vida soraya's posts with tag: politics
The summer solstice has yet to carve an arc to signal the end of a simmering season, yet I feel like my heart is on the verge of imploding, searing hot with the pain of the past few weeks' events. Never have I felt more disrespected, misunderstood, and taken for a fool. Here are a few of my realizations: 1. No matter how good your intentions may be, how much of yourself that you're sacrificing, you can never please everybody. 2. There is no such thing as a perfect intern; neither is there a perfect facilitator. 3. God always provides great opportunities to test your patience and the strength of a willing back with a heavy load. 4. The Book of Proverbs is correct: spare the rod, spoil the child. 5. Trust, Commitment, and Loyalty are the three most taken for granted concepts. Despite all these, the infinite capacity of the human heart for forgiveness, perseverance, and love, can make it all seem oh-so-worth it. *** “Poets, too, must know how to fight.” - Ho Chi Minh The only thing on my mind is the late Cong. Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran's voice echoing through the halls of the House of Representatives in a 10-minute privilege speech just 2 weeks ago. In a resonant declaration, the speakers reverberated with the verses of "Ang Manggagawa" by Amado V. Hernandez, as Ka Bel's tribute to the so-called primary forces of the Revolution. It seems that death is the hammer that pairs with the sickle in the way that millions will gather to mourn a leader's end-of-contract with the Fates. Permanently. Despite my admitted bias against labor issues (I'm human -- I still have personal grievances against certain labor leaders from certain labor organizations in certain regions), I believe that the legacy of Ka Bel is a lasting cry, shouting out from rooftop to rooftop of each industrial park, obsolete factory, business district, and any other manufacturing enclave where the arm that turns the cog remains enslaved to a system that alienates and oppresses. Paalam, Ka Bel.
 By Purple S. Romero
Exclusive to Abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak He may have failed to clinch the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairmanship, but Carlos Medina might have a shot to lead the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) after current Chairperson Purificacion Quisumbing retires on May 5, 2008 along with four commissioners. Medina leads the nominees of the Philippine Working Group (PWG) for the ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism for the top CHR position. Abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak got a copy of the list, which will be submitted to the Office of the President today. Another contender for CHR chair is human rights lawyer and former Justice Secretary Silvestre Bello. We learned that outgoing Chairperson Quisumbing recommended him to the post. We asked Bello if he has been offered the position. He said that he was informed that he’s being considered "but nothing is definite." Bellos currently sits on the board of San Miguel Corporation as government representative and is one of President Arroyo’s advisers. Aside from Medina, PWG nominated Loretta "Etta" Ann Rosales, co-chairperson of the Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and Ambassador Rosario Manalo, former chairperson of the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women for the CHR top post. Rosales served as the representative of the party-list Akbayan in 1998 up until 2007 and is the founding chairman of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers. Manalo is the undersecretary of foreign affairs in charge of International Economic Relations. She held various positions in women-centered organizations, one of them as the president of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women from1984 to 1986.  Mother and daughter
For the positions of four commissioners, PWG nominated two incumbent officers of the CHR – executive director Jacqueline Mejia and director for government linkages Karen Dumpit—and Sister Crescencia Lucero, executive director of the human rights group Task Force Detainees of the Philippines. Informed sources told Abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that Cecilia Quisumbing, daughter of the outgoing CHR chairperson, is being eyed as one of the four commissioners. Cecilia is currently executive director of the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC), headed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita. Cecilia’s work includes overseeing and coordinating efforts of various law enforcement agencies in addressing human rights issues. Overall, the PHRC exercises oversight function. Medina told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that PWG, a group of leading human rights advocates in the country, formed its own selection committee a month ago with former CHR chair Pauline Siocom as one of the committee members. "I only learned that I’m one of the recommendees three weeks ago," he said. Lack of transparency However, Medina said the selection process for CHR posts lacks transparency. He said that unlike the officials in COMELEC and the Civil Service Commission, the chair and commissioners of CHR are appointed directly by the President and need not go through the Commission on Appointments (COA). "I think the selection of the CHR officials is more critical compared to other government offices because the public could not intervene in the process. Unlike in CSC or COMELEC, opposition to nominations could still be voiced when they [nominations] pass through COA," he said. Medina lost the COMELEC chairmanship to retired Justice Jose A.R. Melo, who was appointed to head the election body in January 2008. Melo, who served as executive assistant during the time of President Arroyo’s father, former Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, headed the Melo Commission which linked state agents to the spate of extrajudicial killings of activists. While the odds were stacked in favor of Melo for the COMELEC‘s top seat then, Medina said that this time, "there could be a chance" that he gets the CHR leadership due to his expertise and experience on human rights work. Fighting chance Medina, secretary general of PWG, is the current executive director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center. He is also the co-convenor of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections, a civil society body formed in May 2006 which monitors the canvassing of votes during elections. A graduate of law from Ateneo de Manila University, Medina completed Master of Laws at the University of London and earned his degree on Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. He was legal counsel of One Voice, a group of topnotch lawyers chaired by former COMELEC chair Christian Monsod which challenged the Sigaw ng Bayan petition for people’s initiative. In his argument, Medina pointed out that an initiative is a proper mechanism for a constitutional amendment, but not for a revision. Sigaw ng Bayan claimed in 2006 that they gathered enough signatures that showed the public’s support for a switch from a presidential form of government to parliamentary. Medina now handles the Senate’s case filed against former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri and his use of executive privilege to dodge the Senate’s questions on Arroyo’s role in the approval of the now botched NBN-ZTE deal. Expand CHR Medina said that if he would be appointed CHR chair, he would expand the coverage of the constitutional body and create CHR provincial and city offices. He would also lobby for increased resources, equipment and more staff with human rights expertise in the commission. Second, he aims to increase partnerships with the civil society groups and other stakeholders. "It is important to expand partnerships with stakeholders both in the national and international level," he said. Medina said that the resolution of extrajudicial killings remains to be one of the challenges of CHR.
|  | ThePalladium, the official student publication of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, annually conducts the traditional Miting de Avance of Student Council candidates. This year, it was held at the Atrium last March 5, 2008.
This 4-page special issue contains a reportage and an editorial. It's the first issue released by the transitional editorial board for the incoming school year.
It's a premonition of more exciting things to come. |
...As seen by a Filipino novelist, a Filipino economics professor, and a multilateral development bank. “Why We Are Poor,” by F. Sionil Jose, Filipino novelist, 1980 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature and Journalism, 2001 National Artist for Literature, 2004 Pablo Neruda Centennial Award. In Why We Are Poor: Essays by F. Sionil Jose, Manila, 2005. “Why does Poverty persist in the Philippines? Facts, Fancies and Policies,” by Arsenio M. Balisacan, Ph. D., Professor of Economics, School of Economics, University of the Philippines. In Whither the Philippines in the 21st Century, R. Severino and L. Salazar, editors, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2007. Poverty in the Philippines: Income, Assets, and Access by Karin Schelzig, Asian Development Bank, Manila 2005. Source: email from my Mama.
 When I was 6 years old, an article in The Manila Bulletin caught my eye. The new prime minister of Pakistan was only 35 years old, intelligent, Harvard + Oxford educated, and a Muslim woman! A first for an Islamic state that was rocked by armed conflict and racial tensions. It was the year of the Dragon and I spent most of my time reading whatever newsprint I could salvage from my dad's morning routine. It was the same year when Lolo Ismael, my maternal grandfather, came to visit and tell us how young women were supposed to behave.
