Migrante Europe

Category: Countries

Ayudang pang-ekonomiya sa mamamayan, hindi lamang lockdown

Pahayag ng MIGRANTE-Italy

Sa huling talumpati ni pangulong Duterte kaugnay ng COVID-19, nangingibabaw sa kanyang mensahe ang paulit-ulit na “pagsunod sa kanyang utos o direktiba”, na ang pangunahing magtitiyak ng pagpapatupad ng ordinansang ito ay ang mga kapulisan at militar. Kasama na rito ang manaka-nakang pagbanggit ng kulungan bilang pagsuway sa ordinansang ito.

Ang quarantine o LOCKDOWN at ang pagbubuo ng mga kaukulang strukturang organisasyunal ay karaniwan nang ginagawa ng maraming mga bansa bilang isa sa mga estremong prebensyon para sa paglawak pa ng sakit. Subalit, kaiba naman sa ibang bansa, ang kasama ng mga aksyong ito ay may mga kaakibat pang aksyon tulad ng suportang pang-ekonomiya.

Bago pa ang deklarasyon ng Code Red sa Pilipinas, naideklara na ng World Health Organization na ang paglaganap ng COVID-19 ay isa ng pandemiya. Sa madaling salita, ang virus na COVID-19 ay malaganap na ang saklaw sa buong mundo kung saan may mga karampatang hakbangin o protocol na dapat ipatupad ang bawat bansa. Bago pa man nito, maraming mga karanasan na pwedeng paghanguan ng aral sa iba’t ibang bansang naunang naapektuhan ng pandemiya.

Saksi sa mga karanasang ito ang mahigit sampung milyong Pilipinong nasa labas ng bansa. Naranasan ng ating mga kababayan sa China, Hongkong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Italy at iba pang mga bansa kung ano ang kundisyon ng mga limitadong galaw (limited mobility) , quarantine at total lockdown ng isang lugar. Nasaksihan natin kung paano lumobo ang presyo ng isang simpleng hand disinfectant at surgical mask hanggang sa tuluyan itong mawala sa mga pamilihan. Naging saksi tayo sa kung ano ang hitsura ng panic buying sa simula ng di maayos na mga anunsyo ng direktiba kaalinsabay ng mga dis-impormasyon at fake news.

Ininda din ng marami nating kababayan ang kalagayang walang sahod dahil walang pasok sa trabaho. Hindi na natin palalawigin pa kung ano ang epekto nito sa kanilang mga kamag-anakan sa Pilipinas at mga bayaring hinaharap nila sa bansang tinitigilan. Subali’t may aral na maaaring makuha sa kung paano hinarap ng mga bansang naunang tinamaan ng epidemiya ang sitwasyon.

Sa Italya, nagdesisyon ang gobyerno ng quarantine ng ilang probinsya sa pag kategorya sa kanila bilang Red Zone, na sa kalauna’y idineklara ang buong bansa bilang Protected Zone na kasing kahulugan din ng Red Zone subali’t sa positibong aspeto at ang buong Italya ay inilagay sa quarantine o lockdown hanggang ika-3 ng Abril. Nangangahulugan ng pagsasara ng mga eskwelahan sa lahat ng antas, pagsasara ng mga negosyo at pagawaan na hindi esenyal sa produksyon at limitadong paglabas pasok sa bansa. Ang mga tao ay maaari lamang lumabas ng bahay sa tatlong mahigpit na kadahilanan- trabaho, pagbili ng pagkain, at iba pang emergency o mahigpit na pangangailangan.

Ano ang lohika ng quarantine o lockdown sa bansang Italya? Inamin mismo ng gobyerno ang peligro ng pagbagsak ng kanyang sistema at istrukturang pangkalusugan. Sa esensya hindi nito kakayanin ang paglobo ng mga maysakit dahil sa kanyang kakulangan sa doktor, nurses, mga mangagawang medikal at ng limitadong struktura nito.

Sa pagbibigay halimbawa sa kasalukuyan, ang sinumang maaaring mangailangan ng kagyat na operasyon sa anumang kadahilanan labas pa sa COVID-19 ay nanganganib na hindi maoperahan dahil sa okupado ng mga pasyenteng apektado ng virus ang mga Intensive Care Units, doktor at iba pang manggagawang medikal sa mga ospital. Liban pa sa mahina ito sa tunay na kalagayan dulot ng pribatisasyon.

Subali’t hindi dito natatapos ang direktiba. Ang mabilis na pagkalat ng virus ay mabilis ding nagpahina at ibayong nagpabagal sa produksyong kapitalista sa kabuuan, di lamang sa Italya kundi sa lahat ng mga bansang kapitalista. Kung kaya’t kabilang sa direktibang inilabas ang mga pang-ekonomiyang aksyon tulad halimbawa ng pagsuspinde ng ilang mga bayarin tulad ng utang, mortgages sa bahay, kuryente at gas ; pagbawal sa pagkatanggal sa trabaho dulot ng COVID-19; pagpapagana ng holiday leave na may bayad at iba pang suportang pang-ekonomiya sa mamamayan nito at mga maliliit na negosyo at impresa.

