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Month: November 2019

Environmental Heroes Unite

Dear Beloved Bishops, Greetings of Grace and Peace! Please see below invitation of Kalikasan PNE.  EBF is one of the convenors.  EBF NL through the Regional Coordinator, Bishop Joseph Agpaoa and all other Bishops in NL have signified and vowed to accompany and journey with the people in Didipio.  But…

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Kairos Palestine Statement on the U.S Secretary of State Legalizing Settlements

November 21, 2019

Kairos Palestine expresses deep disappointment that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced—in a statement that disregards the Geneva Conventions, international law and widespread global consensus—a radical departure from U.S. policy regarding the illegal colonial activities of the State of Israel.

In asserting that the United States will no longer deem West Bank settlements, including those in East Jerusalem, to be “inconsistent with international law,” Secretary of State Pompeo contravenes a 1978 legal opinion by the State Department—upheld with bipartisan support of former administrations—which determined that “while Israel may undertake, in the occupied territories, actions necessary to meet its military needs and to provide for orderly government during the occupation, for reasons indicated above the establishment of the civilian settlements in those territories is inconsistent with international law.”

Secretary Pompeo went on to announce that this move by the United States should not be viewed as the U.S. “prejudging the ultimate status of the West Bank.”  Recent actions by the Trump administration belie this statement.  These actions include moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, defunding UNRWA, shuttering the Palestinians’ office in Washington, D.C., attempts to redefine who may be considered a Palestinian refugee, and embracing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s annexation plans.  All these moves, including what to date has been revealed of the Middle East peace plan put forward by Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner, have to be interpreted as U.S. attempts to force the capitulation of Palestinians to the will of the State of Israel.

In our holy text, the story is told of King Ahab coveting the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite (1 Kings 21).  When Naboth refuses the king’s offer to purchase the land which Naboth describes as his “ancestral inheritance”, a plot is launched in the king’s household to take the land by force.  A false charge is made against Naboth, which leads to his being stoned to death, after which King Ahab sets out to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.  In the same way that the Lord instructed the Prophet Elijah to intervene and confront the king, Kairos Palestine asks its partners—people of faith and those of good will—to call on leaders of the U.S. government to reexamine its failed role as a facilitator of peace between Israel and Palestinians.

Secretary of State Pompeo and the government of the United States must understand that God’s community of justice, peace and provision for all—coming on earth as it is in heaven—may be delayed but will not be denied.  As stated in the document, Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth, “In the absence of all hope, we cry out our cry of hope.  We believe in God, good and just.  We believe that God’s goodness will finally triumph over the evil and hate and of death that still persist in our land.  We will see here ‘a new land’ and ‘a new human being’, capable of rising up in the spirit to love each one of his or her brothers and sisters.” (Kairos 10)

The Palestinian Christian initiative/ Kairos Palestine is initiated and led by Palestinian Christian leaders both clergy and lay people representing the different Christian denominations in Palestine

Labor Groups Welcome Mayor Vico’s Support to Regent Workers

Statement

Defend Job Philippines, Regent Food Workers Union and the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Regent Food Corporation today welcomed the first public statement of Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on the long-standing labor disputes in the said company and the violent dispersal of the unions’ pickeltine strike in Pasig City and Taguig City last November 9, that led to the arrests and more than a week of detention of 20 striking workers, 2 volunteers of Defend Job Philippines and one tricycle driver.

In his social media account, Mayor Vico Sotto posted a statement defending the workers right to strike and a strong message against the Regent management condemning the misuse of privileged position to suppress the rights of protesting workers.

He also warned the management to rethink its positions against its workers if they still “want to have a healthy relationship with the city.”

Sotto also vowed to help in the bail and the process for the immediate release of the 11 remaining detained workers and their supporters who are still in detention at the Pasig City Police Headquarters. The relatives of the 12 others have initiated hard enough to raise the bail for their release last Friday.

As the local chief executive of Pasig City, we believe that Mayor Sotto’s open statement of support to the striking and protesting workers of Regent Food Corporation is instrumental and beneficial in proving the justness of the aired grievances of the labor unions as they mounted their strikes in Pasig City and Taguig City.

The statement must also serve as a strong message against the Regent management and its cohorts who planned and executed the illegal, violent and overkill dispersal of the labor strike last week.

We urge Mayor Sotto to help the workers return to their work as regular employees immediately and to support and assist them in their upcoming legal battles and hearings, as well as in prosecuting those involved in the dispersal including Irwin and Susan See; Social Justice Security Agency; officials of the National Capital Region Police Office; Chito Herbolingo (military agent-provocateur); Marvin Nocillado (bogus labor leader of the Regent management); among many others.

