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

English editionVol. XLIII No. 5March 7, 2012

www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial

The Filipino people have lost all trust in theAquino regime for its failure to hold GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo accountable for grave vi-

olations of human rights and international human-itarian law, plunder and other major crimesagainst the people.

The latest disappointment came last week inthe form of the prosecution's decision to terminatethe presentation of evidence in the impeachmenttrial of Chief Justice Renato Corona that wouldhave proven him to be Arroyo's man in theSupreme Court. This move by Aquino's men withinthe prosecution panel is believed to have beenmade to cover up Corona's connection to the Ar-royos.

By preventing the establishment of such a con-nection, Aquino has furtherbared that he was merelyriding on the people's sen-

timents to haveArroyo prose-cuted and pun-

Make Aquino pay for his failureto hold Arroyo accountable

for her crimes against the peopleished in order to obtain their support for his movesto oust Corona from the Supreme Court. It has be-come even more apparent that Aquino's real objec-tive was to control and bring the Supreme Court toits knees to compel it to reverse its decision to dis-tribute the Cojuangco-Aquino-owned HaciendaLuisita and ensure the high court's support for hisregime's actions.

It has now become clear to the people thatAquino's determination to have Corona ousted hasnothing at all to do with the goal of holding Arroyoaccountable for her crimes.

Corona's trial has turned out to be one longfarce. Not a day passed without Aquino lambastingCorona. At the same time, however, his govern-ment has accorded Arroyo one favor after another.State prosecutors have never posed any objectionsto the court's grant of Arroyo's every whim andcapricefrom her appeal to continue her hospitaldetention despite doubts about the severity of hermedical condition to her request to visit her broth-er-in-law's wake twice,

In this issue...

OperationPacific Angel 5

Mindanao2020 6

1002nd BdeprotectsDanding 11

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2 ANG BAYAN March 7, 2012

a privilege not usually grantedto detainees facing criminalprosecution.

It has also become quite ob-vious to the people that theAquino regime has no plans oftaking any decisive steps to holdArroyo accountable for morethan 1,100 cases of extrajudi-cial killings and thousands ofother grave violations of humanrights and international human-itarian law committed under thenine-year Oplan Bantay Layawar of suppression. Not one ofthe Arroyo regime's officials re-sponsible for the brutal suppres-

sion of the people has been pun-ished. Among them is Gen. JovitoPalparan who has yet to be ar-rested despite the criminal casesalready filed against him. Worse,Aquino has continued andstepped up the war of suppres-sion against the people under theso-called Oplan Bayanihan.

Neither has Aquino shown

any resolve to hold Arroyo re-sponsible for the high crime ofplunder for cases of bribe-takingin the ZTE and IMPSA deals, andthe PCSO, OWWA and fertilizer

fund scams, among others. Afteralmost two years in power, hisregime has charged Arroyo onlywith the relatively lesser crime ofsabotaging the 2007 elections ina case that not a few lawyers sayhas been crafted in a way thatwould ensure its defeat in court.

At least seven plunder caseshave been filed against Arroyoby various organizations and in-dividuals. But even withAquino's own choice of ombuds-man in place, Arroyo has notbeen charged with plunder. Shefaces the lesser charge of grafteven after having pocketed bil-

lions of pesos from the ZTEBroadband deal.

It has become plain to thepeople that Aquino's relentlesstirades against Arroyo have allbeen a sham. This is not new tothe country's history. Arroyoused the people's loathing forEstrada, the same way CorazonAquino used Marcos, and

Magsaysay, Quirino to blametheir predecessor regimes for thepeople's poverty and sufferingand cover up the rottenness andcorruption under their own rule.

In the past 60 years of thepuppet republic, however, not asingle official responsible forlarge-scale plunder, suppressingfreedom and trampling on hu-man rights has been punished.Thus, under Aquino's govern-ment, plunderers as well as im-plementors of terror from mar-tial law up to Arroyo's brutalrule stand side by side. Basedsolely on Aquino's own actions,it is highly unlikely that GloriaArroyo will be the first to bepunished despite her myriadcrimes against the people.

The reactionary ruling class-

es claim that it is good to forgiveand let go of the past. This is anexcuse to justify the ruling sys-tem's failure to give the justicedemanded by the Filipino peo-ple. Despite their rivalries forthe perks afforded by state pow-er, all reactionaries are unitedbehind the goal of suppressing,exploiting and oppressing the

workers, the peasantry and thecommon people. All of them,without exception, are puppetsthat bow before the banner ofUS imperialism while picking upthe crumbs that fall from thebanquet tables of the plunderersof the country's wealth.

The Filipino people demandthat Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

and all her criminal cohorts beproecuted and punished for theircrimes of repression and plunder.

The people must perseverein the effort to hold Arroyo ac-countable along with her key of-ficials like General Palparan,Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Nor-berto Gonzales, Raul Gonzalezand the other masterminds and

implementors of Oplan BantayLaya and its campaign of extra-judicial killings. The big plunder-ers who stole from the nation'scoffers and caused the peoplesuffering must be held to ac-count. The people must de-nounce, resist and demand ret-

Ang Bayan is published in

Pilipino, Bisaya, Iloko, Hiligay-

non, Waray and English editions.

It is available for downloading

at the Philippine Revolution Web

Central located at:

www.philippinerevolution.net

Ang Bayan welcomes contribu-

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news. Readers are likewise

enjoined to send in their com-ments and suggestions for the

betterment of our publication.

