Save OFW Jakatia Pawa!

Save doomed OFW, workers group appeals
By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:18:00 01/23/2010

A MIDDLE EAST-BASED FILIPINO MIGRANT workers’ group has asked Malacañang to make good its promise of saving the life of domestic helper Jakatia Pawa, who was sentenced to death by a Kuwaiti court in 2007 for killing the daughter of her employer.

The Kuwaiti Supreme Court recently affirmed the death verdict on the 31-year-old Zamboanga del Norte native, now detained at the Kuwait Central Jail, according to Migrante-Middle East.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, appealed anew to the Palace to “exhaust all means to ensure the commutation of (Pawa’s) death sentence,” which was upheld earlier by Kuwait’s Court of Appeals.

In an e-mail, Monterona told the Inquirer they were “preparing for the same battle waged by various OFW groups all over the world to save (Filipina maid) Flor Contemplacion,” who was sentenced to hang by Singaporean authorities in 1995 for the murder of her young ward and a fellow domestic helper.

“We’re watching closely the case of Jakatia Pawa. Mrs. Arroyo once said she would intervene on her case, as well as those of 40 other OFWs on death row. We’ll see if the President will be true to her word or break her promise,” Monterona said.

Ampatuan, a Political Prisoner?

Andal Ampatuan Jr. in his cell in Manila. Photo: AFP, Reuters

The Dept of InJustice statement that the rebellion charge of the Ampatuans is separate from the muder charges against them is a load of bull!

Expect the Ampatuans to invoke the Hernandez Doctrine or the doctrine of absorption of all crimes. This means all other charges against the Ampatuans can and should be absorbed under one “political offense” which is rebellion.

Under the Hernandez Doctrine – which refers to the case of patriot Amado V. Hernandez – the Ampatuans, never mind if they orchestrated the gruesome massacre of 57 innocent civilians that include several journalists and lawyers in Maguindanao, should be treated as a “prisoner of conscience or belief” and not as an ordinary criminal.

The Rebellion charge against the Ampatuans, no doubt, is the Arroyo regime’s political concession to its erstwhile ally in exchange for not spilling the beans on the large scale electoral fraud in Maguindanao and in the entire ARMM in favor of President Arroyo and administration candidates during the 2004 and 2007 elections.

The declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao, meanwhile, is the regime’s way of  ensuring that all evidences of election fraud such as election returns are secured and kept hidden from the public. Under a state of Martial law, security forces are allowed to conduct raids and searches even without order from the courts.

Peace loving citizens, most especially the media, should condemn this unfolding grand cover-up engineered no less by the Arroyo regime. We should demand justice for those innocent lives massacred in Maguindanao. We should remain vigilant as the regime’s desperation to hold on to power at all costs continues to rear its ugly head.

The AFP’s statement recently that Ampatuan supporters may possibly reach Metro Manila can be viewed as a suggestion for a possible extension of Martial Law or a State of Emergency in the nation’s capital nationwide.

On the Govt’s plan to automate the voting in HK, Singapore

The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Commission on Elections have recenty inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to pilot test the automated voting of Filipino overseas absentee voters in Hong Kong and Singapore.

A total of 128, 272 Filipino voters in both countries are expected to cast their ballots in the first ever automated Philippine elections abroad. It is also said that the Philippine Government has set aside P40 million for the planned automated voting.

While the automation of the Filipino overseas vote is indeed a welcome development, I believe there are some questions that the COMELEC and the DFA should address:

The first thing Philippine election authorities should address is the question of HOW are they going to go about the automated balloting in the two OFW rich countries. They say that more than 128,000 Filipino voters in both countries are expected to participate; so if the automated counting machines (Precinct Count Optical Scan) can accomodate only 1,000 voters per precinct according to the COMELEC, does it mean the COMELEC will be deploying 128 PCOS machines in HK and Singapore?

Second, where does the government plan to set up those machines? Will they be placed only inside the Philippine Consulate or will they be scattered to different locations around HK and Singapore?

According to the COMELEC’s Calendar of Activities for the 2010 elections, overseas absentee voters will start casting their ballots starting April 10, 2010 until May 10, 2010. If they are going to automated the HK, Singapore vote, will the machines be deployed there for a period of one month?

