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

Los Angeles, CA — On early Saturday morning, Filipino Americans launched a lightning rally to greet Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her mini-junket at the Sheraton Gateway near Los Angeles International Airport. The lightning rally was one of many demonstrations across the Philippines and around the world in recent days to protest the passage of the House Resolution 1109 to convene a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), considered the latest move of the US-Arroyo regime to change the Philippine Charter (Cha Cha) and further undermine democracy in the Philippines.

BAYAN-USA & GABRIELA USA’s member organizations began the lightning rally, marching to a rendition of “Bayan Ko” carrying “No to Con-Ass” and “No to Cha-Cha” signs, AnakBayan LA, Habi Arts and Sisters of GABRIELA Awaken (SiGAw) members expressed their anger at the US-Arroyo regime’s desperate Con-Ass maneuver to hold on to power. Fil-Ams were also demanding justice for fellow Habi Arts member, Melissa Roxas, a US Citizen who was abducted and tortured by armed men last May while doing community health work in the Philippines. A street theater piece highlighting the on-going human rights violations was dedicated to Roxas, Jonas Burgos, Karen Empeno, Sherlyn Kadapan, James Balao, Juanito Carabeo, John Edward Jandoc and all other victims of the US-Arroyo regime. With a thunderous outcry denouncing Arroyo, the protestors drowned out the cheers of US-Arroyo supporters as Arroyo was escorted back to LAX. The morning rally was concluded with an “Arroyo, You’re A Jerk” hip hop dance circle led by AnakBayan Los Angeles.

“Con-Ass and Charter Change are lame attempts for Arroyo and her cronies to stay in power. They all hoped that the Filipino people would not care enough to notice, but the public outcry of our people in the Philippines, the US and all over the world prove that the people are wise and keen on her trickery,” declared Daya Mortel, BAYAN-USA Southern California Regional Coordinator and Habi Arts member. “She has tried every trick in the book short of declaring Martial Law. Wherever she may go, there will be people who will protest and criticize her abuse of power.”

“Con-Ass is the biggest threat to democracy and the Filipino people today,” stated Kuusela Hilo, Vice Chairperson of BAYAN-USA and member of AnakBayan LA. “The Filipino people have suffered under the US-Arroyo regime, and for Arroyo to position herself as Prime Minister or declare martial law would only mean more suffering and repression for our people.”

The rapes of “Nicole” and “Vanessa” and the devastation wrought on civilians by the annual Balikatan military exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement have drawn increasing criticism from all sectors of Philippine society. “GMA has turned her back on Filipina women and all other Filipinos by railroading our Constitution and the democratic process. If Con-Ass and Cha-Cha are pushed through, foreigners will be able to own the natural resources of the country and Filipinas will continue to be violated by US troops in the Philippines,” said Terrie Cervas, Vice Chairperson of GABRIELA USA and founding member of SiGAw. Cervas concluded, “By rewriting the Philippine Constitution, the Philippines will be victim to 100% foreign ownership of industries and re-installation of permanent military US presence, beyond supposed ‘temporary’ posts already in place under the Visiting Forces Agreement.” For the last ten years, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) has 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 fact that Arroyo tried to visit LA unnoticed is very telling,” said Mortel. “She knew she could not come to LA, the hometown of Melissa Roxas, without facing unanswered questions of why her government has not done a thorough probe into the abduction and torture of Roxas and her companions. Or why hundreds of others have been disappeared and why thousands of other victims have yet to receive justice.”

BAYAN-USA will continue to campaign against Con-Ass and Cha-Cha. BAYAN-USA will also be working with national alliances and human rights organizations in the United States to demand justice for Melissa Roxas and all other victims of human rights violations. “We do not want any of our hard-earned US tax dollars funding Philippine death squads,” said Hilo. “Senator Barbara Boxer sponsored a hearing on the human rights crisis in the Philippines just two years ago in Washington DC, and we will be asking Senator Boxer and other elected officials to take Melissa Roxas’ case seriously, to take a stand to defend a US citizen that has survived abduction and torture, and to require that not one cent of US taxes be used to fund human rights violations in the Philippines.”

