The Second Regional Council Meeting of Migrante Europe was held at Opera Don Guanella, Como, Italy on 19-20 January 2019. The Vice President for Internal Affairs, Rafael Joseph Maramag, chaired the proceedings.

Representatives of member organizations who attended the Regional Council meeting were: Rhodney Passion – Migrante Bologna; Franklin Irabon – Migrante Milan; Mike Montemayor – Kapit-Bisig Migrante; Ann Brusola – Gabriela Rome; Maitet Ledesma – Pinay sa Holland Gabriela; Manuel Singson -Makabayang Samahan ng mga Pilipino sa Netherlands (MKSP); Elnora Held – Gabriela Germany; Kendy Sario -Ugnayang Pilipino sa Belgium (UPB); and Rafael Joseph Maramag – Kanlugan UK.

Also in attendance were observers and personalities from various institutions and organizations, namely: Rev. Fr. Joseph Nweke SdC, Officer –in – Charge Opera Don Guanella Como; Fabbio Cani, Spokesperson Como Senza Frontiere (Como Without Borders); and Don Giusto Della Valle, Parochial Priest Rebbio-Como.

OPENING

Migrante Europe Vice President for Internal Affairs Rafael Joseph Maramag addressed the opening of the meeting and he presented the outline of topics for the two-day meeting.

Franklin Irabon, the General Secretary of Migrante Milan welcomed the participants, briefly shared the historical background of the venue, its significant role to the life of migrants and refugees, and its relationship to Migrante Milan.

Migrante Europe Secretary General Ann Brusola emphasized the positive results which collective action had brought on her report of mass campaigns for the last six months.

The PLAN OF ACTION 2019

Maitet Ledesma, Migrate Europe Vice President for External Affairs, presented the Communique of the Migrante International 8th Congress | Migrante … ???

Migrante Europe’s plan of action for the year 2019 adheres to the General Program of Action of Migrante International 2019-2021. Major campaigns to be launched for the first quarter of this year are as follows:
1. Oust Duterte
2. Petition and protest against the disqualification of Manggagawa Partylist 3. Neri Colmenares sa Senado

OUST DUTERTE CAMPAIGN

The Regional Council Members of Migrante Europe fully support the call to oust Rodrigo Duterte from power. Duterte’s promise of change to millions of Filipinos was a sham. On the contrary, he is putting the nation in greater misery.

Migrante Europe remains steadfast to the call for ending state sponsorship of terrorism: Stop the killings! End Martial Law in Mindanao! From the start of Duterte’s term until September 2018, Karapatan had documented 196 victims of political killings, 157 of whom were peasants. There were at least 2,000 illegal arrests. Military operations continue to harass and displace residents, with 446,816 victims of forced evacuations and 71,298 individuals harassed and threatened.

Duterte’s bloody drug war death toll could be as high as 27,000 (Phil. Commission on Human Rights). The rising death toll has faced stinging criticism for targeting the urban poor and failing to take down any kingpin drug dealers.

At least 74 minors have been killed in police operations (July 2016- December 2017), notably the brutal killing of Kian Loyd de Los Santos, 17 years old and a son of an overseas Filipino worker (August 2017).

Emaciated by cancer and mistaken as a drug addict, Allan Rafael, 35 years old, a former migrant worker, was detained, beaten and tortured by the police, and died four days later after his arrest in detention.

Duterte is guilty and liable for his crimes against humanity (IPT 2018, Brussels).

Stop the TRAIN! While the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law increases the Filipino workers’ take-home pay, it also increased taxes on sweetened beverages, cigarettes, cars and fuel. And although this only affects a few products, other industries that widely use these are passing on the burden of the increased prices to their consumers. Now, even the prices of meat, vegetables, and rice have increased.

The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), has filed a petition before the Supreme Court to declare the TRAIN Law unconstitutional for being anti-poor and passed in Parliament without a required quorum.

MANDATORY SSS MEMBERSHIP AND EXACTIONS TO OFW

Migrante Europe will continue to oppose all forms of exactions, unjustifiable and excessive fees being imposed by the Manila government, most recently the “Social Security Act of 2018” making the membership in Social Security Systems (SSS) compulsory to overseas Filipino workers.

