Philippine Women’s Coalitions Launch 18 Days of Activism against Violence (tags)
On the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (VAW), which marks the start of the 18 Days of Activism Against VAW, women’s groups held a press conference and rally in front of the US Embassy. The coalitions announced today that they unite in focusing on the call for justice for Jennifer Laude during this 18-day campaign period which starts on November 25, and will sustain the campaign until justice is served.
Fatal encounter: Jennifer Laude meets US Marine Corps (tags)
PHILIPPINES: As I peered at Jennifer Laude’s serene face in the open casket, I saw the wound on her forehead that was barely concealed by the mortician’s make up. I did not see the bruises on her neck and shoulders, but a person familiar with the autopsy said they were severe.
Philippine Labor Party demands turnover of US Marine suspect in transgender killing (tags)
Partido Manggagawa (PM) [Labor Party - Philippines] condemns the killing of transgender woman, Jeffrey Serdoncillo Laude a.k.a. Jennifer Laude, allegedly by a US Marine participating in the Balikatan exercise in Olongapo City 11p.m. of October 11.
On the US Puppet High Court Ruling that the VFA is legal (tags)
"Philippine Supreme Court- a US Imperialist Puppet Court.” As the Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) expected, the Philippine Supreme Court has reiterated the legality of the 1999 RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago once described as “void for vagueness” and “a failure.” The AJLPP scored the two-page resolution dated Jan. 12 but released only Tuesday. The full Supreme Court upheld its Feb. 11, 2009, ruling on the constitutionality of the agreement which re-allowed the large-scale presence of American troops in the country for joint military exercises after the 1991 pullout of the US military bases, and which governs the conduct of the servicemen participating in the military exercises.
It is tempting to describe the decision of the Court of Appeals acquitting Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith of the crime of rape, promulgated by the all-female 11th special division, as the revenge of the “manangs”. The decision certainly seems to have been written by a conspiracy of spinsters, in vigorous denial of reality, and sustained by fantasies of chivalry (in favor of the American serviceman) and chastity (against the woman we all call “Nicole”). “This court finds [as] deceptively posturing Nicole’s portrayal of herself as a demure provinciana lass,” the CA ruled, contrary to the unflattering characterization, sometimes using colors supplied by the victim herself, that the trial painted of flirty, hard-drinking Nicole. “On hindsight, we see this protestation of decency as a protective shield against her own indecorous behavior.”
( The AJLPP Secretariat reprinted the editorial of the Inquirer, the prime newspaper in the Philippines in its reaction in the CA decision on the Smith rape case) MANILA---Close this When the Court of Appeals handed down its decision acquitting Daniel Smith, no one was surprised. The departure of “Nicole,” his accuser, from our shores had already conditioned the country into believing an “arrangement” was in the works. In that sense, whatever the actual merits of the court’s decision, the case may be relegated as yet another one decided on clout rather than in fulfilment of justice. The United States can claim it fulfilled the letter—though not the spirit—of the Visiting Forces Agreement by keeping Smith in Manila throughout the judicial process, but not a second longer. Smith is now out of sight and, probably, out of mind—seemingly the objective of both the Philippine and American governments. Smith’s co-defendants went on to dishonorable or less-than-honorable discharge from the military. And no one expects Smith to be glorified or rewarded by his military or country. But that is a pretty small consolation for the manner in which Smith’s case proved that the VFA is a lopsided agreement; and worse, that the instinct of our own officials is not to assert Philippine rights and processes but to kowtow and grant every possible consideration to American wishes. Public opinion forced the prosecution of Smith and company. Public opinion kept the justice system creaking along; and while the beginning of the case found American authorities complying with their obligations under the VFA, Philippine authorities began finding ways to subvert the spirit of the agreement. Most dramatic of all was the handing over of Smith to American custody in the dead of night in December 2006. All throughout the judicial process itself, it was hard to tell whether the Department of Justice, for one, was lawyering for the government, the alleged rape victim, or the American soldiers.
