State of whose nation?

PHOTO: Progressive groups ganging up on the Fascist DuterTRAIN effigy to burn it as a symbolic gesture of protest against the oppressive and neoliberal policies of the US-Duterte regime. Photo by Marielle Domquil.

Although we were surprised to have not heard as much banter as we initially expected, President Duterte’s attempt to save face by appearing dignified and clean-cut during his speech was foiled by the blood on his hands. So here’s a run-down of what BAYAN Eastern Visayas thinks about President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address:

“Independent” foreign policy

Hypothetical is what we call it, this illusion of sovereignty Duterte wants the public to think we have.  The mere fact that Duterte would attempt to talk about “independence” when under his watch his government is surrendering our territorial integrity to the likes of China is evidence enough that his State of the Nation is a farce.

Insisting on a land use plan benched in congress for decades, but ironically his administration has done nothing to support and pass a genuine agrarian reform bill that necessitates the protection of agricultural lands under threat of conversion only to serve the interest of foreign markets. The regional development plan for Eastern Visayas specifically indicates that in the coming years, crop production should be hinged to support international demand rather than local consumption needs. Not only does this put a question mark over food security issues, this also highlights just how independent Duterte’s economic foreign policy is going to be.

Every day it will TRAIN

With the second package of TRAIN forthcoming, we now ask this question: Who will bare the brunt now that corporate income tax will be subject to generous reductions?  By transferring the tax burden to the Filipino people- not to mention disaster survivors still reeling from criminal neglect- this administration has essentially declared a “hands off” policy towards protecting the purchasing power of its own people. In all provinces of Eastern Visayas, the price of rice and other basic commodities has scored high in recent weeks. The pro-people packaging of TRAIN is factually bogus.

Federalism and Charter Change

Even after recent studies have shown that majority of Filipinos are not for a shift to Federalism, Duterte still presented and officially endorsed before congress the output of the Consultative Committee that drafted the new charter for Congress to approve. Saying the draft represents the entire Filipino people, the administration is confident that it will gain the support of both houses to have the draft passed and ratified within the year. But the truth is, public awareness is still exceptionally low with respect to what Duterte’s brand of Federalism entails, meanwhile his team of political wards have been making rounds in Palo and Tacloban city to hold surprise “consultations” before numerous crowds and irresponsibly calling it a reliable source of public approval towards the document.

Falling short of explaining what Federalism would give to the President in the form of privileges, congress is enjoined to believe that the re-election of Duterte should be given the go signal after it was enshrined by the ConCom that the sitting President may run for the same President again after the document has been ratified. Without doubt, the passage of the “Federal” constitution is nothing but an attempt to consolidate political power solely to Duterte.

Missed issues

Peace was not on the agenda, and we can expect that it wont be among the top priorities for legislation now that Duterte has utterly dismissed the urgency behind resuming peace talks with the NDF or has rejected in effect, the joint draft of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms. In Tacloban city, streamers from unknown individuals and groups are being fluttered around the streets calling for local peace talks, this is the brand of peace President Duterte wants fed to the throats of every Filipino. But when it comes to discussing the substantive agenda of the peace process which concerns reforms necessary at a national level, he is silent.

Other issues have also been prejudiced due to the lack of attention during the President’s SONA. An assessment of how Free Education has been implemented with him at the helm was lacking of his earlier speech or how the free irrigation law for peasants translate into an actual free irrigation system for places like Samar where 60 percent of all farmers rely on rainwater for their agri-production. President Duterte has also failed to discuss military led bombings in Mindanao and Eastern Visayas while he releases the go signal for state authorities to push through with their unrelenting campaign of violence and political persecution of anti-state forces.

Although we weren’t anticipating a public apology from a person as self-absorbed as the President, there is still a resounding need for him to discuss how much he has impacted Philippine culture and the dignity of Filipino women with his anti-women remarks in the past. Not only has he failed to make amends with them, he has also openly incited them to rise up against him.

State of whose nation?

Overall, the lingering question is this. Whose nation is Duterte referring to in his recently concluded SONA? Whose image of struggle-less society does he want to paint? Or should his report be taken as a figure of speech, meaning to refer to a specific demographic and not the nation, as a whole? Because if we check our facts the access of American plunderers to our country’s riches have been undaunted amid the growing number of people being pushed into the fringes of society. If in Samar, you speak of wealth, then you must be referring to the wealth your government has siphoned from all the bauxite and copper reserves your mining corporations have been unearthing from the land you call sovereign. If in this land of Waray and Cebuano speakers you say there is progress, perhaps you refer to the narrow ranging Waraynons who speak English over a cup of tea planning out where the next starbucks will be at. We really do not know whose State of the Nation that was, but it’s certainly not ours.

 The People United

While waiting for Duterte’s 3rd State of the Nation Address, forces from all corners of the region gathered at Rizal avenue to forge and conduct the United People’s SONA- a mobilization featuring all the anti-Duterte forces in Eastern Visayas, uniting over the cause to resist and repel the fascist US-Duterte regime amid political differences. The indications of a rising people’s resistance is coming to the fore, with even more unities being forged among the masses, the night will finally be trumped by the light of day!

Peace workers in Eastern Visayas rising against anti-peace rhetoric

The recent spate of killings and threats directed among the religious have prompted the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform and Kamurayawan: Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace to come up with its most recent leg of the ongoing campaign to have peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines resume. This, after Duterte lashed on the GRP negotiating panel for agreeing to a supposed “stand down” agreement where government troops would be forced to temporarily cease hostilities- This event prompted the indefinite postponement of the talks scheduled to resume this July.

In what the organizers call “the administration’s recent tirade against peace workers”, Duterte’s ire for human right activists bred in the church sector has forced religious and lay alike to voice out their condemnation of priest killings and the persecution of government critics.

“The resumption of peace talks is our bid to put an end to the injustice” said Father Allan Caparro, one of the gathering’s delegates.

During the forum entitled “Advancing Peace based on Justice”, the first two substantial agenda of the peace process were discussed: The Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms.

Discussions revolved around how the said documents were formed and what their impact were to the Philippines as a nation imperiled with uneven distribution of resources at the expense of the impoverished majority.

After Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas, one of the invited speakers on the CARHIHL, revealed the recent spate in HRVs nationwide, UCCP Bishop Jerome Baris called on all the religious and lay folk present to continue exposing the obvious disregard for human rights in the Philippines.

“Today, it is not just about human rights violations being an impediment to the peace process. We have reached the point where GRP forces are using human rights violations as a conscious measure to actively prevent the talks from happening.”

In attendance as well were representatives from the Order of Saint Benedict and the Iglesia Filipiniana Independiente who raised brows after noting the recent order from the Department of Justice to have CPP and NDF leaders rearrested in lieu of the indefinite suspension of talks.

Sister Edita Eslopor, one of the region’s top critics of extra-judicial killings, questioned the possibility of the talks ever resuming due to an unwilling government. Expressing the necessity of coordinated mass actions urging the administration to take the talks seriously, the benedictine nun stressed the importance of ground-level campaign efforts for the talks.

Among the principal demands of the gathering was the release of all political prisoners held hostage in government detention facilities. The forum featured the much awaited book launch of NDF consultant for Eastern Visayas, Edgardo Sarmiento of Northern Samar, entitled “Susmatanon” a children’s story book he wrote inside the maximum security cell housing him.

Delegates to the forum lined up to sign the book as a symbolic gesture in support of his freedom and the freedom of all other illegally detained persons due to trumped up charges filed by the state to suppress the exercise their civil and political rights.

The forum ended with in thunderous voices calling on an end to human right violations, the release of political prisoners and the resumption of peace talks now!

 

Abolition of PCGG, an insult to Sag-od massacre victims

Since 1981, the struggle for justice and reparations has been fought vigorously for the past three decades. For the victims, it was a positive sign that while there were still multitudes of claimants unincluded in the list formed by the Human Rights Violations Claims Board (HRVCB), more than eleven thousand victims would receive monetary reparations after their harrowing experience under the Marcos dictatorship. It seemed like only a matter of time until the list would be expanded to accommodate and consider even more cases nationwide.