Dialogues with Philippine embassies and consulates, lobbying, petition signing, forum, and mobilizations in different areas of responsibility will be initiated and conducted.

EXPANSION OF MEMBERSHIP

Migrante Europe has 15 member organizations all over the region, and for this year, each member plans to recruit one new organization for the alliance.

These new organizations will also be encouraged to join the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) and the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS).

EDUCATION AND INFORMATION DRIVE

Continuous political education to membership and Migrants Orientation to new members will be conducted. Migrante Europe has a list of resources, including documentary and full-feature films for internal and public viewing that may broaden our understanding of various social issues and concerns. These films, in particular, can encourage migrants to organize and mobilize themselves: Sunday Beauty Queen, Sa Liyab ng Libong Sulo, Lola, Revolution Selfie, The Guerilla is a Poet, etc.

Statements in response to urgent issues and calls will be widely distributed.

WOMEN AND OBR

Programs for women migrants will be implemented. Women orientation and women consciousness programs will be conducted, particularly for women organizations like Gabriela chapters in the region. There are chapter members which are planning to join the One Billion Rising events this year. Synchronized event is on March 8, 2019

LABOR DAY – May 1, 2019 a coordinated Day of Protest.

ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN

1. Petition signing to allow the Manggagawa Party-list to participate in the May 2019 elections

Migrante Europe will lead the petition signing in Europe to protest the disqualification of Manggagawa Partylist by the COMELEC and to allow the MP to participate in the upcoming May 2019 parliamentary elections.

The Commission on Elections disqualified the group in December 2018 after it failed to mention in its application for registration that it is “not an entity funded or assisted by the government.”

The 1987 Constitution allocated half of the seats for party-list representatives in Congress to labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, among others, for the first 3 consecutive terms after its ratification.

Manggagawa Partylist is a huge sector of workers including Migrante, transport workers, urban poor (Kadamay), and Kilusang Mayo Uno.

2. Neri Colmenares sa Senado

Neri Colmenares was a three-term Congressman in the Philippines House of Representatives. He has a proven record of pushing for and helping pass pro-people legislation resolutions while in the Congress. Migrante Europe will lead the campaign in the region for Neri Colmenares to win a seat to the Senate.

Colmenares said that if elected senator he would immediately go to work to remove excise taxes from the oppressive TRAIN Law. He will aggressively address the rising prices of basic goods and fight to increase the minimum wage, among others.

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

On the second day of the Regional Council Meeting, Father Joseph Nweke, SdC delivered the opening prayer and expressed his warmest welcome to the Regional Council delegates and observers. Father Joseph is the current Responsible Person of the Opera Don Guanella Como. The establishment was founded in the 6 April 1886, on the initiative of Blessed Luigi Guanella to assist the homeless, the young and old people without family.

Don Guanella Como welcomes migrants in distress. The Migrant Reception Center (Centro di Acccoglienza Migranti) recently hosted 20 political asylum seekers, and now under the process of the integration program. The center also offers Italian language lesson, skills trainings and professional formation for migrants.

Don Giusto Della Valle, the Parochial Priest of Rebbio –Como, expressed his appreciation to be invited to the meeting. Don Giusto (Fr. Giusto) was formerly assigned in Cameroon, and very much familiar with the problems of African people which are similar to many oppressed people in the world.

He believes that “the land is for all and the government has the responsibility to protect its people. The church believes that private ownership is not important, that our world is dominated by the giant capitalist, that a small percentage of people control the world’s resources, and with this situation, we can understand the existence of migration.”

For the past years, more than 36,000 migrants have died at sea trying to reach European shores. Just recently, more than 60 migrants are believed to be missing after the rubber boat they were on sank in the Mediterranean Sea.

Today, migrants are the center of discussion and being treated negatively. The current Security Decree of Prime Minister Salvini in Italy threatens many migrants. The Church, on the other hand, is welcoming migrants. Father Giusto and his community are involved in education and socio-cultural formation for migrants and refugees. He welcomes Migrante Europe for future collaboration with his community.

