Our Very Own Dirty War

By Walden Bello*

(This article appeared in Business World, July 17, 2006.)


In Argentina, during the “Dirty War” in the mid-seventies, the military used to load tortured university students into helicopters and push them into the stormy South Atlantic.

We have not yet come to that, thank god. But the statistics are mounting, as almost every week now, activists and journalists are murdered or abducted. The dirty war is a grim reality that is unfolding, especially in the countryside.

Like many institutions, the University of the Philippines as a community has been slow in reacting to the spread of the dirty war. But when its very own were swept up in the dragnet, it finally reacted. Sherlyn Cadapan, an outstanding athlete, is with the College of Human Kinetics. Karen Empeno is a student at my unit, the Department of Sociology of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Both were picked up by masked men with long firearms at 2 am in Hagonoy, Bulacan, along with a male companion from the same area.

In a letter to Ronaldo Puno, Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, UP President Emerlinda Roman requested the assistance of government authorities in locating the two students. In the letter the president reminded Puno: “We know that you share with us a commitment to the spirit of the UN General Assembly’s ‘Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance… We also know that the acts done by masked armed men are criminally punishable under our laws.”

Ten days after President Roman’s letter, with still no word from the military or any other government agency on the whereabouts of the two students, the University Council approved with no negative votes a resolution reiterating her request for information and asking the government to “provide [the students] with medical and legal assistance and release them to the care of the University as soon as possible.” The July 13 resolution added: “We consider the continuing silence of the authorities in this matter of life and death to be inexcusable and a betrayal of the public trust.”

The university community’s reaction, along with the recent Catholic Bishops Conference Pastoral Statement of July 11, which condemned the spate of killings, was an important step in the awakening of civic consciousness over the grave danger to the liberal democratic regime posed by the rampant assassinations and abductions.

But the protests from these two institutions are far from turning the black tide of state and paramilitary terrorism.

In contrast to the waning years of the Marcos regime and the early years of the Aquino presidency, there has yet been no mass outrage at the systematic assassination of activists and media people. It could be that people have become cynical about the ability of the justice system to bring the perpetrators of such deeds to justice. This is understandable since none of the perpetrators of the killings of high-profile figures—Benigno Aquino, the student leader Lean Alejandro, labor leader Rolando Olalia—have been brought to justice, much less identified. This cynicism about the justice system is part of the general disillusionment with the institutions of the unraveling EDSA liberal democratic state that replaced the Marcos regime.

Lack of faith in mass actions, profound skepticism that the vote can change anything, a withdrawal into the private sphere, general dispiritedness—these are the elements of the miserable political context in which the killings are taking place.

The systematic assassinations and abductions are part of an anti-communist campaign that has run out of control. They are being perpetrated by elements of the security and defense establishment, along with private landed armies, and these forces are encouraged by the unwillingness of civilian authorities to check them. For the civilian authorities—in this case, Malacanang—are not only weak; they depend for their survival on the support of the military. This symbiosis between a corrupt and weak civilian regime and a strong and reckless military is what is stripping the EDSA state of its last liberal features.

For all intents and purposes, we are living in a repressive, post-liberal, post-democratic state.

It is estimated that at least 15,000 young people were assassinated in the dirty war in Argentina. It will never get that bad here, some say. Well, let me tell these people that this is no longer a far-fetched scenario, and the only thing that will prevent it from transpiring is a mobilized civil society that says enough, and is angry enough to bring back the rule of law.

Can we turn the tide? Yes, but that will take a lot of determination and a lot of courage.

*Walden Bello is professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines.

Update on Rice Subsidy and Other Matters

On June 2, 2006, the All U.P. Workers's Union Manila have a dialogue with the UP Manila Chancellor, Dr. Ramon Arcadio. The agenda include: benefits under the Magna carta of Public Health Workers (RA 7305) and the early release of the first sack of rice.

