No moment of glory for GMA — Bayan

At the end of the ASEAN Summit, cause-oriented groups under the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan marched towards the “Malacanang of the South” to protest what they called “Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s total sell-out of the Philippines to foreign interests.”

The march was also the culmination of a week-long protest activity which included a nationwide caravan from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao going to Cebu City called Voyagers for Peace.

“Mrs. Arroyo thinks that the ASEAN hosting may have added luster to her fast fading regime. As far as the people are concerned, there is really no moment of glory to speak of. The ASEAN agenda takes the region backwards on the road to development. The week-long ASEAN meeting was a showcase to support the US war on terror and neo-liberal trade liberalization,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

Reyes said that the ASEAN meet scored high in terms of trade and terror, but failed with regards to social justice, human rights and regional peace.

“How sad that ASEAN tries to maintain relevance by clinging on to the already discredited US war on terror, by passing a counter-terrorism convention that will assault human rights no end. How sad that the ASEAN promotes the kind of trade liberalization that has also been discredited and stalled even within the World Trade Organization,” Reyes said.

Reyes said that after calling for the release of Aung San Su Kyi, Arroyo should show sincerity by releasing the more than 250 political prisoners under her administration and put an end to the rash of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances perpetrated by state security forces.

People’s repsonse

Connie Regalado, chair of Migrante said that the recently signed agreement on the protection of migrant workers is not realistic considering certain host countries like Singapore and Malaysia have cracked down on illegal migrants. “The so-called war on terror in the region will also mean tighter immigration laws,” she added.

Dr. Geneve Rivera of the Health Alliance for Democracy also criticized the ASEAN agreement for the mutual recognition of nurses which she said will continue to drain much needed manpower for domestic health care. “All this government can offer is the export of nurses while our own domestic health care system suffers,” she said. 

For his part, Fernando Hicap of the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya slammed the proposed regional integration saying the agreement on free trade may be a backdoor for stalled WTO negotiations. “What is bad is that the ASEAN may try to outdo the WTO in terms of the speed of tariff reductions in a time when domestic economies are in need of protection. Instead of regional integration, the ASEAN government should first work towards strengthening domestic economies,” he said.

Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr. said that the anti-terror pact was a “dangerous instrument in the hands of governments with poor human rights records and whose sovereignty are easily undermined.”

“Governments like the Arroyo administration will most likely use the anti-terrorism convention as a potential tool for repression, which is dangerous given the current state of human rights in the country. The administration will surely use this to justify the passage of the draconian anti-terrorism bill still pending in the Senate,” Reyes said.

The counter-terror regional pact, a binding agreement, also calls on ASEAN member countries to adopt legislation to ensure cooperation on measures to counter terrorism, intelligence and information sharing, establishment of a regional database and measures to capture and bring perpetrators to justice.

Reyes said that other ASEAN member countries with repressive regimes also face the same dangers of heightened repression in the conduct of the so-called “war on terror”. “Human rights advocacy is not a notable trait of many ASEAN member countries,” Reyes said.

“What is disturbing in the convention is that there is not even any categorical definition of terrorism. What is mentioned in the agreement are already existing crimes punishable under existing laws. The agreement thus allows for a very broad and vague definition of terrorism which can be abused especially by repressive regimes like the Arroyo administration,” Reyes said.

“This is even more untenable considering that the Philippines itself does not even have a legal definition of terrorism yet in considers itself a party to a legally binding anti-terrorism covenant. We will certainly object to any attempt to come up with an ASEAN terror list similar to the US and European Union listings,” Reyes said.

“Over the past five years, human rights have been the first casualty in the conduct of the so-called global war on terror. From the US, to Iraq to Southeast Asia, the experiences have been similar,” Reyes said.

Bayan also criticized the role of the Philippine government as the US proxy in the region.
“Politically, the Philippines has become more and more the chief cheerleader and proxy of the United States in the region. The Philippines has pushed the so-called US war on terror with great fervor, and without consideration of the implications on our national sovereignty,” Reyes said.