Fabio Cani, Spokesperson of Como Senza Frontiere (Without Borders) expressed his solidarity to Migrante Europe and its Second Regional Council Meeting.

Como Senza Frontiere, founded three years ago, is a network that aims to bring together all the issues and voices of individuals, associations, movements, political forces, seekers of truth and justice for all victims of the genocide that has been going on for decades of an ever less united Europe and ever more ”fortified”.

The network adheres and commits itself to change the perception of Italians about the phenomenon of migration by promoting activities aimed at building a world of peace, and by conveying solidarity, non-violent, anti-racist and anti-fascist information.

Fabio encourages migrants and Migrante Europe to take part in this network because it is open to the possibility of deeper relations with other cultures and other ideas. He concluded that peace is not the absence of war, but a matter of justice, a matter of rights. Rights should be applied equally. If not, it is only a privilege for some, but not a right for all.

Migrante Europe delegates joined the March for Peace (Marcia Della Pace) in Como, Italy 20 January 2019. The marchers called `to stop the genocide in the Mediterranean Sea and appealed to the Italian Coast Guard to intervene.´

MIGRANTE EUROPE SECOND CONGRESS

The 2nd Congress of Migrante Europe will be held at Como, Italy on December 6-8, 2019.

We at Migrante Austria categorically reject lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old, as per House Bill 8858, which was approved by the Committee on Justice last week.

This bill is absolutely contrary to the State’s domestic and international obligations of protecting and upholding children’s rights as mandated by the 1987 Constitution and the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It will also not result in lower crime rates as only 1.72 % of reported crimes are committed by children.

As pointed out by UNICEF, “children in conflict with the law are already victims of circumstance, mostly because of poverty and exploitation by adult crime syndicates”. The bill will not stop these syndicates from using children, but will encourage them to use even younger ones, instead.

The bill disregards researches in neuroscience and other fields over the decades that have proven children to be different from adults in their judgment and behavior. Children should be treated differently in criminal matters.

Prisons, or the Bahay Pag-asa’s, are definitely not developmentally inducive places for children and youth to acquire social skills, or find their way to responsible adulthood.

The House Bill 8858 is taking the easy way out of juvenile crime and, like the bloody war on drugs, it is counterproductive and bound to fail.

And as the Concerned Artists of the Philippines say: “Why zero in on children and the young, subject them to alienating proceedings they would be clueless about, treat them as aberrations rather than victims, and practically impose compulsory deprivation of liberty, rather than understand where they are coming from?”

The government should look into the root causes of the problem. Managing and controlling juvenile crime entails alleviating poverty and providing opportunities for education, employment, housing and other child-sensitive social services.

We cannot allow House Bill 8858 to be passed into law. If we do, we will subject children to harm and we will be living with the harmful consequences for many generations.

Reference:

Michael Garlan
Secretary General, Migrante Austria
Mobile Phone +43 688 64588082

Lumipas na ang 70ng taonng ideklara ang pandaigdigang araw ng karapatang pantao subalit tilabaga nabubuhay pa tayo sa kapanahunang wala pang pagkilala rito.Malala at patuloy pang lumalala ang sitwasyon sa ating bansa sausapin ng karapatang pantao. Nilampasan pa ng administrasyong Duterteang panahon ng diktaduryang Marcos sa tala ng mga paglabag sakarapatang pantao. Mismong sa datos ng PNP ng Agosto 2018, 5,000pagkamatay ang kinikilala nilang may kaugnayan sa kasong droga mulasa tinataya pa nilang 23,000 kaso ng pagkamatay na nasa ilalim ngkanilang imbestigasyon mula ng ilunsad ang kampanya laban droga nuongHulyo 2016.

Samantala, hindinasasawata ang problema sa droga at sa isang pagkakataon, mismong sipangulong Duterte na ang nagsabing hindi mareresolbahan ito. Naglahona sa baul ng alaala ang mga taong nasangkot sa P6.4B kaso ngimportasyon ng shabu, habang patuloy namang dumarami ang mgapagpatay sa mga maliliit at mga karaniwang tao na malaking bahagi aymga inosenteng mamamayan at mga kabataan ang biktima. Isa na rito siKian delos Santos, 17 taong gulang na pinatay ng mga pulis. Angtatlong pulis na nasangkot ay nahatulan kamakailan lang ng CaloocanRegional Trial Court branch 125 sa salang pamamaslang.