The Chancellor agreed and suported the early release of the 1st sack of rice after consultation with PGH Director, Dr. Carmelo Alfiler (PGH constitute about 76% of the 3,400 administrative personnel of UP Manila). He also agreed to help convince the other chancellors, considering that UP Manila constitutes the bulk of the 8,000 administrative personnel of UP.

The Chancellor further agreed to form a committee to study the financial and other aspects of the benefits yet to be implemented under the Magna Carta such as the Longevity and Overtime Pay, free treatment and hospitalization and housing facility and/or allowance. To date, the seven (7) member committee headed by the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Orlino Talens had already met once, and have an imposed dealine to submit its recommendation to the Chancellor on/or before September 30, 2006

This dialogue was also adopted by the AUPWU's National Executive Committee so that before the meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) on June 21, the Chancellors of UP Diliman and Los Baños were already on board to support the early release of the rice subsidy (1st sack of the two (2) sack per year subsidy). UP's campuses in Manila, Diliman and Los Baños are considered "the big three" (heavyweights) of the seven (7) constituent units of the UP System.

Tomorrow, June 30, 2006, the UP's Board of Regents are expected to affirm the PAC's recommendation for the early release of the 1st sack of rice. However, we still need to lobby it during its meeting at UP Open University in Los Baños tomorrow at 9:00 AM. We therefore call on everybody to go to UPOU tomorrow starting at 8:00 AM.

Upon approval by the BOR, we expect each of us to received our one (1) sack rice starting on the last week of July 2006.

On the other hand, the case of our National Treasurer, Mr. Ely Estropigan has been partially resolved on our favor. Mr Estropigan was collared by the PSG and WPD operatives on June 15, 2006 during the turnover rite of the Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal when Mrs. Arroyo visited the PGH. He was out on P100.00 bail on the charge of "breach of peace" in violation of a Revised City Ordinance. The charge by the police of inciting to sedition was recommended "for further investigation" instead of being dismissed outright by the inquest fiscal. We in the union however believed that the action of the PSG and WPD operatives were way out of bounds considering that the peaceful protest action was done in a public place and in UP grounds at that. The Memorandum of Agreement between UP and the AFP/PNP specifically prohibits the AFP and PNP personnel to intervene on any peaceful concerted activities done within the campus by UP constituents. The Union was therefore mulling also to file administrative charges against the PSG and WPD operatives who arrested Mr. Estropigan and the two students at PGH. We finally believed that this harassment suit filed against Mr. Estropigan will be dismissed in due time.

Channel P1billion AFP Fund to Schools, Medicines, and Peace Talks, Ka Bel Challenges GMA

NEWS RELEASE
June 22, 2006
From the Office of Anakpawis Rep. Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006

"Socio-economic development' component of AFP's all-out war is only a deodorizer for bloodbath."

Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran today challenged the Palace and the AFP "to prove their sincerity in achieving a just and lasting peace by rechannelling the controversial P1 billion counter-insurgency fund to basic social services, such as education and health, and to the peace talks with the CPP-NPA".

"The government should be channeling such funds to augmenting grossly inadequate basic social services, instead of funding murderous counter-insurgency campaigns in the countryside. The Arroyo administration should be castigated by all societal sectors for splurging on the military allotments while chronically neglecting and scrimping on the budget for health and education. This shows that the President is only interested in protecting herself rather than the nation's interest and welfare," Beltran said while confined at the Philippine Heart Center.

"The people's money would be better spent on laying the groundwork for the resumption of peace talks with the CPP-NPA rather than an all-out counter-insurgency bid. Yet the Arroyo administration seems to favor wielding the bloody sword of war over going back to the negotiating table," Beltran said.

Beltran also criticized AFP Chief Generoso Senga's claim that criticisms of the counter-insurgency fund were "unfair".

"Senga should quit denying the obvious and call a spade a spade. He is evading well-founded and historical observations that the military counter-insurgency fund will only increase the number of civilians killed, tortured, and harassed and the extra-judicial killings of activists who are operating well within the law. He is lamely and illogically trying to justify a bloodbath by saying that the AFP will be having all these small livelihood projects anyway," Beltran said.

