Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas ANG Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo

English Edition Vol. XLIII No. 21 November 7, 2012 www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial Aquino's Marcos-style cover-up of human rights violations

quino recently responded insolently to a flood of complaints on Aquino's denials remind us human rights violations by armed agents of the state by dis- of how the former dictator Fer- Amissing the growing cases of state violence against the people dinand Marcos propagated the as nothing but "Leftist propaganda." lie that there were no political prisoners, when up to 70,000 He even pervertedly accused character, his utter insensitivity people were imprisoned under the people of "violating the hu- to the sentiments and cries for martial law. man rights of the military and justice of the families of victims Like Marcos, Aquino denies police" by citing as an example of extrajudicial killings, en- the existence of political pris- urban poor residents throwing forced disappearance and other oners under his own regime. In stones at demolition teams es- violations of human rights per- fact, up to 170 political prison- corted by state agents armed petrated by the state. ers (out of a total 385) have with guns, tear gas and trun- Aquino manifested his gross been incarcerated under his cheons. disregard for worsening human two-year rule. There have also In making such dismissive rights abuses by state forces been 114 victims of extrajudi- statements, only days after soldiers of the cial killing; 127 victims of frus- Aquino has 27th IB massacred the Capion trated extrajudicial killing; 70 shown his family in Davao del Sur. (Read victims of torture; and 12 vic- fascist and about the details of the massa- tims of enforced disappear- antipeople cre on p.10 ) ance. In the countryside, hun-

In this issue...

Lessons from Ramos-Misuari agreement 4

Crisis and imperialist militarism 8

Killings of children condemned 10 dreds of communities have oppressed sectors who stand up fact, no different from the for- been militarized, resulting in a and raise their voices against mer dictator in employing reign of terror and abuse the reactionary regime's anti- propaganda. He has become an against the peasants, especial- people, antinational and anti- expert at dishing out never- ly women and children. The democratic policies. ending lies and half-truths in Aquino regime has increasingly The Filipino people the hope that the international employed force in tearing down are increasingly community will believe this to urban poor dwellings to give infuriated at be the truth. way to foreign-funded infra- how Aquino Aquino has poured hundreds structure projects. harps on being of millions of pesos of public In showing his indifference a victim of the funds to oil his propaganda cam- to gross violations of human abuses of mar- paigns. He and his yellow army rights by labelling them as mere tial law of spinmeisters come up with "propaganda," Aquino is stoking when he manipulated economic the fascist military and police's is in statistics and self-serv- unbridled use of force. He, in ef- ing surveys to fect, defends the brutality of project a military and police operations pseu- against the people. His much- do-re- vaunted measures, like charging ality the butcher Gen. Jovito Palpa- that ran, is all for show. In reality, it down- is Aquino and his regime who are plays the per- "propagandizing." vasive socio-eco- Despite Aquino's braggado- nomic problems of cio, he is unable to conceal the poverty, unemploy- worsening violations of human ment, rising prices, low rights under his regime's Oplan wages, hunger, home- Bayanihan, which involves the lessness and landless- outright suppression of peas- ness. He publicly bashes ants, workers, urban poor, stu- the media and public dents and other exploited and opinion makers who re- fuse to ride the Aquino fantasy bandwagon. Contents Aquino is so awash in his ANG own lies that he has become in- Editorial: Aquino’s Marcos-style creasingly arrogant and over- cover-up of human rigths violations 1 Vol. XLIII No. 21 November 7, 2012 weening in the face of criticism Akbayan is Aquino’s puppet 2 and dissatisfaction over his per- Ang Bayan is published in Pilipino, Lessons from Ramos-Misuari agreement 4 Bisaya, Iloko, Hiligaynon, Waray and formance. English editions. Coco levy fund being plundered anew 6 On the other hand, he enjoys It is available for downloading at the full support of his imperialist the Web Central Farmers’ protest actions 7 masters in carrying out his cam- located at: Crisis and imperialist militarism 8 paign of deception and suppres- NDFP condemns killings of children 10 www.philippinerevolution.org. sion. Pamana, Kalahi-CIDSS: Anti-development 11 Ang Bayan welcomes contributions The broad masses of the in the form of articles and news. 2 killed, 9 wounded in NPA TOs 11 people have no other recourse Readers are likewise enjoined to send in their comments and suggestions for Times Transit workers launch but to expose and firmly op- the betterment of our publication. You march-caravan 12 pose the human rights abuses can reach us by email at: Olalia-Alay-ay murder case revived 12 and the antipeople and antina- [email protected] tional policies of the Aquino re- 2 US soldiers face rape charges 12 gime and continue asserting Protests vs. privatization 13 their national and democratic Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committee interests. ~ of the Communist Party of the

