To Arroyo and to private business bidders of Fujimi:
Stop stealing the shared cultural and historical rights of Filipino and Japanese people!

In three days time the Philippine government will open the bids offered by private companies to tear down the historic Fujimi premises for a 21-story building replacement. If the Arroyo government and the interested private company bidders think that they can take easily a historical site in their own whims, we have to say that they are completely wrong.

Today we are putting our symbolic barricade here at the gate of Fujimi to signal the start of protest movement and legal action against Arroyo and private company bidders in the act of stealing the shared cultural and historical rights of Filipino and Japanese people. This property should be preserved as a reminder to the Filipino people who are unaware of how much we have lost and have been cheated out of the deceptive 50 years Built Operate and Transfer scheme used in developing the Roppongi property. We believe our people are being subjected once again to the same deception in a desperate move by the Arroyo government, which is expiring in 6-month’s time, to capitalize on the Fujimi property.

In the Roppongi Philippine property, out of the whole block, only a little percentage has been allotted to house the Philippine Embassy. And in the Philippine Embassy, very little, or around 10,500 Filipinos per square meter is provided for consular service use. In the highly secretive Fujimi development deal between Arroyo government and bidders, as usual, we suspect that there is the “no entry for Filipinos, the rightful owners of the property, except the Philippine ambassador and guests” provision in the development deal.

The Philippine government neglected totally to give support to almost 200,000 Filipinos living in Japan, including around 170,000 Filipino mothers of Japanese-Filipino children who live in Japan permanently. There are in fact more than 300,000 half Japanese-Filipino children majority of whom are now in their late teens and early twenties.

These numbers of ignored people, who are having Filipino and Japanese nationalities, are enough to engage Arroyo and the private company bidders in legal suits in courts of law, parliaments, as well as on the streets where they can voice out loud and clear their protests in both the Philippines and Japan against Arroyo and Company as provided by the laws of both Japan and the Philippines if they will not desist in touching the Fujimi property. Furthermore, there is the possibility of members of the Japanese society concerned about the destruction of a valuable historical relic joining these protests against the Arroyo administration.

The public condemnations in the Philippines and Japan may not be enough for the Arroyo administration to stop the bids on the Fujimi property as we firmly believe the reported allegation of midnight selling of Fujimi property to fatten the May 2010 election campaign war chest of the Arroyo administration. Nevertheless, we are equally determined to stop this bidding that is being done without regard for the shared cultural and historical rights of Filipino and Japanese people.

Stop the Fujimi property bidding now!

SAVE FUJIMI NETWORK

c/o Center for Japanese-Filipino Families (CJFF)

Room 32 Japan Christian Center

2-3-18 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku

Tokyo 169-0051

Email: savefujimi@gmail.com
 

Protest against midnight selling of Philippine property greeted Philippine senator’s visit to Tokyo.

In his first hour upon arrival from Narita Airport to Tokyo’s Philippine Embassy, protesters against the midnight sale of Philippine property in Japan greeted Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. The members of Save Fujimi Property International Network composed of Filipinos and Japanese organizations and individuals are appealing to preserve the shared cultural and historical rights of the Filipino and Japanese people.

The protesters network concern is about the historic building in Tokyo that serves as the official residence of Philippine ambassadors to Japan and soon will be torn away by the Arroyo government to give way to a planned 21-story building.

Purchased in 1944 by the Philippine government, the property has a 1952 dated marker from the Philippine National Historical Institute certifying that the structure was built during the Tokugawa era and is located at Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, one of the most upscale real estate sites in Tokyo.

Cesar Santoyo, the protesters network coordinator, stated that “the invitation to bid to develop the Fujimi property issued by the Department of Finance is highly suspect given the coming presidential elections in May 2010. The Arroyo government whose term will end in seven months has been implicated in various high profile corruption cases and we are concerned that many doubts exist about the real intent behind this move to commercialize the Fujimi ambassadorial residence.”

The protesters are demanding that any major decision related to this historic Filipino owned property must be done with full public hearing, both in the Philippines and Japan, backed up by thorough studies and with utmost transparency.

“Generally midnight sale of Philippine property should be prohibited,” as a given response by Senator Cayetano to the protesters. “The Philippine Senate session will resume on November 9, 2009 and we will scrutinize any cases of irregularities in the rush sale of Philippine property in Japan,” as words of support from Senator Cayetano to the protesters.
 

“We will heighten our protest action to frustrate the Arroyo government in stealing away the shared cultural and historical heritage of peoples of the Philippines and Japan,” according to Yuko Takei of the Save Fujimi Network. “Arroyo and the bidders will bear the high cost of political, legal and constitutional questions from our actions” according to Yuko Takei.
 

Series of mass actions against the midnight sale of Philippine property in Japan will kick-off with picket and press conference in front of Fujimi property at 4:00 p.m. to be followed by signature signing in train stations around Tokyo, Saitama, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka by members of the Save Fujimi Property Network.