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Quo warranto laban sa ABS-CBN, atake sa malayang pamamamahayag

Ayon sa National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), hindi lamang direktang atake sa malayang pamamahayag ang ginawa ni OSG Jose Calida sa nasabing istasyon kundi pagpapakita din ito ng tiranikong pamumuno ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.

The post Quo warranto laban sa ABS-CBN, atake sa malayang pamamamahayag appeared first on Kodao Productions.

Breaking up


By DEE AYROSO
(https://www.bulatlat.com)

The post Breaking up appeared first on Bulatlat.

Getting out of a toxic, one-sided relationship

Bulatlat file photo

What does it take for love to last? Or is there really love in the first place?

The relationship between the Philippines and the United States of America has always been thorny. It is borne not out of love but out of the need to impose control and hegemony by one over the other.

Right from the start, it may even be hardly called friendship. Imagine the US government buying the Philippines from Spanish colonizers at a prize of $20 million. The 1898 Treaty of Paris had defined early on the terms as master and slave.

When Filipino revolutionaries fought for independence, the US government’s “Benevolent Assimilation” massacred hundreds of thousands of Filipinos. The Bells of Balangiga remind us of such atrocities.

When the Japanese invaders came, our guerrillas fought tooth and nail. The US army in the Far East led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur only defended the US geopolitical, economic and military interests against the Japanese.

Fast forward to the Philippines being a US neocolony, or a country not formally annexed but whose national affairs are controlled by the more powerful nation. The Philippine governments after the so-called Independence in 1946 have been subservient to US dictates.

The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Mutual Defense Treaty are major manifestations of persistent US intervention. During his 2017 visit to the Philippines, US President Donald Trump admitted how strategic the Philippines is. “And now, we have a very, very strong relationship with the Philippines, which is really important, less so for trade in this case, but for military purposes, it is a strategic location, the most strategic location,” Trump said.

As Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. transmitted a notice of termination of VFA to the US Embassy in Manila, the Filipino people have no reason to cry. VFA has become synonymous with Filipinas being raped, and with American troops getting away with their crimes. Remember Nicole, Hazel and Jennifer Laude.

The VFA and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) have not modernized the armed forces. Military training between the troops ensured allegiance to US interests and adoption of counterinsurgency strategies, which have been brutal to the core.

Whatever the motivations of the Duterte administration and however flimsy the reasons might be in terminating the VFA, all freedom-loving Filipinos must rise up to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Certainly, the most avid supporters, including the so-called American boys (Amboys) in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, will try to lobby for continuous subservience.

We must not wait for 180 days to determine whether or not we should return to this one-sided affair or move on. The Filipino people’s struggle for genuine freedom, dating back to the colonial period, must not be undermined. We must act in honor of our heroes’ blood, sacrifice and patriotism.

Breaking up is not always bad. In this case, it is better for us to be left alone. And that also means not having to enter a more troubling relationship with the US.

In the context of Valentine’s Day, let us remember that moving on from a toxic relationship is better than holding on to an abusive relationship. (https://www.bulatlat.com)

The post Getting out of a toxic, one-sided relationship appeared first on Bulatlat.

Usapang IBON Praymer Enero 2020 | Rehimeng Duterte: Ang gumuguhong tibay sa 2020

Sa natitirang kalahating panahon ng termino ng administrasyong Duterte, haharap ito sa malalaking pagsubok sa kanyang tibay. Pangunahin na rito ang tuloy-tuloy na pagbagal ng ekonomiya sa nagdaang tatlong taon sa kabila ng pagsusumikap ng administrasyon na pagandahin ang mga numero sa pamamagitan ng mataas na paggastos ng gobyerno. Pangalawa rito, subalit may kaparehas na bigat sa nauna, ay ang tumitinding panlipunang ligalig at hamon sa pananatili sa poder ni Duterte.