Sa esensya, ang mensahe ni pangulong Duterte ay awtokratikong utos at pagsunod sa utos, na may kaparusahang pagkakulong sa sinumang lumabag dito. Bagama’t itinatanggi ang batas militar, hindi nawawala ang pana-panahong pagbanggit sa papel ng kapangyarihan ng militar at pulis. Walang pagbanggit o pag-amin sa tunay na katayuan ng ating sistema at strukturang pangkalusugan sa kakayanan nitong masawata ang pagkalat at kahandaan nito sa paggamot sa mga may sakit.

Bakit hindi binanggit ang katayuan ng ating sistemang pangkalusugan? Dahil ang katotohanan ay makikita natin sa mga naging aksyon ng rehimeng ito sa nagdaang mag-aapat na taon ng kanyang panunungkulan. Samantalang patuloy na pinalalaki ang pondo ng militar, patuloy namang binabawasan ang mga pondong may kaugnayan sa serbisyo sosyal tulad ng sa kalusugan . Mula Php 263 milyon nuong 2019 ay binawasan ng kalahati ang budyet para sa taong 2020 na umabot na lang sa Php 115.5 milyon.

Sino ba sa palagay natin ang mga mamamayang pangunahing bulnerabile sa sakit ng COVID-19? Sa pagbagsak ng sistema at struktura ng pampublikong kalusugan dahil sa pagdami ng mga pasyenteng gagamutin, ang ating mga kababayan na mahihirap (na sa kasamaang palad ay ang mayorya sa ating mamamayan) ang pangunahing biktima. Sila ang mga hindi makakatiyak ng pagpapagamot sa mga pribadong ospital. Wala silang katiyakan kahit paman sila’y mga kamag-anakan ng mga ofw sa labas ng bansa, dahil alalahanin natin na ang virus ay kalat sa buong mundo. Tuwiran o di tuwiran, ang pagpapadala ng tulong at rekurso ng kanilang mga kamag-anakan ay apektado.

Ang mga mayorya na mahihirap na mamamayang ito ang hinagupit at pinahina ng kung ilang ulit na mga batas at patakarang ipinasa ng gobyerno ni Duterte tulad ng TRAIN LAW, RICE TARRIFICATION ACT, patuloy na sistemang kontraktwalisasyon, at iba pang mga anti-mamamayang batas. Habang pilit na pinalusot ang pork barrel at binawasan ang pondo para sa publiko patuloy naman ang pag-utang para sa mga proyektong walang tuwirang kinalaman sa produksyon tulad ng Build, build build.

Ang mga nakasaad sa direktiba ni pangulong Duterte ay magsisilbing inutil at hahantong lamang sa paglala ng sitwasyon kung hindi hihikayatin ang buong mamamayan sa pamamagitan ng mga kongkretong ayuda na tutugon sa haba ng paglimita sa mobilidad ng tao sa bansa. Ang kooperasyon ng bawat isa ay hindi inuutos o nakukuha sa dahas kundi ito’y boluntaryong nakakakamit batay sa materyal na kundisyon. Hindi natin maaring sabihin sa kapwa natin na huwag lumabas ng bahay sa isang takdang panahon kung sa haba ng panahon na iyon ay hindi n’ya matutugunan ang kanyang pangangailangang mabuhay.

Karagdagan sa dapat tiyakin ng gobyerno ni Duterte ang tulong at serbisyo sa ating mga ofw na nasa mga bansang apektado ng pandemiya. Hindi sapat ang pagpigil sa pagpapaalis o pagsasara ng mga paliparan. Ang kailangan ay isang bilateral na kasunduang magtitiyak sa trabahong mababalikan sa kanilang mga bansang pansamantalang iniwanan. Ito ang silbi ng ating mga konsulato at embahada sa labas ng bansa. Ang pagtitiyak sa katayuan sa hanapbuhay ng ating mga manggagawa, kabilang na ang kaligtasan.

Ang pandemiyang COVID-19 ay isa ring aral sa atin na ang lahat ng bagay sa mundo ay magkakaugnay. Hindi natin maaring sabihin na hindi dapat makialam sa pulitika, dahil ang pulitika ang magtatakda ng iyong ekonomiya at kultura. Hindi natin pwedeng balewalain ang bulnerabileng bahagi ng ating mamamayan dahil ang patuloy na pagkalat ng sakit ay nakabatay din sa kanila. Hindi natin maaring sabihin na ang magiging biktima lang naman ng sakit ay mga may edad na. Hindi tayo Diyos para mamili kung sino ang dapat mamamatay at mabuhay , tulad narin sa nagaganap na mga extra judicial killings. At lalong hindi katanggap-tanggap na sabihing “mahirap ka, bahala kang mamatay sa hirap”.

