by sending copies of their own version of the anti-terror primer to mayors in the National Capital Region to counter Malacañang drafted primers on anti-terror law, which Palace officials said would replace the needed Implementing Rules and Regulations for the law.

The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Sunday said all mayors in Metro Manila whether identified with the administration or the opposition will get each a copy of the militant’s primer Anti-Terrorism Act: A Recipe for Undeclared Martial written and produced by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

For a start, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said mayors identified with the Genuine Opposition will be the first recipients of the Bayan primer detailing the harsh and devastating impacts of the government’s anti-terror law on the basic human rights and civil liberties of 86 million Filipinos.

“We are not afraid of Mrs. Arroyo’s terror instrument and terror agenda. We will confront her terror regime at all cost,” Hicap said in a press statement.

The Pamalakaya leader said he would personally hand carry the primers to opposition Mayors Jejomar Binay (Makati), Alfredo Lim (Manila), Peewee Trinidad (Pasay), Toby Tiangco (Navotas) and Joseph Victor Ejercito (San Juan).

Hicap said next week he will also personally deliver copies of Bayan primer to mayors of Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Taguig, Pateros, Las Piñas, Marikina, Pasig, Parañaque and Cainta, to inform local government officials about the strong political basis why mayors and residents should oppose the controversial anti-terror law.

“This round-the-clock political offensive against the HSA has the blessings and political approval of the Filipino people. The Bayan primer on anti-terror law will expose, oppose and crush the ruling terrorist regime in Malacañang,” Hicap said.

Malacañang officials on Friday said the law will take effect today, saying the government has prepared a primer, instead of Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the implementation of the anti-terror law.

Hicap said the 12- page primer critique of Bayan on anti-terror law is now being circulated in 43 provincial chapters of Pamalakaya all over the country, and discussions on the devastating impact of the government’s terror law on basic human rights and civil liberties and how to fight the anti-terror law is ongoing and would be finished by the third week of July in preparation for across-the-nation protest during the State of the Nation Address of President Arroyo.

According to the 12-page Bayan primer, the Macapagal-Arroyo government will use the anti-terror law as an instrument to quell legitimate expressions of political dissent and social protest. The primer said mass actions calling for the ouster of President Arroyo, protest actions or workers strikes would be considered as act of terrorism under the law.

The Bayan primer also scored the proscription powers given to the ATC, which will make it easier for the government to categorize all militant groups, political organizations and individuals critical and opposed to the present administration as terrorists.

Last week Pamalakaya sent copies of the militants’ anti-terror law primer to the ambassadors of the European Union office in Makati, and the embassies of Austria, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Pamalakaya will also send copies of Bayan’s primer on anti-terror law to ambassadors of Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, India, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Thailand, Russia and other former socialist states of Soviet Union, Latin American countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina and South Africa and other countries in the African continent. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 10:29 | link | comments |

“Reds can’t be target of terror law because RP government has 17 major agreements with CPP” ---- Pamalakaya

The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Wednesday said the Philippine government would be violating 17 major agreements with the communist led- National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) if the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) insists in outlawing the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) under the Human Security Act of 2007.

In a press statement, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap reminded Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, chair of the ATC and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, ATC vice-chair that the Philippine government had signed 17 major agreements with the NDFP in the conduct of peace talks from 1992 up to 2004.

“These agreements signed by both parties to the peace talks are politically and morally binding and sanctioned by internationally accepted principles and laws. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her league of extraordinary terrorists in Malacañang are obliged to honor and respect these agreements,” the Pamalakaya leader stressed. Hicap added: “The Macapagal-Arroyo ruling clique in Malacañang shall be held accountable in violations of international laws and other United Nations’ related disciplines in the conduct of civil war if it insists in targeting the Reds under the US-Malacañang’s terror law.”

“The terrorist listing of the CPP-NPA and the sabotage of peace talks by the fascist Manila government will put to waste all the peace efforts exerted by the previous regimes of the three presidents- Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada, House Speaker Jose de Venecia and the Royal Norwegian government as third party facilitator,” he said.

The Pamalakaya leader said the communist insurgency is known all over the international community as a homegrown revolution advocating political and social change through the use of armed struggle as primary mean, and such political advocacy is honored and accepted by the UN and international humanitarian laws under the provision of people’s right to self-determination.

The major agreements signed by the GRP and the NDFP are the Joint Hague Declaration signed in The Hague, Netherlands on September 1,1992 urging both parties to resolve the armed conflict through political negotiations, the Breukelen Joint Statement signed by the GRP and the NDFP on June 14, 1994, the joint agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees signed on February 24, 1995, the Agreement on the Ground Rules of the Formal Meetings between the GRP and the NDFP peace panels on February 26, 1995, the Joint Agreement on the Formation, Sequence and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committees of both parties signed on June 26, 1995.

The Additional Implementing Rules Pertaining to the Documents of Identification signed on June 26, 1996, the Supplemental Agreement to the Joint Agreement on the Formation, Sequence and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committees signed on March 18, 1997, the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law signed on March 16, 1998, the Additional Implementing Rules of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) pertaining to the Security of Personnel and Consultations in Furtherance of Peace Negotiations signed on March 16, 1998, the Joint Agreement in Support of Socio Economic Projects of Private Development Organizations and Institutes signed on March 16, 1998, the Joint Statement of the Negotiating Panels of the GRP and the NDFP on March 9, 2001.

The Oslo Joint Communiqué signed on April 30, 2001, the Joint Statement to Resume Formal Talks on the GRP-NDFP Peace Negotiations singed on January 13, 2004, the Oslo Joint Statement signed on February 14, 2004, the Second Oslo Joint Statement signed on April 3, 2004, the Partial Supplementary Guidelines for the Joint Monitoring Committee signed on June 24, 2004, the Memorandum of Understanding between the GRP, the NDFP and the Royal Norwegian Government as third party facilitator signed on June 25, 2004. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 04:08 | link | comments |

Militants launch “LETTER TO THE AMBASSADOR” campaign
to fight anti-terror law

Starting tomorrow, leaders of the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) will kick off its “letter to the ambassador” campaign informing foreign diplomats in the country on the extreme danger posed by Human Security Act of 2007 to 86 million Filipinos.

Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said he would go to the Makati post office tomorrow to mail letters addressed to the 15 ambassadors of 14 European countries and the European Union office in Manila to notify the diplomats about the devastating effects of the new anti-terror law to basic human rights and civil liberties of the people across the country.

Hicap said aside from the letter asking leaders of the European Union to think over a thousand times their support to the anti-terror law of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a strongly worded primer entitled “The Anti-Terrorism Act: Recipe for Undeclared Martial Law” prepared by the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) will also be sent to ambassadors of the European Union and 14 other European countries.

“The European Union should act in accordance to the collective interest of the Filipino and global people to stop the killing and terror rampage being launched by the terrorist government in Manila,” he said.

The Pamalakaya leader said the “first phase” of the letter to the ambassador campaign will cover the European Union office in Makati, and the embassies of Austria, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Hicap said the next phase of the campaign will cover the countries of Asia and the Pacific like Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, India, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Thailand.

The third phase of the campaign will cover the Russia and other former socialist states of Soviet Union, Latin American countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina and South Africa and other countries in the African continent.

The Pamalakaya leader in his letter had cited the recent move of the US Senate’s appropriation committee approving the Foreign Operations Spending Bill that seeks to stop the use of Washington’s military aid against RP civi