August 7 2010 issue of Ang Bayan

8/9/2019 August 7 2010 issue of Ang Bayan

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commission has already been fraught with a myriad

questions especially with the many loopholes thatcould be used by the Arroyos and their minions toworm their way out of any court cases and mount

countermaneuvers.Aquino did not grant the commission prosecutori-

al powers, leaving this to the Office of the Ombuds-man which will be led by a known Arroyo loyalist un-

til the end of 2012. The Truth Commission's investi-gations are also set to end in 2012, giving Arroyomore than two years to launch all the necessary legal

and political maneuvers to avoid possible crim-

inal prosecution. Neither has the commis-sion been given the power to issue arrestwarrants nor does it possess enough clout

to compel witnesses and even indictees to

attend its hearings.The commission's investigations

will not cover electoral fraud in

2004 and 2007 despite the exis-tence of overwhelming evidence.

Worse, it will not investigate major cas-es of extrajudicial killings and other seri-

ous crimes against humanity.Aquino's manifest lack of interest to

investigate the previous regime's fascist

and terrorist crimes renders empty hisstatements calling on the AFP to up-

hold human rights.If Aquino insists that the revolu-

tionary forces declare a ceasefirefirst as a precondition to peace

Self-serving rhetoric, old and rotten policies: Thiscombination has emerged as the new puppet re-actionary president Benigno Aquino III's man-

agement style.In addressing the people, the newly installed pres-

ident's style is to present a highly cosmeticized imageand to aim for what is popular. He believes that in do-

ing so, he can make palatable to the people his re-gime's policies which, in essence, are just as rotten,antinational, antipeople and brutal as those of the Ar-royo regime.

These are the marks of Aquino's first-everspeech before Congress. Senseless cajolery. Falserhetoric.

Aquino's SONA centered on the theme ofcorruption. But on this occasion, he targeted

only the lower-ranking bureaucrats and ig-nored the biggest plunderers. To court applause

from the people suffering in long queues for wa-ter, he exposed how MWSS officials have beenluxuriating in the privileges that come with their

positions.He never mentioned the substantially bigger

cases of corruption and thievery involving thechief plunderers led by Gloria Arroyo who

lorded it over for close to a decade.Criticizing the corruption of the

Arroyo regime was one of the hall-

marks of Aquino's election campaign.But it took him more than a month tosign the executive order establishing the so-called Truth Commission. This early, the

Highlights

of this issue...Further privatization

PAGE 3SONA protests

PAGE 4

US losing course in

Afghanistan PAGE 10

Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng PilipinasPinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-MaoismoANG

English EditionVol. XLI No. 15August 7, 2010

www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial

Expose Aquino's blinding gimmickryand rhetoric


2/12

Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of the Philippines

Ang Bayan is published in Pilipino,

Bisaya, Iloko, Hiligaynon, Waray and

English editions.

It is available for downloading at

the Philippine Revolution Web Central

located at:www.philippinerevolution.org.

Ang Bayan welcomes contributions

in the form of articles and news.

Readers are likewise enjoined to send

in their comments and suggestions for

the betterment of our publication. You

can reach us by email at:

[email protected]

Vol XLI No. 15 August 7, 2010

Contents

Editorial

Expose Aquinos rhetorics 1

Further privatization 3

NDFP and the peace talks 4

SONA protests 4

SONA dismays family of victims 5

DPWH chief involved in corruption 5

Political killings go on unabated 6AFP forciblky recruits minors 7

Humane treatment for mother and child 8

Killing of hors de combat 8

10 soldiers killed 9

5th IDs lies 9

Forcible labor in Samar 9

US losing course in Afghanistan and Iraq 10

News 11

ANG

2 ANG BAYAN August 7, 2010

talks, even his declarations of read-iness to resolve the armed conflictthrough negotiations will turn out

to be empty rhetoric. Such a condi-tion violates the previously agreedupon process and is unacceptable tothe revolutionary forces.

To make himself look like a he-

ro, Aquino exposed some of themore striking anomalies in a num-ber of agencies and corporations

under the previous government andpromised a cleanup. But he madethe exposs only to justify the im-

perialist policies of denationaliza-tion, privatization, liberalizationand deregulation and his plans tooutdo the previous regime in im-

plementing them. He pushed his

Private-Public Partnership agen-da, which in essence involves the

further privatization of even moreservices and government assetsthat can be profitable to foreignand comprador interests conniving

with big bureaucrat capitalists.Meanwhile, Aquino was silent

on the plight of oppressed workers,of the severe inadequacy of their

minimum wage, on worsening un-employment, poverty and hunger.

He claimed that the first item onhis platform is the creation of jobs

and that this could only beachieved through the developmentof industry. But the only solution

he could think of is to attract pri-vate investors and make it easierfor them to do business.

Aquino said nothing about land

reform, especially in Hacienda

Luisita. As for the gigantic budgetdeficit, there is absolutely no in-tention on his part to do away with

the automatic allocation of up tomore than half of the budget fordebt service. Instead, it is the peo-

ple who will be made to bear theburden of such practice throughhigher electricity rates and trainfares. There was also no indication

that his government would be giv-

ing a higher priority to education,health and other social services.

With Aquino's obvious servilityto the teachings of American coun-terinsurgency experts, we can ex-pect his leadership style in the

coming years to be filled with evenmore gimmickry and empty rheto-ric. According to the US Counterin- surgency Guide framework, such

tactics have the objective of por-traying the ruling government as

trustworthy and reliable in order towrest the people's allegiance away

from forces advancing revolution-ary change.