Sa mahabang panahon, nakasandig ang gobyerno ng Pilipinas sa panlabas na mga salik para sa paglago ng ekonomiya. Nasa matagalang krisis ngayon ang pandaigdigang kapitalismo, at apektado ang Pilipinas. Pinatitindi ito ng kawalan ng matibay na sektor ng lokal na agrikultura at industriya, at kitang-kita ang epekto nito sa mamamayan. Inabot ang pinakamalaking kawalan ng trabaho at di-pagkakapantay-pantay sa ilalim ni Duterte. Dito na rin naranasan ang pinakamatinding pagtatakip at pagbubulid ng kasinungalingan hinggil sa lawak ng kondisyon ng kahirapan.

IBON 2019 Yearend Birdtalk Briefing Paper | 2020: Beginning of the End?

The administration oddly launched a ‘Duterte Legacy’ campaign with almost two-and-a-half years still left in its term. Likely with a view to the 2022 elections, it will backfire as the public becomes more discerning and less easily manipulated than the administration assumes.

The durability of the Duterte administration will be tested in 2020. It will struggle to arrest the economic slowdown and the social unrest this stirs. It will also be forced to deal with growing political challenges to its rule especially with the prospect of strong international rebuke.

But the far-reaching damage of the administration to the country in the middle of its term is already clear — its neoliberal authoritarianism has greatly worsened elite control of politics and the economy. Ever greater efforts are needed to arrest the continued backsliding of the country’s fledgling democracy in the remaining years of the Duterte watch.

VFA termination, ‘just and necessary’ – progressive group

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – A progressive group said the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement is “just and necessary,” following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to issue a notice of termination to the US government.

“The termination of the VFA is just and necessary. It is long overdue. The VFA is an affront to Philippine sovereignty. It is a reminder of our status as a US neocolony,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes.

Duterte recently warned of terminating VFA, following what he regarded as meddling of the country’s affairs as the US government recently passed a budget banning officials involved in the jailing of Sen. Leila de Lima. This included former police chief now Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, whose US visa was reportedly cancelled.

A similar statement has been released last week by Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo. This, however, was referred to as “fake news” by fellow cabinet official, Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Today, Foreign Affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who is also against the termination of the said military accord, was instructed to sign and send the notice despite the president’s own pronouncement that no less than US President Donald Trump has been trying to “save” VFA.

Read: 10 Years On, VFA Only Served US Interests

Reyes said the transmission of the notice of termination has set the process in motion, with 180 days to be considered effective.

“During this 180-day transition period, the Filipino people must remain vigilant against any reversal by the Philippine Government or any intervention by the US government,” he said.

Implications

Among the implications once the VFA’s termination is effective is that “all US troops in the Philippines will be subject to Philippine laws and all their special privileges will be gone.”

Read: 10 Years of VFA Worsened Abuse of Filipino Women, Children by US Troops — Gabriela

“They can no longer enjoy any privilege other than those accorded regular tourists. The US troops can no longer overstay in the country (beyond 30 days) without any visa, even in the name of security,” Reyes said.

As such, war games between US and Philippine military forces will be scrapped.

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, signed under President Benigno S. Aquino III, can no longer be implemented. Reyes said this requires presence of US troops.

Now Philippine jurisdiction

One of the implications of the VFA termination, Reyes noted, is that US soldiers accused of committing crimes will now “be immediately placed under Philippine jurisdiction and detained in Philippine facilities.”

Read: Edca: a tale of secrecy, murder and betrayal

Such provision earlier became controversial, following the rape of Filipina “Nicole” and the murder of Jennifer Laude.

Reyes warned that in the next 180 days, the US government may either retalliate or renegotiate with Duterte. Still, he added that the “contradictions between Manila and Washington may intensify.”

He said, “on this point we need to also be vigilant and continue to press for the abrogation of all unequal military agreements including the MDT and EDCA.” (https://www.bulatlat.com)

The post VFA termination, ‘just and necessary’ – progressive group appeared first on Bulatlat.

Death and what comes after

When we think of death and what comes after, we often only think about how we grieve and seek closure, of how our loved ones are in a better place, of finding solace in beliefs. But death is also highly political, and for victims of state violence these personal processes become entangled with social processes of pursuing justice, contesting “official” narratives, and going against the full weight of governmental powers that can still control us long after we have left this world.