Isang nars at pasyente sa Philippine Orthopedic Center. (KR Guda)

Sa 24 na taong paninilbihan ni Teresita Hamoy bilang nars sa Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC), di na lamang lugar ng trabaho ang ospital para sa kanya. Ito na ang kanyang naging buhay.

Marami na ring pagbabago sa POC, mula sa pamamalakad ng manedsment, pasyente, hanggang kapwa niyang kawaning pangkalusugan. Pero ngayon, hinaharap ng ospital ang banta ng pagsasapribado nito, sa uri ng programang Public-Private Partnership (PPP) ng administrasyong Aquino.

Ang POC ang isa sa unang mga ospital na ipapasailalim sa programang ito. Maliban dito, may 25 na iba pang pampublikong ospital ngayon na gustong ihain ng administrasyon sa pribadong sektor para pagkakitaan.

Para sa mga kagaya ni Teresita, ipagkakait ng programang ito ang karapatan ng mga mamamayan sa libreng serbisyong pangkalusugan. Pero maliban dito, panganib din ang pagpasok ng pribadong sektor sa karapatan at kaseguruhan sa trabaho ng mga kawaning pangkalusugan.

Banta ito sa serbisyong pangkalusugan na itinuturing na ni Teresita na kanyang buhay.

Panganib sa trabaho

Mga nars sa Orthopedic (PW File Photo)

Bilang pampublikong ospital, tinatag ang POC para paglingkuran ang lahat ng nangangailangang mga mamamayan. Walang pinipiling bigyan ng serbisyo ito.

“Dito ginagamot namin ang lahat kahit na anong estado sa buhay. Hindi ka tatanungin kung mayaman ka o mahirap. Basta putol ang buto mo, sige, pagdudugtungin namin. Aalagaan ka, papakainin,” ayon kay Teresita.

Pero sabi niya, mahirap isiping ganito pa rin ang magiging oryentasyon ng POC kung papasok na rito ang pribadong sektor. “Baka kung wala kang P10,000 hindi ka aasikasuhin. Kasi magiging negosyo na ito,” sabi pa niya.

Tumatanggap ang POC ng halos 300 pasyente sa emergency room nila araw-araw at nasa 700 ang siniserbisyuhan sa out-patient services. Makikita sa loob nang POC na nasa nasa hallway na rin mismo ang mga pasyente dahil sa dami ng nangangailangan ng serbisyo nito bilang natatanging ospital sa bansa na espesyalista sa baling mga buto.

“Kulang talaga ang health workers dito. ’Yung trabaho ng apat o limang tao, tatrabahuin lang ng isa. Halos wala naman silang kinukuhang permanente ngayon dito. Puro mga job order (kontraktuwal) lang,” ani Raquel Pelarios, 18 taon nang nursing aide sa POC.

Ayon kay Raquel, dahil sa kakulangan umano ng pondo na binibigay ng pamahalaan, hindi sila nakakapagdagdag ng regular na mga empleyado, kahit na kailangang kailangan. Maging ang kanilang mga gamit pamproteksiyon tulad ng face masks ay di maibigay ng ospital. Sila pa ang bumibili nito.

Matagal nang inirereklamo ng mga kawani ang kakulangan ng badyet sa POC at iba pang pampublikong ospital sa bansa. Nasa 1.5 porsiyento lang ng Gross National Product (GDP) ng bansa ang inilaan ng gobyerno para sa kalusugan noong 2012. Malayo ito sa 5 porsiyento ng GDP na inirerekomanda ng World Health Organization na dapat ilaan sa serbisyong pangkalusugan.

“Hazardous ang katangian ng trabaho namin. Kagaya ko, nagkasakit ako dati ng pneumonia. Sarili ko ang panggastos sa pagpapagamot. Itong gloves, hinuhugasan na lang namin. Kung ano ’yung gamit mong gloves, buong araw mo na na gamit ’yun,” ayon kay Raquel.

Sa kabila ng panganib na ito sa trabaho, tinanggalan pa sila ng kanilang hazard pay noong nakaraang taon sa bisa ng Department Memorandum Order No. 2012-0181 ng Department of Health. Naibalik lamang ito nang labanan ang hakbang na ito ng mga kawaning pangkalusugan sa pangunguna ng Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) at Health Alliance for National Democracy (HEAD).

Ang ganitong banta sa pagtatanggal ng kanilang benepisyo ang isa sa pinangangambahan nila kung pribadong kompanya na ang magpapatakbo sa POC, ayon kay Raquel.

“Kung gobyerno na nga inaalisan na kami ng benepisyo, ang pribado pa kaya. Buti kung dagdagan nila. Sigurado, puro mga kontraktuwal din ang kanilang kukunin, para makatipid at para mas lalong kumita sila,” sabi pa niya.

Mga nars ng Orthopedic: banta sa kanilang trabaho ang pagpasok ng pribadong sektor sa ospital. (KR Guda)

Banta sa trabaho

Maliban pa sa banta ng kanilang mga benepisyo, ang kanila mismong trabaho ang higit na nangangamba kung matuloy ang pagsasapribado ng POC. Ayon kay Sean Velchez, tagapangulo ng unyon sa POC, pagpipiliin ang health workers kung gusto nilang malipat sa ibang ospital o maging private health workers sa kung sino man ang bagong mangangasiwa sa POC.

“Kung gayon, hindi na sila public health workers kung dito pa rin sila mananatili. At sa diwa na pinagpipili sila, ibig sabihin na aalisan sila ng trabaho nila bilang pampublikong mga kawani, kung mananatili sila dito,” aniya.

Kung sakaling isa sa matatanggal si Jenlen Savares, mag-aapat na taong nars sa POC, sinabi niyang mas sa ibang bansa niya nakikita ang kanyang sarili na magtrabaho. May mga kasama sila na nag-abroad na para unahan ang pagsasapribado ng ospital, ani Jenlen.

Kuwento naman ni Raquel, hindi lamang mga nars ang umaalis sa POC para mangibang bayan. Pati mga doktor.

Pinangangambahan naman nina Teresita na isasailalim siya sa forced retirement dahil sa kanyang edad na 44. Nasa 40 taong-gulang pataas ang sasailalim na sa forced retirement.

“Kung ako lang, gusto ko pang magtrabaho dito hangga’t kaya. Hangga’t may hininga ako. Kahit na nagkagipit-gipit ako sa buhay, hindi ko iniwan ang POC. Mahal ko ang ospital na ito. Hindi ko piniling mag-abroad. Masaya ako na natutulungan ko ang mga pasyente rito, lalo na ’yung mahihirap. Makita ko lang silang nakangiti na aalis dahil magaling na sila, wala na ang pagod ko,” ayon kay Teresita.

Ayon kay Jenlen, magiging unfair o masakit nga sa iba, lalo na ’yung mga matagal na rito, kung sakaling matatanggal nga sila at papalitan ng iba. Pero ayon sa kanya, kung matutuloy talaga ang pagsasapribado ng POC, mapipilitan silang sundin ang bagong management o sa iba magtrabaho.

Kawaning pangkalusugan sa Orthopedic: Naglilingkod sa mga maralitang pasyente. (KR Guda)

Pangamba sa mga pasyente

Nalulungkot sina Teresita sa posibilidad na mga maykaya na lang ang magiging pasyente sa POC, kung sakali.

“Dito, tulungan ang nangyayari sa mga pasyente. ’Yung mga walang bantay, bantayan mo. Pakainin mo. Lahat ng kailangan nila. Nagbibigayan ng pagkain, ng tubig, ng lahat. Nagkakapwa tao kahit sa amin,” ayon kay Teresita.

Para naman kay Jenlen, may bentahe at disbentahe kung pribado ang magpapatakbo ng ospital. Aniya, maaaring gumanda ang mga pasislidad at maging moderno, pero malamang na hindi ito magiging abot-kamay sa mga mahihirap.

“[Dahil] business, kailangan mapalitan ’yung in-invest nila. Kaya magiging kawawa rin talaga ang mga mahihirap.”

Para naman kay Teresita, kung nais talagang tulungan ng gobyerno ang POC, dagdagan nito ang badyet ng serbisyong pangkalusugan.

“Kung hahayaan nitong maisapribado, ang kawawa hindi lamang kaming mga nagtatrabaho dito kundi ’yung mga mahihirap, ’yung maliit, lalo na ang susunod na mga henerasyon,” ayon kay Teresita.

Tuloy ang laban

Sa serye ng mga laban sa loob at labas ng POC, buo ang determinasyon nina Teresita na ipaglaban ang ospital laban sa pagpasok ng pribadong sektor.

“Kung hindi namin ito (pagpoprotesta) gagawin, kawawa kami, kawawa ang mga pasyente. Kawawa ang susunod na mga henerasyon. Sa huli, ang mga mamamayan ang mawawalan,” ani Teresita.

Sinabi naman ni Sean na bagamat mahirap, hindi imposibleng mapagtagumpayan nila ang paglaban sa programang PPP ni Aquino para sa POC. Aniya, marami sa mga kawaning pangkalusugan ng POC ang ayaw magsalita dahil sa takot na mapag-initan, pero mayorya’y isa ang kanilang nais: Huwag matuloy ang PPP sa POC.

“Kung hindi namin maaasahan ang management ng POC na ipagtanggol ang POC para pigilan ang PPP, kaming mga empleyado nito, kasama ang mga pasyente at mamamayan, ang lalaban para rito,” sabi pa ni Sean.

Hindi lamang ito laban ng mga kawani ng POC, ani Sean. Laban umano ito ng bayan para sa mas makataong serbisyo sa kalusugan.

Panghahampas ng mga pulis at security ng QC Hall sa mga maralita at militante. (KR Guda)

Sa harap ng pulutong ng mga pulis, sa itinayo nilang barikada sa Agham Road, sinikap pa ng mga residente ng Brgy. San Roque sa North Triangle, Quezon City na mapayapang ipaglaban ang kanilang mga karapatan.

“Maayos kaming nakikipag-usap, nagnenegosasyon,” kuwento ni Jennie Espacio, residente ng San Roque na tatamaan ng 11.3 metrong road-widening project ng lokal na pamahalaan ng QC.

Pero kalagitnaan ng pakikipag-usap sa pulis, isang “Col. Sanchez” ang nagkumand sa mga pulis na buwagin ang barikada. Kasabay nito, sinabi ni Espacio, gayundin ng ilang saksi sa midya, na nagpaputok ng “warning shots” ang pulis — bagay na lalong ikinagalit ng mga residente.

“Masama ba yung mapayapang ihayag ang karapatan namin dito sa lupa ng San Roque? Gaganun-ganunin lang nila kami. Papuputukan ng baril?” sabi ng isang nanay (tumangging magpapangalan) na saksi sa pagsakalay ng mga pulis sa barikada.

Bahagyang napaatras sina Espacio. Tuluy-tuloy na umanong namalo ang mga pulis. Silang naggigiit sa barikada, napapulot na rin ng bato bilang depensa sa kanilang hanay. Nag-atrasan na rin ang iba.

Tuluy-tuloy ang salakay ng mga pulis, hanggang makarating ng mga bahay. Dito, nangaladkad ang ilang pulis ng naabutang residente, at nanggulpi.

Depensa ni QC Mayor Herbert Bautista, “propesyunal na mga  iskuwater” umano ang “natitirang halos 2,000″ katao sa San Roque, matapos ang sunud-sunod na kampanya ng lokal na pamahalaan at ng National Housing Authority na linisin ang bahaging ito ng lungsod para sa komersiyal na paggamit ng Ayala Corp.

Mga bahay sa Brgy. San Roque, Quezon City. (KR Guda)

(Inakusahan din ni Bautista ang Anakpawis Party-list na naniningil daw ng P1,000 sa mga residente ng San Roque — bagay na pinabubulaanan ng Anakpawis at mga residente ng San Roque.)

Pinabulaanan ito ng Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), na nagsabing mahigit 4,000 pa talaga ang nakatira sa San Roque. Ito’y dahil bukod sa nanatili sa lugar sa kabila ng mga tangkang demolisyon, marami rin umanong bumalik mula sa relokasyon sa Montalban, Rizal–dahil malayo sa kanilang trabaho ang naturang relokasyon.

