Kartilya

NDFP Peace Negotiator Statement at the Opening of the Formal Negotiations between GPH and NDF

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:29:00 +0000

OPENING STATEMENT

by Luis G. Jalandoni

Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel

Oslo, 15 February 2011

State Secretary Espen Barth Eide, Deputy Director General Tomas Stangeland, Ambassadors Ture Lundh and Knut Solem, and other members of the Royal Norwegian Government facilitation team, Fredrik Steen, Lisa Golden, Aina Holm and Ida Marstein.

Secretary Teresita Deles, Chairperson of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process of the Government of the Philippines (GPH), formerly known as the GRP, Atty. Alexander A. Padilla, Chairperson of the GPH Negotiating Panel, members of the GPH Negotiating Panel Atty. Pablito Sanidad, Mr. Ednar Dayanghirang, Ms. Maria Lourdes Tison, Ms. Jurgette Malonzo, and the other members of the GPH delegation,

We in the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel wish to warmly greet and convey our heartfelt thanks to the Royal Norwegian Government for its determined and painstaking efforts as Third Party Facilitator in working for this very significant resumption of formal peace talks between the GPH and the NDFP.

We are confident that we can advance in the peace negotiations by adhering to The Hague Joint Declaration and subsequent agreements. We must be guided by mutually acceptable principles, including national sovereignty, democracy and social justice, and that no precondition shall be made to negate the inherent character and purpose of the peace negotiations. We must address the roots of the armed conflict and arrive at comprehensive agreements on social, economic, political and constitutional reforms in order to lay the basis for a just and lasting peace for the benefit of our people.

After more than six years, the formal talks are resumed today. We are pleased that during the preliminary talks, Chairperson Alex Padilla declared that the GPH does not consider the CPP, NPA and NDFP terrorist organizations. We hold the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo government accountable for sabotaging the peace talks by acceding to or lobbying foreign governments to label and vilify the revolutionary forces of the Filipino people as ”terrorists” and to submit the internal affairs of the Philippines as subject to the sovereignty of such foreign governments, by speciously suspending the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) in order to level false criminal charges against the panelists, consultants and staffers of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, turning the list of JASIG-protected persons or Document of Identification (DI) holders into an arrest list and causing their illegal arrest, abduction, torture, disappearance and murder; and by undermining or reneging on its commitments to other valid and binding agreements.

The Arroyo regime perpetrated gross and systematic human rights violations not only against the NDFP and therevolutionary movement but also against a broad range of legal social activists. It systematically perpetrated more than one thousand two hundred extrajudicial killings, hundreds of frustrated killings, more than two hundred involuntary disappearances, numerous cases of torture, and the uprooting of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of civilians. It also used the notorious Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG), under the rabid militarist andNational Security Adviser, Norberto Gonzales, to file trumped-up charges and cause the imprisonment of hundreds of political prisoners.

Now, after more than six years of sabotage of the peace talks and invalid suspension of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) by the Arroyo regime, we stand at the threshold of a new beginning. It is imperative that the two negotiating parties do away with the transgressions, gore and filth of the previous regime and pave the way for accelerated and fruitful negotiations.

The gross violations and disregard of the agreements signed by both Parties underscore the need for both to reaffirm all previous peace agreements painstakingly forged by them. It is imperative to uphold and defend the validity and binding character of these agreements and commit ourselves to respect them and comply with their wise and equitable provisions so that we can move forward in our striving to achieve a just and lasting peace in our country.

The Arroyo regime's more than six-year invalid suspension of the JASIG has to be definitively erased with a firm compliance with the JASIG so as to guarantee the safety and immunity of all personnel of both Parties who are involved in the peace negotiations. The abduction, illegal detention, disappearance, torture and murder of NDFP consultants and staffers must be subjected to investigation and justice must be rendered to the victims. Past and continuing violations of the JASIG have to be rectified.

We are happy to have with us NDFP Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms (RWC-SER) members Rafael Baylosis and Randall Echanis. Their presence is concrete proof of the efficacy and respect for the JASIG. We continue to expect that the GPH work on the immediate lifting of the arrest warrants and the withdrawal or dismissal of charges against them, including NDFP political consultant Vicente Ladlad. We hope that the JASIG-protected and DI holders recently arrested under the Aquino administration are immediately released. We refer to Danilo Badayos, Pedro Codaste, Edwin Brigano, Tirso “Ka Bart” Alcantara, and now Alan Jazmines.

The expeditious release of other NDFP Consultants and JASIG-protected persons in compliance with the JASIG as well as in the spirit of goodwill or for humanitarian reasons is being facilitated by the GPH Negotiating Panel, with Atty. Pablito Sanidad kindly accepting the responsibility and enjoying the confidence of his chairperson for seeing to it that JASIG is effectively applied in order to foster the peace talks.

The long suspension by the Arroyo regime stopped the initial negotiations on social and economic reforms (SER). Only parts of the Preamble and Declaration of Principles could be agreed upon. Now there is an even more compelling need for accelerated and sustained negotiations on this second item in the substantive agenda in view of the much worsened social and economic conditions. Both Negotiating Panels have expressed their firm commitment to carry this out through their respective Reciprocal Working Committees (RWCs). The target of six months is being set for the RWCs-SER to draw up the Tentative Agreement on SER.

We urge the reciprocal working committees to have a common resolve to uphold economic sovereignty, conserve the national patrimony for the benefit of our own people, promote economic development through land reform and national industrialization, improve the people’s livelihood and develop equitable trade and economic relations with other countries. In this context, there is no insurmountable difficulty for the reciprocal working committees to draft a tentative agreement that describes and critiques the social and economic status quo and recommends the necessary reforms for separate and joint implementation until there is a Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms.

In the spirit of further accelerating the peace negotiations, both Parties have agreed to prepare in advance for the negotiations of the Reciprocal Working Committees on Political and Constitutional Reforms (PCR) through working groups on PCR. Our Chief Political Consultant, Prof. Jose Maria Sison and Atty. Pablito Sanidad will lead the discussions regarding the concept and formation of the working groups on PCR. Prof. Sison will be assisted by Fidel Agcaoili, Elizabeth Principe as consultant and Dr. Carol P. Araullo as resource person. The working groups on PCR prepare the ground for the setting up of the Reciprocal Working Committees on PCR. While this mechanism helps to accelerate the peace negotiations, the RWC Agreement of 1995 and the Supplemental Agreement thereto of 1997 are respected.

At this resumption of formal talks, there will also be the highly significant reconvening of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) which has not been able to meet since June 2004. Although the Joint Secretariat has functioned by receiving complaints, conducting training seminars and issuing publications, among others, with the support of the Royal Norwegian Government. the Arroyo regime prevented the JMC's full operationalization as mandated by the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) by prohibiting its GRP Monitoring Committee from meeting with the NDFP Monitoring Committee.

We expect that in reaffirming the CARHRIHL, the release of about 350 political prisoners will be effectively undertaken. We are glad that during the preliminary talks the GPH Negotiating Panel expressed sympathy and support for the release of the political prisoners. They deserve to be released like the 400 military prisoners for having been victims of false charges and political persecution and for having struggled against the unjust Arroyo regime. We are cognizant of the persevering efforts of human rights associations, various mass organizations and social movements in the Philippines and abroad and some members of the Senate and House of Representativesin seeking a principled amnesty for the political prisoners.

As stated in the Oslo Joint Statement of 2004, the Parties agree that the release of prisoners and detainees is a continuing confidence building measure, motivated by a mutual desire to improve the atmosphere for peace negotiations and is a benign act of magnanimity. At the same time it is in compliance with an obligation arising from the CARHRIHL which states that all prisoners and detainees charged with common crimes, detained, or convicted contrary to the GPH Hernandez doctrine should be released immediately. (Part III, Respect for Human Rights, Article 6).

We participate enthusiastically and conscientiously in the resumption of formal talks. We are resolved to do everything we can to make these talks succeed and move us forward towards forging fundamental social, economic, political and constitutional reforms that will address the roots of the armed conflict and be of lasting benefit to the Filipino people. We are glad that both Parties have agreed to a unilateral, concurrent and reciprocal ceasefire as a goodwill and confidence building measure to mark the resumption of formal talks after so many years. We consider such ceasefire a highly significant token and signal of our common desire to advance in the peace negotiations and make up for the lost years during the Arroyo regime.

Without prejudice to the established track of the peace negotiations, the NDFP has offered to the GPH a proposal for a concise agreement for an immediate just peace as the basis of alliance and truce for strengthening national independence, empowering the people and realizing the industrial development of the Philippines. This NDFP offer is a challenge to the Aquino regime to release itself from the dictates of US imperialism, especially the already bankrupt neoliberal economic policy and the futile US Counterinsurgency Guide, and to come to terms with the NDFP proposal for alliance and truce in order to strengthen national independence and carry out national industrialization.

The concurrence of the political wills of the GPH and NDFP along the patriotic and progressive line can bring about just peace and development for our people.

Thank you very much.

LUIS G. JALANDONI

Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel

Speech of Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles at the Opening of the Formal Negotiations between GPH and NDF

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:20:00 +0000

OPENING STATEMENT

By Sec. Teresita Quintos Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

Opening Ceremony, Formal Negotiations between GPH and NDF

I come to Oslo with a heady mix of dread and expectation, not unlike a woman in the throes of childbirth, knowing that what she does, or does not do, will have grave implications for the future. I also find it striking that here in the deep Oslo winter, we seek to thaw relations long frozen between GPH and NDF.

I know I don’t really have to be here because the job of negotiation belongs to the GPH Panel, which is doing very able job of it. I came on the Panel’s invitation to demonstrate the seriousness of the Philippine government in its peace agenda and to signify to our people the importance of this movement of restarting peace talks after a six-year impasse. I also came to express our appreciation to the Royal Norwegian Government for having stayed through the process in spite of the roller coaster character of high-stakes negotiations. Thank you, RNG.

Now let me raise three questions for our collective dialogue and debate; and, if not, at least for our individual consideration and reflection.

First, where are we coming from?

Second, where are we headed for?

Third, what blocks the way from here to there?

Or, put differently, what caveats and challenges do we face?

Where are we coming from?

As you may know, my world was NGO—non-governmental organizations—before I joined government. And my NGO advocacies—peace in particular—have become the leitmotif for my stint in government, interrupted for some time because I lost faith in its leadership. But now I am back in place with the resurgence of bona fides in the May 2010 elections.

