“The unfair and one-sided provisions of the JPEPA encroach on the rights of the Filipinos to chart their own destiny,” Guingona said at a press conference held at the Miriam College by the Magkaisa Junk JPEPA Coalition.

Guingona was voicing concern that other countries may also demand the massive concessions granted to Japan under the JPEPA under future bilateral trade agreements. “JPEPA seems to be the beginning for other nations to also invoke the same unfair privileges under the World Trade Organization (WTO),” he added.

The Philippine is currently under various stages of negotiating bilateral trade agreements with the United States, China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Toxic waste

Referring to the controversial provisions on toxic waste trade and the inclusion of wastes in the JPEPA’s tariff schedule, Guingona said that if indeed no waste trade is contemplated by the JPEPA, the proper thing to do is to excise the provisions that sanction such trade.

Guingona charged that with JPEPA, “the policy of Japan on ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ is that after the product is finished it will get dumped in the Philippines.”

Among the most controversial features of the JPEPA is Article 29, which provides for the reduction of tariff for waste products. Among the wastes that are to enjoy zero-tariff entry to the Philippines are incinerator ash, clinical waste, sewage sludge, waste pharmaceuticals and municipal waste.

Second-class professionals in JPEPA

Speaking during the same press conference, Dr. Leah Paquiz, president of the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), also heavily criticized the JPEPA for granting Filipino nurses the status of second-class professionals in Japan.

According to her, Filipino nurses will be second-class professionals in Japan because under the terms being crafted by the Japan’s Ministry of Health and the Japanese Nursing Association (JNA), they are mere trainees for up to three years until they pass the national licensure exam written in Japanese, an examination that is routinely failed by half of the Japanese citizens who take it.

Dr. Paquiz also pointed out the well-known hostility of the Japanese Nursing Association (JNA) against the entry of Filipino nurses in Japan. The JNA’s official position is that the working conditions of Japanese nurses must first be improved before taking in Filipino nurses.

“The insecurity of the status of our Filipina nurses under the JPEPA plus the hostility of the Japanese nurses to our presence there may conspire to gradually ease some of our nurses into sexual exploitation,” Dr. Paquiz said.

“In the guise of opening up the Japanese labor market, JPEPA may actually be setting up our nurses for failure, discrimination and possible sexual exploitation,” she added.

Dr Paquiz was concerned that unscrupulous Japanese nightclubs may begin scouting for Filipina nurses to moonlight as sex workers under the JPEPA.

In 2005, Japan started to implement its Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking. Imposing stricter requirements for overseas performing artists (OPAs), including those who were before exploited and introduced to the Japanese sex industry, the implementation of the plan resulted in a drastic drop in the deployment of OPAS from a high of 74,480 by end of 2004 to a low of 42,586 in 2005 and only 10,615 by end of 2006.

“Our nurses have already sent huge amounts of remittances to prop up the Philippine economy,” Dr Paquiz said, “yet the government still has to implement existing laws that uphold the dignity and provide just compensation for our local nurses.”

She was referring to RA 9173 or the Nursing Act of 2002, which provides that no public health worker shall receive compensation below salary grade 15. Also, according to Dr Paquiz, RA 7135 or the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers, which uplifts the working conditions of Filipino nurses, is yet to be fully implemented fifteen years after its enactment.

Unfair trade

In the same press conference, Representative Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan said that a vital clue to the disadvantageous bargaining position of the Philippines in the negotiation of the JPEPA is that while Japan was able to exclude a total of 238 tariff lines, the Philippines only managed to exclude six.

“One major rationale for the Philippines entering into the JPEPA, upon which we have predicated our many trade concessions, “said Representative Hontiveros, “is the prospect of Japan opening up its labor force to our nurses. Now, even that one supposedly bright prospect is getting dimmer as the Japanese have begun erecting barriers to the entry of our nurses.”

Lawyer Tanya Lat of the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (IDEALS) said that the JPEPA offers, at best, very minimal gains for the Philippines.

“In exchange for the minimal, speculative and short-term gains,” Atty. Lat said, “the government bargained the long-term development of our economy.”

She added that the trumpeted inflows of investment under the JPEPA are speculative—given the unaddresssed issues that make the Philippines relatively an unattractive area for foreign direct investment—but the contraction of the Philippine agriculture sector, the displacement of
farmers and the closure of local industries will be all real.

