Defend the Defenders Network

23/05/2021

ICYMI: As part of the 13th Asia Europe People’s Forum (AEPF), IBON International Europe, Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG), Viva Salud, People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), and Asia-Pacific Research Network (APRN) held a webinar entitled “Peoples’ Resistance Against Shrinking Space and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia and Europe” on May 20, 2021.

READ MORE: https://bit.ly/3yzHJio

13/05/2020

The sins of Sinas and other ‘pasaway’ generals

NCRPO chief Major General Debold Sinas should be made accountable for clear violation of ECQ rules when he allowed a ‘spontaneous’ mañanita to celebrate his 55th birthday. At the very least, he should step down while an internal probe is being conducted.

Sinas no longer has the credibility to enforce quarantine rules when his loyal well-wishers gathered for his birthday without observing proper social distancing protocols. It is also insensitive for public officials to organize a party and flaunt it on social media when millions are suffering from hunger, deprivation, and isolation.

Under Sinas’ watch, Metro Manila became a hotspot for human rights abuses. Lockdown restrictions led to draconian control of the population, overkill deployment of troops in communities, and imposition of harsh penalties on so-called pasaway or quarantine violators. Tens of thousands of desperate individuals seeking food, aid, and jobs were slapped with fines and even spurious charges for alleged ECQ violations. The Sinas’ approach not only failed to flatten the COVID-19 curve but also exacerbated the living conditions of Metro Manila residents.

Sinas is Duterte’s brutal enforcer who is remorseless in undermining civil liberties and subverting due processes. He is accused of masterminding the relentless attacks on peasant communities in Negros.

When he was deployed in Metro Manila, he quickly gained notoriety for the raids he conducted targeting leaders and community organizers of Bayan Metro Manila. Trumped-up charges based on fabricated evidence were used to detain five of our comrades from Gabriela, Kilusang Mayo Uno, and Kadamay.

He continued to use terror tactics in demonizing people’s organizations which are campaigning against the Manila Bay reclamation.

Sinas must answer for the ECQ violation, but we must also not forget his key role in militarizing the government’s COVID-19 response, and the human rights abuses conducted by troops under his command.

Pasaway generals

Sinas joins other Duterte generals who also made controversial remarks and actions in recent months.

AFP chief Felimon Santos was castigated for writing a letter to China for his request to avail of COVID-19 medicines. This was seen as improper at a time when the government has filed a diplomatic protest against China’s illegal incursions on Philippine maritime territories. One of the few who defended him was Senator Bato dela Rosa, the Tokhang general who led the bloody anti-drug campaign in 2016 and 2017.

Several retired generals in the Cabinet were quick to deny that the shutdown of ABS CBN was an attack on press freedom. They even defended the malicious propaganda of the government’s anti-communist task force even if this was based on lies and fake news. They were joined by the likes of Antonio Parlade of the Southern Luzon Command who even threatened the public with martial law declaration if critics will continue to decry the demise of press freedom.

These pasaway generals reflect the berdugo and tuta mentality of the commander-in-chief, the president who bungled the COVID-19 response with his criminal negligence and militarist type of governance. Duterte and these generals seek to dismiss public accountability by blaming the communist movement for the COVID-19 crisis. They are aware of the rising people’s anger that is why they are desperately instilling fear and brutal lockdown measures.

Bayan Metro Manila

15/04/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic exposes bankruptcy of neoliberal political economy

After decades of privatizing health care, millions are left untreated despite the rapid spread of COVID-19. Hospitals and other public health facilities are managed to raise profits which undermined access to health services. Government subsidies to health and education are slashed. Universal health insurance is oriented to serve the interest of private corporations.

The pandemic gave face to millions of casual workers who lost jobs, informal workers whose livelihoods have been destroyed, and migrant workers who lack social protection benefits. They disprove the claims that neoliberal growth is making societies more prosperous. Their precarious conditions expose how the dominant system is enabled by dispossessing the many.