But shortly after the elating news, the House of Representatives passes on its’ third reading, House Bill 7376 which seeks to abolish the Presidential Commission for Good Governance (PCGG), the agency tasked with recovering ill-gotten wealth of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and his family. Instead of the PCGG, the bill transfers the reacquisition of Marcos’ illegal riches at the hands of the Office of the Solicitor General.

For the victims of Martial Law, this comes as a low blow especially here in Eastern Visayas where one of the most internationally notorious massacres took place in a small barangay in Las Navas town, Northern Samar called Sag-od. The mass murder was commissioned by no less than the administration’s Defense Minister at the time, Juan Ponce Enrile who owned a large logging firm operating in the province. The military forces involved in the killing spate were initially tasked to protect Enrile’s logging operations but were convinced that the barrio folk were part of subversive groups. 45 people were killed while only 13 survived, 5 among whom were just children.

In 2017, Enriquita Obin who chaired the Justice for Sag-od Massacre Victims Movement expressed her earnest demand that the victims’ historic plight over the infamous Sag-od massacre be addressed by the government. Obin, who is not part of the current HRVCB list, is now compelled to place her share of the reparations’ future to the Solicitor General, Jose Calida, a man who has campaigned side by side with the Marcos camp in the 2016 Presidential Elections.

In essence, the Duterte-led supermajority in Congress has practically shoved off the shelf all hope for the victims to receive compensation promised by the state years ago. The abolition of the PCGG, though in itself was not a guarantee for justice, is tantamount to the administration’s implied declaration that it has no time for the decades-worth of impunity forcibly placed on the shoulders of the dictatorship’s victims.

BAYAN-Eastern Visayas strongly condemns this latest step by the national legislature and demand that such a bill be vetoed and stricken down by the President. In order to prove that such a decision wasn’t of his own work, he must block the piece of legislation from becoming law.

Only by doing this can he prove that he is for justice and public interest, otherwise the people of Eastern Visayas will take it as an insult to the already suffering locals of Sag-od and will hold the President accountable for taking steps that encourage historical revisionism and impunity.

Peaceful elections in Region 8, untrue says BAYAN Eastern Visayas

 

Armed police officers stationed in a checkpoint along a street in Calbayog City. Photo taken from Calbayog Journal.

 

Based on two reports, one from Police Regional Office 8 and a second from the 8^th Infantry Division, the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections held yesterday were generally peaceful.

According to Deputy Regional Director for Operations, PCSUPT Leonardo Ramos Suan, the elections held specifically in the first district of Samar province were generally peaceful. But as early as April 28, a candidate for barangay chairperson was killed in an ambush together with his father in barangay Cabacungan, Calbayog city.

Two local political giants also made headlines after they stood off against each other along the national highway just a few days before the election. Mayor Ronald Aquino and Vice-Governor Jim Tan were seen tailing each other’s convoys in barangay San Policarpio at midnight, May 12.

While there was no exchange of fire, the police blotters from both sides verify that there were attempts to intimidate and tail one another in the dead of the night.

Meanwhile, on May 11 uniformed men in full battle gear and high powered firearms paraded through barangay Capoocan in Calbayog city allegedly kicking on the doors of residences. In the same report, it was indicated that there were election-related killings in Upper Happy Valley area forcing some civilians there to evacuate.

Provincial senior superintendent Nicolas Torre, on the other hand, denies the allegations saying he was there supervising a mere visibility patrol but has yet to confirm the election-related violence in Upper Happy Valley or explained why there was a need to march more than 30 fully armed personnel in an unsuspecting village.

In Eastern Samar, the father of a candidate for the local elections was killed by armed men after being spotted carrying a large sum of money. The victim, a 77-year old Mario Elpedes, was shot dead in barangay Pinanag-on in Borongan city.

Lastly, a man dressed as a police officer was captured in Hinabangan, Samar on May 14 after going around barangay Binobokalan, campaigning for his relatives. Although he was arrested possessing only a toy gun, reports indicate that he was intimidating and harassing voters in the area.

Aside from the above-mentioned cases, there are scattered reports from different media outfits and from communities that have yet to be confirmed. This leads us to conclude that, contrary to the claims of security enforces, elections in the region have remained highly violent. This also means to say that the separately issued statements from the PRO 8 and Major Gen. Raul Farnacio of the 8th ID are either based on false/or a lack of reports or are coverups for the blatant election-related violence which transpired in the region in the past few days.

The Commission on Elections must conduct immediate investigations regarding these reports and hold the perpetrators accountable for tarnishing the democratic exercise of election participation by way of warlordism and the use of private armed groups, goons and criminal mercenary cliques at the expense of the voting public.

Oust Duterte, not Sereno

Statement of indignation over the ouster of Supreme Court

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno

 

 

We are issuing this strongly worded statement to decry the violation of due process stated in the constitution providing that impeachable government officials can only be removed from office by way of an impeachment trial.

We strongly condemn the ouster of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno in the form of the Quo Warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General. The fact that Sol Gen Jose Calida was the one who filed the petition earlier this year is clear evidence that the Duterte administration has a direct hand in the removal of the Chief Justice from her office. It is obvious that the Duterte government is attempting to avoid the fanfare and drama of a full-blown impeachment proceeding and opted instead to transfer the burden of removing Sereno through her own colleagues in the Supreme Court. By making it appear as though she was ousted by the wisdom of the highest court in the land, Duterte has effectively removed himself from the equation and has avoided flack from the wide array of people who stand by justice and the rule of law.

It is clear to us that Duterte is the principal author of the Chief Justice’s removal from office precisely because it is within his best interest especially now that he will have a wider majority in the high court once he appoints the new Chief Justice to take Sereno’s place. This is especially true now that it has become imperative for Duterte to have as tight a grip as ever over the Supreme Court in fear of being persecuted for his human rights violations once his immunity of suit wears off.

Today, we declare boldly that it is Duterte and not Sereno who should be ousted from public office. No other government official has stepped on the rights and welfare of the Filipino people than that of Duterte.

His criminal record of causing the death of thousands dwarfs even that of  Ferdinand Marcos. His treasonous toleration over the Chinese incursion on our sovereign waters merits public disgust. His incompetence over the management of basic social services and his inclination to favor corporate interest over the common good, all of these things mentioned above are enough to say with finality, that Duterte must step down from office. And if he will not, the people will take it from him.

Reference:

JOSHUA MUSICO SAGDULLAS

Secretary General

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-EV

09265974340

 

 

 

 

Militarizing the Civilian Bureaucracy under Duterte

Militarizing the civilian bureaucracy is integral to Duterte’s OPLAN Kapayapaan and the US Counter Insurgency Plan because in doing so, it fractures the ongoing effort to build the united front against criminal abuses committed by his regime.

We have witnessed it in 2017, when former AFP chief of staff and incumbent DENR secretary Roy Cimatu began work in arming Forrest Rangers and conducting joint forrest patrols with the Western Mindanao Command of the army.

Today, we see it once again in the ”military affiliation” memorandum released by the National Food Authority HR department compelling its employees to fill-up information sheets about themselves as part of the mandatory conscription process to the AFP.

Eastern Visayas is not new to these age-old plans to infiltrate public offices as part of its Integrated Territorial Defense System flooding universities, agencies and our streets with a comprehensive intelligence network. In the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College, a local bulwark of activism and progressive alliances among students and academic staff, a military detachment is based that has had a record of monitoring the activities of activists based in the college. 

The Multi-Sectoral Quick Reaction Team in Samar is another example, where in times of calamity local government units are used as the principle front of the 8th Infantry Division in entering conflict zones where they are conventionally not allowed to tread as per international humanitarian law.

We view this as a gradual but outright attempt to debase the civilian control over public agencies, offices and institutions in preparation for the unfolding dictatorship of the President. We strongly condemn these advances by the military to undermine the civil and political rights of unions in government agencies that have connected their demand for higher wages and better working conditions with the broad mass movement against Duterte’s neoliberal tirade and affront on human rights. Now, of all times, our unity is paramount and our solidarity, priceless.

Expose the militarization of the civilian bureaucracy!

