ANGPahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas

Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo

Engl ish Edition

Vol . L No. 15

August 7, 2019

www.cpp.ph

EDITORIAL

End Duterte's terror inNegros & across the country

AFP & PNP incurs

43 casualties

in NegrosFOUR POLICE OFFICERS, dis-guised as employees of the De-partment of Environment andNatural Resources, were am-bushed by Red fighters at SitioYamot, Barangay Mabato,Ayungon, Negros Oriental onJuly 18. The policemen werekilled in action, contrary toDuterte's claim that the fourwere tortured. Four 9mm. pis-tols, nine magazines and ammu-nition were consficated fromthem.

On June 22, the NPAblasted an explosive againsttroopers of the 704th RegionalMobile Force Battalion at SitioCambugtong, Manjuyod, NegrosOriental. More than 20 policeofficers were killed while twoothers were wounded. Earlier,the people's army sniped sol-

"AFP...," continued on page 3

Negros is drenched in blood. Once again, the Duterte monster spewed athousand bullets against the defenseless.

His death squads in the islandmounted another round of killings ofordinary people over the pastmonth. No less than 16 were killed,including a former mayor, an electedcouncil, a school principal and otherofficers in the civil bureaucracy. Thekilling of ordinary civilians is alsorelentless. Most of them were base-lessly accused of supporting therevolutionary movement.

Doubtlessly, the monsterDuterte is behind these killings. Hewas so incensed over the annihila-tion of his four armed men last July18 in an ambush by the New Peo-ple's Army (NPA) last July 18 inAyungon, Negros Oriental. Becauseof this, he incited his minions to un-leash even worse fascist terror and

directed his ire against unarmedcivilians.

Since the Sagay massacre inOctober 2018, Negros has sufferedfour rounds of concentrated violentattacks by the Duterte regime. Pat-terned after simultaneous attacksand killings by police and military incommunities under the so-calledOplan Sauron, armed agents of theAFP and PNP carried out the killingsone after another. The evil aim is toterrorize the people of Negros andcripple their resistance to the fas-cist regime.

Landlessness in the island ofNegros is one of the worst in theentire country. Here, the fraudu-lence of the "land reform" programof the reactionary state is starkly

"End...," continued on page 2

August 7 , 2019 ANG BAYAN2

Vol . L No. 15 | August 7, 2019

ANG

instagram.com/progressiveviews

@prwc_info

cppinformationbureau@gmail.com

Editorial: End Duterte's terror in Negros &across the country 1AFP, PNP incurs 43 casualties in Negros 1Negros bloodbath 3PH, dangerous for environmental activists 3Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, butcher 4State forces gun down peasant 5Victorious strike in Monde 5NLUA, a neoliberal scheme 6Pro-peasant bills 7Bureaucrat-capitalist plunder of the Villars 7SONA protests 8Victories vs. Kentex and OceanaGold 8Dwindling resources in the SCS 9Bogus Boracay land reform 9Dethroning the king of the road 10Duterte vetoes SOT 10

clear. Negros continues to be ruledby big hacienderos who continue toenrich themselves with thousandsof hectares of sugar land. At thesame time, big mining companiescovet the island's rich mineral re-sources.

The masses of peasants andfarmworkers in Negros sugarcanefields suffer severe oppression andexploitation. They go hungry ev-eryday. Their clamor for socialjustice and land reform as solutionto their poverty resounds. Thearmed revolution in Negros con-tinues to gain strength because ofthe deep and wide support of thetoiling masses who aspire to putan end to the century-old oppres-sive system.

Big landlords fund soldiers andpolice, as well as paramilitary"death squads" in Negros. In theinterests of the hacienderos, theUS-Duterte regime employs itsarmed agents to silence the peas-ant masses and suppress theirstruggles. Over the past months,peasant resistance in Negros has

been met with massacres, killings,arrests and incarcerations.

Through Duterte's October2018 Memorandum Order No. 32,he claimed additional powers toimpose military and police rule inthe name of "suppressing lawlessviolence." Negros was among thoseplaced under de facto martial law.After successive killings in July, hedeployed an additional 300 troopsof the Special Action Force in theisland. This will tighten the armedgrip and suppression against thepeople of the island.

The terror that reigns overNegros is the same that blanketsthe countryside across the country.The situation is worse in the Min-danao provinces where more thantwo years of martial law hasreigned. In addition to Negros, Bi-col and Samar are also under defacto martial law.

In the countryside and hinter-lands across the country, the mili-tary rules and there are no lawshigher than its command. Underthe National Task Force (NTF) andits "counterinsurgency" doctrine,

the entire bureaucracy of theDuterte government is under di-rect and indirect military control.All civil agencies are weaponizedfor the war of suppression.

Across the country, killingsand military abuses of power arerelentless. State violence is em-ployed to silence the clamor forgenuine land reform and suppressresistance against entry of foreignmining companies, plantations andinfrastructure projects under theregime's "Build, Build, Build" pro-gram. Fascism is the other face ofthe Dutertes' bureaucrat capitalistplunder.