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 and her companions Juanito Carabeo, and John Edward Jandoc can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/online/28021.html.

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

BAYAN-USA, an alliance of Filipino organizations in the United States, declared the recent court acquittal of US Marine Daniel Smith of a rape conviction back in 2006 as a collaborative move by the US and Arroyo governments to protect the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The controversial decision comes right after a Philippine Supreme Court (SC) ruling to probe into the circumstances surrounding the affidavit issued by rape victim Nicole and the leakage of a draft Court of Appeals (CA) ruling of acquittal for Smith last week, prompting CA officials to act fast.

The 2005 rape of 22 year-old Filipina Nicole leading to the 2006 trial and conviction US Lance Corporal Smith was a landmark case that marked the first time in the 100+ history of US military presence in the country that a US military personnel was actually convicted under the Philippine judicial system for a crime committed in the Philippines. But the events following the celebrated conviction, beginning with Smith’s transfer of custody from Philippine jurisdiction to the US Embassy drew such outrage and condemnation from the streets that it sparked a burgeoning patriotic movement inside Philippine Congress to abrogate the 10 year-old VFA military agreement, which allows for the “temporary basing” of US military troops in over 20 ports throughout the Philippine archipelago.

“Washington and Malacanang panicked,” states BAYAN USA Chair Berna Ellorin. “They needed to do something drastic to stunt the rallying opposition against the VFA. The sacrificial lambs they chose, without surprise, were a Filipina woman and Philippine national sovereignty. The Arroyo administration collaborated with the spin doctors of the US government to concoct this scheme to protect the VFA by undoing the last four years of the Nicole rape case. It’s very disgusting.”

Beginning with the historic conviction of Smith in 2006, the convicted rapist, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was whisked to the US Embassy to serve his sentence and not in a Philippine detention facility. This drew protests demanding the US government hand Smith over to Philippine jurisdiction. Both the US and Arroyo governments cited stipulations in the VFA protecting US military personnel in their defense of keeping Smith out of a Philippine jail. But a 2009 SC ruling to re-negotiate Smith’s detention from the US Embassy to a Philippine facility was met with refusal by US Embassy officials to follow. The blatant act of denial by the US government to hand over Smith to Philippine jurisdiction prompted several Philippine lawmakers in the Philippine Congress to introduce a bill calling for the termination of the military agreement. In the weeks following, a questionable affidavit was hastily filed by Nicole which served as basis for a so-called “recantation” of her original testimony. It was reported that Smith’s lawyers drafted the affidavit language and persuaded Nicole to sign it before Nicole took off for the United States. After the SC ruling to investigate the circumstances around the affidavit-signing, a Manila reporter leaked news of a draft acquittal for Smith by the Philippine Court of Appeals.

Earlier this year, US President Barack Obama paid Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a phone call expressing support for continuing joint military exercises conducted between US and Philippine troops in the Philippines known as Balikatan, under the auspices of the VFA. This month, over 6000 US troops were deployed to the Philippine regions of Bicol, Central and Southern Luzon, and Zamboanga to conduct the said exercises. The estimated total expense for US militarization in the Philippines since the VFA was enacted has cost US taxpayers a lofty $1 billion; an additional $400 million is set to be spent over the next 10 years.

But Ellorin argued that the anti-VFA movement in the Philippines is larger than the Smith-Nicole gang-rape case of 2005-2006. It is about the context of historical unequal relations between the US and Philippines governments, one in which the US government “dictates and takes from the Philippines whatever it wants to serve its self-interest” while the Philippine government “obeys with complete subservience to the negligence of its own people.”

“The US-Arroyo government partnership in the Smith acquittal has made a mockery of the Philippines, as well as victims of all Filipinos and future generations of Filipinos,” Ellorin concluded. “But it will not stop the movement to abrogate the VFA. In fact, Filipinos all over the world, including the US, will be more compelled to terminate not only the VFA, but the Arroyo presidency, now more than ever.”