Sapat na Ayudang Pang-ekonomiya, Hindi Militarized Lockdown!
Karagdagang Budyet sa Kalusugan at Tamang Apropriasyon sa Serbisyo Sosyal !
Itigil ang Anumang Uri ng Pribatisasyon sa Serbisyong Pampubliko!
Libreng Medikal, Hindi Militar! Gamot, Hindi Lockdown! Ospital, Hindi Selda!

13 March 2020
Organization of Filipino migrants in Utrecht successfully launched

“Long overdue”. This was the unanimous sentiment of several Filipino migrants, majority are residents of Utrecht, The Netherlands, as they jubilantly welcomed and joined the founding assembly of Migrante Utrecht in the city of Utrecht last February 23. The Pinoy (Filipino) migrants represented compatriots who work as household cleaners, au pairs, professional employees, cultural workers and Filipino refugees in Utrecht.

A long-time resident of Utrecht and an active member of the Pinoy community in the city, Ric Bermudo, himself a household cleaner, emphasized in his welcome remarks, that the time has come to build the organization of Filipino migrants in Utrecht to confront the challenges facing Filipinos in their struggle to promote and defend their rights and welfare. He said the founding of Migrante Utrecht signals the start of a more organized effort to reach more Pinoy migrants in the province of Utrecht, and mobilize them to act on the issues confronting them as part of the migrant community.

Bermudo, who was also elected chairperson of Migrante Utrecht later during the assembly, admonished Pinoys in Utrecht to understand that all of them have been forced to work abroad because of poverty and the lack of jobs and security in the Philippines.

The assembly sat down to the business of the day as they discussed and ratified their constitution and by-laws and their one-year general program of action, which included among others providing assistance to undocumented compatriots when they are confronted with a need. Edgar Estrella, an IT professional, who presided over the discussions also explained to the delegates that Migrante Utrecht also intends to attend to the social and cultural well-being of the families of Filipino migrants, and help them cope with the new environment they are in. Estrella was also elected later as the treasurer of the organization.

Jun Saturay, a cultural worker and activist, and who was elected secretary-general, led the assembly in singing songs about Filipino migrants and migration.

The members and newly-elected officers of Migrante Utrecht took their oaths at the conclusion of the assembly.

Warm greetings of solidarity were received via video messages from Migrante Alberta (Canada) and Migrante Europe whose chair is Fr. Herbert Jr., chaplain to the Filipino Community in the Diocese of Leicester in the Church of England.

Prof. Jose Ma. Sison, the most famous Filipino political refugee in the Netherlands, and chief political consultant of the NDFP peace panel, spoke at the closing of the assembly to congratulate the formation of Migrante Utrecht and to encourage Filipino migrants to build, strengthen and expand their organization. He shared to the young audience how they were able to organize and build many organizations and labor unions during the 1960s and 1970s, from being small to big.

As in any gathering of Filipino migrants, several delicious and favorite Filipino dishes of dinuguan, pinapaitan, pasta and “nilasing na hipon” (shrimp cooked in beer) were prepared by volunteers and served at the end of the activity.###

23 February 2020
Migrante Europe Members Spoke Up in a Mass on Forced Migration and Alarming Human Rights Situation in the Philippines

Como, Italy – Three members of Migrante-Europe, Stella Matutina of ICHRP-EU (Germany), Victor Salloman of Umangat Rome (Italy), and Prof. Alex Pasion of Migrante Como (Italy), spoke up in front of the of the numerous parishioners during the Liturgical Celebration for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, last Sunday, 08 December.

Through the invitation of Don Giusto Della Valle, the Rector of Parrocchia San Martino di Rebbio, Como, the three representatives of Migrante Europe mentioned the two historical events that took place in the Parish: 2^nd Assembly IMA Europe and 2^nd Congress Migrante Europe.

Prof. Alex Passion (Migrante Como)

Alex, a university professor, shared the significance of the International Migrant’s Alliance (IMA) and Migrante Europe Congress to migrants, refugees and displaced peoples. He explained further that poverty is the root cause of forced migration of the majority of Filipinos. Violent conflicts forced people to attempt dangerous border crossings, while the impact of climate change is already being felt in many parts of the world, as prolonged droughts, desertification, and more frequent natural calamities are already eroding livelihoods and leading to displacement. He also reminded the parishioners not to accept the current narratives coming from the right-wing governments including those from Italy, that migrants are a threat to national security and employment (job-stealing).

Victor Salloman (Umangat Rome)

Victor spoke about the Photo Exhibit of the victims of the Drug War and how Duterte’s “drug war” is affecting the Filipino people of which mostly the poor. Stella shared how everyone was not safe, including church people. At least three Italian missionaries were killed defending the rights of indigenous peoples in the Philippines, and she also shared the dangers of red-tagging of genuine defenders of human rights in the country.

The “Speak Up Event” on Migration and Human Rights Situation in the Philippines that took place in the Parrocchia San Martino was warmly accepted by the congregation, and thanks to the generosity of the Rector Don Giusto Della Valle and the community.

The Speak Up Event and the Photo Exhibits in the Parish were organized by the Migrante Milan Como in collaboration with Migrante Europe and IMA Europe.