Though brutal and relentless,one must not think that theDuterte monster is invincible. Itscruelty is a sign not of strength,but of weakness and inability toget the ruled to voluntarily andpeaceably concede to its evil reign.

The foundations of its rule istattered in crisis. Behind its bar-barity and factitious fearlessness,Duterte is deeply frightened athow the Filipino people will collec-tively rise up to bring him downfrom power and make him accountfor all his crimes and corruption.

The people of Negros and theentire Filipino people will continueto rise up. They clamor for an endto Duterte's brutal reign. Theycontinue to advance along thepath of resistance. They mustfirmly unite and further strengthentheir organizations as theirweapons to assert their rights andaspiration for justice. They mustraise everyone's consciousnessand strengthen their determina-tion and courage to fight.

The Party and all revolutionaryforces are being strengthened.They are at the core and vanguardof the struggle of the entire peo-ple. The Party leads the NPA topound Duterte and shatter hisfascist fangs. The Party calls onthe entire people to struggle andend all his infamy and advance therevolutionary struggle to establisha new order in the country.

"Wakasan...," mula sa pahina 1

Ang Bayan is publ ished

in Pi l ipino, Bisaya, I loko,

Hi l igaynon, Waray and Engl ish.

Ang Bayan welcomes

contributions in the form

of articles and news items.

Readers are encouraged

to send feedback and

recommendations

for improving our newspaper.

Ang Bayan is publ ished fortnightly by the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of the Phi l ippines

Contents

ANG BAYAN August 7 , 2019 3

Negros bloodbath

In the evening of July 25, several armed men forcibly entered the hut of theOcampo family in Barangay San Jose, Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. They

gunned down Marjon, a one-year old baby, and his father, Marlon Ocampo, whothey accused as a supporter of the New People's Army (NPA). Marlon's wifesustained a gunshot wound. Their two other children witnessed the shooting. TheOcampos were the last among the 87 victims of extrajudicial killings in Negrossince the monster Duterte sat in power.

In Guihulngan, Atty. AnthonyTrinidad was also gunned down onJuly 23. He was among the lawyerswho were maliciously linked to therevolutionary movement by thegroup Kawsa Guihulnganon BatokKomunista. The said group is fundedby and operates as a death squad ofthe Philippine National Police.Wounded during the incident werehis wife, Novie Marie, and anotherpedicab driver. On July 25, siblingsArthur Bayawa, principal of Guihul-ngan Science High School, andArdale Bayawa, head of the Guihul-ngan City Division of the Departmentof Education, were murdered inBarangay Hibaiyo. Killed on the sameday was Romeo Alipan, a farmer andcaptain of Barangay Buenavista. Thekillings were made to appear as NPAkillings even through the victimswere earlier tagged by the AFP assupporters or members of the NPA.

Former Ayungon Mayor EdcelEnardecido and his cousing LeoEnardecido were also killed on July27. Earlier, Sunny Caldera, captain of

Barangay Mabato, also died in thesaid town, after purportedlyingesting pesticide on July 25.Another farmer, Reden Eleuterio, wasalso shot in Barangay Tampocon II.These attacks were the cowardlyretalliation of the Duterte regimeagainst the legitimate ambush of Redfighters against four policemen inAyungon on July 18.

On July 26, Federico Sabejon waskilled in Barangay 3, Siaton. InCanlaon City, Ernesto Posadas,captain of Barangay Panubigan, andcity councilor Ramon Jalandoni werealso murdered. Barangay Bucalanwatchman Andanacio Rosalita wasgunned down by Duterte's deathsquad at the Oval Public Market in anadjacent barangay on July 28.

Two farmers, Wenny Alegre andFelimino Janayan, president of theUnited Calango Farmers Associationin Zamboanguita, Negros Orientalwere also gunned down on July 24.The perpetrators disguised as Redfighters to vilify the revolutionarymovement.

diers of the 94th IB at Sitio Bulo. Theoperation resulted in three enemy ca-sualties.

On July 2, at 4:30 a.m., Red fight-ers foiled an attempted attack of the11th IB against an NPA unit at SitioSmall Samac, Barangay Nalunhdan inBindoy town. Five soldiers were killedwhile six others were wounded.

Sorsogon. The NPA-Sorsogon alsoconducted a demolition operationagainst troopers of the PNP SpecialAction Force (SAF) in Barangay Tulat-ula Sur, Magallanes on July 30, at 3p.m. Ten SAF troopers were killed in

action.Agusan del Norte. The NPA also

blasted an explosive against 23rd IBtroopers at Sitio Hinandayan, BarangayCamagong, Nasipit on July 12, at 9:40a.m. Five soldiers were reported killedwhile five others were wounded.

