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This issue’s

highlights...

Rights advocates

assail plans to

appoint Etta Rosales

to CHR PAGE 4

Enemy suffers 20 dead,

loses 8 firearms to NPA

PAGE 5

The PEACe Bonds in

review

PAGE 6

Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng PilipinasPinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo ANG

English EditionVol. XLI No. 14

July 21, 2010www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial

D

espite pronouncements by the US-Aquino re-gime that it is willing to talk peace with the

revolutionary forces, it has already laid variousobstacles even before the talks could begin.

First among these are Benigno Aquino III’s ordersto the AFP to decimate the revolutionary movement.

His regime aims to accomplish this by relying mainlyon the fascist military forces which he plans to ex-pand, modernize and equip with more weapons,equipment and benefits for its officers and men.

To that end, his regime is scrambling to raise hun-dreds of billions of pesos in the face of a crushing def-icit and an enormous public debt.

In line with their master’s orders, Defense Secre-tary Voltaire Gazmin and AFP Chief of Staff RicardoDavid quickly laid out the Aquino regime’s militaristline. David boasted that the AFP is prepared to en-

force Aquino’s order to destroy the revolutionarymovement in a matter of three years. Gazmin declaredthat the NPA has to surrender its weapons first beforepeace talks could resume. The declaration is ridiculous

as the revolutionary movement will never lay down itsarms and it has been repeatedly proven in the pastthat all deadlines set by the puppet regime and the

AFP to destroy the revolutionary movement have been

nothing but bluster.Teresita Deles who heads the Office of the Presi-

dential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) espous-

es an approach that is little removed from Gazmin and

David’s blatantly fascist line. Deles has unreservedlyconcurred with the Arroyo regime’s line of DDR (disar-

mament, demobilizationand reintegration).Although this isoutrightly inimi-

cal to peace ne-gotiations, Deleseven argues thatthe DDR line is a

doctrine that isintegral to anypeace process.

It is theOPAPP’s role toimplement theobjective of end-

ing the armedconflict withemphasis on theuse of deception

and treachery in tan-dem with thefascist vio-

lence of the

reactionarymilitary. De-les has been

mouthing the

No amount of deceit and violencefrom the US-Aquino regimecan crush the revolution

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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 at

English editions.

It is available for downloading at

the Philippine Revolution Web Central

located at:www.philippinerevolution.net

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. 14 July 21, 2010

Contents

Editorial

No amount of deceit and violence from the

Aquino regime can crush the revolution 1

Fascist state on a rampage

No end to political killings 3

Panay military officers indicted 3

Etta Rosales appointment 4

Free the Morong 43! 5

Victorious tactical offensives

20 soldiers killed, 10 firearms seized 5

NPA releases POW 5

The PEACe Bonds in review 6

Developments overseas

Volatile situation in Nepal 7

26 paramilitary forces killed in India 8

Nationwide strike in India 8

News 8

ANG

2 ANG BAYAN July 21, 2010

US-Aquino regime’s so-called “fourpillars” to attain peace—economicreconstruction and development,

improvement of basic services,good governance and security sec-tor reform—which was lifted fromthe new US Counterinsurgency

Guide. In this frame, the peace ne-

gotiations will only be used to trickor deceive, not as a venue to dis-cuss and address the roots of the

conflict.The formula does not make any

sense. Any “reform” and cosmetic

scheme done along that formulawill go nowhere as the entire sys-tem upon which it is based is re-plete with rottenness and corrup-

tion. Behind all these conciliatory

posturing, the puppet reactionarystate continues to employ fascist

violence as its main weaponagainst the struggling people.

With the anticommunist Delesleading the OPAPP, it is her clique

of pseudo-progressives that will bedominating the government’s con-duct as regards the peace process.Through them, the social demo-

crats’ pseudo-progressive frame-work will merge with the fascist

framework of the AFP and otherstate security forces. The social

democrats’ shallow and deceptiveprogram for human rights, land re-form and the like will be laid out as

the solution to the people’s basicproblems and a foil to the national democratic program of the revolu-tionary movement.

