PRESS RELEASE
23 November 2010
Justice won't come easy for the victims of Maguindanao massacre as long as warlordism and violations of human rights remain rampant in this country, according to labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM). The group joined the November 23 Movement in today’s commemoration of the Maguindanao massacre held in Mendiola.
PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda said the culture of impunity attached to warlordism is reinforced further by the government's weak adherence to human rights, or worse by its complicity to the crime as shown in the Maguindanao case.
"The long and protracted prosecution of the main suspects in the massacre is no doubt painful for the victims with the expected delay in the rendering of justice. But the most agonizing part of it as far as the whole nation is concerned is when we see the apparent failure of the government to curb the warlordism common in many places, notwithstanding the fact that human rights are continuously being violated in our country," said Miranda.
The labor group pointed out that as long as private armed groups identified with known warlords and politicians all over the country are not neutralized then the sacrifice of the lives of 58 victims, many of them journalists, was for nothing.
"The best that the Aquino government can do on this case is to ensure the victims that justice would come soon and the country feel the guarantee that human rights are well protected under this administration," added Miranda.
State sanctioned labor rights violation, the group said, is a vivid example of how culture of impunity is reinforced.
"A backhoe was used to bury the victims of the Maguindanao massacre while a Baldozer was utilized in the massacre of regular jobs at PAL. If the government tolerates contractualization as a valid management prerogative, then employers are further emboldened to use the scheme to exploit workers as shown in the case of PAL and many other companies," concluded Miranda.
Showing posts with label Ampatuan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ampatuan. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Statement on Anniversary of Maguindanao Massacre
22 November 2010
Government's weak adherence to human rights reinforces warlords' culture of impunity
Justice won't come easy for the victims of Maguindanao massacre as long as warlordism and violations of human rights remain rampant in this country. The culture of impunity attached to warlordism is reinforced further by the government's weak adherence to human rights, or worse by its complicity to the crime as shown in the Maguindanao case.
The protracted prosecution of the main suspects in the massacre is no doubt painful for the victims with the expected delay in the rendering of justice. But the most agonizing part of it as far as the whole nation is concerned is when we see the apparent failure of the government to curb the warlordism common in many places, notwithstanding the fact that human rights are continuously being violated in our country.
As long as private armed groups identified with known warlords and politicians all over the country are not neutralized then the sacrifice of the lives of 58 victims, many of them journalists, was for nothing.
The best that the Aquino government can do on this case is to ensure the victims that justice would come soon and the country feels the guarantee that human rights are well protected under this administration.
State sanctioned labor rights violation is a vivid example of how culture of impunity is reinforced. A backhoe was used to bury the victims of the Maguindanao massacre while a Baldozer was utilized in the massacre of regular jobs at PAL.
If the government tolerates contractualization as a valid management prerogative then employers are further emboldened to use the scheme to exploit workers as in the case of PAL and many other companies.
Government's weak adherence to human rights reinforces warlords' culture of impunity
Justice won't come easy for the victims of Maguindanao massacre as long as warlordism and violations of human rights remain rampant in this country. The culture of impunity attached to warlordism is reinforced further by the government's weak adherence to human rights, or worse by its complicity to the crime as shown in the Maguindanao case.
The protracted prosecution of the main suspects in the massacre is no doubt painful for the victims with the expected delay in the rendering of justice. But the most agonizing part of it as far as the whole nation is concerned is when we see the apparent failure of the government to curb the warlordism common in many places, notwithstanding the fact that human rights are continuously being violated in our country.
As long as private armed groups identified with known warlords and politicians all over the country are not neutralized then the sacrifice of the lives of 58 victims, many of them journalists, was for nothing.
The best that the Aquino government can do on this case is to ensure the victims that justice would come soon and the country feels the guarantee that human rights are well protected under this administration.
State sanctioned labor rights violation is a vivid example of how culture of impunity is reinforced. A backhoe was used to bury the victims of the Maguindanao massacre while a Baldozer was utilized in the massacre of regular jobs at PAL.
