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

English EditionVol. XLIII No. 16August 21, 2012

www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial

Amajor disaster struck Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog, Cen-

tral and Northern Luzon in early August. More than ten daysof torrential monsoon rains precipitated massive floods that

swept away and destroyed the homes and properties of up to two mil-lion people, causing loss of lives and the ruination of agriculturalland, fishing grounds and other sources of livelihood.

The Aquino regime is catastrophicto the Filipino people

town centers, they are the ones

who live along the esteros, riv-erbanks, lakesides and other ar-eas where the infrastructure forsanitation, garbage disposal andflood control are inadequate ortotally absent. In the country-side, they are the ones who aremost in danger of being swal-lowed by the waters of swollenrivers or buried under tons of

mud.They are the ones who strive

to eke out a living in the face ofdeepgoing crisis and widespreadpoverty. They belong to themost oppressed and exploitedclasses whose protection andsafety lie at the bottom rung ofthe state and ruling classes' pri-orities.

Whenever typhoons and oth-

In this issue...

Governmentnegligence inthe face oftragedy 3

Aquinosbudget: anti-people 7

32 enemiescasulaties inSMR 10

This calamity brought backpainful memories of typhoonOndoy in 2009 that inundatedwide swaths of Metro Manila,

typhoon Sendong in 2011 thatflooded vast areas of NorthernMindanao and the Visayas andother storms and floods thatstruck the country in the past.Typhoons have been causing ev-er worsening loss of lives andproperty due to severe environ-mental destructionand thedeterio-ration

of the necessary infrastructureto control flooding and ensurethe people's protection.

This grave disaster demon-

strated the stark divisionsamong classes in Philippine soci-ety. The floods mainly wroughthavoc on the lives of workers,the unemployed, farmers, fish-erfolk, rank and file employeesand small professionals and oth-

er ordinaryfolk.

I ncitiesa n d

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2 ANG BAYAN August 21, 2012

er disasters strike, the lives andsafety of the toiling masses arealways in peril, while big capital-ists, landlords and bureaucratcapitalists remain in the comfortof their luxurious homes in ex-clusive subdivisions far from thefloods. While the ordinary folkare in danger of losing theirlives, the wealthy classes' big-gest headaches are temporarypower outages or the loss ofcellphone service.

The Aquino regime mani-fested its real class characterin the face of this major disas-ter that affected millions of

people. The landlord Aquinobared his contempt for the poorwhen he slammed the victimsfor their "hard-headedness"and blamed them for the trage-dy that had befallen them, evenas hundreds of thousands offamilies were still mired in themud left behind by recedingflood waters. Aquino even exe-

crably exploited the tragedy toparade his favored senatorialcandidates before several evac-uation centers.

But whatever gimmickry

Aquino resorts to, he cannotcover his multitude of sins. Hehas failed to institute measuresagainst flooding and disasterpreparedness. He must answerfor banning the use of calamityfunds to prepare for disaster.

This August, Aquino didnothing in the facing of risingdam water levels, despite thefact that the people have foryears been demanding that damwaters should not be allowed toreach dangerous levels. Forthree years, he has been in pow-er, but he has yet to undertake amajor overhaul of the system of

garbage collection and wastedisposal, the cleanup of water-ways, the desilting of lakes andrivers and the rehabilitation offorests and watersheds. In-stead, he has occupied himselfwith enticing foreign companiesto invest in mining operations inthe country's denuded mountainareas.

A far greater catastropheawaits the poor with the Aquinoregime's plan to effect the wide-spread demolition of urban poorcommunities. Aquino even has

the gall to use the recent calam-ity as a pretext to call theplanned evictions of the urbanpoor as measures to ensuretheir safety. It is the height ofirony for Aquino to claim thatdestroying (and even blasting)people's homes and livelihoodsare acts that are meant to "pro-tect" them. In fact, they will betorn away from their sources oflivelihood and exiled to farflungareas that are just as prone toflooding, landslides and otherdisasters.

Aquino's real objective inevicting the urban poor is to

turn over the land where theirhouses are, for the use of his bigbusinessman friends and theirforeign capitalist partners. Thishas been his intention since hecame to powerto launch wide-spread demolitions, in accord-ance with plans to constructstructures under his Public-Pri-vate Partnership program.

The far greater catastropheafflicting the Filipino people isthe catastrophe of unemploy-ment, slave wages, landless-ness, upwardly spiralling pricesof food and other commodities,unaffordable education andhealth care, intensifying milita-rization, repression and humanrights violations.

Aquino's insistence on serv-ing the interests of foreign bigcapitalists and the exploitingand oppressive classes is theworst debacle that will bring un-told harm to the Filipino people.The criminal neglect and the op-pression and suffering inflictedon the victims of calamities andthe toiling masses are rousing

them to tread the path of strug-gle and revolution. It may befraught with danger and hard-ship, but it is the path that willsurely lead the people to abright, prosperous, just anddemocratic future. ~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 forthe betterment of our publication. You

can reach us by email at:

[email protected]

Vol. XLIII No. 16 August 21, 2012

Contents

Editoryal: The Aquino regime

is catastrophic to the people 1

Government negligence 3

Bayanihan amid crisis 4

NPA assists flood victims 5

Masterplan for demolition 5

Greed for water and profit 6

Stop the privatization of water 7

Aquinos budget is antipeople 8

Pork barrel 9

Enemy suffers 32 casualties in SMR 10

Bounty for Madlos, Tiamzon

violates JASIG 12

Violence against women and children 13

ANG

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3ANG BAYAN August 21, 2012

Government negligencein the face of tragedyand disaster

The Filipino people once again bore witness to the Aquino re-gime's grave neglect in the face of disaster and unbridled ex-ploitation by big capitalists amid tragedy.