Deles has schemes to make the

peace talks appear democratic butthey are, in fact, only ways to toywith and downplay the importance

of the process. Before proceedingwith the formal talks, she has an-nounced that the government will

first broaden consultations withvarious sectors in the localities andthat it is still in the process of choosing which areas to focus on.

This is nothing but a plot to revive

efforts for “localized peace talks”which previous puppet reactionary

regimes had tried to use to under-mine the talks at the national lev-el.

Previous regimes have tried the

same scheme. The OPAPP pretendsto consult with a wide range of so-cial sectors but in truth, the gov-ernment is only talking to itself.

Such a scheme is only intended tocreate confusion. For peace negoti-

ations to be genuine, they have tobe conducted between the leader-

ships of two parties at the nation-al level and focus on the basic is-sues.

There is in fact no need for thesupposed broad consultations anddialogues being concocted by theOPAPP. The principles, framework,

basic talking points and their se-

quence in the peace negotiationshave already been clarified andagreed upon in The Hague Joint

Declaration of 1992. Deles’ concoc-tion of bogus consultations and di-alogues is a way to dispense with

previous agreements, mess up theagenda and gloss over the substan-tive issues.

With regard to the the peace

negotiations with the Moro Islamic

Liberation Front (MILF), Aquino’sspokesman and the newly appoint-

ed head of the government panehave declared that they will neveragree to the dismemberment of therepublic and to any scheme that

would “violate” the constitutionThis means that the governmentwill be maintaining the position ofthe US-Arroyo regime against the

institution of real autonomy for theBangsamoro. This is at once con-

trary to the MILF’s foremost de-mand.

The peace talks will again cometo naught if the government foolsaround with it, lays down obsta-

cles, misleads and uses it only todeceive and tie down the revolu-tionary forces in futile talks whilethe US-Aquino regime steps up its

attempts to destroy them with abigger and stronger AFP. Whateverscheme the new puppet reactionary

regime resorts to for this objectivewill fail.

Whether or not peace talks areheld, and however intense the

counterrevolutionary offensives ofthe puppet reactionary regime, therevolutionary forces and the peoplewill never be distracted in their

pursuit of the revolutionary strug-gle until total victory. ~

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3ANG BAYAN July 21, 2010

FASCIST STATE ON A RAMPAGE

No end to political killings

Five members and supporters of progressive groups were slain in thefirst two weeks of Benigno Aquino III's regime. As in the previousregime, the perpetrators were masked, motorcycle-riding armed

men employed by the reactionary military.

the afternoon when he was killed

A grandson tried to help him butwas also fired upon by the assail-ant. The killer managed to escape

with the help of an accomplice ona motorcycle waiting outside the

victim’s property. July 16. Three days before the

funeral of Fernando Baldomero, 61,the first victim of political killing

under the new regime, his cousinZosimo Ingeniero, 57, was gunneddown. Ingeniero, a village watch-man, was found dead near his

house in Barangay San Ramon, Ma-linao, Aklan. Five 9 mm shells werefound near his body. He was an ac-

tivist in the 1980s up to the 1990s. July 9. Armed men ambushedand killed Mark B. Francisco, 27,and Edgar Fernandez, 44, both

members of the ACT Teachers Party.Francisco, a teacher at the SanIsidro Elementary School in Pala-nas, Masbate was on his way home

along with four colleagues whenthe assailants opened fire in Ba-rangay Malibas. His companionssurvived. Fernandez, a teacher at

the Roco C. Pahis Sr. Central School in Masbate City was also on his wayhome when unidentified men start-

ed firing at him.

July 9. Peasant leader Pascual Guevarra, 78, was shot at closerange. He was the president of the

Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries As-sociation in Laur, Nueva Ecija andone of the most senior leaders of the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid na

Nagkakaisa 3100 (Alamana), whichis affiliated with the Alyansa ngmga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson

and the Kilusang Magbubukid ngPilipinas. Members of Alamana arestruggling to reclaim 3,100 hec-tares of land in Laur which lies

within the Fort Magsaysay MilitaryReservation. Guevarra was cookingdinner in his residence in Barangay

San Isidro, Laur at around 4:45 in

Military officers indicted before people's court

Anumber of high-ranking military officers in Western Visayas in-volved in the murder of MAKABAYAN-Aklan provincial coordina-

tor Fernando Baldomero were indicted before a people's court in

Panay. Baldomero was also a member of the Lezo town council. Ina statement on June 14, National Democratic Front-Panay spokes-person Concha Araneta said that filing a case before the people's

court is merely an initial step in the quest to attain justice for Bal-

domero's death.Baldomero was shot by two bonnet-clad men on July 5 in his

home in Kalibo, Aklan. He was preparing to bring his 12-year old

son to school. He was the first activist victim of extrajudicial kill-ing under Benigno Aquino III's regime.

