AGHAM
Samahan ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Sambayanan
132 B Matahimik St., Teacher's Village QC
9263139
info at agham.org
*SCIENTISTS JOIN CALL TO DEFEND CIVIL LIBERTIES AND FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS*
*No to Proclamation 1107! Never again to Martial Law!*
AGHAM, a group of activist scientists strongly condemns the declaration of State of Emergency, giving the beleaguered Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the power to arrest civilians without warrants, to takeover public utilities such as the media and banning all kinds of public assembly.
We vehemently denounce such action that curtails the civil liberties of the people that we have long been defending. The insecure regime of Macapagal-Arroyo has resorted to manipulation and use of force to cling into power and a position that does not belong to her in the first place. The irony is not lost to us and the thousands of Filipinos who fought for our rights and freedom during the First EDSA People Power that these same rights and freedom are now threatened by Arroyo's State of Emergency declaration.
We clearly see through the series of illegal arrests and raids that followed after Proclamation 1017 that Gloria Arroyo is out to silence all critics of her anti-Filipino policies. We will not be surprised anymore that the same act will be done to any one within the ranks of progressive and patriotic scientists who ever since exposed and opposed the policies of her administration that undermines the interests of the Filipino people like the Mining Act, Oil Deregulation Law, EPIRA, and RVAT among others. We can not allow that to happen.
We believe that the longer her administration stays in power the greater is the risk to civil liberties not only of scientists but of all Filipinos in general. That is why we reiterate our call for her tostep down and get out of Malacanang. If she won't, we vow to do all we can to amplify the movement to oust her.
We are calling upon all freedom-loving Filipinos, especially among the scientists to once again rise up to the challenge and defend our rights and our civil liberties. Let your voices be heard!###
reference
Dr. Giovanni Tapang
National Chairperson
AGHAM
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Show Us Edsa --Diokno
Show Us Edsa
On July 2 last year, the Jose W. Diokno Foundation called on Mrs.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down from office. Today, on the 84th
birth anniversary of Pepe, we no longer address Mrs. Arroyo, who heeds
no one but herself and her coterie of advisers, and needs Proclamation
1017 to prop up her flagging government. We prefer to address our
people, whom Pepe so loved and with whom he struggled for a better
life.
On the matter of leadership, we say: Out of 80 million Filipinos, Mrs.
Arroyo is not the best we can produce. She does not even come close to
the best. But Mrs. Arroyo's display of arrogance is not what disturbs
us, though I must admit it is irksome. It is, rather, the implicit
assertion that we deserve her kind of leadership�for our people do
not�and that there is no alternative to her, when there are. Remember
that martial law lasted as long as it did in part because some
accepted the notion of a so-called 'lesser evil'.
We who have asked Mrs. Arroyo to resign from office are often
criticized for being disunited. So let us examine the sources of our
disunity. Clearly there is an element of distrust, that some in the
political opposition are out for their own ends just as some among
organized groups are perceived to have their own agenda. Suppose we
accept this to be a fact of our present political life. Is it
nonetheless possible for us to come together on the basis of certain
principles? I believe it is.
For example, we all want our elections cleansed of corrupt election
officials, cheating and other corrupt practices. We desire an
electoral process and system that will bring out new, good leaders who
have a fair chance of winning.
We do not want the constitution changed at any and all cost, in the
manner that Mrs. Arroyo and Speaker de Venecia know best. They make no
effort at subtlety in their attempt to subvert elections and remain in
power in the name of constitutional change.
Most of all, we reject the social inequity that our political system
feeds on. Using the poverty of the people against the people is the
worst, most painful crime of all.
So what is to be done? First and most immediate, we must not surrender
our civil liberties. Sometimes I think that martial law was effective
because it didn't hurt enough people; the dictatorship selected its
targets skillfully and then isolated these targets from the public
view. A false sense of comfort thus resulted. Let us not allow
ourselves to be fooled again. One act of suppression, if unopposed,
makes possible other acts of suppression.
Second, let us seriously work out the bases of our unity and agree
that we cannot have all that we want now. This is a difficult task�I
know how hard Pepe worked to bring the opposition together during
martial law. But try and try again we must.