2 ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 Akbayan is Aquino's puppet

he US-Aquino regime's all-out support for Akbayan comes as lords and comprador bourgeosie no suprise after the public disclosure of reports on the sources to serve as an instrument to de- Tof the partylist group's campaign contributions in 2010. The ceive the people and create the Akbayan group reportedly received more than `112 million, most of impression that Aquino enjoys which came from the Aquino family and big businessmen, landlords "popular" support. Thus, during and personalities known to be close to and supportive of the Aquinos. Akbayan's assembly, no less than Aquino was invited as the Akbayan's biggest contribu- and Manuel Gana (`5 million), main speaker. It was then that tors are the Aquino sisters Kris whose company is among the Aquino declared that his princi- (`10 million), Victoria (`5 mil- corporate giants behind the ples and those of Akbayan are lion) and Aurora ["Ballsy"] (`2 multi-billion dollar Entertain- one and the same. million). Aquino's cousins from ment City project. Akbayan's claims that it is the Lopa family also contributed Up to 90% of the Akbayan a "socialist" group is pure hog- (`1 million). Also counted group's electoral funds were wash in the face of its role as a among the contributors are contributed by only more than blind supporter and apologist Aquino regime officials like Phil- 20 families or groups suppor- of Aquino. Because Aquino has ippine Charity Sweepstakes tive of and currently benefiting it in his pocket, Akbayan has head Margarita Juico (`1 mil- from the Aquino regime. Thus, never expressed support for lion) and Francis Hernando (`1 during the 2010 elections, Ak- the struggle of the peasants million), a high-ranking Pagcor bayan was able to flood televi- for the free and immediate dis- official. sion and radio stations with its tribution of land at Hacienda Big comprador bourgeosie expensive political advertise- Luisita which is owned by the like Bansan Choa, Ben Tiu and ments. -Aquino clan. In Ruben Tiu (owners of the Dis- The disclosure of informa- fact, Akbayan officers even covery chain of hotels) who con- tion on Akbayan's election funds reprimanded some individual tributed `15 million, Antonio has made it exceedingly clear to members of the group who Cojuangco staff Antonio Samson the people that this party is wanted to side with the Haci- (`12 million), former Procter nothing but a big swindler pre- enda Luisita farmers. and Gamble president Johni Cua tending to be "Leftist" and a Despite its claims of being (`12 million), East-West Bank representative of the oppressed. a "democratic" organization, president Antonio Moncupa (`2 It has also become quite obvious Akbayan has been silent in the million) and Phinma Properties that Akbayan is face of the Aquino regime's un- Corp. president Willibado J. Uy on the pay- bridled anti-democratic at- (`1 million) also gave significant roll of tacks against the people. How amounts. So did Aquino can Akbayan be expected to Belle Group's and take a stand against the dem- Gregorio Yu the big olition of urban poor communi- (`5 million) land- ties when it owes debts of gratitude to big businessmen who have had their eye on landholdings that they want "cleaned" of impoverished res- idents in order to give way to their projects under Aqui- no's Public-Private Part- nership (PPP) scheme? Not a few Akbayan offi- cers have been appointed by Aquino to various posi- tions in his government to assist in hoodwinking the

ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 ANG BAYAN Enero 21, 2012 people. One of its ranking lead- Lessons from the Ramos- ers, Loretta Ann Rosales now heads the Commission on Hu- Misuari agreement man Rights and has done noth- ing but shield the AFP from myr- iad cases of human rights viola- t is important to learn the lessons of the past to avoid repeat- tions. Like Aquino, Akbayan ing them. Particularly for the Moro people, there are many turns a deaf ear to the cries for Ilessons to be learned from the Moro National Liberation justice from tens of thousands Front's (MNLF) capitulation to the Ramos regime through MNLF of victims of massacres, killings, chair Nur Misuari's signing of the Final Peace Agreement of 1996 illegal detention, torture, dem- (the Ramos-Misuari agreement). Through this agreement, the olitions, beatings and other MNLF was formally subsumed under the constitution and power brutalities inflicted by armed of the reactionary state and was eventually gobbled up by the agents of the state. rotten system. Aquino has likewise appoint- ed Akbayan's founder Joel Ro- The Moro Islamic Libera- revolutionary force that are at camora as chair of the National tion Front (MILF) must con- stake but the aspirations of the Anti-Poverty Commission stantly hold fast to the les- Moro people as a whole. (NAPC). The NAPC's only role sons of history especially as The MNLF's final agreement has been to implement the it enters a critical stage in of surrender to the Ramos re- World Bank-funded Conditional its negotiations with the gime in 1996 was the result of Cash Transfer program. Akba- Aquino regime, particularly relentless pressure from the US yan is Aquino's co-conspirator after its signing of the to forge an accord that would in deceiving the people into Framework Agreement last put an end to the Moro people's thinking that poverty can be re- October. Although it serves armed resistance. The US used solved by giving small amounts merely as a framework for a as its instruments the reaction- of doleouts, despite the absence final peace agreement, the ary members of the Organiza- of genuine land reform or with- Framework Agreement al- tion of Islamic Cooperation out raising the workers' mini- ready possesses the same (then known as the Organiza- mum wage. basic flaws contained in the tion of Islamic Conference) to Akbayan is an active part- Ramos-Misuari agreement of push the MNLF to abandon its ner in enforcing the Aquino re- 1996. If these are not recti- goal of seceding from the pup- gime's Oplan Bayanihan war of fied, there is danger that the pet republic and suppression. Its officials are in Framework Agreement will accept auton- cahoots with the AFP and vari- be used as a framework for omy. Both ous government agencies in the surrender of the Moro the Tripoli suppressing the democratic struggle for national self-de- Agreement mass movement and the peo- termination. of 1976 ple's armed revolution. Akba- The MILF attained pres- under the yan uses progressive- or Left- tige as the representative of ist-sounding words to cover up the Moro people mainly for the reactionary and fascist its repudiation of the policies of the US-Aquino re- Ramos-Misuari agree- gime. ment and the prece- For the past two years un- ding capitulationist der the US-Aquino regime, Ak- Tripoli Agreement of bayan has continually exposed 1976 between the itself as a puppet and merce- MNLF and the Marcos nary of the ruling regime and regime and for banner- the reactionary classes. Its true ing armed struggle. It loyalty lies not with the people, is but fitting to reflect but with its benefactors—the on these lessons be- big landlords, comprador bour- cause it is not on- geoisie, bureaucrat capitalists ly the MILF's fu- and US imperialism. ~ ture and integrity as a

