Statements

HLI @ 11: The fight for genuine agrarian land reform continues

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hli11.001

For Immediate Release
Press Statement

November 9th, 2015

 

Reference:

 

Ian Jerome Conde, Deputy Secretary-General, Anakbayan New Jersey

Laura Emily E. Austria, Anakbayan New Jersey

(470) 309-2265, anakbayannj@gmail.com

 

HLI @ 11: The fight for genuine agrarian land reform continues

 

Today, November 16th, 2015, we mark the 11th anniversary of the Hacienda Luisita massacre. Anakbayan New Jersey members in the past have integrated with the basic masses in HLI in the past. We acknowledge the ongoing plight of the farm workers in Hacienda Luisita, as they represent the frontlines for the fight for genuine agrarian land reform in the Philippines. 11 years later, the farm workers of HLI have not been granted access to their lands. As we continue to wage the National Democratic program, we continue the fight against the monopoly of the comprador big-bourgeoisie and landlord classes of the entire country.

As the U.S.-Aquino administration is channelling their energies towards APEC, it is clear that their priority is in appeasing and serving the interest of the landlord and comprador big-bourgeoisie instead of the interests of the toiling masses. As these world powers gather, the increase fascism in the countryside is ever-worsening. The U.S.-Aquino regime is accelerating the worsening crisis of the Philippines into a downward spiral as the economy is barely standing on its crutches as we continue to lay servitude to the foreign multinational corporations.  

Since the Cojuangco family’s acquisition of Hacienda Luisita, the call for genuine agrarian land reform has remained at the forefront of priorities of the BS Aquino administration. 11 years later there have been no attempts to respond to the call of the farmers in Hacienda Luisita. The culture of impunity has remained intact under the BS Aquino administration.  Sham Land Reform remains under the guise of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Under the U.S.-Arroyo regime, farmers’ wages were shrunk to P194.50, and farmers were only allowed to work one day a week. The workers of Hacienda Luisita filed a petition with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in order to have the Stock Distribution Option (SDO) Agreement abolished. Two months later, the petition bore at least 5,300 signatures before being filed by union officers at the DAR. After the union attempted to negotiate wages to at least P225 a day, the Luisita management discarded 327 farmers — including union officers.

11 years later, we remember the martyrs of the Hacienda Luisita Massacre. Bayan-USA states “The political repression faced eleven years ago is the same political repression activists and community organizers face today. Peasants, who make up more than 75% of the population in the Philippines, still demand genuine agrarian reform- a redistribution of the land. Many died defending their rights to the land at Hacienda Luisita and today they continue to fight against the bureaucracy of land distribution after the Supreme Court’s decision to award the farmers a certain percentage of the Cojuangco land.”  The culture of impunity is ever-prevalent in relation to the recent killings of Lumad leaders in Mindanao. Oplan Bayanihan, the current manifestation of US-Arroyo’s counterinsurgency plan Oplan Bantay Laya I & II keeps legal mass activists to be preyed upon the state reactionary forces.  

In 2013, the DAR set up a tambiolo raffle that would determine which farmlands would go to the former workers of Hacienda Luisita. This allocation only served to pit the workers against each other. Then, right before Christmas that same year, goons working for Tarlac Development Corporation (TADECO) fenced off and destroyed a 260-hectare area in Balete to forcibly remove farmers. Weeks later, the Luisita farm workers picketed at PNP’s Camp Macabulos in Tarlac City to demand the release of illegally arrested and detained farmers. On B.S. Aquino’s birthday in 2014, crops were destroyed, homes were burned, children were mistreated and detained, and supplies and animals were stolen.

Back in 2013, Land Transportation Office chief Virginia Torres resigned from her position. As a result, B.S. Aquino dubbed her “Aryendo Queen,” revealing her large role in the tambiolo scheme. Contrary to the belief that tambiolo ‘land reform’ would protect the farmers’ rights to own and till the land, the papers given to beneficiaries only functioned as collateral in the raging unlawful leaseback operations called aryendo.

On April 25th, 2014, as a response to her effigy being burned at the CAT sugar mill, Kris Aquino said, “Alam ko na pag sinusunog-sunog ka, humahaba ang buhay mo, kaya okay lang, carry.” Her family sold their shares to Martin Lorenzo shortly after Kris Aquino responded. After Lorenzo established CAT Resource and Asset Holdings, Inc., almost 700 CAT workers were forced to sign “voluntary retirement” papers. As a way to continue to cover up their exploitation of workers, Lorenzo and Fernando Cojuangco are planning to rid of more of CAT and LRC’s land assets.

Pooling money with Florencio Abad, B.S. Aquino was able to use the P237 billion to create the unconstitutional Disbursement Acceleration Program. P50 million was given to each of the senator-judges to secure a guilty verdict in the Corona impeachment. The Department of Agrarian Reform also stated that the P451.7 million compensation to the Aquino-Cojuangco family came from DAP. P3.5 million from DAP was used to erect a small multi-purpose hall in Barangay Central, Hacienda Luisita by Aquino; this was a favor for an alleged broker of the aryendo, Barangay Captain Edgardo Aguas.