What if a machine breaks down, will there be spare machines or will those be coming from the Philippines as well?

Lastly – and I think this is the most important – who are going to man the PCOS machines for the possible month long balloting? Will it be the Consulate officials? If so, are they trained and familiar with the technology?

The government should address this questions right away so as to forestall any apprehension of a possible wholesale disenfranchisement of thousands of voters in HK and Singapore.

These two countries have been consistently placed among the top 10 countries who have the highest number of registered Filipino overseas absentee voters. It would be unforgivable if their votes wouldn’t count in May 10, 2010.

Presenting Kriselda Volks

Here she is…

And now the inside…

Kriselda Volks before…

COMELEC delists Migrante, OFWs enraged

Migrante: Bayani sa Ekonomiya, Bayani sa Politika

Overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) from all over the world are fuming mad over the recent Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Resolution delisting Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP) from the list of qualified Party-List groups for the May 10, 2010 elections.

In Resolution No. 8679, promulgated by the COMELEC en banc on October 13, 2009; the poll body ruled to delete Migrante and 25 other groups from the list of registered party-lists for allegedly failing to “participate in the last two (2) preceding elections OR fails to obtain at least two percentum (2%) of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two (2) preceding elections.”

Immediately, Migrante issued a statement condemning the COMELEC ruling saying that such a move from the poll body was “anomalous” and “unacceptable.”

“The Comelec decision is highly irregular since it veered away from the process where partylist are only removed from the list after due notice and hearing as provided by law. This time, however, the Comelec issued a resolution to remove 26 partylist groups first then asked concerned parties to just submit written opposition if there are any. This is unacceptable,” Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante International exclaimed.

Aside from the lack of due process, Migrante also said the COMELEC committed a blunder when it deleted 5 of the 26 Party-lists just because they failed to get 2 percent in one election and was not able to participate in another election. The 5 groups were
Migrante, Abanse Pinay, AK, PCDO-ACTO and PGBI.

“This clearly negates the qualifier in the provision wherein the instance of failure should be committed twice and in two preceding elections,” Martinez asserted.

The Migrante leader likewise denounced the COMELEC’s “desperation” as it is purposely trimming down the list of participating party-list groups in 2010. He noted that if the official ballot for the 2010 elections would be “ridiculously long” because of the number of party-lists wanting to participate, the COMELEC has no one to blame but itself.

“It was the sole agency that approved the registration of those partylist who cannot even be considered as part of the marginalized sector as defined in the Constitution. The Comelec’s desperate scheme to reduce the numbers of participating partylist groups at present should not be done at the expense of the true and legitimate representatives of marginalized sectors,” Martinez protested.

He lamented that only ones who’ll stand to benefit from this “anomalous” ruling are “Malacanang backed party-list groups” such as Maria Lourdes Arroyo’s (sister of the First Gentleman) Ang Kasangga Partylist and Jovito Palparan’s (notoriously known as The Butcher) Bantay Partylist.

“Unfortunately, it is only the Malacanang backed partylist groups who are going to benefit from this Comelec decision while legitimate representatives of the marginalized sectors of our society are getting denied of their right to due proccess,” he said.

Martinez said his group is preparing to file a formal protest before the COMELEC. Protest actions from Migrante chapters and its allied Filipino organizations all over the world are also in the drawing board to express the OFW sector’s collective sentiment towards the unjust COMELEC ruling.

Black Friday Protests

Elsewhere around the world, OFWs are up in arms.

Filipinos in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has declared to hold Black Friday Protests in the Kingdom to protest the COMELEC ruling.

“Delisting MSP means delisting OFWs in the political arena,” exclaimed Migrante Jeddah Chapter Chairperson Bob Fajarito as he called on all his compatriots in the Kingdom to wear black every Friday as a sign of their united disappointment. He also encouraged OFWs to bombard the COMELEC with protest letters via email.

For his part, Migrante Saudi Arabia Chairperson A.M. Ociones said COMELEC Resolution No. 8679 “marginalized the migrants even more.”

