Migrante Europe

Tag: BS Aquino

  • The International Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes of Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III and the US Government as Represented by Pres. Barack Obama Against the Filipino People

    The International Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes of Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III and the US Government as Represented by Pres. Barack Obama Against the Filipino People

    The International Peoples’ Tribunal on the Crimes of the Philippine and US Governments Against the Filipino People (IPT 2015) is being convened at the behest mainly of victims1 of human rights violations and other crimes committed under the Presidency of Benigno S. Aquino III in the Philippines and President Barack Obama in the United States.

    These entities shall be brought before a court of public opinion where concrete evidence shall be presented of their violations of the Filipino people’s individual and collective rights under international law. They will be brought for judgment before the broadest possible international audience.

    The IPT 2015 embodies the right of peoples to hold states to account. It stems from the failure of the Philippine State and international institutions to uphold standards as embodied in Philippine as well as international laws and instruments under International Human Rights Law including the core human rights conventions and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed in 1998 by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

    The IPT 2015 derives its legitimacy from the people as the ultimate source of the authority of all national and international laws. Its verdict shall be based on a thorough and fair assessment of the evidence by leading public figures of recognised achievement and high moral stature, in accordance with applicable legal standards.

    The Peoples’ Tribunal draws inspiration and builds on the gains of previous peoples tribunals convened to condemn similar crimes by previous regimes in the Philippines. These include, among others, the:

    • Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (First Session on the Philippines) [PPT1] of 1980 in Antwerp, Belgium (“Repression and Resistance, “ against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos at the suit by NDFP and the Moro National Liberation Front or MNLF)

    • International Solidarity Mission- International People’s Tribunal [ISM-IPT] of 2005 in Manila (“In Defense of a People Fighting Repression; against human rights violations by

    1 The victims and their relatives — belonging to a wide spectrum of social classes and sectors in Philippine society – are represented by the Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (EcuVoice), KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of the People’s Rights), Hustisya! (Victims United for Justice), DESAPARECIDOS (Families of the Disappeared for Justice), SELDA (Society of Ex-Detainees Against Detention and Arrest), BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) among others.

    President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo);

    Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (Second Session on the Philippines) [PPT2] of March 2007 in The Hague, The Netherlands (The Filipino People vs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, George W. Bush, et.al: indicting the US-backed Arroyo regime for human rights violations, economic plunder and transgression of Philippine sovereignty); and

    International Migrants Tribunal [IMT] of November 2012 in Manila (In Defense of Migrant Workers’ Rights: counterpoint to the Global Forum on Migration and Development)

    The verdicts of these tribunals delivered strong moral and persuasive force. Their conclusions and recommendations were transmitted to the United Nations, various Parliaments and governments, as well as broad international organizations to add pressure on the Philippine government to stop the killings and other gross human rights violations in the country.

    The resulting international uproar against the spate of extra-judicial killings under the term of President Arroyo, for instance, contributed to a decrease in the incidence of such killings in the latter part of 2007. The temporary decline was a very welcome respite for the Filipino people under siege.

    Holding the hearings and gathering support especially from the peoples of the US are particularly strategic because of the US government’s historical and decisive influence in Philippine affairs.

    In 2007, US Senator Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Sub-Committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, acknowledged in a U.S. Senate hearing, “It is important we (Americans) do not have blood on our hands. . . . If we are training the (Philippine) military with our hard-earned tax dollars, our concern about the military cannot be discounted . . . the war on terror cannot be used as an excuse to kill innocent civilians.”

    The International Peoples’ Tribunal (IPT) in 2015 shall help raise national and international public visibility of the ongoing violation of people’s rights in the Philippines, exercise moral suasion and help generate further political pressure on the governments of the Philippines and the US to end impunity.

    OBJECTIVES:

    The overall objective of the IPT 2015 is to expose the crimes not only of the current Philippine government as represented by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III against the Filipino people but also those of the US government, under the watch of President Barack Obama.

    Specifically, the IPT aims to:

    − Exert greater international pressure on the Philippine and US governments to stop human rights violations in the Philippines, including extrajudicial killings and disappearances;

    −  Establish by sufficient credible evidence according to international norms and standards that these violations are part of state policy which is being perpetrated with impunity by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and paramilitary and armed groups under their command and control;

    −  Establish the complicity of the Commander-in-Chief Aquino and the top military and police officials in the killings, disappearances and other gross human rights abuses;

    −  Show the various systematic and systemic violations of economic, social and cultural rights of the Filipino people through the imposition of exploitative policies and programs;

    The complaints and presentations shall consist of the following:

    Violations of human rights, particularly civil and political rights, with focus on extrajudicial killings, disappearances, massacres, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions as well as other vicious, brutal and systematic abuses and attacks on the basic democratic rights of the people.

