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Month: July 2020

Church leaders, CSOs Question Terror Law

7 July 2020

Various leaders of civil society organizations, faith-based institutions, and humanitarian and development networks read their statement calling to junk the newly enacted Anti-Terror Law or Republic Act 11479.

“Sa totoo lang, ang Anti-Terror Law ay hindi panglaban sa terorista. Ito ay pampanakot sa mga tao na nakakaranas ng kapalpakan ng pamahalaan,” The Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila, Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in a statement during a virtual presser church groups and CSOs on Tuesday, July 7, 2020.

The Bishop added that the law can easily be misused against groups and people who are legitimately expressing dissent and at the same time those who are indiscriminately helping vulnerable groups who are in need.

“The fear that this law is creating and the potential harm it poses on people who are helping because there have already been cases on the ground of legitimate organizations being tagged even before this law was enacted is very detrimental to the work of CSOs,” Philippine Misereor Partnership Incorporated (PMPI) legal counsel Mario Maderazo added.

The lawyer added that our laws must emphasize the primacy of our fundamental rights.

“Nanawagan na i-veto ang bill upang mas mapagusapan kasi ito ay minadaling ipasa nang walang malawakang konsultasyon sa mamamayan  (we called for the bill to be vetoed but they were railroading it without wider public consultation),” the Bishop Pabillo added.

Bishop said in his statement that that we needed to address the social issues, poverty, joblessness, transportation issues, and lack of access to basic social services, which are part of the root causes of terrorism.

“The anti-terror law does not address these issues,” Bishop added.

Meanwhile a national network of faith-based organizations, the Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. (PMPI) questions the priority of the administration.

“On the same day that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country breached the 40,000-mark, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the controversial Anti-Terror Bill into law without much regard to the clamor of people for a dialogue and to veto the bill,”  Yolanda Esguerra said.

A representative from the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) expressed their networks’ support in actions to repeal this “draconian” law.

“We need concrete steps that uphold the bayanihan spirit, not a law endangers human rights and civil liberties,” Sandino Soliman of CODE-NGO said in this statement.

The Humanitarian Imperative

Meanwhile Citizen Disaster Response Center, a 35-year old humanitarian organization has also expressed that the law is not compatible with the Humanitarian Imperative.

“The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has recently raised her concern on the R.A. 11479, stating that “the law could has a chilling effect on human rights and humanitarian work, hindering support to vulnerable and marginalized communities,” Kim Leduna, CDRC’s Executive Director said.

She added that even Section 13 of the RA 11479 gives “broad powers to the implementers of the law in selecting which groups can provide aid without incurring penal liability, and which ones will be burdened by being arbitrarily implicated or vilified or discriminated.”

“This provision goes against the humanitarian imperative and independence of aid providers. Humanitarian Imperative refers to the right to receive and offer humanitarian needs,” Leduna added.

Refer to the Philippine Constitution

The lead convener of the Disaster Risk Reduction Network-Philippines (DRRNetPhils) in a statement encouraged the policy-makers to not forget to look at Philippine Constitution as guide in crafting the laws.

“Development work is anchored on the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, where our rights as Filipino people are promoted and upheld to enjoy “independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace,” Ms. Loreine De La Cruz said.

De la Cruz, who is also the Executive Director of the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP), added that It is not uncommon that many of the DRRNetPhils member organizations duly recognized by the state experience harassment, discrimination, and red-tagging in rural areas riddled with conflict.

“What we do not need are policies and laws that will only authorize further abuses, sow fear and terror that are already realities on the ground,” she added.

Refer to the Philippine Constitution

The networks including the humanitarian, development and advocacy arm of the Catholic Church expressed support in filing petitions to question the constitutionality of the new law.

National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA)/Caritas Philippines through Jing Henderson in a statement said that they will actively campaign to ensure that this battle goes to the top court and be repealed.

“We have received overwhelming support from our dioceses, parishes, and other religious institutions to join us in our call to protect our democracy,” Henderson said. “As part of a broader civil society movement that advocates for upholding our bill of rights contained in the fundamental law of the land, as well as laws protecting the rights of the vulnerable groups, we oppose this measure because its vagueness and over-broadness is prone to abuse and can be used to  suppress dissent and our activism,” Esguerra added.

