Crispin Beltran, Grand Old Man of Philippine Labour

'Ka Bel', as he popularly known and fondly called by fellow labourers and comrades in the Philippine labour movement, has passed away. He was 75 years old.

Just read in the news that the tireless labour leader and Congress Representative died 11:48 a.m., Philippine time. He fell from the rooftop of his home, the head injuries proved to be fatal. He was fixing a leak on the roof. Fixing stuff around the house was part of his morning ritual according to his family.

He always said he would like to die in action. That he died in an accident and that his death was not expected, doesn't make his life any less heroic. It only makes his death a greater sorrow. He is truly one of the Philippines' modern heroes. This loss will reverberate strongly in the hearts of Filipino workers around the globe.

Rest in peace, Ka Bel.

CAT SLAP of the Week

This week's -- and the rest of last year's -- winner of the Cat Slap of the Week is......................GMA!!!

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo




For not being the president of the victims of political killings and human rights abuses in the Philippines, and for rubbing salt on the wounds of the dead with the infamous Human Security Act.

Read more to see the full text of the letter from 49 members of the US House of Representatives to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urging her “strong and immediate leadership” against the continued political killings and human rights abuses in the Philippines. A LOLCAT AWARD FOR THESE 49 LEADERS!!!


August 1, 2007
Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
The Republic of the Philippines
Manila
Philippines

Dear President Arroyo:

As Members of the House of Representatives, we write to express our great concern with significant human rights violations in the Philippines and the government’s response to these violations. The Philippines has long been a close ally of the United States, and we recognize and appreciate the long-standing friendship between our two nations. Due to this historic friendship, we believe it is necessary to make clear our strong concerns regarding the ongoing human rights crisis in the Philippines. In recent years, there have been a number of well-documented abductions and extrajudicial killings. Most recently, we have received reports of the abduction and imprisonment of Pastor Berlin Guerrero. We respectfully request your attention to and intervention in these cases.

As you may know, there is increasing evidence from well-regarded human rights organizations, including the Melo Commission created by your government, which indicates the involvement of personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). The victims of these unlawful killings represent a cross-section of civil society, including church leaders and workers, journalists, labor leaders, and human rights activists. The killing of civilians who are peacefully exercising their lawful right in a democratic society to express dissent is a gross violation of universally recognized human rights and international law.

In addition, we are deeply concerned that the murders are committed in a growing environment of impunity and that efforts to investigate these killings have been lacking. The response of the AFP and PNP, as well as officials within the civilian ranks of the government, to the human rights abuses fail to hold accountable and prosecute those responsible for these crimes. The leadership of the AFP, PNP, and Cabinet officials, steadfastly deny the involvement of military forces in these killings, despite strong evidence to the contrary.

In one recent example, reports detail that on May 27, 2007, Pastor Berlin Guerrero was abducted by masked men while at a gas station with his family. The abductors beat him until he gave up the names of his family, parishioners, friends, and the password to his computer. They replaced his computer documents with their own incriminating documentation, allegedly belonging to the “underground left.” Pastor Guerrero is currently being held at Camp Pantaloon Garcia, Cavite Provincial Police Office. Accounts suggest that during his time in detention, Pastor Guerrero has been tortured. This is just one of many similar cases.

The AFP and PNP receive a significant amount of aid from the United States to assist in training and professionalizing the Philippine security forces, to combat terrorist groups,and to upgrade military equipment and hardware. We are very concerned that the extrajudicial killings could be a conscious and systematic part of the Philippine government’s counterinsurgency program and that financial assistance from our government is being used to support, directly or indirectly, those within the PNP and AFP who are responsible for the killings. The numerous reports that our and other congressional offices receive indicate the need for our close monitoring of this situation, particularly regarding the alleged use of U.S. assistance to implement the abductions and killings.

Since the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines continue unabated, and given the fact that there are many unanswered questions about the role of the Philippine government and military in these deaths, we respectfully request your strong and immediate leadership in investigating and prosecuting those individuals and/or groups, including those in the AFP and PNP, responsible for these killings, and in eliminating the underlying causes of the violence. The well-documented violence that continues with impunity must be ended.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to resolve these cases.