Kinumpirma ni Espacio ang pagbalik ng mga dati nang nagpareloka. Siya mismo, mariing tutol sa relokasyon dahil mahigit P200 ang gagastusin niya araw-araw sa pamasahe pa lamang, patungong Makati at pabalik ng Montalban. “Pamasahe pa lang, ubos na sahod ko. Eh ang liit-liit lang naman ng sinasahod ko,” aniya.

Batid din nila ang mga kuwento ng hirap ng buhay sa relokasyon — kabilang ang pana-panahong baha na nararanasan ng mga residente roon tuwing umuulan nang malakas.

Kaiba sa sinasabi ni Mayor Bautista at ng mga pulis, maraming katulad ni Espacio ang nagsilahok sa barikada, para igiit ang karapatan nilang manatili sa San Roque.

Matapos buwagin ang barikada at umatras ang mga pulis mula sa kabahayan, nagtipon muli ang mga residente. Kasama na nila ang ilang miyembro ng militanteng mga organisasyon tulad ng Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Anakpawis Party-list, Kadamay, Anakbayan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) at Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD).

Hapon noong araw na iyon, nagmartsa ang mga residente at militante patungong Quezon City Hall para igiit ang pakikipagkausap kay Bautista at singilin ang huli sa pandarahas nila.

Pero sa harap ng City Hall, matapos haltakin ng mga residente ang nakaharang na mga railing, muli silang pinaghahampas ng mga pulis. Marami ang nasugatan. Pinaghahabol din ang mga nanlabang kalalakihan — hanggang sa East Avenue.

Ginamitan din ng water cannon ang mga nagprotesta. Sa kabila nito, nakapagprograma sila. Inihayag ang galit sa lokal na pamahalaan at sa pambansang administrasyon ni Benigno Aquino III na nagtakda ng polisiya ng demolisyon sa mga maralita. Teksto ni Kenneth Roland A. Guda | Mga larawan nina KR Guda at Xian Kahlil Anzures

Barikada ng mga residente ng North Triangle, Quezon City. (Xian Kahlil Anzures)

Pinagbabato ng mga residente ang mga pulis. (Xian Kahlil Anzures)

Tuluy-tuloy ang pagsalakay ng mga pulis sa San Roque. (Xian Kahlil Anzures)

Pulis matapos suyurin ang mga bahay. (Xian Kahlil Anzures)

Matapos ang pananalakay ng mga pulis. (KR Guda)

Nagulpi ng mga pulis ang batang ito. (KR Guda)

Mga bahay sa San Roque. (KR Guda)

Hindi lang lokal na pamahalaan, pati si Pangulong Aquino, itinuturo ng mga maralita na tagatulak ng polisiya ng demolisyon sa kanilang mga komunidad. (KR Guda)

Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon, nakiisa sa mga nagbarikada. (KR Guda)

Hinaltak ng mga maralitang nagpoprotesta ang railing na harang sa harap ng Quezon City Hall. (KR Guda)

Hinaltak ng mga maralita ang railing para makalapit sana sa QC Hall at makapagpahayag ng kanilang protesta roon. (KR Guda)

Nagsimula nang mamalo ang mga pulis. (KR Guda)

Pumwesto ang isang pulis para mamalo. (KR Guda)

Pamamalo at paggiit. (KR Guda)

Pagsalakay ng mga pulis. (Xian Kahlil Anzures)

Nanawagan ang mga nagrali na ipatigil ang pamamalo ng mga pulis. (KR Guda)

Matapos mamalo, pinaghahabol ng mga pulis at security ang mga nagprotesta. (KR Guda)

Para makatakas, ginamit na pamalo ang mga plakard. (KR Guda)

Nakiusap ang mga maralita na itigil ng mga pulis ang mga pamamalo. (KR Guda)

Nakipalo pati ang pribadong security guards ng QC Hall. (KR Guda)

Nakiusap si Dr. Geneve Reyes (nakaputi) ng Health Alliance for Democracy sa mga pulis na itigil ang pamamalo. (KR Guda)

Kinumpronta ni Vencer Crisostomo ng Anakbayan ang isang opisyal ng pulis. (KR Guda)

Hinabol ng mga pulis ang naggiit na mga nagrali, kahit na umatras na ang mga ito. (KR Guda)

Hinabol ng ilang pulis ang umatras na mga nagrali, hanggang East Avenue. (KR Guda)

Isa sa mga nagprotesta na nasaktan sa pamamalo ng mga pulis. (KR Guda)

Kahit pinagpapalo, nakapagsagawa ng programa pa rin ang mga militanteng grupo sa harap ng QC Hall. (KR Guda)

Patuloy ang paggigiit ng mga manggagawa ng Pentagon Steel Corporation na sila’y maibalik sa trabaho. (Macky Macaspac)

Kahit pumapatak ang ulan, alerto pa rin ang mga manggagawa. Makailang ulit na rin kasing pinagtangkaang buwagin ang kanilang piketlayn ng mga guwardiya at pulis. Ang iba, nakaupo sa mga kubol na natatabingan ng mga tolda, istrimer at plakard na ipinako sa dos-por-dos na kahoy. Ang iba naman, nakasilong sa kubol, nakikipagdiskusyon sa mga kabataang nagbigay ng suporta sa kanilang piketlayn.

Sa isa namang kubol, lumalagablab ang lutuang de-kahoy. Sa mataas na bahagi ng kalan, nakasabit ang isang plakard na na may nakasulat: “Ibalik ang mga manggagawang tinanggal!”

Sa kubol na ito, walang dinding o tabing kaya madaling makita kung mayroon magiging anumang kaganapan. Dito mapapansin ang isang batang kalung-kalong ng isang babaing may edad na asawa ng isang manggagawa. Hindi pa marunong maglakad ang bata, sampung buwan pa lang kasi siya.

Pagsilang kasabay ng tanggalan

Anak siya ng isang manggagawang tinanggal sa pabrika ng bakal.

Nakapanayam ng Pinoy Weekly ang kanyang ama, dalawang taon na ang nakakaraan. Hindi pa noon itinatayo ang piketlayn sa tabi ng pabrika. Kuwento ni Jowe Dubluis, ipinagbubuntis na ng kanyang asawang si Marivic ang bata noong Hulyo 2,2012–ang araw kung kailan tinanggal siya.

Si Jowe ang unang tinanggal sa mga manggagawa. “Di ko nga alam kung bakit ako pinag-initan noon,” kuwento ni Jowe. Di lamang siya ang tatanggalin, sumunod ang iba pang manggagawa.

“Sumunod na tinanggal ‘yung 54 na manggagawa noong Setyembre 15, 2012,” sabi ni Jowe. Ito rin ang araw ng kapanganakan ng ng bata, ang ikatlo niyang anak.

Noong Abril 13, nasundan pa ang tanggalan ng mga manggagawa sa pabrika. Kaya’t napilitan silang itayo ang piketlayn para iprotesta at manawagan sa manedsment na maibalik ang mahigit isandaang manggagawa.

Kuyom ang palad ni Junjun, anak ng isang manggagawang tinanggal. Kasa-kasama siya ng kanyang mga magulang sa piketlayn. (Macky Macaspac)

Mula nang maitayo ang piketlayn, araw-araw ng nasa mga kubol ang bata, kasama ang kanyang ama at ina na noong una’y hindi pabor sa pagkilos ng mga manggagawa.

“Noong una, tutol talaga ako sa pagsama-sama niya sa unyon. Pero nakita ko na para sa amin naman ang pinaglalaban niya, kaya sumuporta na rin ako,” ani Marivic, na hindi pumayag makapanayam noong 2011.

Kahit 54 na manggagawa ang tinanggal noong nanganak si Marivic sa ikatlo nilang anak, hindi nahirapan sa gastusin ang pamilya. Tinulungan sila ng kapwa nilang mga manggagawa–kahit na iyung mga tinanggal. “Nag-ambag-ambag sila para mailabas ako sa ospital, pati mga gamit ng bata tumulong sila,” kuwento ni Marivic.

Kahit araw-araw sa piketlayn, halata namang hindi napababayaan ang bata. Masigla, maganda ang pangangatawan panay nga ang ngiti niya sa mga manggagawang bumabati sa kanya. “Naku, laging nandito yan,” sabi ng isa pang manggagawa.

Sa kanyang pagkukuwento sa karanasan nila sa piketlayn, hindi maiwasang maiyak ni Marivic.

“Mahirap, lalo na ngayong nagkakagulo rito sa piketlayn,” aniya. Ilang beses na kasing tinangkang buwagin ito, bukod sa balitang wawalisin din sila ng pamahalaang lokal ng Quezon City.

“Ilegal na istruktura” raw ang mga kubol sa piketlayn. Bahagi ito ng pinapatupad na mga demolisyon sa mga sidewalk, estero at tabing daan. Kaya ang mga manggagawa, dalawa ang binabantayan at pinipigilan: ang paglabas-pasok ng mga materyales at produkto sa pabrika kasama na ang mga eskirol, at bantang demolisyon ng mga kagawad ng city hall. Maliban pa ito sa banta rin ng mga guwardiya at pulis na naka-istambay sa loob ng pabrika. 

Binigyan sila ng palugit  na hanggang Hulyo  31 na lamang daw ang piketlayn.

Ilang minuto pa lang pagkadating ng mag-ina, nagkaroon ng kiskisan. Bumukas kasi ang gate ng pabrika at humarurot ang isang trak na may lamang produkto. Pinilit ng mga manggagawa na harangan ang ikalawang trak, pero hinarangan sila ng mga guwardiya at pulis.

Sinigawan na lamang ng mga manggagawa ang iba pang trak at sasakyan na lumalabas. Sa mga pagkakataong nagkakaroon ng kiskisan, unang tumatabi sina Marivic sa ligtas na lugar para hindi madamay.

Laban ng pamilya

Habang nakikipagkuwentuhan sa Pinoy Weekly si Marivic, kalong ang kanyang anak ng ibang manggagawa. Nakikipaglaro ito.

Sabi ni Marivic, hindi lang siya ang kaanak ng mga manggagawa na nasa piketlayn. Karamihan sa mga asawa ng mga manggagawang tinanggal ang pumupunta rito para suportahan ang kani-kanilang asawa. “Kasama na kami dito. Pareho-pareho naman kaming nahihirapan,” sabi pa niya.

Kung tutuusin, puwede namang umalis sa piketlayn sina Marivic. Inalok na siya ng kanyang nanay na lumipat sa Cavite, hangga’t hindi natatapos ang protesta sa pabrika. Pero pinili niyang manatili sa piketlayn. “May bahay naman kami rito sa malapit. Kapag gabi, umuuwi kami. Doon natutulog,” aniya. Bumabalik na lang sila kinaumagahan sa piketlayn.

Pilit na hinaharangan ng mga manggagawa ang paglabas ng mga produkto mula sa pabrika. (Macky Macaspac)

“Titiisin na lang namin ang hirap, at haharapin ang anumang dumating na problema,”aniya. Panawagan na lamang niya sa may-ari ng pabrika na ibigay sa mga manggagawa ang para sa kanila. Pero nang tanungin kung ano ang masasabi niya sa darating na State of the Nation Address, o SONA, ni Pangulong Aquino — kung kailan inaasahang sasabihin ni Aquino na umuunlad na ang Pilipinas — nagulat siya. “Hindi naman namin nararamdam ‘yang pag-unlad na iyan,”

Sa pagtatapos ng panayam, mahimbing pa rin ang pagtulog ng anak ni Marivic. Dahil hindi pa siya nabibinyagan, “Anakpawis” ang tawag sa kanya ng mga manggagawang lumalaban.

(Kung nais n’yong makilala si Anakpawis, magtungo lang umano sa piket ng mga manggagawa sa Pentagon, o kaya naman sa mga barikada ng mga maralita dahil hindi nag-iisa si Anakpawis.)

Thomas van Beersum back in The Netherlands, with Filipino migrants as supporters (From Beersum’s Facebook page)

Dutch national Thomas van Beersum’s most recent post on Facebook is a photo-op (photo opportunity) in which his friends and supporters, including Filipinos, hold up a piece of paper printed with a “Like” icon and the words “Support international solidarity for justice, peace, and human rights in the Philippines.”

Beersum is back in The Netherlands, after being held for 30 hours by Philippine immigration officials without counsel, deported, and “banned” from returning to the country.

But he is not the least bit disheartened by his experience. If anything, it revealed to him the nature not just of the Philippine government, but the mainstream mass media as well.