You can reach us by email at:

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Vol. XLIII No. 5 March 7, 2012

Contents

Editorial: Make Aquino pay his failure

to hold Arroyo accountable 1Corona-Arroyo connection 3

Violence in Hacienda Luisita 4

Massive protests vs oil price hike 4

Operation Pacific Angel in Bicol 5

NPA-Rizal thwarts attack by 16th IB 5

4Ps in Southern Mindanao 6

Mindanao2020 6

Foreign mining in Palawan 8

Family massacred in Camarines Norte 10

1002nd Bde protects Danding 11

Education for profit 11

Greece in the throes of debt 13

ANG

Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of the Philippines

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3ANG BAYAN March 7, 2012

Aquino covering up Corona-Arroyoconnection

Aquino and his cohorts have been blocking efforts to presentevidence at the Senate impeachment trial that would provehow Chief Justice Renato Corona has been serving his patron

Gloria Arroyo.

On February 28, the 25thday of Corona's trial, the Fil-ipino people were stunned whenRep. Niel Tupas Jr., head of theprosecution panel announcedthat they were terminating thepresentation of evidence.

The move was surprising asthe prosecution had presentedevidence on only three of theeight articles of impeachment

against Corona. Tupad said theyno longer needed to present ev-idence on the five other articles,claiming that they had alreadypresented enough evidence toconvince the Senate to oustCorona from the SupremeCourt.

Tupas' decision ran counterto an earlier agreement among

the prosecutors t.hat theywould continue presenting evi-dence in court. This had in factbecome doubly important sincethe trial was then hearing evi-dence on Article 7 which refersto Corona's pro-Arroyo deci-

sions and his close relationshipwith the Arroyos.

Tupas move was assailed byrepresentatives of progressiveparties who were among thosebacking Corona's prosecution.We are wondering who orderedTupas to close the door onSereno's testimony. This isalarming and seems to be partof a series of moves to cover up

Corona's connection to Arroyo,said GABRIELA Rep. Emmi deJesus, Bayan Muna Rep. TeddyCasio and Alliance of Con-cerned Teachers Rep. AntonioTinio.

Tupas' termination of thepresentation of evidence wasdone a day after Supreme CourtAssociate Justice Lourdes

Sereno was invited to sharewhat she knew about Corona'sactions in favor of Gloria Ar-royo. Bayan Muna Rep. NeriColmenares had written Serenoinviting her to testify before theSenate on Corona's actuations.

Sereno would have been thebest possible source of informa-tion on what Corona had doneto ensure that Arroyo couldleave the country to evadepending criminal cases againsther. Sereno's dissenting opinionindicated that Corona distortedthe Supreme Court decision tomake it appear that the Arroyocamp had complied with theconditions set by the court forthe Arroyo couple's travelabroad.

When the case was filed tooust Corona, he was clearly be-

ing held accountable for hispartiality and obedience to Ar-royo. It is this aspect of thecase that is being weakened byno less than the chief prosecu-tor.

The progressive party rep-resentatives also explained thatthe case against Corona was be-ing widely supported by the

people because they know Coro-na to be an Arroyo lackey. Ifthis fact could not be clearly es-tablished through the testimonyof Sereno and others, the publicwill lose interest in pursuingthis case. ~

ribution from the Aquino regime for accommodat-ing Arroyo and paving the way for her exonerationfrom her numerous crimes against the people.

The people may seek recourse from reactionaryinstitutions and legal processes within the frame-work of the reactionary system to advance the

goal of holding Arroyo and all her criminal cohortsaccountable. They may initiate the filing ofcharges against military officers, AFP personneland other masterminds and perpetrators of fascistcrimes in the reactionary courts. They may alsofile plunder cases and demand the abrogation ofpolicies that are a burden to the people.

They must take advantage of conflicts and ri-valries among the ruling classes to advance their

legal struggles. But they must disabuse themselvesof the illusion that they can achieve significantgains in holding Arroyo responsible, especially inbattles or processes that are under the control ofthe ruling Aquino clique.

It is therefore much more important to perse-

vere and gain strength in the arenas of mass strug-gle and armed struggle where they can continue tobuild democratic people's power. Arroyo and all theother criminals who plundered and suppressed thepeople can only be decisively held accountable byputting an end to the current ruling system. Onlythe democratic system and government that thepeople are struggling to build can determinedlyprosecute and punish the reactionaries. ~

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Violence erupts anewin Hacienda Luisita

T

he Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AM-

BALA) and the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson(AMGL) strongly condemned renewed violence at the estate.They expressed concern that the 2004 massacre where combinedforces of the military, police and the hacienda's armed guards openedfire on striking farm workers.

On February 20, military andpolice elements and securityguards of Rizal CommercialBanking Corporation (RCBC) ar-bitrarily opened fire on some300 protesting farm workers ofthe hacienda. The farm workerswere stopping RCBC from fenc-ing off a 184-hectare portion ofthe hacienda in Barangay Balite,Tarlac City that had been ille-gally sold by the Cojuangco-Aquino family to the bank. Thenext day, two truckloads of sol-diers were sent to Barangay

Balite to demolish a camp thathad been set up by the farmworkers who were collectivelytilling the land at the disputedlot.