"The 'socio-economic development' component of this counter-insurgency campaign is only a deodorizer for the stench of blood and tears that is sure to come if the military war dogs go on such a killing spree in the provinces. These small-scale projects will not fundamentally alter the causes of widespread poverty, and can never compensate for the human rights violations by the military," Beltran said.

Beltran said he was wary of such "socio-economic development projects, especially those bearing the seal of approval from the Palace".

"Frankly speaking, we have witnessed how the Arroyo administration has only used such Palace-approved allotments as a convenient piggybank for Pres. Arroyo's campaigns at shameless self-promotion. The 2007 elections are nearing, and President Arroyo will be needing subtle and not-so-subtle ways to promote herself, her allies and her cohorts in their bid to extend their abominable presence in governance," Beltran said.

"This socio-economic development component of the P1 bilion military allocation might only end up as another Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) fertilizer fund scam or another OWWA Philhealth fund anomaly," Beltran said. ###

Itchy Trigger Fingers or Itchy Palms?

Editorial
People's Independent Media
THURSDAY JUNE 22, 2006

'The police need not raise the Red bogey to ensure each member has a sidearm. Just waive the 10 percent "SOP," please.'

The Philippine National Police is itching to get its licks in at the communist rebels following Gloria Arroyo's declaration of "all-outwar."

"We want an active role, like conducting offensives," PNP spokesman Sr. Supt. Samuel Pagdilao said.

According to Pagdilao, the PNP has always been on a "defensive mode" toward the communist rebels. The police can act only when attacked. As a result, they have been relatively easy targets for raids which usually result in firearms being carted off by the rebels.

The zeal of the PNP is commendable. But why can't it devote its attention to maintenance of peace and order first?

Criminality is rampant. The PNP admits as much by saying it could not perform its job well because it is undermanned and inadequately equipped. The PNP has 118,000 members securing 80 million people, for a policeman-to-population ratio of around 1:700, well below the 1:500minimum.

The PNP even lacks basic firearms, let alone prowl cars, ships and planes to carry out its mission. Of hand guns, the PNP has 100,500 in its inventory, leaving 14 percent of its men without this basic equipment.

So why should the police look for a new fight when it cannot even lick the enemy at hand?

Perhaps, it's not a case of itchy trigger fingers, but of itchy palms?

This is probably unfair to the PNP leadership but, let's face it, themilitary and the police have not exactly been known for, ah, scrupulous financial accounting.

Gloria has ordered the release of P1 billion to bankroll her all-out war against the communist rebels. A total of P400 million is earmarked for the Armed Forces, P300 million for the PNP and P300 million for unspecified "developmental" projects.

We are not begrudging the PNP for seeking a fair share of the P1billion funding. It certainly needs the money. Let's go back to the handgun shortage. Let's place the shortage at an even 18,000. AtP30,000 a piece, the price the PNP is paying for it latest negotiated purchase, 18,000 guns already cost P540 million. (Of long firearms, the PNP has 60,000, including those on the pipeline. That's a shortage of 58,000. But Gloria says 100,500 handguns plus 60,000 long firearms gives a total 160,000 firearms. There is, therefore, no shortage by Gloria's kind of arithmetic.)

Our suggestion to the PNP is to use all P300 million to buy 10,000 hand guns. That still leaves an 8,000 shortage. But it has to start somewhere. The police need not raise the Red bogey to ensure eachmember has a sidearm. Just waive the 10 percent "SOP," please.

COPYRIGHT 2004 (c) People's Independent Media Inc.

'Low-level' Bombings

Editorial
People's Independent Media
SATURDAY JUNE 17, 2006

Palace officials have denied any plan to impose martial law. The denials, however, have come from congenital liars…'

The recent spate of "low-level" bombings, which has been owned by the newly emerged group Tabak (Taong Bayan at Kawal), has so far been purely for show. The bombers appear to have no intention of harming people and destroying property. But how long will this state of affairs last?

