Ang Bayan 20130807

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

English EditionVol. XLIV No. 15August 7, 2013

www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial

For the past three years, the ruling Aquinoregime has been relentlessly trying to smashthe machinery of corruption of the past Ar-

royo regime. This is not to cleanse the reactionarygovernment of anomalies and corruption, but toset up a new machinery of thievery and plundercontrolled and run by the Aquino-Cojuangco fami-lies and their cohorts.

If there is anything that has changed sinceAquino came to power, it is the shrewd use of themass media and publicity campaigns to portray thecurrent rotten ruling regime as anti-corruption.Through its "righteous road" slogan repeated ad

nauseam, the ruling regime wants to inculcate inthe people's minds an image of Aquino as someonetruly clean and without a shred of corruption andconceal the fact that corruption in the ruling sys-tem continues andhas even wor-sened.

Aquino wearsthe "Mask of Right-eousness" in order

to appear uprightand clean and bereftof any other motiveexcept to ensurethe people's wel-fare. All accusa-tions of corrup-tion are simply setaside and drownedwith praises for his

character and her-itage: that theAquinos, fromCory and Ninoy,to Benigno IIIand his sistersare saintsand heroeswho do not

Tear off Aquino's mask!know how to steal, bribe or accept payolas.

Behind the myth of the ruling regime's "right-eous road" is the Aquinos' "yellow army" com-

posed of relatives and close friends of the Aquino-Cojuangco family who are experts at creating theillusion of political change and economic develop-ment. It is their goal to obtain the trust of themiddle strata who they blind with shiny promisesof change and to deceive the toiling masses andgive them some hope to cling to.

This early, however, Aquino has been stum-bling a lot in treading his "righteous road," withthe foul smell of his regime's corruption reeking

everywhere.Cronyism is widespread and serious. In the

face of the grave crisis of the ruling system, thereis no stopping the greed and insatiability of Aqui-

no's cronies who have been cornering onegovernment contract after another and en-joying favors and the state's protection.They will, after all, only be in power for six

years and have no assurance of maintain-ing their status beyond 2016.

As the saying goes, "weather-

In this issue...

No changein 3 yearsof Aquino rule 5

NPA frees5 POWsin DC 7

Antifeudalcampaignin Cagayanprovince 10

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2 ANG BAYAN August 7, 2013

Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committee

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Vol. XLIV No. 15 August 7, 2013

Contents

Editorial: Tear off Aquinos mask! 1Aquino in favor of pork barrel 3Reeking stench of Kamag-anak Inc 4No change in 3 years of Aquino rule 5The truth about Aluling Bridge 6Ka Oris condemns Mindanao bombing 6NPA tactical offensives in NSamar 65 POWs released 7NDFP greets Cuba on 60th anniversary 7ICHRPP call: Continue the peace talks 8NDFP assails Agcaoili harassment 8Military abuses in Mindanao 9Antifeudal campaign in CagValley 10Japan PM visit opposed 11ILPS greets NoKor on 60th anniversary 11Sagada wind tower downed 12Detroit bankruptcy 12

ANG

weather lang" and the Aquinos,Cojuangcos and their coterie ofbig landlords, big compradorbourgeoisie and big bureaucratsare having a heyday once again.They are the very same people

who comprised "Kamag-anakInc" during Corazon Aquino'stime in 1986-1992. These days,they are known as "Kamag-anak, Kaklase, Kabarilan Inc,"underscoring their close ties toAquino.

Aquino's closest cronies areneck-deep in corruption, includ-ing his sisters and other rela-tives, friends and key officials ofhis cabinet and other govern-mental departments. Their in-volvement in bribe-taking, inbenefiting from infrastructurecontracts, interfering in the ap-pointment of government offi-cials, controlling greatly ex-panded smuggling operations,receiving payola from criminalsyndicates as well as other

anomalies is constantly beingrevealed.

One of the most execrableacts committed by this regime isto invoke floods and other ca-

lamities as pretexts for demol-ishing urban poor communities,when in fact, this is being doneto seize land for the use of busi-nesses owned by Aquino cronies.This approach denies the real

reason behind floods and otherdisastersthe denudation ofmountains and river siltationdue to industrial waste.

With the ruling regime's cor-ruption now unravelling, withthe obvious absence of systemicchange and the heightened suf-fering of the toiling masses,Aquino's "yellow army" hasstepped up its efforts to distortdata and information to conjuremore illusions and create an im-pression among the people thatchanges in their lives are forth-coming.

They manipulate surveys tomake it appear that Aquino hasbeen receiving high approvalratings from the Filipino peopledespite the widespread problem

of unemployment, low wages,brutal forms of exploitation inthe factories, rampant land-grabbing, low incomes of work-ers, peasants, rank and file em-

ployees and small professionals,skyrocketing prices of food, oiland other basic commoditiesand the barrage of demolitionsof urban poor communities.

They hail the bright and

shiny cases of those who have"benefited" from their doleoutprograms without presentingthe entire picture, and certainlywithout showing the more com-plete image of mass poverty.Declaring the "pantawid pamil-ya" program a success is likethrowing a tiny gold nugget intoa huge dung heap, taking a pic-ture of it, framing and putting iton display in order to give ev-eryone hope that they too, couldbecome like that piece of gold.