“Definitely, this is contrary to the real intent of the Partylist Law of encouraging the participation of the un-represented and marginalized sectors of society in the democratic process of nation-building,” he said.

Ociones said the Migrante’s deletion would be a big blow to OFWs all over the world, most especially in the Middle East which has been touted to be the “epicenter of migrants’ human rights violations.”

Said Ociones: “With the proven track record of Migrante in fiscalizing the government to act in favor, and respond to the most pressing needs of OFWs, getting MSP in the next Congress as Party-list representative is the greatest hope the Filipino migrants can ever achieve.”

Meanwhile, Marco Luciano of Migrante Canada asserted that the COMELEC’s en banc decision “is tantamount to suppressing the rights of a party that seeks nothing but to represent in the House of Representatives the millions of Filipino migrants all over the world.”

“Not only is it a violation of due process leading to the disenfranchisement of a group that has truly served the interests of Filipino migrant workers and their families the world over. It opens the door for the Malacanang-backed party-list groups to dominate the coming party-list election, thus serving the ruling administration’s objective of prolonging its rule,” he said.

COMELEC robbed OFWs twice

Filipinos from down under also joined like minded kababayans all over the globe in deploring the COMELEC’s move.  Dennis Maga, National Coordinator for Migrante New Zealand said that overseas Filipinos were robbed of their votes by the COMELEC twice: “first, through its failure to ensure the registration of more OFW voters; and now, by unjustly disqualifying Migrante from the 2010 party-list elections.”

“It is the height of injustice that the Commission on Elections, in a recent en banc resolution, qualified the Malacañang-supported fake party-list groups like the one represented by the notorious Jovito Palparan to gain a seat in Congress, while disqualifying the leading and genuine advocate of the welfare of the marginalized overseas Filipino workers.”

Photos coutesy of Yboy Macatiag

NYCHRP statement on Arroyo’s “Simple” Dinner

IS GLORIA THE NEW IMELDA?

Filipinos in New York Respond to Arroyo’s “Simple” Meals

Despite the claims of the Arroyo administration, there are certainly simple, inexpensive culinary pleasures to be had in New York City. While the Big Apple is certainly home to Wall Street power lunches, Tavern On The Green, and the Russian Tea Room, it is also home to the $1 pizza slice, the $1.25 hot dog from the street vendor, and the $4 over rice plate in Chinatown.

And with New York unemployment reaching a record high of 400,000 in 2008 due to the economic crisis, these cheap eats are becoming everyday fare for more and more New Yorkers.

In fact, New Yorkers would be the first to rebuke Philippine Presidential Press Secretary Cerge Remonde’s claims that the recent New York City dinner of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her travel entourage was a “simple” dinner, or the line that such expensive rates are “standard” in New York City.

There was nothing “simple” about Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s entourage drawing up a $20,000 tab for two tables at the ritzy Le Cirque Restaurant in Manhattan. Surely such a feast for the 65 Philippine bureaucrats who literally wined and dined to their hearts content could have easily fed several small villages in the Philippines itself. What blows our minds even more is the recent news that the infamous $20k extravaganza was preceded by a similar $15k fete in Washington DC, where Arroyo and her entourage dined at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse after her state visit with President Barack Obama.

As Filipinos in New York, this degree of extravagance from a Philippine Head of State is both vulgar and, unfortunately, familiar. Before the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, former First Lady Imelda Marcos was known for closing entire floors in Saks Fifth Avenue for her million-dollar shopping sprees. In 1982, Imelda arrived in New York to shop with 40 assistants and 300 suitcases. The previous year, Imelda purchased a Park Avenue apartment and its contents for a lump sum of $9.5 million. According to People Magazine, the then-First Lady even imported workers from the Philippines to help in refurbishing rooms in the Manhattan properties she bought. At it’s height, the Marcos family had purchased billions worth in New York City real estate, including the $51 million Crown Building and the $60 million Herald Center. Ironically, Imelda declined on purchasing the Empire State Building at $750 million, claiming it was “too ostentatious”.

But while the rest of the world was agasp and Filipinos vowed never again to such bawdy displays of lavishness, Arroyo’s latest spending spree on her so-called “simple” meals indicate she may have been taking notes from the so-called Steel Butterfly all along.