If the government tolerates contractualization as a valid management prerogative then employers are further emboldened to use the scheme to exploit workers as in the case of PAL and many other companies.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Justice for the Victims of the Maguindanao Massacre, Break the Warlord Clans, Dismantle the Elite System
The Partido ng Manggagawa condemns in the strongest terms the massacre of more than 50 people in Maguindanao, including 18 media workers and two government employees, by the private army of a local warlord. We condole too with the families of the victims who apparently are the collateral damage in a deadly game of political rivalry between two prominent political clans.
The date of November 23 will now live in infamy as arguably the single bloodiest day in history for media workers. The brazenness of the atrocity absolutely highlights the rule of impunity by warlord political clans in the rural hinterlands.
These modern-day political lords govern over these poor provinces and towns like the fiefdoms of old times. Yet these warlords survive only with the tolerance, nay connivance of the national government in Manila. The corrupt regime in Malacanang and the warlord clans feed off each other in a symbiotic relationship to preserve a rotten social system that oppresses the people, especially the poor.
The political debt of the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Ampatuan clan, the principal suspect in the massacre, is common knowledge. In the fraudulent elections of 2004, the Ampatuans delivered an incredible plurality of ballots for Arroyo in Maguindanao to the point where in one town her electoral rivals received no votes. What is less acknowledged is the role played by the armed forces in propping up the warlord rule of the Ampatuans in the guise of battling the Muslim insurgents in Mindanao. The cache of high-powered arms uncovered in the property of the Ampatuans reveal the cozy association between the military and the warlords which can only happen with the blessing of Malacanang.
Justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre begins but does not end with bringing the full force of the law on the mastermind (who happens to be the heir apparent to the Ampatuan patriarch), dismantling the private army of the warlord clan and breaking their political stranglehold on the province and towns. But smashing the Ampatuan clan only for it to be replaced by their political rivals would be Pyrrhic victory for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre.
Genuine justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre goes beyond destroying the warlord clans and political dynasties such as the Ampatuans and Arroyos. The social and economic basis for the existence of the warlord clans and political dynasties must also be broken up. If not, tearing down one dynasty only to pave the way for a new clan, would be a labor of Sisyphus. The sacrifice of the Maguindanao massacre victims would not have been for nothing if it leads to a fundamental rethinking and radical restructuring of Philippine politics and society.
A real not just formal democracy is the antidote to the virus of warlord domination and elite rule in Philippine politics. A real democracy rests on extending the concept and practice from politics and elections to economics and society.
Elections—however clean, honest and automated it may be—in present society are mere exercises for the people to choose their oppressors. No worker can ever be president in electoral campaigns costing billions to wage. Still real democracy means not just a level playing field between the rich and poor in elections—which is an illusion under a society split between an elite minority and an impoverished mass.
Democracy must be revolutionized by the direct participation of people in the administration of things. Direct not representative democracy is the real exercise of the rule of the people.
The date of November 23 will now live in infamy as arguably the single bloodiest day in history for media workers. The brazenness of the atrocity absolutely highlights the rule of impunity by warlord political clans in the rural hinterlands.
These modern-day political lords govern over these poor provinces and towns like the fiefdoms of old times. Yet these warlords survive only with the tolerance, nay connivance of the national government in Manila. The corrupt regime in Malacanang and the warlord clans feed off each other in a symbiotic relationship to preserve a rotten social system that oppresses the people, especially the poor.
The political debt of the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Ampatuan clan, the principal suspect in the massacre, is common knowledge. In the fraudulent elections of 2004, the Ampatuans delivered an incredible plurality of ballots for Arroyo in Maguindanao to the point where in one town her electoral rivals received no votes. What is less acknowledged is the role played by the armed forces in propping up the warlord rule of the Ampatuans in the guise of battling the Muslim insurgents in Mindanao. The cache of high-powered arms uncovered in the property of the Ampatuans reveal the cozy association between the military and the warlords which can only happen with the blessing of Malacanang.
Justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre begins but does not end with bringing the full force of the law on the mastermind (who happens to be the heir apparent to the Ampatuan patriarch), dismantling the private army of the warlord clan and breaking their political stranglehold on the province and towns. But smashing the Ampatuan clan only for it to be replaced by their political rivals would be Pyrrhic victory for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre.
