Foul Reactionary and Repressive moves of Jail Authorities Against Our Hunger Strike

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For five days before the visit of Pope Francis I to our country, we, political prisoners at the Special Intensive Care Area 1 Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa, have been on partial hunger strike to express our urgent plea for freedom, justice and human rights. Now, on the day of arrival of Pope Francis I, up to the day of his departure, we, jailed advocates of freedom, justice, people’s interest and peace, have escalated our form of struggle to total hunger strike.

This, to make louder our protest against our unjust arrest and imprisonment, the trumped-up charges against us and continuing failure of justice in our cases, the criminal repression and fascist restriction on us, and other violations of our human rights.

While our actions have been and continue to be waged on the matter of principles and our rights, the response of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology jail authorities have been very reactionary and repressive.

Our doctors, lawyers, families, human rights supporters and other friends have cruelly and illegally not been allowed to visit us right after we started our fasting and hunger strike. This, even if they have been urgently wanting to look into our medical and other conditions, especially as some of us have already been suffering deterioration of their condition.

Worse, aside from blocking the visits to us of our doctors, lawyers, families, human rights supporters and other friends, the jail authorities have also malicously not allowed the entry of visitors of other detainees in this jail, and pointed to our fasting and hunger strike, as the reason for their not allowing visits to detainees in this jail. This, induce division between us and other, non political inmates here.

Unfortunately, this has induced violent reaction by some leaders and members of the Sputnik prison gang, as they are now blaming us, political prisoners, for the blocking too of visits to them yesterday. Leaders of the Sputnik prison gang together with some of their members, were shouting last night at the top of their voices that their visitors have been denied entry yesterday, and were blaming us, political prisoners, and our hunger strike for their visitors not having been able to come in. Furthermore, they were threatening to kill us, political prisoners especially the senior leaders among us. We worry a lot that those, who have been shouting their threats at the top of their voices, have actually already been involved in murders of fellow inmates in jail.

Now, supposedly because of such threats to our lives, the jail authorities have been padlocking additional gates at the corridor leading to our cells, and have further been limiting our movements. We are the ones being madeto suffer much for the foul threats to our lives.

We maintain our demand that we, political prisoners, should be returned our freedom.

In the meantime that we are not returned our freedom, we ask that we be transferred to some other jail, where the jail authorities are not as repressive as here, and are not instigating the antagonism of other inmates, particularly prison gangs, against us.

Political Prisoners at the SICA1 Jail,

Camp Bagong Diwa,

Taguig City

 

Tirso Alcantara

Emeterio Antalan

Cesar Balmaceda

Leopoldo Caloza

Alan Jazmines

Jesus Abetria Jr.

NDFP Peace Panel Congratulates NDFP-SMR for Successful Release of POW Coquilla

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MEDIA RELEASE

By LUIS G. JALANDONI

Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel

19 January 2015

 

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel warmly congratulates the NDFP-Southern Mindanao Region for successfully carrying out the safe and orderly release of Prisoner of War (POW) Jose Mervin Coquilla today to foster the immediate resumption of peace negotiations between the Aquino government and the NDFP.

In a unilateral exercise of political authority, the NDFP-SMR freed the provincial warden of Compostela Valley, and suspended its judicial proceeding against Coquilla also as a humanitarian act, in response to the pleas of his family and representatives from the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and well-meaning individuals.

The NDFP-SMR released the POW Coquilla to Third Party facilitators, peace advocates and media persons.

The NDFP Negotiating Panel welcomes this NDFP-SMR gesture of compassion and mercy, a message that has been reverberating in the country with the visit of Pope Francis. We appreciate and support the calls of people’s organizations and peace advocates to resume GPH-NDFP peace negotiations to address the root causes of the armed conflict.

We call for the release of political prisoners and NDFP Consultants in accordance with the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

The NDFP is open to resume peace negotiations with the GPH on the basis of The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992, the JASIG (1995), the CARHRIHL (1998) and other binding peace agreements.

NDFP Condemns Arrest of Peace Consultant Rogelio Posadas

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MEDIA RELEASE
By LUIS G. JALANDONI
Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel
14 January 2015

 

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel vigorously condemns the illegal arrest and detention of NDFP Peace Consultant ROGELIO POSADAS and demands that the Aquino government respect and comply with its obligation in accordance with the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) signed by both negotiating panels and approved by their respective Principals in 1995.

Mr. Rogelio Posadas has been issued NDFP Document of Identification Number ND978313 under the assumed name Angel Jose. He has been issued a corresponding Letter of Acknowledgment signed by GRP Negotiating Panel Chairperson Silvestre H. Bello III. He is therefore covered by the safety and immunity guarantees under the JASIG.

Illegally arrested by state security forces on 09 January 2015, Rogelio Posadas is reported to be detained at the Philippine National Police jail in Cadiz City in Negros Occidental.

The NDFP demands the release of Rogelio Posadas and 14 other illegally detained NDFP Consultants. The Aquino government must respect and comply with its obligations arising from the JASIG, the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), and other binding bilateral peace agreements.