BAYAN USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations in the United States, has been campaigning for the termination of the VFA and the withdrawal of US troops from the Philippines for four years. It even released an online petition calling for the abrogation of the VFA accessible at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow. The signed petition will be presented by the alliance to US lawmakers and the Obama administration this year.

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

Los Angeles, CA — Filipino-Americans under the banners of two alliances — BAYAN USA and GABRIELA USA — staged two strong actions demonstrating deep opposition to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a military pact between the US and Philippine governments that allow for the temporary basing of US military personnel in over 20 ports throughout the Philippines. The actions, one in front of the Philippine Consulate along Wilshire Boulevard and the other in front of the General Douglas MacArthur Statue in MacArthur Park, began and ended a historic weekend as the two alliances held their respective congresses at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center from Friday till Sunday, March 27-29.

On Friday morning, approximately 50 Filipino-Americans stormed the Philippine Consulate at 10am to denounce the VFA. Holding giant colorful letters spelling “JUNK VFA,” protesters were seen by cars and pedestrians passing by, many honking to express support.

“Gusto lang namin ipaabot ng isang mensahe sa mga kababayan namin sa loob ng konsulado [Our wish is just to deliver a message to our compatriots inside the consulate] –  We reject the VFA!”, exclaimed outgoing-BAYAN USA Secretary-General Berna Ellorin from the bullhorn towards the entrance of the Philippine Consulate building. Meanwhile, Claudia Paras of Pinay sa Seattle, a member organization of GABRIELA USA, spoke of how the VFA poses  physical harm and human rights violations to Filipinos, especially women and children through sexual aggression of US military personnel. Despite harassment and pressure from the Consulate security forces to step away from the Consulate grounds, protesters managed to march into the Consulate courtyard and ended with a run around the Consulate building.

The 3rd BAYAN USA Congress and founding assembly of GABRIELA USA saw an election of new officers for the national alliances with the campaign for the abrogation of the VFA amongst their most immediate political demands for the next 2-3 years. Despite recent developments with the US President Barack Obama’s show of support for the VFA and Filipina rape victim Nicole’s so-called “recantation” of charges against US Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, Filipinos in the US are not fazed, but are in fact more convinced to debunk the illusion that the Obama administration will depart from the Bush administration’s foreign policy when it comes to war and US military deployment overseas. Obama recently played Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a phone call expressing support for the continuation of the VFA through the deployment of over 6000 US troops to the Philippines this month.

After two successful back-to-back congresses that garnered nearly 200 participants from across the United States, the two alliances joined forces again on Sunday afternoon for an action at MacArthur Park in Downtown Los Angeles. Marching from the UCLA Downtown Labor Center, the colorful contingent featured brightly-colored flags and a “Sampayan Ng Bayan” or People’s Clothesline, that displayed t-shirts spray-painted with anti-VFA messages on them. In a dramatic show of protest, marchers culminated at the statue of General Douglas MacArthur overlooking the Philippines and draped the clothesline with the letters spelled “JUNK VFA” around its neck like a noose. MacArthur was the former Chief of Staff of the US Army stationed in the Philippine during World War II. His father, Arthur MacArthur, was an American military-governor of the Philippines during the US colonial period in the early 1900’s.

BAYAN USA newly-elected Chair Ellorin, along with GABRIELA USA founding Vice Chair Valerie Francisco and GABRIELA Philippines Secretary-General Emmi de Jesus, who traveled all the way from the Philippines, all spoke in front of the draped statue to a loud crowd of young and old protesters waving banners, placards and flags. BAYAN USA newly-elected Deputy Secretary-General Jack de Jesus, aka Kiwi, and Geologic of Blue Scholars offered performances along with El Dia of the Seattle hip-hop duo 1st Qtr Storm.

Los Angeles is home to the largest concentration of Filipinos in the United States. Both BAYAN USA and GABRIELA USA have long-criticized the costliness of the US military deployments and exercises in the Philippines in addition to over $30 million in US military aid to the Philippines at a time of severe economic downturn for working communities in the United States.

