Pagpupugay: A TRIBUTE TO ANTI-MARTIAL LAW ACTIVISTS & COMMEMORATION OF PEOPLE POWER OF 1986

Flyer by Jonna Baldres

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009
Time: 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: Gallery 1199
Street: 310 West 43rd St. (between 8th & 9th Ave)
City/Town: New York, NY


SPECIAL GUEST VIA VIDEO: BIENVENIDO LUMBERA, Philippine National Artist for Literature and FQS Alum


On January 26, 1970, anti-Marcos protests culminated in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. Popularly referred to as the “First Quarter Storm”, the historic protests by Filipino students along with the long-standing militancy of the labor movement and the centuries-long struggle of the peasants movement against fascism, foreign domination, government corruption and feudal oppression in the Philippines embodied the historical bravery of the Filipino people with the youth and students at the forefront in fighting for social and economic justice.

In response to the strong student protests, general social unrest of the workers and the urban poor, and armed peasant uprising in the countrysides, US-puppet Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential Proclamation 1081, placing the entire Philippine Republic under Martial Law. Under the president’s command, the military arrested opposition figures, including the late Senator Benigno Aquino, journalists, student leaders, labor and peasant organizers, progressive Church members, and prominent businessmen and entrepreneurs. More than 30,000 individuals were detained and tortured by the Philippine military. Businesses were seized, newspapers were shut down, and the mass media were brought under tight control. For about two decades, Marcos reigned over the Philippines with iron-fist dictatorship stripping the nation of basic human rights and democratic freedoms.

But the opposition and the struggle for freedom and democracy of the Filipino people remained strong and vibrant in-spite of the brutal suppression by Marcos. The vibrant peoples’ democratic movement in the Philippines flourished underground and among overseas Filipinos such as those in forced into exile abroad. Despite their distance from their homeland, overseas Filipinos, particularly in New York City, continued to resist and fight to dismantle the Marcos dictatorship. The struggle against Marcos culminated on February 22, 1986, in a three-day uprising at the Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue (EDSA) that forced Marcos out of power.

Join us in paying a fitting New York tribute to the heroes and heroines of our times and pass the Anti-Martial Law movement’s legacy to the Filipino-American youth of today so they can emulate what it means to be a genuine Filipino patriot and take a stand and fight even if he/she is forced to go abroad and to better understand the current situation in the Philippines.


Organized by:
New York Committee for Human Rights (NYCHRP)
and Anakbayan New York/New Jersey

GETTING RID OF BUSH MEANS GETTING RID OF ARROYO TOO!-- BAYAN USA

Photo courtesy of BAYAN-USA



News Release

January 21, 2009

Reference: Berna Ellorin, Secretary-General, BAYAN USA, email: secgen@bayanusa.org

to view pictures online, visit http://photobucket.com/WashingtonDC_ByebyeBush-19January2009

GETTING RID OF BUSH MEANS GETTING RID OF ARROYO TOO!-- BAYAN USA
Filipino-Americans Respond to Obama's Inaugural Speech with a Call for Accountability

Washington DC-- Joining dozens of other Filipino-American advocates in front of the Philippine Embassy on Martin Luther King Day, and on the eve of the historic inauguration of US President Barack Obama, member organizations of the US Chapter of Bagong Alyasang Makabayan (BAYAN USA) staged an eye-catching "tsinelas-throwing party" to celebrate the official term end of the Bush administration. BAYAN USA member groups NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Anakbayan NY/NJ, and Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment also pointed out that while Bush may be gone from the White House, his unpopular foreign policy is still enforced worldwide, especially in the Philippines.

"Truly getting rid of Bush means getting rid of [Philippine President] Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as well, since she is Bush's strongest and most loyal enforcer in Asia," stated Chito Quijano, BAYAN USA Chairperson, who traveled all the way from Los Angeles to join the DC action. "Arroyo is one failed remnant of the Bush regime we would also like to see go as soon as possible."

Staying for the historic inauguration of Barack Obama the next day, the BAYAN USA Chair also urged vigilance and caution in holding the new President accountable to his words. "Though we are inspired by his words, we cannot afford to hold any illusion that the change we can believe in will be ushered in by any one leader. It must be ushered in through active and diligent people's struggle and mass movement. This is what history teaches us," Quijano continued.

Quijano pointed out Obama's inaugural speech sounded promising in terms of condemning world leaders "who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent" as standing "on the wrong side of history."

"We must work even harder to hold President Obama accountable to these important words, because they describe Arroyo to a tee," Quijano stated, referring to the human rights crisis and rampant government corruption that still plagues the Philippines under the Arroyo administration with approximately 1000 victims of extra-judicial killings, over 300 enforced disappearances, and thousands more forcefully displaced or killed in the countryside due to violent militarization.

Amongst the foreign policy changes BAYAN USA members vowed to continue struggling for are a withdrawal of US troops from the Philippines, withdrawal of US economic aid to the Philippine death squads, dismantling of permanent US military bases in Mindanao, and a withdrawal of diplomatic relations between the Obama administration and the Arroyo administration until such time Arroyo is unseated. Amongst the US domestic policy changes are legalization for the undocumented in the US, swift family reunification for immigrant families separated due to the US immigration system.

For more information, contact BAYAN USA at info@bayanusa.org, or visit www.bayanusa.org ###

FROM CALIFORNIA TO NEW YORK, PROGRESSIVE FIL-AM YOUTH DENOUNCE POLICE BRUTALITY

Anakbayan chapters nationwide express our solidarity with the family and friends of Oscar Grant in their struggle for justice. We strongly condemn this escalating trend of systemic racial profiling and police brutality that too often results in murder.

