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Bayan Muna (People First) Party ListVol. 7 No. 1 December 2007

THE ARROYO REGIME HAS REPEATEDLY USED ITS IRON HAND IN ANattempt to suppress and crush the peoples militant legal struggle. But it hasdone so in vain. Instead, the Arroyo administration has incurred unprecedentedwidespread protests and condemnation in the Philippines and abroad fo

unleashing terror on the Filipino people.

The peoples movement scored important victories in the fight against the Arroyoregimes terrorism. The year 2007 saw a temporary yet significant decline in theextrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of activists, the thwarting of theregimes legal offensive against progressive leaders, and the emergence of anactivist Supreme Court in protecting the peoples constitutional rights.

These victories provide an inspiration and a strong impetus to further advance thestruggle against state terrorism and repression and to call the Arroyo regime toaccount for its crimes against the people.

Fascist attacks and cover-up

The state used two ways to attack activists and the legal progressive movement.

First, it unleashed military and police terror against activists and the people theyorganized. Under the dictates and assistance of the US, the Arroyo governmentintensified its war not only against armed rebels but also against unarmed activistsand innocent civilians.

Mrs. Arroyo has nearly put to shame the bloody record of former Pres. FerdinandMarcos. From Jan. 2001 to Dec. 2007, the number of extrajudicial killings reached887 and the number of abducted and still missing, 185. Bayan Muna has sufferedhuge casualties with 132 members killed and eight forcibly disappeared.

Second, Mrs. Arroyo formed the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) inJanuary 2006 to spearhead the regimes so-called legal offensive against leadersof progressive organizations and political parties. The use of fake witnessesperjured affidavits, violations of due process, the rules of court and the constitutionarights of the accused characterized the offensive.

It was through such moves that Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran was detained fomore than a year on a spurious rebellion charge. Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampowas also detained for 17 days based on a similarly spurious multiple murder chargeAnd in The Netherlands, Jose Maria Sison, chief political consultant of the NationaDemocraitc Front peace negotiating panel, was detained for a couple of weekswhile being investigated for alleged inducement for murder.

Newsletter

The people are winningthe fight against state

terrorism

Whats Inside

Big gains in Bayan

Muna overseas links12

Bayan Muna leads

human rights

initiatives in House

33333

Three bills to reform

oil industry filed44444

Arroyo regime held

accountable for

numerous atrocities

77777

To save self, Arroyoc o r r u p t s

i m p e a c h m e n tprocess a 2nd time

8

10 Party list reps slamCARL extension, bat

for Genuine Agrarian

Reform Law

by Nathanael S. Santiago

Bayan Muna Secretary General

THE PEOPLE / P 5


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National Executive Committee

Dr. Reynaldo LesacaChairperson

Manny LosteVice Chairperson

Satur C. OcampoPresident

Joel ViradorExecutive Vice President

Atty. Greg FabrosVice President for Luzon

Siegfred DeduroVice President for Visayas

Jeppie RamadaVice President for Mindanao

Nathanael Santiago

Secretary General

Marco PaloDeputy Secretary General

Editor-in-Chief: Satur C. Ocampo

Managing Editor: Amy V. Padilla

Writers: Teddy A. Casio,Nathanael S. Santiago, AndreaKarla Guray, Jimmy Fernando,Vincent Michael L. Borneo

The BAYAN MUNA Newsletter ispublished quarterly by the partysNational Executive Committee.Reprinting or redistribution of articles ispermitted provided that the author/s andBayan Muna are properly credited andnotified.Photo Credits: inquirer.netarkibongbayan.org, AP, pinoyweekly.org

Editorial

BAYAN MUNA Newsletter

A DEEPER ECONOMIC CRISIS AND GRAVER POLITICAL CRISIS FORthe Arroyo government loom in 2008.

The governments much-hyped claims of 7% three-quarter growth in thegross domestic product (GDP), strong macroeconomic fundamentals,and a balanced budget by yearend are liable to be negated as theincipient recession of the US economy, spiked by the record rise of crudeand oil prices, goes full blown and drags the global economy.

That such dire developments can be checked or moderated asgovernment economic managers are expected to claim appears a dimprospect. This, because the government wooden-headedly adheres toneo-liberal globalization policies carried out since 1995, policies that evenpro-globalization economists, like Joseph Stiglitz, have abandonedbecause they have worsened, rather than abated, economic imbalancesand poverty worldwide.

The government adamantly refuses to adopt suggested changes inpolicies to address both the peoples demand for immediate economicrelief and for long-term solutions to the problems of endemic poverty

joblessness and widening income inequality.

For instance, the spike in oil prices, projected to reach $100 per barrelspurred the call for the suspension or removal of the 12% value-addedtax on oil products to provide consumers immediate relief. Yet, thegovernment spurned the idea, opted to reduce the 3% tariff on crude by

one percent, a step that hardly makes a difference.

As the year ended, the government continued to grapple with sinkingapproval ratings in surveys, and the popular demand for Mrs. Arroyo toresign or be removed from office persisted. While the earlier issues olegitimacy, electoral fraud, graft and corruption, and gross human rightsviolations remain unresolved, the disclosures of the scandalous ZTE dealthe attempted bribery in the House and the actual large-scale bribery inMalacaang have driven the government into deeper political isolation.

Characteristically, the government and its security forces have called forthe adoption of already discredited measures, such as the revival of theanti-subversion law and a national ID system to be used for counter-insurgency operations. Besides the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya2, these moves bode wider threats to human rights.