Living Under Authoritarianism

Biblical reflections on drift to authoritarianism

Introduction

Let me say at the outset that historically, Christian people have mostly lived under authoritarian rule. The early Jesus followers had to negotiate between the fact that they are ruled by despotic kings and equally oppressive religious leaders and the fact that their faith had to survive under colonial Rome, whose emperors deified themselves and bid them to bow the knee. 

Today, we are seeing once again the rise of authoritarianism, not just in the traditionally totalitarian societies like China or Russia, but in countries that have embraced democracy and now seeing a decline in democratic values and the efficacy of its institutions.

The Philippines is one of them. There was a time when we thought we would return to democracy. Our People Power uprising enabled us to at least restore the institutions that collapsed under the Marcos dictatorship. But very quickly, the old faces of the regime recycled themselves, and the entrenched political and economic elites hijacked the people’s project.

We failed to restructure the political and socio-economic system such that political dynasties are dismantled and economic power is de-coupled from those who hold positions of power.

The return of authoritarianism in the shape of Duterte’s populism is in a way a ‘revolt of the poor.’ The three succeeding decades after People Power saw the tremendous growth of the 2% or so who are in the top rung of the economic ladder, and the massive slide into poverty of those left behind by the digital divide and globalizing forces.

Some months after our February revolt, social activists coming from the three main church traditions in the country — Catholics, the National Council of Churches and evangelicals —  met together to reflect on what we did right and what we could have done better.

I spoke in behalf of evangelicals and said that there were two things that could have served the movement better in returning to democracy: the social insights of our faith, and the resources of our culture. Instead of reflecting a bit more on the social implications of our faith and culture,  we very quickly embraced western theologies that de-mobilized Christians from responding to our political crisis, and allowed foreign ideologies like Marxism to frame our social analysis and action.

These days, we are once again struggling for insight as we grapple with the failure of our democracies and the looming shadow of China’s imperialism.

So how do we live and find the spaces where we can stretch the margins of what is possible given the narrowing democratic space?            

First, some insights from Scripture.

Subverting structures

The Bible’s metaphors on what the church is about – salt, light, yeast – suggest that to give flavor and preserve the best of our cultures, to bring light to people who are in darkness, to penetrate the workings of a system like yeast so that the dough rises, transforming a lump of flour into life-giving bread, — needs only a small minority.

In this sense we are not so much revolutionaries – tearing things down so we can build our own vision of what society should be – but subversives, deep penetration agents who go softly, not attracting attention to ourselves, but quietly influence and transform our spheres of competence and responsibility. This is consistent with the way the Lord Jesus went about his messianic task:

“He will not argue or shout, or make speeches in the streets.
He will not break off a bent reed, nor put out a flickering lamp.
He will persist until he causes justice to triumph, and on him
all peoples will put their hope.”   (Matthew 12.19-21)

This is a very Asian way of going about our business of changing things. Instead of a head-on confrontation, as is the usual western approach, we all tend to abide by the military strategist Sun Tzu’s advice to break the enemy’s resistance without fighting. We see China applying this in its thrusting to dominate East Asia through a policy of attraction and infiltration rather than conquest.    

The Early Church also had to live and endure structures that were oppressive. The Greco-Roman civilization was borne on the backs of slaves. The few who were Roman citizens, like Aristotle, saw a slave as merely “a living tool.”

Under the absolutist rule of the Caesars, there was no way the colonized peoples of Rome could insert themselves into political space. This explains the so-called political conservatism of someone like Paul, who by and large accepted the existing structures and counseled restive Christians in Rome to be subject to authorities. Husbands and wives, children and parents, slaves and masters were merely enjoined to practice mutual submission and carry out their responsibilities out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5.21-6.9)

This new social ethic, however, soon transformed not only the relationships within these structures but contributed to the eventual erosion of these hierarchies.

Today, in our time, while racism, gender and economic inequality continue to exist, they are at least considered socially anathema and morally unacceptable. This we owe  to Paul’s vision that in Christ, ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free.’ (Galatians 3.28)

Sociologists and social historians tell us that it only takes 2% to 5% of the population to turn a country around. You just need a determined minority, what sociologists call a ‘critical mass’, to impact a whole society:  

“We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a vision of a just and gentle world. In Japan a very small minority of Protestant Christians introduced ethics into politics and had an impact beyond all proportion to their numbers. They were central in the beginnings of the women’s movement, labor unions and virtually every reform movement. The quality of a culture may be changed when two percent of its people have a new vision.”

