Tulad ng inaasahan, muling bubulabugin, gagahasain at sasalaulain ng Malakanyang ang Senado at itutulad ito sa Kongreso bago ang State of the Nation (SONA) sa July 23, 2007 ni Ate Glo at 2010 presidential election.
Sadyang napakahalaga para sa Malakanyang kung sino ang mapipiling Senate President at Speaker sa Lower House. Sapagkat dito nakasalalay ang political survival ni Ate Glo hanggang 2010 at dito rin nakasalalay ang mabilisang pagsasakatuparan ng kanyang iiwang "LEGACY" sa natitirang tatlong taong nalalabi sa kapangyarihan. Mawawalang parang bula ang adhikain ng Malakanyang kung ‘di kachokaran at kaututang dila ang titimon sa Senado at Kongreso.
Ayon kay Mang Pandoy, ang gapangan bago ang SONA sa July 23 at para sa 2010 ang balakid at huhubad sa katatagan ng Lehislatura, ang katangiang transactional (kamutan ng likod), padrino at TRAPO politics ng Senado't Kongreso. Para sa nakararaming Pinoy, ito ang status quo at hindi na kataka-taka. Ito ang walang dudang kakatay sa inaasahang kaunlaran at mga prioridad na panukalang batas na sesentro sa kabulukan ng sistemang politika at sistemang election na inaasam-asam ng mamamayang Pinoy na maidedeliver sa Senado at sa 14th Congress.
Ang sitwasyong paghahanda ng mga magpapanakbuhang presidentiable sa 2010, tulad ng mga maniubrahang pulitikal, ang mga pagkilos, ang lahat ng pagsisikap at tagumpay ay walang dudang mauuwi lamang sa maruming pulitika, nakadirekta’t maglilingkod sa 2010. Magbabago nga tayo ng mukha sa 2010 sublit nananatiling buluk at inaamag ang sistemang pulitika at halalan. Ang nakakapang- lupaypay, ang 2010 ay walang kinalaman sa kaunlaran at pakinabangan ni Mang Pandoy at mamamayang Pilipino. Nakailan palit na tayo ng presidente, ma pa-oposisyon at administrasyon, walang nababago at lalo lamang lumalala ang kalagayan ni Mang Pandoy.
Pagmasdan at bantayan ang mga galaw ng limang (5) pulitiko sa Senado na may utak 2010; si Sen Loren Legarda at Manny Villar na posibleng manukin ng alyansang Malakanyang at Danding Cojuangco, Sen Dick Gordon at Pampilo Lacson at si Mar Roxas ng Liberal Party ng faction Drilon. May nagsasabing Villar/Jinggoy (Preasident/Vice President) sa 2010, Mar Roxas/ Loren Legarda, Ping Lacson/Jojo Binay o ang NPC tandem na Loren Legarda/Chiz Escudero?
Ayon kay Senador Enrile, "perahan lang o proyekto lang ang katapat kung sino ang matutukoy na Senate President," Ayon naman sa mga manginginum sa tabi-tabi, tiyak na si Senador Villar bilang manok ng oposisyon at administrasyon. Sinugundahan pa ng isa pang galamay ng Administrasyon na si Sen Miriam Santiago na nagsabing hindi lamang sa "nagkakaperahan at may cashunduan" na sa mapipiliing Senate President maging sa mga matutukoy na itatalaga sa mga istratehiko't major Committee chairmanship sa senado.
Para kay Mang Pandoy na litong-lito na sa itinatakbo ng pulitika sa bansa, maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na oposisyon ang nanalo sa May 14 election, partidong Genuine Opposition ang nakasilat sa katatapos na election kung kaya't dapat mga oposisyong tunay ang may kontrol kung sino ang maitatalaga sa mga estratehikong committee chairmanship. Sa katunayan, habang nagdiriwang si Mang Pandoy, mga taga-Metro Manila, Luzon Visayas at Mindanao, dismayado't nalungkot si Ate Glo at muling kinastigo ang mga anim na propagandista ng Malakanyang, Evardone, Sec Puno, dalawang Gonzales, Ermita at si Bunye.
Ang tanong ni Mang Pandoy, sa kabila ng panalo ng oposisyon, bakit mukhang ang lumalabas na majority pa ata ng nanalo sa katatapos na election ay ADMINISTRASYON. Ayon kay Sen Enrile, isang maka-administrasyon, "mayroon na silang bilang na labing-apat (14) upang ipanalo ang kanilang manok at kunin ang mga major committees sa Senado."
Kung totoo ito, ano ang ibig sabihin nito? Nag-aala Tito Sotto na't Tessie Oreta na ba ang mga oposisyon sa Senado? Nagsirkuhan na, nanlambot na ng paninindigan, nagbaligtaran na’t nakatanggap na ba ang ilan sa kanila! Kung 'di tayo nagkakamali, lumalabas na zarzuela lang pala ang election at pinagloloko lamang tayo ng mga oposisyon? Nagkalimutan na ba sa mga campaign slogan noong nakaraang election, paano na ang mangyayari sa mga binitiwang mga plataporma, agenda at mensaheng masasarap pakinggan sa tainga, ang reporma sa pulitika at election, ang katiwalian, pangungurakot at ang “helo Garci” controversy.
Paano nangyari ang mga ganitong pangitain at kailan ito magwawakas? Ang alam ng marami, matagal na ang ganitong uri ng sirkuhan sa pulitika. Kung sa bagay, ganito kalupit, kaburikak at ka-oportunista ng pulitika sa Pilipinas. Kung sa bagay, maaring unawaing ni Mang Pandoy na "pragmatic" lamang mag-isip ang mga senador, walang parti-partido, walang ideolohiya at pawang may kanya-kanyang larong pulitikal.
Kung magkakaganito ang senaryo sa Senado, ang inaasahang papel nito bilang fiscalizer, ang mataas na kredibilidad at tinitingalang isa sa nalalabing institusyon 'di hawak ng palasyo ay ganap na bang maglalaho? Sa mga senador, para kay Mang Pandoy, lalabas na parang iisa na lamang ang maa-asahan, ang matibay, ang prinsipyado, ang consistent sa posisyon (bago ng kampanya, matapos ang proklamasyon at panunumpa) at paninindigan. Kaya lang, nanatiling nakabilanggo at mukhang magsesesyon sa selda, kinakastigong “galit daw sa mundo,” sinasabihang maghinay-hinay raw sa pananalita, binabalaang tupdin daw ang “Code of Ethics sa Senado kung sakaling nasa floor deliveration o mga sessions.”
Doy Cinco /IPD
June 30, 2007
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Sunugin ang SAMAR (Part II)?
Kamakailan lamang, “muling nag-alok” ang US sa pamamagitan ng kanyang militaristang Commanding General ng US Pacific Command na si US Admiral Timothy Keating na “handa raw itong tumulong o pumapel sa anti-insurgency campaign ng gubyerno ni Ate Glo.” Balita pa ba ito, ano ang bago sa balita?
Ang alam ni Mang Pandoy matagal nang nakiki-alam sa panloob na usapin ang Bush-US government sa Pilipinas. Deka-dekdang involve ang US government na sa kampanyang anti-insureksyon o sa bagong tipo ng kampanyang “Global War on Terrorism sa Pilipinas.” Kailangan pa bang imemorized 'yan? Nabigyang katwiran o nagpatibay ito sa pamamagitan ng sangkatutak na mga Tratadong pang militar at pang-ekonomya mula pa noong (matapos ang World War II) hanggang sa kasalukuyan, kaya't ang tatak ng pagiging kolonya at makabagong kolonya ng Pilipinas ay 'di mawala-wala sa isipan ng ating kababayan at ng buong mundo. Ito ang mapait at hindi pantay na relasyong busabos at panginoon sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at bansang Amerika.
Hindi mabubura sa ala-ala ng mga Pilipino ang karumal-dumal na okupasyon, panloloob at panlilinlang ng Gubyernong US sa Pilipinas, ang Philippine – American War, may isang siglo na ang nakalipas. Ang unang Vietnam War ng mundo, ang isinagawang “search and destroy operation sa Pilipinas, bata, matanda, babae o lalaki, lahat ng pang-ekonomyang pag-aari ang winasak at pinagsusunog ng US forces. Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, kahit sinasabing inalis na ang dalawang malalaking Base Militar ng US, nanatili't garapalang tumutulong at patagong nakiki-alam ang US mula sa panahon ni Quirino, Magsaysay, Marcos hanggang sa panahon ni Ate Glo.
Kaya lang, mukhang sinopla ng mga militaristang General ng AFP ang yabang alok ng US at sinabing “kahit walang tulong, kaya nilang talunin ang insureksyon at rebelyon ng mga komunista at sesesyunistang grupo sa bansa.” Mas mayabang, mas siga't maton pa kaysa kay Uncle Sam ang mga General sa 'Pinas. Alalahaning walang positibong nangyari sa kampanya ng AFP sa mahigit tatlong dekada ng insureksyon sa Pilipinas at ito na ang isa sa may pinakamatagal na armadong pakikibakang patuloy na nag-eexist sa mundo.
Paano tuturuan ng US sa counter-insurgency ang AFP kung ang mismong problemang insureksyon at panloloob nito Iraq, Afghanistan at ang kahihiyang kinahinatnan ng bantog na "Black Hawk Down" sa Somalia ay talunan sila, kung ang pakay lang ng US ay magpromote ng makabagong teknolohiya, high tech na hardware na pandigma't pamatay sa tao at maibenta sa merkado?
Ayon sa mga beteranong strategist at tacticians sa digmaan, "wala na sa makabagong teknolohiya ng pakikidigma, lalo na sa guerilla warfare ang susi sa ikatatagumpay ng mga digmaan, ang POLITICAL SOLUTION, pag-agaw sa simpatya, sa puso't pananaw ng tao ang susi sa mga labanan." Matapos tanggapin ang pagkatalo sa Vietnam may tatlong dekada na ang nakalipas, nawalan na ito respeto ng mundo, nawalan na ito ng moral ascendancy at mukhang ihaharap sa mundo.
Masyadong garapal ang karanasan sa Irag kung saan nagawa nitong pinagloloko hindi lang ang mamamayang Amerikano, ang United Nation at mamamayang ng mundo. Na kesyo may “weapon of mass destruction si Sadam Husein,” na makatarungan lamang na looban siya at sa mahigit dalawang taon na paghahanap, kahit na katiting na ebidensyang walang nakita. Alam ng mundo na ang PAGNANAKAW ng LANGIS o ang imperyalistang paghahangad ng sabwatang US at Britanya ang tunay na pakay at hindi ang terorismo.
Tulad nung nangyari sa Samar, Mindanao at Luzon may isang siglo na ang nakalilipas, dumanas ng malulupit na genocide at masaker ang mamayang Vietnamese, Iraqi at Afghan sa mga tropang Amerikano at kung muling uulitin ng US ang panloloob sa Pilipinas, walang dudang muling mapapahiya ito sa mundo.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 29, 2007
Ang alam ni Mang Pandoy matagal nang nakiki-alam sa panloob na usapin ang Bush-US government sa Pilipinas. Deka-dekdang involve ang US government na sa kampanyang anti-insureksyon o sa bagong tipo ng kampanyang “Global War on Terrorism sa Pilipinas.” Kailangan pa bang imemorized 'yan? Nabigyang katwiran o nagpatibay ito sa pamamagitan ng sangkatutak na mga Tratadong pang militar at pang-ekonomya mula pa noong (matapos ang World War II) hanggang sa kasalukuyan, kaya't ang tatak ng pagiging kolonya at makabagong kolonya ng Pilipinas ay 'di mawala-wala sa isipan ng ating kababayan at ng buong mundo. Ito ang mapait at hindi pantay na relasyong busabos at panginoon sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at bansang Amerika.
Hindi mabubura sa ala-ala ng mga Pilipino ang karumal-dumal na okupasyon, panloloob at panlilinlang ng Gubyernong US sa Pilipinas, ang Philippine – American War, may isang siglo na ang nakalipas. Ang unang Vietnam War ng mundo, ang isinagawang “search and destroy operation sa Pilipinas, bata, matanda, babae o lalaki, lahat ng pang-ekonomyang pag-aari ang winasak at pinagsusunog ng US forces. Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, kahit sinasabing inalis na ang dalawang malalaking Base Militar ng US, nanatili't garapalang tumutulong at patagong nakiki-alam ang US mula sa panahon ni Quirino, Magsaysay, Marcos hanggang sa panahon ni Ate Glo.
Kaya lang, mukhang sinopla ng mga militaristang General ng AFP ang yabang alok ng US at sinabing “kahit walang tulong, kaya nilang talunin ang insureksyon at rebelyon ng mga komunista at sesesyunistang grupo sa bansa.” Mas mayabang, mas siga't maton pa kaysa kay Uncle Sam ang mga General sa 'Pinas. Alalahaning walang positibong nangyari sa kampanya ng AFP sa mahigit tatlong dekada ng insureksyon sa Pilipinas at ito na ang isa sa may pinakamatagal na armadong pakikibakang patuloy na nag-eexist sa mundo.
Paano tuturuan ng US sa counter-insurgency ang AFP kung ang mismong problemang insureksyon at panloloob nito Iraq, Afghanistan at ang kahihiyang kinahinatnan ng bantog na "Black Hawk Down" sa Somalia ay talunan sila, kung ang pakay lang ng US ay magpromote ng makabagong teknolohiya, high tech na hardware na pandigma't pamatay sa tao at maibenta sa merkado?
Ayon sa mga beteranong strategist at tacticians sa digmaan, "wala na sa makabagong teknolohiya ng pakikidigma, lalo na sa guerilla warfare ang susi sa ikatatagumpay ng mga digmaan, ang POLITICAL SOLUTION, pag-agaw sa simpatya, sa puso't pananaw ng tao ang susi sa mga labanan." Matapos tanggapin ang pagkatalo sa Vietnam may tatlong dekada na ang nakalipas, nawalan na ito respeto ng mundo, nawalan na ito ng moral ascendancy at mukhang ihaharap sa mundo.
Masyadong garapal ang karanasan sa Irag kung saan nagawa nitong pinagloloko hindi lang ang mamamayang Amerikano, ang United Nation at mamamayang ng mundo. Na kesyo may “weapon of mass destruction si Sadam Husein,” na makatarungan lamang na looban siya at sa mahigit dalawang taon na paghahanap, kahit na katiting na ebidensyang walang nakita. Alam ng mundo na ang PAGNANAKAW ng LANGIS o ang imperyalistang paghahangad ng sabwatang US at Britanya ang tunay na pakay at hindi ang terorismo.
