This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 33, September 25-October 1, 2005
‘Calibrated preemptive
response’ a la martial law The labor center Kilusang
Mayo Uno (KMU – May 1st Movement) likened the Arroyo government’s
“calibrated preemptive response” to the Marcos dictatorship’s “maximum
tolerance” in dealing with mass protests. In a Sept. 22 statement,
KMU said the new Arroyo policy, announced by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita,
shows government’s “fascist character.” Ermita, the KMU also said, is one of the
reasons why militarization and political repression continue to intensify
nationwide. If the violent dispersal of
rallies at Welcome Rotonda was the start of Ermita’s calibrated preemptive
response, “such policy is certain to fail” since “with or without permit, police
forces must respect the democratic rights of freedom of speech and assembly,”
KMU said. Bulatlat
* * *
Progressive congressman questions envoys’ housing
budget
The Department of Foreign Affairs’
proposed P5.29 billion budget for 2006, with 80 percent earmarked for consular
and diplomatic services including the expenses for embassies and offices of the
consulates general, has been described by a progressive congressman as
“shocking.”
Crispin Beltran of the party-list
Anakpawis (toiling masses) last week revealed that the foreign secretary’s
allocations for the repair and purchase of land for the residencies of
Philippine consuls and ambassadors increased by 33.16 percent, from P188.53
million in 2005 to 251.06 million in 2006.
He cited reports by Migrante
International that the Philippines’ consul general in New York, Cecilia Rebong,
spend US$10,000 or P550,000 every month for the suite at the world-renowned
Trump Plaza in Manhattan. Ambassador to the Italy Philippe Lhuillier reportedly
spends US$10,000 to $12,000 for a rented house in Rome and Corazon Belmonte,
consul general in Hong Kong, spends HK$1.5 million for her house, he said.
Beltran will file a resolution
questioning the foreign affairs officials’ housing expenses and calling on the
Commission on Audit to look into the matter. Bulatlat
* * *
The farmers’ alliance Kilusang Magbubukid ng
Pilipinas (KMP) assailed Sept. 21 the “hypocrisy” of the Department of Land
Reform (DLR) in telling its field officers to defy lower court decisions in
acquiring land supposedly for land reform.
KMP secretary general Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos
said that, to the contrary, it is the DLR itself, along with the regular courts,
that has reversed decisions favorable to the farmers. He cited the cases of the
311-hectare Araneta land in Tungkong Mangga, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and the
controversial 8,653-hectare Hacienda Looc in Nasugbu, Batangas as “legalized
land-grabbing perpetrated by the DLR itself.”
“The farmers in these lands already have their
certificates of land ownership awards (CLOA), but the DLR, to give way to the
interest of big landlords and corporations, canceled these,” Ramos said.
Bulatlat
* * * Sto.Tomas - ‘denial
queen’
Labor Secretary Patricia
Sto. Tomas has been called again as “denial queen” in connection with her latest
statement downgrading the number of labor strikes. Elmer Labog, chair of
Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st Movement), Sept. 20 also called Sto. Tomas
as the “Assumption of Jurisdiction queen” who should be blamed for the violence
– including massacres – taking place in picket lines. Citing the National
Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), Labog said 94,203 workers from 400
commercial establishments have filed notices of strike (NoS) for the past nine
months. He also added that there was also a nine percent increase of those
involved in labor disputes while full-blown strikes rose to 41 percent from the
17 strikes to 24 work stoppages in the same period. Labog scored Sto. Tomas'
statement that only 70 percent of the NoS became full-blown strikes, adding that
government’s conciliation and mediation policy has been used as a pretext "to
sow fear" in the labor front. Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
KMU, which has been in the forefront of the struggle to pressure Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo to resign the presidency, also condemned the violent dispersal
of protesters at Welcome Rotonda, Quezon City on Sept. 21 marking the 33rd
declaration of martial law.
‘DLR hypocritical in acquiring lands’