qoute from 73 year old Bayan Muna Representative Crispin Beltran
"If helping the poor is a crime,
and fighting for freedom is rebellion,
then I plead guilty as charged."
August 1982 Supreme Court hearing for Beltran's writ of habeas corpus
"Upon his detention at the CIDG, which is illegal and arbitrary, he was shown a photocopy of an alleged warrant of arrest dated 7 October 1987 issued by Judge Edgardo Tutaan of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch LXXXIV. The case was already dismissed in 1988," the Public Interest Law Center noted.
Up to this moment Representative Beltran remains in Philippine National Police custody in Camp Crame with charges of rebellion.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
UP Statement
The University Council (UC) of UP Diliman at its emergency meeting last February 28, 2006 adopted this declaration and the statement of the faculty of the UP College of Law on Proclamation No. 1017. The UC is composed of professors, associate professors and assistant professors and chaired by the Chancellor.
Defend our civil liberties and fight for freedom!
Oppose Proclamation No. 1017!
Declaration of the University Council (UC) of the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City on Proclamation No. 1017
28 February 2006
A university in a democracy draws its life from an environment of political freedom. None of its basic functions – the quest for truth, the encouragement of critical inquiry, the stimulation of the imagination – is possible in a climate of repression.
The University of the Philippines (UP) as the national university is the vanguard in upholding civil liberties and fighting for freedom. We affirm UP's commitment to the fundamental constitutional and human rights of the people.
- UPD remains an open space for public debate consistent with its treasured value of academic freedom;
- UPD is a refuge for those who are subjected to political arrests and other forms of harassment;
- UPD challenges every move to clamp down on any of our basic freedoms;
- UPD reiterates its call for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign; and
- UPD supports a peaceful transition in the political leadership.
STATEMENT OF THE UP FACULTY OF LAW ON PROCLAMATION 1017 AND GENERAL ORDER 5
Last Friday, February 24, 2006, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation 1017, declaring state of national emergency. Immediately after, she issued General Order No. 5, directing the chiefs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to "immediately carry out necessary and appropriate actions and measures to suppress and prevent acts of terrorism and lawless violence."
Since then, these two issuances have been used to justify the imposition of severe limitations on – and in certain instances the outright denial of – civil liberties guaranteed and protected under the Bill of Rights, including the freedoms of speech, expression, of the press, and public assembly. Ostensibly on the strength of Proclamation 1017 and General Order No. 5, a general ban on rallies has been imposed, the PNP has raided one newspaper and threatens to take over other media outfits which "fail to conform to government standards," and numerous persons, including several members of Congress, have been arrested without warrant.
We, the faculty of the University of the Philippines College of Law, speaking with one voice, condemn in the strongest possible terms this brazen assault on essential freedoms. We firmly and unequivocally take the position that Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5, and the manner in which they are being applied by the Executive, constitute an unconstitutional infringement on civil liberties.
We refuse to accept the half-hearted excuse, put forth by some officials in the Arroyo administration, that the two issuances were "not intended" to violate the Bill of Rights. The simple and undeniable fact is that Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5 have been utilized by the PNP and other executive organs to mount a vigorous and unrelenting campaign against perceived critics of the administration, in full and flagrant disregard of the protections enshrined in the Bill of Rights as well as the legal rules of procedure. Equally undeniable is that the President has sanctioned, or at the very least tacitly approved, these actions undertaken by her subordinates, all of whom are fully within her control.
The indisputable truth is that the violations of the Bill of Rights done pursuant to Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5 are acts of the President.
It must be emphasized that nothing in the Constitution can authorize the suspension of the Bill of Rights. Even under a declared state of martial law, which the Arroyo administration repeatedly insists this is not, the Bill of Rights remains fully operative. Thus, the suppression of free speech, the muzzling of the free press, and the prohibition on public assembly sanctioned by the two issuances cannot be constructed as anything other than clearly and unequivocally unconstitutional.
Our civil liberties, particularly the freedom of speech and public assembly are indispensable to our democracy. We cannot allow them to be arbitrarily suppressed. We therefore call for the immediate and unconditional rescission of Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5.
(end)
Defend our civil liberties and fight for freedom!
Oppose Proclamation No. 1017!