Under such conditions, the people have all the right and motivation toprotest more vehemently and struggle more militantly in 2008. Theyhave more solid grounds to demand for change, both in economic policiesand in the nations politics.

Bayan Muna will continue to stand staunchly with the people in theirunrelenting struggle. #

2008: deeper crisis, bigger protests


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BAYAN MUNA REP. AND DEPUTYMinority Leader Satur C. Ocampoleads the progressive party-list blocin pushing for the enactment of fourmeasures to advance and protecthuman rights in the country.

Two of the bills have wonoverwhelming support from bothmajority and minority legislators. Onehundred thirty one (131) members ofthe House crossed party lines in co-authoring House Bill 2236 or An ActDefining and Penalizing the Crime ofEnforced or InvoluntaryDisappearance filed on August 28.

The other bill, House Bill 2619, titledAn Act Declaring Torture a Crime andPrescribing Penalties forCommission of Acts of Torture,garnered 138 co-authors when it wasfiled on Sept. 20, eve of the 35th yearof the declaration of martial law byFerdinand Marcos.

At least 183 victims of enforceddisappearances were recorded since

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyotook office in 2001, and over 800cases during the pastadministrations, said Ocampo.

He added that the phenomenon ofenforced or involuntarydisappearance has been leftundefined, unchecked andunpunished in the country. Nospecific offense related to it has beenrecognized despite its systematic

occurrence in the past 30 years, heemphasized.

Ocampo decried the fact thatsubsequent administrations afterMarcos did not only fail to put an endto this problem but also allowed theabhorrent practice to persist.

He likewise said it was high-time tocriminalize and stop the practice oftorture institutionalized by martial law.

Bayan Muna leads human

rights initiatives in House

In his explanatory note toHB 2236, Ocampo noted:In the Philippines today,persons arrested for or

merely suspected ofcommitting variousoffenses whether light orgrave, ordinary criminalacts or political crimes are routinely subjected toindignit ies, humiliation,degrading or inhuman treatment byagents of police, military and otherlaw enforcement agencies. The useof torture has become so customaryas to raise the question if it is officially

sanctioned policy.

The militant lawmaker stated: Tortureis a gross violation of human rightsand being subjected to it is a graveaffront to human dignity. Its practiceis strictly condemned by thePhilippine Constitution andinternational law.

Despite a strict constitutionalprovision, there is no law in thePhilippines which defines and

penalizes torture, said Ocampo, amartial law victim of torture involvingrepeated use of electric shocks, watercure, and other brutal techniques.

During the Marcos regime, at least35,000 victims of torture wererecorded. Under the Arroyoadministration, the human rightsgroup Karapatan has tallied morethan 800 cases of torture.

The bill declares the practice oftorture a crime and provides penaltiesfor its commission. It expresslyaffirms the policy of the State to fullyadhere to the principles andstandards on the absolutecondemnation and prohibition oftorture set by the Constitution andvarious international instruments towhich the Philippines is a signatory.

It seeks to ensure that the rights ofall persons, including suspects,

detainees or prisoners, arerespected at all times, said Ocampo

Ocampo also led the refiling of HouseBill 1114 or the Martial Law VictimsCompensation Act seeking

indemnification as an imperativestep towards the effectiveenforcement of the administration o

justice, the healing process of victimsand society as a whole, and in servingas a deterrent to future human rightsviolations.

HB 1114 recognizes the inestimablesuffering and loss of all those whowere victimized during martial law bythe worst forms of atrocities

involuntary disappearance, summaryexecution, torture, polit icaimprisonment. It affirms the Statesmoral and legal obligation to grantthem indemnification, which ranks asone of the universally recognizedfundamental principles of law and isa crucial element of obtaining redressfor violations of human rights.

On the 59th anniversary of the UnitedNations Declaration of Human

Rights, Ocampo and colleagues filedHouse Bill 3259 or An Act PunishingMilitary Commanders or Superiors foCrimes or Offenses Committed bytheir Subordinates Under thePrinciple of CommandResponsibility.

Ocampo said the filing of this bill isone of our contributions in thecontinuous search for measures to

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Three bills to reform oil industry filed

THE BAYAN MUNA LEADERSHIP

strongly condemned the assassinationattempt on its nominee and Panayregional coordinator Hope Hervilla inIloilo City on November 26, 2007.

On that day, Hervillas house wassurrounded by armed men suspectedto be military intelligence agents.

In her report to Bayan MunaPresident Satur Ocampo, Hervilla saidshe was lucky to break out of the

Bayan Muna condemns assassination try on Iloilo coordinator

assassins casing, with the help of

Iloilo Rep. Jun-Jun Tupas and IloiloGovernor Niel Tupas who sent escortsto our house for us to get outbecause vehicles were waiting at allexit points.

Hervi l la has since been givenprotection by the provincialgovernor.

Ocampo said Hervilla earned the ireof the military because of her active

MILITANT LEGISLATORS ARE PUSHING FOR Athree-bill package to address the problem of rampanthikes in oil prices since the deregulation of the oilindustry in 1996.

Bayan Muna Reps. Teddy Casio and Satur Ocampo,Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran and Gabriela Reps.Luz Ilagan and Liza Maza filed House Bills 3029, 3030

and 3031 on November 6, 2007 as bold and concretesteps to squarely address the problem of oligopoly inthe oil industry and to protect the public fromskyrocketing oil prices.

The three bills are tangible, long-term solutions thatcan immediately mitigate the impact on the people ofskyrocketing oil prices. These should be among thepriority legislative measures of government, thelawmakers said in a joint statement.