Resist the Crackdown!

Oust the US-Duterte regime!

The road to an unrivaled Duterte

 

It is a wonder how the existing proposals filed in Congress detailing the amendments to the 1987 constitution could have ever been conceived. After all, the idea of the ruling class converging in mind and heart to surrender their control over government to a single man is nothing short of unthinkable. But that is precisely what the impending charter change promises: The dangerous possibility of Duterte becoming an unrivaled dictator for the next decade.

To be sure, there are two proposals that have with it an attached version of what the constitution would look like after the adjournment of the Constituent Assembly. The first is the Resolution of Both Houses no. 8 (RBH 8) and the PDP Laban Constitution. But either way, both are in support of or allows (1) excessive political centralization and encourages (2) all-out economic liberalization. It is frightening to imagine how these two things will translate into actual law and it will be the painstaking task of this article to elaborate.

Charter Change as a monstrosity

RBH 8 is the proposal at bar with the most scandalous and preposterous amendments. There is only one word to describe the impending charter change under the framework of RBH 8: Horrific. Horrific because the last time this kind of power was conferred to one person, more than 3000 people were killed while 34,000 were tortured. Today, the second person in history poised to receive this amount of power has already caused the death of more than 13,000 people and launched a massacre-campaign against activists nationwide even without said powers in the first place.

But what are these powers?

His word is law

Section 6, Article 18 of RBH 8 states that both the House of Representatives and the Senate will automatically be dissolved the moment the new constitution is ratified. Of course, RBH 8 also proposes in one of its articles the creation of a Federal Congress but up until that Congress is convened Duterte will have the power of legislation exclusively in the interim.

When the Federal Congress will be formed and the time targeted for its first session is a question we leave up to the speed of transition from one system of government to another. Still,  if the motivation behind section 6 is what we think it is then the Federal Congress will not be in a hurry to convene anytime soon.

To put it simply, Duterte is not only charged with implementing laws, under the new constitution he can now write them as well. Seems like a throwback to the time when Congress was abolished and Marcos had a presidential decree writing spree, but that’s precisely what it is- the return of Marcosian style legislation.

Setting the path for impunity

Not only does Duterte intend to abolish Congress (if only for the meantime), his cronies in congress are also giving him the power to reorganize if not completely overhaul the judiciary system.

Reorganization of courts means changing their jurisdiction. For example, if the present judiciary is reorganized then the jurisdiction of a division in the Court of Appeals could change from one set of regions to a smaller or larger set. In that respect especially when asserted by a President with both executive and legislative powers, reorganization will require the courtesy resignation of ALL members of the judiciary from the Supreme Court down to the lowest courts of the country.

The resignation of the entire judiciary is nothing short of giving Duterte the liberty to appoint all the new Justices of the Federal Supreme Court, the Regional Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan and the Regional Trial Courts. If this happens, there will be no sense in prosecuting Duterte once he steps down from power because he will be judged by his own appointees at all levels of the judiciary.

Pre-empting the United Front

The broadest united front against fascism and anti-people policies is the best step in scaring off a forthcoming dictatorship because it forces the weakest link among the ruling class to break off and side with the vast majority of people critical of the administration, fragmenting the unity Duterte needs among his allies as the single greatest requisite to get him what he wants. A divided ruling class makes it far more difficult to transition into full blown dictatorship.

But we cannot drive a dent into the ruling class’s unity if professionals and small businessmen don’t side with the basic masses against Duterte. That is why it has become the chief mission of the US-Duterte’s regime to make the formation of the united front impossible especially under RBH 8.

Because RBH 8 demands the reorganization of not only the courts but also of the constitutional commissions (The Commission on Elections, the Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Audit) and other government agencies duly abolished, the employees of these offices will also be displaced. RBH 8 however provides separate benefits for those employed under Congress and everyone else.

The employees of Congress affected by the abolition of the lower and upper houses are offered an enticing retirement package promising a regular government employee a separation fee in the amount of two and a half month’s salary multiplied by the years in government service on top of the usual benefits under the GSIS law.

Meanwhile non-Congressional employees affected by the reorganization process will only receive regular benefits. By doing so, the US-Duterte regime would have succeeded in dividing public opinion against the new constitution and would make it far more difficult for a massive uprising to mount against the gates of Malacanang.

Tearing down the Makabayan

The old electoral process provided a guaranteed number of seats (20 percent of the total) for party lists vying for a spot in the Lower House. This preferential treatment was intended to give marginalized sectors, represented by party lists, a better chance at being elected into Congress.

There is much debate about whether or not this is a good idea, after all the party list system of status quo has been the subject of much criticism from all sides. We believe the Movement Against Tyranny provides the best take on the matter:

“While it is true that the party list system has been hijacked by the rich and the powerful, the solution should have been to cleanse the party list system and strengthen it instead of abolishing it. Many of the people’s issues such as investigation of government corruption, abuse and violation of human rights, protesting against unjust electricity rate hike, high prices of fuel, water and other social services, and many other pro people’s issues have been carried by some progressive party list groups. They have remained credible, incorruptible and consistent in their pro people stand. These issues would not have come to the fore had there been no party list system.”

Essentially, without the preferential treatment our progressive and pro-people party lists will be forced to out-maneuver established and reactionary political groups representing nothing but their narrow class interest, possessing more resources and has favor with the US-Duterte regime.

Whats in it for the rest of the gang?

In the course of reading this article, readers are bound to detect the singular ultimate theme in the impending charter change- Give Duterte all the power. Not just more power, not just greater influence. All of it. Every last drop. That is perhaps the most intriguing element to this political move.

Why is Alvarez, Pimentel and the other stalwarts of PDP-Laban so excited to cede so much political capital and brute force to Duterte?

After all, it’s one thing to recognize that you’re leader is intolerant of dissent. It’s a completely different thing if you foresee yourself dissenting and making legal recommendations to mitigate that. We wonder whats running in the minds of our congressmen, the grandstanding and pompous members of the legislature, for agreeing to this model of government.

For one, we think its because of Congressional stalwarts’ repeated failure to amend the 1987 Constitution in order to remove the ”protectionist economic policies” preventing foreign ownership of land, preventing total foreign ownership of key industrial plants, corporations etc. and the barrier regulating foreign direct investments (FDIs). There were attempts during the time of BS Aquino and even more so in the time of Arroyo but they were unsuccessful. Even towards the end of 2017 Duterte called on Congress to fast track constitutional amendments allowing the unfettered influx of FDIs but to no avail.

One of things to consider is the historic fact that every attempt at Charter Change has always been met with massive public demonstrations from all parts of the country. Although they were organic and organized from the grass roots, the number of people participating in those campaigns since 1996 were used by a fraction of the political elite as a spring board for their political grandstanding against the administration.

We saw this when Corazon Aquino’s bet for her successor, Fidel Ramos, was met with thousands upon thousands of anti-cha cha protesters led by Aquino herself. Other notable attendees were then Vice-President Joseph Estrada and senator Gloria Arroyo.

Quite ironically, during the time of President Estrada, then vice-president Arroyo, and former president Corazon Aquino also joined forces against their past ally in his own attempt at charter change.

Then, the Liberal-clique of Mar Roxas positioned themselves well beside genuine anti-cha cha protesters when they launched their “No to Gloria-Forever Cha Cha”. It should be noted still that LP wasn’t strictly against Charter Change, in fact they drafted a resolution calling for one, but the idea of it happening under the administration they despised was unacceptable.

In other words, the country’s experience with charter change is riddled with small politically elite groups seizing the opportunity provided for by massive public outcry and organized dissent to forward their own agenda. The central government in effect becomes isolated, the most during the time of Arroyo, and becomes unable to push through with the amendments.

This collective and accumulated experience of the ruling class has taught them that in order to succeed, they must instead choose among themselves who they can cluster with and isolate the out layers. After the embarrassing electoral defeat of the Liberal Party as the de facto ruling party from 2010-2016, Duterte and the leaders of PDP-Laban has taken every effort to isolate them and what remains of their allies in the regions. Today, you will witness massive LP territories like in Iloilo and parts of greater Leyte being surrendered to PDP-Laban. The Presidency and its unmatched brutal reputation, its ill-regard for protocol and the rule of law was used as a general threat to the opposition as if to send a message: You are either with us or against us.