“Our Constitution provides that we should pursue a trade policy that serves the general welfare and operates on the basis of equality and reciprocity,” said Atty Lat. “We deserve to be more than just a nation of beggars and servants panhandling for Japanese waste.”

Senate concurrence needed

The JPEPA, a preferential trade treaty signed in September 2006 by President Gloria Arroyo and then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Helsinki, will need to be ratified by the Senate. It is widely seen as the first test of the relationship between the Arroyo administration and the new Senate dominated by the opposition.

Several senators have already come out strongly against the JPEPA. Senator Loren Legarda said that “the benefits in the JPEPA are more apparent than real and largely ignorable if we are to compare it to the destruction of our environment… Without mincing words, this treaty should be sacked.”

Senator Pia Cayetano has also called instead on the Senate to ratify first the Basel Ban Amendment before discussing the JPEPA. “Ratifying the Basel Ban Amendment would provide greater protection to the Philippines from becoming a dumping ground for toxic wastes, not only from Japan, but also from other industrial countries,” she stressed.

The Basel Ban Amendment, a supplement to the Basel Convention, plugs the convention’s loopholes by prohibiting the practice of trading toxic waste for both disposal and recycling.

“This should teach Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts that they cannot always have their way and bend law to their favor. The decision is an admonition to this administration not to use the Human Security Act to curtail civil liberties and rights and go after its critics,” Kabataan Party President Raymond Palatino said.

Yesterday, the high court dismissed with finality the Solicitor General’s petition to reverse its June 1 decision that junked the rebellion cases against Beltran and the Batasan 5.

Palatino said Ka Bel’s resilience and determination to stand up to government abuses and harassment is worthy of the youth’s emulation.

“Ka Bel serves as a good example for this new generation of young Filipinos to never get tired of fighting for truth, justice and democracy. He is a living inspiration for every youth to defy any
draconian measure that threatens to curtail civil liberties and human rights.”

Palatino also expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will also strike down the Anti-Terror law and government policy of redeploying military troops in Metro Manila as unconstitutional once civil libertarians and militant groups bring the matter to the high court.

“We remain positive that the Supreme Court will continue to side with the people and stand up to any attempt by this administration to govern above the rule of law, he said.”

Sponsored by the Supreme Court, the National Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances – Searching for Solutions will be held on July 16-17, 2007 at the Manila Hotel.

Representatives from the Executive and Legislative departments, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, and the Commission on Human Rights, media, academe, civil society, and other stakeholders will be among the participants in the two-day summit. Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno will give the keynote speech and closing remarks.

The Summit is aimed at searching for wholistic solutions and providing inputs to the SC in its objective of enhancing existing rules, or promulgating new ones, in the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, including the protection of the witnesses. Likewise, it aims to examine the concept of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances pursuant to the standards provided for by local and international laws, including United Nations instruments.

Moreover, the Summit also aims to revisit the rules of evidence and to explore more remedies for the aggrieved parties aside from the writ of habeas corpus.

During the first day of the Summit, the invited speakers will present their respective papers comprising significant inputs from their respective sectors.

On the second day, the participants will break out into 12 groups and take part in a workshop. Each breakout group will be chaired by a Supreme Court Associate Justice.

Local and international observers will be accredited. They will include members of the diplomatic corps and representatives from various international organizations.

The Summit highlight will be a plenary session where each of the 12 groups shall report to the body their recommended resolutions. The reports and proposals will be synthesized and then transmitted to the concerned government agencies for appropriate action.

Last March, the SC designated about a hundred Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) nationwide to hear, try, and decide cases involving killings of judges, political activists, and members of the media.

A total of 23 RTCs have been designated Special Courts in the National Judicial Capital Region (NCJR), while a total of 76 RTCs in the 12 Judicial Regions were likewise designated as Special Courts.

Chief Justice Puno has said that the creation of Special Courts to resolve extrajudicial killings is high on the Judiciary’s priority list. He made the announcement even before Malacañang made public the findings of the Independent Commission to Address Media and Activists Killings, headed by retired SC Justice Jose Melo, confirming the extrajudicial killings of political activists and members of the media.

“The first and foremost of human rights is the right to life. It has long been accorded universal status for the existence of all other rights is premised on the preservation of life. The extrajudicial taking of life is the ultimate violation of human rights. It cannot be allowed anywhere, and it has to be resisted everywhere…Extrajudicial killings also constitute brazen assaults on the rule of law. It is the constitutional duty of our judiciary to protect the rule of law and we will link with all efforts to prevent its erosion,” said Chief Justice Puno. –Jay B. Rempillo, Supreme Court PIO

SCMP chairperson Dion Carlo Cerrafon said they admire the young senator for bravely looking into their own ranks to clarify and hopefully pinpoint the real brains behind the massive human rights violations under the Arroyo government.