HB 3029 seeks the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law.HB 3030 proposes a centralized procurement of oil

products from the cheapest sources in the world, whileHB 3031 mandates the re-acquisition of a majoritygovernment stake in the former state-owned Petron.

We call the Arroyo administration to account forrendering the Filipino people defenseless against thecontinued oil price increases. It must now prioritize thesebills and do away with its ineffective automatic tariffmechanism, the statement added.

Citing a recent United Nations report, the independenthink-tank IBON Foundation noted that the Philippineshas been among the countries most vulnerable to oiprice shocks because of its heavy dependence onimported oil.

IBON said more than 90 percent of the local oiindustry is controlled by giant transnationa

corporations through their local units Petron, ShellCaltex and Total.

The Oil Deregulation Law further strengthened themonopoly of these companies because it allowedthem to automatically increase oil prices. All togetherthe oil companies have hiked them to pump prices oall petroleum products by around 535 percent sincethe deregulation law was implemented in April 1996,Casio pointed out.

We shall push for the passage of the three-bilpackage in 2008. We have gained support from

Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla, a veteranlegislator who signed up as author of the three billsWe call on the people to support these bills with moreprotest actions against oil price hikes, he said.

HBs 3029 and 3030 are pending with the Committeeon Energy headed by Rep. Mikey Arroyo. HB 3031has been referred to the Committee on GovernmenEnterprises and Privatization headed by Rep. FelixAlfelor, Jr.

involvement in the search for Luisa

Posa-Dominado and Nilo Arado, twomilitant leaders abducted in Panayin April 2007.

Only the military has the motive andmeans to plan such an attempt onHervillas life. We warn them againstharming her in any way. We will holdthe Armed Forces directlyresponsible and accountableshould anything happen to HopeHervilla, Ocampo said.


5/12

The government has woven lies to coverup the criminal liability of Mrs. Arroyo,her cabinet security cluster, the ArmedForces of the Philippines (AFP) andPhilippine National Police (PNP). Itinsisted that there were only more than100 victims of political killings and thatmost of these were committed by the

Communist Party of the Philippines-NewPeoples Army.

Truth out, protests widen

The first and basic victory of thepeoples movement was in exposingthe truth and refuting the outright liesand deceptions of the regime. The truth

is out and the world is now convincedthat state security forces and notleftist rebels are behind the killings ofactivists and civilians.

The regime has been at the receivingend of local and international protestsand pressures to stop the killings andabductions.

The widespread expression of concernand condemnation from the EuropeanUnion and various governments in

Europe as well as the US Congressdecision to tie US military aid tohuman r ights have beenunprecedented.

The prestigious Permanent PeoplesTribunal (PPT) came out with the mostcomprehensive and substant ialdocumentation, analysis and verdicton President Arroyos and George W.Bushs grave violations of the Filipinopeoples rights.

In his final report on Nov. 27, UN SpecialRapporteur Prof. Philip Alston spurnedas unbelievable the AFPs communistpurge theory. He said that thephenomenon of the extrajudicial killingsand enforced disappearances ofactivists should be viewed in thefollowing contexts:

o The AFPs anti-insurgency campaignagainst the CPP-NPA whichconsiders legal progressive partiesand organizations as communist

fronts, treating them as enemiesof the state and aiming toneutralize these organizations;and

o The IALAGs persecution ofleaders of legal progressive partiesand organizations instead ofrunning after the killers of their

members and supporters.

The Alston reports conclusion thatinflicting atrocities on activists isa policy of the AFP has veryserious implications given thatPres. Arroyo is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. She

is also responsible for the creation ofIALAG.

The documentat ions andfindings of the PPT, the Alston

report and the earlier findingsof the International PeoplesTribunal, Citizens Congress forTruth and Accountabi l i ty(CCTA) and many internationalfact- f inding missions candefinitely be used to prosecuteMrs. Arroyo after her term ofoffice and all those responsiblefor her regimes massive humanrights violations.

Killings, abductions drop

The second half of 2007 saw a markeddecrease in the number of extrajudicialkillings and enforced disappearances.The number of killings dropped to 68from 143 in 2006. The number ofenforced disappearances decreased to22 from 60 the previous year. Althoughstill alarming and unacceptable, thenumbers show a break from the trendof the last six years.

THE PEOPLE / From P 1

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UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston in ameeting with legislators in Congress.

In the main, this positive turn wasachieved through the persistent andcumulative efforts of the variouscampaigns and actions launched byprogressive organizations includingBayan Muna, Karapatan and Bayan, theheightened pressure from here andabroad for the AFP and the Arroyoadministration to stop the atrocities, and

the unprecedented initiative of theSupreme Court Chief Justice todecisively address the problems oextrajudicial killings and enforceddisappearances.

It was in Feburary that Prof. Alston cameup with an initial report that shookMalacaang. The government wasforced to release the Melo Commissionreport that implicated the military in thekillings. In March, the PPT came ouwith its guilty verdict and the US Senate

held a hearing. In April, the EuropeanUnion sent a special mission to thecountry. In the same month, a top-levedelegation of the InternationaParliamentary Union lambastedgovernment persecution of progressiveparliamentarians and pressed for therelease of Rep. Beltran. (See excerpts

from the report on page 9).

Rep. Satur Ocampos arrest in Marchin the middle of an electoral campaigncaused widespread outrage. A similareaction met the abduction of activisJonas Burgos. Rep. Beltran was finallyreleased in July after the Supreme Courdismissed the rebellion case against theBatasan 6 and 50 other respondents inJune. In July, the Supreme Courconvened the historic national summi

Executive Sec. Eduardo Ermita, Pres. Arroyo, NSANorberto Gonzales and Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalezlead a cabinet security cluster meeting.