Habang ang karapatangmabuhay at karapatan sa buhay ay ipinagkakait, gayundin angnangyayari sa karapatang maghayag ng opinyon at paniniwala. Hindilahat ng kasong pagpatay na nagaganap ngayon sa Pilipinas ay maykaugnayan sa droga. Dumarami rin ang bilang ng mga pinapatay ay mgamamamayang naninindigan para sa kanilang mga karapatan at mganagtatanggol dito.

Nitong huling bahagilamang ng taon, siyam na manggagawang bukid ang minasaker sa Sagay,Negros Occidental. Ang walo ay miyembro ng National Federation ofSugar Workers na nagsagawa ng bungkalan o pag-okupa sa mga lupangtiwangwang sa kanilang lugar. Binaril at napatay naman si Atty.Benjamin Ramos sa Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. Si Atty. Ben aysecretary general ng National Union of People’s Lawyer ng Negros napangunahing nakatutok sa kaso ng Sagay 9 massacre. Ayon saorganisasyong Karapatan, sa kasalukuyan ay umaabot na sa 13 ang kasong masaker at 216 ang kaso ng pagpatay na pulitikal.

Sa tabing ng“destabilisasyon”, binibigyan katwiran ng gobyernong ito ang mgapagpatay, pagsikil at pagsira ng kredibilidad ng lahat ng mgaindibidwal at grupong naninindigan para sa karapatan ng mamamayan attumutuligsa sa kanilang mga patakaran. Ginagamit ang marahas na PNPat AFP kabilang ang mga paramilitary sa pagsupil. Mula ng ideklaraang Batas Militar sa Mindanao ay umabot na sa 88 ang napapatay ng mgapulis, militar at paramilitar; 128 ang kaso ng tangkang pagpatay;1,450 ang kaso ng ilegal na pag-aresto; 148 ang kaso ng panggigipitna may pagsampa ng gawa-gawang kaso at 346,940 ang naapektuhan ngwalang patumanggang pambobomba ang naitala ng organisasyongKarapatan. Ang mga bilang na ito ay tinatayang tataas pa sa mulingpagpapalawig at pagpapalawak ng saklaw nito sa susunod na taon.

Napilitan tayong mga ofwna lumikas mula sa ating bayan upang magkaruon ng kaganapan ang atingpagkatao kabilang ang ating pamilya sa karapatang mabuhay na maydignidad. Subalit tila baga ang mga may kapangyarihan lamang sapulitika ang may karapatang mabuhay at may karapatan sa buhay. Sakabila ng ating pagsusumikap na maiahon sa kahirapan ang atingpamilya sa Pilipinas at sa kabila ng malaking ambag natin saekonomiya, rumagasa naman ang TRAIN LAW sa Pilipinas. Naging daan itopara lumobo ang implasyon na nagdulot ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mgabilihin. Ang resulta, kulang na muli ang ating mga ipinadadalangpantustos sa mga pangunahing pangangailangan ng ating pamilya.

Karagdagang pasanin parito’y ang batas na ipinasa na sa senado hinggil sa sapilitangpagpapasapi sa mga ofw sa SSS na tinatayang itataas ang premium sapagpasok ng taong 2019. Pinatutunayan talaga na tayo’y kanilang mgagatasang baka, habang patuloy naman ang problemang dinaranas ngating mga kapwa migrante sa ibang bansa tulad ng ating mga kababayangdalawang buwan ng stranded sa Saudi at ang hindi parin napapalayangsi Mary Jane Veloso. Tuluyang naglaho ang pangako ni pangulongDuterte na resolbahin ang kawalan ng hanapbuhay sa ating bansa upangtayo’y maengganyong bumalik at maiwasan ang malawakang paglikas sabansa dulot ng kahirapan.