Both BAYAN USA and GABRIELA USA launched a petition site calling for the abrogation of the VFA that has already garnered over 1000 signatures worldwide at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow. The said petition is addressed to US President Barack Obama and will be presented to him by the alliances this year.

Contact: Kuusela Hilo
Deputy Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
depsec@bayanusa.org

Los Angeles, CA – Filipino Americans from Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, New Jersey, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco assembled Friday, March 27, 2009 at 10am at the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles to protest the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Friday’s mobilization to “Junk the VFA” assembled community activists in front of the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles to open this weekend’s 3rd Congress of BAYAN USA.  “We have a duty to stand by our people back home and call for the termination of the VFA,” stated Berna Ellorin, Secretary General of BAYAN USA.

Ellorin continues, “The VFA and the fight to terminate are rightfully at the forefront of our consciousness as we start this Congress.”

The 3rd BAYAN USA Congress is scheduled for March 27 – 29, 2009 at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center where more than 150 delegates and observers from major U.S. cities will meet to coordinate national campaigns dealing with immigration, the economic recession, and human rights violations in the Philippines.

The VFA, ratified in 1999 is a one sided arrangement between the United States and the Philippines.  The VFA provides US air, naval, and ground forces to “visit” the Philippines to hold joint exercises with the Philippine military.  It provides special privileges and legal protections to US service members stationed in the Philippines.  The most recent injustice allowed by the VFA enabled a US serviceman, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, to evade his criminal verdict.  In December 2006, Smith was tried in Philippine courts and found guilty of raping “Nicole” a Filipina.

Contact: Kuusela Hilo
Deputy Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
depsec@bayanusa.org

Los Angeles, CA — On March 27-29, 2009 more than 150 delegates and observers from major US cities will convene at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center for the 3rd US-wide congress of BAYAN USA.  With the theme to “Strengthen our alliance and intensify our political struggle against the US-Arroyo clique and for the rights and welfare of Filipinos in the US,” the congress is a historic event for progressive Filipinos nationwide to coordinate campaigns addressing rising unemployment, home foreclosures, and xenophobic immigration policies at home and to confront the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), human rights abuses, and increased militarization in the Philippines.

Also on March 29, GABRIELA-USA will hold its founding and first general assembly at the same venue.

Emmi De Jesus, Secretary General of GABRIELA–Philippines will serve as the Congress keynote and speaker of the GABRIELA-USA assembly.

BAYAN USA is the first overseas chapter of BAYAN Philippines.  It was established in January 2005.  “From the challenge of disunities and uncoordinated organizing prior to the formation of our alliance, we have been able to build a campaign machinery and mass movement,” Chito Quijano, Chairperson of BAYAN USA stated.  “We have conducted creative and coordinated mass actions, participated in the first ever US Senate hearing against political killings in the Philippines, helped build the immigrants rights movement, and have become a leading force in the formation of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle.”  The International League of Peoples’ Struggle is a formation of pro-democratic people’s organizations from 28 countries.

At this year’s congress, BAYAN-USA will elect new national and regional officers.  Delegates will pass new resolutions and make amendments to the existing constitution.  A cultural and solidarity night will also be held on Saturday, March 28 at 6:30 PM at the UCLA Labor Center featuring spoken word artists, hip-hop performers, and other musical guests.

BAYAN USA believes that holding its congress during this time is vital.  The Philippines is facing increased militarization and US interference as a result of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The VFA, ratified in 1999 is a controversial agreement between the United States and the Philippines as it enables the US military to interfere with Philippine sovereignty.  It replaced the US-Republic of the Philippines military bases agreement that ended in 1991.

Many within the Filipino community view the VFA as treating Filipinos as second-class citizens in their own country.  The most recent injustice allowed by the VFA enabled a US serviceman, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, to evade his criminal verdict.  In December 2006, Smith was tried in Philippine courts and found guilty of raping “Nicole” a Filipina.

US President Barack Obama has voiced his support for the VFA and the Philippine government’s efforts in the so-called “war on terrorism.” Since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) took office in 2001, there have been more than 1,000 reported cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings against peasants, workers, women, artists, students, journalists, urban poor, teachers, religious leaders, and labor organizers.  International human rights organizations have expressed concern for the unbridled graft and corruption of the GMA government as 80% of the population live on $2 or less per day.