As various sectoral groups converge in Cebu City for the broad protests for the 12th ASEAN Summit, labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said they will underscore wage hike issues of private sector
employees in the week-long protest actions that aim to expose the anti-people agenda of the regional meeting of Asian leaders. “Filipino workers will continue to fight for the P125 across-the-board wage hike. Not even Arroyo’s veto powers can stifle our struggle for economic relief. Workers need wage hikes to survive and we will do everything to realize the granting of substantial wage adjustments,” said KMU Secretary General Joel Maglunsod.

“Though business groups and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) continue to assert that the Filipino workers receive higher wages compared to other Asian workers, the harsh truth cannot be
denied – Filipinos endure staggering cost of living and more families are living way below the poverty threshold. Despite prospects and figures of a developing economy as claimed by government economists,
we remain poorer than other Asian countries.”

According to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), current family living wages should be Php768 or $16 ($1-P48). This amount is far from actual wages received by Filipino workers with lowest rate wages pegged at P109 in Region IV-B and Php126 in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Real minimum wages in the NCR is only Php246. Electricity, water and LPG costs are ever-increasing. Workers cannot cope with this situation. Current wage levels are far from enough to cover the steadily rising cost of public utilities, services and basic needs,’ Maglunsod stressed.

“With Donald Dee heading the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, it is likely that the Council will propose regional economic reforms that will further burden Filipino workers and our fellow Asian workers. We
regard Dee as the business sectors’ official spokesperson against wage hikes for Filipino workers. The ASEAN’s thrust of regional market integration will not benefit Filipinos and Asian workforce. This
integration scheme will only serve the long-term economic plans outlined by financial agencies and governments espousing globalization,” the labor leader concluded.

Labor group gives thumbs down to Bush’s new strategy vs. Iraq

The group will also underscore the labor sectors’ opposition to the U.S. war of terror, now revitalized with Bush’s ‘new strategy’ against Iraq. “Wage not War will be among our calls during the ASEAN Summit
protests.”

“We encouraged Asian heads of states to reject the Bush government’s reinvigorated terror attacks against innocent civilians of sovereign nations. Bush announced today to further its military attacks against Iraq, with the fresh deployment of additional 20,000 US troops to Iraq in the next months. In this light, we are warning the Arroyo government not to use Bush’s new strategy to further its terror
 !– D(["mb","labor leaders and trade union advocates while hundreds belong to mass
organizations of poor people," Maglunsod concluded."  ###

--

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",0] ); //– attacks and militarization against Filipino people. ‘So far, Arroyo’s avid obedience to U.S. government’s war of terror led to over 700 politically-motivated killings of activists and critics of the administration for the past five years. Out of this number, 74 are labor leaders and trade union advocates while hundreds belong to mass organizations of poor people,” Maglunsod concluded.”  #

As expected, the Philippine government is pushing for the approval of an ASEAN counter-terrorism convention in support of the United States-led war on terror.

But cause-oriented group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan warned of the potential dangers of an anti-terror pact “in the hands of governments with poor human rights records and whose sovereignty is easily subverted.”

Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr. said that governments like the Arroyo administration will most likely use the anti-terrorism convention as a potential tool for repression.

The counter-terror regional pact, a binding agreement, also calls on ASEAN member countries to adopt legislation to ensure cooperation on measures to counter terrorism, intelligence and information sharing, establishment of a regional database and measures to capture and bring perpetrators to justice.

“The ASEAN anti-terror pact will become an external push for the passage of the Philippines own anti-terrorism bill which is a very repressive piece of legislation. In the light of the human rights climate in the Philippines, where there are political killings and violations of civil rights, the passage of the ATB will further erode what little is left in the field of civil and political rights,” Reyes said.