The military and the police said they have already identified the people behind the attacks. They said the perpetrators do not belong to the political opposition. They have also not tagged the usual suspects, the communist rebels. So by a process of elimination, that leaves rightist groups seeking to overthrow the Arroyo administration as the suspects.

If indeed the rightists are behind the attacks, the speculation is that these bombings are an exercise meant to expose the government's vulnerability. These are also likely meant as a subtle warning to the AFP and the PNP that two can play the game, that they are open to retaliation over the crackdown on rightist groups and their leaders.

The PNP and the AFP have said they have launched a manhunt against the perpetrators. Let's see how this new war conducted in the shadows plays out.

The fear is that if the PNP and the AFP succeed in taking out the bombers, those who succeed in evading arrest will launch a wave of attacks that will be for real this time around.

The alternative scenario is that agents of the Arroyo administration are themselves responsible for the bombing wave to justify the declaration of a state of national emergency or even martial law.

There has been credible information coming from friends of the Palace that the hawks who now surround Gloria Arroyo are seriously entertaining the possibility of martial law. The administration's recent efforts to suppress dissent – the calibrated preemptive response to protest rallies, Executive Order 464 and Proclamation 1017– have all been thwarted by the Supreme Court's striking down of their repressive provisions.

The administration, in effect, has shot all its arrows, save for the declaration of martial law.

Palace officials have denied any plan to impose martial law. The denials, however, have come from congenital liars like national security adviser Norberto Gonzales. They are, thus, less than reassuring.

Maj. Gen. Jose Angel Honrado, spokesman of the AFP, has also scoffed at the reported plan to impose martial law. He said there is no anarchy in the streets as was the case in the months leading to the imposition of martial law in 1972. Right on cue after Honrado's statement, the bombs started exploding.

Coincidence or design? It's probably the latter given this administration's desperation to stay in power.

COPYRIGHT 2004 (c) People's Independent Media Inc.

PALAYAIN SINA ELY ESTROPIGAN AT DALAWANG ESTUDYANTE: MARIING TUTULAN ANG LUMALALANG PAGYURAK SA KARAPATAN NG MAMAMAYAN NG ADMINISTRASYONG ARROYO

Pahayag ng All-UP Workers Union at
All-UP Academic Employees Union
Hunyo 16, 2006

Mariing kinokondena ng All-UP Workers Union at All-UP Academic Employees Union, ang mga unyon ng mga kawani, faculty at REPS ng UP System, ang pag-aresto at pagkulong kay Ely Estropigan, Pambansang Ingat-Yaman at kagawad ng National Executive Board ng All-UP Workers Union at mga kabataang – estudyante na sina Oyo Agustin at Mark Singuenza. Ang tatlo ay bahagi ng mga estudyante, kawani at mga guro na nagdaos ng protesta laban kay Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sa bakuran ng UP Philippine General Hospital kahapon, Hunyo 15, 2006.

Inihayag ng mga nagprotesta ang pagtutol sa mga patakaran ng administrasyong Arroyo kaugnay sa patuloy na pagbabawas sa badyet para sa kalusugan at edukasyon, ang pagtaas ng tuition sa UP College of Medicine. Iginiit din ang matagal nang panawagan ng All-UP Workers Union at All-UP Academic Employees Union sa P3,000 across-the-board salary increase at pagbayad sa back-Cola sa mga kawani ng pamahalaan.

Marahas na binuwag ng mga pulis at Presidential Security Guard ang kilos protesta at inaresto ang tatlo. Ayon sa mga pahayag ng pulis, kakasuhan ng “sedition” ang mga hinuli! Kailan pa naging krimen ang mapayapang pagprotesta laban sa mga anti-mamamayan, anti-kawani at anti-estudyante na mga patakaran ng pamahalaan? Matagal na tradisyon na sa UP ang palabang tindig sa mga pambansa at lokal na mga isyu bilang pagsabuhay ng papel ng pamantasan na ”kritik ng lipunan”.

