Member of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) light candles as countdown to the tenth year of the Ampatuan Massacre, Jan. 23, 2019 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / Bulatlat)
MANILA —While many netizens posted on Facebook two pictures of themselves taken ten years apart, photojournalist Fernando “Jun” Sepe Jr. has his own version of the ten-year challenge. He posted one of his photographs of the Ampatuan Massacre taken on November 23, 2009, and a group picture of Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines (PCP) members commemorating the massacre on Nov. 23, 2018.
In a gathering of journalists, Jan. 23 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, the newly elected PCP chairperson said in Filipino, “We remember Ampatuan Massacre but we have to bring back the rage.”
Sepe added, “That 58 were killed is no joke. If we don’t get justice in such a big case, how else could we win the smaller ones?”
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) led the candle lighting ceremony in its countdown to the tenth year of the Ampatuan Massacre.
On its ninth year, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the case may be decided in the first half of 2019.
Vigilance
In his speech, Raymund B. Villanueva, NUJP deputy secretary general, lamented that of the hundreds of suspects identified, not one has been held accountable for the murder of 58 individuals, of whom 32 were journalists.
Villanueva called for vigilance, noting that Zaldy Ampatuan, one of the suspects, was granted furlough last year to attend his daughter’s wedding. He said ordinary prisoners were not given such privilege.
The NUJP official also pointed out that ten years after the gruesome killing, Ampatuans remain a powerful clan.
Sajid Islam Ampatuan, a suspect who was allowed to post bail in January 2015, is running for mayor of Shariff Saydona Mustapha in Maguindanao.
According to the initial list of candidates posted by the Commission on Elections on November 19, 2018, there are 38 Ampatuans running for various local positions in Maguindanao province.
Red Batario, executive director of Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD), thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for making him realize the importance of consistently fighting for freedom of the press and expression.
More than ten journalists have been killed under the Duterte administration, said Daryl Baybado of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP). Some campus journalists, he added, are being subjected to surveillance.
“The state is targeting journalists because Duterte is afraid of the truth,” Baybado said in Filipino.
‘Sharpen our weapon’
Batario underscored the need to do good journalism amid the Duterte administration’s attacks on the Philippine media.
“We must sharpen our weapon, which is none other than the practice of journalism,” Batario said in Filipino. He suggested adhering to the highest standards of the craft, giving voice to those who are often ignored, and setting aside fear, among others.
For his part, University of the Philippines journalism professor Danilo Arao said it has become an imperative to teach their students to stand up and be critical amid the current situation.
Arao said journalists must not only report but also raise public consciousness. “In situations where the powerful suppresses our right to press freedom, fighting back has become an ethical obligation,” Arao said in Filipino.
Dabet Castaneda-Panelo, NUJP secretary general, said they would hold monthly commemoration of the Ampatuan Massacre until November to enjoin the public in fighting for justice.
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MANILA — Lawmakers have once again ignored the strong outcry to put a stop to the proposed bill that aims to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility as they railroaded its approval on its second reading before the plenary of the House of Representatives on Jan. 23.
In a statement, Gabriela Women’s Party said its approval pushed through despite objections from the floor by several lawmakers who were against the proposed law.
“The House leadership pulled the strings to close the curtain on the period of interpellation and debate — despite the fact that the bill’s sponsor has failed to convincingly and substantially explain the rationale for rushing the measure. This is a cowardly act to constrict the space for legislative scrutiny of the patently insane measure,” the women’s group said.
In the midst of such strong public outcry, former president now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in her media interviews that she supported the proposed law to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility because the “President wants it.” Among those who have strongly assailed the moves to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility are various human rights and child rights advocacy groups, lawyers, and even local celebrities.
Lawmakers, however, have already backed down from their earlier stance that the minimum age of criminal responsibility must be at 9 years old. On the second reading, they have agreed to make it 12, short of three years to the current age of criminal liability and is the same as stipulated in the Senate counterpart of the bill.
“How can the government be so hell-bent at lowering the minimum age for criminal responsibility but so vague at ensuring child rehabilitation and youth support programs and facilities, more so in addressing poverty? There is no substance in the defense that children will not be jailed and that they will be rehabilitated because existing facilities do not even meet the requirements of the law,” Gabriela Women’s Party said.