THE PEOPLE / P 6


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on the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

The marked decline in theterror attacks on activistsmay only be temporary.The AFP and the Arroyogovernment have not

admitted responsibilityand have not rescindedthe policy of armedattacks on activists andcivilians.

In the meantime, certainactivists were able toelude assassination andthwart attempts to havethem abducted or illegallyarrested.

Gilbert Rey Cardio,Bayan Munas nationalcouncil member, wasabducted and tortured inSouth Cotabato on June6. He was released dueto strong public pressureand the intervention ofGov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes.

On Nov. 26, Bayan Muna national council member andnominee Hope Hervilla escaped an assassination attempt withthe help of Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas and his son, Rep. Niel Tupas,

Jr.

The military was also forced to surface abducted UCCP PastorBerlin Guerrero, a former leader of BayanSouthern Tagalog.However, he remains detained in the Cavite provincial jail inTrece Martires City.

The Supreme Court has granted protection for the Manalobrothers who had been abducted last year and escaped froma military camp in Pangasinan. They are key witnesses inthe militarys torture of abducted UP students Karen Empeoand Sherlyn Cadapan and other activists.

Thwarting the legal offensive

The progressive movements correct legal and political movesand pro-human rights activism of the Supreme Court underChief Justice Reynato Puno effectively checked the Arroyoregimes legal offensive.

The Supreme Courts dismissal of the Batasan 6 rebellioncase was a strategic blow to the regimes efforts to pin downthe progressive legislators and mass leaders on false charges.The Supreme Court even castigated the Justice Secretary

and his prosecutors for abusing their authority and engagingin political persecution.

The Supreme Court decisionalso contr ibuted to thedismissal of the case oinducement for murder agains

Jose Maria Sison in theHague.

Last September 24, theSupreme Court came out withits Rules on the Writ oAmparo to supplement theWrit of Habeas CorpusUnder the new writ, anyrelative or concerned partymay file a petition for the Wriof Amparo asking the court togrant any of the following

orders: inspect ionproduct ion, pet i t ioner sprotect ion or witnessprotect ion in cases oenforced disappearances.

Through the Writ of Amparothe military was compelled to

free abducted farmer Ruel Muasque on November 7 andLuisito Bustamante on November 14 in Mindanao. As of thiswriting, nine petitions have been filed in various courts for theWrit of Amparo.

The Supreme Court is also set to issue the Rules on the Wriof Habeas Data. Through this writ, authorities can be compelledto submit any document or information relating to incidents ohuman rights violations and to correct erroneous or false dataon the victims.

Meanwhile, the anti-terrorism act, which was enacted inJune, has hit a snag due to strong public opposition andthe various petitions filed in the Supreme Court questioningthe constitutionality of the draconian law.

Through the efforts of Bayan Muna, Gabriela Womens Partyand Anakpawis, a majority of the members of the House oRepresentatives co-authored two separate bills criminalizingenforced disappearance and torture. A third bill was filed bythe progressive party list bloc this December defining theprinciple of command responsibility in order to hold militaryand police officials accountable for human rights violationscommitted by their subordinates.

Indeed, the peoples victories against state terror in 2007encourage Bayan Muna and other progressive organizationsto persevere in the struggle to defeat state fascism andachieve more triumphs for the legal democratic movemenin 2008.

THE PEOPLE / From P 5

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Bayan Muna besieged the AFPs Camp Aguinaldo headquarters with alightning protest against human rights violations.


7/12 7

IN OBSERVANCE OF INTERNATIO-nal Human Rights Day on Dec. 10,some 2,000 protesters from varioussectors led by the human rightsalliance Karapatan marched from theUniversity of Santo Tomas to PlazaMiranda and Mendiola.

At the lead of the march were 100women in black clothes and veils,symbolizing mourning and thed e m a n dfor justiceof therelatives ofthose killeda n dabduc ted

by agentsof theA r m e dForces oft h ePhilippinesa n dPhil ippineN a t i o n a lPolice.

Firetrucks and 100 anti-riot copsblocked the road leading to Mendiola

bridge near Malacaang Palace,official residence of the President.At least 350 Bayan Muna membersfrom various chapters in Metro Manila

joined the march-rally. They carrieda big placard on which were mountedlittle toy skulls spelling out the sloganJUSTICE to all victims of GMAsfascist regime!

The skulls were meant to depict thePhilippines as a killing field for

activists, journalists and suspectedsympathizers of the CPP-NPA .

More than 400 from the SouthernTagalog region also joined themarch-rally.

The Bayan Muna participants carriedplacards and wore improvised sunvisors with various slogans. Amongthese were: Oust the Corrupt &Fascist Arroyo Regime! Stop the

Human Rights Day rally

Arroyo regime held accountable for numerous atrocitiesKillings!, Labanan ang Oplan BantayLaya!, Surface Jonas, Karen, Sherlynand others!, Free Elizabeth Principe,Ed Serrano and all polit icalprisoners!, Respect GRP-NDFPJASIG!In a speech, Bayan Muna Rep. TeddyCasio strongly criticized the Arroyoregimes acts of repression againstlegal progressive parties like Bayan

M u n a ,Anakpawis andthe GabrielaW o m e n sParty.

Said Casio:

T h er e p r e s s i o nbeing inflictedon thep r o g r e s s i v eparties is similarto that done tothe CommunistParty in the

1930s, the Democratic Alliance in1946 and to Partido ng Bayan in1987.

