by Renato Reyes, Jr.

While the nation welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court ordering the actual land distribution of Hacienda Luisita, the SC decision presents several problems and challenges for farmers and advocates of land reform. The decision highlights the limitations and problems with government’s land reform program CARPER.

1. The SC decision ordered the compensation of the owners of Hacienda Luisita. By “owners”, we mean them Cojuangco-Aquino family. They will be compensated for the 4, 335 hectares that will be distributed to the farmers. If each hectare is valued at 1,000,000, the Cojuangco’s will receive P4.3 billion. The government will advance a certain amount, and the farmers will have to pay the entire amount through an amortization scheme. No less than President Benigno Aquino III stressed the importance of “just compensation” for the landowners. He also invoked CARPER as the basis for this “just compensation”. What is unjust in this scheme is that the vast estate was unjustly acquired by the Cojuangco’s through a government loan from the GSIS. In short, public funds were used to acquire the estate with the condition that land would eventually be distributed to the farmers. Furthermore, the farm workers have paid for the value of the land through their sweat and blood, working on the estate for several decades without receiving any of the supposed fruits of their labor. Over the years, the Cojuangco’s got richer and the farm workers were mired deeper in destitution. There is therefore nothing just in paying the Cojuangco’s P4.335 billion which will come from public funds and the pockets of the long-exploited farm workers. The farmers demand that the land be distributed for free.
2. The SC decision did not rule that the Stock Distribution Option scheme was unconstitutional. Only Chief Justice Renato Corona supported this opinion. It would have been a landmark victory for thousands of other farmers nationwide if the SDO itself, this loophole in the agrarian reform program of the first Aquino regime, was altogether junked. The SDO has been abused by big landlords who wanted to evade land reform and actual land distribution. Instead of actual land distribution, farmers are swindled through shares of stock.
3. The SC decision exempted the 500 hectare land purchased by RCBC. This is controversial because RCBC knew that the land in question was the subject of an agrarian dispute, yet it entered into a transaction with the Luisita management to acquire the land. They claimed that they were “innocent purchasers” but facts will reveal that RCBC , Luisita Industrial Park Corporation (a subsidiary of HLI) and Centennary Holdings had interlocking directors or officials. There is also the land conversion order which reclassified this supposedly agricultural land. The HLI management of course earned a hefty sum from this sale.
4. The SC decision exempted more than 1,000 hectares of land from the coverage of land reform.  Farmers and their lawyers have challenged the basis of this exemption and have pushed that land reform cover at least 6,443 hectares.
5. The P1.3 billion payment by management to the farmers from the earnings of land sale (RCBC, SCTEX) will still be subjected to a lot of accounting wizardry. This amount can still go down if HLI shows that it spent the money for legitimate corporate expenses and taxes.

This is not a victory for CARPER. Quite the opposite, what happens in the next few months will show that CARPER will make genuine land reform even more difficult, nay impossible.

It now lies with the collective struggle of the farmers to ensure that their legal victory will truly be beneficial for all farmer beneficiaries.

by
Roland G. Simbulan
University of the Philippines

Grande Island, Subic, Sept. 12 –  It is drizzling Monday afternoon, the ocean water in Subic Bay is choppy all around Grande Island which on the google map seems to guard the entrance of Subic Bay from South China Sea. At least 25 ships, mostly commercial and container vessels float on the waters inside the Bay. A large tanker, with the markings NYK Hinode, floats near the Hanjin Heavy Industries Shipyards. More than 20 years ago when Subic was still the United States’ largest naval base outside U.S. territory, such a scene was unthinkable. For Subic, and Subic Bay for that matter, was an exclusive enclave for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. 7th Fleet that operated in the Western Pacific. Commercial and civilian vessels were then not allowed inside Subic Bay.

Unthinkable before, because the very spot where I am standing at Grande Island used to be off limits to Filipinos. Grande Island back then was exclusively for the “Rest and Recreation” of U.S. military servicemen. Now, Grande Island is a Filipino resort with classy hotels seen clearly from the shorelines of the communities around the bay.  From Grande Island, one can see huge orange and white cranes and floating drydocks of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) ready to service visiting ships to unload their cargo and container vans or to repair commercial vessels from all countries of the world.

September 16, 2011 this year, marks the 20th anniversary of the historic rejection of the bases treaty, or to be accurate, the non-concurrence by the Philippine Senate of the proposed treaty that was to extend the U.S. bases for another 10 years after the expiration of the 1947 RP-U.S. Military Bases Agreement. That was a historical feat because it marked the shutting down and dismantling of the largest U.S. overseas military naval and air force bases that were located on Philippine soil since 1901. And the U.S. was still back then,  unquestionably the strongest economic and military superpower in the world. Filipino nationalists consider that day as historically significant because it marked the end of 470 years of foreign military base and troops’ presence on Philippine soil, which began during Spanish colonization and extended almost permanently during the American colonial period and beyond Philippine independence in 1946. It was a proud moment for the Philippines that many people in Japan, South Korea and in many places where there are still foreign military bases and foreign troops, want to learn from and replicate.

This is why Filipino nationalists and the nationalist movement in general have long considered foreign bases presence as antithetical to independence. They were the most visible physical symbols of continuing colonialism and farce independence: Immediately after our 1946 independence and under the 1947 US-RP Military Bases Agreement, an estimated 250,000  hectares of arable lands with rich agricultural and mineral potential in 23 bases in 13 provinces —prime real estate– were placed under the exclusive and absolute control of the U.S. government. The original agreement was for the rent-free use of our territory, for 99 years, later to be shortened in negotiations to expire in 1991. It was as if these lands were carved out and seceded from our sovereign control, making a travesty of our independence.

Arguments during the debates on the future of the U.S. bases in the Philippines inside and outside the Senate more than 20 years ago focused on the economic and security issues.

Economic Issues

When the U.S. military bases and facilities were pulled out from the Philippines 20 years ago, some people predicted economic ruin for the country and security fears for the nation.  I even remember the threat of then U.S. Ambassador Nicolas Platt when he said at the height of the bases debates that ” foreign investments would dry up and the economy would collapse if the U.S. bases pulled out.” Instead, the former U.S. base lands today have become linchpins of economic growth in the country. This is the “peace dividend” that has lured businesses to set up shop in the former bases, including the South Korean Hanjin Heavy Industries, which has made the former U.S. military facilities one of the fastest-growing employers in their respective regions. Today, the former U.S. military bases in the country are reported to employ almost more than four times the number of Filipino workers that the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force employed at their Vietnam War peak, and has brought in more than P17-19 billion in revenues into the national treasury.

The Gordon family who were once the most die hard defenders of the U.S.bases when they dominated politics in Olongapo (and still do) are now the first to admit that “the Philippines has one of the best experiences in bases conversion if not one of the most successful base conversion of a foreign military base”, as former Olongapo Mayor and former SBMA administrator Richard Gordon would state in a 1996 interview with a national daily.  In fact, the former U.S. bases have become symbols of economic resurgence for the country such that, during the Presidency of Fidel V. Ramos, Subic was chosen as the site to host the Asia Pacific Economic Council(APEC) meeting of heads of state.