Reyes said that other ASEAN member countries with repressive regimes also face the same dangers of heightened repression in the conduct of the so-called “war on terror”.

“Over the past five years, human rights have been the first casualty in the conduct of the so-called global war on terror. From the US, to Iraq to Southeast Asia, the experiences have been similar,” Reyes said.

Bayan also criticized the role of the Philippine government as the US proxy in the region. “Politically, the Philippines has become more and more the chief cheerleader and proxy of the United States in the region. The Philippines has pushed the so-called US war on terror with great fervor, and without consideration of the implications on our national sovereignty,” Reyes said.

“The US will ultimately use the ASEAN anti-terror pact, with the Philippines as its proxy, to pursue its war of terror in the region. This would include the staging of so-called anti-terror exercises which are just another version of US war games in the region, surveilance and intelligence work that would compromise national sovereignty, and continued US intervention in the domestice affairs of ASEAN members,” Reyes said.

Counter-terror exercises are among the features of the proposed convention. Intelligence gathering and sharing are also included in the pact.

According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, concurrent secretary general of APC and KMP, “it is high time that the body discuss and take concrete actions against political killings and persecution. This has been happening for than half a decade in the Philippines and longer still in Myanmar. It is not enough that the ASEAN keeps on concentrating on Myanmar but is turning a blind eye to what is happening here in the Philippines considering even that it is the host country.”

“We have just recently passed a resolution at the Second General Assembly of the APC in Bandung, Indonesia calling for an all out campaign against political killings and persecution in the whole of Asia but especially that of the Philippines. We will launch actions to push our governments to pressure the Macapagal-Arroyo regime to stop using state terrorism against its people and preserve democracy in the country,” added Ramos.

“Our chapters particularly in the Southeast Asian region will also be conducting activities in their countries, parallel to that of the ASEAN to highlight our call to fight the US war of terror and imperialist globalization,” said the peasant leader.

“We will of course also go to Cebu to conduct protest actions and rallies against US intervention in the region and also to highlight to the foreign delegates the extent of the human rights violations in our country. We have already prepared briefing papers and primers to be given to the delegates. The ASEAN should act quickly regarding this very pressing issue or its relevance will really be undermined,” ended Ramos.

The APC is composed of 20 million peasants, fisher folks, women and youth members from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and just recently Pakistan and Mongolia fighting for genuine agrarian reform and against imperialism. #

Hundreds of activists from Luzon , Visayas and Mindanao will be embarking on a nationwide caravan to Cebu in time for the ASEAN Summit. Led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, at least 100 activists from Metro Manila will travel by boat starting January 11 and are expected to arrive in Cebu in the afternoon of January 12.

Similar protest caravans will also be held by islands nearby Cebu . All the groups will meet in Cebu on January 13 to kick off the protest marches in time for the meeting of the ASEAN heads of state.

“Rain or shine, we are determined to push through with the protests. The Arroyo government must be made accountable for its gross human rights violations, extreme puppetry to US interests and continuing economic plunder,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

“Arroyo is probably the worst rights violator in Southeast Asia , outdoing her ASEAN neighbors in terms of the number of activists and journalists killed with impunity. No other ASEAN neighbor can boast of such a dismal record,” Reyes said.

Bayan also noted that the Arroyo regime receives the biggest amount of US military aid in the Southeast Asian region. “The Philippines receives the biggest amount of US foreign military financing, around $27 million. This is larger than the combined aid going to Thailand and Indonesia.

Scandalous spending for ASEAN

Reyes said that hundreds of millions of pesos have been spent on the beautification campaign of the administration. Defective street lamps have been reported to have cost the government P90,000 for each lamp.

“Scandalous spending is being used to cover up Philippine social realities like poverty. However, all those cosmetics cannot conceal the many issues being hurled against the Arroyo regime. The postponement of the ASEAN merely delayed the inevitable confrontation between protesters and the regime,” Reyes said.

