HIS LIFE IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR TO THE DEATH
Alexander Martin Remollino

For Monico M. Atienza –- activist, writer, and teacher

On the sickbed he wrestles with Death
mightily, and he is winning thus far.
His again is the breath,
the breath that Death tried to seize –-
and his hold this time is surer.

Even as his heart threatened to beat its last,
he insisted he was fine.

He is no stranger to uphill battles for his life.
He had done it before
and he has done it again.
From all indications,
he will be locked in a duel with Death
as long as there’s an ounce of strength in him.

And rightly so,
for his is the kind of life
that is worth fighting for to the death.
It is a life
that was never like a gun without bullets,
that was never like a pen without ink.

In the annals of our benighted land,
his name shines with the full glory of light
and not with the blinding glitter of falsehood.

With all his might he wrestles with Death,
and rightly so.
His life is worth fighting for to the death.

MONICO M. ATIENZA: A LIFE WORTH FIGHTING FOR

His friends and relatives described Monico Atienza's stubborn will to live, in the face of a most life-threatening debilitation, as very characteristic of the man. This kind of courage, they say -- together with the man's extraordinary conviction and abilities -- enabled him to live the kind of life he has chosen, unmindful of the obstacles that came his way.

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

The atmosphere at the University of the Philippines (UP) Film Center the night of January 25 was both light and serious. There were occasional bursts of laughter from the audience as speakers talked of the man's mood swings and short temper. A serious mood, however, would be apparent as the speakers discussed the man's unwavering resolve to serve the people.

“Bugnutin siya, siguro, dahil masyado siyang maraming iniisip at iniintindi” (His temper is short, maybe because there are too many things on his mind), said Prof. Vina Paz, chair of the UP Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature. “Y'ong pagiging bugnutin, ganoon na talaga siya mula pagkabata” (He had a short temper even in his youth), said his nephew Adolfo Atienza.

But even as they made some fun of the man's having a short fuse, the speakers and the audience were in awe of the kind of life the man has lived thus far. “Madali siyang maging inspirasyon, dahil sa kanyang salita at gawa” (It is easy to be inspired by him because of his words and deeds), said UP Faculty Regent Prof. Roland Simbulan.

The subject of all these was activist, writer, and UP professor Monico M. Atienza who was given a tribute by fellow activists, colleagues, former classmates, students and friends.

Atienza suffered a heart attack last Dec. 23, while attending the wake of First Quarter Storm (FQS) activist Selma Salvador at the Bustillos Church in Sampaloc, Manila. An undetected mass in his throat blocked his breath, leading to successive heart seizures.

Award-winning playwright Bonifacio Ilagan, chair of the First Quarter Storm Movement of which Atienza is president, said that he had noticed that Atienza had difficulty breathing even as they were in the taxi on the way to Salvador's wake. “Lingon nang lingon y'ong drayber, inaalala siguro y'ong pasaherong hirap huminga” (The driver kept turning his head, perhaps worrying about the passenger who had a hard time breathing.) Ilagan asked Atienza if he was fine, and the latter said that he was.

At Salvador's wake, Ilagan said, Atienza was at one point brought to an adjacent room within the Bustillos Church, in the hope that it would ease his breathing. After a few minutes, someone told Ilagan that they should bring Atienza to the hospital.

Atienza insisted that he was still fine and even walked by himself as they went to the nearby Mary Chiles Hospital, Ilagan said. But when they got to Mary Chiles, Ilagan felt he had to assist Atienza who lost consciousness a few minutes later.

After a few days Atienza was transferred to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), also in Manila, where he remains confined.

During his first few days of hospital confinement, Atienza was hooked to a respirator. Within a few days of his transfer to the PGH, however, he was able to begin breathing by himself. He is also said to be now able to respond to communication: when a few friends visited him at the PGH one day and told him, “Nick, kung naririnig mo kami, sumipa ka” (Nick, if you can hear us, throw a kick), he raised his leg slightly.

“Parang inaaway mo si Kamatayan” (It is as though you are fighting Death), said FQSM member Jake Abad in a poem for Atienza that he recited at the tribute.

His friends and relatives described Atienza's stubborn will to live, in the face of a most life-threatening debilitation, as very characteristic of the man. This kind of courage, they say - together with the man's extraordinary conviction and abilities - enabled him to live the kind of life he has chosen.

Born to a lower-middle class family in Cuenca, Batangas (a Tagalog province south of Manila), Atienza displayed his remarkable abilities early on in life.