Declaration of the University Council (UC) of the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City on Proclamation No. 1017
28 February 2006
A university in a democracy draws its life from an environment of political freedom. None of its basic functions – the quest for truth, the encouragement of critical inquiry, the stimulation of the imagination – is possible in a climate of repression.
The University of the Philippines (UP) as the national university is the vanguard in upholding civil liberties and fighting for freedom. We affirm UP's commitment to the fundamental constitutional and human rights of the people.
- UPD remains an open space for public debate consistent with its treasured value of academic freedom;
- UPD is a refuge for those who are subjected to political arrests and other forms of harassment;
- UPD challenges every move to clamp down on any of our basic freedoms;
- UPD reiterates its call for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign; and
- UPD supports a peaceful transition in the political leadership.
STATEMENT OF THE UP FACULTY OF LAW ON PROCLAMATION 1017 AND GENERAL ORDER 5
Last Friday, February 24, 2006, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation 1017, declaring state of national emergency. Immediately after, she issued General Order No. 5, directing the chiefs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to "immediately carry out necessary and appropriate actions and measures to suppress and prevent acts of terrorism and lawless violence."
Since then, these two issuances have been used to justify the imposition of severe limitations on – and in certain instances the outright denial of – civil liberties guaranteed and protected under the Bill of Rights, including the freedoms of speech, expression, of the press, and public assembly. Ostensibly on the strength of Proclamation 1017 and General Order No. 5, a general ban on rallies has been imposed, the PNP has raided one newspaper and threatens to take over other media outfits which "fail to conform to government standards," and numerous persons, including several members of Congress, have been arrested without warrant.
We, the faculty of the University of the Philippines College of Law, speaking with one voice, condemn in the strongest possible terms this brazen assault on essential freedoms. We firmly and unequivocally take the position that Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5, and the manner in which they are being applied by the Executive, constitute an unconstitutional infringement on civil liberties.
We refuse to accept the half-hearted excuse, put forth by some officials in the Arroyo administration, that the two issuances were "not intended" to violate the Bill of Rights. The simple and undeniable fact is that Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5 have been utilized by the PNP and other executive organs to mount a vigorous and unrelenting campaign against perceived critics of the administration, in full and flagrant disregard of the protections enshrined in the Bill of Rights as well as the legal rules of procedure. Equally undeniable is that the President has sanctioned, or at the very least tacitly approved, these actions undertaken by her subordinates, all of whom are fully within her control.
The indisputable truth is that the violations of the Bill of Rights done pursuant to Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5 are acts of the President.
It must be emphasized that nothing in the Constitution can authorize the suspension of the Bill of Rights. Even under a declared state of martial law, which the Arroyo administration repeatedly insists this is not, the Bill of Rights remains fully operative. Thus, the suppression of free speech, the muzzling of the free press, and the prohibition on public assembly sanctioned by the two issuances cannot be constructed as anything other than clearly and unequivocally unconstitutional.
Our civil liberties, particularly the freedom of speech and public assembly are indispensable to our democracy. We cannot allow them to be arbitrarily suppressed. We therefore call for the immediate and unconditional rescission of Proclamation 1017 and General Order 5.
(end)
1000 protesters massed up in Lasalle Greenhills
http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=2&story_id=67967
Anti-Arroyo protesters told to leave Edsa Shrine
First posted 07:05pm (Mla time) Mar 01, 2006
By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer
ABOUT 1,000 anti-Arroyo protesters were driven away by the police from the Edsa Shrine on Wednesday afternoon.
Only personalities like former vice president Teofisto Guingona and former Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman were allowed to enter the shrine where a mass was then being held.
After about 30 minutes, the group decided to march to the La Salle Greenhills where an Ash Wednesday mass was held at the chapel. Guingona, Soliman and other personalities attended the mass at the school. Other protesters stayed outside the school compound on Ortigas Avenue.
Anti-Arroyo protesters told to leave Edsa Shrine
First posted 07:05pm (Mla time) Mar 01, 2006
By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer
ABOUT 1,000 anti-Arroyo protesters were driven away by the police from the Edsa Shrine on Wednesday afternoon.
Only personalities like former vice president Teofisto Guingona and former Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman were allowed to enter the shrine where a mass was then being held.