New converts were rewarded greatly. Budgetary allocations were promised, political favor and positions in government offered.

The ruling class is, in a sense, at its “best behavior” under the US-Duterte regime. But even if the political center is fond of issuing threats against their opposition, similar events in the past have shown great examples where these smaller factions in the ruling class fight back. But because by now they have realized that the gains of RBH 8 is of paramount importance, they tolerate the excessive centralization without realizing they are reducing their influencing and losing their grip over Philippine politics.

This is what we have to maximize

Now is the time to strike. As the ruling class unwittingly surrenders their strongholds and resources to a single person, the reactionary government gains strength at face value but loses its resilience against the full-force of the people’s democratic movement that is now encircling them from the margins. Unbeknownst to them, PDP-Laban has singled out Duterte as the main target when in the past there were countless. It is clear that we must isolate Duterte from all the rest and deface the iron mask to reveal the rotting and fragile man underneath.

We must dismantle Federalism as the facade for totalitarian rule and expose RBH 8 as the ultimate expression of neoliberalism and its inevitable twin, fascist dictatorship.

It is easy to enable the patriotic sensibilities of the middle class and their progressive tendencies in times where there are obvious threats against their civil liberties. If we widen public consciousness over the repercussions of a single man-government, we can unite them with the basic masses and we can effectively gather multitudes of people and mobilize them at an extraordinary rate to finally call for the ouster of the US-Duterte regime!

We cannot afford any more delays. We must crush the attempt to pass the new charter, we must nip it in the bud and prevent it from taking root. We must present our parallel to the proposed charter, the Comprehensive Agreement for Social and Economic Reforms. By now, the provisions and content of CASER would have already proven more superior compared to the provisions and content of the new charter in all aspects! We must propagate this fact that our program may take root in the hearts and minds of the toiling masses, to give them a sense of ownership over it, to identify its non-passage as a rejection of their democratic interest and to associate the ouster of Duterte and his ilk as concomitant to the rise of a new and better country.

No to Charter Change!

Oust the US-Duterte regime!

We need China? That’s the problem.

Have we reached a point where Malacanang is no longer compelled to posture itself as an instrument of national interest? Is the ruling class so confident in its endeavors, is it so certain of its estimated strength, that it can afford to bargain off our exclusive rights as a nation and openly declare the lack of sovereignty over our own waters?

Harry Roque announced yesterday that the official position of our government towards the incursion of Chinese research vessels in Benham Rise and quite possibly, other parts of our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZs) is a simple thumbs up. The government leadership has given the go signal for all out territorial liberalization at an unprecedented scale, from signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States to announcing our incapacity to exploit our own resources after international bodies and neighboring countries have recognized our right to do so. It is extremely disappointing that we take another step back in asserting our patrimony after decades of unfettered subservience. The difference with the current administration is that it is unapologetic about its inclination towards the surrender of our rights. Duterte does not even have the decency to pretend that the ”mutual cooperation” he strives for is on ”equal terms”. Instead he explains himself by doing the exact opposite and exposing our country’s incapability to manage our own resources and make a stand against international bullies.

All of this, of course, is operating under the background of a multi-billion peso Chinese loan program that is soon to be accessed by the Presidency. The jewel to Duterte’s economic thrusts: His Build Build Build, is a rampage that will almost entirely be funded by the One Belt One Road initiative by China. Not only is Duterte preoccupied with clashing against the world’s biggest economy, he is also at the risk of losing his biggest funder if he so much as takes a step out of line.

The repercussions for speaking out against China? Very little for the Filipino people. The Chinese need the Philippine economy more than ever especially that it has experienced economic stagnation in recent years but is increasing production at an abnormally large rate. It needs an economy with a large market for consumer goods to pour in its surplus capital otherwise China will collapse as the United States has in its rich history of capitalist crisis. But for Duterte, the consequences are dire. Not only is he rapidly losing popular support for his anti-drug campaign, approval for his Martial Law in Mindanao and gaining flack for his tyrannical hunt against peasant-activists, indigenous people and human rights workers, his economic policies under the impetus of neoliberalism is also under wide criticism by the middle class, his leading class buffer. The infrastructure he promised to the public is his Marcos-styled strategy of presenting ”concrete” advances in our economy. His edifices will be his only chance at succeeding in the lie that we are making important strides under his rule. But without China all of this will be impossible.

Our desperation as a people for Chinese aid is synthetic, imagined and illusory. It is a strategy to present a dependency model with an Asian flavor, making it seemingly less foreign and making it easier to present an ”oriental solidarity” against Western Imperialism. Under these conditions we are tempted to forget; China is itself an Imperialist threat and it should not be the attitude of sovereign states to choose between Imperialist powers and who to consider as their official master on the basis of proximity and short-term gains.

But Duterte’s need for China is real. It is a specter that looms over his regime. A haunting image of a humongous hand hovering over him. And so, he packages the horror of Chinese capital and presents it to the country in an attempt at self-preservation. He asserts that Chinese aid is an utmost necessity to the regular Filipino like how a salesman would to a customer. But like any market transaction, when we are aware that consent is manufactured, we can spring the trap before it gets us and freely decline.

Extension, Expansion and Expedition

Earlier today, the Joint-Session of Congress approved with utmost fervor the extension of Martial Law until the end of 2018 or December 31 of next year. Throughout the interpolation, the few representatives who voiced out opposition to the administration’s thrust questioned why the extension needed to go on for an entire year when the Armed Forces of the Philippines had declared the terrorist threat in Marawi decimated and scattered into insignificant portions throughout the whole of Mindanao last October 24. True enough, a year-long extension merits controversy especially when we talk about money matters.

Extending Martial Law is also an extension of war spending!

Martial Law in Mindanao is still in operation today, practically just six months since May 23, but has been estimated to have cost 6 billion pesos of government funds already. Meanwhile, assessments on post-war rehabilitation costs now amount to over 98 billion pesos as announced by the local government of Marawi without consideration to the damages caused to environmental resources and communities with public infrastructure such as schools elsewhere in Mindanao. These have all been imperiled by non-stop aerial bombings by the Philippine Air Force during the height of military rule. One can imagine the cost it would take to rebuild countless communities that will be the subject of a war government forces will be waging against communist insurgents in the coming months.

As government prepares to allocate a large sum of money for the impending bloodbath, only 2000 families displaced by the war in Marawi have been promised housing units in relocation sites while more than 400,000 evacuees have yet to return back to their home city. The rest of Mindanao are mired in deep poverty due to lack of basic social services and the billions derived from the environmental plunder of the vast mineral resources of the island have yet to benefit the southern regions of our country. As we take a closer look into the extension and its financial implications, we unravel the systematic injustice and criminal neglect of this administration over their constituents in Mindanao.

 

Expanded to include more than just terrorists

At first, when Duterte declared Martial Law in Mindanao his National Defense secretary let slip that the New People’s Army were part of the list of groups to be persecuted. This statement was made while the 4th Round of Peace talks with the National Democratic Front was underway, proving bad for the reputation of the Government panel. As part of their damage control effort, Malacanang repeatedly asserted that the New People’s Army was not part of those to be targeted under a state of Martial Law and that Maute rebels were the main focus of the military. But now that the peace talks has unilaterally been cancelled by the Duterte administration and proclamation 360 includes the New People’s Army as part of the long line of terrorist organizations in the Philippines, it has now become easier for the government to request congress for an extension in Martial Law while still maintaining the threat of terrorism as the primary justification.

In other words, Martial Law has not only been extended it has also been expanded to include a whole new group of people sharing no ideological, organizational or historic similarity with true-born terrorist groups. As an excuse not to attend to the democratic aspirations of a people in full revolt, the government compounds communist rebels with bandits and murderers in order to mitigate public dismay over the extension. Is Martial Law still a last resort against terrorism? Or is it now part of an elaborate counter-insurgency program? Then again, and when you put deep thought into it, the Maute group was never truly the state’s long-term enemy. The war in Marawi was a necessary step towards the grand war the AFP has always longed far. The war against the New People’s Army needed to be unfettered and widely supported by the infrastructure of Military rule in order for it to be successful. Everything unfolding today is part of that narrative. Thus, the expansion of scope.