MANILA – Workers, public transport drivers, families of migrant workers and informal workers from urban poor communities trooped to COMELEC today to demand that Manggagawa Partylist be allowed to run in the coming mid-term elections.
COMELEC decided last year December 19 to dismiss the appeal of Manggagawa for accreditation as a party-list organization. But a copy of the decision reached the officers of the Manggagawa Partylist only on January 14, 2019. The group has been following up on the decision since December.
On January 19, they filed a petition at the Supreme Court questioning the COMELEC decision to disqualify the workers’ partylist. They asked the Supreme Court to issue a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order on the COMELEC’s decision.
“While we are waiting for the deliberation of the Supreme Court on the petition that we filed, we are urging our Justices to tell COMELEC to still include Manggagawa Party List in the official list of candidates and be included in the ballots,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog, National President and First Nominee of the MANGGAGAWA Partylist.
The COMELEC decision stems from the Manggagawa Partylist’s failure to state that it is not funded by the government. But the MANGGAGAWA Partylist said they stated in their Petition and Motion for Reconsideration that they do not receive any funds from the government.
“As the COMELEC can see, the members of our organizations belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of our society. Our nominees are legitimate leaders of people’s organizations from trade unions, urban poor, jeepney drivers, OFWs and their families. Our organizations have been at the forefront of the workers’ fight against contractualization, against oil price increases, against demolition of urban poor communities, for higher wages, and for protection and services to our OFWs,” said Labog.
MANGGAGAWA Partylist was established with the support of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), Migrante, and Kalipunan ng mga Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY). Its nominees came from leaders of these organizations.
“The organizations and members comprising the Manggagawa Partylist show all are legitimate people’s and grassroots organizations. It is the clear proof that our Partylist represents the marginalized and underrepresented sectors and that we do not receive Government funds. Instead of allowing genuine partylists to run in the elections, the COMELEC has been accrediting “bogus or fake” partylists who are linked to well-entrenched political dynasties, special business interests and who have questionable advocacies,” lamented Labog.
The disqualification of the Manggagawa Partylist has shown again the loopholes of the current partylist system, where the real marginalized and underrepresented continue being marginalized. Labog said that while they are being pushed out, the ‘partylists’ of political dynasties are freely being allowed to run. Combined with the loopholes, the COMELEC has been enabling the abuse of these loopholes throughout the years, Labog added.
During the picket in front of the COMELEC, the supporters of Manggagawa Partylist urged the COMELEC to immediately act toward ensuring the main objective of the partylist system is being met. The partylist system, they said, is supposed to expand political participation of the marginalized sectors.
Labog warned that if the COMELEC did not in favor of the Partylist system’s objectives, they will make sure the COMELEC will be held accountable for its part in “bastardizing the Partylist system.”
In other parts of the country, members and supporters of Manggagawa Partylist also held a picket urging the COMELEC to let their partylist run this coming elections.
Led by KMP, various groups marched to Mendiola Peace Arch to commemorate the 32nd year of Mendiola Massacre (Photo by A. Clarin / Bulatlat)
“Ang pagsasaka ay marangal na gawain, hindi po ito terorismo. Hindi po kami terorista.”
By ALYSSA MAE A. CLARIN Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Thirty-two years after the massacre of farmers demanding genuine agrarian reform under the Corazon Aquino administration, relatives of the martyred farmers are still seeking justice and meaningful change.
On January 22, 1987, some 20,000 farmers and members of various progressive groups marched to Mendiola Bridge (now Chino Roces Bridge) calling on then President Aquino to implement genuine agrarian reform.
Fresh from the euphoria of the February 1986 people’s uprising against the Marcos dictatorship, many expected a peaceful demonstration. However, soldiers fired at the marching farmers. Thirteen died as a result and many more were injured.
Exactly 32 years later, farmers from Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales and Pangasinan, Laguna and Batangas, as well as some parts of Mindanao, marched again to Mendiola honoring the 13 martyrs, still calling for social justice, land reform and an end to fascism.
Continuing killing of farmers
Danilo Ramos, chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and a survivor of the Mendiola Massacre, read the names of the fallen farmers and said, “Tatlumpu’t-dalawang taon ang lumipas, walang lupa at hustisya.” (Thirty two years after, still no land and justice.)