‘An attack on activism’

“The attacks on the foreign delegates are also formulated as an attack on activism and the Left in general. The media would like to ignore ‘dissenting voices’ or the stories of the beaten-up activists. They want to dehumanize activists and humanize the brutality of the PNP (Philippine National Police),” Beersum said in an interview with Pinoy Weekly.

“The mainstream media does not want to focus on the actual reasons why there was actually a protest because they are the ones who are artificially trying to create a political climate which should be receptive to whatever the Philippine government wants to do,” he said.

Beersum attended the protest action on President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), during which he was photographed confronting a cop. The cop broke down in tears after admitting that he does not want to follow orders to beat up protesters.

According to Beersum, the original story on the sympathetic nature of both the cop and the protesters was twisted in “in favor of hyping up the story of the ‘arrogant foreigner insulting a Filipino cop’.”

Human Rights Watch: Revoke blacklisting

Various human rights groups have denounced the Philippine government’s treatment of Beersum.

The New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the government should revoke the blacklisting of Beersum.

“That Beersum was arrested when he was already on his way out suggests this was nothing but harassment. The government’s behavior violates the guarantees of free expression and peaceful assembly to which foreign visitors as well as Philippine citizens are entitled under international law…While the administration seems to have time to chase foreigners protesting rights violations, it has fallen far short of its rhetoric to end impunity for serious abuses,” Carlos Conde, HRW Asia Division Researcher said.

In a separate interview, Conde elaborated that foreigners enjoy the same rights to free expression and peaceful assembly in the Philippines.

“No one should be penalized for exercising those rights peacefully. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Philippines is a signatory, guarantees those rights. Although there are restrictions such as national security and ‘public order’, in the case of Beersum, none of it seem to apply. There are claims that Beersum violated ‘public order’ but if that is so, then he should have been charged in court immediately after the SONA protest that he participated in. As far as we can gather, Beersum didn’t face such a charge,” he said.

At first, Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials said that Beersum was being held for overstaying. But after the Dutch national proved that he was not, the BI finally admitted that he was being deported for participating in a protest action.

Atty. Edre Olalia of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers also said that Beersum’s detention had no legal basis, and that his rights were violated by denying him counsel.

He said in an interview with Pinoy Weekly that Beersum was a victim of a “jingoist demonization of a young foreigner whose candid views and youthful zeal sincerely questioned government’s claims.”

Berated by Philippine official

Beersum also related how he was detained by Philippine officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last August 6, when he was about to board his flight home.

“I already checked in my flight and my luggage. Then when I got to the immigration services my name popped up on the Alert List, which I was put on one day before my flight. Because of this I was brought to the immigration supervisor and had to wait for many hours. After a few hours I got taken to the Intelligence Department of the airport where I stayed until the morning after. They tried to conduct tactical interviews with me. When I was in the intel office lots of media came in and out all the time, shoving their cameras into my face without asking my permission first. Because of the constant media attention, the immigration officers made sure to give me pizza and allowed me to be on my phone. I am sure that other deportees do not get the same privileges,” he said.

Beersum continued, “Fingerprints and mug shots of me were taken by an officer who earlier berated me and told me in a loud volume that I will never ever be allowed to come to the Philippines again. The next day I was turned over to some people and they escorted me to my plane.”

Spending time with migrants

Meanwhile, Filipinos living in The Netherlands attest that the 20-year old Beersum is a “familiar face” to the Filipino migrant community.

Mitch Saturay, Beersum’s friend and colleague told Pinoy Weekly, “He attends many of our activities. He is always ready to lend a sympathetic ear to Filipinos here who have stories to tell. He lends his skills and camera to our events. He takes out kababayans visiting The Netherlands on walking tours around Amsterdam and Utrecht when they come to visit. He is always eager to learn a new Filipino word and proudly uses them in conversation. And yes, he personally knows Jose Maria Sison, just like many Filipinos in The Netherlands do.”

A photo on Facebook of Beersum with Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines who is exiled in The Netherlands, was also used by the media to attempt to discredit the Dutch national.

According to Saturay, Beersum “knows the huge gap between the rich and the poor in the Philippines” not only by having discussions with Sison and other Filipino political activists in the Netherlands, but also by spending time with Filipino undocumented migrants.

“He has also visited the Philippines before and had lived among poor peasants, tribal communities, urban poor communities about to be demolished, and political prisoners unjustly detained because of their beliefs…Out of his own hard-earned savings, he paid for his plane fare and his daily expenses,” she said.

Saturay expressed grief at the backlash Beersum received over the ‘crying cop’ incident. “They are racist, violent, and composed intentionally out of context. They certainly would make PO1 Joselito Sevilla wail louder in utter frustration because they incite a lynch mob against solidarity workers like Thomas.”

“For us here in the Netherlands, Thomas van Beersum’s pale skin color, blond sideburns and Dutch accent remind us he is a ‘foreigner’ while he is in the Philippines. But his heart, thoughts and actions reveal his genuine concern for his brown brothers,” she said.

Tinatayang daan-daang libong Pilipino ang lumahok sa Million People March laban sa pork barrel noong Agosto 26, Araw ng mga Bayani, sa Rizal Park. Naging mistulang bayani ang bawat Pilipino na nagpahayag ng pagtutol sa korupsiyon.

Mula Luneta, libu-libo pa ang nagmartsa patungong Mendiola para panagutin si Pang. Benigno Aquino III sa bilyun-pisong pork barrel scam na kinasasangkutan ng mga senador at kongresistang kanyang kaalyado. Hinamon din nila ang pangulo na i-abolish ang pork barrel, kabilang kanyang sariling pork barrel na umaabot sa P1-Trilyon.

Surfacing 1 and 2

In 2007, several photographers began a documentary project called SURFACING to highlight the plight of the families of the disappeared, or the desaparecidos in the Philippines. We sought to raise public awareness of this and other important human rights issues through photography and creative storytelling.

Six years since this project began, the families continue to suffer. To this day, they continue to look for their missing loved ones. They continue to seek justice. In time for the commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30, we are republishing the photo stories. We are making ourselves remember.

To view & read the stories, click on the SURFACING page.

Prof. Jose Maria Sison (photo from his Facebook account)

Three years into the administration of Benigno S. Aquino III, the still unraveling multi-billion pork barrel scam is the biggest scandal to hit a presidency that claims to stand for “clean governance.” The involvement of senators, congressmen, and even Palace officials in the scam, as well as Aquino’s refusal to abolish the pork barrel system, led to a massive street protest last August 26, attended by hundreds of thousands of Filipinos from all walks of life. It is clear that the people want justice, and an end to government corruption. But how can such be achieved?

Pinoy Weekly interviewed Prof. Jose Maria Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), on his thoughts on corruption and the mass protests spawned by the pork barrel scam. The NDFP, which wages a struggle for national democracy, has consistently held the view that corruption is systemic in a government controlled by the ruling classes, a root problem that it calls ”bureaucrat capitalism” in Philippine society.

Pinoy Weekly (PW): As someone who has closely followed social and political developments in the Philippines, what is your take on the recent explosion of protests nationwide calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system?

Jose Ma. Sison (JMS): The broad masses of the people are outraged by the huge proportions of the corruption in the pork barrel system and have engaged in protest mass actions nationwide to call for the abolition of the pork barrel system.

The popular sense of outrage is intensified by the exposure of the Aquino regime as a hypocrite, pretending to be honest and clean, supposedly on the straight path, while covering up the continuity and aggravation of corruption in the ruling system.

PW: Where do you think these protests would lead to?

JMS: The protests should become sustained, more widespread and more militant to expose the corruption of the Aquino regime in the use of the pork barrel system and in other forms of corruption and to call for the ouster of the regime and punishment of the corrupt in both the executive and legislative departments.

The people should struggle to condemn the entire rotten ruling system and demand a fundamentally better social system of national independence and genuine democracy, liberated from foreign monopoly capitalism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism.

PW: Do you think the President and Congress, both the Lower and Upper Houses, would concede and seriously abolish the pork barrel system? Would this not, in effect, curtail the powers of the executive and legislative branches of government? Assuming that they do, what would the impact be on the current political system?

JMS: The President and Congress resist the people’s demand to abolish the pork barrel system. And they will always find ways of satisfying each other’s greed by adopting general terms for lump sum appropriations which allow sharing of the spoils of power. For instance, they will use reasonable lump sum appropriations for natural disaster relief to argue for and justify many unjustifiable lump appropriations.

The current trend is for the President to monopolize the pork barrel, stay as the pork barrel king and make the senators and congressmen pass through the loyalty test to get their share of the loot. The pork barrel system is a way for the ruling politicians to recoup their investments in electoral contests and to further enrich themselves.

PW: Do you share the views of others that the Napoles scam is just the tip of the iceberg? On the other hand, how far do you think would the government go in prosecuting Napoles and her cohorts especially in Congress?

JMS: I share the view with Solita Monsod and others that the Napoles scam is just a tip of the iceberg. This involves some Php 10 billion involving a number of years. It is just a part of the current Php 25 billion pork barrel for Congress and the colossal Php 1.3 to 1.5 trillion pork barrel of the President.

It remains to be seen whether the Aquino regime will really go after Napoles and the senators and congressmen who are her accomplices in inventing fake projects and using fake NGOs. Napoles has been arrested for illegal detention and not for the pork barrel scam.

PW: How do you think would the pork barrel scam impact on President Aquino’s ‘matuwid na daan’ campaign?

JMS: The pork barrel scam has implicated Aquino as the pork barrel king. The Napoles scam has gone on for years with the complicity of executive officials in the Aquino regime. Look at the way they have exposed themselves in arranging the so-called surrender of Napoles and the royal treatment given to her.

The matuwid na daan slogan of Aquino is itself a scam. It is a swindle. But unwittingly, Aquino has admitted that corruption has become bigger under his regime because the poor have increased tremendously.

PW: Some sectors, including political scientists themselves, believe that the problem is not so much the pork barrel system but its misuse; and that the pork barrel has to some degree served the needs of constituents such as access to medical, livelihood and other social needs. So why not institute controls, rather than abolish it?

JMS: In a system that truly serves the people, the funds should go to the departments, agencies and institutions concerned for clear and specific purposes, such as industrial projects for the purpose of development, assistance to production cooperatives, livelihood projects and such social services as health, education, social housing and so on.

The President no less should be prevented from stealing and using public funds for political patronage under the cover of lump sum appropriations and sole discretion with no effective oversight and restraint. Actually even the special purpose funds for the congressional pork barrel are under the control of the President. His executive department is complicit with Napoles and her congressional partners.

PW: Corruption in the bureaucracy has always been endemic. Even so-called socialist countries have their share in corruption. So how, from the NDFP’s point of view, could corruption be prevented, curtailed or abolished?

JMS: Corruption in the bureaucracy of the big comprador-landlord state is indeed endemic. This is called bureaucrat capitalism. The politicians of the big compradors and landlords use their public offices as their own private enterprises for self-enrichment. In truly socialist societies, corruption is ended. But when revisionist bureaucrat capitalists take over, they engage in corruption and cause social retrogression on the road of capitalism.

Proletarian revolutionaries should learn how to prevent revisionism and bureaucrat capitalism from arising in socialist societies. Mao has provided the theory and initial practice of using mass supervision, mass actions and the cultural revolution to prevent revisionism and the restoration of capitalism. Corruption is not an incurable disease. It thrives most where class exploitation is the rule and is systematically carried out by the imperialists, big compradors, landlords and high bureaucrats.

In light of the pork barrel scandal rocking the country today, Pinoy Weekly launches a series examining the proposed 2014 national budget. Here we look at how pork barrel is maintained, but also how public funds may be misused, misallocated or denied from social services needed by impoverished Filipinos. First in the series: On the budget for “defense” used for political repression and corruption.

Human rights groups held a picket in front of the House of the Representatives while the Department of National Defense proposed budget for 2014 is being deliberated. The groups called for zero budget for the Defense Department. (Contributed Photo)

Public anger against rampant corrupt practices in government involving pork barrel funds was unleashed in a protest gathering of hundreds of thousands in Luneta on August 26. Many of those who went to Luneta asserted their call to abolish all pork barrel, including the President’s pork barrel, and insisted that the exposed scam was just the tip of the iceberg.