Quezon. Three harass operationswere successively mounted by theNPA-Quezon against joint forces ofthe 80th IB and PNP Regional MobileForce Battalion at Sitio Lagmak,Pagsangahan, Gen. Nakar on July 28-30. A soldier was killed while twoothers were wounded.

"AFP...," from page 1

PH, most dangerous

place for

environmental activists

THE INTERNATIONAL com-munity turned the spotlighton the Philippines after beinglisted as the most dangerousplace for environmental ac-tivists, and fourth for civil-ians.

A report published onJuly 30 by the Global Wit-ness, an London-based in-dependent group, exposedthat the Philippines has re-placed Brazil as the mostmurderous country for envi-ronmental activists. The re-port indicates that 30 de-fenders were killed last year,following 48 in 2017, whichwas the highest everrecorded in Asia. A third ofthe victims were from Min-danao where Duterte plansto allocate 1.6 millionhectares of land to planta-tions, majority of which areLumad ancestral lands. Halfof the killings were related toagribusiness.

Last June, the ArmedConflict Location and EventProject (Acled), a US-basedgroup, also listed the Philip-pines as the fourth mostdangerous place for civilians.A third of the victims werekilled under the guise ofDuterte's "war againstdrugs." Members of politicalparties, activists, farmers,lawyers and judges are alsotargeted by killings. Thegroup exposed that Duterte'spolicy has resulted in directattacks against and killing of490 civilians this 2019.

Around 450 were directlymurdered by state forces.Majority were killed in Cen-tral Luzon (23%), Calabarzon(22%) and the National Capi-tal Region (10%).

August 7 , 2019 ANG BAYAN4

Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, abutcher in Palparan’s shadow

The recent mass killing in Negros is a continuation of the horrific OplanSauron which sowed terror in the island since December 2018. Since its

implementation, more than 40 civilians have fallen victim to extrajudicialkillings. Aside from those killed, many civilians were also illegally arrested andslapped with trumped-up charges.

Oplan Sauron’s implementa-tion is headed by the ArmedForces of the Philippines CentralCommand (AFP Centcom) underthe command of Lt. Gen. NoelClement. Clement is notorious forbeing one of the junior officerstrained in the past by Jovito Pal-paran in committing crimes underOplan Bantay Laya 1 and 2. Wher-ever Palparan sowed terror,Clement has always been in hisshadow. Like his idol, Clement isknown for tagging those who criti-cize the reactionary governmentas communists. He zealously car-ried out orders of murder andother human rights violations.

Clement was under the 204thBrigade when human rights advo-cates Eden Marcellana and EddieGumanoy were abducted by thesaid military command in MindoroOriental in 2003. Palparan was thecommander of the said brigade.

Upon Palparan’s transfer tothe 7th ID in Central Luzon in2005, he and Clement sowed vio-lence in the region. From Januaryto February 2006, 25 individualsfell victims to murder, abduction,torture, physical abuse, threats,massacre, interrogation and ille-gal detention. Clement was thecommander of the 56th IB, themost abusive military unit in theregion. He is also one of the mas-terminds and implementors of theabduction of activist Jonas Burgosin 2007.

Meanwhile, operations com-manded by Clement in Mindanaoresulted in widespread devasta-

tion. As commander of the 602ndBrigade from 2015-2016, Clementbecame notorious to Moro resi-dents in North Cotabato forshelling their communities.

A few days after Duterte’s dec-laration of martial law in Mindanaolast May 2017, the AFP assignedClement to head the 10th ID. Itsarea of operations covers the entireDavao region, and its boundaries inthe provinces of Surigao del Sur,Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon.Clement and his troops ravaged thearea. In a span of 19 months, up to50 civilians were killed by Clement’smen, including two minors. Thou-sands were also forced to evacuatedue to military shellings and rav-aging of communities.

Among Clement’s vicious crimesas 10th ID commander was themassacre of seven Lumads last De-cember 3, 2017 in Lake Sebu, SouthCotabato. Two others werewounded in the incident. Multiplecounts of murder were filed againstClement, together with Lt. Col.Harold Cabunoc of the 33rd IB andLt. Col. Benjamin Leander of the27th IB. Soldiers under Clement’scommand were also the perpetra-tors in the abduction, torture andattempted burning of two youthminers last November 2017 inCompostela Valley.

Command over CentcomClement was transferred from

the 10th ID to the Centcom in No-vember 2018. Centcom’s opera-tions cover the whole of Visayas.Under its command are two Army

divisions (8th ID in EasternVisayas and 3rd ID in Central andWestern Visayas), the 2nd TacticalOperations Wing of the Air Force,and the whole naval forces in theVisayas.

In less than a month after be-ing transferred to the Centcom,Clement promptly implementedOplan Sauron in Negros in linewith Rodrigo Duterte’s Memoran-dum Order No. 32. Centcom’s all-out war is currently aimed at theisland, where five combat battal-ions are deployed, apart fromforces of the Philippine NationalPolice.