Security Issues

As for the security issues, the Philippine dismantling of the U.S. military bases in the Western Pacific was actually our contribution to the ending of the Cold War in our part of the world. For the U.S. bases were in fact the most visible vestiges of the Cold War in the Asia Pacific, used by the Pentagon for its aggressive gunboat diplomacy in the Korean peninsula, as launching pads for military intervention during the Vietnam War and as springboards for intervention against countries like Iran and other countries in the Middle East.

The “peace dividend” that accompanied this decision was that after we removed the bases here, we could now secure better relations with ALL our neighbors and not be held hostage by being host to a superpower that dragged us into its military interventions and possibly, made us a magnet for attacks as during World War II, when the U.S. bases here were the first targets by the Japanese Imperial Army. But the country without the U.S. bases must also be able to develop its external defense capability both in terms of modernizing its national defense forces and multilateral diplomatic initiatives to defend national interests and sovereignty. This is to deserve its truly sovereign status like our smaller neighbors like Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam and Burma, especially in dealing with claimants to the Spratlys such as China. It must also learn to deal on its own with its internal armed conflicts and peace and order threats such as the Abu Sayaff, without relying on the almost-permanently-based covert operatives of the U.S. Special Operations Forces which we have invited here under the cover of the Visiting Forces Agreement.

And what was the role of the Mt. Pinatubo factor in the outcome of the issue of the bases?  Believe it or not as if it was a god sent act,  Mt. Pinatubo volcano erupted on June 12, 1991, the very day of Independence of the Philippines in the revolution against Spain. In reality, the Pinatubo factor made it more difficult for the anti-bases senators to argue against the immediate bases termination. It reduced the number of anti-bases Senators from 19 to 12 Senators because of the perceived hardships and dislocations in Central Luzon brought about by Pinatubo,  though 12 was still a safe number to reject the proposed new bases treaty.

Pentagon’s desperation to keep forward bases

The Pentagon, despite their temporary withdrawal of Clark Air Bases within three hours just before the Mt. Pinatubo eruption (they had claimed during the bases negotiations that it would take them at least 10 years to withdraw any large base), still wanted to keep their remaining forward-deployed bases in the country very badly.  Beyond 1991, they wanted desperately to keep 14,698 hectares: Clark Air Base, Subic Naval Base, John Hay Base in Baguio City, O’Donnel Transmitter Station in Tarlac, Wallace Air Station in Poro Point, La Union, the San Miguel Communications Station, and the Capas Naval Transmitter Station. But no amount of political pressure on the 12 Senators, now referred to as the “Magnificent 12″ could change their minds. For prior to this decision, the Senate had passed seven resolutions against U.S. bases and nuclear weapons with 19 Senators consistently signing these. Here, we must give credit to then presidentiables Senators Aquilino Pimentel and especially Senate President Jovito Salonga who sacrificed their presidential plans by taking a historic stand that clearly defied U.S. strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region. For Salonga’s Liberal Party, it was really a good chance to clear the party’s name of the stigma of being initially a pro-U.S. party, for it was the LP-dominated government of then Pres. Manuel Roxas that signed the U.S.-RP Military Bases Agreement in 1947.

Leadership Role of Senate

The Senate clearly took a leadership role in directing us towards a sovereign Philippine foreign policy in accordance to our 1987 Constitution when it made its Sept. 16 decision to close down the bases. This decision even defied mainstream public opinion 20 years ago, which generally favored the retention of the U.S. bases.The Senate decided that it was the right decision to make and in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, and that the people would eventually realize that it was the right thing to do. Guiding the Senate’s vote to dismantle the bases were state policies such as “the State shall pursue an independent foreign policy…in its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination”. There was also the new constitutional policy that the Philippines, “consistent with the national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory.” The latter Charter provision was consistent with at the seven UN-initiated treaties that the country had signed against ” the deployment of nuclear weapons and foreign military forces” in other regions of the world including those nuclear weapons and bases “deployed in outer space, the moon and other planets.”

Overall, public opinion today as expressed in leading opinion surveys is such that the Senate decision was the right but difficult decision. Except in the honky tonk community of barangay Barreto along the Olongapo national highway, which is frequented by American and Australian expats. This is where some bars with teasing names like “Wet Spot Bar”, “Corkscrew”, “Lips (Upper and Lower)”, etc. still welcome visiting U.S. troops on brief goodwill visits or during Balikatan exercises under the terms of the VFA . Critics claim that the latter  is a camouflage seeking to restore U.S. military presence in a new form. Many bars and nightclubs in Barreto are said to be owned by Australians and Americans who have long retired from the U.S. armed forces after being assigned to the Philippines. Barrio Barreto residents say that only last July, a visiting U.S. naval vessel docked at Subic and its crew of U.S. servicemen went to the bars to be entertained but with an early evening curfew. A nightclub in Barreto even still has a big streamer in front that says, U.S. TROOPS WELCOME!  At the Perimeter Road at Balibago, Angeles along the side of former Clark Air Base, the same mood still exists where aging foreign expats, now living in the country, can be seen walking in their slippers as if nothing had changed. But it has changed.

R.M. Magsaysay Avenue, once referred to by writers as “the Avenue of Broken Dreams”, which fronts the main gate of the former Subic Naval Base, now looks much different from the time when the whole avenue was saturated with seedy “ago go” bars, massage parlors and “rest and recreation” restaurants waiting to satisfy the sex-hundry U.S. Navy men leaving the base for their brief leave furlough. Now, the Olongapo City Mall stands tall right outside the former base gate, teeming with locals and students who patronize the fast food and appliance centers, as well as the vendors selling cheap China products and pirated DVDs.  The American Legion office and its pub in Magsaysay Avenue, now barely has any visitors, according to a cigarette vendor nearby that this author talked to.

While the level of military prostitution enhanced by the former U.S. bases’ presence has been diminished, prostitution and violation of children’s rights has not really been eradicated since the national economy to which the bases economy has been integrated, continues to be characterized by the unequal distribution of wealth where more than 65% of Filipinos live below poverty line. With the signing of the 1999 VFA and the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement in 2001, units of U.S. military personnel are back to exploit and take advantage of the poverty of Filipina women and children.   Which gives us the lesson that political independence has to be sustained and consolidated by economic sovereignty.

Farmers and indigenous peoples are still disallowed from their claims for inclusion of the former base lands in agrarian reform, and in the ancestral domain as in the case of the Aeta people. The former bases have been blatantly excluded from the government’s agrarian reform program, allowing only the rich local and foreign investors to pour in money to develop the fertile baselands. Landless Filipino farmers continue to be denied the use of the former baselands for agriculture, thus preventing the bases’ transformation from “weapons” use into “ploughshares.”