On November 1, 2005, Nicole, a 22-year-old Filipina, was observed being dumped out of a van in a semi-unclothed and semi-conscious state. The van contained three U.S. troops who were in the Philippines for the annual joint military exercises with the Philippine Armed Forces. Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was subsequentlly charged with rape before the Philippine courts. He was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years. After spending 30 days in a Philippine jail, he was spirited out at midnight to the U.S. embassy where he is said to remain while his case goes through the Court of Appeals. This month, Nicole signed an affidavit saying she might have given the wrong signals to Cpl. Smith. She was given an immigration visa for the U.S. The Filipino people are demanding that the Visiting Forces Agreement signed by President Bush and President Estrada, who was overthrown in 2001, be abrogated for its onerous provisions against the sovereignty of the Philippines.
Health Care Reform, Obama Style (tags)
health care reform
PHILIPPINES: Scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement now! (tags)
The secret Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) document exposed by Sen. Joker Arroyo is the latest in a string of arguments to hang the iniquitous agreement. The secret document is an insult that adds to the injury of Daniel Smith’s contempt of our justice system.
BUSH SENDS NUCLEAR AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
With the subservience of the Arroyo regime, Bush continues the political-military intervention in the "killing field" of the Philippines, wasting millions of tax-dollars in suppressing the Moro insurgents and Filipino national-democrats, abetting the horrendous extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances and widespread poverty and oppression, all in the name of the war against "terrorism," a code-word for popular resistance against global capital's greed and inhumane devastation of the planet.
RP, Australia sign defense pact (tags)
The Philippines and Australia signed signed a security pact yesterday that will allow the countries’ militaries to hold joint counterterrorism exercises. The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is the second such agreement entered into by the Philippines. President Arroyo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard witnessed the signing of the agreement by Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Australian Minister for Defense Dr. Brendan Nelson. Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo vowed to question SOFA and said that they would press for the public disclosure of all the terms indicated in the agreement. “The VFA has already allowed the year-round presence of American troops. Now, they have the SOFA and they are saying that they are also taking other countries. How many soldiers from foreign countries would be allowed in our country?” he asked. Ocampo said Congress, particularly the committee on foreign affairs, was not informed about the provisions of the agreement.
TOOLKIT FOR DISMANTLING THE ARROYO KILLING MACHINE IN THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
On this May 14 election week, the brutal Arroyo regime in the Philippines backed by the Bush administration is facing the people's judgment for "crimes against humanity." This essay reflects on themes and issues surrounding the crisis of the neocolonial polity in the context of Bush's war of terror and barbaric, predatory globalized capital's assault on the peoples of the world.
Women's Day marchers beaten up in Manila (tags)
The Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) denounces the attempt of the police to brutally disperse the rally of APL-women commemorating International Women's Day.
Rally anti-US near the U.S. embassy in Manila - January 8, 2007 (tags)
U.S. Marines Accused of Rape
IPAGLABAN ANG KATARUNGAN PARA KAY NICOLE, IPAGTANGGOL ANG DANGAL NG BAYANG PILIPINAS! (tags)
Naninindigan ang Pesante-USA na kung ang soberanya at legalidad ang pag-uusapan, lahat ng mga balibagan ng katumpakan at kamalian ng usapin hinggil sa paglilipat ng may-salang marinong si Daniel Smith sa U. S Embassy, ang tunay na esensya ng usapin ng panggagahasa kay Nicole ay talagang matatabunan. Tunay na makakaligtaan ang isang Pilipina ang nagdurusa dahil sa tahasang kawalang katarungan at pagpapatuta ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas. Ang inapi, inalipusta at hanggang sa ngayon ay binubusabos ng sarili niyang gobyerno, ang kababayan nating si Nicole.
Philippines: shameless act of collaboration of the Arroyo regime and the U.S. government (tags)
"It's an utterly shameless act of collaboration of the Arroyo regime and the U.S. government." This was the statement of Myrla Baldonado, spokesperson of Task Force Subic Rape (TFSR) on the stealthy transfer of custody of Daniel Smith from the Makati City Jail to the U.S. Embassy.