In all this I ask that we think of our youth and consciously cultivate
young leaders. We widows and veterans of martial law have reached the
pre-departure area; our knees do not allow us to line the streets and
march in protest. This is not just a world we are about to leave, but
one we will bequeath to our children, grandchildren and, in my case,
great grandchildren. Listen to 17-year old Jose Miguel Bermudez, a
freshman studying in Las Pinas, who wrote in the Inquirer's 'Young
Blood' column. "Everyday of my life," he says, "my teachers and my
parents admonish me to shape up. I think it is now my generation's
turn to tell my parents and those who run this country that it is time
for them to shape up. They are being selfish and myopic when they
complain about the inconvenience and disruption caused by people
protesting against lying, cheating and stealing. They would rather go
about their regular business even if that means leaving many
fundamental and moral issues unresolved." Talking about how these
issues will haunt the next generation, Jose Miguel asks: "Guess who
will be left to deal with this ghost when it returns? Guess who will
be left to deal with the ugly litter of an irresponsible and apathetic
generation that would trade their children's future for short-term
convenience?" (7 February 2006)
My own grandson, Jose Lorenzo�we call him Pepe for short, who was born
a little over a year after Edsa, wrote in yesterday's Inquirer: "We
relegate Edsa to these four days, we remember Edsa only when we feel
the need to and we kill Edsa�. It makes me angry that the revolution
to most of us has become a set of dates and actions that little
children memorize for Sibika. And I'm angry that most of what we've
read so far is about the events that transpired, and the generals and
politicians 'who made Edsa happen'. Edsa is not about them. Edsa is
also more than the people who were there. It's even more than the
leaders it ousted." My other Pepe ends with a request: "I'd like to
ask a favor from you who were lucky enough to have felt the joy of
revolution. Don't tell us about it. Show us Edsa. A lot of us don't
even know what it looks like."
So we who know, must show Edsa. But in this process of showing, I
advise our youth: do not be passive onlookers. Your job, like that of
my generation that is about to pass, is to constantly improve upon
what is shown and to never give up. This was Pepe's dream of a nation
truly for our children, and it remains ours.
Carmen I. Diokno
La Salle Greenhills
26 February 2006
On July 2 last year, the Jose W. Diokno Foundation called on Mrs.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down from office. Today, on the 84th
birth anniversary of Pepe, we no longer address Mrs. Arroyo, who heeds
no one but herself and her coterie of advisers, and needs Proclamation
1017 to prop up her flagging government. We prefer to address our
people, whom Pepe so loved and with whom he struggled for a better
life.
On the matter of leadership, we say: Out of 80 million Filipinos, Mrs.
Arroyo is not the best we can produce. She does not even come close to
the best. But Mrs. Arroyo's display of arrogance is not what disturbs
us, though I must admit it is irksome. It is, rather, the implicit
assertion that we deserve her kind of leadership�for our people do
not�and that there is no alternative to her, when there are. Remember
that martial law lasted as long as it did in part because some
accepted the notion of a so-called 'lesser evil'.
We who have asked Mrs. Arroyo to resign from office are often
criticized for being disunited. So let us examine the sources of our
disunity. Clearly there is an element of distrust, that some in the
political opposition are out for their own ends just as some among
organized groups are perceived to have their own agenda. Suppose we
accept this to be a fact of our present political life. Is it
nonetheless possible for us to come together on the basis of certain
principles? I believe it is.
For example, we all want our elections cleansed of corrupt election
officials, cheating and other corrupt practices. We desire an
electoral process and system that will bring out new, good leaders who
have a fair chance of winning.
We do not want the constitution changed at any and all cost, in the
manner that Mrs. Arroyo and Speaker de Venecia know best. They make no
effort at subtlety in their attempt to subvert elections and remain in
power in the name of constitutional change.
Most of all, we reject the social inequity that our political system
feeds on. Using the poverty of the people against the people is the
worst, most painful crime of all.
So what is to be done? First and most immediate, we must not surrender
our civil liberties. Sometimes I think that martial law was effective
because it didn't hurt enough people; the dictatorship selected its
targets skillfully and then isolated these targets from the public
view. A false sense of comfort thus resulted. Let us not allow
ourselves to be fooled again. One act of suppression, if unopposed,
makes possible other acts of suppression.
Second, let us seriously work out the bases of our unity and agree
that we cannot have all that we want now. This is a difficult task�I
know how hard Pepe worked to bring the opposition together during
martial law. But try and try again we must.
In all this I ask that we think of our youth and consciously cultivate
young leaders. We widows and veterans of martial law have reached the
pre-departure area; our knees do not allow us to line the streets and
march in protest. This is not just a world we are about to leave, but
one we will bequeath to our children, grandchildren and, in my case,
great grandchildren. Listen to 17-year old Jose Miguel Bermudez, a
freshman studying in Las Pinas, who wrote in the Inquirer's 'Young
Blood' column. "Everyday of my life," he says, "my teachers and my
parents admonish me to shape up. I think it is now my generation's
turn to tell my parents and those who run this country that it is time
for them to shape up. They are being selfish and myopic when they
complain about the inconvenience and disruption caused by people
protesting against lying, cheating and stealing. They would rather go
about their regular business even if that means leaving many
fundamental and moral issues unresolved." Talking about how these
issues will haunt the next generation, Jose Miguel asks: "Guess who
will be left to deal with this ghost when it returns? Guess who will
be left to deal with the ugly litter of an irresponsible and apathetic
generation that would trade their children's future for short-term
convenience?" (7 February 2006)
My own grandson, Jose Lorenzo�we call him Pepe for short, who was born
a little over a year after Edsa, wrote in yesterday's Inquirer: "We
relegate Edsa to these four days, we remember Edsa only when we feel
the need to and we kill Edsa�. It makes me angry that the revolution
to most of us has become a set of dates and actions that little
children memorize for Sibika. And I'm angry that most of what we've
read so far is about the events that transpired, and the generals and
politicians 'who made Edsa happen'. Edsa is not about them. Edsa is
also more than the people who were there. It's even more than the
leaders it ousted." My other Pepe ends with a request: "I'd like to
ask a favor from you who were lucky enough to have felt the joy of
revolution. Don't tell us about it. Show us Edsa. A lot of us don't
even know what it looks like."