Aquino's media people aresavvy at showcasing tiny bits ofinformation in order to preventthe people from seeing the bigpicture. They use this tactic topresent a false image of an im-proving, developing and advanc-

ing Philippine society even if onthe whole, the economy is de-crepit and moving backward andthe people's poverty is worsen-ing.

They are also in cahoots withthe US military in creating an-tagonism towards China on theissue of the Spratly Islands andother disputed territories in the

South China Sea. This is in an ef-fort to justify the massive de-ployment of US military forces inthe Philippines even if thismeans openly trampling on thePhilippines' territorial integrity.They misrepresent Aquino'spuppetry and obsequiousness tohis imperialist masters as "pa-triotism."

We must tear off BenignoAquino III's mask and put anend to his deception of the Fili-pino people. We must match andeven surpass the US-Aquino re-gime's redoubled efforts to con-ceal the corruption of the rulingsystem. We must challenge all of

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3ANG BAYAN August 7, 2013

Aquino's much-vaunted data,stories and information and ex-pose the lies, distortions andfabrications behind them. Wemust expose and oppose Aqui-no's Department of Truth. Wemust bare the fact that it is con-trolled by Aquino's "yellow ar-my" in consort with the US Em-bassy and expose how its min-ions have been accessing themass media, the internet, theacademe and other conduits ofinformation and influence.

We must expose the gravityand breadth of cronyism underthe US-Aquino regime. We must

expose how Aquino has been us-ing his power to ensure thatgovernment serves the interestsof his sisters, relatives and closefriends.

Above all, we must showthat corruption is an intrinsicpart of the decadent semicolo-nial and semifeudal system. Wemust show that the reactionary

state currently being adminis-tered by Aquino is an instru-ment of class rule to maintainthe imperialist domination, sup-pression and oppression of thepeople. It is an instrumentwhose control is being foughtfor by rival ruling class cliquesin order to use it for their eco-nomic interests.

The ruling landlord and com-prador bourgeois classes in thePhilippines are like leeches thatgorge themselves on the peo-ple's blood. They contributenothing to economic advance.They are bereft of any interestin developing the economy's ca-pability to manufacture steel,chemicals or other basic ele-

ments for the establishment of amodern economy.Neither are they interested

in building progressive foodprocessing or machine makingindustries. They are content torely on foreign debt which isgranted in exchange for various

Big irony in Aquinos defense

of pork barrel

All this talk by Benigno Aquino III about his "righteous road"is pure hogwash with his refusal to scrap the allocation for

the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the nation-al budget for 2014. The PDAF is better known as the Congres-sional pork barrel.

Aquino's absurdity had become even plainer to see after hecountered the position taken by the Makabayan bloc in Congressto put a stop to the distribution of the PDAF and its equivalent,the Presidential Special Fund which Aquino controls. Makabayanhas proposed instead that the funds be used by the state tobuild more classrooms, hospitals and low-cost housing units.

Makabayan announced its decision on August 2 amid a mas-

sive corruption scandal involving Congress' pork barrel system.The Makabayan bloc is composed of seven congressional repre-sentatives from progressive parties.

In the biggest scandal to date in the history of Philippine re-actionary politics, `10 billion worth of the PDAF of various con-gresspersons and senators were coursed through the JLN Cor-poration owned by businesspersonJanet Lim-Napoles. Napoles has beenidentified as the founder of several bo-gus peasant organizations purported

to have been PDAF beneficiaries.Many of the congresspersons so far

linked to the anomaly are Aquino al-lies, including 98 lawmakers who wereformerly with the US-Arroyo regimebut have since joined the Liberal Party.Also involved are Department of Agri-culture Sec. Proseso Alcala, formerRep. Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan andcurrent DSWD Sec. Corazon "Dinky"

Soliman. ~

privileges to foreign monopolycapitalists that enable them toearn superprofits from thesweat of the Filipino people andexploit the Philippines' naturalresources and patrimony.

The parasitic ruling classes

in the Philippines know nothingmore than to wield governmen-tal power for their own benefit.Corruption under the currentregime is not primarily due tothe character flaws, greed or in-satiability of its leaders. It is in-herent under the ruling semico-

lonial and semifeudal systemwhere the ruling classes use thestate to obtain favors and privi-leges to further their businessesand economic interests.

Decadence and corruptionpersist and are worsening,

marking the intensification ofthe economic crisis of the rulingsystem. We must raise the peo-ple's consciousness on the issueof corruption under the rulingAquino regime. We must liber-ate them from the prison of illu-sion and prevarication! ~

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tract because of the payolas ithad already given to Ballsy andEldon Cruz.

Inekon, however, failed tobag the contract because Li-chauco submitted the Terms of

Reference to MRT-3 Gen. Mana-ger Al Vitangcol only on April10, way past the February dead-line.

Vitangcol had also loweredthe ceiling bid for every traincoach from $3 million to $1.8million. As a result, Inekon with-drew from the bidding, becauseat this price, it would no longerbe able to recoup the kickbacksit had paid the Cruz couple andLichauco.