After about 30 minutes, the group decided to march to the La Salle Greenhills where an Ash Wednesday mass was held at the chapel. Guingona, Soliman and other personalities attended the mass at the school. Other protesters stayed outside the school compound on Ortigas Avenue.
symbols of a democracy
Haunted by the past
February 28, 2006 @ 11:56 am · Posted by Luz Rimban
Filed under In the News, Congress Watch, State of National Emergency
THE government has arrested two congressmen and announced that at least four others may soon find themselves behind bars in the wake of a failed attempt to oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The clampdown does not only call to mind the mood right after the declaration of martial law when Ferdinand Marcos ordered his political enemies imprisoned. The similarity reaches farther back in time to an incident that is hardly mentioned in Philippine history. Sixty years ago, government ordered the expulsion of leftists in the legislature.
The year was 1946 and a coalition of leftist and libertarian forces called the Democratic Alliance (DA), along with the Nacionalista Party (NP), fielded candidates for seven districts in Central Luzon, the bastion of the resistance movement against the Japanese occupation.
The DA was composed of the Partiko Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap), the Pambansang Kilusan ng Magbubukid, and the Civil Liberties Union, among others. The candidates were mostly from the middle class—one was a doctor, three were lawyers, one was a civil servant while the rest were men of equally good standing in the community. All in all, there were six DA and one NP congressmen from Central Luzon who were carried by that alliance.
At that time, the United States was about to grant the Philippines its independence. The DA was campaigning on an anti-parity platform: they rejected the idea of giving Americans equal rights to do business in the country and exploit its natural resources, a right they thought should be held solely by Filipinos. The campaign apparently did not sit well with the Americans or their friends in the House of Representatives.
What follows was pieced together by PCIJ from the transcripts of House sessions from 1946 to 1947 and from the book "Memoirs of a Communist" written by one of the DA congressmen, the late Dr Jesus Lava. The account was published in a chapter of the PCIJ book, The Rulemakers. Below is an abridged version:
Soon after the House of Representatives convened on May 25, 1946, the leaders of the Liberal Party, then the ruling party in the country, questioned the presence of the DA members in the House. LP leader Jose Topacio Nueno filed a resolution against the DA members, citing a Commission on Election report issued just two days before "regarding scandalous terroristic irregularities" that occurred in the April 23, 1946 elections. On further questioning, Nueno admitted he was the only one who had seen a copy of that report at that point.
Armed only with the mysterious resolution, Nueno said the victories of the Central Luzon congressmen were dubious, and asked that the House defer their oath-taking. As if to show that he was not singling out the DA, Nueno included in the resolution the names of two LP congressmen who were eventually dropped from the list.
For days, the congressmen were in limbo. They collected salaries and held office but were ignored and were not allowed to vote on House measures. It was only House minority leader Cipriano Primicias of the NP who took the cudgels for the DA congressman.
Finally, Primicias haggled with other House leaders to allow the DA congressmen to speak. They did so in Pilipino, perhaps the first time in history that the national language was heard in the halls of Congress that until then reverberated with speeches delivered in either English or Spanish.
Luis Taruc, Huk Supremo and representative from Pampanga, pointed to his landslide victory — that he had gotten 39,000 votes as against his opponent's 1,000. He also his cited the Huks' role in the liberation campaign and how they marched with the US forces to help liberate Manila.
Nueno did not let that pass. He proposed that all the Huks surrender their firearms, offering to match with his own every gun the Huks laid down. "I have more than 1,000 guns in my possession," Nueno said.
Tension mounted in the session hall soon after that. Lava recalled: "In the heat of the verbal tussles, LP congressmen led by Nueno began to show extreme aggressiveness and combativeness, displaying their firearms for all to see," Lava wrote. Congressional records also note NP congressman Alex Santos challenging Nueno to a fight at a time and a place of Nueno's choosing.
Lava went on: "With that challenge, Alex brought out his pistol from his portfolio, and placed it squarely on the table. I myself had my hand grasping my gun inside my portfolio, not really knowing what to do, whom to shoot at, if and when firing started." Cooler heads prevailed and averted a congressional bloodbath.
Eventually, the government intensified its attacks on the Left, while the Left pursued anti-government action. Lava and Taruc were forced to go back to the hills. Historian Manuel Caoili says this incident set off the peasant rebellion in 1946 and is the reason that the peasants, workers and other nationalist groups have been poorly represented in Congress.