Nagpapatuloy ang kawalangkasiguruhan natin sa malaya, masagana at matiwasay na pamumuhaybilang karapatan natin sa pagiging tao sa patuloy na lumalalangsitwasyong pang-ekonomiya at pulitika ng bansa. Nakalalaya atnapapawalang sala ang mga mandarambong sa kabang yaman ng bansa atnakakapanatili sa kapangyarihan (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, ImeldaMarcos at Bong Revilla). Habang ang mga tagapagtanggol ng karapatanat tunay na mga nagmamalasakit sa bayan ay ginigipit, dinadakip atsinasampahan ng gawa gawang kaso at sinisira ang kredibilidad ( Sis.Patricia Fox, Satur Ocampo, rep. France Castro atbp.)

Patuloy ang maniobra ngadministrasyong ito na makontrol ang buong struktura ng gobyerno sapagpwesto ni pangulong Duterte ng kanyang mga kasapakat at masugid attapat na mga politiko at mga heneral. Maging sa korte suprema sakasalukuyan ay mayruon siyang walong hinirang sa kabuuang 15 mgahuwes. Hindi parin nawawala ang banta na mabago ang saligang batas ngPilipinas upang higit na mapalawig ang kanyang kapangyarihan kasamaang mga kasalukuyan niyang mga kaalyadong politiko. Higit nanagkakahugis sa pambansang saklaw ang Batas Militar upangisakatuparan ang kanilang interes. Upang matiyak din ang pagkapanalong mga mandarambong sa susunod na eleksyon ay muling ipinupuslit namaipaloob sa 2019 budyet ang idineklarang ng labag sa konstitusyongPDAF o pork barrel.

Hindi pa rito natataposang pagsikil sa ating pagkatao. Itinatali pa ang bawat isa sa atinbilang mamamayan ng ating bansa sa obligasyon sa pagbabayad ng utangsa mga agrabyadong kasunduan sa bansang Tsina na sa kasalukuyan ayumaabot sa USD 124M. Bagaman panglima lamang ang Tsina sa mganagpapautang sa ating bansa, ang napakalaking peligro rito ay angkilalang katangian nitong magbigay ng kondisyong ilagay bilangkolateral sa pautang ang mga likas na yaman ng bansa, bukod pa sakasalukuya’y nang-agaw na ito ng bahagi ng ating bansa. Tulad nalamang ng nangyari sa mga bansang Sri Lanka na kung saan napilitanitong paupahan ng 99 na taon sa Tsina ang kanyang estratehikongdaungan.

Sa prinsipyo ng kabuuan,malaking bahagi sa ating karapatan bilang tao at bilang mamamayangPilipino ay nalalabag at patuloy na nilalabag. Kung hindi ito ang mgabagay na bumubuo ng ating mga karapatan bilang tao, anong mga bagaypa ang kailangang yurakan para higit nating maintindihan na kailangannatin itong ipaglaban. Ibangon natin ang ating pagkatao! Ipaglabanang ating mga karapatan bilang tao! Tayo’y tao na may karapatan sabuhay at mabuhay!

ITIGIL ANG PAMAMASLANG !

IPAGLABAN ANG ATING KARAPATAN ! ITAGUYOD ANG KARAPATANG PANTAO !

ITIGIL ANG MARTIAL LAW SA MINDANAO !

We at Migrante Austria join hands in condemning the recent forcible closure of two campuses of Salugpongan Ta Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center in the sitios of Nasilaban and Dulyan, Barangay Palma Gil, Talaingod, Davao del Norte by state agents and members of paramilitary group Alamara. 

We are troubled and enraged by trumped-up charges filed against former Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, ACT Teachers’ Partylist Representative France Castro , KATRIBU Chairperson Piya Malayao and church workers from various religious congregation in Davao region including pastors namely Rev. Ryan Magpayo, SMDC Deputy Conference Minister; Rev. Jurie Jaime; Rev. Edgar Ugal and Rev. Eller A. Ordeza from the United Methodist Church and 16 other participants of the National Solidarity Mission (NSM) including teachers and church workers who rescued the Lumad students and teachers of Salugpongan after they fled their communities. 

We demand the release of the two (2) Lumad children who are still illegally held by the the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) – Region 11. Despite attempts of parents and guardians to claim the custody of their children, the DSWD make up different excuses to hold them.