Conversely, a 2008 survey in the Philippines conducted by Gallup International revealed that four out of every ten Filipinos reported having little or no food at all on their tables in the last 12 months. At 90 million, the Philippines has one of the highest population growth rates in Asia. The Arroyo government’s failure to resolve increasing food insecurity in the country leaves hunger and malnourishment a reality for the majority of families in the Philippines.The most acute pangs of hunger remain in the densely-populated urban slum communities of Metro Manila, where just stone’s throw away from Arroyo’s residence, at least half a million families lack food.

Such excessive spending on food in the face of extreme hunger cannot be tolerated. Arroyo and friends have some serious explaining to do to the millions of poor Filipinos, including our families, whom we strive to support with our hard-earned remittances.

If $20k for dinner is “simple”, then how much would “decent”, “normal”, and “fancy” cost, by Arroyo standards? And if the Marcoses still have the gall to this day to swear by their dead patriarch’s glass coffin that they did not spend billions in Philippine public funds for their own whims, even amidst credible evidence indicating gross graft and corruption on their part, aren’t Arroyo, Remonde, et al playing the same tune when it comes to their arrogantly unapologetic stand on these dinner tabs? Does one need to be a communist to put two and two together, or is this a case of plain common sense?

In fact, an examination of Arroyo’s penchant for lavish spending of public funds during foreign trips coupled with her propensity for political repression and human rights violations of her own countrymen, may make her the star combination of both Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos’ worst traits– all wrapped up in a tiny 4′11″ moled package.

Is Gloria the New Imelda in terms of spending? With her “simple” dinner costing tens of thousands in US dollars, the answer doesn’t look too bright for us mere $1.25 hot dog eaters. But then again, do we really want her to stick around in office long enough to find out?

Let us take our cue from Philippine history. In 1983, the death of one Aquino, who’s star shone brightly against the darkness of tyranny and corruption, contributed to fast tracking an ongoing people’s movement that toppled a dictatorship marked by repression, corruption and obscene lavishness. Today, in 2009, with the Arroyo administration embodying these same traits, shouldn’t the death of another Aquino, who perhaps shined even brighter, do the same?

More of Kriselda

Here’s Kriselda after sanding and yet another coat of paint. Still not finished though.

Kriselda Volks

I recently bought a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. Named her Kriselda Volks, hehe.

Got it at a very reasonable price, considering that she runs and has a pretty ok body. Kriselda’s still in the shop right now to have her body fixed and painted.

Wish me luck!

Sick not with flu

I’m getting sick and tired of seeing Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque everyday on national TV while informing the public of new cases of H1N1 virus in the country.

Don’t get me wrong, just like everybody else I want to know the latest news on the virus. But what sickens me is my suspicion that the Secretary might be doing this not in service to the public, but in aid of elections.

Duque’s political ambition is not unknown to many. Word has it that the Health Secretary might gun for a Senate seat in the next year’s elections.

And by all indications, he’s doing a good job of keeping his face and name plastered and spoken on TV repeatedly. Indeed the virus scare is a perfect opportunity for him and his handlers to ensure name recall.

Not only because the H1N1 is something that all of us is interested in, it is also a perfect running story for Duque. But as he goes on with his daily ritual of “updating” the public on the virus; he only succeeds in sowing fear and panic among the populace.

Why? Because in almost all of his daily press conferences and media interviews all he and his underlings dish out are statistics that seem to shoot up every minute. I remember hearing the Secretary over the radio while preparing leaving for work one morning that confirmed H1N1 cases in the country number only to about a hundred plus. But when I again saw and heard him talking in a noon time news cast; I was stunned to learn that confirmed cases rose to almost two fold.

I read somewhere that the DOH is doing all of this in the name of “transparency.” But could anyone enlighten me why the hell their figures are screamingly different from that of the World Health Organization?

As of this writing, confirmed cases in the country now reached 473. But according to the WHO website, the Philippines have only a total of 344 and 33 newly confirmed cases. One can only speculate why the hell these two agencies hold differing statistics.