Open Letter to Pope Francis I

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Open letter to Pope Francis I
from political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa
(10 January 2015)
—————————————————————————————————–
Your Holiness, Pope Francis,
Warm embraces!
Together with millions of the Filipino people, we, political prisoners, extend our warmest welcome to your five-day visit to our country, starting this coming January 15 up to January 19.
Your principal scheduled visit to that part of our country most devastated by the Supertyphoon Yolanda (“Haiyan”, by its international name) in November 2013, will indeed render much help, through expressing sympathy with, giving inspiration to and boosting the spirits of the millions of the victims there, not only of the recent natural disaster, but also of their continuing and further sufferings brought about, and that continue to be brought about, by gross government incompetence and corruption.
We also expect that in your visit to our country, you will find out a great deal about the more widespread sufferings of the greater mass of the oppressed, violated, deprived and impoverished people in our country, not much different from what you actually also saw in your own country, Argentina, and have been deeply concerned about.
We, political prisoners, are among those being made to suffer terribly in this country, in the same way that you actually also saw and have also been deeply concerned about in your own country, Argentina.
We are particularly being made to suffer reactionary state oppression by their jailing us, in order to separate us from the people and prevent us from immersing with the suffering mass of the people in our country, taking up with them their deep-seated socio-economic, political-cultural problems under the present rotten ruling system in our country, and being one with them in airing their problems and seeking substantive solutions to fundamentally resolve such deep-seated problems in our society and to work for a really free, just and more prosperous society.
We have been arbitrarily, unjustly and illegally imprisoned, heavily restricted and gravely repressed behind iron bars, just because we have been what you have been asking to come out boldly and in numbers from the people, its various sectors and your flock: as “street fighters for change” — as social cause activists against poverty, against corruption, against oppression, against human rignts violations, and against other basic ills in present society.
The ruling regimes — way back from the outrighly fascist Marcos martial law regime, up to the present — have consistently been trying to hide the fact of the existence of political prisoners in the country.
This, not only by outrightly and repeatedly denying that there actually are political prisoners, keeping us in jails among nonpolitical prisoners, and treating us without essential difference from them.
This, also by denying the application to us of the Hernandez Doctrine — a landmark 1956 jurisprudence that prohibits the arresting, jailing and charging with trumped-up criminalized charges of those whose conflict with the ruling state is based on “rebellion” or even just political opposition. Thus, we, political prisoners, have been arrested and swamped with multiple trumped-up criminalized charges just to keep us in jail, as much as possible indefinitely and separated from those in whose interests we are “street fighters for change”.
There are presently some 500 political prisoners in the country, whose cases have been individuallly documented. There are some 300 more whose cases still have to be individually documented.
Even if the visit of Your Holiness to our country would only be for a few days, we still hope that you would still be able to deepen factual and comprehensive knowledge about our actual oppressed existence and dire situation as political prisoners — subjected to arbitrary and illegal arrests; deprived of freedom, justice, political and human rights; swamped with trumped-up criminalized charges; made to undergo the most rotten and slowest crawl of justice in the world; and cruelly left to rot and suffer gross repressions, restrictions and deprivations for years, and even up to more than a decade already, in various jails throughout the country — not much different from what you have pathetically seen and have been very much concerned about in your home country, Argentina.
We, victims of political imprisonment in our country hope that Your Holiness may be able to help in pressing for the return of the lost freedom and other rights of political prisoners, and thus fully correcting such grave social and political ills that have long been pestering in our country, and have continued after outright martial law was replaced by a mere fascade of “democracy”.
We hope for the return of our lost freedom and other rights, as the the last two previous papal visits (by Pope John Paul II) in the country — in 1981 (during the height of the Marcos martial law years) and in 1995 (about 10 years after the fall of the Marcos martial law regime) — significantly helped in revealing the existence and dire situation of political prisoners then (despite malicious efforts to hide them), and in effecting the release of a great many of them. The political prisoners wrote to Pope John Paul II, and even had to engage in fasting and hunger strike, in order to call attention to their very existence, their concealed whereabouts and their dire situation.
Even if Pope John Paul II was not able to make a personal visit to the hidden political prisoners in 1981, and instead could only sent his representive (the then Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli) to look for them and visit them, still the Vatican was determined to and was able to actually apply in practice, in the case of the political prisoners, a verse from Matthew 25:36 (“I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.”).
The Papacy’s direct expression of concern to the Marcos government and also to the world media about the existence and dire situation of political prisoners in the country significantly helped a lot. Very soon after, political prisoners in the country were released in large numbers.
In 1995, during Pope John Paul II’s second visit to the country, a new batch of post-martial law political prisoners again wrote a letter to the Pope about their situation and plea for their release, and also went on hunger strike.
The letter to Pope John Paul II and the protest action by the new batch of political prisoners were supported by the ongoing preparations then for peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP/GPH). The release of all political prisoners was and continues to be one of the principal demands of the NDFP in the peace talks. In the face of all these, the mass release of political prisoners was immediately granted by the GRP, then under President Fidel Ramos.
Even as the present ruling regime of Benigno S. Aquino III has since been denying the existence at present of political prisoners in the country, this collective letter of ours, more collective letters by other political prisoners in other jails, and thousands more of individual letters by political prisoners, our loved ones, human rights advocates and our other supporters, all attest to our existence and dire plight as political prisoners, and are strongly and urgently pressing for the release of all political prisoners.
Aside from this letter to ask your Holiness to look into our situation and to support our particular pleas and struggles as political prisoners, we are also addressing our pleas and struggles to those pushing for the resumption of the peace talks between the NDFP and the GRP/GPH, with the hope that the resumption of the peace talks will oblige the GRP/GPH to release from prison, not only the still-detained NDFP peace consultants, but also all other political prisoners in the country.
In this regard, we take note of the fact that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), that has also long been engaged in peace talks with the GRP/GPH, has also asked your Holiness to help beef up the peace processes ongoing in the country, and in particular that between them and the GRP/GPH. In relation to this, it should be noted that, ironically despite the advances supposedly already gained in their peace talks with the GRP/GPH, some 50 MILF officers and forces have long remained under detention here in Camp Bagong Diwa and many more in other jails in the south.
We also take positive note of your Holiness’ significant positive role in helping bridge the already more-than-half-a-century emnity between the U.S.A. and Cuba, and initially the positive result of such in effecting the two countries’ recent mutual release of prisoners, whose long detention was caused by the long-standing emnity between the two countries.
Aside from these letters and other efforts, we are also putting the whole of ourselves in our plea for return of our freedom, application of justice and respect for human rights, that have been and continue to be deprived from us. Starting from today, January 10, up to your scheduled departure on January 19, we, political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa, will be going on fasting and hunger strike. While some of us will be going on hunger strike all the way from January 10 to 19, most of us will initially be going on fast from sunup to sundown from January 10 to 14 and total hunger strike from January 15 to 19. Other political prisoners in other jails, our loved ones, human rights advocates and our other supporters of cause will also be waging similar fasting, hunger strike and other sympathy protest actions at the same time.
While these protest actions of ours are centered on our demand for the return of the lost freedom, redress of injustices and respect of human rights denied us by the state’s powers that be, we are also protesting against the too many inhuman restrictions and violations of our rights (including violations of our rights to proper and healthy food rations and daily open air exercise, and harassments through too many abusive “search” operations) being committed against us by the jail authorities.
As we will not be getting our food rations for 10 days, we are asking the jail authorities to donate, in our behalf, the jail authorities’ savings in our food rations to the victims of disasters brought about by Supertyphoon Yolanda last year and Typhoon Senyang this year. We estimate such savings to amount to at least P10,000. We ask that the donation of such savings be coursed through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
We hope that, with your efforts and intercession and the efforts, too, of many others, our sacrifices will bear positive results, including the return of the lost freedom, redress of injustices and respect of human rights of political prisoners.
Fervently hoping for your valued support,
Political Prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa
Tirso Alcantara
Emeterio Antalan
Leopoldo Caloza
Alan Jazmines
Loida Magpatoc
Jesus Abetria Jr.
Modesto Araza
Alex Arias
Gemma Carag
Eddie Cruz
Philip Enteria
Marissa Espedido
Voltaire Guray
Fidel Holanda
Edward Lanzanas
Pastora Latagan
Rolando Laylo
Evelyn Legaspi
Eliseo Lopez
Alberto Macasinag
Jared Morales
Denis Ortiz
Rhea Pareja
Miguela Piñero
Hermogenes Reyes Jr.
Andrea Rosal
Felicardo Salamat
Aristides Sarmiento
Antonio Satumba
Ma. Miradel Torres
Cirilo Verdan
cf: Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines
   Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform
   Office of the President of the Philippines
   International Committee of the Red Cross
   National Democratic Front of the Philippines Peace Panel