Aquino's gimmicks will soon lose

their sheen in the face of the inten-sifying crisis besetting the peopleHis empty rhetoric will no longer beable to drown out the cries of a peo-

ple suffering from the gnawing

pangs of hunger. The people will nolonger be blinded by the glare of hisgimmickry as their own naked ex-

ploitation, poverty and oppressionstare them straight in the face.

More than ever, the people must

be vigilant about their basic inter-ests and thoroughly fight for themby launching militant mass strug-gles and waging revolution. The

peasant masses must fight for gen-

uine land reform nationwide. Thecall for national industrialization

must be put forward. The toilingmasses must unite and fight fohigher wages, jobs, housing and so-cial services. There must be a con-

certed effort to fight for patrioticdemocratic and propeople politicalsocio-economic and cultural poli-cies as well as other basic issues.

The struggle for national freedom,democracy, social justice and genu-

ine development must spread like aprairie fire across the land.

In the face of widespread mobi-lizations by the masses, Aquino'sgimmickry and skulduggery wil

sooner or later come to nought andhis government's true nature wilemerge as one that advocates theinterests of foreign monopoly capi-

talists and the local big landlords,comprador bourgeoisie and bureau-crat capitalists.

The revolutionary and demo-cratic people's movement nation-wide is vigorously expanding andgaining strength in their continu-

ing efforts to arouse, organize andmobilize the people. The people areaware through their long history ofstruggle that people's war is their

only weapon to achieve genuinenational and social liberation. ~


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3ANG BAYAN August 7, 2010

Private-Public Partnership

Further privatizationworks and Sewerage System(MWSS) but only because he want-ed to justify the agency's privatiza-

tion, which has long been demand-ed by both the Manila Water Com-pany Inc. (MWCI) and Maynilad Wa-ter Services (MWSI), the two big

foreign-comprador consortia sour-

cing water from the MWSS for dis-tribution in Metro Manila. In turnthe consortia's strategic targets for

privatization are the Angat and LaMesa dams. Two former executivesof these water conglomerates now

in Aquino's cabinetPublic WorksSecretary Rogelio Singson fromMWSI and Energy Secretary JoseAlmendras from MWCIare both

ardent advocates of MWSS' further

privatization.Also too good to be passed up

in Aquino's Private-Public Partnership scheme are the lands of thePhilippine Navy headquarters inMetro Manila. A big businessman

reportedly heard about Aquino's ef-forts to raise the gargantuan fundsnecessary to strengthen the ArmedForces of the Philippines (AFP) and

offered to enter into a hundred-year lease contract for the land and

set up a commercial center, similato that in the former Fort Bonifa-cio.

The talks are said to be under-way, with the businessman al-

ready pledging $100 millionin goodwill money. TheAFP has since offered othervast tracts of land owned

by the Philippine Air Forceand Philippine Army forinclusion in the Pri-

vate-Public Partner-ship scheme. Many

other government-owned lands

and other pub-lic assets are

beingl i n e d

up for privati-zation, sale or lease.

Based on his SONA, Aquino's program will consist of the further priva-tization of public services and assets. His main targets for privatiza-tion are the National Food Authority (NFA), Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Na-tional Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) and the Philippine Navy lands.

He used the NFA's anomalousand erroneous management poli-cies to justify plans to eventually

abandon government responsibili-ty. He denounced the excessivevolumes of imported rice beingkept in the agency's warehouses,

but failed to mention the conspira-cy of private commercial rice car-tels and high-ranking NFA officialsbehind this practice. It is no acci-

dent that so much priority is givento importing huge volumes of riceonly to have the excess stock auc-

tioned off to the cartel. Meanwhile,with only a small subsidy fund left,the NFA is able to purchase onlylimited volumes of palay from the

peasant masses at niggardly rates.Aquino now uses the excess

rice stocks in NFA warehouses tojustify proposals to do away com-

pletely with programs to supportlocal production and subsidize riceprices and make official the agen-

cy's conspiracy with the cartel viathe implementation of Private-Public Partnership in the NFA,leading to the agency's

eventual abolition.It is this same agenda

that is behind Aquino's

plans to raise fares in theMetro Rail Transit (MRT)

and Light Rail Transit(LRT). In the case of the

MRT, Aquino criticized itsmanagement's failureto raise fares whichallegedly was be-

hind the govern-ment's difficulty tofulfill guarantees given to

private investors to make the

train system's operations profita-ble. Instead of revising a contractthat is lopsidedly in favor of in-

vestors, Aquino plans to raise faresto make the MRT more attractive tofuture foreign and comprador in-vestors.

Aquino's favored solution toNAPOCOR's endlessly cash-strappedstate (it was in the red by up to`740 billion in 2009) is likewise to

privatize the agency and raise elec-tricity rates. But he makes no men-tion of the fact that NAPOCOR's

huge debts are the result of con-tracts lopsidedly favoring privatepower producers. Among the termsof these contracts is a take-or-

pay provision where NAPOCORpays for the producer's entire ca-pacity whether or not it is con-

sumed, and a fuel-cost guaranteewhere NAPOCOR agrees to defray allof the producers' fuel expenses.This is aside from the corruption

engaged in by NAPOCOR officials.Aquino lambasted the perks

and privileges enjoyed by of-ficials of the Metropol-

itan Wa-t e r -


4/12

In Metro Manila, some 10,000people joined the protest action

led by the Bagong Alyansang Ma-kabayan (BAYAN) and its allied or-ganizations. The mass action be-

gan at around 8:00 a.m. in front ofthe Ever Gotesco Mall in Common-wealth Avenue, Quezon City. Theprotesters carried an effigy of

Aquino who was portrayed as a ma-gician. The imagery is in reference

to questions from the people onwhether the new president's prom-ises were true or mere illusion.

