UN, EU experts coming to inspect toxic cargo

Tarra Quismundo Margaux Ortiz

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Members of a team of chemical specialists sent by the United Nations and the European Union have started arriving to inspect the sunken MV Princess of the Stars, in which toxic cargo remains trapped.

A statement issued on Thursday by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said the team would make an assessment of the shipwreck, which is resting at an angle on the seabed off Sibuyan Island less than a kilometer from the nearest coast of San Fernando town in Romblon province, south of Manila.

“We must ensure that the human tragedy of this ferry collapse is not compounded by the leakage of these pesticides,” said Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for the EU’s Environment and Civil Protection.

“Europe is putting its solidarity with the Philippines into practice by providing its assistance. Our expertise has been highly valued in similar emergencies in recent years, and as ever, we will do all we can to assist the people of the Philippines,” he said.

The team is composed of a marine chemist, an eco-toxicologist and a civil protection expert, Unep said.

Pesticides

It said the team would “spend one week in the Philippines to help provide a clear overview of the situation, determine priority needs and identify any gaps in international aid being offered and/or provided.”

It added that the team would be given support by Philippine government agencies and other UN bodies such as the UN Development Program and the World Health Organization.

The retrieval of bodies trapped inside the ship that left Manila for Cebu City was called off after authorities found that a container van of the toxic pesticide endosulfan owned by fruit and juice producer Del Monte Philippines Inc. was in the cargo hold.

Several other chemicals shipped by Bayer CropScience were also found to have been part of the cargo.

A fishing ban remains in force in the province of Romblon, with continued fears that a leakage might contaminate the Sibuyan Sea and surrounding areas.

Divers on standby

Divers of the Philippine Coast Guard have just been ordered to return to the site and stand by for operations on the shipwreck.

Bayer technical consultant Tess Cayton on Friday assured the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) that its products were packaged in line with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s code of conduct on the distribution and safe use of pesticides.

Cayton said the products, which included Antracol WP70, Tamaron 600SL, Trap 70WP and Fuerza GR3, were highly biodegradable.

“The products easily disperse in the sea. They disintegrate biologically when hit by sunlight,” she said. “The volume of our products are also negligible vis-à-vis the volume of the ocean.”

Cayton also said Bayer’s forwarder had coordinated with Sulpicio Lines regarding the permits and the actual shipping.

“We were unaware that our products were on the ill-fated ship until our forwarder informed us,” she said.

Dangerous

Representatives of Ceva Philippines, Del Monte’s contractor in charge of processing the transshipment permit of the cargo of endosulfan, said they had informed Sulpicio Lines of the nature of the chemical.

“During the preparation of the domestic bill of lading, Ceva Philippines informed Sulpicio Lines that the cargo was dangerous and presented all documents, including the international bill of lading and the material safety sheet, that both clearly state endosulfan is toxic and a marine pollutant,” Ceva Philippines country manager Dante Macaisa told the BMI.

He added: “In line with international shipping standards, the 400 boxes of endosulfan were packed in a 40-foot container with proper codes and prominent markings, including skull and crossbones signs, on four sides, showing the toxic nature of the cargo.”

No acknowledgement receipt

Macaisa said Ceva had submitted 10 shipment documents to Sulpicio Lines.

But the shipping company’s lawyer, Victoria Lim-Florido, said there was no acknowledgment receipt to prove this.

Sulpicio Lines has filed a civil suit against Del Monte for alleged failure to declare the pesticide cargo as dangerous.

Headless female body found off Camarines Sur coast buried

Ephraim Aguilar Publio M. Peyra III

Southern Luzon Bureau

NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur — A headless female body believed to have come from the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars that sank near Sibuyan Island in Romblon was buried Saturday morning in Minalabac town, Camarines Sur.

The body of the girl, about 25 years old or younger, was wearing a spaghetti-strap blouse when she was found Friday evening, said Chief Inspector Benjamin España, Minalabac police chief.

He said the head of the girl was missing when recovered.

Three more bodies suspected to have come from the ill-fated ship were recovered by the Navy from the shoreline of Pasacao town in Camarines Sur Thursday afternoon, Ensign Elmer Sumunod, spokesperson of the Naval Forces Southern Luzon, said Friday morning.

Equipped with a rubber boat and cadaver bags, a patrol ship of the Philippine Navy sailed to Pasacao after the Bicol police gave a tip on the bodies.

Sumunod said the three bodies were immediately buried since they were in advanced states of decomposition.

Search and retrieval operations were also launched Friday following reports of four more bodies sighted floating at mid-sea.

It has been three weeks since the M/V Princess of the Stars owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc. capsized at the height of Typhoon “Frank.”

The ill-fated ship carried over 800 crew members and passengers.

After weeks of search and retrieval operations, more than 200 bodies have already been recovered but only a few have been identified by their families.

Aside from Romblon, dead bodies have also been recovered in some provinces in Southern Luzon, prompting “fish scares” in these areas.

On Thursday morning, Vice President Noli De Castro visited Pasacao town to partake of “cocido” (boiled fish) and steamed fish with town officials to prove that fish caught from the area were safe to eat.

De Castro distributed cash assistance to fisher folk whose livelihood was affected as people became afraid to eat fish after decomposing bodies were found floating in the coastal town’s waters since the shipwreck.

“Human flesh turns into protein once eaten by a fish,” said Pasacao Mayor Asuncion Villamante-Arseño.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regional director Dennis Del Socorro advised that fish caught in Bicol waters were not contaminated, “as long as they are fresh and well cleaned of entrails.”

He explained that fishes which were not exposed to toxic chemicals were harmless and fit for consumption.

Ships’ 45 accidents listed

Lloyd’s details Sulpicio’s 28-year history

By Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:39:00 07/13/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Sulpicio Lines Inc., owner of the MV Princess of the Stars that sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon last month at the height of Typhoon “Frank (international code name: Fengshen),” has a disturbing history.

For the past 28 years, its ships have not only sunk but have also collided with other vessels, caught fire, stalled at sea for several days, and run aground.

The maritime information database www.lloydsmiu.com has recorded incidents involving Sulpicio Lines vessels from 1980 to 2008. The record includes the June 21 sinking of the Princess of the Stars–the seventh sinking incident to involve the shipping company.

In all, Sulpicio Lines has had 45 sea accidents since 1980.
Of the Sulpicio Lines vessels, six have collided with other ships, six have caught fire, seven have had engine problems and stalled at sea, and 19 have run aground.