Here in the US, there is an increase of wealth concentrated in the hands of a small few while the majority of workers face inflation and rising unemployment.  Police brutality and violent attacks against youth, workers, and immigrants here in the US continues even with the recent election of a Democrat President.

The BAYAN USA congress will kick-off and end with protests against the VFA and the Arroyo government’s continuing human rights violations, corruption and shameless servitude to foreign interests.

Contact: Berna Ellorin
Secretary-General, BAYAN USA
secgen@bayanusa.org

Please visit: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow

After launching an international petition campaign last week, Filipino-Americans under the banner of the US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations in the United States, pledged to heighten their campaign to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), despite reports of  22 year old Filipina Nicole’s leaving for the United States and a submission filed before the Court of Appeals  by the lawyer of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith declaring that the former US Marine has settled with “Nicole,” who received P100,000  for compensatory and P50,000 for moral damages.

The news of Nicole’s settlement with Smith and release of a statement immediately followed President Barack Obama’s phone call to Philippine Head of State Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo supporting the joint military agreement between the US and Philippine governments.  It was with this phone call that Arroyo was widely criticized for failing to negotiate for the transfer of Smith to Philippine custody as per the Philippines Supreme Court’s decision.  Now, with reports of Nicole settling with Smith and going to the US for good, it is highly suspect  that  the reported settlement and statement which attempt to undermine  the guilty verdict against Smith, is part of the two government’s efforts to preserve their “strategic interests.”

Timing of Settlement Highly Questionable

“Filipinos are well aware of the fact that one cannot just suddenly move to the US. The timing and motives behind these recent turn of events are highly questionable given that it comes at the height of the movement to abrogate the VFA,” states BAYAN USA Secretary General Berna Ellorin. “It is in the US and Arroyo governments’ interest to remove the one unifying reason of late to oppose it– the rape of Nicole and demand to turn convicted rapist Smith to Philippine jurisdiction,” Ellorin added. “But this will not lessen our resolve to call for the VFA’s termination, which has not even been ratified by the US Senate and not enforceable in the US given the US Supreme Court decision in Medellin vs. Texas.”

Under the VFA, over 6000 US troops are scheduled for deployment to the Philippines next month to conduct war exercises with the Philippines military known as the Balikatan exercises. “The US government wants to preserve its unilateralism in the Philippines through the VFA and the Arroyo government wants to remain its number one lapdog in Asia. It’s the perfect scheme,” said Kuusela Hilo, Deputy Secretary General of BAYAN USA.

There Will Be More Nicoles

After a historic conviction in 2006, Smith was found guilty of raping  Nicole  before dumping her brutalized body out a van. As stipulated by the VFA, Smith was turned over to the US Embassy while protest demonstrations in the Philippines and the United States called for the US government to turn Smith over to a Philippine detention facility.

“We wish Nicole the best of luck in her desire to escape her past, but Nicole is just one out of tens of thousands of Filipina women and children who suffer from aggressive sexual crimes, human rights violations, and indignities at the hands of the US troops stationed in the Philippines. Some have been killed or have suffered severe injuries due to indiscriminate shooting and war exercises. But because the VFA grants immunity for US military personnel from Philippine laws, they are free to commit grave crimes and don’t have to worry about facing the Philippine justice system,” Hilo continued. “There will be more Nicoles for as long as the VFA is still intact.”

No Change Under Obama

Nicole’s dubious statement and settlement comes shortly after the much-publicized phone call placed by US President Barack Obama to Arroyo supporting the VFA. Under the Bush regime, the US government sent hundreds of millions in military aid to the Philippine government for US military operations in the Philippines.

“It is hypocritical for the Obama administration to support the VFA and Arroyo. This signifies no departure from the much-hated Bush policies of US intervention in the Philippines. Coming from someone who rode on the slogan ‘Change We Can Believe In’, Obama’s US foreign policy so far in the Philippines is no different from Bush in his push for costly US militarization of the region and monetary support for a regime that has proven itself to be tyrannical and to funnel US military aid towards human rights violations against its people,” Hilo ended.