At age 6, when people ask little girls what they'd want to when they grew up, the standard responses include secretaries, nurses, teachers, doctors and lawyers. Since the Ghostbusters was my favorite TV cartoon, I'd tell everyone that I wanted to be like Dr. Egon Spengler. Secretly, I wanted to be the Prime Minister, just like Benazir Bhutto. Of course, my family would have none of that, so I chose to just read and read and read about the lives of all these gifted and gorgeous women who were making history all over the world.
Growing up throughout the '90s, news reports of the alleged corruption charges against her, mismanagement, her fall from political grace (twice!), and the melodramatic ways her family members were murdered, fueled my curiosity. Was it because legalistic traditions frowned on her defiance of gender stereotypes? Were her detractors taking advantage of her husband's non-involvement in Pakistani politics? Was it a generational curse for the Bhutto clan to always end in bloodshed?
 As a law student, the beautiful Benazir Bhutto made me devour pages upon pages of The Wall Street Journal the moment she arrived in Karachi last October 2007. Even in the shower, when Deutsche Welle Radio would broadcast news about her, I would stop and listen. I'd raise a soapy fist, rooting for her Party, worried over Nawaz Sharif, silently annoyed with Gen. Pervez Musharraf. She was definitely a charismatic leader and, like the Pakistani masses, I was smitten. I've never even been there! The closest brush I've had with that country is the cuisine served at Khas Canteen at the UP Arcade! Still, I was definitely a fangirl who could identify with everything from her being president of the Oxford Union (student leader!) to dental aberrations (butterfly upper central incisors!). So it was that I found myself weeping in front of BBC and CNN footage of the Rawalpindi assassination. While critics say that she had several shortcomings during her term of office (inaction regarding adultery and rape laws, lack of socioeconomic reforms), the way she pressed on for democracy was really asking for reactionary forces to make a martyr out of her. The spontaneous rioting of the people reflects the dark side of how a nation in mourning can also be a nation clamoring for justice. My mother said that Benazir Bhutto made a lot of enemies. That's what Time magazine also says. Different camps from terrorists to government conspiracy theorists are said to be under suspicion for her death. While I personally believe that the concept of terrorism is still quite nebulous at this point, the mere fact that someone could inflict that much damage for political/ideologically motivated reasons is enough to warrant a cry for meting out punishment where punishment is due. The perpetrators of such a heinous act are indeed liable -- but so should those who were negligent in their security duties. In the Philippines, and other countries where assassinations can either galvanize a nation towards frenzied mass actions or fracture an already divisive system, Benazir Bhutto's death also made headlines and triggered a rash of commentaries. I wonder how the same situation with a similarly magnetic, almost demagogic politician, would turn out if it happens here, just before the 2010 elections? Or even the ARMM elections in August 2008? The best soundbite so far was from the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown: " Benazir Bhutto may have been killed by terrorists but the terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan and this atrocity strengthens our resolve that terrorists will not win there, here or anywhere in the world." Wow. Whoever Mr. Brown's speechwriter is, thank you. My hope and my prayer is for that nation to be able to recover from their shock and grief. For Benazir Bhutto's immediate family, all I can pray for now is grace, so that they can endure, and faith, so that they may believe. And maybe, other little girls who would pick up the newspaper today or chance upon a news channel's live update would eventually make a choice to cower not in the face of terror and live courageously as daughters of their country ------------------------------------ Happy Rizal Day, dear readers!
SONETO NG SUMILAO Isang araw sa tapat ng DAR Dalawang patak ng luha
ang dumaloy sa mata
ni Samuel Merida. Tatlong madre
ang nakikipagtalakayan sa papag. Apatnapu't apat at isang daang
ektarya ng lupang ninuno
pinuhunan ay dugo. Limang taong gulang pa lamang
ang anak ni Nanay Hilda
nang iniwan niya sa
Sumilao, Bukidnon. Ngunit sampung taon
na ang lumilipas,
wala pa ring
kongkretong lunas
ang masalimoot
na pagmamartsa
ng mga abang magsasaka Libo-libong kilometro
mula doon hanggang dito. Kahit nakapapaso ang araw,
mas mainit ang tawag
nilang sa katarungan ay uhaw. Estudyante man
o ganap na abugado,
dalawang dekadang
nananatili ang hamon sa iyo. Libo-libong kilometro
mula doon hanggang dito. Libo-libong kilometro:
paglalakbay
patungo sa puso mo. -----------------------
December 8, 2007.
Habang nagmamaneho
paikot ng Quezon Memorial Circle,
sa okasyon ng ika-20 Anibersaryo
ng Ateneo Human Rights Center. Gusto ko sanang basahin ito noong Sabado, kaso, nahihiya naman ako at may nakahandang programa na ang mga Chabogets (ang bagong Sembreak batch ng AHRC). Siyempre, nahihiya din ako kasi hindi rin naman kagandahan ang tulang ito at madaliang sinulat sa biyaheng pa-Loyola. Salamat kay Quani at kumportable ang biyahe mula Rockwell. Salamat kay Patring at maginhawa ang biyahe pabalik. Ngunit nang magsalita si Atty. Kaka ng Balaod-Mindanao, parang bumalik muli ang lahat ng mga gabing maalab sa piling ng mga hindi kasing swerte natin. Sila na nagtatanim, ngunit siya namang nagugutom. Sila na nagsilang ng lahing-ninuno ng bawat Pilipino, ngunit binabawian ng karapatang mabuhay ng may dignidad. Hindi ko alam kung kakayanin ko pang matulog ng mahimbing muli.
Kitra Cahana is a Montreal-based photographer and student at McGill University. Her photography has appeared on the front pages of The New York Times and USA Today. She has won third place in the prestigious Pictures of the Year International for her coverage of the recent Israeli Disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Wayne: How did you end up covering the Gaza Pullout? Did you already have magazine assignments lined up, or did you simply decide that you were going to make it your first large, self-assigned project? Kitra: I didn’t plan on covering the Disengagement. Two months prior to the Pullout I went down to Gaza on a whim with a fellow photographer. I had a flight scheduled to go home to Montreal for the following week, but failed to show up at the airport when I realized how significant it would be both personally and professionally to stay in Gaza. Without a plan or a press-pass (because I was 17 and too young) and with little more than my camera body, I found a lot of support with the photographers who were already based in the settlements. I eventually nested on the Reuters couch in the central settlement of Neve Dekalim. I spent the year leading up to Disengagement balancing my studies at Hebrew University with an internship at a prominent Jerusalem-based photo agency Flash 90. I had a lot of local contacts, but not enough to know how to organize myself within the wire and magazine world. I think it was to my advantage to have had the freedom to work for myself. That way I was able to fully learn from the outstanding photographic sources living around me without the stress of working for somebody. Why the Pullout for this kind of assignment? It is not often that we find ourselves in the heart of the world as it is beating the strongest. The Disengagement was the first major story that I found myself in the middle of. There was no way I couldn’t have done it. When I was first trying to convince my hesitant mother that I needed to stay, I just said: “This is something I know I have to do,” and she understood. Wayne: How difficult was it to keep from getting wrapped up in the emotion of such an event? Kitra: I think to be a strong photographer you need to speak the language of emotion. As a human witnessing another’s pain through photography, I try to humble myself behind the camera. It is not my place to delegitimize another person’s suffering but to recognize it whether that be a settler being evicted from his home, a soldier fulfilling duty or a Palestinian waiting at a checkpoint. But the task being attuned to emotions is deeper than that. I feel the need to develop my own compassion through photography, but more importantly, to envision a poetic landscape that is reflected in the way I feel and experience the subject in front of me. Wayne: How did you first become interested in photography, and specifically, interested in photojournalism? Kitra: I think photography helps us define what it is we are searching for. When I first started photographing four years ago, photography was less product oriented and more about developing a perspective of the world. I was drawn to the personal meditation I found therein. Photography gives us a chance to reframe the viewfinder and thus reframe the way we think thoughts about the world. Walking through an exhibit, I decided to use photography as the medium to develop self. I singled out qualities that I hoped to embody and began to photograph them. A month was given to only photographing joy, the following month to sharing. I found in the end that the images were all identical. But I wasn’t. I think all art has the power to transform. Eventually my interest in the image itself and my interest in photojournalism began as I realized the potential of turning reality into art through recognizing the beauty that exists (even in the most horrific of circumstances). Wayne: How seriously were you considering photojournalism as a career when you entered McGill? Kitra: I finished covering the Disengagement on Thursday the 25th of August last year and started my studies at McGill in Montreal the following Monday. By that point, I