Genuine justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre goes beyond destroying the warlord clans and political dynasties such as the Ampatuans and Arroyos. The social and economic basis for the existence of the warlord clans and political dynasties must also be broken up. If not, tearing down one dynasty only to pave the way for a new clan, would be a labor of Sisyphus. The sacrifice of the Maguindanao massacre victims would not have been for nothing if it leads to a fundamental rethinking and radical restructuring of Philippine politics and society.
A real not just formal democracy is the antidote to the virus of warlord domination and elite rule in Philippine politics. A real democracy rests on extending the concept and practice from politics and elections to economics and society.
Elections—however clean, honest and automated it may be—in present society are mere exercises for the people to choose their oppressors. No worker can ever be president in electoral campaigns costing billions to wage. Still real democracy means not just a level playing field between the rich and poor in elections—which is an illusion under a society split between an elite minority and an impoverished mass.
Democracy must be revolutionized by the direct participation of people in the administration of things. Direct not representative democracy is the real exercise of the rule of the people.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Workers assert martial law in Maguindanao will not bring justice to massacre victims
Press Release
December 9, 2009
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa joined today’s multi-sectoral mobilization initiated by the newly-formed November 23 Movement to demand justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre and call for the lifting of Presidential Proclamation 1959 imposing martial law in the province. Calling the martial law imposed on Maguindanao as “a cure worse than the disease,” PM called on Congress to revoke the Presidential Proclamation 1959.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson said that “Martial law means giving full power to the military to rule over Maguindanao yet the AFP itself is suspect in coddling and colluding with the warlord clan of the Ampatuans. The large cache of buried military-issue weapons found near the property of the Ampatuans reveals their unholy alliance with AFP. How then can the military rule deliver justice to the victims of the Maguindanao massacre when it has a cozy relationship with the suspect Ampatuans?”
A contingent of workers and poor from PM trooped this morning to the assembly site in front of UST Espana and then marched to Mendiola. The PM contingent brought a makeshift backhoe made of carton with the message “We will not forget the women, journalists, media workers and other victims of the Maguindanao massacre.”
PM is asking voters to watch how the senators and representatives will act on the review of PP 1959. “The elections are coming to town in just a few months and so the solons should bear in mind that people are looking who will be naughty and nice. We appeal to the people not to vote for legislators who will affirm PP 1959,” Magtubo declared.
PM argues that sustaining PP 1959 will lead to more abuses. “Already the AFP vice chief of staff for operations is recommending an extension of martial law up to the elections supposedly to ensure peaceful and credible elections. This is classic example of military intelligence. It is precisely the military-controlled areas in Mindanao which are notorious for poll cheating and stories abound of wholesale fraud in military camps where election watchers are easily intimidated,” Magtubo asserted.
“In a bid to explain the incredible, ex-General Jovito Palparan has confessed to the fact that indeed the military was arming the Ampatuans on the sorry excuse that they were allies in the fight against Muslim rebels. Yet the Ampatuans are not just allies of the AFP against the MILF, they are collaborators of GMA in past fraudulent elections. There may be a hidden agenda in the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao,” he added.
December 9, 2009
The labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa joined today’s multi-sectoral mobilization initiated by the newly-formed November 23 Movement to demand justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre and call for the lifting of Presidential Proclamation 1959 imposing martial law in the province. Calling the martial law imposed on Maguindanao as “a cure worse than the disease,” PM called on Congress to revoke the Presidential Proclamation 1959.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson said that “Martial law means giving full power to the military to rule over Maguindanao yet the AFP itself is suspect in coddling and colluding with the warlord clan of the Ampatuans. The large cache of buried military-issue weapons found near the property of the Ampatuans reveals their unholy alliance with AFP. How then can the military rule deliver justice to the victims of the Maguindanao massacre when it has a cozy relationship with the suspect Ampatuans?”
A contingent of workers and poor from PM trooped this morning to the assembly site in front of UST Espana and then marched to Mendiola. The PM contingent brought a makeshift backhoe made of carton with the message “We will not forget the women, journalists, media workers and other victims of the Maguindanao massacre.”
PM is asking voters to watch how the senators and representatives will act on the review of PP 1959. “The elections are coming to town in just a few months and so the solons should bear in mind that people are looking who will be naughty and nice. We appeal to the people not to vote for legislators who will affirm PP 1959,” Magtubo declared.