As a representative of government, I take pride in introducing my principal—Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino—scion of the martyred Ninoy Aquino and of Cory Aquino who started this peace process a quarter of a century ago. Noynoy’s lineage, to a great extent, explains who he is and what he stands for. When he declared in his inaugural address that the ultimate goal of national security “must be the safety and well-being of our people,” this was not mere rhetoric. Because Noynoy knows what it is to be unsafe, bearing in his body the scars and bullet fragments from one of the many coup attempts that shook his mother’s presidency.

But, in a larger sense, we come from a country weary of war. From our revolution over 200 years ago to our bloody birth as a nation a century ago, we fought the Spanish and, later, the Americans and, much later in the second world war, the Japanese. The perception of an unjust peace ensuing from World War II compelled some of our countrymen and women to take up arms once more, this time against government. And so the question of justice and equity has continued to haunt all our efforts at nation-building.

What has been called the longest-running insurgency in our part of the world has torn families, communities, and the country apart. In the ‘70s and ‘80s it drew from the best and the brightest, the first fruits of the youth and student movement. Many of the GPH Panel members have come from this tradition, and all of them have paid their dues in the struggle: Pablito Sanidad and Alex Padilla, human rights lawyers; Jurgette Honculada, gender and labor rights advocate; Ednar Dayanghirang, a voice for the indigenous peoples; and Lourdes Tison, environmental activist.

The cost in lives and a stunted economy is incalculable. There also are more insidious costs: a deepening culture of violence that holds even young children in thrall; a culture of despair that breeds apathy and cynicism across generations; a polarized mindset that brooks no dissent, viewing the other as enemy; and descending into cut-throat hostilities that makes losers of us all.

And yet there is a growing, surging current that says no more to war and war games. From the remotest mountain and coastal villages to our urban poor and middle class communities, the clamor for peace cannot be denied. Our people are saying, the landscape of war must give way to the imperatives of peace. And they have created zones of peace, sanctuaries of peace to provide safe haven from abuse and bloodshed by the militias of any stripe or color.

It is this call to make of the entire country a zone of peace that gives us our mandate to come to the negotiating table once more. This and the attendant realization that the war cannot be won by force of arms on either side.

Where are we headed for?

GPH seeks a political settlement as the way to a just and enduring peace. We have no illusions that signing a peace treaty will solve all our problems. Not at all, for peace without justice, peace without development is a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. But a political settlement, a peace treaty, will be a beginning. Stilling the guns of war is essential to harnessing all our resources for nation building, especially at a time when the global economic crisis has hit hard countries like the Philippines.

Clearly, there is much that divides the two panels that come to this table. On both sides, there is a legacy of pain; but there is also much that unites us—the vision of a just society, the desiderata of national sovereignty, the wish to reverse the drain in human and natural resources, the imperative of good governance; and more. It is on this common ground, this interface, that we come to the table, seeking to negotiate our differences and to deepen our unities.

Is this baying for the moon? They said this of Sinn Fein and the IRA, of the internecine conflict in South Africa, in Aceh and Nepal. And yet, Northern Ireland and South Africa, having taken the path of peace, have stayed the course, finding it infinitely more rewarding than shooting each other down.

Since I am supposed to give just some remarks, let me end with my final point which is: What blocks the road to peace? What are some of the caveats and challenges?

I do not presume to be exhaustive or comprehensive but let me sum up the caveats thus: let it not be said that the peace talks failed because of a failure of nerve, a failure of will, a failure of the imagination on our part. I say a failure of nerve because, having marched for so long to the drumbeat of war, we are unnerved by the fear of losing our step. I say failure of will because we would rather stick to our old formulas rather than risk losing ground and losing face. I say failure of the imagination because we cannot let go of our fossilized ways of thinking and doing things, blind to the fact that the way to life is to make all things new.

As well, let me underscore just two of the multiple challenges we face.

The first challenge is to tackle the substance of peace—socio-economic reforms, for instance—and not just its form, which is what pacification is. Both sides, in fact, have been guilty of military reductionism, of believing that arms will win the day.

It will not. What will help win the day—and this is the second challenge—is building and strengthening our peace constituencies. Our publics, our people—and not just our principals—must ache for peace so badly, they will vote with their feet, they will say “Enough!” to the hawks and warmongers in their ranks and in the leadership on both sides. They will turn the narrative of war into the narrative of peace.

Let me end with a footnote on the Vikings, those fearsome warriors from whom present-day Swedes, Danes and Norwegians are descended, including, I daresay, our hosts Espen, Knut and Ture; Aina, Ida, and Thomas. Part of it may be myth but the Vikings, it seems, were born to do battle. And yet—wonder of wonders—the Scandinavians now lead in global peacemaking—from South Africa to Palestine to Nepal.

If the Vikings could, over generations, turn their spears into pruning hooks and learn war no more, to borrow from the Bible, then, just maybe, can these talks signal the beginning of the end of our own intractable decades-old war?

On the other hand, late breaking news from the Philippines, about arrests and ambuscades, are a portent of alarms on the landmines that we must face here in Oslo.

But I believe with all my heart that we must find a way to negotiate these landmines together.

The fact is that the government is currently engaged in the peace process not with two, not with three, but with five armed groups. And two of these are in negotiations with government: the MILF and NDF. The speed with which the peace process with the MILF is proceeding enables even the most jaded among us to dare to hope that peace is indeed possible.

And, therefore, maybe I should end with a caveat: if we are not ready for peace right here, right now, then peace will find another way. A way that will not have to wait another twenty-five years, that will not have to wait for another five panels—to come into its own and bring peace and joy and laughter to our beloved land and our beloved people.

And so what we do, or do not do, in Oslo this February is, for us Filipinos, a matter of life and death. On this hopeful, and yet somber, note, I wish you a good day.#

Campus journalists demand swift justice (CEGP-Mindanao Press Release)

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:13:00 +0000

Campus journalists condemn the very slow delivery of justice to the victims of the Ampatuan Massacre, and challenge the Aquino administration to enforce its political will to expedite the prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime.

Members of the campus press believe that one year of injustice since the day of the massacre of 58 lives is an excessive display of irresponsibility by the government.

Paul Randy Gumanao, the Vice President for Mindanao of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), said that unless justice is served, the Arroyo and the Aquino regimes are accountable to the people.

“The impotent action of our government is a form of betrayal of our democracy. It is not enough that we just remember the most gruesome attack in media history. We need to act and rage because there is a continued culture of impunity in our country,” Gumanao said.

CEGP sees that the Amapatuan massacre case is not isolated from the piles of extra-judicial killings and human rights violations that the government must address urgently.

“Student journalists are always standing by the people. Therefore we believe that the people’s outrage, rather than the Ampatuans’ might, must be feared and attended by the government. What happened in Maguindanao was not solely an attack against the journalists or the lawyers. It was an arrogant attack against the Filipino people,” Gumanao added.

The international community also expressed sentiments against the massacre. New York-based Human Rights Watch delivered a report indicting former president Arroyo of aiding the Ampatuans gain political and miltary power. This report, according to CEGP, has to be considered by the Aquino administration.

“P-Noy has to show us what he meant by ‘daang matuwid’. Prosecute not only the Ampatuans but all the other individuals involved in nurturing a barbaric culture in the country,” Gumanao said.

CEGP, in its 79 years of existence as the longest-running and the widest organization of tertiary campus publications, said it will always support campaigns and actions that will benefit the majority. The group is also joining in various activities in the first year commemoration of the Amatuan massacre this November 23. ###

On 12-year basic education: Additional years, more problems

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:27:00 +0000

(reposted with permission from http://kabataanpartylist.com)

The move to add one year in elementary and another year in high school will not answer the country’s declining quality of education, the growing number of out-of-school youth, nor will it lift the country’s employment rate.

Below are five reasons to counteract former Department of Education (DepEd) Sec. Juan Miguel Luz’ ‘delusions of grandeur’.

1. Additional two years would mean extra expense for parents of public school goers, a majority of which belong to impoverished sectors.

The new system would translate to added burden to parents who could barely send their children to school. For a poverty-stricken country such as ours, the proposal to add two years to basic education is a question of survival.

While public education is free, a student would still need an average of P20,000 per school year (Kabataan Partylist computation) to cover transportation costs, food, school supplies and other operational expenses whilst schooling. The government, on the other hand, in 2009 allotted a meager P2,502 a year, or P6.85 per student per day, for education. This figure has not improved since.

Moreover, based on the latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FEIS), Filipino families opt to spend more on food and other daily basic necessities over their children’s education needs. Most Filipino families, unfortunately, are forced to make a choice between sending their children to school and spending their meager income on food and other basic necessities in order to survive. Poverty and government neglect have made education a luxury to many of our Filipino families.

This would inevitably account for a higher dropout rate. Lower household spending on schooling, prompted by increasing prices of basic commodities, tuition and school fee hikes and stagnant wage levels have set the trend for a yearly increase in dropouts and out-of-school youth.

2. It is the government which would be ‘throwing money into the problem’.

The proposal itself is very ideal, if not whimsical, for a country whose public spending for education is one of the lowest in the world.

The education sector’s share has dwindled, from 3.3 percent in 2001, 2.19 percent in 2008 to 2.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009. This pales in comparison to neighboring countries Malaysia (7.4 percent) and Thailand (4 percent). It is also lower than the four percent average for all countries that were included in the World Education Indicators in 2006. The minimum prescribed standard for education spending set by UNESCO is six (6) percent of a country’s GDP.

The Philippines is also lagging behind its Asian counterparts in public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public spending.

At all levels of education, the Philippines is only spending 17.2 percent compared to Thailand’s 40 percent and Malaysia’s 28 percent. Translating this into expenditures per student, Philippine education spending is still way below its Asian competitors.

The annual budget for education has also decreased steadily from 17.4 percent in 2001 to 15 percent in 2010. As a result, every school opening has been greeted with perennial back-to-school woes such as classroom and textbook shortages, lack of facilities and underpaid teachers.

In his State of the Nation Address, Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino announced his thrust of venturing into public-private partnerships in order to address the needs of the education sector. This, however, may yet be used as an excuse to further decrease and gradually totally pull out state subsidy for education.