Protesters plan to burn US flags and effigies of Arroyo during the three-day protest action. Fuente Osmena will be the main protest center for militants, based on an agreement with Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmena.

“There will be protest marches, teach-ins and public discussions as well as cultural activities that will draw attention to various issues in the Philippines. Everyday, there will be different protest actions,” Reyes said.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s hopes for a “moment of glory” during the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations may be dashed by two very pressing issues: the custody row involving a convicted US Marine and the continuing killings of activists and journalists in the country.

“The Arroyo will certainly try to paint a portrait of paradise in the Philippines, but it is impossible for the visiting countries not to see the heightening contradictions in the custody row and in the deteriorating human rights situation in the country today. Arroyo is a host who can’t even clean up her own house,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

“Not only does Arroyo have to worry about how to make the summit relevant, she has to face pressing domestic issues that put to question her leadership role in the Philippines. Her portrait of paradise will surely crumble,” Reyes added.

Bayan is set to lead hundreds of activists in a three-day protest from January 13-15 in Cebu that will coincide with the ASEAN summit. A “people’s camp” is also set to be held at the Fuente Osmeña in Cebu City. Activists from provinces nearby Cebu will be joining delegates from Manila for the protest activities.

“We hope that ASEAN member countries will take note of the utter absence of sovereignty in the Philippines especially when it comes to issues with the United States. Arroyo brings shame to the nation by allowing the US to ride roughshod over our legal system. This issue will haunt her throughout the summit,” Reyes added.

On the issue of continuing political killings, Reyes said that no one in his right mind will believe that the Philippine government is fostering a ‘caring and sharing community’.

“How can the Philippine government claim to be promoting a caring and sharing community when there are more than 800 dead due to political killings since 2001? This is the biggest smudge on the Arroyo administration’s polished façade,” Reyes said.

Reyes challenged ASEAN member countries to speak out against the spate of political killings in the country saying that this does not violate the non-interference principle of the ASEAN. “Human rights are a concern for all. Upholding it should not be constrained by diplomatic niceties. The Philippines has set a poor example and standard for upholding human rights. Other countries must at least speak out even if this may offend the host government,” Reyes said.

Renato Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary general said, “Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be ashamed before the ASEAN community for many crimes she committed against the Filipino people. The postponement of the ASEAN Summit in December merely delayed the protest actions that will continue to hound Arroyo before the international community.”

“How can a country play host to an international gathering when it can’t even uphold its own sovereignty. It is patently shameful. Mrs. Arroyo is such a bad example for the heads of other ASEAN countries. She stands a head shorter than other heads of state insofar as asserting national sovereignty is concerned,” Reyes said.

Arroyo, US sales rep

Reyes said that the raging issue over custody of convicted US Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith will continue to be at the forefront of protest actions in Cebu. “Despite the controversy over the Visiting Forces Agrement, we expect Mrs. Arroyo to again play the role of U.S. sales rep before the ASEAN. She will convince other nations to embrace the US war of terror and allow US military exercises in their countries as well.”

Bayan warned other ASEAN countries from believing in Mrs. Arroyo’s possible salespitch for US military intervention in their countries in the guise of anti-terror activities and exercises.

“ASEAN member countries should be careful that what happened in the Philippines would not be repeated in other countires where the US is eyeing bilateral military exercises. ASEAN member countries stand to lose their sovreignty once the US is allowed to hold military exercises in their territory,” Reyes said.

The Bayan leader announced that their group will launch an archipelago-wide caravan to Cebu dubbed as Voyagers for Peace. Delegations will come from Luzon, Mindanao and other Visayan provinces and will converge in Cebu city for protest actions.#

“ChaCha through any form will give legitimacy and legal blanket to foreign dictated policies in the economy, politics, military and other aspects of our national life,” said Elmer Labog, Chairperson of the militant labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).