11 December 2019
Migrante-Europe Second Congress: A Manifestation of Continuous Commitment

Como, Italy – Migrante-Europe held a fun-filled but full of militancy its 2nd congress on 8 December 2019 in Como, Italy. With the theme “ Expand and strengthen our unity! Promote and defend the rights and welfare of Filipinos and their families in Europe and abroad! Contribute and participate in the struggle for national freedom and democracy!” The congress was attended by more than one hundred participants representing 28 Filipino organizations coming from various countries in Europe.

Fr Herbert Fadriquela Jr, the incumbent Chairperson of Migrante-Europe opened the congress with a roll call of member organizations as well as welcoming new member organizations. The occasion was also graced with the presence of Bishop Antonio Ablon of the Iglesia Filipina Independent (IFI) of the Diocese of Pagadian City, Philippines and Don Giusto Della Valle, Rector of the Parrocchia San Martino di Rebbio, Como. Both clergy gave very challenging and inspiring messages to the participants.

“Migrants, migrant workers and refugees of all kinds are all part of diaspora — the exodus or mass relocation of peoples due to societal or/and natural causes. The individual who migrated autonomously is still part of a phenomenon of mass displacement. Whether the displacement is apparently voluntary or involuntary through commercial recruiters (such as manning agencies, placement services, and other private trafficking businesses and ‘official trafficking policies’). Conflicts and natural calamities are sudden events that produce refugees on a mass scale. But societal or/and natural conditions can also be slow-evolving, resulting involuntary migration of individuals. All of this result in a diaspora – displacement and the creation of a mass of peoples or communities of the displaced. The worsening economic, environmental and human rights crisis in the Philippines continues to drive 7,000 Filipinos out of the country every day;” stressed Bishop Ablon.

San Martino Parochial Priest Don Giusto Della Valle

San Martino Parochial Priest Don Giusto Della Valle, shared the works of his parish helping undocumented migrants as well as refugees. He also shared his reflections on how human lives are becoming hostages to the ever-changing political landscape in Italy.

The Congress elected the officers that will compose the Executive Committee of the alliance in the next three years, namely: Fr. Herbert Fadriquela Jr. of Bayanihan Leicestershire in United Kingdom as Chairperson; Ann Brusola of Gabriela-Rome as Vice-Chairperson for Internal Affairs; Evangeline Irabon of Migrante-Como as Vice-Chairperson for External Affairs; Marlon Lacsamana of Migrante-The Hague, Netherlands as Secretary General; Rhodney Pasion of Migrante-Bologna as Deputy Secretary General; Kendy Sario, of Ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa Belgium as Treasurer; and Elnora Held of Gabriela-Germany as Auditor,

The congress also approved the General Program of Action (GPOA) for 2020-2023 and the Constitution and By-Laws of Migrante-Europe.

Reference:

Marlon T. Lacsamana
Secretary General, Migrante Europe
[email protected]

Revd Fr. Herbert F. Fadriquela Jr.
Chairperson, Migrante Europe
[email protected]

10 December 2019
‘Tao Po’ tour in Rome a resounding success

PRESS STATEMENT
13 October 2019

The Tao Po play was a resounding success with a big number in attendance that crowded the courtyard of the Basilica di San Silvestro in Capite, Piazza San Silvestro Rome last Thursday night, October 10, 2019.

Tao Po, an award-winning play by theater actor and cultural activist Mae Paner – also known as ‘Juana Change’, gave life to four characters in separate monologues – a photojournalist, a Zumba instructor, a police officer/hit man, and an orphaned girl, whose lives have been gravely affected by the government’s war on drugs.

According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), 22,983 deaths since the war on drugs began are classified as “homicides under investigation.” The exact number of fatalities is difficult to ascertain because the government has failed to disclose official documents about the drug war.

Human rights groups assert that the death toll has surpassed 30,000 with many cases either perpetrated by undercover police officers or hitmen under police supervision.

Victims’ mothers hands letter to Pope Francis

Last Wednesday, October 9, the Tao Po Europe team, Rise Up members Marissa Lazaro who lost her 20 year old son Chris in 2017 and Katherine Bautista who found her 21-year-old son John in a Manila morgue in January 2017, joined a crowd who waited for the regular public audience of Pope Francis on the grounds of the Vatican, and successfully handed a letter to an aide of the Pope. The letter was a request to the Pope to pray for their sons and for all the victims of the drug war.

Marissa and Katherine were both overwhelmed to see the Pope and have raised their hopes for justice because of this memorable encounter.

Talk back

Marissa Lazaro while holding her son’s photo faced the audience together with other panelists, Fr. Noel Rosas of the Order of Carmelites, Sr. Beth Pedernal of the Scalabrinian Missionaries, Rubilyn Litao of Rise Up, and Mae Paner of Tao Po, in a related open forum.

For Sister Beth, Tao Po draws on compassion, that no one deserves to die without due process and was vocal in her advocacy to defend human rights, dignity, and justice.

“It is always the poor who are the victims. If change is to be achieved, why not implement genuine land reform, and stop the forced migration of Filipinos? Justice for the poor!” said Father Noel Rosas.

