News
Continuation of peace talks urged
More than 100,000 people signed the Pilgrims for Peace manifesto calling for the immediate resumption of peace talks between the NDFP and the GRP.
The signatories included, among others, Vice President Teofisto Guingona and Senator Loren Legarda. The signatories to the manifesto belie Macapagal-Arroyo's statement that 95% of Filipinos do not want the peace talks to continue.
The manifesto declared: "Even as we condemn all forms of terrorism, we are gravely concerned that the Macapagal-Arroyo government's all-out support for the US 'war on terror' ...will jeopardize the peace negotiations."
There is greater relevance in demanding the resumption of peace talks in the face of the growing offensive of US imperialism and its allies to destroy the GRP-NDFP negotiations. On October 28, the European Union declared the New People's Army and NDFP senior political consultant Comrade Jose Ma. Sison as "terrorist". The move was spurred by the US and came in the wake of a systematic campaign by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime to malign the revolutionary movement in the Philippines before the countries of the European Union.
According to NDFP negotiating panel head Comrade Luis Jalandoni, the declaration by the European Union will destroy the peace talks and inflame the civil war in the Philippines.
Comrade Sison belied the Macapagal-Arroyo regime's claims that there were continuing "back-channel talks" between the GRP and NDFP despite the absence of formal negotiations. In a radio interview on October 26, Comrade Sison said that they have not been approached by any GRP representative. The truth is, he said, "the only ones engaged in negotiations are Gen. Eduardo Ermita and Sec. Angelo Reyes. They're just kidding around with each other," he added.
The Party, through its spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal, condemned US imperialism and the GRP's sinister scheme to corner the revolutionary movement and compel it to surrender. Ka Roger said that the revolutionary movement will continue building the foundations of a genuine, just and lasting peace, with or without the peace negotiations.
"Talon Vision" 02 opposed
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas led peasants from Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Cordillera and Cagayan Valley in launching a protest caravan against "Talon Vision 02." The caravan from Manila was met by peasants from Central Luzon led by the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon before proceeding to the Clark Ecozone in Angeles City, Pampanga on October 23.
The peasants roundly criticized the "Talon Vision 02" joint military exercises conducted October 14-27. Seven-hundred US Marines and 400 AFP soldiers held joint war games in Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pampanga.
The exercises were made to coincide with the regime's intensified counterrevolutionay war dubbed as Oplan Gordian Knot.
Various mass organizations assailed "Talon Vision." When the "National Day of Protest" was held in Manila on October 21, some 5,000 people condemned the Macapagal-Arroyo regime and its US imperialist master for beating the war drums against patriotic and liberation movements that serve as threats and obstacles to the dominance of imperialist interests around the globe.
Lightning rally in Malacañang violently dispersed
Up to 30 persons were injured when police violently dispersed a lightning rally held in front of Malacañang on October 18 at around 10 a.m. Some 100 members of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Kilusang Mayo Uno and PAMALAKAYA were engaged in peaceful protest when they were truncheoned by police. The dispersal lasted for almost an hour. The protest action was launched to assail and condemn the Macapagal-Arroyo regime's intensification of the counterrevolutionary war.
Jeepney drivers strike
Jeepney drivers launched a half-day transport strike on October 29 in Metro Manila and other cities. The strike was led by the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston). According to Piston chair Medardo Roda, the half-day strike was launched to protest relentless oil price increases. Piston threatened to wage a bigger strike with the next oil price hike.
MMDA sued over vendor's death
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) filed charges against Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Bayani Fernando for the death of vendor Iladio Tuacar in a violent demolition in Magallanes, Makati at the end of September. Tuacar was killed when he was shot twice in the back by one of the policemen enforcing an MMDA order to eject all sidewalk vendors from Metro Manila. BAYAN and vendors' organizations also condemned Tuacar's killing in a rally in Makati on October 2.
KARAPATAN office in Butuan City ransacked
Unidentified men broke into and ransacked the KARAPATAN office in Butuan City on September 28. They are suspected to be military intelligence operatives because only documents and a computer hard disk were taken. This occurred between the night of September 27 and early morning of September 28. The missing items contained records of human rights violations, interviews and reports of fact-finding missions and sworn testimonies of victims and witnesses in human rights abuse cases.
Military bombings spur evacuation of Lanao del Sur residents
At least three barangays in Lanao del Sur have been affected by bombings by Philippine Air Force planes of forested areas in the towns of Pualas and Sultan Gumander on September 12 and 13. Even as Col. Ernesto Boac arrogantly said that the operations would protect the community from violence, it was the military's bombing sorties that caused the forcible evacuation of residents away from their ruined homes and sources of livelihood. Colonel Boac is the commander of the Philippine Army's 401st Infantry Brigade based in Marawi City.