Oscar Grant and three other young men were snatched off the BART train on the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California on January 1, 2009. They were sitting against the wall when officers pressed Grant face and belly down on the floor. Then, officer Johannes Mehserle stood up and drew his firearm and shot Oscar Grant in the back, execution style right in front of train passengers.  The incident was captured by BART passengers from their cell phone cameras and has been circulated around the internet for thousands to view.  A week passed and Mehserle remained unaccountable to the City of Oakland and Bart officials for the heinous murder of Oscar Grant.   This incident indicates how these ill-trained police officers, unfit to serve and protect the people, go on a rampage with impunity.  Oscar Grant is not alone. Countless more people of color have been brutalized or murdered by the police force across the country in a decades long government attempt to maintain state power by dividing and violently repressing the efforts of people of color to survive and organize.  

In 2007 in Oakland, CA, three Southeast Asian youth were wrongfully accused of murder in the nearby city of Alameda, CA. The police terrorized the entire Southeast Asian Oakland community by pulling high school students out of schools without parents consent and bringing in SWAT teams with automatic rifles looking for suspects at a youth leadership meeting.  The Alameda Police Department wrongfully classified the 3 youth as gang members for dressing in black to mourn the death of soldiers during an anti-war mobilization from the student's myspace page.  On Feb 5, 2007 in San Jose, CA, eight police officers participated in the beating of Marlo Custodio, an 18 year old Filipino student, while two other officers observed and did not interfere.  Marlo Custodio was a senior at Evergreen Valley High School, who was very involved in his community and school programs.

In Seattle, there has been increasing amounts of police brutality towards youth leading to several investigations into the police department.  One such case was the shooting of an unarmed 13-year old Filipino youth in October 2007, mistaking a cell phone for a weapon.  Many other cases exist of excessive force by plain-clothes police who do not identify themselves and physically attack suspected gang members.  Several of these cases were recorded by cell phones or cameras exonerating the victims of any wrongdoing and showing the brutal and dehumanizing tactics of the Seattle PD.

In New York and New Jersey, Alan Alda, an Anakbayan member was arrested and detained by Jersey City police after seeking their help against an erring cab driver on February 18, 2006. Just a few months later, on November 25, 2006, the horrific murder of Sean Bell happened. The unarmed Bell was shot fifty times by plainclothes and undercover NYPD officers on the day of his wedding. Also, on January 11, 2009, with the huge protests against the unjust invasion of Palestine by the US-backed Israel, 120 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were brutally arrested.

We recognize police brutality as the domestic manifestation of the U.S.-led wars throughout the third world perpetrated against the vast majority of people in an effort to maintain U.S. imperialism. Police and military violence against innocent youth has plagued the Philippines from the dawn of the 70's through the present time under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. As the state-sponsored terrorism was escalating in the 1960's and 70's, the youth responded with massive street movements that broke the climate of fear instilled by the Marcos regime. This huge protest movement became known as the First Quarter Storm. This set the stage for EDSA People Power in 1986 which ousted Marcos and showed the collective strength of the youth together with the basic sectors of society.  From 2001-2008, 18 youth leaders of Anakbayan and the League of Filipino Students in the Philippines have been gunned down just for exercising their right to speak out against the human rights abuses of the U.S.-backed and U.S. taxpayer funded Arroyo regime.  Despite the terroristic tactics employed by the state, the youth refuse to be silenced and continue fighting for justice to this day.

Now, more than ever, the collective strength of the youth is beckoned once again. In a time of great economic depression, proliferation of fear and injustice, and heightened levels of state repression, the youth need to come together, flex our power, expose state attacks on our human rights and demand accountability of the police force to the people.

 

JUSTICE FOR OSCAR GRANT AND ALL VICTIMS OF RACIAL PROFILING AND POLICE BRUTALITY!

LONG LIVE THE COLLECTIVE POWER OF THE YOUTH!

END GOVERNMENT SPONSORED MURDER FROM THE GHETTOS OF OAKLAND TO PALESTINE!

  

     # - # - # 

Mobilization Against Israeli Attacks on Gaza - 01/03/09 & 1/11/09

Photos by Jonna Baldres

News Release

January 11, 2009

Reference: Christina Hilo, Northeast Coordinator, BAYAN USA, email: ny@bayanusa.org

Week 2: Filipinos in NYC March for a Free Palestine;

Condemn Corporate Media's Distortion of Gaza Situation

View more pictures at:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/jonnabebeh/Gaza%20Protest%20-%2011%20January%202009/

New York-- For the second weekend in a row, Filipinos from New York City and neighboring Jersey City, under the alliance of BAYAN USA, marched with thousands of pro-Palestinian activists from Times Square to the New York offices of CNN and Time Warner to protest the continuing Israeli military invasion of the city of Gaza. BAYAN USA members organizations Anakbayan New York/New Jersey, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), and NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), comprised a strong and indignant Filipino contingent amidst a sea of Arab and non-Arab supporters for the Palestinian people of Gaza and the cause of the Palestinian people to end the Zionist occupation of their homeland.

News reports from various media outlets tally the Palestinian casualties to more than 800 dead and 3000 wounded in Gaza City, but pro-Palestinian protesters remain critical that facts reported in mainstream news are heavily distorted, and Palestinian victims, including women and children, are possibly under-counted. Pro-Palestinian activists marched from Times Square to the offices of media giants CNN and Time Warner near Central Park to denounce strong pro-Israel bias in mainstream news coverage of the Gaza situation.

"Today, we are all Palestinians!," shouted 20-year old Anakbayan member Yves Nibungco for BAYAN USA from the rally main stage, met with thunderous applause. "We condemn the corporate media for their distortion of the facts in Gaza and puppetry to US interests. They continue to demonize the victims and praise the murderers..... We know the violence in Gaza is not escalating because of Hamas, the violence in Gaza is escalating because of Zionism!" Nibungco stated.

