This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 5, March 4-10, 2007
Guilty of Partisan
Politics? In
an effort to ensure the defeat of party-list topnotcher Bayan Muna (People
First) in the May 2007 elections, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is
engaging in partisan politics, Bayan Muna officials said. For this, the AFP will
soon
face civil and
administrative cases for violating the Omnibus Election Code. BY
DABET CASTAÑEDA PAYATAS, Quezon City –
February 26 could just have been another busy day for Alberto Corbes. As early
as nine in the morning, he went around their community to have new Bayan Muna
(People First) recruits fill out membership forms. However, as he walked along
the narrow alleys of one of the largest slum areas in Metro Manila which is home
to more than 168,000 urban poor dwellers, he was stopped by two soldiers. “Bakit ka nagpapapirma
ng Bayan Muna? Hindi mo ba alam na NPA iyan?”
(Why are you asking people to sign up for Bayan
Muna? Don’t you know that it is connected to the NPA?) the soldiers asked him,
referring to the New People’s Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the
Philippines (CPP). “At saka wag n’yo na yan (Bayan Muna) iboto kasi
disqualified na yan,” (Besides, don’t vote for it since it is already
disqualified.) the soldiers said. In an interview with
Bulatlat in his three-by-five meter house here, Corbes said that he tried to
reason out. “Kami po ang Bayan Muna at hindi kami NPA,” (We are members
of Bayan Muna and we are not NPA.) he told the soldiers but he was threatened.
“Kung ipagpapatuloy mo iyan hindi ka aabutin ng kwaresma,” (If you will
continue with what you are doing, you will not live until Holy Week.) the
soldiers told Corbes. Corbes said that this is
not the first time that soldiers threatened people against voting or campaigning
for Bayan Muna. For the last three months, soldiers stationed at the barangay
hall of this slum area have been going house-to-house to coerce the residents
into not voting for Bayan Muna. Bayan Muna, the party-list
topnotcher in the 2001 and 2004 elections, have repeatedly denounced the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for treacherously killing its officers and
members nationwide with victims now numbering 127 since January 2001. A number
of its officers have also been abducted and remain missing. Bayan Muna and its allied
party-list groups Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) and Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP)
are also facing disqualification charges at the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Bayan Muna, in a press
conference last March 1, presented a secret military briefing material that
proves the AFP is behind the “dirty tricks” to ensure its defeat in the mid-term
elections on May 14. “Go after leftists” In a separate interview,
T/Sgt. Nicanor Caermare, one of 12 soldiers stationed in this village, denied
the accusations by Corbes. He said that they are just here for “civil-military
operations” upon orders of Col. Ricardo Visaya, Chief of the Civilian Military
Organization (CVO) based in Fort Bonifacio. In an interview with ABC
5 aired on Feb. 28, Visaya said that he has sent his soldiers to the urban
poor communities in Metro Manila to “go after leftists.” Caermare, for his part,
said that they have been stationed in this village since Nov. 30, 2006 and will
stay here indefinitely. Members of Bayan Muna,
Anakpawis and GWP who are residents of this village said, however, that the
soldiers’ presence in their area has sent a chilling effect. Secret operations The military briefing paper
presented by Bayan Muna came from a “secret military source who might have been
driven by his conscience,” human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares said. Colmenares
has been Bayan Muna’s general counsel since 2001 and is its third nominee for
the 2007 elections. In the slide presentation
titled “CPP-NPA-NDF Party List Operations for 2004 Elections,” the military’s
operations in areas where these party-list groups are strong included an order
to “prevent them from campaigning.” According to the said
presentation, there is a need to “file disqualification cases against CPP
party-list groups” and “isolate and deter their coordinators of local candidates
and the party list groups from campaigning.” Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy
Casiño said these statements
may be the clear manifestations of the political repression their group has been
experiencing since it convincingly won in 2001. The military’s mobilization
campaign, the secret briefing paper states, orders the soldiers to “promote
other party-list groups” which includes Akbayan. Incidentally, the two widows
who filed a disqualification case against Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and GWP before
the Commission on Elections (Comelec) claimed to be members of Akbayan. Election code violation Colmenares said that with
these statements, the military is culpable of violating Section 261 of the
Omnibus Election Code on the
“use of public funds, money deposited in trust, equipment, facilities owned or
controlled by the government for an election campaign.” The law states
that “any person who uses under any guise whatsoever, directly or indirectly,
(1) public funds or money deposited with, or held in trust by, public financing
institutions or by government offices, banks, or agencies; (2) any printing
press, radio, or television station or audio-visual equipment operated by the
Government or by its divisions, sub-divisions, agencies or instrumentalities,
including government-owned or controlled corporations, or by the Armed Forces of
the Philippines; or (3) any equipment, vehicle, facility, apparatus, or
paraphernalia owned by the government or by its political subdivisions, agencies
including government-owned or controlled corporations, or by the Armed Forces of
the Philippines for any election campaign or for any partisan political
activity.” Colmenares said that their
party will be filing appropriate charges against the military in the local
courts and the Comelec. Disqualification If this is the case, Bayan
Muna and the military may be facing each other in court often as election
day nears. On Feb. 23,
two widows from Nueva Ecija (145 kms. from Manila),
Isabelita Bayudang and Medelyn Felipe, filed a
disqualification case against Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and GWP on grounds that they
are “front organizations” of the CPP-NPA and thus “espouse violence.” In their affidavit,
Bayudang and Felipe said that Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teddy
Casiño, Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano and GWP Rep. Liza Maza are responsible for
the killing of their husbands, Carlito Bayudang and Danilo Felipe. Carlito was killed
allegedly by NPA rebels on May 6, 2004. Danilo, on the other hand, was abducted
in 2001 by unidentified armed men. A few days later, his body was found in
Nampicuan town in Nueva Ecija. In a sworn statement, a witness by the name of
Julie Sinohin alleged that Ocampo, Casiño, Mariano and Maza ordered the killing
of Danilo. The sworn statements by the
widows of Carlito and Danilo stated that their husbands were ordered killed by
the said party-list representatives because their husbands were supporters of
“rival” party-list group Akbayan in the province of Nueva Ecija. The widows said that their
husbands’ support for Akbayan has caused the defeat of Bayan Muna in the 1998
party-list elections. Irregularities Colmenares however said the
statements of both widows were full of “irregularities” and “outright lies.”
He said Comelec records
would show that Bayan Muna did not exist in 1998 and could not possibly run in
the 1998 elections. He also said that Bayan
Muna and its members and representatives do not espouse or use violence. “The
record and performance of Bayan Muna since its victory in 2001 clearly shows its
adherence to the rule of law in pursuing its programs and goals.” Bulatlat © 2007 Bulatlat
■
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AFP Campaigns vs Bayan
Muna
Bulatlat