“Senator-elect Trillanes may have contrasting ideas with us, but his desire to make it clear who is behind these killings is enough for us to support the call (for an investigation),” Cerrafon said.

Cerrafon also agreed that the rank-and-file soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines may have no direct hand on the order of killing activists and journalists as those in the higher ranks could be “the masterminds of such bloodshed.”

He appealed to the Senate that the investigating body should look into the counter-insurgency program, dubbed as “Oplan Bantay Laya” to prove that it makes activists and critics of the Arroyo government the direct targets of killings and abductions.

The SCMP also called on fellow youth and church groups, especially the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, to support the planned investigation.

“We may not agree on proposed changes in the country. Whatever side we are in, either peaceful protest or revolt, we hope we can unite on one thing: defend life and stop this bloodshed,” Cerrafon appealed.

Militant youth group Anakbayan raised fears on the physical and emotional well-being of kidnapped University of the Philippines student Sherlyn Cadapan upon learning that she surprised her mother-in-law with a visit in May after almost a year of absence.

Suspected elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines abducted Cadapan, her schoolmate Karen Empeno and farmer Manuel Merino in Hagonoy, Bulacan last June 26, 2006 with. Cadapan and Empeno were doing volunteer research work for farmers in the area.

Cadapan and Empeno were members of youth groups Anakbayan and the League of Filipino Students, respectively.

“We have reason to believe that Sherlyn is in military custody and that she is under intense physical and emotional torture,” said Anakbayan chairperson Eleanor de Guzman.

De Guzman cited the account of Cadapan’s mother-in-law that she was surprised to see a ‘grim and subdued’ Sherlyn, a far cry from the talkative and cheerful daughter-in-law she knew. The mother-in-law refuses to be identified for security reasons.

She also added that Sherlyn was silent the whole time and refused to answer questions on what happened to her despite her prodding.

The mother-in-law also said that Sherlyn was accompanied by two ‘boyish’ women and two men ‘who looked like soldiers’. The women reportedly flanked Sherlyn wherever she went.

The mother-in-law also noticed Cadapan’s flat belly, and wondered what happened to the child she was carrying. She was two months pregnant when she was abducted.

“If Sherlyn was really safe and free the whole time, she would have easily gone to her family and friends and informed them of her situation. We find it extremely suspect that she has surfaced just as suddenly as she had disappeared and not willing to answer questions on her ordeal,” de Guzman said.

“What happened to her baby? Are they using her baby to threaten and pressure her to work for the military? We can only cringe with the knowledge that she may have been and still is being tortured in the hands of her captors.”

Anakbayan said that it will support actions by KARAPATAN and Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan, Sherlyn’s mother, to compel the military to return her to her family. “Only then shall our fears be put to rest. – Anakbayan

The groups troop to the main office of the Commission to pressure and address issues on tuition and other fee increase. The group asserted that the memoranda and policies of CHED gave license for the unwarrantless fee increases.

The really was spearheaded by the Movement for the Advancement of Student Power, along with AKBAYAN Youth and Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Lakas ng Kabataan.

Sarah Katrina Maramag, Kabataan Party’s media officer, said this confirmed report from poll watchers might be a premeditated ploy to downgrade their votes.

Kabataan Party earlier expressed alarm over Comelec-issued letters they received that were addressed to “Kabataan Party-list (Anak Party-list)”. Last week, it submitted an official letter of complaint as it clarified that it did not apply for any nickname or acronym with the word “Anak”.

The party-list group changed its name from Anak ng Bayan to Kabataan after losing in the 2004 elections.

Thursday was the third anniversary of the May 10, 2004 elections which were marred by the Hello Garci scandal which exploded following the discovery of an audiotaped cellphone conversation between President Arroyo and Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

To mark the occasion, TXTPower today relaunched its website as a portal and team blog. Reposted on the site were the original Hello Garci ringtone and a YouTube video based on it.

The Hello Garci ringtone became the most popular political ringtone in 2005.

In a statement, the group said that “Kabataan Partylist fully supports TXTPower’s advocacy of consumer and political rights. Kabataan Partylist is 100-percent behind TXTPower in batting for lower prices and better services, in battling abusive big companies, in demanding an end to government neglect of consumer welfare. Kabataan Partylist vows to be the champion and voice of Pinoy texters and telecommunication consumers inside Congress.”