To date, aside from the charges being faced by the Regent 23, the Regent management is set to file more cases against the leaders and members of the unions.

We will not let the Regent management prosper in sowing fear against our ranks. We will not be coward and will continue the struggle until those who abused us for the longest time will not be prosecuted.

It is them that must be held accountable over their long list of abuses against their workers including decades-long of contractualization, low wages, unpaid benefits, unfair labor practices, violation on their rights to union and strike, runaway shop attempts among others.

Our fight is definitely far from over.

#RegentStrike
#BoycottRegentProducts
#FreeTheRegent23 

Regent Foods planning ‘run-away shop’ tactic after Mayor Vico warning, workers say

November 20, 2019

Regent Foods Corporation (RFC) management is set to implement a “run-away shop” tactic with its threat to transfer out of Pasig City, the snack manufacturer’s striking workers said.

“The Regent management just proved what we have been pointing out since we started our strike and mounted our picketlines last October 16 — that the RFC management will implement a runaway shop and lockout of its plant in Pasig City to get rid of the issues we are raising,” Regent Food Workers Union (RFWU) president Tita Cudiamat said.

Cudiamat was reacting to RFC’s statement that it is now mulls transferring its business out of Pasig City after Mayor Vico Sotto advised the company to rethink its position of filing charges against its striking workers.

“If you want to have a healthy relationship with our city, I highly suggest you rethink your position,” Sotto warned.

“Moving forward, RFC may simply accept its fate that the Pasig City Administration will unjustly make life hard for it and its 400-strong workforce, and contemplate simply bringing its business elsewhere,” the company said in a statement.

Cudiamat however said that RFC’s reaction to Sotto’s warning proves the company’s “illegal” plans.

Labor group Defend Jobs Philippines echoed the strikers’ accusations that RFC implemented a “long  list of unfair labor practices against their workers.”

“For the longest time, striking workers have been airing out and complaining about the management’s attempt of runaway shop, lockout, union busting, unfair labor practices, contractualization, low wages, unpaid benefits, and violations of the workers right to union and strike,” Defend Job Philippines spokesperson Christian Lloyd Magsoy said in a statement.

Magsoy defended Sotto who also raised funds to allow some of those arrested, including a bystander, to post bail last Monday.

“No amount of defensive statements and baseless attacks against Mayor Vico can justify the long-drawn hardships of Regent workers for almost three decades of existence of this company,” Magsoy said.

Both RFWU and Defend Jobs Philippines warned the RFC management to brace itself for countercharges they plan to file in several legal venues the company’s “unfair labor practices, abusive acts…and the violent dispersal” last November 9 that also injured several workers. “Instead of lying and spreading fake news and charges, the RFC management must focus in addressing our legitimate concerns. If they will remain firm in fabricating lies and stories, then we have no resort but to fight back in whatever legal and just means possible,” Cudiamat said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Invitation to a Forum on the Crackdown on Critics and Dissenters

November 19, 2019

Dear Friends,

Greetings of peace and solidarity!

The Movement Against Tyranny (MAT) and the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) would like to invite you to “Weaponizing the law, criminalizing dissent: A forum on the crackdown on critics and dissenters” on November 27, 2019, from 1-4 p.m. at the Quezon City Sports Club, E. Rodriguez Avenue, Q.C.

The following are the forum topics and speakers:

  • The legal offensive against critics and dissenters: trumped up cases, spurious search and arrest warrants, planting of evidence, red tagging and other schemes Atty. Edre Olalia of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers
  • The criminalization of dissent: Executive Order No 70, proposals to strengthen the anti-terrorism law, revive ROTC and other draconian measures, Atty. Neri Colmenares of the National Union of People’s Lawyers
  • On the sedition charge vs. VP Robredo et. al. and other harassment cases against critics and the opposition Atty. Marlon Manuel of the Alternative Law Groups

The forum aims to provide a deeper analysis and discussion of the virtual crackdown now being experienced by activists and critics of the Duterte administration, like the raids on the offices of several peoples organizations and mass arrest of 57 persons in Bacolod and Kabankalan, Negros Occidental last Oct. 31, as well as the expansion of the military’s red-tagging spree to include several religious and non-partisan humanitarian NGOs like Oxfam, Save the Children and Caritas.

It also aims to look into the wider implications of trumped up cases, including the ongoing sedition case against several bishops, priests and leaders of the opposition led by Vice President Leni Robredo, and the continued persecution of critics like Sen. Leila de Lima and Rappler publisher Maria Ressa.

More importantly, the forum aims to be a venue to discuss how to push back against efforts to curtail our freedoms and civil liberties.

You may confirm your attendance with Ms. Gel Marcelino at mobile no. 0947.5891578.

Thank you!