4 ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 Marcos dictatorship and the Ra- reactionary Congress had not Malacañang merely shrugged mos-Misuari final peace agree- enacted a law to regulate miner- off Misuari's rantings. ment give token recognition to al mining and revenue sharing in It is important to note that the Moro people's aspiration for the Autonomous Region in Mus- long before the MNLF's armed self-determination. In essence, lim Mindanao (ARMM). The force was disbanded, the ruling however, both agreements nulli- MNLF was in a ridiculous bind, state had subjected it to pro- fy this aspiration because they as it no longer had any formal longed ceasefires to deprive it call for autonomy for the Moro role in the ARMM after Misu- of military initiative and render people under an exploitative ari's term as governor was cut it passive. Before the final Ra- and oppressive state. short in 2002. On this point mos-Misuari agreement, the The Ramos-Misuari agree- alone, the MNLF was in no posi- MNLF signed a formal ceasefire ment stipulated that whatever tion to negotiate. agreement in 1993. But as early new entity is established in the In short, aside from a cease- as 1986, when Corazon Aqui- Moro people's homeland should fire, the dissolution of the no's regime opened peace nego- comply with the laws of the re- MNLF's armed force and a wa- tiations with the MNLF anew, actionary state. The contents of tered-down version of autono- the latter had already been put the agreement first had to be my, no other pertinent part of on the defensive politically and legislated by the reactionary the 1996 agreement has been militarily. The Tripoli Agree- Congress before they could take implemented. From being a rev- ment also called for a ceasefire, effect. It was the reactionary olutionary leader, Misuari had although its effectivity was Congress that served as the ul- become a traditional politician short-lived. Dismantling the timate guarantee that no provi- in the ARMM, the bogus autono- MNLF's armed force was there- sion of the agreement would run mous region set up in a part of fore merely the last stage in the counter to the ruling classes' the Moro people's ancestral protracted process of weaken- power and interests. land. ing it. The Ramos-Misuari agree- On the other hand, US impe- The MILF broke away from ment already contained the rialism and the reactionary the MNLF in 1976 after the formula for rendering the MNLF state achieved their objectives: Tripoli Agreement was signed. irrelevant. Aside from subject- the liquidation of the MNLF as a Even then, the MILF was able ing the MNLF to the GPH con- revolutionary and fighting to grasp the bankruptcy of au- stitution, the Ramos-Misuari movement, the continued rule tonomy under a fascist dicta- agreement stipulated the anni- of traditional and reactionary torship. The MILF's prestige hilation of the MNLF's armed clans and warlords in league rose and its leadership of the capability and the integration with the reactionary ruling Moro struggle established of thousands of its fighters into classes at the national level, the when it took on the role of con- the Philippine National Police unimpeded dominance of the tinuing the Moro armed strug- and the Armed Forces of the semicolonial and semifeudal gle for self-determination aft- Philippines. Since the disinte- policies and measures of the er the MNLF's formal surren- gration of the MNLF's armed central puppet state, the per- der to the Ramos regime in force, it has lost its political petuation of the Moro people's 1996. The formal alliance be- strength and significance, mak- oppression and the ever wor- tween the MILF and the Na- ing it easy for the GPH to disre- sening expropriation of the Mo- tional Democratic Front of the gard, reverse or distort what- ro people's resources, and the Philippines (NDFP) was like- ever agreement it has with the continued exacerbation of wise forged in February 1999 MNLF. problems and conflicts in Moro- on the basis of the MILF's And so both Misuari and the land. struggle for the Moro people's MNLF's political demise became The entire Ramos-Misuari liberation and self-determina- a logical conclusion. Actually, a agreement was superseded at tion and its cooperation with significant portion of the Ra- the stroke of a pen when the the national-democratic revo- mos-Misuari deal had yet to be MILF and the GPH signed the lutionary forces against a legislated, especially parts per- Framework Agreement last Oc- common enemy. taining to promised financial as- tober. Misuari raised hell There are so many similari- sistance and the mineral sharing against the MNLF's abandon- ties between the Ramos-Misu- agreement. Up till the MNLF and ment, and even warned of re- ari Final Peace Agreement of GPH's latest talks in March, the newed conflict in Mindanao. But 1996 and the MILF-GPH

ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 5 Framework Agreement in terms of circumstance and Coco levy funds content, because the sinister and deceptive US imperialists being plundered anew and the puppet regime have but one objective—the sup- pression of the Moro people's armed resistance. NDF-Mindanao spokesper- son Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos has urgently called on the MILF to learn lessons from the MNLF's experience and not easily relinquish its mili- tary strength at the whim of the reactionary government and of US imperialism. Ka Oris said this is the only way the MILF could continue to preserve and defend the in- terests of its organization and the entire Moro people. Above all else, it must hold in high regard the aspirations of the ed by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and the long-suffering Moro people. Kaisahang Pambansa ng mga Magsasaka sa Koprahan Aside from the very stark (KOPRAHAN), peasants launched protest actions last Octo- lessons from the MNLF expe- L ber to demand the return of the coco levy funds which were plun- rience, a clear indication of dered by the Marcos-Cojuangco combine during martial law. The the dangers that lie ahead for peasant protests were timed to coincide with the 40th anniversa- the interests of the Moro peo- ry of Presidential Decree 27, Marcos' bogus land reform program ple with the MILF entering in- under martial rule. to the Framework Agreement In a mass action held at Mendiola on October 21, the peas- is the Aquino regime's recent ants demanded the immediate distribution of the `56.5-billion announcement of its intention coco levy fund to small coconut farmers. To dramatize their just to open parts of Liguasan demand, they showed how difficult it was to make copra and de- Marsh and the Sulu Sea to the scribed the poverty of small coconut farmers and copra makers. exploration of big oil compa- History of the coco levy. The coco levy was a tax imposed on nies. the sale of copra from 1973 to 1982 that was shouldered by the There are up to a trillion peasant masses. It was a scheme by the dictator Ferdinand Mar- dollars worth of oil, gas and cos, then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Marcos' close mineral reserves in the Moro crony Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco. In exchange were promises people's ancestral lands. to develop the coconut industry and income for the farmers from Then and now, big foreign and investments that would allegedly be pouring in. local businessmen have had The opposite happened. Cojuangco and his ilk used the accu- their eye on these resources. mulated funds to establish the United Coconut Planters Bank The ruling regime has had the (UCPB) headed by big landlords like and Ma- gall to auction off the Moro ria Clara Lobregat. Cojuangco also used the funds to buy the ma- people's natural wealth even jority shares at San Miguel Corporation (SMC), create the Coco- before a final agreement with nut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) and 14 holding companies the MILF could be concluded. and purchase six oil mills, among others. The CIIF was charged This is just one of the very with managing the coco levy fund. Since then, the value of the good reasons why the MILF properties bought with the coco levy monies has ballooned to an should proceed with extreme estimated `100-150 billion. caution. ~

6 ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 The coconut farmers have been fighting to gain pos- Farmers' protest session of the coco levy funds for three decades. In April 2011, the Supreme Court declared Cojuangco as the le- actions gitimate owner of the controversial SMC shares. As a re- sult, some 3,000 coconut farmers filed a counter-petition n Central Luzon (CL), more than 300 at the Supreme Court and demanded an investigation on Ifarmers from Alyansa ng Magbubukid this unjust decision. Last January, the Supreme Court sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL) and Partidong ruled that the coco levy funds could only be used for the Anakpawis-CL launched a three-day pro- benefit of coconut farmers and for developing the entire test action starting October 18. The first coconut industry. Thus, it was but fitting for the farmers day of the protest was spent in front of to control the disputed SMC shares since these were the Clark Special Eco Zone in Angeles bought using funds owned by the peasants. City, where other progressive organiza- On October 5, the SMC paid the CIIF `56.5 billion to tions joined in. Their main demands were enable it to gain full control of 24% of the SMC shares. the repeal of RA 9700 (CARPER) and the The amount has been deposited at the National Treas- enactment of HB374 or the Genuine ury. Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) filed by Par- Status of the fund. Aquino has formed the Presiden- tidong Anakpawis. tial Task Force on the Coco Levy Fund ostensibly to man- On the second day, the AMGL and age the fund. The task force's lead agency is the Nation- Anakpawis-CL members gathered in Ba- al Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) through Joel Roca- rangay San Roque, where a vio- mora, former Akbayan president. According to the lent demolition claimed the life of 15- NAPC's plans, the Aquino regime will be using `11.17 bil- year old John Khali Lagrimas. The pro- lion of the funds for government programs such as the testers also condemned the continuing DSWD's "Programang Pantawid" and the Department of landgrabbing by the Clark Airbase Mili- Agriculture's "land tenure improvement" which already tary Reservation and the Aquino re- have allotments from the government's general fund. gime's puppetry to the US. They assailed The farmers fear that the fund will merely be used for the the series of Balikatan military exercises coming election campaign. in the region and Aquino's other policies The peasants' stand. The farmers are determined to and programs that favor foreign capital- regain the coco levy fund. They refuse to allow the con- ists and cause the eviction of farmers tinued plunder of the fund that should long have been re- and urban poor. turned to them. The deposit of the `56.5 billion fund in Among those that joined the protests the Aquino government's National Treasury is due to were leaders and members of Alyansa ng their sustained struggle. But this only forms part of the Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita amount that they should regain and that should redound (AMBALA) and other peasant organiza- to the benefit of coconut farmers. The Aquino regime is tions from other CL provinces affected by sure to launch its own maneuvers to prevent the coconut various destructive projects or pro- farmers from gaining hold of the fund. grams. They went to Angeles City and To recover the coco levy fund and other properties held a vigil at Barangay Pulung Bulo acquired using the fund, coconut farmers' groups in var- where they launched another rally. ious provinces plan to launch intensifying protest ac- The next day, the farmers from Cen- tions. They are demanding the immediate enactment of tral Luzon and peasants Southern Taga- House Bill 3443, which was filed by Partidong Anakpawis log merged in front of the Department of and aims to use the coco levy fund as a Coco Farmer's Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Depart- Fund to rehabilitate and develop the coconut industry. ment of Environment and Natural Re- While the protests are directed against Aquino and sources (DENR) where they condemned Cojuangco, they must be closely linked to the overall an- DAR's key role in perpetuating the haci- tifeudal struggle. Among the other issues that should be enderos' control over vast landholdings. resisted are the exploitative resikada system and the mo- DAR has been massively revoking Certif- nopoly of foreign capitalists over the market. The resika- icates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA), da system involves arbitrary reductions by merchants in Certificates of Land Transfer (CLT), the weight and corresponding value of copra being sold emancipation patents and other docu- by coconut farmers due to the merchants' fraudulent ments attesting that the land has been overestimations of the copra's moisture content. ~ distributed to the farmers. They also as-

ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 7 sailed DAR's role in inciting discord among the ag- pawis-CL joined the KMP's national protest at ricultural workers in . Mendiola. They slammed the DENR for allowing destruc- The KMP likewise lambasted proposals by Rep. tive mining operations in Zambales and black sand Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro and Rep. Ma- mining in Lingayen, Pangasinan, for disregarding ximo Rodriguez of Abante Partylist of Mindanao the land problems of national minorities in Bayam- for another five-year extension of CARPER. The bang, Pangasinan and illegal logging in Gabaldon, KMP said 24 years of bogus land reform has done Nueva Ecija. On the last day, the AMGL and Anak- nothing to solve the land problem. ~

Crisis and imperialist militarism

military bases. It has 539,000 facilities in 5,000 various areas within and outside the US. This number excludes more than a thousand secret bases and fa- cilities maintained by the Pen- tagon in more than 150 coun- tries. Among these are CSL (co- operative security locations), military equipment depots and communications bases secretly constructed in various coun- tries, including the Philippines. It is estimated that up to $250 billion is spent annually in run- ning these bases, and another $100 billion is spent on main- taining its huge warships that patrol all major sea routes in he US is the most militarist country and the world's biggest the world. arms supplier. The maintenance of a huge military infrastruc- The arms industry is one of Tture in the US is a stark feature of intensifying inter-imperial- the biggest businesses in the ist rivalries for territory for investments, markets and oil reserves, US. Last year, the US earned among others. The US' dominant power worldwide is based on the $66 billion in arms sales, which fact that it far outstrips other countries in terms of military might. is three times what it earned in 2010. Most of the weapons In the face of the current $1.3 trillion for "defense." This were sold to states in conflict, crisis besetting it, the US has is almost 40% of its annual such as India and Pakistan; and stepped up its militarism. Its budget. It includes $673 billion Israel and Egypt. It also sold goal is to consolidate its domi- for its armed forces, $166 bil- significant volumes to Saudi nant position in various parts of lion for military projects of oth- Arabia, Oman and the United the globe. The US has openly de- er agencies and $440 billion to Arab Emirates. The massive clared its plans to strengthen its service debts incurred during arms procurement in these presence and power-projection previous wars, among others. countries is due to the US' sa- in the Asia-Pacific. It recently There are higher estimates on ber-rattling against Iran. announced that it would deploy the actual overall defense bud- The defense sector is one of up to 60% of its warships in the get, especially since almost 40% the biggest employers of Ameri- region, thereby worsening con- of the Pentagon's expenses are can workers. More than 1.6 mil- flicts among imperialists and di- concealed from the public. lion Americans are directly em- rectly fomenting war. US imperialism has the big- ployed by the US Department of This year, the US allocated gest and the most number of Defense. About 1.4 million di-

