“War is violence against women”—feminist groups in the Philippines

 

On the first day of a 18-day global campaign to end violence against women, feminist groups in the Philippines highlighted the call for a permanent ceasefire as a step towards a permanent solution to the question of Palestine.

 

“War is violence against women. It is as clear as day in the ongoing hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas that women are disproportionately victimized in war. The history of conflicts reveals this ugly truth. Thus, we call for a stop to the war in Palestine and elsewhere. And demand a just peace,” argued Judy Ann Miranda, secretary general of Partido Manggagawa (PM). PM is among the groups that participated in today’s activity.

 

A hundred women leaders from various organizations that comprise the World March of Women-Pilipinas marched to the grounds of the Commission of Human Rights today for a rousing and festive program to launch the violence against women campaign. Community assemblies in several working class areas in Metro Manila followed later in the day.

 

The launch of the campaign served as an opportunity for women to raise the urgent call for solidarity to the people of Palestine. In the statement released for the event, the World March of Women-Pilipinas, stated that “Israeli forces through persistent bombings on Palestinian communities, kill[ed] more than 14,000 Palestinians. Most hurt were women and children, as hospitals were also bombed. World March of Women members in Palestine were [also among those] attacked.”

 

“The so-called humanitarian pause should give way to a sustained ceasefire in both Gaza and the West Back. A permanent ceasefire then enables political negotiations to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” Miranda explained. The women’s groups’ call for solidarity with Palestine is part of a sustained advocacy by social movements, trade unions, human rights organizations and grassroots communities in the Philippines.

 

Next week, on November 30, which is a traditional day of mobilization for workers in the Philippines, trade unions along with other civil society groups will also underscore the demand for a permanent ceasefire and a stop to the genocide in Palestine. Today, a rally is being held in Manila by Muslim and Christian organizations together with progressive groups. The mobilization is billed as a march for peace and justice in Palestine.

 

All these solidarity actions build upon earlier activities by numerous organizations in different parts of the country, including in the southern island of Mindanao which has a substantial Muslim population. Among those actions was a rally outside the Catholic Church in Manila last November 4 which was a local response to the call by the International People’s Assembly for a global day of action for Palestine.

 

“The drums of war are beating so hard that they are not only deafening but are inciting harm and violence against women,” according to the World March of Women-Pilipinas. It added  that “Historically, women and children suffer the most during war in the form of hunger, sexual assault, physical violence including unjust imprisonment as hostages of warring parties, loss of home and of family members.”

 

Miranda averred that “Women also do not want to be caught in the middle of the US and China conflict. We call for a peaceful solution to the West Philippine Sea issue. Through negotiations among the claimants, we want to guarantee the right of fishers, Filipinos and other nationalities, to gainful livelihood in what should be treated as common fishing grounds.”

 

Tensions in the South China Sea are escalating with the United States forming various military alliances such as the Quad and the AUKUS in a bid to contain China and maintain control over the busy shipping lanes in the region. The Quad is an alliance between the US, Japan, Australia and India while AUKUS unites Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

Recently the US has avowed that it will respond to an attack on Philippine ships in the disputed sea according to terms of a mutual defense treaty. Meanwhile, talks are ongoing for a visiting forces agreement with Japan.

 

The threats of war in the South China Sea has become a convenient pretext for an influx of the American soldiers and weapons to the Philippines. In 1991, US military bases in the country were kicked out in the culmination of a long struggle led by progressive movements to assert national sovereignty and an independent foreign policy. However, the war on terror opened the door for the return of the American military as so-called “visiting forces.”

 

The feminist groups recalled that prostitution and abuse of women and girls flourished around the sites of the former US military bases in the Philippines. Since the return of US troops in the country, they have been involved in two separate incidents involving the rape of a woman and the murder of a trans. All of the accused soldiers are now back in America after controversial decisions of acquittal or pardon.

November 25, 2023

AEDC binds PH to Obama’s ‘Pivot Asia’ expansionist agenda – labor group

PRESS RELEASE

28 April 2014

With no clear independent foreign policy to speak of, the Philippines, in hastily concurring with the Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation (AEDC), tied itself unconditionally to Obama’s hegemonic agenda called “pivot to Asia,” according to Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).    

The labor group believed it was the US that aggressively sought PH’s approval of the AEDC as it tries to assemble its military power in the region as quickly as possible to counter China’s rapid rise as a regional and global power.  The Aquino administration on its part instantly acceded to this new partnership with the US in the face of increasing territorial transgressions by China on Philippine waters.

 

Obama’s “Pivot Asia” program, the group said during the Scrap VFA Movement rally held Monday in Mendiola in time for the scheduled visit by US President Barack Obama, “involves a major shift in projecting US military from the Middle East to Asia, along with aggressive trade expansion in the region to revive the ailing US economy.” 

 

“Militarily ‘pivot Asia’ establishes strategic military alliances in the region through permanent and temporary basing arrangements with regional allies.  Economically trade expansion will be done through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreements, a US-led trading platform that represent about 40% of world trade,” said PM spokesperson Wilson Fortaleza.

 

Drumbeating for war

 

Reacting to Barack Obama’s four-nation Asian tour, Fortaleza said “drumbeating for war” is clearly the main message of the US President, citing for example the assurances he gave to Japan, Korea and the Philippines that in case hostilities break out between them and China, they are assured that the US will go to war with its allies.

 

“That is expected since his “pivot to Asia” essentially has war logic,” said Fortaleza.  This war logic, he added, is clearly understood by China.

 

Thus, for the anti-war movement, the increasing assertiveness of China and the provocative and imposing presence of US forces in the region constitute the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region. 

 

To avoid that senseless armed confrontation, PM and the Scrap VFA Movement are demanding the demilitarization of Asia, and disputed territories be declared as regional commons and war-free zones.

 

Furthermore for PM the signing of the AEDC on Monday capped Obama’s successful Asian tour, with the Philippines and other allies willing to play host to the US’ political and economic agenda in the region. 

 

“Obama was able to project himself as redeemer and a man of peace when in truth he is a war monger, while back home, he is considered a failure by the American working class,” the group concluded.