So we who know, must show Edsa. But in this process of showing, I
advise our youth: do not be passive onlookers. Your job, like that of
my generation that is about to pass, is to constantly improve upon
what is shown and to never give up. This was Pepe's dream of a nation
truly for our children, and it remains ours.
Carmen I. Diokno
La Salle Greenhills
26 February 2006
Proclamation 1017 creates a 'chilling effect'
Vol. 1 Issue No. 107 | Monday | February 27, 2006
"Proclamation 1017 creates a 'chilling effect'-and that may be its
intended purpose"
Maria Ressa
ABS-CBN vice president for news and public affairs
THE mass media entities were the first to bear the brunt of
Proclamation 1017 and its General Order No. 5, leading not a few to
wonder aloud why, if there was indeed a "right-left conspiracy" to
violently overthrow the Arroyo government, why aren't any of the
supposed rebel officers being taken in, with the exception of Scout
Ranger chief Gen. Danilo Lim? While Ferdinand Marcos quickly trotted
out before the world several rebel officers allegedly caught in a
failed coup against him just before Edsa 1 erupted, President Arroyo's
men have so far only managed to detain Lim in quarters, subsequently
arrested former police general Ramon Monta�o; then used old cases
against two supposed conspirators-party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran and
former senator Gregorio Honasan.
The government justified the crackdown on media thusly: the media has
been a tool, continues to be a tool, of destabilizers. Who these
enemies of the state are, it isn't clear-so why are the journalists
who cover them first on the firing line, as witness the raid on the
Daily Tribune newspaper and the National Police's warning it will take
over others that don't follow "government standards."
For a clearer insight on how news executives view the media's role,
rights and relationship with the State in this crisis, BusinessMirror
correspondent Honey Madrilejos-Reyes interviewed Maria Ressa, ABS-CBN
vice president for news and public affairs, and former CNN bureau
chief in Jakarta .
What are the broad implications of the proclamation for the mass
media? Its implications on freedom of speech, which is the highest
value in the bill of rights/democracy?
First, the media are included as one of the reasons for Proclamation
1017: "Whereas, the claims of these elements have been recklessly
magnified by certain segments of the national media."
This means the media have already been judged. The question is by whom
and by whose standards? This was a question I posed to the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) last Friday when they asked us to
come in for a meeting. The response I got was that the NTC is merely
the body tasked to implement this proclamation with media. That is no
answer at all.
We repeatedly asked for guidelines and were told KBP will help develop
those points along with the NTC. That is an unsatisfactory answer
because it means the government can take action against media
organizations now without having to explain itself.
We also pointed out that foreign media will continue to report what
they see. This will create a schism between local and foreign press.
Why are we creating different standards? Why should local journalists
follow? I am also personally caught in a quandary because I continue
to report for CNN and other foreign media groups even as I head
ABS-CBN News. Does that mean I can write something for a foreign media
outfit but not put it to air here?
The NTC called for open dialogue and appealed for fair and balanced
coverage. If that is all it wants, then there is no problem and no
need for this proclamation. For ABS-CBN, being fair and balanced are
key elements of our Standards and Ethics Manual.
You cannot have freedom of the press if you curtail that freedom.
There is no middle ground. You either have a free press or you don't.
The watchdogs have become the watched. Who will now watch government?
Proclamation 1017 creates a "chilling effect"-and that may be its
intended purpose. That is why it's important that journalists define
boundaries we cannot cross and still call ourselves journalists.
We at ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs are professional journalists. We
will continue doing our jobs in line with our Standards and Ethics
Manual.
How will the media now be able to report the news in its entirety,
given that a lot of what we say might be construed as "inciting to
sedition"? Could we even interview the political opposition?
I think it's even more important to interview as many sectors of
society as possible.
As journalists, we need to be more vigilant during times of national
crisis. But those times are also when public demand for accurate,
timely information increases. We aim to fill that demand. We at
ABS-CBN will not censor our reports.
What are the checks that we have at our disposal?