8 ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 rectly serve the various military gest contracts through direct the 1980s, there were up to 51 branches, 73,000 are with the negotiations or "closed bid- separate giant companies oper- National Guard and 208,000 are ding." As a reward, many former ating within the MIC. By 1997, members of the special reserve. US defense officials are given there were only five, and by Meanwhile, up to 370,000 peo- seats in these companies' board 2001, only four. Currently, the ple work in the three biggest de- of directors. biggest defense contracts are fense companies: 123,000 at The merger of the imperial- cornered by practically three Lockheed Martin, 174,000 at ist state and the defense indus- companies: Lockheed Martin, Boeing and 72,500 at Northrop try signifies war's central place Northrop Grumman and Boeing. Grumman. One-third of all sci- in imperialist policy. This alli- In 2011, the three companies' entists and engineers in the US ance creates situations of con- estimated combined income was work in the defense sector. The stant tension and war. Such sit- $143 billion. unemployment rate would rise uations pave the way for These companies monopolize by an estimated 3% without the strengthening US hegemony and research and arms manufactur- US military's massive recruit- enlarging the superprofits of ing contracts in the US. The val- ment drives. monopoly capitalists. ue of these contracts is humon- The alliance of the monopoly For the past 30 years, the gous. From January to Septem- capitalist state and the gigantic biggest defense companies in ber 2012, the Obama regime al- defense companies or the so- the US hardly changed. In the lotted $245 trillion for contracts called US "military-industrial 1980s, the list was led by the with these companies. One of complex" (MIC) buttresses and ten biggest companies—General the biggest contracts is for ship- enhances militarism and war- Dynamic, McDonnell Douglas, building companies like Hunt- mongering. United Technologies, General ington Inggalls, in line with the Massive arms production for Electric, Lockheed, Boeing, US' direction of establishing its war has already formed part of Hughes Aircraft, Rockwell In- military hegemony in the waters capitalist production since the ternational, Raytheon, Martin of the Asia-Pacific. 1880s. But a distinct monopo- Marietta, Grumman and North- As a result, the US state en- ly/alliance for this purpose rop. During Bush's "war against joys a monopoly over the bene- emerged only during the Second terror" in 2001, the "Big Five" fits of these companies' re- World War when the US consisting of Boeing, Raytheon, search and the purchase of the strengthened and enlarged its Lockheed Martin, Northrop most advanced weaponry in the armed forces for its imperialist Grumman and General Dynamics market. For instance, more than expansion in Europe, Asia and became dominant. Currently, in 75% of arms manufactured by Latin America. Huge monopoly the "New Pacific Century" un- defense companies like Lock- capitalists in military produc- der Obama, Lockheed Martin, heed Martin and Northrop Gum- tion arose and merged with the Boeing, Northrop Grumman, man are bought directly by the bureaucratic structure of the General Dynamics, Raytheon, Department of Defense and oth- imperialist state. L-3 Communications and United er US departments. The MIC is a product of the Technologies are enjoying a With the size of these com- continuing monopolization of heyday. panies, the weapons they sell to military production. The wor- Like other areas of industry, other countries are enough for sening of the overall crisis of mergers and the creation of big- them to monopolize the interna- capitalism and the attendant in- ger monopolies continue within tional arms market. More than tensification of imperialist con- the MIC. Lockheed and Martin 60% of the weapons sold world- flicts are promoting the stepped merged in 1995 while Grumman wide in 2010 came from 44 US- up militarism and warmongering bought Northrop in 1994. Rock- based companies. Foremost that companies in the arms in- well International and McDon- among these was Lockheed Mar- dustry have been profiting from. nel Douglas were both gobbled tin which sold $36 billion worth Defense companies are part- up by Boeing in 1996 and 1997. of arms. The ten biggest compa- ners in, and directly intervene, Parts of General Electric (the nies cornered more than half of in forming US defense policies. 18th company in the current sales amounting to $230 billion. Defense monopoly capitalists list) were bought by Honeywell, Including the sale of military have the biggest say in choosing currently the 15th largest com- services, defense companies US defense officials. These com- pany. L-3 Communications is a earned up to $411 billion in panies definitely land the big- division of Lockheed Martin. In 2010. ~

ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 9 NDFP condemns unabated group under the 8th IB's Civil- ian Active Auxiliary (CAA) killings of children headed by Alde "Butchoy" Salu- sad. The group is responsible for the murder of a number of he National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) con- Lumad leaders, the forced evac- demned the relentless killings by the Aquino regime of children uation of communities and the Tin pursuit of its antinational and antipeople US-dictated policy hostaging on October 7 of Julia of neoliberal globalization. Manlus-ag, the wife of Sitoy Manlus-ag, and their four chil- The latest incident was the company. dren age 9, 6, 4 and nine massacre of the family of Daguil Days after the bloody inci- months. Capion on October 18 in Baran- dent, Becky and her elder sister The hostage-takers’ objec- gay Kimlawis, Kiblawan, Davao Ressa were accosted by Jose- tive was to convince Manlus-ag del Sur (not South Cotabato, was phine Malid while they were on and his family to return to their was earlier reported in AB). Da- their way to meet Bishop Dinu- village and support the "good guil Capion's pregnant wife Juvi aldo Gutierrez in Marbel, South works" of the mining, logging was killed along with two of their Cotabato. Malid is a member of and plantation operations of children—Jorge ("Pap"), 13, and Tribal Foundation, an SMI- foreign and comprador compa- Jan-Jan, 7. Another daughter, supported non-government or- nies in Bukidnon. Manlus-ag Becky, 5, was wounded. ganization. and other Lumad families have The entire incident was wit- Ressa and Becky were told to been camping in front of the nessed by the Capions' 11-year ride a vehicle owned by SMI and Bukidnon provincial capitol for old daughter Ressa. brought to the office of the De- eight months now to demand The massacre occurred when partment of Social Welfare and justice for Jimmy Liguyon, a Lu- 13 soldiers led by 1Lt. Dante Ji- Development (DSWD) in Kibla- mad leader killed by Salusad in menez rained bullets on the hut wan. Their grandmother op- March. where Juvi and her children posed the move, and the two Ledesma added that the were sleeping on the morning of children were transferred to the Aquino regime is the biggest vi- October 18. The unit is under Social Action Center at the Mar- olator of children's rights. It is the 27th IB led by Lt. Col. Noel bel Archdiocese in South Cota- likewise responsible for the un- Alexis Bravo. bato. abated killing of children in the Witnesses said Juvi was still Ka Coni Ledesma, who heads course of violating the social, alive after the first volley of fire. the NDFP Special Office for the economic and cultural rights of She begged the military to spare Protection of Children said the minority peoples. ~ her children. But when the sol- Aquino regime and the mining diers entered the hut, they shot companies are colluding to plun- everyone one by one. Neighbors der the country's mineral re- and relatives of the Capions who sources, destroy the environ- first arrived at the scene were ment, kill Lumad leaders and able to hear Lieutenant Jimenez perpetrate the forced evacua- order the soldiers to finish them tion of national minority com- off. All of those slain had gun- munities from their ancestral shot wounds to the head. lands, victimizing adults and Daguil Capion is a leader of children alike. the B'laan tribe. He and his wife Meanwhile, BAYAN-Socksar- Juvi are members of Kalgad, an gen assailed the AFP for exclud- organization actively resisting ing 10th ID chief Maj. Gen. Ariel the operations of Sagittarius Bernardo from court martial Mines Inc. (SMI). SMI is a mul- proceedings against those in- tinational company with huge volved in the massacre. capital investments from Xstra- In Bukidnon, the so-called ta Plc, a Swiss company based in New Indigenous People's Army the United Kingdom, and Indo- for Reform (NIPAR) has been phil Resources, an Australian formed. NIPAR is a paramilitary