The regime eventuallyawarded the contract to theDalian Locomotive and RollingCo. CBR Group of China at alower price (`33.7 billion for 48brand new coaches or $1.76 mil-lion each).

An angered Inekon leakedthe Cruz couple's extortion tryto the media through Ambassa-dor Rychtar.

To save Ballsy and otherclose relations of Aquino, theaxe has been made to fall on AlVitangcol, who is known to be-long to Sec. Mar Roxas' camp.Current DOTC Sec. JosephAbaya has announced that Vi-

tangcol has taken a month-longleave as the anomaly is beinginvestigated.

The DOTC has used this as apretext to suspend the contractwith the Chinese company. Aftera long silence, a Malacaangspokesperson finally said thatAquino has allegedly orderedthe Department of Justice to

have the matter probed by theNational Bureau of Investiga-tion.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna andfour other progressive parties inCongress have demanded theconduct of an independent in-vestigation. ~

Reeking stench ofKamag-Anak Incorporated

A

nomalies involving the so-called KKK or Benigno Aquino III'sKamag-Anak, Kabarkada at Kabarilan Inc. are continually be-

ing unravelled to the public. This, despite attempts by his re-gime's operators to put a lid on it.

News filtered out in Juneabout an attempt by Aquino'seldest sister Ma. Elena "Ballsy"Aquino-Cruz to extort up to $30million from the Inekon Group, aCzech company eyeing the MRT-3 project.

To prevent a bigger scandal,Malacaang pressured the pub-lisher of the Manila Times,which first broke the news. Pal-ace operators likewise put thesqueeze on Josef Rychtar, Czechambassador to the Philippineswho exposed the extortion at-tempt. The ambassador becamesilent and absolved the Aquinosister of any wrongdoing.But he maintained that anextortion try did occurand accused officials ofthe Department ofTransportation andC o m m u n i c a t i o n s ,the MRT-3 andthen DOTC secre-tary Manuel"Mar" Roxas II.

On July 30,Ballsy Cruz ad-mitted that sheand her hus-band had indeedgone to the CzechRepublic in 2011but only to pray be-fore the image of theHoly Infant of Prague.

She denied meeting anygovernment officials orbusinessmen.

Nonetheless, on thesame day, news brokeout that aside from Ball-sy and her husband El-don Cruz, another relative,

Jorge Aquino Lichauco had triedto manipulate the bidding forthe MRT-3 project in favor ofthe Inekon Group. Lichauco is afirst cousin of the Aquino sib-lings and a son of Ma. Aurora"Maur" Aquino-Lichauco, anaunt of Benigno Aquino III. Re-ports said that ever since Ball-sy's group had taken that trip toPrague, Lichauco had continual-ly liaisoned with high-rankingexecutives of the Inekon Group.

In November 2011, Inekon'stop executives came to thecountry along with their Philip-pine representative Yorgos Psi-

nakis, a nephew of Stavros"Steve" Psinakis, a busi-nessman-ally of theAquinos and a son-in-law of the late Eugenio

Lopez of the LopezGroup of Compa-

nies.Inekon and

Psinakis heldtalks with

high-rankingDOTC andMRT-3 offi-cials. The

Czech compa-ny fully ex-

pected tocorner the

c o n -

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BAYAN-Southern Mindanaoslammed the mounting humanrights violations nationwide un-der Oplan Bayanihan. In Koro-nadal, South Cotabato, activistsopposed the destructive opera-tions of foreign mining compa-nies in the area, particularlyGlencore SMI-Xstrata. In IliganCity, urpan poor victims of ademolition in Barangay Calanga-han, Lugait, Misamis Orientalrallied, with support from Min-danao State University studentswho demanded a higher budgetfor their school.

Protests and activities were

likewise held overseas, such asin the US where mass actionswere launched in the cities ofLos Angeles, Seattle, San Fran-ciso and New York. BAYAN-USA assailed the unabated un-employment, hunger and pov-erty which compel up to 4,500Filipinos daily to work abroad.Filipino migrants in Hongkong

expressed disappointment withAquino's failure to mentionanything about the welfare ofmigrant workers. They ralliedfrom Chater Garden Centraltowards the Philippine consu-late. Groups of migrants fromCanada and the Middle East

likewise held their owncounter-SONAs. ~

BAYAN added that Aquino'sremaining three years in powerwill see an intensification of theprivatization, liberalization and

deregulation of the Philippineeconomy which will furthercause suffering to the people. Sowill his attacks on the peopleworsen.

In the SONA mass actionalone, more than 50 protesterswere injured and nine arrestedafter police attempted to breakthe rallyists' ranks. Among the

injured were former Bayan Mu-na Rep. Satur Ocampo and Ted-dy Casio, Migrante chair GaryMartinez and 77-year old SELDAmember Rodolfo del Rosario.

The "People's SONA 2013"exposed the pitiful state of thenation under the current re-gime, contrary to the Aquino ad-ministration's claimed accom-plishments. The rallyists calledfor Aquino's ouster. To drama-tize their call, the demonstra-tors burned an 18-foot effigy ofAquino.