Typhoon Gener struck thecountry on July 28 and continuedits onslaught until August 9 dueto the monsoon winds. Initial es-timates put the number of peopleaffected by the strong rains,

floods and landslides at up to twomillion. By August 7, up to 1,266villages in 152 towns and 28 cit-ies in Central Luzon, SouthernTagalog, Cordillera, the NationalCapital Region and Western Vis-ayas bore the brunt of the calam-ity. Diseases like dengue feverand leptospirosis likewise be-came rampant, bringing to the

fore the government's failure todeliver social services.The people's abject condi-

tions were brought about by thelack of effective measures andprograms by the Aquino regimeto address disasters. When ty-phoon Gener had just enteredthe Philippines, progressive par-ties and organizations urged theAquino regime to take immedi-ate action. In particular, the Ka-likasan Partylist proposed thatthe government allot the fundsand resources needed to mobi-lize local disaster response sys-tems; immediately put a stop tothe operations of Philex Miningin the face of a spillage in themine tailings dam of the Philex-owned Padcal Mine in Tuba,

Benguet as well as 37 other bigmining companies nationwide;and provide immediate relief toflood victims. Not only did Aqui-no disregard such warnings, heboasted that his regime wasready for any disaster.

He bragged that huge quan-tities of relief goods for evacu-ees had already been preposi-tioned. After three days of con-tinuous floods, however, thetruth blew up in Aquino's face.

No less than local governmentofficials admitted that they onlyhad a day's supply of reliefgoods. Government agencieswere practically paralyzed inmobilizing enough resources forquick rescue and relief opera-tions. Neither could they accom-modate the steady stream offlood victims in the cramped

evacuation centers.Aquino and his regime areguilty of grave negligence. In2011, Aquino refused to allotfunds for disaster preparedness.He also barred moves to in-crease the `5-billion CalamityFund. By the middle of 2012, thefund had almost been depleted.This August, the prolonged rains

and floods spurred the releaseof`5.9 billion out of the `7.5-billion Calamity Fund for 2012,leaving a mere `1.6 billion forthe regime to spend for the oth-er storms and calamities up to

the end of the year. Worse,Aquino ordered the cancellationin 2011 of 19 flood-control pro-jects (worth `1.9 billion) suchas dams and dikes in variousparts of Central Luzon.

Still part of the regime'sgross negligence is its disregardfor the welfare of employees ofthe Philippine Atmospheric, Ge-

ophysical and AstronomicalServices Administration (PAG-ASA), the government agencytasked with weather prediction.Rank and file employees of PAG-ASA receive only `7,000 amonth, which is woefully inade-quate for their and their fami-lies' day to day needs. The em-ployees had been asking for araise since March, along with ademand to restore their bene-fits. The regime has failed toaddress these issues to date.Instead, Aquino berated theemployees by telling them "notto add to the disaster" whenthey asserted that governmentprovide the proper salaries andbenefits. ~

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Bayanihan movementfor the people

W

hen disaster strikes, the toiling masses and progressivesectors further strengthen the bonds of solidarity. Thou-sands of them volunteered in early August to undertake or-

ganized rescue efforts for the victims of calamity and provided reliefdespite the absence of funds from the government or big private cor-porations.

Among those who led suchefforts was the MAKABAYANcoalition which launched Baya-nihan Alay sa Sambayanan(BALSA). Under BALSA, various

sectoral undertakings such asACT Relief Operations; LingapGABRIELA; Oplan Sagip Kana-yunan of KMP, PAMALAKAYA,Amihan, UMA, NNARAYouth, Si-nagbayan and Rural Missionar-ies of the Philippines; Sagip Mi-grante Fund Raising Ride; BuligBayan of BAYAN-Panay; DAM-BANA (Damayang Simbahan sa

Panahon ng Disaster); SiningKalinga of young artists; andTulong Kabataan of KabataanPartylist and its organizationssolicited and distributedrelief goods. Un-ions, federations,NGO and vari-ous other work-ers' groups

likewise

joined hands under Task ForceObrero (TFO). The All UP Work-ers Alliance, Anakpawis and Ka-likasan Partylist in coordinationwith the Southern Tagalog

Serve the People Corps alsoconducted relief operations.This "bayanihan" was joined byfamous personalities like ac-tresses Angel Locsin and Moni-que Wilson and athlete PhilYounghusband.

While the people's solidarityshone through, the corruptionand greed of the ruling classes

reared their ugly heads in themidst of tragedy and disaster.

On August 8, Aquino andmembers of his political partyshamelessly exploited the terri-ble situation to self-servinglycampaign for the coming elec-

tions. Aquino purposely visitedvictims at an evacuation cen-ter in Muntinlupa aboard a

six-by-six truck. With him inthe truck were his par-

ty's proba-ble sen-ator ia lc a n d i -d a t e s

who acted as if they were onstage and waved at the evacu-ees. Among these brazenfacedpoliticos were Aurora Rep. Ed-gardo Angara Jr., Bureau ofCustoms chief Ruffy Biazon,TESDA director general Joel Vil-lanueva and Akbayan Partystalwart Risa Hontiveros.

In their desire to portraythemselves as the only peoplegiving aid to the needy, theyeven had the gall to stop pro-gressive organizations. In Pi-nagbuhatan, Pasig, policemenbarred members of KabataanPartylist from conducting reliefoperations because they wereholding discussions with thevictims.