Sa bahagi ng All-UP Workers Union at All-UP Academic Employees Union, naninindigan ito sa unyonismo na militante, progresibo at makabayan bilang katiyakan sa paggigiit sa pang-ekonomiyang kagalingan at demokratikong karapatan ng mga kawani sa UP. Ang naging partisipasyon ni Ely Estropigan at iba pang kasapi ng unyon sa UP Manila sa kilos protesta kahapon ay pagsasabuhay sa ganitong tindig ng unyon at sa balangkas ng paggigiit sa mga demokratikong karapatan ng mamamayan.

Ang pagbuwag sa kilos protesta sa UP PGH at pag-aresto sa tatlo sa mga kalahok dito ay pinakahuling ebidensya ng patuloy na panunupil ng administrasyong Arroyo sa mga demokratikong karapatan ng mamamayan. Hindi masarhan-sarhan ang usapin ng pagiging lehitimo niyang halal na Pangulo bunga ng ”Hello Garci” tapes at patuloy ang oposisyon sa kanya at sa kanyang mga patakaran mula sa iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan kabilang na ang mga obispo at iba pang taong simbahan. Patuloy ang panawagan ng mamamayan na bumaba na siya sa pwesto. Sa ganitong kalagayan, walang pakundangan ang paglabag sa ating mga karapatang sibil kabilang na ang karapatan sa mapayapang pagtitipon at pamamahayag na ginagarantiya ng Konstitusyon na nais ng administrasyong baguhin. Dumaan na tayo sa 14 na taong diktadurya at hindi tutugot ang All-UP Workers Union at All-UP Academic Employees Union sa walang pakundangang pagyurak sa ating mga demokratikong karapatan.

Palayain sina Ely Estropigan, Oyo Agustin at Mark Singuenza!Ipaglaban ang P3,000 across the board salary increase at ang ating back-COLA!

Ipaglaban ang mas mataas na badyet sa edukasyon at kalusugan!

Mariing tutulan ang pagyurak ng administrasyon Arroyo sa ating mga demokratikong karapatan!

Gloria, bumaba ka na!

PRESS STATEMENT
June 16, 2006

Hunyo 15, 2006 ay isang makasaysayang araw para sa komunidad ng UP-PGH. Sa araw na ito nasaksihan kung paano supilin ang karapatan ng mga mamamayan na magpahayag ng kanilang saloobin. Isang opisyal ng All-UP Workers Union, si Ely Estropigan at 2 estudyante ang biglang hinuli ng mga naka-sibilyang PSG. Ang mapayapang pagkilos ay ginanap pagkatapos ng ekslusibong seremonya ng turn over ng Sentro Oftalmologico sa PGH at sa labas ng gusaling ito. Sila ay sinaktan, sinalya sa rehas, tinadyakan at dinampot papuntang WPD HQ at agad ikinulong. Ang ginawang pag-aresto na ito ay nagpapatunay ng kawalang respeto ng administrasyong Arroyo sa demokratikong karapatan ng mga manggagawang pangkalusugan, kawani, at estudyante ng UP Manila, kung saan dapat ay malakas ang academic freedom.

MARIING KONOKONDENA NG ALL U.P. WORKERS UNION MANILA ANG HINDI MAKATARUNGANG PAGHULI KAY ELY AT DALAWANG ESTUDYANTE AT ANG TAHASANG PANUNUPIL NG BATAYANG KARAPATANG PANTAO!

Naniniwala ang AUPWU Manila na legal at lehitimo ang mga isyung inihayag sa pagkilos na ito, tulad paggiit sa P 3,000.00 across-the-board salary increase at ang pagtaas ng badyet ng UP at PGH, gayundin ang pagtutol sa pakanang Charter Change. Ang kasong inciting to sedition ay malinaw na walang basihan. Ito ay paninindak sa mamamayan upang patahimikin at pigilan ang paggiit ng mga lehitimong karapatan.


References:

JOSSEL EBESATE, President, AUPWU Manila 09189276381
AMOND OLIVAR, Secretary, AUPWU Manila 09155735312BENJIE SANTOS, PRO, AUPWU Manila 09275584221