By all indications, this is true in the national budget proposed by the Aquino administration for next year, 2014.

A study from Kabataan Party-list estimates the president’s pork barrel funds – meaning lump sum funds that are discretionary to the President in nature — range from PhP1.3 Trillion to a maximum of PhP1.5-T. This, of course, is equivalent to more than half of the annual national budget.

But aside from these, Kabataan was alarmed at some “hidden” pork barrel funds within budgets of line agencies. Included in these agencies are the military and the police. The Department of National Defense (DND) enjoys a P1.775 Billion increase in the 2014 proposed budget. The group said that from almost PhP90-B in 2013, it is proposed to balloon to almost PhP93-B. It can even run to as high as P162-B, Kabataan estimated.

For 2014, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) placed the defense budget at P81,777,178. But Kabataan and human rights group Karapatan scrutinized items in the proposed budget and found out that aside from the institutions directly under DND, lump-sum amounts where inserted in the national budget – distributed in different government line agencies and programs.

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Source:DBM

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 Prone to corruption

Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general, in an interview with Pinoy Weekly, called the defense budget as a “license (from the President) to kill and steal.”

Palabay noted the P7,217,664,000 budget alloted for Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Pamana) projects as pork barrel for AFP generals. “These (funds) are not itemized, and a lump sum appropriation that can be considered as general pork,” Palabay said.

Pamana is the national government’s multi-sectoral approach program for peace and development in areas affected by armed conflict, and implemented in 48 provinces.

Administered by the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace Process (OPAPP), and monitored by the Department of Intertior and Local Government, Pamana’s three objectives include “improving local governance, reducing poverty through delivery of basic social services and empowering local communities.”

But Karapatan said that Pamana has been part of the counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan. The program is supposedly part of “winning hearts and minds” of communities through dole-out projects aimed at areas where there supposedly is strong rebel presence.

“It’s a fund to soften the ground under the framework of Oplan Bayanihan,” said Palabay. She stressed that Pamana funds are distributed in different line agencies, some of which had budget for social services, like the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Palabay also claimed that there’s no line item specification on Pamanas’ allocated budget. “What is happening is that local government units can nominate or submit project proposals depending on what they allegedly need in solving peace and order problems and national security questions in localities,” said Palabay.

The group believed that the funds are prone to corruption and encourage patronage politics.

The Pamana website shows projects implemented in regions such as roads, water system, livelihood and others as part of the so-called transparency and accountability of the program. But Palabay pointed out that Pamana is a counter-insurgency program guised as economic projects.

“Our problem with this budget (Pamana) is that it is framed in combat, a militaristic approaches to solving the causes of civil strife in the country,” Palabay said.

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“Offering social services to people while pointing guns at them is not a geniune public service,” she explained.

The funds are also susceptible to corruption because of utter lack of transparency in using and accounting for of the funds. Palabay challenged the Commission on Audit to look into the past three years budget of the defense. “Aside from the presidential pork, there is a big stake here in what we call generals’ pork ” Palabay said.

In recent years, several AFP officials were exposed to be involved in controversies regarding alleged misuse of military funds. Former military budget officer and retired Col. George Rabusa exposed the pabaon system (send-off money) and conversion of military funds in 2011.

In 2007, then-Lt.Sg. Nancy Gadian exposed anomalies in the use of a PhP46-Million fund for RP-US Balikatan military exercises. This year, a former director of the Philippine National Police, Gen. Avelino Razon, was charged in gthe Sandiganbayan for the alleged “ghost repairs and maintenance” of armored vehicles costing PhP385.48 Million.

In a privilege speech on September 2 calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares explained that in 2009, the DND-AFP budget of PhP56.5-B was delayed due to the delayed approval of the General Appropriations Act (GAA). The DND-AFP spent PhP14-B from January to March from its “re-enacted 2008 budget”. But instead of deducting this from the approved regular budget, the Arroyo government added it, making PhP70.431-B the 2009 appropriations and obligations for the military and police.

“All the while, Congress thought it only appropriated PhP56.5-B to the DND-AFP,” explained Colmenares.

Colmenares also claimed in his speech that the PNP-DILG and the AFP recieved funds from Malampaya during the Arroyo administration. “Pres. Arroyo gave the PNP one SARO for PhP1.6-B and another for PhP540-M, a lump sum amount of PhP2.14-B for the vague and generalized purpose of enabling the PNP to respond immediately to emergencies in times of natural calamities,” the lawmaker said.

For the DILG-PNP, according to Colmenares, more than PhP2-B was given for “disaster preparedness”. But this was allegedly spent on rubberized boats and other overpriced projects in 2009. This was exposed during the budget deliberation for DILG in 2012, upon the interpellation of Bayan Muna

The Bayan Muna lawmaker added that the DND managed to get more than PhP1-B for AFP modernization fund in 2009 right before the elections. However, there appears to be no Special Allotment Release Orders, or SARO, for the account, according to the Department of Energy. Meanwhile, another P198-M was spent to buy a “generator set” and repair the roofs and structures of the Philippine Military Academy.

In a separate interview, Colmenares claimed that he personally unearthed a nearly P40-B unliquidated amount of the AFP’s modernization fund.

“The AFP cannot account for this amount. And yet, they are asking again for a higher budget,” he said. Colmenares also pointed out that there are other unsolved controversies in the military institution, ranging from allegations of officers maintaining “ghost soldiers”, corrupt practices such as the “pabaon system”, among others. “These (cases) were never (closed). Is there anyone who prosecuted?” Colmenares rhetorically asked.

He noted that the vague lump sum amounts like that of the Pamana fund, is also a source of graft and corruption due to discretionary nature of it. “You can disperse the fund to your favored municipalities or allies (at your own pleasure),” he said.

“By some stroke of it, if it was not corrupted still it was anomalous to favor allies. What if some municipalities need hospitals, you deny it because officials are not your allies?” Colmenares said.

More violations, abuses

Karapatan said that the proposed amount in the 2014 defense budget will be used to stiffle legitimate dissent and further escalate human rights violations.

Palabay echoed the popular clamor to redirect huge amounts of government funds to social services like public hospitals and medical care for the poor, education and subsidies to public colleges and universities and, housing facilities where people can access the funds directly and benefit from it.

“(They can do this) instead of (the mondy) ending up either in the generals’ pockets or used to bomb communities—as what is happening now in Sagada, Mountain Province,” Palabay said.

The group cited that the amount allocated to AFP Medical Center is PhP 1,218,835,000. This is used primarily for soldier-patients. Compare this to the alloted budgets of special hospitals whose services are being accessed by the poor, like Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (with PhP541,302,000 allocation), National Children’s Hospital (PhP286,914,000); Philippine Orthopedic Center (PhP519,871,000); Quirino Memorial Medical Center (PhP356,531,000) and Tondo Medical Center (PhP255,966,000).

Despite wide and persistent clamor for the disbandment of paramilitary groups, civilian volunteers groups and private armies, the administration allocated PhP2-B for Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (Cafgu). Since 2010, according to Karapatan, paramilitary groups have been involved in extrajudicial killings and human rights violations, such as the incidents involving Datu Jimmy Liguyon, Fr. Fausto Tentorio, and the massacre of Juvy Capion and her two children. These cases were committed despite President Aquino’s promise to dismantle paramilitary groups, and calls from several states including the European parliament in the Universal Periodic Review in 2012.

“Similarly, the operations of the Special Cafgu Active Auxiliary (SCAA) units, which are co-funded and organized by the AFP and mining/transnational corporations, have continued, with Pres. Aquino categorically giving the go-signal for it on October 20, 2011. The question then is why are we still funding CAFGUs and SCAAs?” Palabay asked.

The latest victim of paramilitary group was Anting Freay, 60, a Blaan tribal chieftain. Freay and his 16-year-old son were allegedly killed by the elements of the AFP’s 39th Infantry Battalion and Task Force Kitaco (Kiblawan, Tampakan, Columbio). Task Force Kitaco was created under the 1002nd IB-PA to secure the areas covered by the SMI-Xstrata’s mining project.

“Public funds are being used to kill the people and perpetrate thousands of rights violations. Under Aquino’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan,” Palabay said.

Lately, the Philippine Air Force used MG520 planes to bomb suspected lairs of the New People’s Army in Sagada, Mountain Province. Miltary and police officials claimed there were no collateral damage in the air strikes. But indigenous groups condemned the air strikes and said it destroyed their communal hunting grounds, swidden farms and watershed areas.

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Karapatan also questioned the allocation of funds for intelligence units, including the allocation of intelligence funds of President Aquino himself. Despite millions of pesos spent on intelligence units, fugitive public officials and erring military officers like Palparan remain at large.

The supposed surrender of Janet Lim-Napoles proved the futility of the intelligence community, according to Palabay. “The Aquino government uses the intelligence funds to curtail the rights and freedom of the people, instead of using it to arrest the likes of the butcher Palparan,” Palabay said.

She cited the recent Court of Appeals decision to release security guard Rolly Panesa, who was arrested, tortured and tagged as a high ranking official of the NPA.

Karapatan has documented 142 cases of extrajudicial murders and 164 frustrated killing; 16 incidents of enforced disappearances; 76 cases of torture; 540 cases of illegal arrest; and more than 30,000 victims of forced evacuations in three years of the Aquino administration.

It fears that it will escalate once the budget is approved. Thus, the group called for “zero budget” for the Defense Department.

Popondohan daw ng administrasyong Aquino ang “socialized housing”. Pero kung susuriing mabuti ang panukalang badyet sa 2014, makikitang nakapokus ito sa pagsisiguro na mademolis ang kasalukuyang tinitirhan ng mga maralitang lungsod, kaysa sa pagsisiguro na mayroon silang disenteng trabaho at tirahan.

Ang pagpapalaki din sa pondo para sa CCT (Conditional Cash Transfer) ay indikasyon na hindi interesado ang gobyerno na solusyunan ang ugat ng kahirapan, kundi nais lamang pagtakpan ito.

Malayong relokasyon pa rin

Pinakamalaki ang badyet para sa resettlement ng National Housing Authority (NHA), na nasa PhP5.49-Bilyon. Para sa maralitang lungsod ng Kamaynilaan, ang ibig sabihin lang nito ay pagpapatapon sa kanila sa relocation sites na walang kabuhayan at serbisyong panlipunan.

Inihayag na ng gobyerno na uunahing paaalisin ang mga maralitang nakatira sa walong waterways o daluyan ng tubig sa Kamaynilaan, na umano’y “danger zones.” Siyempre, kung mga maralita ang tatanungin, mas masaklap ang paninirahan sa “death zones” na relokasyong inaalok ng gobyerno sa Bulacan, Rizal o Laguna.

Panawagan ng Alyansa Kontra Demolisyon (AKD) na sa halip na sila’y palayasin, dapat pondohan ng gobyerno ang rehabilitasyon ng kanilang komunidad, at pagpapatayo ng abot-kayang pabahay na malapit sa kabuhayan. Pero di makikita ang ganitong tunguhin sa badyet ng gobyerno.

Halimbawa, ang PhP360-Milyon na badyet ng DILG ay nakalaan sa rental assistance, o PhP18,000 na dole-out sa bawat pamilyang nakatira sa waterways. Ito’y upang pansamantalang makapangupahan umano sa ibang lugar ang mga pamilyang palalayasin. Pero wala namang maipangakong tirahan ang gobyerno kundi sa malalayong relokasyon, o sa mga Medium-Rise Building (MRB) na hindi naman abot-kaya ng mga maralita dahil sa taas ng amortisasyon.

Sa badyet ng DILG, may PhP700-M na nakalaan para sa pagtatayo ng MRB—ngunit kapansin-pansin na kakaunti lamang ang inaasahang makikinabang dito, tinatayang nasa 472 informal settler families, ayon sa datos ng gobyerno.

Maralitang lungsod: Pinagkakaitan ng badyet para sa serbisyong panlipunan nila. (Macky Macaspac)

Ayon pa sa Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), matagal nang ipinapangako ng gobyerno ang pagtatayo ng mga MRB, ngunit ni isa’y walang naitayo ngayong taon. Wala rin umanong local government unit ang nag-donate ng kanilang lupa para sa tirahan ng maralitang lungsod, kaya’t off-city o malayong relokasyon pa rin ang tanging ibinibigay na opsiyon ng gobyerno.