He said the victories achieved byprogressive parties then and now arelike ghosts haunting the Arroyogovernment.Casio further said: It is justified tocall for the removal of Pres. Arroyobecause of the brazen plunder,massive poverty and fascistrepression under her rule.Other speakers included EditaBurgos, mother of abducted activist

Jonas Burgos, Donato Continenterepresenting political prisoners,Jigs Clamor of Karapatan, GirliePadilla of the Ecumenical Movementfor Justice and Peace (EMJP), WillieMarbella of the Kilusang Magbubukidng Pilipinas (KMP), Elmer Labog ofthe Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Atty.Jobert Pahilga of the National Unionof Peoples Lawyers (NUPL), andDoris Cuario of Karapatan-SouthernTagalog.

Continuing harassment in

Metro Manila

A BATALLION OF AFP SOLDIERS HASbeen deployed to try to sow fear in the

urban poor communities of Manila,Quezon City, Caloocan, Malabon,Marikina, Muntinlupa and Taguig.On December 10, soldiers led by Capt.Manuel Hiadan carried out a census inBarangay Tumana, Marikina. Amongthe houses they attempted to check onwere those of the relatives of formerBayan Muna Deputy Secretary GeneralRobert de Castro. The soldiers wereshooed away by de Castros relatives.

Earlier, the soldiers held two filmshowings attended by a few people in

the community. The films vilified theprogressive peoples movement andmaliciously linked Bayan Muna to theunderground CPP-NPA. They did thesame in March and April 2007 inPayatas, where a Bayan Muna chapterwas active.

The objective of such military psy-opsare to identify members of the localchapters of Bayan Muna and otherprogressive organizations, dismantlesuch chapters and discourage peoplefrom joining mass actions calling for theremoval of President Arroyo.Among the areas where the AFP hasdeployed military units are BagongSilang and Camarin in North Caloocan,Payatas and Holy Spirit in Quezon City,Cupang in Muntinlupa, Fortune, MarikinaHeights, Concepcion Uno and Tumanain Marikina.


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PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-

Arroyos desperation to stay in powerreached a new low in 2007 when herallies sprung a bogus impeachmentcomplaint, attempted to bribecongressmen to endorse it, and thenbribed many of them to junk it.

The three-page complaint, filed by lawyerRoel Pulido on October 5 and endorsedon the same day by administrationcongressman Edgardo San Luis (1st

Dist., Laguna), was widely perceived asa ploy to insulate the President from the

subsequent f i l ing of a seriousimpeachment complaint for her role inthe botched P15 billion NBN-ZTEcontract. The Constitution prohibits twoimpeachment proceedings from beinginitiated against the same official in ayear.

That Mrs. Arroyos minions overplayedtheir hand was shown up whenAnakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran revealedin plenary that a ranking officer of thePresidents party had offered him P2

million to endorse the Pulido complaint.

It turned out that similar bribe offers weremade by KAMPI Deputy SecretaryGeneral Francis Ver to severalopposition congressmen, with offersranging from P1 to P2 million in cashplus P10 million in government projects.

This was the second time that Pres.Arroyo and her allies resorted to thesame ploy. In 2005, in the wake of theHello Garci tapes scandal, lawyer OliverLozano jumped the gun on the oppositionby filing a weak impeachment complaintthat was used by the Justice Committeeto reject an amended complaint, andeventually dismissed by the Housemajority for lack of substance.

Despite Rep. Beltrans expose, thebribing went on. On October 11, some190 administration congressmenattended a breakfast meeting inMalacaang where paper bags

To save herself, Arroyo

corrupts impeachment

process for second timecontaining as much asP500,000 each were

distributed. Later in theday, around the samenumber of mayors andgovernors met with thePresident and were given atleast P200,000 each incash.

On that same day,Speaker Jose de Veneciainhibited himself from the impeachmentproceedings. Deputy Speaker Raul delMar instead referred the Pulido complaintto the Justice Committee, which actionwas later cited as having initiated theproceeding and set the one-year ban onthe Presidents impeachment.

Undaunted by such development,various progressive organizations led byBagong Alyansang Makabayan, humanrights advocates led by Karapatan, andconcerned individuals led by former VicePresident Teofisto Guingona filed asubstantially documented impeachmentcomplaint on November 12.

The new complaint listed five causes ofaction stemming from the Presidentsinvolvement in the following: (1)extrajudicial executions, involuntarydisappearances, torture and other grossand systematic violations of civil andpolitical rights since 2001; (2) theanomalies surrounding the NBN-ZTEcontract; (3) the recent bribery incidentsin Congress and Malacaang meant toderail the impeachment process; (4) theelectoral fraud of 2004 and efforts to coverit up; (5) various acts of graft andcorruption and illegal governmentcontracts.

Representatives Satur Ocampo andTeddy Casio of Bayan Muna, LizaMaza and Luz Ilagan of Gabriela, andCrispin Beltran of Anakpawis endorsedthe complaint. In a joint statement, theysaid they found anomalous andridiculous the practice of banning

impeachment complaints for one yeaafter a complaint had been filed andreferred to the House Committee on

Justice.

We maintain that as mandated in theConstitution, the one year ban startsonly when an impeachment proceedingis initiated by the House, meaning whenthe Plenary approves the Articles oImpeachment and sends it to the Senatefor trial, they said.

As expected, the genuine complaint wasrejected by the Justice Committee andthe House leadership using the oneimpeachment-per-year rule as a basisThat set the condition for the proponentsto go to the Supreme Court to challengesuch an interpretation.