The deadliest incident was the 1987 sinking of the MV Doña Paz after it collided with the MT Vector. As many as 4,300 people are believed to have died in the worst peacetime disaster in history.

Although the Doña Paz was involved in a collision, the incident was classified as a sinking in the data provided by Lloyd’s MIU.

The next deadliest incidents were the sinking of the Doña Marilyn in October 1988 and the Princess of the Orient in September 1998 (with 150 fatalities each), and the Princess of the Stars last month.

At present, only 57 of the 864 people on board the Princess of the Stars have been found alive. Hundreds of bodies are believed trapped inside the ill-fated ship that left Manila for Cebu City.

Reached on the phone, Sulpicio Lines lawyer Arthur Lim said he had no comment.

No casualties

Another sinking incident involved the Sulpicio Container I (1980), with no casualties.

There were also no casualties reported in the six collisions involving Sulpicio Lines vessels–the Palawan Princess, which collided with the MV Wilcon VI at the Manila North Harbor (1992); the Filipina Princess, with a Uni-Modest vessel at the entrance of the Manila North Harbor (1993); the Iloilo Princess, with the MV Solid Pearl near the Manila North Harbor (1997); the Sulpicio Container V, with the MV Asia Malaysia at Fort San Pedro, Iloilo (2000); the Princess of Paradise, with the MV LSC Cagayan de Oro off Cebu (2003); and the Sulpicio Express Dos, with the tank barge Golden Arowana 3 off Corregidor (2005).

The six Sulpicio Lines vessels reported to have caught fire were the Philippine Princess (1989); the Princess of the Orient, then refueling at the Manila North Harbor (1997); the Dipolog Princess, then undergoing repair at Pier 7 in Cebu (2000); the Tacloban Princess, then docked in Ormoc, and where two people died (2002); the Iloilo Princess, then docked at Pier 4 in Cebu (2003); and the Princess of the World, then at sea off Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte (2005).

The seven incidents of vessels being stalled at sea involved the Filipina Princess, whose engine broke down twice (in November 1992 and March 1996); the Cotabato Princess, whose engine also broke down twice (July 2002 and March 2004); and the Princess of the Ocean, whose engine encountered problems three times (October 2002, March 2004 and June 2007).

The Sulpicio Lines vessels that ran aground were the Doña Paulina (1980); Don Victoriano I (1982); Sulpicio Container X (1986); Philippine Princess (1990 and 1997); Palawan Princess (1990 and 1995); Cagayan Princess (1990); Surigao Princess (1996); Princess of the Caribbean (1998); Tacloban Princess (1999); Cotabato Princess (2001); Dipolog Princess (2003 and 2007); Cebu Princess (2003); Princess of Paradise (2003); Princess of the Pacific (2004); Filipina Princess (2006); and the Princess of the Universe (2006).

‘Correct but incomplete’

According to data earlier provided by Philippine Coast Guard sources, Lloyd’s MIU has recorded 33 maritime incidents involving the vessels of Sulpicio Lines from 1980 to 2008. A source said the information came from maritime industry insiders.

When validated by Inquirer Research, Lloyd’s MIU investigations/research manager Arne Hanssen said the data were “correct, but incomplete.”

With Hanssen’s comments, the total number of maritime accidents involving Sulpicio Lines ships rose from 33 to 45.

Lloyd’s MIU said that:

The sinking of the MV Doña Paz in December 1987 led to the loss of “more than 2,000 people.”

The Princess of the Stars “sank off Sibuyan Island after grounding, following engine trouble, [leaving] 150 dead and 700 missing.”

The other ships that sank were the MV Carmen in 1987 and the Boholana Princess in December 1990.

300-year history

According to its website, Lloyd’s MIU has “a 300-year-old history in providing information to the maritime world.”

It provides data on vessel movement, ownership, characteristics and casualties, as well as port information and in-depth company information.

Lloyd’s MIU data are published online, and in books and magazines. The data are compiled from various sources, including Lloyd’s Agency Network of 700 agents and sub-agents, leading registries and classification societies and major company registries all over the world.

Its principal offices are located in the United Kingdom, the United States and Singapore. It employs its roster of analysts and researchers in Athens, Barcelona, Mumbai and Vancouver.

With a report from Kate Pedroso, Inquirer Research

Editorial Cartoon: The Drowning

Dying

Sogo at Lehitimasyon ng Komersyal na Bawal na Pagnanasa

Dito, tulad sa rehimen ni Arroyo, ang halinghing at iri ay sabayang nagsasaad ng pagbulwak ng at pagdisiplina sa bawal. Basta may pera, hindi nabubura, bagkus lalong tumitingkad, ang distinksyon ng bawal at hindi sa mundong ibabaw.

NI ROLAND TOLENTINO
KULTURANG POPULAR KULTURA
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

Pejoratibo ang tingin sa mga motel at lodge sa bansa. Pero mas nega (negatibo) ang tingin sa gawain sa loob ng mga motel. “Liko biglang yuko” dahil hindi nga inaakalang marangal ang gawain dito, kahit pa pribadong espasyo naman ito.

Dati ay built-in sa laylayan ng syudad at mga bayan ang night clubs na may dagdag na atraksyon. Sa Bocaue, Bulacan at Calumpang, Marikina ang dinadayo pa para magkaroon ng good time ang kalalakihan. Sa aking pagkamulat, sa Diversion Road sa San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, malayo-layo sa poblacion, matutunghayan ang mga bar, inaanunsyo gamit ang pulang ilaw sa loob at christmas lights sa labas.

Kumbaga, sa simula, parang nakasona ang mga lugar ng aliw. Red-light district ang turing dito bilang sex tourism na atraksyon ng magkakahilerang bars sa Ermita, EDSA Pasay at Quezon Avenue.  Pang-high-end. Supporting role ang mga motel sa daloy ng komersyal na aliw. Mula sa bars at clubs, at maging lansangan, tungo sa espasyo ng higit pang konsumpsyon—ang konsumasyon—ng sex.

Sta. Mesa at Pasay Rotonda ang mga kalsadang naging enclave ng motels. Two-story na gusali—parang precursor ng modernong townhouse—ang disenyo. Yung high-end nito ay may mala-Disneyland na kwartong nagtatanghal ng tema. Sa Anito Lodge sa Monumento, ito raw ay kinabibilangan ng Egyptian, Filipino, Japanese, European, at iba pang motif na kwarto.