Interview with Prof. Jose Maria Sison on New Year’s Day 2015

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January 01, 2015
Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
NDFP National Democratic Front of the Philippines
By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Niko Dizon (ND): Happy New Year sir! I read your Q&A with the NDCP executive course students
Prof Jose Maria Sison (JMS): Happy 2015 and best wishes!
ND: I was struck by your answers because one, some of the policies you mentioned if you would become president are the same policies being followed now by government.
JMS: The general titles of the policies that I have mentioned and proposed are indeed similar to those used by the GPH and are used as subjects for the agenda of the peace negotiations. But the GPH and NDFP differ in substantiating the titles or subjects. For instance, the NDFP points out under the rubric of national sovereignty and independence the need to do away with unequal treaties, agreements and arrangements with foreign powers. Under the rubric of economic development, the NDFP stresses Filipino-owned industrialization and genuine land reform. The differences in the substantiation of policies is subject to negotiations and consensus for the benefit of the Filipino people.
ND: And also, you mentioned the need to strengthen the nation’s military to defend itself.
JMS: The assumption for this statement is hypothetical and is used by the interviewer to draw what I think is best for the country and people under conditions that I become president. The essential premise is that there is already a just and lasting peace agreement which requires the GPH and NDFP to cooperate in defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Nevertheless, the NDFP has always upheld, defended and promoted the national sovereignty of the people and the territorial integrity of the Philippines.
ND: You also have a scathing description of President Aquino and Sec. Deles. But they are the two main decision makers in any peace nego for the government. How then is a resumption of the talks with the two of them playing key roles, possible?
JMS: So long as there is yet no peace agreement, not even a resumption of formal talks between the GPH and NDFP negotiating panels, you can expect that certain circumstances can arise now and then which motivate one side to make scathing remarks against the other side or both side to exchange scathing remarks. Aquino and Deles also make scathing remarks against the NDFP, CPP or NPA now and then. At any rate, any word war is much lighter than the civil war or armed conflict that has necessitated the peace negotiations.
It is not always the case that I make scathing remarks. Right now, Deles is making scathing remarks in the press against the NPA for launching certain tactical offensives within the time scale of the unilateral SOMO of the AFP. But the CPP, NPA and NDFP are bound only by its own unilateral ceasefire declaration which has ceasefire dates different from those of the AFP unilateral ceasefire. When the ceasefire dates of the NPA and AFP coincide, the NPA has not made any tactical offensive and has even gone to the extent of releasing its prisoners of war in contrast to the GPH hoarding 14 NDFP consultants and 500 other political prisoners on multiplied charges of rebellion and common crimes.
The mix up and multiplication of charges of rebellion and common crimes are in violation of the Hernandez political offense doctrine and the basic right against being put in jeopardy of being punished twice or so many times for one and the same alleged crime of seeking the overthrow of the GPH or the Manila government. I say the Manila government to emphasize the fact that the revolutionary movement is building in the countryside a new government in the form of the local organs of political power.###