Aside from ravaging CentralVisayas, killings and destruction ofcommunities in Eastern Visayas areClement’s orders. In Samar island,murders of civilians intensifiedsince March 2019. At the onset ofthe year, 545 villages were re-ported to be militarized, 250 ofwhich were occupied by soldiers.More than 300 families have beendisplaced from their residencesdue to the occupation of theircommunities by 8th ID troopers.

Meanwhile in WesternVisayas, Centcom’s operations ismarked with psywar. In March,the 61st IB in Panay successivelycirculated news of fake encoun-ters in order to cover up its casesof illegal arrests of farmers andTumanduk minorities. Aside fromthis, a fake surrender of a sup-posed minor Red fighter was pub-licized.

Clement likewise submitted histroops in the Centcom to becomepawns for the US military. In therecently held Pacific Partnershiplast March, the US brought itspuppet and allied troops from theIndo-Pacific region to Visayas totrain them under its command.

ANG BAYAN August 7 , 2019 5

State forces gun downpeasant activist

Security forces of the Duterte regime fired shots at a couple who aremembers of a peasant organization, while inside their store at Sitio Kasi-

laan, Barangay Halapitan, San Fernando, Bukidnon last August 2. GuillermoCasas died on the spot while his wife Jocelyn was wounded.

Guillermo is the 10th victim ofextrajudicial killing in Bukidnon thisyear.

On the same day, Ernesto Es-trella was gunned down in Antipas,North Cotabato. Estrella was a for-mer pastor of the United Church ofChrist in the Philippines.

Last July 25, Misba Masla, 60,was killed in an aerial bombing bythe AFP at Sitio Butilin, Kabalasan,Pikit, North Cotabato. The 6th IBmade it appear, through Maj. Gen.Diosdado Carreon, commander ofthe AFP-Joint Task Force Central,that a bomb exploded inside thehouse of the Maslas and resulted tohis death. However, even the AFP,through Brig. Gen. Alfredo Rosario,commander of the 603rd IBde, ad-mitted that the Masla residence washit when the AFP bombed the placeat 3 a.m. The AFP reasoned out thatthey were pursuing a group of theBangsamoro Islamic Fredom Fight-ers (BIFF) that, according to theirintelligence report, was there.

The AFP accused Misba's hus-band, Ali Masla, 62, of being amember of the BIFF. Ali and hisgrandson Edwid Masla werewounded during the bombing. TheBIFF belied the accusation of theirpresence in the area during thattime. BIFF spokesperson Abu MisriMama condemned the killing. TheAFP's pronouncement of protectingthe civilians is a big lie becausethey are the ones who bomved theresidence of the elderly couple, hesaid.

Last August 6, Brandon Lee, amember of the Ifugao PeasantMovement (IPM) and a writer ofNorthern Dispatch was shot in La-gawe, Ifugao. As of present, Lee re-

mains unconscious. IPM activelyopposes the construction of theChico River dam which will reclaimtheir ancestral lands.

Repression against activists andpeasants

The widespread intimidation ofthe regime against activists andpeasants continues unabated. InQuezon, a unit of the 2nd IB con-ducted an intelligence operation inBarangay 1, Lucena City last July 30under the the guise of a survey forthe 4Ps program and searching for aplace to rent.

Troops of the 95th IB twicecalled for a meeting in BarangaySta. Isabel Sur, Isabela last August3 wherein they accused members ofDagami, a local peasant organiza-tion, of being supporters of theNPA. The residents voluntarily leftthe first meeting and asserted theirdemocratic right. They also opposedthe AFP's offer to parade the resi-dents as NPA surrenderees in ex-change for money.

In Cebu, police forces at-tempted to intimidate members ofthe local chapter of KabataanPartylist last July 27. In Bukidnon,the 1st Special Forces Battalionthreatened and forced Kristin Lim, aformer station managing director ofRadyo Lumad, to surrender in Du-milag, Manolo Fortich last August 3.

Meanwhile, two memebrs ofKASAMA-TK were arrested by the76th IB last July 27 in Sablayan-Sta.Cruz, Occidental Mindoro. The vic-tims were identified as NadelineFabon and Reynaldo Malaborbor.They were assisting peasants whowere severely affected by drought inthe community.

Victorious strike

in Monde

NINE HOURS AFTER mountingtheir strike on August 6, con-tractual workers of the MondeNissin Labor Association(MNLA–LIGA) was able to com-pel the management of MondeNissin Corp. to negotiate withthem regarding their demand forregularization. The strike wasconducted as a reaction to thetermination of contract of nineworkers last week. In sum, 111workers have been dismissed bythe company since July 2018.

During the negotiation, themanagement agreed to reinstatethe terminated workers. Anotherround of negotiation was alsoscheduled. The workers, major-ity of whom have worked in thecompany as contractuals for 13years, considered this as a bigvictory.

