Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

On the 37th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the Philippines, BAYAN-USA called on the administration of President Barack Obama to break with tradition by ending over 100 years of US support for dictatorial regimes like that of Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today.

“For the past eight years, Arroyo has impersonated Marcos with her brazen corruption and brutal human rights record. But the US should admit its own guilt for these atrocities, because American military and economic policies have made it possible for tyrants like Marcos and Arroyo to not only ascend to power, but to rule with impunity year after year,” said Berna Ellorin, Chair of BAYAN-USA.

With a reported 1, 013 extra-judicial killings, 202 enforced disappearances, 223 political prisoners, and 1,036 incidences of torture since 2001, the Arroyo regime’s human rights record rivals that of Marcos and has drawn sharp criticism from the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and KARAPATAN. Among the victims is poet and human rights activist Melissa Roxas, the first known American victim of torture in the Philippines under Obama’s presidency. During that same time period, US military support for the Philippines has skyrocketed, increasing by a staggering 1,500% according to a 2007 report by the Center for Public Integrity.

“Obama’s carefully manicured speech telling ‘those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent’ that they are ‘on the wrong side of history’ of course falls on deaf ears, because in his next breath he calls Arroyo to affirm US commitment to the Visiting Forces Agreement and then designates the Philippines as the official coordinating country between the US and ASEAN,” continued Ellorin. “That’s like telling a bully to stop terrorizing children on the playground, but giving him a baseball bat so he can hit his next victim,” continued Ellorin.

Although US militarization in the Philippines has intensified since 2001, it began over 100 years ago when the US seized control of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War and usurped power from Philippine revolutionary forces. Numerous agreements between the US and the Philippines have guaranteed a constant American military presence in the Philippines since then, despite widespread opposition. The historic Philippine Senate vote in 1991 to not renew the US military bases agreement was undermined by the enactment of the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999. US intentions to maintain its forces in the Philippines indefinitely were underscored at the end of last month, when US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the US has been keeping a 600-strong Joint Special Operations Task Force in the Philippines since 1999 and would keep them there indefinitely. Reports that US troops were involved in a shooting in Jolo, Sulu that resulted in damage to a mosque last week on September 14 have been met with an attempted cover-up by Philippine authorities and silence by the US military.

“Rather than enforcing the status quo in Philippine-US relations, Obama should begin the process of reparations to the victims of Marcos and Arroyo,” stated Ellorin. “He could start by immediately withdrawing US troops, terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement, and cutting off all military aid to the Arroyo regime. There would also be a lot more money available for universal health care, if the US stopped sending tens of millions of dollars to the Philippines every year to enforce virtual martial law.”

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the US representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the US. The online petition against the VFA can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow/.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

US troops fuel insecurity crisis in the Philippines: BAYAN-USA calls on US government to terminate Visiting Forces Agreement

September 16 marks the historic Philippine Senate vote to reject the renewal of a US military bases treaty, but recent declarations by US and Philippine defense officials reveal their desire to erase history in order to secure the future of US imperialism and the Philippine elite who benefit from it.

Responding to decades of protest demanding that US bases in the Philippines be shut down, the 12-11 Senate vote on September 16, 1991 effectively ejected US troops from the country. In a clear affront to Philippine sovereignty and the will of the people, however, the controversial US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement was enacted shortly thereafter in 1999. Since then, tens of thousands of US soldiers, commanders, advisors, special operatives, and other military personnel have flooded back into the country, along with nearly $1 billion worth of military aid and materiel.

Despite massive demonstrations, senate and congressional hearings, and a Supreme Court review of the constitutionality of the agreement in the Philippines, president after president in both countries has staunchly defended the reviled agreement. In a phone call in March and a state meeting in July with President Gloria Arroyo this year, President Barack Obama affirmed his support for the Visiting Forces Agreement and continuing the annual joint military exercises known as “Balikatan” (“Shoulder-to-Shoulder”). “Despite his rhetoric of ‘change,’ President Obama and his cabinet have clung to Bush’s foreign policy when it comes to the Philippines,” said BAYAN-USA Chair Berna Ellorin.

At the end of last month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the US has been keeping a 600-strong Joint Special Operations Task Force in the Philippines since 1999, and that the US intends to maintain the forces there indefinitely. Gates’ announcement was followed by a visit from Philippine Defense Secretary and presidential aspirant Gilberto Teodoro, who last week pledged his commitment to the Visiting Forces Agreement and continued “cooperation” with the US military.

“Declaring the ‘permanent and continuous presence’ of US troops is like giving a life sentence to the Philippines,” said Ellorin. “Indefinite military presence holds the Philippines prisoner to the failed Bush-Cheney military doctrine, sacrificing the Philippines’ sovereignty for a policy that has fueled thousands of human rights violations against innocent civilians and made the world less safe for everyone.”

Testimony from whistleblower Lt. Senior Grade Nancy Gadian earlier this month further exposed that the US government is using the Visiting Forces Agreement to justify virtual military bases and to allow American personnel to participate in actual combat operations in the Philippines, in clear violation of the country’s sovereignty. More evidence of this fact has been uncovered in research by Professor Roland G. Simbulan , who cites an article in the MILITARY REVIEW (May-June 2004) of the US Army Combined Arms Center, former Joint Special Operations Task Force - Philippines (JSOTF-P) Commander Col. David Maxwell, US Army, which said that the mission of the JSOTF-P in the Philippines “is to conduct unconventional warfare in the Philippines through, by, and with the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” with “unconventional warfare” defined as including guerilla warfare, subversion, sabotage, and assisted recover.” Professor Simbulan concludes that Maxwell’s article “in fact, implied that the Balikatan exercises under the VFA were just a disguise for counter-terrorist operations.”