Noel Aragon from the Duterte group observed that the videos shown were pure propaganda against the Duterte administration and that it seems only the poor are being killed, that there are important facts which were not mentioned in the videos like the police forces who were also killed, the rape victims of drug addicts, and some well-to-do people who were also apprehended because of their involvement in drugs.

Rubilyn Litao of Rise Up acknowledged that the previous administration was not able to address the drug problem, and it was a revelation for them from the church people that there are communities in the Philippines where the drug problem is rampant. So she invited everyone to the Tao Po call to become a venue to gather together for the common interest.

Nardi Sabino also from Rise Up stressed that as long as the policy of liberalization of the government continues because of the country’s membership to GATT-WTO, the drug trade will continue, where imported goods freely pass through customs with fewer restrictions. But the question he said is do the killings resolve the problem on drugs? As long as the root causes of poverty are not addressed the poor will always be vulnerable to drugs.

Ms. Mae Paner expressed her sadness over the black propaganda against her. Prior to the performance, in social media and facebook, some Duterte groups tagged her as a member of the CPP and a terrorist. She was called by many names. She stressed that she is an artist and a cultural activist. She’s here to show four narratives of four people who had been killed. The killings are real. Whatever person you are, an addict, or whoever, they deserve due process because they are human. So she’s knocking on our door. To open our minds and our heart.

Mother Mary John Mananzan of the Benedictine Sisters also stressed that there is now an erosion of moral fiber in the Philippines. The lost of respect to people…to life… to the law (example of how Sereno was removed from office by the Supreme Court) …the lost of respect to the truth (the truth for many is actually fake news) and the loss of morality. It is beyond politics. We are being called to defend our dignity as human beings.

Exhibit of Laundered T-shirts

Another impressive part of the event prior to the performance was the exhibit of t-shirts with photos of the many victims who had been killed since the President took the office in 2016. It has attracted many passers-by. For those who were unable to watch ‘Tao Po’, the exhibit served as an eye-opener for those who didn’t know about the brutal killings in many parts of the country because of the drug war of the government.

Indeed, the ‘Tao Po” performance in Rome was a resounding success. The organizers wish to thank the following for their presence and support: Director Bengie Vasquez, Mr. Romulo Salvador, Fr. Rory Hanley of the Pallottine’s and San Silvestro LINK Community, Ms. Jackie de Vega of ABS-CBN News, Sr. Beth Pedernal of the Scalabrinian Missionaries, Sr. Jenny and company from the Dominican Sisters of Sienna, Fr. Noel Rosas of the Order of Carmelites, Sr. Mary John Mananzan of the Benedictine Order, Irma Tobias of KAMPI-CGIL, Filipino Women’s Council, Ako’y Pilipino, The Order of Camillians in Rome, Gran Madre di Dio Filipino Community, Sta. Croce Filipino Community, San Leone Magno Filipino Community, Euclide Kaibigan Group and many more who have extended their unconditional support to the event.

Tao Po Tour in Vienna, Austria

The Tao Po performance had its run in Vienna, Austria yesterday, October 12 and was an also a great success and watched by more than a hundred people.

Once again, Mae Paner, impressed the audience with her outstanding performance.

In the interview today, October 13 by Ugnayan sa Himpapawid with Migrante Austria Chairperson Manuel Sarmiento, he said that the event there “was overwhelming!”. He said the big attendance was unexpected. He also said the panelists during the open forum were able to answer the questions raised by the Duterte groups.

Sarmiento invited everyone to open their eyes, not to believe in fake news and to support the call to stop the killings in the Philippines and to end the drug

War, which has victimized many innocent lives.

Today at 3pm, the Tao Po Discussion will be held at Amerlinghaus, Stiffgasse, 1070 Vienna.

Migrante Austria, Pinas Fight Na and Antifaschistische Aktion Group organized the Tao Po in Vienna

The Tao Po Tour in Europe continues

In London, the United Kingdom, Tao Po will be staged at the Brunei Gallery, Lecture Theatre Hall, SOAS on Wednesday, October 16 from 18:00-20:00.

In Germany, Tao Po will be shown on Monday, October 21 from 17:00-19:00 in RaumerstraBe 16, 10437 Berlin, Deutschland.

The Tao Tour in Europe is strongly supported by Migrante Europe and its chapters in the region.

The Tao Po Tour in Europe is a joint effort of Rise Up, Juana Change Movement and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines. #

For reference:

Revd Fr. Herbert F. Fadriquela Jr.
Chaplain to the Filipino Community
Diocese of Leicester
Church of England
Mobile Number: +447456042156
Chairperson Migrante Europe
Email: [email protected]

Ed del Carmen
Chairperson UMANGAT-MIGRANTE ROME
Email: [email protected]

Manuel Sarmiento
Chairperson Migrante Austria
Tel: +43 678 1262021

Luzie Salvador
Tel: 0664 4263 465

Philip Unlayao
Tel: +43 660 3472525

Coordinators of PINAS FIGHT NA! – Pinoy in Austrian Society to Fight Tyranny and for Nationalism

13 October 2019
‘Tao Po’ sa Roma
Sa ngalan po ng UMANGAT-MIGRANTE, GABRIELA ROME, ITALIAN FILIPINO FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION, kami po ay lubos na nagpapasalamat sa lahat ng mga sumuporta at dumalo sa ating isinagawang pagpapalabas ng TAO PO.