Progressive organizations fromSouthern Tagalog and Central Lu-zon, which have been holding aprotest camp in Metro Manila for


study and sign the Concise Agree-

ment to End Civil War and AchieveJust Peace proposed by the NDFPNational Council in 2005. The con-cise agreement contains the prin-

ciples and policies that will ad-vance national independence anddemocracy and calls for commonefforts to resolve the basic socio-

economic and political problemsthat have long been weighingheavily on the Filipino people. It

has been five years since this con-crete proposal has been presentedto the GRP.

But how has the GRP respond-

ed to the NDFP's declarations ofreadiness and its concrete propos-als? Up to now, the Aquino regimehas not even appointed a chief ne-

gotiator and named the membersof its peace panel that will facethe NDFP at the negotiating table

Worse, Defense Secretary Vol-

taire Gazmin has announced thatthe GRP will be prioritizing locapeace talks, which is a disservice

to the genuine peace process. Thelocal peace talks scheme is awornout tactic that has long beenexposed for its bogusness and inu-

tility and involves nothing morethan the reactionary governmenttalking to itself. ~

GRP must reciprocate NDFP'sreadiness to engage in peace talks

Are you ready to present concrete proposals instead of mere criti-cisms?..Are you also prepared for a (nationwide ceasefire)?... It isdifficult to begin talks while the smell of gunpowder is in the air....

Pres. Benigno Aquino IIIhurled this challenge at the Com-munist Party of the Philippines

(CPP), New People's Army (NPA)and National Democratic Front ofthe Philippines (NDFP) during hisfirst State of the Nation Address

on July 26.In response, the revolutionary

forces reiterated their readiness to

resume the long-suspended peacenegotiations with the reactionarygovernment. The NDFP negotiatingpanel said it was waiting for Aqui-

no to send a panel to either TheNetherlands or Norway, where thetalks had been held in the past.

The CPP and NDFP also remind-ed Aquino that the process andsubstantive agenda of the peacetalks had been set since The Hag-

ue Joint Declaration was signed in1992. The substantive agenda, intheir proper order, consist of 1) re-spect for human rights and inter-

national humanitarian law; 2) im-plementation of socio-economic

reforms; 3) implementation of po-litical and constitutional reforms;and 4) disposition of forces and

ending the armed conflict.This clearly indicates that dis-

cussions on ceasefire and the dis-

position of forces are to take placeafter agreements have beenreached on social, economic andpolitical reforms. Neither party

should impose preconditions suchas demands for a longterm truce orceasefires of indefinite durationbefore the basic issues behind the

armed conflict have been dis-cussed and resolved.

But just as the Arroyo regime

did, the Aquino regime wants tohave it backwards. Aquino'sspokespersons and subalterns havebeen harping on this theme since

the SONA, insisting on a ceasefirefirst before any discussions on theaforementioned basic issues.

If Aquino is really interested in

having a ceasefire at the soonesttime possible, all he has to do is

Protest actions mark Aquinosfirst SONA

Filipinos in and out of the country staged protest actions as Beni-gno Aquino III delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SO-NA) on July 26.

several weeks, also joined the pro-tests.

BAYAN secretary general Renato

Reyes said that the theme of theirprotest is Karapatan, KatarunganKabuhayan at Kalayaan (HumanRights, Justice, Livelihood and

Freedom). They presented thei

eight-point demands to Aquinofile charges against Gloria Macapa-gal-Arroyo, issue a hold-departure

order for her, and freeze her assetsand bank accounts as well as thoseof her henchmen who plundered

the public wealth; give justice tovictims of human rights violations;implement genuine land reform


5/12


raise workers wages; stop the po-litical killing of activists and jour-nalists; abrogate the Visiting For-

ces Agreement (VFA) and the Ja-pan-Philippines Economic Partner-ship Agreement (JPEPA); allocatemore funds for basic services like

education, housing and health; re-

sume peace negotiations betweenthe Government of the Republic ofthe Philippines and the National

Democratic Front.Progressive party-list repre-

sentatives who attended Aquino's

SONA manifested their demandsthrough their apparel. Bayan MunaRep. Teodoro Teddy Casio worea barong Tagalog embroidered with

the words Stop the Killings.

Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Ka PaengMariano wore a hat with the in-

scription Tunay na reporma sa lu-pa (Genuine land reform). Kabata-an Partylist Rep. Raymond MongPalatino wore a scarf that bore the

words Itigil ang pagtaas ng matri-kula (Stop tuition fee increases).ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tiniowore a pin that said Itaas ang sa-

hod ng mga manggagawa at guro(Raise the wages of workers and

teachers). Gabriela Women's PartyRepresentatives Luzviminda Ilaganand Emerenciana Emmi de Jesusbrought fans that had the wordsKapayapaan sa Mindanao, ibasura

ang VFA (Peace in Mindanao, junkVFA), Itigil ang pagtaas ng mgabilihin (Stop price increases) andKarapatan sa pabahay (The right

to housing).Protest actions were also held

in other parts of the country and

abroad.In Davao City. Progressive or-

ganizations marched from Centen-nial Park to Freedom Park in Roxas

Avenue. They demanded justice forthe victims of the MaguindanaoMassacre and for Gregan Cardeowho was killed by US military

troops in the country. They alsodemanded a stop to Oplan Bantay

Laya.In Bacolod City. Activists ral-

lied at the Bacolod City Fountain

of Justice to call for the junking ofthe Comprehensive Agrarian Re-form Program Extension with Re-forms (CARPER) and ensure the

peoples job security.