“Nick, as he is known fondly by countless friends, was my classmate in the Far Eastern University Boys High School (FEU-BHS) up to 1964,” writes journalist-activist Hermie Garcia, a political detainee during Martial Law who is now based in Canada together with his wife Mila Astorga, also a journalist-activist. “He was our class president, valedictorian and student council president. With those distinguished achievements at a very young age, our teachers predicted he would have a very distinguished career in whatever profession he would soon choose.”

His graduation as class valedictorian in 1965 made him a recipient of a scholarship at FEU where he took business and finance while many of his friends went to UP. He joined the FEU chapter of the Kabataang Makabayan (KM or Patriotic Youth), and together with a number of schoolmates went on a two-month visit to China which was then a socialist country.

Shortly after their return to the Philippines, Atienza transferred to UP where he took up literature, and there he joined the Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines (SCAUP), a progressive study group of which he eventually became president. He also got involved in the broad alliance Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism (MAN), which had Sen. Lorenzo Tañada as its chair and then KM Chair and UP Professor Jose Maria Sison as its secretary-general. In the late 1960s he became the KM's secretary-general, and was holding this position when the First Quarter Storm –- a series of massive demonstrations against the Marcos administration –- happened in 1970.

He went underground shortly before then President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in September 1972. Sison said that Atienza who became known as Ka (comrade) Togs in the underground movement headed the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) National Organizing Committee (NOD) and was also a member of its Central Committee.

In 1974, Atienza was arrested and detained by the military. He underwent severe physical and psychological torture, including an overdose of truth serum. Based on old fact sheets prepared by human rights groups, Atienza's torture caused him to suffer a mental breakdown and seriously impaired his health. At one point he had to be confined at the V. Luna Hospital in Quezon City.

He was detained for six years. Upon his release he went back to UP to finish his studies and eventually teach Filipino. He actively helped in the committee campaigning for the release of Sison who was arrested in 1977 and was also heavily tortured.

Atienza played a prominent part in founding and organizing the Partido ng Bayan (PnB or People's Party), a progressive political party which fielded congressional candidates in the 1987 elections under the Aquino administration.

In an ambush on PnB leaders by a suspected military death squad in 1987, Atienza was seriously wounded, together with PnB senatorial candidate Bernabe Buscayno who was a leader of the New People's Army (NPA) during Martial Law. A shrapnel remains embedded in Atienza's head and a leg wound he sustained from the attack has not healed to this day.

In spite of all these, however, Atienza has remained unfazed. He has continued to propagate progressive ideas in his work as both a teacher and a writer. In various capacities he has extended help to several people's organizations.

At the PGH Atienza continues to fight for his life -- and, by all accounts, rightly so, for his is an extraordinary life worth fighting for.

As Sison said in his testimonial to Atienza released on Jan. 7:

Alam nating matibay at palaban si Ka Togs. Hindi tayo magugulat kung makakatawid siya sa kasalukuyang kalagayan at magpapatuloy sa pag-ambag sa pagsusulong ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Anuman ang mangyari sa personal na katayuan niya, natitiyak nating makabuluhan at maningning ang kanyang buhay at papel na ginampanan sa kasaysayan.

(We know that Comrade Togs is strong and defiant. We would not be surprised if he overcomes his present condition and continues contributing to the advancement of the Philippine revolution. Whatever happens to him, we are sure that his is a worthy and glorious life and role in history.) Bulatlat

ASEAN ANTI-TERROR PACT SEEN TO CURTAIL RIGHTS ON REGIONAL SCALE

The Convention on Counter-Terrorism is being paraded about as one of the achievements of the 12th ASEAN Summit, held Jan. 12-15 in Cebu. The Arroyo government presents it as a big leap for Southeast Asia in what is described as a “global war” on terrorism. However, it is feared that the pact could only cause the curtailment of human rights on a regional scale.

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

The Convention on Counter-Terrorism is being paraded about as one of the achievements of the 12th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit, held Jan. 12-15 in Cebu. It is being presented as a big leap for Southeast Asia in what is described as a “global war” on terrorism.

Expressing what is described as the ASEAN member states’ deep concern “over the grave danger posed by terrorism to innocent lives, infrastructure and the environment, regional and international peace and stability as well as to economic development,” the anti-terror accord – which is described as the first of its kind on a regional level – calls for the improvement of cooperation among member countries for the prevention of “terrorist” attacks, as well as fast intelligence sharing and relaying of terror warnings.