Meanwhile, mass actionswere likewise launched inother areas to counter Aqui-no's SONA. In Baguio, hun-dreds of activistsmarched to the citys

bustling public mar-ket. They mainlycalled for a stop tostate violence andhuman rights violations.Progressive groups in Bicolheld a forum to counter the SO-

NA. BAYAN-Southern Tagalog,on the other hand, had alreadylaunched mass actions on July21 in Batangas, Rizal, Laguna

and Cavite. Before proceedingto Commonwealth Avenue, theyheld a caravan to Aquino'shouse on Times Street in QuezonCity.

In Panay, up to 3,000 peoplerallied at the Casa Plaza in Iloi-lo City. They burned an effigy ofAquino and assailed his antipeo-ple and antipoor Public-Private

Partnership program. Protestactions were also held in theneighboring provinces of Aklanand Capiz. Rallies were also heldin Bacolod City and Cebu City,where progressive groups gath-ered in front of Gaisano Mall.

In Mindanao, more than2,500 people marched

from Freedom Parktowards Rizal Park

in Davao City.

People's cry during 2013 SONA

No change in 3 years!

N

othing has changed in Benigno Aquino III's first three yearsin power. Thus declared some 15,000 people who gathered

along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City during Aquino'sState of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22. According to the Ba-gong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), Aquino said practically nothingnew in his speech that spanned nearly two hours, except to brag moreabout his deceptive "road of righteousness" program.

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The truth

about Aluling Bridge

No less than the people are belying BenignoAquino III's lies, especially his claimed

achievements during his latest State of the NationAddress (SONA).

One of the things Aquino bragged about was thecompletion of the Aluling Brudge in Cervantes, Ilo-cos Sur which links Mountain Province to Ilocos Sur.Aquino misrepresented the bridge's completion aspart of his regime's programs. He failed to mentionthat the locals have been waiting for the bridge to becompleted for the past 35 years and that Aquino'shurry had nothing to do with the people's welfare

but for the interests of foreign mining companies op-erating in the area.According to the Alfredo Cesar Command (ACC-

NPA-Ilocos Sur), the Aluling Bridge project has beena milch cow of local politicians since it was begun in1978. It received funding yearly but remained unfin-ished for a long time even if it was only less than ahundred meters long. The project has been sarcasti-cally referred to by the people of Mountain Provinceand Ilocos Sur as "the longest bridge."

Added the ACC, the Aluling Bridge is like the US-Aquino regime's "righteous road"an illusion ofprogress that is being used to cloak the bigger anddeeper roots of the people's poverty. Aquino has nointentions of rectifying the sins of the past, and is infact perpetuating them. ~

17 soldiers killed in NPA offensives in Samar

Seventeen soldiers of the reactionary governmentwere killed and 11 other troopers wounded in a

series of tactical offensives by Red fighters under theRodante Urtal Command (RUC-NPA-Northern Sam-ar) from June to July.

The series of military actions against troops ofthe Philippine Army 8th ID occurred in the villages ofAvelino, Cuenco and Lakandula in Las Navas, North-ern Samar in June, where 12 soldiers enemy soldierswere killed and two wounded. Five more 20th IBtroopers were killed and nine wounded in a harass-ment operation conducted by the NPA and the peo-ple's militia on July 25 along the village boundaries ofLungib and Luisita in Victoria town.

Meanwhile, RUC spokesperson Ka Amado Pesan-te clarified that the 53 people who reportedly surren-dered in Bobon, Northern Samar are not NPA Red

fighters but innocentfarmers victimized bythe psywar operationsof 20th IB chief Lt.Col. Noel Vestuir and8th ID chief Maj. Gen.Gerardo Layug in theirdesperate attempt toconceal the advanceof the armed revolu-tionary movement inthe region. The farm-ers were forced by themilitary to attend ameeting, where theywere declared "sur-renderees." ~

Ka Oris condemns

Mindanao bombing

National Democratic Front-Mindanaospokesperson Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos and

the entire revolutionary movement roundlycondemned the bombing of civilians in Cagayande Oro City on July 27. The bomb, which wasdetonated at the Limketkai Center, a mall inCagayan de Oro City, killed eight civilians, in-cluding a provincial board member of MisamisOriental and injured 37 others. On August 5,another bomb exploded in Cotabato City, kill-ing eight and injuring 40 others. A third bombwas detonated in Midsayap, North Cotabato on

August 7. These bombings aim to sow disorderand terrorism in Mindanao. Their targets werecivilians, including children.

According to Ka Oris, the series of bomb-ings belie Aquino's claims that peace nowreigns in the island with the signing of theFramework Agreement on the Bangsamoro be-tween the regime and the Moro Islamic Libera-tion Front. There has actually been no stop toviolence in Mindanao, whether in Moro or

Christian areas. This has resulted in destruc-tion to the people's lives and livelihoods and towidespread violations of their human rights.The violence has worsened, even affecting rel-atively peaceful areas like Cagayan de OroCity. ~

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NDFP greets Cuban people and government

NPA frees 5 POW in SMR

T

he 1st Pulang Bagani Battalion of the New People's Army (1stPBB-NPA) released five prisoners of war in a remote barangay

in Paquibato District, Davao City on July 31. The prisoners aretroops of the Philippine Army 60th IB. The release was effectedthrough Leoncio "Ka Parago" Pitao, spokesperson of the 1st PBB-NPA,in accordance with the orders of the National Democratic Front-Southern Mindanao Region (NDF-SMR).