As the proclamation stands right now, the power is all on the
government side with little accountability. What do we have on our
side? Truth and justice-those are universal ideals which cannot be
suppressed.
How do you see Philippine media acting under these circumstances? How
will this affect reportage?
It has already had a "chilling effect" on some, and I think we in
media are watching closely to see what will happen next.
A newspaper office (Tribune) has been raided. What if the same happens
to a broadcast entity-what will the KBP do about it?
You should ask the KBP. I think it would be a mistake for the
government to shut down any broadcast organization. The signal that
sends out would be damaging for our country both domestically and
globally.
Kindly confirm reports that there are soldiers guarding ABS-CBN.
Since this is print, I can say yes, there are soldiers guarding
ABS-CBN. But that is something I can't air on ABS-CBN nor ANC after
the NTC meeting Friday.
Having covered all the coup attempts in the past (and having been
stuck in this building in 1987 when it was PTV 4), I know it's
standard practice to send the military to guard military and broadcast
installations when there is any threat of a coup.
However, Proclamation 1017 could make me interpret this move in a new
light.
Where does this put your organization, considering the Lopez family
and its businesses have in the past been at the receiving end of
similar treatment from the Marcos regime?
There are many rumors that ABS-CBN is a target and will be shut down.
If that happens, it's not because we are not doing our jobs as
journalists. We will take appropriate measures.
How will this affect (if any) your organization's news gathering?
It renews and further ignites my organization's sense of mission.
COPYRIGHT (c) 2005 Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc.
"Proclamation 1017 creates a 'chilling effect'-and that may be its
intended purpose"
Maria Ressa
ABS-CBN vice president for news and public affairs
THE mass media entities were the first to bear the brunt of
Proclamation 1017 and its General Order No. 5, leading not a few to
wonder aloud why, if there was indeed a "right-left conspiracy" to
violently overthrow the Arroyo government, why aren't any of the
supposed rebel officers being taken in, with the exception of Scout
Ranger chief Gen. Danilo Lim? While Ferdinand Marcos quickly trotted
out before the world several rebel officers allegedly caught in a
failed coup against him just before Edsa 1 erupted, President Arroyo's
men have so far only managed to detain Lim in quarters, subsequently
arrested former police general Ramon Monta�o; then used old cases
against two supposed conspirators-party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran and
former senator Gregorio Honasan.
The government justified the crackdown on media thusly: the media has
been a tool, continues to be a tool, of destabilizers. Who these
enemies of the state are, it isn't clear-so why are the journalists
who cover them first on the firing line, as witness the raid on the
Daily Tribune newspaper and the National Police's warning it will take
over others that don't follow "government standards."
For a clearer insight on how news executives view the media's role,
rights and relationship with the State in this crisis, BusinessMirror
correspondent Honey Madrilejos-Reyes interviewed Maria Ressa, ABS-CBN
vice president for news and public affairs, and former CNN bureau
chief in Jakarta .
What are the broad implications of the proclamation for the mass
media? Its implications on freedom of speech, which is the highest
value in the bill of rights/democracy?
First, the media are included as one of the reasons for Proclamation
1017: "Whereas, the claims of these elements have been recklessly
magnified by certain segments of the national media."
This means the media have already been judged. The question is by whom
and by whose standards? This was a question I posed to the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) last Friday when they asked us to
come in for a meeting. The response I got was that the NTC is merely
the body tasked to implement this proclamation with media. That is no
answer at all.
We repeatedly asked for guidelines and were told KBP will help develop
those points along with the NTC. That is an unsatisfactory answer
because it means the government can take action against media
organizations now without having to explain itself.
We also pointed out that foreign media will continue to report what
they see. This will create a schism between local and foreign press.
Why are we creating different standards? Why should local journalists
follow? I am also personally caught in a quandary because I continue
to report for CNN and other foreign media groups even as I head
ABS-CBN News. Does that mean I can write something for a foreign media
outfit but not put it to air here?
The NTC called for open dialogue and appealed for fair and balanced
coverage. If that is all it wants, then there is no problem and no
need for this proclamation. For ABS-CBN, being fair and balanced are
key elements of our Standards and Ethics Manual.
You cannot have freedom of the press if you curtail that freedom.
There is no middle ground. You either have a free press or you don't.
The watchdogs have become the watched. Who will now watch government?
Proclamation 1017 creates a "chilling effect"-and that may be its
intended purpose. That is why it's important that journalists define
boundaries we cannot cross and still call ourselves journalists.
We at ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs are professional journalists. We
will continue doing our jobs in line with our Standards and Ethics
Manual.
How will the media now be able to report the news in its entirety,
given that a lot of what we say might be construed as "inciting to
sedition"? Could we even interview the political opposition?
I think it's even more important to interview as many sectors of
society as possible.