Almost 170 farmers, fisherfolk and agricultural workers have been killed under the Duterte administration, not including the 20,000 victims of the government’s anti-drugs campaign, the KMP said.
Farmers everywhere in the Philippines are being jailed and massacred due to false accusations of terrorism.
“Ang pagsasaka ay marangal na gawain, hindi po ito terorismo. Hindi po kami terorista,” said Ramos. (Farming is an honorable job, it is not terrorism. We are not terrorists.)
On October 20 last year in Sagay, Negros Occidental, nine sugar farmers including four women and two minors were reportedly massacred by the Armed Forces of the Philippines after tagging the victims as ‘terrorists.’
The military and police linked the Sagay massacre to the “Red October” plot supposedly hatched by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.
The same situation was evident in February 1987 or two weeks after the Mendiola massacre. In Nueva Ecija, 17 farmers and their families were reportedly massacred by government troops after they were accused as members of the New People’s Army. Twenty-four soldiers of the 24th Infantry Battalion were accused in what became known as the Lupao Massacre. They were tried in court but they were all acquitted.
32 years on, still no sign of social justice
Agricultural workers from Mindanao call to end martial law and for the ouster of President Duterte (Photo by A. Clarin / Bulatlat)
Since the first Aquino Administration, relatives of the 13 farmers and survivors of the Mendiola Massacre have called for justice.
As of this writing, none of the suspects were put behind bars.
Another massacre survivor, KMP Chair Emeritus and Anakpawis President Rafael Mariano, said that various peasant groups were encamped at that time at the Ministry of Agrarian Reform (now Department of Agrarian Reform) for a week, expecting a peaceful dialogue.
Getting no response from the Agrarian Minister, the farmers’ groups marched toward Mendiola to seek an audience with President Aquino.
Not one government official greeted the farmers when they arrived at Mendiola. Instead, rows of armed soldiers awaited them.
“Ibig sabihin, malinaw, wala sa kanila noon ang polisiya ng diyalogo at negosasyon,” (What it means is that clearly they did not have any policy for dialogue and negotiation) Mariano said.
He described how the situation became chaotic when the military started firing.
“Makikita niyo po sa video, nagkalat po ang mga tsinelas at sapatos diyan,” then he added how leaders of the KMP retreated, carried the wounded away from the soldiers and took them to the hospital. The others scrambled away from the gunfire. (You’ll see it in the video, slippers and shoes were scattered everywhere.)
Aside from demanding genuine agrarian reform and justice for the victims of Mendiola Massacre , peasant groups also called for an end to the killings of peasants.
According to KMP, under the almost three-year rule now of President Duterte, there are 14 documented massacres. (Bulatlat.com)
Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose, Nueva Ecija says that President Duterte’s open invitation to kill bishops “opens a door for people to commit injustices.” (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / Bulatlat)
“We pray for our nation and all the inhabitants therein, that they will know peace, genuine peace based on justice and righteousness.”
MANILA – Leaders of Catholic and Protestant churches are calling on the faithful to unite and defend human rights.
At the beginning of the week of Christian prayer, January 21, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) declared in a unity statement, “We pray for our nation and all the inhabitants therein, that they will know peace, genuine peace based on justice and righteousness.”
As part of the week of prayer, Church people will hold a gathering dubbed as “One Faith. One Nation. One Voice” on January 25, Friday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Rajah Sulayman Park, Roxas Boulevard, Malate, Manila.
The gathering is seen as a response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s tirades against the Catholic Church and other forms of harassment against Church people.
In an interview with Bulatlat, Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose, Nueva Ecija said Duterte’s open invitation to kill bishops “opens a door for people to commit injustices.”
In his speech last Jan. 10, Duterte suggested to bystanders to rob and kill bishops. It’s the latest in a string of tirades Duterte blurted out against the Catholic Church, whose bishops have been critical of his bloody campaign to end illegal drugs.
NCCP-member Churches, meanwhile, have been subjected to red baiting, according to Minnie Anne Calub, acting general secretary of the NCCP.