Unbridled plunder of natural resources has weakened the capacity of many nations which are today mired in extreme poverty and debt. Despite or because of implementing the prescriptions imposed by neoliberal experts and imperialist institutions, many countries today are cash-strapped and their economies are unable to provide the needs of the local population. Governments are struggling to provide emergency aid to constituents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The crisis revealed that we should not rely on the so-called 'invisible hand of the market' for our needs but on the quick action of publicly accountable state and civic institutions. That instead of allowing corporations to equate their profit target with the nation’s economic growth, we have to count what really matters to our lives: access to health care and other basic services, food security, and livable communities. It’s time to rethink the doctrine of turning over vital utilities, industries, and services to the private sector. Finally, we must develop a local economy that can address the basic needs of our people, especially in times of emergency.

We recognize, too, that building a resilient society requires good governance and democratic leadership. People empowerment is crucial in making governments work to prioritize the upliftment of workers, farmers, women, and other marginalized sectors of society.

We are in solidarity with International League of Peoples' Struggle and other organizations as we reiterate our urgent demands in addressing the social impact of the current pandemic. We are one with those who assert that the new normal must lead us to reject the discredited neoliberal model of development and the bankrupt political leadership that controls this system of mass poverty and inequality. We will only heal if we will fight for a different future.

28/10/2019

TUTULAN AT LABANAN ANG MARTIAL LAW SA KALUNSURAN! LANSAGIN ANG OPLAN KALASAG!

Ang pasismo ng rehimeng Duterte ay tumitindi sa bawat taong nagdaraan. Ang Oplan Tokhang na kumitil ng libo-libong buhay noong 2016 hanggang sa ngayon ay sinundan ng Martial Law sa Mindanao noong 2017. Pagsapait ng 2018 ay isinailalim naman sa Memorandum Order 32 ang mga probinsya ng Bicol, Samar, at Negros na nagbunga sa mga "killing fields" sa mga lugar na ito.

Nang ilabas ni Duterte ang EO 70 na nagbuo ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict ay naging sunod-sunod at walang habas ang pag-atake sa mg progresibo.

Sinundan ito ng Oplan Kalasag na sa tabing ng anti-kriminalidad ay nagsailalim sa buong Kamaynilaan sa "de facto Martial Law".

Kinakailangan ang buong lakas na pagkakaisa ng mamamayan upang ipagtanggol ang karapatan at kalayaan.

SUMAMA SA PAGKILOS!
Oktubre 29, 4:00pm, Camp Crame

19/10/2019

02/10/2019

Community leaders and rights defenders from different communities in Metro Manila brought the issue of human rights violations under Oplan Kalasag to Congress as guests of Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Arlene Brosas in her privilege speech.

Here is the transcription of the speech:

Privilege Speech
De facto martial rule in Metro Manila
Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas
October 1, 2019

I rise today on a matter of personal ang collective privilege to convey a very alarming trend in the state of affairs within Metro Manila, especially in relation to basic rights and civil liberties, including the constitutional right to organize.

Gumagapang ang martial law mula Mindanao patungong Visayas hanggang dito sa Kamaynilaan. Hindi kasing-tindi ang operasyong militar at walang aerial bombing, pero pareho ang klima ng takot na ipinapalaganap sa mga komunidad ng National Capital Region.

Nitong Marso, opisyal na inilunsad ng National Capital Region Police Office at Joint Task Force-NCR ng Armed Forces of the Philippines ang security plan na “Implan Kalasag” para umano sugpuin ang lahat ng banta sa seguridad at mga kriminal na elemento, kabilang ang mga hinihinalang komunista at mga taga-suporta nito. Alinsunod ito sa Executive Order No. 70 na naglalatag ng whole-of-nation approach at sa counter-insurgency plan na Oplan Kapanatagan ng militar. Sa tabing ng “peace and development,” nilalayong patahimikan ang paglaban ng kababaihan at mamamayan sa harap ng lumalalang krisis at pagpapatupad ng mas masahol na mga neoliberal na patakaran.