AFP forces have not pulledout of the hacienda since 2005.After the 2004 massacre, mili-

tary forces were deployed to theten barangays within the estateto continuously harass and con-duct surveillance on the resi-dents.

On February 22, more than200 members of AMBALA andtheir supporters marched to theSupreme Court to demand a fi-nal decision on the distributionof the 6,435-hectare hacienda.They called on the SupremeCourt to deny the Cojuangco-Aquino family-owned HLI's mo-tion for clarification and recon-

sideration to stop the distribu-tion of land to 6,296 beneficiar-ies on record.

It has been more than twomonths since the Supreme Courtdecided to distribute the ha-cienda lands and order HLI tocompensate the farmers in the

amount of`1.33 billion for itssale and conversion of 500hectares currently being usedfor commercial purposes.

The Cojuangco-Aquinos and

their representative BenignoAquino III claim that they areready to comply with theSupreme Court's decision buthave not stopped maneuveringto delay and eventually put astop to the land distribution.

The Cojuangco-Aquino fami-ly is opposed to the SupremeCourt resolution defining justcompensation on the basis ofthe land's valuation in 1989. At`40,000 per hectare, the justcompensayion would come to`173 million for the distributionof 4,335 hectares.

But the Cojuangco-Aquinofamily wants to use 2006 as thebase, when the land's valuesoared as a result of infrastruc-ture built on the hacienda using

government funds. The clam isthus demanding `9.8 billion andan additional `3.5 billion in in-terest. This means that the peo-ple would have to pay `580 mil-lion annually to pay off the `9.8million, in addition to 6% inter-est. ~

KMU to launch massive protests vs oil price hikes

The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) will lead a mas-sive protest action on March 15 against con-

tinued oil price hikes. According to KMU chairElmer Labog, workers and other impoverished sec-tors cannot accept the weekly hikes in the prices ofpetroleum products and the latter's overpricing inthe local market, the monopoly of big oil compa-

nies and the Aquino government's collusion withthem.

L:abog called on workers and urban poor to jointhe nationwide protest and mass up at the nearestprotest center. He said that the protesters mustdemand a major rollback in oil prices, the cancella-tion of the Value-Added Tax on oil and the abroga-

tion of the Oil Deregulation Law.Labog added that their determination has

mounted to launch a massive protest because theyhave been fed up by recent statements from theAquino government claiming helplessness in theface of continuing oil price hikes, He said thatworkers and other impoverished sectors cannot

accept the continued existence of oil deregulationbecause this causes them relentless suffering.

Oil companies last raised the prices of petrole-um products on March 2 for the eighth time in asmany weeks. This has resulted in gasoline prices ofalmost `50 per liter and more than `1,000 for an11-kilogram cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas. ~

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CPP assailsOperation Pacific Angel

NPA-Rizalthwarts

attack by16th IB

Red fighters under theNarciso Antazo AramilCommand (New People's

Army-Rizal) repulsed attackingforces of the 16th IB on Febru-ary 9, killing a PFC Agcaoili. The

NPA unit was able to retreatwithout suffering a single casu-alty.

The NPA unit was then tem-porarily encamped in SitioKinabuan, Barangay Sta. Ines,Tanay, Rizal when the troops at-tacked at a little past 1 p.m. Butthe planned attack by the fascistsoldiers turned into an offensive

against them when the Redfighters fought back. After theNPA was able to hit one of thesoldiers, the 16th IB troopersquickly scampered away. Thegunbattle lasted for a mere tenminutes but the soldiers were soterrified that they kept on firingtheir weapons indiscriminatelyuntil 4 p.m.

The thwarted 16th IB unitwas led by a Lieutenant Bagbag.

It had 19 ele-ments as op-posed to only 12

R e dfight-

ers. Evenbefore thei n c i d e n t ,

the NPA hadbeen able tomonitor thetroops con-

d u c t i n gcombat op-erations. ~

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) strongly assailedthe participation of American forces in Oplan Bayanihan in theBicol region. The CPP likewise demanded the pullout of US

forces in the region who are scheduled to launch Operation PacificAngel 12-1 on March 5-10. The joint military exercise to be conduct-

ed by the 13th US Air Force is part of the US Pacific Command's civ-il-military operations.

In a separate statement, National Democratic Front-Bicolspokesperson Ka Greg Baares said that the troops from the 13th USAir Force have been able to join Oplan Bayanihan operations by us-ing humanitarian and relief missions as cover.

The US has been camouflaging its interventionist activities by in-voking peace and development. The US wants to deceive the peo-ple through such catchphrases to make the presence of Americansoldiers in Bicol palatable to the public.

Baares explained that the 13th US Air Force's real considera-tions are military and not humanitarian in nature. The CPP recalledthat this particular US military unit was ordered in 2011 to send spyplanes to North Korea to build a detailed map of its military capabil-ities.

Surveillance drones will be flown simultaneous with the 13th USAir Force's overt activities to conduct more intense espionage activ-ities against the state's enemies and to obtain familiarity with thestatus of guerrilla warfare in Bicol.

It is right for patriotic Bicolanos to oppose the presence of for-

eign troops in the region, added Baares. Huge protests were able tothwart plans to conduct the US-RP Military Exercises in Bicol in2009.