— Robert Bellah, UC Berkeley

In other words, we need to have a strong missional sense in our vocations, a very intentional project of transforming the institutions where we happen to be. We are to be game changers, turning evil and unjust structures more towards the purposes of God for human society.

Change the narratives

It is not an accident that the first thing an autocratic government does is to muzzle independent media and let loose a flood of propaganda and fake news that will shape public opinion. It was Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels who said that if you repeat a big lie often enough people will eventually believe it.

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Ang 8 Isyu na Sinasabing Dahilan kung Bakit Hindi Dapat i-Renew ang Prangkisa ng ABS-CBN

Mga Isyu nauukol sa Konstitusyon:

1.         Hanggang 50 taon lang ang buhay ng prangkisa. Ang ABS-CBN bilang korporasyon ay mahigit na sa 50 years.

Tugon: Testimonya ni Justice Assistant Secretary Nicholas Ty sa pagdinig sa Kongreso: pwede magbigay ng 50 taon na prangkisa, huwag lalampas.

Halimbawa: Ang GMA network nabigyan ng renewal noon 2017 para sa 25 taon. Ang GMA 70 taon na ngayon at pag natapos ang prangkisa nila ay 92 taon na sila sa 2042.

Pag-Isipan:

  •           Magkaiba ang haba ng buhay ng korporasyon sa haba ng prangkisa.
  •           Ang pinagbabawal ng Konstitusyon ay ang pabibigay ng isang prangkisa na hihigit sa 50 taon kada bigay. Pwedeng mag-renew pag natapos ang prangkisa.
  •           Walang malalabag sa Konstitusyon sa pagbibigay ng bagong 25 taon na prangkisa sa ABS-CBN.
  •           Dagdag: Sabi ng isa sa mga sumulat ng Konstitusyon, Atty. Chrisitan Monsod, ang binasang bahagi ng Konstitusyon ng nagsabing bawal ay ayon sa mga pampublikong utilities kagaya ng tubig at kuryente.
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Undemocratic, Unconstitutional and Anti-Filipino!

Statement on the Signing of the Anti- Terrorism Act

The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas strongly condemns the rail-roading of and the signing into law of the 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), especially at this epoch when the confirmed cases of Covid 19 are peaking and that millions of Filipinos are going through extreme suffering.

We support the legal luminaries, constitutionalist and lawmakers who petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the 2020 ATA as unconstitutional and a threat to the basic freedoms we continue to fight for in a democratic society.

No less than the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, in its Report on the Human Rights Situation in the Philippines, has taken cognizance of the clear and present danger posed by this Anti-Terrorism Act, stating:

“The proposed 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act, slated to replace the already problematic Human Security Act, dilutes human rights safeguards, broadens the definition of terrorism and expands the period of detention without warrant from three to 14 days, extendable by another 10 days. The vague definitions in the Anti-Terrorism Act may violate the principle of legality.” *

We call on the magistrates of the highest court of our land to heed the call of Truth, Justice and Peace and declare the 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act as undemocratic, unconstitutional and anti-Filipino!

For the Laiko Board of Directors,

July 10, 2020

Pahayag ni Bishop Broderick Pabillo Patungkol sa Anti-Terrorism Law

Nakakalungkot at nakagagalit ang pagpirma ng presidente sa Anti-Terrorism Bill noong July 3. Pinakita niya ang kanyang pagkamanhid sa taong bayan na nananawagan na i-veto muna ang bill upang mas lalo itong mapag-usapan kasi ito ay minadaling pinasa ng walang sapat na pag-uusap at konsultasyon sa taong bayan.

Sa panahon natin ngayon mas may lumalala na kalagayan ng taong bayan na dapat tugunan: ang patuloy na paglaganap ng Covid 19 virus, ang kawalang ng trabaho ng maraming tao, ang malaking kakulangan sa transportasyon at lumalalang pagkagutom ng maraming tao. Ang Anti-terrorism Law ay hindi naman nakakatugon sa mga problemang ito. Ang mga problemang ito ang ugat ng terorismo. Kung hindi matutugunan ang mga ito patuloy ang pagiging diskontento ng mga tao at madali silang maakit ng mga grupo na naghahanap ng gulo sa lipunan.