knew my path lay in Photojournalism. While I probably could have found a way to continue working full-time, I didn’t feel as though I was ready emotionally and intellectually to start doing that. Just because you are able to work doesn’t mean that you necessarily should. It’s very easy to approach photojournalism superficially–to not have a context or to not be able to fully see what you are seeing and translating what is in front of you for the rest of the world. It’s a responsibility that I felt was bigger than where I was last year. Wayne: How beneficial or detrimental have your studies been to your photojournalism? Kitra: Knowledge is a tool that is wholly empowering. It gives us a context to see what is in front of us and the ability to live on multiple levels. That translates into the ability to create layers in photographs and to make use of symbols that can turn a normal image into a historical or religious reference. So far, studying has only broadened the number of stories I want to photograph and the depths to which I want to cover them. It gives me the language to speak about my images and the ability to refer meaningfully to what it is I am doing. Wayne: How challenging is it to be both a student and a photojournalist, and what are you doing to overcome those challenges? Kitra: I’ve sat through a lot of lectures distracted by the interesting light that falls on my professor’s face. But distractions aside, I find that being a student has allowed me the space to think about photography. To not only look out into the world for vision but to also look inwardly and bookwardly for understanding. I think the school year gives a nice balance for the growing photographer. The school year is devoted to reflection while the long, juicy, passion-filled summer breaks are devoted to story making. I appreciate being able to take my time developing an emotional maturity before taking on a full-time career. Wayne: How supportive has your family been about Your photojournalism, especially since you’re turning up in these crisis areas? Kitra: I am extremely close with my family. I am the eldest of five uniquely individual children and two parents?who I see as champions of humanity in their own right and the source of our achievements. Some of my photographic ambitions have made my parents uneasy, such as this past summer when they could hear Katyusha rockets landing near my hotel window over the phone. But they are adventurers as well, and I grew up hearing about their run-ins with various armies on their two-year honeymoon in South America or the times they smuggled Jewish literature into the USSR for the Jews of Russia. All our resources were always devoted to traveling and experiencing the world, and, thus, most of my childhood memories are in developing countries living with the people there and realizing that you are allowed to call the whole world your home. Wayne: You have an amazing eye for someone who just turned professional. Which photographers have been influential on you in developing that eye? Kitra: The photography section in the library is really where my photography education began. Among those that I regard highly and get “aesthetic tingles” from are the works of Paolo Pellegrin, Joachim Ladefoged, Trente Parke, Jehad Nga, [Sebastiao] Salgado, Jan Grarup, Tom Stoddart and Pep Bonet especially his Faith in Chaos. Each has a certain aesthetic consciousness that I would like to develop in my own images. Studying their works and others has inspired me to push further in my own vision. While interning at Flash 90 in Israel, I found great encouragement in being with other photographers at an event and watching it afterwards on the wire. My boss at Flash 90, Nati Shohat, gave me a mind-frame to begin thinking about photography. Afterwards I have found many mentors and friends in the field. Shaul Schwarz has had a huge impact on my photographing. Wayne: Are you seeing noticeable improvement in your technical skills from assignment to assignment? Kitra: I feel as though I’ve grown technically in great strides very fast. The more assignments I do, the more I come to understand where my weaknesses lie and how to address them. There are certain shots I know are harder for me to see, but recognizing where I have difficulty seeing helps me see more clearer. While working in Ethiopia, Shaul encouraged me to “Work at what you’re bad at, and explode at what you’re good at.” Although difficult, it’s a mantra I repeat and try to live up to. Wayne: You’ve had a heady year. Your work has already appeared on the front of the New York Times and USA Today. Not to mention your placing in POYI. Besides producing terrific work, how have you managed that? Kitra: While interning in Jerusalem, I was working for an agency, Flash 90, that submitted photos to EPA. So when Laura Bush visited the Western Wall, my photograph of her was featured on the cover of USA Today through the wire service. Then during the week of Disengagement, EPA’s Jim Hollander took me on as a stringer, so it was again thanks to the wire that I got the cover of the NY Times. My mother called the next morning to tell me, and we were all really astonished and excited. POYI was also very thrilling as were other recognitions. Wayne: How are you using that early recognition to further your photographic ambitions? Kitra: Early recognition has in itself furthered my ambitions. Whether my work is spectacular or not has often been overshadowed by my age. It is sometimes difficult to get a sense of where along my development I am. I think that by nature photography is a very unassured act. We are constantly dealing with a subject matter that is finished in itself and yet constantly changing. In that respect I find it difficult to find a confidence in one’s own work. But being recognized has helped develop a confidence and a belief in the process, - even if I do not fully understand it yet. Wayne: What took you to Ethiopia? Kitra: I recently returned from an independent project in Ethiopia and Israel where I photographed the Falash Mura, a group of approximately 12,000 impoverished Ethiopians, who are immigrating to Israel under the auspices of the Israeli government. The story itself is fascinating and has many political as well as humanitarian aspects to it, which has challenged me on multiple levels. It has forced me to take time aside and meditate on my story and its flow. While unsure of my outcome, I am more understanding of the process of story-telling and the conflicting responsibilities that a story can pose to the narrator. Wayne: What other kinds of assignments are grabbing your interest? Kitra: I am interested in stories that have to do with my community as a young Jewish woman. I am interested in dealing with issues that are going to further my understanding of self as well as stories that are going to teach me about the sort of adult I wish to become. Most likely this would mean documentary photography a la visual anthropology. Often, I find, photojournalism not representative of the amount of good that exists in the world. Photojournalists have not only the responsibility to tell the world how destructive it is, but also how inspiring it is. This is achieved through telling how great the world is and can be- through aesthetics as much as true human situations. Wayne: You recently got back from Israel. What was it like covering the situation on the ground? Kitra: It’s always a challenge to find the point where photojournalist meets humanist, as in every new situation that point is renegotiated. I covered my first attack with dead bodies on the scene while I was up north in Israel. I found it difficult trying to find that balance between being sensitive to the survivors mourning over their loved ones, while at the same time recognizing my responsibilities to tell the story as a photographer. I expected to be more distraught than I was in reality. I think sometimes one isn’t always ready to recognize one’s own mortality in a moment like that. It’s afterwards that one begins to live life as a changed person. Wayne: How was it different from your expectations? Kitra: I was moved emotionally by the resilience of the human spirit to respond to those in need, to create a sense of normalcy even in times of war. I hadn’t expected that. The north was relatively empty because the rest of the country responded quickly by finding summer camps for the children and making make-shift homes and opened doors for the adults. During the war I spent a few days living with a family with four down syndrome children. They were visited every few days by young volunteers from Southern Israel who risked their lives to comfort the children and play with the neighborhood families living in the bomb-shelters. Wayne: How has it solidified your resolve to become someone willing to document crises, and what is it about your psyche that makes you want to do so? Kitra: Having traveled so much as a young child in developing countries has made the existence of extreme poverty, disease and death a natural force in my mind. I don’t see myself as becoming a crisis photographer but rather as a humanist photographer. Sometimes I feel as though photography is a form of spirit possession, where the subject communicates himself to the people through my camera. Sometimes people pushed to the extremes reveal the core of the human spirit. Other times, I feel as though I am a sort of aesthetic dictator where I impose beauty onto situations that can otherwise only be described as grotesque and horrid. [NOTE: Wayne E. Yang is a writer/photographer. He is a former associate editor at literary magazine Night Train. Wayne’s writing has appeared in The North American Review, The Christian Science Monitor, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Asian Review of Books and other publications. Wayne’s photography is represented by WireImage and ZUMA Press. One of his photographs has been included in the Voices of the World/Voces del Mundo collection published by CaféDiverso Books.]