Wild fishing expedition forthcoming!

Now that Congress in joint session has voted 240-27 in favor of the extension/expansion of Martial Law in Mindanao, all in a span of just 5 hours, the military has finally acquired their gate pass to massacre peasant communities they think are NPA controlled villages. In the cities, the military and police will be in a state of frenzy victimizing legal activists and community organizers with trumped up charges and outright cases of intimidation or even assault in order to suppress dissent and posture Mindanao as a bastion of peace in an era of military rule!

A fishing expedition will take place, where intelligence officers will undertake a massive psy war against the people of the south. People with vocal opinions against the state will be tailed and even private conversations among peers will be monitored, all as a function of Martial Law. Anything remotely sounding subversive will be branded terrorist-inclined and will be persecuted or even killed.

The War is coming

Make no mistake, the war is coming and although the staging ground is in Mindanao portions of it will be waged in all parts of the country. In Eastern Visayas, four more battalions are going to be deployed in the coming year to combat insurgency while thousands of evacuees are growing hungry and sick. Cases of harassment and the suppression of civil and political rights are popping up from different parts of the Philippines since November. Simply put, Duterte is no longer exclusively concerned with terrorists or communist rebels, he is now in a mission to quell the broad masses whom we claims to serve. The extension, expansion and the expedition to follow are all indicators revealing who Duterte truly serves and a wild guess tells us its not the people.

BAYAN-EV convenes 5th Congress amid terror mark

Tacloban City- Militant groups from around the region gathered in the Cawaksi Training Center last December 10 to partake in the 5^th Regional Congress of BAYAN Eastern Visayas.

Despite the ongoing threat of crackdown launched after Duterte’s proclamation 360 declaring communists as terrorists alongside suspected conspirators, the Congress went on undeterred and successfully convened 16 out of the 22 member-organizations in the region.

In the gathering’s plenary session, the Congress passed 10 resolutions from different sectoral organizations and provincial delegations that were passed unanimously by the body. Specifically, the resolutions were the following:

• Resolution calling for the abolition of contractualization and the passing of a national minimum wage by Kilusang Mayo Uno
• Resolution for BAYAN-Eastern Visayas to join in the nationwide Bungkalan campaign of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas by Sagupa Sinirangan Bisayas
• Resolution for the formation of human rights teams in all provinces of Eastern Visayas by Sagupa Sinirangan Bisayas
• Resolution for BAYAN-Eastern Visayas to launch a campaign against ongoing fascist attacks against the youth and the people by Anakbayan
• Resolution for BAYAN-Eastern Visayas to condemn the criminal neglect of the Duterte administration towards the youth sector while strengthening its war against the people
• Resolution calling on the withdrawal of the military from international zones of peace and the raising of basic salaries for teachers by Alliance of Concerned Teachers (Body resolved to split the document in two: one specifically calling for the withdrawal of the military and a second one calling on a salary-hike for teachers nationwide)
• Resolution calling for an end to the looming Jeepney Modernization Program and the formation of a regionwide commuters’ alliance by Piston
• Resolution enjoining BAYAN to be a convener to the Stand with Samar campaign of Northern Samar for the year 2018 by the Northern Samar delegation
• Resolution condemning the ongoing privatization of the Leyte Metropolitan Water District by KADAMAY
• Resolution urging the organizations under BAYAN-EV to demand for the delivery of basic social services in the urban poor communities of the Tacloban Northern Resettlement Sites.

Anakbayan presents resolution before the 5th Congress

Congress delegates raise their hands during the election proper of the plenary session

The Regional Executive Committee (REC) of the 4^th Congress also turned over the ropes after the Congress elected the 5^th REC with Gerardo Abalos of Kilusang Mayo Uno as the 5^th Chairperson of BAYAN-EV while UCCP pastor and Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) member Cesar Tumandao was elected as the regional vice-chairperson. Meanwhile, Joshua Sagdullas was elected head of the General Secretariat and former secretary general Rey Miranda takes on the role of Popular Struggles director. The youth sector also asserted a formidable presence in the new REC after League of Filipino Students chairperson Kurt Teraza was elected deputy secretary general, Anakbayan chairperson Mira Legion as the education committee head and Lyka Sembrero of Gabriela-Youth as head of campaigns. Atan Urmaneta, acting president of Alliance of Concerned Teachers was named Finance Officer while Piston’s Nita Namenor and Katigurangan’s Alberto Ada were elected auditors. Noted peasant leader and SAGUPA secretary general Jun Berino was likewise elected committee head of organization. The new officers will serve a term of three years until the 6^th Regional Congress is convened in 2020.

The new Regional Executive Committee being sworn into office by the 1st and 4th Chair of BAYAN-EV, Res Salvatierra and Flor Acbo respectively.

The 5th Chairperson of BAYAN-EV, Jerry Abalos, giving a message to the Congress

In the duration of the program, several delegates were given the opportunity to voice out the desperation they face under the framework of neoliberal economic policies that result in state neglect and mounting militarization. Delegates from the province of Leyte revealed an ongoing food blockade against upland communities in Burauen. Northern Samar representatives talked of military-sponsored radio stations actively attacking human rights workers and peasant-activists in the region’s poorest province. Even youth members organizing in Tacloban City also recalled of many instances where their urban poor chapters were being monitored by unidentified personnel. Based on what the Congress referred to as a ‘de-facto Martial law’, the new REC enjoined the alliance to come together under BAYAN’s banner in the Human Rights day mobilization the following day which targeted the call to oust President Duterte.

Baybay city delegate expressing frustration over the ongoing militarization in Southern Leyte

The body resolved to fight the looming dictatorship of President Rodrigo Duterte especially now under growing security threats thrown at legal activists in Eastern Visayas for vocally pointing out prevailing poverty born out of criminal negligence and an unprecedented rise of rights violations committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Towards the end, the 5^th Congress adjourned with the delegation shouting the 5-decade old adage: Makigbisog, ayaw kahadlok!

 

 

 

 

BAYAN-EV convenes 5th Congress amid terror mark

Tacloban City- Militant groups from around the region gathered in the Cawaksi Training Center last December 10 to partake in the 5^th Regional Congress of BAYAN Eastern Visayas.

Despite the ongoing threat of crackdown launched after Duterte’s proclamation 360 declaring communists as terrorists alongside suspected conspirators, the Congress went on undeterred and successfully convened 16 out of the 22 member-organizations in the region.

 

In the gathering’s plenary session, the Congress passed 10 resolutions from different sectoral organizations and provincial delegations that were passed unanimously by the body. Specifically, the resolutions were the following:

• Resolution calling for the abolition of contractualization and the passing of a national minimum wage by Kilusang Mayo Uno
• Resolution for BAYAN-Eastern Visayas to join in the nationwide Bungkalan campaign of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas by Sagupa Sinirangan Bisayas
• Resolution for the formation of human rights teams in all provinces of Eastern Visayas by Sagupa Sinirangan Bisayas
• Resolution for BAYAN-Eastern Visayas to launch a campaign against ongoing fascist attacks against the youth and the people by Anakbayan
• Resolution for BAYAN-Eastern Visayas to condemn the criminal neglect of the Duterte administration towards the youth sector while strengthening its war against the people
• Resolution calling on the withdrawal of the military from international zones of peace and the raising of basic salaries for teachers by Alliance of Concerned Teachers (Body resolved to split the document in two: one specifically calling for the withdrawal of the military and a second one calling on a salary-hike for teachers nationwide)
• Resolution calling for an end to the looming Jeepney Modernization Program and the formation of a regionwide commuters’ alliance by Piston
• Resolution enjoining BAYAN to be a convener to the Stand with Samar campaign of Northern Samar for the year 2018 by the Northern Samar delegation
• Resolution condemning the ongoing privatization of the Leyte Metropolitan Water District by KADAMAY
• Resolution urging the organizations under BAYAN-EV to demand for the delivery of basic social services in the urban poor communities of the Tacloban Northern Resettlement Sites.

