Basilan Women Condemn Illegal Detention and Arrest of Minor

A local women's group today condemned the continuing detention of
arrested 17-year old Abu Sayyaf suspect Al Jakirani, claiming that
this was a violation of his rights provided in the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child and the Revised Penal Code which protects the
rights of alleged offenders under the age of eighteen.

SUARA Fatimats (Suara Women), an organization of Moro women, called
for the immediate release of Jakirani and the prosecution of the
arresting officers under the NISG under orders of Capt. Aragones.

Jakirani, a pedicab driver of Isabela City, was awaiting passengers at
the wharf on March 10 when five soldiers from the Naval Intelligence
Special Group (NISG) accosted him and took him forcibly aboard a navy
boat toward Zamboanga City for his alleged involvement in the 2001
Golden Harvest kidnapping as "Abu Usman".

In 2001, Jakirani was only 11 years old and peddling goods at the wet
market, according to his uncle PO2 Hamjan Alih. Relatives and friends
of Jakirani have been claiming that he was falsely accused as "Abu
Usman" by NISG operatives and that his arrest was a case of 'mistaken
identity'. They have repeatedly called for the immediate release of
their loved one.

The group also noted that Jakirani's arrest was laden with irregularities.

Nudjum Jandul, SUARA Fatimats Chairperson in Isabela City cited the
recklessness on the part of NISG in arresting Jakirani, whose full
name Al Jakirani Y Alih was incompatible with that of supposed Abu
Sayyaf leader Al Hari Jakiri y Alidjan a.k.a. Abu Usman.
The family had earlier asserted that the boy evidently suffered from
torture while in the custody of the NISG. Medical examination
conducted by a government hospital on Jakirani revealed several chest,
sternal and abdominal contusions which resulted from torture during
his tactical interrogation, according to his relatives, while the
medical examination conducted by the military indicated that the
abrasions resulted from an accidental fall.
According to Jakirani's sworn statement, he was mauled and
electrocuted on his genital area thrice during his tactical
interrogation.

"What we fear and what we are actually seeing is a repeat or a sequel
of the military crackdown in Basilan on 2001 where our loved ones
where rounded up and arrested arbitrarily for being alleged Abu Sayyaf
members," Jandul said.

Jakirani is currently detained in the Basilan Provincial Jail. He is
the fourth "Abu Usman" suspect detained in the jail.

"It almost looks like the military is out to fish as many Abu Usman as
they want. We just learned that aside from the four already detained,
two other individuals claimed by the military as Abu Usman are already
dead: Usman Nasalil a.k.a. Abu Usman was killed in an encounter in
Jolo, Sulu while Salip Usman a.k.a. Abu Usman was killed in 2002", she
added.

On March 17, the Commission on Human Rights sent a team to Isabela,
Basilan to look into allegations of torture claimed by relatives. They
have yet to come up with a formal report. The City Prosecutor of
Zamboanga City Ricardo Cabaron also cited in TV Patrol Chavacano that
the arresting officers were ill-advised in the arrest and detention of
Jakirani, citing that the suspect was a minor.

"Arbitrary arrests and illegal detention of innocent people – this is
a reality now in Basilan. This is without the Anti-terror Law in
force. Once that law is applied, it will only embolden the military in
arresting anyone. We fear for the worst - for our families, for
ourselves", adds Jandul.

The group said that they will continue to call for the immediate
release of Al Jakirani. ###

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DAVAO TODAY
Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines
http://www.davaotoday.com
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Ermita 'on denial' about Permanent Peoples' Tribunal

The Hague, The Netherlands – Dr. Gianni Tognoni, Secretary General of
the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal (PPT), described the recent statements
of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita against the Tribunal's Second
Session on the Philippines as part of the government's current
propaganda strategy of denial and obfuscation of the extrajudicial
killings in the Philippines.

In his letter addressed to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and
Ermita, Dr. Tognoni further stated that whatever other declaration of
transparency and willingness to cooperate in the investigation of the
extrajudicial killings by the Philippine government would necessarily
be considered only in this context.

According to Dr. Tognoni, in accordance with the PPT's statutes, the
formal invitation to attend the Second Session on the Philippines was
sent earlier to Arroyo and president George W. Bush of the United
States of America, through their respective governments' embassies in
Rome, Italy and in The Hague, The Netherlands. The invitation to hear
the side of the accused parties or their representatives was once
again extended during the opening session of the PPT last 21 March. No
reply was received by the Tribunal.