According to most news reports, Hamas' so-called "terrorist activities" are projected as the main cause of the conflict, while Israel's invasion is justified as a matter of self-defense. But BAYAN USA and the other protesters in New York, see the conflict within the historical context of the ongoing Palestinian resistance to the violent 60+ year old Zionist occupation of their ancestral lands assisted by financial support from the US government.

As the largest recipient of US economic aid in the world, Israel enjoys a pork barrel of $15 million a day, or an annual average of $6 billion, from US tax dollars. Nibungco further stated that the US government's large financial investment in Israel ensures US government control over the vast deposits of oil and natural gas in the region.

Last week in Washington DC, both houses of US Congress unanimously passed resolutions in full support of Israel's continued military offensive of Gaza. As stated in Senate Resolution 10 (S.R. 10), US lawmakers united under the framework that Israel has every right to exercise "non-restraint from targeting civilians."

"Filipinos are concerned about Gaza and the liberation of Palestine because there are similarities in Philippine history and current affairs," stated BAYAN USA Secretary-General Berna Ellorin. "US tax dollars fund and enable the Israeli military offensive in Gaza and violent occupation Palestinian soil, just as US tax dollars fund and enable the Philippine military to commit gross human rights violations against the Filipino people at an alarming rate."

As a former direct colony of the US, the Philippines suffered a bloody colonization from the US military that led to the massacre of millions of Filipinos at a time when the US government was a fledgling superpower at the turn of the 20th century. Today, more subtle forms of US economic and political plunder still lord over Philippine national affairs, including a push from Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for dangerous provisions to the 1987 Philippine Constitution that would allow 100% foreign ownership of the country's vast natural resources, including oil, gold, and natural gas. Opposition to Arroyo's Charter Change, or Cha-Cha, is another campaign of BAYAN USA.

While none from the BAYAN USA contingent was arrested, police officers brutalized protesters and arrested at least 10 from the march and rally. BAYAN USA, an overseas chapter of BAYAN Philippines and member of the International League of People's Struggle (ILPS), marched closely with allies from Nodutdol, a progressive Korean community organization based in Queens.

For more information on BAYAN USA, visit www.bayanusa.org, or email info@bayanusa.org. ###

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Photos by Jonna Baldres

03 January 2009
Times Square, Manhattan
New York, USA


BAYAN USA, with its member organizations in the North East region -- New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), Anakbayan NY/NJ, Filipinas for Rights & Empowerment (FiRE) -- join the mobilization against Israeli attacks on Gaza.

---------------------

News Statement

Reference: Berna Ellorin, Secretary-General, BAYAN USA, email: secgen@bayanusa.org


THE ISRAELI MILITARY IS DOING THE US GOV'T'S DIRTY WORK! STOP THE ONGOING MASSACRES IN GAZA NOW!

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, an alliance of 12 Filipino organizations in the US, vehemently condemns the US government-sponsored bloodshed that is currently ongoing in the city of Gaza, in the Palestinian territories. As of the writing of this statement, the Israeli military air strikes in Gaza have killed over 300 Palestinians, and nearly 1000 more are critically wounded, including women and children. The death toll from the last 72 hours alone in Gaza marks the highest in the decades-long so-called "Israeli-Palestinian conflict". Israeli state officials claim the siege on Gaza is a response to the Hamas government's continued "violent retaliation" in the form of rocket barrages.

To understand the so-called "Israeli-Palestinian conflict" more comprehensively, one must see it in the context of US imperialism's role in dividing and plundering the Middle East to serve its economic and political interests. The state of "Israel" still serves as a strategic access point for US-imperialism to plunder the entire region's most profitable resources-- black gold and oil.The state of "Israel" is a US surrogate state that has long been funded by Washington DC to do its dirty work and uphold its interests in the region. This includes the ethnic cleansing of millions of Palestinian families who were violently forced to flee from their ancestral lands beginning in 1948 with the forceful and violent Zionist occupation of Palestine and the establishment of the state of "Israel". The establishment of Israel and its systemic massacre and displacement of the Palestinian people is one of the greatest offensives of the US government in the Middle East, that duly serves the interests of US imperialism to control the region.

Israel-US government relations remain tight and intimate in this campaign. Israel is the largest recipient of direct economic and military aid from the US government since World War II. This means the Israeli military's continuing offensives on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are made possible with generous funding from the US government. The hard-earned tax dollars of the people of the US are fueling these continuing attacks of the US surrogate government of Israel against the Palestinian people. At the same time, the global economic crisis is hitting the people of the US hard with massive job lay-offs, foreclosures, evictions, and budget cuts to health care and education.

In light of their historical oppression, the oppressed Palestinian people have the every right to resist and determine their form of resistance in the interest of their national liberation. It is understandable that this heroic resistance includes armed struggle. The Palestinian people have suffered the most horrific crimes of war and massacre from US imperialism at the hands of the Israeli government.

In the same light, the Filipino people are suffering from attacks from the same enemy. If the state of "Israel" is considered US-imperialism's front door to the rest of the Middle East and Asia, then the Philippines would be the back door. For almost 110 years, the US has forcefully imposed its control over the Philippines, directly and indirectly, for the sake of maintaining this strategic geo-political and economic post in the Asia Pacific region. One of the first colonies of US-imperialism at the turn of the 20th century, the Filipino people suffered great losses. More than one-sixth of the Filipino people were massacred with the first few years of US occupation.

Like the US surrogate government in Israel, the US surrogate government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is also performing the same dirty work in the Philippines to advance US imperialism's control over the country. While Israel is the largest annual recipient of US economic and military aid in the world, the Philippines is the largest recipient in Asia. But US economic aid to the Philippine government is not used for economic development of a very poor nation. Instead the Arroyo administration directs US economic aid towards beefing up the Philippine military, which has been responsible for the gravest human rights crisis in the country since the period of the US-backed Marcos dictatorship, and deepening corruption by buying the loyalty of corrupt Philippine politicians. The Philippine military is also responsible for the massive displacement of millions of Filipinos from their lands, especially the Muslim and indigenous communities.