Monde Nissin is a food man-ufacturing company and isknown for its biscuits (SkyFlakesand Fita) and noodles (LuckyMe!). Since 2000, the companyhas been consistently included inthe top 50 corporations in thePhilippines. It is owned by bour-geois compardor Betty Ang whoreported a P14.17-billion networth in 2018.

On the same day, Super 8workers also mounted their strikein Pasig City after its terminationof 200 contractual workers.

STUDENTS OF THE PolytechnicUniversity of the Philippines(PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manilasuccessfully junked the dresscode policy after a seven-hourprotest. They said thatprotests will continue to op-pose plans to implement re-pressive policies such as themandatory random drug-test-ing and harassment againstorganizations, student councilsand publications.

August 7 , 2019 ANG BAYAN6

National Land Use Act, a neoliberal scheme

For the third time, Rodrigo Dutertehas again identified the National

Land Use Act (NLUA) as a priority bill ofhis regime in his State of the NationAddress (SONA) on July 22.

Duterte insisted that this mea-sure has to be immediately passedby Congress before the end of 2019to purportedly lay down a nationaland comprehensive land use planthat will "meet the demands of for-eign investors."

The NLUA primarily aims tohasten the process of massive con-version of agricultural and ances-tral lands into residential, commer-cial and industrial uses toimmediately facilitate wholesale ofthese to foreign investors and theirbourgeois comprador counterparts.This will be used to evict farmersand indigenous peoples from landsthat are targeted for the construc-tion of giant infrastructures underthe "Build, Build, Build" program.The regime has initially imple-mented this through the issuanceof several administrative orders bythe Department of Agrarian Reformlast February.

The NLUA will establish theNational Land Use Commission(NLUC) which will administer thereclassification and conversion ofland resources across the countryand drafting of a national plan ev-ery ten years based on the de-mands of capitalists. The agencywill classify only which lands canbe cultivated and on the otherhand be used for infrastructuresand settlements. The NLUC willalso prohibit farming in publiclands that will be classified asforestlands, even those alreadybeing cultivated by small farmers.This will systematize schemes suchas the National Greening Programwhich are being used to evict smallkaingineros from their farms thatare converted into vast planta-

ti

ons of commercial timber.The NLUA has been languishing

in Congress for more than twodecades already. It was firstpushed for by the Corazon Aquinoregime along with other neoliberalreforms dictated by the WorldBank. In the past, this push wasundertaken as a conditionality inexchange for billions of loans. Thebill has been successively for-warded and even identified as akey legislative measure by suc-ceeding regimes; however, it is yetto be enacted.

These past few years, theAmerican Chamber of Commerce,in partnership with the USAID,used the The Arangkada PhilippinesProject to aggressively compel theAquino and Duterte regimes tocontinue lobbying for the passageof the bill in Congress. The Duterteregime manifested utter sub-servience when it had its Congresspass on third reading the said billjust before it ended its session onJune 3.

The bill has already been re-ferred to the Senate and is set tobe discussed in the coming monthsunder its committee on environ-ment and natural resources whichis chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar.

Despite being an ally of Duterte,she is strongly opposing the en-actment of the NLUA as this willremove from local governments theauthority to reclassify land re-sources within their territories andimplement a local land use plan.When the NLUA is enacted, thesaid powers will be granted to theNLUC which is directly under thenational government.

The Villars have obviouslybenefitted from the current landuse policy especially that it enablesthem to easily bribe local govern-ment officials to have their realestate businesses passed. (Readrelated article on page 7.)

Amid the threat of once againbeing stalled, the regime imple-mented the Joint Department ofAgrarian Reform-Department ofJustice Order 75 on May 31 whichwill institutionalize Duterte's landuse program even if the NLUA hasnot yet been ratified.

Conservative government esti-mates published last January indi-cate that the total agricultural landarea in the country already shrankby 25% from 9.7 million hectares in1980 to 7.3 million in 2012, pri-marily due to massive use conver-sion and widespread landgrabbingacross the country.

ANG BAYAN August 7 , 2019 7

Pro-peasant bills

The Duterte regime is relentlessly pushing for the liberalization of theagricultural sector, including agricultural lands, to allow foreign

ownership and plunder. Despite this, progressive congress representativescontinue to lobby for reforms that will benefit peasants.

These reforms are linked to thelongstanding struggles waged bypeasant organizations. These arealso part of the ComprehensiveAgreement on Social and EconomicReforms (CASER) which was draftedin 2016 during peace negotiationsbetween the Government of the Re-public of the Philippines and the Na-tional Democratic Front of thePhilippines.

Agrarian reforms become in-creasingly significant amid all-outattacks against the sector—from theliberalization of rice to the relent-less killings of peasants strugglingfor their right to land.