Certainly, adding two more years to basic education will not resolve the declining quality of education in that it does not at all address the root cause of poor government spending and mis-prioritization. How then can the government afford to subsidize additional two years when subsidy for the present cycle has been found lacking? If privatization is the Aquino administration’s answer, could it still guarantee free access to basic education, especially to our less fortunate students?

3. It will not resolve the high rate of unemployment, especially among the youth.

Another rationale is that adding two years to basic education would increase chances of our youth for employment, even sans a college diploma.

The DepEd says that an additional two years in basic education is aimed at improving the technical-vocational skills of our youth through subjects such as arts, aquaculture and agriculture, among others. The new education cycle, it said, would let students graduate at the age of 18 and ensure that they land a job here or abroad, making students employable even without finishing college.

This is another fallacy, and hopefully not a deliberate ploy to create a wrong impression and false sense of hope among our youth.

The Philippines, which has a predominantly young population, also has the highest overall unemployment rates in East Asia and the Pacific Region. It also has the highest rates on unemployment among the youth, according to a 2003 study by the World Bank. Young Filipinos are twice as likely to be unemployed than those in older age groups. This condition was further worsened when the economic recession kicked in because of massive retrenchment and lay-offs.

Young workers are at a disadvantage given their lack of experience vis a vis the lack of job opportunities. Every year for the last decade, at least 300,000 new graduates are added to the labor force, and consequently, a majority of them figure in the increasing unemployment statistics.

In January 2008, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that 50 percent of the unemployed 2.7 million belonged to age groups 15 to 24. Of these, 461, 000 or 35 percent were able to graduate from college, while an estimated 700,000 unemployed youth either finished high school or at least reached undergraduate college levels.

Needless to say, let us please not mislead our youth into believing that a 12-year basic education cycle would “assure” them of job opportunities. How can the government avow this when this year alone 400,000 new COLLEGE graduates fell into the “idle” labor force? To really address youth unemployment, there is a need to overhaul not the basic education cycle but the country’s economic and labor policies.

4. It is designed to reinforce cheap semi-skilled labor for foreign needs.

Over the years, the government has promoted migration and jobs abroad in the guise of providing jobs and “greener pastures” to our young labor force. Roughly 10.7 percent of the total Filipino labor migrant population now consists of young workers, most of them semi-skilled and unskilled workers who offer their services in exchange for cheap labor.

The economy’s lack of development resulting in job loss at home is due mainly to the government’s failure to address poverty and joblessness. Migration has invariably resulted in the brain drain of our young skilled workers and professionals. The departure, for instance, of our young nurses, teachers and doctors to work as caregivers, medical assistants and domestic helpers has caused the disruption of our very own economy. Time and again we whine of the deterioration of the quality of our education and health systems, but ironically, our very own economic policies are driving away the best of the best of our skilled workers and professionals.

The current proposal adopted by neoliberal pro-globalization die-hards aim to meet standards for “global competitiveness” and demands of the “international labor market for semiskilled labor.” Simply put, this measure intends to strengthen the colonial orientation of Philippine education, serve the cheap labor needs of foreign capital and businesses. Our education system must be a Filipno education and must serve the needs of our nation and people.

5. The genuine solution is for the promotion of an educational system that would truly address the needs of the Filipino youth and Philippine society in general.

Education is the foundation upon which we shall build our country. It serves as the means to bring about the desired change in society, to develop a generation of virtuous individuals and thus contribute to the development of good human beings. Our educational system will determine the kind of nation we will become in the future.

Unless the government reverses its present education policies and works for the establishment of an educational system that truly addresses and caters to the needs of the Filipino youth and Philippine society, the changes it would implement are not necessarily the changes we genuinely need.

Instead of adding years, the government must focus on measures aimed at increasing state spending on education to six (6) percent of the GDP, stopping unjust tuition and other fee increases in all levels, promoting a nationalist curriculum, upholding democratic rights of students, improving teachers’ welfare, and improve science, research and technology development.

It must also promote transparency and sanction corruption cases in education programs and review existing policies and institutions of education. ###

CEGP: 79 years of upholding campus press freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:14:00 +0000

2010 July 25
NEWS RELEASE

79 years of upholding campus press freedom Campus journalists celebrate National Day of Campus Press Freedom

“As the Guild celebrates today the 79 years of patriotic and democratic service, and the National Day of Campus Press freedom, we will continue to be the voice of young journalists.” College Editors Guild of the Philippines National President Trina Federis said.

“During the World War II, members of the campus press gave their lives in defending our Motherland. During the martial law, campus journalists served as the mosquito press, printing news that matter to the people when mainstream press dared not. Today we continue to speak against commercialization of education, US intervention, and other anti-people policies.”

“We are not merely celebrating however, as campus press freedom violations continue unabated. Since Aquino’s inauguration, not much has changed. Such is seen in the campus press freedom violations experienced by The Cordial and UP Vista. The Cordial, the official student publication of Cor Jesu College in Digos City, suffers from oppression by the school administrators; their publication was unceremoniously replaced with a new publication. Members of UP Vista of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of the Philippines Visayas continue to suffer from red-tagging and surveillance by the military. We challenge the PNOY administration to resolve the cases of journalist killings, human rights violations and campus repression in the soonest possible time.”

“We have survived 79 years. And we will carry on. We continue to fight for genuine campus press freedom. As long as such is not realized, we will not stop. We will join the People’s SONA tomorrow, a testament of our commitment to the people.” Federis concluded.

The Guild celebrated its 79 years in the 1962 Bar near Timog Avenue through a night of nostalgia. Looking back the past seven decades with alumni Hon. Teddy Casiño, former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, and other fellow Guilders.###

Reference:
Trina Federis
National President
09104803098

Kabataan Partylist seeks to reform, strengthen SK

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:10:00 +0000

08 July 2010

With the barangay elections set on October 25, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino expressed the need to strengthen the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) as the basic local unit of government of the youth.

The SK was created upon the mandate of Section 13 Article II of the 1987 Constitution recognizing “the vital role of the youth in nation-building...and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.” SK is recognized as a local government unit alongside the barangay.

“The SK plays an important role in upholding the rights and empowerment of the youth in their respective communities. There is an urgent need to strengthen it and enact reforms to improve its functions and capabilities,” said Palatino.

Palatino said it is unfortunate that “widespread corruption and inefficient governance” have resulted in calls to abolish the SK.

“We must not kill the essence of the youth’s entitlement to uphold their interests in our communities. What we need to do is to reform how the SK functions, determine avenues where they can further develop their leadership skills, practice the democratic processes in creating and executing decisions

through consultations,” he said.

Palatino said that he is set to re-file early next week House Bill 6870, or the SK Reform Act, which he filed in the 14th Congress. HB 6870 was formulated after Kabataan Partylist conducted consultations last year with the SK National Executive Board and various SK officials in the country.

Among the key problems pointed out by the SK were that elected officials themselves have minimal awareness of their role in the community, thus making them vulnerable to manipulation by barangay and other local government officials; projects are limited to conducting “paliga” or tournaments; rampant corruption due to lack of transparency; and a loss of direction and authority over its constituency.

The SK Reform Act seeks to address these problems by highlighting reforms such as:

Requiring SK units to deposit their funds in a bank preferably government-owned and granting SK units fiscal autonomy over their allotted budget;

Requiring SK units to release a quarterly financial report to practice transparency and to curb corruption;

Mandating that the Katipunan ng mga Kabataan (KK) function as the highest policy making body of the SK responsible for holding regular consultations with other youth-based organizations in the community;

Empowering and encouraging the SK to engage in promoting basic rights such as quality education for all, secure youth employment, sustainable development, human rights and social justice.

Voter registration campaign

Palatino also reminded youths nationwide to go out and register for the upcoming SK and barangay elections.

The Commission on Elections moved the registration period from June to July 25, 2010.

The youth solon expressed intent to “coordinate and cooperate with the Comelec” in the voters’ education and registration drive for the youth.

“We will be launching a massive SK awareness and registration campaign in communities nationwide. We will also be discussing to them the functions and role of the SK, as well as the SK Reform Bill. It is vital that the youth participate in the SK elections,” he said.###

Campus journalists decry new DepEd chair’s jibe at media

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:19:00 +0000

2010 July 1
NEWS RELEASE

Campus journalists decry new DepEd chair’s jibe at media

“Bro. Armin Luistro should temper his speech. He obviously does not understand the role of media in a civilized society,” College Editors Guild of the Philippines National President Trina Federis said.

Federis is reacting to Luistro’s comment that the media should not ask him about his stand on sex education, as the media is “unhelpful” and consequently refusing to answer the query.

“For a new Department of Education chair, that’s a very antagonistic remark. He should not expect media to deal with government officials using kid gloves. To do so would defeat media’s role as the watchdog. In a country where the powerful and corrupt few rule, it is no surprise that the media has almost always had less than cordial relations with government officials.” Federis said.

“Luistro should recognize media’s role as the Fourth Estate. Only then will he realize how he should relate with media. As DepEd chair, he will have to face these issues sooner or later, which is why his
opinion is being asked.“ Federis concluded. ###

Reference:
Trina Federis
National President
09104803098

Noynoy Aquino's Inaugural Speech (Full Text)

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:02:00 +0000

His Excellency Jose Ramos Horta, Former President Fidel V. Ramos, Former President Joseph Estrada, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and members of the Senate, House Speaker Prospero Nograles and members of the House, justices of the Supreme Court, members of the foreign delegations,Your Excellencies of the diplomatic corps, fellow colleagues in government, aking mga kababayan.

Ang pagtayo ko rito ngayon ay patunay na kayo ang aking tunay na lakas. Hindi ko inakala na darating tayo sa puntong ito, na ako’y manunumpa sa harap ninyo bilang inyong Pangulo. Hindi ko pinangarap maging tagapagtaguyod ng pag-asa at tagapagmana ng mga suliranin ng ating bayan.

Ang layunin ko sa buhay ay simple lang: maging tapat sa aking mga magulang at sa bayan bilang isang marangal na anak, mabait na kuya, at mabuting mamamayan.

Nilabanan ng aking ama ang diktadurya at ibinuwis niya ang kanyang buhay para tubusin ang ating demokrasya. Inalay ng aking ina ang kanyang buhay upang pangalagaan ang demokrasyang ito. Ilalaan ko ang aking buhay para siguraduhin na ang ating demokrasya ay kapaki-pakinabang sa bawa’t isa. Namuhunan na po kami ng dugo at handang gawin itong muli kung kakailanganin.