More Ironies and Torments as Another Sad and Oppressive Year Ends

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Indigenous People’s Coordinator of the Diocese of Infanta, Fr. Pete Montallana’s letter to the editor, titled “An Irony and Emotional Torment Many Times Over”, that came out in the December 15 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, voiced out his alarm over so many ongoing cases of the most vulnerable innocent poor people, including indigenous peoples, being victimized by arbitrary detention and other acts of violence by reactionary state forces, and for years not being able to attain justice.

One of many such cases we have with us at the Special Intensive Care Area (SICA) Jail, here in Camp Bagong Diwa, and many, many more in other jails in the country, is that of a native Dumagat, Eddie Cruz, whose family and fellow tribals have long been living in their ancestral domain around one of the mountain peaks overlooking the Wawa Dam.
Since 2005, Eddie Cruz has been an official employee of the Montalban Tourism Office under the Montalban Municipality, where he had been working as a regular tourist guide.

At 3 p.m. of June 10, 2010, led by a Lt. Lopez, a platoon of the Bravo Company of the 16th Infantry Battalion (16th IB) arrived at Sitio Tuay, Barangay San Rafael, Montalban, Rizal.

In implementation of and as usually practiced in their Oplan Bayanihan “counter-insurgency” program in the countryside, the government soldiers encamped in the two-hut residence there of Eddie Cruz’ family.
Obliged to give way to the government soldiers who took over their residence, the family had to send the children out of the area for their well-being and safety. Obliged to be the principal host as the family’s principal income-earner, Eddie Cruz had to remain in the hut where he resides, and, assisted by an uncle and a cousin of his, arrange for the accomodation of the government soldiers in the family’s two huts. After the government soldiers were fed the family’s supper, they divided their numbers with the intent of spending the night and the next several days in the two huts.

At 11 p.m., the government soldiers heard hollers, coming from the upward bend of the dirt road leading to the residence of his family. At once, the government soldiers suspected that those hollering were New People’s Army (NPA) fighters, apprehensively passed around the warning “May kaaway!” (“There are enemies!”), and immediately started firing in the direction of where the hollers came from. After an hour or so, and no shots were fired back at the government soldiers, they manuevered to search the area for the “kaaway.”

Finding none –as those who were fired at had scampered away — the returning government soldiers hog-tied, blindfolded, and beat up Eddie Cruz, insisting that he knows that those hollering are NPA forces and that they are hollering for him. His pockets were searched for whatever. All his money kept there, worth about P3,000, were “confiscated”. His identification cards, including that of his being a regular employee (as a tourist guide) of the Montalban Tourism Office, were also taken from his wallet and burned to ashes.

He was brought 30 minutes away, to the Wawa Dam mountain peak atop their residence, and then more brutally beaten up with fists and rifle butts, until he lost unconsciousness.

After having been held for three days where the government soldiers camped at the mountain peak, he was brought to the 16th IB camp in Baras, Rizal, and there detained for three days, all the time with his hands tied at his back. He was then brought to the Taytay Police Station for booking, and then to the Taytay Provincial Prosecutor for inquest. The arresting forces filed trumped-up charges of “illegal possession of firearms, ammunitions and explosives” against him (he was purportedly carrying an M16 armalite and also purportedly had a rifle grenade in his pocket when he was arrested). He was then returned to the 16th IB camp, held there for two more months, until he was transferred to Camp Capinpin in Brgy. Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal, where he was detained for another three days. After the 16th IB finally, even if already much belatedly and illegally, had obtained an official court order for his detention, he was transferred to a regular jail — at the Montalban District Jail — where he was confined for nine days.

The Montalban District Jail authorities were concerned that too many — relatives, friends and co-employees at the Montalban Municipal Office — were visiting Eddie Cruz in jail every day, and that, moreover, he is personally acquianted with practically all the people living in the community around the Montalban District Jail. Thus, he was again transferred, on August 28, 2010, to a detention center for “high risk detainees” — at the Special Intensive Care Area (SICA) Jail, here in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, where he has since been detained for more than four years now.