The NDF-Panay has prima facie evidence to file a case againstPhilippine Army 3rd Infantry Division chief Maj. Gen. Vicente Por-

to; 301st Infantry Brigade chief Brig. Gen. Gerardo Layug; and ele-ments of the Civil Relations Service (CRS) under their commands.

The NDF-Panay said that months before Baldomero was killed,

he received a letter warning him against continuing his political ac-tivities. On March 19, two grenades were lobbed at his ancestral home in Lezo. Two weeks before his death, elements of the 3ID-PAbranded Baldomero a “communist terrorist front personality” and

MAKABAYAN a “terrorist front organization” in their “Army HourProgram.”

Such public accusations are the equivalent of ordering all stateagents to kill the target activists, said the NDF-Panay. It said that

CRS elements were also accountable for launching an anti-Baldome-ro program.

These actions by the 3ID and 301st Bde-PA are big indications

that the military planned Baldomero's killing. They further incrimi-nated themselves when the AFP spokesperson spewed the menda-

cious line that the crime was allegedly the result of a purge amongthe revolutionary forces. Araneta said that no one believes this lie

by the military. The public and even the reactionary military andpolice know that it was intelligence agents and their minions whokilled Baldomero. The military's hands are dripping with blood, add-

ed the NDF-Panay.Revolutionary authorities continue to gather evidence concern-

ing the crime and the people's court will issue an arrest warrant assoon as the requisites are completed. ~

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FASCIST STATE ON A RAMPAGE

Human rights groups assailplan to appoint Etta Rosalesto CHR

Human rights groups are vehemently opposing the imminent ap-pointment of Loretta Ann Rosales as chair of the Commission on

Human Rights (CHR). Rosales is a member of the pseudo-progres-sive Akbayan party and served as its representative in Congress in 1998-2007.

Appointing Rosales will be a

huge insult and is completely un-acceptable to the families of vic-tims, to human rights advocatesand even employees of the CHR.

Rosales is known for her contemptfor victims of grave human

rights violations and theirfamilies. In the past

years, she has repeated-ly branded as fronts of the Communist Party of

the Philippines andNew People’s Army theprogressive organiza-tions where most of the

victims belong. Rosalesis not oblivious to thefact that this is thesame justification in-

voked by the AFP'sbutchers to attack,murder and torture

activists and ci-vilians tagged assupporters, if notoutright members,

of the armed revo-lutionary movement.

It is this tack that Rosales took

throughout the nine-year killingspree of the US-Arroyo regime.

In chorus with the AFP, Rosalesvilifies the CPP and the NPA espe-

cially during elections. She spear-headed investigations into

so-called extortion activi-ties of the NPA against

candidates through the al-leged collection of fees for permits to

c a m p a i g n ,among others.

Rosales even blewher perceived im-

portance out of pro-portion when she

claimed that she was be-ing targeted for liquida-

tion by the NPA, makingherself a laughing stockamong comrades.

One of the main basesof opposition to Rosales’appointment is her sabo-

tage of efforts to ob-

tain indemnificationfor the victims of fas-

cist violence under the Marcos re-gime. Led by the organization SEL-DA (Samahan ng mga ex-Detainee

Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Am-nestiya), close to 10,000 martialaw victims filed a class suit with a

Hawaii court in 1986 to demanddamages from the Marcoses. The

court ruled after six years in favorof the victims and ordered the pay-

ment of $2 billion in damages to becoursed through SELDA.