The 1987 Constitution changed all that. It had a provision that allowed marginalized sectors to be represented through the party-list system. Crispin Beltran, Rafael Mariano, Satur Ocampo, Liza Masa, Joel Virador, and Teddy Casino were supposed to be symbols of a democracy that made space for long unrepresented marginalized groups.
February 28, 2006 @ 11:56 am · Posted by Luz Rimban
Filed under In the News, Congress Watch, State of National Emergency
THE government has arrested two congressmen and announced that at least four others may soon find themselves behind bars in the wake of a failed attempt to oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The clampdown does not only call to mind the mood right after the declaration of martial law when Ferdinand Marcos ordered his political enemies imprisoned. The similarity reaches farther back in time to an incident that is hardly mentioned in Philippine history. Sixty years ago, government ordered the expulsion of leftists in the legislature.
The year was 1946 and a coalition of leftist and libertarian forces called the Democratic Alliance (DA), along with the Nacionalista Party (NP), fielded candidates for seven districts in Central Luzon, the bastion of the resistance movement against the Japanese occupation.
The DA was composed of the Partiko Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap), the Pambansang Kilusan ng Magbubukid, and the Civil Liberties Union, among others. The candidates were mostly from the middle class—one was a doctor, three were lawyers, one was a civil servant while the rest were men of equally good standing in the community. All in all, there were six DA and one NP congressmen from Central Luzon who were carried by that alliance.
At that time, the United States was about to grant the Philippines its independence. The DA was campaigning on an anti-parity platform: they rejected the idea of giving Americans equal rights to do business in the country and exploit its natural resources, a right they thought should be held solely by Filipinos. The campaign apparently did not sit well with the Americans or their friends in the House of Representatives.
What follows was pieced together by PCIJ from the transcripts of House sessions from 1946 to 1947 and from the book "Memoirs of a Communist" written by one of the DA congressmen, the late Dr Jesus Lava. The account was published in a chapter of the PCIJ book, The Rulemakers. Below is an abridged version:
Soon after the House of Representatives convened on May 25, 1946, the leaders of the Liberal Party, then the ruling party in the country, questioned the presence of the DA members in the House. LP leader Jose Topacio Nueno filed a resolution against the DA members, citing a Commission on Election report issued just two days before "regarding scandalous terroristic irregularities" that occurred in the April 23, 1946 elections. On further questioning, Nueno admitted he was the only one who had seen a copy of that report at that point.
Armed only with the mysterious resolution, Nueno said the victories of the Central Luzon congressmen were dubious, and asked that the House defer their oath-taking. As if to show that he was not singling out the DA, Nueno included in the resolution the names of two LP congressmen who were eventually dropped from the list.
For days, the congressmen were in limbo. They collected salaries and held office but were ignored and were not allowed to vote on House measures. It was only House minority leader Cipriano Primicias of the NP who took the cudgels for the DA congressman.
Finally, Primicias haggled with other House leaders to allow the DA congressmen to speak. They did so in Pilipino, perhaps the first time in history that the national language was heard in the halls of Congress that until then reverberated with speeches delivered in either English or Spanish.
Luis Taruc, Huk Supremo and representative from Pampanga, pointed to his landslide victory — that he had gotten 39,000 votes as against his opponent's 1,000. He also his cited the Huks' role in the liberation campaign and how they marched with the US forces to help liberate Manila.
Nueno did not let that pass. He proposed that all the Huks surrender their firearms, offering to match with his own every gun the Huks laid down. "I have more than 1,000 guns in my possession," Nueno said.
Tension mounted in the session hall soon after that. Lava recalled: "In the heat of the verbal tussles, LP congressmen led by Nueno began to show extreme aggressiveness and combativeness, displaying their firearms for all to see," Lava wrote. Congressional records also note NP congressman Alex Santos challenging Nueno to a fight at a time and a place of Nueno's choosing.
Lava went on: "With that challenge, Alex brought out his pistol from his portfolio, and placed it squarely on the table. I myself had my hand grasping my gun inside my portfolio, not really knowing what to do, whom to shoot at, if and when firing started." Cooler heads prevailed and averted a congressional bloodbath.