Initially, even while in jail, Eddie Cruz continued to receive his salary from the Montalban Municipality. But in March 2011, the head of the Montalban Tourism Office, Municipal Councillor Rolando Hernandez, attended a court hearing of Eddie Cruz to explain to the latter that, because he can no longer perform his tasks for the Montalban Tourism Office, the payment of his salary will temporarily be suspended, but, since he is indeed a regular employee of the office, will automatically be resumed as soon as he is freed and able to function again in his previous work as a regular tourist guide.

Following this, the Mayor, Vice-mayor and the entire Sangguniang Bayan of Montalban wrote an official attestation about Eddie Cruz’ being a regular employee in good standing in their municipality, and about their disbelief about the accusations his arrestors made against him. They send a copy of their letter to the Office of the President, which also made inquiries about Eddie Cruz’ case. None of these has yet received any reply.

Under detention, Eddie Cruz has been suffering not only the very, very slow crawl of justice, for which the Philippines is one of the most notorious — if not actually the worst — in the world. He has also been further suffering the many, many failures of the jail authorities to bring him to scheduled court hearings. Since court hearings in his trumped-up case started in July 14, 2010, jail authorities have not brought him to court for 15 scheduled court hearings. The failure to do so have all been intentional — with the jail authorities absurdly claiming that Eddie Cruz is a high risk political detainee, and that there is always the risk of his escaping en route to and from his court hearings.

Eddie Cruz is only one of presently some 500 national minorities — mostly Moros — at the SICA 1 and SICA 2 Jail here.

Eddie Cruz is only one of presently some 500 of us, documented political prisoners in the country, practically all of whom are similarly also victims of trumped-up criminalized charges, in violation of the landmark Hernandez Doctrine, to viciously justify their arbitrary and illegal arrest and continuing detention. (Still ongoing are the documentations of some 300 more presently detained at the SICA 2 Jail here — mostly also national minorities, who have been accused of taking part in the Zamboanga City stand-off of the Moro National Liberation Front — including about 70 innocent civilian community residents in the stand-off area.)

In the meantime, Eddie Cruz has unjustly and cruelly been suffering continuing arbitrary and illegal detention, and many other violations of his legal and human rights for four and a half years now… and counting.
The long-ongoing persecution of indigenous peoples in our country today parallels the evil persecution of innocent natives in the colonies of the Roman Empire some 2000 years ago. Today’s “Holy Innocents Day”, December 28, is a recollection of such evil persecution, victimizing especially the children of the natives in the Middle East.
Unless all the intentional evil wrongdoings of the present ruling state’s powers that be are not rectified soonest, for Eddie Cruz, and others like him wrongly arrested and detained indigenous peoples, and like the rest of us — about 800 other political prisoners in the country today — there will be no Happy New Year at all for all of us.

Alan Jazmines
Emeterio Antalan
Leopoldo Caloza
Loida Magpatoc
Tirso Alcantara
National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultants detained at Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig City
(28 December 2014)

ILPS Welcomes Release of all Cuban and Normalization of US-Cuba Relations

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By Prof. Jose Maria Sison

Chairperson, International League of Peoples’ Struggle

December 22, 2014

 

We, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, share with the Cuban people and their leadership the great joy of celebrating the  release of the remaining 3 of the Cuban 5 and the  return of all these anti-terrorist heroes to their homeland. We demanded their freedom for a long time and we  are elated that they are free.  They were unjustly imprisoned in the US for more than 16 years.

 

We also welcome the decision of the Cuban and US governments to reestablish diplomatic relations and to work for their normalization. It is the prerogative of any independent state, be it socialist or not, to establish and develop normal diplomatic and trade relations with other countries, irrespective of ideology or social system.  We  demand the immediate and complete lifting  of  the economic, commercial and financial blockade that the US has imposed on Cuba for more than 50 years.

 

It is a great victory for the Cuban people and their leadership that because of their protracted revolutionary struggle against imperialism the US government  has finally admitted the failure of its policy of hostility and blockade.  We share with all the peoples, forces and movements in solidarity with the Cuban people the joy in celebrating such historic victory.

 

We have confidence that the Cuban people and their leadership will continue to uphold, defend and promote their national sovereignty and independence and their socialist ideals.  We continue to stand in solidarity with them and support them in fending off attempts of the US to demand the unbridled license of US corporations, agencies and imperialist-funded NGOs in exchange for the lifting of the blockade.  There are indeed risks and dangers to reckon with.

 

History has shown that revolutionary states can maintain their independence, their own principles and social system, even as they have normal diplomatic and trade relations with other states of whatever ideology and social system. The Cuban people have their firm revolutionary principles, historical experience and continuing revolutionary will, vigilance and militancy to be able to counter any trap or trick of  the imperialists and their reactionary agents.###

Second Open Letter to Pope Francis I

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Second Open Letter to Pope Francis I

from Philippine Political Prisoners

(17 December 2014)

———————————————————————————–

Your Holiness, Pope Francis,

Again, our warm embraces!

We send our joyous greets to you on your birthday, today!