Dr. Tognoni was responding to the conflicting statements made by Sec.
Ermita. He was quoted by a 22 March news report as saying that the
Arroyo administration is willing to cooperate with the PPT. But just
over a week prior, a news report also quoted Ermita, saying that he
'dismissed' the invitation of the Tribunal as 'mere gimmickry', and
that the Department of Foreign Affairs reportedly 'rejected' the PPT's
letter.

The case filed before the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal was initiated by
Victims of the Arroyo Regime United for Justice (HUSTISYA), Society of
Ex-Detainees for Liberation from Detention and Amnesty (SELDA),
Families of the Desaparecidos for Justice (DESAPARECIDOS), Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-New Patriotic Alliance), Alliance for the
Advancement of People's Rights (KARAPATAN), Public Interest Law Center
(PILC), Peace for Life, Philippine Peace Center, Ibon Foundation,
Inc., Ecumenical Bishops Forum and United Church of Christ in the
Philippines.

FOR REFERENCE:

Angelica M. Gonzales, MD

Executive Director, International Coordinating Secretariat

Permanent Peoples' Tribunal

Second Session on the Philippines

secretariat@philippinetribunal.org

www.philippinetribunal.org

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DAVAO TODAY
Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines
http://www.davaotoday.com
*********************************************

MAY ELECTIONS A CHANCE TO CORRECT MINDANAO’S UNDER REPRESENTATION

MANILA -- Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Aquilino "Koko"
Pimentel has underscored the importance of increased representation of
Mindanao in the 24-man Senate as part of the peace and development
process in the country's second biggest island-group.

Pimentel said even if he and three administration senatorial aspirants
from Mindanao – Prospero Pichay, Juan Miguel Zubiri and Sultan Jamalul
Kiram – will all win in the May elections, Mindanao will still be
under-represented in the Upper Chamber.

"I believe that Mindanao is entitled to have more members in the
Senate in proportion to its population and contributions to the
national economy," he told a dinner-forum organized by the Philippine
Business Leaders Forum and the Philippine Council for Islam and
Democracy at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City.

At present only Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr., Koko's
father, is representing Mindanao in the Senate. Since 1998, the Muslim
community has had no representative in the Senate.

The young Pimentel, the lone senatorial contender from Mindanao, said
that since Mindanao accounts for more than a fourth of the Philippine
population, it should logically have at least six members in the
Senate.

Pimentel emphasized that the problem of lack of Muslim representation
can be addressed by adopting the old proposal for the election of
senators by regions.

He said it is no exaggeration to say that the lack of Muslim voice in
the Senate and other decision and policy-making bodies in the national
government is one of the reasons why Muslims feel like they are
second-class citizens in the republic and why the insurgency problem
in Mindanao has persisted for several decades now.

Pimentel pledged to focus on the peace and development agenda in
Mindanao if he is elected to the Senate.

He said he has drawn up his Mindanao agenda which includes promotion
of peace, maintenance of law and order, creation of a Mindanao
Development Authority, development of agriculture and fisheries
resources, expansion of trade with neighboring countries, making
Mindanao the science center of the country, protection and
preservation of the environment, raising the level of harmony and
understanding among the Muslims and conserving the ethnic or tribal
customs and traditions of indigenous peoples of Mindanao.
-30-

PIMENTEL FOR SENATOR MOVEMENT HEADQUARTERS
BF Condominium Room 316 BF Homes Condominium, Soriano Avenue,
Intramuros, Manila
Email: votekoko@pimentel2007.org Website: www.pimentel2007.org

Arroyo turning RP into a nation of mendicants and paupers

manila -- Anakpawis Representative and political detainee Crispin
Beltran today said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is turning
the Philippines into 'a nation of paupers and mendicants reliant on
alms and dole-outs' through her latest plan to release P1B billion
pesos food-for-school and food-for-work programs and for various
feeding programs.

Arroyo said that that the barangay food terminals, or "bagsakan"
centers, where the poor can buy cheap food and basic commodities,
would benefit some 200,000 of 700,000 hungry families in Metro Manila
by next month.

"This is how Pres. Arroyo intends to address the issue of worsening
hunger? Selling them cheap food? And where does she think the poor
will get the money to but the food, however cheap it is? Pres. Arroyo
is offering a Band-Aid solution to a gaping wound caused by severe
hunger pangs. Making sure that cheap food is accessible to the poor is
far from enough; what Filipinos is need is not dole-outs or cheap,
low-quality food, they need steady employment and living wages. Hunger
is an inevitable effect of unemployment and underemployment. Low wages
far from enough to cover basic necessities is another," he said.