In Cebu City. BAYAN-CentralVisayas and the Alyansa sa mga

Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang MayoUno (AMA-SUGBO-KMU) led a pro-test march from Fuente Osmea toColon Street. They demaded a wage

increase and the repeal of pro-cap-italist laws.

In Baguio City. A public view-ing of the SONA was held at Mal-

colm Square. According to the Cor-

dillera Peoples Alliance (CPA),Aquino should also have issued

marching orders against plunderersof the environment in national mi-nority lands.

In Panay. Bayan Muna-Capiz

held a protest action at the RoxasCity Public Plaza. In Kalibo, Aklan,activists gathered and held theirown State of the People Address

(SOPA). Their main demand wasjustice for Fernando Baldomero. In

Iloilo City, BAYAN-Panay led amarch along the citys main thor-oughfares which culminated in arally in front of the provincial cap-itol. They called on the Aquino

government to allocate a biggerbudget for the education sector.

In Cagayan de Oro. Ac-tivists held a rally at Caga-

yan de Oro's Plaza Diviso-ria. BAYAN-Cagayan deOro assailed Aqui-

no's lack of a long-term solution tothe economic crisis,saying he is

no differentfrom Arroyowho nevera d o p t e d

c o n c r e t emeasures to

solve the problem of poverty.In the USA. Simultaneous pro-

tests were held in San Francisco,

Los Angeles, Seattle and New Yorkunder the lead of BAYAN-USA. Ac-tivists said Aquinos speech waswanting in the face of an exodus

from the Philippines due to the

lack of concrete programs for landreform, employment, national in-

dustrialization and punishing Glo-ria Arroyo. They vowed to keep atight watch on whether Aquino ful-fills his promises or not.

In The Netherlands. A colorfuprotest action was held in Amster-dam by activists wearing masksand carrying umbrellas. They re-

minded Aquino of the peoples de-

mands and his promise to distrib-ute Hacienda Luisita.

In Saudi Arabia. Migrants inthe eastern province of Al-Khobaralso said they were not satisfiedwith Aquinos speech. He present-

ed no platform for OFWs especiallyas many of them are victims of hu-man trafficking, in detention or ondeath row. Aquino only bared cor-

ruption cases but stopped short ofsaying anything about punishing

Arroyo.In Canada. Migrante-Ontario

held a forum on July 24 at the On-tario Insti-tute for

Studies in


6/12


Education. The forum discussedhuman rights, employment andeconomic conditions and ex-

pressed support for the Morong43 by raising funds for the de-tainees.

In Japan. Fifteen Filipino

organizations in Japan led by

Migrante-Japan called on Aqui-no to present concrete plans forthe eight million OFWs within

the first 100 days of his term.They also demanded the removalof certain officials of the Philip-

pine consulate and embassy inJapan for their neglect and re-fusal to heed the grievances ofOFWs.

In Hongkong. One hundred

forty (140) leaders of various or-ganizations gathered to present

the agenda of Overseas FilipinoWorkers in Hongkong. The Unit-ed Filipinos-Migrante-Hongkongled OFWs in airing their demands

which included the reduction ofe-passport fees, junking of addi-tional fees in securing employ-ment certificates and the provi-

sion of medical and legal servi-ces to OFWs. ~

SONA disappoints relativeof slay victim

Like the mothers, fathers, children, spouses and other relatives of vic-tims of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations, Dr

William Chandu Claver was utterly disappointed with Pres. BenignoAquino III's State of the Nation Address. In an open letter to the presi-

dent, he expressed his frustration over the fact that Aquino said littleabout giving justice to the victims and punishing the masterminds andimplementors of Oplan Bantay Laya which sanctions the killing andabduction of activists and others deemed enemies of the state.

On July 31, 2006, state agentsambushed Clavers family in Kalin-

ga province, killing hiswife Alice. Persistentthreats against hisremaining family com-

pelled him to seek politicalasylum in Canada.

Claver listened intentlyto Aquinos speech but was

frustrated with the presi-dents silence on the is-sue of ending Oplan Ban-

tay Laya which has resulted in over1,000 bloody executions and morethan 200 abductions.

Claver assailed Aquinos silence

regarding the conditions of politi-cal detainees, especially the Mo-

rong 43 who are health workers likehimself. Claver implied that Aquino

may be keeping mum on the issuefor fear of the military.