Tanyag man ang aking mga magulang at ang kanilang mga nagawa, alam ko rin ang problema ng ordinaryong mamamayan. Alam nating lahat ang pakiramdam na magkaroon ng pamahalaang bulag at bingi. Alam natin ang pakiramdam na magpagkaitan ng hustisya, na mabalewala ng mga taong pinagkatiwalaan at inatasan nating maging ating tagapagtanggol.

Kayo ba ay minsan ring nalimutan ng pamahalaang inyong iniluklok sa pwesto? Ako rin. Kayo ba ay nagtiis na sa trapiko para lamang masingitan ng isang naghahari-hariang de-wangwang sa kalsada? Ako rin. Kayo ba ay sawang sawa na sa pamahalaang sa halip na magsilbi sa taumbayan ay kailangan pa nila itong pagpasensyahan at tiisin? Ako rin.

Katulad ninyo ako. Marami na sa atin ang bumoto gamit ang kanilang paa – nilisan na nila ang ating bansa sa kanilang paghahanap ng pagbabago at katahimikan. Tiniis nila ang hirap, sinugod ang panganib sa ibang bansa dahil doon may pag-asa kahit kaunti na rito sa atin ay hindi nila nakikita. Sa iilang sandali na sarili ko lang ang aking inaalaala, pati ako ay napagisip din – talaga bang hindi na magbabago ang pamamahala natin dito? Hindi kaya nasa ibang bansa ang katahimikang hinahanap ko? Saan ba nakasulat na kailangang puro pagtitiis ang tadhana ng Pilipino?

Ngayon, sa araw na ito – dito magwawakas ang pamumunong manhid sa mga daing ng taumbayan. Hindi si Noynoy ang gumawa ng paraan, kayo ang dahilan kung bakit ngayon, magtatapos na ang pagtitiis ng sambayanan. Ito naman po ang umpisa ng kalbaryo ko, nguni’t kung marami tayong magpapasan ng krus ay kakayanin natin ito, gaano man kabigat.

Sa tulong ng wastong pamamahala sa mga darating na taon, maiibsan din ang marami nating problema. Ang tadhana ng Pilipino ay babalik sa tamang kalagyan, na sa bawa’t taon pabawas ng pabawas ang problema ng Pinoy na nagsusumikap at may kasiguruhan sila na magiging tuloy-tuloy na ang pagbuti ng kanilang sitwasyon.

Kami ay narito para magsilbi at hindi para maghari. Ang mandato ninyo sa amin ay pagbabago – isang malinaw na utos para ayusin ang gobyerno at lipunan mula sa pamahalaang iilan lamang ang nakikinabang tungo sa isang pamahalaang kabutihan ng mamamayan ang pinangangalagaan.

Ang mandatong ito ay isa kung saan kayo at ang inyong pangulo ay nagkasundo para sa pagbabago – isang paninindigan na ipinangako ko noong kampanya at tinanggap ninyo noong araw ng halalan. Sigaw natin noong kampanya: ‘Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.’ Hindi lamang ito pang-slogan o pang-poster – ito ang mga prinsipyong tinatayuan at nagsisilbing batayan ng ating administrasyon.

Ang ating pangunahing tungkulin ay ang magsikap na maiangat ang bansa mula sa kahirapan, sa pamamagitan ng pagpapairal ng katapatan at mabuting pamamalakad sa pamahalaan.

Ang unang hakbang ay ang pagkakaroon ng tuwid at tapat na hanay ng mga pinuno. Magsisimula ito sa akin. Sisikapin kong maging isang mabuting ehemplo. Hinding hindi ko sasayangin ang tiwalang ipinagkaloob ninyo sa akin. Sisiguraduhin ko na ganito rin ang adhikain ng aking Gabinete at ng mga magiging kasama sa ating pamahalaan.

Naniniwala akong hindi lahat ng nagsisilbi sa gobyerno ay corrupt. Sa katunayan, mas marami sa kanila ay tapat. Pinili nilang maglingkod sa gobyerno upang gumawa ng kabutihan. Ngayon, magkakaroon na sila ng pagkakataong magpakitang-gilas. Inaasahan natin sila sa pagsupil ng korapsyon sa loob mismo ng burukrasya.

Sa mga itinalaga sa paraang labag sa batas, ito ang aking babala: sisimulan natin ang pagbabalik ng tiwala sa pamamagitan ng pag-usisa sa mga ‘midnight appointments.’ Sana ay magsilbi itong babala sa mga nag-iisip na ipagpatuloy ang baluktot na kalakarang nakasanayan na ng marami.

Sa mga kapuspalad nating mga kababayan, ngayon, ang pamahalaan ang inyong kampeon.

Hindi natin ipagpapaliban ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga estudyante, kaya’t sisikapin nating punan ang kakulangan sa ating mga silid-aralan.

Unti-unti din nating babawasan ang mga kakulangan sa imprastruktura para sa transportasyon, turismo at pangangalakal. Mula ngayon, hindi na pwede ang ‘pwede na’ pagdating sa mga kalye, tulay at gusali dahil magiging responsibilidad ng mga kontratista ang panatilihing nasa mabuting kalagayan ang mga proyekto nila.

Bubuhayin natin ang programang ‘emergency employment’ ng dating Pangulong Corazon Aquino sa pagtatayo ng mga bagong imprastruktura na ito. Ito ay magbibigay ng trabaho sa mga lokal na komunidad at makakatulong sa pagpapalago ng kanila at ng ating buong ekonomiya.

Hindi kami magiging sanhi ng inyong pasakit at perwisyo. Palalakasin natin ang koleksyon at pupuksain natin ang korapsyon sa Kawanihan ng Rentas Internas at Bureau of Customs para mapondohan natin ang ating mga hinahangad para sa lahat, tulad ng:

* de-kalidad na edukasyon, kabilang ang edukasyong bokasyonal para makapaghanap ng marangal na trabaho ang hindi makapag-kolehiyo;

* serbisyong pangkalusugan tulad ng PhilHealth para sa lahat sa loob ng tatlong taon;

* tirahan sa loob ng mga ligtas na komunidad.

Palalakasin at palalaguin natin ang bilang ng ating kasundaluhan at kapulisan, hindi para tugunan ang interes ng mga naghahari-harian, nguni’t para proteksyunan ang mamamayan. Itinataya nila ang kanilang buhay para mayroong pagkakataon sa katahimikan at kapayapaan sa sambayanan. Dumoble na ang populasyong kanilang binabantayan, nanatili naman sila sa bilang. Hindi tama na ang nagmamalasakit ay kinakawawa.

Kung dati ay may fertilizer scam, ngayon ay may kalinga nang tunay para sa mga magsasaka. Tutulungan natin sila sa irigasyon, extension services, at sa pagbenta ng kanilang produkto sa pinakamataas na presyong maaari.

Inaatasan natin ang papasok na Kalihim Alcala na magtayo ng mga trading centers kung saan diretso na ang magsasaka sa mamimili – lalaktawan na natin ang gitna, kasama na ang kotong cop. Sa ganitong paraan, ang dating napupunta sa gitna ay maari nang paghatian ng magsasaka at mamimili.

Gagawin nating kaaya-aya sa negosyante ang ating bansa. We will cut red tape dramatically and implement stable economic policies. We will level the playing field for investors and make government an enabler, not a hindrance, to business. Sa ganitong paraan lamang natin mapupunuan ang kakulangan ng trabaho para sa ating mga mamamayan.

Layunin nating paramihin ang trabaho dito sa ating bansa upang hindi na kailangan ang mangibang-bansa para makahanap ng trabaho. Nguni’t habang ito ay hindi pa natin naaabot, inaatasan ko ang mga kawani ng DFA, POEA at ng OWWA, at iba pang mga kinauukulang ahensya na mas lalo pang paigtingin ang pagtugon sa mga hinaing at pangangailangan ng ating overseas Filipino workers.

Papaigtingin namin ang proseso ng konsultasyon at pag-uulat sa taumbayan. Sisikapin naming isakatuparan ang nakasaad sa ating Konstitusyon na kinikilala ang karapatan ng mamamayan na magkaroon ng kaalaman ukol sa mga pampublikong alintana.

Binuhay natin ang diwa ng people power noong kampanya. Ipagpatuloy natin ito tungo sa tuwid at tapat na pamamahala. Ang naniniwala sa people power ay nakatuon sa kapwa at hindi sa sarili.

Sa mga nang-api sa akin, kaya ko kayong patawarin at pinapatawad ko na kayo. Sa mga nang-api sa sambayanan, wala akong karapatan na limutin ang inyong mga kasalanan.

To those who are talking about reconciliation, if they mean that they would like us to simply forget about the wrongs that they have committed in the past, we have this to say: there can be no reconciliation without justice. Sa paglimot ng pagkakasala, sinisigurado mong mauulit muli ang mga pagkakasalang ito. Secretary de Lima, you have your marching orders. Begin the process of providing true and complete justice for all.

Ikinagagalak din naming ibahagi sa inyo ang pagtanggap ni dating Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. sa hamon ng pagtatag at pamumuno sa isang Truth Commission na magbibigay linaw sa maraming kahinahinalang isyu na hanggang ngayon ay walang kasagutan at resolusyon.

Ang sinumang nagkamali ay kailangang humarap sa hustisya. Hindi maaaring patuloy ang kalakaran ng walang pananagutan at tuloy na pang-aapi.

My government will be sincere in dealing with all the peoples of Mindanao. We are committed to a peaceful and just settlement of conflicts, inclusive of the interests of all – may they be Lumads, Bangsamoro or Christian.

We shall defeat the enemy by wielding the tools of justice, social reform and equitable governance leading to a better life. Sa tamang pamamahala gaganda ang buhay ng lahat, at sa buhay na maganda, sino pa ang gugustuhing bumalik sa panahon ng pang-aapi?

Kung kasama ko kayo, maitataguyod natin ang isang bayan kung saan pantay-pantay ang pagkakataon, dahil pantay-pantay nating ginagampanan ang ating mga pananagutan.

Kamakailan lamang, ang bawa’t isa sa atin ay nanindigan sa presinto. Bumoto tayo ayon sa ating karapatan at konsensya. Hindi tayo umatras sa tungkulin nating ipaglaban ang karapatang ito.