In August 2014, survivors and relatives of those who died at the Hacienda Luisita Massacre filed a motion to reopen the case. The motion was thrown out two months later. Instead of the Philippine government prosecuting military officials involved in the massacre, they gave the officials lovely promotions. The soldier who killed the president of Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union, Ricardo Ramos, was acquitted.

Today, Hacienda Luisita is still in the hands of the Cojuangco family. Today, power is still in the hands of the few. Today, the farmers whose livelihoods are tied to the cultivation of Hacienda Luisita are still suffering. Today, we continue to remember and uplift those whose lives were brutally killed in order to retain an immoral socioeconomic hierarchy. As Anakbayan New Jersey, we remember the Hacienda Luisita Massacre and continue to advocate for a better and just Philippines through genuine agrarian reform.

Justice for the Victims of the Hacienda Luisita Massacre!

Redistribute Hacienda Luisita to the Farmers Now!

Stop Lumad Killings!

Genuine Agrarian Reform Now!

Defend Indigenous Rights to Ancestral Land!

#PHFightAPEC

Junk APEC and Imperialist Globalization!

 

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Jersey City Community Calls to Relief, Rebuild, and Remember on Haiyan 2nd Anniversary

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Statements 11112015.002

For Immediate Release
Press Statement

November 8, 2015

Reference:

Daniel Valentin, President, Asian American Student Union at Saint Peter’s University

201.205.6389, dvalentin@mail.saintpeters.edu

Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey

470.309.2265, anakbayannj@gmail.com

Jersey City Community Calls to Relief, Rebuild, and Remember on Haiyan 2nd Anniversary

Various community and student groups held “Typhoon Haiyan Second Anniversary: Relief, Rebuild, Remember,” a special mass and a vigil at St. Aedan’s Parish on November 8, marking the second anniversary of super typhoon Haiyan. Participants called for the continued awareness on the ongoing struggles of typhoon survivors as well as the need for climate justice.

The mass was conducted by Father Rocco Danzi, Director of Campus Ministry, at Saint Aedan’s Church, a vigil at Panepinto Plaza, and a discussion in the Student Center’s Campus Ministry and the vigil was organized by the Asian American Student Union (AASU) of Saint Peter’s University, Anakbayan New Jersey (ABNJ). This commemoration is part of a national week of action called by the national Fil-Am youth and student relief network, Kapit Bisig Kabataan Network (KBKN).

On November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in central Philippines.For the past two years, the world has stood in witness to the aftermath of one of the strongest and deadliest typhoon ever recorded. Typhoon Haiyan left an estimated 10,000 people, affected 11 million Filipinos and more than one million homeless.

“Jersey City, though half way across the globe, still remembers typhoon Haiyan and continues to stand in solidarity with the survivors. We join the call for justice for the victims of government neglect. We also call on our government leaders to act on the climate crisis,” said Laura Emily E. Austria, ABNJ. Jersey City is home to more than 20,000 Filipinos, one of the largest population of Filipinos in the east coast.

Throughout the mass, Father Rocco commemorated the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in song and scripture. During his homily, he remarked that unlike CNN and other mass media, the community must be committed to remembering the tragedy and acting in solidarity with the survivors that still struggle. Denise Yzabel Salonga Cateron, a student at Saint Peter’s University and member of the choir, offered a personal prayer in Tagalog at the close of the mass. $250 was raised in through a special second collection to contribute to the National Alliance of Filipino Concern’s Typhoon Lando relief efforts.

The vigil was attended by members of 350.org, Pax Christi, Gabriela New York, Food and Water Watch New Jersey, the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Saint Aedan’s Parish, and the larger Jersey City community. In addition to solidarity statements and personal testimonies, participants were invited to respond to a posterboard prompting, “How has ‘natural disasters’ impacted your life?” Responses connected the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy along the Jersey shore and persistent flooding in Wayne, NJ. The vigil was closed as Kate Angeles, Saint Peter’s University student, Vice President of Schola, and Jersey City resident offered the song, “Hindi Kita Malilimutan.”

The discussion featured a report back by recent missioners to disaster-stricken areas of the Philippines on the 2015 KBKN relief and rebuild mission. They shared photographs accompanied with stories of survivors’ personal accounts of the gravity of the situation on the ground. Although there is loss of livelihood, threats of demolition, and corporate use of No Dwelling Zones, the missioners also shared messages of hope. Peoples Surge, an organization of Typhoon Haiyan survivors, is leading a concerted effort to protest economic policies that favors profit over the wellbeing of the people and the environment through protest of APEC and the TPPA and appeals to the upcoming COP21 in Paris.

“I felt that the Discussion portion of last nights event affected me the most because it was the most informative and most intimate. I was glad we were able to have a short hand experience through the KBKN missioners on what life was like in the Philippines after the Super Typhoon, and how mentally traumatizing the events that occurred are, till this day.” said Daniel Valentin, President of AASU.