Ang two-story na building ay nagsasaad na ng gitnang-uring panuntunan sa bawal na sexual na pagnanasa. Ang ground floor ay car park na rin, inaasahang may dala ang kliyente ng kotse o naka-taxi man lamang. Bawal, kasi nga ay hindi motel ang angkop na lugar at panahon ng sex, batay sa isang bansang mayorya ay Katoliko. Kung hindi ito angkop, lantaran at patagong dinadaot ang karanasan dito.

“Cheap” at “paka”(pakawala) ang tingin sa babaeng sumasama sa motel. “Macho” at balahura (hindi sinsero) ang lalakeng nagdadala naman sa motel. Kung ganito na nga ang tingin, at sa mas mumurahing kwarto sa Quiapo, Avenida at Pasay pa tutungo ang mga kliyente, nagiging dobleng kacheapan ang karanasan.

Ang nangyari sa tagumpay ng negosyo ng Sogo Hotels (Hotel Sogo sa  kanilang “under construction” na website) ay gawing stand-alone ang karanasan sa bawal na pagnanasa (illicit desire). Hindi na kailangang tumungo sa bars bago tumungo sa motel. Maaring dumiretso na kaagad ang seryosong tagpuan mismo sa motel. Magtagpo na lamang sa neutral na lugar (convenience store, mall, kalsada o fastfood outlet) at tumungo na sa motel.

Nakakalat sa prominenteng lugar ang Sogo Hotels.  Katabi ng malls, tulad sa may SM Sta. Mesa at Sta. Lucia Mall. At tulad ng kahon ng sapatos na disenyo ng naunang henerasyon ng malls, ang disenyo ng Sogo Hotels ay kahon din. Kakaunti ang bintana rito. At kung mayroon man, may nakatakip na struktura sa labas ng building para hindi lubos na matunghayan ang nasa loob.

Tulad sa malls, maaaring mawala sa espasyo at panahon ng Sogo. May kontrol sa panahon ang mga kliyente:  madilim o maliwanag sa pribadong kwarto, pero tulad sa mall, parating maliwanag ang publikong erya. Ang espasyo ng kwarto ay magkakahalintulad. Pare-parehong may salamin, banyo, libreng gamit ng twalya at sabon, kobre-kama, telebisyon at remote, kahit pa may mas mahal at murang kwarto.

Kapag nakapaloob sa Sogo, mahirap tunghayan kung anong oras na. Kapag nakapaloob sa mall, hindi rin nakakatiyak kung nasaan na ang kliyente. Tulad sa mall—ang mga tindahan, in-house na establisyimentong hawak ng SM, lokasyon ng sine at fastfood, at iba pa—pare-pareho ang mga laman ng Sogo Hotels: lobby na napakaraming pang-pares na silyang antayan ng kwartong binu-book, front desk, security door, nag-iisang makitid na elevator, at mga hile-hilerang kwarto sa bawat palapag.

Lumikha ng sariling pagpapadaloy ang Sogo Hotels. Hindi na nakayuko dahil nga nagkakakitaan na ang mga nag-aantay sa lobby. Slight na lamang nakatungo. Tanggap din kung same-sex ang nagpapa-book ng kwarto. Pero ang dinodoble ang bayad ay kapag three-some ang nagnanais umakyat.

Ang ginawang inobasyon ng Sogo Hotels, bilang improvement sa naunang henerasyon ng two-story na motel at lodge, ay gawing abot-kaya at mabilisan ang pag-order ng pagkain. Limitado ang opsyon sa marangal na hitsura ng menu. At balita ko na naman ay marangal naman ang kalidad ng pagkain. Na sa kaunti pang panahon, ang pagkain sa kwarto ay magiging tulad na ng pagkain sa panonood ng sine:  integral, affordable, at magkatambal sa iba’t ibang pleasure na binabayaran para matamo.

Efficient ang Sogo Hotel. Parang walang nakakalamang. Maging ang mga pulis na nag-aantay ng libreng kwarto ay pumipila. Mayroon ding channel para sa mas mahalay na palabas. Mabilisan at sistematiko rin ang paglilinis sa mga kwarto. Na palabas pa lamang ng kwarto ay tinatanong na ang kliyente kung “check out” na ang kliyente para kagyat na malinis at muling maisaayos ang nabakanteng kwarto para sa susunod na pares.

Stand-alone ang malalaking building ng Sogo Hotel. Ang kanyang logo ay isang geisha na  parsyal na nakatakip ng pamaypay ang mukha. Geisha na nagsisimbolo ng pagiging entertainer at binabayarang pagsasama, sunod-sunuran na nagbibigay ng aliw. Pati ang pamaypay ay simbolo ng leisure.

Kaya rin may karapatan ang mga gusali na sumiksik sa mga komersyal na lugar sa Metro Manila.  Aliwan paradise ang inaalok na serbisyo nito. Sa mall ay publikong-pribadong aliw ang inilalako:  sa nilikhang publiko natutungyahan ang mga serbisyong bibilhin at iinternalisa ng pribadong konsyumer.

Sa motel ay pribadong-pribadong aliw ang pinatatamasa:  sa pagpasok sa pribadong kwarto maiinternalisa ang pribadong kasiyahan para sa konsyumer na pumiling bumili ng tatlong oras—ang “short-time” na kalikasan ng mga motel. Sa kliyente ang kwarto sa loob ng nirentahang tatlong oras.

Free sex, perverted sex, sex with non-adults na mukha namang adults, extra-marital sex, premarital sex, gay sex, lesbian sex, kahit ano sa pagitan ng dalawang partner, maaari sa motel. Ang kapangyarihan sa kontrol sa panahon at espasyo ng kwarto ay nasa kanila sa loob ng itinakdang tatlong oras o lampas pa rito.

Sexual liberation ito na nakaangkla sa sexual tolerance, lalo na sa sex work, na nagsimula sa panahon ng Amerikanong kolonyalismo. Sa panahong ito, naging bukas na usapin ang premarital at extra-marital na relasyon, maging ang sex work. “Casa” mula sa Kastila para sa bahay-aliw ang designated na lugar para rito.

Ang pagiging bukas sa sex ay itinumbas sa bisyo, tulad ng sugal, alak at pambababae. Bukas pero hindi maganda ang tingin.  Bukas dahil napapag-usapan na sa diyaryo at panitikan.  Kung gayon, ito ay parang sikreto—bukas kapag natunghayan pero sa pangkaraniwang pagkakataon, saradong bukas.