But nothing tops the greedof foreign and local companiesfor huge profits. On August 7,amid non-stop torrential rains,oil companies raised the pricesof petroleum products by up to`0.80 per liter. They raised

them again on August 20 andare slated to impose anotherhike on August 25. The day be-fore, the Manila Electric Co.(Meralco) raised power rates.Meralco and Petron, one of thethree biggest oil companies inthe country, are owned by Aqui-no's uncle Eduardo "Danding"Cojuangco.

The Business Processing As-sociation of the Philippines(BPAP) likewise asked Mala-caang to exempt call centersfrom an order suspending theoperations of all schools, busi-nesses and government officesduring the disaster. The BPAPwanted its employees to reportfor work, saying that their cli-

ents were not from the Philip-pines and were therefore notaffected by the floods. It didnot care if their employeesdrowned or got caught in theflood. The BPAP is an associa-tion of 600 companies runningcall centers nationwide. ~

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NPA assists flood victims

in Rizal and Laguna

T

he New People's Armys (NPA) entire

membership in Rizal and Laguna provincesdeclared a week-long cessation of military ac-tions against the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police(PNP) to mobilize Red fighters in providingcontinued assistance to flood victims.

In separate statements, the Narciso Anta-zo Aramil Command (NPA-Rizal) and Nilo Ha-tol Command (NPA-Laguna) announced a tem-porary ceasefire from 12:0 a.m. of August 11

to 12:00 a.m. of August 17.Meanwhile, Comrade Luis Jalandoni, amember of the National Democratic Front ofthe Philippines (NDFP) Executive Committeelikewise appealed to foreign friends and the in-ternational community to provide assistanceto the calamity victims in the Philippines.

During the ceasefire, all NPA units in thetwo provinces, including members of partisanunits and people's militias remained on a de-fensive mode in order to devote all forces andresources to assisting the victims of calamity.Nonetheless, the NPA units remained vigilantagainst any attack and offensive actions bythe AFP-PNP against the people within the ter-ritory of the People's Democratic Government(PDG).

During the same period, elements of theAFP-PNP at CAFGU were able to freely enterthe territory of the PDG to visit their lovedones and help their families who were likewise

victimized by the massive flooding. It was pos-sible for them to do so without fear of possibleoffensive actions by the NPA against them.

On August 5, however, while most of Lagu-na was under water and pummeled by strongrains, NDF-Laguna members Jesus Abetria andRestituto Galicia were abducted in Longos, Ka-layaan, Laguna and mercilessly tortured bythe military.

They were kidnapped while en route to a

hospital for medical treatment after consult-ing with members of the Nilo Hatol Commandon plans to mobilize Red fighters to assist thevictims of the massive flooding. They are cur-rently detained at the Philippine Army nation-al headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Flood controlmasterplanis a masterplan

for demolition

Up to 195,000 families victimized by the mas-sive floods are to be victimized twice over bywidespread demolitions should the Aquino

regime's planned "flood-control" projects pushthrough.

To justify the Flood Control Masterplan, theAquino regime has been portraying it as the solutionto future calamities. In fact, it is nothing but a mas-terplan for widespread demolitions that will be donein the name of "protection."

Aquino pins the blame for the floods on the urbanpoor, saying that their shanties have been blockingthe water ways. This is pure nonesense, as the re-gime knows full well that the real reason behind thefloods is the wanton destruction of the environment.

On August 13, Department of Public Works andHighways secretary Rogelio Singson said that "ifpush comes to shove, we will have to blast the hous-es if they won't leave within a certain period." De-partment of Interior and Local Government Sec.

Jesse Robredo likewise said that barangay chairmenwould be held accountable for the "cleanup" of es-teros, and for ensuring that residents do not returnto rebuild their houses once these have been demol-ished.

The first target of Aquino's masterplan is to re-

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pair and raise the level ofdikes in Pampanga, Malabonand Navotas; improve a num-ber of pumping stations inMetro Manila; and clean upesteros especially at the Ma-

rikina and Pasig rivers andaround Laguna Lake. Thefunds for these projects willbe sourced from the master-plan's `352-billion budget.

Part of the masterplan in-volves the construction of anindustrial and commercial dis-trict on a 94,000-hectare areaaround the lakeone of the

54 principal projects underthe Public-Private Partnershipprogram.

More than 120,000 fami-lies who depend on fishing fora living are in danger of beingevicted from this area. Anoth-er 20,000 urban poor familiesare being targeted for evic-tion this year. First in line are

houses that have been builtabove esteros and beneathbridges, and second are hous-es built within three metersfrom the esteros.

The urban poor find theregime's relocation programunacceptable, especially sincethe resettlement site in Rodri-guez, Rizal itself was hit bymassive floods and landslides.Also, the government can ac-commodate only 9,000 out ofthe 20,000 families whosehouses will be demolished thisyear.

Relocation is likewise not asimple matter of moving peo-ple to another site, but of live-lihood in the relocation areaas well. Said a community

leader, with the forcible dem-olitions, they will be removedfrom the "danger zones," on-ly to be transferred to the"dead zones." It is the equiv-alent of Aquino declaring waragainst the urban poor. ~

Dam owners' greed

for water and profit

The irresponsible and dangerous system of releasing water fromdams came to the fore when floods rampaged through and inun-

dated vast areas of Luzon after typhoons Ondoy and Pedring in 2009.But after three years, the reactionary state has failed to undertakeany measures to enforce a protocol for releasing dam water.

As usual, the greedy capitalist dam owners allow dam water toreach dangerous levels and release water only at the last minute.This has worsened flooding in many areas of Metro Manila and vastareas of Central and Southern Luzon.