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“Reflecting on my journey back to the Philippines, my exposure trip was the single most solidifying experience for me,” said Daniel Santiago, KBKN missioner. Going back allowed me to not only reinforce why I am fighting and struggling towards the liberation of our People, but truly were on the grounds living, experiencing, and hearing directly from the People. No media twisting, no political propaganda from the government, but hearing firsthand what the people are experiencing. From the landlessness and being pushed off of lands their families have worked for over a century, to the lack of governmental response and deficiencies of NGO’s after “natural” disasters, as well as the militarization of indigenous communities. Here we risk our comfort to support our People, back home they risk harassment, threats, and even death to fight for the human rights of our People. To truly see the true conditions that not only the Philippine government propagate, but the United States government has on our homeland. One must take the pilgrimage back home to have a sincere understanding that it is not just “More Fun in the Philippines” as tourism advertises, but that our People are struggling. If we are truly proud to be Filipino, we must take the good and beautiful aspects with the bad and the ugly to fight genuinely towards making sure our People and our land one day can see true independence and freedom.”

Despite the international clamor for support for Typhoon Haiyan survivors in the immediate aftermath, there has not been much progress in the past two years. “Typhoon donations get funneled to the Philippines through government agencies, therefore creating room for pilfering and disparity. What little is left is not distributed fairly to those most affected by disaster. Many are left with minimal monetary support and are forced to live in temporary housing on no-build zones. Often, monetary donations do not correspond to need, leaving many displaced and distressed,” said Devyn Manibo of ABNJ and Typhoon Haiyan commemoration committee member. “Two years has shown that the survivors will be in a perpetual state of disaster unless there is an overhaul of the government ineptitude,” Manibo continued. Most recent reports allege that survivors are dying in the bunkhouses and still lack access to social services as public institutions on health and education are being used for public-private partnership schemes.

“As AASU and ABNJ, we call upon on the Filipino American community to stand firm with the disaster survivors to intensify demands for justice and accountability and an end to the climate crisis. It is important that we, as youth and students, acknowledge Super Typhoon Haiyan as a warning for our world that will forever will go down in history. While they call it a “natural disaster” we will not be lied to by mass media. It is natural for an archipelagic nation to undergo periods of typhoons, but the extent of the most recent waves of typhoons is due to man-made causes. Global warming, carbon pollution, and social exploitation has entered us into the age of Super Typhoons and a climate crisis that will only continue to increase in severity. The warnings and candles are no longer enough, we echo the survivors’ calls for accountability, livelihood and justice now!” Laura Emily Austria of ABNJ concluded.

End the climate crisis!
Peoples’ survival is non-negotiable!

Remember Haiyan!

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Driving on the Long Road to Immigrant Justice: Anakbayan NJ Supports Driver’s Licenses for All

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For Immediate Release

Press Statement

May 27, 2015

Reference:

Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey

201-675-8278, anakbayannj@gmail.com

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Driving on the Long Road to Immigrant Justice: Anakbayan NJ Supports Driver’s Licenses for All

Anakbayan New Jersey supports the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice’s demand for driver’s licenses for all. Today, Wednesday May 27th, the Jersey City Council will vote to support a statewide bill for Driver’s Licenses for all. We call on Jersey City to set an example for the rest of the state and to raise its voice to New Jersey  legislators and the governor by supporting access to driver’s licenses for all.

Nationwide, states are debating whether all age-eligible immigrants who can pass state driving tests should be able to obtain driver’s licenses.  There are about 12 million undocumented people and 270,000 undocumented Filipinxs in the U.S. Allowing access to driver’s license will further protect those 12 million undocumented people, including the 270,000 Filipinxs, all of the citizen and noncitizen passengers that ride in their vehicles, and citizen and noncitizen drivers alongside them on the road. To deny access to proper licensure will fail to address the  large population of uninsured and unlicensed drivers that undermines effective law making and enforcement, and ultimately, the true end goal of safety on our roads and access to transportation.

There is an undeniable trend that undocumented families have been systematically deprived of access to socio-economic stability, and are therefore more susceptible to the growing number of food deserts, unsafe housing, and unemployment. Low income families have to travel more to access the resources they need. The need to drive, especially in areas with a lack of public transportation services and deteriorating public infrastructure, will not go away. People will not stop driving, regardless of whether they have their license or not. As a government created by and for the people, it must address the realities of the people that comprise this nation and provide practical, workable solutions to the issues they face or be held accountable to its failure to uphold its original democratic principles.

On February 27, 2013 Jersey City was the first City Council to pass a resolution in support of the Tuition Equality Act, A4225. The bill allows undocumented students who have attended New Jersey high schools for a minimum of three years to qualify for in-state tuition rates in New Jersey’s public colleges and universities, on the condition that they earned a diploma or GED from a New Jersey high school and sign an affidavit promising to adjust their immigration status if the given the opportunity to do so. The statewide bill  was eventually passed on December 20, 2013 because of the action of more than a hundred dreamers, community and labor supporters, and social justice activists across the state.

Again, we call on Jersey City to be a leader in ensuring the rights and dignity for im/migrants of New Jersey by joining the seven other municipalities in their call for driver’s licenses for all. Eleven states and DC already allow undocumented residents to drive legally, and New Jersey should follow suit. As the most diverse city in the U.S., Jersey City’s neighborhoods are enlivened with the richness of our various communities’ diverse, but collective im/migrant experiences. Jersey City residents must protect the rights of the im/migrants and descendants of im/migrants that built this town and this nation. We cannot be complicit in the capitalist consumption of im/migrant culture, exploitation of im/migrant labor, and gentrification of im/migrant neighborhoods.  Whether first, second, or any generation of im/migrants, as residents of occupied Lenape territory, we are guests on this land, and all peoples deserve rights and dignity.

