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ANAKBAYAN-SOUTHERN TAGALOG
PRESS RELEASE Reference: PJ Santos
July 15, 2008 Secretary General, ANAKBAYAN-Southern Tagalog
Youth group holds noise barrage against high price of rice,
continues 18-day protest caravan up to Arroyo’s SONA
On their sixth day on the road, youth group Anakbayan-Timog Katagalugan
held a noise barrage today at the Kadiwa Pulbic Market in Dasmarinas,
Cavite to protest against the continuing high price of rice. Together with
youth from Cavite , they also performed a street skit depicting the
sinking quality and quantity of food that Filipinos are able to eat due to
worsening poverty.
The skit interpreting a song entitled, “Katawang Payat,” showed how the
common Filipino meal has degraded from chicken or sardines and rice to
salt and rice or none at all,
Anakbayan-Southern Tagalog secretary general PJ Santos said that this is
the response of the youth to the soaring price of rice, oil, tuition, and
other basic commodities. “We are sure that Arroyo will only boast that her
administration’s subsidies have successfully improved the condition of the
youth and the people during her state of the nation address (SONA). But
this early, we will expose the cruel conditions that we are in and the
hardships the youth have to go through just to be able to eat and survive
each day.”
Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde has revealed that
President Macapagal-Arroyo’s SONA will focus on her newly instituted
National Social Welfare Program which seeks to help the country surmount
the current global crisis of high food and fuel prices.
“It is clear that the Arroyo government’s subsidies do not significantly
address the food and fuel price hikes. We are sure that another social
welfare program under her governance will not ease the problem because she
does not want to implement true and longer-lasting solutions such as the
removal of the 12% VAT on oil and the implementation of a genuine agrarian
reform program,” Santos said. He cited as an example the P43-billion
FIELDS program, which she launched early in 2008 to boost rice and food
production which has “not lowered the price of rice and has done nothing
to lessen the long lines at NFA rice outlets.”
Tomorrow, the cultural caravan campaigning against corruption and for
food, education and social justice will go around schools in Cavite and
Laguna to urge students to participate in the nation-wide walk-out on
Friday and the massive protests calling for Arroyo’s ouster on July 28.
“Because of the soaring prices, the low wages and salaries of our parents
can no longer be stretched to include education. Add to this the
sky-rocketing cost of education which has already doubled under the Arroyo
administration. Worse, thousands of families are even become homeless
because of massive demolitions in the region,” Santos said.
Santos hit the zero-squatter program and bogus development programs of the
government which will demolish communities along the Aguinaldo highway and
coastal areas in Cavite . ###
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