Is Marcos better than the Aquinos?

“Only a few number of rich families benefit while the entire populace of the Philippines is mired in POVERTY, MEDIOCRITY and constant SUFFERING.”

For activists, this sentence is nothing new. In fact, it’s one of the central ideas which inspires activists to continue trying to change society. But this was mentioned in the most unlikely of sources: a pro-Marcos Facebook fanpage.

The whole quote reads:

“The objective of the director/author/owner of the video is to promote an intelligent and civilized discussion about rectifying the flawed provisions of the Philippine’s 1987 Constitution. Provisions that promote a protectionist government where only a few number of rich families benefit while the entire populace of the Philippines is mired in POVERTY, MEDIOCRITY and constant SUFFERING.”

I first encountered this message (‘Charter Change against the elite ruling class’) in the ‘PinoyMonkeyPride’ videos which began circulating in YouTube and Facebook as early as 2010. They conclude it by saying that: 1) Marcos is the best president we ever had, and 2) We need Charter Change to ‘fix’ poverty.

It is disturbing, to say the least.

It is true that an elite few rules our country economically, politically, and culturally at the expense of the majority of Filipinos. Foreign corporations, along with a few big local capitalists like Henry Sy, control almost all of our vital industries: mining, power, water, manufacturing, etc. In the countryside, a few families own most of our farmlands, as in the case of the Aquino-owned Hacienda Luisita.

These same people dominate the government: our own president is a haciendero, more than two-thirds of Congress and Senate seats are held by landlords and big capitalists, and Noynoy’s cabinet is full of corporate heads.

They also own mass media and other institutions of culture: newspapers (PDI, of course), TV (ABS-CBN, GMA, TV5), etc.

But here is where we diverge from the message of Marcos loyalists who are trying to rewrite history.

‘The rule of the few’ is not something which started under the late Cory Aquino. It happened under Marcos too. Cory merely replaced Marcos elite (the infamous ‘Cronies’) with her own (‘Kamag-Anak Inc.). Poverty, corruption, human rights violations: they happened under Cory, they also happened under Marcos (and with every succeeding president as well).

 

The claim that we have a ‘protectionist economy’ which ‘mires Filipinos in poverty’ is a lie in two counts. First, we do not have a protectionist economy. Ours is one of the most deregulated and unprotected against foreigners. We allow the dumping of cheap imports which bankrupts small farmers and businessmen. Our natural resources are being divided up between various foreign corporations (nothing demonstrates this more than the mining industry).

Second, it is precisely a ‘non-protectionist’ economy which makes Filipinos poor. See the examples above.

Let us be clear: there is essentially no difference between Marcos, Cory, Noynoy, and any of the other Philippine presidents. They are all members of the so-called ’1%’ who collaborate with foreign corporations and governments to perpetuate laws, policies, and programs which bring hardship to the majority of Filipinos. EDSA 1 and 2 removed a corrupt dictator and president, respectively, nothing more. They did not bring about genuine social change, nor did it end an alleged era of prosperity.

This is not about Trees

This is not about 182 trees. This is not about the desecration of one of the most beautiful sights in our country.

This is about some people being above the law. This is about the DENR and the Baguio City LGU giving SM the permit to earth-ball the 182 trees despite the fact that it the survival rate of trees being earth-balled is 17% (hey, if we think 50-50 is bad for a human’s condition, why give the trees less?). This is about the government Noynoying in its duty to stop the earth-balling.

This is about ‘getting richer and richer’ becoming a end, instead of a mean. This is about workers’ rights, human rights, and the environment being sacrificed in the name of this supposedly noble end. This is about SM having its security guards beat up hundreds of its workers just to end a strike, about SM laying-off thousands of its employees just because they joined the union, about SM demolishing the homes of 38,000 families in Paranaque just to make way for several condos, and of course, about SM killing 182 trees.

This is not the first time that corporations, super rich families, and other members of the 1% have sacrificed the welfare of the many for their personal gain: remember how the Canadian-owned Marcopper Corporation poisoned a river in Marindique? Or how about the Australian-owned Lafayette poisoning the seas around Albay? Thousands of families in Quezon City will lose their homes to make way for Ayala Land’s Quezon City Central Business District, while thousands more in Paranaque will lose theirs in the name of new condominiums by SM Development. And let’s not forget how SM, ABS-CBN, and Philippine Airlines laid-off thousands of their workers just to destroy the unions.