Pagkatapos ng bilangan, pinatunayan ninyo na ang tao ang tunay na lakas ng bayan.

Ito ang kahalagahan ng ating demokrasya. Ito ang pundasyon ng ating pagkakaisa. Nangampanya tayo para sa pagbabago. Dahil dito, taas-noo muli ang Pilipino. Tayong lahat ay kabilang sa isang bansa kung saan maaari nang mangarap muli.

To our friends and neighbors around the world, we are ready to take our place as a reliable member of the community of nations, a nation serious about its commitments and which harmonizes its national interests with its international responsibilities.

We will be a predictable and consistent place for investment, a nation where everyone will say, ‘it all works.’

Inaanyayahan ko kayo ngayon na manumpa sa ating mga sarili, sa sambayanan, WALANG MAIIWAN.

Walang pangingibang-bayan at gastusan na walang wastong dahilan. Walang pagtalikod sa mga salitang binitawan noong kampanya, ngayon at hanggang sa mga susunod pang pagsubok na pagdadaanan sa loob ng anim na taon.

Walang lamangan, walang padrino, at walang pagnanakaw. Walang wang-wang, walang counter-flow, walang tong. Panahon na upang tayo ay muling magkawanggawa.

Nandito tayo ngayon dahil sama-sama tayong nanindigan at nagtiwala na may pag-asa.

The people who are behind us dared to dream. Today, the dream starts to become a reality. Sa inyong mga nag-isip pa kung tutulong kayo sa pagpasan ng ating krus, isa lang ang aking tanong – kung kailan tayo nanalo, saka pa ba kayo susuko?

Kayo ang boss ko, kaya’t hindi maaaring hindi ako makinig sa mga utos ninyo. We will design and implement an interaction and feedback mechanism that can effectively respond to the people’s needs and aspirations.

Kayo ang nagdala sa akin sa puntong ito – ang ating mga volunteers – matanda, bata, celebrity, ordinaryong tao, na umikot sa Pilipinas para ikampanya ang pagbabago; ang aking mga kasambahay, na nag-asikaso ng lahat ng aking mga personal na mga pangangailangan; ang aking pamilya, kaibigan at katrabaho, na dumamay, nag-alaga at nagbigay ng suporta sa akin; ang ating mga abogado, na nagpuyat para bantayan ang ating mga boto at siguraduhing mabibilang ang bawa’t isa; ang aking mga kapartido at kaalyado na kasama kong nangahas mangarap; at ang milyun-milyong Pilipinong nagkaisa, nagtiwala at hindi nawalan ng pag-asa – nasa inyo ang taospusong pasasalamat.

Hindi ko makakayang harapin ang aking mga magulang at kayong mga nagdala sa akin sa yugto ng buhay kong ito, kung hindi ko maisasakatuparan ang aking mga binitawang salita sa araw na ito.

My parents sought nothing less and died for nothing less than democracy, peace and prosperity. I am blessed by this legacy. I shall carry the torch forward.

Layunin ko na sa pagbaba ko sa katungkulan, masasabi ng lahat na malayo na ang narating natin sa pagtahak ng tuwid na landas at mas maganda na ang kinabukasang ipapamana natin sa susunod na henerasyon. Samahan ninyo ako sa pagtatapos ng laban na ito. Tayo na sa tuwid na landas.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino!

Ang Kartilya ng Katipunan

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 03:23:00 +0000

In honor of the great martyrs of the Philippine Revolution who valiantly organized the people to fight against the tyranny of the Spanish Colonizers, and whose blood and sacrifices brought forth a new dawn to these enslaved islands after more than 300 years of darkness, we are republishing the revolutionary tenets of the Katipunan which, in essence, rival that of all hitherto International and Municipal laws: Ang Kartilya ng Katipunan (primer of the Katipunan) written by Emilio Jacinto.The Revolution of the Katipunan may well have been thwarted by American imperialism at the turn of the 20th century, but it is noteworthy to declare that our people, who at that time were only beginning to form the concept of nationhood, were more than able to organize a revolutionary force that would liberate the entire islands from their Spanish colonizers.

Ang Kartilya ng Katipunan

A life that is not dedicated to a noble cause is like a tree without a shade or a poisonous weed.
A deed lacks nobility if it is motivated by self-interest and not by a sincere desire to help.
True piety consists of being charitable, loving one’s fellow men, and being judicious in behavior, speech and deed.
All persons are equal, regardless of the color of their skin. While one could have more schooling, wealth, or beauty than another, all that does not make one more human than anybody else.
A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest, while a person with a base character values self-interest above honor.
To a person of honor, his/her word is a pledge.
Don’t waste time; lost wealth can be retrieved, but time lost is lost forever.
Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.
The wise person is careful in all he/she has to say and is discreet about things that need to be kept secret./ An intelligent man is he who is cautious in speech and knows how to keep the secrets that must be guarded.
In the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife and children follow. If the leader goes the way to perdition, so do the followers. (Note: This begins with an observation of the vertical relationship of husband and wife during the time of the Katipunan; now, we can say that the parents lead the way and the children follow.)
Never regard a woman as an object for you to trifle with; rather you should consider her as a partner and helpmate. Give proper consideration to a woman’s frailty and never forget that your own mother, who brought you forth and nurtured you from infancy, is herself such a person.
Don’t do to the wife, children, brothers, and sisters of others what you do not want done to your wife, children, brothers, and sisters.
A man’s worth is not measured by his station in life, neither by the height of his nose nor the fairness of skin, and certainly not by whether he is a priest claiming to be God’s deputy. Even if he a tribesman from the hills and speaks only his tongue, a man has fine perceptions and is loyal to his native land.
When these teachings shall have been propagated and the glorious sun of freedom begins to shine on these poor Islands to enlighten a united race and people, then all the lives lost, all the struggle and the sacrifices will not have been in vain.

CEGP condemns Israeli attack on Freedom Flotilla aid mission

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 04:34:00 +0000

PRESS STATEMENT

June 01, 2010

On the Israeli Attack on Freedom Flotilla

The College Editors Guild of the Philippines condemns the Israeli attack on the volunteers on their way to the Gaza Strip to give humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. The attack, which happened in international waters, killed 19 people and injured many others.

This is not merely an unwarranted attack, but an act of aggression, for Israel is in the habit of launching attacks. The Israeli forces open fired as soon as they got on the ship. The ship contained civillians. A Holocaust survivor was supposed to join the 300 individuals in that ship. How ironic that she survived the massacre, only to live through the persecution of another race, of which the Jews are the aggressors.

Too many times has Israel’s aggression been whitewashed. We call on the international community to be militant in seeking justice, and to strengthen our commitment of peace for the Palestines.

Reference:

Trina Federis

National President

09104803098

Neri suspension “moot”, prosecute Arroyos for closure on NBN-ZTE issue -- youth solon

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 08:52:00 +0000

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino today bewailed the Ombudsman’s latest resolution clearing Pres. Gloria Arroyo, among others, in the still unresolved NBN-ZTE controversy.

“There can never be closure on the controversy for as long as the perceived masterminds continue to be off-the-hook. Neri’s suspension is nothing but a token move, is in fact moot and academic considering that he has a little over a month left in office,” Palatino said.

“What we need is definite closure, a venue for Arroyo, FG Mike and their cohorts to undergo trial for the most bombastic controversy that has hounded the outgoing administration. The Ombudsman cannot expect to appease the public just by zeroing in on ‘little scapegoats and relatively dispensable accessories’ to massive graft and corruption,” he said.

Palatino said that while he welcomed the graft cases filed against Neri and former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos for their involvement in the scandal, “we cannot genuinely get to the bottom of things unless Arroyo and FG are held accountable.”

The youth solon reminded the Office of the Ombudsman of the recommendation submitted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee which investigated the NBN-ZTE controversy to “prosecute Pres. Arroyo and other public officials involved.”

“Graft raps are still in order for all those involved lest they would want the Filipino public to believe that Arroyo has virtually destroyed checks and balances in government.” ###

June 01, 2010

Poverty, joblessness despite GDP growth puzzling

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:22:00 +0000

The reported 7.3% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2010 is seemingly good news especially coming from the steep fall in economic growth since 2008. However any enthusiasm has to be tempered by the persistence of unprecedented high unemployment and poor quality work, according to research group IBON Foundation.

The outgoing Arroyo administration has the dubious distinction of presiding over both the fastest economic growth and the worst unemployment since the Marcos dictatorship. The first quarter 2010 growth performance consolidates the Arroyo administration’s relatively rapid economic growth which had already averaged 4.5% over the period 2001-2009 or higher than during the previous administrations of Estrada (2.4%, 1998-2000), Ramos (3.8%, 1992-1997), and Aquino (3.9%, 1986-1991).

Yet this apparently favorable growth performance has puzzlingly failed to meaningfully impact on unemployment. The Arroyo administration also has the worst record of joblessness with unemployment averaging some 11.2% annually over the period 2001-2009 compared to 10.4% under Estrada, 9.3% under Ramos, and 10.1% under Aquino.

This distorted kind of economic growth that creates wealth for a few without trickling down in terms of work and higher incomes for the majority of Filipinos has apparently continued in the first quarter of 2010. The reported growth is hailed as the fastest since the first quarter of 2000. But the first quarter National Statistics Office (NSO) labor force survey also shows at least 4 million jobless Filipinos– according to the old definition of unemployment– aside from some 28.5 million in insecure, unprotected and poorly earning or even non-earning work. This poor quality work consists of the 3.82 million unpaid family workers and 12.09 own account workers reported by the NSO, and some 12.59 million wage and salary workers without written contracts estimated by IBON.

The country’s economic growth is failing to create jobs because the most dynamic sectors are export-oriented and poorly integrated into the local economy. For instance, among the fastest growing manufacturing subsectors that have driven growth are the petroleum products, electrical machinery, and chemicals which are moreover even heavily foreign-dominated. In contrast the subsectors which the underdeveloped economy is potentially in a better position to maximize such as footwear and textiles have continued to collapse. This lack of domestically-grounded industries is among the underlying factors causing record joblessness and driving millions of Filipinos abroad for work.