    Violations of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights of the Filipino people through the imposition of imperialist globalization to exploit the people; transgression of their economic sovereignty and national patrimony; various forms of economic plunder and attacks on the livelihoods of the people and the destruction of the environment.

    Violations of the rights of the people to national self-determination and liberation through the imposition of the US war of terror; US military intervention; as well as the perpetration of crimes against humanity and war crimes; misrepresentations of the people’s right to national liberation and self-determination as “terrorism” and the baseless “terrorist” listing of individuals, organizations and other entities by the US and other governments.

    July 16 to 17, 2015: Hearings
    July 18, 2015: Deliberation and Presentation of the Verdict July 20, 2015: Service of the Verdict

    Washington D.C.

    Oral Presentation of Evidence under oath (either by affidavits or depositions) by victims and experts

    on very select illustrative cases for each issue (either in person or through web though other cases can be submitted through documentary evidence)

    Issues and Charges (Initial)

    Violation of Civil and Political Rights

    Human Rights Violations and Impunity

    Political prisoners

    Marcos victims’ compensation beneficiaries (delisted victims)

    Violations of International Humanitarian Law

    Violation of Socio, Economic and Cultural Rights

    Hacienda Luisita

    Yolanda, Pablo and Sendong typhoons

    Labor contractualization

    Urban poor demolitions

    Power rate hikes and other basic services

    Migrants/OFW cases

    Privatization of public hospitals

    Environmental

    Mining

    Corruption

    Onerous trade agreements; neoliberal globalization, economic plunder

    Charter change to open up of economy to increased foreign exploitation

    Violation of the Right to Self-Determination and the Right to Resist

    Oplan Bayanihan

    EDCA and US military intervention (case of Jennifer Laude)

    GPH-NDFP Peace Negotiations

    Some Cases carried over from the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

    EJK

    Enforced Disappearance

    Torture

    Legal Bases

    National and International Instruments including 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966 International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention against Torture and related instruments, Convention against Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance, 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1977 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, 1976 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples (Algiers Declaration), 1949 Geneva Conventions, 1977 Protocols 1 and 2, 1992 Hague Joint Declaration, 1995 Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), 1998 Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and

    International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, among others.

    Organization of the Tribunal:

    Conveners:

     International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)  International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
     National Lawyers Guild
     IBON International

    Concerned international organizations and networks who have come together to organize and convene the International Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes of the US-Aquino Government Against the Filipino People.

    Endorsers, Partners and Sponsors:

    Personages and representatives of institutions and organizations who are interested in the issues of peoples’ rights, human rights and international law, and who wish to extend moral support and concrete assistance to the Tribunal, shall be invited to become Endorsers, Partners and Sponsors to the Tribunal. They will also endorse the Tribunal to their existing contacts and assist the organizers in reaching out further to the international community.

    Plaintiffs/Complainants:

    Representatives of the Filipino people: victims of the crimes of the US-Aquino regime; HR groups, various people’s organizations and their contituencies

    Ecu Voice (Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines)

    Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples’ Rights)

    Hustisya (Pagkakaisa Ng Mga Biktima Para Sa Hustisya Inc. or Unity of Victims for Justice)

    Selda (Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto or Society of Ex-Detainees

    Against Detention and Arrest)

    Desaparecidos (Families of the Disappeared for Justice)

    Bayan (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance)

    KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno or May 1st Movement)

    KMP (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas or Philippine Peasant Movement)

    Gabriela – Alliance of Filipino Women

    KADAMAY (Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap or National Alliance of Filipino Urban

    Poor)

    other mass organizations and individual victims in the Philippines and abroad

    Defendants:

    Philippine President Benigno Simeon S. Aquino III

    US Government as represented by President Barrack Obama

    International Monetary Fund

    World Bank

    World Trade Organization

    Multinational Corporations

    Judge/s:
    1- 3 international personages or eminent person/s with at least 1 with a legal background

    Jurors:
    9 – 11 individuals of diverse backgrounds and different disciplines, with at least 3 with a legal background; representing the peoples of the world

    Judges and Jurors composed of internationally distinguished personages will sit in the Tribunal. They shall formulate the verdict and pass a judgement at the end of the Tribunal. They shall also discuss these at a press conference.

