I would not contest the popular sentiment that the May 2016 national elections is the most contested since the Martial Law period.

Too young to have comprehension over the 1986 snap elections, my generation went through the first grades memorizing by rote the Cory Cabinet alongside the Philippines’ national this and that.

That senseless exercise was quickly followed by having to repeat the Ramos slogan of “Philippines 2000,” but only after vaguely remembering being encouraged to speak English like Miriam. Miriam who was said to have been cheated, I would hear the adults say. The conscientious grader in me started thinking, “Aren’t you adults going to do anything about that?”

Political puberty hit alongside Erap’s machismo – of war against the Muslims, drunken binges in Malacañang and his conquests in the bedroom.

Sad to say, but I have to admit, my first attempt at political commentary went: “Para sa mahirap? Let’s give this actor-politician a go!”

That of course, did not go well. I would eat my naive optimism and more than make up for it by joining my first series of rallies and walk-outs in the Oust Erap campaign.

But more frustration came alongside the Gloria presidency. I would learn my first ~isms and ~ions. And learn them I did when friends and acquaintances started falling to assassin’s bullets.

By the time Noynoy was being catapulted into the highest office, I was already a world-weary yuppie. I harbored no illusions when it came to change via elections.

I started voting NOTA – none of the above. I would save and cast my vote for genuine marginalized sectors’ party-lists, as we have had a chance to elect them since 2001. And also senators, for they have tried to disrupt the games of the rich since 2010.

That is the very same attitude I carry with me now, with election Monday just in sight.

Ah, but as for change via other ways – via methods the rich cannot game and rig – those are the games I would like for the kids of today to play. With their hope-filled generation, I think I can get along.

 SAMPU. Sampung letra lamang ang salitang MANGGAGAWA ngunit ang katumbas ay isang NASYON.

Ang mga mangggawa ang nagsisilbing tulay sa pag-unlad at progreso. Marahil, hindi lubos nauunawaan ng iilan. Ang halaga ng mga manggagawa—manggagawang buong buhay iniaalay ang pawis at dugo, hindi lamang para sa pamilya; kun’di para rin sa ikauunlad ng ating bansa.

Ano na lamang kaya ang kahihitnan ng buhay natin kung walang ang mga magsasaka at manggagawang bukid? Silang walang pagod na nakayukod sa matirik na init ng araw, para lamang may maaning palay, gulay, at prutas.

Ang mga karpetintero na sa bawat paghampas ng kanilang mga martilyo, ang bawat indayog ng kanilang mga braso sa paglalagari ng kahoy, ang pagbubuhat ng mga bato para lamang magkaroon ka nang maayos na tirahan. Naaaninag mo ba ang kinang ng kanilang mga pawis kapag nadadampian ito ng liwanag?

Paano na lamang kaya ang buhay mo kung wala ang mga drayber ng mga pampublikong sasakyan na nagsisilbi natin gulong para magpatuloy sa buhay? Nakaiinit man ng ulo ang trapik na mayroon tayo, walang sawa nilang sinusuong ang baku-bakong daan ng gobyernong ito.

Ang mga mangingisdang nakipagsasayaw sa alon ng karagatan para lamang makahuli ng sariwang isda.

Ang mga guro na kahit kulang sa benipisyo ay patuloy pa rin sa pagsusunog ng kilay nang sa gayon ay may bagong kaalaman na maibabahagi sa mga mag-aaral na uhaw rito.

Ang mga bagong bayani na nakikipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa, sinusuong ang diskriminasyon, pagpapahirap ng ibang lahi, at kung minsa’y pagmamaltrato. Hindi lamang para sa pamilya, kundi para rin sa ekonomiya. Silang nagsasakripisyong mawalay sa pamilya at nagtitiis sa pangungulila.

Ang mga manggagawa ay patuloy na nakakulong sa tatlong sulok ng lipunang ito, patuloy na lumalaban para sa pag-asa at mga karapatang pantao.

Ngayong Mayo Uno, ginunita ang ika-113 anibersaryo ng Internasyunal na Araw ng Paggawa na itinuturing bilang isa sa mga napakahalagang petsa sa kasaysayan, sapagkat, tatak ito ng mga Pilipinong manggagawa. Tatak ito—ng pagkilos, paglaban, paghihimagsik at paglaya mula sa mga naghaharing burukrata-kapitalismo, neolibarismo, pyudalismo, imperyalismo. Pag-alpas ito mula sa tanikala ng mga ‘Kano. Silang patuloy na hinahalay ang ating bansa para sa pansariling interes.
Nagsimula ang pagdiriwang na ito noong 1903, sa gitna ng direktang pananakop ng imperyalismong US. Sa taong iyon, mahigit 100,000 manggagawa at mamamayan ang nagmartsa patungong Malakanyang. Kung saan ang tanging sigaw ng mga manggagawa:

“Kamatayan sa imperyalismong US!”