The incoming Aquino administration needs to acknowledge that it is inheriting a distorted economy that is not delivering development to the people. Sound socioeconomic reforms and a nationalist development agenda creating strong domestic industry and agriculture are needed. This also creates a stronger base for the country to face the inevitable next global economic shock.

(Lifted from http://www.ibon.org)

IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.

RP gov't urged to resist EU pressure for 'economic integration' – IBON

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:11:00 +0000

IBON Media Release | 28 May 2010 |

The just-concluded EU-ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Madrid ended with apparent agreement on economic integration mechanisms and the EU calling the ASEAN countries not to implement protectionist measures. But according to research group IBON, the Philippine government should assert its right to implement the development policies that it needs.

The EU, which is on the brink of a renewed bout of financial and economic turmoil, is seeking open markets, flexibility in its production locations and freedom in its investment decisions in Third World countries. According to IBON, these aim to create profitable opportunities for EU corporations.

Giving such benefits to already advanced European producers means putting relatively underdeveloped Filipino agriculture and industry at a disadvantage, and foregoes real gains being made from allowing foreign investment into the country, said the group. Foreign trade and investment will only give development gains if the country is able to give judicious protection and support to local producers, as well as regulate the operations of foreign capital in the country.

A report commissioned by the European Commission in 2009 for instance noted that the Philippines will see a “decline of the cereals and grains (mainly rice) sectors” and “reduced real income levels in rural areas” from an EU-ASEAN FTA. The same report also observed how “increased trade and growth [have] benefited only parts of society [thus] widening the gap between poor and rich”.

An EU-ASEAN deal also creates another problem where the underdeveloped countries of Southeast Asia are inadvertently put in a self-destructive race-to-the-bottom with each other in a misguided scramble to attract European foreign trade and investment through ever more liberalized policies. Only the EU will benefit from this and, in effect, it will be passing on the burden of adjusting to its persisting crisis to the Philippines and other poor countries of the region.

The post-global crisis period has notably changed the world economy, IBON said. Among others, the export-led growth model is no longer possible–including the debt- and bubble-driven consumption and investment in the EU. The traditional industrial powers can no longer be engines of growth for the world economy and the need for real domestic development is greater than ever.

Election Day Monitoring

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:31:00 +0000

For updates regarding the first-ever automated elections in the Philippines you may click on the following links:

Something Sinister

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:20:00 +0000

There is no reason to panic amidst talks of possible military take-over should there be a failure of elections. As deputy presidential spokesperson, Ricardo Saludo, said: the country has never suffered a general failure of elections. However, there is neither a reason to be complacent with just a little over a month before the first-ever nationwide automated national elections.

That a general failure of elections has not happened in the past doesn’t make it remotely impossible to happen in our time. After all, there is always a first time. And after all, Mrs. Arroyo and her minions have, in the past nine years, astonished both critics and allies at how clever she circumvents anything, anyhow, making possible what were thought of as impossible, at least in the legal sense.

The pattern has always been that of testing the limits of the persuasive and coercive power of the presidency, as would any veteran politician, especially one who is so unpopular that he/she would have to do a tip-toe in employing overt and covert measures or risk facing a popular uprising.

And when Arroyo’s spokespersons give their analysis of this and that as with the outcome of the elections, there is always something vile to be expected.

News has it that Arroyo’s favorite loyal generals have all been securely placed in key positions of the AFP, the latest of which is the appointment of Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit as chief of staff.

Interestingly, all recently appointed top AFP officials as well as the commanding generals of seven of the Army’s 10 divisions, belong to PMA class ’78 where President Arroyo is an ‘adopted’ member.

The Supreme Court has just recently voted legalizing Arroyo’s appointment of the next Chief Justice to replace Puno when he retires on March 17, 2010 despite Constitutional prohibition on election-period appointments. Out of the 15-member SC, only Reynato Puno, the Chief Justice, is not appointed by Arroyo.

Aside from eyeing Pampanga’s second district, the president’s rabid allies, Eduardo Ermita, Raul Gonzales, Agnes Devanadera, Arthur Yap, Hermogenes Esperon and many others, are also vying for Congressional seats, with son Mikey Arroyo and Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes taking the partylist route. Some 38 other Malacañang-aided partylists have also been accredited by COMELEC to supposedly counter and lower the votes for progressive partylists.

There is also a great cause for concern over Comelec’s non-issuance of implementing rules and regulations on election protest with the new ‘automated’ system, imminently to spell widespread confusion and disarray, if not total failure and disorder.

These events could very well be thought of as a coincidence yet there is something about it that reeks of eerie nuances and smells of dirty plot. Judging from where things could be heading, GMA might decide to take a position as hold-over president should Comelec fail to declare a new president; she has the majority of the Congress at her favor, the Supreme Court at her behest, and Bangit to quell any mutiny. That or a new president can take his oath, perhaps Noynoy Aquino or Manny Villar, or perhaps even the admin bet Gibo whose party has reportedly been moving heaven and earth to win the race, and GMA still gets to win a Congressional seat and from there leap to become the Philippines’ first prime minister, or Speaker of the House, at least; Charter Change has never left her mind.

The Palace has promised that GMA will step out of Malacañang not later than noon of June 30, 2010 when her term expires. Even that remains dubious insofar as history is concerned. Who can forget that this was the same president that promised not to run in 2004 but did anyway and even snatched from the late FPJ the title she so desired via ballot switching by loyal troops and her warlord-friend Ampatuan’s command votes?

Who but this same president has publicly admitted in her infamous “I am sorry” video that it was a lapse in judgment to sneak a phone and have a chit-chat with a Comelec commissioner to ensure her of a million lead against her adversary; the same president that issued a gag order on all officials of the Executive, specifically designed to hamper Senate investigations; and the only president as of yet to impose post-Marcos martial law.

There is more than enough reason to suspect something is at work to keep Mrs. Arroyo from the claws of justice, if at all justice has withstood all these sorts of perversion. Whatever that something actually is, it is beyond doubt that it is something sinister as can be expected from the Sinister herself.

Dilemma in the Philippine Partylist System

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:10:00 +0000

A Pulse Asia survey conducted in February 2010 revealed that 7 out of 10 voters are unaware of the partylist system with just few months before the national elections. This is the lowest awareness level recorded by Pulse Asia since 2004. "It's a reflection of the lack of awareness of our electoral system. People are not so aware of the function of party-list representatives,” said Pulse Asia president Ronnie Holmes.

Partylist System (PLS) is purported to be one of the prices of restoring democracy after the downfall of Marcosian rule. The 1987 Constitution provides for a proportional representation of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors in the society in Sec. 5 of Art. VI.

But it was not until in 1995 that an enabling law, R.A 7941, was passed that the PLS became operational. The law defines types of group who may join the PLS: 1. Sectoral Party (Advocates special interests of defined sectors) 2.) Sectoral Organization (bound together by similar physical attributes and characteristics, or by employment, interests and concerns) 3. Political Party (pursuing the same ideology, political ideas, and principles for the general conduct of government) 4. Coalition (aggrupation of national, regional, sectoral parties of organization for political or election purposes).

Sec. 2 of R.A 7941 stipulates that “The state shall promote proportional representation in the election of representatives to the House of Representatives (HoR) through Partylist System of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organization of coalition thereof…” However the Commission on Election has the right to remove any party or organization on the following grounds:

1. If it is a religious sect or denomination, or association organized for religious purposes;

2. If it advocates violence or unlawful means to advance its goals.

3. If it is a foreign party or organization.

4. If it is receiving any form of support (directly or indirectly) from any foreign entity for partisan election purposes.

5. If it violates or fails to comply with laws, rules or regulations relating to elections.

6. If it declares untruthful statement in its petition.

7. If it has ceased to exist for at least 1 year or

8. If it fails to participate in two preceding elections for the constituency in which it has registered.

The PLS Law follows mathematical rules in allocating seats for Partylist Representatives in the HoR: 20% of the total number of seats in the HoR shall be reserved to Partylists. This means that out of 5 representatives 1 comes from Partylist and the 4 comes from Congressional Districts. Sec. 11 of R.A 7941 limits the seat allocation to not more than 3 seats for every partylist together with 2% vote threshold that a party must obtain to gain seat in the Congress.

The 3-seat limit

Myth: The law affirms proportional representation by limiting for only 3 seats. It contends that no single party may hold more than 3 seats thus giving smaller parties to have a chance of winning. This maximum ceiling provides equal opportunity for parties participating in election.

Fact: The 3 seat cap promotes break-up of strong party into smaller ones and discourages the formation of big coalitions. Parties are inhibited to grow since the effort of qualifying as much support as party would try to win 3 seat cap provides for disenfranchisement of millions of votes and jeopardizes vigor of representation of the marginalized and underrepresented segments of the society.

The 2% Vote Threshold

The rule of 2% vote threshold sets limitation on the parties in accumulating seat in HoR to democratize representation. In order for a party to win a seat it must obtain sufficient number of votes which is at least 2% of the total number of votes cast for partylist. However, if the party exceeds 6% of total votes, the 3-seat cap applies.

Together with the 3 seat cap the 2% vote threshold goes contradictory to the principle of proportional representation. The institutionalization of 2% vote threshold prevents an even larger number of Partylist to be included in the winning circle hence, denying the chance of winning seats in the HoR by parties which have not obtained 2% of the total number of partylist votes. There is also a danger that no party will be able to receive 2% of the total number of partylist votes since the COMELEC is allowing more than the number of seats allotted for Partylist in HoR to participate in the election. It is therefore possible that no party will be able to win a seat in partylist election.

The 2%-4%-6% COMELEC formula together with 3 seat cap does not pave the way for proportional representation. Thus, it must be scrapped from the seat allocation formula to uphold the principle of proportional representation. Not only do these mathematical dilemma render futile the effort of marginalized sectors, it also serves as a backdoor for bogus partylists to enter Congress in blatant mockery of the Partylist System.

Presidential aspirants should bare plans for Education crisis — CEGP

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:08:00 +0000

PRESS RELEASE
12, February 2010

Presidential aspirants should bare plans for Education crisis — CEGP

Young journalists under the leadership of the country’s largest and widest intercollegiate alliance of student publications— the College Editors Guild of the Philippines joined today the KABATAAN PARTYLIST and various student organizations in visiting schools in the University Belt area for their “Ronda Eskwela” campaign which aims to discuss with fellow students the crisis of Philippine education under Ms. Arroyo.