Inaasahan din ng mga maralita na hindi nila mapapakinabangan ang PhP3.67-B na inilaan ng gobyerno para sa Community Mortgage Program (CMP), o pagpapautang para magkabahay. Ayon sa Kadamay, ang CMP ay hindi para sa pinakamahihirap. Sekondaryo lamang sa kanila ang seguridad sa pabahay; mas pangunahin ang pangangailangan sa pang-araw-araw na pagkain, trabaho, edukasyon at kalusugan.

Para sa debeloper, kurakot na opisyal?

“Malinaw na tanging pribadong mga debeloper at kurakot na mga pulitiko sa mga ahensiya ng gobyerno ang makikinabang sa pondong inilalaan mula sa buwis ng mga mamamayan para sa diumano’y pabahay,” ani Estrelita Bagasbas, tagapagsalita ng AKD.

Halimbawa, isa sa pinakamalaking debeloper sa relocation site sa Montalban, Rizal ang New San Jose Builders Inc. (NSJBI), na pag-aari ng negosyanteng si Jerry Acuzar, bayaw ni Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa. Sangkot din sina Ochoa at Acuzar sa maanomalyang kontrata sa pagitan ng PhilForest at NSJBI para sa pagdebelop ng 2,000 ektaryang lupa sa Palawan, na ibinulgar ng whistleblower na si Jun Lozada.

Nangangamba rin ang maralitang lungsod na posibleng gamitin ni DILG Sec. Mar Roxas ang pondo ng ahensiya sa kampanya para sa 2016 presidential elections. Nadawit si Roxas sa pork barrel scam nang matuklasan ng Commission on Audit na kuwestiyonable ang PhP5-M na idinaan ni Roxas sa Kaloocan Assistance Council, Inc.

Sa halip na CCT…

Tinitignan ding balon ng korupsiyon ang CCT o Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, na pinalaki pa ang badyet sa 2014. Nasa PhP76.8-B, o halos 70 porsiyento ng badyet ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), ang nakalaan sa CCT, na tinatayang aabot sa 4.3 milyong pamilya.

Isang imposisyon ng dayuhang institusyon na World Bank, binabatikos ang CCT hindi lamang dahil sa malawakang iregularidad sa paggamit nito, kundi dahil isa itong dispalinghadong “solusyon” sa kahirapan.

“Kahit gaano pa man kalaki ang ilagay nilang badyet sa CCT ay mababalewala rin dahil patuloy na pinapalayas ang mga maralita sa kanilang mga komunidad at kabuhayan,” ayon kay Nere Guerrero, tagapangulo ng Samahan ng Maralitang Kababaihang Nagkakaisa o Samakana.

Naniniwala ang grupo na “malaking aksaya sa pera ang CCT” kung patuloy ding ipinapatupad ng administrasyong Aquino ang kontra-mahihirap na mga polisiya gaya ng demolisyon.

Umano’y mas maigi pang ilagay ang badyet sa CCT sa mga kongkretong serbisyo gaya ng mas maraming charity wards sa mga pampublikong ospital at mas maraming paaralan at libreng mga aklat para sa bata.

Para naman sa Kadamay, maiging dalhin ang buwis ng taumbayan sa mga programang lilikha ng trabaho para sa mga maralita. Pangunahin dito ang pagtatayo ng pambansang mga industriya, at pagpapaunlad ng agrikulturang nakatuntong sa reporma sa lupa.

Badyet para sa ‘Socialized Housing’

Source: Department of Budget and Management presentation to Senate Committee on Finance

Rebyu ng “The Guerrilla is a Poet”
Mga direktor: Sari Dalena & Kiri Dalena
Tampok sina Karl Medina, Angeli Bayani, Anthony Falcon, Bong Cabrera, RK Bagatsing, Chanel Latorre, Lehner Mendoza, Lui Quiambao-Manansala, Marcus Madrigal, Jes Evardone, Willie Nepomuceno, Jao Mapa, Raymond Bagatsing
Sinulat nina Kiri Dalena, Keith Sicat, Ericson Acosta, Kerima Tariman

Si Karl Medina (kanan) bilang Jose Maria Sison, a.k.a. Amado Guerrero, kasama si Anthony Falcon na gumanap kay Kumander Dante/Payat.

Ano nga ba meron si Joma Sison?  Sapat na marahil na malamang founding chairperson siya ng Communist Party of the Philippines para katakutan, pulaan, pangilagan o hangaan.

Pero sa pelikulang docu-drama, na humalaw ng inspirasyon at pamagat sa tula ni Joma na The Guerrilla is a Poet at pumilas ng ilang pahina sa kanyang buhay, naiibang Jose Maria Sison ang bumubulaga sa screen. Mahusay si Karl Medina na  gumanap na kabataang Joma, sa isang romanticized version –seryosong intelektuwal –  na imaheng marahil ay siyang nasa isip noon ng maraming rebolusyonaryo at aktibista na hindi siya kilala. Pero ang atraksiyon sa screen ay si Joma mismo, in the flesh, sa edad na 74.

Unang-una na, hindi mo aakalaing mahusay pala siyang storyteller. Buhay na buhay ang mga kuwento niya sa bawat pahina ng kasaysayan na hinuhugot mula sa kanyang karanasan.  At hindi lang iyon; kalog siya.  Palangiti, palabiro, magiliw — para bang nakikipag-usap lang sa iyo habang nakaharap sa kamera. Para bang kaya mo siyang bitbitin saan mang huntahan at babangka siya. Naikokombina niya ang wit o humor kahit sa mahihirap na eksena sa pelikula. Sa loob ko, may katapat ka na, Lola Basyang.

Madaling makibagay

Ikalawa, hindi siya detached o aloof, na mas pinatampok sa arte ni Karl Medina.  Sabi nga ni Bernabe Buscayno o “Ka Dante” na nainterbyu sa pelikula,  para pa ring kapatid ang turing niya kay Joma kahit tumiwalag na siya sa New People’s Army (NPA) at kahit hindi sila magkauri. Anak ng panginoong maylupa si Joma samantalang si Buscayno ay anak ng magsasaka.  May silip sa ilang eksena na madaling makibagay si Joma – ang pag-alalay sa isang bagong rekrut ng NPA, ang walang pag-aalinlangang makipaglaro ng basketball sa mga sundalo kahit wanted na siya basta’t may pagkakataong makapaniktik, at ang magbirong “mas magandang lalaki ako dun” kapag tinatanong ng kasama kung siya nga ba si Jose Maria Sison.

Ikatlo,  hindi mo mararamdaman sa mga kuwento ni Joma na may bahid siya ng personal na galit sa mga umapi sa kanya. Ano ba naman ang torture kundi parang hazing  sa fraternity, aniya.  Pero ang mas matindi, ang solitary confinement nang limang taon. Tapos tinilad-tilad niya ito sa mga segundo, minuto, oras, araw, buwan, taon. “Parang bloke ng tingga na ibinabagsak sa ulo,” sabi niya.  Ganun lang, cool lang siya. Pero ako, namimilipit na sa upuan ng sinehan.

Ikaapat, ang hilig pala niya sa musika. Sabihin ba naman niyang mas gusto niya ang musika kaysa talumpati? Wala naman daw nagme-memorize ng mga talumpati; pero sa kanta meron. Para bang kaya niyang pagtawanan ang sarili, dahil ang hahaba ng kanyang mga sinusulat at talumpati.

Ikalima, marksman din pala siya, asintado kung bumaril.  Kasi nag UP ROTC pala.  Hindi mo iisipin na isa siyang tunay na gerilya; pero kahit saan hindi rin nawawala ang pagiging manunulat at makata, kaulayaw man ang mga niknik o ang lamlan ng ilaw mula sa maliit na gasera.

JomJul

Ikaanim, si Julie sa buhay ni Joma,  Huwag mamaliitin ang papel ni Juliet de Lima, the  “wind beneath my wings,” sabi nga ng isang kanta.  JomJul.  Wala siyang sulatin na lumabas na hindi dumaan sa input ni Julie, ani Joma. Nahalal si Julie sa Central Committee hindi dahil asawa ni Joma kundi bilang matalino at tapat na miyembro ng kilusang rebolusyonaryo. Tulad ni Julie ang ibang mga kababaihan sa pelikula, na hindi karaniwan ang mga sakripisyo – mula sa pag-aalaga ng bata hanggang sa pananambang.

At ikapito, simple lang ang buhay ni Joma sa Utrecht.  Maliit ang sukat ng apartment at, sa tanda na niya, kailangang bumaba ng ilang palapag bago makarating sa labas ng bilding.  Nagyeyelo din ang paligid at nanunuot sa buto hindi lamang ang lamig kundi ang lungkot na hindi sila makabalik sa Pilipinas at napawalay sa mga anak simula nang mag-underground.  “Walang araw na hindi ko sila naaalala,” ani Julie.

Kung si Joma ang main attraction,  marami pang side attraction ang pelikula. Tulad ng script at makasining na pagsasadula nito.

Matalino, makahulugan

Maganda ang ginamit na teknik na tinuhog ang pelikula ng tula—“Ang Gerilya ay Isang Makata,” na salin mula sa Ingles—sa simula, gitna at dulo, para maipakita ang buhay ni Joma sa mga panahon bago itatag ang CPP, bago maganap ang First Quarter Storm o FQS, bago ang diktadura ni Marcos, hanggang sa Utrecht.

Matalino at makahulugan ang script, at napaghihiwalay kung ano ang totoo at ano ang idinadaan sa arte.  Malaking bagay ang interviews, dahil ang pagsasadula ay maaaring may labis o kulang. Isa pa’y kakaiba ang interpretasyon sa buhay ng NPA – hindi astang  bandido o terorista tulad ng karaniwang mapapanood sa iba, pero nakapaa, salat sa pagkain, may sariling medic, at kinakabisa ang mga regulasyon nila.  Sa bandang huli, bagaman nakulong si Joma at may edad na ngayon, para na ring ipinahihiwatig ng mga kabataang mandirigma na tuloy ang rebolusyon sa salin-salin na pagtula ng mga talata ng “Ang Gerilya ay Isang Makata.”

Makulay ang cinematography.  Mukhang pinag-isipan talaga ang mga anggulo, at ang gamit ng light at shadow. Lamang, sa sobrang ganda ay para bang nag-aalangan ang filmmakers na magpaigsi o magputol ng eksena gayong malinaw naman ang mensaheng naiparating na.  Tuloy, humaba ang pelikula (dalawang oras mahigit) at maraming bahagi na dragging.

Buti na lang at naisalba ng inilapat na musika. Hindi ka tuloy maiinip.  Ang mga rebolusyonaryong kanta na sinasabing popular noong ’70s ay tunog klasiko sa tiklado ng piyano. Sumaliw pa ang musika ng mga katutubong instrumento sa iba pang eksena.  Ang sarap pakinggan, nakabibighani.

Lapat sa karakter

Hindi pahuhuli ang mga artista. Kapansin-pansin ang husay ni Angeli Bayani na gumanap na Julie, lapat na lapat sa karakter.  Bagaman hindi masyadong nahuli ni Karl Medina ang karakter ni Joma, mahusay at malinaw siyang bumigkas ng mga salita  at kapani-paniwala bilang lider, rebolusyonaryo at aktibista. Tumingkad din ang papel ni Willie Nepomuceno bilang Marcos, ni Jao Mapa bilang Senator Aquino, ni Raymod Bagatsing bilang Major Aure, at ni Chanel Latorre bilang Teresa.

Ang pelikulang ito’y sa direksiyon ng filmmakers na sina Kiri at Sari Dalena.  Rated PG, ang pelikula ay ipinalabas sa malalaki ngunit piling sinehan, at sa piling oras lamang, kasama ng iba pang pelikula sa ilalim ng CineFilipino Film Festival noong Setyembre 18-24.

Kahit may ilan pang limitasyon akong mapupuna, pero kung ganito gumawa ng pelikula ang magkapatid na Dalena, isa na marahil akong pipila sa mga susunod nilang pelikula.

Isang pelikula itong hindi ka manghihinayang sa pera – P150 ang tiket, o mga apat na kilo ng bigas ang katumbas.  Dahil  sa isang tula maraming natuhog at nabigkis na ala-ala. Dahil sa isang pelikula namalas ang determinasyon ng mga nakalipas at kasalukuyang henerasyon sa pakikibaka.

