ALLIANCE FOR A JUST AND LASTING PEACE IN THE PHILIPPINES (AJLPP) – U.S.A.

Dismantle the US-Arroyo Fascist Puppet Regime, Resume Peace Negotiations Now!

AJLPP Statement on Arroyo's SONA
July 24, 2006

Reference: Mario Santos, Spokesperson
415-309-5835

For the sixth time, the fake president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will deliver her State of the Nation Address (SONA) as the traditional year-end report to elucidate new policies like all Philippine presidents do. But her sixth SONA will no different from her previous ones: all the high-tech glitz and fanfare in the world will not be able to hide its emptiness and utter lack of credibility.

As she delivers her SONA to her captive audience who will dutifully clap at every punctuation of the speech, her fascist police and military are doing their own sona – the Japanese style of zoning of neighborhoods in sweeps of mass arrests, intimidations and even brutal extra-judicial killings called “salvagings” in the name of her “all-out war” against the New People’s Army (NPA) that she dubs as “terrorists.”

Her much-vaunted “formation of mega regions” are a poor rehash of Marcos “Regional Development Councils” and the “11 Major Industrial Projects” during the period of martial law or Ramos’ regional industrial hubs in his “medium term economic plans” from 1992-1998 that never took off.

Gloria Arroyo – Aspiring New Marcos

But the real center piece of Arroyo regime’s focus is the “all-out war” on the enemies of U.S. imperialism, “charter change” and the elimination of all challenges to her ambition to stay as President of the Philippines even longer than the dictator Marcos.

Arroyo is more crass and brazen because not only does she aspire to outdo Marcos in her reign but she seeks to surpass him with fascist brutality and barbarism. During the first half of this year, her minions have caused the death of more than 100 activists and progressive leaders. For sure, not for long, she will surpass Marcos' dirty record in all categories of human rights violations. She is worse than Marcos, thus she should be aptly called “Bloody Gloria!”

Arroyo has terminated the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and torn into shreds all the agreements that the Philippine Government and the NDFP worked so hard to forge in the last ten years. In a final stroke of trampling the negotiations, she even caused the inclusion of the NDFP chief peace consultant Prof. Jose Maria Sison, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) into the so-called “terrorist list” of the United States and the European Union, throwing a monkey wrench into the peace process.

Arroyo has subsequently included all NDFP consultants in her “order of battle” hit lists for arrest or liquidation. Assassination attempts have been made on Prof. Jose Maria Sison and on NDFP legal consultant UN Judge ad litem Romy Capulong. NDFP consultant Sotero Llamas from Bicol was killed and six other NDFP consultants like Rogelio Calubad, Prudencio Calubid and others were arrested and till this day the AFP refuses to surface them.

Arroyo has launched a combined “legal and military offensive” to demonize the legal democratic opposition. Despite the inutile decisions of the Supreme Court against her orders, the military and police continue to batter the progressive organizations with mass dispersals, and Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Party-List Congressman Crispin Beltran continues to be detained and charges are still being filed and pursued against progressive leaders and activists.

Despite the mounting international criticism against her flagrant human rights violations, U.S. imperialist chieftain George W. Bush continues to prop up his “major non-European ally,” Gloria Arroyo. Like Israel in its aggression against Lebanon, Arroyo has also been given the green light to demolish and demonize the Left, while she negotiates peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao.

The Arroyo regime has just approved a new U.S.-R.P. agreement for the setting-up of a Security Engagement Board (SEB) to justify U.S. military presence in the guise of anything such as “humanitarian intervention.” The “Kapit-Bisig” (Link Arms) military exercise now focuses on Central Luzon – no wonder the whole 7th Division of the Philippine Army under terrorist General Palparan was deployed in the area and human rights violations have escalated!

Following the U.S. dictates, she is hell-bent to change the Philippine Constitution to give the U.S. free rein to control the Philippine economy. They will open up the economy to even more destructive and exploitative plunder and financial manipulations. This is to make the 1987 Philippine charter conform to neo-liberal and pro-imperialist policies.

But the Filipino people will not be cowed by this virtual dictator, a poor copycat of Marcos. We are very hopeful that the broad anti-Arroyo movement will continue to persevere and will overcome all obstacles and will try out new tactics beyond impeachment and legal proceedings. The people will gear up for people’s strikes (welgang bayan), boycotts, and economic slowdowns. There will be more dissensions among the military who cannot stomach the attacks on their fellow Filipinos. More gigantic mass actions will be reared in the crucible of struggle.

The Filipino American Community Is One with and Unconditionally Supports the People’s Struggle for National and Social Liberation

In the United States, despite the poor coverage of the Philippine mass movement and people’s struggle in the media, the time will come when the Filipino people’s just struggle will again be in the spotlight of solidarity and support of the peace- and freedom-loving American people. It is parallel with the Palestinian people’s intifada and just struggle for their right to return and self-determination and the Lebanese people’s just struggle for sovereignty and against the US-Israel Zionist armed intervention and occupation, and deserves the unqualified support of all progressives and working people of the U.S.

The Filipino American community in the US link to the awakened sleeping giant – the immigrant rights movement, the new civil rights movement of our times that mobilized the American community in their millions last winter and spring season – will be cemented and will become a cog in the wheel of change for all oppressed nationalities in the U.S. No amount of reactionary backlash and anti-immigrant and racist attacks can turn back the clock and force the retreat of this new movement clamoring for general amnesty and full legalization of immigrants.

The approximately 2.8 million Filipino community in the U.S. has no choice but to immerse itself in the crucible of struggle for democratic change in the belly of the beast: build a new multi-national workers’ movement and international solidarity for the struggles for national liberation, and advocate for universal health care and universal education, against racism and for labor rights and cultural and national identity.

The Filipino American bourgeoisie, which has shamelessly tailed and defended the US-Arroyo regime, will continue to be unmasked. The modern revisionists, new and old rejectionist, pseudo-progressive and reformist grouplets, no matter how much they posture and pretend that they are for the community and international solidarity, will also be exposed roundly and will be repudiated eventually by the people.

The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP)-USA expresses its profound solidarity and unity with the national-democratic movement in the Philippines. On the occasion of the sixth Arroyo’s SONA, the AJLLP and its organizations vow to fulfill its duties to help realize the national and social liberation of our people and work to the best of our ability to contribute in realizing these goals.

We demand that the Philippine government resume peace negotiations with the NDFP and work for a just and lasting peace. Without addressing the roots of the present-day civil war, without a just and lasting peace, armed conflict, oppression and exploitation will be the order of the day. And when there is such an order, there will be resistance. The cycle of unjust violence will prevail, and there will be no peace.

Dismantle the fascist-terrorist and puppet US-Arroyo Regime!

A Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines, Now! #