Tulad nung nangyari sa Samar, Mindanao at Luzon may isang siglo na ang nakalilipas, dumanas ng malulupit na genocide at masaker ang mamayang Vietnamese, Iraqi at Afghan sa mga tropang Amerikano at kung muling uulitin ng US ang panloloob sa Pilipinas, walang dudang muling mapapahiya ito sa mundo.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 29, 2007
Philippines: Prosecute Political Killings
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/06/28/philip16251.htm
Failure to Prosecute, Lack of Witness Protection Leads to Official Impunity (New York, June 28, 2007) – The Philippine government should aggressively prosecute members of the security forces responsible for hundreds of extrajudicial executions in recent years, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
The 84-page report, “Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines,” based on more than 100 interviews, details the involvement of government security forces in the murder or “disappearance” of members of leftist political parties and nongovernmental organizations, journalists, outspoken clergy, anti-mining activists, and agricultural reform activists. To date there have been no successful prosecutions of any member of the armed forces implicated in recent extrajudicial killings.
“There is strong evidence of a ‘dirty war’ by the armed forces against left-leaning activists and journalists,” said Sophie Richardson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The failure to prosecute soldiers or police suspected in these killings shifts the spotlight of responsibility to the highest levels of the government.”
While abuses have been common in the decades-long armed conflict between the government and the communist New People’s Army (NPA), unlawful killings appeared to shift into a higher gear in February 2006, after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo accused leftist political parties of allying themselves with military coup plotters. In June 2006, Arroyo declared a new strategy of an “all-out war” to eliminate the NPA, which may have sent a signal to the military that abuses would be tolerated. The NPA also continues to commit human rights abuses, including kidnapping and unlawful killings, which Human Rights Watch also condemned. But such abuses by insurgents do not justify the military or the government committing further human rights violations through extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of any person, including members of political groups and civil society organizations that are sympathetic to the insurgents’ cause.
Most of the victims of the political killings documented by Human Rights Watch were members of legal political parties or organizations that the military claims are allied with the communist movement. None of the incidents investigated by Human Rights Watch involved anyone who was participating in an armed encounter with the military or was otherwise involved in NPA military operations. Each victim appears to have been individually targeted for killing.
Three motorcycle-riding gunmen shot and killed Sotero Llamas, the former Bicol region commander of the NPA, while he was riding in his car on the morning of May 29, 2006, through his home town of Tabaco City, in Albay province. Llamas, who had been imprisoned in 1995 for his membership in the NPA, was released in 1996, became a consultant to the peace process, and then became a founding member of the political party Bayan Muna. In February 2006, Llamas was one of the 51 people whom the police accused of rebellion and insurrection and being involved in the conspiracy to overthrow the Arroyo administration. A judge dismissed the charges, but state prosecutors subsequently re-filed the case, which was still pending at the time of his death.
Three eyewitnesses currently in hiding told Human Rights Watch of the involvement of soldiers in the death of Pastor Andy Pawikan, a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, on May 21, 2006. Pawikan, his wife, his 7-month-old daughter and three other women were walking home from church when they were stopped by a group of about 20 soldiers. The women, including Pawikan’s wife, were allowed to proceed but the soldiers detained Pawikan, who was carrying the baby. After about 30 minutes, those who had just been with Pawikan heard “many” shots. They were too afraid to investigate. After some time a group of soldiers came and returned the child to Pawikan’s mother-in-law. The baby was covered in blood but otherwise uninjured. The next day soldiers from the locally based 48th Infantry Battalion told the villagers Pawikan had fought the soldiers and they had no choice but to shoot him.
Human Rights Watch also found that the Philippines government is consistently failing in its obligations under international human rights law to hold accountable perpetrators of politically motivated killings, and thus denying victims’ families justice. One apparent roadblock to prosecutions is the seeming unwillingness of senior military officials to even recognize that superior commanders may be legally responsible for acts of their subordinates as a matter of command responsibility. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. told the media, “Criminal acts only involve the individual.”
The Philippine national police also frequently labels cases “solved” when a suspect has been identified and charges have been filed before the prosecutor or the court, even if the evidence and allegations are so uncertain as to raise significant doubts that a viable case could ever be pursued. The alleged perpetrator is very rarely in custody and in many cases is not even capable of being apprehended. Families told Human Rights Watch that they received little or no information from the police about the state of investigations, and that the police showed almost no concern as to whether the victim’s family still has unanswered questions or concerns. One widow said: “We’ve had no contact [with the police] since the killing .... That’s why we don’t trust them. Because it’s been almost two months, and the investigation doesn’t seem resolved.”
“The armed forces serve the civilian authority, but the government isn’t exercising that authority when it matters most – in protecting civilians,” said Richardson. “The victims and their families deserve better from their government.”
In response to growing international pressure, in August 2006 President Arroyo created a special police body, Task Force Usig, which she charged with solving 10 cases in 10 weeks. At the end of its mandate the Task Force claimed that 21 cases were “solved” by filing cases in court against identified suspects, all of them members of the Communist Party of the Philippines or the NPA. Only 12 suspects involved in these incidents were actually in police custody.
In August 2006, President Arroyo also created the Melo Commission to further probe the killings of media workers and left-wing activists since 2001. The commission’s report, which was only made public under pressure from United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston, failed to provide any new information or analysis on the cases. At the commission’s hearings, army and police officials were not challenged when they advanced distorted understandings of command responsibility, and were instead indulged in lengthy digressions on the importance of neutralizing the NPA threat. The Melo Commission’s mandate expires on June 30, 2007.
Human Rights Watch said that while the government claims that it is doing all it can to address abuses, it has taken few concrete steps to end the killings or prosecute perpetrators. On paper, the Philippines has a witness protection scheme, special courts to investigate political killings, and a variety of government taskforces and commissions investigating extrajudicial executions, but the government is failing to implement these measures in a credible or convincing manner. This generates widespread fear, particularly in affected rural communities, of further military abuses. Witnesses and family members of victims are afraid to cooperate with police for fear of becoming targets of reprisal.
Human Rights Watch called on the Philippine government to immediately issue an executive order to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippines National Police reiterating the prohibition on the extrajudicial killing of any person. In addition, Human Rights Watch has urged the United States to consider suspending military aid to the Philippines until members of the military suspected of involvement in murders have been prosecuted.
“Actions speak louder than words, and the only real proof of the government’s commitment to end these killings will be when the perpetrators are finally held to account in a court of law,” said Richardson. “Until the Arroyo administration, the army and police act on their obligations to investigate crimes and prosecute the perpetrators, even when they are members of the security forces, people will continue to get away with murder in the Philippines.”
Selected statements from “Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines”:
“At the moment I’m receiving texts saying someone will follow members of the family. I don’t know if it’s a threat or a warning. He says in some of the texts that he knows who killed my father and that I should go talk to him. I don’t know who he is. I just have his number… [I’ve received around] twenty. Saying things like ‘Don’t investigate or we’ll get your family.’”
– Marilyn Llamas, September 21, 2006
“[One witness] has already disappeared. The other witnesses are afraid of the situation here. They are afraid that the perpetrators will begin to kill them also, because they were [warned] by the perpetrators that they will come back and kill them if they talk about the incident ... I am afraid that their families will also be killed if they stand up regarding the incident .... If I push the case I’m afraid of what might happen to [me and my family]. So I’m not quite sure if I’ll pursue the case or not.”
– Maria Balani (not her real name), date withheld, 2006
“After the internment of my sister, the police investigators invited me to come talk to them ... Okay, I went. They asked me for my statement, so I gave them the same statement I’m giving you now. But I noticed that the investigator did not write down my statement ... They did nothing.”
– Human Rights Watch interview with Maria Fabicon (not her real name), date withheld, 2006
-----------------------------////----------------------------------
Failure to Prosecute, Lack of Witness Protection Leads to Official Impunity (New York, June 28, 2007) – The Philippine government should aggressively prosecute members of the security forces responsible for hundreds of extrajudicial executions in recent years, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.
The 84-page report, “Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines,” based on more than 100 interviews, details the involvement of government security forces in the murder or “disappearance” of members of leftist political parties and nongovernmental organizations, journalists, outspoken clergy, anti-mining activists, and agricultural reform activists. To date there have been no successful prosecutions of any member of the armed forces implicated in recent extrajudicial killings.
“There is strong evidence of a ‘dirty war’ by the armed forces against left-leaning activists and journalists,” said Sophie Richardson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The failure to prosecute soldiers or police suspected in these killings shifts the spotlight of responsibility to the highest levels of the government.”
While abuses have been common in the decades-long armed conflict between the government and the communist New People’s Army (NPA), unlawful killings appeared to shift into a higher gear in February 2006, after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo accused leftist political parties of allying themselves with military coup plotters. In June 2006, Arroyo declared a new strategy of an “all-out war” to eliminate the NPA, which may have sent a signal to the military that abuses would be tolerated. The NPA also continues to commit human rights abuses, including kidnapping and unlawful killings, which Human Rights Watch also condemned. But such abuses by insurgents do not justify the military or the government committing further human rights violations through extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of any person, including members of political groups and civil society organizations that are sympathetic to the insurgents’ cause.
Most of the victims of the political killings documented by Human Rights Watch were members of legal political parties or organizations that the military claims are allied with the communist movement. None of the incidents investigated by Human Rights Watch involved anyone who was participating in an armed encounter with the military or was otherwise involved in NPA military operations. Each victim appears to have been individually targeted for killing.
Three motorcycle-riding gunmen shot and killed Sotero Llamas, the former Bicol region commander of the NPA, while he was riding in his car on the morning of May 29, 2006, through his home town of Tabaco City, in Albay province. Llamas, who had been imprisoned in 1995 for his membership in the NPA, was released in 1996, became a consultant to the peace process, and then became a founding member of the political party Bayan Muna. In February 2006, Llamas was one of the 51 people whom the police accused of rebellion and insurrection and being involved in the conspiracy to overthrow the Arroyo administration. A judge dismissed the charges, but state prosecutors subsequently re-filed the case, which was still pending at the time of his death.
Three eyewitnesses currently in hiding told Human Rights Watch of the involvement of soldiers in the death of Pastor Andy Pawikan, a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, on May 21, 2006. Pawikan, his wife, his 7-month-old daughter and three other women were walking home from church when they were stopped by a group of about 20 soldiers. The women, including Pawikan’s wife, were allowed to proceed but the soldiers detained Pawikan, who was carrying the baby. After about 30 minutes, those who had just been with Pawikan heard “many” shots. They were too afraid to investigate. After some time a group of soldiers came and returned the child to Pawikan’s mother-in-law. The baby was covered in blood but otherwise uninjured. The next day soldiers from the locally based 48th Infantry Battalion told the villagers Pawikan had fought the soldiers and they had no choice but to shoot him.
Human Rights Watch also found that the Philippines government is consistently failing in its obligations under international human rights law to hold accountable perpetrators of politically motivated killings, and thus denying victims’ families justice. One apparent roadblock to prosecutions is the seeming unwillingness of senior military officials to even recognize that superior commanders may be legally responsible for acts of their subordinates as a matter of command responsibility. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. told the media, “Criminal acts only involve the individual.”
The Philippine national police also frequently labels cases “solved” when a suspect has been identified and charges have been filed before the prosecutor or the court, even if the evidence and allegations are so uncertain as to raise significant doubts that a viable case could ever be pursued. The alleged perpetrator is very rarely in custody and in many cases is not even capable of being apprehended. Families told Human Rights Watch that they received little or no information from the police about the state of investigations, and that the police showed almost no concern as to whether the victim’s family still has unanswered questions or concerns. One widow said: “We’ve had no contact [with the police] since the killing .... That’s why we don’t trust them. Because it’s been almost two months, and the investigation doesn’t seem resolved.”
“The armed forces serve the civilian authority, but the government isn’t exercising that authority when it matters most – in protecting civilians,” said Richardson. “The victims and their families deserve better from their government.”
In response to growing international pressure, in August 2006 President Arroyo created a special police body, Task Force Usig, which she charged with solving 10 cases in 10 weeks. At the end of its mandate the Task Force claimed that 21 cases were “solved” by filing cases in court against identified suspects, all of them members of the Communist Party of the Philippines or the NPA. Only 12 suspects involved in these incidents were actually in police custody.
In August 2006, President Arroyo also created the Melo Commission to further probe the killings of media workers and left-wing activists since 2001. The commission’s report, which was only made public under pressure from United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston, failed to provide any new information or analysis on the cases. At the commission’s hearings, army and police officials were not challenged when they advanced distorted understandings of command responsibility, and were instead indulged in lengthy digressions on the importance of neutralizing the NPA threat. The Melo Commission’s mandate expires on June 30, 2007.
Human Rights Watch said that while the government claims that it is doing all it can to address abuses, it has taken few concrete steps to end the killings or prosecute perpetrators. On paper, the Philippines has a witness protection scheme, special courts to investigate political killings, and a variety of government taskforces and commissions investigating extrajudicial executions, but the government is failing to implement these measures in a credible or convincing manner. This generates widespread fear, particularly in affected rural communities, of further military abuses. Witnesses and family members of victims are afraid to cooperate with police for fear of becoming targets of reprisal.
Human Rights Watch called on the Philippine government to immediately issue an executive order to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippines National Police reiterating the prohibition on the extrajudicial killing of any person. In addition, Human Rights Watch has urged the United States to consider suspending military aid to the Philippines until members of the military suspected of involvement in murders have been prosecuted.
“Actions speak louder than words, and the only real proof of the government’s commitment to end these killings will be when the perpetrators are finally held to account in a court of law,” said Richardson. “Until the Arroyo administration, the army and police act on their obligations to investigate crimes and prosecute the perpetrators, even when they are members of the security forces, people will continue to get away with murder in the Philippines.”
Selected statements from “Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines”:
“At the moment I’m receiving texts saying someone will follow members of the family. I don’t know if it’s a threat or a warning. He says in some of the texts that he knows who killed my father and that I should go talk to him. I don’t know who he is. I just have his number… [I’ve received around] twenty. Saying things like ‘Don’t investigate or we’ll get your family.’”
– Marilyn Llamas, September 21, 2006
“[One witness] has already disappeared. The other witnesses are afraid of the situation here. They are afraid that the perpetrators will begin to kill them also, because they were [warned] by the perpetrators that they will come back and kill them if they talk about the incident ... I am afraid that their families will also be killed if they stand up regarding the incident .... If I push the case I’m afraid of what might happen to [me and my family]. So I’m not quite sure if I’ll pursue the case or not.”
– Maria Balani (not her real name), date withheld, 2006
“After the internment of my sister, the police investigators invited me to come talk to them ... Okay, I went. They asked me for my statement, so I gave them the same statement I’m giving you now. But I noticed that the investigator did not write down my statement ... They did nothing.”
– Human Rights Watch interview with Maria Fabicon (not her real name), date withheld, 2006
-----------------------------////----------------------------------
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Henry Sy, pinakamayamang tao sa Pilipinas, tax evader?
Sinasabing nagmamay-ari ng pinakamalaking biggest chain sa Southeast Asia, itinuturing pinakamahusay, pinakamadiskarteng entepreneur at manager, the most profitable, the bigger scale at itinuturing modelo ng pagnenegosyo sa Pilipinas si Henry Sy. Ang tanong, magkano ang ibinayad nito sa buwis?