The anti-terror pact also calls on the ASEAN member states to curb the financing of “terrorist” organizations, and engage in counter-terrorism training.

“The ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism advances our shared interests in terms of common security,” President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told reporters in a press conference on Jan. 15 at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City. “It provides for the framework for regional cooperation to counter, prevent and suppress terrorism. The Philippines will benefit from the convention in terms of training, intelligence sharing and networking with ASEAN member countries.”

“Global terrorism has assumed new forms of virulence,” Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said in a statement that same day. “We will make sure that this community is more secure and resistant to the threat of terror.”

The president of an international lawyers’ group, however, has said that the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism is far from being something to be proud of. Edre Olalia, president of the International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), said the convention could cause the curtailment of civil and political rights, as well as other human rights, on a regional scale.

In a message received by Bulatlat, Edre Olalia – president of the International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) – pointed out that the term “terrorists or terrorist groups” is not defined anywhere in the pact.

“(This) opens real danger for subjective, arbitrary and dubious labeling, proscription and criminalization of individuals and organizations that are legitimate especially if viewed within the framework of the U.S. war of terror where ASEAN, most exemplified by the Philippines, falls into as an important component,” Olalia said. “It poses even greater restrictions on right to travel and freedom of movement, among others.”

Terrorist acts

Article II of the pact cites as “criminal acts of terrorism” offenses falling under the following treaties:

Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at The Hague, The Netherlands on Dec. 16, 1970; Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, concluded at Montreal on Sept. 23, 1971; Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents, adopted in New York on Dec. 13, 1973; International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, adopted in New York on Dec. 17, 1979;

Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, adopted in Vienna on Oct. 26, 1979; Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, done at Montreal on Feb. 24, 1988;

Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, done at Rome on March 10, 1988; Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, done at Rome on March 10, 1988; International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, adopted in New York on Dec. 15, 1997; International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted in New York on Dec. 9, 1999; International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, adopted in New York on April 13, 2005;

Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, done at Vienna on 8 July 2005; Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, done at London on Oct. 14, 2005; and Protocol of 2005 to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, done at London on Oct. 14, 2005.

“Note (that) ‘offense’ is defined by an enumeration or reference to existing international instruments and (the Convention) resorted to (defining) ‘criminal acts of terrorism’ (instead of a clear and understandable definition with specificity as to its nature),” Olalia pointed out. “Note again that the term ‘offense’ does not cover what a ‘terrorist’ is.”

Likewise, Article IX (1) of the agreement provides that:

The Parties shall adopt such measures as may be necessary, including, where appropriate, national legislation, to ensure that offences covered in Article II of this Convention, especially when it is intended to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organisation to do or to abstain from doing any act, are under no circumstances justifiable by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar nature.

“This situates in one categorical swoop the offences covered by the Convention as purely criminal/terrorist acts, totally and absolutely precluding any real possibility (or at least a debatable position) that some acts may be in pursuit of, inspired or motivated by one’s political beliefs,” Olalia said. “Consequently, it takes away the historical attitude and legal principle on the political offense doctrine (i.e. all acts – which covers what would otherwise generally be ‘common crimes’, in pursuit of one’s political beliefs are subsumed in one political offense of rebellion and cannot be mutated into several component crimes).”

“Empty declaration”

The ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism does attempt to assure that “human rights, fair treatment, the rule of law, and due process” are to be protected. Likewise, the principles enshrined in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia done at Bali on Feb. 24, 1976 are to be protected, the agreement further states.

Olalia, however, thinks this declaration is empty. “(This is) lip service esp. for governments in countries that are repressive like the Philippines, where rampant violations of human rights prevail, where equal protection of the law is an abstraction, where the rule of law is also used against the people’s interests and where due process is undermined by political partisan considerations, judicial inefficiency, corruption, institutionalized repression, etc.,” Olalia said.

The ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism was signed by all the leaders of the 10 ASEAN member countries: the Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei and Indonesia.

Formed in 1967, the ASEAN was established purportedly to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in Southeast Asia.

The founding ASEAN member countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on Jan. 8, 1984, Vietnam on July 28, 1995, Laos and Myanmar on July 23, 1997, and Cambodia on April 30, 1999. Bulatlat

DISPLACED CEBU SLUM DWELLER ASKS:
WHAT CARING, WHAT SHARING?

“One Caring and Sharing Community.” This was the theme of 12th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), held recently in Cebu. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said there are strong prospects that the vision behind this theme would be realized. Those who lost their homes in preparation for the Summit late last year, however, say they could not feel the theme’s meaning.


BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was beaming with pride as she spoke at the Sugbo Summit Hall at the Summit Complex in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu on Jan. 14. She was speaking of the prospects of building “One Caring and Sharing Community” –- the theme of the 12th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations –- in Southeast Asia.

Jan. 14 marked the opening of the ASEAN Plus Three Summit –- which gathered the leaders of the ASEAN countries and its dialogue partners China, Japan, and South Korea.

“This year’s summits are set to break new ground towards greater solidarity, cohesiveness and cooperation in the whole East Asia,” Arroyo said. “The unequivocal commitment of the regional leaders to peace, stability and economic prosperity for their peoples will continue to mark One Caring and Sharing Regional Community, sailing through challenging seas. The prospects are bright. The visions have become even grander with every meeting and discussion among the movers and shakers of ASEAN and East Asia.”

The Summit’s official theme had earlier been rendered into a song by rock musician Ramon “RJ” Jacinto, a known Arroyo ally. His song is contained in an audio CD distributed to accredited reporters by the Summit’s Media and Communications Secretariat. Sings Jacinto:

And the countries of Asia
They’ve gathered here in our land
To do some caring and sharing
The community of beauty

Rendered homeless

But Rosalinda Romas, 48, a native of Mandaue City, Cebu, says she could not feel the meaning of these words in what transpired before and during the Summit.

“Hindi naman nakabuti sa mga Pilipino ang ASEAN Summit,” (The ASEAN Summit did no good for Filipinos) Romas told Bulatlat in an interview. “Nawalan kami ng tirahan” (We lost our homes).

Romas was one of the residents of Barangay (village) Guizo, Mandaue City whose shanties were demolished as part of the preparations for the 12th ASEAN Summit.

She had lived in Brgy. Guizo since 1997. Many of her neighbors had been there much longer –- with some having lived there for as long as 25 years –- before the demolitions, Romas told Bulatlat.

Their shanties were situated a few hundred meters away from where the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) now stands.

The construction of the CICC, which served as the venue for several of the Summit events –- including bilateral talks among ASEAN leaders –- had cost at least P650 million ($13,792,293 at an exchange rate of $1=P48.895) and could have used up as much as P800 million ($16,361,591), based on estimates by Cebu Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, Jr.

Based on data from the Geneva-based Centre On Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), more than 600 homes in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu were demolished from September to December last year.

In September alone, 42 families comprising almost 210 people lost their homes which were standing in front of the Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa, COHRE data further show. These demolitions were carried out to give way to a parking lot that was used by Summit participants.

The COHRE counts 600 families, making up a total of 3,000 people, displaced by the demolitions in Cebu in preparation for the 12th ASEAN Summit.

COHRE data further shows that of the 600 displaced families, only 100 were moved to a temporary relocation site.

The temporary relocation site, located in Cebu City, has no basic facilities such as water and electricity, COHRE’s research shows. Romas confirmed this.

“Sabi nila, pagdating namin doon, ready na ang mga titirhan” (They told us that there were ready structures waiting for us at the relocation site), she added. “Pagdating namin doon, wala naman” (But there were none when we got there).

“Binigyan kami ng materyales para makapagtayo ng bahay, pero kulang ‘yon” (We were given materials to construct our houses, but these were not enough), she further said. “Kaya ang mga tao doon, maraming nagkasakit” (Because of that, many among us got sick).

Many of them also lost their means of livelihood, she says. Brgy. Guizo, she said, was near the marketplace so many of their neighbors earned a living by vending or by driving tricycles.

The demolition of their shanties and their consequent relocation took that away, Romas says. “Marami tuloy sa amin, walang pera, walang makain” (As a result many of us have no money and are going hungry), she said.

Romas considers herself and her husband, a retired soldier, among the “luckier” ones, with two of their five children already working and only one still studying.

Social justice?

During her speech at the opening of the 12th ASEAN Summit on Jan. 12, Arroyo said that social justice would be among the objectives of the gathering.

“I hope we can make progress on issues of energy independence, human rights, economic integration and social justice,” Arroyo said in her opening speech. ““As the theme of the summit, ‘One Caring and Sharing Community’ suggests, we want to advance the sense of community in our shared interest to look after each other in terms of social justice, economic development and common security.”

But Romas said she cannot see social justice in what happened to her and thousands of others during the Summit preparations.