In 1993, the Ramos regime,through the Presidential Commis-

sion on Good Government (PCGG),entered into a compromise agree-ment with the Marcoses for a shar-

ing scheme where the governmentwould get control of 75% (and usea big portion of it) instead of di-

rectly awarding it to the victimsand the Marcoses would retain25%. Amid all this, a number ofpersonalities like Rosales and theopportunist renegade Ramon Casi-

ple formed a rival group calledClaimants 1081 to cash in on SEL-DA's victory and that of the 10,000

victims it represents. Claimants1081 concurred with the proposato course the indemnity through

the reactionary government, and tothe compromise agreement be-tween the government and theMarcoses.

SELDA said Rosales' loomingappointment is despicable due toher actions that divided the ranksof the victims of human rights vio-

lations and her having entered in-to a compromise with the Marcos-es. ~

July 9. An unidentified assailant ambushed Miguel

Belen, a reporter for dwEB-FM of the Filipinas Broad-casting Network in Nabua, Camarines Sur while he wason his way home to Barangay San Jose Pagaraon. Be-

len sustained gunshot wounds in his neck and bodyand is now in critical condition at a hospital in Iriga

City. July 6. Five men donning ski masks and military

uniforms ambushed Dexter Legaspi, 36, a teacher and

member of ACT Teachers Party in Masbate City. Legas-pi and his wife were aboard a tricycle when they wereambushed but they survived the attack.

June 27. Peasant activist Fernando Bejino, 45was gunned down in Siaton, Negros Oriental. An agent

of the 79th had been identified as a suspect, accord-ing to KARAPATAN-Central Visayas. ~

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VICTORIOUS NPA OFFENSIVES

A

t least 20 soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded in tactical of-

fensives by the New People's Army (NPA) in various parts of thearchipelago from May to July. Among the firearms seized by the

guerrillas were a machine gun and five M203 grenade launchers.

Enemy suffers 20 dead, loses8 firearms to NPA

July 16. Sr. Insp. Alfonso Der-raco, police chief of Benito Soliven

town in Isabela was killed and fiveothers were wounded in an NPAambush in Barangay Danipa of thesame town. Aside from the police-

men, a sergeant assigned to theMilitary Intelligence Battalion

(MIB) was also among those seri-ously wounded. The policemenwere responding to reports that theNPA had burned down a tractorowned by a despotic landlord in

Barangay Villa Luz when they wereambushed.

July 9. The NPA wiped out a

seven-man strike force under the52nd Division ReconnaissanceCompany (DRC) in an ambush inSitio Chawer, Samoki, Bontoc,

Mountain Province. The guerrillas

Release theMorong 43!

Release the Morong 43!This was the message of

an open letter from Civicus:World Alliance for Concern

Participation to the new ad-ministration of Benigno Aqui-no III. The Morong 43 werearrested while conducting a

medical training in Morong,Rizal in February based on theallegation that they are mem-

bers of the New People’s Ar-my. Civicus is a South Africa-based international allianceof civic organizations.

Civicus called on Aquinoto demonstrate to the fami-lies of victims of humanrights violations his regard

for the rule of law and toshow that such abuses haveno place in the “new Philip-

pines.” It urged Aquino to in-vestigate the conduct of theArmed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) in the arrest, de-

tention and interrogation of

the Morong 43.Civicus also called on

Aquino to put an end to hu-man rights violations by pur-suing the perpetrators of tor-ture and other abuses in ac-

cordance with Philippine lawsand international humanitar-ian law.

The Morong 43 include

two doctors, a nurse and

health workers. Two of thedetainees are due to give

birth in detention at CampBagong Diwa—Carina Olive-ros, 26, in July and MercyCastro, 27, in October. Many

local and international groupshave demanded the immedi-ate release of the pregnantdetainees. ~

NPA releases POW

The New People's Army (NPA) released on humanitarian grounds

Sgt. Bienvenido Arguelles Jr. of the 25th IB in a remote area inMonkayo, Compostela Valley on July 20. Arguelles was turned overto the custody of the Monkayo parish priest and local officials.He

was reunited with his family just a few hours after his release.A CAFGU element who was a minor had earlier been released.Arguelles was arrested at a checkpoint set up by the NPA on

June 19 in Sitio Mabatas, Barangay Upper Ulip, Mt. Diwalwal inMonkayo.