As Filipinx youth and students we recognize that our families did not serendipitously end up in foreign territory. The U.S. empire, itself, had control of the Philippines from 1898. The nature of the imperialist beast has intensified to plunder not only our lands, but also our people. The U.S. does not have a broken immigration system, but rather an immigration system explicitly and intentionally created for the exploitation and oppression of third world peoples. The U.S.-backed puppet administrations of nations across the world uphold policies that push its people out, such as the Labor Export Policy in the Philippines. Although thriving in resources, our home country’s biggest export remains its people with an estimated 6,000 Filipinx who leave the country every day. The unjust conditions of bureaucrat capitalism, feudalism, and U.S. imperialism plague families that are torn apart at the hands of profit-driven, nefarious politicians.

As third world peoples from all over the world, forced upon this land, we find ourselves at the intersection of continued oppression or reclamation of our struggle. We cannot afford to leave our fellow workers and farmers behind as we uplift our students, as we are all one community. The people of Jersey City and the entire state of New Jersey cannot uphold the class contradictions that government agents with ulterior motives culturally and politically force upon us. We must reclaim our collective fight and demand representatives that uphold principles of genuine justice and liberation for all, or replace them with representatives that do. Resolutions that pass must come from the demands of the people, and if they do not, these figures become placeholders for actual agents of change and can no longer be our representatives. This applies to our issues back home and in our respective home countries as well. Join Anakbayan New Jersey as we demand accountability from our local politicians, and the administration of our home country, with the resignation of our current president, BS Benigno Aquino III, who forces its citizens to migrate because of his crimes against the people. We may be driving on the long road to immigrant justice, but providing access to driver’s licenses is the next green light we must take. Aquino resign! Junk Labor Export Policy! Legalization for all! Drivers licenses for all!

UPDATE AS OF MAY 27, 2015 6:42 PM: Jersey City became the eighth city to pass a resolution in favor of drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. The campaign will now continue to Trenton, the capital of New Jersey.

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Anakbayan New Jersey Stands Alongside the Victims of the Kentex Factory Fire, Demand Justice & Accountability for All Workers

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For Immediate Release

Press Statement

May 24, 2015

Reference:

Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey

201-675-8278, anakbayannj@gmail.com

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Photo by: Noel Celis

Anakbayan New Jersey Stands Alongside the Victims of the Kentex Factory Fire, Demand Justice & Accountability for All Workers

        Anakbayan New Jersey sends its deep condolences to the workers and victims’ families of the Kentex factory fire. We vehemently condemn Kentex Manufacturing Incorporated, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Aquino Administration for failing to ensure the proper health and safety standards for the Kentex workers and other workers across the Philippines. As Filipinx American and immigrant youth and students, we stand alongside the workers who have paid the ultimate price for producing profit for big business.

On May 13, 2015, 72 workers were burned to death and 20 more went missing at Kentex Manufacturing Incorporated, the biggest factory fire in the Philippines. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz alleged that the Department of Labor and Employment inspected the factory in September 18, 2014 as did the Bureau of Fire Protection. However, Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st Movement), among various other labor organizations found violations of standards pertaining to general labor conditions and occupational health and safety in an investigation following the fire. Most likely, these violations caused the fatal conditions seen through the lack of fire exits, mishandling of volatile chemicals, and absence of smoke and fire alarms.

The Kentex factory tragedy began years before May 13th. The fire was a mere culmination of the socioeconomic death trap that is the sweatshop industry in the Philippines and other developing nations. Although the Kentex workers have been employed for almost two decades, they did not receive a clear contract or benefits. The seasonal work paid dependent on the number of shoes produced in 12-hour days. Their wages were as little as 300 pesos ($6.74) per day in contrast to the 471 pesos ($10.57) per day minimum wage, which in U.S. terms is roughly $0.57 per hour. Workers complained of the heat and smell of the factory, but became accustomed to it because of the lack of job opportunities elsewhere. Due to the nature of the work, people suffered scratches, bruises, burns, and even loss of limbs on a regular workday. There was a lack of safety equipment and no emergency protocol in case of accidents. Survivors of the accident said that they were running to escape, but did not know where to go.

So where do the Flipinx people go? Will they continue to be pushed out of the country to find work elsewhere, like us, products of Labor Export Policy? Or will they be forced to become accustomed to the stifling heat of corruption, only to be subjected to long-term death by chemical exposure and socioeconomic exploitation or short-term death by fire?

Although the Philippines boasts that it has the world’s fastest growing economy, the Kentex factory fire illustrates the price at which it must come and begs the question: for whom? An entire family was burned to death as both parents and three children worked for Kentex, leaving behind an orphaned child in primary school. The three high school youth sought to help through a summer job at the factory, while attempting to attain socioeconomic mobility by earning their education during the school year. Their deaths were manufactured by the Philippines’ semi-colonial, semi-feudal character, built to profit the few and the imperialist plunderer.

Youth and students are the next generation of workers, farmers, and professionals, but what future are they promising us when all that faces us under this system is tragedy? When our education system has become just as much a money-making machine as our government, the youth are being funneled into exploitative low-wage, seasonal work. Everyone is being burned alive at the hands of corrupt business.