May asset na P227.0 BILYON ang pinanghahawakang kumpanyang SM Investment Corporation, pinakamalaki kung ikukumpara sa mga Zobel-Ayala at iba pang Taipan. Tumubo ito noong nakaraang taon ng mahigit P15.24 bilyon, tumaas ng 38.7% kung ikukumpara sa nakalipas na taon.
Sa Real Estate business, bumulusok ng P5.7 bilyon ang kinita ng kanyang SM Prime Holdings, tumaas ng mahigit 18.5% kung ikukumpara noong nakaraang taon. Kahit nagsisimula't kababagong pasok pa lang, nadominahan agad ni Henry Sy ang pagnenegosyo sa pagbabangko. May pinagsamang total na asset na P650.0 bilyon ang Banco de Oro at Equitable PCI na siya ngayong nangungunang pinakamalaking pautangan sa bansa. Ang dalawa ay may 14% ng kabuuang market share ng Philippine commercial banking system sa bansa.
Sa larangan ng pagnenegosyo sa RESORT, bumibilis ang asenso nito at parang kabuting itinatayo ang mga condominium at resort sa labas at loob ng Metro Manila.
Ang malaking tanong, sa kabila ng bilyong pisong kinakamal nitong kita sa bawat araw ni Henry Sy at iba pang Taipan, bakit si Kris Aquino, si Manny Pacman Pacquiao at ilang showbiz personality pa rin ang nangunguna sa bansa na may pinakamalaking ibinabayad sa buwis. Ang hamon kay Henry Sy, iba pang Taipan, BIR at LGUs (Metro Manila, Cebu, Baguio at Davao, magkano ang ibinabayad na buwis ng mga ito taun-taon? Sa isyu ng transparency at bilang Public documents, kung ito ma'y nagbayad, magkano ang ibinabayad at wasto ba ang ibinayad nitong REAL PROPERT TAX sa BIR at sa Lokal na Gubyerno?
Sa tindi ng krisis, kakulangang ng pondo, kakulangan ng paaralan at guro, mga serbisyo publiko ng LGUs-national government (maliban sa pangungurakot) at kung paano nito tutugunan ang paparating na bantang natural at man made na kalamidad, epidemyang dengue, malaria, baha, bagyo, hindi maiiwasang magduda si Mang Pandoy at paniwalaang dinuduktor (tax evader) ang tamang babayaring buwis ng mga Taipan lalo na ang share na buwis ng mga Lunsod na kinatitirikang ng kanilang business empire.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 26, 2007
May asset na P227.0 BILYON ang pinanghahawakang kumpanyang SM Investment Corporation, pinakamalaki kung ikukumpara sa mga Zobel-Ayala at iba pang Taipan. Tumubo ito noong nakaraang taon ng mahigit P15.24 bilyon, tumaas ng 38.7% kung ikukumpara sa nakalipas na taon.
Sa Real Estate business, bumulusok ng P5.7 bilyon ang kinita ng kanyang SM Prime Holdings, tumaas ng mahigit 18.5% kung ikukumpara noong nakaraang taon. Kahit nagsisimula't kababagong pasok pa lang, nadominahan agad ni Henry Sy ang pagnenegosyo sa pagbabangko. May pinagsamang total na asset na P650.0 bilyon ang Banco de Oro at Equitable PCI na siya ngayong nangungunang pinakamalaking pautangan sa bansa. Ang dalawa ay may 14% ng kabuuang market share ng Philippine commercial banking system sa bansa.
Sa larangan ng pagnenegosyo sa RESORT, bumibilis ang asenso nito at parang kabuting itinatayo ang mga condominium at resort sa labas at loob ng Metro Manila.
Ang malaking tanong, sa kabila ng bilyong pisong kinakamal nitong kita sa bawat araw ni Henry Sy at iba pang Taipan, bakit si Kris Aquino, si Manny Pacman Pacquiao at ilang showbiz personality pa rin ang nangunguna sa bansa na may pinakamalaking ibinabayad sa buwis. Ang hamon kay Henry Sy, iba pang Taipan, BIR at LGUs (Metro Manila, Cebu, Baguio at Davao, magkano ang ibinabayad na buwis ng mga ito taun-taon? Sa isyu ng transparency at bilang Public documents, kung ito ma'y nagbayad, magkano ang ibinabayad at wasto ba ang ibinayad nitong REAL PROPERT TAX sa BIR at sa Lokal na Gubyerno?
Sa tindi ng krisis, kakulangang ng pondo, kakulangan ng paaralan at guro, mga serbisyo publiko ng LGUs-national government (maliban sa pangungurakot) at kung paano nito tutugunan ang paparating na bantang natural at man made na kalamidad, epidemyang dengue, malaria, baha, bagyo, hindi maiiwasang magduda si Mang Pandoy at paniwalaang dinuduktor (tax evader) ang tamang babayaring buwis ng mga Taipan lalo na ang share na buwis ng mga Lunsod na kinatitirikang ng kanilang business empire.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 26, 2007
Ang pelikulang "LOOSE CHANGE" (2nd EDITION)
The ACTIVIST SCHOOL FILM and LECTURE SERIES presentation:
It is video documentary on the 911 attack on America but from a different perspective. This is where you'll find all the information you need on Loose Change, the independent documentary that has grown from a cult following to a grassroots organism that can no longer be contained.
The central premise of Loose Change is that the United States Government was, at the very least, criminally negligent in allowing the attacks of September 11th, 2001 to occur. However, when one looks deeper into the evidence, one might come to the startling conclusion that the US government might have been directly responsible for the attacks themselves.
Loose Change merely scratches the surface of information that points to a massive US government cover-up regarding 9/11.
The same conspiracy theory that President Roosevelt allowed the Japanese to assault the US fleet in 1941, in order to force America into World War II, a carbon copy of Operation Northwoods, an aborted plan by President Kennedy to stage terror attacks in America and blame them on Communist Cuba as a pretext for a U.S. invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro? A fabrication of the US-Anglo Saxon imperialist elite to create an outrage against civilian to fool the world and provide a pretext for war on Al Qaeda, Iraq, Afghanistan, Middle East and Southern Philippines.
The film is so popular that up to 100 million viewers have watched what is being dubbed the first internet blockbuster. Loose Change 911 is the most provocative 911 documentary. We recommend you watch this video.
Just came across this video and web site http://www.loosechange911.com/
Doy / Social Movement
Institute for Popular Democracy
June 26, 2007
It is video documentary on the 911 attack on America but from a different perspective. This is where you'll find all the information you need on Loose Change, the independent documentary that has grown from a cult following to a grassroots organism that can no longer be contained.
The central premise of Loose Change is that the United States Government was, at the very least, criminally negligent in allowing the attacks of September 11th, 2001 to occur. However, when one looks deeper into the evidence, one might come to the startling conclusion that the US government might have been directly responsible for the attacks themselves.
Loose Change merely scratches the surface of information that points to a massive US government cover-up regarding 9/11.
The same conspiracy theory that President Roosevelt allowed the Japanese to assault the US fleet in 1941, in order to force America into World War II, a carbon copy of Operation Northwoods, an aborted plan by President Kennedy to stage terror attacks in America and blame them on Communist Cuba as a pretext for a U.S. invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro? A fabrication of the US-Anglo Saxon imperialist elite to create an outrage against civilian to fool the world and provide a pretext for war on Al Qaeda, Iraq, Afghanistan, Middle East and Southern Philippines.
The film is so popular that up to 100 million viewers have watched what is being dubbed the first internet blockbuster. Loose Change 911 is the most provocative 911 documentary. We recommend you watch this video.
Just came across this video and web site http://www.loosechange911.com/
Doy / Social Movement
Institute for Popular Democracy
June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Great Biofuel Hoax
By Eric Holt-Gimenez, Indypendent. Posted June 25, 2007.
Link: http://www.alternet.org/environment/54218/
Touted by politicians and industry as "green" energy, biofuels come with a high price tag.
For an alternative viewpoint on corn-based ethanol, read "David Morris's Give Ethanol a Chance: The Case for Corn-Based Fuel."
Biofuels invoke an image of renewable abundance that allows industry, politicians, the World Bank, the United Nations and even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to present fuel from corn, sugarcane, soy and other crops as a replacement for oil that will bring about a smooth transition to a renewablefuel economy.
Myths of abundance divert attention from powerful economic interests that benefit from this biofuels transition, avoiding discussion of the growing price that citizens of the global South are beginning to pay to maintain the consumptive oil-based lifestyle of the North. Biofuel mania obscures the profound consequences of the industrial transformation of our food and fuel systems -- the agro-fuels transition.
The Agro-fuels Boom
Industrialized countries have unleashed an "agro-fuels boom" by mandating ambitious renewable fuel targets. Renewable fuels are to provide 5.75 percent of Europe's transport fuel by 2010, and 10 percent by 2020. The U.S. goal is 35 billion gallons a year. These targets far exceed the agricultural capacities of the industrial North. Europe would need to use 70 percent of its farmland for fuel.
The United States' entire corn and soy harvest would need to be processed as ethanol and biodiesel. Northern countries expect the global South to meet their fuel needs, and southern governments appear eager to oblige. Indonesia and Malaysia are rapidly cutting down forests to expand oil-palm plantations targeted to supply up to 20 percent of the European Union biodiesel market. In Brazil -- where fuel crops already occupy an area the size of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Great Britain combined -- the government is planning a fivefold increase in sugar cane acreage with a goal of replacing 10 percent of the world's gasoline by 2025.
The rapid capitalization and concentration of power within the agro-fuels industry is breathtaking. From 2004 to 2007, venture capital investment in agro-fuels increased eightfold. Private investment is swamping public research institutions, as evidenced by BP's recent award of half a billion dollars to the University of California. In open defiance of national anti-trust laws, giant oil, grain, auto and genetic engineering corporations are forming powerful partnerships: ADM with Monsanto, Chevron and Volkswagen, BP with DuPont and Toyota. These corporations are consolidating research, production, processing and distribution chains of our food and fuel system under one colossal, industrial roof.
Agro-fuel champions assure us that because fuel crops are renewable, they are environmentally friendly and can reduce global warming, fostering rural development. But the tremendous market power of agro-fuel corporations, coupled with weak political will of governments to regulate their activities, is a recipe for environmental disaster and increasing hunger in the global South. It's time to examine the myths fueling this biofuel boom -- before it's too late.
Myth #1: Agro-fuels are clean and green
Because photosynthesis from fuel crops removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and can reduce fossil fuel consumption, we are told fuel crops are green. But when the full "life cycle" of agro-fuels is considered -- from land clearing to automotive consumption -- the moderate emission savings are undone by far greater emissions from deforestation, burning, peat drainage, cultivation and soil carbon losses. Every ton of palm oil produced results in 33 tons of carbon dioxide emissions -- 10 times more than petroleum. Clearing tropical forests for sugarcane ethanol emits 50 percent more greenhouse gases than the production and use of the same amount of gasoline.
There are other environmental problems as well. Industrial agro-fuels require large applications of petroleum-based fertilizers, whose global use has more than doubled the biologically available nitrogen in the world, contributing heavily to the emission of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
To produce a liter of ethanol takes three to five liters of irrigation water and produces up to 13 liters of waste water. It takes the energy equivalent of 113 liters of natural gas to treat this waste, increasing the likelihood that it will simply be released into the environment. Intensive cultivation of fuel crops also leads to high rates of erosion.
Myth #2: Agro-fuels will not result in deforestation
Proponents of agro-fuels argue that fuel crops planted on ecologically degraded lands will improve, rather than destroy, the environment. Perhaps the government of Brazil had this in mind when it re-classified some 200 million hectares of dry tropical forests, grassland and marshes as "degraded" and apt for cultivation. In reality, these are the bio-diverse ecosystems of the Mata Atlantica, the Cerrado and the Pantanal, occupied by indigenous people, subsistence farmers and extensive cattle ranches.
The introduction of agro-fuel plantations will simply push these communities to the "agricultural frontier" of the Amazon where deforestation will intensify. Soybeans supply 40 percent of Brazil's biodiesel. NASA has positively correlated their market price with the destruction of the Amazon rainforest -- currently at nearly 325,000 hectares a year.
Myth #3: Agro-fuels will bring rural development
In the tropics, 100 hectares dedicated to family farming generates 35 jobs. Oil palm and sugarcane provide 10 jobs, eucalyptus two and soybeans just one half-job per 100 hectares, all poorly paid. Until this boom, agro-fuels primarily supplied local markets, and even in the United States, most ethanol plants were small and farmer-owned. Big Oil, Big Grain and Big Genetic Engineering are rapidly consolidating control over the entire agro-fuel value chain.
The market power of these corporations is staggering: Cargill and ADM control 65 percent of the global grain trade, Monsanto and Syngenta a quarter of the $60 billion gene-tech industry. This market power allows these companies to extract profits from the most lucrative and low-risk segments of the value chain -- hundreds of thousands of small farmers have already been displaced by soybean plantations in South America.
Myth #4: Agro-fuels will not cause hunger
Hunger, said Amartya Sen, results not from scarcity, but poverty. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, there is enough food in the world to supply everyone with a daily 3,500-calorie diet of grains, fresh fruit, nuts, vegetables, dairy and meat.
Nonetheless, because they are poor, 824 million people continue to go hungry. If current trends continue, some 1.2 billion people could be chronically hungry by 2025 -- 600 million more than previously predicted. World food aid will not likely come to the rescue because surpluses will go into our gas tanks. What is urgently needed is massive transfers of food-producing resources to the rural poor, not converting land to fuel production.
Myth #5: Better "second-generation" agrofuels are just around the corner
Proponents of agro-fuels argue that current agro-fuels made from food crops will soon be replaced with environmentally friendly crops like fast-growing trees and switchgrass. This myth, wryly referred to as the "bait and switchgrass" shell game, makes food-based fuels socially acceptable.
The agro-fuel transition transforms land use on a massive scale, pitting food production against fuel production for land, water and resources. The issue of which crops are converted to fuel is irrelevant. Wild plants cultivated as fuel crops won't have a smaller "environmental footprint." They will rapidly migrate from hedgerows and woodlots onto arable lands to be intensively cultivated like any other industrial crop, with all the associated environmental externalities.
Agro-fuel: a new industrial revolution?
The International Energy Agency estimates that over the next 23 years, the world could produce as much as 147 million tons of agro-fuel. This will be accompanied by a lot of carbon, nitrous oxide, erosion and more than two billion tons of waste water. Remarkably, this fuel will barely offset the yearly increase in global oil demand, now standing at 136 million tons a year -- not offsetting any of the existing demand.
The agro-fuel transition is based on a 200-year relation between agriculture and industry that began with the Industrial Revolution. The invention of the steam engine promised an end to drudgery. As governments privatized common lands, dispossessed peasants supplied cheap farm and factory labor. Cheap oil and petroleum- based fertilizers opened up agriculture itself to industrial capital.
Mechanization intensified production, keeping food prices low and industry booming. The last 100 years have seen a threefold global shift to urban living with as many people now living in cities as in the countryside. The massive transfer of wealth from agriculture to industry, the industrialization of agriculture, and the rural-urban shift are all part of the "agrarian transition," transforming most of the world's fuel and food systems and establishing non-renewable petroleum as the foundation of today's multi-trilliondollar agri-foods industry.