Arguelles' arrest serves as a warning to military and police ele-ments who operate within guerrilla bases, especially those who spyon Red fighters and the masses, said Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesper-

son of the NPA Merardo Arce Command of Southern Mindanao Re-gion. He said this should be a warning to those who protect foreignand local enterprises engaged in large-scale operations that exploit

the masses and destroy the environment. ~

seized four M203s, an M14, an M4

carbine and other military equip-ment. Among those killed was the

strike force commander 1Lt. Lito

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Punio. There were no casualties onthe NPA side.

The fascist unit was waylaid

near the 501st Brigade tactical command post in Barangay Talu-bin, where the soldiers had justcome from. They were in Barangay

Samoki to reinforce other 5th ID

troops conducting military opera-tions against the NPA.

To cover up their shameful de-

feat, the military claimed that theambushed soldiers were on theirway to a medical mission.

July 9. Eight elements of theMarines Battalion Landing Team 8(MBLT8), including an officer werewounded when NPA Red fighters

detonated a bomb on the truck

they were riding in Sitio Itiabiak,Barangay Agutaya, San Vicente,

Palawan. The ambushed troop waspart of the MBLT8's Special Opera-tions Platoon. Second LieutenantWilly Pait and his seven wounded

men were brought to the WesternCommand hospital in Puerto Prin-cesa City.

June 23. Two soldiers were

killed and two others were wound-ed after three gunbattles between

the NPA and the military that werefought in pitch darkness in Baran-gay Poponton, Las Navas, North-ern Samar.

May 31. Red fighters seized a

K3 light machine gun and anM203 grenade launcher after theyambushed soldiers along theboundary of Barangays GM Osias

and Bangon in Gamay, NorthernSamar. Seven soldiers of the AFPand three others were wounded in

this ambush. A Red fighter wasmartyred.

May 3. Three AFP trooperswere killed and two others were

wounded in an encounter withNPA guerrillas along the boundaryof Barangay Nagbubtac in Palapagtown and Barangay Lanubi ni Lao-

ang town, both in Northern Sam-ar. ~

Among the former Arroyo offi-cials with the biggest accountabil-

ities are Corazon “Dinky” Soliman,who was reappointed by Pres. Be-nigno Aquino III as DSWD Secre-tary, and Teresita Deles, who hasbeen reinstated as Presidential

Adviser on the Peace Process.Both were involved in the sale of the PEACe Bonds and the ques-

tionable ways by which the pro-ceeds were spent. Bonds areinstruments that enable

governments to borrowfrom the public orfrom various banksand institutions. Likeother debts, they are

paid with interest up-on maturity.

The idea of issuing

the PEACe (PovertyEradication and Allevi-ation Certificate)Bonds was

pushed byCode NGO(Caucus of D e v e l o p -

ment NGOs)under Soli-man and

Deles. CodeNGO claimsthat the bondswere floated to raise

funds for their antipoverty proj-ects.

Code NGO is an alliance of bo-gus NGOs run by cronies and close

friends of Gloria Arroyo who arenow with the Aquino camp andadministration. Not only are Soli-

man and her husband Hector in-volved in it. They lead it, alongwith Deles and Marissa Camacho-Reyes, sister of then finance sec-

retary Jose Camacho.In October 2001, the Bureau

of Treasury issued PEACe Bondsworth more than `35 billion(`10.17 billion in principal and`25 billion in interest payable up-on maturity after ten years). The

bidding was rigged to enable fel-low conspirator Rizal Commercia

Banking Corporation

(RCBC) to monopo-lize the purchase

RCBC was then

the conduitfor Code NGO'sscheme. Therigging wasdone by con-

cealing the is-suance of the

bonds from oth-

er banks andbidders until the

final week.Out of a to-

tal `10 bil-lion worthof bondssold, Code

NGO reapedup to `1.48

billion or al-

most 15% incommissions

while RCBCearned `200 million

and another `100 million went totwo persons who brokered thedeal. They also let the Bureau of

Internal Revenue in on the deal tomake the earnings from the PEACeBonds tax-exempt.

When the Senate called thei

attention to the anomalous trans-action, Code NGO officials insistedthat they were left with only 10%from the proceeds of the PEACe

The PEACe Bonds in review

No amount of self-absolution by the officials of the previous US-Arroyo regime can cover up their involvement in anomalous ac-

tivities.