Anakbayan presents resolution on

Congress delegates raise their hands during the election proper of the plenary session

The Regional Executive Committee (REC) of the 4^th Congress also turned over the ropes after the Congress elected the 5^th REC with Gerardo Abalos of Kilusang Mayo Uno as the 5^th Chairperson of BAYAN-EV while UCCP pastor and Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) member Cesar Tumandao was elected as the regional vice-chairperson. Meanwhile, Joshua Sagdullas was elected head of the General Secretariat and former secretary general Rey Miranda takes on the role of Popular Struggles director. The youth sector also asserted a formidable presence in the new REC after League of Filipino Students chairperson Kurt Teraza was elected deputy secretary general, Anakbayan chairperson Mira Legion as the education committee head and Lyka Sembrero of Gabriela-Youth as head of campaigns. Atan Urmaneta, acting president of Alliance of Concerned Teachers was named Finance Officer while Piston’s Nita Namenor and Katigurangan’s Alberto Ada were elected auditors. Noted peasant leader and SAGUPA secretary general Jun Berino was likewise elected committee head of organization. The new officers will serve a term of three years until the 6^th Regional Congress is convened in 2020.

The new Regional Executive Committee being sworn into office by the 1st and 4th Chair of BAYAN-EV, Res Salvatierra and Flor Acbo respectively.

The 5th Chairperson of BAYAN-EV, Jerry Abalos, giving a message to the Congress

In the duration of the program, several delegates were given the opportunity to voice out the desperation they face under the framework of neoliberal economic policies that result in state neglect and mounting militarization. Delegates from the province of Leyte revealed an ongoing food blockade against upland communities in Burauen. Northern Samar representatives talked of military-sponsored radio stations actively attacking human rights workers and peasant-activists in the region’s poorest province. Even youth members organizing in Tacloban City also recalled of many instances where their urban poor chapters were being monitored by unidentified personnel. Based on what the Congress referred to as a ‘de-facto Martial law’, the new REC enjoined the alliance to come together under BAYAN’s banner in the Human Rights day mobilization the following day which targeted the call to oust President Duterte.

Baybay city delegate expressing frustration over the ongoing militarization in Southern Leyte

The body resolved to fight the looming dictatorship of President Rodrigo Duterte especially now under growing security threats thrown at legal activists in Eastern Visayas for vocally pointing out prevailing poverty born out of criminal negligence and an unprecedented rise of rights violations committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Towards the end, the 5^th Congress adjourned with the delegation shouting the 5-decade old adage: Makigbisog, ayaw kahadlok!

Martial Law and the issue of checks and balances

Today, both houses will meet in joint-session to rail road the extension of Martial Law. The recommendation made by the AFP came mid-November and an endorsement from the House speaker was publicized to smoothen its eventual approval. Its impossible to fathom what justification congressional leaders will think of this time now that the terrorist scourge of the Maute group has long been decimated alongside the heritage of the Philippine’s Islamic capital. The last time they extended Martial Law they did it for more than a hundred and fifty days. It’s frightening to think of how long Congress intends to prolong military rule in the southern Philippines now that the President calls on a year-long leeway to position more troops in Mindanao in lieu of proclamation 360, tagging Filipino communists as terrorists. Does Duterte intend to use Martial Law as his principle weapon against the left-led insurgency in the South? Obviously. And he intends to generate public support for Martial Law by running it by Congress as a sort of democratic fragrance to mask the inevitable atrocities that will be committed by his military there.

But why does Congress lend itself so easily to the President?

Times like these have proven that our system of checks and balances is not just limited but an outright expression of class interest, it operates at best in times when a fraction of the elite mobilize against another. The impeachment of Joseph Estrada for instance was a time of political turmoil for the ruling class because they were caught between joining the establishment or riding on the popular opinion against the administration, proving to be the more decisive consideration public opinion had tipped the scales of politics to prompt the impeachment proceedings to go full swing. The administration of Noynoy Aquino is also a good example, the numerous opposition groups against the Liberal block in both the lower and upper houses of Congress caused a lively debate on every single issue under the sun and when televised or listened to on air, such instances can be mistaken for democracy at work.

But what if the opposition is insignificant or virtually powerless? What if the resolutions they pass and the bills they author can be shelved and rescheduled for hearing some other time in the year until it eventually disappears in the vast records of Congress? What if any dissenting opinion, however brilliantly written, can be brushed off with an impeachment case? And what If the bulk of the ruling class is united under one fascist dictator?

We find it hard to believe that under these circumstances, checks and balances will still work. Under this political climate, the constitutional safeguards serve only as a mere formality. The extension of Martial Law can be made arbitrarily provided it has the go signal of the legislative, the factual basis of Martial Law can be questioned but so long as the Supreme Court upholds its factuality, it can and will be extended. Never mind the fact that congressional stalwarts are Duterte’s lapdogs, never mind the fact that the Supreme Court is hellbent on expelling their leader to vacate the position of chief justice for themselves. So long as procedure is followed, any decision resulting from procedural compliance is valid and has the full force of law.

But what about substance? Have we forgotten that the law is not rigid and hollow? That the substance of the law is itself, the common good? That it shouts of justice and defends against the unjust? Times like these make us understand that our leaders really don’t care about indigenous people dying or Muslims being wrongfully persecuted or harassed. They really don’t care about farmers being murdered and activists being abducted. All of these are mere details they find inconvenient to memorize just so they can say some words for the press or a constituency they’re scheduled to meet. What they do care about is their preservation. Thus, the law is created in the image and likeness of those who write it and for so long a time, it has been written almost exclusively by the ruling class.

All that being said, Martial Law will get its rubber stamp from Congress today as if to confirm that our legal system is destroying our democracy. Hope, however, has yet to be lost. Even in the most fragile of democracies or the most backward countries, people are always capable of overthrowing tyrants and disciplining abusive government officials. Our rich history of revolution can attest to the fact that the single greatest mechanism for checks and balances in the Philippines is a united people willing to act and fend off fascist dictatorship wherever it may creep or hope to thrive.

The Marcos dictatorship shares an eerie similarity with today’s situation. A connivance among the three branches of government was all but apparent and our system of checks and balances, down the drain. But what made the dictatorship collapse to the ground were the people hammering at the gates of Malacanang and stomping at every major thoroughfare in the country. In other words, we are taught of the final blow that must be dealt when our government fails us, our civil and political rights must be exercised in order to fulfill our responsibility of defending our people against the pretenders to illegitimate power.

Fighting against the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao is the genuine expression of our checks and balances!

A war on all fronts, a war he cannot win

Months have passed since Duterte first made the proposition that there is a concerted effort being made against him by the mainstream Left, the Liberal Party, international governments and even terrorist organizations intended to destabilize his government to serve as a prelude for his eventual overthrow.

His administration’s response has been comprehensive. On top of operating a host of online warriors ready to curb online opinion in major social media sites, government agencies have also supported pro-Duterte coalitions like the Citizen’s National Guard which have received the patronage of the Department of Justice and the Public Attorney’s Office in terms of resources and machinery. According to DOJ Secretary Aguirre, one of the lead conveners of the CNG, destabilization is by definition dissent, indicating that any opinion or position that is contrary to that of the administration is essentially made to throw the presidency off balance.

He broke down the pillars of the Liberal Party in every province to ensure a hegemony of political power for PDP-Laban, the party to which he is the national chairman and demonized the old guards of the Liberal Party to prevent any possibility of a political comeback. In fact, his effort to absorb the LP’s members into one supermajority in government has been so effective that he’s even been able to get the Romualdez’ and the Petilla’s, mortal enemies in the Eastern Visayas political scene to jump ship from their past allegiances and into the PDP-Laban pool, something that the Arroyo and Aquino administrations have miserably failed in.

In terms of controlling the media, steps have been taken to prevent live coverage of his public speeches so that he can go on with his incoherent tirade and personal rants without any fear of being quoted and have his statements sensationalized the following day. For those major media outfits that do cover his blunders, he’s made sure to publicly shame and attack- playing down their credibility or downright accusing them of conspiracy to drive a dent into Malacanang’s popular image.