Eventually, the government intensified its attacks on the Left, while the Left pursued anti-government action. Lava and Taruc were forced to go back to the hills. Historian Manuel Caoili says this incident set off the peasant rebellion in 1946 and is the reason that the peasants, workers and other nationalist groups have been poorly represented in Congress.
The 1987 Constitution changed all that. It had a provision that allowed marginalized sectors to be represented through the party-list system. Crispin Beltran, Rafael Mariano, Satur Ocampo, Liza Masa, Joel Virador, and Teddy Casino were supposed to be symbols of a democracy that made space for long unrepresented marginalized groups.
FALSITY OF THE COUP ALLEGATION
Press Statement
28 February 2006
COMPOSITION OF LIST OF PEOPLE TARGETED FOR ARREST EXPOSES THE FALSITY OF THE COUP ALLEGATION AND THE VILE OBJECTIVE OF THE ARROYO REGIME
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
I have read the excellent report of Sheila Coronel, titled "Government crackdown intensifies, appearing in the February 27, 2006 issue of Inside PCIJ (Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism). The findings of the report can help to expose the falsity of the coup allegation and the vile objective of the Arroyo regime.
The report carries the list of 59 persons submitted to the Justice Department by Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management of the Philippine National Police. The listed persons are described as "guilty of rebellion and insurrection committed on February 24, 2006", the day Gloria M. Arroyo announced that she had preempted an attempted coup and issued Proclamation 1017 to declare a state of national emergency.
I have the honor of being at the top of the entire list. But the point is to analyze the composition of the list and to draw some conclusions. The list includes 44 persons who are alleged communist leaders and members, six members of Congress who belong to the party list groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women's Party and Anakpawis (Toiling Masses), three retired military officers who were leaders of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement and three lieutenants.
We notice from the list the predominance of 50 civilians who are known progressives and a small number of former military officers. We also notice the absence of the names of Brig. General Danilo Lim of the First Scout Ranger Regiment, Colonel Ariel Querubin of the First Marine Brigade and Chief Supt. Marcelino Franco of the PNP Special Action Force who were supposed to be players in the alleged coup attempt foiled by the loyalists of the Arroyo regime last Friday, February 24. Indeed, they should not be in the list just as those already in the list should not be.
We have enough factual basis to state that the Arroyo regime fabricated the so-called coup plot of communists and Rightist officers, supposedly foiled last February 24 but still necessitating Proclamation 1017. The canard was used to disperse the mass actions celebrating Edsa 1, to attack mainly the patriotic and progressive forces in the mass movement, intimidate the mass media and suppress democratic rights in the long haul.
The overriding purpose of the regime to start with Proclamation 1017 on the road of fascist dictatorship and state terrorism by way of prolonging itself in power and ramming through charter change to serve the interests of US imperialism and theworst of local reactionary interests.###
Press Statement
28 February 2006
CHARGE OF COUP CONSPIRACY AND CLAIM OF COUP ATTEMPT ARE PSYWAR FOR FASCIST DICTATORSHIP AND STATE TERRORISM
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
It is a well-established and well-known fact that the broad united front of opposition parties, mass organizations and groups of retired and active military and police officers seek to oust the illegitimate, corrupt, brutal and treasonous Arroyo regime in a legal and peaceful way by mobilizing the broad masses to exercise their sovereign will and democratic rights and by encouraging the military and police forces to side with the people and withdraw support from the regime, as in Edsa 1 and Edsa 2.
The information received by office of the NDFP Negotiating Panel from the NDFP National Executive Committee and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines are consistent with the aforesaid fact. It confirms that the CPP has no agreement with any group in the military organization of the reactionary government regarding any conspiracy to carry out a coup d'etat on February 24 or any other date.
The claim of the Arroyo regime that there is a coup conspiracy between the CPP and so-called military adventurists of the Right is a brazen lie. It is a canard, a pure psywar fabrication of a desperate and dying regime that wishes to prevent its doom by taking the Marcosian road of fascist dictatorship and unleashing state terrorism against the broad masses of the people and broad united front of patriotic, progressive and other anti-Arroyo forces.
The Arroyo regime is caught in the web of its own lies. It claims to have foiled a coup attempt on February 24 and to have achieved overwhelming victory over a coup conspiracy and yet it still finds it necessary to issue Proclamation 1017 in order to apply draconian measures on masses of people in peaceful assembly, mass media, progressive members of Congress, opposition political parties, mass organizations, and other civilian entities.