Sana po ay patuloy nyo kaming samahan sa patuloy ng panawagan ng pagpapahinto sa mga nagaganap na Extra Judicial Killings sa ating Bansa at paghingi ng katarungan para sa lahat ng biktima ng extra judicial killings.
STOP THE KILLINGS!
JUSTICE FOR ALL THE VICTIMS OF EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLLINGS!
11 October 2019
Tao Po is truth knocking your door

After two extra-ordinary performances of Tao Po which were well received by big audiences in Geneva, Switzerland and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the ‘Tao Po’ performance will be shown today in Rome, Italy.

The most awaited ‘Tao Po’ will be staged in the historical center of Rome, in the courtyard of the Basilica di San Silvestro in Capite, Piazza San Silvestro 17A, today, Thursday, Oct. 10 at 7pm.

‘Tao Po’ is a play/monologue by award-winning theater actor and cultural activist Mae Paner also known as Juana Change, is about the untold heartbreaking stories behind the Duterte government’s “war on drugs.” Mae Paner gives life to four characters, in four separate monologues – a photojournalist, a ‘zumba’ dance instructor, an assassin and an orphaned girl.

The play is followed by ‘Talk Back’ panel discussion and dialogue with the audience, artist and members of Rise UP for Life and for Rights and their stories and the quest for justice.

In a radio interview of Ugnayan sa Himpapawid (wwwradiocittaperta.it) with Nardi Sabino of Rise Up and a team member of Tao Po Europe Tour, he said they hope to meet the communities who supported the Iceland resolution, and are eager to know how people will feel and respond to the call of the victims for justice after they watch Tao Po.

In another interview with Ms. Paner, she stressed that it was her idea to produce a play in response to the issue of extrajudicial killings that are happening in relation to the war on drugs, and decided to make the play, with writer Maynard Manansala. Together, they joined the ‘night callers’, photojournalists who are covering the war on drugs and had seen the actual events. Through Rise Up they were able to interview the families of the victims.

“We are hoping that many kababayans in Rome will watch Tao Po. It is high time for overseas Filipinos to know and understand what is really happening in our country and they need to know the truth about the war on drugs, after a number of the victims of the killings are families of migrant Filipinos”, said Umangat-Migrante chairperson Ed del Carmen.

Umangat-Migrante, Gabriela Rome, Italy-Philippines Friendship Association, Migrante Europe and generous individuals sponsor the Tao Po performance in Rome.

The Tao Po Europe Tour is a joint effort of Rise Up, Juana Change Movement and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines. Its showing is part of the Philippine Solidarity Month declared by the Europe Network for Justice and Peace in the Philippines.

More schedules of Tao Po in other cities:

October 12, Saturday at 18:30 in Vienna, Austria
October 16, Wednesday at 19:00 in London, UK
October 21, Monday at 17:00 in Berlin, Germany

For reference:

Ed del Carmen
Chairperson UMANGAT-Migrante Rome
Email: [email protected]

Revd Fr. Herbert F. Fadriquela Jr.
Chaplain to the Filipino Community
Diocese of Leicester
Church of England
Mobile Number: +447456042156
Email: [email protected]

10 October 2019
A Two-day forum on anticolonial struggles marks the opening of the first Anticolonial Month in Berlin

[Berlin, 09 October 2019] A two-day forum on 5-6 October composed of panel discussions and workshops tackling political and social issues such as imperialism and neo-colonialism, racism, territorial and natural resources defense, anti-patriarchal struggles, and internationalism marked the opening of the first Anticolonial Month (5 Oct- 15 Nov) in Berlin. The forum which gathered together more than 200 participants from Berlin and elsewhere is designed as a venue not only to discuss and consume information but an open space to acquire a deeper understanding of each other’s struggles and strategies in order to forge a strong unity to mutually advance all struggles.

Zara Alvarez of Negros Island Health Integrated Program for Community Development Inc., along with Abel from the National Indigenous Association of Colombia, and Ferhat from the Kurdish Student Federation were the invited speakers in the Panel “Defending Our Territories and Natural Resources: Strategies and Practices of Resistance in the Global South”. The three shared and illustrated their particular conditions and peoples’ resistance against the control of their lands and rivers by aggressive imperialist powers through their local ruling elites.