Before the San Roque Multipurpose Dam released water, the lev-el had reached 278 meters, compared to its maximum capacity of 280meters. The Ambuklao Dam in Benguet allowed water to reach 751.8

meters, a mere 0.14 meters away from the maximum 752 meters. Atthe Binga Dam, also in Benguet province, the water was at 574.37meters, just 0.63 meters away from its spilling level of 575 meters.At the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City, the water was at 79.91 meters,just 0.24 meters away from its maximum capacity of 80.15 meters.

These dams are owned by big comprador bourgeosie like the Lo-pezes and the Aboitiz group. Their greed for water is driven by theirgreed for profit. For them, the higher the water level, the lower thecost of power generation and the bigger the profit. They refuse toconsider the destruction to the environment and the people's liveli-

hoods once they release excessive volumes of water, especially whenagricultural lands and fishponds become flooded.The rampaging dam waters likewise dump silt in rivers, making

the latter shallower and prone to overflowing. New waterways arecreated, resulting in flooding in hitherto unaffected areas. Soil in ar-eas around the dams that come under water loosens, resulting inwidespread landslides. ~

Stop the privatization

of water services

Various sectors strongly condemn the program to privatize thepotable water system nationwide. According to the Water forthe People Network (WPN), the privatization of water and

the agencies that distribute this resource will result in severe waterscarcity and sharp increases in the cost of services.

The WPN is a broad networkwith members across the Philip-

pines advocating people's con-trol over water services andnatural resources. Anothergroup that is greatly opposed towater privatization is Mindana-won against Privatization ofWater and Energy Resources

(M-Power).In particular, WPN is bat-

tling Senate Bill 2997 or the so-called Angara Bill and its coun-terpart version in Congress,House Bill 5497, which will pavethe way for the full privatizationof water districts nationwide.

Both bills call for the forma-

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tion of the Water and SanitationRegulatory Authority (WSRA) un-der the Office of the Presidentthat will ensure the regime's im-plementation of the Public-PrivatePartnership program related towater.

The privatization of water runscounter to the people's interest.Access to clean water is one of thebasic human rights. Thus, waterservices must be under the publicsector and not under the control ofcorporations whose only concern isto amass huge profits. Among thebiggest bourgeois compadors inter-ested in water privatization in the

Philippines are the Ayala and Lopezfamilies.

History has proven that the costof water services skyrockets oncethey fall in the hands of the privatesector. A striking example is theManila Waterworks and SewerageSystem (MWSS), which was priva-tized in 1997 on the orders of theWorld Bank and Asian Development

Bank. In 15 years, charges for wa-ter services in Metro Manila shotup by more than 1,000%. Since Feb-ruary this year, Metro Manila con-sumers' monthly bills have beenhiked by `58-69 without prior con-sultation.

The private water concession-aires likewise raised water chargeseven if they have already been col-

lecting `1.00 per consumer permonth (for a total of`1 billion peryear) for the improvement of waterservices and other infrastructurethat have yet to be implemented.The water companies have thusbeen charging more in order to ex-pand their businesses.

Neither is privatization the so-lution to the lack of water. After 15

years of being run by private waterconcessionaires, consumers contin-ue to complain about inadequatewater supply in Metro Manila. Todate, there are more than 200 are-as in the national capital regionthat do not have continuous supplyof water. ~

Foreign and big comprador

bourgeois control over water

The Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) wasprivatized in 1997 through a `7-billion loan from the Inter-

national Financial Corporation (IFC), a company under theWorld Bank. Its business partners include big bourgeois com-pradors like the Ayalas and the Lopezes and foreign companieslike British United Utilities, the US-owned Bechtel and the Japa-nese-owned Mitsubishi.

Maynilad, one of the private water concessionaires that tookover, went bankrupt. In 2006, it was sold for US$504 million toa consortium composed of DM Consunji Holdings (DMCI), MetroPacific Investments Corporation and Japanese corporate giantMarubeni.

Currently, the Ayalas are on an expansion binge in Cebu. InMay, the Manila Water Consortium comprising the Ayalas andthe Gaisano family (owner of Metro Gaisano mall) began the`700-million Carmen Bulk Water Project under the Public-Pri-vate Partnership program. The group will be controlling waterfrom the Luyang River in Barangay Cantumog, Carmen town tothe detriment of the people. The Ayalas plan to allot 200 cubicmeters (the equivalent of 200 drums) of free water to Carmen's45,000 residents who used to benefit from the waters of Luyang.

Aquino's budget:Antipeople spending

The Aquino regime's proposed budget for 2013 is deceptiveand antipeople. Behind the supposedly bigger allocationfor social services, the budget is geared towards the mas-

sive privatization of public services and facilities under the Pub-lic-Private Partnership program (PPP).

Contrary to Aquino'sclaims of empowering thepeople, debt service remainshis priority, with an alloca-tion of`333 billion, as well asstrengthening the fascistarmed machinery (`122 bil-lion). These allocations faroutstrip the budgets for

health care (`

57 billion) andhousing (`21 billion).On the other hand, up to

`30 billion has been set asidefor the empty, deceptive andcorrupt Conditional CashTransfer (CCT) program whichis also being used as an instru-

ment of bribery in reactionarypolitics. Despite criticisms ofthe "pork barrel," a huge fundhas been allocated for thismeans of fattening up alliedpoliticians (`44 billion).

Aquino boasts that his re-gime has raised the budgetfor basic education by 23%

compared to 2012 levels; forstate universities and colleg-es by 44%; and health by 24%.But the better part of thesefunds will be allocated to theregime's PPP program.