We trust that you continue to be well, to have more birthdays to come, and to be able to strongly push your advocacies, including those that concern the freedom, rights and welfare of the mass of the people, especially the most deprived, hungry and oppressed — including those who have suffered and continue to suffer much from man-made as well as natural disasters.

We, political prisoners, continue to look forward to your visit to our country in mid-January next year.

We reiterate our hope that, aside from directly looking at the situation of the victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda, sympathizing with them, giving inspiration to them and valuably boosting their spirits in surviving and rising above the mire, you would also be able to visit us or, at least, that your office would be able to look into our unjustly repressed situation as prisoners of conscience — as those who have been repressed behind iron bars and continue to be repressed in our advocacy and fight for people’s causes and for fundamental political and social changes in the interest of freedom, justice, human rights and the qualitative betterment in the lives and conditions of the deprived, impoverished and oppressed mass of the people.

We continue to hope that, even in your short visit to our country, you would also see what can, in utmost, be advocated and done to effectively help in qualitatively resolving our situation. Such includes pressing for the return of our lost freedom as political prisoners, and for the redress of the injustices and other violations of our political and human rights, that we, victims of continuing arbitrary and unjust political imprisonment, have long been made to suffer in our country — much like what you have also seen and were pained about in your home country, Argentina.

We also hope a lot that in looking at the very reason why we were placed and continue to be confined behind iron bars, you will also be able to learn more deeply the dire situation of the deprived, impoverished and oppressed mass of the people — not only in the areas devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda, but throughout the country — in whose interest we have been struggling for and continue to be devoted to for the attainment of fundamental political and social changes for the betterment of their lives and of the whole of our society.

We continue to fervently hope for your valued support and for, indeed, the great help of your intercession in our situation and in that of the suffering mass of our people.

Political Prisoners (in Metro Manila jails)

in Camp Crame

Benito Tiamson

Wilma Austria-Tiamson

Dionisio Almonte

Renante Gamara

Eduardo Serrano

Gloria Pitargue-Almonte

Ramon Argente

Joel E. Enano

Arlene Panea

Rex G. Villaflor

in Camp Bagong Diwa

Tirso Alcantara

Emeterio Antalan

Leopoldo Caloza

Alan Jazmines

Loida Magpatoc

Jesus Abetria Jr.

Modesto Araza

Alex Arias

Cesar Balmaceda

Gemma Carag

Eddie Cruz

Philip Enteria

Marissa Espedido

Voltaire Guray

Fidel Holanda

Edward Lanzanas

Pastora Latagan

Rolando Laylo

Evelyn Legaspi

Eliseo Lopez

Alberto Macasinag

Jared Morales

Denis Ortiz

Rhea Pareja

Miguela Piñero

Hermogenes Reyes Jr.

Andrea Rosal

Felicardo Salamat

Aristides Sarmiento

Antonio Satumba

Elmer Torres

Ma. Miradel Torres

Cirilo Verdan

in New Bilibid Prison

Eduardo Sarmiento

Alberto Acerben

Jesus Alegre

Rodel Caballero

Marcial Dosmanos

Sandino Esguerra

Arnilo Gaviola

Generoso Granado

Romeo Lareno

Sony Marbella

Alfredo Montajes

Arturo Pangilinan

Rolando Pañamogan

Gerardo dela Peña

Joel Ramada

Lamberto Santiago

Victor Segura

Ricardo Solangon

Danilo Soniscio

Francis Versora

Calixto Vistal

cf: Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines

Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform

Office of the President of the Philippines

Camp Bagong Diwa Political Prisoners Join Nationwide Coordinated Fasting in Act of Protest During Human Rights Week

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We, political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa, are among some 500 presently documented political prisoners all over the country.

 

About half of these have been arrested and detained under the present ruling regime, while the other half have been arrested under previous ruling regimes and have remained behind iron bars for about or even more than a decade by now.

 

More than 40 are women, another 40 are elderlies, more than 50 are sickly, and six are minors.

 

We, political prisoners — who have been made victims of arbitrary and illegal arrest and detention; of torture; of trumped-up criminalized charges; of one of the world’s most rotten, sluggish and practically unmoving system of justice; of undue repressions, restrictions, abuses; of poor prison conditions; and of other violations of our political and human rights — stand in protest against all these.

 

We urgently demand the return of our freedom. We also urgently demand the redress of the injustices against us; of the violations of our rights and our work for the people; and of the undue sufferings that we, our loved ones, our supporters and constituencies, and the people we are devoted to serve but are separated from, are made to suffer for long as iron bars and prison walls cruelly stand in the way.

 

Miradel Torres, a fellow political prisoner here at Camp Bagong Diwa, who had been separated by iron bars from her first born, has again just given birth two weeks ago and needs to be long confined in a hospital with her newborn child, because of their continuing difficult and precarious conditions.

 

We ask, that she and her newborn whom she has to continue nursing, be among those who should urgently be given first priority to be freed and no longer made to continue suffering their present difficult conditions. We ask for this in the interest of justice and on humanitarian grounds.

 

At the same time, we urgently press for the release of all political prisoners. All the more so should all political prisoners be released soonest, if the Government of the Republic of the Philippines is really opting for progress in the peace process.