“With thousands of Filipino civilians getting caught in the crossfire and tens of millions of US taxpayer dollars spent on these war games, the biggest losers in this equation are everyday people in both the Philippines and the US,” said Ellorin. “The US military machine is using us as human shields in a power play to enhance its geopolitical interests in the world, at the cost of innocent lives and money that is desperately needed for education, health care, affordable housing, and other domestic services.”

On this historic day and in the spirit of those who marched the streets of Manila for the termination of the US bases treaty 18 years ago, we demand that the US government end its military presence and intervention in the Philippines. We demand the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement, a one-sided treaty that legitimizes the presence of US troops in the Philippines and provides legal protection for US soldiers who commit crimes while on duty in the Philippines. We demand that not one more cent of our tax dollars be spent on military aid for the Philippines.

Today we honor the Filipino people who have steadfastly challenged and resisted US imperialism in the Philippines. We add our voices to the efforts of organizations throughout the Philippines and worldwide which oppose the presence of US troops, bases, military occupation, and war.

One of two overseas chapters of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN Philippines, BAYAN-USA is an alliance of 14 progressive Filipino organizations in the US representing women, youth, students, scholars and working people. BAYAN-USA launched a petition site calling for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement that can be accessed at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow/. The said petition is addressed to US President Barack Obama and will be presented to him this year.

Contact: Hanalei Ramos and Yves Nibungco
Regional Co-Coordinators, BAYAN-USA
ny@bayanusa.org

NEW YORK–The day after her meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington DC, Philippine Head of State Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was once again met with more protests in New York City last Friday in front of her hotel, the Waldorf Astoria. Arroyo traveled for a brief stay in New York City to meet with US businessmen this weekend.

Numerous Anti-Arroyo protesters from BAYAN USA, GABRIELA USA, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerent (FiRE), Anakbayan NY/NJ, NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), and National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), stood and chanted in the pouring rain to register opposition against the Arroyo administration’s plans to convene a constituent assembly (Con-Ass) that would revise the 1987 Philippine Constitution according to her administration’s proposed changes, also known as Charter Change (Cha-Cha). Protesters also held up signs and banners demanding justice for Melissa Roxas, a member of BAYAN USA abducted and tortured by what is widely-believed to be the Philippine military last May.

“These meetings with businessmen are literally to sell-off our homeland piece-by-piece, as Cha-Cha will ensure the selling of Philippine national patrimony as well as mass media and public utilities,” stated Berna Ellorin, Chair of BAYAN USA. “We may be only 20 standing here in front of the Waldorf, but we represent the interest of millions of Filipinos for a truly sovereign nation to call their own.”

Protesters were able to march to the entrance of the hotel while Arroyo was inside, causing other hotel clients to take notice. Chanting “Cha-Cha ni Gloria, Ibasura!” (Junk Gloria’s Cha-Cha!) and “Gloria, Gloria, You Can’t Hide, We Charge You with Homicide!”, protesters stopped, temporarily blocking the hotel’s entrance, to point out Arroyo’s scrutinized human rights record and the case of Melissa Roxas with hotel clients standing by the entrance waiting to hail a taxi.

They also pointed out the usage of US tax dollars through military aid to fund the Philippine military which has been proven by international human rights monitoring groups to be committing these human rights violations.

The Waldorf-Astoria protest follows a high-profile meeting between Arroyo and Obama at the White House last week.

Several members of protesters in New York City also participated in protests the day before in front of the White House, seeking to call Obama’s attention to Årroyo’s human rights track record and to raise it during the meeting. But a post-meeting press conference revealed that the issue was not discussed, in favor of discussion of economic partnership.

Instead, the Obama administration publicly affirmed ties to the Arroyo administration by appointing the Philippines as the coordinator of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a multi-lateral economic forum of nations from South East Asia that meets to discuss economic development and cultural progress.

“We are disappointed, but not surprised,” Ellorin stated. “The Obama and Arroyo governments are determined to maintain the status quo of a master-servant relationship through unequal ties, despite opposition from the American and Filipino people. This only proves that NO PRESIDENT can bring in ‘change we can believe in’. Real change can only be brought by people like us united in mass movement and solidarity.”

Contact: Kuusela Hilo
Vice Chair, BAYAN-USA
vc@bayanusa.org

Los Angeles, CA– Just hours before Melissa Roxas’ Writ of Amparo hearing, BAYAN USA led a Vigil for Justice in front of the Philippine Consulate to demand justice for Melissa and all victims of human rights violations in the Philippines. Dozens gathered, from as far as San Diego, to express their outrage for what was done to Roxas and thousands of others and the worsening social and economic conditions in the Philippines. The protest action, in Roxas’ hometown, was just one of a nationally-coordinated string of actions denouncing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address and her visit to the US at the end of the week.

The Vigil for Justice also addressed the upcoming meeting between President Obama and President Arroyo at the White House. All attendees of the vigil signed a super-sized letter to President Obama, demanding that he take a stand for justice and defend Melissa Roxas. AnakBayan LA and SiGAw (Sisters of Gabriela, Awaken!) performed a heart-wrenching street theater piece, re-enacting the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas and the on-going campaign to demand justice for Roxas and all victims.