Claver called onAquino to stop the kill-

ings, junk Oplan Ban-tay Laya and serious-

ly investigate andactively prosecute

the military perpetra-tors and their coddlerswhether in the past adminis-

tration or in the present one.Claver warned that the blood-

shed will continue as long as thearmed agents of the state believe

that their heinous crimes have thetacit approval of their leaders. ~

DPWH chief involvedin anomalous contract

The MWSS rejected the Enter-tainment City contract because itdid not undergo public bidding

Singson was also pushing Mayni-lads anomalous demand for PAG-COR to grant it the right to oper-ate without paying concession

fees.The MWSS insists that new

franchise areas must first undergo

public bidding to ensure that thegovernment gets a favorable dealBased on the Entertainment Citysprojected water consumption of 10

million liters daily at the minimumrate of 1 per liter, the governmentcan earn at least `3.65 billion peryear. This is the amount the state

stood to lose had Singson and Gen-uino been allowed to get awaywith their midnight deal. ~

The official who is now in hotwater is former Maynilad Water Ser-vices Inc. president and now De-partment of Public Works and High-

ways (DPWH) secretary RogelioSingson. When he was still chief ofMaynilad, Singson connived withthen Philippine Amusement and

Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairEfraim Genuino to secure the sign-ing of a water supply contract for a

major PAGCOR project.Singson and Genuino tried to

hasten the signing in June for the

3,877-square meter Bagong Na-yong Pilipino Entertainment City inParaaque before Genuino left PAG-COR for fear that the incoming

leadership might reject the con-tract. Singson also insisted onheading both the DPWH and theMetropolitan Waterworks and Sew-

erage System (MWSS) which han-dles such contracts, not only to se-cure the approval of the PAGCOR

contract but also to use the postfor his personal gain and that ofMaynilad.

Despite avowals that he will fight corruption in government, Pres. Be-nigno Aquino III defended a member of his cabinet who has engaged

in filthy maneuvers to win an anomalous contract.


7/12


FASCIST STATE ON A RAMPAGE

AFP forcibly recruits 3 minors

Three 17-year old minors have been arrested and forced by the

39th IB of the 10th ID to participate in its dirty war against therevolutionary movement in Far South Mindanao Region (FSMR). Themilitary unit took Donna, Jerry ang Boy (not their realnames) to present them to media and the public as child soldiers

of the NPA. The soldiers trained Boy of Tagaytay, Magsaysay,Davao del Sur to penetrate an NPA unit and steal firearms. Jerry

of Malawanit, Magsaysay was told to do the same but he refused.He was subjected to torture until he managed to escape his captors.

Donna, of Dungan Pekong, Matanao, Davao del Sur underwent thesame experience. They are now portrayed as child soldiers in themedia.

The Valentin Palamine Command of the NPA-FSMR denied thatthe three minors had ever been involved in the NPA as Red fightersor in any other capacity. The three are simple village youths victim-ized by the military and now being presented as victims of exploi-

tation by the revolutionary movement. ~

July 24. Military men pickedup Jovito Manzon, 50, a resident of

Barangay Caldong, Sampaloc, Que-zon. The military accuses Manzonof supporting the New Peoples Ar-my (NPA). He is now detained at

the 1st IB headquarters in Cavinti,Laguna.

The military conducted a satu-

ration drive in the village the fol-lowing day, where drunk soldiersharassed five women whom theyalso accused of supporting the

NPA. July 24. Two armed men

opened fire on Joel Razaga, 45, amember of the National Federation

of Sugar Workers, in Sitio Binabu-no, Barangay Malasibog, Escalante

City, Negros Occidental. He was onhis way to a meeting at Mt. CarmelCollege. Shells from 9 mm and .45caliber pistols were recovered near

the victim's body. July 22. Five

military agents

a r r e s t e dDario To-m a d aa r o u n d

1 1 : 0 0p.m. at arestaurantin Bian, Laguna where he was

Political killingsgo on unabated

working as a parking attendant. Hewas arrested for 15 counts of mur-

der dating back to 1984 in Inopa-can, Leyte.

Tomada used to chair the Sama-

han han Gudti nga Parag-uma ha

Sinirangan Bisayas (SAGUPA), a re-gional peasant organization inEastern Visayas. He left for Manila

in September 2006 from his homein Tagaytay, Kananga, Leyte to es-cape threats from 8th ID soldiersthen under Maj. Gen. Jovito Palpa-

ran. He took different jobs to sup-port his wife Amelita and their fouchildren in Leyte.

Tomada was handcuffed, blind-

folded and taken by themilitary agents toCamp Aguinaldo at

around 12:00 midnightHe was interro-gated for 30 mi-

nutes and re-peatedly slapped

on the face. Stilblindfolded, he was again

subjected to a gruelling nine-hourinterrogation the whole of the fol-

lowing day and was not given anyfood. While torturing him, his in-

terrogators offered him money forinformation on an individual alleg-edly based in Luzon.

According to human rightswatchdog Karapatan, Tomada facesthe same false charges slappedagainst Prof. Jose Maria Sison,

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur OcampoRandall Echanis and others.

July 19. Three members of Ka-tribu, a party-list organization of

national minorities were killed inRodriguez, Rizal, according to re-ports from Karapatan-Timog Kata-

galugan. The victims have beenidentified as Galvan Navarte, De-milita Largo and Benita San Jose.

The victims were aboard a mo-

torcycle when attacked by an un-known assailant. ~

I

n less than a month since Benigno Aquino III assumed the presiden-

cy, 11 activists and media personnel have become victims of extraju-dicial killings. The latest victims are four activists killed on July 19

and 24. Meanwhile, a villager was abducted and a former peasant leader

was illegally arrested and tortured by the military, according to reportsreceived byAng Bayan.