As journalists, we need to be more vigilant during times of national
crisis. But those times are also when public demand for accurate,
timely information increases. We aim to fill that demand. We at
ABS-CBN will not censor our reports.
What are the checks that we have at our disposal?
As the proclamation stands right now, the power is all on the
government side with little accountability. What do we have on our
side? Truth and justice-those are universal ideals which cannot be
suppressed.
How do you see Philippine media acting under these circumstances? How
will this affect reportage?
It has already had a "chilling effect" on some, and I think we in
media are watching closely to see what will happen next.
A newspaper office (Tribune) has been raided. What if the same happens
to a broadcast entity-what will the KBP do about it?
You should ask the KBP. I think it would be a mistake for the
government to shut down any broadcast organization. The signal that
sends out would be damaging for our country both domestically and
globally.
Kindly confirm reports that there are soldiers guarding ABS-CBN.
Since this is print, I can say yes, there are soldiers guarding
ABS-CBN. But that is something I can't air on ABS-CBN nor ANC after
the NTC meeting Friday.
Having covered all the coup attempts in the past (and having been
stuck in this building in 1987 when it was PTV 4), I know it's
standard practice to send the military to guard military and broadcast
installations when there is any threat of a coup.
However, Proclamation 1017 could make me interpret this move in a new
light.
Where does this put your organization, considering the Lopez family
and its businesses have in the past been at the receiving end of
similar treatment from the Marcos regime?
There are many rumors that ABS-CBN is a target and will be shut down.
If that happens, it's not because we are not doing our jobs as
journalists. We will take appropriate measures.
How will this affect (if any) your organization's news gathering?
It renews and further ignites my organization's sense of mission.
COPYRIGHT (c) 2005 Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc.
Message from Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa
NZ Government Must Condemn Imposition Of State Of Emergency In Philippines
Chief Reporter
The Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa calls on the New Zealand government to join us in condemning, in the strongest terms possible, the declaration of a State of Emergency by Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This is the latest desperate move by the President to cling to power in the face of a tide of popular protest arising from the blatant electoral fraud that was used to steal the 2004 Presidential election.
It harks back to the 1972-86 reign of terror that the Philippine people endured when the murderous tyrant, Ferdinand Marcos, imposed martial law. The greatest irony is that this State of Emergency has been imposed during the 20th anniversary celebrations of Marcos' overthrow by the world famous People Power.
There are other troubling throwbacks to the Marcos dictatorship. One of the first people to be arrested on Friday was Representative Crispin Beltran, who became well-known to New Zealanders when we toured him through the country in 1999, in his capacity as a national trade union leader. He is being held on a 1985 charge i.e. one that dates from the martial law period.
In the not too distant past, New Zealand governments used to get greatly outraged when Communist countries on the other side of the world (such as Poland) sent the troops into the streets. But when it happens in our own backyard, not a peep from the Government so far.
We call on the Government to condemn this imposition of the State of Emergency. Call in the Philippine Ambassador and deliver that message in person. If necessary, withdraw our Ambassador from Manila and suspend diplomatic relations. Demand that the Sate of Emergency be revoked and that (the latest batch of political prisoners) be released immediately.
The root causes of the whole ongoing Philippine crisis are massive poverty, inequality, institutionalised State violence and corruption. There have been two simultaneous civil wars (one with Communists, the other with Muslim separatists) going on for decades. One way that New Zealand could play a constructive role in the affairs of this near neighbour is by offering our expertise in brokering peace agreements. The Philippines desperately needs peace and social justice. The last thing it needs is a reversion to a military dictatorship as a discredited and desperate President tries to cling to power. At this time of crisis, the Philippine people need all the help they can get. It's time for New Zealand to prove itself as their friend.
Murray Horton
Secretary
PSNA
Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa
Box 2450, Christchurch, New Zealand
cafca at chch.planet.org.nz
http://www.converge.org.nz/psna
Chief Reporter
The Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa calls on the New Zealand government to join us in condemning, in the strongest terms possible, the declaration of a State of Emergency by Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This is the latest desperate move by the President to cling to power in the face of a tide of popular protest arising from the blatant electoral fraud that was used to steal the 2004 Presidential election.
It harks back to the 1972-86 reign of terror that the Philippine people endured when the murderous tyrant, Ferdinand Marcos, imposed martial law. The greatest irony is that this State of Emergency has been imposed during the 20th anniversary celebrations of Marcos' overthrow by the world famous People Power.
There are other troubling throwbacks to the Marcos dictatorship. One of the first people to be arrested on Friday was Representative Crispin Beltran, who became well-known to New Zealanders when we toured him through the country in 1999, in his capacity as a national trade union leader. He is being held on a 1985 charge i.e. one that dates from the martial law period.
In the not too distant past, New Zealand governments used to get greatly outraged when Communist countries on the other side of the world (such as Poland) sent the troops into the streets. But when it happens in our own backyard, not a peep from the Government so far.