The Vigil for Justice began with a blessing and reading by Rev. Lisa Santiago of Grace United Methodist Church. Rev. Santiago quoted the story of the Widow and the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8), and called on the people to persevere and struggle for justice. Daya Mortel of Habi Arts and Regional Coordinator of BAYAN USA Southwest demanded that President Obama and the American people listen and do something now. “Every time that Melissa has to re-tell the abduction and torture, she is reliving the traumatic experience. How many times will she have to tell her story and relive that hellish experience before President Obama listens?,” asked Mortel. “No US taxes should be funding human rights violations by death squads and the Armed Forces of the Philippines!,” Mortel concluded.

US military aid to the Philippines grew a staggering 1,500% during the Bush administration and is widely believed to have funded the Philippine military personnel that committed the human rights atrocities, which includes a body count of at least 1,013 people killed and 1,036 people tortured.

“To see the state of the Philippine nation, we can look at what happened to Melissa Roxas. There is nothing wrong in helping those neglected by the government, those who do not have access to the basic health services!,” stated Kuusela Hilo, AnakBayan LA member and Vice Chair of BAYAN USA. “US intervention, such as the Visiting Forces Agreement, and the Philippine government’s retaliation against activists makes the worsening socio-economic crisis even worse, terrorizing the Filipino people. We admire Melissa Roxas’ courage as she continues to advocate for the Filipino people, exposing the US-Arroyo regime and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, so that the struggle for justice is not silenced. We must continue to do our part in the struggle for genuine freedom and democracy in the Philippines!” concluded Hilo.

Representatives from BAYAN USA, GABRIELA USA, AnakBayan Los Angeles, AnakBayan San Diego, SiGAw, Habi Arts, International Action Center, Coalition LA, Echo Park United Methodist Church, and the (FMLN) Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front offered messages of solidarity during the Vigil for Justice.

More information about the Justice for Melissa Roxas campaign can be found at www.justiceformelissa.org.

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the US representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the US.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary-General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Nationwide Actions Demand a Reversal of the Failed Bush-Arroyo Doctrine and Call for REAL Change in US Policy Toward the Philippines

During nationwide actions this week marking the annual “State of the Nation Address” in the Philippines, BAYAN-USA declared that it would demand accountability from the Philippine government for the illegal abduction and torture of American citizen Melissa Roxas and call on President Barack Obama to discuss the human rights crisis in the Philippines in his meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on July 30. Roxas, who is the first US citizen known to be tortured in the Philippines during the Obama administration, was abducted, held in captivity and tortured by alleged military agents in the Philippines from May 19-25, 2009.

The Arroyo-Obama meeting also coincides with a hearing of the Court of Appeals in the Philippines on Roxas’ case, at which Roxas will testify about the violent abduction and torture including repeated beatings and asphyxiation with plastic bags that she endured during her six days in captivity in what she believes was a military camp. The meeting of President Arroyo and President Obama also occurs as the US Senate and House deliberate over next year’s military aid package to the Philippines; the current year’s military aid package is $32 million. US military aid to the Philippine grew a staggering 1,500% during the Bush administration and is widely believed to have funded the Philippine military personnel that committed the human rights atrocities, which includes a body count of at least 1,013 people killed and 1,036 people tortured.

“Neglecting to question Arroyo about Melissa Roxas and the thousands of human rights violations being committed by the Philippine military makes the Obama administration complicit in the perpetration of these heinous crimes,” stated Rhonda Ramiro, Secretary General of BAYAN-USA. “Granting tens of millions of US tax dollars to the murderous Philippine military would make President Obama just as guilty as Bush in the continuing torture and murder of innocent people.”

BAYAN-USA and representatives of churches, community organizations, labor unions, and other concerned groups are appealing to President Obama to live up to his declarations of “change,” by asking President Arroyo what action she intends to take about the rampant human rights violations that continue to plague the Philippines. They are also calling on President Obama to specifically ask President Arroyo, as Commander in Chief, to ensure that the Philippine military cooperates with the investigation into Roxas’ case.

“On the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims, President Obama declared, ‘Torture is contrary to the founding documents of our country and the fundamental values of our people. The US must stand against torture wherever it takes place.’ We are asking President Obama to live up to his words by taking a stand against the state-sanctioned torture used by the Philippine military against government critics,” said Ramiro.

During her meeting with President Obama, President Arroyo is expected to make a pitch for support of her proposed changes to the Philippine Constitution, known in the Philippines as “Charter Change.” Despite widespread popular opposition, President Arroyo has relentlessly campaigned for Charter Change for over two years, including during today’s State of the Nation Address. Charter Change would wipe out constitutional protections that protect Philippine sovereignty by allowing 100% foreign ownership of Philippine land and key industries, as well as open the door to a power extension for President Arroyo beyond the end of her term in 2010.

Recent polls show extremely low approval ratings of President Arroyo. Since Arroyo became president in 2001, the Philippines has experienced the longest period of sustained high unemployment in its history, at 11.2% or 10.8 million people unemployed and underemployed; a cumulative national government deficit of P1.29 trillion, which is triple the deficits of the Aquino, Ramos and Estrada administrations combined; more human rights violations against innocent civilians than under any previous president including Ferdinand Marcos; and at least 16 documented government corruption scandals amounting to $430 million in kick-backs and pay-offs to government officials and relatives.