Zara is actively involved in campaigns against the construction of a Mega Shipyard that will displace hundreds of poor families in the coastal area of Negros, of the continuing operations and applications of foreign mining companies exacerbated by the foreign serving Philippine Mining Act of 1995, as well as in strengthening the collective actions of farmers in occupying idle landlord lands thru “Bungkalan”. She expressed her increasing alarm as the peoples’ resistance are being met by heightened Duterte government’s sponsored killings and harassments thru the Oplan Sauron, where 87 deaths have been recorded in the last three years since Duterte came to power. As a conclusion she thanked the people in Anticolonial Berlin and all those who are present in creating spaces to listen to their plight and struggles and to be in solidarity with them.

Abel belongs to an Indigenous Group in Colombia, and was part of the Asturias program in Spain for temporary protection. The Program enabled him to travel to Germany and speak in the panel. The Program is now over and he has to go back to Colombia despite the imminent threat to his life. He discussed with fervor their century old suffering from colonial power, the betrayal of their own ruling government and their- the indigenous peoples enduring fight for their rights, lands and territories. Their groups’ symbol of struggle is an Indigenous Guard with a wooden spear, denoting their principle to non- violent means of resistance. He noted however that the increasingly brutal and repressive state reactions against their non-violent defiance is pushing them to even consider taking up arms. He ended with a call for support to their struggle, not for him but for the generations to come and expression of his peoples’ staunch oath to defend their mother earth, as good sons and daughters would do.

Ferhat talked about the threat of a mega dam that will not only displace hundreds of families but could wipe out a thousands of years old world historical heritage, the birthplace of the oldest civilization discovered so far that emerged from the fertile lands of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The resistance of the Kurdish people, who highly value not only the rights of the affected peoples in the proposed dam but also the historic significance of this heritage have been met with repression from the Turkish government, the main sponsor for the construction.

The panel concluded with discussions revolving around how imperialist powers and their hands thru repressive local regimes have its deep historical colonial roots and that it continues and increasingly becoming more aggressive in the face of ever worsening crisis of the monopoly capitalist system, wanton destruction of natural resources that results to the climate crisis, and the growing resistance of the peoples in different parts of the globe.

The Anticolonial month is organized to actively claim the space and platform to speak for ourselves, the exploited and the oppressed, particularly the conditions in our home countries and how they are connected to the politics and economics of our residence country, Germany and to engage in defining solutions that are just and humane. Different activities organized by the anticolonial Berlin and other independent organizations are spread out in different days within the duration of the Anticolonial Month.

The idea is initiated by the Bloque Latino Americano Berlin, a progressive internationalist network of individuals and social and political organisations coming from different countries in South America. It is then taken up as a collaborative work by various organisations and network based in Berlin including Gabriela Germany, Migrante Europe, Africa United Sports Club, Unidos por la Paz-Alemania, Ni Una Menos Berlin, Mapuche Solidaritaetsgruppe, Voces de Guatemala, Schwarze Hochshulgruppe, Refracta, Humboldt Huaca, Nav-Dem, Academics for Peace, Frauenstreik Komitee Berlin, Palestina Speaks, JXK & YXK Berlin, Kale Amenge, and Revolutionaere Internationalistische Organisation/Klasse gegen Klasse.

REFERENCES:
Gabriela Germany
[email protected]
Migrante Europe
[email protected]

9 October 2019
An anti-imperialist feminist appeal for Climate Justice from a Filipina-German activist

Karin Louise
Filipino-German academic activist | Indigenous Rights, Climate Justice & Aloha ‘Āina | M.A. in Pacific Islands Studies | PhD Candidate in American Studies | International Relations Officer of Gabriela Germany.

With every passing year that countries and transnational corporations put economic profits over people, we move one step closer to our worst-case climate catastrophes of 4 to 8 degrees of global warming with fast melting ice-caps and rising sea-levels. Here in Germany where I’m currently based, we already tangibly experienced extended heatwaves causing drought and forest fires last summer. Elsewhere there are stronger natural disasters like supertyphoons, and snow storms from polar vortexes become common occurrences as well.

Climate change impacts women and members of other vulnerable and structurally-disadvantaged communities like Indigenous Peoples more severely as they may have less access to resources. Oftentimes women are the ones in charge of the household, child-rearing, and care-giving of elders. And in the Philippines they are also sometimes the main breadwinners in a family, because this female care labour force is outsourced as domestic work elsewhere.

Poverty and corruption in the Philippines from centuries of Spanish and American colonialism burden the livelihood of much of the population enough. Now climate change with its strengthening natural disasters mean that in the case of devastation, women find themselves in scenarios of not only struggling to find shelter, food, and clean drinking-water, but also desperate to evade the higher risk of sexual violence during a state of emergency.

Indigenous Peoples in particular are at the frontlines of climate action in the Global South, yet also in the Global North, where this January Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau was violently evicting activists/protectors from the Wet’suwet’en Nation from their land in the way of the TransMountain oil pipeline. And I have spoken here in Berlin against the North Dakota Access Pipeline at rallies before, too. In many of these movements, it’s the women who are leading the resistance to protect Mother Earth.

While Brazil and the Philippines are under strongman leadership by macho-fascists, they are also the countries with the highest and second-highest rate of murders to environmental defenders in the last years. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Kankana-ey-Igorot), and several other Indigenous Filipinas are women who have found themselves placed on national terrorist lists: as enemies of the state for protecting their land from environmental destruction.