This is not just about trees. This is about having two countries, two sets of laws, two levels of priorities for the government: one for the rich, one for the rest of us.

Who Defends the Defenders?

In the first 14 weeks of 2012, 22 youths and students have fallen victim to various military abuses: murder, illegal arrest, rape, harassment, surveillance/invasion of privacy, among others. Read the entire list here.

One common mistake we make about human rights violations is that it is only the concern of the victims themselves, and maybe their relatives and close friends.

What does ‘impunity’ mean? It means that the the likes of General Jovito Palparan, Governor Joel Reyes, the Ampatuans, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not be punished. It means that the others who committed similar crimes will not be punished. Most importantly, it means that others who will commit similar crimes in the future wont be either.

And its already happening. Two female high school students in Benguet missed their graduation ceremonies after being raped last February by the same Army captain. In the same month, an underage woman in Masbate went insane after being gang-raped twice by Army soldiers. Last March, four young farmers in Quezon were shot and killed by Army troops after being mistaken for wild animals.

These are youths who are not affiliated in any way with organizations which are usually accused as being ‘NPA supporters’. They just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. And a lot of people fall into the category of ‘being at the wrong place, wrong time’, and not just the activists: it could be me, you, your brother or sister, your friends, your classmates, etc.

Marcos’ Martial Law initially targeted the activists, the Kabataang Makabayan, among others. But then people realized that repression affected everyone, not just Leftists: students who wanted to be heard by the school admins, workers and employees who wanted fair treatment from their employers, church people who wanted justice, lawyers who wanted fairness, artists and journalists who wanted freedom of speech, etc.

True, most of the youth victims of military repression so far are activists. They belong to organizations and institutions who have taken the lead in resisting the Aquino government’s anti-people policies and programs: oil price hikes, tuition and other fee increases, low salaries, lack of real land reform, continued large-scale mining and the destruction of the environment, the continuing war in Mindanao, etc.

They led the student strikes which were huge anti-government protests at a time when Noynoy was still popular. They started Noynoying. They are at the forefront of defending the interests of youths and Filipinos like us.

Now, who defends the defenders? Who will do the ‘defending’ once the defenders are gone?

Unite against military repression. Unite against human rights violations.

Censorship: You’re Doing It Right

The ‘traditional’ or ‘conservative’ student political party in the University of the Philippines-Diliman Campus released a video last December 31 which purportedly shows its achievements. As the video slowly scored views, it also began to accumulate ‘dis-likes’ and comments which dismiss the video as ‘early electioneering’, and the party’s principles in general.

And when the views, comments, and dislikes began to ‘spike’ in the last 24 hours, whoever was managing the party’s official YouTube account went on ‘red alert’:

1. They deleted all the comments.

2. They moderated the comment section. Meaning, all future comments will have to be approved by them.

3. But the dis-likes kept coming.

4. They ‘hid’ the part which shows how many likes and dislikes the video received.

5. But we could still see the likes and dislikes by clicking a buton.

6. So they disabled the feature allowing ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’.

Steps 1-6 happened in the span of less than 30 minutes.

But thankfully, we remembered to take screenshots of the top comments, at least. R.I.P Truth. You will be sorely missed by the conservative party.

This incident comes at the heels of another event in which the Diliman conservative party (and its equivalents in other UP campuses) accused the UP Student Regent of, GUESS WHAT, Internet censorship. They even went as far as to compare the student leader with the infamous ‘Great (Fire) Wall of China’.

(From the fanpage of Bigkis-UP Manila)

The saying Kapag nagturo ka ng isang daliri, apat ang magtuturo pabalik sayo holds true today.

And this is not the first time this party has committed censorship.