I always like to tell my visiting Japanese and South Korean academic and activist friends who visit to learn about our bases conversion experience that in the Philippine experience, bases conversion, while initially open to local participation in the bases communities, later was tailored to the elite-based decision-making prevailing in the national economy. Thus, I say, there is the continuing clash between the people’s base conversion strategy and the elite-dominated national economic strategy and system.  Their potential for growth as commercial business enclaves today however, show potential under a neoliberal economic regime that continues to grow. Military buildings and ammunition storage had been transformed into factories,  commercial offices, recreational and sports facilities, schools including a branch of the University of the Philippines, Ateneo and other schools at both Clark and Subic. There are zoos such as the Zoobic Safari, civilian airports, aviaries, and so many hotels and restaurants. In short, I tell our Japanese and Korean foreign friends who are so awed by our feat of kicking out the bases that our lesson here is that, THERE IS LIFE AFTER THE U.S. BASES. But the continuing challenge is how to make it a pro-Filipino and pro-poor economic conversion and development.

Today, what used to be the command headquarters building of the Subic Base commander, is now used as the corporate offices of the SBMA, an authority that was created by law to spearhead the conversion of the former U.S. naval base into the commercial free port and special economic zone that it is today.  One of the largest Philippine flags that I have seen flies proudly over the flagpole in front of the SBMA corporate building. And just below the flagpole are the commemorative palm prints and names of the “MAGNIFICENT 12 SENATORS” who made Sept. 16 possible. But it was the Filipino people, in their long struggle and sacrifices with so many freedom fighters and martyrs, who made the Sept. 16 rebirth possible and the Senate action was really a reaffirmation of that aspiration that is now articulated in the 1987 Constitution.

As I walk barefoot and leave footprints on the sand along the beautiful coastlines of the Grande Island beach resort at Subic, I wonder what it was like then when only Filipino waiters and servants could enter these exclusive places to serve American military personnel and their families. I am just glad that that very gross travesty of Philippine independence had been ended 20 years ago.

Streetwise
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo

When I am asked here or abroad what are the two outstanding achievements of the Philippine mass movement in the 20th century, without thinking twice I declare it is the ouster of the dictator Marcos through a people’s uprising in 1986 and the booting out of US military bases through the Philippine Senate rejection of a new treaty in 1991.

Today marks the 20th year of the RP-US Bases Treaty rejection and it is worthwhile to celebrate and be proud of this shining accomplishment.

We Filipinos did it through consistent struggle, through the mass movement that spanned more than half a century (counting the anti-colonial struggles of the 30’s) and the forging of the broadest anti-bases formations that delivered the coup de grace to this glaring vestige of US colonialism in Asia.  Against the unrelenting efforts by the US and President Cory Aquino to simultaneously cajole and pressure the Senate, 12 senators stood up for national sovereignty and the larger national interest.

BAYAN convened a few days ago, September 14, a gathering of Filipino nationalists — young and not-so-young, street parliamentarians and activist legislators as well as veteran and budding progressive artists — for a forum to rededicate themselves to the cause of freedom from foreign, specifically, US military presence.

According to Prof. Roland Simbulan, “(T)he non-concurrence by the Philippine Senate of the proposed treaty that was to extend the U.S. bases for another 10 years after the expiration of the 1947 RP-U.S. Military Bases Agreement…was a historic feat because it marked the shutting down and dismantling of the largest U.S. overseas military naval and air force bases that were located on Philippine soil since 1901.”

Nathanael Santiago, BAYAN Deputy Secretary-General during this tumultuous period attributed the resounding victory to four major factors: 1) the persistent and painstaking efforts to awaken nationalist and anti-imperialist sentiments among the people; 2) the struggle to overthrow the US-backed Marcos dictatorship; 3) the unification and mobilization of the broadest array of anti-bases, anti-nukes and anti-treaty forces; and 4) the sustained political campaign that saw huge and militant demonstrations attesting to growing public opinion against the bases.

Senator Wigberto Tañada, staunchest of the 12 senators who voted down the bases treaty, recounted how they were derided by pro-bases quarters as the “Dirty Dozen”.  After the vote, they were toasted by the media and the general public as the “Magnificent 12” who took that fateful stand and struck the chord for national independence and sovereignty.

Mr. Tañada told the gathering of his proudest moment when his then ailing father, the venerable nationalist, Senator Lorenzo Tañada, sat in a wheelchair in the Senate gallery during the suspenseful vote to witness and take part in the victory of the lofty cause he had fought so hard to attain since the 1950s.

But he categorically concluded that the fight did not end twenty years ago. The Cold War vintage Mutual Defense Treaty and The RP-US Military Assistance Pact together with  the post-bases treaty Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and Mutual Logistics and Support Arrangement (MLSA) remain and must be abrogated.

These provide the legal and political infrastructure to justify and pave the way for the permanent presence of hundreds of US troops; the prepositioning of US armaments, war vessels and aircraft and related equipment; year-round cooperation between US and Philippine Armed Forces ostensibly for training and joint exercises and civil military operations under the cover of humanitarian assistance and peace and development projects.

Current BAYAN Secretary General, Renato Reyes, titled his presentation “It’s like they never left”.  He expounded on how the US and all the post-bases regimes – Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo and now Benigno Aquino – conspired to ensure the virtual return of US military bases in a form more pernicious and more of an affront to Philippine sovereignty than ever before.

He cited the VFA and MLSA as legal instruments that allow the stationing of US troops and war materiel in Philippine territory with very little regulation and oversight.  He decried the fact that the VFA has an unspecified duration; does not specify or limit the number of troops allowed entry into the Philippines; does not specify or limit the areas in the Philippines that the “visiting” troops can access; and does not specify or limit the activities of the “visiting” troops.

The MLSA on the other hand allows the US Armed Force to access and utilize a wide-array of services for its civil-military operations from the Philippines as host country without having to set up the requisite physical and personnel infrastructure.

In short, “US troops are back and are digging in.”

The US has in fact established the US Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) that is headquartered in the Western Mindanao Command’s Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City.  The activities of the JSOTF-P are kept from the public eye and access to its headquarters is highly restricted even for Philippine military and civilian officials.  Moreover, the JSOTF-P is a ubiquitous presence especially in Western Mindanao where it partners with the USAID to spearhead civil-military operations under the auspices of the so-called Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) programs.

Recently Wikileaks released a US embassy cable dated April 2007 explicitly describing the Philippines as “currently the focal point of our counterterrorism fight in the region”.   It proposes five projects in Southwestern Mindanao for “dual-use” facilities, i.e. useful both for military and civilian purposes.   This revelation provides concrete examples and proof of continuing and permanent US military presence and activity in the Philippines twenty years after the Filipino people expelled the US bases from Philippine territory.

So far, the Aquino regime has not taken a single step, not even uttered a single word in the direction of reclaiming the victory marked by September 16, 1991.  In this regard President Benigno Aquino is following closely his mother’s subservient example.

Clearly, while the September 16 Senate vote was historic because it capped the victory of the decades-long struggle for sovereignty and against US bases, it was by no means the end of the struggle.

For so long as the country is ruled by a political elite beholden to the US, who cannot shake off the US economic shackles and who can only find security under the protection of a foreign military power that it calls an “ally”, the lessons of the anti-bases struggle retain their relevance and power to inspire a new generation of Filipino nationalists and anti-imperialists. #

Published in Business World
16-27 September 2011

(Ang papel na ito ay tinalakay ni Nathanael S. Santiago, pangkalahatang Kalihim ng Bayan Muna at Makabayan sa pagdiriwang sa ika-20 taong anibersaryo ng matagumpay na pagpapatalsik ng mga base militar ng US sa Pilipinas na inorganisa ng BAYAN sa UP Malcol Hall)

Mayroong kasabihan noon, “mapapatalsik ang pangulo ng Pilipinas ngunit hindi ang mga base militar ng US sa bansa”.  Nagmumula ito sa pagtingin na grabe ang kapangyarihan ng US. Nadidiktahan ng US ang gubyerno natin. Kontrolado ng US ang mahahalagang bahagi ng ating ekonomya. Namamayani ang kaisipang kolonyal.