The pillars of this agri-foods industry are the great grain corporations, including ADM, Cargill and Bunge. They are surrounded by an equally formidable consolidation of agro-chemical, seed and machinery companies on the one hand and food processors, distributors and supermarket chains on the other.
Like the original agrarian transition, the present agro-fuels transition will "enclose the commons" by industrializing the remaining forests and prairies of the world. It will drive the planet's remaining smallholders, family farmers and indigenous peoples to the cities. This government-industry collusion has the potential to funnel rural resources to urban centers in the form of fuel, concentrating industrial wealth. But this time, there is no cheap fuel to drive industrial expansion and there will be no jobs for the masses of people displaced from the countryside. Millions of people may be pushed farther into poverty.
Building Food and Fuel Sovereignty
The agro-fuels transition is not inevitable. There is no inherent reason to sacrifice sustainable, equitable food and fuel systems to industry. Many successful, locally focused, energyefficient and people-centered alternatives are presently producing food and fuel in ways that do not threaten food systems, the environment or livelihoods.
The question is not whether ethanol and biodiesel have a place in our future, but whether or not we allow a handful of global corporations to impoverish the planet and the majority of its people. To avoid this trap we must promote a steady-state agrarian transition built on re-distributive land reform that re-populates and stabilizes the world's struggling rural communities. This includes rebuilding and strengthening our local food systems and creating conditions for the local re-investment of rural wealth. Putting people and environment -- instead of corporate megaprofits -- at the center of rural development requires food sovereignty: the right of people to determine their own food systems.
------------------------////-----------------------------
Link: http://www.alternet.org/environment/54218/
Touted by politicians and industry as "green" energy, biofuels come with a high price tag.
For an alternative viewpoint on corn-based ethanol, read "David Morris's Give Ethanol a Chance: The Case for Corn-Based Fuel."
Biofuels invoke an image of renewable abundance that allows industry, politicians, the World Bank, the United Nations and even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to present fuel from corn, sugarcane, soy and other crops as a replacement for oil that will bring about a smooth transition to a renewablefuel economy.
Myths of abundance divert attention from powerful economic interests that benefit from this biofuels transition, avoiding discussion of the growing price that citizens of the global South are beginning to pay to maintain the consumptive oil-based lifestyle of the North. Biofuel mania obscures the profound consequences of the industrial transformation of our food and fuel systems -- the agro-fuels transition.
The Agro-fuels Boom
Industrialized countries have unleashed an "agro-fuels boom" by mandating ambitious renewable fuel targets. Renewable fuels are to provide 5.75 percent of Europe's transport fuel by 2010, and 10 percent by 2020. The U.S. goal is 35 billion gallons a year. These targets far exceed the agricultural capacities of the industrial North. Europe would need to use 70 percent of its farmland for fuel.
The United States' entire corn and soy harvest would need to be processed as ethanol and biodiesel. Northern countries expect the global South to meet their fuel needs, and southern governments appear eager to oblige. Indonesia and Malaysia are rapidly cutting down forests to expand oil-palm plantations targeted to supply up to 20 percent of the European Union biodiesel market. In Brazil -- where fuel crops already occupy an area the size of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Great Britain combined -- the government is planning a fivefold increase in sugar cane acreage with a goal of replacing 10 percent of the world's gasoline by 2025.
The rapid capitalization and concentration of power within the agro-fuels industry is breathtaking. From 2004 to 2007, venture capital investment in agro-fuels increased eightfold. Private investment is swamping public research institutions, as evidenced by BP's recent award of half a billion dollars to the University of California. In open defiance of national anti-trust laws, giant oil, grain, auto and genetic engineering corporations are forming powerful partnerships: ADM with Monsanto, Chevron and Volkswagen, BP with DuPont and Toyota. These corporations are consolidating research, production, processing and distribution chains of our food and fuel system under one colossal, industrial roof.
Agro-fuel champions assure us that because fuel crops are renewable, they are environmentally friendly and can reduce global warming, fostering rural development. But the tremendous market power of agro-fuel corporations, coupled with weak political will of governments to regulate their activities, is a recipe for environmental disaster and increasing hunger in the global South. It's time to examine the myths fueling this biofuel boom -- before it's too late.
Myth #1: Agro-fuels are clean and green
Because photosynthesis from fuel crops removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and can reduce fossil fuel consumption, we are told fuel crops are green. But when the full "life cycle" of agro-fuels is considered -- from land clearing to automotive consumption -- the moderate emission savings are undone by far greater emissions from deforestation, burning, peat drainage, cultivation and soil carbon losses. Every ton of palm oil produced results in 33 tons of carbon dioxide emissions -- 10 times more than petroleum. Clearing tropical forests for sugarcane ethanol emits 50 percent more greenhouse gases than the production and use of the same amount of gasoline.
There are other environmental problems as well. Industrial agro-fuels require large applications of petroleum-based fertilizers, whose global use has more than doubled the biologically available nitrogen in the world, contributing heavily to the emission of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
To produce a liter of ethanol takes three to five liters of irrigation water and produces up to 13 liters of waste water. It takes the energy equivalent of 113 liters of natural gas to treat this waste, increasing the likelihood that it will simply be released into the environment. Intensive cultivation of fuel crops also leads to high rates of erosion.
Myth #2: Agro-fuels will not result in deforestation
Proponents of agro-fuels argue that fuel crops planted on ecologically degraded lands will improve, rather than destroy, the environment. Perhaps the government of Brazil had this in mind when it re-classified some 200 million hectares of dry tropical forests, grassland and marshes as "degraded" and apt for cultivation. In reality, these are the bio-diverse ecosystems of the Mata Atlantica, the Cerrado and the Pantanal, occupied by indigenous people, subsistence farmers and extensive cattle ranches.
The introduction of agro-fuel plantations will simply push these communities to the "agricultural frontier" of the Amazon where deforestation will intensify. Soybeans supply 40 percent of Brazil's biodiesel. NASA has positively correlated their market price with the destruction of the Amazon rainforest -- currently at nearly 325,000 hectares a year.
Myth #3: Agro-fuels will bring rural development
In the tropics, 100 hectares dedicated to family farming generates 35 jobs. Oil palm and sugarcane provide 10 jobs, eucalyptus two and soybeans just one half-job per 100 hectares, all poorly paid. Until this boom, agro-fuels primarily supplied local markets, and even in the United States, most ethanol plants were small and farmer-owned. Big Oil, Big Grain and Big Genetic Engineering are rapidly consolidating control over the entire agro-fuel value chain.
The market power of these corporations is staggering: Cargill and ADM control 65 percent of the global grain trade, Monsanto and Syngenta a quarter of the $60 billion gene-tech industry. This market power allows these companies to extract profits from the most lucrative and low-risk segments of the value chain -- hundreds of thousands of small farmers have already been displaced by soybean plantations in South America.
Myth #4: Agro-fuels will not cause hunger
Hunger, said Amartya Sen, results not from scarcity, but poverty. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, there is enough food in the world to supply everyone with a daily 3,500-calorie diet of grains, fresh fruit, nuts, vegetables, dairy and meat.
Nonetheless, because they are poor, 824 million people continue to go hungry. If current trends continue, some 1.2 billion people could be chronically hungry by 2025 -- 600 million more than previously predicted. World food aid will not likely come to the rescue because surpluses will go into our gas tanks. What is urgently needed is massive transfers of food-producing resources to the rural poor, not converting land to fuel production.
Myth #5: Better "second-generation" agrofuels are just around the corner
Proponents of agro-fuels argue that current agro-fuels made from food crops will soon be replaced with environmentally friendly crops like fast-growing trees and switchgrass. This myth, wryly referred to as the "bait and switchgrass" shell game, makes food-based fuels socially acceptable.
The agro-fuel transition transforms land use on a massive scale, pitting food production against fuel production for land, water and resources. The issue of which crops are converted to fuel is irrelevant. Wild plants cultivated as fuel crops won't have a smaller "environmental footprint." They will rapidly migrate from hedgerows and woodlots onto arable lands to be intensively cultivated like any other industrial crop, with all the associated environmental externalities.
Agro-fuel: a new industrial revolution?
The International Energy Agency estimates that over the next 23 years, the world could produce as much as 147 million tons of agro-fuel. This will be accompanied by a lot of carbon, nitrous oxide, erosion and more than two billion tons of waste water. Remarkably, this fuel will barely offset the yearly increase in global oil demand, now standing at 136 million tons a year -- not offsetting any of the existing demand.
The agro-fuel transition is based on a 200-year relation between agriculture and industry that began with the Industrial Revolution. The invention of the steam engine promised an end to drudgery. As governments privatized common lands, dispossessed peasants supplied cheap farm and factory labor. Cheap oil and petroleum- based fertilizers opened up agriculture itself to industrial capital.
Mechanization intensified production, keeping food prices low and industry booming. The last 100 years have seen a threefold global shift to urban living with as many people now living in cities as in the countryside. The massive transfer of wealth from agriculture to industry, the industrialization of agriculture, and the rural-urban shift are all part of the "agrarian transition," transforming most of the world's fuel and food systems and establishing non-renewable petroleum as the foundation of today's multi-trilliondollar agri-foods industry.
The pillars of this agri-foods industry are the great grain corporations, including ADM, Cargill and Bunge. They are surrounded by an equally formidable consolidation of agro-chemical, seed and machinery companies on the one hand and food processors, distributors and supermarket chains on the other.
Like the original agrarian transition, the present agro-fuels transition will "enclose the commons" by industrializing the remaining forests and prairies of the world. It will drive the planet's remaining smallholders, family farmers and indigenous peoples to the cities. This government-industry collusion has the potential to funnel rural resources to urban centers in the form of fuel, concentrating industrial wealth. But this time, there is no cheap fuel to drive industrial expansion and there will be no jobs for the masses of people displaced from the countryside. Millions of people may be pushed farther into poverty.
Building Food and Fuel Sovereignty
The agro-fuels transition is not inevitable. There is no inherent reason to sacrifice sustainable, equitable food and fuel systems to industry. Many successful, locally focused, energyefficient and people-centered alternatives are presently producing food and fuel in ways that do not threaten food systems, the environment or livelihoods.
The question is not whether ethanol and biodiesel have a place in our future, but whether or not we allow a handful of global corporations to impoverish the planet and the majority of its people. To avoid this trap we must promote a steady-state agrarian transition built on re-distributive land reform that re-populates and stabilizes the world's struggling rural communities. This includes rebuilding and strengthening our local food systems and creating conditions for the local re-investment of rural wealth. Putting people and environment -- instead of corporate megaprofits -- at the center of rural development requires food sovereignty: the right of people to determine their own food systems.
------------------------////-----------------------------
Friday, June 22, 2007
Hindi sapat ang modernisasyon (counting machine)
Hindi ganap na masasawata ng modernisasyon at computerization ng halalan ang malalim na ugat na kabulukan ng sistemang pulitika at election. Ang hirap intindihin ang ilang pulitiko kung bakit ipinipilit ang modernization sa election samantalang naipakita ng 'di umubra ito sa Mindanao noong June 1996 ARRM election. Hindi ganap na malulusaw sa pamamagitan ng modernization at computerization ang Kasal Binyag Libing (KBL) at sistemang padri-padrino ng pulitika.
Hindi dapat malimita't maipokus lamang sa yugto ng bilangan, tulad ng computerization ang pagbabagong nais ng country. Maaaring sabihin makakatulong sa "pagpapabilis ng bilangan, cost effective, mamiminimized ang errors at sinasabing liliit ang chance ng dagdag-bawas." Kaya lang maihahambing ito sa isang "palaka na nasa loob ng lungga." Mga "palakang ang nakikita lamang kalangitan ay kapirasong butas ng lungga" at hindi ang kabuuang lawak ng kalangitan. Kung baga, isang kapirasong kalangitan o dayaan at anomlya lamang ang nakikita ng palaka, hindi ang kabuuang kundukta ng election period at kabulukan ng sistema. Ito ang mga kadahilanan kung bakit sinasabing ang modernization ay hindi makasasapat at makakapaggarantiya ng isang malinis, may kredibilidad at kapani-paniwalang election.
Mas kapani-paniwala ng mahigit isang libong beses na mauuwi lamang sa isyu ng MEGA PACIFIC, pagkakaperahan ng mga tiwali sa gubyerno, sa Tongreso at sa Comelec ang modernization. Bukud sa pangungurakot, napatunayan at napruwebahan na ang computerization sa congressional ARMM areas (automated counting machine) noong March 1996 , sa kasawiang palad, nagpatuloy ang patayan, kaguluhan at garapalang dayaan.
Hindi uubra ang modernization at computerization sa mga Ampatuan ng Luzon Visayas at Mindanao, sa mga warlords at Guns, Golds, Goons at Girls. Ang dapat tutukan ni Sen Loren Legarda, Dick Gordon at iba pang pulitiko ay ang pagpapalakas ng Partido Pulitikal, proportional representation at pagsasa-ayos ng campaign finance. Ang dalawa ay halos 'di nalalayo sa position ni Ate Glo at ng Malakanyang kung saan mukhang "seryoso't naghahanap na ng LEGACY" sa natitirang talong taong panunungkulan. Para kay Ate Glo, ang pagbabago sa pulitika at election at pagsibak sa lahat ng commissioner sa Comelec, partikular si Abalos ang pinakamagandang LEGACY at relago niya sa mamamayang Pilipino bago mag 2010 presidential election.
Sariwa pa ang madudugo't karahasan sa katatapos na May midterm election. Kung seryoso ang Malakanyang, hindi dapat mapokus at malimita sa pagpapahusay ng pagbibilang ang pagbabago sa election. Dapat mabatid ni Ate Glo na hinding-hindi mawawala ang “hello Garci dagdag-bawas controversy” at ang katiwalian sa Comelec dahil lamang sa modernisasyon ng halalan. Sapagkat ang malaking bahagi ng election period, ang election conduct at proseso ay isang malaking dayaan na.
Paano masasawata ng modernization ang sakit na cancer ng private armies, ang kabulukan ng political clans, political party at plataporme de gubyerno? Hinding-hindi masusulusyunan ng isang modernization at computerization ng pagbibilang lamang ang katiwalian ni Abalos, ang maraming Bedol at Garci sa Comelec. Mas matutuwa pa ang marami kung io-overhaul pa ni Ate Glo ang Comelec (hanggang munisipyo), kasuhan at ipakulong ang mga nakinabang at nagsipagyaman sa katiwalian.
Ang katiwalian sa election ay hindi lamang nagagnap sa bilangan, nobenta porsiento (90%) ng dayaan ay nagsisimula pa lamang sa pre-campaign period, campaign period at canvassing. Talamak ang dayaan sa campaign period, lalo na sa campaign finance, ang sobrang gastusing sa kanpanya, ang vote buying at voter's dis-enfranchisement ng mga botante, ang propaganda campaign hanggang canvassing at proklamasyon.