Meanwhile, women and youth launched a protest action in frontof the US embassy against the visit of US trade secretary DemetriusMarantis on February 28. Marantis arrived for extended talks on ex-panding the presence of US military forces in the country. ~

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Mindanao 2020

Plan for imperialist plunder

M

indanao 2020 is a broad program of the US-Aquino regime

that aims to pave the way for the plunder and exploitationof the wealth and people of Mindanao by foreign corpora-

tions. This was first bared to the public in November 2010 as a de-velopment program spanning the next two decades.

Burdensome and deceptive4Ps in Southern Mindanao

T

he bogus and deceptive character of the US-Aquino regime'smuch-vaunted antipoverty schemethe Programang Pantawid

Pamilyang Pilipinois plain to see in Southern Mindanao.

In Paquibato District, DavaoCity, the masses are railingagainst the inclusion of richpeasants and small businessmenin the 4Ps list of beneficiarieswhile the Department of SocialWelfare and Development's(DSWD) list excludes poor peas-ants. According to National De-mocratic Front-Southern Min-danao spokesperson Rubi delMundo, only the DSWD identi-fies who the beneficiaries of the4Ps program are.

The same situation exists inthe towns of Laak, Monkayo andMontevista in Compostela Val-ley where barangay officials,their relatives and close friendswho are usually rich peasantsare on top of the list of benefici-aries.

Getting hold of their subsi-dies is tiring, chaotic and expen-sive for the beneficiaries whooften come from farflung vil-lages. They have to spend formotorcycle fare for such a smallamount of financial assistance.Some even end up spendingmore for transportation com-pared to the subsidies they ac-tually receive.

Ordinary beneficiaries fromPaquibato District and other ar-eas of Davao City have been ar-bitrarily taken off the list. Thoseliving in villages along theprovincial borders find it diffi-cult to get their subsidies, espe-cially when their names havenot been excluded in the latestvoters' lists for having failed tovote in the last elections.

Behind the concept of Min-danao 2020 is Braintrust Incor-porated, a World Bank-fundedinstitution. Among its partnersin implementing the program

are USAID, AusAID, The AsiaFoundation, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the World Bank andJapan Cooperation Internation-al Agency (JICA), all develop-ment agencies and institutionsthat serve as investment part-

ners of monopoly capitalist cor-porations. Aquino set up theMindanao Development Author-ity (MinDA) to directly adminis-ter the programs implementa-

tion, along with cornering con-tracts and funds.

US imperialism has alwaysbeen greatly interested in Min-danao, with its estimated $840billion to $1 trillion worth of un-tapped mineral resources all

over the island. Researches es-timate that 70% of the Philip-pines' mineral wealth is found inMindanao. This includes richgold, copper, nickel, man-

ganese, chromite, silver, lead,zinc and iron ore deposits.

In a confidential cable fromthe US Embassy in the Philip-pines leaked last year by theWikileaks website, the US di-rectly ordered its agencies tocooperate with and fund explo-ration activities in identified re-source-rich areas in the Philip-

pines. In a cable in February2006, the US even identifiedwhat these resources were andlaid down instructions to ensurethat it gains possession of them.

Facilitating the plunder ofMindanao's mineral resources is

In Kitaotao, Bukidnon, the

military has been prohibitingwomen beneficiaries from join-ing democratic mass organiza-tions.The 4Ps program has beenpurposely targeting Davao Cityand other areas where progres-sive parties and mass organiza-tions are strong. The goal is notonly to stop women's organiza-tions from engaging in militant

struggles but to derail thestruggle of the urban poor forsocial services, decent wagesand employment. ~

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one of the main objectives ofMindanao 2020. On January 12,the US completed its digitalmapping of the entire island, aproject funded by the JICA. TheAquino regime will be using

these maps as bases for framingparticular schemes for eah re-gion.

As of 2009, there were 89mining permits granted by theMines and Geosciences Bureau(MGB) to big foreign miningfirms. The permits cover Min-danao's five regions. Forty-sixof these permits are for theCaraga region, dubbed themining capital of the Philip-pines.

At the lead is Japan's $3 bil-lion-Sumitomo Nickel Ore Plantin Barangay Taganito, Claver,Surigao del Norte.

Infrastructure projects for for -eign capitalistsIn the first six years, the

regime will focus on laying downthe infrastructure and other-projects that will directly servethe operations of monopolycompanies. In accordance withthe regime's Medium-TermPhilippine Development Plan2011-2016, the Aquino govern-ment came out with the Six-Year Strategic Development

Priorities for Mindanao that pri-oritizes the development of in-frastructure, energy and min-ing, agribusiness and tourismopportunities. This is simulta-neous to efforts to ensure thesecurity of foreign companies inthe island.

Infrastructure developmentin the island is with-

in the Public-Private Partner-ship (PPP) framework. Amongthe Aquino regime's PPP priorityprojects for 2012 are the com-pletion of the `1.5-billionLaguindingan Airport in Ca-

gayan de Oro. The Ayala Corp.has nailed the contract for run-ning and managing the airportonce it is completed. In this re-gard, there are plans to put upthe Laguindingan Airport Devel-opment Project (LADP) betweenCagayan de Oro City and IliganCity for the construction of theMindanao Railway System andtourism facilities such as hotelsand malls. Also targeted forcompletion is the rehabilitationof the Kapalong-Talaingod-Va-lencia Road that links TagumCity and Valencia City. It is animportant alternative route thatwould facilitate the flow of agri-cultural goodsand producebetween the

provinces ofBukidnonand Davaodel Nortewhere thebiggest com-mercial planta-

tions on the island are found.There are also plans to build theBus Rapid Transit System inDavao City.