“Every February, many students suffer from heartbreaks not just because they don’t have dates on Valentines day, but most especially because the month is the schedule for yearly ‘fee consultations’ which always end up on imposing new rounds of tuition and other fee increases,” said CEGP President Vijae Alquisola.

The students toured around the University Belt area from one school to another, asking students to sign the petition titled “Manifesto of the youth for genuine education reform and meaningful social change.”
Explaining that education crisis does not only talk about dilapidated facilities, obsolete books, incessant tuition spike, Alquisola said that the crisis goes deep into “the whole situation of the academe.”

For issues and concerns faced by campus journalists, CEGP said they have documented some 204 cases of campus press freedom violations ranging from censorship to harassment.

“Such happened because in these schools, issues of tuition increase and students’ resistance including the editors’ criticism of the policy and fees are present. Even professors with dissenting views face repression, like denial of tenure, just like the case of UP Sociology professor Sarah Raymundo,” he explained.

Raymundo was repeatedly denied of tenure, despite accomplishing more than enough of the requirements for tenureship, apparently due to her involvement in political activities and organizations.

Alquisola added that many teachers don’t get paid on time and trainings, research support are limited or worse, none at all. Most of the non-academic personnel are always on the brink of losing their job. “The government continues to assault us students by giving scanty allocation to education,” Alquisola said.

“This is the sorry state of Philippine education that the presidential candidates fail to discuss every time they are in the podium. If you want to get the youth vote, speak and stand for our issues! Stop bragging; start working on how you would address the education crisis!” Alquisola concluded. ###

Villar, GMA's secret candidate?

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:25:00 +0000

Just this afternoon one of Kartilya's editors received this text message:

"Now the cat’s out of the bag…Manny Villar is the secret candidate of Pres. GMA…Mike Arroyo himself met with Manny Villar at the house of Mike Defensor last Jan. 7…Villar secretly agreed to make GMA as Speaker of the House and protect her should Villar win the presidency…Villar agreed to GMA’s offer of massive logistical support in GMA’s commissioners in the Comelec who will assure Villar’s victory…pls pass para di tayo maloko ulit."(please pass so we will not be fooled again).

Apparently, this message has been circulating across the country since last Sunday or so t he news say. Some online bloggers and communities also reported of receiving the same text message. Curiously, though, today is the start of the official campaign period for national-post candidates, and with all these messages circulating about, one could only be intrigued as much.

The issue of Villar being GMA's 'secret candidate' landed on primetime news on February 4, when Villar's closest rival, Sen. Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino, issued a statement notably telling that Villar seemed to have forged an alliance with President Arroyo. The said statement was issued after voter preference survey resulted to a great leap in favor of Villar.

The standard bearer of Nacionalista Party, Sen. Manuel Villar, earlier denied this alleged "unholy alliance" saying that he has not even met the First Gentleman and has not talked to the president since he was dethrowned as Senate president. NP spokesperson and senatoriable, Rep. Gilbert Remulla, pointed that "it was during the Senate presidency of Villar when many scandals involving the First Family were investigated" and that "...he was booted out in what was clearly a Palace-supported coup.” Remulla added that in the past weeks, administration allies were hitting them hard on the C-5 road controversy, hinting that it is impossible for NP and Villar to engage in such a deal with Malacañang.

Whether the allegation is true or otherwise, and while this is not at all surprising with the brand of politics we have in the Philippines, it is one heavy accusation that requires a heavy proof. So far, none has surfaced, and so everything falls as mere speculation.

Who started the text messages being circulated would be impossible to identify. But it is an amazing fact how the use of new media as tools for campaign and propaganda could reach the remotest corners with such lightning speed. And with the COMELEC admitting they can't control the use of new media on this context, one could only imagine how immense new media's influence on the political landscape could and would be.

HR 1577 on Questionable & Exorbitant Fees as Requirement for Exams & Academic Completion

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:17:00 +0000

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

QUEZON CITY

FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

Third Regular Session

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 1577

INTRODUCED BY KABATAAN PARTY-LIST REP. RAYMOND V. PALATINO

A RESOLUTION

DIRECTING THE HOUSE COMMITTEES ON BASIC EDUCATION AND ON HIGHER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION TO PROBE AND PROHIBIT THE IMPOSITION OF QUESTIONABLE AND EXORBITANT FEES ON STUDENTS AS A REQUIREMENT TO COMPLETE THEIR ACADEMIC UNITS

WHEREAS, Article XIV, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all”;

WHEREAS, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino filed HB 6799 or the Anti-“No Permit, No Exam Policy” Bill to address the issue of students being unable to complete their academic requirements because of financial constraints, expecially in light of recent calamities and of the country’s economic conditions;

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2010, in a hearing of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, in response to Rep. Palatino’s sponsorship speech of HB 6799 and his arguments in favor of the bill’s passage, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Emmanuel Angeles made a concession by pledging to write a memorandum to all higher education institutions (HEI’s) requesting such institutions to suspend the implementation of various “no permit, no exam” policies;

WHEREAS, on January 22, 2010, CHED issued Memorandum Order 02-2010 (CMO 02-2010) requesting all HEI’s in the country to “allow students with delinquent accounts to take school examinations”;

WHEREAS, after CHED’s favorable response to Kabataan Partylist’s campaign to halt “no permit, no exam” policies in HEI’s, Rep. Palatino then urged the Department of Education to issue a similar memorandum imploring institutions of basic education to suspend the implementation of various “no permit, no exam” policies on their students;

WHEREAS, Kabataan Partylist and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) set up a hotline in order to receive complaints from students and parents with regard to the non-implementation of CHED’s memorandum;

WHEREAS, through the hotline, Kabataan Partylist and NUSP received responses from students and parents complaining that despite the issuance of the CHED memorandum, many school administrations insist on imposing full payments of various fees before allowing students to take exams in order to complete their academic units;

WHEREAS, in one response, a parent from Batangas complained that an exorbitant 50% interest is imposed on late payment of fees, other parents complained that even if they made partial payments prior to examinations, their children were still not allowed to take their required examinations;

WHEREAS, Kabataan Partylist and the NUSP, aside from having received complaints with regard to the “no permit, no exam” policies in different schools, also received complaints with regard to other fees and payments required of students in order to complete their academic units not only in HEI’s but in elementary and high schools across the country;

WHEREAS, some schools apparently require their students to join expensive field trips and out-of-town activities in order to pass certain subjects; a parent of an EARIST student complained that her child was required to go on an Eco-Camp that they could barely afford; a parent of a UST student complained that her son was required to go on a field trip to Macau;

WHEREAS, some schools apparently also require their students to pay certain fees for various activities, some questionable, that are required in order to complete or pass their subjects; a parent complained that her children were quired to sell raffle tickets; another parent complained that her son was required to pay a fee in order to watch a film in class;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the House Committees on Basic Education and on Higher and Technical Education direct the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to probe the implementation of various fees on students as a requirement for the completion of academic units, aside from also probing the non-implementation of CHED’s prior memorandum requesting the suspension of “no permit, no exam” policies on HEI’s nationwide;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress enact legislation that shall once and for all prohibit the imposition of the full payment of exorbitant tuition and other miscellaneous fees as a requirement for the completion of students’ academic requirements.

Adopted,

REP. RAYMOND V. PALATINO

KABATAAN Party-list

Fulfill Our Historic Role

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:11:00 +0000

Never before has the entire Filipino nation been driven into the farthest depths of crisis in history any more than the Arroyo administration did in nine years of clinging to power. The record-breaking performance of the Arroyo regime in being the staunchest disciple of imperialist powers has far surpassed any of its predecessors. Covering up for her bankrupt economic alleviation programs, the president constantly boasts of increases in the country’s total GDP.

However, a closer look of the picture would reveal as to whose development have Arroyo’s program served. The same old social conditions exist where the few ruling elite amass more than half of the nation’s wealth while the people who sweat to bring the economy on its feet are left with breadcrumbs to share among themselves.

But in the face of all political and economic impediments, the bold and daring spirit of the youth can never be suppressed. Never in this country’s history has the youth remained silent on crucial issues that affront them. The students sector has relentlessly been pursuing the fight against the commercialization and commoditization of education, gaining momentum as the worsening social conditions gradually expose the bankruptcy of the exploitative system being imposed by the ruling elite and their foreign masters.

The students must, however, transcend to a higher level of politicization. While we advance in upholding and protecting our democratic rights and welfare within the confines of the university, we find many of our fellow youth forced to drop out of school and engage in jobs subjected under subhuman working conditions. Others have been lured to antisocial activities—illegal drugs and petty crimes—and worse, young women are driven into prostitution.

It is distressing that parents are barely able to extend comfort and support as household income continues to drop. They are helpless, burdened by having to find and keep even the most exploitative and oddest jobs. And while we have been used not to expect too much from our bureaucracy, none is more appalling than the current state of the Filipino youth under Arroyo’s stay in power.

Under the present regime, 36% of the estimated 44 million youth has been deprived of the basic right to education. It is utterly preposterous for the president to lend economic and political advice to international leaders when she could not even attend to her own problems at home.

In the midst of such dismal situation that grips the entire Philippine society, the youth cannot afford to stand on the sidelines and remain unmoved. History teaches us that the youth is a potent force in determining the course of this nation. It also taught us not to bank on the illusion of the primacy of student power. We must, therefore, realize that our predicament is just but a part of the systemic problem of a neocolonial society—that of being dominated by the parasitic imperialists.

It is thus imperative for the Filipino youth to take the road beyond the borders of their confinement and set forth into the slums and ghettos, the factories and workshops, the plantations and countryside; for in these places can we find the basic sectors of our society—they who carry the burden of sustaining this nation and upon whose arms lay the wheel of history. Only from them can the Filipino youth learn the intricacies of building a just and humane society. Only with them can the Filipino youth gain strength to claim the future.

Comelec-Smartmatic field test: Utter Failure

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:17:00 +0000

With now less than a hundred days until the elections, the COMELEC's efforts of redeeming its public image have totally gone awry. In the latest string of issues of which the poll body has been constantly under fire from mainstream media and bloggers, the recent field test of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) by handpicked COMELEC and Smartmatic personnel is perhaps the worst as of yet. The test conducted on January 29 at an Elementary School in Aguho, Pateros, Metro Manila, turned to be an utter failure (if not disaster) when the machine failed to read 4 out of 10 valid ballots, which, contrary to the reason COMELEC offered, were not crumpled and were apparently in good condition. This exposed the most vulnerable weakspots of the system which have earlier been pointed out by critics of the Comelec-Smartmatic Automated Election System, and which the Comelec brushed off as fearmongering.