However, the responsibility cannot fall solely on employers to ensure an appropriate working environment. Business owners take after the profit-driven framework of the Philippine economy. We must demand accountability from the government that neglects to ensure the health and safety of its people. The Department of Labor and Employment and Interior Secretary, Mar Roxas, has been an advocate for big business, and not the workers. The suffering of the Filipinx working class, both at home and abroad, is directly caused by the Aquino administration and its cronies, who protect multinational corporate interests over the livelihood and wellbeing of the ordinary citizen.

This past year alone, we have witnessed countless failures by the bureaucrat capitalist and puppet administration of BS Aquino The tragedy of the Kentex factory fire is on the coattails of the Save Mary Jane campaign, which was only partially won due to the people’s international and domestic efforts. She still remains incarcerated in Indonesia. BS Aquino’s inaction is consistent with the Mamasapano tragedy, another display of his rejection of truth and accountability with the fall of 44 Special Action Forces. Jennifer Laude, the trans womxn who was brutally murdered by U.S. marine Joseph Scott Pemberton.

The Filipinx people both at home and abroad cannot afford another tragedy. There must be accountability NOW, for if we wait any longer, as we did with Jennifer Laude, the Mamasapano tragedy, and for Mary Jane, what future “errors” await our people? We cannot allow another kababayan to die under the BS Aquino administration. It is up to the power of the people to demand that he resign and demand a new system for our people! With the fumbling of Binay and the failure, especially in this case of Mar Roxas, we must seek a solution beyond the electoral game of the wealthy. We must ignite the fire within our people, as the coals have been smoldering for too long!

As youth and students, we must march alongside workers and other oppressed classes to ensure a bright future, not only for ourselves, but especially for those who toil every day. We demand that the Aquino administration resign, or be ousted by the growing people’s movement in the nation and its diaspora.

Justice for Kentex workers and other victims of Occupational Health and Safety Standards violations! End impunity of Occupational Health and Safety Violations in the Philippines! Youth and students fight alongside workers for wages, jobs, and rights! Aquino resign!

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Free our sisters! Free ourselves! After 20 Years Not One More, Not Another Flor: Mary Jane Veloso, Migrant Domestic Worker Abandoned by PH Government, on Death Row

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For Immediate Release

Press Statement

April 8, 2015

Reference: Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey

201-675-8278, anakbayannj@gmail.com


Free our sisters! Free ourselves! After 20 Years Not One More, Not Another Flor: Mary Jane Veloso, Migrant Domestic Worker Abandoned by PH Government, on Death Row

Ruthie Arroyo speaking on behalf of Anakbayan NJ.

Ruthie Arroyo speaking on behalf of Anakbayan NJ. View video here.

Anakbayan New Jersey condemns grievous government neglect in the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a 30-year-old domestic worker on death row in Wirogunan Penitentiary, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. We demand for the Philippine government to exhaust all means in order to save the life of Veloso and all Overseas Filipinx Workers (OFW), to junk Labor Export Policy (LEP), the legislative motive pushing our people out of our home country, and for President Joko Widodo to stop the unjust executions.

On April 8, 2015, Anakbayan New Jersey rallied alongside other Filipinx organizations in front of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia. “Our Philippine government needs to take care of migrants, overseas FIlipino workers, [and] undocumented immigrants because it’s not their fault they are poor. It’s not their fault that they cannot live a better life in the Philippines. We have been raped, we have been taken advantage of [by the] Philippine government. There’s only a few people in the Philippines who are thriving. It is not fair. We are calling for the Indonesian government to spare the life of Mary Jane because it is not her fault. She is innocent. She is just a victim of circumstances. We need to end Labor Export Policy. The Aquino government needs to be kept accountable,” said Ruthie Arroyo, member of Anakbayan New Jersey. She continued, “This is not just the fight of migrant workers. Students and youth we need you. We need you to fight for your mothers, fight for your daughters, fight for your sisters, your siblings. We are all in this together and we must rely on each other. We must rely on each other and stand together if we want a better Philippines, if we want human rights to be upheld. We must stand and demand for it.”

Veloso, the Filipina mother-of-two was sentenced to death by the Indonesian Supreme Court in April 2010 for drug trafficking. Although her case was submitted for judicial review, her appeal was rejected despite the lack of sufficient legal services, lack of legal representation at all stages of their trials, and a violation of their right to translators. Presently, she is about to be transferred from Yogyakarta to the maximum security prison in Nusakambangan Island of Central Java to await execution by firing squad.

Originally from a poor family in Nueva Ecija, Veloso was the youngest among 5 children and made it only to her first year of high school. Her family resorted to pick scavenging for recyclable materials to supplement her father’s meager earnings as a seasonal worker in Hacienda Luisita, the land owned by the family of current president, BS Aquino. Hoping for a better life for her family and to provide an education for her children, Veloso, like many other Filipinxs, went abroad as an OFW.

From 2009 to 2010, Veloso was a domestic worker in Dubai. She soon returned to the Philippines after her employer tried to rape her. However, due to the dire situation of her family and unimproving conditions of the Philippines, she was illegally recruited by the daughter of her godfather to work as a domestic worker in Malaysia. Similar to the chronic trafficking of Filipinx workers, there was no longer a position when she arrived, and she was transferred to Indonesia where she was duped into carrying a luggage containing 2.6 kilograms of heroin.