We call on the Government to condemn this imposition of the State of Emergency. Call in the Philippine Ambassador and deliver that message in person. If necessary, withdraw our Ambassador from Manila and suspend diplomatic relations. Demand that the Sate of Emergency be revoked and that (the latest batch of political prisoners) be released immediately.
The root causes of the whole ongoing Philippine crisis are massive poverty, inequality, institutionalised State violence and corruption. There have been two simultaneous civil wars (one with Communists, the other with Muslim separatists) going on for decades. One way that New Zealand could play a constructive role in the affairs of this near neighbour is by offering our expertise in brokering peace agreements. The Philippines desperately needs peace and social justice. The last thing it needs is a reversion to a military dictatorship as a discredited and desperate President tries to cling to power. At this time of crisis, the Philippine people need all the help they can get. It's time for New Zealand to prove itself as their friend.
Murray Horton
Secretary
PSNA
Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa
Box 2450, Christchurch, New Zealand
cafca at chch.planet.org.nz
http://www.converge.org.nz/psna
Monday, February 27, 2006
Resist Gloria Arroyo's new fascist dictatorship
Resist Gloria Arroyo's new fascist dictatorship
Central Committee
Communist Party of the Philippines
February 26, 2006
The Communist Party of the Philippines condemns in the strongest possible terms Gloria Arroyo's "State of National Emergency". The CPP further calls on the Filipino people to resist and struggle ever more vigorously to overthrow Arroyo's new fascist dictatorship.
Gloria Arroyo has long been using state violence against those protesting its antinational, anti-democratic and antipeople policies and acts as well as its illegitimacy, compounded lies and abject rottenness. She has bared her fascist fangs.
Martial law has long been in the making under the Arroyo regime. It has carried out a litany of fascist policies and acts including the "no permit, no rally" policy, "calibrated preemptive response," Executive Order 464, systematic killings of activists and leaders of the anti-Arroyo protest movement, massive military operations and abuses targetting civilians in many parts of the country, surveillance on leaders of the opposition and democratic mass movement, and the like.
It has long desired to officially declare some form of martial law. It has made a number of attempts in the last several months to impose a fascist dictatorship. Widespread vehement protests, however, frustrated its attempt in October 2005 to take advantage of the increasing crisis brought about by rising oil prices and officially declare a "State of National Emergency" through draft Executive Order 467.
Akin to Marcos's Presidential Proclamation 1081 declaring martial law, Arroyo has issued her own Presidential Proclamation 1017 to further its repressive and fascist acts, including plans to arrest leaders and activists of democratic and progressive organizations and parties, and government, military and police officers and personnel critical of the Arroyo regime. In issuing Proclamation 1017, Arroyo has arrogated martial law powers. It is extremely ironic that exactly 20 years after the Marcos fascist dictatorship was overthrown, a new fascist dictatorship has been established by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Like Marcos, Arroyo has resorted to concocting outright lies about a purported "tactical alliance by the Left and Right (referring this time to a supposed alliance by the CPP-NPA and rebel forces within the AFP-PNP)... engaged in a concerted and systematic conspiracy to bring down the duly constituted government," a supposed rebellion codenamed "Oplan Hackle" by "misguided elements" within the AFP-PNP, all aided and abetted "by certain elements of the national media" and the like.
To justify Proclamation 1017, Malaca¤ang claimed that military and police units including their elite forces were to declare their withdrawal of support and join a scheduled protest march and rally. The commanding general of the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, and several commanders of the Philippine Marines, PNP Special Forces and other provincial AFP-PNP units were arrested or removed from their positions and placed under tight watch.
The immediate trigger and target of Proclamation 1017 were the massive protest marches and rallies scheduled on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the EDSA people power uprising cum military rebellion against the Marcos dictatorship. Invoking Proclamation 1017, Malacanang revoked rally permits, ordered police forces to violently disperse rallyists marching towards EDSA and arrest its leaders, and restricted demonstrations in Ayala Avenue and different areas around Metro Manila. Proclamation 1017 seeks to terrorize the people and dissuade them from joining demonstrations for fear these would snowball into a mass uprising.
Proclamation 1017 also seeks to break the broad anti-Arroyo united front through sheer brute force. It has already led to the arrest of the Arroyo regime's most vocal critics. Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran was arrested yesterday by police agents supposedly on the basis of a 1985 arrest warrant. Military and police operatives also tried but failed to arrest Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casi¤o of Bayan Muna and Representative Lisa Maza of Gabriela Women's Party. Another outspoken critique of Arroyo, former constabulary chief Ramon Monta¤o, was likewise arrested together with former police general Rex Piad. Former senator and Reform the Armed Forces leader Col. Gringo Honasan and several other former military and police officers were also issued arrest warrants. At least 100 have already been arrested since Friday. There is a list of at least 200 military, police and civilian "destabilizers" that the Arroyo regime plans to arrest.