Sabi nga ni Mang Pandoy, 'wag kayong maliligaw, "sariwa pa ang trahedya't karumaldumal na kaganapan nuong nakaraang buwan election noong Mayo 14." Hindi kayang resolbahin ng modernization at computerization ang problemang ng kabulukan sa pulitika at election.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 22, 2007
Hindi dapat malimita't maipokus lamang sa yugto ng bilangan, tulad ng computerization ang pagbabagong nais ng country. Maaaring sabihin makakatulong sa "pagpapabilis ng bilangan, cost effective, mamiminimized ang errors at sinasabing liliit ang chance ng dagdag-bawas." Kaya lang maihahambing ito sa isang "palaka na nasa loob ng lungga." Mga "palakang ang nakikita lamang kalangitan ay kapirasong butas ng lungga" at hindi ang kabuuang lawak ng kalangitan. Kung baga, isang kapirasong kalangitan o dayaan at anomlya lamang ang nakikita ng palaka, hindi ang kabuuang kundukta ng election period at kabulukan ng sistema. Ito ang mga kadahilanan kung bakit sinasabing ang modernization ay hindi makasasapat at makakapaggarantiya ng isang malinis, may kredibilidad at kapani-paniwalang election.
Mas kapani-paniwala ng mahigit isang libong beses na mauuwi lamang sa isyu ng MEGA PACIFIC, pagkakaperahan ng mga tiwali sa gubyerno, sa Tongreso at sa Comelec ang modernization. Bukud sa pangungurakot, napatunayan at napruwebahan na ang computerization sa congressional ARMM areas (automated counting machine) noong March 1996 , sa kasawiang palad, nagpatuloy ang patayan, kaguluhan at garapalang dayaan.
Hindi uubra ang modernization at computerization sa mga Ampatuan ng Luzon Visayas at Mindanao, sa mga warlords at Guns, Golds, Goons at Girls. Ang dapat tutukan ni Sen Loren Legarda, Dick Gordon at iba pang pulitiko ay ang pagpapalakas ng Partido Pulitikal, proportional representation at pagsasa-ayos ng campaign finance. Ang dalawa ay halos 'di nalalayo sa position ni Ate Glo at ng Malakanyang kung saan mukhang "seryoso't naghahanap na ng LEGACY" sa natitirang talong taong panunungkulan. Para kay Ate Glo, ang pagbabago sa pulitika at election at pagsibak sa lahat ng commissioner sa Comelec, partikular si Abalos ang pinakamagandang LEGACY at relago niya sa mamamayang Pilipino bago mag 2010 presidential election.
Sariwa pa ang madudugo't karahasan sa katatapos na May midterm election. Kung seryoso ang Malakanyang, hindi dapat mapokus at malimita sa pagpapahusay ng pagbibilang ang pagbabago sa election. Dapat mabatid ni Ate Glo na hinding-hindi mawawala ang “hello Garci dagdag-bawas controversy” at ang katiwalian sa Comelec dahil lamang sa modernisasyon ng halalan. Sapagkat ang malaking bahagi ng election period, ang election conduct at proseso ay isang malaking dayaan na.
Paano masasawata ng modernization ang sakit na cancer ng private armies, ang kabulukan ng political clans, political party at plataporme de gubyerno? Hinding-hindi masusulusyunan ng isang modernization at computerization ng pagbibilang lamang ang katiwalian ni Abalos, ang maraming Bedol at Garci sa Comelec. Mas matutuwa pa ang marami kung io-overhaul pa ni Ate Glo ang Comelec (hanggang munisipyo), kasuhan at ipakulong ang mga nakinabang at nagsipagyaman sa katiwalian.
Ang katiwalian sa election ay hindi lamang nagagnap sa bilangan, nobenta porsiento (90%) ng dayaan ay nagsisimula pa lamang sa pre-campaign period, campaign period at canvassing. Talamak ang dayaan sa campaign period, lalo na sa campaign finance, ang sobrang gastusing sa kanpanya, ang vote buying at voter's dis-enfranchisement ng mga botante, ang propaganda campaign hanggang canvassing at proklamasyon.
Sabi nga ni Mang Pandoy, 'wag kayong maliligaw, "sariwa pa ang trahedya't karumaldumal na kaganapan nuong nakaraang buwan election noong Mayo 14." Hindi kayang resolbahin ng modernization at computerization ang problemang ng kabulukan sa pulitika at election.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 22, 2007
KOTONGAN sa Kongreso, hindi na balita!
Hindi na balita ang kotongan sa Kongreso. Ang balita ay kung ganap na mawawala na ang kikilan, may accountability at responsable na ang Kongreso. Ang balita ay kung ang malaking bilang sa Tongreso ay nagsipagtino na't nalinis na sa mga katiwalian, sa sindikato at mapia, 'yan ang balita at headline. Kaya't 'wag ng magmang-maangan pa si Rolex Suplico, outgoing Congressman, nag-iisang oposisyon na kabilang sa 12 makapangyarihang Commission on Appointment sa Tongreso at nahalal bilang Bise Gobernador ng Iloilo.
Sadyang na-institusyunalisa na ng ilang dekada ang gawaing pangingikil, extortion o pangongotong sa Tongreso. Open secret, ika nga ng ilang insider sa loob, "ang lahat ng bagay ay may kapalit na kabayaran at halaga. Ang sinumang may gustong mapromote, maipwesto at makumpirma sa burukrsya, dadaan sa aming mga bulsa, 'yan ang batas at kalakaran."
Sa totoo lang, bumabawi lamang sa sobrang gastos ang mga Tongresman sa kampanya at pagmimintina ng kanilang constituencies. Sadyang magastos para sa isang Tongresman ang Kasal Binyag Libing, vote buying at pagmimintina ng command votes kaya't isa lamang ang extortion sa gawaing pangingikil ng mga kinatawan sa Kongreso. Kaya nga't isa yan sa mga dahilan kung bakit validictorian ang Pilipinas sa Asia sa pangungurakot.
Kung may KOTONG COPS sa lansangan, sa mga check points, may kotong kikil gang din sa Kongreso at buti pa ang KOTONG COPS, barya-barya lang kung mangikil sa mga cargo trucks, mga kargamentong gulay, pagkain at construction materials, sa mga bus, jeepney at taxi driver, sa Kongreso garapal, milyon-milyon ang exrortion at ang nakakatawa, mga government official, mga Generals sa AFP at PNP, mga Malakanyang pipol ang nabibiktima.
Maliban sa pambalanseng papel na "oversight power" sa hanay ng ehekutibo at mula't sapul ng ma-envision ang "kontra diktaduryang" konsepto nito noong maibagsak ang rehimen Marcos, mula sa hangaring maidemokratisa at check and balanse, naging pinakamakapangyarihang halimaw at dorobo ang Commission on Appointment (CA), naiba ang oryentasyon, nasalaula sa ilalim ng mga sumusunod na pangulo ng bansa.
Sinamantala ito ng mga TRAPO upang makapagkonsolida ng kapangyarihan politikal at makapagkamal ng salapi maliban sa pangraraket at pangingikil. Naging lunsaran ito ng sari-saring pambla-bkack mail, political manuevering, turncoatism, pangungurakot at political transaction.
Upang makapasok sa CA, iba't-ibang modus operandi ang ginagamit na taktika ng mga pulitiko. Gagawa ng ilang drama't pagpapakitang gilas at kasipsipan, itataas ang ante at kunwari naghahabol at tatakbong speaker of the house, magtatayo ng bloke sa hanay hanggang mananakot na hihiwalay sa partido at mag-eexposay ng kung anu-ano. Layunin lang pala ng drama ay maisama sa komite (CA).
Parang mga asong ulol sakim sa buto, manyakis sa laman na pinag-aagawan ang Komisyon. Karaniwang malapit sa Malakanyang, mga nasa mayoryang partido ang may palagiang may kontrol sa CA.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 22, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Miriam: Trillanes at Jalosjos magkaparehong kaso? TA....DO!
Bilog ang buwan, sinumpong na naman si Sen Miriam 'Brenda' Santiago. Muling umarangkada ang mataas niyang IQ, ang kanyang sobrang kaalaman at ang kanyang "kahenyuhan," ang bode-bodegang certifico't diploma, kanyang engliserang english kalabaw na diction at higit sa lahat, ang KABALIWAN sa kapangyarihan.
Tulad din ni siRaulo Gonzales ng DOJ at ilang bayarang nasa media, dapat lang talagang magtagal sa Gubyerno si Miriam, sapagkat bukud sa nagiging katawa-tawa't zarsuela ang Senado, ang mga ganitong klase pananaw ay kadalasa'y binhi, "fertilizer ng destabilization, ng rebelyon at insureksyon." Iisa lamang ang posibleng reaksyon ng mamamayan dito, “may brain damage (Brenda), lumuwag ang turnilyo at piesa sa utak.”
Sa isyu kung saan pinagtatalunan ang kustodiya ni Sen. Trillanes, ayon kay Miriam, "sa ilalim raw ng military court martial dapat lang na mabuluk sa detention si Sen. Trillanes.” Dagdag pa, “wala raw gaanong pinagkaiba ang kaso ni Trillanes at ni Jalosjos kung ibabatay raw ang disiyon ng Supreme Court na kung tawagin ay People of the Philippines versus sa mga kriminal." Umarangkada pa ang Brenda, "sa isang taong na-convict at pending ang appeal at nahalal bilang kinatawan sa Kongreso ay dapat lang daw manatili sa bilangguan kahit ang huli ay nahalal pa ng bayan.”
Sintido kumun lang ang masasabi ni Mang Pandoy kay Brenda; totoo't naniniwala tayo kay Sen Miriam kung sa kaso ni Jalosjos, makatwiran lamang na mabuluk sa rehas ng bilangguan ang isang rapist na katulad ni Jalosjos. Kaya lang, ang katawa-tawa dahil kailangang magbayad utang ang Malakanyang, binigyan ito ng pardon ni Ate Glo, ang kanyang dinidiyos ngayon na presidente.
Kung ihahalintulad naman ito sa kaso ni Trillanes, kumpirmado at mailalagay sa MAY SAYAD ang kanyang patutsada. Una, 'di hamak na milya-milya ang diperensya't magkaibang kulay si Trillanes at si Jaloshos, si Jalosjos, itim ang buto habang si Trillanes ay puti't dalisay. Bagamat parehong may kasong kriminal, pogi points at politikal ang kaso ni Trillanes.
Pangalawa, kasong "unbecoming an officer and a gentleman before the General Court Martial" at kasong politikal, isang kudeta na ikinabit sa rebelyon na non-bailable para sa mga hardcore critics ni Ate Glo. Habang pedopilya't rapist ang kaso ni Jalosjos na binigyan pa ng pardon ng Malakanyang.
Pangatlo, nahalal si Jalosjos bilang kongresista dahil sa TRAPO politics, dagdag-bawas, vote buying at laki ng campaign funds na iminudmud nito sa kampanya at lokal na makinarya, pananakot at utang na loob- padrino. Nahalal si Jalosjos dahil sa Kasal Binyag at Libing (KBL), Guns Gold Goons at Girl (4 Gs) at command votes. Tulad ni Gob Among Ed, popular na nahalal si Trillanes sa pamamagitan ng prinsipyo, plataporma de gubyerno, krusada at boluntarismo.
Naging rebelyon lamang ang kaso ni Trillanes sa simpleng dahilang hindi ito nagwagi sa labanan. Kung saka-sakaling nagtagumpay ang laban ng Oukwood, tulad ni Enrile, FVR, tulad ni Sec Angelo Reyes sa panahon ni Erap, maituturing siyang bayani at malalagay sa pedestal ng rebolusyunaryong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.
Kahit saan tignan, bali-baligtarin man natin, malayong-malayo ang kaibhan ng dalawa. Akusado, guilty at napatunayan NANGGAHASA si Jalosjos. Isang manyakis, hayok sa laman at isang demonyo si Jalosjos, samantalang nililitis pa rin hanggang sa kasalukuyan si Trillanes, hindi pa naaakusahan, until proven guilty at hanggang ngayon maikukunsidera pang inosente si Trillanes na dapat ng ipardon ng gubyerno bilang pagrespeto't paggalang sa mahigit 11.0 milyong Pinoy na nagtiwala sa kanya.
Hindi mahirap unawain kung bakit nagkakalat ng kahihiyan si Brenda. Balikan lang natin ang kanyang nakaraan. Sagadsaring tuta't balimbing si Brenda, humalik sa tumbong ni President Cory, sa kahuli-hulihan labanan ipinagkulo nito, humalik sa tumbong ni President Erap Estrada, nagdiklara pang magpapakamatay para kay Erap at sa kasawiang palad, pinagkanulo rin nito. Hanggang sa kasalukuyang rehimen, sumipsip at naging tagapunas ng puwet ni Ate Glo at hindi rin magtatagal, aasahang ipagkakanulo rin nito ang presidente.
Sa totoo lang, isang pusakal na pulitiko, sagad na bobo to the highest level, isang sagadsaring hunyango, oportunista-doble kara at traydor si Miriam. Mula ng magpatiwakal ang kanyang anak dahil lamang sa 'di pagpasa sa UPCAT, personal na kinastigo pa si President Dodong Nemenzo at katayin ang budget ng UP. Nagyabang pang “dapat exklusibong mga henyo” ang criteria at pwedeng pumasok sa Senado. Siraulo rin nitong inihayag ang diskontento sa Senado at sabihing “pasasabugin niya” ang Institusyon. Pang-huling pagkakalat nito ay ang isyu ng PORK BARREL. Para kay Brenda, isang gago at katangahan sa isang mambabatas ang 'di tumanggap ng pork barrel? Kaya lang, walang pumatol sa siraulong senadora.
Nawalan na ng moral ascendancy si Brenda. Mula ng magsirko, bumalimbing at nagtago ito sa saya ni Ate Glo. Sa kabila ng lahat, sino pang tangang Pinoy ang maniniwala sa kanya? Alam o hindi alam, manhid o super garapal, ginagamit lang siyang pambala sa kanyon ng mga kaaway sa pulitika ng Malakanyang.
Kung sa bagay, iba na rin ang nagagawa ng pagiging malapit sa kusina, sa Malakanyang, ikaw na ang madalas isama sa foreign trip-junket ni Ate Glo, pork barrel at pwesto ng kamag-anak sa burukrasya't kapangyarihan.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 21, 2007
Tulad din ni siRaulo Gonzales ng DOJ at ilang bayarang nasa media, dapat lang talagang magtagal sa Gubyerno si Miriam, sapagkat bukud sa nagiging katawa-tawa't zarsuela ang Senado, ang mga ganitong klase pananaw ay kadalasa'y binhi, "fertilizer ng destabilization, ng rebelyon at insureksyon." Iisa lamang ang posibleng reaksyon ng mamamayan dito, “may brain damage (Brenda), lumuwag ang turnilyo at piesa sa utak.”