Progressive parties under theMakabayan bloc refiled the GenuineAgrarian Reform bill (GARB) at theHouse of Representatives. This billlays down a comprehensive frameworkfor genuine land reform. It aims todismantle land monopolies and imple-ment a free, fair and just land distri-

bution policy within five years. Itwill cover all private agriculturallands, agribusiness plantations,those that have been tilled by farmersbut were taken away by the govern-ment, landlords or foreign institutions,and other public agricultural lands.

GARB also includes comprehen-sive support for peasants includingthe provision of sufficient subsidiesfor their production. This will alsoencourage farmers to organize orjoin cooperatives to enhance theirproduction. This will provide amechanism against grabbing offarmer beneficiaries' lands.

At present, farmers assertingtheir right to land, including thoseawarded with Certificate of LandOwnership, are gravely repressed.Many loss their lands for failing topay high amortization dues. In rela-tion to this, a bill was filed to writeoff these dues to and award theselands to them.

The Makabayan bloc also filedthe Rice Industry Development Bill.It declared that rice farmers whoare tilling farmlands shall not besubjected to land rent that is morethan 10% of the average net harvestper hectare in the last three con-secutive years.

Meanwhile, other representa-tives filed bills to ensure full insur-ance for beneficiaries of the bogusComprehensive Agrarian ReformProgram and to construct a com-munal irrigation, half of which willbe paid by farmer beneficiaries in acertain span of time.

They also pushed for the con-struction of warehouses and the

Bureaucrat-capitalist plunder of the Villar family

Couple Manny and Cynthia Villar are the owners of Vista Land &Lifescapes which are notorious for landgrabbing and converting thou-

sands of hectares of farmlands into subdivisions (Camella Homes, LuminaHomes) and huge malls (Starmalls and Vista Malls). They are the head of theVillar dynasty in Las Piñas and both became members of the House of Repre-sentatives. Manny Villar served as senator from 2001 to 2013, and was suc-ceeded by his wife who up to now is a member of the Senate.

In 2008, Cynthia Villar was ac-cused of grabbing peasant lands inNorzagaray, Bulacan. Manny Villarwas also accused of plunder in 2010after proposing to realign the C-5Extension Project to benefit hisbusinesses. It was also exposedthat irrigated farmlands were con-verted by the Villars into subdivi-sions in Pavia, Iloilo City (2010) andPlaridel Bulacan (2014).

The Villar family is a known

supporter of Duterte. Manny Vil-lar's political party, Nacionalista, isalso allied with Duterte's PDP-La-ban.

Under Duterte, Manny Villar'swealth drastically rose from US$1.5billion (P75.4 billion) in March 2017to US$5.5 billion (Php288.3 billion)this March 2019. From being the12th, he is now the richest individ-ual in the country. Meanwhile,Cynthia Villar reported a net worth

of P3.7 billion and was consideredthe richest senator, while their son,Mark Villar, secretary of the theDepartment of Public Work andHighways, reported P1.4 billion andis considered as Duterte's richestcabinet official.

The Villar family has obviouslybenefitted from the regime's infra-structure program. Their companywas the last to pass an applicationfor the construction of a casino be-fore Duterte imposed has issued amoratorium on new casinos on Jan-uary 2018. Aside from the 1,000-hectare casino and resort which isbeing constructed in Dasmariñas,Cavite, the Villars are also planningto push for a similar infrastructureproject in Las Piñas.

"Bills...," continued on page 8

ANG BAYAN August 7 , 2019 8

United People's SONAagainst the national traitor

Rodrigo Duterte's fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) was met withprotests in various urban centers across the country. These were partici-

pated in by more than 50,000 individuals who condemned Duterte's uttertreachery. They also called for his ouster for surrendering to China the rights ofFilipinos to the West Philippine Sea. They criticized his fascism and for imple-menting anti-people policies which further impoverished the Filipino people.

In the national capital, organiz-ers reported that more than 40,000marched along the CommonwealthAvenue in Quezon City to tellDuterte, the national traitor, that the"Philippines is ours!" They demandedthe eviction of China from Philippineterritorial waters. The protest wasled by the Bagong Alyansang Maka-bayan (Bayan) and was participatedin by activists from various organiza-tions carrying their respective sec-toral calls.

Luzon. More than 600 farmers,fisherfolks, and indigenous peoplesprotested at the Aurora Park inLaoag City to criticize continuing mil-itary harassment against their ranks,surge in the prices of commoditiesdue to the implementation of the TaxReform for Acceleration and Inclusi-on (TRAIN), and the absence ofsectoral subsidies. In Baguio City,more than 200 participated in a fo-rum on Duterte's SONA which wasorganized by the Tongtongan Ti Umi-li-Cordillera Peoples Alliance at theCathedral of the Resurrection, Mag-saysay Avenue.

More than 500 protested at thePeñaranda Park, Legazpi City to con-demn widespread extrajudicial killingsin the region. Activists also protestedin Naga, Sorsogon and Masbate to callfor Duterte's ouster and criticize hissubservience to China.