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DEVELOPMENTS OVERSEAS

Volatile situation in Nepal

N

epali prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned from his poston June 30 due to demands from Maoist oppositionists within

parliament and massive street protests.Kumar Nepal was installed by

the revisionist Communist Party of

Nepal-United Marxist Leninist(UML) and the conservative Nepa-li Congress Party (NC) after Maoist

prime minister Pushpa Kamal Da-hal's resignation in May 2009.

Dahal was compelled to resignwhen the country's UML-affiliated

president countermanded his deci-

sion to fire the army chief, Gen.Rookmangud Katawal for refusingto comply with his instructions to

respect the supremacy of the civil-ian government, refrain from re-cruiting new soldiers into the old

army inherited from the oustedking and accelerate the integra-tion of the Red army and the oldarmy in accordance with the pro-

visions of the ceasefire agreementand guidelines on setting up the

new government.After more than a year in pow-

er, Kumar Nepal failed to consoli-date Nepal's peace process anddraft a new constitution, one of

the requisites of forming the newgovernment. The NC and the UMLblame the CPN-M for the country'sinability to move forward in draft-

ing a new constitution, but it isthe two parties that have in factbeen blocking fundamental re-forms and imposing many new

conditions on the CPN-M in theprocess of forming a new charter.

On April 30, up to 125,000

people led by the CPN-M rallied inKathmandu to demand the resig-nation of the prime minister andhis government to give the major-

ity CPN-M the right to lead a gov-ernment of national unity. The day

after, the Nepali people alsolaunched a general strike that par-

alyzed the entire country for aweek. Riot police tried but failedto suppress the strike due to the

people's militancy.In an effort to achieve a con-

sensus and speed up the processof the CPN-M's return to power,

the party called for talks with the

NC and UML. But the two partiesimposed new conditions on theintegration of the old and revolu-

tionary armies in their latest talkson July 11. Aside from a new in-ventory of Red army forces and a

new selection process, the NC andUML demanded the abolition ofthe Young Communist Leaguewhich serves as the CPN-M's para-

military arm and the restoration ofall properties confiscated by the

CPN-M and Red army from the rul-ing classes and enemy elements in

ten years of people's war. The NCand UML said that for as long asthe CPN-M does not become a ci-

vilian party and restore all confis-cated property, the two partieswill never allow it to resume pow-er even if has the majority repre-

sentation in parliament.In a bid to propel the process

the CPN-M agreed to these condi-tions and adopt a three-month

timetable for their implementa-tion.

The political situation in Nepa

remains volatile, with no primeminister having been chosen yetto replace Kumar Nepal. Parlia-ment is set to meet again on July

21 in a renewed attempt to electa new prime minister. ~

Bonds' sale, which they said wasused for operational expenses. Theremaining 90% or `1.318 billion

was channeled to the Peace Equi-ty Access for Community Empow-erment Foundation (PEF). It wasthrough the PEF that projects in

line with the Arroyo regime's an-

tipoverty program were allegedlyimplemented. But it was revealedin the Senate hearings that the

Soliman couple was behind thePEF.

Where did the money go? Soli-

man says she is still asking thissame question from those whotook charge of Code NGO after she“left.” She gives the lame excuse

that the money was used for pro-

people projects such as potablewater systems and micro-financ-

ing. But there is no proof that theproceeds from the PEACe Bondswere indeed used for such projectsor were otherwise beneficial to

the people.An even bigger problem lies in

the fact that the government isobliged to fork out `35 billion

once the bonds mature in 2011.Not only did the people gain

nothing from Code NGO and theArroyo regime's bogus projects,they now bear the burden of hav-ing to pay off the money earnedby these fake NGOs from the sale

of the PEACe Bonds.Soliman's bigger responsibility

as former DSWD secretary underthe Arroyo regime lies in account-

ing for the `8 billion in proceedsfrom the PEACe Bonds that weresupposedly used for antipoverty

projects of the Arroyo govern-ment. No one knows who gainedfrom these funds and what proj-ects or which agencies or local

government units became theend-users of these monies. No onefrom Code NGO admits to anythingand Soliman has done nothing but

deny that she had anything to dowith all this. ~

8/9/2019 20100721 En



NEWS

Youth launch National Dayof Action for Education

Drivers launch protest caravan

YOUTH and students launched asuccessful mass action on July 16

to raise their sector's grievancesbefore the newly installed Aquinoregime.