Junk VFA Calls Will Only Grow Louder

Hilo is confident that the developments with Nicole and Obama won’t weaken the international campaign to terminate the VFA. BAYAN USA vows to take the signatures from the petition campaign to Capitol Hill this year. “In the end, this campaign is about respect and recognition for the national sovereignty of the Philippines and the Filipino people, which ALL the freedom and justice-loving peoples of the world agree with.”

To view and sign the petition, visit  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow.

BAYAN USA will hold its 3rd Congress March 27-29 at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center.

[ Sign petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow ]

END UNEQUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE U.S.!
TERMINATE THE VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT!
SURRENDER SMITH TO PHILIPPINE AUTHORITIES!

To: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator John Kerry (Chair, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee), Representative Howard Berman (Chair, U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs), Representative Barbara Lee (U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations):

Last February 11, the Philippine Supreme Court declared illegal the U.S. embassy detention of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, a member of the United States Marines. Smith was convicted by a Philippine court for raping a Filipina in 2006, yet despite his conviction he is serving his sentence inside an American facility instead of a Philippine jail. Such a situation has been viewed as gross disrespect for the sovereignty of the Philippines and the integrity of its courts. To justify the embassy detention, the U.S. government has invoked a provision in the so-called R.P.-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement allowing the U.S. custody of erring American soldiers.

Had a Filipino committed a similar crime in the U.S., he would not be serving his sentence in the Philippine embassy. Smith’s current detention therefore underscores a fundamental inequality in the provisions of the VFA.

Nobody Wins with the VFA

This observation of one-sidedness is reinforced by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says treaties entered into by the U.S. are not enforceable in the U.S. unless there is an implementing law or if the treaty is self-executing. The VFA, which was not even ratified as a treaty by the U.S. Senate, has neither an implementing law nor is self-executing. It is inequality, and an affront to sovereignty, when the VFA becomes enforceable in the Philippines but not in the U.S.

The Smith incident is just one of the many problems that have arisen from the VFA, a military pact that governs the entry and presence of American troops in Philippine territory. The VFA provides for, among others, the deployment and stationing of U.S. troops and the holding of joint military operations in the Philippines. Unknown to many, U.S. troops have been stationed in the Philippines since 2002 up to the present. The extent of U.S. deployment in the Philippines increased during George Bush’s discredited “war on terror.”

Combat and Rape Under the Guise of “Training”

The destructive and costly continuance of the joint military exercises between U.S. and Philippine troops under the VFA has resulted in the displacement of thousands of innocent Filipino men, women, and children. Preparations for Balikatan 2009, a joint activity that permits U.S. troops to train Filipino soldiers under Philippine territory, have put in peril the welfare of young children. During the “clearing operations” of the Philippine Military’s 901st Brigade in the Bicol region, a one-year-old child was senselessly killed, while six more children were injured.

The stated intent of the annual Balikatan exercises is to provide training to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Yet such training becomes questionable given the fact the Philippine military has been consistently implicated by UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston in thousands of human rights violations since 2001, including torture, abductions, and extrajudicial killings.

Furthermore, eyewitness accounts suggest that U.S. military activity is not limited to “exercises,” but has included actual combat operations that are banned by the Philippine Constitution. These interventions are compounded by U.S. military personnel committing crimes during their “rest and recreation” time, including the gang rape of the Filipina woman “Nicole,” for which Smith was convicted in 2006.

Funding Human Rights Violations Instead of Saving Jobs and Homes in the U.S.

The holding of U.S. military exercises is tied with providing military aid to the Philippines, with an annual $30 million allotted by the U.S. Congress and hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in other assistance. The accumulated U.S. military funding for the Philippines from 2001 to the present may have already reached $1 billion.

Such a practice, however, becomes unconscionable when U.S. funding is used by a regime that - to borrow words from President Barack Obama- “clings to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent.” A recent U.S. State Department report on the Philippines said that “arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings by elements of the security services… continued to be major problems.”