10 ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 PAMANA and Kalahi-CIDSS 2 killed, 9 are counterrevolutionary wounded in NPA and anti-development tactical offensives

ontrary to the Aquino regime's much-vaunted claims, the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) and wo soldiers were killed and CKapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and In- Tnine others were wounded in tegrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) programs tactical offensives by the New do not promote development. These two programs are both be- People's Army (NPA) in Bukidnon ing implemented as part of the counterrevolutionary war Oplan and Leyte this October. Bayanihan (OPB). In Bukidnon, 1Lieutenant Pal- lar, two soldiers of the 8th IB and The `1.9 billion fund al- cies and civilian personnel of six CAFGU elements were wound- lotted for these programs are the reactionary government. ed in a harassment operation by a merely used for showcase In conjunction with these team of Red fighters from the Er- psywar programs of the US- programs, other propaganda nesto "Boyboy" Roa Command at Aquino regime and squan- activities against the revolu- the center of Barangay Bunacao, dered by their implementors tionary movement are con- San Fernando on the night of Oc- at the Office of the Presiden- ducted as well as the estab- tober 24. Among the wounded tial Adviser on the Peace lishment of intelligence net- CAFGU elements were men of the Process (OPAPP). works in the area. notorious bandit Nonong Salusad. In Eastern Visayas, the In Samar province, the In Leyte, two soldiers were funds are poured into areas area must first be mapped killed and a trooper wounded in an believed to be strongholds and its characteristics de- ambush by the NPA Mt. Aman- of the revolutionary move- scribed as a requisite for dewin Command on elements of ment, including Samar prov- project implementation. For the 78th IB in Barangay Cagbana, ince which has received a instance, before an area Burauen on October 17. `17.6 million allotment. In could have a potable water After the ambush, one of the June, PAMANA was project installed, the propo- soldiers tried to rape a 12-year launched in 60 villages in six nents must first submit a map old girl from the same village. She Samar towns to counter the of all brooks and natural was able to escape and report the New People's Army. The mil- streams within the barangay, incident to her relatives. ~ itary, police and local gov- even if these are not being ernment units all cooperate used as sources of water. Mil- in its implementation. itary agents join the teams Local governments are that map and survey the area. obliged to allocate the Inter- This September, in Leyte, nal Revenue Allotment (IRA) the 19th IB took pictures of of their towns or barangays residents, who strongly re- even if the funds are already sisted the move by exposing it inadequate for basic needs. over the radio. In 2010, Kalahi-CIDSS was By 2013, a road-building also launched in Balangiga project along the Northern and Maslog towns in Eastern Samar-Samar-Eastern Samar Samar; and in Laoang, Mon- boundary will be in full swing dragon and San Roque, to facilitate the entry of big Northern Samar. mining companies. The AFP is This program is clearly a among the main promoters of part of Oplan Bayanihan since this project because it also it is mainly implemented by intends to use the roads to soldiers belonging to AFP Civ- rapidly transport its fascist il-Military Operations (CMO) troops during military opera- Battalions instead of agen- tions. ~

ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 11 Times Transit workers launch Olalia-Alay-ay march-caravan from Vigan to Manila murder case ed up workers of Times Transportation Company, a bus firm ply- revived Fing the Ilocos Sur-Manila route decided in the last week of Octo- ber to launch a march-caravan from Vigan to Quezon City. They he 26-year old murder case reached the office of the National Labor Relations Commission Tof trade union leader Ro- (NLRC) at Banaue Street on the morning of November 5 and immedi- lando Olalia and his aide Leonor ately held a protest picket. Alay-ay has been revived after The workers opposed the NLRC's failure to implement a decade- Ret. Lt. Col. Eduardo "Red" Ka- old Supreme Court decision favorable to the workers. The Times punan voluntarily surfaced on Transit drivers, conductors and mechanics had struck after a dead- October 6. Kapunan is one of the lock between workers and management during negotiations for a principal accused in the Olalia- Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Alay-ay killings. Meanwhile, employees of Pambato Cargo Forwarders Inc. (PFIC) When Kapunan surfaced, in Iloilo City launched a protest action to oppose the dismissal of AFP officers hedged for days, seven workers on October 31. trying to prevent the fugitive The company, which serves as a cargo forwarder nationwide colonel's transfer to a civilian claimed that it was losing and had to reduce its workforce. The lay- detention facility even if Antipo- offs were done without going through any democratic process. The lo RTC Branch 98 Presiding workers said that the management and their union had just signed a Judge Maria Consejo-Gengos five-year CBA last month that guaranteed the workers' job security. had already ordered him re- The union filed a complaint at the NLRC on October 30 and were manded to the Rizal Provincial ~ supported by KMU and BAYAN-Panay. Jail. Instead, the military had Kapunan transferred to the Na- tional Bureau of Investigation detention center. 2 US soldiers face rape charges Kapunan is one of 13 ac- cused in the killing of Olalia and in Okinawa Alay-ay. He was one of the offi- cers of the Rebolusyonaryong wo American soldiers were formally charged by a local prosecu- Alyansang Makabansa (RAM) Ttor in Okinawa, Japan on November 7 for raping a woman in Cen- which was then led by Col. Gre- tral Okinawa. gorio Honasan and Juan Ponce- The soldiers, Seaman Christopher Browning and Petty Officer 3rd Enrile, now both senators. The Class Skyler Dozierwalker, both 23, are from Fort Worth Naval Air Olalia family has demanded that Base, Texas. They have been accused of raping a 20-year old woman Kapunan and his co-accused at dawn on October 16. The woman was walking home from work at name the real masterminds be- around 4 a.m. when she was accosted and raped by the two foreign- hind the heinous crime. ers who she later identified. Days after their abduction, The local police arrested Browning and Dozierwalker at their ho- Olalia and Alay-ay's bodies were tel near the scene of the crime, just hours after the rape. The two found on November 13, 1986 in soldiers remain in the custody of the local police. Browning also fa- Antipolo City, bearing marks of ces a separate robbery case. severe torture. This is not the first time that American soldiers stationed in Oki- Olalia then chaired the Kilu- nawa have been involved in rape. In 1995, a 12-year old girl was sang Mayo Uno (KMU) and was gang-raped by three soldiers. In the Philippines, a similar case that president of Partido ng Bayan also hogged headlines involved the rape of Filipina "Nicole" by Lance (PnB). Olalia's killing was part of Corporal Daniel Smith in 2005. an attempt then by military The Japanese people have long been demanding the pullout of groups under 's American troops from their country. Half of the total 52,000 Ameri- regime to block the participation can soldiers in Japan are stationed in Okinawa, a region in southern of the democratic mass move- Japan comprising 41 municipalities in the Ryuku island chain. ~ ment in the 1987 elections.

12 ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 Olalia and Alay-ay's kill- Health activists slam privatization ings formed part of the bru- tal fascist campaign against of medical services activists under the Corazon Aquino regime. This was fol- ore than 1,000 government health workers walked out of their lowed by the Mendiola Mas- Mjobs on October 23 to oppose plans to privatize public hospi- sacre in January 1987 and tals and other medical services. The protest action was led by the Al- the Lupao Massacre in Feb- liance of Health Workers (AHW) and the Health Alliance for Democ- ruary 1987. Months after, racy (HEAD). fascist soldiers also killed Le- More than 500 health workers, patients and members of urban andro Alejandro, then the poor groups rallied in front of the Philippine Orthopedic Center secretary-general of the Ba- (POC). At the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), more than 100 health gong Alyansang Makabayan workers and members of progressive groups joined coordinated mass (BAYAN). The fascist cam- protests. Health workers and employees of the Philippine General paign of killings and brutality Hospital (PGH), Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center and National was further stepped up when Center for Mental Health also participated. Corazon The AHW belied government claims that privatization will result Aquino de- in better services and will benefit patients, saying that handing over clared all- laboratory services to the private sector which charges higher fees out war will cause patients further hardships. The privatization of public hos- against pitals is in line with the Aquino government's program to privatize the demo- medical services throughout the country under the Public-Private cratic Partnership scheme. mass At the PHC, room rates have been raised and the employees' haz- movement ard pay reduced. At the POC, PGH and San Lazaro Hospital (SLH), and the charity wards have been phased out and replaced with semi-private armed revolu- Philhealth wards. The bidding process has already begun for the Re- tion also in search Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa, the POC in 1987. ~ Quezon City and the SLH in Manila. ~

ANG BAYAN November 7, 2012 13