Proclamation 1017 imposes prior restraint and threatens a clampdown on the mass media. In the early morning of February 25, the editorial office and printing house of the oppositionist Daily Tribune was raided without a warrant by police operatives supposedly looking for some documents and materials. Meeting media representatives, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a thinly veiled threat, declaring that the state could take over broadcast companies that fail to comply with new stringent policies on media reporting set by the Arroyo regime. To ensure compliance, the police has also announced the formation of a group to monitor the media.
All these moves to curtail civil liberties, suppress people's protests and crush the movement to oust the Arroyo regime are bound to fail. On the very day Arroyo issued Proclamation 1017, tens of thousands of people defied the "no rally" policy and held mass demonstrations at Ayala Avenue in Makati. Gloria Arroyo's Proclamation 1017 intensifies the Filipino people's clamor for the overthrow of her dictatorship.
As the Marcos dictatorship failed to stop protest rallies and its eventual overthrow, so will the Arroyo dictatorship fail to stop the surging nationwide protests and mass resistance. Arroyo has only succeeded in steeling the people's determination to further build up mass protests towards another people power uprising. She has only furthered unrest within the military and police forces and broadened the ranks of those determined to withdraw their support to the Arroyo regime. The Filipino people will not be coerced into submission. They are determined to continue resisting the Arroyo regime's fascist acts. They demand the end of the Arroyo regime and its replacement by a government that truly advances national freedom and democracy.
The illegitimate, puppet, corrupt, rotten and now barefacedly fascist Arroyo regime is intensely abhored by the Filipino masses as well as by a majority of the officers and men of its own armed forces and police. In establishing itself as a dictatorship, the Arroyo regime has further isolated itself.
The Party calls on all revolutionary forces to do their utmost in resisting and helping bring down the new fascist dictatorship. Even as the New People's Army (NPA) will continue to abide by the policy of not intervening in the mass protest demonstrations in Metro Manila and other urban areas, its units should launch tactical offensives that can be won against diehard pro-Arroyo and fascist units of the reactionary armed forces and, whenever the opportunity presents itself, coordinate with the anti-Arroyo and other friendly units within the AFP and PNP.
The Party and the revolutionary movement call on the democratic forces and the broad masses of the people to heighten the antifascist aspect of the struggle against the Arroyo regime. The CPP urges the military and police to defy fascist orders from their generals to suppress the people's civil liberties. Anti-Arroyo forces and other positive elements within the government's military and police who are prepared to withdraw support from the Arroyo regime are likewise asked to join and support democratic forces who persist in building the requisites for a new people power uprising.
The struggle of the revolutionary forces, anti-Arroyo elements within the military and police and the entire Filipino people against the tottering but obstinate Arroyo regime has further heightened with the emergence of barefaced fascism. The revolutionary forces and the Filipino people are ever determined and united in the struggle to bring down Gloria Arroyo's fascist dictatorship.
Central Committee
Communist Party of the Philippines
February 26, 2006
The Communist Party of the Philippines condemns in the strongest possible terms Gloria Arroyo's "State of National Emergency". The CPP further calls on the Filipino people to resist and struggle ever more vigorously to overthrow Arroyo's new fascist dictatorship.
Gloria Arroyo has long been using state violence against those protesting its antinational, anti-democratic and antipeople policies and acts as well as its illegitimacy, compounded lies and abject rottenness. She has bared her fascist fangs.
Martial law has long been in the making under the Arroyo regime. It has carried out a litany of fascist policies and acts including the "no permit, no rally" policy, "calibrated preemptive response," Executive Order 464, systematic killings of activists and leaders of the anti-Arroyo protest movement, massive military operations and abuses targetting civilians in many parts of the country, surveillance on leaders of the opposition and democratic mass movement, and the like.
It has long desired to officially declare some form of martial law. It has made a number of attempts in the last several months to impose a fascist dictatorship. Widespread vehement protests, however, frustrated its attempt in October 2005 to take advantage of the increasing crisis brought about by rising oil prices and officially declare a "State of National Emergency" through draft Executive Order 467.
Akin to Marcos's Presidential Proclamation 1081 declaring martial law, Arroyo has issued her own Presidential Proclamation 1017 to further its repressive and fascist acts, including plans to arrest leaders and activists of democratic and progressive organizations and parties, and government, military and police officers and personnel critical of the Arroyo regime. In issuing Proclamation 1017, Arroyo has arrogated martial law powers. It is extremely ironic that exactly 20 years after the Marcos fascist dictatorship was overthrown, a new fascist dictatorship has been established by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Like Marcos, Arroyo has resorted to concocting outright lies about a purported "tactical alliance by the Left and Right (referring this time to a supposed alliance by the CPP-NPA and rebel forces within the AFP-PNP)... engaged in a concerted and systematic conspiracy to bring down the duly constituted government," a supposed rebellion codenamed "Oplan Hackle" by "misguided elements" within the AFP-PNP, all aided and abetted "by certain elements of the national media" and the like.
