PRESS RELEASE
July 12, 2010
Reference: Roy Morilla, KMP Public Information Officer (0907-418-0098)

One-hundred-day camp-out farmers condemn first extra-judicial killing on peasants, campground at DAR to push further for land reform

The 100-day camp-out led by the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines), Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK, KMP Southern Tagalog) and Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL, KMP Central Luzon) condemned the latest and first extra-judicial killing on peasants, victimizing Pascual Guevarra, 78-year old leader of Alyansa ng Magbubukid na Nagkakaisa sa 3,100 Ektarya ng Fort Magsaysay (ALMANA 3100). He was shot dead July 9, late afternoon by believed to be agents of the military. The groups vowed to push further for land reform and kicked off by setting base camp at the central office of the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Quezon City.

“We strongly condemn the first EJK on peasants, thus, we would struggle further for land reform by starting to set-up camp at DAR to prepare for days of dialogue with officials regarding agrarian disputes, primarily in Southern Tagalog,” said Danilo Ramos in a press statement, KMP Secretary-General.

“Killings on peasants has always been connected to their struggle for genuine land reform. Tatay Pascual of ALMANA 3100 was leading their campaign for land distribution of 3,100 hectares inside Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Laur, Nueva Ecija. They are fighting against the harassment and displacement efforts of the military, particularly the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army led by Maj. Gen. Ralph Villanueva,” said Ramos.

The groups said that the general and his forces does not recognize the farmers’ Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) which has been the result of the 1991 Deed of Transfer between Dept. of National Defense and DAR signed by then Sec. Renato De Villa and then Sec. Benjamin Leung, of respective offices. Thus, farmers were consistently harassed, houses strafed at, burned down and communities held like garrisons. Farmers led by ALMANA 3100, supported by AMGL and KMP held a dialogue at the Camp Aguinaldo on November 17, 2008 and defense officials promised to study the case.

“The past-Arroyo regime victimized at least 561 peasant activists and organizers and Tatay Pascual is the first under the Aquino government. Hence, we challenge Noynoy Aquino to immediately act to stop the killings and resolve the agrarian disputes all-over the country,” Ramos said.

“Likewise with his ‘wang-wang’ policy, where motorists and government officials are bound to follow traffic laws, we challenge him to distribute Hacienda Luisita so that other landlords and hacienderos are compelled to follow his example,” he added.

The farmers are to dialogue with DAR the issues of Hacienda Yulo in Calamba, Laguna, Hacienda Looc in Nasugbu, Batangas, Ramos ‘lands’ in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Ciudad Nuevo, KPPI and Cathay ‘lands’ in Silang, Cavite, Sitio Seedling lands in Montalban, Rizal. Leaders from KASAMA-TK and its provincial chapters from Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Rizal and lawyers from SENTRA foundation are to discourse with DAR officials.

“We want to know what Noynoy Aquino’s ‘pagbabago’ means or is it plain lipservice and his agrarian policy is likewise anti-peasant such as of Arroyo’s. We want the whole country to know that land reform issue is fundamental and Aquino should immediately act on this as this is the root of all unrest in our society,” said Ramos.

The groups vowed that they would hold more and heightened protest actions as as Aquino’s first State-of-the-Nation Address comes near on July 26 and followed by the 1st anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with ‘Reforms’ on August 7. #

Victims of extrajudicial killing in 12 days of the Aquino admnistration

July 9 - Pascual Guevarra, 78 years old, Anakpawis partylist member, Nueva Ecija,
July 9 - Mark Francisco, 27 years old, ACT Teachers partylist member. Masbate
July 9 - Edgar Fernandez, 44, ACT Teachers partylist member, Masbate
July 5 - Fernando Baldomero, 61 years old, Bayan Muna partylist member, Aklan
 

PRESS RELEASE
Reference: Anton Dulce, Anakbayan national vice-chairperson, 09086123260
July 12, 2010

Noynoy, get your military animals under control! – Anakbayan

Youth group Anakbayan today blasted the Aquino administration for its apparent lack of control on the Armed Forces of the Philippines after two members of progressive partylist groups were reportedly assassinated last July 9

78 year-old Pascual Guevarra, a member of partylist group Anakpawis and a leader of peasants residing within the 3,100-hectare Fort Magsaysay, was shot around 4.45pm in his home in Laur, Nueva Ecija. Meanwhile, according to initial reports, Mark Francisco of ACT Teachers’ Partylist was killed in Palanas, Masbate on the same day.