More than a thousand studentsfrom various universities, colleges

and high schools aside from out of school youth joined the mass ac-tion. The National Day of Action for

Education was led by progressiveyouth organizations. The partici-pants marched from the Universityof Sto. Tomas in España, Manila to-

wards Mendiola. Filipino-Americanyouth activists also joined thedemonstration.

Similar protest actions were

likewise held in the cities of Ange-les and Cebu by youth who picket-ed the regional offices of the Com-

mission on Higher Education intheir respective areas. March-rallieswere also held inside the regional campuses of the University of the

Philippines in the cities of Iloilo,Tacloban and Davao.

The youth and students' maindemand is for government to pro-

vide a sufficient budget for educa-tion. The United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and Cultural Or-

ganization has set 6% of the GrossDomestic Product as the standardfor education budgets worldwide.

The protesters also demanded

that Aquino put a stop to succes-sive hikes in tuition and otherschool fees. They likewise calledfor the abrogation of anti-student

policies such as those outlined inthe Education Act of 1982 and theCampus Journalism Act of 1991,

the recognition of the rights of teachers and school employees andthe advancement of autonomy forstudent councils and publications.

MEMBERS of Pinagkaisang Samahanng mga Tsuper at Operators Nation-

wide (PISTON) launched a protestcaravan from Quezon City to Men-

diola in Manila on July 15 as partof the buildup for the upcomingState of the Nation Address of Be-nigno Aquino III.

The mass action aimed to raise

the transportation sector's de-mands before Aquino, said PISTON.Its main demand is the junking of the oil deregulation law which is

one of the motorists' biggest woes.Second is the cancellation of toll

fees at the South Luzon Expressway

and the removal of the value-add-ed tax on petroleum products

Third is the review of anomalousprojects of the Land Transportation

Office (LTO) and Stradcom Corpsuch as the suspended Radio Fre-quency Identification Device(RFID) scheme. Fourth is punish-ment for Gloria Arroyo for her in-

volvement in grave corruption dur-ing her nine years in power.

PISTON said Aquino must ad-dress all these demands to avoid

damaging his image and being re-pudiated by drivers and the broad

masses.

26 Indian paramilitary elements die in ambush

India rocked by nationwide strike

TWENTY-SIX paramilitary elements were killed and two others werewounded in an ambush by revolutionary forces in Chhattisgarh, India on

June 29.The casualties were elements of the Central Reserve Police Force who

were on their way back from a clearing operation. The targets, who wereon foot were attacked by Maoist forces upon reaching Dhodai, which is

300 kilometers away from Chhattisgarh's capital Dhodai. The firefightstretched for three hours, with the enemy unable to escape until the ar-

rival of reinforcements.

A nationwide strike called to pro-

test a government decision towithdraw oil price subsidies rockedIndia on July 5. The subsidies were

withdrawn in an effort to alleviateIndia's growing budgetary deficit.The strike was led by the opposi-tion Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),

the Communist Party of India-Mao-ist (CPI-M) and the Communist Par-ty of India (CPI).

India is expected to suffer a

budget deficit equivalent to up to5.5% of its Gross Domestic Productfor 2010-2011.

The removal of the subsidies,which caused the prices not only of petroleum products but of othercommodities to skyrocket has fu-

eled intense anger among the Indi-

an people. For instance, the priceof kerosene which is used by mil-lions of impoverished Indians rose

by 33% or 3 rupees per liter. Gaso-line prices rose by 6.7% or 3.5 ru-pees per liter while that of lique-fied petroleum gas shot up by 35

rupees per cylinder. The inflationrate has also grown by more than12% since oil prices were deregu-lated.

Most affected by the 12-houstrike were the opposition-ledstates of Bihar, Punjab, Karnataka,

West Bengal, Kerala, Andhra Pra-desh, Rajahmundhry, Orissa, Mad-hya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Har-yana.

20100721 En

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