It misrepresents as a foiled coup attempt a mere conversation between AFP chief of staff General Senga and General Danilo Lim about the difficulty of preventing the officers and troops from joining the mass actions, as in Edsa 1 and Edsa. It also misrepresents as a coup conspiracy an alleged agreement of political alliance between the CPP and the anti-Arroyo groups in the military and police forces.
There is nothing wrong if under certain conditions the representatives of the CPP and any anti-Arroyo group in the military and police negotiate and make agreements for the benefit of the people along the line of patriotism, democracy, civilian supremacy, development and just peace. No less than the reactionary government, including the Arroyo regime, has negotiated and made agreements with the NDFP as well as with the CPP and NPA.
Arroyo and her cohorts have not presented any proof against any anti-Arroyo military officer for violation of Republic Act 6968 or the Anti-Coup d'Etat Law. They are the real coup conspirators. They have fabricated the false charge of coup conspiracy and false claim of coup attempt against others and they have chosen to make the charge of rebellion in order to justify the issuance of Proclamation 1017, start a new fascist dictatorship reminiscent of its Marcosian predecessor and preempt judicial review of the factual basis of the proclamation by invoking the authority of the commander-in-chief to call on the troops to prevent or suppress lawless violence, rebellion or invasion..
The charge of rebellion against me for supposed involvement in a coup conspiracy is pure hogwash coming from the ultra-Right and fascist Arroyo regime. I have authorized my Philippine lawyers in the Public Interest Law Center to take all necessary and possible legal actions in order to counter this false charge and to act in my interest.
I hope that there is still some room for my counsel to act legally on my behalf. At the same time, I am mindful of the fact that Proclamation 1017 is the beginning of the fascist scheme of Arroyo and her closest minions to issue decrees and orders to suppress democratic rights and pave the way for a US-designed charter change in exchange for the prolongation of the puppet, corrupt, brutal and mendacious Arroyo regime.
In this regard, the broad masses of the people and all the patriotic and progressive forces are moved to intensify all forms of struggle in order to oust the regime and move forward in the struggle for national liberation and democracy. As the Arroyo regime takes a fascist dictatorial character and increasingly uses brute force to suppress the people and all its opponents, the contradictions within the ruling system are bound to become more violent than ever before. As a result, the armed revolutionary movement of the people can expand and advance faster than ever before.###
28 February 2006
COMPOSITION OF LIST OF PEOPLE TARGETED FOR ARREST EXPOSES THE FALSITY OF THE COUP ALLEGATION AND THE VILE OBJECTIVE OF THE ARROYO REGIME
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
I have read the excellent report of Sheila Coronel, titled "Government crackdown intensifies, appearing in the February 27, 2006 issue of Inside PCIJ (Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism). The findings of the report can help to expose the falsity of the coup allegation and the vile objective of the Arroyo regime.
The report carries the list of 59 persons submitted to the Justice Department by Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management of the Philippine National Police. The listed persons are described as "guilty of rebellion and insurrection committed on February 24, 2006", the day Gloria M. Arroyo announced that she had preempted an attempted coup and issued Proclamation 1017 to declare a state of national emergency.
I have the honor of being at the top of the entire list. But the point is to analyze the composition of the list and to draw some conclusions. The list includes 44 persons who are alleged communist leaders and members, six members of Congress who belong to the party list groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women's Party and Anakpawis (Toiling Masses), three retired military officers who were leaders of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement and three lieutenants.
We notice from the list the predominance of 50 civilians who are known progressives and a small number of former military officers. We also notice the absence of the names of Brig. General Danilo Lim of the First Scout Ranger Regiment, Colonel Ariel Querubin of the First Marine Brigade and Chief Supt. Marcelino Franco of the PNP Special Action Force who were supposed to be players in the alleged coup attempt foiled by the loyalists of the Arroyo regime last Friday, February 24. Indeed, they should not be in the list just as those already in the list should not be.
We have enough factual basis to state that the Arroyo regime fabricated the so-called coup plot of communists and Rightist officers, supposedly foiled last February 24 but still necessitating Proclamation 1017. The canard was used to disperse the mass actions celebrating Edsa 1, to attack mainly the patriotic and progressive forces in the mass movement, intimidate the mass media and suppress democratic rights in the long haul.