The released soldiers, whowere detained for 44 days wereCpl. Emmanuel Quezon, Pfc.Vernie Padilla, Pvt. Marteni-

ano Pasigas, Pfc. RonaldGura and Pfc. DonatoEstandian. They were allassigned to PaquibatoDistrict.

An investigation con-ducted by responsible or-gans of the people's dem-ocratic governmentshowed that there was notenough evidence to prose-

cute them for grave crimesa g a i n s tthe Filipi-no peo-

p l e

and the revolutionary move-ment.

NDF-SMR spokesperson Rubidel Mundo said the release wasdone in accordance with provi-sions of the Geneva Conventions

of August 12, 1949; Protocol 1 ofJuly 5, 1996 which was depositedat the Swiss Federal Council; andthe Comprehensive Agreementon Respect for Human Rights andInternational Humanitarian Law;and also in accordance with thedecision of an organ of the Peo-ple's Democratic Government.

It was likewise an act of

goodwill done in response tocalls by the prisoner of wars' rel-atives and peace advocates,added the NDF-SMR.

After receiving the prisoners,Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Du-terte renewed calls to the Aquinogovernment to become open topeace negotiations with the Na-tional Democratic Front of thePhilippines. ~

The National Democratic Front of the Philip-pines (NDFP) extended its warm revolutionary

greetings to the Cuban government and people onthe 60th anniversary of the attack on the MoncadaBarracks on July 26, 1953. It was the start of rev-olutionary actions that overthrew the US-Batistadictatorship on January 1, 1959. The attack wasled by Fidel Castro and Abel Santamaria.

The victorious Cuban revolution established ademocratic government that asserted the sover-eignty of the Cuban people. It made great stridesin the fields of education, health and other areas of

people's welfare. The Cuban people successfullyresisted and frustrated many interventionist at-tacks by the US imperialists, including an invasion,assassination attempts on Castro, and destabiliza-tion moves. They have overcome an economic em-bargo and won the support of many of the world'speoples.

Cuba has been able to provide militant supportto the liberation struggles of other peoples. In Af-

rica, Cuban fighters fought alongside Angolan andNamibian revolutionaries in their struggles againstthe former apartheid regime in South Africa. Theywere also able to provide invaluable support to therevolutionary forces of South Africa, Guinea-Bissau and other countries in Africa. Thousands ofCuban martyrs gave up their lives as the highestexpression of revolutionary international solidari-ty.

Cuba has also sent thousands of doctors,

health workers and other development workers tocountries in Latin America and elsewhere. One ofthe beneficiaries of its advanced medical andhealth care system are Palestinian children victim-ized by the Zionist regime of Israel. Another set ofbeneficiaries were the victims of the Chernobyl nu-clear disaster in Russia. ~

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and 60 foreign delegates to theconference.

Meanwhile, the Bureau ofImmigration arrested Dutch ac-tivist Thomas van Beersum on

August 6 while he was at the air-port and about to board a flightto The Netherlands. He was de-ported the day after. Beersumwas one of the foreign activistswho attended the ICHRPP, ex-posed the conditions of the Fili-pino people and supported theirstruggle against the repressiveand antipeople policies of the

reactionary state. He also joinedthe protest against Aquino's SO-NA and actively condemned theactual violence inflicted by thepolice. His arrest was con-demned by progressive groups.

ICHRPP's call

Continue the peace talks

T

he International Conference on Human Rights and Peace in thePhilippines (ICHRPP) called on the Aquino regime to continue

peace negotiations with the NDFP in the face of intense pover-ty and worsening human rights violations in the country. They alsoasked that this be done on the basis of The Hague Joint Declarationof 1992 and other past agreements like the CARHRIHL and JASIG.

The ICHRPP resolution is anadded push to local efforts byeight groups in the country: Su-long CARHRIHL, Pilgrims forPeace, Philippine Economic

Peace Platforms (PEPP), WagingPeace Phil., Generation PeaceYouth Network, Women En-gaged in Action 1325, Initiativefor International Dialogue andPhilippine Peace Centerwhichhave issued a joint statementcalling for the continuation ofthe peace negotiations.

The ICHRPP delegates who

came from 26 countries werealarmed at the Aquino regime'scontinuing repressive tacticsthrough Oplan Bayanihan. Be-fore the conference, the foreignactivists joined a fact-findingmission to Central Luzon, MetroManila, Southern Tagalog andMindanao to investigate anddocument cases of militaryabuse and familiarize them-selves with the socio-economicconditions of the people.Through this, the country's realhuman rights situation becameconcrete to them.

For years, the ICHRPP hasbeen campaigning for a stop tohuman rights violations in thePhilippines. This year, an inter-national solidarity coalition forthe Philippines was formed tocall for the release of politicalprisoners and a stop to extraju-dicial killings and militarizationin the countryside. The confer-ence also resolved to raise theircause before the United Na-

tions, national parliaments andother international institutionsand hold the presidents of thePhilippines accountable for theircrimes against the people. They

vowed to continue mobilizingthe international community onhuman rights issues in the Phil-ippines.