    Prosecutors/Legal counsels to victims and witnesses:

    National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL)

    Public Interest Law Center (PILC)

    Individual (international) lawyers

    Defense Lawyers (will be assigned by the Tribunal if no appearance from Defendants)

    Clerk of Court and Deputy Clerks of Court

    IPT 2015 Secretariats: Two secretariats have been constituted to assist the conveners: The Philippines Coordinating Secretariat which shall perform the staff work for the Tribunal preparations in the Philippines and the International Coordinating Secretariat to serve as the center of communications for all entities involved in the project and to coordinate the technical and other preparations for holding the tribunal, including financial and political support. These 2 secretariats are headed by Paul Quintos of IBON International and Dr. Angie M. Gonzales of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines respectively.

    For more information and updates: www.internationalpeoplestribunal.org

    —
    ==========================
    Mr. Ramon Bultron
    Managing Director
    Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)

    President
    World Association for Christian Communications – Asia Region (WACC-AR)

    Office Address: G/F, No. 2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
    Telephone: +852-2723-7536
    Fax: +852-2735-4559
    Email: [email protected], [email protected]
    Website: www.apmigrants.or

  • Migrante Austria open letter on Aquino Europe visit

    “It is clear that BS Aquino is undeserving of the office he holds –  we need an honorable President to lead, represent and uphold the rights and interests of the Filipino people!”

    An open letter to the Filipino people

    copy furnished:
    Philippine Embassy in Austria at [email protected]
    Office of the President at [email protected] / [email protected]
    Office of the Philippine Senate President at  [email protected]
    Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives at https://www.facebook.com/HouseSpeakerFelicianoBelmonteJr,
    European Parliament President Martin Shulz at  https://www.facebook.com/PresidentEP,
    Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel at [email protected] and Belgium Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo at [email protected] )

    We at Migrante Austria denounce BS Aquino’s current European tour as a costly junket, an absolute waste of time and money.

    BS Aquino definitely lacks the dignity and integrity needed to effectively foster better relations with foreign governments.

    Here are just a few of the issues of concern to us, Filipinos in Europe:

    He has a human rights record that is incompatible with democracy. From July 2010 to March 2014, Karapatan, a Philippine-based human rights watchdog, has documented cases of 192 victims of extrajudicial killings, 21 cases of enforced disappearance, 94 of torture and 631 cases of illegal arrests and detention.  Included in these figures are twenty-six journalists reportedly murdered since President Aquino took office. It is no wonder that the Asian Human Rights Commission ranked the Philippines as the 3rd most dangerous place for journalists and activists – from trade union activists to human rights defenders alike. We underscore the fact that up to now there is still no justice for two European citizens murdered under Aquino’s counterinsurgency scheme — missionaries Fr. Pops Tentorio of Italy and Willem Geertman of the Netherlands. All of these are attributable to his Oplan Bayanihan.

    Since he “took over, what can be seen is the indisputable trend of worsening poverty and living condition…
    From 2010 to 2014 (first quarter), the number of Filipino families that consider themselves poor is growing by 700,000 a year (or 3.5 million Filipinos annually at 5 members per family)
    From 2010 to 2013, the number of Filipino families that experience hunger is increasing by 200,000 a year (or 1 million Filipinos annually)

    From 2010 to 2013, the number of jobless Filipino workers is expanding by 500,000 a year.” http://arnoldpadilla.wordpress.com/2014/05/06/poverty-trends/

    He remains deaf and blind to the plight of an ever-growing number of Filipinos who choose to be exploited cruelly as undocumented domestic helpers here in Europe and any other place imaginable or even risk their lives in war- torn countries rather than return to the Philippines. This is the harsh indication of Aquino’s Labor Export Policy (LEP) failure to uplift the economy and solve unemployment and poverty in the Philippines.

    He has been rightfully accused of the “highest betrayal of Philippine sovereignty” with the signing of the defense agreement, which it called “the resurrection of US military bases in the Philippines using the Chinese incursion hysteria to justify the return of (more) troops and nuclear-powered war vessels …“

    He stubbornly refuses to give up the system of discretionary funds despite the decision of the Supreme Court declaring the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional. He willfully and knowingly disbursed the astronomical amount of P174B through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), his very own scheme that “became a source of corruption and a tool to control other branches of government.”.

    Almost one year after the vast devastation caused in the Philippines by the tropical cyclone Haiyan (Yolanda),  he takes a mendicant gesture and continues to ask assistance from international donors (including Europe) while snubbing survivors demanding the delivery relief and rehabilitation… there are still  around 15,000 survivors living in tent cities, bunk houses and evacuation centers and hundreds of farmers are still asking for the relief while waiting for the harvest of their rice and other products… Hundreds of workers are unemployed because the business and commerce have not been fully restored…”

    Contrary to his claims, he has failed to negotiate in good faith and to honour the ground rules of the peace talks between the government and the NDFP that is being mediated by the Kingdom of Norway: the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL), the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and other agreements since 1992.