EXACTLY six years, four months, and 17 days after the trial, deposed leader Joseph Estrada was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of plunder and has been sentenced to serve up to 40 years in prison. His son, Jose ‘Jinggoy’ Estrada and lawyer Edward Serapio, however, were acquitted of the charge of plunder. Estrada was convicted on charges of receiving over P500 million in monthly bribes for the protection of the illegal numbers game jueteng and P189.7 million in commissions from the purchases of Belle Corporation shares... (Avigail Olarte)
full story plus files at the PCIJ Blog.
Below is a list of "partylist groups" that are fronts of the Arroyo regime and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). This list was prepared by KONTRA DAYA (a broad-based election watchdog formed to expose the very possible repeat of wholesale election fraud in the May 2007 Philippine elections). Please circulate widely to expose these groups. REJECT these groups in the coming elections!!! --------------------------------------------------------- 1. AT (Aangat Tayo) connected to PITC Usec. Teddie Elson Rivera 2. Abono connected to House Speaker Jose De Venecia 3. Agbiag! Timpuyog Ilocano, Inc. connected to Office of External Affairs Asec. Marcelo Farinas II 4. Aging Pinoy (Aging Pilipino Organization, Inc.) connected to Norberto Gonzales 5. Ahon (Ahon Pinoy) Dante "Klink" Ang II (1st nominee) 6. Ahonbayan connected to Norberto Gonzales 7. APOI (Akbay Pinoy OFW-National, Inc.) DILG Usec. Melchor Rosales (1st nominee), DILG NCR Dir. Rodolfo Feraren (2nd nominee) 8. AKSA (Aksyon Sambayanan) connected to Norberto Gonzales 9. ANAD (Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy) supported by the AFP 10. ANAK (Angat Ating Kabuhayan Pilipinas, Inc.) Supt. Eduardo Octaviano, NCRPO-PNP (1st nominee) 11. ANC (Alliance of Neo-Conservatives) Usec. for Presidential Appointments Liel Cordoba 12. Ang Kasangga member, Sigaw ng Bayan 13. ARC (Alliance of Rural Concerns) Archie Santiago (son of Sen. Miriam Santiago) 14. ATS (Alliance Transport Sector) Ariel Lim, Presidential Assistant for Public Transport Affairs 15. ABA-AKO Percy Chavez, chairperson, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor 16. Babae Ka (Babae para sa Kaunlaran) member, Sigaw ng Bayan; Sally Dagami (1st nominee), Ruth Vasquez (2nd nominee) 17. BANAT (Barangay Association for National Advancement of Transparency) Raul Lambino (1st nominee) 18. Bantay Ret. Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan (1st nominee) [pucha, kapal ng mukha talaga!!!] 19. Bigkis (Bigkis Pinoy Movement) connected to PAGCOR Chair Ephraim Genuino 20. BP (Biyaheng Pinoy) Dr. Arsenio Abalos, Jesus Cruz (vice-mayor of Mandaluyong) 21. Kalahi (Advocates for Overseas Filipinos) Poe Gratela, former Office of External Affairs coordinator for OFW concerns (1st nominee) 22. VFP (Veterans Freedom Party) supported by the AFP -- "But the most beautiful of all doubts is when the downtrodden and the despondent raise their heads and stop believing in the strength of their oppressors" -Bertolt Brecht [the list above was from an e-mail.the reason why I'm posting election matters, even if I've never voted (and never registered for that matter) is because of what my sister said: kukunin ng mga flying voters yung slot mo sa barangay. she' s volunteering for the Gabay Halalan Call Center and involving the whole family in it (well, at least, the catering part for the co-volunteers).over lunch, my parents and aunt were debating about how it has become a matter of choosing the lesser evil, rather than a conscious choice to confer a mandate on someone they trust. case in point, my mother's tiny town of Lucban in Quezon province. the contentious point? choosing between a druglord (the opposition) and the juetenglord (the incumbent). my father even shared a little story on how he accidentally discovered the linkages between the shabu shipments from China via a certain town in Quezon and the campaign kitty of the governor (former congressman).worse, when I was wailing out my refusal to join LENTE at the AHRC last Friday, Grip Bueta, bless his soul, who was also cutting out LENTE hotlines beside me, suddenly said that I should visit www.iVote.ph as a means to electoral enlightenment. nakakahiya, diba?shame on me for voicing out my apathy.shame on me for choosing to forego my right to suffrage.it's because of people like me, who love the political ads on TV yet refuse to cast their bids, that imbeciles get to warm their greedy asses on the august seats of Congress.]
ELECTIONS 2007
While walking down the street one day, a Philippine
senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at
the entrance.
"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you
settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see
a high ranking official around these parts, you see,
so we're not sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in," says the senator. "Well,
I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What
we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in
heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."
"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in
heaven," says the senator.
"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator
and he goes down, down, down to hell.
The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a
championship golf course. In the distance is a
clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his
friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in formal evening dress.
They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce
about the good times they had while getting rich at
the expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dined on
lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present was the devil, who really is a very
friendly guy, he was having a good time dancing and
telling jokes.
They are all having such a good time that before the
senator realizes it, it was time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while
the elevator rises...
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens in
heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him, "Now it's
time to visit heaven."
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of
contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing
the harp and singing. They have a good time and,
before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and
St. Peter returns.
"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in
heaven. Now choose your eternity."
The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers:
"Well, I would never have said it before, I mean
heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be
better off in hell."
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes
down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the
middle of a barren land covered with waste and
garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags,
picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as
more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around
his shoulders.
"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday
I was here and there was a golf course and a
clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank
champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now
there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my
friends look miserable. What happened?"
The devil smiles at him and says,
"Yesterday we were campaigning
...... Today, you voted!"
 Link: http://www.cpaphils.org/The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) is an independent federation of progressive peoples organizations, most of them grassroots-based organizations among indigenous communities in the Cordillera Region, Philippines. CPA is committed to the promotion and defense of indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, social justice, and national freedom and democracy.
CPA is a non-stock, non-profit mass-organization duly registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission.
CPA was founded in June 1984 in Bontoc, Mountain Province, by 150 delegates from 27 organizations attending the Cordillera People’s Congress. The founders of CPA were mainly indigenous leaders and activists who spearheaded the widespread and successful opposition to the World Bank-funded Chico dams project and the commercial logging operations of the Cellophil Resources Corporation.
This was during the Marcos dictatorship period, when the government and its corporate partners pursued destructive projects in the Cordillera region, coupled with worsening militarization and political repression. There was then a need to strengthen the mass movement of indigenous peoples in the Cordillera to work for the promotion, recognition and defense of indigenous peoples (IP) rights and human rights. The newly-formed CPA answered this need.