Two other efforts were made to impeachthe President. On November 5, IloiloVice Gov. Rolex Suplico, lawyer HarryRoque and representatives from variouscivil society groups filed an amendmento Suplicos original impeachmencomplaint against Abalos, including the

President as a conspirator in theanomalous NBN-ZTE contract. Theamendment was rejected by HouseSecretary General Roberto Nazareno onthe ground that this constituted a newcomplaint.

Also on November 5, an amendment tothe Pulido complaint was filed by lawyeand UNO spokesperson Adel Tamanothrough the Justice Committee. When

TO SAVE HERSELF / P 11


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CONCLUDING REMARKS

1. General remarks

1. At the outset, the delegation wishesto state that governments have a duty toensure peace and security and musttherefore take action to combat unlawfulactivities which endanger peace andsecurity. There is therefore no doubt thatthe Government of the Philippines hasthe right and duty to combat anyunlawfully constituted armed force in thecountry aiming at the violent overthrow

of the constitutional order. It is also clearthat any such action must remain withinthe limits of the law and the human rightsnorms to which the Philippines adheresand has subscribed to as a party tointernational human rights instruments,in particular the International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights. This implies,among others, respect for freedom ofexpression, of association and assemblyand for the right to participate in theconduct of public affairs.

2. In all the exchanges, the authorities,and in particular the Government officialsand prosecuting authorities, expressedtheir conviction that the Parliamentariansconcerned were members of theCommunist Party. However, as theythemselves said, the Party has not beenoutlawed. The authorities appeared alsoconvinced that the political parties towhich the parliamentarians belong areso-called CPP legal front organizationswhich use democratic freedoms andguarantees to pursue the CPPs objective

of overthrowing the Government.

The delegation wishes to place on recordthat Bayan Muna, Anakpawis andGabriela are duly constituted politicalparties under the law of the Philippineswhich participated in the 2004 elections,and, in the case of Bayan Muna, in the2001 elections as well. The authoritieshave not mentioned, nor has thedelegation heard of any accusations ofany unlawful activities by these parties.On the contrary, a previous petition for

Excerpts from the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians Reporton Its Mission to the Philippines, adopted by the 117th Assembly of theInter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Geneva, Switzerland / 8-10 October 2007

the cancellation of the registration ofBayan Muna in the 2004 elections wasdismissed in January 2007. There is nocourt judgment authorizing anyone tolabel parties as illegal organizations ortheir members and leaders as rebels ormurderers nor was there at the time alaw under which the Government coulddefine these parties and their membersas enemies of the State. Apart from thefact that the very notion of enemies ofthe State smacks of politicalpersecution, the delegation fears that theattitude of the authorities reveals a strong

presumption of guilt which, in turn, raisesserious doubts as to the motivesunderlying the proceedings in question.

3.These concerns are compounded bythe following:

The proceedings were instituted in theframework of the Governments fightagainst perceived or supposed enemiesof the State. The Inter-Agency LegalAction Group (IALAG) was establishedprecisely to file rebellion cases. It is

relevant to state that the parliamentariansin question and their political parties areamong the most outspoken critics ofPresident Arroyos Government and itspol icies, and have supported theimpeachment motion brought againstPresident Arroyo in 2005.

The sequence and tenacity of theauthorities in filing of sedition, rebellionand murder charges and, more recentlydisqualification cases against BayanMuna, Anakpawis, and Gabriela lends

the impression that everything is beingdone to remove the parliamentariansconcerned and their parties form thepolitical process. It is difficult to believethat the cases were brought by purecoincidence, as it was claimed beforethe delegation with respect to thedisqualification case.

The delegation notes that, according tothe National Security Adviser, it took theIALAG nine months to document therebellion case which, in his view, was

therefore a well-prepared case. If this isso, the delegation fails to understand whyan incitement-to-sedition case was firsbrought against Mr. Beltran rather thanthe rebellion case, why the first rebellioncase against him is barely one page longand why the rebellion case against althe six parliamentarians had to beamended?

The rebellion charges remain unchangedand are sweeping, broad andunsubstantiated. The delegation has foundnothing enabling it to alleviate the concerns

expressed by the Governing Council of theInter-Parliamentary Union in this regardLikewise, in the light of the informationprovided, it can only corroborate theGoverning Councils concerns as to thequestionable nature of the evidenceproduced to support the accusations.

The fact that the Supreme Court grantedMr. Ocampo bail for a non-bailable offencetends to show that the multiple murder caseagainst him is not very strong.

4. The delegation believes that if, as theNational Security Adviser stated, the aimof the proceedings is to determine the legastatus of the Communist Party under thelaw of the Philippines, there are certainlymore appropriate means to achieve thapurpose than resorting to criminaproceedings of the kind in question.

5. In the light of the above, the delegationcan only conclude that the chargesbrought against the Parliamentariansconcerned and their parties are politically

motivated. It notes that all these arepending before the courts and has nodoubt that they will be adjudicated bythe courts in a fully independent manneand as quickly as possible. It considersthese cases to be highly significant fothe future of democracy in the Philippinesand looks forward to their settlement inaccordance with the national andinternational human rights normsguaranteed under the Constitution of thePhilippines and international humanrights treaties.

The IPU mission, to look into the Batasan 6 case was composed of Canadian Senator Sharon

Carstairs, Vice President of the IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians, IPUSecretary-General Anders Johnsson, and Committee Secretary Ingeborg Schwarz, visited Manilaon April 18-21, 2007.)


10/1210

HEEDING THE CLAMOR OFlandless peasants, agricultural workers,fisherfolk, and rural women for a

genuine and thoroughgoing land reformprogram, the progressive party list blochas filed a bill seeking to replace theexisting Comprehensive AgrarianReform Law (CARL) with a progressiveand pro-peasant law.