“Church people who stand by the rights of the people are being called communists,” Calub told Bulatlat. “But we will not be cowed. Caring for the people has been the commitment of our clergy and lay people.”
‘Life is sacred’
Mallari said the CBCP’s opposition to extrajudicial killings is rooted in their conviction that “every human person has utmost importance in the eyes of God.”
At least 20,000 have been killed in Duterte’s “war on drugs,” according to independent human rights organizations.
NCCP Acting Secretary General Minnie Anne Calub says, ““Church people who stand by the rights of the people are being called communists.”
Mallari shared that their diocese has been reaching out to drug dependents through their House of Prayer and Evangelization (Hope) project. After two batches of graduates, Mallari witnessed the transformation of former drug dependents into better, God-loving persons.
“One of them said, ‘Ang basurang buhay ko, nagkaroon ng kahulugan. I will help other victims,’” Mallari said.
Families of victims of war on drugs are expected to attend the Jan. 25 gathering, Calub said.
Calub said the Church people should unite with other sectors of the Philippine society. “This Week of Prayer, we are calling on Filipinos to pray together and see the face of Jesus in farmers who produce food but never have enough food, in workers who toil but do not receive just wages, in indigenous peoples who grew up in their ancestral land but are now being evicted, in the youth whose future remain uncertain.”
Calub said they are hoping that the January 25 event would be the first of many gatherings of Church people amid attacks on the Church.
Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes has earlier said, “There should be a mass movement among decent Filipinos to make him desist from speaking like a devil. Let us do something to make him stop this evil!”
MANILA – In less than five minutes into the session, the Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives approved yesterday a bill lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to nine years old – an unsurprising hasty move for a bill certified as part of the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte, whose former spokesperson said, two years ago, that this will “ensure that the Filipino youth would accept responsibility for their actions and be subject to government intervention programs.”
But would it?
As far as human rights and child rights advocates are concerned, the continuing involvement of children in criminal and anti-social activities is deeply rooted in the widespread poverty that many Filipino families are experiencing, including the landlessness and unemployment – something that the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility may never be able to address.
Various groups have each and collectively expressed shock, grief, and disappointment over the brazen railroading of the bill, in the committee level of the House of Representatives, where Duterte supposedly has a so-called “supermajority.”
“We tried to remind members of the Justice committee how the same hallowed halls of Congress, in 2006, passed what will become Republic Act No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (JJWA), which essentially created a separate justice system for children hinged on the concept of restorative justice, following a global outcry over how children as young as 9 years old were treated almost the same way as adult criminals during that time. No less than the former president and now Speaker Gloria Arroyo – who ironically is one of the major driving force in the passage of the current bill in question – signed that law,” Child Rights Network (CRN), an alliance of organizations and agencies pushing for children’s rights legislation in the Philippines, said in a statement.
Still, child rights advocates said their calls, despite all the scientific findings and hard data, has apparently fallen on deaf ears as the committee approved the bill on its first reading.
But what would it really do to Filipino children in conflict with the law?
Arrested on the spot?
The CRN, in its statement, said that the proposed law to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility will surely bring “grave repercussions for Filipino children.”
“Children may not only be arrested on the spot, but also risk being detained in crowded adult detention centers, even if the bill points to separate child-caring institutions to take them in,” the child rights alliance said.
However, the group pointed out that only 55 child-caring centers are currently operational, a far cry from what the present law provides that each of the 81 provinces and 33 highly-urbanized cities in the countries should establish a center that will provide intervention programs for children in conflict with the law.
“The touted benefits of lowering the MACR are also bereft of evidence. The repercussions of charging and convicting children at a young age, even if there are certain token safeguards as regards custody, are beyond disconcerting. Studies show how CICL, without undergoing proper rehabilitation and reintegration, face a troubled future,” the CRN said.
No concrete data that lowering of age of criminal liability is effective
(Photo courtesy of Salinlahi)
Former Social Welfare secretary and long-time activist Judy Taguiwalo reiterated in a Facebook post that lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility ignores scientific and empirical evidence on a child’s maturity and adult-like decision-making.
She pointed out that the human brain continues to develop until the age of 21 years old. As such, biologically speaking, she added that the “brain structure of a child significant to decision-making, impulse control, and propensity to engage in risky behavior differ from that of an adult,” much similar to their cognitive abilities.