    BS Aquino has no business going on junkets – the Filipino people need public funds for social services, national industrialization and genuine land reform!

    It is clear that BS Aquino is undeserving of the office he holds –  we need an honorable President to lead, represent and uphold the rights and interests of the Filipino people!

    Migrante Austria
    Email: [email protected]

  • Enough of B. S. Aquino, Corrupt and Brutal Ruler! Never again to another Marcos dictatorship!

    13 September 2014

    (Statement on the visit of BS Aquino to Europe)

    WE view with utmost indignation the visit of Philippine president BS Aquino to Europe from Sept. 14-20. His visit on an expensive chartered flight is a waste of the people’s money better spent on the victims of typhoons and housing and employment for the country’s urban poor and millions of jobless Filipinos.

    He and his coterie will be traveling around Europe principally seeking to repair what is, in fact, the irreparably damaged image of his regime’s supposed ‘righteous path’ that has been exposed to be rotten and crooked before the eyes of the Filipino people and the international community. He will beg for increased political and material support from major European governments as his regime suffers political isolation in the Philippines and further sinks into the quagmire of corruption scandals involving the theft of public funds by his family and close allies not seen since the time of the Marcos dictatorship.

    He is following the footsteps of the much-hated dictator Ferdinand Marcos by seeking an extension of his term despite being forbidden by the Philippine constitution, which he will try to dismantle by using the fiscal resources of the government that is under his absolute disposal.

    As concerned citizens and residents of Europe, we demand answers on several urgent issues affecting the Filipino people:

    *Where is the money raised in Europe for the rehabilitation of the victims of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)? Where is the rehabilitation, almost one year after the disaster?

    *Where are the trillions of pesos of public funds used as “pork barrel” under such names as Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), etc.? Despite having usurped absolute control over public funds, how come essential social services remain starved of much-needed funds?

    *Why all the posturing on defending Philippine sovereignty on the issue of China’s claims, while on the other hand, signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) allowing US troops to occupy every corner of the Philippines?

    *Where is justice and human rights under Aquino’s regime? Gross and systematic violations of human rights persist despite having received large funds from the EU to enhance human rights in the Philippines! There is still no justice for two European citizens murdered under Aquino’s counterinsurgency scheme — missionaries Fr. Pops Tentorio of Italy and Willem Geertman of the Netherlands. He won’t rein in impunity, because he knows that his Oplan Bayanihan equals human rights violations.

    *Why continue to hype about the country’s supposed economic progress, when it’s only Aquino’s clan and business allies that benefit, and that the majority of the people continue to suffer under very poor and inhuman conditions? Why hype about progress when the number of Filipino migrants in search of jobs continues to increase in Europe and the rest of the world?

    *Why the continued intransigence in continuing peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) towards a just and lasting peace, which the European Parliament has endorsed?

    We join in solidarity with the Filipino people in firmly opposing BS Aquino’s scheme to extend his term and become another Marcos. Aquino´s ambition to become another Marcos assassinates the democratic legacy not only of his parents, but all of those who fought and died fighting the Marcos dictatorship.

    We join the people in calling for the prosecution of ALL involved in the pork barrel scam and all forms of corruption — from BS Aquino to his close political allies and family members. We call for an end to impunity and a stop to the political killings! We call on the solidarity of our European friends to join us in asking European governments: STOP political support and aid to the corrupt, oppressive, fascist, puppet and rotten Aquino regime!

    Initial Signatories:

    *    International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
    *    BAYAN Europe
    *    Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – United Kingdom (CHRP-UK)
    *    Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands
    *    ICHRP-Rome, Italy
    *    MIGRANTE Europe – (Migrante Austria, Migrante Denmark, Migrante Geneva, Migrante Milan, Migrante Netherlands, Umangat-Migrante Rome, Ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa Belgium, Migrante-UK, Filipino Domestic Workers-London, Filipino Scholars in Berlin, Concerned Filipino-Germans in Berlin and Hamburg, Makabayang Samahan ng mga Pilipino-Netherlands)

    References:

    CANON BARRY NAYLOR
    Chairperson, Global Council
    International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
    and Honorary Chairperson of the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – United Kingdom (CHRP-UK)
    Office: +44 (0) 116 261 5371
    Email: [email protected]

    REV. CESAR TAGUBA
    MIGRANTE Europe
    Email: [email protected]