But the mere disparity in the statistics of our leading local health agency and that of its global counterpart is a serious cause for alarm for all of us who have been subjected to Duque’s daily fare of scaring the public with his swelling numbers. This is a just cause to investigate how the DOH is currently handling the pandemic.

Is the DOH really prepared and on top of the situation? Or is it only capable of keeping tabs of how many Filipinos are getting sick of the dreaded flu virus and terrorizing the public everyday?

Sowing fear and panic is a clear form of terrorism according to Gloria’s Anti-Terror Law.

I admit, I am scared. But not so much because the flu’s coming to get me sometime soon (I am armed with a hand sanitizer hehe). But because I think the DOH is inordinately ill prepared should the pandemic reach catastrophic proportions in the country.

Note that the Philippine medical system is currently in tatters because almost all of our health workers are scrambling to leave the country for jobs abroad. Who’s going to nurse us should the DOH’s prediction that 25% of the country is in danger of being affected by the novel flu strain?

Not Duque, I suppose. He doesn’t even bother to inform us of how many of those in his rising statistics have been cleared of the flu. Makes me even more convinced that he’s only in it to advance his political ambitions.

But then again, I hope I’m wrong.

(Photo courtesy: Reuters)

MELISSA ROXAS’ SURFACING A VICTORY OF THE PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE, BUT THE SEARCH CONTINUES FOR CARABEO & HANDOC– BAYAN USA

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino social justice organizations across the United States, is elated to confirm that Filipina-American activist Melissa Roxas, 32, surfaced hours ago in Manila as of Sunday, May 24th. BAYAN USA confirmed this report with the human rights group Karapatan. A detailed account about the circumstances of her surfacing is still forthcoming.

“We are happy to hear about Melissa’s surfacing, but we are still concerned about the whereabouts of her two companions, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc, who were abducted along with Melissa on May 19th and are still missing to this day,” states BAYAN USA Chair Bernadette Ellorin. “We fully intend to pursue the demand for the surfacing of Carabeo and Handoc, as well as justice for Melissa. This abduction should never have taken place.”

Roxas, Carabeo, and Handoc, all members of a medical mission team in La Paz, Tarlac, were reportedly abducted at gunpoint by at least eight masked men in the middle of the night last week. Upon learning of Roxas, Carabeo, and Handoc’s enforced disappearance, BAYAN USA, along with BAYAN Philippines and Karapatan, exerted strong efforts calling for their immediate surfacing, including releasing an online petition addressed to US elected officials that gathered hundreds of signatures in a matter of hours.

“Because more than five days had passed since their abduction, we believe Melissa’s surfacing is a direct result of rapid community response and international pressure exerted from the Philippines and the United States first and foremost,” Ellorin continued. BAYAN USA in Southern California has also been working closely with Roxas’ family in Los Angeles in their campaign efforts to surface Roxas and her companions in the Philippines.

Roxas, a founding member of the cultural organization Habi-Arts in Los Angeles and founding Southern California Representative for BAYAN USA, went to the Philippines in 2007 to pursue human rights advocacy full-time. Her move was set amidst an acute human rights crisis in the Philippines that includes reports of rampant extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, illegal arrest, torture, and summary executions. In 2005, Roxas participated in an international fact-finding mission investigating human rights violations throughout the Philippines under the Arroyo administration.

On Wednesday, May 27th, BAYAN USA member organizations across the United States will be launching actions denouncing the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a military pact that allows for the basing of US military troops in over 20 ports throughout the Philippines. Included in these actions will be the call for justice for Melissa Roxas and for the immediate surfacing of Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc. BAYAN USA firmly believes the continuing, unabated human rights violations committed by the Philippine military and death squads are generously funded by US military aid to the Arroyo government. BAYAN USA also ultimately holds the Arroyo government accountable for the pattern of killings and abductions against civilians critical of the regime since 2001.

“As we continue to campaign for justice for Melissa, Juanito, and John Edward, we are consciously raising awareness of the role of US tax dollars in funding these abductions and other human rights violations. There are hundreds more victims of politically-motivated abductions in the Philippines that are still missing to this day,” Ellorin ended. ###