Four Reasons Why Smith Should Be in RP custody (tags)
The AJLPP published this good article: THE UNDERSIGNED groups express their outrage over how the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs have taken the cudgels for Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith who, we have learned, has been released to the custody of the US Embassy upon orders of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. These officials have forgotten that they represent the Filipino people and not an American serviceman. Instead of deferring to the judiciary's interpretation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), they have thwarted the legal import of the original provisions of the VFA and substituted their own meaning to justify the transfer of Smith's custody to the United States. This case is not only an issue of custody.
Rape Victim's Mother Accused Arroyo of Siding with the U.S. (tags)
-- News sources today, quoted rape victim's mother describing her family's continuing fight for justice as a bout between David and Goliath, the mother of rape victim "Nicole" on Monday broke her silence and scored the government for siding with the US on the custody dispute over her daughter's convicted rapist.
AJLPP-USA Hails Philippine CA Decision To Junk Smith plea for TRO (tags)
The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP)-USA , today hail the decision of Philippine's Court of Appeals on Tuesday that junked rape convict Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith’s plea to be returned to United States custody. The court’s Special 16th Division denied Smith’s prayer for a temporary restraining order on Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon’s decision to keep him at the Makati City Jail, noting that his petition “precisely involves a determination of the regularity of the act of respondent judge… “We do not share with petitioner’s view and that a grave and irreparable injury would befall him pending determination of this petition,” the court ruled. “The long and short of it is that a full-blown trial has been held with all the rights of the accused accorded to hi
Philippine CA junks Smith plea for TRO (tags)
Manila-- The Court of Appeals on Tuesday junked rape convict Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith’s plea to be returned to United States custody. The court’s Special 16th Division denied Smith’s prayer for a temporary restraining order on Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon’s decision to keep him at the Makati City Jail, noting that his petition “precisely involves a determination of the regularity of the act of respondent judge… “We do not share with petitioner’s view and that a grave and irreparable injury would befall him pending determination of this petition,” the court ruled. “The long and short of it is that a full-blown trial has been held with all the rights of the accused accorded to him.”
On the Philippine Judge’s Decision to Deny Custody of a Convicted US Marine to the US Emba (tags)
The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP) USA highly commends Judge Benjamin Pozon of Makati City, Philippines for standing firm on his decision not to give the U.S Embassy custody of convicted rapist Cpl. Daniel Smith of the U.S. Marines despite the lap-dog subservience of the US-Arroyo government and its Department of Justice. What remains now is to ask all patriotic Filipinos to unite and act to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that is the source of all the indignities and violations of our national territory and honor as a people. The United States will always use the onerous and lop-sided VFA to advance their interest against our people and nation. Truly, it took the courage of a Filipino woman, “Nicole”, who stood up for her dignity as a person to emphasize the unequal relationship between the US and the Philippines. It took another brave Filipino man, a judge, to uphold our sovereignty and the majesty of Philippine laws to make us proud to be on a moral high ground and to stand firm as Filipinos. It will take the people of the nation to unite the country to continue to stand and fight for its sovereign rights.
Philippines: Charter Change is Arroyo's Cover-up (tags)
AKBAYAN (Citizens Action Party) today stepped up efforts to derail attempts at the House of Representatives to initiate Charter Change (Cha Cha), calling the move as nothing more than an attempt to cover up the seething political crisis hounding Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA).
VERDICT HAILED BUT OTHERS "HALF-SATISFIED" (tags)
Women's groups celebrated their court victory while lawmakers and Malacañang hailed the conviction yesterday of a US Marine and the acquittal of his co-accused on rape charges. But there were ordinary people who were not fully satisfied with the verdict of the Makati Regional Trial Court, which convicted US Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith and acquitted three other Marines.
PHOTOS - U.S. Marines Accused of Rape in Philippines (tags)
U.S. Marine convicted in Philippines rape case 21-year-old gets 40 years in prison; case has tested U.S.-Philippines ties