But among his greatest thrusts, owing largely to the fact that their capacity for on-ground mobilization is of considerable strength, is Duterte’s falling out with the underground leftist movement in the Philippines. The ongoing war against the longest running Maoist rebellion in the world  has resulted into a piling number of defeats for the Armed Forces- news of successful tactical offensives being waged by the New Peoples Army is surfacing everyday in almost every region of the country.  The mounting defeats of a demoralized army has perhaps prompted his military advisers to lobby for the termination of peace talks with the National Democratic Front, who has been investigating abuses committed by the military under the framework of international humanitarian law, as a member of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the NDF and the GRP.  The administration’s exodus from the talks means that the military can finally consider itself free from the bondage of agreements made such as the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law which has been used as a basis for alleging crimes by the military. Although technically the GRP is still compelled to abide by the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which protects key persons involved in the talks, even after the formal termination itself, the military is not bound by any moral code to uphold agreements it already considers null and void despite its post-termination validity. For the commanders of the AFP, it is sufficient that the possibility of an alliance between rebels and the incumbent regime has been brought to a close.

Duterte’s branding of Maoist rebels as terrorists is an added bonus to the AFP. This declaration opens all sorts of opportunities for the military in their pursuit of communists, employing methods of killing and torture which otherwise would have been frowned upon had they been hunting down rebels with a legitimate cause. As it so happens, there is no uproar on the manner with which terrorists are dealt with even from the most vigilant of international human right groups and benevolent states. And although the military has never really payed that much consideration to the rules of war in the past, they may now act with significantly less trepidation and caution.

Enemies on all fronts

By destroying the yellow opposition, discrediting the media, mobilizing government agencies to fund administration support groups and declaring an all-out war against the Left Duterte thinks he can overcome the impending tremors to his regime. But the fact of the matter is, he has declared war with so many people and groups that he essentially faces enemies on all fronts.

Unfortunately for Duterte, amid successfully dismantling the national machinery of the Liberal Party the remainder of the Aquino-led faction in government is also composed of some of the richest and most powerful people in politics: The Cojuanco-Aquinos of Tarlac, Roxas of Negros, Drilon of Panay and a unique alliance with Antonio Trillanes who apparently is part of a small-yet influential- clique inside the Armed Forces which may be the reason why he isn’t being subjected the full wrath of the administration unlike in the case of Leila Delima who was arrested earlier this year on drug wraps. Their unholy alliance with pseudo-progressive groups like Akbayan makes an available running point for politicians who may consider leaving PDP-Laban in case the tide of popular opinion turns sour for Duterte.

Discrediting national media outlets may have helped water down a number of his senseless remarks as nothing more than ”irresponsible journalism”, but information is information and while his communications team can filter what the media can catch him say when he goes off topic in his speeches, he can’t stop them from documenting the failure of his policies or the lack of it.

As for the Left, well based on the history of our country, no one has ever won against them since the time of their re-founding in the 1960s.

In other words, if Duterte manages not to get ousted in the next five years he can expect charges being filed left and right, maybe even in the International Criminal Court for his brutal drug war which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives. Surveys have indicated that his popularity is steadily decreasing and by the time his term ends, if government doesn’t resolve broad issues like traffic woes, extrajudicial killings and mining concessions, PDP-Laban will just be another Liberal Party come elections in 2021.

So Duterte has to prepare and in fairness to him, he’s doing a good job at it too.

Cementing the support of the ruling class and the military

He’s maximized his ASEAN Chairmanship by winning the favor of economic giants like China, Japan and the United States to augment the national budget and fund his mega infrastructures to make major construction companies’ mouths water with excitement. His emphasis on the service sector by asking congress to remove constitutional barriers on foreign investment means an influx in foreign capital for all sorts of ventures that brings the upper strata of the business class to heel. He’s secured donations from the United States (101 million dollars to be exact) last week to fund military exercises, and counter-insurgency operations to impress the ruling faction of the AFP. House Speaker Alvarez and his other puppets in Congress have even drafted a bill bloating the starting salary of police officers and soldiers from a measly 14,834.00 pesos all the way up to 29,668.00 pesos and potentially that of special police officers and generals on top off promising thousands of free housing units as benefits to combatants.

Checks and Balances?

Securing alliances also means removing constitutional checks and balances. The Supreme Court has the power to strike down policies and laws incoherent with the constitution via judicial review. The Ombudsman can investigate cases of graft, plunder and corruption among government officials, ranking employees and other public servants. The Commission on Human Rights can look into abuses committed by state agencies like the military or the police against unsuspecting civilians and communities in conflict zones. These three agencies are some of the most important constitutional safeguards built in to supposedly protect the Filipino people from the excesses of government power. But how are they faring against the Duterte regime? Are they able to temper the whims of a would-be fascist dictatorship?

While  Duterte has a Supreme Court that arguably has the same political inclinations as he does, interpreting the law rigidly and without respect to who that law is for, there are some of its members who have been fond of issuing dissenting opinions against the majority. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno who is one of the youngest magistrates in the Supreme Court has had a reputation for voting against Duterte’s support for the bail of Enrile, the factual basis for the declaration of martial law and even the legitimacy of the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos’ burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, all of which have had a pivotal role in shaping the image of Duterte to the public. On top of voting against the aforementioned moves, the 57-year old chief justice still has more than a decade left before she is required to retire at the age of 70 which is problematic for a President so attuned to the idea of having no one question his decisions.

Today, the chief justice is on the process of being impeached by the House of Representatives. Looking into what we already know about the proceedings, its clear that the complainant Lorenzo Gadon has no personal knowledge with respect to the bases he cited for filing the case. However, with statements from the House Justice Committee threatening to order the arrest of the chief justice and the hand Malacanang plays in the charges themselves, its clear that the fishing expedition presently ongoing in the House committee is nothing but a plot to take down a powerful voice from inside the judiciary, a voice who has had also spoken out against President Duterte’s war on drugs.

In the middle of this year, Congress approved 1000.00 Php for the 2018 Budget of the Commission on Human Rights and Duterte himself called on Chair Chito Gascon to resign. Similar steps have also been taken on the Office of the Ombudsman after Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered the investigation of Duterte’s alleged ill-gotten wealth in the past.

It is very clear now that Duterte is intent to bring  these constitutional bodies to heel for their opposition to his programs.

Doomed to Fail

Realizing he cannot raise approval ratings without stopping his war on drugs, and because he relies so much on the PNP for support because of the Trillanes-led divide in the AFP, he is forced to resort to a last ditch effort in saving himself and quite possibly his family. Whether it takes its form in a revolutionary government or the declaration of nationwide martial law is still unclear, but whatever the case, we can expect something of that nature is bound to come up and it will be the driving force which will be his own undoing. Unlike Ferdinand Marcos, who sustained nationwide martial law decades due to unrivaled support from the military, Duterte cannot claim he has the same level of control as the late dictator. Even the AFP backed Magdalo party has reservations with how Duterte runs the country. And Cory Aquino kept her revolutionary government long enough to preserve her a six year term because she just won the support of millions of Filipinos. Duterte must realize he doesn’t have either of those key elements, and unless he doesn’t find a way to attain such he isn’t staying in power for long.

In their quest to monopolize power, fascists end up only having themselves. Had Duterte realized the key in staying in power is when you receive the approval of the people, no amount of international pressure or no number of coup d’etats would succeed against him. Had he stayed true to his socialist path, he would have found himself surrounded by the people ready to defend him had the real destabilization plot taken place.

 

 

What would happen if the crackdown goes full swing?

The moment President Duterte sets his crackdown against legal progressive organizations like BAYAN, he will have essentially declared an all-out war on unarmed civilians and innocent people working in good faith for fundamental economic reforms.

Behind the President is an unrepentant military resembling a rabid dog muzzled from a hunt, but with the kind of President we have under Rodrigo Duterte, who is unashamed to be referred to as a fascist and is public about his inclinations for dictatorship the higher echelons of the military will jump at the chance to set their battalions loose on a discontented people, beginning with militant and patriotic groups who have consistently been the greatest impediment to their abuses.