BAYAN Secretary-General, Renato Reyes Jr., who was present during the test, observed that aside from the 40% failure rate of the PCOS machine used, "the Comelec and Smartmatic technicians present at the test could not give an answer as to what will happen to a voter if his/her valid ballot is not read by the machine" (since a voter cannot be given a new ballot as per new election rules issued by the Comelec) and that "the Smartmatic technician seemed ill-prepared to setup the Broadband Global Area Network satellite device." Reyes was referring to the device used to transmit election results to the board of canvassers when the three different SIM cards and two modems failed to establish a stable internet connection. The transmission of data took three hours using different systems.

The Commision on Elections, however, claimed that the test was a success since the data was still transmitted and that the three-hour delay was still within their 36-hour period for results transmission. But this was with only ten valid ballots tested and at a location within Metro Manila—an urbanized area where cell site signals are supposedly strongest. There is no telling how much delay it would cause to transmit the results of the millions of ballots come May 10 elections, not to mention that many of the voting precincts are in areas where Telco signals are unstable, if not absent at all.

With this as the most recent of all the failures of the poll body despite its insistence of their preparedness with the hastily planned automated election system, skeptics are more becoming wary of a failure of election scenario. For his part, Renato Reyes Jr. calls on the public to be vigilant and to keenly observe the mock elections which will be conducted in several cities and provinces on February 6, to "see if things have improved or if we're headed for a really disastrous May 10 elections."

Patricia Evangelista: How to catch a communist

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:47:00 +0000

Patricia Evangelista

Today at 12:02pm

(reposted with permission from the author)

THE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE OF THE HONORABLE Jovito S. Palparan Jr. of party-list group Bantay has none of the humming bustle of other congressional offices. There are no constituents in scuffed leather waiting outside to speak to the honorable congressman. The security guards and Cafgus he claims to represent are not in evidence. The shelves are bare of anything but telephone books. The in-tray is empty; the bulletin board is blank. A plump woman occupies one of the room’s several wooden desks, reading the Wellbeing section of the Manila Bulletin.

At the moment, the congressman is seeking a senatorial seat in next year’s elections. He says his decision is due to leftist candidates on the senatorial ballot. “I’d like to give opposition to a number of candidates who are identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines. I will campaign against left-leaning parties.”

Palparan believes communism is evil. “It should not exist,” he says. “It should not exist.”

The communism that Palparan battles is not simply the ragtag armies of men shadowing the forests of Central Luzon and Mindanao with stolen M16s. He is against “the whole of it,” the entirety of the ideology, both “the violence and the government system.” He does not delineate between socialism and communism, or the communism of Mao or the communism of Trotsky or the communism of Marx. “They’re all the same, you know.” All of its members are violent, all variations of the left evil. Although it is difficult to determine what precisely Palparan fears from communism, his witch-hunt is very clear.

This is his campaign platform: he is Jovito Palparan, and he goes to the Senate to denounce the communists.

Although communism has long become a legitimate political ideology, for Palparan, communism is dangerous to democracy, and communists in office more dangerous. He claims that communists write laws detrimental to the Filipino people. There are many of these laws, he says in a Dec. 1, 2009 interview. Pressed to specify which laws, the good congressman was at a loss. Asked again, he claimed there were too many. Asked for just one, he paused.

Those communists, he said, voted against the ROTC bill.

Communism must be wiped out, says the ex-general. It is easy to distinguish a communist. A communist follows a set of unquestioned beliefs, and promotes his ideology as if it will lead to paradise. As by his definition devout Roman Catholics can also be considered enemies of the state, it is to the benefit of Catholics (as well as Christians, Muslims and Bayani Fernando supporters) that the good congressman offered another standard for hunting down communists. A communist, says Palparan, can also be distinguished by body language.

He takes as an example Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel. “This left, who are what we call moderate, they don’t want to be called communist here in this country. Baraquel doesn’t want to be called a communist.” Although he says she may not yet be a “true communist,” her “body language is going towards that, you know.” It is possible that “she could just be taking some rest.”

There are many progressives whose intentions he suspects. Take Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Leila de Lima, who, true, may be doing her job, but who is also a close relative of Julie de Lima, wife of Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Ma. Sision. “That’s why we tend to suspect her intention. Their relationship is something to look at.”

For Palparan, the entire left is communist. Progressives are communist. All moderates, says Palparan, will all become communist. “The biggest deception of the left is their claim that they want to alleviate the plight of the people in poverty. In fact, they want people to continually be poor and become abused and helpless so that their organization can get advantage of people and take them on their side.”

This is why Palparan seeks his seat in the Senate. He believes all communists should be prosecuted, not only members of the New People’s Army. His legislative platform boils down to a single promise: to return the repealed Anti-Subversion Law, the same law repealed in 1986 that gave President Ferdinand Marcos the excuse to throw thousands of lawyers, doctors, journalists, human rights activists and the occasional senator into jail, the same law that has been repealed all over the democratic world, in recognition of the fact that freedom of expression and assembly cannot be penalized simply because what is expressed is contrary to the state.

Given Palparan’s definition of what a subversive is—a leftist-cum-moderate-cum-human rights activist—an anti-subversion law will toss a feminist whose body language seems “communist” into prison, as well as half the Inquirer’s editorial staff.

Palparan, whom the government-appointed Melo Commission in 2006 called a “prime suspect behind the extrajudicial killings,” calls himself an inspirational leader. Reminded that many men have been tortured and mutilated at military hands, he claims that sometimes, his men cannot help themselves as they have seen the NPA’s victims. When it is proven his men are responsible, he moves them to another assignment. They are not removed from service, but of course he tells them that mutilation is wrong.

“Perhaps I inspired some people. My involvement, if I have to be guilty, is that I inspire people to violate the law.”

He has few opinions on national issues, and says he needs time to study them. He will run with any party who offers. Palparan says he has always been interested in the law, long before he was a soldier.

“I admired lawyers. When I was in Leyte, lawyers became politicians. I appreciated one powerful politician, Congressman Yñiguez. He was campaigning in our barrio, and he has followers, and he is in charge, you know, and people listened to him. So as a young, young, very young boy, Grade 1, Grade 2 boy, I just thought that I wanted that. People listened to him, you know. That’s one thing. People listened to him. You want to be listened; you want to be heard. That’s why I admired him for that. And I thought that, yeah, I wanted that. When you walk in, you’re somebody.”

* * *

Personal interview conducted August 2009; ANC interview December 2009. Many thanks to Erwin Romulo and the Philippine Free Press. -Patricia Evangelista

A brazen display of arrogance

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:59:00 +0000

The COMELEC has ultimately earned the title of being among the biggest thieves in Philippine history. Coming only some clicks behind Gloria Arroyo (who has robbed the Filipino masses of their liberties, lives and properties), the Philippine Commission on Elections this time has cut down what is left of the supposed democracy in the country. By defying the order of the Supreme Court to extend voters' registration until January 9, 2010, and instead imposing their own deadline (December 29, 2009), hundreds of thousands of qualified citizens have been deprived of their right to vote.

In a unanimous decision promulgated on December 15, 2009, the country's highest tribunal reiterated the law on voter registration, ruling out that "[t]he clear text of the law thus decrees that voters be allowed to register daily during regular offices hours, except during the period starting 120 days before a regular election and 90 days before a special election." Tersely put it, voters' registration should close on January 10, 2010, 120 days before the May 10, 2010 election.

What is preposterously ironic is that Chairman Jose Melo who heads the COMELEC once served as an Associate Justice in the Supreme Court. With that, one would expect him to know the law. However, in a sudden turnabout, Comelec Resolution no. 8585 earlier shortened the registration period to October 31, 2009, prompting Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino et. al. to file an Urgent Petition for Certiorari and Mandamus to the Supreme Court. Said petition led to the High Court's order to nullify Comelec Resolution 8585 and to reopen the registration until January 9, 2009. The decision was immediately-executory.

Yet again, Chairman Melo and his Commissioners issued Resolution no. 8719, allotting only five days (December 21 to 23 and December 28 to 29) for the actual registration in defiance of the Supreme Court decision.

It is more than clear that the COMELEC, headed by Jose Melo, has not only violated the law twice on this regard but has in fact shut the door to a legal venue by which the people who are more than sick of Arroyo's rule can hope to bring change to this country come May 10 election.

But this is not at all something to be surprised about. Lest we forget, the COMELEC was home to Garci who helped the present occupant in Malacañang rig the 2004 election, and Abalos who brokered the ZTE deal in exchange for hefty commissions. Something, again, seems to be cooking: the COMELEC is lenient with Smartmatic's delays in delivering poll machines for automated elections, it has not done efforts to encourage mass registration of voters on a nationwide scale, and has the temerity to by itself amend Philippine law and defy the Supreme Court.

We have had enough of brazen displays of arrogance from COMELEC and its commissioners but to witness a grandscale deprivation of the people's right of suffrage in a fashion that downright mocks the fundamental law of the land more than infuriates—it agitates one's spirit to seek justice and obtain it at all cost.

We will not be unnerved and we will keep watch as every responsible, freedom-loving citizen should.

Full text of the SC ruling on Kabataan Partylist petition to extend voters' registration

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:36:00 +0000

GR189868: Full Text of Supreme Court decision on voter registration

Supreme Court grants Kabataan Partylist petition to extend voters' registration

noreply@blogger.com (Kartilya) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:09:00 +0000

Kabataan Partylist, the first and only youth sectoral representation to the Congress, gained the nod of the Supreme Court, granting its petition to extend the voters' registration to January 9, 2010. Citing section 8 of the Voter Registration Act of 1996, and arguing that the Congress and not the COMELEC has the power to amend any law, Kabataan representative Raymond Palatino together with youth and student leaders filed an Urgent Petition for Certiorari and Mandamus (With Application for Pleminary Mandatory Injunction) last October 30.

Said petition was granted today and is immediately executory according to the SC. The COMELEC earlier shortened the voter registration to October 31 due to poll automation which is in violation of the required registration period of 120 days before the election.