8/12


FASCIST STATE ON A RAMPAGE

Health group secures humane treatmentfor detainee mother, baby

Killing of wounded fightersassailed

Police and military forces killed three Red fighters who had beenrendered hors de combat in two separate incidents in Mindoro last

month.

she said.On August 3, progressive

organizations barricaded thePhilippine General Hospital whereOliveros gave birth to preventBJMP personnel from transferring

the mother and her child. ~

The Free the 43 Health Workers Alliance has successfully secured a

court order allowing detainee Carina Oliveros be with her newbornson. Newly appointed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima ordered prose-cutors on August 6 not to oppose a petition to this effect filed byOliveros, her son and their supporters.

Oliveros gave birth by caesari-an section on July 22. A few days

later, the Bureau of Jail Manage-ment and Penology (BJMP) orderedOliveros to leave her child andscheduled her return to detention.

The Free the 43 Health Workers Al-

liance immediately demanded thatOliveros be given time to stay in afavorable environment to hasten

her recovery.According to Dr. Julie Caguiat,

spokeswoman of the Free the 43

Health Workers Alliance, being al-lowed to stay with her infant is one

of the reproductive rights ofwomen like Oliveros. The

alliance reminded thePhilippine government thatit is a signatory to the Conventionon the Elimination of Discrimina-

tion Against Women, a treaty

defending womens rights.The law recognizes Oliveros

right to care for her infant and it

would be illegal to separate them,said Caguiat. It would be immoraland constitute another injustice if

the BJMP insists on its policy toseparate the mother from the child,

PNP elements killed Ka Fer-

nando Pamorada, also known asKa Tsakoy and Ka Rokke, on June24 after his capture in anencounter in Barangay Orconoma,

Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro.The PNP itself reported to themedia that Ka Rokke was wound-

ed when he was captured. But thefollowing day, the PNP suddenlyannounced that he was killed inthe encounter and that his body

was in a morgue in Bongabong.Also on June 24, elements of

the 4th IB, the 411th PMG and

agents of the Military Intelli-

gence Group (MIG) in OrientalMindoro captured NPA fightersChristopher Ka Olip Barrientosand Ulyses Ka Mike Gallario at a

checkpoint in Poblacion, Roxastown. Witnesses recounted thatthe two fighters were aboard a

motorcycle when a car blockedtheir way and its occupants start-ed firing at them, wounding KaMike. Ka Olip managed to escape

but the assailants followed himto Barangay Cantil, slammed hismotorcycle with a car and cap-

tured him that same afternoon.Many witnesses attest that

the two fighters were woundedbut alive when the Philippine Ar-my and PNP agents took them to

their camp and safehouse. Whenthe victims families started look-ing for them, the MIG denied hav-ing the two in its custody. On the

afternoon of June 27, the mili-tary reported that the two Redfighters were killed in an encoun-

ter in Km. 11, Barangay Panayta-yan, Mansalay, Oriental MindoroThey bore many gunshot woundson their heads and torsos and

were unrecognizable when theifamilies came to claim their bod-ies.

International rules of war pro-

hibit the killing of hors de com-bat fighters. ~


9/12


VICTORIOUS NPA OFFENSIVES

camp of the 507th Police Provincia

Mobile Group (PPMG) in CatainganMasbate after gunshots from theNPA rang out. Two policemen werekilled and an undetermined numbe

were wounded in the firefight thatlasted for around 15 minutes. Dueto the attack, the military and PP-

MG, who were conducting opera-tions at that time, were forced towithdraw from the guerrilla zoneand remove their satellite detach-

ment in Barangay PaguihamanUson, Masbate.

July 23. Two soldiers were

killed and another was wounded intwo successive gunfights in Sitio

Buloy, Barangay Decoliat, MariaAurora, Aurora.

The first encounter took placearound noontime when a unit ofthe NPA under the Domingo ErlanoCommand-Aurora encountered 48th

IB troops conducting operations atthat time.

The second gunfight started at

around 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 thatafternoon. The NPA unit was ableto seize the initiative and inflictcasualties on the enemy soldiers

who were caught by surprise.The military tried to cover up

the incident and hide the casualtieseven if Sitio Buloy residents were

able to see the enemy fatalities. July 20. Guerrillas of the NPA

Armando Dumandan Command am-

bushed 72nd IB troops conductingpatrols in Barangay El Salvador,New Corella, Davao del Norte. They

were able to seize an M16, an M14and a Garand rifle. Two CAFGU ele-ments were killed and two otherswere wounded, including the de-tachment commander in the baran-

gay. The guerrillas did not sustainany casualties.

The wounded detachment com-

mander surrendered and was imme-diately attended to by NPA medics

July 28. It was noon when Redfighters opened fire at a vehicle

that carried elements of the PNPPublic Safety Management Battal-ion in Barangay Calpi Miyaga,

Uson, Masbate. The vehicle camefrom the town of Armenia and wason its way to Uson. The exhange of

gunfire lasted for around 10 mi-nutes. The vehicle came to a halt

as the guerrillas aimed their fire atthe front of the vehicle.

Bombo Radyo reported the fol-

lowing day that four policemenwere killed in the ambush.

July 26. Bedlam erupted in the

10 soldiers killed in militaryactions by the NPA

NPA in Mountain Province belies 5th ID claims

KA Magno Udyaw, spokesperson of the Leonardo Pacsi Command ofthe New People's Army (NPA) in Mountain Province, has belied fab-ricated reports circulated by the 5th Infantry Division of the Phil-

ippine Army (5th ID) after the NPA staged an ambush in Samoki,Bontoc, in Cordillera region last July 5. Ka Magno denied accusa-tions that the NPA stripped the seven soldiers killed in the ambush

of their clothing, desecrated their bodies and stole their personal

belongings. The soldiers were on their way to Bontoc to meet po-lice and local government authorities regarding the government'scounterinsurgency program and not for a medical mission, as the

DRC claimed.