Visayas. In Panay island, protestactions were mounted in four urbancenters and were participated in bymore than 4,000 activists. More than3,000 protested at the public park ofBacolod City carrying calls to end theperpetration of arbitrary killings andmassacres against the people of Ne-gros. Around 400 activists protestedin Bohol to condemn the continuingharassment and killing of farmersand other human rights violations.Bayan-Central Visayas also spear-headed a march of 300 activists fromFuente Osmeña Circle to Colon Streetin Cebu City.

Mindanao. Activists and Lumadsprotested in Cagayan de Oro andDavao City carrying calls to end Mi-nadanao martial law. They also criti-cized the regime's closure of Lumadschools. Meanwhile, Marawi resi-dents conducted their version of theSONA which they dubbed the "Stateof Marawi Bakwit (Sombak) at theMindanao State University.

Overseas. The Malaya Movementled the protest of more than 100 in-dividuals in front of the PhilippineConsulate General in New York City.Similar protest actions were mountedby Filipino migrants in the urbancenters of Australia, Canada, France,Hongkong, Italy, Japan, The Nether-lands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia,South Korea and United Kingdom.

Victories against Kentex

and OceanaGold

AFTER MORE THAN four yearsof struggle, Kentex workersachieved a victory last July 26.The Supreme Court orderedthe Kentex ManufacturingCorp. to pay 57 workers whosurvived the fire that razedthe slipper factory on May 13,2015 which claimed the livesof 72 other workers.

The order reversed theCourt of Appeals verdictwhich absolved Kentex fromthe said obligation to itsworkers. The Department ofLabor and Employment(DOLE)-National Capital Re-gion was the first to order thecompany in 2015 to pay theworkers the said amount afterdiscovering that they onlyreceived a measly P202.50-daily wage.

Meanwhile, environmen-tal groups called the decisionissued by the Regional TrialCourt of Nueva Vizcaya onJuly 27 "a victory for thepeople." The court denied thepetition for injuction filed byOceanaGold against the resi-dents' barricade which para-lyzed its operations. (Formore details, read Ang Bayan,July 21, 2019.)

The issue was issued onthe eve of a national solidar-ity mission organized by en-vironmental activists led bythe Kalikasan People’s Net-work for the Environmentthat sought to probe thecontinuing operation of thecompany even if its contracthas already expired on June20.

provision of milling facilities for every rice-producing municipality and city. Thiswill also support all transportation requirements. The loan will be payed at a setamount for 25 years.

In the Senate, Sen. Ralph Recto refiled a bill mandating the placement ofa "timbangan ng bayan" (weighing scale) in all markets to deter the prolifer-ation of defective weights. He also pushed for the construction of farm-to-market roads across the country.

"Bills...," from page 7

ANG BAYAN August 7 , 2019 9

Bogus agrarian reform in Boracay

Contrary to President Rodrigo Duterte's claim in his fourth State ofthe Nation Address, it is not true that land reform has been imple-

mented in the Boracay Island, Aklan.In reality, 18-hectares of

land subjected to agrarian re-form have not yet been distrib-uted to beneficiaries. Accordingto Department of Agrarian Re-form (DAR)-Western Visayas Di-rector Stephen Leonidas, theseare yet to be distributed to in-digenous settlers who are notpart of the Ati tribe in Boracay.

On November 2018, only 3.2hectares of land (not even 1% ofthe 1,032-hectare island) have

been distributed to 44 familiesthat are members of the BoracayAti Tribal Organization.

An anthropological researchexposed that the Atis are theoriginal inhabitants of Boracayand they lived there even beforethe entry of the Visayans andSpanish colonizers in the island.This, however, is contested byminority settlers (non-Atis) whoare asserting their right to theland which is to be distributed.

260 3,822NUCLEAR WARHEADS

USACHINA

TROOPS2,300,000 1,281,900

7,760

6,000

9,726

1,710

1,770

6,393

41,760

3,269

950

1,197

TANKS

AFV

CANNONS

SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY

ROCKET ARTILLERY

Land

4,182

1,150

629

270

1,170

12,304

457

2,192

587

4,889

TOTAL AIRCRAFT

FIGHTER

MULTIROLE

ATTACK

HELICOPTER

Aerial

780

2

36

54

42

76

437

20

85

0

0

71SUBMARINE

CORVETTES

FRIGATES

DESTROYER

AIRCRAFT CARRIER

TOTAL NAVAL

Marine

Dwindling resources in the SCS

Filipino fisherfolk lose a lot due to massive Chinese poaching of fishesin Philippine territorial waters. In the past six decades, fish stocks in

the South China Sea steadily dwindled due to overfishing.A 2015 study revealed that

fish stocks in certain parts of theSCS declined by as much as 90%.High-value fishes, like tuna andgrouper, are becoming scarcer.Fishermen are compelled to sailfarther and longer to catch fish.As a result, the catch of Filipinofishermen continues to decline.From 2005 to 2014, this declinedby 13.5%, and further slipped by4.3% in 2015-2016.