Aquino's big businessmanallies are very eager to be

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part of the PPP, among them a `26-billion projectto construct and repair classrooms and other edu-cational facilities, a `14-billion project to repair25 hospitals at the provincial and district levelsand a `3.2 billion project to build infrastructurefor state universities and colleges (SUC).

No less than Aquino has said that the higher al-locations for education and health are in accord-ance with his regime's "reforms." He particularlyreferred to the advancement of the pro-imperialistK+12 program for basic education and the reorien-tation and further commercialization of SUCs toserve the needs of foreign corporations. The cor-poratization of national and regional hospitals al-so falls along this line.

This early, foreign and local capitalists arealready in a mad scramble to get their hands onthese projects. For not only will the regimeguarantee the profits of private contractorsagainst the rising cost of public utilities. ThePPP budget itself guarantees that they will prof-it as soon as the projects are begun. For in-stance, the budget for the construction of 9,300new classrooms under the Department of Educa-tion's PPP School Infrastructure Project that isslated to begin this year is highly bloated. Aqui-no has allotted `650,000 for every classroom

that is estimated to cost only `325,000. At9,300 classrooms, the contractors can expect torake in up to `3 billion.

To obscure continuously spreading poverty,massive unemployment and landlessness, Aquinorelentlessly pours in funds for the Pantawid Pa-milyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), his regime's boguspoverty alleviation scheme. The regime uses 4Ps tocover up its drive to priva-tize education

and health

services.Contrary to Aquino's claims that the people's

health is his priority, his regime has not allotted asingle centavo to national and regional hospitalsand health institutions capable of comprehensive-ly treating the majority of diseases. It has allocat-

ed a very inadequate amount for the purchase ofmedicines and other basic medical needs (`891million) to combat the major diseases that are kill-ing Filipinos, such as tuberculosis and dengue. Ithas also provided a very small amount (`9 billion,including the Calamity Fund) to address floodingand other disasters.

Its budgetary allocations for agricultural de-velopment and irrigation (`74 billion), setting uplocal industries (`700 million) and other endeav-ors that would guarantee genuine economic devel-opment are grossly inadequate. It has not allocat-ed a single centavo for across-the-board salary in-creases for employees and other measures thatcould provide them even temporary relief fromeconomic hardship.

Worst of all, Aquino plans on spending moneythat his regime does not have. More than a third(37% or `758 billion) of the 2013 budget will besourced from loans. The remainder (`1.7 trillion)will be coming from projected tax revenues and

other income, with the targets based on economicgrowth estimates and other indicators that haverarely conformed to reality in the past 13 years. Inthe final analysis, the Aquino regime will rely anddepend on more debt to the greater detriment ofthe people. The government has already incurredmore than `5 trillion in debt so far this year. ~

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"Pork barrel," a tool of the patronage system

"Correct spending: the people's command" was the Aquinoregime's message in its proposed budget for 2013. Butcontrary to its "path of righteousness" slogan, Aquino's

budget remains a milch cow for bureaucrat capitalist politicians. Likethe past regimes, the Aquino government uses the budget as an in-strument to strengthen its influence among politicians, mainlythrough the "pork barrel."

"Pork barrel""Pork barrel" is the term used

for the funds allotted to con-gressmen and senators. It haslong been a symbol of widespread

and systematic corruption in thereactionary government. DespiteAquino's claims to the contrary,the dirty patronage system per-sists under his rule.

The "pork barrel" consists ofthe Priority Development Assist-ance Fund (PDAF), FinancialSubsidies to Local GovernmentUnits (FSLU) and funds for in-

frastructure projects identifiedby Congress. This system hasbeen in place since 1990.

The Aquino regime has beenincreasing the "pork barrel" al-location yearly. From `7 billionin 2009, Aquino raised it to `22billion in 2011 (an increase of233%) and `25 billion in 2012.Next year's allocation will be a

whopping`

30 billion, threetimes bigger than the combinedbudgets of the Congress andSenate.

Congressmen receive up to`70 million yearly while sena-tors get `200 million annually.They choose from a "pork buffetmenu" or a list of projects in thenational budget that may befunded through the "pork bar-rel." The four biggest itemsfunded by the PDAF are roads,27% (`23 billion); financial as-sistance, 18% (`15 billion); mul-ti-purpose buildings, 17% (`14billion); and financial assistancefor general programs, 15%

(`12.5 billion).Claims by the ruling classes

that the "pork barrel" addressesthe people's most urgent needsare pure hogwash. Most legisla-

tors use the "pork barrel" tostrengthen and further expandtheir influence and ensure thatthey remain in power. For in-stance, despite the urgent needfor potable water systems, onlyup to 4% of the entire PDAF isallotted for this purpose.

Politicians prioritize theirbailiwicks, favored local govern-

ments and institutions that areoften led or controlled by theirrelatives and allies. They chooseprojects that will attract themost attention, among themroads, waiting sheds and otherstructures where they couldprominently display theirnames and faces.

They exploit the

people's poverty,giving out financialassistance for edu-cation, medicaltreatment or burialexpenses in orderto court their sup-port. They controlthe distribution ofresources and fa-vors or rewards suchas jobs or recommen-dations, subsidies andother benefits. These aretried and tested methodsused by politicians to expandand deepen their influence.

There is not much difference

in the way the senators usetheir "pork barrel." Most ofthem have favorite local baili-wicks, home towns or provinces,

favored local governments andinstitutions. This is how theydecide where to allocate their"pork barrel."