“If President Obama is serious about promoting peace and supporting lasting change in the Philippines, he should oppose Arroyo’s Charter Change,” stated Ramiro. “Charter Change would result in less security for Filipinos and Americans alike, because it would worsen poverty and pave the way for an Arroyo dictatorship.”

We want REAL CHANGE NOT Charter Change
We want HUMAN RIGHTS NOT Torture
We want DEMOCRACY NOT Dictatorship
We want SOVEREIGNTY NOT Foreign Rule
We want REAL SECURITY NOT State Terrorism
We want JUSTICE FOR MELISSA ROXAS AND ALL VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS NOT Denials and Cover-Ups
No US Military Aid for Torture, Abductions and Killings in the Philippines
Investigate the Abduction and Torture of Melissa Roxas

BAYAN-USA Actions being held in the U.S

New York
The Real State of the Nation: Community Forum, Play, and Action
Monday, July 27, 2009, 6:00 PM
Bayanihan Community Center
40-21 69th St.
New York, NY

San Francisco
Cha-Cha-Cha Change We Can Believe In: Action to Demand REAL Change and Justice for Melissa Roxas
Monday, July 27, 2009, 4:00 PM
Federal Building
Corner of Mission Street and 7th Street
San Francisco, CA

Los Angeles
Justice for Melissa Roxas and State of the Nation Action
Coincides with Melissa Roxas’ Writ of Amparo Hearing in the Philippines
Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 7:00 PM
In front of the Philippine Consulate
3600 Wilshire Blvd (between S Harvard Blvd and S Kingsley Dr)
Los Angeles, CA

Additional Actions being held in the US

San Francisco
Vigil for Human Rights in the Philippines
Thursday, July 30, 2009, 6:00 PM
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
756 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA
Sponsored by the USA-Philippines Ecumenical Advocacy Network

Washington DC
Justice for Melissa Roxas Action and Prayer Vigil
Coincides with Meeting of President Barack Obama and President Gloria Arroyo
Thursday, July 30, 2009, 11:00 AM
Sponsored by Katarungan: Center for Peace, Justice and Human Rights in the Philippines
In front of the White House

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

US citizen abducted and tortured by suspected Philippine military agents returns to the Philippines to seek justice

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Melissa Roxas, a US citizen abducted and tortured in the Philippines from May 19-25, left the United States today and traveled to the Philippines, where she will pursue her case against the Philippine government. “I am not doing this for myself,” stated Ms. Roxas at San Francisco Airport shortly before boarding a plane bound for the Philippines. “The Philippine government must be held accountable for what they did to me and thousands of other victims of human rights violations.” Ms. Roxas, an American human rights advocate of Filipino descent, is the first known American citizen to have become a victim of abduction and torture during the administration of President Barack Obama while in the Philippines, a country which has drawn international condemnation for state-sponsored human rights atrocities.

“I am returning to the Philippines to testify at a hearing for my Petition for Writ of Amparo and Habeus Data regarding my abduction and torture by the Philippine military,” said Ms. Roxas. “Of course I am concerned about my safety. However, I decided to come back to the Philippines because of the promise of safety and security offered by the Chair of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines.” Ms. Roxas’ Petition for Writ of Amparo and Habeus Data seeks protection for Ms. Roxas and her family, as well as the production of informational documents pertinent to her case and to allow the inspection of Fort Magsaysay where Ms. Roxas believes she was held captive and tortured.

To ensure her safety while traveling, Ms. Roxas is accompanied by a delegation of the California Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church, Philippines Pastoral and Solidarity Visit. The solidarity delegation has been traveling to the Philippines annually since 2007, to respond to the reported extra-judicial killings taking place in the Philippines, along with other human rights abuses targeted against religious activists, educators, labor leaders, and students. The delegation visits families of victims in various regions of the Philippines, and an Advance Special offering has been established to help support the needs of surviving family members. This year’s delegation includes United Methodist Church Bishop Warner H. Brown. Before they passed through the airport gate leading to their flight this afternoon, the delegates joined hands in a circle with Ms. Roxas and said a prayer for safety, guidance and strength in their journey.

Ms. Roxas’ return to the Philippines comes just 11 days before President Obama will meet with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Washington D.C. on July 30. To the dismay of many people in both the US and the Philippines, the agenda of the first state visit between the two countries currently omits the discussion of human rights violations, including the case of Ms. Roxas even though she is a US citizen. Representatives of churches, community organizations, labor unions, and other concerned groups are currently appealing to President Obama to live up to his declarations of “change,” by asking President Arroyo what action she intends to take about the rampant human rights violations that continue to plague the Philippines and to specifically ensure that her government cooperates with the investigation into Ms. Roxas’ case.

In a sworn affidavit submitted to the Philippine Supreme Court, Ms. Roxas described being abducted at gunpoint by several heavily armed men, brought to what she believed is a military camp, held against her will, questioned without the presence of an attorney, beaten repeatedly, and asphyxiated using plastic bags before being released. Reports by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Philippine-based human rights organization Karapatan, and Human Rights Watch have overwhelmingly concluded that the Philippine military is responsible for systematically carrying out human rights violations such as abduction, torture and extra-judicial killings against innocent civilians. Human rights advocates and activists have been the vast majority of victims; Ms. Roxas, a member of Habi Arts Los Angeles and the first Regional Coordinator of BAYAN-USA, was in the Philippines conducting human rights and community health work as well as doing research for a writing project when she was abducted and tortured.