Repression, forced labor in Samar

SINCE March this year, residents of the towns of Motiong, Jiabong

and San Jose de Buan in Samar province have been victimized byrepressive acts and forced labor demanded by the 34th IB. Baran-gay officials and village watchmen condemned the compulsory

meetings called by the military where they are ordered to convincetheir alleged NPA relatives to surrender. They are also enticed topoison Red fighters entering their places and are being compelledto put up their own barangay security system.

They have also received threats from the military even as thelatter has accused them of giving their barangay revenue allotmentto the NPA. Meanwhile, farmers in Motiong and San Jose are alsocomplaining against the forced labor demanded by the military

where villagers are ordered to carry wood for the construction of afence for a military camp.

At least ten military elements were killed and three others werewounded in a series of gunbattles between the New People's Army(NPA) and the military from July 20 to July 28. The NPA seized

three high-powered rifles in these firefights.


10/12


DEVELOPMENTS OVERSEAS

Website exposes US crimes,losing course in Iraq

and Afghanistan

In describing the unjust war onan almost daily basis, the docu-ments uncover the killings of thou-sands of Afghan civilians in inci-

dents kept from the media and thepublic, the rising Taliban member-ship and its intensifying attacks,and US suspicions concerning its al-

lies.Wikileaks is a website run by ac-

tivists that promote information

sharing and making public classi-fied documents detailing the crimesand other evil deeds of govern-

ments and private corporations. Itsorted out information it had gath-ered and published it in three major newspapersThe Guardian of

the United Kingdom, The New YorkTimes of the US and Der Spiegel ofGermanythat joined hands forthis giant project.

Among the information uncov-ered and published by Wikileaks arethe following:

1) More than 4,000 civilians

were killed in attacks by US-ledNATO forces in at least 144 sep-arate incidents that were con-

cealed from the public or cov-ered up through fabricated re-ports. In one case, US forcesbombed a community in Azizabad,

Herat in northwestern Afghanistanin 2008, targeting a certain Tali-ban leader. Official reports said

that 30 rebels were killed in a fire-fight. But the truth is that around90 civilians were actually killed.Sixty of them were children while

15 were women. The families of thevictims were either paid off by NA-TO with consumer products such ascanned goods and chocolates or of-

fered money amounting to up to$1,500 for every dead body.

2) The existence of Task Force

373 within the US-led SpecialForces whose sole aim is to run af-ter and liquidate Taliban leaders

sans the benefit of a trial. Calledthe black unit, this special outfitis composed mainly of US soldiers.On its hitlist are

2,000 alleged Tali-ban and al Qaedaleaders. Inmany of

the casesd i s -

closed, TF373 indiscriminately un-leashed attacks and killed even in

the absence of a sure target. In oneexample, TF373 forces in Jajalabadin eastern Afghanistan indiscrimi-

nately fired their weapons in June

2007 after someone shone a torchat the soldiers. The TF373 unit evencalled for a helicopter gunship to

bomb the whole area. The morningafter, they learned that it was thelocal police that they had an en-counter with. Four policemen were

killed and four others were wound-ed.

3) The capability of the Taliban

to shoot down helicopters usingshoulder-launched surface-to-aimissiles. NATO forces have repeat-edly denied this capability and al-

ways blamed reported helicoptercrashes on pilot error or equipmentfailure.

4) The growing use of drones to

pursue and kill alleged Taliban tar-gets. These drones are flown andmade to attack from a control room

in a military base in Nevada, USA.5) The arming, training and

funding of Taliban forces by thePakistani intelligence agency since

2004. The US military has repeated-ly accused in its intelligence re-ports Pakistan's Inter-Service Intel-ligence (ISI) of conniving with the

enemy, which the ISI generalsstrongly deny.

Wikileaks founder Julian As-

sange said they possess many moredocuments like the Afghan War Di-

ary and they are ready to

make public all of these.Prior to releasing the

war diary, Wikileaks alsoshowed last April video

footage taken from an

Apache helicopter. Thefootage shows US

soldiers aboard

the helicopter indiscrimi-nately firing at a group of civilians,

The website Wikileaks has recently disclosed to the public the contentsof more than 90,000 classified US military documents concerning the NA-

TO coalition's war of aggression in Afghanistan. Called theAfghan War Di-ary, the documents highlight, among others, the losing course of US im-perialism and its criminal responsibility as well as that of its allies againstthe Afghan people from 2004 to 2010.


11/12

The unemployment problem inthe US continues to worsen.

Since the US was hit by recessiontowards the end of 2007, the num-ber of unemployed has ballooned

by more than nine million. Present-ly, 15 million people are jobless ifofficial statistics alone are takeninto account.

The unem-ployment rate

appears to havebeen reducedwhen the US gov-ernment hired635,000 census takers

from April to May. But itwas just temporary em-ployment, and 125,000 more havebecome jobless this June.

According to official US labor

statistics, the unemployment ratestill hovers around 10%. It was al-legedly reduced to 9.5% this Junecompared to 9.7% in May; 9.9% inApril; and 9.7% in January to

March. The last time the officialunemployment rate reached the10% mark was in 1982-83.