Marahil, dadami lalo ang magkaka-interes sa tula ni Joma. Sabi nga ng isang radio ad, “i-memorize na ‘yan!”

A gold and copper mine owned by Australia-New Zealand firm Oceana Gold starts full operations in Didipio, a village in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Approaching Didipio, an upland village in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, at nighttime can be no less than surreal. It means travelling for two hours on a 22-kilometer dirt road through isolated mountains—much of it in pitch darkness, except when pierced by hurrying headlights of identical white pick-up trucks. And then, suddenly glimpsing from behind dark crags what looks from afar like a modern city, awash with twinkling lights, yellow and white. It means finally passing through a security checkpoint manned by civilian guards, much like entering a private subdivision.

Inside Didipio, it quickly becomes evident that while it is not a city or a subdivision, it is not an ordinary rural village, either. Much of the lights belong to a processing plant, bulldozers and trucks, guard posts and workers’ bunkhouses, all of which hum with activity even at the dead of night. At the heart of it all is a huge, open pit mine, its depths unseen even at the light of dawn.

Didipio is now a mining community, one that centers on a gold and copper mine owned by the Australia-New Zealand firm Oceana Gold. It is difficult to say whether the company owns just the mine, or the community as well.

***

Oceana Gold announced the start of its full commercial operations in Didipio last April 1. Oceana Gold holds one of the six mining projects in the country covered by a Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA), the very first awarded to a foreign company back in 1994, a year before the Philippine Mining Act was passed. But because of fierce resistance from the community, legal setbacks, as well as the firm’s own financial woes, it was only this year that it was able to finally ship its first 5,000 dry tons of copper-gold concentrate. Oceana Gold expects to produce “10,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 tons of copper per annum” from the 765-hectare mine.

Thousands of trees from the biodiversity corridor of the Sierra Madre were cut by the company. (Contributed Photo/KAMP)

The open pit mine gapes where once stood Dinkidi, the biggest hill in the village, the locals say. Today, Dinkidi—discovered as an orebody through exploration by the Australian firm Climax-Arimco, before it merged with the New Zealand firm Oceana Gold—is gone from the peaks of Mamparang, a significant wildlife and biodiversity corridor along the Sierra Madre mountain range. The locals who used to plant rice in its terraced slopes, or maintain citrus orchards in its lush valleys, are now displaced, clustered in uniform wooden houses outside the gates of the mining complex, most working as laborers. They trudge around in boots and yellow and blue coveralls, only their habit of chewing betel nut betraying the fact that they are from indigenous Ifugao tribes.

Some remain as small-scale miners, chipping away at the remaining ground at the peripheries of the mine, panning for gold as they have done for years, with the most basic implements—not to haul away gold in huge quantities, but only to collect a few grams per week, enough to feed their families. They will not remain miners for long. In Sitio Dinauyan, only three families of small-scale miners have houses still standing in their original location. Only one of them is adamant to stay; the other two are already trying to negotiate the best price for their land.

A handful of the biggest landowners, who sold the choicest parcels of land to the company, or else ramped up their own mining activities before the pit opened and gobbled up all the gold, are either conspicuously present or absent. They moved to capital towns Bayombong or Bambang to start over, or else built huge, concrete houses in the village, out-of-place with their Italian architecture and gaudy paint, as if establishing permanence only to oversee the slow but sure destruction of their village.

Akino Beduya, a local pastor of an evangelical church that was demolished during the peak of land grabbing, says that the worst thing about the entry of large-scale mining is how it turned the people—even family members—against each other. What started as a clash between anti-mining and pro-mining sentiments among the people turned into feuds over land ownership and compensation when the company eventually gained a stronger foothold after years of bribery, deception, harassment and use of brute force.

A polluted creek below Oceana Gold’s processing plant. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Akino now preaches from the shed of his house, which is just a stone’s throw away from the mine. Trucks and bulldozers rumble above, moving like giant ants carting away pieces of food. A creek of orange-brown waters flows below. Locals say that they can no longer catch mudfish, snails and prawns from the river, whose waters have changed in odor and appearance. Akino does not feel safe. He fears that heavy rains may cause a landslide, or that the mine tailings dam may break and cause the toxic wastes to reach his house.

Oceana Gold’s mine tailings dam lie a bit further into Sitio Dinauyan, where wider roads have been paved and security guards mill around piles of dirt and crushed rock. The ponds that contain mine tailings—normally a mixture of toxic wastes such as arsenic, radioactive materials, sulfur, mercury, and cyanide—are greenish-brown. Logs are stockpiled near one pond, and in another, the white branches of dead trees stick out. Beyond the ponds, what is left of the lush forests begin.

These forests were once the haven of wildlife such as makawa (local deer), hagiit (wild boar) and kalaw (hornbill). Now, such wildlife is gone, says Luis Paulino, a barangay official in the neighboring village of Lower Alimit. “Nawalan sila ng tirahan, at naistorbo siguro sa ingay. (They lost most of their natural habitat, and probably were disturbed by all the drilling and blasting),” he said.

Lower Alimit is a target for Oceana Gold’s expansion. It is a snapshot of what Didipio used to look like—rice terraces, citrus orchards, and farmers’ houses wide apart. Only three kilometers from the mine, Lower Alimit is now also affected by its operations. Rice fields are filled with silt, and the river is “the color of sardines.” At certain times of the day, when the mine is said to release yet unknown toxins into the river stream, it becomes odorous. When the rains are heavy, waters are even said to suddenly turn white.

Citrus trees still grow in nearby barangay Lower Alimit, but their rivers and rice fields have been affected as well from toxic wastes. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Celia Bahag, who runs a small sari-sari store in the center of Didipio, confirms that rice plants are stunted and diseased, because of silt and suspected toxins in the water used for irrigation. Their source of drinking water has been affected as well, as evidenced by increased incidents of diarrhea. “Sabi ng kompanya, pagdating ng panahon ay sosolusyunan natin ‘yan. Pero babayaran na ang tubig. (The company says that they will find a solution to this problem. But we will have to pay for water),” she said. Already, a shop in a newly constructed building along the same road boasts that it will start selling purified water. “OPENING SOON: HEAVEN’S DROPS,” the tarpaulin sign says.

In Lower Alimit, an elderly Ifugao rejects the cash economy that residents of Didipio have been sucked into. Grinning while sitting on a hammock under a tree laden with citrus fruits, “Hindi namin kailangan ng pera. May tanim naman kaming bigas, at laging may makakain. (We don’t need money. We have everything we need, rice and food to eat),” Pedro Panghogan said.

***

But in Didipio, where most farmers have become mine workers, livelihoods now depend on wages. Laborers earn P50 per hour, revealed Simeon Ananayao, a community relations officer for Oceana Gold. “Local hires” also say that they experience discrimination versus “Manila hires,” who are paid twice as much and receive greater benefits.

This discrimination compelled Martin Duhalngon Jr., who was hired as an engineer, to become active in the workers’ union. But only a few weeks after he started organizing and speaking up against the management, he, along with union president Wendy Nicano, were dismissed last November 2012 on grounds of petty offenses. It was a move that Martin calls “a clear case of union-busting.” In protest, the workers staged a blockade of Oceana Gold’s vehicles and heavy equipment, but were quickly dispersed by the police.

Martin’s grandfather is Didipio barangay captain Ereneo Bobolla, who also led a road blockade on February this year, after the company refused to pay the 2% excise taxes on processed minerals. The company, however, claims a five-year tax exemption under the FTAA, while undergoing a “recovery period.” Oceana Gold has reported that the Didipio mine has produced 20,553 ounces of gold and 9,373 tonnes of copper during the first half of 2013 alone, far surpassing its per annum target.

But it’s not just the taxes—many locals say that Oceana Gold did not honor much of its other commitments to the people.

Margarita Licyayo claims that they were outright deceived into selling their eight-hectare land in Sitio Bacbacan. She and his husband Eduardo were made to sign an easement agreement, which they did not understand since it was in English. They were made to believe that they were acquiring a loan, with the land as collateral. But when they were given the check, they were told that it was already payment for the land they sold.

May locals fear that the mine tailings pond might overflow and flood their community. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Last August 29, Eduardo went to their remaining land near the riverbank to check on their corn and squash. He was astonished to see that his plants have been covered with concrete. Three of Oceana Gold’s security guards blocked his way further. And when Eduardo insisted that the land was not part of the company’s, they wrestled him to the ground and handcuffed him. Later, he was charged with attempted homicide because he allegedly “unseated his bolo and tried to hack” the guards, an incredulous accusation that the Licyayos are now fighting in court.

Margarita could not believe that this was how the company repaid her generosity in welcoming Climax-Arimco, when it first started wooing residents during the early 90s: “Gusto ko kasi noon ng development. Gusto kong mag-operate ang mina at magkaroon ng permanenteng trabaho. Pero ano ang ginawa nila sa amin? (I wanted development then. I wanted the mine to operate so that we can have permanent jobs. But what did they do?)” She said that the company laid her off in 2008, even as she has not yet reached the age of retirement.

***

The mine itself on what used to be Dinkidi Hill won’t retire, at least not for the next 16 years, its projected “life span.” The company plans to drill 800 meters, and they have not yet gotten past the 150-meter mark. There are 16 other exploration sites within Didipio—one of them is said to be Dibio, a hill that sits right next to the open pit.

Oceana Gold’s FTAA is not confined to Didipio, but covers 37,000 hectares of land straddling the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Quirino. The agreement is set to expire on 2019. But like most Philippine legal instruments that award land and natural resources to foreign companies, it is renewable for another 25 years, or a quarter of a century more.

The struggle against large-scale mining in Didipio had its strong moments, followed by moments of crushing blows. In 1994, the year Oceana Gold’s FTAA was approved by former president Fidel Ramos, a farmer shot down a helicopter engaged in aerial mapping of the area. In response, the Philippine Army encamped beside Dinkidi Hill and sowed terror among the people. In 2008, the people set up a barricade to try to prevent the forcible demolition of their homes. A combined force of Oceana Gold’s guards and military soldiers crept up at the barricaders at dawn and opened fire.

Dinkidi Hill and its surrounding forests was paved to give way to the mine. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Today, locals say, not without bitterness, that many of their leaders have sold out or have become resigned to the situation. Some of those who promised to help have abandoned them. Agencies such as the National Commission and Indigenous Peoples and the Commission on Human Rights have come, but were unable to do anything to stop the mine. Local media have interviewed them, only to twist their words and come up with false reportage.

So what the people do now is cope. They cope with wage slavery and discrimination, with the constant rumble of heavy equipment that drowns the music of night cicadas, with the choking dust that fills the air during summer, with the almost daily rock blasting that shakes the foundations of their homes. They cope with the fact that their forefathers were displaced from the adjacent province of Ifugao when the construction of Magat Dam in the 1960s submerged their rice fields, and that now they have once again lost their homes—and identity as a people—to so-called “development” pushed with the full force of the government.

Leaving Didipio, one can only hope that the start of full mining operations can only mean the emergence of the people’s next phase of struggle, as blinding and bright as vast twinkling lights that slowly emerge from the crags of dark mountains.

Didipio was one of the four mining-affected sites in Nueva Vizcaya that was visited by a National Fact-Finding Mission conducted by environmental, indigenous, and church groups from Sept 17-21, 2013. The groups are calling for an investigation into the environmental destruction, human rights abuses, and plunder committed by foreign mining companies operating in the said province.

Ginagarantiya dapat ng Saligang Batas na prayoridad ng gobyerno ang mga serbisyong panlipunan tulad ng edukasyon at serbisyong medikal. Pero ang polisiya ngayon ng administrasyong Aquino, patuloy na pagkaltas sa pondo ng naturang dalawang serbisyo – at itulak sila patungo sa pribadong sektor.

Kung titignan ang mga numero ng 2014 pambansang badyet, tumaas ang pondo ng dalawang nabanggit na serbisyo. Pero kung susuriin ang tunay na pinaglalaanan ng mga pondong ito, tila hindi ang edukasyon at kalusugan ang prayoridad ng administrasyong Aquino.

Ayon sa Kabataan Party-list, walang signipikanteng naidadagdag ang administrasyong Aquino para sa edukasyon. Sa 110 state colleges and universities (SUCs) sa bansa, nasa 79 SUCs ang nakaambang kaltasan ng badyet sa taong 2014 sa kabila ng sinasabing pagtaas sa badyet.