 

As a way of pressing our urgent demand for the return of our freedom and for the redress of the injustices and violations against us, and as a way of linking with and joining in the similar and related protest actions and struggles for the cause of political prisoners and also for the respect of human rights of advocates and fighters for political and social changes, as well as that of the mass of the impoverished, exploited and oppressed people, both in our country and abroad, we, political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa, together with other political prisoners all over the country, will be going through sunrise to sundown fasting on the occasion of this international human rights week, starting from today December 3, the International Day of Political Prisoners, up to December 10, the International Day of Respect for Human Rights.

 

This collective protest action of ours is also in solidarity with mass protests and campaigns in the open against unresolved, continuing and further increasing violations of human rights, victimizing advocates and fighters for political and social changes and the mass of our long-suffering impoverished, exploited and oppressed people.

 

December 3, 2014

Political Prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa,

Taguig City, Philippines

 

Jesus Abetria Jr.

Tirso Alcantara

Emeterio Antalan

Modesto Araza

Alex Arias

Cesar Balmaceda

Leopoldo Caloza

Gemma Carag

Eddie Cruz

Philip Enteria

Marissa Espedido

Voltaire Guray

Fidel Holanda

Alan Jazmines

Pastora Latagan

Edward Lanzanas

Rolando Laylo

Evelyn Legaspi

Eliseo Lopez

Alberto Macasinag

Loida Magpatoc

Jared Morales

Denis Ortiz

Rhea Pareja

Miguela Piñero

Hermogenes Reyes Jr

Andrea Rosal

Felicardo Salamat

Aristides Sarmiento

Antonio Satumba

Elmer Torres

Ma. Miradel Torres

Open Letter to Pope Francis I

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Open Letter to Pope Francis I

from Philippine Political Prisoners

(30 November 2014)

—————————————————————————————————–

Your Holiness, Pope Francis,

Warm embraces!

Like many, many others among our people, we, political prisoners, look forward to your projected visit to our country in mid-January next year. We hope that, aside from your scheduled visit to personally look at the extent of damage and sufferings wrought upon millions of victims in that part of our country most devastated by the Supertyphoon Yolanda (“Haiyan”, by its international name) in early November last year, and to render help through expressing sympathy, giving inspiration to and boosting the spirits of the victims, you would be able to also visit us and examine our cruelly and unjustly repressed situation as prisoners of conscience, and also see what can be done to effectively help in qualitatively alleviating our situation.

We, victims of political imprisonment, have been enthused to write such to you, as other victims, families and supporters of victims of natural and man-made disasters have also been writing you and asking for your attention and help, especially in regard to their calls for justice and respect of human rights. Among those who have done so, and have thus encouraged us to write to you and also ask your attention and help, have been the victims and families and supporters of victims of the Supertyphoon Yolanda, the families and supporters of the Desaparecidos (victims of fascist involuntary disappearances, since the Martial Law years up to the present), and the families and supporters of the Ampatuan massacre.

Given the very short duration and already previously fixed itinerary of your visit to our country, we ask for, at least, your office’s serious look into and investigation of our actual oppressed existence and dire situation as political prisoners — subjected to arbitrary and illegal arrests; deprived of freedom, justice, political and human rights; swamped with trumped-up criminalized charges; made to undergo one of the most rotten and slowest crawl of justice in the world; and cruelly left to rot and suffer gross repressions, restrictions and deprivations for years, and even up to more than a decade already, in various jails throughout the country — not much different from what you have pathetically seen and became very much concerned about in your home country, Argentina.

We ask this, as the concern and positive actions by the Vatican in two previous papal visits in the country — one during and another one after the martial law years — significantly helped in feretting out the truth about the existence and dire situation of poltical prisoners, and in quite effectively supporting the fight for freedom, justice and human rights of a great many of the country’s political prisoners then.

Way before Pope John Paul II made a visit to the Philippines in 1981, the fascist dictatorship of the Marcos martial law regime had already viciously tried to hide the existence of political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa — where bulk of them were then confined in Metro Manila — by transferring all of them to a secluded part of the National Penitentiary. The political prisoners, who were hidden in a nook of the National Penitentiary, wrote to Pope John Paul II a letter sharing with him about their existence and situation, and asking him to visit them and to take a look at their situation. As an expression of protest at their situation, they also engaged in fasting during the visit.

The Vatican, thus, learned about and at once raised directly with the Marcos government the issue in regard to the existence and situation of political prisoners in the Philipines. The Vatican had wanted to apply then in practice, in the case of the political prisoners, a verse from Matthew 25:36 (“I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.”).

The Marcos martial law regime, however, kept hiding the truth and maintaining its total denial about the existence then of political prisoners in the country. Pope John Paul II was, thus, prevented from personally meeting with them and seeing their situation during his visit to the country. But when the Vatican learned about the malicious transfer of political prisoners to the National Penitentiary just to hide them from the Pope, it sent the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, to personally visit the political prisoners there and investigate their situation. The Papacy then expressed concern to the Marcos government and also to the world media about the existence and situation of political prisoners in the country. This helped a lot in the push for the mass release, very soon after, of political prisoners.