During the 2011 student council elections in UP Diliman, the conservative party included in its General Plan of Action (GPOA) a proposal to ‘restructure’ independent student alliances such as Youth for Earth, Salinlahi (composed of provincial and regional organizations in Diliman), and UNA (Ugnayan ng Nagkakaisang Artista). If you will look for the post where the comments below were posted, you will not find it anywhere in the party’s Facebook page. In other words: OMG! They deleted an entire Note. It’s that bad.

And ask any Diliman student you know that belongs to the ‘militant’ party. I will be willing to treat you to a free lunch if you find any such student who hasn’t been banned from the conservative party’s Facebook page. The latter clear do not entertain any exchange in which they cannot ensure that they will come out as the good guys.

What makes this incident really ridiculous  is the fact that ‘Internet censorship’ goes against some of the principles which the conservative party purportedly advocates.

So does this mean that YouTube and Facebook users are not ‘people’, and hence, not deserving of “the people’s sovereign right to information”? Or does the “Freedom of Information” apply only to the government, and not to this party?

Tsktsk.

President Aquino’s biggest accomplishment for 2011

According to President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III, “his biggest accomplishment for 2011 has to do with giving back to Filipinos the mindset that there is hope for the country, and that change is possible” (Phil. News Agency, 2011). Indeed, under his rule in 2011, many Filipinos have again begun to believe that change is possible. But not in the way Aquino and his Communications Group envisioned…

My skeptical friends will ask me “Proof?”

There is plenty.

Under his rule, the farmers of Hacienda Luisita felt that there is hope in finally reclaiming the land which was stolen from them decades ago. Not due to Aquino’s foot-dragging, or the sham land reform program known as CARPER, but because the farmers themselves have occupied parts of the Hacienda and planted it with rice and vegetables.

Under his rule, national minorities, farmers, fisherfolk, and other victims of environmental destruction of foreign mining corporations, have felt that there is hope that the rape of the earth will stop. Not due to Aquino’s pro-large scale mining policy, or the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources which acts as a spokesperson of foreign mining corporations, but because the New People’s Army recently blasted some of the biggest mines in Northern Mindanao last September.

Under his rule, students and other youths have felt that there is hope that they will have a brighter future. Not due to Aquino’s budget cuts to education and other social services, his job-generation policy which focuses on having more of us work abroad, or his economic policy of cutting down on workers’ rights to encourage foreign investors. But because they begun to realize that they can shut down entire schools, roads, and bring the entire nation to a halt should they wish to.

Under his rule, the Filipino people are realizing that change is possible. Not because of whatever Noynoy has done and or is about to do, but because of what they see and hear from other shores: of U.S-backed dictators being ousted in Tunisia and Egypt, of Occupy Wall Street spreading from New York to everywhere else, of students and workers holding general strikes in Europe, of hundreds of thousands of people revolting and taking up arms in India and Turkey.

Yes, President Aquino. Under you, your inutile, callous, pro-landlord, pro-elite, pro-foreign corporation leadership, we have realized that change is possible: not under you, nor any of your kind. But when the 99% of the Filipino people finally rise up and take the power from your kind.

New Year’s Revolution

What is the New Year’s Revolution?

Every New Year is full of joy and hope: joy as we let go of the previous year’s sadness and disappointments, and hope that the next year will be better. This is especially true in our country where have faced disappointment after disappointment all year long.

Every year, we make New Year’s Resolutions. New Year’s Revolution is one step further: we tell the world the change that we want, and we tell the world what we do we do to get to that goal. Inside all of us are the seeds of a real Revolution. Together, it can become reality.

Starting now, we can express our New Year’s Revolutions by:

1. Liking ‘New Year’s Revolution’ on Facebook

2. Make an FB status update about ‘New Year’s Revolution’

2.1 Type @New Year’s Revolution in your status, and select ‘New Year’s Revolution’

2.2 Type “My” before ‘New Year’s Revolution’, and then whatever change you want

3. Tweet about the change you want, using #NewYearsRevolution

4. Blog about the change you want and use the tag New Year’s Revolution

We can’t blame people if they feel hopeless about our country, our world today. But hopefully, we can inspire each other into action. Working together, we are the Revolution.