The senators' favorite prov-inces are Albay, Pampanga, Ba-tangas, Cavite, Bulacan, NuevaEcija, Pangasinan, Rizal and Ba-taan which have the biggest vot-ing populations. Metro Manila is

among the favored areas forprojects, especially the 4th and2nd districts of Manila whichhave become the wealthiest dis-tricts because they happen to bethe bailiwicks of most senators.Usually, the local politicians intheir favorite areas are allies orfamily members of senators.

"SOP" in the PDAFFrom now on, the requisitesfor PDAF projects will be strict-ly complied with, or so Aquinoclaims under his "path of right-eousness" slogan. Among theitems that would supposedly be

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subjected to close scrutiny are the awarding ofcontracts and the process of procuring materialsfor projects. But these measures amount to noth-ing in the face of the decades-strong practice ofthe SOP ("standard operating procedure") in theuse of the "pork barrel" and the rampant corrup-tion that permeates the entire ruling system.

Under the SOP system, congressmen submit alist of projects targeted for funding via the "porkbarrel." After approval, the Department of Budgetand Management (DBM) issues a Special AllotmentRelease Order (SARO). As soon as they choosetheir projects, the congressmen indicate to the lo-cal governments which company (usually owned bytheir friends or family members) should implementthe project.

A bogus "public bidding" follows, where the

participating companies submit their cost esti-mates for the project. The estimates automaticallyinclude the following "SOPs:" 20% or more for thecongressman, 10% for the DPWH district engineer,2% for the Commission on Audit, 2% for the DBMand 5-20% for the town mayor. In militarized are-as, the AFP battalion commander and the PNP pro-vincial director also receive their own cuts.

This system of "SOP" ensures that the con-gressmen are able to pocket their share of the lar-

gesse, even if the funds are directly released to thecompany or agency that will be implementing theproject. Infrastructure projects are the sure fa-vorites for "pork barrel" funding because of theease with which the "SOP" can be hidden in thecost estimates. The bigger the project, the biggerthe kickback. Thus, estimates put the proportion ofpublic funds that actually go into project imple-mentation at a maximum of 40%.

Because Malacaang controls the fund releas-

es, the Aquino regime has been able to use the"pork barrel" to advance its own interests. The de-cision on who could be given his or her "pork bar-rel" allocation or when this will be released isbased on political considerations, among them theneed to ensure the "cooperation" of legislators inmeeting the regime's objectives. No less than Sen.Miriam Santiago has disclosed that Aquino usedthe "pork barrel" to secure the senators' vote toconvict Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Coro-na.

Oppositionist Rep. Mitos Magsaysay and DBMSec. Florencio Abad Jr. also recently figured in averbal tussle when the latter declared that theAquino regime would not be releasing the PDAF al-locations of Arroyo allies because of certain "polit-ical realities." This runs counter to Aquino's earli-

er statements that he would never, ever use the"pork barrel" to bribe congressmen. Aquino is ex-pected to likewise use the "pork barrel" to ensurethat charter change is advanced and to gain sup-port in the coming elections.

The system of patronage and dirty politics isone of the basic characteristics of the rotten rulingsemicolonial and semifeudal system. The big com-prador bourgeoisie and big landlords use statepower to ensure the subjugation of the majority of

the people under the exploitative and oppressivesystem. Bureaucrat capitalism permeates the en-tire political system, in all branches and levels ofthe reactionary government.

Genuine systemic change or treading the "pathof righteousness" can never be initiated by the rul-ing classes. These will be born out of the ovethrowof the rotten and parasitic bourgeois state, andarise from the forging of genuine people's powerunder the People's Democratic Government. ~

On July 31, at around 4 a.m.,the 3rd PBC ambushed a platoonunder the 66th IB in Purok-1,Barangay Paloc, Maragusan,Compostela Valley. Seven sol-diers were killed on the spot, in-cluding their commanding offi-cer Second Lieutenant Fernan-

dez. Ten other soldiers werewounded. A Red fighter wasmartyred in this gunbattle.

The ambush that resulted in17 enemy casualties was part ofa series of tactical offensiveslaunched by the NPA in the formof ambuscades, detonation of

Enemy suffers 32 casualties in SMR

The enemy suffered 32 casualties in a series of armed actionslaunched by the 3rd Pulang Bagani Company (3rd PBC) of theNew People's Army in Southern Mindanao Region against the

abusive troops of the 66th IB and 5th Scout Ranger Company (5thSRC).

explosives and other special op-erations against the 66th IBand 5th SRC, which have beendeployed to the area to protecthuge foreign-owned miningcompanies and banana planta-

tions. The AFP suffered at least15 other casualties in theseprevious military actions.

Aside from being instru-ments in seizing the farmlandsof settlers and Mandaya andMansaka minorities, the 66th IBand 5th SRC were also involved

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in attempts to bust the legitimate work-ers' union at the DOLE-Stanfilco bananaplantation through the establishment ofthe yellow WIPER (Workers for Industri-al Peace and Economic Reforms). Thegroup is led by Chito Herbolingo, a mem-

ber of the rabidly anti-communist Alli-ance for Nationalism and Democracy orANAD.

The AFP has retaliated through indis-criminate bombing raids and combat op-erations that have wrought havoc on thelivelihoods of hundreds of farmers in theten villages of Maragusan covered by themilitary's rampage. The AFP has alsobeen imposing food blockades and limit-ing the number of hours that residentscould work on their farms. Soldiers havealso mauled and inflicted serious physicalinjuries on a number of peasants andmass leaders.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Bit-os, Butu-an City, the NPA seized four firearms(two M16 rifles and two 9 mm pistols)and rounds of ammunition in an ambushby the Cesar Cayon Command on abusivepolicemen who have long been extorting

money from smallscale loggers in the ar-ea.