Beltran, now on his 4th day of fasting in protest of his continuing
incarceration as well as the arrest of Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo,
said that Pres. Arroyo's heartless decision to thumb down the demand
of private sector workers for a P125 across-the-board wage increase
cannot be mitigated by this supposed plan to have P1 B released for
food-for-school and food-for-work programs.

"And how long will this P1 billion last? We cannot even be sure that
such an amount will actually be released and directly go towards these
food-for work programs. What Mrs. Arroyo is succeeding in doing is
temporarily stalling hunger and not moving decisively to eradicate it.
Filipinos need jobs and wages that will enable them to live decently,
not just live hand-to-mouth from one day to the next," he said.

Beltran challenged Pres. Arroyo to cut all budget expenditures
earmarked for military operations and foreign debt servicing and
reallocate the amount towards public health, housing and education. He
also said that Pres. Arroyo should cut the various perks and
privileges it gives to foreign investors and their businesses and
instead give full assistance to local businesses to help them
develop and flourish to encourage local job creation.

"Filipinos need jobs, not dole-outs. In the provinces, farmers are
being stripped of their income and livelihood because of the
government's land confiscation program masquerading as agrarian
reform. Filipinos are being forced to leave the provinces in droves in
hopes of finding jobs in the cities, and they end up unemployed and
homeless. Pres. Arroyo should address the issue of poverty and its
by-product hunger by going to the roots of the problem," he said.

Scrap pork barrel increase as it will be taken out of government
employees' retirement funds

In the meantime, the activist lawmaker said that Budget Secretary
Rolando Andaya Jr's admission that the government still does not know
it will get the P6.2-billion increase for the Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel of lawmaker was more than enough
grounds to have the increased completely scrapped.

"This increase should be done away with, especially since it's been
revealed that a large segment of the PDAF or P3.9B, will be taken
from the P18.7-billion benefits and terminal leave pay for some 7,000
government retirees this year. This is most unfair to our government
employees. Their retirement funds should be left alone, they have
forced hard all these years but now their retirement funds are going
to be affected just because there are lawmakers who are greedy for
bigger pork barrel," he said.

Beltran reiterated his stand that the announcement of increased pork
barrel for lawmakers is meant as an enticement to secure the loyalty
of candidates running for congress and the senate. "It's a
well-established and known fact that those closest and loyal to
Malacanang have no problems securing their NCAs and SAROs, and their
pork barrel funds are released without a hitch. In exchange, lawmakers
give their signatures to all of Malacanang's priority measures and
Palace-backed bills and resolutions," he concluded.#

War on hunger should be a war for a living wage �C group

MANILA -- The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research,
Inc (EILER,Inc), a non-government development organization today said
that a genuine government effort to curb the high incidence of hunger
in the country should comprise of the reduction of the gap between the
family cost of living and minimum wages. This is in reponse to the
announcement by the Arroyo administration of the 1 billion pesos
"emergency hunger mitigation" fund.

"A war on hunger should be a war for a living wage," said EILER, Inc.
Executive Director Paul Quintos, "As long as the workers' wages are
pinned down and no significant wage increases such as the P125 wage
demand are legislated, then a war on hunger is nothing but lip
service."

A question of social justice

Quintos also said that the demand of Filipino workers for a living
wage is not only for immediate relief, which in itself is fair given
the working masses' dire situation but most of all a question of
social justice. The collective labor of the working people is
continuously increasing the country's social wealth as reflected by
the annual growth of the Gross Domestic Product or GDP.

The GDP grew by PhP542.433Billion or 12.57 percent in 2004; by
PhP560.004Billion or 11.53 percent in 2005; and by PhP581.411Billion
or 10.73 percent last year. However, only the local elite classes and
foreign businesses are enjoying it.

Foreign and local big businesses are taking pleasure in the
tremendous increase of their profits amidst the country's intensifying
economic crisis �C the government's financial bankruptcy, runaway
inflation, increasing poverty etc. Profits of the country's top 1000
corporations increased by

*PhP25.624Billion or 15 percent from 2003-2004; and

*PhP173.647Billion or 88.2 percent from 2004-2005;

Leading the biggest earners are the country's principal landlord and
bourgeois compradors like Henry Sy, Lucio Tan, Jaime Zobel, Danding
Cojuanco, and 36 others who belong to the world's super elite club of
billionaires and multimillionaires. Last year their combined personal
assets amounted to US$16Billion.