The International Workshopon Freedom of Association waslikewise held on July 16-17. Itwas an important step instrengthening international soli-darity and consolidating local

campaigns to fight neoliberalglobalization's subjugation ofunions and other workers' or-ganizations. Among its activitieswas to launch a solidarity marchthat was joined by labor unions

NDFP condemns GPH harassment

of Agcaoili et al

National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Peace Pan-el member Fidel V. Agcaoili strongly condemned the surveil-

lance and harassment he and his companions ex-perienced on July 29, saying it was a brazen vi-olation of the Joint Agreement on Safety andImmunity Guarantees (JASIG) that is sup-posed to ensure his security.

Agcaoili and his compaions were thentraversing EDSA on the way to QuezonCity when they noticed two men aboard amotorcycle following them. They tried to getrid of their tail but the men persisted in fol-lowing them. To avoid compromising theirsecurity, they entered a private subdivisionin Makati to ask assistance from theguards. A guard alerted his fellow guards who

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stopped the motorcyle. But thetwo men were able to escapebefore the guards could inves-tigate them.

The NDFP condemned theGPH for surveilling and harass-

ing Agcaoili, saying this inci-dent would further aggravatethe current impasse in thepeace negotiations.

Meanwhile, the CordilleraHuman Rights Alliance(CHRA) and SELDA con-demned the reactionary gov-ernment's criminalization ofthe cases faced by politicaldetainees. The latest casesinvolved Gabriel KennedyBangibang, NDFP consultanton the Cordillera and Nation-al Minority Affairs who wasforcibly transferred to anoth-er detention facility and thearrest of Ma. Loida Magpatok.

Bangibang was arbitrarilytransferred from the Bureau ofJail Management and Penologyin Tabuk City, Kalinga to theBJMP in Baguio City on July 25.His secret transfer was madeafter a trial of one of the 11trumped-up cases filed againsthim. Bangibang questioned themove and asked for a copy ofthe court order on his transfer.But he was instead shoved intoa waiting vehicle.

Neither were his lawyersgiven prior notice. They onlyreceived a copy of the court or-der after he had already beentransferred, when the orderhad in fact been secretly pre-pared as early as April.

Magpatok, 52, was arrest-ed at the bus terminal in Ba-rangay Zone III, Digos City on

July 28 by a combined forcefrom the Davao del Sur PoliceOffice and the 1002nd IBde.She was slapped with trumped-up charges of murder and de-struction to property. A `5million reward was offered forher capture. ~

July 28. Military operationsby combined forces of the 26thIB and the Bagani Forces para-military group persist againstcivilians in Loreto, Agusan delSur. As a result, 423 individu-als from the villages of Kaus-wagan, Sabud, Mansanitas andSan Mariano have evacuated.Most of the evacuees are Lu-mad. They are currently stay-ing at a school in BarangayKauswagan.July 22. Forces of the 26thIB arbitrarily detained four mi-nors on suspicion that theywere involved in a recent NPAambush. Two of the four de-tainees were eventually re-leased. The other twoArturoand BJ (not their real names)were tortured and chargedwith murder. They were hit inthe face, abdomen and nape.BJ's lips were burnedwith cigarettes and bul-lets were pressed be-

tween his fingers. Theyboth lost consciousnesswhen their heads werewrapped in plastic.June 21.Three hun-dred Moro familiesevacuated from Baran-gay Kulasi, GeneralSalipada K. Pendatun,Maguindanao and oth-

er neighboring villagesdue to intense fightingin Sitio Bagumbayan,Barangay Kulasi be-tween the military andthe Bangsamoro Islam-ic Freedom Fighters.They went to evacua-

tion centers in Barangay To-ngol, Barangay Sumakubay andMigkunding. But hunger anddeprivation forced them to re-turn to their homes.

Among those who returnedwere eight Moros dubbed the"Bagumbayan 8" who sufferedgrave maltreatment in thehands of soldiers of the 33rdIB. The "Bagumbayan 8" in-cluded three minors. They werehogtied, detained and torturedand transferred to police cus-tody only after two days.

With the MinHRAC's help,the three minors were releasedon June 24, but the five othersremain in PNP custody at theQuirino municipal hall. Theyhave been branded as terror-ists and charged with illegalpossession of explosives. Themilitary has already manufac-tured evidence for use againstthem.

The MinHRAC also

discovered that onJune 26, three houseswere burned down inSitio Bagumbayan,the detainees' com-munity. Residents ofnearby communitieswitnessed the burn-ing.

On June 28, the

"Bagumbayan 8" sub-mitted their counter-affidavits to the Pro-vincial Prosecutor'sOffice in Isulan, Sul-tan Kudarat, alongwith other victims ofmilitary brutality. ~

Rights groups condemnmilitary abuses in Mindanao

K

ARAPATAN and the Mindanao Human Rights Action Center(MinHRAC) expressed alarm over the worsening cases of

human rights violations against Moro and Lumad civilians,among others, as a result of military operations. Above all, they as-sailed the abuses being committed against minors.

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Threats of

demolition

R

esidents of Barangay

West Kamias in QuezonCity are braced for more dem-olitions in their community nowthat the deadline given to themby the local government to vol-untarily leave has expired.