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Ano ba ang dapat gawin para umunlad ang kalagayan ng karamihan ng Pilipino? May tatlong mayor, pero hindi ang tanging mayor, at kagyat na bagay:

1. Lupa para sa mga magsasaka

Mayorya ng mga Pilipino ay magsasaka, problema ng mayorya ng magsasaka ay ang kawalan ng sariling lipunang binubungkal. Ang paglutas sa problema sa lupa ay paglutas sa problema ng karamiha ng Pilipino. Sa pagkakaroo ng mas mataas na kita ng maraming Pilipino, matutulungan rin na ‘di malugi ang mga lokal na industriya natin.

Bukod sa bibigyan ng hanapbuhay ang mayorya ng mga Pilipino, mapapanigurado nito ang seguridad sa pagkain ng ating bansa. Imbes na naka-konsentra sa kamay ng mga dayuhan at exporters na nagtatanim ng tubo, saging, pinya, atbp., tatamnan ito ng palay, gulay, at iba pang mga kinakailangan nating pagkain.

Magagawa ito kung hihiwalay tayo sa nakaraang mga programa sa reporma sa lupa kung saan pinagbabayad ang mga magsasaka. Sa oras na magkaroon ng kalamidad o kahit kaunting problema lang sa pinansya, hindi makapagbabayad ang mga magsasaka at kukumpiskahin ang lupa nila. Kaya dapat libreng pamamahagi ng lupa sa mga magsasaka.

 

2. Isabansa ang mga mahalagang industriya, paunlarin ang mga lokal na industriya

Para mapaunlad ang mga lokal na industriya, makalikha ng maraming trabaho, at makontrol ang presyo ng mga bilihin, importante na isabansa ang mga mahahalagang industriya tulad ng langis, kuryente, at mga minahan.

Malaking dahilan kung bakit nalulugi ang mga lokal na business ay dahil sa napaka-mahal na singgil ng kuryente (pinaka-mahal sa buong Asya), presyo ng langis, hilaw na materyales, at iba pang gastusin. Kung hahawakan ito ng gobyerno, kaya nitong kontrolin ang mga presyo nito dahil masisilip nito paano ito dinadaya at pinapataas ng mga pribadong korporasyon.

Bukod sa paglilikha ng maraming trabaho, mawawakasan ang ating pagiging palaasa sa mga imported na produkto na nagmamahal rin dahil sa mga kadahilanang walang kinalaman sa ating bansa. Pati mga karaniwang mamimili makikinabang.

Sa ganitong paraan rin masisigurado na ang mga limitadong likas na yaman natin, tulad ng langis, natural gas, ginto, tanso, etc. ay magagamit para sa pang-matagalang pakinabang imbes na panandaliang kita ng mga dayuhan.

3. Pag-kansela sa utang na di-pinakikinabangan

Taon-taon, napakalaking bahagi ng kaban ng bayan ang napupunta sa pambayad sa mga utang ng gobyerno. Napupunta ito sa mga malalaking bangko, korporasyong pampinansya, at bilyonaryo. Marami naman sa mga ito ay hindi pinakikinabangan, tulad ng mga utang na kinurakot sa ng mga crony ng diktador na si Marcos. Kung tutuusin, panahon pa lang ng dating pangulong si Cory Aquino, ‘pinapayagan’ na tayo na huwag ng bayaran ang mga utang na ito.

Ang halaga na ito ay sapat para bigyan ng libre at dekalidad na edukasyon para sa lahat ng kabataan, paunlarin ang kalagayan ng agham at teknolohiya sa bansa (lalo na sa research & development), gawing abot-kaya ang lahat ng mga serbisyo sa ospital, bigyan ng murang pabahay ang mga walang tahanan, atbp.

4. Gobyerno na may kakayahang ipatupad ang mga nabanggit na reporma

Sa mga usapin ng ‘anong klaseng gobyerno?’ (hindi ‘sinong pangulo’) at ‘paano makakamit ang ganitong gobyerno?’, matagal ng may mga magandang mungkahi ang progresibong kilusan sa Pilipinas. Dito papasok ang kahalagahan ng paglahok sa ‘Occupy Mendiola’: dito natin mapaguusapan ang iba’t-ibang mungkahi, mapapalitaw kung alin talaga ang tama, makakapag-sanay ng isang ‘hukbo ng mga propagandista’, at mapapakalat ang mga ideyang ito sa buong bansa.