Ang tagumpay ng Sogo Hotels ay gawing komersyal ang kalakaran para sa higit na nakararami. Nasubukan na ninyo bang magpa-book kapag Biernes ng gabi, o pay day ng a-kinse at katapusan? My gad, parang ahas na paikot-ikot ang taong nakaupo, magkatapat sa silya, magkatalikod, at nakatayo sa tagiliran ng lobby, at nagmamadaling pumasok sa security gate para umakyat sa kwarto.

Tila isang champion ang Sogo Hotels, kung gayon, sa liberalisasyon ng sexual na pagnanasa. Nagiging katanggap-tanggap na kalakaran sa dumarami pang bilang ng itinatayong gusali. Ang discontinuity ng Sogo Hotels sa naunang espasyo ng casa at unang henerasyon ng hotel ay gawing mas accessible ang bawal na karanasan. Wala na sa Diversion Road o dating liblib na lugar na makikipagsapalaran sa biyahe pa lamang, hindi na major production tumungo sa motel.

Ang continuity sa naunang mga espasyo ng aliw ay gawing mas komersyal ang kalakaran ng bawal na pagnanasa. Magkakatulad ang mga kwartong kulang sa hotel ang standard, pero dahil nga mas abot-kaya naman ang halaga (lalo na kung may 20 percent discount card) ay OK lang, at mataas ang efficiency ng serbisyo.

At dahil ito ay nasa friendly neighborhood komersyal na lunan sa Metro Manila, mas madali ang akses dito. Hindi nakakatakot tumungo, walang pakikipagsapalaran sa biyahe. Na maari ngang trip-trip lang kahit hindi naman literal na nagbiyahe para sa figuratibong trip to heaven.

Substansyal na katuwang na inihanda ng Sogo Hotels ang bansa sa neoliberal na karansan sa sex, sa abot rin ng makakaya ng Katoliko at estadong konserbatismo. Sex—maging paid sex o leisure sex—ay integral na komponent sa service sector na binibigyan-diin ng gobyerno, lalo na ng admiistrasyon ni Gloria Arroyo.

Walang malisya, dahil kanya-kanyang adult na desisyon itong pribadong karanasan. Walang malisya lalo pa’t ginagawa ito sa lehitimong espasyo at panahon ng motel, tulad ng Sogo Hotels. Na may pagtanggap sa ehersisyo ng bawal na pagnanasang ito dahil mas matimbang ang konsumpsyon ng nakakapagbayad na gitnang uri kaysa sa moral na indictment ng kawalang-angkupan ng sexual na pagnanasa.

Mas matimbang ang finansyal na kapital kaysa sa moral na kapital. Sino ang mas papanigan ng estado?  Wala naman kailangang pagpilian. Tasitong sinusuportahan ni Arroyo ang negosyo dahil may napapala itong pang-ekonomikong aktibidad na mahalaga sa kanyang inaasam na statistikong inuulat kapag SONA (state of the nation address).

Na ang sex ay pwedeng pagkakitaan ay pangarap na naabot ng Sogo Hotels sa 20 branches nito sa Metro Manila. Malaking negosyo na nagsasaad sa negosyante at kliyente na “ramdam ang pag-unlad.”  Sino ang hindi mamaximisahin ang kaligayahan—kahit pa illicit na pagnanasa ito—kung nagbayad ka para matamo ang rurok ng inaasam na tagumpay?

Ginawang empowered na pribadong mamamayan na nakakatamo ng pribatisadong konsumpsyon ng sariling pagnanasa. Na ang sex ay integral na ekonomikong aktibidad basta nananatili sa pribadong spero ng publikong buhay. At ang madilim, walang bintana at aircon na kwarto ay ang materialisasyon ng pribadong spero na ito.

Sa loob ng tatlong oras, ang buhay at kamatayan sa labas ay tumitigil para bigyan buhay ang pagsasakatuparan ng bawal na pagnanasa. Bawal pero nababayaran para maging lehitimo. Bawal pero mayroong pribadong spero sa publikong buhay maaring matamasa ito.

Dito, tulad sa rehimen ni Arroyo, ang halinghing at iri ay sabayang nagsasaad ng pagbulwak ng at pagdisiplina sa bawal. Basta may pera, hindi nabubura, bagkus lalong tumitingkad, ang distinksyon ng bawal at hindi sa mundong ibabaw. Bulatlat

N. Vizcaya Local Officials Rise vs Mining Firm

Local officials of the province of Nueva Vizcaya dare to fight a mining giant. This is a stark contrast to the national government pledging full support for transnational mining corporations.

BY BULATLAT
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya (268 kms north of Manila) — Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma and other provincial officials were slapped with a string of charges at the Office of Ombudsman by OceanaGold Phils., Inc., an Australian firm engaged in a multibillion-peso mining exploration project at Didipio, Kasibu town.

They were charged with grave coercion, graft and harassment. Recently, an administrative case was also filed against the governor allegedly for abuse of authority, misconduct and oppression.

Cuaresma has been a vocal critic of the Australian firm’s operations.

In a statement posted at www.nvizcayagov.ph, Cuaresma said, “If compassion is a transgression and if this is the reward of an upright move, I am ready to face the costs. As Governor, I have to defend my constituents who fall victims of abuses and until such atrocities ceased and tribal folks of Didipio will be bequeathed of the injustices OceanaGold had them suffered, I stood firm to my conviction.”

Gold site of greed

She said, “Didipio, the once tranquil hamlet of harmonious and peace loving people fall prey to pretenses of development. It is progress in exchange of dignity.  I am appealing to peace and human right advocates all over the world to help me redeem the self-esteem of displaced indigenous people of Didipio who were illegally extricated from their ancestral domain with thousand still facing ejection to pave the way to what I may describe as the gold site of greed.”

Cuaresma said that her office receives continuous reports from Didipio residents regarding cases of human rights violations, fears and intimidation. She said that the brutal killing of village chief Paulino Baguilat just recently was an aftermath of what OceanaGold calls as “development.”

Cuaresma said that her office still receives continuous reports from Didipio residents on cases of human rights violations, fears and intimidation. She said that the brutal killing of village chief Baguilat just recently was an aftermath of what OceanaGold calls as development.

Making history

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna (People First) Rep. Teddy Casiño hailed the local government’s move. “This is an unprecedented milestone in our country’s history of local governance. This should set a shining example to all other local governments under siege by arrogant and environmentally-destructive foreign large-scale mining companies,” he said

The Provincial Board recently adopted a resolution to totally withdraw support and endorsement to OceanaGold. Eight voted in favor of the move; three against, and one abstention. It shall take effect amid the ongoing impasse between the province and OceanaGold over payment of local taxes.