Filipino fishermen suffer areat a disadvantage with their rela-tively smaller vessels, high costsof transportation (which spiralleddue to the TRAIN law) and lack ofgovernment support. This is incontrast to the Chinese govern-ment’s high fuel, wage and vesselsubsidy for their fishermen whichenable them to fish farther andlonger. China has the largest dis-tant water fishing fleet (2,500vessels) which engages in far-ranging and long fishing opera-tions. The Filipino fishers are fur-ther disadvantaged by the lack ofsecurity even within the country’sexclusive economic zone and tra-ditional fishing grounds.

Sale of resourcesThe Center for Environmental

Concerns and Kalikasan People’sNetwork for the Environment es-timate that Duterte has sold atleast P773-billion worth of Philip-pine sovereign mineral, water,wildlife, and marine resources toforeigners in the past three years.

China destroyed reefs worthP99 billion in the West PhilippineSea (WPS) due to constant patrolsof Chinese paramilitary vessels. Inaddition, around P150-billionworth of endangered flora andfauna have been poached andsmuggled out of the country.

Moreover, P23-billion worthof land and waters werepromised as sovereign guaranteeby Duterte should the countrydefault on its onerous loans withChina for the Kaliwa Dam andChico River Pump Irrigationprojects. In general, the coun-try's biggest loss is due to themassive operations of multina-tional mining companies whichexported more than P501.4-bil-lion worth of mineral resources inthe same period.

MILITARY STANDOFF: Across theglobe, the US remains as the leadingmilitary superpower in terms of troops,bases, war matériel and nuclear arms.It is currently challenged by the rise ofChina, especially that the South ChinaSea is exploited and occupied by theirrespective security forces. Here aresome figures on their current militarystrength:

August 7 , 2019 ANG BAYAN10

Dethroning the king of the road

Major transportation lines were de-stroyed during World War II. As a

temporary solution, several Filipinos in-vested in refurbishing dilapidated USmilitary jeeps.

Sarao Motors was the first andformerly the biggest jeepneymanufacturer in the country. Itwas founded in 1953 by business-man Leonardo Sarao, a mechanicand former calesa (horse-drawncarriage) driver, with a meagercapital of P700. With this, hisbusiness grew into becoming acompany.

Sarao reconfigured the jeepneyto accomodate more passengers.Metal sheets decorated in vibrantcolors with ornaments were used asits roof. A horse miniature was in-stalled atop the jeepney's hood tosymbolize the calesa which is con-sidered the first king of the road. Thedesign of the jeepney was based onthe color and form of the calesa.Since then, it has been dubbed as thenew "king of the road."

In the 1960s, the companyemployed more than 300 workers.Until the 1970s, the assemblyplant manufactured up to 10 ve-hicles a day. In the 1980s, how-ever, its production has sloweddown to rising production costsand fewer franchises issued by thegovernment. The decline was alsoattributed to the global financialcrisis which has resulted in thedepreciation of peso and tripledthe price of secondhand enginesfrom Japan.

In 1995, the Land Trans-portation Office stopped the is-suance of franchises to jeepney

lines as it opened up franchisesto Tamaraw FX taxis (manufac-tured by transnational firm Toy-ota) and inaugurated the LightRail Transit. A more stringentregistration application processwas also implemented by thegovernment at that time. It wasthen that Leonardo Sarao leftmanagement of the company tohis son Edgardo.

Amid the continuing decline,Edgardo was compelled to tem-porarily halt the production ofthe company and retrench 250 ofits workers in October 2000. Af-ter a few weeks, the company re-sumed its production with only 50employees. At that time, only anaverage of three jeep units wereproduced weekly.

In the face of Duterte'sscheme to phaseout older jeep-neys under the guise of "mod-

Duterte vetoes SOT

DUTERTE SHOWED his extreme bias for capitalists when he vetoed theSecurity of Tenure (SOT). He clearly admitted this during his speech inItbayat, Batanes last July 30 wherein he explicity said that the "anti-endo" bill lacks safeguards for businessmen. Consequently, progressivelawmakers filed a new version of the bill that is genuinely anti-endo andpro-worker.

ernization," Sarao Motors wascompelled to enter into a jointventure with Le’ Guider Interna-tional (a company owned by busi-nessman Youssef Ahmad), tomanufacture electronic jeepneys(e-jeepneys). Instead of an en-gine, e-jeepneys are powered by apermanent magnetic motor that ismade of neodymium, a rare-earthmagnet whose extraction andproduction is dominated by China.Last year, 80% of its global supplywas produced by China.

An e-jeepney unit, on average,costs P1.4 million. This is waymore expensive than a traditionaljeep which only costs P400,000per unit. The bogus modernizationscheme will certainly leave driversand operators bankrupt andburied in debt, and will subse-quently result in fare hikes.