On Nov. 13, the five representatives ofBayan Muna, Anakpawis, and GabrielaWomens Party filed House Bill No. 3059or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Act of2007.

This bill seeks to enable the State tomuster the political will to finallyconfront the fundamental problem ofour society, break up land monopolyand foreign control of our lands, andimplement free land distribution that willrender social justice to millions oflandless farmers, the lawmakers saidin the bills explanatory note.

It also aims to integrate the delivery ofholistic support services to landdistribution in order to raise the

productivity of our farmers and increasetheir income and living standards, theysaid, adding: In proposing to implementgenuine agrarian reform, this bill furtherseeks to lay the foundation for nationalindustrialization and put thedevelopment of our economy on strongand sound fundamentals.

The bill, principally authored byAnakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran and co-authored by Bayan Muna party-list

representatives Satur Ocampo andTeddy Casio and Gabrielarepresentatives Liza Maza andLuzviminda Ilagan, provides for the freedistribution of lands to the landless, theconfiscation of sullied landholdings,and nationalization of lands operatedand controlled by transnationalcorporations.

It also provides for the comprehensivedelivery of support services to improve

productivity and working conditions offarmer-beneficiaries, the promotion ofcooperatives and other forms oforganizations for mutual aid, and the

full-scale development of agricultureand laying of the foundations fornational industrialization.

The bills five authors said extendingCARL for another 10 years, asproposed by several legislators andreformist groups, ignores thefundamental flaws of the law itself.

After almost 20 years, theComprehensive Agrarian ReformProgram (CARP) has been proven

ineffective in addressing the Filipinopeasantrys centuries-old problem oflandlessness, they explained in aHouse resolution (HR 80) filed earlierin August.

Instead, CARP served as anapparatus to strengthen the monopolyand control of big landlords and localand foreign agro-corporations over ourcountrys agricultural lands, thelawmakers said.

The progressive lawmakers belied theDepartment of Agrarian Reforms boasthat CARP allegedly distributed 3.8million hectares or at least 87 percenof the CARPs 4.4 million-hectaretarget.

In fact, land-grabbing intensified in theform of land-use conversions, theysaid, citing the cases of the 8,650hectares of land in Hacienda LoocNasugbu, Batangas, the more than28,000 hectares of land in HaciendaSan Antonio and Santa Isabel inIsabela, and the 35,000 hectares olands in South Cotabato under the

control of Dole Philippines whereinfarmers were deprived of their right toown the land they tilled.

Mindanao has particularly become theheart of contract growing and leaseback

arrangements depriving millions ofarmers of the right to own the land.

To protect, preserve and maintainownership and control over the landbig landlords have resorted to the filingof cancellation of Certificates of LandTransfer (CLTs), Certificates of LandOwnership Award (CLOAs), andEmancipation Patents (EPs) distributedto farmer-beneficiaries under CARP.

Party list reps slam CARL extension,

bat for Genuine Agrarian Reform Law

PARTY LIST REPS / P 11


11/1211

According to the research think-tank IBON Foundation, morethan 2,000 EPs and CLOAs, covering 380,000 hectares ofland were cancelled by the middle of 2004.

Throughout CARPs implementation, landlords have alsoresorted to other legal maneuvers such as filing criminal andcivil cases against the programs farmer-beneficiaries.

Seven farmers from Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro nowsuffering inside the National Bilibid Prison are livingtestimonies to the CARPs failure to protect the farmer-beneficiaries rights.

The seven were sentenced to death in February 2006 afterbeing accused by landlord Ricardo Quintos of killing his twosons despite an admission of responsibility by the NewPeoples Army (NPA).

The same law provided non-land transfer schemes, like theStock Distribution Option (SDO) scheme in Hacienda Luisita,

PARTY LIST REPS / from page 10

Tarlac, Corporative Scheme in Negros Occidental, LeaseholdOperations and other schemes of corporate venturearrangements, which exempted vast tracts of landholdingsof big landlords and agro-corporations from actual and physicaldistribution to farmer-beneficiaries. In addition, theestablishment of Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) laidthe ground for corporate intervention and control ofagribusinesses over vast tracts of lands, the lawmakers said.

These schemes show how CARP was designed to cater tothe needs of free market globalization and agricultural tradeliberalization.

Faced with the possibility that their bill will be rejected bythe landlord-dominated Congress, the authors stressed thatwhat is important is that an alternative solution to thecountrys agrarian problem has been proposed for deliberationin Congress. The important task is to further educate,organize and mobilize the broad masses of peasants to fightfor genuine land reform, they stressed.

TO SAVE HERSELF / from page 8

BAYAN MUNA LEADS / from page 3

the majority in the Justice Committee voted againstthe amendments, the Minor i ty declared theproceedings a sham and decided not to participateuntil the matter was taken up in plenary.

In the minoritys view, Arroyo and her allies were setto undermine not only the impeachment process butthe House itself as an institution just to save her frompolitical doom.

When NEDA chief Romulo Neri testified before theSenate that Mrs. Arroyo knew about the briberysurrounding the contract and yet did nothing about it,the NBN-ZTE scandal threatened to engulf thePresidency. Acting to immediately preempt what couldhave been the strongest impeachment complaint yetagainst the President, she and her allies resorted towhat they knew best deception and bribery.

The bribery incidents attendant to the sham Pulidocomplaint appalled the public, given the scandalousamounts and big number of congressmen and localgovernment officials involved.