Through the years, CPA has launched sustained information drives, advocacy activities, campaigns and direct actions and local struggles on indigenous peoples’ rights and related issues. These activities were implemented along side organizing work of various indigenous communities in the region and building their capacity through education seminars, trainings and various types of assistance. Through the years, CPA has expanded to include 120 community organizations, three provincial chapters in Mountain Province, Kalinga, and Abra, urban multi-sectoral chapter in Baguio city, Municipal Chapter in Itogon Benguet, and sectoral federations of youth, women, elders, peasant and cultural workers.
CPA, as an alliance, respects the independence and autonomous operation of its members. But it also provides a system of tight coordination and close cooperation in the implementation of its general program as its basis of unity.
Today, CPA has gained recognition and legitimacy as a major center of the progressive Cordillera mass movement with its independence, unwavering commitment and its consistent and sustained advocacy, campaigns and direct actions on the recognition of indigenous peoples rights, human rights, social justice, genuine peace and national democracy.
Drawing strength from its two decades of experiences and lessons, CPA continues to pursue its commitment to advance its general programme and principles.
Cordillera Day 2007
General Invitation and Theme
|
The Cordillera Peoples Alliance announces the 23rd Celebration of Cordillera Day 2007, in Baguio City from April 23-24, 2007, under the theme "Assert people's rights! Oust the GMA Regime and Advance the Politics of Change!"
Interested organizations and individuals may contact the CPA Secretariat through cpa@cpaphils.org (www.cpaphils.org)
We hope to hear from you and see you in Baguio City! |
hatinggabi sa starbucks, vito cruz
sitenta pesos ang katumbas
ng umuusok na sisidlang
papel, kanlungan ng isang
mapagpanggap na karapatang
lumanghap ng nilalagang
bunga, makinig sa salimbayan
ng mga sinasagasaang yelo,
pinadadausdos na asukal
at pagbubulungan ng mga
naghahanap ng dagliang
pagtakas sa mundo ng mga
kongkretong halimaw sa labas.
sitenta pesos ang katumbas
ng artipisyal na pagkamulat
sa gabing pagal ang katawan
tuwing naglalakbay at
walang kasiguraduhan.
sitenta pesos ang katumbas
nga mga palayang sinuyod,
sinuklay at sinalisihan ng
pananim -- iba naman
ang nakakatikim
sa mababang halaga,
ang kinalinga ng lupa
nagiging ginto ng banyaga
--kinakatawan ng babaeng
kulot at nakakorona,
nanghahalinang magpapasok
nang makaranas.
sitenta pesos ang katumbas:
kape.
leche.
-Vida Soraya Verzosa (ito ay nilikha habang hinihintay na makapanayam si Elvert Bañares)
N.B. - This was published in Vol. 5, No. 48 (Dec. 13-19, 2006) of Pinoy
Weekly (p. 5), the full text of which may also be retrieved from URL http://www.pinoyweekly.org/pw5-48/op_ed/ed-5_48_3.htm.
Pinoy Weekly’s next issue will be on January 3, 2007.
KONTEKSTO
Danilo Araña Arao
Luha ng Pasko
Buti
na lang at walang namatay sa aming mga kamag-anak sa Lungsod Tabaco,
Albay. Pero naging matindi rin ang pagkasira sa mga ari-arian ng mga
taga-Tabaco dahil sa malakas na hangin at ulang hatid ng bagyong Reming.
Sa
katunayan, nilipad ang bubong ng kuwarto ng aking asawa at nabasag ang
mga bintana ng bahay nila. May mga kamag-anak din kaming pinasok ng
putik ang bahay at nawalan ng kabuhayan dahil literal na nilipad ng
hangin ang mga gamit.
Dahil walang naiulat na namatay sa Tabaco
noong kasagsagan ng bagyong Reming, sapat na ba ito para maging
maligaya ngayong Pasko? Tatanggapin na lang ba natin itong konsolasyon
dahil kaya pa namang makapagsimulang muli ang mga taong naapektuhan?
Habang
isinusulat ito, sinabi sa amin ng isang kamag-anak na malakas na naman
ang ulan sa Tabaco dahil sa bagyong Seniang. Wala pa ring kuryente sa
lugar na iyon at ang mga residente ay kinakapos na ng pagkain. Mahirap
pa ring pumunta sa at lumabas ng Tabaco dahil hindi madaanan ng
sasakyan ang mga kalsada.
Sapat na ang mga ulat sa midya para
masabing naging matindi ang epekto ng mga bagyong Milenyo noong
Setyembre at Reming kamakailan sa marami nating kababayan. Maraming
ginagawa ang ilang indibidwal at organisasyon para tulungan ang mga
nasalanta. Totoo namang ito ang mga pagkakataong kailangang magkaisa
ang lahat para tulungan ang mga nangangailangan.
At ang
pagkakaisang ito ay nagtutulak sa ating lahat na ipakita ang
pakikidalamhati, kung hindi man sa pamamagitan ng aktuwal na pagbibigay
ng tulong ay sa pagkakaroon ng isang simpleng selebrasyon ng Pasko
kasama ang pamilya. Bagama’t nariyan ang kasiyahan, hindi pa rin dapat
mawala sa isip ang kalunos-lunos na kalagayan ng mga taong nawalan ng
mga mahal sa buhay at patuloy na pinipilit mabuhay kahit na walang
katiyakan ang malapit na hinaharap.
Tinaguriang
panahon ng ligaya ang Pasko, pero hindi ka masisisi kung may luhang
pumapatak sa iyong mga mata sa pag-alala sa mga namatay at sa mga
naiwan nilang mahal sa buhay na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin
makapaniwala sa nangyaring trahedya. At hindi ka nag-iisa kung hindi mo
masyadong nararamdaman ang diwa ng Pasko kahit na may nakasabit nang
parol sa iyong bahay at gabi-gabi nang nagka-caroling ang mga bata.
Sabi
ng isang lumang Pamaskong awitin, “Tayo’y magsikap upang makamtan natin
ang kasaganaan.” Kaya ba nating sabihin sa mga nasalanta ng bagyo na
magsikap lang sila ay makakabangon silang muli? Bagama’t dapat purihin
ang mga indibidwal at organisasyong nagbibigay ng mga pagkain at iba
pang pangangailangan sa mga nasalanta ng bagyo, alam nating mauubos din
ang mga ito at hindi naman puwedeng habambuhay silang umasa sa donasyon.
May
pangunahing responsibilidad ang gobyerno para tulungan ang mga
nasalanta, hindi lamang sa porma ng donasyon kundi sa pagkakaroon ng
disenteng pabahay at mapagkukunan ng ikabubuhay. Ang simpleng
pagsisikap ay hindi sapat dahil alam naman nating ang mga mamamayan ay
hindi nabibigyan ng pantay na oportunidad para umangat sa buhay.
Kung
iniisip lang natin ang ating sarili, baka salubungin natin ang Pasko
nang parang walang nangyari sa Bikol at sa iba pang lugar na
naapektuhan ng mga bagyong Milenyo at Reming. Pero sa kabila ng ating
magkakasalungat na paniniwala, masasabi kong karamihan sa atin ay may
konsiyensiyang tumulong sa mga nangangailangan. Ganito rin ba ang ating
masasabi sa mga kongresistang minamadali ang pagbabago sa Saligang
Batas para umabot diumano sa Mayo 2007 ang plebisito? Hindi na bago
para sa mga nasa kapangyarihan ang isipin lang ang kanilang sarili. Ang
kanilang pagsusulong ng “Cha-Cha” (charter change) kahit sa panahon ng
trahedya ay nagpapakita lang ng tunay na kulay nila.