Noong Setyembre 16, 1991, nangyari ang wari’y imposible. Nagapi ng makabayang kilusan ang pinagsamang pwersa ng US, gubyernong Cory Aquino, militar at malalaking negosyo. Walang nagawa ang panunuhol, presyur at pananakot. Sa lakas ng agos ng makabayang sentimyento, mga protesta at aksyong masa, itinakwil ng Senado sa botong 12-11, ang US-RP military bases agreement.

Nagtangka pa ang gubyernong US at Aquino na magmaniobra sa anyo ng panukalang referendum, 7-taong withdrawal, 3-5 taong phase out. Ayaw talaga nilang bitawan ang US bases laluna ang higanteng Clark Air Base at Subic Naval Base. Ngunit itinumba ang lahat ng ito ng higit na malakas na agos ng makabayang sentimyento matapos ang pagtatakwil ng Senado sa US bases treaty. Katapusan ng taong 1992, umalis ang huling tropang Amerikano lulan ng US warship Bettan Wood.

Ano ang saligang aral na mahahango natin sa laban sa base militar ng US? Makapangyarihan ang US. Superpower nga ang bansag sa US. Pero higit na makapangyarihan ang mamamayan. Kapag sila ay namulat at sama-samang lumaban, magagapi kahit ang kapangyarihan ng US.

Sa paggunita sa ika-20 taon ng makasaysayang araw na iyon, kinikilala natin ang makasaysayang pagtindig sa panig ng bayan ng tinawag na manificent 12 – Palakpakan natin sina Sen. Teofisto Guingona, Rene Saguisag, Victor Ziga, Sotero Laurel, Ernesto Maceda, Agapito Aquino,  Orlando Mercado, Aquilino Pimentel, Juan Ponce Enrile at Joseph Estrada. Mas malakas na palakpakan kina Senador Wigberto “Ka Bobby” Tanada at Senate President Jovito Salonga.

Walang isang tao o grupo ang pwedeng umangkin sa makasaysayang tagumpay laban sa US bases. Sa ultimo ang tagumpay ay tagumpay ng mamamayan nakipaglaban para sa pambansang kasarinlan.

Kinikilala natin kung gayon ang libu-libong mamamayan na nag-ambag ng lakas, talino at panahon para mangyari ang Setyembre 16. Bigyan natin ng palakpakan mga sumusunod – ang mga gerilya at makabayan ng Gitnang Luzon na lumaban sa pagbabalik ng mga Amerikano; gayundin sina Senador Claro M. Recto, Lorenzo Tanada at Jose Diokno; sina Satur Ocampo, Renato Constantino, Ambrosio Padilla; ang pinakamatalim na kalaban ng imperyalismong US, si Jose Maria Sison, ang Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army at National Democratic Front; ang mga lumahok sa Sigwa ng Unang Kwarto; ang mga nangahas lumaban at nagpabagsak sa diktadurang US-Marcos.

Palakpakan natin ang progresibong bloke ng Constitutional Commission sa pangunguna nina Atty. Senseng Suarez at Lino Brocka; sina Prof. Roland Simbulan, Capt. Danilo Vizmanos, RC Constantino at Cookie Diokno; sina Lean Alejandro, Felixberto at Rolando Olalia at Crispin Beltran; sina Sen. Nikki Coseteng, Nelia Sancho, Sr, Mary John Mananzan, Liza Maza; ang malalapad na kilusan, Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition, Anti-Bases Coalition, Anti-Baseng Kilusang Demokratiko at Anti-Treaty Movement; At syempre, ang pumagitna at nanguna sa pukpukang laban mula 1985 hanggang 1991, ang Bagong Alyansang Makabayan; at ang lahat ng kasaping organisasyon ng BAYAN.

Pinakamatunog na palakpakan sa mga martir at bayani ng kilusang makabayan.

Sa kabuuan, pinamunuan ng kilusang pambansa demokratikong ang matagumpay na laban sa base militar. Inilatag ng mga pambansang demokrata ang kumprehensibo at matalas na pagsusuri sa base militar at imperyalismong US bilang pangunahing kaaway ng sambayanan at ang ugnayan nito sa suliranin ng  pyudalismo, burukrata-kapitalismo at pasismo. Naging pinakamasugid at pinakapuspusang kaaway ng base militar at imperyalismong US ang kilusang pambansa demokratiko.

Ang tagumpay laban sa base militar ay hindi nakuha overnight. Hindi ito produkto ng ilang buwang kampanya. Ang tagumpay ay kumulatibong produkto ng kalahating siglong tuluy-tuloy na pagmumulat, pagbubuo ng pagkakaisa at pakikibaka laban sa base militar ng mga pambansang demokrata at mga alyado nito.

Ang tagumpay ay kumulatibong epekto ng apat na salik.

1. Masikhay at makabayang pagmumulat sa mamamayan
2. Pakikibaka at pagpapabagsak sa diktadurang US-Marcos
3. Pagbubuo at pagkilos na malawak na hanay na anti-bases, anti-nukes at anti-treaty
4. Sustinidong kampanya, mga militante at malalaking aksyong masa laban sa base militar

Masikhay na pagmumulat sa mamamayan

Susi sa tagumpay ng paglaban sa US bases ang pagmumulat sa mamamayan. Hindi madali ang pagmumulat dahil kontrolado ng US at maka-US ang sistema ng edukasyon, mas midya at malalaking grupong relihiyoso. Sa pasimula, pabor sa pananatili ng US bases ang malaking mayorya ng mamamayan, iilan pa lang ang mulat at tutol dito.

Mula tuwirang kolonyal na paghahari noong 1899, itinatag ng US ang malakolonyal na paghahari  sa bansa pagpasok ng taong 1946. Tiniyak ng US ang patuloy na kontrol sa ating ekonomya sa pamamagitan ng Bell Trade Act na naglalaman ng Parity Rights. Pinagtibay ito ng Kongreso noong Hulyo 2, 1946.

Noong Marso 4, 1947 nilagdaan ang US-RP Military Bases Agreement para sa US bases at facilities sa 23 lugar sa loob ng 99 taon.  Binigyan ng extraterritoriality ang US sa naturang mga base, ibig, sabihin teritoryo at nakapailalim soberenya at batas ng US ang mga ito. Pinakamalaki at pinakaestratehikong ang Clark Air Base sa Pampanga at Subic Naval Base sa Zambales.  Noong Agosto 30, 1951 pinirmahan ang Mutual Defense Treaty.