The NPA ambushed PO2 Adonis Du-maboc and PO2 Sergio Saragospe ataround 9 a.m. of August 6. They wereboth aboard a motorcycle. Dumaboc waskilled while Saragospe was wounded inthe attack.

Residents and the so-called "bukot-bukot loggers" (smallscale planters of

falcatta, gmelina, mahogany and otherfast-growing trees) have long been com-plaining about extortion. Everyone is vic-timized, whether they are illegal or legit-imate loggers. The two policemen wereamong the various forces and agencies ofthe reactionary government maintainingcheckpoints along all land and riverroutes going to Butuan City, in order toharass everyone passing through and ex-

tort money from them.The residents call them "Lolong," af-

ter the biggest crocodile ever captured inPhilippine history. The extortion victimswere elated when they heard about theambush, because it serves as a warningagainst other greedy gators. ~

Bounty on Madlos and Tiamzon

violates JASIG

Benigno Aquino III's order to renew and raise the

bounty for the capture of Benito Tiamzon andJorge "Ka Oris" Madlos, both prominent leaders of theNational Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in-volved in the peace talks is a violation of the JointAgreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JA-SIG). Aquino announced on August 17 that the rewardfor their capture had been raised to `5.6 million.

This latest move shows that the Aquino regime isnot serious about negotiating peace with the NDFP,said the Communist Party of the Philippines. The JASIGprohibits the surveillance, arrest, imprisonment and fil-ing of criminal charges as well as the conduct of pursuitor punitive operations against personalities of bothparties involved in the talks. The agreement was signedby the principals of the Government of the Philippines(GPH) and the NDFP in 1998 in order to create favora-ble conditions for the peace negotiations.

NDFP-Mindanao spokesperson Ka Oris slammed theissuance of the bounty as malicious and designed toscuttle the NDFP-GPH peace talks.

A `2 million bounty was also offered for the capture

of fugitive fascist Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, accusedpersonalities like ex-Gov. Joel Reyes of Palawan andDelfin Lee of Globe Asiatique and convicted Surigao delNorte congressman Ruben Ecleo. "To maliciously pegcriminals such as Palparan and Ecleo at level with rev-olutionaries like Tiamzon and myself is ... worthy of re-buke," said Ka Oris.

The NDFP-Mindanao spokesperson likewise assailedthe filing of trumped-up criminal charges against hisson Vincent Isagani. Vincent was among those charged

by the military in connection with an attack by the NewPeople's Army (NPA) on the Platinum Group Metal

Corp. last year. Ka Oris said that his son isan ordinary employee at a

private company inCebu and is not amember of the NPA.

Ka Oris askedAquino to order therevocation of the war-

rant of arrest againsthis son so he could trav-el freely and representhis father at the wakeand burial of Ka Oris'mother who died recentlyat the age of 98. ~

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Military steps up violenceagainst women and children

M

arking the intensification of violence against women andchildren by the fascist military, three women and two chil-

dren became victims of human rights violations in the firsthalf of August. Children from various towns in Bondoc Peninsula alsofell victim to various forms of abuse when troops from the 85th IB en-camped at the village centers and used the elementary school build-ings in these areas as their barracks.

August 15. Elements of thePhilippine National Police (PNP)arbitrarily blocked 28 membersof the human rights watchdog

Karapatan who had just attend-ed the group's 4th national con-gress in Tagaytay City. The del-egates were on the way back toManila aboard a Victory LinerBus when policemen blockedthem in front of the PNP Acade-my in Silang, Cavite. They weredetained for half an hour. Thepolicemen did not give any rea-son for the detention. But thedelegates heard some policemenat the back conversing with ahigh-ranking official who said,"Those people are members ofKarapatan. Investigate themand take their pictures."August 7. Merlyn Bermas,barangay chair of Malaya, Labo,Camarines Norte was gunneddown by two men aboard a mo-

torcyle. One ofthe assail-ants had hisface con-cealed bya skim a s kand theo t h -e r ,

a


rangay San Isidro, also in Sta.Cruz and brought to the samemilitary camp with her two-yearold child.

The victims, who were ar-rested without warrant, are

feared to be undergoing inter-rogation and possible torture.

Maj. Jake Obligado, 10th IDCivil-Military Operations chiefgave a different story andclaimed that the victims volun-tarily surrendered.

The arrests of Dawang,Magwan and her child are viola-tions of the rules of war, partic-

ularly the Geneva Conventionsand the United Nations Conven-tion on the Rights of the Child.They are likewise violative ofthe Comprehensive Agreementon Respect for Human Rightsand International HumanitarianLaw signed by the Governmentof the Philippines and the Na-tional Democratic Front of thePhilippines.February to April. The Chil-dren's Rehabilitation Center re-ported that minors from SouthQuezon suffered various formsof military abuse, as document-ed in a psychosocial activityconducted by the child rightsadvocacy group in San Andresand Lopez towns from June 25to July 2. More than 200 chil-

dren aged five to 16 attendedthe activity.

The children recounted themilitary accusing their fathers ofbeing NPA guerrillas. Most of thechildren were interrogated bysoldiers on whether their par-ents kept any firearms. A childsaid that a soldier took theirboat while another child said

that soldiers had stolen theirrice. Most of the children ex-pressed fears that their parentswould be killed or abducted bythe military. The children calledfor the withdrawal of militarytroops from their communities.~

helmet.Bermas had served as village

chair for more than 15 years andcourageously defended the hu-

man rights of her constituents.She was aboard a tricycle with asidecar and was on the wayhome from marketing in Baran-gay Anameam, Labong when shewas shot by the gunmen.