The VFA, despite the military exercises and aid, provides absolutely no short-term nor long-term benefits to the people of either the U.S. or the Philippines. Filipino citizens have staged an escalating number of protests to voice their opposition to the Agreement and its violation of Philippine sovereignty. Several Philippine senators have also filed a resolution calling for its abrogation.

The Obama administration has vowed a departure from the Bush foreign policies. Terminating the VFA and removing U.S. troops from the Philippines would be a step in that direction.

We demand:

• That in the interest of justice, the U.S. government surrender custody of convicted rapist Daniel Smith to Philippine authorities

• That the U.S. government terminate the R.P.-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement for being an unequal pact saddled with legal problems

• That the U.S. government recall the U.S. troops stationed in the Philippines and cease any further deployment under any pretext

• That the U.S. Congress terminate military aid to the Philippines and exclude the Philippines from any allocation of military aid in future years.

[ Sign petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/JunkVFAnow ]

Contact: Joanne Alcantara
National Coordinator, GABRIELA–USA
gabrielawomen@gmail.com

On February 18, 2008, a US army member was taken into custody for the rape of a Filipino woman in Okinawa, Japan. The woman, who’s identity has not been released, reported to local police that she was raped in a hotel. The brutal incident left the woman with injuries, and is currently receiving treatment at a medical facility.

The claim made by the Filipino woman adds to the sordid US military rap sheet in Okinawa, with a 38-year old Marine staff sergeant recently arrested for the rape of a 14-year old Japanese girl only 7 days earlier.

The usual response from the US military claims that Army authorities are investigating the case, but this incident will only prove again the biased nature of the US-Japanese Status of Forces Agreement (SoFA), which allows for US military servicemen to claim impunity regarding specific illegal conduct. In 1995, the gang-rape of an Okinawan elementary school girl by US marines prompted widespread outrage from Okinawans who are still fighting to contest the highly concentrated presence of US military in their island.

Similar to the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), these underhanded military deals between the US and other Asian states have grave consequences for the girls and women who live and work in and around highly militarized areas. The gang-rape of 22 year-old Nicole in 2006 is indicative of the ongoing pattern of sexual attacks caused by US military occupation. Further, the Philippine puppet government under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has made it so that the Philippines has become the stomping yard of US military troops. The convicted US marine in Nicole’s case, Lce. Corporal Smith’s lenient sentence is proof of the Philippines’ cowardice when it comes to protecting women’s rights and safety.

The growing presence of US military in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia spells out danger for women’s bodies and livelihood. A recent report of 2 children and a pregnant woman murdered by so-called US training exercises, Balikatan, in Mindanao calls attention to the countless ways US military occupation targets the welfare of women.

These despicable incidents stir up the continuing women’s struggle to oust US occupation in the Philippines and calls for solidarity among women across nations that are subject to the same abuses of military occupation. From the legacy of resistance of our Lolas, WWII comfort women, to standing up against these crimes of war on a new generation of Filipino women, Pinay Sa Seattle, Babae in San Francisco and FiRE in New York demand JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF US MILITARY HARASSMENT!

GABRIELA-USA calls for immediate investigation into the rapes in Okinawa, Japan. The US military and government must take accountability for its wars of aggression on the world and on the women of the world!

STOP US TROOPS FROM VIOLATING OUR WOMEN!
NO TO WARS OF AGGRESSION!!!
NO TO ANOTHER GENERATION OF COMFORT WOMEN!
US TROOPS OUT OF OKINAWA AND THE PHILIPPINES!

Reference: Rachel Redondiez, Secretary-General, BAYAN USA

The US chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, slammed the Arroyo regime in the Philippines for the transferal of convicted US rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith from a Makati jail to US custody in a midnight maneuver ordered by Malacanang last Saturday.

Smith had been recently convicted in a historic Philippine judiciary decision on charges of raping a 22 year old Filipina woman known as “Nicole” last November 2005. The conviction was the first for a member of US military personnel for crimes committed on Philippine soil in a Philippine court.