Here in the United States, oppressed and working people have the responsibility to cripple the state terrorist machinaries of the Israeli and Philippine governments by demanding the withdrawal of US direct economic and military aid to both countries. As the global economic crisis continues to awaken the people in the US to the rotten character of US imperialism, we must strengthen our solidarity ties to national liberation struggles abroad, including Palestine and the Philippines. By intensifying our struggles and resistance against US imperialism in all parts of the globe, we can weaken our common enemy.


Furthermore, President-Elect Barack Obama's swift appointment of Rahm Emanuel as his Chief-of-Staff foreshadows continued Zionist oppression of the Palestinian people.

His father, Benjamin Emanuel, is an ardent Zionist militant who has been infamously quoted as bragging that his son will ensure the incoming Obama administration's pro-Israel agenda, and offensively remarked that Arabs in the White House are usually relegated to cleaning floors. We must therefore remain vigilant and maintain no illusion that the incoming US presidential administration can effectively or even has the intention to restore peace in the region.

In condemning the attacks on Gaza, we demand justice for the Palestinian people. This means we demand the US-Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people's ancestral land end, and that the right of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland be globally respected and recognized. Without justice, neither peace nor democracy can be realized or practiced in the Middle East or the Philippines.

STOP THE ATTACKS ON GAZA!
JUSTICE FOR THE PALESTINIAN VICTIMS OF THE US-ISRAELI ATTACKS!
FREE PALESTINE!
WITHDRAW US ECONOMIC AID TO ISRAEL!
WITHDRAW US ECONOMIC AID TO THE PHILIPPINES!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!

Filipinos in New York Commemorate International Human Rights Day

Photo by Jonna Baldres

News Release
December 10, 2008

Reference: Peter Arvin Jabido, NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, email: nychrp@gmail.com


Filipinos in New York Commemorate International Human Rights Day

Filipinos in New York City commemorated International Human Rights Day on December 10th with a special mass dedicated to the victims of human rights violations in the Philippines. Entitled "Misa Para sa Kapayapaan at Karapatang Pantao" [Mass for Peace and Human Rights], the mass was sponsored by the NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, a local advocacy group in New York, and held at the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, the Filipino Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New York lower Manhattan.

Berna Ellorin, a member of NYCHRP, opened the mass with a quote from a recent statement from Filipino Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference in the Philippines-- "Today, is a day of shame and embarrassment....because of the innumerable human rights violations that have remained unexamined, unexplained and unsolved or covered up by events [in the Philippines]. Ellorin further quoted Lagdameo with --" We are ashamed, that our country is said to be the most corrupt in Asia and the second most corrupt in the world. This is because of human rights violations in various degrees."

The ecumenical service was led by celebrant Fr. Erno Diaz, who also spoke of human rights violations in his sermon. "We must remember that Jesus was a victim of a violent human rights violation for doing good, as was Filipino saint San Lorenzo Ruiz. We must continue to pray for those that are being persecuted for struggling for peace and human rights."

Gary Labao of NYCHRP closed the communion with a reflection on peace-- "Peace is not merely the absence of war, violence or turmoil. Peace must always be based on justice.... Therefore there can be no peace as long as there are people dying of hunger and poverty. There can be no peace as long as there is inequality and oppression. There will be dissidents, rebels, and people who are willing to commit acts of violence against men."

Labao also spoke of the 977 civilian victims of extrajudicial killings, 201 civilian victims of enforced disappearances, 1,010 victims of torture, and 1,464 victims of illegal arrests in the Philippines under the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Members of NYCHRP also mentioned the investigation of Radhika Coomaraswamy, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Children, in the Philippines this week. "A country that upholds human rights must prove itself first and foremost as a country safe for our children, the most vulnerable in our society. The Children's Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines has already reported over 948 cases of human rights violations against Filipino children in addition to 2 million children that have been displaced due to militarization," stated Ellorin.

Upon conclusion, members of Anakbayan New York/New Jersey and Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment collected signatures endorsing the release of the Southern Tagalog 72, known anti-Arroyo critics in the Southern Tagalog region who were swept in false charges of murder and arson and some of whom are in detention. ###


------------------------------------


Press Statement
06 December 2008

References:
Jonna Baldres, Secretary General, Anakbayan New York/New Jersey, anakbayan_nj@ yahoo.com
Jeff Rice, Secretary General, Anakbayan Seattle, edjop82@gmail. com
Lyle Prijoles, Chairperson, League of Filipino Students-San Francisco State University, Lfs.sfsu@gmail. com

Progressive Filipino Youth in US Protest Criminalization of ST 72

Once again, the crackdown on activists and leaders of progressive organizations come at a full speed and at increased proportions as the state holds these human rights defenders accountable for false and trumped-up charges, arresting and detaining them at indefinite lengths of time. The most recent of whom are the 72 activists from the Southern Tagalog part of the Philippines — including chief legal counsel of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement), Atty. Remigio Saladero, and among the youth, Anakbayan Southern Tagalog Secretary-General Pedro Santos Jr, and former provincial coordinators for Anakbayan-Cavite Karen Ortiz and Sheryll Villegas — who have been accused of murder and arson.

Thanks to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her ever-loyal cabinet members National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales who head the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG), the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police who are all working together to arbitrarily pin down those whom they believe are members of organizations they tag as communist fronts.