Marubdob at maalab na isinisigaw ang mga litanyang ito. Ito’y isang simbolismo ng kanilang pagtindig. Ito’y boses na nararapat lamang pakinggan.

Bilang protesta at isang paraan ng paglaban sa malupit, marahas, mapanikil at mapandambong na rehimeng iyong kasabuwat ng lokal na malalaking kapitalista’t asendero at ng dayuhang interes.

Dahil sa panghihimasok ng mga Amerikano sa aspekto ng politika, ekonomiya at kultura, patuloy tayong itinutulak sa laylayan ng lipunan.

Sa kasalukuyan, patuloy na lumalala ang pagdapurak sa mga manggagawang Pilipino. Hindi lubos maapuhap ang sinasabi nilang “matuwid na daan,” sapagkat sa katotohanan sila lamang ang nakakikita. Talamak ang kontraktuwalisasyon, mababang pasahod, kawalan ng benepisyo na siya namang dahilan ng patuloy na kahirapan. Tanging mga kapitalista ang naghahari sa lipunang ito. Ang mga mahihirap ay patuloy na humihirap subalit ang mga mayayaman ay patuloy lamang na yumayaman.

Bilang pagdiriwang, tumulak noong ang libo-libong manggagawa sa embahada ng Amerika para iparinig ang kanilang mga hinaing. Isinusulong ngayon ng mga manggagawa ang P16,000 na national minimum wage kada buwan para sa mga kawani ng gobyerno at P750 kada araw para naman sa pribadong sektor. Panawagan din nilang buwagin ang regional wage system na layunin lamang pababain ang sahod at pagwatak-watakin ang mga manggagawa.

Ito’y ilan lamang sa panawagan ng mga manggagawa, panawagan nating mga Pilipino.

Bagamat mabagal ang pag-unlad sa lipunang ito, hindi tumitigil ang mga progresibo’t makabayang mamamayan at mga grupo para iparinig ang mga kanilang mga hinaing at boses. Madagdagan man ng sampung taon pa ng pakikibaka, o ilang daantaon, hinding-hindi tayo susuko.

Ngayon darating na eleksyon, isa sa mga isaalang-alang mo sa pagpili ng kandidato ay ang mga programang ibibigay nila sa mga manggagawa, hindi programa para sa negosyo ng mayayaman.

At tandaan na hindi rin eleksyon ang magsisilbing mitsa ng pag-unlad. Nagsisimula ito sa sama-samang lakas ng mamamayan. Katulad na lang din kung paanong nilikha ng mga manggagawa ang yaman ng ating bansa.

Kaya, ikaw, tayo, nararapat lamang na bilang Pilipino ay patuloy ang pakikiisa at suporta sa pagbabago, progreso, pambansang kalayaan at demokrasya. Dahil bilang Pilipino, responsibilidad natin gambalain ang mga taong nagpapakasasa sa kapangyarihan.

Huwag tayong umasa sa gobyerno. Huwag tayong umasa sa eleksyon. Makiisa at makilahok tayo sa hinaing ng bayan tungo sa pangmatagalang pag-unlad at hindi sa ampaw na pagbabago.

In a live web conference addressing members of umbrella organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) held in Quezon City on May 17, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison expressed optimism in the resumption of the stalled peace negotiations under the incoming Duterte administration.

Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor of Davao City, is the imminent winner of the presidential race via a landslide victory, with 15.7 million votes counting.

Sison said that Duterte expressed willingness in releasing all political prisoners.

According to human rights group Karapatan, there are at least 543 political prisoners, 18 of which are NDFP consultants. Of the 543, 88 are ailing and 48 are elderly.

“He could be daring like past presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos,” said Sison.

In 1986, Corazon Aquino freed and granted amnesty to hundreds of political detainees jailed during the Marcos dictatorship.

“Why should he be so guarded and cautious?…It is also a possibility for Duterte to immediately release half of all political prisoners, prioritizing the women, sick and elderly, and the other half could be released upon signing of a mutual ceasefire,” said Sison.

Presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte is eyeing former justice secretary Sylvestre Bello III as chief negotiator with the NDFP. Duterte also said that he will appoint Jesus Dureza as presidential peace adviser.

Dureza was once appointed Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process during the Arroyo administration.

Bello was involved in the peace process from Cory Aquino’s term up until the Arroyo administration.

It was during Bello’s term as government chief negotiator that major agreements between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and NDFP took place.

One of two landmark agreements include The Hague Declaration that set the four substantive agendas for the peace talks between the GPH and the NDFP include: human rights, socio-economic reforms, political reforms and end of hostilities and disposition of forces. The Hague Declaration laid down the framework and basis to resolve the armed conflict.

The Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) was also signed in 1998 by the two parties, clinching the first out of four substantive agendas. The CARHRIHL signified that both the GPH and NDFP would be held accountable for their respective human rights records and conduct in the armed conflict.

The peace talks under the Aquino administration did not prosper and negotiations were halted in 2011.

Prospects of coming home

Jose Maria Sison, founding Chairperson of the reestablished Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in 1968, has been exile in the Netherlands after peace negotiations in the Philippines was stalled in 1987, under the newly-seated Cory Aquino government.

Sison said that he would come home to the Philippines if a certain level of development in the peace negotiations have been met.

“Kapag pinalaya na lahat ng political prisoners at nagkaroon ng mutual ceasefire, puwede na akong pumunta sa Pilipinas (If all political prisoners are released and a mutual ceasefire is in place, I could go back to the Philippines),” said Sison.

Sison also urged the progressive mass movement to be critical and vigilant of the Duterte administration.

“Policies that are detrimental to the people should be opposed,” said Sison.

BAYAN was in cross swords with Duterte’s transition team recently. BAYAN criticized the 8-point economic agenda proposed by Duterte’s economic team recently, stating that the agenda is a ‘continuation of the neo-liberal poison imposed on the people by the Aquino regime.’ Duterte campaign spokesperson Peter Tiu Lavina hit the left ‘for making mistakes in the past and for supporting a losing candidate.’

BAYAN submitted a counter-proposal 8-point agenda stressing the need for a nationalist and pro-people economic program.

Rights group Karapatan also criticized presumptive president Duterte’s move to appoint Lieutenant General Ricardo Visaya as chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

According to a statement by Karapatan, Visaya was the ground commander during the 2004 Hacienda Luisita massacre where seven farmers where killed.

The statement further added that he was promoted as 4th Infantry Division Commanding General, the unit responsible for killing and forcible evacuation of farmers and Lumad in Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions.

“Unlike previous administrations, communication lines are open with the incoming Duterte administration,” added Sison.

On Monday, May 16, Duterte offered four vacant cabinet positions to the Communist Party of Philippines, namely the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Environment and National Resources and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Sison welcomed the move, saying that the gesture is unprecedented and a sign of goodwill in behalf of Duterte.

“He was very statesman-like in his offer of Cabinet positions,” said Sison.

In an interview by Inquirer, Sison clarified that “No official, member or expert of the CPP and NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) can join the Duterte Cabinet while the peace negotiations have not yet come to a happy and successful conclusion.”

However, Sison said in the live web conference that the brightest and most qualified individuals belonging to the progressive movement could submit their letter of intent to serve along with their resume, to fill the vacant positions in the Duterte cabinet.

Sison spoke highly of Duterte, noting that “he is outstanding amongst politicians in taking pride with having ties with the Left.”

“He is the only Filipino president I know who is proud to call himself socialist,” added Sison.

Duterte was a former student of Sison in Political Thought at the Lyceum of the Philippines (now Lyceum of the Philippines University).

Duterte was also a member of Kabataang Makabayan, a radical youth organization founded by Sison in 1964.

I would bring my cross-talk style magic back in my well-timed return to this paper by throwing serious and cross-talk style questions to Kabataang Makabayan and Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief political consultant Jose Ma. Sison (JMS).

JMS is also a professor of Political Thought, Duterte’s teacher in the subject. Analysts have been interviewed here and there on every turn in the news nowadays, but here is an interview with a political analyst who did not just go by the title for media interview credence—he is author to a most comprehensive analysis of the nature of Philippine society and the solution to root out society’s ills.