To justify Proclamation 1017, Malaca¤ang claimed that military and police units including their elite forces were to declare their withdrawal of support and join a scheduled protest march and rally. The commanding general of the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, and several commanders of the Philippine Marines, PNP Special Forces and other provincial AFP-PNP units were arrested or removed from their positions and placed under tight watch.
The immediate trigger and target of Proclamation 1017 were the massive protest marches and rallies scheduled on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the EDSA people power uprising cum military rebellion against the Marcos dictatorship. Invoking Proclamation 1017, Malacanang revoked rally permits, ordered police forces to violently disperse rallyists marching towards EDSA and arrest its leaders, and restricted demonstrations in Ayala Avenue and different areas around Metro Manila. Proclamation 1017 seeks to terrorize the people and dissuade them from joining demonstrations for fear these would snowball into a mass uprising.
Proclamation 1017 also seeks to break the broad anti-Arroyo united front through sheer brute force. It has already led to the arrest of the Arroyo regime's most vocal critics. Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran was arrested yesterday by police agents supposedly on the basis of a 1985 arrest warrant. Military and police operatives also tried but failed to arrest Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casi¤o of Bayan Muna and Representative Lisa Maza of Gabriela Women's Party. Another outspoken critique of Arroyo, former constabulary chief Ramon Monta¤o, was likewise arrested together with former police general Rex Piad. Former senator and Reform the Armed Forces leader Col. Gringo Honasan and several other former military and police officers were also issued arrest warrants. At least 100 have already been arrested since Friday. There is a list of at least 200 military, police and civilian "destabilizers" that the Arroyo regime plans to arrest.
Proclamation 1017 imposes prior restraint and threatens a clampdown on the mass media. In the early morning of February 25, the editorial office and printing house of the oppositionist Daily Tribune was raided without a warrant by police operatives supposedly looking for some documents and materials. Meeting media representatives, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a thinly veiled threat, declaring that the state could take over broadcast companies that fail to comply with new stringent policies on media reporting set by the Arroyo regime. To ensure compliance, the police has also announced the formation of a group to monitor the media.
All these moves to curtail civil liberties, suppress people's protests and crush the movement to oust the Arroyo regime are bound to fail. On the very day Arroyo issued Proclamation 1017, tens of thousands of people defied the "no rally" policy and held mass demonstrations at Ayala Avenue in Makati. Gloria Arroyo's Proclamation 1017 intensifies the Filipino people's clamor for the overthrow of her dictatorship.
As the Marcos dictatorship failed to stop protest rallies and its eventual overthrow, so will the Arroyo dictatorship fail to stop the surging nationwide protests and mass resistance. Arroyo has only succeeded in steeling the people's determination to further build up mass protests towards another people power uprising. She has only furthered unrest within the military and police forces and broadened the ranks of those determined to withdraw their support to the Arroyo regime. The Filipino people will not be coerced into submission. They are determined to continue resisting the Arroyo regime's fascist acts. They demand the end of the Arroyo regime and its replacement by a government that truly advances national freedom and democracy.
The illegitimate, puppet, corrupt, rotten and now barefacedly fascist Arroyo regime is intensely abhored by the Filipino masses as well as by a majority of the officers and men of its own armed forces and police. In establishing itself as a dictatorship, the Arroyo regime has further isolated itself.
The Party calls on all revolutionary forces to do their utmost in resisting and helping bring down the new fascist dictatorship. Even as the New People's Army (NPA) will continue to abide by the policy of not intervening in the mass protest demonstrations in Metro Manila and other urban areas, its units should launch tactical offensives that can be won against diehard pro-Arroyo and fascist units of the reactionary armed forces and, whenever the opportunity presents itself, coordinate with the anti-Arroyo and other friendly units within the AFP and PNP.
The Party and the revolutionary movement call on the democratic forces and the broad masses of the people to heighten the antifascist aspect of the struggle against the Arroyo regime. The CPP urges the military and police to defy fascist orders from their generals to suppress the people's civil liberties. Anti-Arroyo forces and other positive elements within the government's military and police who are prepared to withdraw support from the Arroyo regime are likewise asked to join and support democratic forces who persist in building the requisites for a new people power uprising.
The struggle of the revolutionary forces, anti-Arroyo elements within the military and police and the entire Filipino people against the tottering but obstinate Arroyo regime has further heightened with the emergence of barefaced fascism. The revolutionary forces and the Filipino people are ever determined and united in the struggle to bring down Gloria Arroyo's fascist dictatorship.
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