Aside from the case of our Anakbayan brother and sisters from Southern Tagalog, the Filipino youth and students from other regions have not been spared from these acts of criminalization and demonization. During the second half of this year, some student leaders and members of Anakbayan and League of Filipino Students (LFS) from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) were also falsely charged with rebellion and frustrated murder and had been openly accused as NPA recruiters and communists for explicitly criticizing and opposing tuition hikes and other anti-youth and anti-student policies implemented by the Arroyo regime. Accounts of these accusations can be seen in videos and comic strips produced and distributed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines who hold fora and symposia through the ROTC (Reserved Officers Training Corps) and who roam freely inside campuses across the country.

In Jose Rizal University (JRU), 19 students were suspended by the administration for leading a protest action against the Value Added Tax (VAT) — some of whom are also members of Anakbayan-JRU.

Here in the US, we can recall what happened last June at the Philippine Independence Day parade in New York, wherein young members of the Kappa Pi Fraternity who joined the contingent of the progressive alliances BAYAN-USA and National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) in voicing out against the government’s malpractices had also been falsely charged, almost got arrested and constantly bullied all throughout the event by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Even the blind can probably see through these false accusations and connect the dots to conclude that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo definitely has a hand on all these cases of silencing and criminalizing those who speak the truth.

In this time of severe economic and political crises, the Arroyo administration never fails to flaunt its true color. That in order to cling to power, it will never bow down to its staunch critics, up to the point of striking against all those who get in the way, even those who stand up for what is just and right. This only shows that in the Philippines — and even right here in the belly of the beast — fighting for one’s rights and speaking against the wrongful deeds of the Philippine government will put one deep into the grave. And for the US government to support and give more funds to the Philippine government taken from taxes paid by the American people will only ensure continuous support for this absurd and savage cause.

As we, the Filipino-American and im/migrant youth, look ahead with the establishment of a new US president, we remain vigilant; that the grave mistakes of the previous administration in support of our government back home be not allowed to creep back into the free and peaceful society that our forefathers have envisioned for us.

We, Anakbayan, now with over 7 chapters across the US, and the League of Filipino Students-San Francisco State University (LFS-SFSU), vow to militantly defy state terrorism by the fascist Arroyo administration on all sectors of Philippine society, unwaveringly expose all forms of violations against human rights, and unceasingly fight for justice for all the victims who had fallen into the hands of this unparalleled brute that is the Arroyo regime.

DEFEND THE ST 72!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS AND DETAINEES!
NO TO CAMPUS MILITARIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES!
NO TO CRIMINALIZATION OF THE FILIPINO YOUTH!
NO TO US MILITARY AID TO THE PHILIPPINES!
JUSTICE FOR ALL VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND POLITICAL REPRESSION!
DEFY STATE TERRORISM!
OUST GMA!

FILIPINO YOUTH UNITE AND STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL DEMOCRACY!

Photos courtesy of John Miranda

ANAKBAYAN NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY ANNIVERSARY STATEMENT

Anakbayan New York/ New Jersey reaffirms its commitment to serve the people as it celebrates its fourth anniversary on November 30, 2008. Simultaneously, Anakbayan Philippines is celebrating TEN years of relentless struggle for self-determination and genuine democracy for the Filipino people.

Today, we venture into a journey marked by a series of crises. Prices of basic commodities continue to increase and the price of oil remains unpredictable; these tensions and capricious events culminating in an explosive financial crisis that is still wreaking havoc in the world’s economies, particularly in the third world. The Filipino youth has been experiencing massive job lay-offs, landlessness, deteriorating social services, vanishing public education system and an ever escalating human rights violations.

The Philippines, being an import-dependent, export-oriented economy with a puppet government, is bearing the brunt of this crisis. The young Filipino workers who have turned to call-centers are seeing how empty Mrs. Arroyo’s promises of jobs for the Filipino people are as Foreign companies cut-down on their outsourcing to be able to provide local jobs in their own country. This in turn signals thousands more will join the ranks of the millions of unemployed Filipino youths. The government’s Labor Export policy will also be stripped naked, as demand for foreign labor will diminish. In the countryside, the peasant youth continue to experience landlessness as a result of ineffective and insufficient Agrarian reform by the government.

Furthermore, the government led by GMA is turning a deaf ear to the plights of the youth for basic social services and education. Public healthcare geared towards the youth is as good as nothing while budget for public secondary and tertiary schools have suffered cutbacks due to the administration’s prioritization of debt payments.

In response, the youth, with its revolutionary tradition, initiated massive demonstrations and walk-outs to register their disgust and rejection of the US-Arroyo fascist regime. This prompted the Arroyo regime to further incur human rights violations against the youth, militarizing universities and harassing activists and sympathizers. The youth continues to defy this new tyranny.

The same goes with immigrant and Fil-am youth here in the US. Possessing the same revolutionary characteristics, the youth have proven their might as they made Barack Obama’s presidency possible in the recent presidential elections. But the youth, having realized its potential as a powerful force for social change, must continue to be vigilant. The youth should demand the pull-out of US troops in the Philippines and the immediate halt in military aid to the Philippines. We, the Filipino youth must assert our revolutionary stance and continue our militant struggle for National Democracy.

STOP U.S. MILITARY AID TO THE PHILIPPINES!
US TROOPS OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES!
STOP POLITICAL KILLINGS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES!
OUST GMA!
FILIPINO YOUTH UNITE! SERVE THE PEOPLE!
LONG LIVE THE STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL DEMOCRACY!


-------------------------

Press Release
December 2, 2008


Reference: Yancy Gandionco, Vice-President, Anakbayan New York/New Jersey

Email: anakbayan_ny@yahoo.com

Photo Courtesy by John Paul Miranda

Reaffirm: Filipino-American and Im/migrant Youth Carry On with the Fight

Jersey City, NJ – Old and new members of the comprehensive youth organization, Anakbayan, reaffirmed their commitment to serve the Filipino youth and the motherland in a momentous occasion held at Mayon Grill on Westside Avenue last November 29, 2008 (a day ahead of the actual date to coincide with the November 30 celebration in the Philippines). Aside from celebrating the 145th birthday of the revolutionary hero, Andres Bonifacio, the event also celebrated Anakbayan Philippines' tenth year anniversary and Anakbayan New York/ New Jersey chapter's fourth year as a bastion of Filipino youth's rights and welfare all over the globe.