Meralco fails in bribe try vs. Ka Bel
Meralco tried many times in vain to bribe Bayan Muna congressman Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran. Meralco had tried to bribe Ka Bel to stop him from criticizing the company. Ka Bel had refused since April to pay Meralco the purchased power adjustment, in protest. Because of its failure to bribe Ka Bel and the latter's refusal to change his stand, Meralco cut off the militant congressman's electric power on October 24.
Plunder Watch questions Marcelo appointment
Plunder Watch has questioned the appointment of Simeon Marcelo as Ombudsman. In a statement on October 11, Plunder Watch said that his appointment was railroaded and not meticulously deliberated. It said that Marcelo was incapable of taking an independent stand because of his closeness to the Arroyos. Marcelo held a ranking position at the Carpio, Villaraza and Cruz law firm, which has been in the service of the Arroyos for years. The law firm has likewise received many favors from the regime.
Plunder Watch also criticized the inutility of the team of prosecutors in the Estrada trial. Marcelo was part of this team before his appointment as an ombudsman.
Filipino airport inspectors in US booted out
Up to 1,000 Filipino airport screeners in the US have been terminated in a mass layoff this October. The layoffs were the offshoot of the cruel Aviation Security Act that was passed by the Bush government in November 2001. The law prohibits the hiring of non-US citizens as airport screeners. The real reasons behind the layoffs, however, are current US restrictions on any nationality suspected of generating "terrorists." They include Arabs, Afghans and Pakistanis and lately, even Filipinos, Malaysians and Indonesians.
GMA throws a fit as Bush vetoes $30 M military aid for RP
Macapagal-Arroyo looked like a child throwing a temper tantrum last October 8 when she slammed her fist on her desk after finding out that US President George Bush did not approve $30 million in military aid that had been promised the regime. Macapagal-Arroyo went ballistic, saying that she wasn't even compensated for her all-out support for the US "war against terrorism." To further show her pique, Macapagal-Arroyo cancelled to go to Washington DC on October 29 after attending the 10th Asia-Pacific Economic Forum meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Budget deficit balloons to P166.5 B
The budget deficit for January to September ballooned to P166.5 billion. This is P60.139 billion more than the target deficit for this period. It is also 36.3% bigger that the deficit for the same period in 2002, and is P10 billion greater that the targeted P155 billion for the whole year. National Treasurer Sergio Edeza also said that the budget deficit could reach P190 billion by the end of this year.
Economy worse off--survey
The vast majority, or 88.6%, of Metro Manilans said the state of the economy was "worse" (45.78%) or "remained the same" (42.89%), according to a survey conducted by IBON Foundation from September 30-October 5.
Meanwhile, only 6.7% of the respondents said that they believed the economy was recovering. The survey belies official government reports that the people's lot has improved. Among others, the Commission on Population reported on October 2 that only 40% of Filipinos were mired in poverty.
Protests against imperialist war on Iraq spreads
Since September, the movement against the US imperialist war has continued to expand and gain strength not only in Europe and Asia but also within the US itself.
On October 26, the first anniversary of the signing of the Patriot Act, more than 100,000 Americans from various parts of the country gathered in Washington DC to assert their right to express opposition to the imperialist war on Afghanistan and Iraq. Simultaneously, up to 80,000 people poured out into the streets of San Francisco City while 10,000 rallied in Minnesota. Mass actions were also held in other parts of the country like Seattle (5,000), New York (2,000), Maine (3,000) and many other areas. At the same time, tens of thousands rallied in The Netherlands and 400,000 in Spain. The militant protest actions where generally peaceful.
Prior to this, various mass organizations in the US under the coalition "Not in Our Name" launched a "national day of resistance" on October 6-7 against the planned US war on Iraq. In Manhattan Central, New York, among those who spoke were famous actors Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Martin Sheen. Some 20,000 workers, actors, directors, writers and intellectuals joined the march.
Strike rocks Italy
A general strike against economic plans by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi within the imperialist "globalization" framework paralyzed most of Italy on October 18. Two million workers thronged to the streets and 10 million laborers supported the call by the Confederazione Generale Italiana de Lavoro or CGIL, the biggest union in Italy.
The protest action was sparked by car manufacturer Fiat's attempt to lay off more than 8,000 workers. The workers protested the move in mass actions that included huge protest marches. This was followed by a 200,000-strong workers' rally in Turin and a 250,000-strong march in Milan.
Protests continue in Palestine
The New Intifada -- the Palestinian people's uprising to free themselves from Israeli occupation -- continues to advance.
Some 2,000 persons marched in Gaza Strip on October 4 and 6 to condemn US support for Israel. They called on Arabs, Muslims and Christians to unite and oppose US support for Israeli aggression. Some 3,000 Hamas sympathizers also rallied at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza Strip.
The next day, 400 Islamic guerrillas burned Israeli and US flags. In Nablus, West Bank, rallyists defied the curfew and marched, shouting "America is the head of the snake."
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