Based on the latest data from the National Statistics Office on
family income and expenditures, 10 percent of families in the country
(i.e. the landlords, bourgeois compradors, national bourgeoisie and
the upper crust of the petit bourgeoisie) corners 36.8 percent of the
aggregate family income, spends 31.9 percent of the aggregate
expenditures and pockets approximately 63 percent of the aggregate
family savings. On the other hand, 70 percent of families (or the
families of the direct economic producers �C the workers and peasants)
gets only 34.8 percent of the aggregate income, spends 39.4 percent
of the aggregate expenditures and corners 12 percent of the aggregate
savings. The poorest 30 percent have no savings at all and instead
incurred almost PhP6Billion in debts.

In the midst of widening gap between incomes and costs of living,
Quintos said ordinary Filipinos are also denied the most basic
services such as health, education and housing. He also expressed
apprehension that the 1 Billion hunger fund will just be another
pretext for more govenrment corruption.

The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, Inc.
(EILER) is an independent non-governmental development organization
providing institutional support for labor research, education and
workers organizing nationwide.

Mr. Paul L. Quintos was a former research associate at the Philippine
Institute for Development Studies of the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA-PIDS) and a lecturer at the University of
the Philippines. He obtained his Masters degree (MSc.) in
Development Studies from the London School of Economics (LSE) and his
Bachelors degree (BS.) in Statistics from the University of the
Philippines.

Beltran’s arraignment on Monday; calls on court to dismiss false charges

MANILA -- Now on his 4th day of fasting, Anakpawis Representative
Crispin Beltran said that he is very much prepared to once more face
his accusers in court tomorrow, March 25 as the arraignment for the
sedition case against him is heard at the Metropolitan Trial Court
of Metro Manila Branch 43 in Quezon City at 1:30 pm. He is still
demanding the court dismiss all charges against him and immediately
have him released in the interest of justice and truth.

"It has been months since the court heard my case, and it's a grievous
violation against my rights. As an elected lawmaker, I have the right
to immunity, but the courts have chosen to ignore this fact. The
leadership of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Jose de
Venecia have also done nothing to vouch for me and my rights. Despite
all this, however, I remain in fighting form and I'm ready to prove
that all the charges and testimonies made against me by the various
'pakawala' of the Macapagal-Arroyo government are out and out lies,"
he said.

Beltran, 74, has been fasting since Wednesday in protest of his
continuing detention and the attacks against fellow progressive
lawmakers, mainly Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo. He also began his fast
in solidarity with and in gratitude to other political detainees all
over the country protesting against his and Ocampo's incarceration.

"It's yet another testament to how twisted the judicial system in the
country is, the way the courts are still slow to discern genuine and
legitimate cases from purely politically-motivated ones, cases that in
truth should be considered 'nuisance cases' and a waste of public
funds. The charges of sedition and rebellion against me are all
baseless, and the results of a malicious and vicious plot to weaken
the progressive bloc of party-lists and their effective campaign of
being the voice of the Filipino people in the congress. Malacanang and
the Department of Justice led by Sec. Raul Gonzalez and well as
national security adviser Norberto Gonzales continue to pursue these
charges against me not because I am guilty of them, but because they
are pikon. They are retaliating in this underhanded way for all the
just and legitimate criticism we have made against them and their
policies that attack the Filipino people's economic, political and
human rights."

The court has denied Beltran 's motion to quash the government's move
to proceed with Criminal Case No. 132943 or the case charging him with
sedition. The court has ordered a full-blown trial. The decision was
laid down by Acting Presiding Judge Thelma de los Santos.

The court is ordering that the sedition case against Beltran be
deliberated in a full-blown hearing, denying the motion of Beltran's
lawyers that the case be immediately dismissed on the grounds that
Beltran's arrest on February 25, 2006 was illegal and that the
arresting officers did not have a warrant for his arrest much less
clear-cut charges to back it up. The court also denied the assertion
of Beltran's lawyers that the court erred in holding that the crime of
inciting to sedition can be absorbed in the crime of rebellion despite
the clear ruling in People vs. Hernandez and People vs. Geronimo.

The court found the arguments of the lawyers against the coupling of
the crime of inciting to sedition with the crime of rebellion. The
court said that the crime consist of two separate acts each of which
have their own criminal intents and hence should be tried separately.