The anniversary celebration was entitled "REAFFIRM," taking off from this year's theme by Anakbayan Philippines: "A Decade of relentless struggle for jobs, land, education, rights and social services! Continue to enlighten, organize, and mobilize towards the path of the national democratic struggle! Live up to the revolutionary challenge and tradition of the Filipino youth!" (Ipagbunyi ang isang dekada ng militanteng paglaban para sa trabaho, lupa, edukasyon, karapatan at serbisyo! Ibayong magmulat, mag-organisa at mag-mobilisa tungo sa landas ng pambansa-demokratikong pakikibaka! Puspusin ang rebolusyonaryong hamon at tradisyon ng kabataang Pilipino!)

"It is not entirely true that the Youth is the hope and future of the nation. The youth, together with the different sectors of society -- such as the peasants, workers and women --- fighting for a corrupt-free, genuinely democratic nation, is the true hope for a better future," Rico Foz, Vice-President of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), said as he opened the event.

"In this time of great global financial crisis, the Filipino youth today are plagued by unemployment, non-existent social services, deteriorating public education system, landlessness and escalating human rights violations, we need to look back on the revolutionary history of the Filipino youth and live up to it more than ever to change this worsening situation," Yves Nibungco, Deputy Secretary General of Anakbayan NY/NJ expressed.

"As victims of the Philippine Government's corrupt and exploitative labor export policy, we, Filipino-American and Filipino im/migrant youth have the responsibility to expose and change the wrongs -- like the continued US military-aid to the Philippines with which our tax dollars are being used to fund the Arroyo administration's crimes against the Filipino people," Nibungco added.

The affair was highlighted by the oath taking of old and new members led by Gary Labao, one of the founders of the Anakbayan NY/NJ chapter and who had also related the history of Anakbayan in the New York/New Jersey area earlier in the program.

Messages of continued support were also shared throughout the night from representatives of national alliances such as National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), SANDIWA National Fil-Am Youth Alliance, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-USA (BAYAN-USA), and members of allied organizations such as Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), Lakas Diwa, Kabalikat Domestic Workers and Philippine Forum.

"This coming January, Barrack Obama will be inaugurated as the new US president. The youth had been a part of this, of the mass movement that worked towards a hopeful change. We believe that the Filipino youth will continue to participate, prosper and progress even beyond the Philippine soil, and we, in BAYAN-USA, are confident that Anakbayan chapters in the US will be with us at the forefront of the fight," Berna Ellorin, Secretary General of BAYAN-USA, stated in her solidarity message.

Jonna Baldres, Secretary General of Anakbayan NY/NJ, who had just returned from a 4-month immersion with Anakbayan Philippines, said, "From what I have witnessed back in the homeland, I am even more determined to organize more Filipino youth abroad and share with them what I have learned, and hopefully, encourage more of them to come home to the motherland and experience the strength, not just that of the Filipino youth's, but more so, that of the Filipino people's collective action and bring it back with them here in the US. In the meantime, we will continue the struggle, no matter how far."

Songs and poetry of love for the motherland, experiences and realizations as Filipino-American and im/migrant youth in the US, and service to the people were also presented by Taos Puso, Babz Manuel and Gary Labao of Kadena, Philippe Garcesto Javier, Yves Nibungco and the Anakbayan Choir.

"The whole celebration from tonight's speeches to the oath taking and cultural presentations galvanized my duty to serve not only my fellow youth but the Filipino people as a whole. It may not seem much because I am just one person, but together with my new found brothers and sisters in Anakbayan, as one, we become a great catalyst for change," Bea Sabino, one of Anakbayan NY/NJ's members who took the oath for the first time, commented.

Anakbayan New York/ New Jersey is one of the US chapters of Anakbayan Philippines, a comprehensive national democratic mass organization fighting for the rights, welfare and basic needs of the Filipino youth all over the world. Other US chapters include Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Las Vegas and East Bay. ###

"Hands-off the Youth! Keep-out of the Campuses" Says Fil-Am Youth to AFP, Arroyo Gov't.

Novemeber 20, 2008

New York City, NY- Immigrant and US-born Filipino youth condemned the continuous harassment of students and youth activists in the Philippines last Thursday in front of the Philippine Consulate. Anakbayan NY/NJ, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), Kappa Pi fraternity, Sandiwa Filipino Youth Alliance and BAYAN-USA's representatives disregarded the cold and spoke in front of the consulate to call for a stop on Campus Militarization and criminalization of youth activists in the Philippines.

"We condemn GMA's harassment of the Filipino youth and the campus militarization occurring in the Philippines. Mrs. Arroyo should focus more on solving economic problems such as high prices of basic commodities instead of trying to silence the youth." said Bea Sabino, a member of the militant youth organization, Anakbayan NY/NJ.

Demonstrators also raised issues such as low income wages, landlessness, budget cuts in social services, grotesque corruption and an endless spate of human rights violations that continue to burden the youth and the rest of the Filipino people. These, members of the said activist organizations say, are the reasons why youth are pouring in the streets and joining the growing movement to oust Mrs. Arroyo.

Yves Nibungco, Deputy Secretary General of Anakbayan NY/NJ, stated
"We are warning the US-Arroyo dictatorship that no guns nor truncheons can ever silence the youth. Like Rachelle Mae Palang, Cris Hugo, Rei Mon Guran, Peter Angcon and other youth martyrs who boldly defied Arroyo's fascist regime, we vow to continue our people's struggle to depose this tyrant named Gloria Arroyo and attain freedom and genuine democracy for our people!"