It took Malacaang three weeks to come up with alame explanation that no one believed that themoney came from the Union of Local Authorities ofthe Philippines (ULAP) and from KAMPI.

On Oct. 16, Casio, Ilagan and Beltran filed HouseResolution 288 to investigate the incident. As

expected, the matter has been sidelined by theAdministrations allies in Congress.

stop the poli t ical ki l l ings and disappearancescommitted with impunity under the Arroyo governmentThe passage of laws to protect human rights and makethe violators accountable is a concrete action toaddress the issue.

On a larger scale, he said, the Arroyo governmenmust abandon its counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism programs that spell death for members oflegal and democratic organizations.

If enacted into law, the measure will apply to almilitary commanders or superiors of the Armed Forcesof the Philippines including those commanding itscivilian agents or paramilitary forces established oemployed by the AFP.

This will not spare even the Commander-in-Chiealthough he or she can only be sued after leaving

off ice, Ocampo stressed adding: I t is publicknowledge that Mrs. Arroyo failed to take all necessaryand reasonable measures within her authority to stopthe killings. In fact, the Commander-in-Chiefs failurehas been very much construed by the victims astoleration of blatant human rights abuses.

Ocampo called on fellow lawmakers to immediately takeup the four human rights bills. He stressed thaCongress has a role in guaranteeing that the rightsof the people do not remain as mere declarations bueffectively enforceable rights, and in searching forways to stop the escalating extrajudicial killings

enforced disappearances, and other forms of humanrights violations in the country.


12/12

Bayan Muna continues to expand and deepen its links withvarious international organizations, parliaments, and politicalparties as it brought the issue of political repression into theinternational arena.

In the second half of2007 the partyachieved substantivegains in forging closeinteractions with theInter-ParliamentaryUnion, EuropeanCommission, variousEuropean parliaments,the World Council ofChurches, AmnestyInternational, amongothers.

September 3 Inter-

Parliamentary Union(IPU) Secretary GeneralAnders B. Johnssonsent the July decision ofthe Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians(CHRP) on the case of the Batasan 6, welcoming the SupremeCourts dismissal of the rebellion case against the legislators,and invited them to the next IPU assembly in October.

September 6 Rep. Ocampo wrote IPU Secretary GeneralJohnsson expressing gratitude for the decision of theCommittee on the Human Rights ofParliamentarians (CHRP) on the Batasan 6 complaint

against polit ical repression by the Arroyogovernment.

September 10 IPU Secretary General Johnssoninvited Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, AnakpawisRep. Crispin Beltran and Gabriel Womens PartyRep. Liza Maza to a hearing of the Committee onHuman Rights of Parliamentarians for its 119th

session during the IPUs 117th Assembly on October6 to 9 in Geneva, Switzerland.

September 12 - Rep. Ocampo received in his officetwo representatives of the European Commission

who expressed interest in and support for BayanMunas Anti-Enforced Disappearance Bill and Anti-Torture Bill.

October 6 to 9 - Reps. Ocampo and Maza attended themeeting of the IPU CHRP. They gave an update on the statusof the Batasan 6, particularly the spurious murder chargesfiled against both of them, and Bayan Muna Rep. TeodoroCasio and former Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano, in NuevaEcija.

Rep. Ocampo made a three-minute input at the IPU plenarysession on Bayan Munas bills against torture and enforced

Big gains in Bayan Munas links overseasdisappearances, and the Supreme Court-initiated HumanRights Summit in July. The IPU decision on the case of theBatasan 6 was read in plenary by Sen. Sharon Carstairs oCanada, who acknowledged the presence of the two solons

in plenary.

The IPU decided to close its investigations on therebellion case filed by the Arroyo government againsthe Batasan 6, but vowed to closely monitor the murdecharges against Bayan Muna Rep. Ocampo filed in acourt in Leyte and the murder charges in Nueva EcijaThe IPU urged the Philippine government not to proceedwith the said murder cases. The CHRP took note othe political repression against Leftist party-list groupswhich included extrajudicial killings and enforceddisappearances of local leaders and supporters.

October 10 to 18 Reps. Ocampo and Maza had aseries of meetings with members of the EuropeanParliament, Belgian and Netherlands Parliaments and

with officials on Asia of the European Commission. RepOcampo also met with members of Londons House oCommons and House of Lords. He also had follow-uptalks with officials of Amnesty International in London

and gave a critique of the countrys Human Security Act in aforum initiated by the School of Oriental and African StudiesHe appeared in a short live television interview regarding politicakillings in the Philippines at the British Broadcasting Companystudio in London.

December 5 to 7- Rep. Ocampo was invited as resourceperson and participant by the Geneva-based World Counci

of Churches in the

latters InternationaConsultat ion onProtection of HumanRights and HumanDignity amidsConflicts in GenevaHe spoke on thetopics, The US Waon Terror; andProtect ing HumanRights Amidst ConflictCounter-insurgencyoperat ions andCounter-terrorism inthe Philippines.

December 13 to 18 Rep. Teodoro Casio attended thee-Parliament hearings on Renewable Energy and onDemocracy and the Internet in Bali, Indonesia where heestablished links with parliamentarians from 15 countries

Rep. Casio participated in the two hearings and gainedfresh inputs on renewable energy sources, and on the threaof climate change from very competent resource personsthat can help in upcoming deliberations on renewable energybills filed in the Philippines.

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo with Dr. GeorgeMathews Chunakara World Council of ChurchesAsia Secretary in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casio at the hearingsof the e-Parliament on renewable energy in Bali,

Indonesia.

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