When agribusinesses enforce land-grabbing, environmental defenders in their way literally risk their lives. After a deadly landslide in the Philippines causing over 60 deaths, a local woman asked the President about shutting down the quarry that was likely to have caused it. She then went into hiding for having openly criticized him and called attention to herself. Mining corporations bring a lot of male aggression into regions were women and children become the targets of violence, trafficking, and prostitution. If not outright murder, as is the case in North America’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (#MMIW).

In November of 2013, Supertyphoon Haiyan ravaged the islands of Samar and Leyte in the Philippines, to date with more than 6000 human fatalities and 1000 still missing. Warming oceans caused a stronger typhoon than the typical ones that hit the region during typhoon season. The seawater rose in the low-pressure system of the eye of the typhoon and caused a storm surge that the population hadn’t been warned about or prepared for.

This storm surge was well over 2 storeys high rolling across infrastructure, including the city of Tacloban where my uncle, aunt, and cousin live. They were presumed to be among the dead in the hardest-hit area, the peninsula the city’s airport was on, cut off from any communication. But they were found after 3 days, when another relative connected to the military had made his way there from a neighbouring province. The reason I mention the storm surge is also because women in the Philippines are discouraged from learning how to swim. They don’t even stand a chance to survive sudden-onset flooding in an archipelago of over 7100 islands.

The same racist forces of American colonialism and neocolonialism the Philippines has been under since 1898, are why Flint still doesn’t have clean drinking-water, why Puerto Rico is still rebuilding after Hurricane Maria while many residents have migrated to the U.S. continent. Colonialism is why the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, within the path of the same typhoons that regularly hit the Philippines, still has residents living in shelters and tents after Typhoon Mangkhut and Supertyphoon Yutu destroyed their homes in September and October.

While some governments and their politicians are still denying climate change as man-made, a handful of global corporations are responsible for causing the major part of carbon emissions that led to this climate catastrophe and the masses of plastic pollution that cannot simply be shipped out of sight (and out of mind) any longer.

Climate justice calls for not only funding poorer nations and communities already impacted by climate change towards adaptation, but also for an implementation of just transition and compensations for loss and damage. This means that moving away from fossil fuels cannot come with unjust consequences for a labour force impacted by this energy transition, or with false solutions that don’t consider the consequences in the long-run. False imperialist solutions can take away more Indigenous lands for palm oil plantations or even promote nuclear energy as a safe alternative to fossil fuels, when colonization is the only reason that the storage of nuclear waste is not considered in these plans, as it’s merely disposed of near marginalized communities.

It’s affecting us all globally, but at a different speed and intensity. Postponing a collective system change of the capitalist system of profit and growth over human dignity is still seen as a worthwhile gamble in the global North, when others are already losing their homes, livelihoods, and lives in the global South and on Indigenous territory to an insatiable imperialist greed.

24 May 2019
KASAMAKO, A Filipino MIGRANTS’ ORGANIZATION IN KOS, ISLAND of GREECE TOGETHER WITH MIGRANTE EUROPE: A DIALOGUE WITH AMBASSADOR FRANK CIMAFRANCA

November 10,2018

For Reference:
Ronald McCarthy
KASAMAKO Spokesperson
Contact Number: (+30) 6938710264

Athens, Greece – Around 18 persons from KASAMAKO together with MIGRANTE – EUROPE held a silent and peaceful picket outside the Philippine Embassy building while waiting for the time scheduled for the dialogue with Ambassador Frank Cimafranca concerning the following issues: 1. To negotiate for a Labor Bilateral Agreement between the Philippine Government and the Greek Government regarding the Social Security of OFWs here in Greece; 2. OWWA Omnibus Policy that effectively made the $25 OWWA contributions mandatory per contract (every two years) that revoked a lifetime memberships of Filipino migrants and families and eroded OWWA’s major welfare programs; 3. OEC/exit pass as an additional burden to OFWs. Alongside, the outreach services of the embassy to the far flung islands of Greece was also discussed.

A number of local police were in the area near the embassy when the mobilization arrived for the silent and peaceful picket, hours before the scheduled time for the dialogue. The presence of police in the area generated fear to the other supporters not to stay longer. However,, the situation gave more courage to the picketers to stay calm and have more patience to wait.

The picket lasted for more or less than four hours up to the time that the ambassador arrived. The ambassador allowed everybody to go inside the conference hall of the embassy, not only the panels as expected.

The dialogue lasted for more than three hours. The group is optimistic that our calls be granted by the Philippine government and the Greek government on the Labor Bilateral Agreement, as well as to the other issues raised during the dialogue.

We continue to push for the two governments to take actions on our demand for the bilateral agreement on Social Security and the Philippine Government for the other demands that was presented.

Hereof, we are calling for a wider support from the Filipino community in Greece to unite with us in fighting for our basic human rights. We call for the advancement of the Bilateral Agreement. We call for an immediate actions on these issues.
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18 November 2018