The ruthless attacks against the Lumad communities and those who opt to serve them are direct violations of the rights and dignities of our marginalized brothers and sisters. 

We mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by recognising and supporting the long history and persistent struggle of the Lumad in Mindanao to defend their ancestral domain and assert their legitimate rights. Their struggle is our struggle.

We hold President Duterte accountable for his seemingly endless arsenal of dirty tricks.The  military occupation of communities and schools, killings, threats and harassment of residents (including children) and rights defenders have to stop now.

Hence, we demand:

• Dismiss all trumped up charges filed against the NSM delegates; 
• Reopen the forcibly closed Lumad community (Salugpongan, etc) schools, stop the attacks on Lumad communities, and allow Lumad children of their right to education through the Salugpongan schools. 
• Unconditionally release the Lumad children to their parents and guardians; 
• Pull out the 56th IB in the Lumad communities and disarm the paramilitary group Alamara; 
• Lift Martial Law in Mindanao. Extending Martial Law in Mindanao or expanding it to other parts of the country is certainly not a solution to the fundamental problems besetting our nation.
• Resume Peace Talks to address the root causes of injustice and armed conflicts.

Reference:
Mike Garlan

Social movements and activists in Colombia, Guatemala and the Philippines are victims of constant state repression, as are wide sections of the population. To support their struggle for justice, the Stop The Killings platform has organized a symbolic action today, Monday, December 10, 2018 at the Brussels Central Station, on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With this we call attention to their struggle for human rights and show our solidarity with the social movements that stand up for their rights.

Ang mga kilusang panlipunan at aktibista sa Colombia, Guatemala at Pilipinas ay mga biktima ng patuloy na panunupil ng estado, tulad ng malawak na mga seksyon ng populasyon. Upang suportahan ang kanilang pakikibaka para sa katarungan, ang Stop The Killings platform ay nag-organisa ng isang simbolikong pagkilos ngayong, Lunes, Disyembre 10, 2018 sa Brussels Central Station, para sa ika-pitumpong anibersaryo ng Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sa pamamagitan nito ay tinatawagan natin ang pansin ang kanilang pakikibaka para sa mga karapatang pantao at ipakita ang ating pakikipag-isa sa mga kilusang panlipunan na tumatayo para sa kanilang mga karapatan.

The program not only included a dance and singing performance, but also a testimony by Eleanor de Guzman. She is the wife of Marklen Maojo Maga, trade union leader in the Philippines and one of the faces of this campaign.

Here is a video on Eleanor’s speech:
https://www.facebook.com/vivasaludbe/videos/1773968512708817/

Hindi lamang sayaw at pag-awit ang nasa programa, kundi isang patotoo rin ni Eleanor de Guzman. Siya ang asawa ni Marklen Maojo Maga, lider ng unyon sa Pilipinas at isa sa mga mukha ng kampanyang ito.

Narito ang isang video sa pagsasalita ni Eleanor:
https://www.facebook.com/vivasaludbe/videos/1773968512708817/

Stop The Killings is a human rights campaign of trade unions and non-governmental organizations. Through information dissemination and action, attention is requested for the repression of these organizations in the South. Elementary human rights often remain dead letter and governments prevent the development of a civil society in an active or passive way.

Ang ‘Stop the Killings’ ay isang kampanya para sa karapatang pantao ng mga unyon ng manggagawa at mga non-government organization. Sa pamamagitan ng pagpapakalat ng impormasyon at pagkilos, pinagtutuonang ang pansin ang pagpigil sa mga organisasyong ito sa Timog. Ang mga elemento ng karapatang pantao ay madalas na nananatiling nakasupil at ang pamahalaan ay pumipigil sa pag-unlad ng isang lipunang sibil sa pamamagitan ng isang aktibo o mahinahong paraan.

Sources:
Stop The Killings Belgiumhttps://www.facebook.com/events/271979373453356/?active_tab=discussion

Pinagmulan:
Stop The Killings Belgium
Belgiumhttps://www.facebook.com/events/271979373453356/?active_tab=discussion