Noong panahon ng eleksyon, aktibong ni-redtag ng mismong law enforcement ang Gabriela Women’s Party at iba pang partylists na kabilang sa Makabayan bloc. Bukod sa pamimigay ng malisosyong publikasyon ng Philippine National Police sa mga polling places, lantaran din ang pananakot sa mga komunidad upang hindi bumoto o magpa-miyembro sa mga progresibong partido. Malinaw na hindi lamang nilabag ng kapulisan and eleksyon rules; nilabag nila ang karapatang pantao ng mamamayang Pilipino.

Pagkatapos ng eleksyon, lumala ang presensya ng military sa NCR. May tuwirang encampment sa mga lugar sa Caloocan at Malabon; sa Quezon City ay maraming beses na nagiikot ang mga JTF-NCR officers at nagpapakalat ng posters na naghihimok sa mamamayan na huwag sumama sa mga protesta.

Hindi lamang ang mga komunidad sa NCR ang ninais na tuluyang i-militarisa pero pati na rin ang mga eskwelahan. Mula sa pag-redtag ng student organizations hanggang sa lantarang pagpasok ng kapulisan sa mga campuses, kitang-kita ang pagnanais ng Philippine National Police at Armed Forces of the Philippines na maghasik ng takot at pigilan ang mamamayan na mag-organisa.

Noong Agosto 11, 2019, nagsagawa ng Simultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operation (SACLEO) ang Manila Police District sa Baseco Compound, Port Area, Maynila. Ni-raid ang mga komunidad, naglagay ng mga checkpoints, at nagtalaga ng zonings. Dito nakaranas ng harassment ang mga residente dahil kinuhanan sila ng litrato ng walang pahintulot at pinilit silang pumirma ng mga papeles na magpapahamak sa kanila. Tatlo ang kumpirmadong patay sa loob lamang ng isang araw dahil diumano’y nanlaban. Ang pangyayaring ito ay halos kagaya rin sa Synchronized Enhanced Military and Police Operations sa Negros kung saan marami din ang namatay.

May armadong labanan na ba sa Metro Manila? Hindi armado at hindi nanlaban ang mga pinatay sa sunod-sunod na operasyon dito sa Maynila. Tinitindigan ito ng kanilang pamilya at komunidad. Ang tanging laban na isinusulong ng mahihirap na naging biktima ay ang laban para sa karapatan sa paninirahan at disenteng trabaho. Dito ipinapakita lamang ng AFP at PNP na gusto lamang nilang gawing Negros ang Metro Manila – ang hangad nila ay magpakalat ng takot sa mga komunidad lalo na sa mga erya kung saan aktibong nag-oorganisa ang masa laban sa pagwasak ng kanilang tahanan.

Tila nanunumbalik ang panahon kung saan target ng administrasyong patahimikin ang mga kritikal sa anti-mamamayang polisiya nito. Sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang Konstitusyon at mga batas, hindi krimen ang mag-organisa, hindi krimen ang maging aktibista at tumindig para sa karapatan.

Naninindigan ang mamamayan ng Metro Manila laban sa panunumbalik ng martial law. Ang katotohanan lamang na lumilitaw sa patuloy na pag-atake ng estado ay ang hindi magagaping diwa ng mga mamamayang lumalaban. Ang Gabriela Women’s Party, kasama ang malawak na hanay ng masa, ay patuloy na titindig laban sa anumang porma ng karahasan at paglabag sa karapatang pantao. #

01/10/2019

24/09/2019

EJ Honorica and Ms. Amirah Lidasan of the Defend the Defenders Network sharing the current situation of Human Rights Situation in Mindanao and in certain places.

24/09/2019

EJ Honorica of Karapatan - Metro Manila and convenor of Defend the Defenders Network (DDN) gives his presentation on the impacts of President Duterte's counter-insurgency program Oplan Kalasag and Oplan Kapanatagan to law students from De La Salle University, Ateneo Law School and University of the Philippines Law at the DLSU Rufino Campus in Taguig City.

14/09/2019