TXTPower vowed to form text and email brigades in the homestretch of Kabataan Partylist’s campaign.

“We hope President Arroyo would no longer call any Comelec official to ensure the victory of her favored candidates. No to a Hello Garci part two,” said the group.

The relaunched team blog have the following initial members: physicists Kim Gargar and Dr. Gani Tapang, environmentalist Trixie Concepcion, IT expert Ric Bahague, writer Tonyo Cruz, journalist
Ederic Eder, student leaders Vencer Crisostomo, Jhayvie Dorado and Ana Gabriela Celestial.

“Of more than thirty candidates, only Genuine Opposition (GO) Senatoriables Loren Legarda and Koko Pimentel answered,” said Bianca Lapuz, YAD Spokesperson.

The youth group expressed their disappointment over the senatoriables’ lack of response to the questionnaires mailed to them even after three months of waiting and asking for updates.

Lapuz also lamented the failure of the candidates to address in their campaign platforms the issues of debt, education, and the national budget. “This just shows how much senatoriables can go without even touching issues as fundamental as whether to prioritize education more than debt payments,” Lapuz said.

“In fact, it is quite saddening to note that only Pimentel and Legarda explicitly took a stand against paying huge amounts of our taxpayers’ money for illegitimate debts”, Lapuz furthered.

The youth group especially lauded Pimentel for taking a sharp line for the repeal of Presidential Decree 1177 which provides for the automatic appropriation for debt servicing.

Lapuz challenged Pimentel and Legarda to continue pressing on the issue of debt even after the elections, and called on the rest of the youth to use their vote to advocate social and economic reform. “The youth, as the society’s stakeholders, must not be passive in calling for change,” Lapuz concluded.

YAD is a nationwide alliance of youth organizations advocating for the prioritization of education over debt service in the national budget.

Kaalagad chose ten issues and urges voters to make their choices alongside this sampling of indicative issues that are crucial to policy-making and governance and people’s interest.

“Our aim is to make the electoral exercise more substantive. The document is not an endorsement of candidates. It is meant to inform the voters where the present candidates stand in relation to important issues,” Fr. Ben Moraleda, spokesperson of Kaalagad said.

“Voters can even delimit their list of issues from the indicated ten or add other issues which they deem important. One can even disagree with us. The point is, choosing a candidate should be an exercise of discernment on issues and performance rather than the politics of loyalty, financial and political machinery, intimidation and foul play.

“The data is telling though,” the Research Team said even as several candidates have little or no published opinions or positions on some of the issues.

Taken as a whole, it is quite obvious that very few of the candidates have taken up workers (5/29) and farmers issues (4/29), a few even expressing negative stances (4/29) against CARP and (3/29) against workers rights. Is this because most of the candidates come from the middle and rich classes?

On domestic violence and gender, all four women candidates, together with a four men indicate positive stance. And while there are no negative indications, there are 21 out of 29 who has no public pronouncement on the issue. Is the result showing that most of the candidates consider women’s rights a non-issue or simply a domestic or private one?

The Visiting Forces Agreement and land reform appear the least of our candidates concern. In both cases getting only four positive indications. In the case of the VFA, seven candidates even out-rightly think it is better for the country. Does this indicate that our candidates do not give premium to Philippine sovereignty?

In the issue of environmental concerns of mining, logging and JPEPA, only eight got positive indications. Some candidates espouse minor environmental concerns but reneged on these three (3) very destructive issues.

It is also alarming that only 7 out of 29 have indicated concern about political repression and extra-judicial killings while 9 condone it.

Likewise, what is clear from data is that Philippines politics is traditional, elitist and affiliation is based on political convenience and dynasties, as indicated by 19 out of 29 negative indications.

“The survey-research is Kaalagad’s small contribution towards a non-elitist, principled and platform politics,” Gary Granada, Chairperson of Kaalagad added.

The document is a result of a one month survey-research on the candidates’ legislative performance, news on their activities or actions, public statements/pronouncement and other literatures over the internet, newspapers, television and radio interviews. Data from non-governmental organizations involve in the advocacy of the said issues were also used.

The Research Team is comprised of Yolanda R. Esguerra, Executive Officer, Virgilio B. Esguerra, Executive Committee Member and Nestor Torrefranca, Admin and Campaign Staff.