Labog is leading the KMU contingent for the local protests against the  United States‘ economic and political dictates to the ASEAN  Summit here in Cebu.”We have legitimate issues against the imperialist agenda of the ASEAN  Summit. If the Cebu government will impose intimidating policies like Malacanang’s bullying over the Constituent Assembly (ConAss) proceedings, then PGMA can expect more protests against her administration.”

KMU scored the Arroyo – government’s iron-first policy in relation to the holding of protests against the 12th Asean Summit in Cebu. The Cebu local government is observing the no permit, no rally and maximum tolerance policies for the Summit activities.”We denounce the government’s blacklisting of foreign delegates who are scheduled to attend the Jobs and Justice Conference and other solidarity activities with Filipino workers here in Cebu. This only shows Malacanang’s paranoia over legitimate issues raised by workers and other basic sectors. Arroyo’s repressive measures will further isolate her from the international community.”

Market integration: more profit for business, further exploitation for workers Labog said the Jobs and Justice Conference will substantiate assertion of workers groups that the global trends in labor restructuring embodied in the ASEAN’s objective for market integration will only result to further exploitation of workers, translating to depressed wages, rigid union policies and various forms of flexible labor.

He also said that the Business Investment Summit opening today at the Cebu Waterfront Hotel will only ensure more profits for employers and businessmen who are expected to impose more abusive and anti-worker policies in the name of ‘regional market integration’ promoted by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.

The ASEAN BAC advocates the integration of 11 core industries common in Asian countries. These industries include manufacturing, agro-based, wood-based, textile based, transport and tourism, health
care, information communication technology and E-Asean. “Based on our experience, integration in manufacturing caused massive retrenchments and job losses. In San Miguel Corporation Cebu, majority of the workers are contractual workers. Regular workers are laid off in almost all SMC companies including the Magnolia Poultry Packaging Plant and San Miguel Brewery in Mandaue. Danding Cojuangco, implemented vertical integration and laid off more than 20,000 jobs in the span of five years,” Labog concluded.

KMU will lead a noise barrage at the Fuente Osmena tonight against the ChaCha and ConAss. Tomorrow morning, the labor group will hold a jogging activity toward the Waterfront Hotel to show their resistance
to the ASEAN BAC Business and Investment Summit. #

This was the warning aired by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan as it vowed to expose the sham charter change initiative of the administration before the international community.

Human rights, the US war on terror and globalization will also top the agenda of cause-oriented groups holding protest actions.

“There will be daily mass actions spearheaded by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and the International League of People’s Struggle. We are looking at a barrage of protests for human rights, peace, justice and freedom and against charter change. Nothing short of a supertyphoon can derail the protests now,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

Several thousand activists from all major islands across the nation are expected to join the Voyagers for Peace, a nationwide caravan that is expected to reach Cebu in the morning of December 10. The groups will take part in observing International Human Rights Day by holding a rally in Cebu City. The groups will have a “solidarity breakfast” at the Fuente Osmeña before marching towards the Malacañang of the South. They will carry hundreds of pictures of those killed and disappeared under the Arroyo regime.

Reyes said that they are not intimidated by warnings issued by the Philippine National Police. “We will not go to Cebu to break the law. We are however prepared to assert and defend our right to peaceably assemble and air our grievances,” he said.

“What brings shame to the country is Arroyo’s greed for power, her groos human rights record and puppetry to foreign interests. Protesters cannot be blamed if Mrs. Arroyo has a bad image here and abroad. The administration can only blame itself,” Reyes said.

Another big protest is scheduled to coincide with the opening of the ASEAN Summit on December 11, 2006. The protesters will attempt to march outside Cebu City going to Mandaue City where the main summit venue is located.

There will also be daily teach-ins and fora on issues such as trade and globalization, US military presence in the region

“The ASEAN protests will also be a venue for alternative education about the burning issues in the region. We encourage the people of Cebu to take time out to visit the various activities lined up by activist groups,” Reyes said.