Kinailangang bakbakin ng mga progresibo ang mga kasinungalingan ng US at mga propagandista nito. Kailangang ipakita hindi lang higit ang pinsala sa soberenya, seguridad, kapayapaan, kababaihan at mga bata at kalikasan kaysa sa pakinabang  sa pananatli ng US bases; kahit ang pakinabang ay palamuti o panloloko lamang. Ano ang mga tampok na kasinungalingan?

1. Magkapareho daw ang interes ng US at Pilipinas at pareho ang ating kalaban. Ang problema maraming inaapi at nagiging kalabang bansa ng US. Ang Pilipinas, wala!
2. Sasakupin daw tayo ng Unyong Sobyet. Deterrent daw ang US bases sa pananalakay militar at nukleyar ng ibang bansa. Sa kabaliktaran, magnet sa atake ng mga kalaban ng US. Hindi ba’t unang inatake ng Japan ang US bases?
3. Bagbagsak daw ang ekonomya ng Gitnang Luzon at Pilipinas kung aalisin ang US bases. May 20 taon ng napaalis ang base militar, nangyari ba ito?
4. Kailangan daw ang US bases para sa modernization ng AFP. Ilang dekada na ang US bases,  namodernisa ba ang AFP? Mas importanteng punto, modernisasyon laban kanino – laban sa mga Pilipinong nakikibaka para sa kasarinlan at demokrasya?

Napakarami pang propaganda at kasinungalingan ang binakbak natin noon.

Nailantad natin ang totoo. Ang base militar ay kasangkapan ng US para protektahan ang kanyang pang-ekonomyang interes at pampulitikang dominasyon sa Pilipinas at daigdig at bilang lunsaran ng panghihimasok ng US sa Pilipinas, Tsina at iba pang bansa. Kailangan ng US ang base militar gaya ng kailangan ng magnanakaw ng baril na itututok sa kanyang biktima.

Dapat ipaglaban ng mamamayan ang pambansang kasarinlan at demokrasya kung nais nitong lumaya sa dayuhang mananakop. Kailangang makintal ang makabayang kamalayan at diwang palaban upang mapag-isa at mapakilos ang mamamayan.

Mamayagpag ang kaisipang kolonyal kung hindi babakbakin ang kasinungalingan at hindi ilalantad ang  malakolonyal na relasyon ng US at Pilipinas at ang salot na hatid ng US bases. Dapat ding ipakita na kayang tumindig at umunlad ng bansa kahit wala na ang US bases. Higit pa, kailangan mulatin ang malaking mayorya ng mamamayan sa mapagsamantala at mapang-aping katangian ng imperyalismo at sa pangangailangang wakasan ang dominasyon ng imperyalismong US sa bansa.

Maitatala sa kasaysayan na nag-ambag sa makabayang pagmumulat ang mga akda ni Jose Maria Sison laluna ang Struggle for National Democracy at Philippine Society and Revolution, ang mga talumpati at sulatin nina Senador Recto, Tanada. Diokno, Constantino, ang Bases of our Insecurity ni Prof. Roland Simbulan, ang mga pulyeto, praymer,  lathalain ng iba’t-ibang lihim at hayag na organisasyon, mga makabayang tula, pinta, awit, sayaw, stageplay, pelikula at iba pang likhang sining.

Nagbunga ang di mabilang na mga pagbabasa at pag-aaral, mga discussion groups, room-to-room, house-to-house, forum, symposium, pulong bayan, misang bayan, teatrong bayan, konsyerto, mga kulturang pagtatanghal. Kung walang pagmumulat sa pagiging makabayan, mamayagpag ang kaisipang kolonyal sa panahon ng makasaysayang araw ng Setyembre 16.

Lumaki at lumakas ang pwersa ng pagtutol at paglaban bunga ng mga inilantad na isyu laban sa base militar at ng pagkamulat ng mamamayan.

Sa katunayan, maraming rebisyon ang isinagawa sa US-RP MBA para pahupain ang mga pagtutol at protesta laban sa US at base militar nito.

Talaan ng rebisyon ng US-RP MBA sa gitna ng lumalakas na pagtutol ng mamamayan:

Gayunman, pinanatili sa saligan ang walang patumanggang paggamit ng pwersang militar ng US sa mga base at instalasyon sa bansa. Dahil sa matalas na paglalantad at pagmumulat, nawalang bisa ang panlilinlang ng mga renegosasyon at rebisyon. Lalo pang dumami ang namulat at tumutol.

Pakikibaka at tagumpay laban sa diktadurang US-Marcos

Mahalagang salik ng tagumpay ang magiting at matagumpay na pakikibaka ng mamamayan laban sa pasistang diktadurang US-Marcos. Inugnay ng mga progresibo ang pakikibaka laban sa  diktadurang Marcos at pagsuporta ng US sa diktadura para panatiliin ang mga base militar nito.

Mulat at mahusay na naikawing ng kilusang pambansa demokratiko kapwa ang pakikibaka at pagbubuo ng nagkakaisang hanay laban sa pasismo sa pakikibaka laban sa imperyalismong US at sa pyudalismo bilang panlipunang base ng imperyalismo.

Ipinataw ni Marcos ang batas militar para ibayong  magkamal ng yaman at kapangyarihan para sa sarili, mga kroni at imperyalismong US. Todong inayudahan ng US ang diktadurang Marcos para mapanatili ang base militar at pang-ekonomyang kontrol sa Pilipinas.

Hindi lang masa at panggitnanng pwersa, marami-raming elemento ng naghaharing uri na anti-Marcos ang nagbukas ng isip o nakumbinsi na hindi lang diktadurang Marcos ang dapat patalsikin kundi pati ang US bases. Gayunman, mas maraming elemento pa rin ng naghaharing uri ang naghahabol na kunin ang suporta ng US para sila ang ihalili kay Marcos, kapalit ang pananatili ng mga base mlitar ng US.

Sa katunayan, si Cory Aquino ay pumirma noong 1984 sa kasunduan ng isang Convenors’ Group na ang isang panawagan ay paalisin ang mga base militar matapos ang Setyembre 1991. Ngunit binawi niya ito matapos magmaniobra ang US na gawin siyang manok panabong kay Marcos.

Nang mapatalsik ang diktadurang Marcos, nangampanya ang Bayan, Partido ng Bayan at Campaign for Sovereign Philippines na ipasok sa Saligang Batas ang prubisyon na hindi na ieextend ang bases treaty at aalisin na ang US bases sa taong 1991.

Sa dikta ng gubyernong US at Aquino, tinanggihan ng mayorya ng Constitutional Commission ang naturang panukala. Sa halip, inilagay sa Konstitusyon, Seksyon 24, Arikulo 18, ang prubisyong nagbubukas sa ekstensyon ng mga base militar pagkatapos ng 1991.

Gayunman, nagamit natin kinalaunan ang sekundaryong aspeto ng prubisyon, ang tuwirang pagbabawal sa armas nukleyar at ang pag-aalis sa mga base militar maliban magkaroon ng panibagong tratado na pagtitibayin ng Senado.

Pagbubuo ng mga alyansa laban sa base militar

Importanteng salik din sa tagumpay ang pagbubuo at pagkilos ng iba’t-ibang tipo at anyo ng alyansa laban sa base militar at imperyalismong US. Sa mga alyansa, pormal at di pormal, nagtutulungan ang   mga manggagawa, magsasaka, petiburgesyang lunsod, pambansang burgesya at hindi iilang elemento ng naghaharing uri na kontra-nukleyar o kontra sa base militar.