Veloso is not an isolated case. She is not only the victim of large-scale international drug syndicates, but of a government whose biggest export is its people. As a result of the Labor Export Program (LEP), 6,000 Filipinxs are sent to foreign countries to work as domestic workers, teachers, and nurses, among many other professions. Even the education system has been configured to produce “export ready” youth. Two additional years have been added in order to train and ship graduates as overseas laborers directly after high school as through the previous school system, graduates were only 16 years old and too young to be sent abroad.

While the government boasts its increase in GDP, it fails to account that $28 billion or roughly 10% comes from remittances that eventually returns to the hands of big business through recruitment agencies and government processing fees. For how long will we allow Filipinx workers to continue to feed the rich with their sweat, tears, and even blood? The government has time and time again failed to protect its OFWs as this would be the eighth Filipinx executed under the BS Aquino, the most number of executions of Filipinxs on death row under one regime since LEP was first implemented during martial law.

2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the execution of Flor Contemplacion, also a domestic worker, OFW, and mother. Despite international uproar in condemnation of her execution, the Philippine government still failed to protect its people that it manufactures as overseas laborers. It is clear that when we cannot rely upon our government, we must stand together and rely on each other. We cannot allow another one of our lives to be taken. In the spirit of Flor and the countless OFWs subjected to abuse, harassment, and violence, as overseas youth and students we must do our part. We must dedicate our talents, intellect and skills to fighting for the rights and welfare of our people.

OFWs have not just been ripped from their home country, but they are our mothers, fathers, and siblings who have been torn from our families. They are the reason why we eat, breathe, and live the way we do. They are how we are able to study at top universities and dream actual, attainable dreams. They are us. And we must save ourselves. Save Mary Jane Veloso! Justice for ALL Overseas Filipinx Migrant Workers! End the Labor Export Program of the Philippines! Aquino resign!


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Bukidnon’s Bungkalan & Bullets: Members of Indigenous Peoples’ Organization Struggling for Ancestral Domain Ambushed; One Killed & Two Wounded

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For Immediate Release

Press Statement

March 25, 2015

Reference: Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey

201-675-8278, anakbayannj@gmail.com

Bukidnon’s Bungkalan & Bullets: Members of Indigenous Peoples’ Organization Struggling for Ancestral Domain Ambushed; One Killed & Two Wounded

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Anakbayan NJ members on an exposure trip in Bukidnon this past summer 2014.

Anakbayan New Jersey condemns the predatory killing of Tata Baito and armed violence against Japsem Bagna and Ricky Tumbaga. The three are part of Lumad organization, Tribal Indigenous Oppressed Group Association (TINDOGA), fighting for the rightful ownership of their ancestral lands.

On March 24, 2015, Tata Baito was killed by hired armed guards of Pablo “Poling” Lorenzo, the illegitimate landlord of Montalvan Ranch. Japsem Bagna and Ricky Tumbaga were also severely injured by gunfire and there has been a lack of government response. The three were on their way to plant crops in preparation for the mild El Niño phenomenon, which creates higher temperatures that are unsuitable for farming.

TINDOGA is recognized as true claimants of 630 hectares of ancestral domain, of which Lorenzo’s land is a part of. The Manobo-Pulangihons were displaced after their lease with the government expired in 2009. Since March 16, 2015, with the strength of 200 individuals and four other groups, the Lumads have been reasserting their right to the land through a bungkalan, or peasant protest where they seize the land back and plant crops in it.

Baito, Bagna, and Tumbaga were on their way to the site when Lorenzo’s 20 to 30 armed men opened fire on them. The helpless three could only run from the barrage of Garand, Armalite rifles, and shotguns of their assailants. Reports of harassment and attacks by Lorenzo’s security force have been reported since 2012, but this has been the highest escalation of violence thus far.

In August 2014, two Anakbayan New Jersey members integrated with the indigenous peoples’ communities of TINDOGA members. The exposurists participated in production work, psychosocial therapy, and the feeding program. “We did not just listen to the firsthand accounts of their struggle, but viscerally felt it shaking within our bones. Our outrage in light of these attacks are amplified not only as human rights violations, but because they are attacks on a community that has welcomed us as family and sheltered us in their homes. As Filipinx Americans activists we do not just live and laugh with the Lumads in our privilege to come and go, but we must struggle alongside them, especially now with the heightened violence,” said Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson of Anakbayan New Jersey.

As Filipinx Americans at the fringes of the Philippine diaspora, we must defend the rights of our living ancestors, the Lumads. The indigenous peoples’ of the Philippines experience multiple levels of oppression as a national minority within a country plagued by imperialism, bureaucrat capitalism, and feudalism. Our struggle for national democracy is a struggle for the Lumad people. Return the ancestral lands of the indigenous peoples!

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Defend the Defenders; Activism is Not a Crime: Stop the Political Vilification and Harassment of Human Rights & Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders in Ifugao, Cordillera, Philippines

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For Immediate Release

Press Statement

March 23, 2015

Reference: Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey

201-675-8278, anakbayannj@gmail.com

Defend the Defenders; Activism is Not a Crime: Stop the Political Vilification and Harassment of Human Rights & Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Defenders in Ifugao, Cordillera, Philippines

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Anakbayan New Jersey condemns the increased political vilification and surveillance of members and leaders of the Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM), barangay officials, local organizations, and indigenous people’s rights advocates. As activists ourselves, we believe in the basic rights of individuals and organizations to freely express their political beliefs and to advance their peoples’ rights in the Philippines, the U.S., and across the world.