In September 2011, theHebei Road and Bridge Group

Co. Limited and China HenanShuli Yiju Co., both Chinesecompanies, struck a deal withthe Department of Public Worksand Highways for the mainte-nance and development of roadsin Mindanao.

Meanwhile, in the energysector, the State Grid of ChinaCorp. will be investing `50 mil-lion in the National Grid Corp. ofthe Philippines (NGCP) in ex-change for 40% equity. TheMarubeni Corporation of Japanhas also ventured with AboitizCorp. for energy projects in theMindanao-Leyte Interconnec-tion.

Aboitiz Power Corp. alsoplans to build a 300-megawattcoal-fired power plant in

Barangay Binugao, Toril Dis-trict, Davao City. But the

project has hit a majorsnag due to the city

residents' strongopposition. ~

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Mindanao 2020: Anti-Moro

Destruction by foreign mining companies

in Palawan

The Aquino government's claims that it nurtures Palawan, itsrich environment and endemic flora and fauna is a lie. In fact,practically the entire island has been laid bare to foreign min-

ing companies.

Palawan is rich in mineralresources. It is estimated tohave P300 billion worth of nick-

el deposits. Since the Mining Actof 1995 was signed into law,plunderous foreign companieshave been scrambling to pene-trate and take over the entireisland of Palawan.

Currently, there is a miningapplication for every square me-ter of Palawan's land, river andsea. In the southern part of theisland alone, 16 permits havebeen granted to various miningcompanies to operate off thewestern coast, in the so-calledRecto Bank, a small islet nearPalawan. The area reportedlyhas three trillion cubic feet ofnatural gas, bigger than that

being mined from Malampaya, asource of oil and natural gas innorthern Palawan. Even the

famed Puerto Princesa Subter-ranean River National Park orthe Palawan Underground Riveris being targeted by plunderers.

Among the foreign compa-nies with mining operations inPalawan is the Vancouver,Canada-based MBMI ResourcesIncorporated.

MBMI mines nickel, a miner-al with many industrial and con-sumer uses such as the manu-facture of stainless steel andrechargeable batteries. In thePhilippines, MBMI has ninenickel mines covering 22,000hectares, including 3,277hectares in the towns of Rizal,

Bataraza and Narra in Palawan.These towns are found along

Mt. Bulanjao in southernPalawan, a forested area wherethe headwaters of the six majorrivers supplying water to theentire population originate.There are fears that mining op-

erations will damage and poisonthese rivers, ancestral landsand productive agriculturallands.

Also conducting mining op-erations in Palawan is the Lon-don-based Toledo Mining Cor-poration which owns a nickelmine in the province. Another isRio Tuba Mining Corporation,

which plans to operate in Bulan-jao Range. It is also run by MB-MI Resources Incorporated.

In 2011, a number of nickelcompanies in Palawan earned atotal of P3 billion. Among thecompanies with approved appli-cations for nickel mining are

Amajor part of Mindanao 2020 is the sup-pression of armed revolutions in Min-

danao. The MinDA and the Office of the Pres-

idential Adviser on the Peace Process(OPAPP) are focusing on pouring funds for as-sisting and rehabilitating those affected bythe war between the Moro Islamic LiberationFront (MILF) and the regime's armed minions.They pay particular attention to the Cotabatobasin, where rich mineral deposits are found.The regime has already allotted P718 millionfor this area. The implementation of the bo-gus anti-poverty scheme Programang

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino is prevalent invarious communities.

To address the people's widespread oppo-sition to mining and fake development proj-ects in Mindanao, the MinDA set up the Min-

danao Peace and Development Security Com-mittee (MPDSC) in December 2011 as a secu-rity mechanism for the entire island. It is

composed of representatives from the MinDAand Mindanao Principals: governors and may-ors under CONFED Mindanao and chairmen ofthe Regional Peace and Order Councils, thesecurity sector (AFP and PNP), the privatesector, civil society, NGOs and representa-tives of the Bishops-Ulama Conference.

In the final analysis, Mindanao 2020 aimsto end the Moro people's armed resistance. Infact, the US directly intervenes in the peace

negotiations between the Government of thePhilippines and the MILF. It is also engaged inrelentless public relations drives in Moro com-munities by pouring in funding for develop-ment projects. ~

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Fisherfolk fight

abusive Maritime Police

An abusive element of the Maritime Police was killed after hewas shot by a civilian he was harrassing in Barangay Limi-

nangcong, Taytay, Palawan on January 27.SPO2 Jomar Manili and a certain Corpuz were together and

both armed with M16 rifles and pistols when they accosted agroup of fishermen coming from the pier. The Maritime Policetried to arrest the four fishermen. But one of them was able toshoot the policemen, killing Manili.

Corpuz was able to kill Nonoy Castillo, one of the four fisher-men that the Maritime Police had tried to victimize.

The four civilians were able to seize an M16, a 9 mm pistol,ammunition, a telescope and other military equipment from

the two abusive Martime Police elements. They gave theweapons and other military equipment to the New People'sArmy.

The Maritime Police forces are based in Barangay Liminang-cong and are deeply despised by the townsfolk because of theirabusive behavior towards civilians. Castillo's wife plans to filemurder charges against the abusive Maritime Police.