May limitasyon ang kaya kong isulat dito. Kung tunay ang iyong kagustuhan ng pagbabago, inaasahan kong makita ka sa ‘Occupy Mendiola’ sa susunod na ibalik ito.

Para sa Estudyante sa MiniStop sa Bustillos, Gabi ng Disyembre 8

Kauupo ko lang para sa unang kain ko sa buong araw. Pagod ang katawan ko dahil sa mga hampas ng batuta at truncheon, suntok at sipa, hambalos ng mabahong tubig, at pagtakbo mula Mendiola hanggang Sta. Mesa ng nakapaa. Pagod ang utak ko dahil sa takot, at dahil sa pag-aalala sa mga tulad kong kabataan na nasaktan.

Sabay pumasok ka kasama ang iyong mga kaibigan.

Narinig kitang pangisi na sabihin sa mga kasama mo ‘Wala namang ginagawa mga yan para umunlad ang buhay’. Sumagot ako ng ‘Kuya, hindi totoo yan’. Niyaya kitang makipag-diskusyon habang kumakain. Mabilis kang tumakbo palayo papunta sa iyong mga kaibigan at nag-takeout nalang. Sayang, gusto pa naman kitang paliwanagan. Kaya ko isusulat ito at sana’y makaabot sa iyo.

1. Walang kaginhawaan para sa mayorya ng Pilipino sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang sistema. Karaniwang isinisisi ang kahirapan sa pagiging tamad, sa kapalaran, kawalan ng diskarte, at iba pang mga factors (salik) na ang esensya ay ang indibidwal ang may kasalanan.

Pero gaano ba ito katotoo? Hindi ba marami sa mga mahihirap ay nagdodoble ng trabaho? Hindi ba marami ay may sideline, tulad ng mga guro na nagbebenta ng longganisa, o ng magsasakang kubrador ng jueteng? Hindi ba marami naman ang sumasabak sa pagiging entrepreneur subalit laging nalulugi dahil sa kawalan ng kapital o sa may kakumpetensyang murang import?

Basahin natin ang mga karanasan ng mga lumalahok sa Occupy Wall Street at iba pang katulad na okupasyon. Marami sa kanila ay mga estudyante nagtatrabaho para makapag-aral, mga manggagawang di sumasapat ang sweldo, mga nabaon sa utang dahil sa ospital, mga inagawan ng tahanan. Pare-pareho ang tema: masipag naman kami, pero bakit kami naghihirap?

2. Kinakailangan baguhin ang sistema. Nasa sistema mismo ang ugat ng kahirapan. Bakit katumbas ng yaman ng 25 na pinaka-mayamang Pilipino ang kinikita sa isang taon ng 54 milyong pinaka-mahirap na Pilipino? Bakit mas malaki ang lupaing hawak ng 9,400 na pinaka-mayamang landlord sa bansa kesa sa 3 milyong pinaka-mahirap na magsasaka? Bakit ang pamilya ni Pangulong Noynoy ay nagmamay-ari sa lupaing doble ang laki sa siyudad ng Makati?

Dulot ito ng sistema kung saan iilan lamang ang may kontrol sa yaman ng bansa. Nakapangalan sa mga kapitalista ang mga makina at pabrika. Kaya kahit dugo’t pawis ng manggagawa ang nagbubuo ng mga produkto, pagkatapos itong maibenta, maliit na porsyento lamang ang napupunta sa kanila. Sa planta nga ng Zesto Juice sa Valenzuela, ang sinasahod nila sa araw-araw ay katumbas lamang ng nililikha nilang mga produkto sa unang anim na minute nila sa trabaho.

At dahil hawak nila ang yaman, hawak nila ang kapangyarihan. Nagbubuo sila ng mga private army tulad ng mga Ampatuan at Cojuangco. Bumibili sila ng mga boto. Gumagastos ng bilyon-bilyon para sa mga komersyal sa TV, poster, polyeto, at iba pa. Minsan ay opisyal na mismo ng gobyerno ang binibili nila imbes na tumakbo sa eleksyon. At gamit ang kapangyarihan na ito, lalong pinatitibay ang kontrol nila sa yaman: hinaharangan ang dagdag-sahod, hinaharangan ang pamamahagi ng Hacienda Luisita, kinakasuhan ng rebelyon ang mga pumapalag na mahihirap.