Sa totoo lang ang Anti-terror Law ay hindi naman talaga laban sa mga terorista. Ito ay pampanakot sa mga tao na nakararanas ng kapalpakan ng pamahalaan sa pagtugon sa tawag ng taong bayan. Ang batas na ito ay madaling gamitin laban sa mga taong nananawagan ng pagbabago sa pamahalaan.

Dahil sa ang batas na ito ay hindi makatarungan, ito ay patuloy natin na pinagtututulan. Kaya nananawakan tayo sa Korte Suprema na suriin ng mabuti ang batas. Nananawagan tayo sa taong bayan na patuloy na maging mapagbantay kasi dahan dahan pinapakitid ang democratic space natin at ang mga karapatang pantao natin ay sinusupil, tulad ng karapating tumulong sa kapwa, karapatang magpahayag at karapatang ituring na walang sala bago mapatunayang gumawa ng masama.

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Framers of the 1987 Constitution Condemn Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020

As Framers of the 1987 Constitution, we are compelled to take a strong and clear stand against a law that betrays the letter and spirit of our fundamental law and divides our people when our greatest need is to unite against a common foe, a deadly contagion that threatens not only the health of our people but their sources of livelihood. What is at stake is the survival of the most vulnerable in our society.

The Charter was drafted and popularly approved in a plebiscite in the aftermath of one of the darkest chapters in our history when the rule of law was violated with impunity. The people, long inured to the rule of despots and oppressors cast their hopes in the Constitution as the bulwark against the abuses of the State, and thus as the protector of people’s rights by limiting the exercise of the extraordinary powers of the State..

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Church People Workers Solidarity demands immediate abolition of ATA

Welfare of the Filipinos, social protection of workers shall be the priority; not the anti-terror law that suppresses the rights of people.
Most Rev. Gerardo A. Alminaza, D.D.
Bishop, Diocese of San Carlos
Co-Chairperson, Church People-Workers Solidarity

Church People-Workers Solidarity joins the Filipino people in condemning the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act. We demand the immediate abolition of the said law as it will further endanger the human rights of the Filipino people.

In this hard time amid the Covid 19 pandemic, we believe that our government should prioritize the basic and urgent needs of the people and not the legislation and passage of a law that suppresses the legitimate outcry of people for universal health care, mass testing, protection of frontliners, humane repatriation of OFW’s, wage subsidy, unemployment benefits,  social protection, livelihood of jeepney drivers and respect to human rights and civil liberties.

In the past four months, workers consistently demanded for social protection measures amidst the serious health crisis. Yet, the government has turned a deaf ear on their demands.  Millions of workers did not receive the promised financial assistance which left their families starving and homeless.  Tens of thousands of workers lost their jobs due to the shutdown of many companies.  This concern should be the priority of the government to be resolved and not the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act which basically removes hard won rights of workers and people.

We stand that with the very vague definition of terrorism in the Anti-Terror Act, anyone could be surveilled, arrested and detained on mere suspicion of being a terrorist or for airing complaints to the government.  Legitimate protests, strikes and other forms of collective actions by workers demanding just wage, job security, health and safety in the workplace and better working condition can be tagged as a terrorism act under the said law.  Therefore, Anti-Terrorism Law would only heighten the repression of trade unions and basic democratic rights of workers and people to free speech and freedom of assembly.

We have witnessed how the existing laws were used to attack workers’ rights to peaceful assembly such as the dispersal of strikes and protest actions in Nutri Asia, Pepmaco, Sumifru Philippines Inc. among others. These incidents happened despite legality and constitutionality of the said protest actions. With the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the creation of the so called Anti-Terrorism Council that exercises the powers of both executive and judiciary and determines who is a terrorist and who will be arrested and detained, we are concerned that there will be more trade unionists and workers’ advocate will be illegally arrested and detained because of their stand for workers’ rights.

Hence, we stressed our call to the government to prioritize the WELFARE of the FILIPINO PEOPLE amidst the Covid 19 pandemic:

  1.       Covid 19 Mass testing, contact tracing, isolation and treatment.
  2.       Wage Subsidy and unemployment benefits for affected workers.
  3.       Adequate and decent jobs for those who lost their jobs.
  4.       Resumption of Traditional Jeepney operations.
  5.       Humane repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers.
  6.       Health and safety and better working conditions for workers reporting back to work.