Activists also appealed to passersby to demand an end on US military aid to the Philippine military. "US military aid to the Philippines is linked to the human rights crisis in the Philippines. There is documented increase in human rights violations, including killings and abductions, in the Philippines when there is an increase in US military aid to the country", said Berna Ellorin, Secretary General of the progressive alliance, BAYAN-USA.


Ellorin added,"rather than spend millions of US tax dollars on Philippine death squads, the US government should invest in healthcare, education, affordable housing, and social security for the US population. As taxpayers into the system, people in the US have a right and duty to exercise outrage over the human rights crisis in the Philippines and demand money be invested in domestic prosperity in this time of economic downturn. That is millions of US dollars the majority of impoverished Filipinos would gladly refuse from the US government."

"As we near the celebration of Anakbayan's 10th year anniversary of serving the people, we call on the Filipino youth who are eager to see a social and political metamorphosis to rise above the challenges of our times. Let us dare to struggle! Let us dare to make a change!" concluded Nibungco.

Anakbayan NY/NJ is an official chapter of Anakbayan Philippines. It is a comprehensive national democratic organization of the youth that seeks to empower the youth for social change and advance the Filipino people's rights and welfare.###

This Side Up: Benefit Concert for the Streetchildren in the Philippines

Jersey city, New Jersey- The Filipino youth of Jersey city, in collaboration with Anakbayan NY/NJ held a benefit concert, entitled This Side Up, for the street children in the Philippines at the Our Lady of Mercy church last Saturday, November 8, 2008.

Bea Sabino and Mikhail Eliasi, two Filipino teenagers, initiated the fundraising activities. Both youngsters celebrated their birthday last month but instead of spending money during this period of recession, they decided to raise money for He Cares foundation, a Christian non-profit foundation that helps streetchildren in the Philippines. With the help of Anakbayan NY/NJ, Bea and Mike organized their friends for bakesales. They traversed the sidewalks of West Side Avenue and Newark Avenue in Jersey City last August selling homemade brownies, cupcakes, cheesecakes and polvorons to passersby. They also distributed fliers that include pressing issues affecting our compatriots back home. Inspite of the unexpected success of their bakesales, they thought that it would be best to step up and gather more youths for their final fundraising activity, a benefit concert.

After an ardous month-long preparation, the combined power of the youth made the ambitious endeavor into a reality. There were performances by the Macalintal siblings, Gessica Pecana, Jay Legaspi and the bands Kapsula, Unified, Extra Rice and Pugadlawin. It was a very meaningful and entertaining night as Filipino youths not only rocked the house but also tackled the issue of poverty and the unjust system back home.

“A lot of people nowadays say that the youth is passive and apathetic. This event proves those people wrong as it clearly shows that more youth are becoming aware and involved in any way possible in the struggle to fix our damaged nation, whether it be fundraising events or street protests,” states John Paul Miranda of Anakbayan NY/NJ. United by the desire for change, US-born and immigrant Filipino youths prevailed over selfishness and individualism. Needless to say, Bea and Mike had their most memorable birthday celebration to date.###

Justice for Rachelle Palang!

Please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXocy3IPGGg

Jersey City, NJ - Last September 18, 2008, Anakbayan NY/NJ, LA and Seattle led Fil-Am and Filipino immigrant youths from coast to coast in the making of a protest video against the ongoing and escalating political repression in the Philippines, particularly those violations against the youth. Members from HabiArts, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), Sandiwa, Kappa Pi and Pugadlawin, and several supporters including some nurses, and nursing students all coordinated with Anakbayan to make a tribute video for Rachelle Mae Palang who is the most recent victim of the military’s aggressive persecution of student activists and progressive youths in the country.

Rachelle, or Mae-Mae as her friends call her, recently finished her Nursing studies at the Velez College in Cebu and successfully passed the Nursing Licensure Exam in June 2008. Her passion, however, was to become a physician so she can better serve the poor and the oppressed. In pursuit of this dream, she took and successfully passed the National Medical Admissions Test. Sadly, the world will never see a Dr. Rachelle Palang; the Philippines lost one more vessel of hope and righteousness.

In July of this year, Mae-Mae asked her parents’ permission to go to Negros Oriental for a three-month medical mission. Her goal while in the hinterlands was to promote health, treat the sick and to investigate the causes of the people’s demise. Unfortunately, In September 18, 2008 at Dauin town, Negros Oriental, that mission was cut-short. Mae-Mae was shot and killed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during an encounter with the New Peoples Army. She was shot at the back of her head at point-blank range; her face was barely recognizable, the rest of her body bruised as evidence of torture. According to the AFP, Mae-Mae was a member of the NPA, and was said to be carrying and using an M-16 during the fight. This claim however, came as a shock to those who are very close to Mae-Mae.

Her friends unanimously expressed disbelief in the AFP’s report. They said Mae-Mae was outspoken but she would never have thought of using a gun. Her weapon of choice was the pen as evidenced by her commitment as the editor of their school paper in Velez College. In 2005, she was elected as Vice President for the Visayas during the College Editors Guild of the Philippines’ (CEGP) 67th National Student Press Convention and 33rd Biennial Student Press Congress held in Albay, Bicol. She relinquished her position last May after three consecutive years of faithful service. Accordingly, she endeavored to reopen closed college publications and established student publications in schools that have none. Her work focused on student rights violations in campus. Her knowledge of the society was further honed when she participated in a Basic Mass Integration (BMI) program of the CEGP where she experienced the forms of oppression endured by the masses.