3. Kinakailangan mamulat ang mamamayan para mabago nito ang sistema. Hindi posible ang pagbabago mula muna sa itaas. Walang pangulo sa ating bansa ang nagmula sa mga mahihirap. Walang senador. Isa sa kada benteng kongresista lamang. Ngayon, mismong pagbabanggit ng salitang ‘pagbabago’ay kinakasuhan na ng rebelyon ng gobyerno. Ang mapayapang kampuhan at pagtulog sa tulay na malapit sa Palasyo ay banta na daw sa seguridad.

Bagong gobyerno, bagong tipo ng sistemang panlipunan ang kinakailangan. At tulad sa karanasan ng ating mga ninuno, posible lamang ito kung kikilos tayo ng sama-sama: tulad ng Katipunan nung 1896, Sakdal sa Gitnang Luzon, mga Igorot at iba pang katutubo sa Kordilyera, mga Moro sa Mindanao, Hukbalahap nung 1940s, Kabataang Makabayan nung First Quarter Storm, pati sa EDSA.

Pero hindi kikilos ang kamay at paa kung ang puso’t isipan ay nakagapos. Biktima ang ating henerasyon ng deka-dekadang impluwensya ng telebisyon at diyaryo na hawak ng mga korporasyon, libro at paaralan na diniktahan ng gobyerno.

Kaya libo-libong Pilipino ang nagtangkang magtayo ng Kampuhan sa Mendiola. Kaya sila/kami humarap sa tiyak na kapahamakan. Kaya kami nagdadagdag sa tila ‘di matapos-tapos na serye ng mga protesta sa ating kasaysayan.

Dahil may mahirap. Dahil may nagpapahirap. Dahil hindi ito kapalaran. Dahil pwede itong baguhin

 

imjustsayin

Farmville

There are so many problems plaguing the livelihood of the millions of farmers and peasants in the countryside, which in turn affects the nation’s food supply, which in turn affects the millions of people in the urban areas and the rest of the nation.

 

There is an urgent need for engineers, biologists, chemists, biochemists, agriculturists, etc. in the countryside. Alternatives to increasingly expensive fertilizer and other agricultural inputs, pesticides and other toxic inputs that poison the land, solutions to the lack of access to water, lack of access to affordable farming equipment, etc., all require the attention of peoples’ scientists and technologists.

 

There is also an urgent need for social scientists, social and development workers, artists, etc. Problems beyond the soil contribute to the farmers being chained to poverty: a political system which prevents farmers and the poor in general from contributing, a culture which presents poverty as unchangeable and determined by fate, the enforced ignorance of the bigger social picture, etc.

 

In my several month stay here, one of the most laudable projects that I witnessed is the planting of ‘experimental plots’ of organic palay. These seek to demonstrate the benefits of planting rice without using chemical fertilizer and other inputs which were forced upon us by the IMF (International Monetary Fund), as well as to spread the various native types of rice which have almost been wiped because of the spread of ‘mutant’ types.

 

At the same time, it has been demonstrated that technological solutions which lack a social and political perspective will not work. Organic vegetable plots have helped augment some farmers’ incomes, but only to a limited extent. Their products, while good for the health, often lose out to competition from cheap vegetables and fruits dumped from abroad. Landless peasants find the practice impractical in their current situation.

 

In the countryside, there is no job shortage for scientists, technologists, social scientists, artists, etc. Or maybe ‘job’ is the wrong word. The office is not in some air-conditioned high-rise in Ayala or Ortigas, but in the wide expanses of muddy ricefields, decrepit barrios, and the isolation of the mountainsides. These are not high-paying, if at all, as many new graduates think they are entitled to. The wages will be felt more in the future: when a more just and humane society in our country is achieved, in part, by the efforts of the farmers and students which linked and continue to link arms.