The experience of Ms. Roxas is considered typical for the over 200 cases of abduction and 1,036 cases of torture recorded since Gloria Macapagal Arroyo became president of the Philippines in 2001. The Philippine government’s quick denial of responsibility for Ms. Roxas’ abduction and torture is also considered a typical response; in his 2007 report on the Philippines, UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston cited such systematic denial by the government as one of the primary obstacles to stopping the rampant human rights violations plaguing the country. In his 2009 follow-up report, Alston indicated a general failure of the Arroyo government to stop the persistent human rights violations.

“We hail Melissa’s courage to testify in court about the horrendous trauma she experienced at the hands of the Philippine military,” stated Berna Ellorin, Chair of BAYAN-USA. “She will confront head-on the lies and denials of the Philippine government, and speak on behalf of the thousands of victims of human rights violations who are no longer able to speak for themselves.”

When she returns to the US, Ms. Roxas and the organizations working on the Justice for Melissa campaign will continue to pursue justice from this country, with actions which include national speaking appearances, media interviews about her ordeal, community mobilizations, and legal cases filed with the United Nations.

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the US representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the US.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN-USA, denounced the abduction and torture of Melissa Roxas by suspected elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  An American citizen of Filipino descent, Roxas is a well-known Filipino American human rights advocate and was BAYAN-USA’s first Regional Coordinator in Los Angeles, CA and a founding member of the Los Angeles-based cultural organization Habi Arts.  Roxas’ sworn affidavit about the torture she experienced from May 19-25, 2009 while in captivity was made public today when she filed a Petition for a Writ of Amparo and Habeus Data with the Philippine Supreme Court, seeking protection from further harm for herself and her family.

In the affidavit, Roxas describes being abducted by approximately 15 armed men, thrown in a van, handcuffed and blindfolded for six days, and dragged from jail cell to jail cell.  She recounts being subjected to torture via asphyxiation using a doubled-up plastic bag, repeated beatings to the face and body, and having her head banged repeatedly against the wall by her interrogators. Roxas said that one interrogator stated those who tortured her were from the Special Operations Group (SOG), and she heard one of her interrogators addressed as “Sir.” She also heard gunfire from what she believed to be a firing range as well as the sounds of aircraft, pointing to the high probability that she was held in a military camp.  She was denied legal counsel despite her persistent requests and forced to say that she was a member of the New People’s Army.

Roxas was dropped off near her relative’s house around 6:30 AM on May 25. Her captors left her with a SIM card and phone, which one of her interrogators used to contact her after she was released.

“We are distraught that Melissa was subjected to such cruel, inhuman, and blatantly illegal treatment as a result of the Philippine government’s counter-insurgency witch hunt,” stated BAYAN-USA Chair Berna Ellorin.  “We must hold the perpetrators of this torture accountable, up to and including the US government which is providing military aid and training to the Philippine military.”

Rather than conducting an investigation into the torture of Roxas and the abduction of her and her companions Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Jandoc, the Philippine Presidential Human Rights Commission (PHRC) issued a statement claiming that the incident was fabricated by BAYAN Philippines and human rights group Karapatan, and that the disappearance of the three involved immersion with the New People’s Army (NPA). The statement from the PHRC was posted on the website of the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC on May 28, 2009.   Evidence such as official police reports clearly show that the statement was filled with serious factual errors and erroneous speculations; the PHRC statement even falsely cited the non-governmental organizations Asian Federation Against Disappearances (AFAD) and Coalition Against Involuntary Disappearances (CAID).  In an open letter to Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy Gaa regarding the PHRC statement, AFAD wrote,

“Our Federation is shocked by the content of the said statement, citing us as one of the sources of the information related to the above-mentioned case.  We categorically deny ownership of the information mentioned in the statement as a source of our alleged initial investigation…We find it appalling to be considered as a more credible human rights organization compared to Karapatan, since we believe that such a statement is divisive and therefore, uncalled for…  While our Federation independently works on the issue of enforced disappearances and despite our differences with other organizations, we also coordinate with the CAID as well as with Karapatan, whose constituency bears the brunt of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the present administration.”

Despite the public outcry for a retraction of the statement, the Philippine Embassy has yet to remove the statement from its website.

“We are incensed that the Philippine government continues to deny that Melissa’s abduction ever took place,” said Ellorin. “The Philippine government’s attempted cover-up of the triple abduction is consistent with their constant denial of responsibility for the more than 1,000 extra-judicial killings and 201 enforced disappearances, despite condemnation and documentation from international human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United Nations,” said Ellorin.  “The tactic of red-baiting and vilification of the victim by Philippine authorities, now also being employed against Melissa, is a common finding in the numerous reports written by international human rights monitoring agencies.”

Roxas’ exposé comes on the heels of the visit of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to the Philippines. During his meetings with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Gates affirmed the Obama administration’s commitment to so-called “counter-terrorism efforts” in the Philippines as well as for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The VFA is an agreement which BAYAN-USA views as the red carpet which paved the way for US military advisers, troops and equipment to train and equip the Philippine military which has been implicated in 1,017 extra-judicial killings and 1,010 cases of torture.