“This will teach OceanaGold and power-drunk officials of the national government agencies like Environment Sec. Lito Atienza a lesson. They should heed the opposition of the local people – indigenous peoples, small-scale miners and farmers included – and local authorities who will directly suffer the long-term damage from large-scale mining operations. We also hope that other local government units take this historical move of the Nueva Vizcaya provincial government into consideration,” Casiño said.

Casiño is the author of House Resolution No. 594 that mandated the Congressional Committee on National Cultural Communities to probe OceanaGold’s entry into Nueva Vizcaya’s remaining forestlands and the critical watershed areas in the region. Bulatlat

‘Katas ng Saudi’ No More; OFW Earnings Go to VAT

With the rising cost of basic commodities coupled with the value-added tax (VAT), millions of overseas Filipino workers say goodbye to “Katas ng Saudi,” or big earnings from Saudi.

BY BULATLAT
MIGRANT WATCH
Vol. VIII, No. 22, JULY 6-12, 2008

“No more ‘Katas ng Saudi!’ OFWs are bleeding dry!”

This was the statement of the Middle East chapter of Migrante International amid the increasing prices of food and fuel that caused the country’s inflation rate to reach a 14-year high.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said, “With food inflation up to 17.4 percent and fuel inflation up to 22 percent as reported by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (bsp OR Central Bank of the Philippines), the ­so-called ‘Katas ng Saudi’ or OFW earnings becomes a myth and a wish of every OFWs.” He said that millions of ordinary OFWs are receiving only US$350 to US$500 a month.

Monterona cited the price of an 11 kg. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank that increased by P76.94 to almost P600 from January to December 2007. “Now, how much is the cost of an 11 kg. LPG tank?” he asked.

He noted as well the Manila Water early this year has implemented a rate hike. Consumers who use 30 cubic meters per month pay an additional P60.

Monterona said, “Our dependents are asking us to send more…[we] tighten our belts and remit almost all of our income…” He said that most of them are looking for part-time jobs just to send more for their families back home.

Monterona said that the Arroyo government, if it has political will, could initiate “doable” economic policies that provide relief to consumers and the public in general.

He said that one of these is the removal of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on power and petroleum products. This, he said, will give consumers especially the poor, OFWs and their families’ immediate relief from rising prices greatly affecting every OFW households’ meager income.’

The OFW leader cited a study by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) which shows that scrapping the VAT on oil can immediately bring down pump prices of unleaded gasoline by P5.83 per liter; kerosene, P5.29; diesel, P4.98; and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), P68.83 per 11-kilogram cylinder.
“The Arroyo administration must set aside its greed for the P54 billion annual revenues collected from VAT imposition on oil products,” Monterona added. He said that VAT assures foreign creditors of debt payments.

“We are calling all OFW-families, dependents and relatives to join scheduled mass actions aiming to put more pressure on the Arroyo regime to scrap the VAT on oil,” Monterona said. Bulatlat

3 OFWs Decry Torture, Now on Saudi’s Death Row

Three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia were arrested and allegedly tortured to force them to admit to a crime they did not commit. They have been sentenced to death by beheading.

BY ANGIE DE LARA
MIGRANT WATCH
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

Since the 1970s, Saudi Arabia has been the top destination of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Today, there are 900,000 Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia.

Migrante International, however, noted that Saudi Arabia is also one of the worst violators of migrants’ rights.

According to Migrante, five OFWs have already been executed in Saudi Arabia since 2001. They are Antonio Alvesa, Sergio Aldana, Miguel Fernandez, Wilfredo Bautista and Reynaldo Cortez. Had migrant advocacy groups not actively intervened, Marilou Ranario would have suffered the same fate.

At present, three OFWs – brothers Rolando and Edison Gonzales and Eduardo Arcilla – could end up being included in the list of those executed in Saudi Arabia. They have been sentenced to death by beheading after being convicted of killing fellow Filipinos Romeo Lumbang, Jeremias Bucud and Dante Rivero.

During a press conference last July 1 at the Migrante International office in Quezon City, the three OFWs gave their testimonies over the phone.

Torture

On April 8, 2006 at around 9 and 10 p.m., Rolando was watching television at home when police officers arrested him. At the police station, an interpreter was already waiting for them. He denied the accusation that he murdered Lumbang, Bucud and Rivero. According to him, it was then that the police started beating him. “Gusto ko nang mamatay noong pinaparusahan ako,” (I wanted to die as they were punishing me.) Rolando said in tears. “Because I could no longer bear the torture I was forced to admit (to) the crime (we were accused of).”

Rolando said that before he was arrested, he worked for three months as a driver in Saudi Arabia. He has four children and their youngest daughter is only one-and-a half years old then. “Nasira ang pangarap ng aming pamilya.” (Our family’s dreams have been shattered.)

On the same day, Arcilla went to Rolando’s house to deliver lumpiang shanghai. He just left house of Rolando when the police officers arrested the latter. Arcilla then saw police officers on the ground floor of the building, and he said that they took him with them.

Arcilla said, “When they brought me to the investigation room at around 10:30 p.m. they asked me to admit to killing my three fellow Filipinos. Sinabi ko sa kanila na wala akong alam sa patayang naganap, nagtitinda lamang ako ng Filipino food. (I told them that I knew nothing about the killings as I was just selling Filipino food.) Then, they started beating me up and forced me to admit to the crime.”

Arcilla said in tears,“Yung interpreter pinagtututusok pa yung mata ko, napakasakit. Tapos ibinitin nila ako at binuhusan ng malamig na tubig. Ginawa po nila kaming hayop.” (The interpreter pierced my eyes, it was so painful. They hung me upside down and poured cold water on me. They treated us like animals.)

He said, “Ngayon yung pamilya ko wala ng makain”. (Now, my family has nothing to eat.)

On the same day, too, Edison received a call from his employer and instructed him to go to his company’s showroom the next morning. The following day, he arrived at around 9:30 a.m.. His employer instructed him to go with the man beside him. Edison obeyed even if he did not have any idea as to where they were going. To his surprise, the man brought him to the police station.

He said, “They asked my name and started beating me up. Magdamag, maghapon po akong pinaparusahan at pinagtatapat po nila ako. Sabi ko po sa kanila kahit patayin ninyo ako, wala akong ginawa, wala akong kinalaman sa pangyayari (I was punished day and night and they coerced me to make a confession. I told them, even if you kill me, I did nothing, I had nothing to do with the incident.). They lined us up and asked us to kneel one by one, then they started punishing us. Others could not bear the pain so they just told lies. Now, the three of us are on death row.”