Progressive groups assailbig mining firms

Hundreds of environmental activists marched towards Mala-caang on March 3 to show the Aquino government their

strong opposition to the policy of liberalization and foreign min-ing in the country. It was the opening salvo in a series of massactions marking a stepped up nationwide campaign against de-structive mining.

The protest action was timed to coincide with the 17th an-niversary of the Mining Act of 1995 and the conclusion of theThird National People's Mining Conference held March 1-3. Theconference, which was attended by delegates from all over thecountry was organized by Kalikasan People'sNetwork for the Environment (KalikasanPNE), Defend Patrimony! Alliance and BagongAlyansang Makabayan (BA-YAN). They demanded theabrogation of the Mining Act

of 1995 and a stop to wide-spread mining in the country.BAYAN secretary-general

Renato Reyes Jr. beliedclaims by big businessmenthat it is the mining industrythat will bring developmentto the country as long as it is

Narra Nickel Mining and Devel-opment, Inc. (NNMDI), TesoroMining and Development, Inc.(TMDI) and McArthur Mining,Inc. (MMI).

Another firm is MacroAsia,

which is owned by billionaireLucio Tan, one of the Philip-pines' biggest bourgeois com-padors. It plans to begin miningoperations in the 1,114-hectareancestral lands of the Tagbanuain the Gantong and Mantalinga-han Mountain Ranges.Palaweos rail against min -ing. Palaweos successfullylaunched an antimining demon-stration in the island on Janu-ary 24. More than a thousandpeople were able to join the ral-ly held in Puerto Princesa Citydespite intense military repres-sion. The rally was timed to co-incide with the first anniversaryof the murder of Dr. Gerry Orte-ga, a broadcaster and antimin-ing activist who has yet to be

given justice.Led by the Mamamayan

Kontra Mine (MKM) alliance, itwas the biggest rally launchedin the province since 2005-2006. The protesters, who camefrom different parts of the is-land rode on buses and boats.Volunteers contributed andcooked food like rice and fish.

Four layers of checkpointsset up by the military failed todaunt the rallyists. Their vehi-cles were stopped on the pre-text that the authorities werelooking for an escaped convict.The protesters were ordered toalight, and were frisked and ter-rorized by the military. The ha-rassment caused some delega-

tions to arrive late, reducingthe time left for the program.

Nonetheless, the rally was asuccess, with the demonstra-tors collectively assailing theentry of mining companies inPalawan and demanding justicefor Ortega. ~

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done responsibly. In fact,said Reyes, mining has con-tributed a mere 1.5% to theeconomy in the past de-cade.

Kalikasan PNE coordi-

nator Clemente Bautistasaid that plunderous miningcorporations have con-trolled more than a millionhectares of land in thePhilippines in the 17 yearsthat the Mining Act of 1995has existed. Conflicts andviolence have erupted inmining areas and there has

been massive environmen-tal destruction and poi-sonong of streams, riversand seacoasts.

Large-scale mining op-erations have also led tohuman rights abuses. Since2001, there have been 40human rights violationsagainst environmental ac-

tivists, including 37 extra- judicial killings, two at-tempted murders and onecase of involuntary disap-pearance. Militarizationand terrorism by govern-ment armed forces existside by side even as resi-dents are blinded by vari-ous gimmicks cooked up by

multinational corporationsand their cohorts among lo-cal officials, added Ka-likasan PNE.

Instead of the antipeo-ple, anti-environment andpro-foreign capitalist Min-ing Act of 1995, the envi-ronmental activists calledfor support for the People'sMining Bill filed by BayanMuna Rep. Teddy Casio.The bill aims to make thecountry's mineral resourcesserve the goals of nationalindustrialization, particu-larly manufacturing andagricultural modernization.

Family massacredin Camarines Norte

Apeasant family was massacred in Camarines Norte while afarmer was abducted by the military in Laguna. Also amongthe striking cases gathered by Ang Bayan were incidents of

harassment of political detainees and student journalists.

February 26. Three leadersof the College Editors Guild ofthe Philippines (CEGP) were ha-rassed by the military duringthe conduct of the CEGP Con-

vention at the University ofEastern Philippines in Catar-man, Northern Samar.

Military elements surveilledPauline Gidget Estella, CEGPdeputy secretary-general forthe National Capital Region, An-gelo Karl Deceo, CEGP-Samarchair and CEGP-Samat secre-tary-general Micah SusanaRebenecia. On the last day ofthe convention, an unidentifiedman approached them to askwhere they were going and in-sisted on accompanying them.When they refused, he suddenlyshouted at them.

While they were onthe way to the

Rebenecia's house, they no-ticed a man aboard a tricyclefollowing them who later of-fered them a ride. When theyreached their lodgings, there

were other men aboard scoot-ers who were all watching themand talking to someone overthe cellphone.

The CEGP also received in-formation that Deceo andRebenecia are on the AFP's or-der of battle in Samar and aretargets of military attack.February 25. Farmer Ben- jamin Mancera and two of hischildren were killed when ele-ments of the 49th IB rained bul-lets on his hut in Sitio Pagurin,Barangay Malaya, Labo, Ca-marines Norte. Another child ofMancero was wounded. Alsokilled in the incident was RafaelKa Gupi Llantino who wasthen going about his duties in-vestigating complaints from themasses on the damage wroughtby peace and developmentprojects under the Payapa atMasaganang Pamayanan (PA-

MANA) and military abuses inthe village. Barangay

Malaya council offi-cials said Mancerawas an ordinaryfarmer and not a

member of the NewPeople's Army asclaimed by the mili-tary.