First to be demolished wastheir health center. Their daycare center was supposed to gonext, but the demolition did not

push through because of thepresence of 40 pupils inside.

On July 30, the residentserected a barricade after hear-ing that the demolition teamwas on its way back to the com-munity.

Meanwhile, residents of Ba-rangay Bagong Silangan, Que-zon City are likewise ready to

confront the impending evic-tion of families living by theriverside after the local gov-ernment imposed a deadline onJuly 30 for them to voluntarilyleave.

The continuing attacks andrepression against the urbanpoor have prompted AnakpawisPartylist Rep. Fernando Hicap

to file House Resolution 120 onJuly 30 calling for a moratori-um on all demolitions. Variousprogressive groups picketedthe Batasan Pambansa to ex-press support for the resolu-tion.

Meanwhile, the Samahan ngMagkakapitbahay ng Road 10,Tondo, Manila protested the

impending demolition of theircommunity. They have rejectedthe relocation sites offered inSan Pedro, Laguna and Bocaue,Bulacan. More than 500 fami-lies will be affected by thedemolition. ~

Successful antifeudalcampaign in Cagayan

Peasants in two Cagayan towns succeeded in having the priceper kilo of corn raised and achieving other benefits after aseries of militant actions. More than 15,000 farmers benefit-

ed in 32 villages of Baggao and five barrios of Amulung.

In Baggao. Some 1,000farmers from 11 villageslaunched a rally-confrontationagainst seven big merchant-usurers in the town on March10. They demanded a hike in

the farmgate price per kilo ofyellow corn from `11.00 to`15.00. Their proposed pricewas arrived at after a study bythe peasant organization thatdetermined that corn priceswere too low compared to theexpenses shouldered by thefarmers for inputs such asseeds and pesticides. The lead-

ing organization in BarangayBunugan said that even iffarmers do not borrow money,they still end up in the red be-cause of the serious difficultiesinvolved in planting corn.

The farmers also succeededin imposing a 50-centavo ceil-ing per kilo in the profitsof merchant-usurers

selling corn at the trad-ing centers. They likewisedecided to offer their cornto other buyers, even thosefrom other towns, if the lat-ter offered higher pricescompared to those prevailing inBaggao. The merchants couldnot do a thing to stop this.

Also among the agreements

signed concerned a ban onslashing "resiko" from thefarmers' products. Under thissystem, merchants arbitrarilyreduce the recorded weight ofevery sack of corn sold to themby the farmers by a number of

kilos on the pretext that thecorn had not completely driedand would eventually becomelighter after evaporation.

At the end of the confron-tation, the farmers agreed to

dump sacks of their produce incornfields and roads until theyare offered higher prices. Theirobjective is to stop merchantsfrom underbuying their corn.They also agreed to make dailychecks on the prevailing cornprices in other towns and villa-ges to know where they couldfind a better price for their

produce.After two weeks, the farm-

ers held another confronta-tion-rally in San Jose, Baggaoto demand the implementation

of the previouslysigned agreements.The rally was attend-ed by more than 300

farmers from seven up-

stream and central villages ofBaggao.

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The International League ofPeople's Struggle (ILPS)

expressed solidarity with theKorean people on the 60th an-niversary of Victory Day in theGreat Fatherland LiberationWar against US-led imperialistaggression. The signing of theArmistice Agreement on July27, 1953 signalled the defeatof US plans to occupy the wholeof Korea. Through this agree-ment, a ceasefire was declaredand the Korean DemilitarizedZone (DMZ) was created.

The ILPS supports theview of the Korean people andthe Democratic People's Re-

public of Korea (DPRK) thatthe said agreement must bereplaced with a peace treatythat calls for the withdrawalof US military troops and nu-clear weapons from the penin-sula. This will pave the way

for the peaceful reunificationof North and South Korea.

The ILPS said it was deeplypleased with the success of theworldwide signature campaignand the Korean people's marchfrom Pyongyang to the DMZ todemand the unification of Ko-rea. The Armistice Agreementwas designed as a transitionalmeasure to ensure the com-plete cessation of all hostilitiesand the withdrawal of allarmed forces from Korea untila real peace treaty is signed.But the US continued the war,occupied South Korea and vio-lated the armistice by stockpil-

ing nuclear arms in South Ko-rea. It has conducted militaryexercises and other provoca-tive acts in collaboration withthe puppet South Korean re-gime to prevent the unificationof Korea.

Japan Prime Minister's visit opposed

Three generations of women greeted Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe's visit to the country on July 26 with protests. Abe

visited the Philippines to strengthen the military alliance betweenJapan and the Philippines as part of alleged efforts to ensure mar-

itime security in disputed territories in the South China Sea. TheUS has been pushing Japan to enhance its interventionism in theAsia-Pacific region.

Among the protesters were GABRIELA and Lila Pilipinas (an or-ganization of comfort women). GABRIELA said Abe's visit consti-tuted warmongering against China and North Korea.

GABRIELA assailed Japan for its continued failure to admitculpability for establishing the comfort women system in thecountries it occupied during the Second World War. Neither hasit apologized for its abuses against Filipino comfort women. GA-

BRIELA charged that if Japan is granted the privilege to use Phil-ippine facilities, the comfort women system will be repeated inareas where joint military exercises with the US and other coun-tries will be conducted.