Beltran's lawyers led by the Public Interest Law Center's President
Atty. Romeo Capulong, Atty. Amylyn Sato and Atty. Rachel Pastores
intend to file a motion for certiorari on the sedition case. They
insist that sedition and rebellion charges should be heard as one and
the same. They have been petitioning the court that the more serious
case of rebellion should be heard while the sedition charges should be
dropped. #

THE MEDIA IS REQUESTED TO COVER REP. BELTRAN'S ARRAIGMENT ON MONDAY,
MARCH 26, 2007 AT THE QC RTC NEAR THE QUEZON CITY HALL AT 1:30 PM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

International tribunal to hold US-Arroyo regime accountable for witnesses' death

The Hague, The Netherlands – "If anything happens to any of the
witnesses that testified in this Tribunal, we shall hold the Arroyo
government responsible." Thus said Professor François Houtart,
President of the Jury of the Permanent People's Tribunal, at the
conclusion of public hearings Friday. The Tribunal was holding
sessions in the Hague to try the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo government,
the George W. Bush government and their accomplices, for gross
violations of human rights, economic and social rights and
transgression of the national sovereignty of the Filipino people.

Earlier, Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Secretary General of Karapatan
(Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights) informed the
tribunal that a witness who testified before the UN Special Rapporteur
for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions was killed
recently. Peasant leader and Bayan Muna partylist official Siche
Gandinao, provided testimony to Prof. Philip Alston regarding the
summary execution of her father-in-law Daki Gandinao. The elder
Gandinao was Provincial Coordinator of Bayan Muna in Misamis Oriental.

Prof. Houtart thanked all those who testified before the tribunal for
their courage. He said that he was very much aware that the witnesses
were doing so at the risk to their lives.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN, New Patriotic Alliance), Hustisya,
Karapatan, the Ecumenical Bishops Forum, the United Church of Christ
in the Philippines, and other Philippine organizations brought suit
against the US-backed Arroyo regime before the Tribunal because of
their belief that justice for the victims cannot be achieved within
the country's judicial system. Witnesses are afraid to come out in the
open because of the climate of impunity obtaining in the country and
the threats and intimidation that would-be witnesses get from the
military and police.

Members of the Jury were yesterday in a closed-door session to
deliberate on a verdict. The Jury will read out its verdict on Sunday,
25 March, 2:00pm at the Pax Christikerk in The Hague, The Netherlands.
#

FOR REFERENCE:

Angelica M. Gonzales, MD
Executive Director
International Coordinating Secretariat
Permanent Peoples' Tribunal
Second Session on the Philippines
secretariat@philippinetribunal.org
www.philippinetribunal.org

Jamby seeks Tribunal's guilty verdict against Arroyo government

Senator Jamby Madrigal testified before the Permanent Peoples'
Tribunal at The Hague on 23 March 2007. In clear and forceful terms,
she said, "As a Filipino, I accuse and seek a guilty verdict for the
regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the violations of the economic,
social and cultural rights of the people including the violation of
economic sovereignty and the national patrimony through iniquitous
agreements and economic plunder by foreign and local exploiters."

Sen. Madrigal presented before the Tribunal a 15-page "Summary of
Charges and Cases on the Continuing Displacement of the Indigenous
Peoples and the Plunder of the Environment in the Philippines".

She accused the Arroyo government of failing to implement the
Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA). She declared that "there is a
noticeable lack of interest on the part of the government in the
implementation of the IPRA, to the detriment of the indigenous
people."

Senator Madrigal also condemned Arroyo's Executive Order no. 364 in
2004, which "cut off the independence of the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)" as the agency to protect and promote the
rights of the indigenous peoples. The NCIP was placed under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Land Reform.

She cited the specific case of "the grant of an illegal logging
concession to Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, the architect of martial
law…and former Defense Secretary of Marcos". The concession is within
the Samar Island Natural Park.

She also exposed the "open pit mining and plunder of Rapu-Rapu Island
by La Fayette Corporation in the province of Sorsogon."

She presented the cases of the displacement of indigenous peoples in
Zamboanga del Norte and in the island of Boracay by Toronto Ventures,
Inc. of Canada, despite the existence of lawful order issued by the
NCIP.

She declared that "these cases are a microcosm of what is happening
everyday all throughout the Philippines. These are not isolated
incidents."

Professor François Houtart, President of the Jury of the Permanent
Peoples' Tribunal Second Session on the Philippines, expressed his
appreciation and thanks for the presentation of Senator Madrigal. #