When in 1995, Pope John Paul II made a second visit to the Philippines, a new batch (of post-martial law) political prisoners in the country again wrote him a letter about their situation and, to further highlight their plight and demand for their release, went on hunger strike. Peace talks between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP/GPH) were then progressing, and the release of all political prisoners was one of the principal demands of the NDFP in the peace talks. In the face of all these, the ruling GRP/GPH regime (which was then headed by President Fidel Ramos) was thus pushed to grant the mass release then of political prisoners.

Even as the present ruling regime of Benigno S. Aquino III now keeps on mouthing the very same line that the fascist dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos also kept on deviously mouthing during the martial law days — that there is not a single political prisoner existing in the country — you will definitely find out in your visit or through a serious investigation by your office, that, on the contrary, there have long been and indeed continue to be a great many of us, political prisoners, in the country — some 500 of us, about half of whom have been arrested and detained by the present ruling regime. Among the political prisoners at present in the country are more than 40 women, six minors and about 100 sickly/elderlies at present. Not yet included among these are more women, minors and sickly/elderlies and other innocent local community folk arrested with some Moro National Liberation Front fighters in the aftermath of the latter’s stand-off last year in a section of Zamboanga City.

In Metro Manila, in particular, there are presently several scores of us, political prisoners, who have been confined in Camp Bagong Diwa, in Camp Crame, and in the National Penitentiary.

Via an actual visit of your holiness or a deep investigation by your office, you will find out how very much repressive, restrictive and deprived are our situations as political prisoners, and how the ruling reactionary state and jail authorities institute systems and do what they can to prevent or even just stifle us from continuing to effectively fight for people’s causes and for fundamental social changes in the interest of qualitative betterment in the lives and conditions of the mass of the people — most especially the oppressed, deprived and impoverished — and towards the attainment of true and lasting peace in the country.

You will also find out that arbitrary arrests, torture, political detention, swamping with trumped-up criminalized charges, and other acts of fascist state violence and repression, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances against political/social cause-oriented activists and freedom fighters, and also against peace talks participants and consultants, as well as against many, many innocent struggling people in our country, constitute and further keep exacerbating gross violations of the people’s freedom, justice and human rights, as well as of long-standing peace agreements in our country. These have practically been no different from what you have seen and have been pained about in your home country, Argentina.

Together with human rights and other social cause-oriented forces, peace process advocates and various concerned religious organizations, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and its peace panel have been pressing for the rectification of these, including at the very least the release of all political prisoners, as well as the still-detained NDFP peace talks participants and consultants, and the ruling state’s accounting of the victims of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances among NDFP peace talks participants and consultants and among political prisoners.

The help of your office in taking these up with the GRP/GPH would be of much help to the peace process.

In this regard, we appreciate, too, that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leadership, that has also long been engaged in peace talks with the GRP/GPH, has also written your holiness to help in beefing up the peace process ongoing in the country, and in particular that between them and the GRP/GPH. In relation to this, it should be noted that, among political prisoners who have been long been confined in Camp Bagong Diwa, are about 50 MILF officers and forces. And there are many more of them in other jails in the south. This, ironically despite the advances supposedly already gained in their peace talks with the GRP/GPH.

We hope that your visit, at the very least, will see the actual dire situation, touch the relevant issues, help in examining the roots of such gross fascist sins against the people and against prospects for peace, and in beefing up efforts to alleviate the situation, including our situation as political prisoners, who are among those made to continue suffering under such prevailing rule and system.

We hope that your intercession in our situation may be of great help.

Fervently hoping for your valued support,

Political Prisoners (in Metro Manila jails)

in Camp Crame

Benito Tiamson

Wilma Austria-Tiamson

Dionisio Almonte

Renante Gamara

Eduardo Serrano

Gloria Pitargue-Almonte

Ramon Argente

Joel E. Enano

Arlene Panea

Rex G. Villaflor

in Camp Bagong Diwa

Tirso Alcantara

Emeterio Antalan

Leopoldo Caloza

Alan Jazmines

Loida Magpatoc

Jesus Abetria Jr.

Modesto Araza

Alex Arias

Cesar Balmaceda

Gemma Carag

Eddie Cruz

Philip Enteria

Marissa Espedido

Voltaire Guray

Fidel Holanda

Eduard Lansana

Pastora Latagan

Rolando Laylo

Evelyn Legaspi

Eliseo Lopez

Alberto Macasinag

Jared Morales

Denis Ortiz

Rhea Pareja

Miguela Piñero

Hermogenes Reyes Jr.

Andrea Rosal

Felicardo Salamat

Aristides Sarmiento

Antonio Satumba

Elmer Torres

Ma. Miradel Torres

Cirilo Verdan

in New Bilibid Prison

Eduardo Sarmiento

Alberto Acerben

Jesus Alegre

Rodel Caballero

Marcial Dosmanos

Sandino Esguerra

Arnilo Gaviola

Generoso Granado

Romeo Lareno

Sony Marbella

Alfredo Montajes

Arturo Pangilinan

Rolando Pañamogan

Gerardo dela Peña

Joel Ramada

Lamberto Santiago

Victor Segura

Ricardo Solangon

Danilo Soniscio

Francis Versora

Calixto Vistal

cf: Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines

Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform

Office of the President of the Philippines

National Democratic Front of the Philippines Peace Panel