“We are outraged and thoroughly disgusted by the Arroyo government’s vision for the Philippines– one where those who fight for the democratic rights for the people are ordered to be killed and where US marines can get off scot-free for gang-raping our women. Smith’s transferal is an underhanded maneuver by Arroyo to appease her master at the cost of our country’s dignity and sovereignty,” stated Rachel Redondiez of BAYAN USA.

“The only hope for justice for Nicole and for our country is a total ouster of Arroyo, the number one traitor of the nation and violator of Filipino women. It will be up to the people now to disinfect Malacanang of her administration. Arroyo will not be able to prevent the inevitable wave of outrage and isolation she will suffer for her treacherous ways,” Redondiez continued.

Redondiez likened the custody transferal to a condonement of continuous rape and sexual violations of Filipino women and the Filipino people under the context of the historical unequal relations between the US and the Philippines.

“As Filipinos in the US, products of this unequal relationship, we demand every US troop leave Philippine soil, that the Visiting Forces Agreement be revoked. The VFA is the concrete manifestation of a century-long legacy US interests raping our land,” Redondiez added.

Press Statement
Innabuyog-GABRIELA Cordillera

Reference: Vernie Yocogan-Diano, acting Chairperson
Mila Lingbawan, acting Secretary-general

The verdict on the Subic Rape case convicted Corporal Daniel Smith to 40 years of imprisonment. The three other servicemen watched the incident happen and even cheered for Smith to go on, were acquitted and were flown immediately to Okinawa, Japan just after the court’s handling down of the verdict.

Representative Liza Maza of the Gabriela Women’s Party calls this as Solomonic political compromise. The three other servicemen were still party to the crime. In a forum organized by Innabuyog last December 5, Atty Alnie Foja, legal counsel of the GWP explained that the three other servicemen should have likewise been convicted as Smith. Silkwood, Duplantis and Carpentier were present in the van where the act was committed and even cheered for Smith to go on. What they did were clear acts of conspiracy.

The verdict offers partial relief and victory for Nicole and to progressive women’s organizations and patriotic organizations who awaited for the outcome of the case a year for more than a year. But the battle is far from over. Victory and justice in this case will only be completely realized with the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the root of this abuse of a Filipino woman. Such has been the point of criticism of Innabuyog, GABRIELA and other women’s organizations in the country and overseas. At this time that the VFA is being invoked on the issue of Smith’s custody, Innabuyog is ever more convinced how lopsided indeed the VFA is to the US.

The VFA grants extra-territorial and extra-judicial privileges to US troops taking part in the joint military exercises (Balikatan) with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in any part of the Philippine soil. Nicole’s rapists were here as visiting forces. The VFA provides that Philippine authorities shall waive their primary right to exercise jurisdiction upon request by the US authorities. With US in control, what sovereignty and patrimony as a nation can we still speak of?

Smith may be freed from serving his sentence and that’s not far from happening. We have seen how prepared the US was in quickly bringing to safety the three acquitted US servicemen. The US embassy in Manila is already bullying for Smith’s custody.

Gaining justice for Nicole and the Filipino people in this case will strongly depend on the political will of Philippine authorities. Innabuyog does not put faith on Malacanang, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Justice to assert Philippine jurisdiction over Smith. Innabuyog condemns DOJ Secretary Gonzales’ recommendation that Smith be kept in the US embassy.

Justice in this case resides in the collective action of the Filipino women and people. Let us remain vigilant and continue our militant actions for the VFA’s abrogation. Let us urge the House of Representatives to pursue its House Resolution #171 which was approved and signed by Speaker de Venecia on June 8, 2006 urging PGMA to uphold the dignity of Filipino women by asserting Philippine jurisdiction and custody of suspects in the Subic Rape case.

Innabuyog warns GMA that her inaction in defending Nicole’s victory in court will only send severe blows on her administration. Now is her chance to show her will in defending the dignity and welfare of Filipino women and of the nation. Let us urge the US military troops to stay out from the Asia-Pacific region.