Edison has been working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for 24 years, leaving behind his wife and three children.

Joel Simbulan, one of the five co-accused and has been sentenced to eight years of imprisonment and 1,000 lashes, told the press, “Pinilit po kaming makagawa ng statement para madiin ang tatlo sa amin sa krimen na wala naman po kaming kinalaman. Ako po ay dinala nila sa disyerto at pilit pinatuturo yung bangkay nung isa na hinahanap nila. Dahil wala naman po akong kinalaman sa patayan, wala po akong maituro. Pinagapang po nila ako at pinagtututulak at pinagpapapalo. Pagdating sa presinto, tuloy pa rin po yung torture kaya nakagawa po ako ng maling statement dahil hindi ko na nakayanan yung torture sa akin.” (We were forced to make a statement implicating the three [Rolando, Eduardo and Edison] for the crime we knew nothing about. They took me to the desert and asked me to show them the body of one of the men they were looking for. Because I knew nothing about the murder, I could not provide any information to them. They made me crawl; they pushed me and beat me up. When we arrived at the police precinct, the torture continued; I was forced to write a false statement because I could no longer bear the torture.)

Abandonment?

Since their arrest in April 2006, they were given legal counsel only in April 2008, or exactly two years after. When they first met the Philippine Consulate General at the corridor of their building cell, they were told, “Hintayin na lang ninyo yung hustisya, basta magpakabait lang kayo d’yan” (Wait for justice to be served, you just have to behave.)

During the visit of a Philippine embassy representative, they asked about their case. They were advised to wait for the Saudi Arabia government process.

The consul-general then told them that they need to submit a letter of appeal but the one they presented was only a statement. Edison told him “Hindi po namin alam gumawa ng appeal wala naman po kaming abogado” (We do not know how to write a letter of appeal, we do not have a lawyer.) They were told that a lawyer will prepare their letter of appeal. “But two weeks ago, we are being called and asked to submit an appeal.”

Connie Bragas-Regalado, chairperson of Migrante International, informed them that the appeal has been filed last April 12 and that the case was already at the appellate court.

Norie Gonzales, sister of Rolando and Edison, appealed for help. She spoke with his two brothers and told them, “Andito ako sa harapan ng mga press at paulit-ulit ko itong gagawin para makarating sa mga taong maaaring makatulong sa atin, kay Vice President Noli de Castro, Sen. Manny Villar, Sen Jinggoy Estrada at President Arroyo.” (I am here in front of the press and I will never get tired of doing this until our appeal reaches Vice President Noli de Castro, Sen. Manny Villar, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and President Arroyo.)

Regalado said that OFWs accused of any crime are entitled to due process and must not be tortured. “The Arroyo administration should address the plight of OFWs on death row. Blood money is not enough.”

She added, “Now that the Philippine government has been chosen as vice-chair to the United Nations Human Rights Commission despite the human rights violations in our country, Arroyo should live up to the position and give justice to the three OFWs who were tortured.” Bulatlat

U.S. Army in Brzezinki’s Afghan Trap

“That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Soviets into the Afghan trap … The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the Soviet Union its Vietnam war.” So said Zbigniew Brzezinski in a media interview in 1998. Brzezinski, it turns out, had set a trap for George W. Bush and, possibly, his successors, too.

BY J. SRI RAMAN
T r u t h o u t | Perspective
ALTERNATIVE READER
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

“That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Soviets into the Afghan trap … The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President (Jimmy) Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the Soviet Union its Vietnam War.” So said Zbigniew Brzezinski in a media interview in 1998.

A decade later, we can look back upon the tactic Brzezinski was boasting about, also as a trap Washington was laying for itself. The US was working to give its own Afghan war to itself. It is a weird sort of war, in which it killed allied troops over a week ago and is struggling to cope with the aftermath.

The former national security adviser, who assisted Carter during 1977 to 1981, was alluding to the plan to aid and arm insurgents in Afghanistan months before the Soviet intervention, with Carter authorizing covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations in the region in July 1978. Codenamed Operation Cyclone, the CIA program for 1979 to 1989 was funded to the tune of $20 million to $30 million per year from 1980 to 1986, and $630 million annually thereafter.

No secrecy has shrouded either the post-9/11 Pentagon-Washington plans in the border areas of both Pakistan and Afghanistan or the budget running into billions of dollars for the purpose. The only difference is that, long after the departure of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan and, indeed, the Soviet Union from the world scene, an occupation Army of the US and its NATO allies is caught in a trap. And the trap seems shut tighter than ever before.

The imbroglio found a strange and striking illustration in the incident of June 10, when a US air strike killed 11 soldiers at a Pakistani checkpoint in the Mohmand tribal region of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan’s Kunar province. The coalition forces in the area had been fighting Taliban insurgents, whom the Pakistani Army of a largely tribal composition, could or, according to many, would not stop from crossing the border. The episode provided more than an inkling of the wars within the Afghan war, of which the tribal people on both sides of the border were witnesses and victims.

The incident has led to strong verbal protests from Pakistan to Washington. The Pakistani Army, in a statement approved by chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, has called the attack on the post “unprovoked and cowardly.” Former Army chief and ambassador to the US Jehangir Karamat has said, “This is the first time the United States has deliberately targeted co-operating Pakistani forces,” and noted the absence of any “statement by the US that this was ‘friendly fire’ and that the intention was not to target Pakistani forces.”

Unofficially, sources in the Pakistani Army have talked of a number of similar attacks on Pakistani territory in the past, attributed then to “faulty intelligence.” It is claimed that, as a partner in the US-led “war on terror,” the Army has even owned up to some such strikes to avoid embarrassing its allies. The counterclaim from the coalition forces is that the strikes have been made in “self-defense” and in order to prevent Taliban incursions from the Pakistani side.

The trap consists, above all, in two-way border incursions by the two “anti-terror” allies of the US, which threaten an escalation of hostilities. On June 15, Afghan President Hamid Karzai claimed the right to attack his Taliban tormentors on Pakistani territory. This invited a declaration by Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi of a resolve to “defend Pakistan’s territorial sovereignty.” Neither of them mentioned this, but the most notable point about it all is this has become a war in which Washington is paying for both sides.