The Mancerasand Ka Gupi werethen resting after

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having lunch when the mlitary suddenly openedfire on the hut without considering who the occu-pants were.February 23. Personnel of the PNP CustodialCenter confiscated the typewriters of AlanJazmines and other consultants of the National

Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) uponorders of their chief P/Supt. Cesar Magsino.Magsino had earlier tried to censor documents

Jazmines was sending to his lawyer through aclose relative who was not allowed inside andmade to wait outside. Jazmines insisted on hisright to have his correspondence with his lawyerremain confidential. Magsino, however, refused toallow the documents out unless he could censorthem.

Jazmines said that Magsino wanted to put astop to the continued exposs of cases of unjust,

arbitrary and illegal arrest and detention of polit-ical prisoners at the custodial center.

The typewriters were provided to the NDFpeace consultants by the NDF panel for their use intheir work in the peace talks.

On December 26, the political detainees at

Camp Crame also complained about the confisca-tion by Magsino of KARAPATAN primers on OplanBayanihan.February 14 and 17. Elements of the SpecialWarfare Group (SWAG) abducted Edwin Robles, aresident of Barangay Buo, Majayjay, Laguna. Ear-lier, soldiers from the 1st IB beat up Imo Miraniaon February 14 at Barangay Bangkal in Majayjay,as well as Romeo Guyala and his son Romeo Jr., inBarangay Olla in the same town. These violationsform part of a string of military abuses in Majayjayand the neighboring town of Magdalena. ~

1002nd Bde protects DandingCojuangco in Malita,Davao del Sur

The 1002nd Brigade of the Philippine Army serves as the protec-tor of big bourgeois comprador Eduardo Danding Cojuangcoin Malita town, Davao del Sur. Colluding with Cojuangco in

sowing terror and raking in huge amounts of money from variousbusinesses in Malita is the town mayor Franklin Bautista.

Hundreds of hectares of ba-nana plantations are owned bythe Cojuangcos in Malita andthe same goes for the Bautistas.They continue to expand theirplantations by deceiving the

peasants or violently seizingtheir land. Currently, their maininstruments in seizing vasttracts of land are the 39th and73rd IB of the 1002nd Brigade.

Violence marks the Cojuang-cos and Bautistas' landgrabbingschemes. Seven persons werekilled and hundreds werewounded in Tarlac when the Co-

juangcos' armed minionsopened fire on striking farmworkers in 2004. More than 20persons have been killed by theBautistas in the past severalyears in the town of Malita.

Malita's upland areas andits neighboring towns are beingtargeted for mining operations.One of the companies with apending mining application isLooc Mining which is also ownedby the Cojuangcos.

Heavy military presence andthe AFP's peace and develop-ment initiatives have turnedMalita into a virtual militarygarrison. The AFP imposes mar-

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Education for profit

In the coming school year (2012-2013), more than 300 privateschools will be raising their tuition fees despite strong oppositionfrom students and their parents. The fees will be raised by an av-

erage of 10-15%. Last year (2011-2012), 324 colleges and universi-

ties raised their fees by an average of P37 per unit.A study made by student

groups has revealed that cur-rent tuition fee rates in thePhilippines have doubled since2001. In the National CapitalRegion (NCR), tuition fees havepractically tripled, or risen by anaverage of 143%. Students payup to `2,000-3,000 per unit or

`36,000-54,000 for an 18-unitsemester in the bigger universi-ties.

This amount does not in-clude miscellaneous feeswhichwere raised or even invented byschool owners, expenses for uni-forms and textbooks and otheracademic requirements. Manyprivate universities follow the

trimester system, which furtherraises expenses.

Yearly expenses come to`120,000 at the Far EasternUniversity (FEU) and the Philip-pine Women's University(PWU); up to P145,000 at theAteneo de Manila University(ADMU); `160,000 at MapuaInstitute of Technology (MIT);

and`

198,000 at De La SalleUniversity (DLSU).Among the schools that will

be hiking tuition fees in 2012 areFEU (5%), University of Sto.Tomas (UST,19% for new

e n -

rollees), Centro Escolar Univer-sity (CEU), University of theEast (UE, 3-5%) and DLSU(3%)all of them universitiesthat are already charging highfees.

These schools rake in mil-lions like other private universi-ties in selling supposedly quality

education. In 2010, FEU earned`585 million, UE `300 millionand CEU `248 million. In 2003-2009, CEU, UE and the Universi-ty of Perpetual Help earned acombined income of `3.45 bil-lionplacing them in the Philip-pines' Top 1,000 Corporations.

In the face of the continu-ously skyrocketing cost of edu-

cation, it is right for students todemand a moratorium on newtuition fee increases and a re-view of the previous years'hikes. They are well within theirrights to assail capitalist schoolowners who rake in millions up-on millions in selling a servicethat the Filipino youth shouldenjoy for free.

It is also correct to hold theAquino regime accountable forabandoning the management of

private schools tocapitalist greed.