PM argues that sustaining PP 1959 will lead to more abuses. “Already the AFP vice chief of staff for operations is recommending an extension of martial law up to the elections supposedly to ensure peaceful and credible elections. This is classic example of military intelligence. It is precisely the military-controlled areas in Mindanao which are notorious for poll cheating and stories abound of wholesale fraud in military camps where election watchers are easily intimidated,” Magtubo asserted.
“In a bid to explain the incredible, ex-General Jovito Palparan has confessed to the fact that indeed the military was arming the Ampatuans on the sorry excuse that they were allies in the fight against Muslim rebels. Yet the Ampatuans are not just allies of the AFP against the MILF, they are collaborators of GMA in past fraudulent elections. There may be a hidden agenda in the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao,” he added.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Labor party-list group calls on Congress to revoke PP 1959
Press Release
December 7, 2009
Calling the martial law imposed on Maguindanao as “a cure worse than the disease,” the labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on Congress to revoke the Presidential Proclamation 1959 in its joint session tomorrow.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson said that “Martial law means giving full power to the military to rule over Maguindanao yet the AFP itself is suspect in coddling and colluding with the warlord clan of the Ampatuans. The large cache of buried military-issue weapons found near the property of the Ampatuans reveals their unholy alliance with AFP. How then can the military rule deliver justice to the victims of the Maguindanao massacre when it has a cozy relationship with the suspect Ampatuans?”
The group is asking voters to watch how the senators and representatives will act on the review of PP 1959. “The elections are coming to town in just a few months and so the solons should bear in mind that people are looking who will be naughty and nice. We appeal to the people not to vote for legislators who will affirm PP 1959,” Magtubo declared.
PM argues that sustaining PP 1959 will lead to more abuses. “Already the AFP vice chief of staff for operations is recommending an extension of martial law up to the elections supposedly to ensure peaceful and credible elections. This is classic example of military intelligence. It is precisely the military-controlled areas in Mindanao which are notorious for poll cheating and stories abound of wholesale fraud in military camps where election watchers are easily intimidated,” Magtubo asserted.
“In a bid to explain the incredible, ex-General Jovito Palparan has confessed to the fact that indeed the military was arming the Ampatuans on the sorry excuse that they were allies in the fight against Muslim rebels. Yet the Ampatuans are not just allies of the AFP against the MILF, they are collaborators of GMA in past fraudulent elections. There may be a hidden agenda in the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao,” he added.
December 7, 2009
Calling the martial law imposed on Maguindanao as “a cure worse than the disease,” the labor party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on Congress to revoke the Presidential Proclamation 1959 in its joint session tomorrow.
Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson said that “Martial law means giving full power to the military to rule over Maguindanao yet the AFP itself is suspect in coddling and colluding with the warlord clan of the Ampatuans. The large cache of buried military-issue weapons found near the property of the Ampatuans reveals their unholy alliance with AFP. How then can the military rule deliver justice to the victims of the Maguindanao massacre when it has a cozy relationship with the suspect Ampatuans?”
The group is asking voters to watch how the senators and representatives will act on the review of PP 1959. “The elections are coming to town in just a few months and so the solons should bear in mind that people are looking who will be naughty and nice. We appeal to the people not to vote for legislators who will affirm PP 1959,” Magtubo declared.
PM argues that sustaining PP 1959 will lead to more abuses. “Already the AFP vice chief of staff for operations is recommending an extension of martial law up to the elections supposedly to ensure peaceful and credible elections. This is classic example of military intelligence. It is precisely the military-controlled areas in Mindanao which are notorious for poll cheating and stories abound of wholesale fraud in military camps where election watchers are easily intimidated,” Magtubo asserted.
“In a bid to explain the incredible, ex-General Jovito Palparan has confessed to the fact that indeed the military was arming the Ampatuans on the sorry excuse that they were allies in the fight against Muslim rebels. Yet the Ampatuans are not just allies of the AFP against the MILF, they are collaborators of GMA in past fraudulent elections. There may be a hidden agenda in the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao,” he added.
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