Sa isyu kung saan pinagtatalunan ang kustodiya ni Sen. Trillanes, ayon kay Miriam, "sa ilalim raw ng military court martial dapat lang na mabuluk sa detention si Sen. Trillanes.” Dagdag pa, “wala raw gaanong pinagkaiba ang kaso ni Trillanes at ni Jalosjos kung ibabatay raw ang disiyon ng Supreme Court na kung tawagin ay People of the Philippines versus sa mga kriminal." Umarangkada pa ang Brenda, "sa isang taong na-convict at pending ang appeal at nahalal bilang kinatawan sa Kongreso ay dapat lang daw manatili sa bilangguan kahit ang huli ay nahalal pa ng bayan.”
Sintido kumun lang ang masasabi ni Mang Pandoy kay Brenda; totoo't naniniwala tayo kay Sen Miriam kung sa kaso ni Jalosjos, makatwiran lamang na mabuluk sa rehas ng bilangguan ang isang rapist na katulad ni Jalosjos. Kaya lang, ang katawa-tawa dahil kailangang magbayad utang ang Malakanyang, binigyan ito ng pardon ni Ate Glo, ang kanyang dinidiyos ngayon na presidente.
Kung ihahalintulad naman ito sa kaso ni Trillanes, kumpirmado at mailalagay sa MAY SAYAD ang kanyang patutsada. Una, 'di hamak na milya-milya ang diperensya't magkaibang kulay si Trillanes at si Jaloshos, si Jalosjos, itim ang buto habang si Trillanes ay puti't dalisay. Bagamat parehong may kasong kriminal, pogi points at politikal ang kaso ni Trillanes.
Pangalawa, kasong "unbecoming an officer and a gentleman before the General Court Martial" at kasong politikal, isang kudeta na ikinabit sa rebelyon na non-bailable para sa mga hardcore critics ni Ate Glo. Habang pedopilya't rapist ang kaso ni Jalosjos na binigyan pa ng pardon ng Malakanyang.
Pangatlo, nahalal si Jalosjos bilang kongresista dahil sa TRAPO politics, dagdag-bawas, vote buying at laki ng campaign funds na iminudmud nito sa kampanya at lokal na makinarya, pananakot at utang na loob- padrino. Nahalal si Jalosjos dahil sa Kasal Binyag at Libing (KBL), Guns Gold Goons at Girl (4 Gs) at command votes. Tulad ni Gob Among Ed, popular na nahalal si Trillanes sa pamamagitan ng prinsipyo, plataporma de gubyerno, krusada at boluntarismo.
Naging rebelyon lamang ang kaso ni Trillanes sa simpleng dahilang hindi ito nagwagi sa labanan. Kung saka-sakaling nagtagumpay ang laban ng Oukwood, tulad ni Enrile, FVR, tulad ni Sec Angelo Reyes sa panahon ni Erap, maituturing siyang bayani at malalagay sa pedestal ng rebolusyunaryong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.
Kahit saan tignan, bali-baligtarin man natin, malayong-malayo ang kaibhan ng dalawa. Akusado, guilty at napatunayan NANGGAHASA si Jalosjos. Isang manyakis, hayok sa laman at isang demonyo si Jalosjos, samantalang nililitis pa rin hanggang sa kasalukuyan si Trillanes, hindi pa naaakusahan, until proven guilty at hanggang ngayon maikukunsidera pang inosente si Trillanes na dapat ng ipardon ng gubyerno bilang pagrespeto't paggalang sa mahigit 11.0 milyong Pinoy na nagtiwala sa kanya.
Hindi mahirap unawain kung bakit nagkakalat ng kahihiyan si Brenda. Balikan lang natin ang kanyang nakaraan. Sagadsaring tuta't balimbing si Brenda, humalik sa tumbong ni President Cory, sa kahuli-hulihan labanan ipinagkulo nito, humalik sa tumbong ni President Erap Estrada, nagdiklara pang magpapakamatay para kay Erap at sa kasawiang palad, pinagkanulo rin nito. Hanggang sa kasalukuyang rehimen, sumipsip at naging tagapunas ng puwet ni Ate Glo at hindi rin magtatagal, aasahang ipagkakanulo rin nito ang presidente.
Sa totoo lang, isang pusakal na pulitiko, sagad na bobo to the highest level, isang sagadsaring hunyango, oportunista-doble kara at traydor si Miriam. Mula ng magpatiwakal ang kanyang anak dahil lamang sa 'di pagpasa sa UPCAT, personal na kinastigo pa si President Dodong Nemenzo at katayin ang budget ng UP. Nagyabang pang “dapat exklusibong mga henyo” ang criteria at pwedeng pumasok sa Senado. Siraulo rin nitong inihayag ang diskontento sa Senado at sabihing “pasasabugin niya” ang Institusyon. Pang-huling pagkakalat nito ay ang isyu ng PORK BARREL. Para kay Brenda, isang gago at katangahan sa isang mambabatas ang 'di tumanggap ng pork barrel? Kaya lang, walang pumatol sa siraulong senadora.
Nawalan na ng moral ascendancy si Brenda. Mula ng magsirko, bumalimbing at nagtago ito sa saya ni Ate Glo. Sa kabila ng lahat, sino pang tangang Pinoy ang maniniwala sa kanya? Alam o hindi alam, manhid o super garapal, ginagamit lang siyang pambala sa kanyon ng mga kaaway sa pulitika ng Malakanyang.
Kung sa bagay, iba na rin ang nagagawa ng pagiging malapit sa kusina, sa Malakanyang, ikaw na ang madalas isama sa foreign trip-junket ni Ate Glo, pork barrel at pwesto ng kamag-anak sa burukrasya't kapangyarihan.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Breastfeeding advocates
Nov 27, 2006
Isang Comment sa Blog (last year):
I am delighted to hear that the Filipinos had taken on a tough stand against the companies that sells to new mothers breastmilk substitutes such as the formula feeds who are only there to line up their pockets at the expense of the family, the community and the country.The Filipino children deserves the best milk for their growth and development which can be obtained freely from mother's milk.Keep it up because the population will remain healthy and more productive and will help lift up the country's economy through savings generated by not having to buy formula feeds.
There are just so much benefits in breastfeeding for the child, the new mother and the family, community and the country because I was so passionate about this issue. I could talk about various reasons why families would like to breasfeed their newborn baby exclusively for six months then gradual introduction to solid foods whilst continuing to breastfeed up to two years and beyond. I am so passionate about this topic as I go through the process of learning and in my own clinical practice.I have been initially certified as an International Lactation Consultant since 1996 here in Sydney,Australia.
I would be happy to help out our people in the best way I can if I am given the opportunity to serve our people .
Cynthia Pascual Duran BSN.RN.CM.IBCLC can be contacted via my Email on cyn10y.lact.consult@gmail.com
Posted by cynthia | 4:49 AM / Nov 27, '06
Isang Comment sa Blog (last year):
I am delighted to hear that the Filipinos had taken on a tough stand against the companies that sells to new mothers breastmilk substitutes such as the formula feeds who are only there to line up their pockets at the expense of the family, the community and the country.The Filipino children deserves the best milk for their growth and development which can be obtained freely from mother's milk.Keep it up because the population will remain healthy and more productive and will help lift up the country's economy through savings generated by not having to buy formula feeds.
There are just so much benefits in breastfeeding for the child, the new mother and the family, community and the country because I was so passionate about this issue. I could talk about various reasons why families would like to breasfeed their newborn baby exclusively for six months then gradual introduction to solid foods whilst continuing to breastfeed up to two years and beyond. I am so passionate about this topic as I go through the process of learning and in my own clinical practice.I have been initially certified as an International Lactation Consultant since 1996 here in Sydney,Australia.
I would be happy to help out our people in the best way I can if I am given the opportunity to serve our people .
Cynthia Pascual Duran BSN.RN.CM.IBCLC can be contacted via my Email on cyn10y.lact.consult@gmail.com
Posted by cynthia | 4:49 AM / Nov 27, '06
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Ang “Killing Fields” ng Western Mindanao (Part 1)
Kasama ang ilang mga batikang forensic ng bansa, mga volunteers ng iba't-ibang Human Rights advocates at staff ng (PATH) Peace Advocates for Truth Healing and Justice, mula Naia lumapag ang grupo sa Dipolog Airport. Mula Dipolog sakay ang nai-rent na Van, binaybay ang mahigit dalawang daang kilometrong daan (200 km) patungong Pagadian, hanggang sa bayan ng Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur. Ang pakay, matagpuan ang kakila-kilabot na "Killing Fields" ng Kanlurang Mindanao at marekober ang mga labi ng mga kadreng propesyunal na napaghinalaang Deep Penatrating 
Agents (DPAs) o biktima ng trahedyang purgahan may dalawang dekada na ang nakalipas .Mula Dipolog, nagsimulang kumislap, umatikabo ang dala-dala kong digital camera-photo ops sa bawat galaw, sa bawat hakbang at sa bawat mga pangyayari't pighati ng makasaysayang yugto ng Kilusang Rebolusyunaryo sa Pilipinas.
Sa ikalawang pagkakataon, dahil hindi type ang pagkain nung 
unang hinintuang resto, nagpaluto nalang ng ulam ang grupo at nananghalian cum grande beer sa isang videoke restaurant may limang kilometro ang layo mula sa Dipolog, Habang binabaybay ang national highway, nakatanod sa bintana, tamang ngawit ang aming mga paa't kasu-kasuhan. Upang malibang, sa pagpapatawa idinadaan ang lumbay, kanya-kanya kwento theraphy ang ginamit mabalanse lamang ang inip at haba ng biyahe.
Na-obserbahan kong hindi nagkakalayo ang terrain-lugar ng Western 
Mindanao sa Quezon at Bicol area circa 1970s. Ang mga bahay kubo't kabahayan na maralita ang katayuan, ang walang patid na namatataas na niyugan, maisan at kakayuhan, ang ampaw na kabukiran at palayang gumagamit pa ng manwal na teknolohiya, ang kalabaw. Sa pakuwari ko'y sobrang bagal ang takbo ng pamumuhay ng mga tao sa lugar.
Madalang ang nasasalubong sasakyan, kung mayroon man, pawang mga SUV at Rural transit bus ang kita sa highway. Walang traffic, tumatakbo ng mahigit 70-100 k/hr ang biyahe. Hindi mabilang na check-point ng military
at PNP-Comelec ang aming dinaanan. Mukhang nagkaroon din ng kaguluhan sa k
atatapos na election.
Dahil sa tagal ng biyahe, isinalang ang kaisa-isang oldies music (CD-60s) ng isang kasama na siya namang nagpatulog sa karamihang kasamahan. Dinaanan ang lunsod ng Oraqieta at halos mag-aalas tres (3:00 pm) na ng hapon ng marating ang lunsod ng Ozamiz, Misamis Occidental. Nagcourtesy call at nagcoffee break ang grupo sa isang Human Right NGO na may kaparehong interest at adbokasiyang landas, nakipagkwentuhan, balitaan at inanyayahang humabol sa paghahanap ng mga nawala at nabiktima ng purgahan sa Western Mindanao.
Mag-aalas cinco (5:00 pm) na nung aming marating ang lunsod ng Pagadian, ang kapitolyo ng probinsya ng Zamboanga del Sur. Maluluwag ang daang sementado sa downtown ng Pagadian. Napansin ko ang bagong tayong malaking Mall at malaking palengkeng mukhang malapit ng matapos. Mura ang bilihin, daming DVD pirated at tulad ng Quiapo, baha na rin ng mga Chinese products ang bangketa. May muslim at may kristianong nagco-co-exist sa isa't-isa.
Imbis hanggang Pagadian lang kontrata, nakiusap ang grupo sa driver na ituloy na ang paghahatid hanggang simbahan sa Dumalinao, ang lugar kung saan pansamantalang tutulugan ng grupo at drop of point ng lahat ng involve at nagmamalasakit sa proyekto. Mula sa Pagadian, nagsibabaan ang lahat upang m
amili ng kanya-kanyang abubot, kaha-kahang sigarilyo, tubig, 
makakaing merienda at pagkain. May kakaiba pangitain pinagtrippan ang grupo, ang tricycle, ang nakaka-intrigang nakatingalang trike na mukhang unique, nakakatawa at mahirap sakyan.
Madilim na nung kami'y lumisan ng Pagadian patungong Dumalinao. May walong kilometro pa ang babaybayin upang marating ang nasabing bayan. Dahil nire-rehabilitate ang daan papalabas at papasok ng Pagadian (one way) nabalahuba ng mahigit kalahating oras ang biyahe, stock kami at halos isang malaking parking area ang nakabalagbag sa highway. Halos gabi na nang kami makarating sa Dumalinao. Isang lumang simbahang Katoliko ang aming binagsakan kung saan ang local counterpart at iba pang advance party ng PATH ay ilang oras ng naghihintay sa amin. Umaatikabong pakilalanan sa isa't-isa. May nakilala kaming bagong halal na mayor, isang dating kumander ng NPA, purgahang survivor at mukhang sasama sa grupo, nakikiisa sa adhikain at handang tumulong. Sa katunayan, 
walang limit niyang pinahiram ang kanyang 4 wheel drive sa grupo.
Masarap ang inihandang hapunan sa parokya, kabisado ng host ang aming kahinaan sa chibug, sea food, pritong isda, gulay at mga sinigang lutuin ang bumulaga. Kasabay na nagpiesta ang napakaraming langaw at lamok. Matapos magsiesta, sinimulan agad ang meeting at inihanda ang agenda. Malalim ang naging usapan, muling nagpakilalanlan, naglinawan, nilatag ang layunin at muling sinigurado ang lokasyon ng "Killing Field," ilan ang in
aasahang marerecover na bangkay, ang seguridad at pakikitungo sa kumunidad. Grinupo-grupo sa apat at nagtasking ng trabaho.
Kahit 'di tumitigil ang ulan maalinsangan ang buong kapaligiran. Sinamantala ang pagligo, pagbawas at nang maghahating-gabi, inihanda ang tulugan na nakasalampak sa tiles na flooring, naglagay ng lumang plywood, lumang banig na plastic, nagpalit ng damit at isinagawa ang kanya-kanyang pwestuhan. Dahil sa dami ng langaw, nagkabit ng tent ang isang grupo at ang iba'y n
agtalukbong ng mga malong. Dahil sa tindi ng pagod, ingay ng orchestrang paghilik ang sumunod na umalingawngaw sa nakakabinging katahimikan, buong magdamag, halos 'di ako nakatulog.
Ang Dumalinao
Isang 3rd class municipality ang Dumalinao. May labing-isang kilometro ang layo nito sa lunsod ng Pagadian. Dahil sa kanyang lokasyon, kahit paano'y nadamay ito sa laki ng populasyon at “kaunlarang” tinamasa ng Lunsod. Bagamat 'di gaanong kalayuan sa Pagadian, nananating atrasadong Kanayunan ang kanyang katangian. Maliban sa poblacion (maayos na highway mula Pagadian tungong Pili, Zamboanga Sibugay at Zamboanga City), stripping ang development ng bayan, meaning isang tuwid-diretsong komunidad na nabibiyayaan.