“What was once called youth activism and nationalism is now labeled as threat to national security by the government. When a young person like Rachelle wishes to genuinely contribute in uplifting the downtrodden and the oppressed, the fascist government led by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo deal with it as if idealism is a menace,patriotism is a plague and serving the people a high crime,” said Kathleen Dy, member of Anakbayan NY/NJ.

In conformity with this recent surge of repression and oppression, the military has invaded the campuses of politically-involved universities. Military personnels are now a common sight in the country’s most prominent colleges and universities particularly in the University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa (PUP).

Bea Sabino of Anakbayan NY/NJ and a nursing student expressed her concern as well, “We observed an increase of political harassment lately and one would think that this was a consequence of the newest impeachment complaint filed versus Gloria Arroyo after the one-year ban.” This latest impeachment complaint which was submitted in October 13, 2008 is already the fourth for GMA. Keen observation supports the hypothesis that the increased militarization right before the endorsement of impeachment was not a coincidence but a calculated move by the administration to scare off the opposition. Regrettably, they did not just scare off Rachelle, they killed her.

In their press release, the CEGP asserts that “the act of the military in linking Rachelle with the New Peoples’ Army is a desperate attempt to shadow the real reason why she went to Negros, that is to help the oppressed farmers. We are deeply insulted when the military praised and showered Mae-Mae’s killers with gifts and recognitions. The CEGP admonishes these inhumane and insulting actions of the military, as well as the brutal treatment of her body. We condemn the malicious attempt of the military to mislead the people from the real issue.”

Rachelle was an ordinary person who chose the road less travelled. Yes, she could have chosen a different path and lived to be a hundred but she did not. She chose to become an epitome of a student leader who struggles for genuine freedom and democracy for the people and for that, she will always be remembered.

“In memory of Mae-mae and countless other victims of state terrorism, we, the youth, reaffirm our commitment in the struggle against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s tyranny and against the oppressive system that continue to burden our people. As long as our brothers and sisters in the Philippines are harassed, repressed, disappeared and killed the powers that be can expect more militant actions from the youth to come,” said Yves Nibungco, deputy secretary general of Anakbayan NY/NJ.

Please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXocy3IPGGg

PICTURE BLOG! Youth Fundraising

ANAKBAYAN New York/New Jersey Bake Sale
August 23, 2008

Newark Ave. Jersey City, New Jersey















Come and Join us on our upcoming FUN, EXCITING, and FILLING Activities! Email us at anakbayan_ny@yahoo.com

Filipino Youth in the US rejects Arroyo's Lies, Joins clamor for her ouster

 

For Immediate Release July 28, 2008 

Anakbayan's Statement on SONA 

Filipino Youth in the US rejects Arroyo's Lies, Joins clamor for her ouster

As the students and youth in the Philippines prepare for another walk-out in time with Gloria Arroyo's 8th State of the Nation Adress (SONA), Anakbayan-led Filipino youths shall join ally organizations in front of the Philippine Consulate to assert their disgust and rejection of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s deceit-swathed regime. 

"Arroyo's lies can no longer cover up the true state of our motherland which, like the sunken MV Princess of the Stars, is on the verge of drowning under a storm of political and economic crises caused by her anti-people, pro-foreign interest policies." said Dani Galan, chairperson of Anakbayan NY/NJ. 

While the economy is plunging, prices of basic commodities rising and oil prices spiking, the government, under GMA's tyrannical rule, has completely ignored the youth and the Filipino people altogether, spending more money on bullets and guns instead of schools and books and other social services. Qualified data show that GMA only spends 12php per student as compared to 14php that she spends on every M16 bullet, causing more and more students to drop out of school each year. Only 58 out of every 100 students who enter Grade 1 eventually move on to high school and only 14 students are estimated to earn a college degree. 

Furthermore, the lack of National Industrialization in the Philippines, due to GMA's fanatical hold to neo-liberal policies as dictated by US Imperialism, has left college graduates either unemployed or underemployed thereby turning our nation's brightest into call center agents and/or workers abroad who are subjected to abusive labor policies. 

In addition, human rights violations committed by Arroyo's minions against the bravest voices of the people, particularly from the youth, continue to escalate. As Arroyo desperately attempts to extinguish the people's revolt, the number of murdered Filipino patriots has reached 903, 23 of those are from the youth sector. 

Filipinos facing these atrocious conditions at home are fed up and Filipino youth in the US are too. The choices are limited; stand back and perish, or step up and fight. Hundreds of thousands of youth are firmly convinced that being a bystander is not a wise choice anymore and fighting for national democracy and Arroyo's ouster is indispensable. Today, there is no other place to be but on the streets. 

"We urge more of our fellow youth here in the US to come out, speak up and join us in our escalating protests. There is no other choice for the Filipino youth and the people but to revolt, to oust Arroyo through a “People Power” and establish a government that will genuinely serve the interests of the people" ended by Yves Nibungco, member of Anakbayan. ### 

OUST THE US-ARROYO REGIME! END GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION! 

ROLLBACK RICE & OIL PRICES; ABOLISH THE RICE CARTELS! 

US TROOPS OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES! 

END HUMAN TRAFFICKING! 

SCRAP THE OVERSEAS REMITTANCE TAX! 

Youth, People Revolt!

PICTURE BLOG! Youth at work

ANAKBAYAN New York/New Jersey Production Work
July 25, 2008
Jersey City, New Jersey









Come and Join us on our upcoming FUN, EXCITING, and FILLING production days! Email us at anakbayan_ny@yahoo.com

PICTURE BLOG! Kwentuhan, Kamayan at Kalayaan

ANAKBAYAN New York/New Jersey SALU-SALO
July 17, 2008
Liberty State Park
Jersey City, New Jersey

For more info about the "Kwentuhan, Kamayanan at Kalayaan", Copy and paste this url address: http://gutomangmasa.multiply.com/photos/album/6/How_to_play_kickass_patintero...#