[NYTr] Philippines labor leader released but harsh law passes

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Workers World - Aug 2, 2007 issue
http://www.workers.org/2007/world/philippines-0802

Philippines labor leader released but harsh law passes

By Dianne Mathiowetz

Joyful celebrations were held in the Philippines and around the world
on news of the release of Crispin Beltran, a legendary labor leader and
member of the Philippines Parliament who had been charged on Feb. 25,
2006, with “rebellion” against the government of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo. Crispin Beltran, known to the people<br>as ‘Ka Bel.’

Known as Ka Bel to millions of Filipino workers and peasants, Beltran
has a history of standing up for the rights and welfare of the poorest
sectors of the population going back more than 50 years. He was
imprisoned and tortured during the brutal U.S.-backed dictatorship of
Ferdinand Marcos, headed the militant workers’ organization known as
KMU (May 1st Movement), and in 2001 was elected to the Philippines
Parliament.

As a representative of the Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) partylist, Ka Bel
spoke out forcefully against the fraudulent election of Gloria
Macapagol-Arroyo, championed the rights of migrant workers forced to
leave the Philippines by the extreme poverty epidemic throughout the
country, and argued passionately for an increase in the minimum wage.

In 2006, Arroyo’s government was in severe crisis with increasing
popular unrest over her policies of subservience to multinational
corporate interests and U.S. military plans. Continuous charges of
corruption, graft and electoral fraud made banner headlines in
newspapers across the country. In addition, the level of police and
paramilitary violence and repression against all forms of dissent
during her term of office had reached unprecedented numbers, with
hundreds of activists killed, “disappeared” or imprisoned.

The gigantic gap between rich and poor is evident to the eye as soaring
luxurious hotels and condominiums tower over shantytowns made of
cardboard boxes and scraps of metal. Row after row of cash crops such
as pineapple line the rural roads while agricultural workers have
little to eat. From the ranks of the Catholic Church to students to the
urban poor, there has been great discontent with the Arroyo government.

In February 2006, as rumors spread of a coming military coup, she
declared a “state of emergency” and ordered the arrest of Crispin
Beltran and five other elected parliamentarians, plus other leaders of
civil society, on the bogus charge of “rebellion” for organizing
opposition to the state’s repressive policies.

After 16 months of legal motions and demonstrations, international
petition drives, rallies and other types of support for Beltran and the
others, the Philippines Supreme Court this July 10 rejected the
government’s case and ordered Ka Bel’s release, declaring him and his
compatriots innocent of the charges.

Despite international condemnation of the Arroyo government’s human
rights record, on July 11 the U.S. Congress appropriated $30 million
for military aid to the Philippines for fighting “terrorism.” This is
almost three times what the Bush administration had requested.

It is a clear indication that both big business parties in the U.S.
share a common view on the strategic importance of a compliant
political proxy in the Pacific. Declaring the Philippines the “second
front on the war on terrorism,” the Pentagon already has brought
thousands of U.S. troops to the Philippines to train Filipino soldiers.

U.S. forces have taken part in military operations against armed
resistance movements on various islands of the Philippines, including
Mindanao, where indigenous peoples and Moslem communities have remained
unconquered since the early 1900s, when the U.S. first gained control
of the country.

The millions appropriated by Congress will be used to bolster the
firepower of the Filipino military and police, both of which have been
accused of being involved in more than 860 extrajudicial killings of
activists from every sector of Philippine society, from priests and
archbishops to peasant and labor leaders. In addition, some 200 members
of various opposition groups have been “disappeared” and another 200
imprisoned during the six and a half years of the Arroyo presidency.

Just days after having $30 million more to spend on counterinsurgency
weapons and training, the Philippines Parliament passed the Human
Security Act, a measure similar to the USA Patriot Act, which expands
the government’s ability to curtail dissent in the name of fighting
“terrorism.”

The HSA defines “terrorism” in such broad language that almost any
protest or campaign that “alarms” the population against a policy
advocated by the government could be subject to the law’s jurisdiction.

Among its many dangerous and abusive provisions is one that allows
anyone to be arrested and held for three days without being charged.
Still another section provides for “extraordinary rendition,” the
notorious policy of sending a prisoner to another country—particularly
one that uses torture—to be interrogated.

Ka Bel, immediately upon his release from detention, appeared on the
floor of the Parliament to denounce the Human Security Act. Refusing to
be intimidated, the various movements in the Philippines have conducted
protests and demonstrations in many cities and towns, demanding its
repeal.

Mathiowetz was part of an International Action Center delegation that
visited Crispin Beltran for several hours in December 2006 at a Manila
hospital, where he received medical treatment while under police guard.

Articles copyright 1995-2007 Workers World. Verbatim copying and
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without
royalty provided this notice is preserved.

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