Sincerely,

Brian Baird (Democrat-Washington)
Tammy Baldwin (Democrat-Wisconsin)
Howard Berman (Democrat-California)
Dan Burton (Republican-Indiana)
Julia Carson (Democrat-Indiana)
Rosa DeLauro (Democrat-Connecticut)
Keith Ellison (Democrat-Minnesota)
Phil English (Republican-Pennsylvania)
Sam Farr (Democrat-California)
Chaka Fattah (Democrat-Pennsylvania)
Trent Franks (Democrat-Massachusetts)
Raul Grijalva (Democrat-Arizona)
Luis Gutierrez (Democrat-Illinois)
Maurice Hinchey (Democrat-New York)
Mike Honda (Democrat-California)
Jesse Jackson (Democrat-Illinois)
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Democrat-Michigan)
Mark-Steven Kirk (Republican-Illinois)
Dennis Kucinich (Democrat-Ohio)
Tom Lantos (Democrat-California)
Rick Larsen (Democrat-Washington)
Barbara Lee (Democrat-California)
John Lewis (Democrat-Georgia)
David Loebsack (Democrat-Iowa)
Zoe Lofgren (Democrat-California)
Doris Matsui (Democrat-California)
Betty McCollum (Democrat-Minnesota)
Jim McDermott (Democrat-Washington)
James McGovern (Democrat-Massachusetts)
Jerry McNerney (Democrat-California),
Mike McNulty (Democrat-New York)
Jerry Moran (Republican-Kansas)
James Oberstar (Democrat-Minnesota)
David Obey (Democrat-Wisconsin)
Donald Payne (Democrat-New Jersey)
Collin Peterson (Democrat-Minnesota)
Joe Pitts (Republican-Pennsylvania)
David Price (Democrat-North Carolina)
Jim Ramstad (Republican, Minnesota)
Steven Rothman (Democrat-New Jersey)
Bobby Rush (Democrat-Illinois)
Jan Schakowsky (Democrat-Illinois)
Adam Smith (Democrat-Washington)
Fortney Stark (Democrat-California)
Ellen Tauscher (Democrat-California)
Lee Terry (Republican-Nebraska)
John Tierney (Democrat-Massachusetts)
Tim Walz (Democrat-Minnesota)
Frank Wolf (Republican-Virginia)

Beautiful

Because I can't let the Philippines' inhuman 'Human Security Act' suck the marrow of my life, I'm shifting to Zen-mode and will now soak in the beauty of my friend's paintings . Bayani Acala - whose name has often been misspelled as Bayani Alcala (who happens to be my father!) - or Beyok as we call him, is one of the Philippines' best kept secrets. He also made the cover art for my graduation project, the 'Pinay Fiesta Table'.

Beyok is a tru-blue son of Paete -- that bustling lakeside community of artists, sculptors and musicians famous for its art, crafts, sweet lansones and so lovely people. I wish I can get him here in the Netherlands so he can exhibit his paintings.

Here are some of his stuff. Check out his Ringo page for more dark, quiet and beautiful things. http://www.ringo.com/profile/loobackians.html

Timi's list: four grave issues hounding the Philippines

1. When Arroyo vowed on Rizal’s grave not to run for President
» It was Rizal Day in 2002 when GMA vowed to not run as president. After 279 days, she broke that promise.

2. The Hello Garci-gate scandal
» A political scandal and electoral crisis of immense proportions that involved incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Hello Garci phone call recording pointed out that GMA rigged the 2004 national election in her favour.
» Unleashed a tide of protest ringtones which inspired anti-Bush movement in the U.S.

3. Modern day Inquisition on activists, journalists or opposition from the Left
» The imprisonment of Representative Satur Ocampo shortly before the May elections, the imprisonment of Representative Crispin Beltran, and the persecution of the ‘Batasan 5’.
» Daily occurrence of human rights abuse and the culture of impunity in the country that has claimed 800 (and counting) victims of extrajudicial killings.
» The despicable and shameful display of cluelessness of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and ARMED Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. for lashing out at UN rapporteur Philip Alston, who reported that: “there is a passivity, bordering on an abdication of responsibility, which affects the way in which key institutions and actors approach their responsibilities in relation to such human rights concerns.”