Bermas was shot twice in theback. Gerald, a four-year old boywho was sitting on her lap washit in the head. Neither of themmade it to the hospital alive.

Bermas had led an investi-gation on the massacre by mili-tary elements of a peasant fam-ily on February 25. Farmer Ben-jamin Mancera and his sonsRichard and Michael were killedin this incident. His daughterLeonisa was wounded. Bermasand other barangay officials ex-tended sanctuary to Leonisa

and her mother Lourdes.August 6 and 7.Elements ofthe 39th IB under Lt. Col. Nor-man Zuniega illegally arrestedand detained two women mar-ried to NPA guerrillas. The vic-tims, who are members of theB'laan tribe are Lindy Dawang,

21 and Tayet Magwan, 27.Dawang is six months

pregnant. She was arrest-ed on August 6 in Baran-gay Daligasaw, Sta. Cruz,Davao del Sur and forciblytaken to the 39th IB head-quarters. Magwan was ar-rested on August 7 in Ba-

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13ANG BAYAN August 21 2012

Kontra-Daya: Disqualify bogus parties

POLL fraud watchdog Kontra-Daya demanded that the Com-mission on Elections (COMELEC) disqualify 39 groups from thepartylist system from participating in the 2013 elections. SaidKontra-Daya convenor Fr. Joe Dizon, most of these parties'nominees are not genuinely part of the sectors they purported-ly represent. Kontra-Daya had earlier filed a case calling forthe disqualification of Gloria Arroyo's son Mikey as nominee ofAng Galing Pinoy.

Among the other personalities identified by Kontra-Dayaare Margarita "Tingting" Cojuangco, an aunt of Benigno Aqui-no III and a former Tarlac governor who is currently a nomineeof Aksyon Magsasaka-Partido Tinig ng Masa; and Stephen Pa-duano, also known as Lualhati Carapali, one of Aquino uncleDanding Cojuangco's men and a member of the bandit Revolu-tionary Proletarian Army. Paduano is a nominee of the Abang

Lingkod Party. Kontra-Daya also questioned the participationin the partylist system of Atty. Ferdinand Topacio (nominee ofPasang Masda); Grace Ibuna of the Movement of Women forReform and Change; and Leah Navarro of the Black and WhiteParty who all represent traditional political clans or have gov-ernment connections.

Kontra-Daya moreover identified bogus parties such as theAlliance of Organizations, Networks and Associations of thePhilippines (whose nominee is the son of Quezon Rep. DaniloSuarez); Alliance of Mindanao Elders (whose nominee is Rep.

Jorge Banal Jr.'s father); Agrarian Development Association(whose nominees are Eric and Owen Singson who belong to oneof the most powerful political clans in the Ilocos region); andAlliance of Rural and Agrarian Reconstruction Inc. (whosenominee is Gen. Quirino dela Torre, who served as PNP-CentralLuzon chief during the bloody Hacienda Luisita Massacre of2004).

30 strikers killed in South Africa

AT least 30 striking miners of Lonmin PLC Platinum Mine werekilled when they were gunned down by policemen in Rusten-burg, Johannesburg, South Africa on August 16. The shootingoccurred when more than 3,000 policemen attacked the ranksof thousands of strikers and their wives. The day before, nineworkers had also been killed in a series of protests that beganAugust 14. The strikers were demanding more humane workingconditions and a wage hike. The incident was the bloodiest inthe history of the country's labor movement in the past 20years.

Lonmin PLC is a multinational company that is 25% ownedby Xstrata of Switzerland. Xstrata is likewise notorious in thePhilippines for its abuses. The company operates in four prov-inces of Mindanao.

Platinum is the rarest and one of the most expensive min-erals, with its price almost double that of gold. It is used,among others, in making jewelry and high-end watches andairplanes.

Tribute to mass

leaders

T

he national-democratic move-

ment bestowed the highest hon-ors on Ka Nelson Mallari, Coun. Ra-mon Te and Atty. Federico "Dick"Bunao, leaders of the mass move-ment who had recently died.

Ka Nelson, an Aeta, was thespokesperson of the Katribu Partyand was one of its nominees. Hedied in a vehicular accident on July22. He also used to be the spokes-

person of the Central Luzon AetaAssociation. He led campaigns todefend the rights of Aeta minoritiesand opposed militarization in Cen-tral Luzon. Ka Nelson was harassedseveral times during the Arroyo re-gime when he served as an organi-zer in Zambales province.

Ramon Te, councilor of the sec-ond district of Caloocan City died of

a heart attack on August 10. He wasthe vice chair for Luzon of the MA-KABAYAN coalition and was a mem-ber of Partidong Anakpawis and theNational Union of People's Lawyers.He was one of the convenors of theRiles Laan sa Sambayanan Network,Taxpayers Unity Against Toll FeeIncrease in South Luzon Expresswayand Koalisyon ng Progresibong

Manggagawa at Mamamayan. Headvanced the platform of the Parti-dong Anakpawis in his district.

Ka Dick, on the other hand, wasan exemplary lawyer for the workingclass and the poor. He died on Au-gust 4 from a heart attack. He wasone of the lawyers of the NationalFederation of Labor Unions (NAFLU)in the 1980s. He later served theCordillera region under the Cordil-lera Labor Center and the CordilleraPeoples Alliance beginning in the1990s. He consciously defended theinterests of the working class andpracticed his profession in the serv-ice of the national-democraticcause.

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