As of the last quarter of 2014, there has been an increase in the ostracization and red-baiting of local people’s organizations as communist fronts or members of the New Peoples Army (NPA). Not only are these accusations false, but they attempt to turn the public against these community advocates as “enemies of the State” or “terrorists.” This is a direct result of the Philippine government’s counter-insurgency policy, Oplan Bayanihan, which continues to uphold a culture of impunity and injustice.

History has shown that increased political vilification is a prelude to illegal arrests based on trumped up charges, enforced disappearance, and even extrajudicial killings. After the Philippine Army’s release of a “Target List,” William Bugatti, one of those listed, was extrajudicially killed on March 25, 2014. It is a grave injustice to demonize these individuals and organizations that have dedicated their lives to empowering the oppressed, poor, and most vulnerable to government neglect through social services and livelihood assistance.

Those targeted are: Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Cordillera People’s Alliance, Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera, Montanosa Research and Development Center, Amianan Salakniban, Katinnulong Dagiti Umili iti Amianan, Tebtebba, Igorota Foundation, and more. Among the individuals are: Nestor Peralta, Claudine Panayo, Billy Karty, Ben Calingayan, Edwin Bumolyad, Nonoy Bangtiwen, Dick Tangid, Ricardo Mayumi, James Tayaban, and Brandon Lee.

The last person named on this list, Brandon Lee, is of particular relevance to us as a former member of the League of Filipino Students – San Francisco State University. He entered college as an everyday student and left as an activist in service of the people. Not even Filipinx, this Chinese American man found a place within our homeland in a way that very many Filipinx youth in the U.S. have never even engaged with. He has come a long way from his first exposure program to the Philippines as he has permanently moved to work as a defender of indigenous peoples’ rights with his wife and daughter.

However, this is not the story of a single person, or even a single region of the Philippines. It is of a culture of impunity that is plaguing the homeland our families have been ripped from. Political vilification and military repression extends from the northernmost tip of Luzon to the southernmost tip of Mindanao, and in most recent incidents, from Ifugao to Mamasapano. Our very own members of Anakbayan New Jersey have integrated with students whose schools have been bombed and farmers whose lands have been stolen.

There have been too many “final straws.”

It is our duty as Filipinx Americans of the diaspora to stand in solidarity with our Filipinxs back home in our demand of truth, accountability, and justice of the Philippines government and the especially the president, BS Aquino. We also call on the American taxpayers to demand that the US government cut all military aid to the Philippines. We demand an end to BS Aquino’s bloody counter-insurgency campaign, Oplan Bayanihan. We also demand that the Philippine government respect human rights and adhere to international humanitarian law. End the culture of impunity! Long live international solidarity!###

Filipino Youth Stand in Solidarity with the People of Palestine, Demand an End to Apartheid in Israel

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For Immediate Release

Press Statement

March 23, 2015

References:

Daniel Santiago, Solidarity Officer, Anakbayan New Jersey , anakbayannj@gmail.com

Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey,  anakbayannj@gmail.com

Filipino Youth Stand in Solidarity with the People of Palestine, Demand an End to Apartheid in Israel

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Anakbayan New Jersey raises our fists in solidarity with our fellow activists of Students for Justice in Palestine of Rutgers New Brunswick to commemorate Israeli Apartheid Week. We vehemently condemn the Israel state in their apartheid of the Palestinian people. In the same breadth of how the Philippine government creates an apartheid state with their economic policies dictated by bureaucrat capitalism, feudalism, and imperialism, we stand by the Palestinian people as brothers and sisters through our international struggle.

The parallels between our plights as oppressed peoples are numerous. Israel’s discriminatory policies limit resources and access to housing, transportation, and food. We see segregation based upon race and religion as well as forced migration from lands formerly held by Palestinians. The continual occupation of Palestinian lands and bombings of schools and hospitals confirm the human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli state, funded and supported by the US government. Moreover, border control and militarization of communities restrict the movement and freedom of the Palestinians.

Similarly the Filipinx people are subjected to forced migration, military repression, and economic suppression at the hands of U.S. imperialists. As children of the Palestinian and Philippine diaspora within the belly of this imperialist beast, it is our duty to fight for liberation of our homelands. Anakbayan New Jersey denies the legitimacy of the Israeli government when they continue to create an apartheid state that does not include the Palestinian people. It is only through our collective struggle will we attain collective victory. Long live international solidarity!###

February 1-11: Join Us for Philippine Solidarity Week!

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philsolwk

Philippine Solidarity Week is a week of activities beginning on February 4 to commemorate the Philippine-American War and to raise awareness and support for the continuing struggle of the Filipino people for national liberation. It is led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-USA or BAYAN-USA.

Since 1899, U.S. troops have maintained their presence in the Philippines through permanent military and naval bases and through military agreements and treaties that undermines Philippine sovereignty. These military bases have served as launching pads for U.S. Imperialist aggression in Asia. With the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPPA) and the Joint Force 2020 ventures, U.S. troops will continue imperialist aggression in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the Philippines.