ILPS greets North Korea on 60th

anniversary of victory

In Amulung. More than 60peasants rallied on May 5 in Ba-rangay Gabut to confront usurerDelia Marcos, the biggest usureroperating in five of the town'svillages. The farmers demanded

a reaccounting of the peasants'debts because Marcos continuedto impose interest even if mostof the peasants were alreadyfully paid. They also demanded astop to the practice of seizingthe farmers' land, carabaos andother properties as payment fortheir debts.

The confrontation failed to

push through when Marcos'blood pressure shot up.

Previously, farmers from thetowns of Alcala, Amulung andIguig rallied twice in front of theNational Irrigation Administra-tion (NIA) office in BarangayBaculud to assail the govern-ment's neglect of irrigationservices, the high rental for irri-

gation and the huge back ac-counts being charged by theNIA. The peasants have accu-mulated back accounts datingback to the 1970s.

The NIA is charging millionsof pesos in back accounts fromclose to 100,000 farmers inAmulung, Alcala and Iguig. Ithas also been demanding pay-ment even during the rainy sea-son when the NIA does not pro-vide irrigation. In fact, therehave been times when the NIAfailed to provide irrigation evenduring droughts. Some farmersare being charged up to`300,000 by the NIA for irrigat-ing a mere hectare of farmland.

On April 25, some 300 peas-ants rallied at the NIA, fol-

lowed by another demonstra-tion by a hundred farmers onApril 27. With their demands onthe back accounts being ig-nored, peasants from the threetowns have decided to stoppaying the NIA altogether. ~

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Detroit, other US citiesgoing bankrupt

The city of Detroit in Michigan, USA is bankrupt. In declaring a

state of insolvency on July 18, it formally admitted inability tosettle up to $18.5 billion (`444 billion) in debts. Detroit, known

for being the center of the automobile industry in the US, is the lat-est and biggest US city to declare bankruptcy this year.

This formerly sprawling cityis now in a pitiful state. It has78,000 abandoned buildings.Its street lights are in a stateof disrepair. Its fire depart-ment lacks personnel and has abuilding that is old and rickety.Up to 60% of its children live onthe poverty line. And more than30% of its people live below thepoverty level.

Detroit's economy has longbeen crumbling. The city's dein-dustrialization began as farback as the 1970s, when capital-

ists began to relocate automo-bile factories to other countriesor places where wages werelower in order to rake in moresuperprofits. They broke up un-ions and laid off union members.The local unemployment ratecurrently stands at 16%.

The big capitalists and theirpolitician cohorts are responsi-

ble for the widespread destruc-tion of livelihoods and basicservices in Detroit. It is theworkers who will be bearing thebrunt of the hardships and sac-rifices that will come with theircity's bankruptcy.

To be able to continue pay-ing the banks, the local govern-ment will be slashing wages and

rewriting contracts with theunions. It will reduce thehealth and pension benefits ofall active and retired workers,downgrade public services,

privatize public lighting, trans-portation and sanitation andsell public property like the wa-ter treatment plant, parks,zoos and the public museum.More than 31,000 governmentemployees and pensioners willbe suffering whittled down sal-aries and pensions.

As a result, Detroit's morethan 700,000 residents will befurther mired in poverty. Thou-sands of small businesses will befolding up. On the other hand,hundreds of millions of dollars

worth of public funds will beending up with the banks andbig businessmen who lent mon-ey to the city, including Mike Il-itch who owns a baseball teamand plans to build a new sportsarena, and real estate mogulDan Gilbert who will be buildingexclusive districts in the city.

Aside from Detroit, there

are other cities in the US thathave gone bankrupt. In 2012, anumber of cities in Californialike Stockton, Mammoth Lakesand San Bernardino declaredbankruptcy. In 2011, the cityof Harrisburg, Pennsylvanialikewise filed for bankruptcy,but its petition was denied.Some US officials have admit-

ted that there are a hundredother cities that are in thesame bind as Detroit and areexpected to declare bankruptcyas well. ~

Tower downed

in Sagada

Residents of Besao andSagada in Mountain

Province toppled a windmilltower in the second week ofJune. The tower forms partof a wind farm project thatis being forcibly implement-ed in the area.

The toppling was an actof protest against Philcar-bon's insistence on pushingthrough with the construc-

tion of the Windmill Farm inthe area despite the resi-dents' opposition. They ex-pressed their opposition inthe latter part of May. (Seerelated article in the June7, 2013 issue ofAng Bayan)

Philcarbon plans to con-struct on a ridge ten 100-meter high towers like

those it erected in Bangui,Ilocos Norte. The towerswill be generating 15 mega-watts of electricity. Besaoand Sagada, however, have11 barangays located be-low the ridge which will beaffected by the project.

Among the capitalistspushing for this project is

Rufino Bumas-ang, formerundersecretary of the De-partment of Energy andTom Kilip, project consult-ant. They are national mi-norities who have no com-passion for the people anddo not care if they destroythe environment. Their onlyinterest is to enrich them-

selves by stealing commu-nity property and damagingthe watersheds whosepreservation is crucial tothe people's livelihood. ~

Ang Bayan 20130807

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