Kahit may maayos na highway ang poblacion, lubak-lubak naman ang kalakhang mga interior barangay roads. Nuong taong 2000, mayroon itong 26,030 at nuong 2004 mayroon itong 18,000 rehistradong botante. Talo ang lahat ng oposisyon sa bayan at mismo sa buong probinsya. Anak ni Gov Cerilles ang nanalong mayor sa Dumalinao. Sa tatlumpong (30) barangay na nasasakupan nito, halos dalawa lamang dito ang masasabing may nagaganap na "kaunlaran."
Batay sa mga kwento, nakapaloob sa malawak na sonang guerilla ang Damalinao at ilang pang bayan sa probinsya. Masasabing may batayang estratehikong kalalagayan ito (malapit sa Pagadian) kung ilalapat at pagbabatayan ang mga rekisitos sa tinatawag na pakikidigmang guerilla ng NPA, may dalawangpung taon na ang nakalipas (1980s) . Matatagpuan ang kagandahan ng kalupaan (terrain) at kahirapang tinatamasa ng mamamayan ng Dumalinao kung kaya't sinasabing isa na ito sa pinakakonsolidado at pinakamalakas na guerilla front ng Western Mindanao.
Ayon sa mga dating kasamahan na boluntaryong tumulong at nagbigay inpormasyon sa paghahanap ng mga labi ng mga nawawala nuong 1985-'90s , may tantyang may indirektang sangkot ang ilan sa kanila sa madugong PAGPUPURGA ng mahigit kumulang na ilan daang (200)napaghinalaang mga Deep Penetrating Agent (DPA) ng militar.
Maagang nagsipaggising ang tropa sa isang gusaling adjacent sa simbahan. Matapos ang masarap na almusal, naka-abang na ang mahabang pampasaherong jeep at handa ng lumisan patungong “Killing Fields.” Kasama ang grupong forensic bilang advance party at kanilang sangkatutak na mga bagahe, nagsimulang umarangkada ang makina ng jeep tungong Barangay Matab-ang at Pantad. Full pack ang jeep, mula sa sari-saring klaseng mga tent, pagkain, iba pang parapenalya, gamit sa paghuhukay at mga backpack ng mga ka-team mates, binaybay ang liblib na lugar ng Dumalinao.
Walong kilometrong (8.0 km) lubak-lubak ang aming binaybay. Lib-lib ang lugar patungong Barangay Matab-ang at Pantad. Kung mas kahabag-habag ang kabuhayang nasaksihan sa kahabaang highway mula Dipolog hanggang Pagadian, mas nakaka-awa, mas trumatik at bagsak ang kabuhayan at larawan ang kapaligiran ng halos walong kilometrong haba ng pagbabaybay tungong mga interior barangay ng Dumalinao. Sa tantya ko, kung nasa 1970s ang larawan ng Dipolog hanggang Pagadian, nasa 1960s ang larawan patungong Barangay Matab-ang.
Batay sa kwento, dekada 80s ang kainitan ng pakikidigmang guerilla ng NPA laban sa diktadurang Marcos. Organisado at bilang sa daliri ang mga bahay. Halos walang maayos na daan patungong Matab-ang at tanging mga trail o mga daang kalabaw at kabayong native lamang na may karga sa gilid ng katawan at hila-hila ang pangkaraniwang pangitain sa daan.
May malinis na sapa't ilog kaming dinaanan na nilulubluban ng kalabaw at pinapaliguan ng mga paslit. May maliit na barangay elementary school, basketball court sa gilid malapit sa barangay hall cum bilaran ng copra sa tabi ng bahay ng barangay kapitana. Kapansin-pansin ang pagala-galang mga manok, sisiw, asong payat, mga biik na pagala-gala, kambing at kabayong nakatali sa punong niyog.
Marami ang sumalubong at tumulong sa pagbubuhat ng gamit paakyat sa bundok. Kung 'di man saksi ang ilan sa kanila, mga kaibigan ng mga napaslang aktibista. Nasa mga mukha nila ang kalungkutan at pagtataka kung bakit nangyari ang karumal-dumal na pagpatay at kung bakit binalikan pa ito ng NGO. Panay ang ulan, basa't maputik ang kalupaan at mukhang sinamantala ng mga tao ang pagtatanim ng mais. Sa mga baguhan sa akyatan, hirap, lawit agad ang mga dila, hingal at tagaktak ng pawis. Mga 25-35 minutes o mga 300-400 meters pataas (20-30 degrees slope) ang layo ng aakyatin bago makarating ang site.
Walang 4 wheel drive pick-up o motorbike ang pwedeng may mangahas na umakyat sa bundok. Mula sa ilang kabahayan, may saya't kalungkutang ang basa sa kanilng mga mukha. "Pakikiraan po" ang tanging pagbati sa mga taong nasasalubong at nakadungaw sa bintana.
Marami ang nagalusan sa mga paa at sa binti. Batuhan ang lugar, masukal at madulas ang daan. Para sa pagbabalanse, 'di maiiwasang kumapit sa mga sangang nasa gilid ng daan. Para kaming mga turistang mga taga-Maynila na hindi sanay sa akyatang may kakaibang uri ng terrain. Pahinga muna ng ilang minuto, hingal, sikip ng dibdib, pagod, kakapusan ng hininga at paghawi ng mga halamang gubat-bushes. Ang pakinggan ang naghuhunihang mga ibon sa punong kahoy ang siyang nagpapasaya't nagpapasigla upang hindi tantanan ang pag-akyat.
Ang “Killing Fields”
Batay sa kahulugan, ang “Killing Fields” ay isang lugar kung saan may malaking bilang ng tao ang napatay o namasaker dahil sa iba't-ibang kadahilanan, internal conflict, genocide o may madugong civil disturbaces na nangyari. Kung sa kaso ng Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur, may mahigit kumulang na isang daan ang tinorture, pinahirapan at inilibing ng mga salarin hindi ng mga government forces o Estado, bagkus ng mga armadong grupo lumalaban at gustong pabagsakin ang isang nakatayong Estado.
Ayon sa aking nakapanayam, nakapaloob sa malawak na Balondo Guerilla Front ang “Killing Fields,” itinuturing pinakamalakas na baseng guerilla nuong kalagitnaan ng dekada 80s. Bukod sa Dumalinao, pinaniniwalaang ang bayan ng San Miguel, Dinas, Midsalip at ilang isolated barangay ng Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur ang nasasakupan ng malawak na impluwensya ng guerilla front.
Bulubunduking lugar na sumasakop sa mga magkakatabing mga barangay ng Dumalinao at Napoleon, isang isolated barangay ng Pagadian ang “Kiliing Fields.” Dito tinukoy ang lugar kung saan malagim na naganap ang krumal-dumal na “kampanyang anti-infiltration” o pagpupurga sa mga diumanong mga DPA ng CPP-NPA.
Strategic ang posisyon ng baseng guerilla. Maliban sa paborable ang terrain, ilang kumunidad na naninirahan sa lugar, matatagpuan sa bandang likurang sa Katimogan ang karagatan na maaaring atrasan, ang Moro Gulf (Ilanan Bay). Ang Lunsod ng Pagadian ang maaring magsilbeng suportang kilusang masa para sa demokratikong rebolusyong bayan sa bandang silangan at ang kabundukang may malaking bilang na naninirahang magbubukid sa bandang Hilaga at Kanluran.”
Nang aming marating ang “Killing Fields,” pakirandam ko'y parang nakakailang ang lugar at parang ang hirap mai-imagine kung paano paano nangyaring pinahirapan, nagawang pagpapatayin ang mga kasama sa kamay ng mga kasama sa kilusan at paano naimintina ng matagal na panahon ang baseng guerilla ng CPP-NPA sa lugar? Bukud sa 'di mapalagay ang sarili, nanginginig ang aking mga kalamnan sa pagod at muling tumagaktak ang pawising katawan. May kalaparan, kulang- kulang isang hektarya, napapalibutan ng naglalakihang punong niyog, damong ligaw, punong lubi-banahaw, kakwate at maisan ang itaas ng bundok. Dito isinagawa ang paglilitis at kulungan ng mga biktima.
Matatagpuan ng 'di kalayuan ang Training Camp ng Balando Front. Dalawa halos ang daan papasok at papalabas. Ang isa na na nasa bandang timog at may kasukalan ang daan at ang isa ay nasa hilagang-silangan kung saan sinasabing short cut na ruta patungo sa poblacion ng barangay.
Ang bandang ibaba na may 50-60 metro mula sa tuktuk ay 'di gaanong kalayuan. May apat na malalaking kulumpungang kawayanan na ang layo sa isa't-isa ay halos trenta metros (30 metro). Dito isinagawa ang pagpapahirap (torture chamber) bago pinatay at inilibing ang mga kadre. May isang malaking punong mangga ang matatagpuan sa mga pinlibingan na nagsibling pananda ng mga nakasaksi.
Maliban sa punong mangga na nagsilbing pananda upang matunton ang mga libingan ng mga pinatay sa lugar. Kahit paano'y nakasaksi rin ang ilang bahagi ng mga (organisado) mamamayang sa paglilitis, pagpahirap hanggang sa paglilibing. Nakatulong din ang mga kawayan bilang pananda upang matunton kung saan inilibing ang mga pinatay. Ang mga ito ay sadyang itinanim ng masa matapos ilibing ang mga kasama may dalawangpung taon (20 years) na ang nakalipas ay nagsipaglago na.
Ayon sa mga nakasaksi, sa loob lamang ng tatlo hanggang limang taon (1985-early 90s), may mahigit kumulang na 200 mga kadre, mga professional na cadre ang pinatay sa "Killing Fields." Sa panahon din ito nagkaroon ng lull o pagtigil ng pagkilos ng rebolusyunaryong kilusan. Karamihan sa kanila ay mga nasa pamunuan ng “white area committee sa region.” Ang ilan sa kanila ay mga kadreng aktibistang YS (youth and students) na pinag full time (FT) ng kilusan mula sa Xavier University sa Cagayan de Oro, Ateneo de Davao at Zamboanga at ilang kolehiyo sa Northern at Western Mindanao. Marami rin sa napatay ay mula sa mga pamunuang hanay ng Trade Union at Urban Poor mula Davao at Northern Mindanao.
Ayon sa dating mga kasama, ipinatawag ng Kataas-taasang organo ang lahat ng bumubuo ng mga nasa White Area Committee o mga cadre na nasa Legal front at mula noon hindi na nakabalik at nakauwi. Ang Ozamiz City ang siyang unang dropping point ng mga biktimang akusado. May mahigit kumulang na isang daang kilometro ang layo ng Ozamiz sa Killing Fields. Habang ang iba ay nagtataka o naguguluhan, ang iba ay 'di sumang-ayon sa patakarang iginawad ng nakataas na organo. Iba-iba ang pakirandam ng mga kasama, marami sa kanila'y tinitignang may tunggalian personal relationship lamang ang kaso, ang iba'y sa attitude at ang iba'y pulitikal at ideolohiya ang dahilan. Habang ang iba't naghabol at nag-apila sa kaso, ang iba'y natunugan agad ang masamang balakin ng mga "nakatataas na organo."
Matapos ma-clear ang taas, itinayo ang kampo (camp site) ng mga forensic at mga diggers. Tatlong tent at isang malaking trapal, lutuan, malaking dining area, lamesa at mga upuan sa gilid-gilid ang agarang nagawa. Agad sinimulan ang paghuhukay. Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.
Part II: Ang kwento ni Ka Leling sa hinahanap na labi ng kanyang asawang si Ka Baldo
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 19, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Abalos, tiklop ang buntot sa mga Ampatuan
Matagal na nating sinasabi na untouchable ang mga Ampatuan sa Maguindanao. Kung anuman ang gustong gawin at gustong mangyari ng mga Ampatuan sa Maguindanao, ligal man o iligal, babuyin man ang batas o ang Constitution ng bansa, walang sinuman ang makakapigil, makakaporma't makakapalag. May pumuna bang awtoridad sa mahigit kumulang na 3,000 private army nito? PInakamlaking private army sa Asia.
Direkta ang linya o hotline ng mga Ampatuan sa Malakanyang at pamunuan ng AFP. Ganun ka-astig ang mga Ampatuan.
Mula ng ianunsyo ng mga Ampatuan na "nagkaroon ng halalan sa lalawigan" at naiproklama ang lahat ng local candidates sa probinsya, parang tutang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig at tumiklop ang buntot ni Abalos. Nagsirko ng 360 degrees si Abalos sa mga naunang posisyon at diklerasyon sa Maguindanao at sa itintakbo ng mga pangyayari, pupunta ito sa Maguindanao upang lumuhod sa mga siga-siga ng Maguindnao.
Ilang araw matapos ang halalan, matatandaang nagkomentaryo si Abalos na napaka-imposibleng mangyari (statiscally improbable) ang 12 – 0 Team Unity masaker sa Oposisyon sa senatoriable race sa Maguindanao. Himalang topnotcher si Chabit Singson at panglabindalwa lamang si Sultan Jamalul D Karim. Alam ng lahat at ng buong mundo at pinatunayan pa ng 'di mabilang na mga saksi na nagkaroon ng "moro-moro" na naman sa probinsya, ibig sabihin, ilang araw bago ang Mayo 14, tinapos at minanifacture na ang election, nafill-upan ang ER at canvass (COC) sa lahat ng antas (munisipyo at probinsya) at parang wala lang.
Lalong tumingkad ang kutub ng country na may katiwalian ngang nangyari sa probinsya ng magsimulang magsumahan na sa National Board of Canvassing (Comelec) sa PICC ang pagbibilang sa Maguindanao. Kumpirmadong binaboy nga ang halalan sa Maguindanao; Una, Sa tantyang malalagay sa alanganin, maiipit sa labanan ng mga naghahari, nagbitiw agad si Com Sarmiento na panghawakan ang Maguindanao. Pangalawa, ilang araw naghintay ang NBC sa PICC ang presensya ng Provincial at Municipal Board of Canvasser, walang nagsiputan, maging ang mga kailangang dokumento (COC), hindi raw makita at later on, “nawawala raw.” Pangatlo, dahil sa walang sumisipot at walang mga dokumento, nainis si Abalos at nagbitiw na ng paunang posisyon na “failure nga ang election” sa Maguindanao.
Walang pakirandam si Abalos. Hindi pa ba siya nakakahalatang ginagago na siya ng harapan at talikuran ng mga taga Maguindanao? Sa totoo lang, wala sa kanya ang command, wala sa kanya ang awtoridad at higit sa lahat, hindi siya kinikilala bilang puno ng Comelec at walang Comelec comelec, Namfrel, PPCRV, civil society sa lugar. Ang totoo, si Ampatuan at Ampatuan lamang ang masusunod at hari sa Maguindanao.
Pang-apat, Pinatawag ni Abalos ang mga local Comelec official ng Maguindanao upang magbigay ng paliwanag sa katiwalian, walang nagsiputan. Dinedma't binastos ang Comelec. Hanggang nagbantang ipaaresto niya ang mga ito, hindi natakot ang mga astig na “Garci Boys” ng Maguindanao. Panglima, kahit lantaran ng ginagago ang Comelec, patuloy ang panunuyo at paninikluhod nito na hanapin ang mga COC na nawawala.