This decline in the unemploy-

ment rate does not reflect an in-crease in the number of people

with jobs but a reduction inthe size of

the laborforce effected through statistical

manipulation. Persons who have

stopped looking for jobs within amonth (3.8 million) have been ex-cluded from the labor force. On theother hand, included among theemployed are those who work in-

termittently or part-time becauseof failure to find adequate employ-ment (8.3 million). If they are add-ed to the official 15 million unem-

ployed, there would be more than27 million unemployed and under-

employed people, equivalent to17% of the US labor force.


DEVELOPMENTS OVERSEAS

including a Reuters reporter andhis driver, who were walking on astreet in Baghdad in 2007. The

soldiers joked with each otherand congratulated themselves

while firing at a van that had ar-rived to extend help to one of thewounded. A few minutes after thefiring, it became clear that therewere two children seated in front

of the vehicle. Twelve civilianswere killed in this incident. Thechildren in the van were wound-ed.

The occupation forces' con-tempt for the lives of ordinaryAfghan and Iraqi citizens and the

scope and gravity of their crimesagainst humanity are extremelydespicable. Wikileaks hopes thatthe publicized documents will

form part of the people's struggleagainst the unjust war inAfghanistan and Iraq. ~

Student protest actionsshake Bangladesh

Bangladesh has been shaken by a series of protest actions stagedby youth and students since July 26.

The protest started when stu-dents of Physiotherapy in Dhaka,the capital city, demanded that a

public college be put up forthem.

A parallel protest action wasstaged by students of Chittagong

University (CU) against tuitionfee increases. The BangladeshStudents Union (CUCSU) led thestudents in their walkout from

their classrooms.Students of private schools in

the capital city also followed

with a related protest.Police authorities attacked CU

on August 2 while the studentswere pushing through their pro-

test actions. Government troopsbarged into the campus, raidingdormitories using tear gas, rub-

ber bullets and truncheons.Some 500 activists were

arrested while 250 more were in- jured. Around 90 students wer

taken to a nearby hospital fomedical treatment after injuriessustained in the forcible disper-sal of their barricade.

According to the latest re-ports, the student leaders havebeen charged in court while the

CU campus has been closed downuntil September 16.

Bangladesh is a country inSouth Asia bordered by India.

US government conceals real unemployment figures


12/12


NEWS

Agreement between Hacienda Luisita Inc.and farmers, a bogus one

According to Anakpawis Rep.Rafael Mariano, president of theKilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas,

the agreement is deceptive, unjustand immoral. It seeks to depriveagrarian reform beneficiaries oftheir right to own the lands of the

Cojuangco-Aquino family, he said.The "agreement" was concoct-

ed to preempt the impending Su-preme Court hearing on August 18

regarding HLI's petition to junkthe Department of Agrarian Re-

form's decision to distribute tothe farmers all of the remaining4,951 hectares of HLI's agricultur-

al lands.The bogus agreement was

cooked up by no other than Fer-nando Cojuangco, chief operating

officer of HLI and Central Azucarerade Tarlac, and of the Cojuangco-Aquino family's holding companyJose Cojuangco & Sons. He is Pres.

Benigno C. Aquino's eldest cousinand is the head of the entire Coju-

angco-Aquino clan. He firmly op-poses the distribution of the haci-enda lands among the farm work-ers.

According to Lito Bais, presi-

dent of the United Luisita WorkersUnion (ULWU), the main workersunion at Hacienda Luisita, the ha-

cienda's farmers and farm workersare demanding the remaining4,915 hectares of agricultural land

and a just share in the assets andprofits of enterprises set up inmore than 1,500 hectares of thehacienda that have been converted

to commercial and industrial useThe Alyansa ng Manggawang Bukidsa Hacienda Luisita also condemns

the bogus agreement.

A rally was staged in Mendiola on August 6 to denounce a bogus agree-ment allegedly reached by farm workers and the management of Hacien-

da Luisita Incorporated (HLI). The protesters burned a facsimile of HLI's

certificate of incorporation to show their strong opposition.

KMU, Anakpawis support PAL employees protests

The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Anakpawis have expressed support forthe ongoing struggle of Philippine Airlines (PAL) workers for their rights

and welfare.The KMU, together with

Philippine Airlines Employees As-

sociation (PALEA) members and

the Laban ng Bagong PALEAunion of ground employees pick-

eted in front of the Allied Bankoffice in Makati City last August5. Allied Bank is owned by LucioTan, who also owns PAL. They

condemned the PAL manage-ment's unfair treatment of its em-ployees. They also called for astop to contractualization among

the employees and demanded se-curity of tenure.

The current workers' struggle

in PAL was precipitaed by themass resignation of 26 pilots

protesting their transfer to AirPhilippines, PAL's sister companywhich offers lower wages and in-adequate benefits. A work stop-

page by some 1,000 flight atten-dants is also in the offing toprotest the mandatory retirementage of 40-45 and discrimination

against female flight attendantsAround 2,700 are slated to be-come contractual workers as PAL is

set to close down three depart-ments and will be resorting tooutsourcing to fill up vacancies.

KMU has also challenged Be-

nigno Aquino III to side with the

pilots and employees and not withLucio Tan. Aquino had earlier be-rated the pilots who resigned, un-

derscoring his support for the PALmanagement's plans of filingcharges against them. KMU has al-

so called for an investigation ofTan's scheme of maximizing hisprofits and repressing workers ofPAL and his other companies.

Documents

August 7 2010 issue of Ang Bayan