Instead of protecting children, putting them behind bars will only harm them and lead to further criminality as the increased and unnecessary detention will expose them to deplorable conditions, Taguiwalo said.
“Early incarceration is the most harmful and counter-productive measure in preventing child re-offending. The most effective diversionary strategy is to remove children from the youth justice system by significantly raising the age of criminal responsibility,” she added.
The CRN said a mere two percent of the total crimes in the Philippines are committed by children in conflict with the law.
“In short, lowering the MACR is a myopic solution to criminality, a lame excuse to cover for the government’s inability to effectively go after the ringleaders of these syndicate groups,” the CRN said.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said there are more than enough data to prove that lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility will reduce the number of children in conflict with the law, as in the experience of other countries.
The partylist group pointed out that the present law, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, was passed in 2006 as “the system where young children could actually be imprisoned was clearly not working.”
Leaning towards more authoritarian measures
In a statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said the move to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility may be expounded in the context of the Duterte administration’s growing paranoia against the people.
In recent weeks, no less than teachers were subjected to “profiling” by the Philippine police. There has also been persistent moves to proceed with a national ID system.
“The state has evidently lost its conscience and has become barbaric as it has now turned to one of the most vulnerable sector of our society in the war it supposedly wages against criminality, which is no more than a false show of strength and will of an increasingly paranoid state,” ACT national chairperson Joselyn Martinez said.
The teachers’ group added that as “teachers and education workers, we take every day as an opportunity to fulfill the vocation of molding and supporting young minds to become positive forces for social transformation and national development despite our meager pay and the dire state of the education system.”
“Jailing children undermines these objectives as it is punitive instead of corrective. It deprives instead of fulfill rights, and exemplifies cruelty instead of compassion,” Martinez said.
Impact on urban poor, Lumad children
Urban poor group Kadamay said the poor will bear the brunt of the moves to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility as it becomes yet “another tool” for the Duterte administration to further “tighten its grip on ordinary households, especially the poorest in the country.”
Michael Beltran of Kadamay, in an interview, said urban poor children are particularly vulnerable to illegal drugs syndicates that victimize them either as couriers or runners.
As a result of lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility, drug syndicates may now target children as young as 7 or 8, a proof that in the end, this boils down to the government’s “failure to address and uphold their rights to a safe, nurturing, and enabling environment for their growth and development,” said teachers group ACT.
Meanwhile, Rius Valle of the Save our Schools Network, said in a text message to Bulatlat the proposed law may potentially be used to detain Lumad students under false charges as in the case of their parents and teachers.
The Lumad has long been subjected to various attacks – from militarization of their communities, resulting to human rights violations, and are threatened to have their homes and schools bombed by no less than the president himself.
Human rights group Karapatan said that if the bill is enacted, it may “exacerbate the already dangerous situation of Filipino children, in the midst of their being killed and considered collateral damage in the government’s sham drug war and counterinsurgency operations.”
Double standards
Kadamay also assailed the apparent double standard in the Philippine criminal justice system, where the likes of Imelda Marcos, the other half of the conjugal Marcos dictatorship who was convicted of several counts of plunder, are “too old to be jailed” while “children may be justly treated as ordinary criminals.”
During the committee hearing, child rights advocates from Salinlahi held a protest action outside the gates of the House of Representatives to expose how lawmakers, through the passing of this bill, will gain political favors from Duterte and former president now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Salinlahi secretary general Eule Bonganay said, “The government is trying hard to cover up their own crimes by pinning down children. We should expose and protest that. We need to speak out and defend Filipino children who are further victimized by the state, its institutions and agencies collaborating to instill fear and impose tyranny all over the country.”
Relatives, friends and supporters gathered at the University of the Philippines College of Science in Diliman January 19 to launch the Free Rey Casambre Movement. The group is calling for the freedom of NDF peace consultant and director of Philippine Peace Center Rey Casambre. Among those who attended the activity are Bishop Deogracias Yniguez, Pastor […]
On the day of the plebiscite here, two young Maguindanaons have cast their votes, one supports the inclusion of Cotabato City under the soon to be Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or BARMM, and the other one wanted Cotabato to remain a charter city.