Hayaan niyong pasadahan ko ang ilang tampok na alyansang may pambansang katangian.

Taong 1946 nakapagpanalo ng anim na kongresista ang Democratic Alliance na binubuo ng lumang Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas at Nacionalista Party ni Sergio Osmena. Ngunit diniskwalipika at hinarangan ang pag-upo ng anim sa Kongreso para maipapasa ng gubyernong US at Roxas ang Bell Trade Act at Parity Rights.

Mula 1949, nanguna si Sen. Claro M. Recto, kumatawan sa mithiin ng pambansang burgesya, sa pag-atake sa US-RP MBA, Mutual Defense Treaty at Parity Rights. Naging katuwang niya si Sen. Lorenzo Tanada sa pagbubuo ng Nationalist Citizen’s Party na sumabak at natalo sa halalang panguluhan noong 1957.

Itinatag noong Pebrero 8, 1967 ang Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism na nanguna sa malawak na hanay laban sa base militar at imperyalismong US. Pinamunuan ang MAN ni Sen. Tanada bilang tagapangulo at ni Prof. Sison bilang pangkalahatang kalihim.

Disyembre 26, 1968 at Marso 21, 1969, muling itinatag ang PKP at ang Bagong Hukbong Bayan. Noong Abril 24, 1973, pinasinayaan ang National Democratic Front. Isinulong ng CPP-NPA-NDF ang armadong rebolusyon laban sa imperyalismong US at papet na estado nito.

Noong 26, 1981, pinanguluhan ni Sen. Tanada ang pagtatatag Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition.  Noong 1984, naganap ang kauna-unahang matagumpay na welgang bayan sa Bataan bilang protesta sa pagtatayo ng Bataan Nulear Power Plant sa prubinsya. Iniugnay ang protesta sa paglaban sa US bases.

Noong 1983, pinamunuan ni Sen. Jose Diokno at kasunod ng anak niyang si Cookie ang Anti-Bases Coalition. Sinamahan ito nina Sen. Tanada, JBL Reyes, Salvador Lopez at mga progresibo.

Matapos patayin si Sen. Ninoy Aquino noong Agosto 21, 1983, nagkaroon ng daluyong ang malalaking kilos-protesta. Naglitawan ang iba’t-ibang organisasyon ng batayang masa, panggitnang pwersa at reaksyunaryong anti-Marcos. Nagkaroon ng iba’t-ibang inisyatiba para buuin ang iba’t-ibang alyansa laban sa diktadurang Marcos at laban sa suporta ng US sa diktadura.

Naging aktibo ang mga progresibo sa pagbubuo at pagpapalakas ng Lakas ng Bayan. Nagsanib ang Pwersa ng Demokratikong Pilipino at Laban. Naglabas ang PDP-Laban ng pusisyon pabor sa pagpapaalis ng US bases.

Taong 1984 nang tipunin ang Convenors Group nina Tanada, Jaime Ongpin at Cory Aquino upang  magbalakangkas ng programa ng pagkilos at alternatibo laban sa diktadurang Marcos. Bahagi ng programa na pinagkaisahan ang pag-aalis ng US bases. Nireject ni Doy Laurel, isa sa nangungunang presidentiable, ang Convenors Group dahil sa pusisyong anti-bases. Umatras si Aquino sa pusisyong anti-bases nang kausapin ito ng US at magdeklara ng pagtakbo noong Dec. 1985 sa snap presidential election laban kay Marcos.

Binuo noong 1984 ng mga pambansang demokrata kasama ng mga demokratikong liberal ang National Alliance for Justice Freedom.

Noong Mayo 5, 1985, itinatag ang ngayo’s pinakamalakas at militanteng alyansa sa bansa, ang Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.

Binuo ng BAYAN, iba pang blokeng pulitikal at ni Sen Tanada at RC Constantino. noong 1988 ang Anti-Baseng Kilusang Demokratiko. Pinayungan nito ang paglaban sa panahon ng review ng US-RP Military Bases Agreement. Noong 1989, nagdeklara si Sen. Joseph Estrada na sasamahan niya sina Sen. Salonga at Tanada sa paglaban sa US bases. Nasurpresa ang di iilan, sa pagtindig ni Sen. Enrile laban sa panibagong US bases treaty.

Noong 1991 nabuo ang pinakamalawak na alyansa, anti-treaty movement, sa panahon na nagaganap ang negosasyon ng guybernong US at Pilipinas para sa panibagong US bases treaty. Tuwiran o di man tuwiran, naging bahagi ng anti-treaty movement ang lahat ng mga uri at sector na kritikal at kontra sa panibagong US bases treaty, pabor man sila o hindi sa base militar.

Noong Setyembre 12, nagdeklara ng national ceasefire ang NDF upang suportahan ang mga senador sa magiging pasya nila laban sa panibagong bases treaty.

Sustinidong kampanya, militante at malalaking aksyong masa sa huling 5 taon.

Mapagpasyang salik ang mga aksyong protesta sa tagumpay dahil ito ang nagtatampok ng pagtutol ng malawak na bilang ng mamamayan. Ginapi nito ang anumang tangka ng gubyernong US at Arroyo na palabasing sang-ayon ang mamamayan sa pananatili ng US bases. Nagsilbing pangumbinsi at presyur ito upang magpasya ang Senado laban sa panibagong tratado sa US bases.

Pinangunahan ng BAYAN, mga kasaping organisasyon at mga alyado nito ang sustindong kampanya, mga militante at malalaking aksyong protesta laban sa US bases. Mula 1985 hanggang 1991, nagpursigi na ang Bayan sa malaganap na edukasyong pampulitika, propaganda, pakikipag-alyansa at mga militanteng aksyon laban sa US bases.

Bukod sa  makasaysayang mga petsa, Enero 30, Marso 16, Hunyo 12, Hulyo 4, Nobyembre 30, sinasalubong at sinusundan ng protesta ang mga upisyal ng US at barkong bumibisita sa Pilipinas. Pinakatampok ang mga sakbayan at lakbayan na pinangunahan ng UP, ng LFS at ng BAYAN.

Ang LFS halos linggu-linggo may aksyon sa US embassy. May panahon na araw-araw may protesta bago ang mga importanteng petsa o kapag may bumibisitang upisyal at barkong pandigma ang US. Inspirado ng militansya ng FQS, hindi pumapayag at nag-aalma ang mga kabataa’t istudyante kapag humarang ang pulisya. Hindi alintana ang palo ng truncheon at teargas, gumigitgit ang mga kabataan hanggang makaalpas sa hanay ng pulis at makarating sa gate ng US embassy. Puntirya palagi ang zeal ng US embassy. Lahat na ginawa doon, binato ng bugok na itlog, ng pinturang pula. Nilagyan ng X. Nilagyan ng notice of eviction. Pinukpok ng martilyo, kaya lang di nabasag. Kaya sumunod na linggo, minaso, ayun nabasag. Hindi mabilang ang sinunog ng mga aktibista na American flag.