Kaya
nararapat lamang na ang Pasko ay maging okasyon ng pag-alala sa mga
nasalanta ng bagyo, gayundin ang mga ginagawa at hindi ginagawa ng
pamahalaan. Ito ay pagkakataon para pag-isipang mabuti ang kahihinatnan
ng ating bayan kung magpapatuloy ang panlipunang kaayusan.
Bunga
ng luhang pumapatak sa ating mga mata, gawin nating kakaiba ang
katangian ng Pasko. Hindi lang dapat ito panahon ng limitadong ligaya,
kundi panahon ng paglaya. Sa isang banda, ang luha ay hindi lang para
sa mga nagdadalamhati, kundi sa mga nagngingitngit sa galit.
Isang mapagpalayang Pasko sa ating lahat.
Para makipag-ugnayan sa awtor, pumunta sa www.dannyarao.com.
| | Pakitingnan ang picture bago basahin ang nasa baba.
Caption 1: "Judas comes early to betray Jesus."
Caption 2: "The shepherds had sheep and a goat as well."
Caption 3: "One of the three wise men rode on a dwarf camel on his
way to Jerusalem."
Caption 4: "If any of the gifts are missing, you know who to blame."
Caption 5: "And Mary says to Baby Jesus, 'Mary Magdalene is okey.
It's her you have to look out for.'"
Caption 6: "Herod was a queen, not a King."
Caption 7: "The one wearing trousers was a Roman Centurion out to kill babies."
Caption 8: Joseph—"Quick, Mary! My walking stick! A snake came slithering in!"
Caption 9: Mary—"That smiling donkey you made me ride on is an ass!"
Caption 10: "And the devil laughed upon seeing Jesus suffering His
first humiliation."
Pick your favorites, folks!
|
DAGLI SA KRISIS*
Trivia 'bout Diff'rent Universities, Colleges in RP
(Walang Pikunan. Joke Joke Joke Lang!)
NI ROLAND TOLENTINO
Mahirap Lahat
Sa UP, mahirap ang Math.
Sa Ateneo, mahirap ang English.
Sa La Salle, mahirap ang parking.
Sa Assumption, mahirap ang walang pera.
Sa UST, mahirap umuwi kapag baha.
Sa St. Scho, mahirap sumakay sa LRT.
Sa San Beda, mahirap maging lalaki.
Sa bayan, mahirap ang buhay.
Where To Go To College?
If you have a lot of brains and a little money, go to UP.
If you have some brains and some money, go to Ateneo.
If you have no brains and lots of money, go to La Salle.
Pero kapag nagtaas na sa komersyal
na antas ang matrikula sa UP, kahit may utak ka kung wala kang pera,
wala ka nang mapupuntahan.
Christmas Spirit
A few
days before Christmas, the Monsignor thought it would be a good idea if
he solicited the support of a number of the Catholic schools to get
together to create a Nativity Scene in time for the Christmas Mass. The
day before Christmas, the Monsignor discovered that the Nativity Scene
was still incomplete so he made a few inquiries on why this was.
So
Ateneo reported it would come up with only two and not three wise men.
La Salle reported it couldn't come up with even a single wise man.
Maryknoll reported it couldn't come up with a single virgin. San Beda
reported that it could only come up with three wise gays. UP reported
that they killed the three wise men.
Kung si
GMA ang tatanungin, nabili na niya ang tatlong hari para hindi siya
i-impeach. Kung militar, ay! tignan na lamang ang kulang sa 800 na
politikal na pinaslang.
At magbuhat ngayon, kahit hindi Pasko, tayo ay magbigayan.
Pasikatan ng Gradweyts
UP: A number of past Philippine
presidents graduated from UP. Presidents Roxas, Quirino, Laurel, Garcia
and Marcos, to name just a few!
Ateneo: Hah! That's nothing, a
number of Ateneo graduates became national heroes like Jose Rizal, Gen.
Gregorio del Pilar, Gen. Antonio Luna, Evelio Javier and many others.
UP: That just goes to show you, UP graduates become presidents and lead countries while Ateneans end up getting shot!
La Salle: Wala 'yan. Talo kayo sa mga gradweyt namin!
UP & Ateneo: Bakit, sino ba mga graduates ninyo?
La Salle: Aba! Marami kaming sikat na gradweyts: si Gary Valenciano, Dingdong Avanzado, Ogie Alcasid, Monsour del Rosario…
Paaralan ng Lansangan: Edgar Jopson, Emmanuel Lacaba, Lean Alejandro, Karen Empeño…. (idagdag ang iba pang pangalan).
How To Identify A La Sallite
Pumasok sa isang
tindahan sa Megamall ang isang La Sallite at nagsabi, "Miss, pabili nga
ng green parrot, please." Tumingin sa kanya ang saleslady at
nagtanong, "Sir, taga-La Salle ba kayo?"
"O, bakit mo naman
natanong 'yan? Kung umorder ba ako ng blue cheese ay taga Ateneo na
ako? I don't think so. Kung ako ba ay bumili ng maroon na t-shirt,
ibig bang sabihin noon ay taga-UP na ako? I think not. Kung nagtanong
ba ako ng red dawn ay taga-Paaralan na Lansangan na ako? Me thinks
not. Kaya bakit mo ako tinatanong kapag bumibili ako ng green parrot
kung taga-La Salle ako?"
"E sir," sagot ng saleslady, "flower shop kasi ito."
Paano Mo Alam Kapag Nakita Mo?
Sa isang malaking
party ng Philippine Society of Colleges and Universities, and Pangulo
ng Board ay nagtaka kung ano ang mga partikular na eskuwelahan ang
dumalo sa malaking selebrasyon. Kaya nagtsek siya sa pinagaganap na
bahay, at hulaan ninyo kung ano ang nakita niya at kung saan niya
nakita ang mga ito?
UP Diliman – ang lahat ay nakapila sa hanay sa attic para magkaroon ng fraternity ritual
UP Los Baños – nasa hardin at naggugupit ng damo
UP Manila – lahat ay "naka-droga"
Ateneo – nasa loob sila ng TV room na may mikropono at nagtsa-chant ng "Blue Eagle" spelling
La Salle – nag-uusyoso sila
San Beda – ang iba ay katabi ng Ateneans, ang iba ay katabi ng Paulinians
St. Paul – akala nila ay ang katabi nila ay taga-Ateneo
La Consolacion – gusto sana nilang maging Paulinians
Holy Spirit – gusto nila ang Paulinians
Miriam – katabi sila ng kwarto ng Ateneans, tulad ng dati
Assumption – nasa loob sila ng banyo tatlong oras na simula nang dumating sila
St. Scholastica – sila ang nakapilang kasunod na gagamit ng banyo
CEU – ang iba ay naghuhugas ng pinggan, ang iba ay busy na naglalaba
St Louis – lahat sila ay nasa harapan ng air con
UE – hindi nila alam kung ano ang air conditioner
UST – nakakalat sila sa bahay
FEU – wala sila sa bahay
MLQU – ay! hindi sila imbitado.
San Sebastian – paano sila nakalusot sa mga gwardya?
Letran – sila ang mga gwardya
Mapua – busy sila sa pag-ayos ng tulo sa bubong
TIP – sila ang nambato sa bubong kaya tumutulo
NU – nasa labas sila ng bahay at nagbebenta ng sigarilyo
JRC – sila ang bumibili ng yosi
Adamson – nagpunta na lang sila sa Luneta
Sta. Isabel – sila ang mga date ng taga-Adamson
UA&P – "para saan ba itong party na ito?"
PSBA – "ano ba ang UA&P?"
NCBA – "ano ba ang NCBA?"
AMA – pinaparada nila ang Jolina posters
Paaralan ng Bayan – nagmi-meeting sila sa kabilang kwarto, nagplaplano ng rally.