Nasa PhP34.7-Bilyon mula sa dating PhP32.8-B ang matatanggap ng SUCs sa bansa, base sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Malayo ito sa PhP54-B na pangangailangan ng SUCs na orihinal na isinumite.

Piket sa Batasan Pambansa ng mga manggagawang pangkalusugan sa ilalim ng HEAD. (Pher Pasion)

Planadong pagkaltas

Ayon sa Kabataan, sistematiko ang pagkaltas sa badyet sa edukasyon dahil sa Roadmap for Higher Education Reform (Rpher) na programa ng administrasyong Aquino para sa edukasyon.

Sa ilalim ng Rpher, target na “i-rationalize” ang pagpopondo ng gobyerno sa SUCs para itulak ang mga ito na maging self-sufficient sa pamamagitan ng pagsasagawa ng income generating projects at mabawasan na umasa ng pondo mula sa gobyerno.

“Sa ilalim ng RPHER, tinutulak na maging self-sustaining (ang SUCs). Bahala silang mag-raise ng sarili nilang pondo. Mula sa pagtataas ng matrikula at iba pang bayarin. Kaya lip service lamang yung pagtataas ng pondo. Mahalaga ‘yung maintenance and operating expenses ng paaralan, mababa pa rin,” ayon kay Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon.

Maliban pa dito, mayroon din umanong PhP5-B pork barrel ang Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Sa ilalim ng 2014 badyet para sa SUCs, ang PhP5-B ay binabanggit bilang “allocation for capital outlay and scholarships programs.”

May kuwestiyonableng alokasyon din sa CHED gaya ng “social protection package for former combatants” sa ilalim ng Pamana (isang anti-insurehensyang programa ng gobyerno) na nagkakahalaga ng PhP4-Milyon, dagdag ng Kabataan.

Samantala, “tumaas” ang pondo ng Department of Education na makakatanggap ng PhP337-B pondo para sa 2014. Pero para sa Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), malayo pa rin ito sa pangangailangan ng batayang edukasyon.

Ayon sa ACT, aabot lamang sa tinatayang PhP44.6-B para matugunan ang kakulangan sa mga klasrum, upuan, textbooks (6 libro/estudyante), tubig at sanitasyon para sa paaralan.

Nasa PhP55.2-B naman aabutin para matugunan ang dagdag na sahod, karagdagang teaching items, annual medical exam (P500/guro), implementation of grant of cash allowance, hardship pay, ERF conversion to MT, reclassification of position and payment of step increment, at Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) Incentives ng mga guro.

Matutugunan sana ito kung direktang ilalaan sa edukasyon ang pork barrel, ayon sa ACT.

PPP sa edukasyon

Isa sa kinukuwestiyon ng ACT ang paglaki ng pondo ng Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (Gastpe), programa ng gobyerno para umano i-decongest ang mga publikong paaralan sa pagpopondo sa mga mag-aaral na lilipat patungong pribado.

“Parang sub-contracting (ito). Privatization ito sa esensiya,” ani France Castro, pangkalahatang kalihim ng ACT.

Maikukumpara ang Gastpe sa Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) at Philhealth. Kung sa ang CCT ay pagbigay ng kakarampot na panggastos sa iilang mahihirap sa halip na bigyan ng sapat na trabaho sila, at Philhealth ang binabayarang insurance para “makamura” sa serbisyong medikal sa halip na magbigay na sapat na pondo sa pampublikong mga ospital, ang Gastpe ay pagpasa ng iilang maralitang estudyante sa pribadong mga eskuwelahan sa halip na maglaan ng sapat na pondo sa mga pampublikong eskuwelahan.

Sa kaso pa ng Philhealth at Gastpe, napupunta ang pondo ng gobyerno sa pribadong mga ospital at eskuwelahan.

Sa budget hearing sa Kamara ng DepEd, isiniwalat ni Education Undersec. Francis Varela na aabot sa PhP7.5-B ang hinihingi ng DepEd para sa Gatspe. Napasabi tuloy si ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio na tila “pribadong mga paaralan pa ang may pinakamalaking pinaglalaanan ng pondo” ng DepEd.

Sinabi ni Castro, na isang pampublikong guro sa elementarya, na di nakakatulong ang Gastpe sa pag-decongest umano ng public schools. “Ang nangyayari, masyado ring anomalous ito. Di ba kukuha dapat sila ng estudyante mula sa public schools, ang nangyayari, yung nasa private school na mismo ang binibigyan ng tulong.”

Bahagi ng programang Public-Private Partnership o PPP ang Gatspe.

Badyet sa kalusugan

Pagmamalaki ng DBM, “lumaki” ang badyet para kalusugan na aabot sa PhP87.1-B. Pero lumalabas na wala itong pinagkaiba sa 2013 badyet. Sa P35-B dagdag-badyet sa serbisyo-kalusugan noon, PhP12.6-B ang inilaan sa Philhealth.

“Imbes na sa mga ospital ibigay ang pondo, malaking bahagi nito ang sa Philhealth…(H)indi naman lahat ng mga mamamayan ang mayroong (Philhealth),” ani Gene Nisperos, doktor at vice-chairperson ng Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD).

Sinabi pa ni Nisperos na di rin naman lahat ng serbisyong pangkalusugan ay sakop ng Philhealth.

“Imbes na serbisyo ang dapat na prayoridad at ilaan ang malaking pondo sa pampublikong mga ospital natin, sa Philhealth pa ito ibinibigay.  Ibig sabihin, binabayaran ang serbisyong pangkalusugan,” dagdag niya.

Habang umaapaw ang pondo para sa pork barrel, taun-taong tila pulubing namamalimos ang mga batayang serbisyo para sa paghingi ng pondo.

May ulat ni KR Guda

“Kapanalig natin sa paglaban sa korupsiyon.”

Ganito inilarawan ni Pangulong Aquino ang mga mamamayang nagrali kontra sa pork barrel noong Agosto 26. Pero sa kabila ng mga pahayag niya at ni House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. na tatanggalin na nito ang Priority Development Assistance Program o PDAF sa 2014 badyet, nanatili pa rin ang lump sum appropriations para sa mga mambabatas.

Ang malala, malaking bahagi – mahigit kalahati pa nga ng badyet, kung tatanungin ang Kabataan Party-list – ng pambansang badyet ay nakalaan sa lump sum appropriations ng Office of the President.

Hari ng baboy?

Sa pagdinig sa Kamara kaugnay ng panukalang badyet ng Office of the President noong Setyembre 9, iginiit ni Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa na walang “pork barrel” ang Pangulo. “Hindi namin nakikita ito (Special Purpose Fund o SPF) bilang pork barrel. Ang SPF ay dumadaan sa parehong proseso tulad ng regular na badyet. At napapailalim din ito sa pangingilatis ng Kongreso, na siyang aapruba rito,” sabi ni Ochoa.

Pero kung pagbabatayan ang mismong katangian ng SPF at iba pang pondo na nasa ilalim ni Aquino, malinaw na lump sum appropriation, o pondong walang tinukoy na paglalaanan at nasa direktang kontrol ng Presidente, ang mga ito.

Sa pag-aaral ng Kabataan na pinamagatang Prime Cuts: Dissecting the Presidential Pork Barrel, inilinaw nito kung ano ang maituturing na pork barrel: (1) Alokasyong lump-sum na bulnerable sa korupsiyon at pagmamaniobra sa pulitika; (2) Pondo na tanging Pangulo lang ang may kapangyarihang maglaan at maglabas; (3) Pampublikong pondo na di makikita sa pambansang badyet pero kinokolekta at ginagamit ng mga ahensiya ng gobyerno, lalo na ng Ehekutibo (sa pamumuno ni Aquino), na walang financial oversight (karapatang suriin at i-audit ng Kongreso o ninuman).

Batay sa depinisyong ito, pasok na pasok ang SPF ni Aquino na nagkakahalaga ng halos PhP 450-Bilyon. Nasa ilalim nito ang badyet-suporta sa mga korporasyon ng gobyerno na nalulugi, alokasyon para sa local government units, calamity funds, DepED School-Building Fund, Priority Development AssistanceFund (PDAF!), E-Government Fund, Feasibility Studies Fund, Pension and Gratuity Fund, International Commitments Fund, Miscellaneous Personal Benefits Fund at Contingency Fund. Ang mga ito ay bahagi ng pambansang badyet na nagkakahalaga ng PhP310-B.

Magkakilala? P-Noy at Janet Napoles, sa isang sosyalan noong Nob. 2012.

Pero bukod dito, mayroon ding unprogrammed funds ang Office of the President. Ito ang mga pondo na wala sa pambansang badyet, pero mula sa pondong mula sa kita ng gobyerno, halimbawa sa Pagcor at Malampaya Project. Aabot sa PhP140-B ang unprogrammed funds. Suma total, PhP450-B ang SPF ng Pangulo.

Mismong si Aquino, dinepensahan ang pananatili ng pork barrel sa kanyang badyet. “Sa katangian nito, may mga pondong hindi puwedeng ma-itemize,” sabi ni Aquino.

Sa kanyang kolum sa diyaryong Philippine Star, mistulang sumang-ayon si dating senador Ernesto Maceda sa suri ng Kabataan kaugnay ng PSF. “Ano ngayon ang pagkakaiba (sa PDAF)? Ang PSF ay lump-sum na pinagmumulan ng ipinapautos ng Pangulo na ilabas ang espikipikong halaga para sa soft (i.e. mga pagsasanay) at hard projects (imprastraktura) sa mga ahensiyang inaprubahan ng Pangulo. Walang pinag-iba ito sa PDAF,” sinulat ni Maceda, sa wikang Ingles.

Bayad-utang, pondo sa paniniktik

Bukod dito, bahagi ng pambansang badyet ang pondong direktang inilalaan bilang pambayad-utang lamang.

Sa ilalim ng Automatic Appropriations Act na isinabatas ng ina ng kasalukuyang pangulo, si dating pangulong Corazon Aquino, maaaring awtomatikong maglaan ng pondo ang gobyerno para bayaran ang mga utang nito sa iba’t ibang dayuhang korporasyon (i.e. iyung gumawa ng MRT, LRT, Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, atbp.), pati ang internasyunal na mga institusyong pampinansiya tulad ng World Bank, International Monetary Fund at Asian Development Bank.

Kabilang sa taun-taong binabayaran ng gobyerno ang interes sa mga utang na nagkakahalagang PhP352-B, mga ipinangakong kita ng mga dayuhang kompanyang kinasosyo ng gobyerno,  at marami pang iba.

Kung isasama ang pambayad-utang, na aabot sa PhP700-B, at pati ang intelligence funds na nakalaan para sa Pangulo, aabot sa pagitan ng PhP1-Trilyon at PhP1.5-T ang pork barrel ni Aquino.

Sang-ayon dito sai Leonor Briones, propesor sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas at dating national treasurer. Aniya, bahagi ng pork barrel ng Pangulo hindi lamang ang lump sum appropriations na direktang nakaalan at nasa diskresyon ng Pangulo, kund iyung nakalaan sa mga ahensiya ng Ehekutibo

Aabot nga sa mahigit PhP1-T ang pork barrel ni Aquino kung isusuma ang lahat, ani Briones.

Ginisang baboy

Protesta kontra pork barrel sa tarangkahan ng Malakanyang sa Mendiola noong Setyembre 21. (KR Guda)

Noong budget hearing, sunud-sunod na pinagtatanong si Ochoa ni Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tino, at iba pang kongresista, hinggil sa mga pondong hinihingi ng Office of the President.

Ikinagalit ni Colmenares ang pagtanggi ni Ochoa na sagutin ang mga tanong kaugnay ng paglalanan ng mga pondo na nasa diskresyon ng Pangulo sa ilalim ng 2014 pambansang badyet.

Kasabay nito, noong Setyembre 10, naglabas ng temporary restraining order ang Korte Suprema sa paglabas ng PDAF. Isinama pa nito ang mga pondo mula sa proyektong Malampaya.

“Kami sa Bayan Muna ay natutuwa sa bagong debelopment na ito kontra sa sistemang pork barrel. Ipinapakita ng pagsama sa TRO ng pondo ng Malampaya, na nagkakahalagang PhP132-B, na walang pinag-iba ito sa PDAF, na nagkakahalagang PhP25-B lang, dahil sa katangian nitong lump-sum na nasa diskresyon lang ng Pangulo,” paliwanag ni Colmenares.