“The torture of Melissa and the triple abduction of Melissa, Juanito and John Edward are directly linked to the VFA and US military aid to the Philippines,” said Ellorin.  “The US government cannot claim ignorance or wash its hands of responsibility, when it is US advisors who are training the Philippine military.  The recent uncovering of ‘the torture papers’ shows that the US has never stopped employing torture as an ‘enhanced interrogation technique.’”

“It is utterly apalling that Gates is pledging more support for the Philippine military, in light of Melissa’s sworn testimony,” continued Ellorin.  “Her abduction should give Congress and the Obama administration even more reason to stop pouring billions of dollars into a regime that abducts, tortures, and kills innocent people.  If the Obama administration and Congress are serious about creating real change, they should cut off all aid to the Philippines during the budget appropriations process this summer.”

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the US representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the US.  BAYAN-USA’s online petition against the VFA can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow.  The online petition to demand justice for Roxas, Carabeo, and Handoc can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/online/28021.html.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

In the wake of the abduction of Filipino American human rights advocate and health worker Melissa Roxas and her companions Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc one week ago in the Philippines, BAYAN-USA launches actions against the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) today, the 10th anniversary of the VFA’s ratification.  BAYAN-USA demands the termination of the VFA and justice for victims of abduction and all human rights violations, which have climbed to record levels in the Philippines since the VFA was ratified on May 27, 1999.

“Human rights violations have escalated to unprecedented heights since 2001, when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo became president and the U.S. launched its ‘war on terror.’  It is no coincidence that the Visiting Forces Agreement was ratified just two years earlier in 1999,” stated BAYAN-USA Secretary General Rhonda Ramiro.  “The VFA paved the way for U.S. military advisers, troops and equipment to flood the Philippines and to train and equip the Philippine military which has been implicated in 1,017 extra-judicial killings and 1,010 cases of torture.  Melissa’s abduction adds an American citizen to the list of over 200 victims of enforced disappearance under Arroyo.”

Roxas, Carabeo, and Handoc, all members of a volunteer health worker team preparing for a medical mission in La Paz, Tarlac, Philippines, were reportedly abducted at gunpoint on May 19 by at least eight heavily-armed masked men riding motorcycles and in a van without license plates.  The circumstances of their abduction typify the pattern of dozens of politically-motivated abductions of activists critical of the Arroyo administration, and evidence points to the military as responsible for these acts.  Roxas and Carabeo were officially surfaced on May 24 and 25, respectively; unconfirmed reports of Handoc’s surfacing were received as of the writing of this statement.  Because the vast majority of abductions and enforced disappearances remain unresolved, BAYAN-USA believes their surfacing was a direct result of rapid community response and an international campaign by BAYAN Philippines, BAYAN-USA, and the human rights organization Karapatan.

“While we are elated that Melissa and Juanito have surfaced and that John Edward might also have been found, we are outraged that they were even abducted in the first place,” said Ramiro.  “We call for justice for all three, including a full investigation and prosecution of the abductors.”

“The abduction of Melissa, Juanito and John Edward is directly linked to the VFA and U.S. military aid to the Philippines,” continued Ramiro.  “The U.S. government cannot claim ignorance or wash its hands of responsibility, when it is U.S. advisors who are training the Philippine military, U.S. aid that is funding the military training, and U.S. guns and bullets that are being used to threaten and kill innocent civilians.”

BAYAN-USA claims that despite its rhetoric of “change,” the administration of President Barack Obama has clung to Bush’s foreign policy when it comes to the Philippines.  Earlier this year, President Obama phoned Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to express support for the VFA and continuing the annual joint military exercises known as “Balikatan” (“Shoulder-to-Shoulder”).   The estimated total expense borne by U.S. taxpayers for U.S. militarization in the Philippines since the VFA was enacted in 1999 is a lofty $1 billion.  An additional $660 million—up from a reported $400 million just one month ago—is reportedly set to be granted to the Philippines in the coming year.

The VFA also provides justification for the basing of U.S. troops throughout the country, in what is widely perceived as an affront to national sovereignty.  Moreover, witnesses have observed U.S. troops participating in combat operations, which is in violation of the VFA itself.  In the months of February-May this year alone, the “Balikatan” exercises also led directly to the killing of a young girl and wounding of four more children, the rape of 22 year old Filipina “Vanessa,” and the forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents in Bicol where the exercises were held.  No one was held responsible for the killing of the child, and although there was clear evidence that “Vanessa” was raped by a U.S. marine, she refrained from pressing charges because she did not believe she could obtain justice.  “Vanessa’s” rape was committed just weeks after the acquittal of U.S. Marine Daniel Smith, who was the only American ever convicted of raping a Filipina despite reports of thousands of rapes committed by U.S. military personnel.

“The VFA fosters a culture of militarization and violence, and both the U.S. and Philippine military are guilty of committing human rights violations with impunity,” stated Ramiro.  “Melissa’s abduction should give Congress and the Obama administration even more impetus to terminate the VFA and stop pouring billions of dollars into a regime that abducts and kills innocent people.  In the face of a budget deficit in the trillions, it is unconscionable to continue providing aid to the Arroyo government and to perpetuate the costly VFA.  Congress should cut both during the budget appropriations process this spring and summer.”

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the U.S. representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the U.S.  BAYAN-USA’s online petition against the VFA can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow.  The online petition to demand justice for Roxas, Carabeo, and Handoc can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/online/28021.html.