“Paano nila sasabihing kasama ‘yan sa adyenda?” (How can they say that is part of the agenda?) she said when asked to comment. “E tinanggalan nga kami ng tirahan. Hindi totoo ‘yan, nanloloko sila” (We were driven away from our homes. That is not true, they are fooling the people.)

Formed in 1967, the ASEAN was established purportedly to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in Southeast Asia. It is presently composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The founding ASEAN member countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on Jan. 8, 1984, Vietnam on July 28, 1995, Laos and Myanmar on July 23, 1997, and Cambodia on April 30, 1999. Bulatlat

YOUR SURNAME DOES NOT BECOME YOU
Alexander Martin Remollino

Patriotism is a two-way process. It's not just you as a citizen. It's also about the government that should also give you work, or something for yourself, to be able to live a dignified life...

(Back home, the expectation is) that you should become the model Filipino, doing it for your country. I want something for myself. I want to move on.

-- Elmer Jacinto, 2004 medical board topnotcher, on choosing to work in the US as a nurse "for money"

It does not become you to bear the surname
of that young man whose life
was consecrated to the loftiest of purposes.
To the moment that his eyes closed,
never to open again,
they were afire with a smouldering project
in the name of Freedom.

You are there, you say,
because patirotism is not a one-way street.
But unpatriotism is never meant to be met
with more and more of the same.
You do not confront the unpatriotism
of those who presume to run this country
by running away from patriotism.

Which brings us to the heart of the matter:
it is not about them,
it is all about you.

You could not content yourself with all the opportunities
beckoning to you in the homeland
and responded only to the greater glitter of the dollar.
And then you excuse yourself,
saying that patrotism
is not a one-way street.

In sum, you have been living a life
that is like a shadowless tree.

What a joke it was then that Destiny played,
giving you the surname of that fine young man.
Your surname does not become you.

ON THE KILLING OF BAYAN MUNA LEADER IN BICOL:
'THEY'RE TRYING TO STOP US' -- SATUR

The deputy minority leader at the lower House last week linked the recent killing of Rodolfo “Pong” Alvarado –- leader of Bayan Muna (BM or People First) –- in Ligao City, Albay to the government’s thrust to prevent the party-list group from winning seats in this year’s elections. “If they can’t have our party disqualified, they’ll do what they can to cripple it to prevent it,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo in an interview with Bulatlat.

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

The deputy minority leader at the House of Representatives last week linked the recent killing of Rodolfo “Pong” Alvarado –- leader of Bayan Muna (BM or People First) –- in Ligao City, Albay to the government’s thrust to prevent the party-list group from winning seats in this year’s elections.

“If they can’t have our party disqualified, they’ll do what they can to cripple it to prevent it,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo in an interview with Bulatlat.

Alvarado is the 122nd BM member killed since 2001 by political assassins widely believed to be government forces.

He was also the fourth activist killed in Bicol in just three weeks. On Dec. 11, BM member Cris Frivaldo was shot dead by gunmen in Irosin. He was the younger brother of Irosin municipal councilor Max Frivaldo, also a BM member, who was killed inside his house earlier this year.

On Dec. 12, human rights lawyer Gil Gojol was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding gunmen after attending a court hearing. His driver, Danilo France, also died in the attack.

Gojol, a former Sorsogon provincial board member, was also a lawyer of Sotero Llamas, a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Llamas himself was slain in May last year.

Then on Dec. 21, Francisco Bantog, a BM provincial auditor in Donsol, Sorsogon, was shot 20 times by three motorcycle-riding gunmen.

Sixth nominee

Alvarado, 53, a Bicol regional coordinator and Albay provincial chairman of BM, was also the party-list group’s sixth nominee. Aside from being a BM leader, he was also a convener of the Bicol People Opposed to Warrantless Electricity Rates Increases (Bicol POWER) and was part of the secretariat of the Bicol Movement for Disaster Response (BMDR).

Reports reaching Bulatlat said Alvarado was driving his car in front of his house in Ligao at around 5:30 p.m. last Dec. 31 when fired upon by a lone gunman. Alvarado sustained eight gunshot wounds and died instantly, the reports further show.

Alvarado’s killing occurred just 15 days after National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales gave a radio interview in which he sought the Red-tagging of “leftist” candidates for the 2007 elections. In a Dec. 16 interview with government-run dzRB, Gonzales asked that “left-leaning” party-list candidates be “labeled” as “communists” to warn the electorate –- particularly soldiers and policemen, he said –- against allowing those he called “democracy’s enemies” to get congressional seats.