A Murder Mystery (to be solved solely on the basis of pure logic)
Sino ang pumatay?
Mga pinagsususpetsahan:
The Humble Atenean
The Bright La Sallite
The Innocent Maryknoller
The Unaffected Assumptionista
Ang Aktibista sa Klase
The UP Graduate
Ang maysala: The UP Graduate
Ang lohika: Wala namang humble na
Atenean, matalinong La Sallite, inosenteng Maryknoller, hindi
naapektuhan na Assumptionista, at Aktibista sa loob ng klase.
Bulatlat
------------------------------
(Ang maikling kolum na ito ay
nasa pormang dagli, na ginamit sa mga diyaryo sa panahon ng
kolonyalismo ng US sa Pilipinas. Ang moda ng dagli ay maaaring
dedikasyon, malasanaysay o malakatha. Maaari itong magkaroon ng lamang
pulitikal na siyang magiging palagiang laman ng kolum na ito.
)
Letter to the Editor Behind the Arroyo Regime’s Iron
Curtain The
recent deportation of Atty. Brian Campbell reveals the Arroyo
government’s extreme fear of the escalating global condemnation of its
culpability in the continued political killings in the Philippines. Campbell is a lawyer and labor rights activist and works for the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) based in Washington D.C., USA.
He was a delegate to the International Labor Solidarity Mission that
investigated the extrajudicial killings in the country last May 2006.
He is an active campaigner for workers’ rights and human rights not
just in the Philippines but throughout Asia and the world. Officers
of the Bureau of Immigration detained Atty. Campbell upon his arrival
at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last July 6, detained and
interrogated him for nearly five hours, and finally deported him back
to the U.S. via Hong Kong. He was due to attend the “Jobs and Justice Conference” in Cebu,
a forum of labor rights advocates and a parallel activity to the ASEAN
Business and Investment Summit. He was also scheduled to meet the
relatives of the late Bishop Alberto Ramento who was executed by
suspected agents of the Philippine military two months ago, as well as
workers on strike at the Cavite Export Processing Zone. In his email to ILRF partners in the Philippines,
Atty. Campbell said that he saw a list containing the names of other
human rights advocates who, like himself, participated in the
International Labor Solidarity Mission and other similar fact-finding
missions that have investigated the rash of extra-judicial killings and
human rights violations under the Arroyo regime. Indeed, despite being
denied an explanation for his expulsion by Philippine authorities,
Atty. Campbell views it as but “a small part
of the government's concerted long-standing campaign to silence the
critics of the Arroyo regime and the political killings.”
The Department of Justice’s blacklist of foreign activists is another
frantic attempt to hide the ugly truth of summary executions and
political repression from the rest of the world, and added proof that
the Arroyo regime has no intention of allowing justice to see the light
of day in the Philippines. The
regime appears to be particularly paranoid these days about allowing
the international community a first-hand glimpse of the real political
situation in the Philippines. The 12th
ASEAN Summit has even been postponed on the preposterous excuse that an
impending typhoon is a threat to the participants. But the real threat
that the Arroyo regime does not wish foreign observers to witness up
close is the political storm created by her administration’s most recent attempt to change the constitution in order to perpetuate her fascist rule.
Blinded
by fear of her probable removal from power through impeachment by a
Congress whom surveys predict would be dominated by anti-Arroyo
candidates in the forthcoming elections, President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo is now maneuvering to change the Constitution through
an illegal “constituent assembly”
called for by her allies in the lower house of Philippine Congress even
after the Supreme Court rebuked as grossly illegal and dubious their
former scheme to change the Constitution through a “people’s
initiative”. This
gross and naked attempt to trample upon the will of the people -- the
majority of whom oppose charter change according to every independent
survey recently conducted -- is once again reinvigorating the broad
Anti-Arroyo mass movement to mobilize against the rule of tyranny.
Massive rallies are already scheduled for next week. Hence, apart from
her paranoia about the unceasing condemnation her government is
receiving from the international community due to the unabated
political killings, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is going to extreme lengths
to prevent foreign eyes from confirming her political isolation from
the people and witnessing her tyrannical but wobbly rule. Sgd. Paul
Quintos Executive Director ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education & Research,
Inc. 90-C Scout Delgado Street, Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City 1103 Philippines Telefax: +632 4115229 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. the headlines:
2. new (old) acquisitions: 3. ideas: - psychedelic, minimalist, logotypes+vectors or photo-realist? 6 hours left to decide.
- coffee, 1200H, starfucks ua&p (pearl drive?)
should i just skip class today?
| Bihira ang nakakaalam na ako’y kalahating Muslim.
Kaya minsan, hindi ko alam kung ano ang isasagot ko tuwing tinatanong
ako kung ano ang relihiyon ko. Sinasalubong ko na lang ng ngiti at
sinasabing Kristiyanong Muslim. O Muslim na Kristiyano. Susuklian na
lang ako ng pagtaas ng kilay, pagsambit ng mahabang aaahhhh (yung
tipong akala mo ay nagpapakita ng ngala-ngala sa dentista) o mas
madalas, iibahin ang paksa. Never talk about politics, sex, or religion on the first date. Haler?! No way, pare!
Anyway, kaming magkakapatid ay bininyagang Katoliko at Muslim.
Nagpa-convert kasi si Papa sa Islam para maging matiwasay ang pagsasama
nila ni Mama. Pinagpapawisang sinabi ni Papa, ilang dekada na ang
nakalipas: “I love your daughter very much but I’ve got a problem. I’m
already married.”
Ang sagot ng matanda habang nagtatali ng kanyang kanchu: “That’s no problem. Me, I have 3 wives! You convert to Islam!”
So inayos nila ang papeles, bahagi ng pagsisinop ng proseso ng pagpapalit-relihiyon at kinasal sila ng isang mapagpayong Imam.
Dumalo ang unang asawa ni Papa at ang kanyang mga anak at nagdiwang
silang katulad ni Scheherazade pagkatapos niyang magkuwento ng
isanlibo’t-sanlaksang alamat. Kaya lahat kami, may mga pangalang halaw
sa Arabian Nights or Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
Nakalulungkot man isipin, hindi namin gaanong napanindigan ang
pagka-Muslim mula nung namatay si Lolo. Siya lang kasi yung hardcore sa
paghikayat sa aming magbasa ng banal na Qur’an,
magpilgrimahe sa Mecca at Medina, magbigay ng ambag sa mosque, igalang
ang oras ng pagdarasal (limang beses, nakaharap sa Mecca) at pag-iwas
sa pagkain ng baboy. Magkakasundo sila ng Radioactive Sago Project sa
anti-baboy campaigns!
Tuwing hinahalungkat ko ang mga gunita ng kamusmusan, naaalala ko lagi
ang pagdating ni Lolo (si Kapitan Bagsik, kung tawagin siya sa
Zamboanga City). Makikitago kami ng bacon at hotdog sa ref ng
kapitbahay at mamamalengke ng buhay na manok (si Kapitan Bagsik na ang
magkakatay at dadasalan upang maging halal). Babatiin niya kami: “Assalamualaikum,”
at nakapila kaming mamano sa kanya pagkatapos niyang ibaba ang
sari-saring bitbitin, ang mga bungkos ng makukulay na malong, ang
nakabilot niyang flying carpet at mga supot-supot ng durian candy.
Pinaka-astig si Lolo kapag Ramadan, ang ika-siyam na
buwan sa Muslim calendar. Ito kasi ang panahon na ipinadala ang banal
na Qur’an mula sa langit upang maging gabay ng sangkatauhan sa kanilang
kaligtasan. Sa hudyat ng ika-27 na araw ay magaganap ang Laylat-al-Qadr
o gabi ng kapangyarihan. Ayon sa kuwento ni Lolo, sa gabing ito unang
natanggap ni Muhammad ang mensahe ng banal na Qur’an at ang pasya ni
Allah tungkol sa kinabukasan ng daigdig.