Not everyone might find this a delightful irony, but many could see it in the making down the past three decades. Toward the end of the eighties, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is said to have told then US President George Bush Sr., “You are creating a Frankenstein,” referring to the funding and fattening of the Taliban force. Even earlier, this was obvious to foreign observers in Afghanistan. I was in Kabul as a journalist during 1981 to 1983, and can vouch that few then saw the tribal warriors and warlords under the US tutelage as fervent devotees of democracy, the cause they were supposed to serve under the CIA. The Taliban established an outrageously oppressive regime in Kabul in 1996. But it was not until the late nineties that Washington began to worry about the fundamentalism of the force, funded also by Saudi Arabia. Apprehensions on this score, however, did not unduly affect the conduct of the “anti-terror” war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, author of “Descent into Chaos,” pointed this out, when asked in a recent interview why Pakistan was backing Taliban insurgency and creating instability in Afghanistan against Islamabad’s own “best interests.” Rashid replied: “I think the real issue was that the US refused to recognize this issue. The US agenda for Afghanistan and Pakistan was that General (Pervez) Musharraf should be involved in catching as many Al-Qaeda – that is the Arab component of the Al-Qaeda leaders – as possible. They were not interested in [dealing with] the Taliban … and there was no real pressure on the Pakistanis to end their support for the Taliban.”

The policy has defeated its own purpose. The post-Musharraf government of Pakistan is holding parleys with top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, accused earlier of masterminding Benazir’s assassination. And, on May 26, in a rare media interview, Mehsud rejected reports that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other leaders were hiding in his region. “… Osama bin Laden is dead, and the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, is not in our territory,” he declared.

The wars within the Afghan war will likely continue. Brzezinski, it turns out, had set a trap for George W. Bush and, possibly, his successors, too. Truthout/posted by Bulatlat

It was Oil, All Along

“The war in Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with oil,” so we were told. It actually is about oil, all along.

BY BILL MOYERS AND MICHAEL WINSHIP
Truthout.org
ALTERNATIVE READER
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

Oh no, they told us, Iraq isn’t a war about oil. That’s cynical and simplistic, they said. It’s about terror and al-Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire and ashes. And now the bottom line turns out to be…the bottom line. It is about oil.

Alan Greenspan said so last fall. The former chairperson of the Federal Reserve, safely out of office, confessed in his memoir, “Everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.” He elaborated in an interview with The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, “If Saddam Hussein had been head of Iraq and there was no oil under those sands, our response to him would not have been as strong as it was in the first Gulf War.”

Remember also that soon after the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld’s deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, told the press that war was our only strategic choice. “We had virtually no economic options with Iraq,” he explained, “because the country floats on a sea of oil.”

Shades of Daniel Plainview, the monstrous petroleum tycoon in the movie “There Will Be Blood.” Half-mad, he exclaims, “There’s a whole ocean of oil under our feet!” then adds, “No one can get at it except for me!”

No wonder American troops only guarded the Ministries of Oil and the Interior in Baghdad, even as looters pillaged museums of their priceless antiquities. They were making sure no one could get at the oil except … guess who?

Here’s a recent headline in The New York Times: “Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back.” Read on: “Four western companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.”

There you have it. After a long exile, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and British Petroleum (BP) are back in Iraq. And on the wings of no-bid contracts – that’s right, sweetheart deals like those given Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater. The kind of deals you get only if you have friends in high places. And these war profiteers have friends in very high places.

Let’s go back a few years to the 1990s, when private citizen Dick Cheney was running Halliburton, the big energy supplier. That’s when he told the oil industry that, “By 2010 we will need the order of an additional 50 million barrels a day. So where is the oil going to come from? While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East, with two-thirds of the world’s oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies.”

Fast forward to Cheney’s first heady days in the White House. The oil industry and other energy conglomerates were handed backdoor keys to the White House, and their CEOs and lobbyists were trooping in and out for meetings with their old pal, now Vice President Cheney. The meetings were secret, conducted under tight security, but as we reported five years ago, among the documents that turned up from some of those meetings were maps of oil fields in Iraq – and a list of companies who wanted access to them. The conservative group Judicial Watch and the Sierra Club filed suit to try to find out who attended the meetings and what was discussed, but the White House fought all the way to the Supreme Court to keep the press and public from learning the whole truth.

Think about it. These secret meetings took place six months before 9/11, two years before Bush and Cheney invaded Iraq. We still don’t know what they were about. What we know is that this is the oil industry that’s enjoying swollen profits these days. It would be laughable if it weren’t so painful to remember that their erstwhile cheerleader for invading Iraq – the press mogul Rupert Murdoch – once said that a successful war there would bring us $20-a-barrel oil. The last time we looked, it was more than $140 a barrel. Where are you, Rupert, when the facts need checking and the predictions are revisited?

At a Congressional hearing this week, James Hansen, the NASA climate scientist who exactly 20 years ago alerted Congress and the world to the dangers of global warming, compared the chief executives of Big Oil to the tobacco moguls who denied that nicotine is addictive or that there’s a link between smoking and cancer. Hansen, whom the administration has tried again and again to silence, said these barons of black gold should be tried for committing crimes against humanity and nature in opposing efforts to deal with global warming.

Perhaps those sweetheart deals in Iraq should be added to his proposed indictments. They have been purchased at a very high price. Four thousand American soldiers dead, tens of thousands permanently wounded, hundreds of thousands of dead and crippled Iraqis plus five million displaced, and a cost that will mount into trillions of dollars. The political analyst Kevin Phillips says America has become little more than an “energy protection force,” doing anything to gain access to expensive fuel without regard to the lives of others or the earth itself. One thinks again of Daniel Plainview in “There Will Be Blood.” His lust for oil came at the price of his son and his soul. Posted by Bulatlat

Bill Moyers is managing editor and Michael Winship is senior writer of the weekly public affairs program Bill Moyers Journal, which airs Friday nights on PBS. Check local airtimes or comment at The Moyers Blog at www.pbs.org/moyers.

Editor’s Note: This Bill Moyers comment on America’s oil policy was presented on Friday 27 June 2008 on Bill Moyers Journal. Other portions of the program can be viewed here TO/vh

Freeing the Press

The unabated killings of journalists and the power that local political warlords continue to wield in the provinces; the continuous pressures exerted by the Arroyo administration on the media; the serious implications of the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court which virtually legalizes police repression on media; and the self-imposed limitations of media agencies and journalists – all of these, among many others, affect the freedom of the press (or worsen the lack of it) in the country. These problems seem insurmountable but they are not.

BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
ANALYSIS
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008

Writers from all over the world gathered in Stockholm, Sweden July 1 to decry the harassments and censorship that they are confronting.  Bangladeshi novelist-in-hiding Taslima Nasreen complained about the numerous threats to her life issued against her by Islamic fundamentalists after she had written about women’s oppression and the role of religion. To make matters worse, the Bangladesh government banned her from returning to her home country instead of protecting her rights. Turkmen writer Yusuf Azemoun decried the strict censorship being imposed by the Turkish government on media.

The Arroyo administration claims that the Philippines has one of the freest press in Southeast Asia. But the country has been described as the second most dangerous place for journalists in the world, next only to Iraq. Ninety-one journalists have been killed from 1986 to 2007, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).  Of this total, 55 journalists were killed from 2001, the year Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency.  This is being attributed to the culture of impunity prevailing in the country under the Arroyo administration.

What is this culture of impunity?  It is the ability of the perpetrators of these abhorrent crimes to get away scot-free, much like soldiers accused of being involved in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. But in the case of killings of journalists, which happens mostly in the provinces, these are often perpetrated by local political warlords who wield power in the provinces and who control most, if not all, the money-making ventures (both legal and illegal) in their respective areas.  Their power emanates from their control of local politics, their vast landholdings and numerous business interests which include illegal gambling, logging and drugs. Tragedy befalls anyone who dares expose their dealings. And this power is strengthened and their impunity fanned by the Arroyo administration that relies on local political warlords – aside from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and her allies in Congress – to stay in power.

A court decision with serious implications

Just last June 20, the Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Reynaldo Laigo dismissed the class action suit brought against the PNP and other government officials by journalists and media organizations.  Journalists filed the suit after the police cuffed, manhandled, threatened, pointed guns at them and herded them into buses and brought them to the police camp in Bicutan in the aftermath of the Manila Peninsula standoff.  The rough handling and intimidation of journalists were committed after the leaders of the standoff, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, have already surrendered peacefully to police authorities, which makes it more suspect.

It is interesting to note that the court decision dismissing the suit filed by journalists was signed last June 20 but was only released a week after on June 27; and as of June 30, the complainants have not yet received a copy of the decision. Why? Was it done on purpose to dissipate the reaction of the media and the public?

In justifying his decision, Laigo claimed that the rights of journalists were not trampled upon when they were cuffed, manhandled, herded into buses, and brought to Bicutan. He even added insult to injury by saying that journalists were fortunate that the police did not file counter-charges against them. What kind of reasoning is that?

This court decision practically gives the police the power to prevent journalists from covering events by giving them the legal basis to arrest, manhandle and charge in court those who refuse to heed their orders not to do so.  This is censorship plain and simple and violative of the public’s right to know.  This is the legal authority and justification the Arroyo administration has been yearning for and which it failed to appropriate through executive edict.  Remember the media guidelines that the Arroyo administration tried to impose in the aftermath of the supposed Left-Right conspiracy in February 2006, which was made as a pretext by the Arroyo administration to declare a state of national emergency?

Self-imposed limitations

Carlos Conde of the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times came out with an interesting and informative article titled “Torture: Just a Story” which was published by the GMANews.TV.  He described the difficulties journalists face in writing about torture in particular and human rights cases in general.

One problem Conde raised is the mindset of journalists, which is shared by their mentors, superiors, and colleagues alike, to treat everything as “just a story,” and to refrain from being involved in advocacy as it may compromise one’s objectivity.

Conde also related tales of journalists being ostracized in their beats and being denied access to information by their sources because of their reportage on human rights. In one case, according to Conde, a journalist was warned by a military general not to set foot on a military camp again.

There is also the mindset among journalists to treat certain subjects, such as human rights, as belonging to the fringes and to be ignored. In my own experience in human rights advocacy, we have encountered journalists who told us that unless a human rights case is sensational – because of the sheer number of victims, the grossness and brutality of the violation, or there is direct evidence linking a high government official to the crime – it would never be published or aired.

This mindset for the sensational may also be the reason crime stories permeate tabloids, broadsheets, radio and television news reports. This is also the source of the scoop mentality that afflicts most journalists. Objective but sensational – sounds contradictory, doesn’t it?

Aside from the mindset of journalists, some stories do not see the light of day because it impinges on the sensibilities of editors, publishers, sponsors, companies, or agencies that place ads on the media agency concerned.

These problems emanate from the orientation and nature of the press in this country.  The media are supposed to be “objective,” whatever that means.  But every event has a cause, and every story has different sides to it. What to emphasize is now left to the writer, the editor and the publisher; and that is where the subjective position of those concerned comes in.  I would rather be, “panig sa katotohanan, panig sa bayan” (stands for the truth, stands for the country) than “walang kinikilingan, walang pinoprotektahan” (does not take any sides, does not protect anybody) because the second is a fallacy.

A media agency also operates as a business venture and that is where the objective interests of the stockholders come in.  Added to this, journalists have a job to keep and protect; losing a source, the inability to chase and come up with sensational stories, and touching on the sensibilities of publishers could mean losing their jobs.

Freeing the press

The unabated killings of journalists and the power that local political warlords continue to wield in the provinces; the continuous pressures being exerted by the Arroyo administration on the media; the serious implications of the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court which virtually legalizes police repression on media; and the self-imposed limitations of media agencies and journalists – they all affect the freedom of the press (or the lack of it) in the country.

These problems seem insurmountable but they are not. We are not lacking in stories of people from the media who have defied the powers-that-be.

Philippine press freedom icon Jose Burgos defied Martial Law by publishing the We Forum in 1977, the year the protest movement against Martial Law was on an upsurge. He was subsequently arrested and the We Forum office raided and padlocked in 1982.  Burgos was not cowed by the Marcos dictatorship and he published Malaya which was also critical of the dictatorship immediately upon his release.  There were also many lesser-known journalists who did the same all over the country. They reported about the numerous human rights violations and excesses of the dictatorship and published news about the growing protest movement in the country.

These men and women of the media who dared to defy the Marcos dictatorship were the product of the intellectual ferment and growing protest movement against Martial Law at that time and they contributed significantly to it. They dared to make a stand against the evils of the dictatorship and joined the Filipino people in bringing it down. In the process, the Filipino people freed them from their encumbrances and they joined the people in their fight for freedom. That was the peak of press freedom in the country.

Press freedom is not measured by the lack of censorship – because it would always exist whether from pressures of the government and its security forces, certain segments of the population such as fundamentalists, or by the corporate interests of media agencies themselves – but by the political will and actions of the people and journalists in confronting it.

Some media persons say that press freedom is the foundation of all the rights of the people.  On the contrary, press freedom is the result of the people’s assertion of their rights.  Bulatlat