4. Growing hunger
» I won’t even talk about the hunger for justice, human rights and genuine development. I’ll just focus on the most primary form of hunger – literal hunger and the inability to satiate that hunger.
» According to an Inquirer article in 2006, “…almost 700,000 families (about 3.5 million people), 4.2 percent of the population, reported experiencing severe hunger, which was defined in the survey as going hungry often or always in the past three months.”
» In a land where food is so tightly interwoven into the fabric of our social life and cultural expressions, it is truly ironic and heartbreaking that the food-loving Pinoy is falling more deeply into the throes of hunger.

A few vacation tales 2

Election fever
We stayed at the place we always rented whenever we’re on vacation. The Royal Regeant Apartelle in Palanan, Makati City is conveniently located near Buendia and Ayala, but also near the Malate area, which I always make a point to visit having lived there most of my university and post-university days.

I was already familiar with most of the staff of Royal Regeant and they were, as always, courteous, friendly and always ready to help. The distant horn of the old railway train still greeted us in the morning and the memorable tune of the Selecta ice cream vendor remained as cheerful as ever.

The one thing that I completely wasn’t sentimental about was the bombardment of election campaign songs. Almost every waking hour spent in Manila began with a rendition of “Eye of the Tiger” used by some district candidate, whose name my subconscious has blocked. It was then followed through out the day by a bevy of other karaoke medleys, the lyrics of which are lost to the human ear.

Oh yes, it was election time again, as I tried to explain to my husband, Martin. And election jingles form just the tip of the iceberg, or — to give it a local flare — just the leche flan atop the halo-halo special. The rest of the ingredients are must-have’s: the numerous posters pasted on top of each other, the lively marching bands, showbiz-flavoured miting de avances, and the mandatory attendance to a local funeral wake.

But what made this particular election particularly ‘special’ was the militarization of Metro Manila. I’ve never seen so many checkpoints in the city and never heard so many reports about how soldiers continuously harassed candidates and supporters of the progressive Left, especially in the depressed baranggays where they were assigned. In interviews, their spokespersons would often hint that what they were doing was part of the election education campaign.

Since when did it become the military’s role to educate citizens in democratic elections? There is something vile and sinister about the image of a gun and a ballot. I’m certain that the combination of both never produced anything worthwhile learning. It might be nowadays normal for the temperature to hit 37 degrees in the Philippines, but the militarization of the city really gave me the chills.

A few vacation tales

Easter Sunday
Our plane finally landed in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after a 12 hour flight. I could already feel how warm it was outside. Martin and I looked at each other, both tired but giddy. We’ve arrived in the Philippines!

My whole family was there: my mom, brother, sister-in-law and all three nephews whom I haven’t seen for more than two years. For a moment, I thought of my dad and felt his presence. I knew he was watching us and he was happy. I blinked the tears away and just enjoyed the moment of reunion.


The afternoon was spent in the following order:
1. Unpacked the paslubong and handed them out to my eager nephews (their parents and lola included ;-p ). It was a hefty mix of Italian spices, Easter eggs, dark chocolate bars, sausages of all sizes, smoked cheese and other treats. Nope, no boerenkool this time around.
2. Had a hearty lunch of sinigang and take-home ‘inihaw na baboy at atay’ (charcoal-grilled pork and pork liver) from Aling Nene’s at Vito Cruz. It didn’t matter that even the act of chewing produced sweat.
3. Checked-in our apartelle in Makati (a stone’s throw from my brother’s house) and showered even though our eyes were falling off the sockets from happy weariness.
4. Slept deeply for a few hours and forced ourselves out the bed to have dinner with the family.
5. Went to the CCP grounds, which has been transformed to a lively and fun hangout for everyone with its tiangge, restaurants and well-lit boulevard. Reminisced with much sentiment when I frequented CCP to review art exhibits, smoke and recite poetry at ‘Breakwaters’.
6. Got to drink my fave cold coffee concoction - espresso frappuccino (at long last!), while a light breeze from Manila Bay cooled my senses. I must admit, drinking cold coffee (from Starbucks or whichever café) it’s one of my more frivolous habits and something I miss here in Holland.
7. Did I mention that our eyes were falling off the sockets?