Hiniling ni Colmenares at ng progresibong mga organisasyon na agad na ilaan ang naturang pondo direkta sa mga serbisyong panlipunan tulad ng pampublikong mga paaralan at ospital.

Samantala, iginiit naman ni Maceda, sa kanyang kolum, ang pangangailangang imbestigahan pa rin ang nakaraang kuwestiyonableng mga paggamit ng Pangulo sa pork barrel nito.

“Dapat maipaliwanag at ma-audit ang P23.6-B na inilabas mula sa Malampaya Fund bago ang eleksiyong 2010,” sabi pa ni Maceda.

Renowned theater artist and activist Monique Wilson (KR Guda)

She quit her work as teacher in a prestigious theater school in London, England. Now renowned Filipino theater artist and activist Monique Wilson has returned to the Philippines to help lead the “escalation” of last February’s One Billion Rising (OBR).

In a press conference in Makati City on Wednesday, Wilson explained that for February 14, 2014, the global movement to end violence against women and girls (VAW) is now more focused on calling for justice for victims of violence in all forms — from sexual to environmental to economic and political.

“We only envisioned it as a one year campaign. But because of the success of the campaign last February, and (after) hearing from activists from around the world, we realized that the journey has just begun,” she said.

Wilson noted that OBR’s success in the Philippines and in more than 200 countries last February served to press upon the importance of the fight against VAW and the need to highlight various forms of violence experienced by women around the world.

An escalation

“This year’s focus is on how women are being denied justice. That’s the difference now,” she explained. “It’s still an artistic, activist action, but it’s symbolic. So, for example, people can gather outside Congress, outside the courts, outside schools, outside workplaces. Anywhere they feel that justice is being denied of them.”

She added that grassroots organizations led by the women’s alliance, Gabriela, will again be spearheading OBR in the Philippines.

Wilson, meanwhile, was made Global Director for OBR for Justice in 2014. She described it as her “dream job” that necessitated her giving up teaching and moving back to the Philippines.

Wilson shows to media a short documentary video on 2013′s One Billion Rising. (KR Guda)

“It was a huge life change, but one that I am really grateful for and welcome. Because for a long time, I have been dreaming that one day I could just do this, as a full time thing. You just follow where your heart goes. And, as you know, it’s what I’ve been so passionate about for the last 13 years,” she said.

One of the highlights of the OBR campaign for 2013 was leadership of grassroots organizations. “It was really their issues that were pushing the campaign to the forefront,” Wilson explained.

“That’s extremely important (grassroots groups taking lead of OBR). Because we have to look at the marginalized communities in terms of violence against women. We have to look at economics. We have to look at our policies. We have to look at our military. We have to look at corporations. We have to look at mining,” she added.

Workers, for instance, are still denied the P125 wage hike that they have advocated for and need, Wilson said. “Eighty percent of workers are women. They are still contractual,” she added.

She also said women and children bear the brunt of repressive policies and and even political crises, such as the pork barrel scandal and the Zamboanga City standoff.

Model for grassroots campaigning

Tony award-winning playwright and activist Eve Ensler conceptualized OBR after years of staging her ground-breaking play, The Vagina Monologues (TVM), all over the world.

OBR is a protest movement primarily using dance and performances to call attention to all forms of VAW.

Since year 2000, Wilson has been active in the V-Day Movement, and pioneered the staging of TVM in the Philippines.

As the country’s coordinator for OBR events, Wilson partnered with Gabriela, and involved other grassroots sectoral organizations like Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Migrante International, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, and many others, to campaign for OBR in the Philippines.

This led to Gabriela’s long-time supporter, the multi-awarded advertising agency DM9JaymeSyfu, producing a song for OBR Philippines called “Isang Bilyong Babae ang Babangon” (One Billion Women Will Rise).

OBR Philippines had its own dance moves as well as a music video that went viral online. A version of the music video and a Public Service Announcement were shown in cinemas across the country, courtesy of the Motion Picture and Television Review and Classification Board or MTRCB and the Quezon City Government.

Wilson said with the success of OBR activities in the country last year leading up to the “main rising” in Morato Avenue, Quezon City last February 14, 2013, many countries now look upon the Philippines as a model for staging OBR.

Audio recording of press conference:

Kodao Productions‘ newsreel of the press conference:

Several lawmakers, organizations and constitutional experts have expressed their opinion that President Aquino’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is unconstitutional. Worse, this lump-sum fund, taken from “savings” of many government agencies, has supposedly been used as “bribe” for senators who voted to remove impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona last year. And due to its nature as a “presidential pork”, DAP is prone to corruption as any pork barrel fund.

Dahil gustong magkaroon ng karapatan sa lupa si Mercy Fernandez, 74 anyos, nilagdaan niya ang papeles na pinapipirmahan ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) para “maipamahagi” ang lupa sa Hacienda Luisita.

Isa si Nanay Mercy sa mahigit 6,000 benepisyaryo ng lupa sa Hacienda Luisita. Pero naiyak siya nang malaman mula sa kanyang mga kasamahan na may kailangan pa silang bayaran bago mapasakanila ang lupa.

Dahil dito, hindi na kinuha ni Nanay Mercy ang Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA) na para sa kanya sa araw ng pamimigay ng DAR kanilang barangay sa Balete.

“Hindi ko alam magbasa at sumulat. Kung alam ko lang na babayaran ko ’yan sa loob ng 30 taon, hindi ko na sana pinirmahan noon yung ATFU (Application to Purchase and Farmers Undertaking). Hindi nila pinaliwanag sa akin,” ayon kay Nanay Mercy, sa panayam ng Pinoy Weekly.

Tuloy ang paglaban para sa karapatan sa lupa sa Hacienda Luisita sa Tarlac. (Pher Pasion)

Pinaikot na panlilinlang

Tambiolo land reform kung tawagin ito ng mga magsasaka ng asyenda ang nagaganap ngayon sa Lusiita. Idinaan kasi sa pagbunot sa tambiyolo ang lupang kanilang umanong maaangkin.

Para sa kanila, huwad at mapanlinlang ang ganitong sistema ng pamamahagi ng lupa.

“Hindi naman nila pinaliwanag sa akin ’yung pinapirmahan nila. Tinatakpan pa nga nila. Tapos nakita ko, bakit ganito lang ito: certified true copy lang?” sabi ni Joselito Fiesta, 50, taga-Brgy. Balete at isa sa mga benepisyaryo nang araw na makuha ang CLOA na ipinamigay ng DAR.

Nalaman na lamang niya na may kailangan muna silang bayaran sa Land Bank na bahagi ng kanilang pinirmahan noon bago mapunta sa kanila ang orihinal na kopya ng titulo ng lupa. Hindi nila alam kung magkano. Hindi naman umano nakasaad sa kanilang pinirmahan.

Pero kung hindi nila mabayaran, hindi mapupunta sa kanila ang orihinal na kopya ng lupa. Mananatili ito sa pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino.

Bukod pa rito, nasa Brgy. Mabilog ang lupang dapat para sa kanya. Napakalayo nito sa Brgy. Balete kung saan siya nakatira. Halos sampung kilometro ang layo nito.

Hindi rin nakalagay sa CLOA kung anong lot number ng lupa ang para sa kanya. Nakalagay lamang dito ang 0.66 hektarya na kanya umanong aariin pero hindi nya alam kung saan sa nasabing barangay nya ito hahanapin.

Si Orlando Simon naman, 60, mula sa Brgy. Mapalacsio, iba ang bumunot para sa kanya at malayo rin ang lupang nabunot para sa kanya na nasa Brgy. Mutrico.

“Ang ipinamimigay lamang ay certified ‘xerox’copy. Nagpapatunay na huwad ang pamamahagi ng lupa dahil dapat may babayaran ang mga magsasaka,” ayon kay Joseph Canlas, tagapangulo ng Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon o AMGL.

Ayon kay Renato Mendoza, opisyal ng Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), sinadya ng manedsment at gobyerno ang mabagal na proseso ng pagbabayad para gipiitin ang mga benepisaryo na hindi makabayad sa lupa at muling maagaw ng mga Cojuangco.

Patuloy na pangangamkam 

Ayon kay Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap, malawak ang lupang hindi sinaklaw ng pamamahagi sa asyenda gaya ng mga lupang inaangkin ng Tarlac Development Corporation na pagmamay-ari din ng mga Cojuangco at ang lupang binakuran ng banking RCBC na nasa 500 ektarya.

Bukod pa rito, isang sports complex ang nais ipatayo ng mga Cojuangco kung kaya kanilang inaangkin ang may 100 ektarya sa Brgy. Mapalacsio, ayon kay Simon.

Sinabi naman ni Canlas na mga Cojuangco-Aquino pa dapat ang siyang magbayad sa mga mamamayan ng asyenda ng P1.33-Bilyon para sa pagkakabili sa lupa ng Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (80.51 ektarya) at RCBC (500 ektarya).

Duda naman ang mga residente na nasa 500 hektarya lamang ang binakuran ng RCBC dahil higit doon ang tantsa nilang nilagyan ng bakod.

Nagpapatuloy na panunupil

Ayon kay Mendoza, bumbero at sangkatutak na pulis ang ikinakalat sa bawat barangay sa panahon ng bunutan sa tambiyolo hanggang pamimigay ng kopya ng CLOA. Maliban pa ito sa mga detachment ng mga militar na nasa may sampung barangay sa loob ng asyenda.

“Kung tunay talaga ang pamamahagi ng lupa, bakit puro pulis at bumbero ang nandito? Alam nilang magpoprotesta ang mga mamamayan dito dahil alam nilang peke ang pamamahaging ito na ginagawa ng DAR,” ayon kay Mendoza.

Ayon naman kay Simon, alam nila kung bakit may mga militar sa mga barangay at dahil iyon sa laban sa lupa. May mga ulat umano sila ng paniniktik ng mga ahente sa kanilang mga lumalaban.

Nagbabahay-bahay din umano ang mga militar sa mga barangay para takutin ang mga residente na lumahok sila sa tambiyolo. Kung hindi raw sila lalahok, mawawalan sila ng lupa bilang benepisaryo, sabi ng mga nananakot.

Gayunpaman, determinado pa rin ang mga mamamayan dito na patuloy na ilantad ang iskema ng ipinapatupad na mga “repormang sa lupa” kuno ng DAR sa loob ng Hacienda Luisita na hawak ng pamilya ng mismong presidente ng republika.

This short documentary reveals what happens when a foreign mining company enters an upland village in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines.

Oceana Gold, an Australian-New Zealand company started full commercial operations in Brgy. Didipio this year, under the first Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement granted under the Philippine Mining Act. This documentary shows the destructive effects of open pit mining on the environment, livelihoods, and culture of indigenous peoples.

Filmed during a National Fact-Finding and Solidarity Mission by various groups last September 2013.

Direction, Cinematography, and Editing | King Catoy
Assistant Direction | Ilang-Ilang Quijano
Musical scoring | RJ Mabilin
Ilocano translation | Macky Macaspac

Last November 13, Pinoy Weekly’s Pher Pasion, together with two colleagues from Bulatlat.com, went to disaster-stricken areas in Leyte province to document the devastation and the people’s fight for survival amid reported delays in the government’s delivery of much-needed relief goods. In areas such as Tacloban City, Ormoc City and Tanauan, they saw how people coped with the immense difficulties, without government help and despite international aid reportedly pouring in to the country.  A week after Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), US troops, aircraft and ships arrived in Tacloban, giving relief and support. Critics though, caution against long-term implications of increased US military presence in the country in the context of US government’s declared policy of expanding its economic interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

Filmed in Ormoc, Tacloban, Palo and Tanauan in Leyte more than a week after Typhoon Yolanda, this video shows how typhoon victims were doubly victimized by slow-paced relief and rescue efforts by the Aquino government.

Shot by Pher Pasion
Edited by Ilang-Ilang Quijano

Sa kanyang ika-150 na kaarawan, inilahad ng iba’t ibang Pilipino ang kanilang pagtingin at pagkilala sa bayani ng rebolusyon na si Andres Bonifacio.

Cinematography, Editing & Graphics: Karla Ujano
Additional Cinematography: Coleen Soriano