Finally, we appeal to our brothers and sisters to continue our prayers for respect of human rights, peace and justice and without letting up, we join the broad unity of people to JUNK THE ANTI TERROR LAW. ###

Signed:

Co-Chairperson, Church People-Workers Solidarity

Statement on the Enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Law

 On July 3, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 despite the fierce opposition repeatedly registered by Filipinos across the country and the lingering coronavirus crisis.

We, civil society and people’s organizations working on diverse issues of the environment, strongly condemn the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Law, which immensely threatens environmental work and workers. The legislation, which spurns human rights safeguards while granting unchecked powers to the government, can be used to silence all forms of legitimate dissent. It could only make matters worse for a country already ruled by a climate of impunity, and would further threaten the well-being of its most vulnerable peoples, such as environmental defenders who have been among those who bore the brunt of state abuses in recent years.

The Philippines is known today as the country deadliest in the world to environmental defenders, as independent watchdog Global Witness reported in 2019. Since President Duterte assumed office, there had been at least 113 killings of indigenous peoples, farmers, lawyers, and other environmental workers, many of whom were falsely tagged as communists and terrorists before being unjustly brought to their deaths.

It is in these circumstances that President Duterte labeled as urgent the Anti-Terrorism Bill and eventually signed it into law. Now, Republic Act 11479 allows warrantless arrests on mere suspicion of committing terrorist acts, expands the period of warrantless detention to as long as 24 days, lowers penalties for abuses committed by law enforcers, and completely removes any liability from state actors for wrongful accusations – all based on a vague and malleable definition of terrorism.

Our indignation stems from the knowledge that the Anti-Terrorism Law effectively places a blade onto the waiting hands of abusive corporations and state forces ready to wield its preposterous provisions to silence all who are in the way of their destructive projects and selfish interests. Signed just days after the fourth death anniversary of anti-coal community leader Gloria Capitan of Bataan, the first victim of the spate of killings of environmentalists under the Duterte administration, the Act is an insult to all who have spent their lives for the protection of the environment and of human rights.

Moreover, placed against the backdrop of a global health crisis and a looming recession, the passing of the Law is a wake up call to halt the overarching focus of the Duterte administration on public order and national security, at the expense of human rights and the rule of law, in its tracks. It is also a manifestation of the infuriating detachment of our leaders from the realities of the public they claim to serve. With over 40,000 infected individuals, the Philippines currently accounts for over a quarter of all COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia. The signing of the Law coincided with the largest single-day increase of confirmed cases nationally at 1,531. Medical facilities continue to struggle with limited resources and manpower. Unemployment has risen to never before seen numbers in recent times. Hunger and poverty pose threats to the lives of our people just as much as COVID-19 does. Yet, rather than listen to the cries of the Filipino public, the government has chosen the path of oppression.

History will remember how our leaders, from the members of the Congress who formed the treacherous bill, to our nation’s chief executive who breathed life into it, refused to protect the rights of the people and turned their backs from our pressing needs, choosing instead to create means to illegitimize our voices. History, however, will also remember our collective uproar.

We will continue to lend our voices to amplify the calls of environmental defenders who fight for their communities despite being met with violence from state and private actors. We will continue to demand accountability and a just recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. And, as the battle against the Anti-Terrorism Act does not simply end with the President’s signature, we stand in solidarity with all groups urging the Supreme Court to junk this perilous law, and we encourage all members, partners, and supporters to join the mobilizations and protests, both online and in the streets, without compromising health and safety guidelines, as our clear stand against the draconian law. We shall stay safe, but not silent.

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NASSA/Caritas Philippines’ Statement on the Anti-Terror Law

We at NASSA/Caritas Philippines vehemently condemn President Rodrigo Duterte’s brazen disregard of the Filipino people’s appeal to defer the signing of the Anti-Terror Law until thorough discussion and consultations have been done. The profound lack of consideration and sensitivity to the more pressing needs of the country by our government is appalling and utterly alarming.

Thus we will continue to be vigilant of the government’s actions, denounce any form of human rights violation, state repression, and impunity in cracking down on our democratic exercise. We pray that God’s mercy and compassion be upon us so that justice, moral righteousness and the rule of law will reign.

#WeAreCaritas
July 7, 2020