There are a number of ways individuals and organizations can participate: 

Call for Endorsement
We are calling on all progressive organizations, peace and anti-war activists to launch solidarity actions in support of the continuing struggle of the Filipino people for genuine independence.

As an organization against militarism, war, and imperialism we ask you to join us in solidarity. Being an endorser can be any of the following:

* Solidarity Statement/Video
* Take a photo with the picture below or write your own message
* Co-Host or Host an event with a BAYAN org

Collected statements, pictures, and videos can be sent to bayanusa.ne@gmail.com 

Social Media Campaign
Take a photo and post on facebook/instagram/twitter/etc. with one of the attached signs saying:

  • Advance the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines!
  • I stand in solidarity with the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines
  • OR CREATE YOUR OWN MESSAGE WITH A BLANK SIGN!

Tag with #PhilSolidarity or email to bayanusa.ne@gmail.com and upload between Feb 1 – 10

Petition Campaign (Goal is to reach 1000)
Justice for Jennifer Laude Online Petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justice-for-filipina-trans-woman-jennifer-laude

Attend Events – Phil Sol Week Events
Educational Discussion: Youth on the March 
Sunday, February 1st 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Hosted by Anakbayan New Jersey and New Jersey Youth for Immigrant Liberation
Location – Social Justice House, 125 Glenwood Avenue, Jersey City, NJ
https://www.facebook.com/events/407730799393591/
Potluck and Film Screening/Discussion of Sa Ngalan Ng Tubo and Mindanao: The Land of Promise?
Wednesday, February 4th 7:00 PM
Hosted by Food and Water Watch and Slow Food Rutgers
Location – George Street Co-Op (89 Morris Street, New Brunswick, NJ)
https://www.facebook.com/events/877761138963858/
Film Screening and Discussion of “Modern Heroes Modern Slaves”
Friday, February 6th 6:00 PM
Hosted by Anakbayan New Jersey and AFSC immigrant Rights Program 
Location – 89 Market Street, 4th Floor Newark, NJ
https://www.facebook.com/events/775311359203509/

Film Screening and Discussion of “Bloody Blundering Business”
Saturday, February 7th, 5:30-8pm

Hosted by Anakbayan New York
Location – YaYa Network, 224 W29th St, 14th fl, New York, NY 10001
https://www.facebook.com/events/1624327204462273

Pinay HERstories: Migration to Liberation
Sunday, February 8th 2:00 PM

Hosted by GABRIELA New York 
Location – YaYa Network 224 West 29th Street, 14th Floor, New York, NY
https://www.facebook.com/events/1521295378136323/
Educational Discussion: From Fagen to Ferguson: International Solidarity Against Torture & Extrajudicial Killings
Wednesday, February 11th 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Hosted by New York Community for Human Rights in the Philippines
Location – Amnesty International, 5 Penn Plaza, 16th Floor, New York, NY

Community Members Stage Rally at Alaris Health at the Fountains Following Unjust Termination of Two Filipino Workers

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Community Members Stage Rally at Alaris Health at the Fountains

Following Unjust Termination of Two Filipino Workers

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Secaucus, NJ – Filipino activists and community advocates rallied at Alaris Health at the Fountains- South Campus early Tuesday morning to demand full back wages and job reinstatement for two Filipino workers. Bernadette De Leon and Yolando Simon, both dietary aides, were unjustly suspended on May 29, 2014, and eventually terminated on July 10, 2014. The rally was held coinciding with the arbitration hearing between 1199J, who are representing the workers, versus Alaris Health.

Protesters held a banner saying, “We support Bernadette and Yolando! Reinstatement now!” They also chanted, “When workers rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up!  Fight Back!”

The two Filipino workers were terminated by Patricia Meyers, Administrator at Alaris Health at the Fountains – South Campus for allegedly stealing frozen goods. These were denied by De Leon and Simon. The two workers said that they were not afforded the opportunity to tell their side and were not provided due process.  Both workers were reliable, long-term employees of Alaris Health, who consistently received certificates of recognition.

“We are here to show support for Bernadette and Yolando who are fighting against their unjust termination.  We are here to show that the community is on the side of workers rights.” said Hanalei Ramos, an organizer with the Filipino Immigrants and Workers Organizing Project.

The protest culminated with the advocates delivering a letter to Pat Meyers, Administrator of the Alaris site. The delivered letter was also signed by a number of local community organizations, demanding that Meyers be held accountable for her conduct.

“As a Filipino youth organization, we stand with Bernadette and Yolando. We demand that Patricia Meyers be held accountable for the blatant discrimination and unprofessionalism that occurred under her watch,” said Nina Macapinlac of Anakbayan New Jersey. “Workers’ rights are always under threat by employers who seek to exploit their workers. It is therefore important that workers be always vigilant and ready to assert their rights,” Macapinlac concluded.

The rally was organized by Anakbayan New Jersey and the Filipino Immigrants and Workers Organizing Project. With more than 20,000 Filipinos in Hudson County alone, these organizations anticipate more Filipino workers to come out with experiences of discrimination, exploitation, and unsafe working environments. Community activists are hoping that De Leon and Simon’s case sets an example of community members uniting to defend workers’ rights.###