The two are the second and third activists slain under the presidency of Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino. The first is Fernando Baldomero of Bayan Muna, in Aklan, last July 5.

“Blame on this killing spree rests on the doorsteps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In the wake of Baldomero’s murder, the former insisted that the latter had links with the New People’s Army in an attempt to justify his death. Even before, the AFP has always gone to great lengths to demonize pro-people partylists with its sworn enemy, the NPA” said Anakbayan national vice-chairperson Anton Dulce.

After Baldomero was killed, AFP spokesperson Jose Mabanta said Baldomero was killed due to an ‘internal purge’ within the NPA, a charge which was dismissed by human rights groups as ‘pure hogwash’.

“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: heads must roll in the military. We demand that Noynoy take drastic measures to halt the killings” he said.
The youth group had earlier called on the President to punish Mabanta for his statements.

The youth leader added that Aquino was also partly to blame for his statements against human rights violations, or lack thereof.

He said “From his inaugural speech alone, there was no strong condemnation of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. In fact, the word ‘human rights’ wasn’t even mentioned, not even once. Human rights groups have also urged him to order the junking of the AFP’s Oplan Bantay Laya, or to order the release of the ‘Morong 43’, to send a strong message that he will not tolerate the military’s abuses. But he did none of those things”.

“Noynoy has sent a message about human rights all right: one of indecisiveness, inaction, and unwillingness to confront the armed forces” said Dulce.

Finally, the youth leader said “Our willingness to give Aquino a chance is fast-running out”. ###
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Get the latest news on burning social issues at anakbayanph.wordpress.com

July 09, 2010
 

Mr. Aquino, stop the killings!

The cold-blooded assassination of Bayan Muna Aklan coordinator and Lezo town councilor Fernando Baldomero last Monday is forcing the hand of President Benigno Aquino to not only denounce extra-judicial killings (EJKs) and promise to go after their perpetrators but to deal with its obvious link with the government’s counterinsurgency program called Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL).

Will he acknowledge it as something he has inherited but abhors and intends to put an end to? More important, what he is going to do about it, knowing full well that the people, his acknowledged "Boss", would demand more than the same avowals and promises they had likewise heard from the murderous Arroyo regime?

Mrs. Arroyo herself was forced to make some general condemnation of EJKs after the indignant reaction to the fulsome praise she heaped on a notorious general accused precisely of ordering such killings. Rising concern in the international community about the unabated murders of unarmed activists and other progressives may also have pushed Mrs. Arroyo to appoint a feisty chairperson for the nonetheless toothless human rights commission.

But there have been no credible investigations; no arrests; no successful prosecutions; and most of all, no acknowledgement that EJKs have become part and parcel of government’s counterinsurgency operations.

Thus although the numbers of EJKs and other gross human rights violations came down for a while, these started to climb up once more especially as the government’s self-imposed deadline for ending the insurgency drew near.

Mr. Aquino’s pronouncements so far about national security and peace talks and his latest address to the Philippine military in turn-over ceremonies have fallen far short of sending an unequivocal message of his administration’s commitment to uphold human rights.

Despite the gravity of the problem, it is not clear at this point whether part of building “strong, capable and disciplined security forces” includes weeding out those guilty of EJKs and their cover-up. Will Mr. Aquino give them the same leeway as did Mrs. Arroyo or will he relentlessly go after them, in as much as he is called upon to uncompromisingly seek the truth and achieve justice with regard to all the anti-people crimes of her regime?