###

Actions being held in the US

Los Angeles
Vigil in front of the Philippine Consulate
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 7:30 PM
3600 Wilshire Blvd. (between S Harvard Blvd and S Kingsley Dr)
Los Angeles, CA 90010

New York
Rally at the Philippine Consulate and march to Military Recruitment Center
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 5:30 PM
556 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10036

San Francisco
Action and meeting with the Philippine Consulate
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 4:00 PM
447 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA 94108

Teach-in on the VFA
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 6:00-8:00 PM
At South of Market Community Action Center
1070 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

Seattle
Visiting Forces Agreement teach-In
Thursday, March 28, 6:30-8:30 PM
Filipino Community Center
5740 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Seattle, WA 98118

San Diego
“As If They Never Left” teach-in on the VFA
Thursday, May 28, 7:00-9:00 PM
At Filipino American Veterans Association Hall
2926 Market Street
San Diego, CA 92102

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Appalled by the double-news of the rape of another Filipina woman by a US Marine and the increase in US financial aid to the corrupt Philippine government, BAYAN-USA reiterated its call to terminate the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (“VFA”), which the alliance of 14 Filipino American organizations in the US sees as the red carpet used to usher in US troops, supplies, and military training linked to thousands of human rights violations.

Under the auspices of the VFA, over 6,000 US troops were deployed to the Philippines this past April, to engage in so-called Balikatan (“shoulder-to-shoulder”) military exercises.  In a press conference today, the 22-year-old Filipina “Vanessa” (not her real name) told the story of how she was raped in a hotel room on April 19 by a US Marine, registered in hotel records as “from Joint US Military Assistance Group/Balikatan.”  According to the women’s group GABRIELA, Vanessa has decided not to file a case against her alleged rapist though there is evidence to support her claim.

“We are outraged that another Filipina has become the victim of US troops, and that the VFA is blocking her from obtaining justice,” said BAYAN-USA Secretary General Rhonda Ramiro.  “Last month’s acquittal of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith signals that US military personnel can get away with the most heinous crimes on Philippine soil because they will be protected by the VFA.”

BAYAN-USA claims that despite its rhetoric of “change,” the administration of President Barack Obama has clung to Bush’s foreign policy when it comes to war and military deployment overseas.  Earlier this year, President Obama phoned Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to express support for the VFA and continuing the Balikatan joint military exercises.  The estimated total expense borne by US taxpayers for US militarization in the Philippines since the VFA was enacted nearly 10 years ago is a lofty $1 billion.  An additional $660 million—up from a reported $400 million just one month ago—is reportedly set to be spent over the next few years.

“The only ‘change’ we see is the change being pocketed by the Arroyo government to rape and terrorize the Filipino people,” declared Ramiro.  “Arroyo, her military, and multinational corporations are getting rich off the millions of dollars being paid by the US government to commit torture, abductions, false imprisonment, and ultimately extrajudicial killings to silence critics of Arroyo and her neoliberal economic policies.”

This latest rape case and report of increased aid to the Philippines comes on the heels of an April 29, 2009 report by Philip Alston, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, which states that the Philippine government has failed to institute the substantive reforms Alston recommended to address extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in the country.

“The fact that hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars are being used to commit rape and other human rights atrocities is unconscionable, especially now that we are in the midst of a depression,” stated Ramiro.  “The fact that the VFA is being funded and enforced by the Obama administration is hypocrisy, especially after President Obama promised hope and change.”

In response, BAYAN-USA has announced it will conduct a “Day of Action against the VFA” on May 27, 2009 which marks the 10th anniversary of the military agreement.  In synch with mobilizations in the Philippines calling for the termination of the VFA, the Day of Action will take place from coast-to-coast across the US in what will be the latest expression of the indignation felt by Filipino Americans over the trampling of Philippine sovereignty by US imperial interests.  In March, BAYAN-USA and GABRIELA USA launched an online “Junk VFA” petition, which garnered over 1,000 signatures in two weeks.  At the beginning of May, BAYAN-USA also met with the office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, to urge the representative—who is a member of the US House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations—to support the call for the termination of all military aid to the Philippines pending the Philippine government’s compliance with recommendations in the Alston report to stop human rights violations and prosecute the perpetrators.  The BAYAN-USA delegation also asked Representative Lee to introduce new legislation to stop the deployment of US troops to the Philippines unless the said recommendations are implemented and to terminate the VFA.

“BAYAN-USA’s Day of Action against the VFA will send Congress the message that nobody wins and everybody loses with the VFA,” said Ramiro.  “In the face of a budget deficit in the trillions and over 11 million people unemployed in the US, it simply makes no sense to continue providing aid to the Arroyo government and to perpetuate the costly VFA.  Congress should cut both during the budget appropriations process this spring and summer.”

BAYAN-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino groups in the US representing organizations of students, scholars, women, workers, and youth. As an international chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-Philippines), BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national democratic movement of the Philippines and as a campaign center for anti-imperialist Filipinos in the US.  The online petition against the VFA can be found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow.

Contact: Rhonda Ramiro
Secretary-General, BAYAN-USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Statement of BAYAN-USA on May Day 2009

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN-USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations across the United States, calls on all Filipino-Americans to commemorate May 1st, 2009 by joining the people’s continuing struggle for genuine immigration reform in the United States, and systemic change to the exploitative labor export structures in the Philippines.