In Febru-

tial law through killings, foodblockades, checkpoints, limitson the working hours and foodbrought by farmers going totheir fields, interrogations, re-peated harassment and maul-

ings of civilians.In 2011, four civilians werekilled by the 39th and 73rd IB inMalita, with two of the victimsslain in an exceptionally brutalway. They were hung on trees,hacked, stabbed and shot multi-ple times. These two battalionsare notorious for human rightsviolations. Their crimes arebrazen violations of the provi-sions of international humani-tarian law and the Comprehen-sive Agreement on Respect forHuman Rights and Internation-al Humanitarian Law(CARHRIHL).

Alongside such violence isthe deception foisted on thepeople through Oplan Bayani-han (OPB). Under OPB, the mili-

tary conducts peace buildingseminars and rallies, the latestof which was held on February25-27. About 200 people whohad allegedly strayed and hadnow returned to the fold of thereactionary government wereparaded before the public assurrenderees. In fact, theywere civilians herded by the mil-

itary from five interior villagesof Malita.

Bautista and the 1002ndBde also gave away `200,000and a few goats to the surren-derees as a reward for return-ing to the government's fold.

The people of Malita are in-tensely repulsed by such highlyinsulting actions by the reac-

tionary government and the1002nd Brigade. Because ofOplan Bayanihan, poverty, vio-lence and the lack of democracyhave worsend in Malita town.This has encouraged its resi-dents to join and support thepeople's war. ~

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13ANG BAYAN March 7 2012

ary, student opposition grew more widespread toonerous and unjust tuition fee hikes. The NationalUnion of Students of the Philippinesthe biggestalliance of student councilslaunched the TuitionMonitor to closely follow hikes in school fees. TheKabataan Partylist is likewise fighting within Con-gress for the regulation of private education. Pro-gressive student organizations have pledged tolaunch mass actions against tuition fee hikes. Thestudents' struggles are expected to heighten asschool opens in June.

Opposition must also be stepped up against thereactionary government's reduction of the budgetfor education. Decades of neglect of the publicschool system has led to its privatization.

Even public universities and colleges have notbeen exempt from this trend. Yearly budgetary re-

ductions have resulted in soaring tuition and otherfees in public universities and colleges. For in-stance, in 2007-2009, tuition and other fees roserelentlessly at the University of the Philippines(UP) because of budgetary cuts. The same has hap-pened at the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Instituteof Science and Technology (EARIST) and attempt-

ed at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines(PUP). To cope with the lack of funding, the gov-ernment has been pressing public schools to enterinto commercial contracts with big companies orsell land intended for academic expansion.

The youth and students reaped gains in launch-ing mass actions last year against the Aquinoregime's devious reductions in the education budg-et. In the course of these protests, the studentswere able to expose the real character of the newregime's reforms and the inutility of its povertyalleviation programs. Even as it gave doleouts to thepoorest of the poor Filipino families, the regimeslashed funds for the most basic services and gavefreer rein to the private sector to profit from them.

As the struggle against tuition fee hikes andthe commercialization of education advances as a

whole, it must be put in the context of the struggleagainst an elitist, antipeople and foreign capital-ist-oriented system. Alongside trampling on theyouth's basic right to education, it prepares themfor eventual exploitation by companies who are theultimate beneficiaries of exorbitantly priced edu-cation. ~

Greece in the throes of debt

Ahundred thousand Greeks clashed with po-lice and marched towards the parliamentbuilding in Athens to oppose a new round of

budget cuts on social services and impending masslayoffs.

In February, the troika (European Commis-sion, International Monetary Funds and EuropeanCentral Bank) imposed another deadline on theGreek government to slash its budget for social

services and adopt more austerity measures. In ex-change for this is a 130 billion euro bailout fundthat the Greek government has been requestingfrom the European Council (EC).

The troika wants a reduction of up to 325 mil-lion euros from the budget. Among the items slatedfor reduction are funds intended for health servic-es and benefits enjoyed by Greek workers that al-ready suffered cuts last year. Pensions will also beslashed by 35%. Greece is a welfare state where

the government pays for all of the people's health,education and pension needs. These measures willcondemn millions of Greeks to severe poverty.

Aside from widespread and massive cuts in so-cial services and benefits, the minimum wage willalso suffer a 22% reduction, resulting in a fall of upto 44% in real wages. Once this is in force, workerswill be receiving only about 600 euros from the pre-

vious 1,800 euros. There will also be a new set ofrestrictions on union negotiations even as the gov-ernment is poised to terminate more than 150,000of its employees. These conditions have been calledone of the most violent systematic attacks by cap-italism on organized labor in the country's histo-ry.

Like the first one, this second bailout is meantto ensure that the Greek government is able to pay

off its debts to creditor banks and institutions atthe EC without fail. In fact, one of the conditionsimposed by the troika is for an EC official to en-ter the Greek bureaucracy to directly manage thefund. The official will ensure that Greece spendsthe bailout money to pay its debts and complieswith the troika's other conditions.

The Greek economy entered into a recession in2008. Production plummeted by 8% and unemploy-ment soared from 7% to 21% in merely three years.

To cover up the crisis, the Greek government re-sorted to massive borrowing. The country's indebt-edness ballooned annually and by 2010, the coun-try owed an amount equivalent to 121% of its GrossDomestic Product. In May 2010, the troika lentthe Greek government 110 billion euros to keep theeconomy afloat and bail out bankrupt banks and in-stitutions. ~

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