Even with regard to the so-called Truth Commission, Mr. Aquino has so far been quite general in its announced goals, i.e. anomalies under the Arroyo government, without mention of human rights violations despite local and international outrage over hundreds of unsolved cases and clear signs that these are continuing despite a change in leadership.

The ambiguity in Mr. Aquino’s policy statements leaves much room for perpetuating the climate of impunity that persists to this day. As if on cue, the military spokesperson’s blanket denial of any AFP involvement in Mr. Baldomero’s killing and the innuendo that the NPA are more likely to be the culprits behind it reveals the military’s unchanged attitude and line on EJKs.

The victims of human rights violations expect nothing short of concrete and effective steps from the Aquino administration to put a stop to the killings and render justice to the victims. These include:

1) Investigate, arrest and prosecute the direct perpetrators of EJKs, enforced disappearances, etc and the high government officials and military/police officers who provided policy direction and political justification, praised and promoted the notorious military/police officers implicated, provided systematic cover-up and gave all-out support to Oplan Bantay Laya.

2) Put on hold, subject to review and disavow OBL as part of actualizing the statement of Presidential Spokesperson that “EJKs are not a policy” of the Aquino administration.

3) Immediately put a stop to the military’s vilification
campaign against activists and progressives, specifically linking them to the New People’s Army, thereby setting them up for “neutralization” (a military euphemism for elimination) first politically, and eventually, physically. There should be a clear repudiation of the AFP document "Knowing the Enemy" which set the direction, justified and lined up the targets for "neutralization" by the military.

4) Issue a strong warning and undertake summary action against military commanders in areas of responsibility where EJKs take place and against police superintendents who make no headway in investigating EJKs and other gross HRVs.

5) Stop the widespread practice of arresting, detaining and convicting leaders and members of progressive organizations for alleged criminal offenses on the basis of fabricated charges and evidence. Release all political prisoners detained on the basis of false charges.

Moreover, this blight on the government’s human rights record and the rule of law should not be tackled selectively. It is hoped that Mr. Aquino will not take a leaf from the way the US ambassador recently and notably called for quick official action on media killings while being conspicuously silent on the murders of activists known to be on the Left of the political spectrum.

It must be pointed out that prior governments’ track record with regard to EJKs has been dismal including the assassination of Mr. Aquino’s father, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, where the real masterminds were never officially determined, much less prosecuted and arrested.

It is perhaps a testament to the country’s real state of affairs, where the military and police are now more than ever the armed protectors of an intolerably unjust social system and whoever is the current oppressive regime presiding over it. So much so that whatever their abuses against the people, these are swept under the rug, tolerated and even justified in the name of counterinsurgency and protecting the state.

Sooner than later, the Aquino regime will be unmasked by the festering problems of Philippine society that continue to erupt with such manifestations as EJKs, fiscal crises and unmitigated poverty that no amount of feel-good rhetoric can contain and paper over.

Mr. Aquino will then be forced to confront these and will be ultimately judged by his actions and not mere promises. #

*Published in Business World
9-10 July 2010

Poster from the Facebook account of IE

BONUS TRACK

The Mendiola Peace Argh

The Office of the President (GMA) designed the arch and funded its construction. Mendiola has been the scene of violent dispersals by state security forces, the most violent and murderous of which was the 1987 Mendiola massacre where at least 13 peasant protesters were killed and hundreds injured.. The builders installed the name, MENDIOLA PEACE ARCH perhaps to teach the students in the vicinity the meaning of irony. The arch is also an excuse to build the iron gates beneath and keep protesters away from Malacanang.

They call it an Arch but nowhere in its structure is there a semi-circular part or even a small curvature..

Wait,  the arghs are in the steel gates that bar protesters from going to Malacanang.