The people will not take this attack lightly. With the termination of peace talks between the GRP and the National Democratic Front and the way it was announced by Malacanang, all hope of restructuring our outdated and oppressive economic and political system is virtually gone. What will happen next if organizations who are practically the best at representing their sectors suddenly have their members abducted from their offices at night or arrested in broad daylight? What will happen if Gabriela, the vanguard to women’s rights and welfare in the country, were to suddenly be tagged as terrorists? Or if Piston, the only transport group in the country that has had any serious study of jeepney modernization programs, oil price hikes and other transport qualms, were to have members arrested in the middle of a national highway? What would the public then become?

In a word: Vulnerable.

The best way to prevent tyranny is organized resistance. In the absence of organized groups willing to fend off the military or call out its abuses, citizens will not be able to systematically resist or respond to cases like forced entries from the police into private homes, warrant-less searches, deregulation of public utilities like energy and water, demolitions of urban poor communities, land grabbing and the like. For a moment the public will be in complete disarray, countless human rights violations will take place without being documented and several people will die in the process. Many will fall silent in the hopes that the turmoil is nothing but a rough transition towards a better future. But things only get worse, more violations take place and more people testify the abuses they experience at the hands of state repression. As a matter of historical fact, the discontent will become so pervasive that Duterte himself will be fueling the revolutionary spirit of the Filipino people.

When that happens, the left-leaning organizations Duterte had thought he wiped out will suddenly resurface from the underground. They were never defeated in the first place. In fact, they’re numbers only grew at an unprecedented rate right under the military’s noses.  A political protest will take the national media by storm for its acute size and temerity. No longer will the people’s sentiment be passed along hushed tones, they will now be shouted at in front of the very gates of Malacanang and all the urban centers of the country. The international media will take note of these developments and openly, countries and democratic governments around the world will wave their flags in solidarity with ours as we call for an end to the dictatorship!

In the countrysides, Duterte’s presence will not be felt in the form of social services and government support. He will be represented there by his soldiers, the shining symbol of his iron-clad rule. But because criminal negligence and state sponsored violence make it easy for revolutionary workers to mobilize the peasantry, the military would have already been thinly spread out in the vastness of the countrysides making it impossible to secure any kind of foothold there. Successive protests overwhelm the police and the political unrest in the cities push the administration to recall the military back into prime districts and urban centers where they will quell protesters. By the time they arrive, the sight of armored vehicles, tanks and soldiers with long and high powered firearms will alert additional attention from the international media, the world now witnesses more rallies unfolding in the Philippines as they are covered wall to wall.

As more countries and world leaders frown on our government’s indifference to public clamor, the United States will begin to rethink its alliance with the Duterte regime. To preserve its image as a defender of democracy, the US government will begin issuing statements that call out specific policies from Duterte they disagree with until such a time where they are forced to condemn him and ask him to step down. The moment this happens, the military will lose confidence in their commander in chief. Splits will occur, those who read the political situation correctly begin to jump ship in order to win favor from progressive forces and the massive number of protesters. Those loyal to the administration will simply not be enough to discourage mounting opposition.

At this point, it is unclear what will happen next. There are two possibilities: Duterte can order a last ditch effort to silence his enemies by authorizing dispersals, more violent than before, which will leave dozens killed in order to shake off the less radical from the streets and back into the safety of their homes. Should this happen the number of protesters will be reduced but not at all significantly because by now so many people would have been hardened by their own experience of military intimidation, water cannoning and other innovations in the state’s fascist arsenal. The state is unsuccessful and as more people flood the streets, the gates of Malacanang are breached and the Duterte regime falls.

The second possibility is that the military split becomes so perilous to Duterte’s political stability that he is forced to resign before a full-blown coup detat can be mounted against him on top of fears that protesters tear down palace defenses and surround him with no room for escape. The fear is very real and with a cold sweat, he makes a televised announcement that he is peacefully stepping down from public office. He secretly makes his way into a presidential chopper with only his immediate family, staff and a thick force of his most trusted security personnel. He brings with him what he can and pre-arranges an exit plan to save him from persecution once the new government is established. Finally, the dictatorship crumbles.

In both circumstances, the people emerge victorious.

In a secluded house far away from the people’s immediate reach the Duterte family settles in. The fallen President watches the news. But he’s not really paying any attention to the commentaries or reports. He is in deep thought recounting what he could have done to avoid all that had happened.

He finds it hard to admit to himself that he was indeed his own downfall.

Communist Witch Hunt already happening in Eastern Visayas

Reports talk of statements from Malacanang showing a disgruntled Duterte lashing out, yet again, on Filipino leftists and those he alleges as involved in a major conspiracy to topple down his government. The difference from before is that today, he has essentially given marching orders for the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to arrest “communist fronts” in broad day light and launch a full-scale offensive against armed rebels of the New People’s Army (NPA) upon the finalization of an administrative order declaring the CPP’s armed wing as a terrorist organization.

But these statements come as a no brainer for the people of Eastern Visayas, his announcement predicating the persecution of legal activists and community organizers are reminiscent of harassment cases in recent weeks. Youth activists from the League of Filipino Students-Metro Tacloban Chapter have raised notice of suspicious men suddenly frequenting the entry portals to the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College particularly in times when they had activities held outside. Anakbayan officers also report of a man going about UP Tacloban grounds asking for their names and requesting some utility personnel to tip him off should they be holding meetings and where.

Last November 14 two men had broken in the office of People Surge, a national alliance for disaster survivors, in the middle of the night stealing a laptop, office documents and four flash drives. People Surge Secretary General, Marissa Cabaljao, has also seen a flurry of allegations hurled against her for her involvement in seditious and extortionist activities in Western Samar even if she’s been based in Tacloban City for the past four years. In November 13, Carlito James Badillo, a local peasant leader was illegally abducted by the 87^th Infantry Battalion and tortured while detained.

Carlito ”James” Badillo, local peasant leader from Tag-alag, Samar. Photo from Almond Del Rosario.

Even human right advocates from as far as Northern Samar are being openly defamed. Sargie Macallan, Katungod-Sinirangan Bisayas’ provincial chairperson based in Catarman, tells of a certain DJ Whisper operating a small-time radio show sponsored by the military who singled him out for being an accomplice to the New People’s Army a day after he led a dialogue between a peasant community and army officials in the province.

Sargie Macallan, Katungod-Catarman chairperson talks of DJ Whisper and 20th IB sponsored radio program

In Eastern Visayas, all provincial chapters and member-organizations of BAYAN have raised a red flag indicating that several areas and communities are experiencing multiple cases of militarization and public red-baiting. Much of this has to do with the mounting inclination President Duterte has in suppressing public dissent, as seen true enough in his crackdown on progressive organizations nationwide. These harassment cases are being done with so much temerity and confidence that its almost as if they were intended to serve as a ‘’head start’’ for military elements before a major witch hunt finally comes into full swing like during the time of Major General Jovito Palparan when he was assigned to the region and in the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos three decades ago.

What can be asked of us is simple, the first step in overcoming tyranny is protecting the space we have in exposing it. These spaces include the streets, the alleyways of urban poor communities, footbridges, highways, schools and universities, parks, factories, the airwaves and social media. If these spaces are taken from us we have essentially lost the right to assemble against abuses and call-out government policies and officials. Right now, these spaces are being taken from us piece by piece: KADAMAY protesters in front of the National Housing Authority were brutally dispersed today, as if they did not pay for the streets they stood in protest with. Earlier, fishermen from Navotas and Cavite launching a fluvial parade were halted by the Philippine coast guard simply because “they’ve not allowed to rally”, even the open seas have been made unavailable to voice out our grievances. Everything we do, from the things we say to the people we meet, are all being monitored closely by the state to assess their stability instead of assessing their policies. If there is a time to act, now would be it.

It is immoral for us to allow the Philippines to descend back into a dictatorship, unapologetic of its dying people and unashamed of its atrocities against them. Together, let us resist the crackdown!