“There will be plenty who will run in the party-list in the coming elections and we have to describe them all,” Gonzales said. “As National Security Adviser, it is important (for me) to show soldiers and police what groups are being used by the communists to continue their bad intentions on the public.”

Gonzales did not name in the radio interview which party-list groups “are being used by the communists.”

Red “recruiter”

However, in a forum at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City in August last year –- in which Bulatlat was present –- Gonzales particularly named BM as a “recruiter” and “financier” of the clandestine New People’s Army (NPA), which is led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The CPP-NPA has been waging armed struggle against the government for more than 30 years.

“There are two frames of their (the communists’) struggle: armed and legal,” Gonzales said in the forum at the Sulo Hotel. “Those in the legal frame say they should not be included among those pursued by General Palparan because they are in the legal arena. Let’s get into the moral plane: you are the ones advocating armed struggle, you are the ones strengthening armed struggle, you are the ones who give resources to strengthen armed struggle –- and you say you should not be included.”

“That’s what Satur Ocampo and the others say,” Gonzales continued. “What do you mean you should not be included? You are the ones recruiting for the NPA, you are the ones giving money to the NPA, you are the ones making the rebellion grow –- and you say you are innocent?”

The General Palparan Gonzales was referring to is retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr., who has earned notoriety for the countless shocking cases of human rights violations in the areas under his command.

BM, which was formed in 1999, has twice topped the elections for party-list groups. It first ran for congressional seats in 2001 and was able to send all its first three nominees –- Ocampo, Crispin Beltran, and Liza Maza –- to the House of Representatives.

Beltran and Maza later led their own party-list groups, Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) and Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP), to victory in the 2004 elections.

BM is currently represented in Congress by Ocampo, Teddy Casiño, and Joel Virador.

The party-list group has been noted for its staunch advocacy of independence in economic and foreign policy, social justice, good governance, and human rights.

“That is a clear signal to Bayan Muna members about what the government and the military will be doing to derail us in our campaign and block our possible victory in the coming polls,” Ocampo said on Alvarado’s killing.

Ocampo also took issue with Gonzales’ allegations on BM as a “recruiter” and “financier” for the NPA, and on party-list groups which “are being used by communists” supposedly to strengthen the armed struggle. He noted that Gonzales –- who is a leader of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP or Socialist Democratic Party of the Philippines) –- has been accusing BM of being a “communist front organization” since 2001.

“We have challenged Gonzales several times either to stop his black propaganda against us or to present clear evidence for his allegations,” Ocampo said. “But he has yet to present documentary evidence on that.”

“The legal organizations they are branding as ‘front organizations’ end up becoming targets of physical elimination,” Ocampo further noted.

Based on data from BM, four of its leaders and organizers were killed in 2003. The number shot up to 16 the next year, which was an election year. The next year, BM recorded 36 of its leaders and organizers ending up as victims of political killings.

In an interview with Bulatlat in 2005, BM deputy secretary-general Robert de Castro said many of the killings of his group’s leaders and organizers occurred in areas where it garnered high numbers of votes. Ocampo made the same observation. Bulatlat

IN THE END, IT IS THE WORD MADE FLESH THAT COUNTS*

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Posted by Bulatlat

There are those who think they are Christians
by their continually speaking out the words of Christ.
In the end, however,
it is not only the word that counts -–
but the word made flesh.

Here lies a man whose life was a continuous sojourn
in the company of Christ.
He took up the cross of serving the people
and struggled hard against Caesars playing God.
He was one who strove to usher in the day
when all men,
all men shall have become brothers
of one another.

In the end,
it is not only the word that counts -–
but the word made flesh.

This was a man who spokes the words of Christ
and made the word become flesh.
By this, he was a real Christian.

*This poem was recited at the tribute to Rev. Alfredo Faurillo on Jan. 5, 2007 at the UCCP national chapel in Quezon City

Posted by Bulatlat

LET THE HEAVENS FALL ON THEM
Alexander Martin Remollino

And after all that was said and done,
the uniformed night beast from a foreign land
walks, free as a mad dog unleashed.
The young woman wronged once more wakes
on the bed of garbage along the boardwalk --
stripped almost to the bone,
raped -- this time by her rapist's jailers.

They have seized the scales of the blindfolded woman
and tilted these in the criminal's favor.
Let justice be done to the young woman twice raped.
Let the heavens fall on her rapist's treasonous jailers
with our wrath's irresistible gravity.