Tumindi ang mga protesta sa US embassy  at Malakanyang sa panahon ng review ng US bases noong 1988. Sinindihan nito ang malawak na debate sa midya at kahit saan, kung pananatiliin o paalisin ang US bases.

Mainam sa puntong ito na bigyang tuon natin sa pagtalakay ang taong 1991.

Nangingibabaw pa rin ang impluwensya ng US, alam nating hindi magiging madali ang laban para sa pagpapatalsik sa mga US bases sa pagpasok taong 1991.

• Mayorya ng mamamayan ay pabor pa rin sa US bases, ayon sa survey, kahit pa pababa ang bilang ng mga pro-bases.
• Tahasang maka-US si Pres. Aquino, ang AFP, PNP at matataas na upisyal at determinado sila na itulak ang pagpapanatili ng US bases.
• May pagbasa tayo na pabor o malamang pumabor sa extensyon ng base militar ang malaking mayorya ng mga senador, mahirap makakuha ng 8 senador noon.
• Hindi madaling makapagmobilisa ng malaking bilang laban sa base militar kahit pa maiingay ang mga militante. Abala ang mga tao sa pang-araw-araw na usapin ng kahirapan.

Plinano ng BAYAN na pagtuunan ang taktikal na laban sa ikalawang hati ng taon para ipresyur ang Senado na itakwil ang  panibagong tratado sa US bases. Pero nagpaplano rin tayo ng kagyat at malakihang welgang bayan sakaling pagtibayin ng Senado ang US bases.

Sa pagtakbo ng mga araw at ng labanan laluna nang maganap ang negosasyon, lumaki ng lumaki ang pusiblidad ng tagumpay dahil sa mga paborableng kalagayan at pagpupunyagi ng mga pwersang anti-bases at anti-treaty.

1. Batbat ng krisis, nasa resesyon ang ekonomya ng US noong 1991. Tinalo ni Bill Clinton si Bush sa linyang “it’s the economy stupid” kahit pa namayagpag si George Bush, Sr. sa gera laban sa Iraq. Dahil sa krisis walang maibigay na malaking military economic aid ang US sa Pilipinas bilang suhol sa 10 taong extension ng US bases. Isa pa, nakita sa Iraq war ang moderno at mabilisang paraan ng deployment ng militar.
2. Gumuho na ang Unyong Sobyet, inihudyat ng pagguho ng Berlin Wall noong 1989. Nagpapahina ito sa argumento laban sa inimbentong banta ng pananakop ng Unyong Sobyet.
3. Malaganap na ang diskuntento sa rehimeng Aquino dahil sa patuloy na kahirapan,  korupsyon at mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao. Naglalaho na noon ang Cory magic na anumang bagay na basbasan ni Cory, susuportahan ng mayorya ng mga Pilipino. Sa katunayan, higit 80,000 ang namobilisa ng BAYAN at ng iba pang bloke sa martsa rali mula Liwasang Bonifacio noong Pebrero 26 pangunahin dahil sa isyu ng kahirapan. May nasisilip tayong momentum ng kilusang masa laban sa kahirapan at laban sa rehimeng Aquino.
4. Sobrang pambabraso at pambabarat ang ginawa ng Armitage panel sa negosasyon. Pumosturang matigas sina Manglapuz para humingi ng upa – $825 milyon bawat taon. Pero brinaso sila ni Armitage at pinapayag sa $203 M annual military aid, hindi upa, best effort pa. Mas mababa pa ito sa naunang taunang $481M aid. Sumaling sa national pride ang pambabraso at iba pang pang-iinsulto nila Armitage. Hindi iilan ang pro-US bases ang nadisguto sa naging takbo at kinalabasan ng negosasyon.

Sa panahon ng negosasyon, sumikad ang kampanyang anti-US bases at anti-treaty. Isinagawa ng iba’t-ibang organisasyon ng BAYAN, ng ABAKADA, anti-treaty movement, mga kabataa’t istudyante, guro, kababaihan, mga manggagawa, magsasaka, taong simbahan at iba pang prupesyunal ang sunud-sunod at araw-araw na mga pagmuumlat, aksyong protesta, pamemresyur at lobbying sa Senado.

Naging higit na mainit, matalas at malaganap ang debateng pampubliko sa mas midya, mga radio, TV talkshow, mga forum at kahit saang talakayan at kwentuhan.

Kung hindi ako nagkakamali ng alala, ayon sa SWS survey, ilang araw bago ang Setyembre 16, halos hati ang mamamayan sa pagitan ng pabor at kontra sa US bases.

Nanawagan ng “people power rally” si Presidente Cory Aquino pabor sa US bases. Ginamit ang poder at rekurso ng estado para sa rali sa Agosto 10, pero wala pang 100,000 ang namobilisa ni Cory sa Luneta. Nalantad na hinakot at tinakot pa ang mga dumalo, karamihan ay mga empleyado ng gubyerno. Mabilis nalusaw ang rali nang bumuhos ang ulan.

Kahit kulang isang linggo ang nalalabi para maghanda, nagpasya ang BAYAN at ABAKADA na tapatan ang rali ni Aquino noong Agosto 10. Pasilip sa pag-agos ng sentimyentong makabayan at national pride, higit 45,000 ang namobilisa ng kilusang anti-base sa Liwasang Bonifacio. Nanatili ang bulto ng mga tao kahit umulan, mainit na naninindigan laban sa US bases.

Sa makasaysayang araw ng Setyembred 16, humugos ang higit 80,000 mga tao, mayorya ay mula sa BAYAN, patungong Senado, nananawagang itakwil ang US bases treaty. Nagmartsa, nagsaya at nagsayaw tayo sa panalo ng sambayanan laban sa panibagong tratado sa US bases. Sa botong 12 laban 11 senador, nanalo ang resolusyon laban sa panbiagong tratado sa base militar.

Bilang pagsusuma, narito ang mga aral sa matagumpay na laban sa US bases.

1. Makapangyarihan ang imperyalismong US at papet na gubyerno nito. Pero higit na makapangyarihan ang soberanong mamamayan. Kapag sila ay namulat at sama-samang lumaban, magagapi nila kahit ang kapangyarihan ng US at ng reaksyunaryong papet nito.
2. Susi ang pagmumulat sa mamamayan upang mapakilos sila para ipaglaban nila mismo ang kanilang pambansa at demokratikong interes. Kailangang bakbakin ang mga kasinungalingan, maging mapanuri kaninong interes nagsisilbi ang isang patakaran o kaasyusan at pukawin ang mamamayan na gamitin ang kapangyarihan ng sama-samang pagkilos.
3. Kailangan ang mulat at mahusay na pag-uugnay ang mga isyu laban sa pasismo o burukrata-kapitalismo, imperyalismo at pyudalismo. Mahusay na naiugnay ng mga progresibo ang isyu ng US bases sa mapagsamantala at marahas na katangian ng imperyalismo at sa pag-ayuda sa diktadurang Marcos mapanatili lamang ang US bases at kontrol sa ekonomya.
4. Mahalagang salik sa anumang tagumpay ang pagbubuo ng malawak na hanay laban sa US bases o anupamang napapanahong isyu at laban para sa interes ng mamamayan. Kailangang palakasin ang pwersa at alyansa ng uring mangagawa at magsasaka, kabigin ang suporta at paglahok ng panggitnang pwersa, kunin ang pinakamaraming pusibleng alyado sa hanay ng mga naghaharing uri upang gapiin ang punong papet ng imperyalismong US.
5. Mapagpasya ang iba’t-ibang anyo ng protesta laluna ang malalaking militanteng aksyon dahil ito ang nagtatampok ng pagtutol ng malawak na bilang ng mamamayan. Ginapi nito ang anumang tangka ng gubyernong US at Arroyo na palabasing sang-ayon ang mamamayan sa pananatili ng US bases. Nagsilbing pangumbinsi at presyur ito upang magpasya ang Senado laban sa panibagong tratado sa US bases.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino! #

Special Release

September 9, 2011

There was also US intervention in the peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Philippine government as in those between the latter and the MILF.