Paulit-ulit na sinasabi ni Abalos sa mga kritiko't sa mga grupong election watchdog na, "patunayan ninyong may katiwalian at may moro-morong naganap na election sa Maguindanao?" Hindi pa ba obvious? Maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na tonetonelada, bode-bodega na nga ang dayaan, dami ng pinapatay, dinudukot na teacher. "Kung gusto niya ng pruweba't ebidensya, ang mga laman sa balota ang magpapatunay, bakit ayaw ni Abalos na pabuksan ang mga BALOTA," ang balikwas ng LENTE, ang mga election watchdog.
Mula sa matapang na diklerasyon ay parang pusang umamo si Abalos, pupuntahan na lamang ang Maguindanao at biglang kambiyo, “may election daw na naganap sa Maguindanao?” Ang lumalabas, parang ganito na ang sitwasyon ng Comelec, "kung ayaw ninyong hanapin, kami na ang maghahanap?" Saan ka ba naman nakakita sa planetang ito na kung baga sa isang korte, ikaw na ang maghahnap ng ebidensya ng katiwalian at hindi ang pinsususpetsahg salarin?
Dahil dito, hindi na nga daw ito magpapatawag ng “special election sa Maguindanao?” Bakit, dahil hindi payag si Ampatuan? Meaning, tuloy ang bilangan sa senatoriaable election sa Maguindanao.
KENKOYAN at garapalang gaguhan. Only in the Philippines. Advice natin kay Abalos, alang-alang sa karangalan ng kanyang pamilya't angkan, "magharikiri" na siya. Sa pagre-resign lamang tunay na mapaglilingkuran niya ang sambayanang Pilipino. Sa pagreresign ni Abalos at ng buong commissioner lamang tunay na maipapakita ang kabayanihan at pagpapanumbalik ng kredibilidad ng Comelec.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 18, 2007
Direkta ang linya o hotline ng mga Ampatuan sa Malakanyang at pamunuan ng AFP. Ganun ka-astig ang mga Ampatuan.
Mula ng ianunsyo ng mga Ampatuan na "nagkaroon ng halalan sa lalawigan" at naiproklama ang lahat ng local candidates sa probinsya, parang tutang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig at tumiklop ang buntot ni Abalos. Nagsirko ng 360 degrees si Abalos sa mga naunang posisyon at diklerasyon sa Maguindanao at sa itintakbo ng mga pangyayari, pupunta ito sa Maguindanao upang lumuhod sa mga siga-siga ng Maguindnao.
Ilang araw matapos ang halalan, matatandaang nagkomentaryo si Abalos na napaka-imposibleng mangyari (statiscally improbable) ang 12 – 0 Team Unity masaker sa Oposisyon sa senatoriable race sa Maguindanao. Himalang topnotcher si Chabit Singson at panglabindalwa lamang si Sultan Jamalul D Karim. Alam ng lahat at ng buong mundo at pinatunayan pa ng 'di mabilang na mga saksi na nagkaroon ng "moro-moro" na naman sa probinsya, ibig sabihin, ilang araw bago ang Mayo 14, tinapos at minanifacture na ang election, nafill-upan ang ER at canvass (COC) sa lahat ng antas (munisipyo at probinsya) at parang wala lang.
Lalong tumingkad ang kutub ng country na may katiwalian ngang nangyari sa probinsya ng magsimulang magsumahan na sa National Board of Canvassing (Comelec) sa PICC ang pagbibilang sa Maguindanao. Kumpirmadong binaboy nga ang halalan sa Maguindanao; Una, Sa tantyang malalagay sa alanganin, maiipit sa labanan ng mga naghahari, nagbitiw agad si Com Sarmiento na panghawakan ang Maguindanao. Pangalawa, ilang araw naghintay ang NBC sa PICC ang presensya ng Provincial at Municipal Board of Canvasser, walang nagsiputan, maging ang mga kailangang dokumento (COC), hindi raw makita at later on, “nawawala raw.” Pangatlo, dahil sa walang sumisipot at walang mga dokumento, nainis si Abalos at nagbitiw na ng paunang posisyon na “failure nga ang election” sa Maguindanao.
Walang pakirandam si Abalos. Hindi pa ba siya nakakahalatang ginagago na siya ng harapan at talikuran ng mga taga Maguindanao? Sa totoo lang, wala sa kanya ang command, wala sa kanya ang awtoridad at higit sa lahat, hindi siya kinikilala bilang puno ng Comelec at walang Comelec comelec, Namfrel, PPCRV, civil society sa lugar. Ang totoo, si Ampatuan at Ampatuan lamang ang masusunod at hari sa Maguindanao.
Pang-apat, Pinatawag ni Abalos ang mga local Comelec official ng Maguindanao upang magbigay ng paliwanag sa katiwalian, walang nagsiputan. Dinedma't binastos ang Comelec. Hanggang nagbantang ipaaresto niya ang mga ito, hindi natakot ang mga astig na “Garci Boys” ng Maguindanao. Panglima, kahit lantaran ng ginagago ang Comelec, patuloy ang panunuyo at paninikluhod nito na hanapin ang mga COC na nawawala.
Paulit-ulit na sinasabi ni Abalos sa mga kritiko't sa mga grupong election watchdog na, "patunayan ninyong may katiwalian at may moro-morong naganap na election sa Maguindanao?" Hindi pa ba obvious? Maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na tonetonelada, bode-bodega na nga ang dayaan, dami ng pinapatay, dinudukot na teacher. "Kung gusto niya ng pruweba't ebidensya, ang mga laman sa balota ang magpapatunay, bakit ayaw ni Abalos na pabuksan ang mga BALOTA," ang balikwas ng LENTE, ang mga election watchdog.
Mula sa matapang na diklerasyon ay parang pusang umamo si Abalos, pupuntahan na lamang ang Maguindanao at biglang kambiyo, “may election daw na naganap sa Maguindanao?” Ang lumalabas, parang ganito na ang sitwasyon ng Comelec, "kung ayaw ninyong hanapin, kami na ang maghahanap?" Saan ka ba naman nakakita sa planetang ito na kung baga sa isang korte, ikaw na ang maghahnap ng ebidensya ng katiwalian at hindi ang pinsususpetsahg salarin?
Dahil dito, hindi na nga daw ito magpapatawag ng “special election sa Maguindanao?” Bakit, dahil hindi payag si Ampatuan? Meaning, tuloy ang bilangan sa senatoriaable election sa Maguindanao.
KENKOYAN at garapalang gaguhan. Only in the Philippines. Advice natin kay Abalos, alang-alang sa karangalan ng kanyang pamilya't angkan, "magharikiri" na siya. Sa pagre-resign lamang tunay na mapaglilingkuran niya ang sambayanang Pilipino. Sa pagreresign ni Abalos at ng buong commissioner lamang tunay na maipapakita ang kabayanihan at pagpapanumbalik ng kredibilidad ng Comelec.
Doy Cinco / IPD
June 18, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
''The Nationalization of Venezuelan Oil''
Kailan tayo magkakartoon ng ganito ka-astig na leader sa Pilipinas? May buto sa gulugod, may political will at may pagkalinga, makabayan at higit sa lahat interntionalismo lider ng Third World?
Kung ang Presidenteng si Hugo Chavez ng Venezuela ang tumayong tagapagtanggol ng mga inaapi't pinagsasamantalahang bansa sa Latin America laban sa makapangyarihan kapital, negosyo't imperyalistang US at kung si Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad ng Malaysia ang tumayo at nagbandila ng interes hindi lamang sa sariling mamamayan, maging sa Timog Silangan Asia at muslim world, dito sa atin, mga kupal, kahiya-hiya!
Ang lahat ng presidente sa Pilipinas mula kay Roxas hanggang kay Ate Glo, kabaligtaran, hindi lang puppet, burikak pa, patuloy na nakatihaya at humahalik sa tumbong ni Bush, ni Uncle Sam.
Doy Cinco
June 18, 2007
21 May 2007
Link: http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=652&language_id=1
On May 1, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that the nationalization of the Venezuelan oil industry was complete, and that his country would formally withdraw from the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.) and World Bank. Beginning with changes to tax rates on foreign companies in April 2006, and strengthened by his landslide election victory in December 2006, Chavez handed control of Venezuela's oil operations to state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (P.D.V.S.A.).
Since taking office in 1999, Chavez began to move away from the I.M.F. and World Bank. He attributes increased income inequality to the strict neoliberal policies of privatization and deregulation prescribed by both agencies. Having enjoyed ten consecutive quarters of high economic growth, including 8.8 percent growth in the first quarter of 2007, Venezuela was able to pay off the considerable amount of debt it owed years ahead of schedule.
Prior to an April energy summit, Chavez sparred with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over an agreement between the United States and Brazil that intended to create a Western Hemisphere ethanol market similar to O.P.E.C., and renew Washington's deteriorated relations with Latin America. Chavez called on neighboring countries to continue to rely on Venezuelan oil and to collaborate to reduce energy consumption rather than turn toward ethanol, which he stated would deplete arable land and contribute to further poverty and famine, a criticism supported by the fact that the price of corn, the key source of U.S. ethanol, has risen sharply with increased ethanol production.
Washington seeks closer relations with Brazil in order to undermine Chavez's influence in the region. To that end, Chavez will continue his drive to institute the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (A.L.B.A.), a cooperation agreement among Latin American countries, which stresses economic, military and social integration as opposed to the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas (F.T.A.A.), which centers solely on the establishment of a hemispheric free trade zone. Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have entered a People's Trade Agreement as a precursor to A.L.B.A.
While foreign firms, including U.S. companies ConocoPhillips, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Britain's BP, Norway's Statoil and France's Total, will continue to hold a stake in several major projects in the Orinoco Belt, P.D.V.S.A. will now maintain at least 60 percent control of operations in the region. In addition, Venezuela has invited firms from Brazil, China and Russia to further develop the four massive Orinoco Belt projects.
Accounting for half of state revenue and approximately 70 percent of export revenues, oil is the foundation of the Venezuelan economy and Chavez's authority, and the United States continues to be Venezuela's biggest customer. Exports to the United States, however, have declined from 1.5 million barrels per day in March 2006 to 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2007. This could be symptomatic of Venezuela's greater inability to meet demand, whether as a result of inefficient operations or the high production cost relative to other major oil producing countries, or, as Chavez claims, it could be the result of his efforts to reduce Venezuela's dependence on U.S. consumption by increasing exports to China.
Whether Chavez can maintain his "Bolivarian Revolution" depends entirely on oil revenues and increased cooperation among Latin American states. Chavez undoubtedly knows that regional unity is the key to Venezuela's ability to push for an alternative to the neoliberal model. For the time being, U.S. dependence on Venezuelan oil will sustain Chavez's plan to nationalize other industries such as banking and steel, and continue to push Latin America away from the Washington Consensus. Concurrently, as the United States seeks alternative energy supplies, Venezuela will seek out new markets to solidify its standing and ensure that this wave of nationalization is indicative of a greater "21st Century Socialism" and not a short-term aberration.
-----------///-----------
Kung ang Presidenteng si Hugo Chavez ng Venezuela ang tumayong tagapagtanggol ng mga inaapi't pinagsasamantalahang bansa sa Latin America laban sa makapangyarihan kapital, negosyo't imperyalistang US at kung si Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad ng Malaysia ang tumayo at nagbandila ng interes hindi lamang sa sariling mamamayan, maging sa Timog Silangan Asia at muslim world, dito sa atin, mga kupal, kahiya-hiya!
Ang lahat ng presidente sa Pilipinas mula kay Roxas hanggang kay Ate Glo, kabaligtaran, hindi lang puppet, burikak pa, patuloy na nakatihaya at humahalik sa tumbong ni Bush, ni Uncle Sam.
Doy Cinco
June 18, 2007
21 May 2007
Link: http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=652&language_id=1
On May 1, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that the nationalization of the Venezuelan oil industry was complete, and that his country would formally withdraw from the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.) and World Bank. Beginning with changes to tax rates on foreign companies in April 2006, and strengthened by his landslide election victory in December 2006, Chavez handed control of Venezuela's oil operations to state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (P.D.V.S.A.).
Since taking office in 1999, Chavez began to move away from the I.M.F. and World Bank. He attributes increased income inequality to the strict neoliberal policies of privatization and deregulation prescribed by both agencies. Having enjoyed ten consecutive quarters of high economic growth, including 8.8 percent growth in the first quarter of 2007, Venezuela was able to pay off the considerable amount of debt it owed years ahead of schedule.
Prior to an April energy summit, Chavez sparred with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over an agreement between the United States and Brazil that intended to create a Western Hemisphere ethanol market similar to O.P.E.C., and renew Washington's deteriorated relations with Latin America. Chavez called on neighboring countries to continue to rely on Venezuelan oil and to collaborate to reduce energy consumption rather than turn toward ethanol, which he stated would deplete arable land and contribute to further poverty and famine, a criticism supported by the fact that the price of corn, the key source of U.S. ethanol, has risen sharply with increased ethanol production.
Washington seeks closer relations with Brazil in order to undermine Chavez's influence in the region. To that end, Chavez will continue his drive to institute the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (A.L.B.A.), a cooperation agreement among Latin American countries, which stresses economic, military and social integration as opposed to the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas (F.T.A.A.), which centers solely on the establishment of a hemispheric free trade zone. Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have entered a People's Trade Agreement as a precursor to A.L.B.A.
While foreign firms, including U.S. companies ConocoPhillips, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Britain's BP, Norway's Statoil and France's Total, will continue to hold a stake in several major projects in the Orinoco Belt, P.D.V.S.A. will now maintain at least 60 percent control of operations in the region. In addition, Venezuela has invited firms from Brazil, China and Russia to further develop the four massive Orinoco Belt projects.
Accounting for half of state revenue and approximately 70 percent of export revenues, oil is the foundation of the Venezuelan economy and Chavez's authority, and the United States continues to be Venezuela's biggest customer. Exports to the United States, however, have declined from 1.5 million barrels per day in March 2006 to 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2007. This could be symptomatic of Venezuela's greater inability to meet demand, whether as a result of inefficient operations or the high production cost relative to other major oil producing countries, or, as Chavez claims, it could be the result of his efforts to reduce Venezuela's dependence on U.S. consumption by increasing exports to China.
Whether Chavez can maintain his "Bolivarian Revolution" depends entirely on oil revenues and increased cooperation among Latin American states. Chavez undoubtedly knows that regional unity is the key to Venezuela's ability to push for an alternative to the neoliberal model. For the time being, U.S. dependence on Venezuelan oil will sustain Chavez's plan to nationalize other industries such as banking and steel, and continue to push Latin America away from the Washington Consensus. Concurrently, as the United States seeks alternative energy supplies, Venezuela will seek out new markets to solidify its standing and ensure that this wave of nationalization is indicative of a greater "21st Century Socialism" and not a short-term aberration.
-----------///-----------
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