On May 1st, 2006, Filipinos in the United States under the banner of BAYAN-USA were amongst the millions across the country who revived the militant spirit of May Day, an international workers holiday celebrated around the world but whose significance is suppressed and systemically erased by the US ruling elite and government. As exploitation and oppression against immigrants in the US grows worse– even in the age of the new Obama administration, which reaches its 100th day in office on May 1– it is paramount that Filipinos, coming from one of the world’s largest labor exporting countries and the poorest in Asia, express solidarity with all immigrant workers by fighting for dignity, justice, and human rights. This May 1st, BAYAN-USA remains at the forefront of the May Day rallies and street mobilizations in several US cities, and appeals to the broader Filipino-American community to join us in this righteous fight.

Forced by Poverty to Migrate, Living in the Shadows in the US

There are over 4 million Filipinos living in the United States, comprising the third largest immigrant population in the country. At least 60,000 Filipinos enter the US every year, mainly through family sponsorship. Of this, at least one million Filipinos in the US are undocumented, which translates to one million lives living in the shadows, in fear, and vulnerable to the gravest human rights violations perpetuated by the broken immigration system. These human rights violations include indentured servitude at the hands of greedy employers who prey on the fear of undocumented migrants, Gestapo-like raids by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), unlawful detentions without due process, and mass deportations.

For the majority of Filipinos who migrate via family sponsorship, the inefficient backlog system in the US has Filipinos waiting as long as 10-15 years for approval of their petitions. But the sad reality remains that most undocumented and exploited Filipino workers in the US would rather choose a life deemed worthless by the US government for a shot at greener pastures, than go home to the Philippines where they are guaranteed life of poverty and hopelessness. This predicament is universal to all who migrate to the US from countries forced into poverty by neoliberal globalization.

Exploited by Multi-National Corporations and Philippine Labor Export Program

The Philippine economy is kept afloat by the dollar remittances of overseas Filipino workers, which annually average up to $15-16 billion. More than half of the total amount remitted to the Philippines comes from Filipinos in the United States. Wide-scale poverty and deepening hunger force over 3000 Filipinos to leave their loved ones behind and migrate abroad daily. For the vast majority of the 10 million Filipinos living outside of the Philippines, migration was never a choice, but a means of survival for themselves and the families they left behind.

Landlessness for the majority of the Filipino population that live off the land and lack of national industries to provide Filipinos with decent jobs are at the root of this miserable reality. For over 60 years, the collaboration of global monopoly capitalism and the Philippine ruling elite has molded the Philippine economy to an export-oriented and import-dependent model. This means the vast natural resources of the country are bought cheap by multinational corporations and lack of processing industries leave Filipinos dependent on expensive imports from overseas for consumption. As systematized mainly through the global trading system known as neoliberal globalization, the Philippines remains a huge export processing zone for the first world countries of the world, leaving Filipinos literally as beggars on mountains of gold, and therefore seeking to migrate. The Philippine ruling elite, currently represented by the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, profits from this misery by systematizing Filipino labor export in the Philippines through the country’s Labor Export Program (LEP), another oppressive system that literally pimps Filipino migrants abroad but refuses to protect them when they are abused and exploited, or worse, while overseas.

But the huge cracks and inherent flaws of the global system of monopoly capitalism are deepening and rearing for an inevitable downfall, as seen through the global economic crisis. The Arroyo administration maliciously boasts that the global economic crisis will not affect Filipinos or the Philippine economy. But these deceptive words are proven untrue every day as the demand for overseas Filipino workers decrease, causing the annual remittances to the Philippines from overseas Filipino workers to plummet downwards. The rapid isolation of the rotten Philippine ruling system provides excellent conditions for the majority of Filipinos to unite and strengthen the people’s movement for change in the country. The same can be said for the struggle for comprehensive immigration reform in the US.

Workers and Migrants Rise Up

As multinational corporations and big banks face the worst crisis in world history, caused by neoliberal globalization itself, the struggles of oppressed migrant workers around the world, including Filipinos, must intensify. It is under these circumstances that workers’ victories can be achieved as capitalists and their rotten system grow weaker by the day. It is also in this context that immigrant workers in the United States, amongst the most oppressed in the country, must raise the struggle from the streets for genuine immigration reform to a higher level and pressure the Obama administration to live up to its rhetoric of “change we can believe in.”

May 1, 2009 marks the 100th day of the Obama administration. With the official exit of George W. Bush, the Obama administration must be challenged by immigrants themselves to depart from the much-hated foreign and domestic policies of the Bush administration. Filipinos in the US must be part of issuing this challenge to the US government. With Washington already poised to put immigration on the table this May, and the two largest US labor federations uniting in the endorsement of comprehensive immigration reform, the political stage is opening its doors for advancements in the immigrant rights movement. We cannot afford to sit back and allow US lawmakers to decide on the fate of tens of millions of immigrant workers, including four million Filipinos, and their families abroad. The only path we should take is onwards with the struggle for a just and humane immigration system free of exploitation and repression.

LEGALIZATION FOR ALL UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS!
NO TO RAIDS, DETENTIONS, AND DEPORTATIONS!
SWIFT FAMILY RE-UNIFICATION NOW! SCRAP THE IMMIGRATION BACKLOG!
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
BAIL-OUT THE WORKERS, NOT THE BANKS!
SCRAP THE PHILIPPINE LABOR EXPORT PROGRAM (LEP)!
NO TO NEOLIBERAL TRADE POLICIES!