Confidential and secret cables from the US embassies in Manila and The Hague in the Netherlands show how three governments worked together to designate as “terrorist” Jose Maria Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in peace talks with the Manila government. The move may have been part of Philippine government’s pressure tactics on the NDFP during the peace negotiations.

Sison, the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army were included in the US terror list in August 2002, right after the Manila visit of then Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was soon after also included on the EU “terrorist list” of organizations and individuals upon the requests of the US and PH governments. His bank account was subsequently frozen, denying him social benefits accorded to refugees living in the Netherlands.

Terrorist-listing as leverage

“The US, Dutch and Philippine governments engaged in acts that were inimical to the peace talks between the NDFP and the Philippine government.   The Philippine government used the terrorist listing as leverage against the NDFP. There was intense pressure on the NDFP’s chief political consultant, resulting in his arrest and detention. The matter of the terrorist listing became a prejudicial question in the peace talks.” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

In a 2005 meeting with US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, Foreign Affair Secretary Alberto Romulo said that the NPA’s “delisting as a foreign terrorist organization depended on a demonstration or proof of sincerity… such as entering into a cease-fire or new peace talks.”

The same leveraging was echoed by Presidential Peace Adviser Annabelle Abaya in a discussion with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney in November 2009. Abaya noted that Sison’s delisting by the EU “would eliminate some of the GRP’s leverage over him” and that “the GRP preferred for Sison to remain designated as a terrorist” but admitted that “talks had not succeeded during his time in the EU list”.

“US intervention, undertaken through the terror listing, had a very negative impact on the peace talks.  It was a move that was aimed at forcing the NDFP to surrender to the Philippine government, even without addressing the roots of the armed conflict. This negates the inherent character of the talks which were primarily aimed at finding solutions to the root causes of the armed struggle. Arroyo appeared more interested in getting the NDFP to surrender than in addressing the substantial issues in the peace negotiations,” Reyes said.

“The Aquino government should learn from this negative experience and not fall for the machinations of the US government,” he added.

After a long legal battle, Sison was eventually removed from the EU “terrorist list” in November 2009 based on a ruling by the European Court of First Instance.

However, prior to the delisting, the US and Dutch governments did everything they could to keep Sison on the list, according to the secret cables.  Sison was arrested and detained by the Dutch government in 2007 on suspicion of ordering the killings of two people in the Philippines. Sison was eventually released and the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence.

US opposed de-listing despite lack of evidence

In a confidential 2009 cable from the US embassy in Manila, US ambassador Kristie Kenney vehemently opposed the delisting of Sison by the EU, even if no new information or evidence was available to support his retention in the list.

“The absence of new information does not negate the very significant information we have had for some time regarding Sison.  If Sison and the NPA were to reject their past actions and pledge not to engage in such activity again, there might be some grounds for revisiting their designations, but on the contrary they refuse to agree to a ceasefire and continue to carry out kidnappings and killings.  Under the circumstances, removal of Sison’s terrorist designation is inadvisable,” Kenney said.

In a secret cable from the Netherlands in May 2009, the US embassy in The Hague sought advice from the US State Department on how keep Sison on the terror list amid the looming decision of the EU Court of First Instance nullifying his inclusion in the list. The cable said that the Dutch government was seeking US assistance because Sison was included in the terror list upon the request of the US government.

The US embassy in The Hague cited the inability of the Dutch police, intelligence services and the US embassy in Manila to provide any new information that would justify keeping Sison in the list.

“The absence of new evidence or information came despite the massive seizure of NDF documents and equipment during the raids on the NDF office and houses of NDF personnel by Dutch authorities in August 2007. The Dutch police seized everything they could get their hands on and still they could not produce a shred of evidence to support the terrorist listing,” Reyes explained.

In another cable from The Hague dated October 2009, the US embassy again sought new information that could justify the retention of Sison in the terror list. The cable described a bilateral meeting between US and Dutch officials on how to appeal an adverse EU ruling. The Dutch and US officials feared that the UK and German governments opposed the Dutch position and that majority of countries in the EU would not likely support a Dutch appeal.

The US embassy in The Hague also said that information provided by the Philippine government linking Sison to money-laundering activities was “insufficient to support prosecution in the Netherlands”.

In a separate cable issued from the US embassy in Manila, US authorities hinted at the possibility of rendition or deportation of Sison from the Netherlands to the Philippines, but cited as a stumbling block Sison’s status as a judicially recognized political refugee under the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. ###

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NEWS
By Eleanor de Guzman

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) paid tribute to Ka Wilson Baldonaza, the late secretary-general of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), with a cultural program last July 3, 2009.

Through songs, poems, and speeches, member-organizations of the multisectoral group honored the memory of Ka Wilson, who dedicated almost four decades of his life in organizing and educating the people, especially the workers.

“Ka Wilson was a very dedicated leader of the working class and the Filipino people. I personally remember him as a competent speaker and lecturer not only about the plight of workers but on the state of national politics and economy”, Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said in his speech opening the program.

He also noted that Ka Wilson was a former secretary-general of Bayan’s chapter in Valenzuela City from 1987 to 1990. KMU is a member of Bayan.

Leaders of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Gabriela, Kalikasan, Karapatan, Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan sa Pilipinas (KAMP), Confederation for the Unity, Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage), Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) and Anakbayan gave tribute speeches in behalf of their organizations.

Some shared light moments they had with the labor leader.

Poems dedicated to Ka Wilson were delivered by Axel Pinpin, members of Kilometer 64, and the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) while Karatula and the People’s Chorale rendered songs during the program.

Ka Wilson started his activism in his youth as a member of the Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK) at the University of the East (UE) and also did organizing work in his hometown Victoria, Tarlac before Martial Law was declared in 1972. He later became a security guard at the Manila Domestic Airport. His involvement with militant unionism started in 1985 at the Mabuhay Textile Mills in Valenzuela City, where he also led Bayan’s local chapter.

Prior to his election as KMU secretary-general in April 2007, Ka Wilson was chairperson of the Alliance of Nationalist and Genuine Labor Organizations (ANGLO) since 2000. He also spent nine years with the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER) as instructor.

Ka Wilson died on June 1 due to complications in his heart, lungs and liver, several weeks after suffering a stroke, at age 57. He is survived by his wife Lily. #