The overriding purpose of the regime to start with Proclamation 1017 on the road of fascist dictatorship and state terrorism by way of prolonging itself in power and ramming through charter change to serve the interests of US imperialism and theworst of local reactionary interests.###
Press Statement
28 February 2006
CHARGE OF COUP CONSPIRACY AND CLAIM OF COUP ATTEMPT ARE PSYWAR FOR FASCIST DICTATORSHIP AND STATE TERRORISM
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
It is a well-established and well-known fact that the broad united front of opposition parties, mass organizations and groups of retired and active military and police officers seek to oust the illegitimate, corrupt, brutal and treasonous Arroyo regime in a legal and peaceful way by mobilizing the broad masses to exercise their sovereign will and democratic rights and by encouraging the military and police forces to side with the people and withdraw support from the regime, as in Edsa 1 and Edsa 2.
The information received by office of the NDFP Negotiating Panel from the NDFP National Executive Committee and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines are consistent with the aforesaid fact. It confirms that the CPP has no agreement with any group in the military organization of the reactionary government regarding any conspiracy to carry out a coup d'etat on February 24 or any other date.
The claim of the Arroyo regime that there is a coup conspiracy between the CPP and so-called military adventurists of the Right is a brazen lie. It is a canard, a pure psywar fabrication of a desperate and dying regime that wishes to prevent its doom by taking the Marcosian road of fascist dictatorship and unleashing state terrorism against the broad masses of the people and broad united front of patriotic, progressive and other anti-Arroyo forces.
The Arroyo regime is caught in the web of its own lies. It claims to have foiled a coup attempt on February 24 and to have achieved overwhelming victory over a coup conspiracy and yet it still finds it necessary to issue Proclamation 1017 in order to apply draconian measures on masses of people in peaceful assembly, mass media, progressive members of Congress, opposition political parties, mass organizations, and other civilian entities.
It misrepresents as a foiled coup attempt a mere conversation between AFP chief of staff General Senga and General Danilo Lim about the difficulty of preventing the officers and troops from joining the mass actions, as in Edsa 1 and Edsa. It also misrepresents as a coup conspiracy an alleged agreement of political alliance between the CPP and the anti-Arroyo groups in the military and police forces.
There is nothing wrong if under certain conditions the representatives of the CPP and any anti-Arroyo group in the military and police negotiate and make agreements for the benefit of the people along the line of patriotism, democracy, civilian supremacy, development and just peace. No less than the reactionary government, including the Arroyo regime, has negotiated and made agreements with the NDFP as well as with the CPP and NPA.
Arroyo and her cohorts have not presented any proof against any anti-Arroyo military officer for violation of Republic Act 6968 or the Anti-Coup d'Etat Law. They are the real coup conspirators. They have fabricated the false charge of coup conspiracy and false claim of coup attempt against others and they have chosen to make the charge of rebellion in order to justify the issuance of Proclamation 1017, start a new fascist dictatorship reminiscent of its Marcosian predecessor and preempt judicial review of the factual basis of the proclamation by invoking the authority of the commander-in-chief to call on the troops to prevent or suppress lawless violence, rebellion or invasion..
The charge of rebellion against me for supposed involvement in a coup conspiracy is pure hogwash coming from the ultra-Right and fascist Arroyo regime. I have authorized my Philippine lawyers in the Public Interest Law Center to take all necessary and possible legal actions in order to counter this false charge and to act in my interest.
I hope that there is still some room for my counsel to act legally on my behalf. At the same time, I am mindful of the fact that Proclamation 1017 is the beginning of the fascist scheme of Arroyo and her closest minions to issue decrees and orders to suppress democratic rights and pave the way for a US-designed charter change in exchange for the prolongation of the puppet, corrupt, brutal and mendacious Arroyo regime.
In this regard, the broad masses of the people and all the patriotic and progressive forces are moved to intensify all forms of struggle in order to oust the regime and move forward in the struggle for national liberation and democracy. As the Arroyo regime takes a fascist dictatorial character and increasingly uses brute force to suppress the people and all its opponents, the contradictions within the ruling system are bound to become more violent than ever before. As a result, the armed revolutionary movement of the people can expand and advance faster than ever before.###
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