Ipinagbabawal ang pagkain, pag-inom at paninigarilyo sa umaga. Sa gabi naman siya tumitikim ng kakaunting handa, ang iftar na may kalakip na dasal. Taimtim siyang magdarasal ng Taraweeh,
na doble o triple pa sa haba ng 5 pang-araw-araw na dasal. Ito ang
panahon na pinatitibay ang ugnayan ng aming pamilya at ng iba pang
miyembro ng pamayanan.
Hay naku. Wish ko lang na mas maraming Pilipino ang makaranas at maging
matapat sa konsepto ng Ramadan. Kung ganoon nga ay tiyak na mas uunlad
ang kalagayan ng Pilipinas. Dahil tuwing Ramadan, ano mang mabuting
makakamit sa pag-aayuno ay masisira ng limang bagay: pagsisinungaling,
pananakwil, huwad na sumpaan, paninirang puri at kasakiman. Therefore,
kapag nag-Ramadan ang mga taga-Malacañang at Batasan, baka mangayayat
sila sa dami ng babawiin nila sa pag--ayuno!
Ang happy ending ng pag-aayuno ay tatlong araw na pagdiriwang ng Eid-al-Fitr.
Edsa Shangri-La mall ang unang pinuntahan namin ni Lolo na may ganitong
handaan. Magaganda ang exhibit at masasarap ang pagkain. Maraming
dates, baklava at iba’t-ibang produktong galing Mindanao. Mababatid ang
kaligayahan sa mukha ng bawat isang dumalo.
Kaso, noong November 26, napakalungkot ng Eid-al-Fitr. Maliban sa
pagkakaroon ng mga make-up classes ng mga professor, pormal na
nagdeklara ng pagtakbo sa papalapit na eleksyon ang isang action star
na ga-kalingkingan lamang ang karanasan sa pamumuno.
Mapapabuntunghininga ka na lang talaga.
Ilang araw matapos ang Eid-al-Fitr, tinanong ko ang
Vice-President for Mindanao ng National Union of Students in the
Philippines, si Paul Omar Gangoso, kung ano ang kalagayan ng mga
Bangsamoro sa Mindanao. Mapait ang ngiti nang siya'y sumambit, “Hayun,
binabagsakan ng Howitzer bombs ang mga bahayan. Kanto-kanto ang mga
detachment at kampong militar, tigil ang kabuhayan ng mga Lumad at
iilan lang ang lugar na masasabi mong ligtas talaga. Siguro, mas
matindi rin ngayon ang diskriminasyong pabaon ng sobinismong Kristiyano
mula nang pumutok ang 9/11 at siyempre, ang paboritong tambakan ng
sisi, ang terorismo. Kesyo Muslim, terorista na daw, hindi pinag-iiba
ang mga lehitimong grupong may pinaglalaban sa mga bandidong Abu
Sayyaf.”
Kalunos-lunos ang sitwasyon ng mga Muslim sa kasalukuyang
panahon dala ng walang habas na militarisasyon. Halimbawa na lang ay
ang magsasakang si Samsudin Bago, isa sa mga pitong sibilyan na
inaakusahang MILF. Siya ay dinukot, labis na pinahirapan at pinugutan
ng mga militar sa Tabak Infantry Division ng Zamboanga del Sur
kamakailan lang. Sa Tangub City naman, tatlo ang nahuling NPA na wala
ng kakayahang lumaban. Sila’y walang awang pinaulanan ng bala, damay
pati ang mg sibilyan katulad ng isang batang babaeng wala pang
kamuwang-muwang.
“Mula nang maupo si GMA, tuloy-tuloy ang ganitong klase ng paglabag sa
mga karapatang pantao,” sabi ni Amirah Ali Lidasan ng Moro-Christian
People’s Alliance (MCPA). "Walang kaseryosohan sa pagharap sa mga kaso
ng pang-aabuso ng kanyang paboritong instrumento para busalan ang mga
naghihinaing. Ni hindi man lang alam ng mga tropang militar ang mga
kasunduang pangkapayapaan katulad ng Comprehensive Agreement on Respect
for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). Lasing
kasi si Erap nung linagdaan niya ito kaya hindi nakapagtataka na kahit
si GMA, ay walang pasubali sa mga probisyong nakasaad dito."
Kilo-kilometro na ang talaan ng mga kaso ngunit nakakadismaya pa rin
ang mga huwad na programang pangkapayapaan at pangkaunlaran na
inilalagak ng gobyerno doon. Parang may kalakip na disclaimer:
joke-joke-joke! sa nga programang ito. May paparating nang
International Monitoring Team (IMT) upang obserbahan ang usapang
pangkapayapaan at tigil-putukan sa pagitan ng MILF at GRP. Wish ko lang
na magtagumpay ito, kahit na sa totoo lang, palamuti lang ito ng mga
pulitiko dahil papalapit na ang eleksyon.
Sana hindi lang tuwing Eid-al-Fitr kinikilala ni GMA ang
kabuluhan ng mga pagdiriwang ng iba’t ibang relihiyon at paniniwala ng
mga nakikibakang mamamayan sa Pilipinas. Sana, hindi lang tuwing
Ramadan nailalatag ang mga hakbang tungo sa paghahanda ng pundasyon
para sa tunay na kapayapaan, katarungan at karapatang magsarili o yung
tinatawag na right to self-determination.
Kapag nagkaganito, hindi na kailangang magkaroon ng tunggalian
sa gitna ng iba’t-ibang tipo ng pagsamba at pakikibaka at hindi na rin
ako malilito sa pagitan ng pagiging Muslim o Kristiyano.
###############
para sa aking Lolo, si Ismael
"Kapitan Bagsik" Basa Salih. 1914-2000. Zamboanga City. Nagmamahal, ang
iyong munting prinsesang Moro. |
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[originally posted here in 2004]
Cordillera indigenous peoples this week joined the indictment of
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) for human rights
violations, economic plunder, and transgression of the Filipino
people’s sovereignty at the Italy-based International Permanent
People’s Tribunal (IPPT) at the University of the Philippine in
Diliman, Quezon City. This was simultaneously with the indictment at
The Hague, The Netherlands. “The
Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) participates as part of its actions
to gain justice for its martyrs killed during the GMA reign. The
killings is a national policy, where indigenous peoples are no spared,
not even innocent apoliticals”, said CPA Chairperson Beverly Longid.
Longid is also the vice chairperson of the Cordillera Human Rights
Alliance (CHRA).
The
CPA and the victims’ families have initially submitted the following
cases to be included in the indictment of human rights violations:
•
The killing of Rafael Markus Bangit on June 8, 2006 in Isabela
province. Bangit was respected tribal leader of the Malbong tribe of
Tabuk, Kalinga, and was also a peacepact holder for his tribe. He was
instrumental in forging peace and preventing tribal disputes between
and among tribes in Kalinga, through years of experience and skill as a
tribal leader and elder. He headed the Elders Desk of the CPA and was a
member of the CPA Regional Council. •
The killing of Jose Doton, a peasant leader in Pangasinan province, who
led the Pangasinan people’s struggle against the Japan-funded San Roque
Dam through the Tignay dagiti Mannalon a Mangwayawaya ti Agno (TIMMAWA
or Peasant Movement to Free the Agno River). The CPA has worked closely
with Doton in this campaign to save the land, life and resources of the
people in San Nicolas, Pangasinan, and the Ibaloi communities’ in
Itogon, Benguet. |
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