The primary topics that would be discussed are the following:

• The interesting aftermath of the 2016 Philippine national and local elections;
• the interesting national situation under the possible government of democratically-elected and first “leftist” President Rodrigo Duterte:
• the perspectives of the legal mass movement and progressive party-lists; and
• some primary possibilities for under the Duterte government.

photo from DavaoToday.com

With over 16 million votes garnered in the 2016 elections, presumptive president-elect and outgoing Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte captured the pulse of protest of the Filipino people. Riding on firebrand criticism against the elitist and anti-poor Aquino administration, Duterte has garnered the largest number of votes in the history of Philippine elections.

We in the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment welcome the Duterte administration’s call for change. We challenge the new President to break free from the anti-environment and anti-people policies of the past Arroyo and Aquino administrations that have resulted in the massive destruction of our ecosystem, rapid depletion of our natural resources, and heightened repression and impunity against the people.

In the recently concluded Green Vote electoral platform campaign, we identified positive track records of Mayor Duterte on environmental protection. I personally witnessed how Mayor Duterte engaged and supported environmental activists in their cause against large-scale mining, toxic aerial spraying, and various land grabs of the ancestral lands of Lumads. Davao City is only one place in the Philippines that bans large-scale mining and aerial spraying. We counsel him to replicate his good deeds at the national level.

But with the pros come the cons. We know Mayor Duterte was an unapologetic supporter of Aboitiz coal-fired power plant project in Davao City. He also welcomed the establishment of vast tracts of agri-industrial plantations. Mayor Duterte rationalizes that these would bring progress to Davao City and would outweigh the negative environmental impacts, a justification used time and again for various forms of ‘development aggression’.

“We did not see any substantial policy platform on the environment during Duterte’s campaign trail and we have not seen them until now “

This time of transition period is especially of concern, where the Duterte camp begins to flesh out the strategic direction of the new presidency. We did not see any substantial policy platform on the environment during Duterte’s campaign trail and we have not seen them until now.

Will there be a change in institutional policies leaning towards the protection of our environment, wise utilization of our natural resources, and comprehensive rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems? Or will his administration just continue the destructive policies of the past administrations? The protection of the environment holds much of the fate of the people, especially the poor. We will hold the new president accountable to his words and promises, to embody the title of his long-running news program, Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa—from the masses and for the masses.

There is already much anxiety and doubt among environmentalists upon learning who are closest in Duterte’s circle of power. Among Duterte’s economic team are corporate loggers and miners Tom Alacanara, Paul Dominguez and Carlos Dominguez, who are part owners of Sagittarius Mining Inc. (SMI). SMI owns the controversial and much reviled $5-billion gold-copper mining project in Tampakan, South Cotabato.

Carlos Dominguez, likely a candidate to the cabinet, was the president of the Lafayette Mining Philippines that caused massive fish kills and a health crisis in the island of Rapu-Rapu, Albay. Paul Dominguez and Tomas Alcantara are owners of Alsons Consolidated Resources (ACR), which has major stakes in large-scale mining, logging and power mostly located in Mindanao. They own the 210-megawatt coal power plant in Maasim, Sarangani province. The Dominguezes and Alcantaras were one of the financiers of the Duterte presidential campaign.

Worse, when the economic team of Duterte laid out their eight-point agenda, it reiterates that it will continue to give more privileges to foreign corporations to entice them to invest in the country. Economic charter change was also an immediate deliverable they promised.

Duterte’s first hundred days, or less, in Malacanang will show his mettle if he will stand for the people and the environment. With his newfound authority as the most powerful man in the land, we environmentalists challenge Duterte to take on the ‘Eco-Challenge’ of 12 immediately doable actions for the environment:

These are doable and achievable, and the Duterte administration can at least make public pronouncement with regards to these issues. Tough-talking Digong Duterte can and should rise above traditional politics and walk his talk, especially on these urgent environment issues.

Clemente Bautista is the national coordinator of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, one of the convening organizations of the Green Vote 2016 election campaign

Hungry farmers asking for rice. Typhoon victims decrying government neglect. Netizens marching against corruption.

These protests unmasked the ‘Daang Matuwid’ program as an empty slogan of a regime that insidiously perpetuates foreign dominance and elite oppression in the country. It is only now we appreciate the full and potent significance of these grassroots protests. If not for these daring political actions, Aquino would have easily fooled many into believing that he performed well as president.

Despite the demonization of dissent in the country, protesters persevered in asserting their democratic rights. They showed creativity too through events like One Billion Rising and innovations like selfie and even planking protests. In Mindanao, the funeral march for a revolutionary leader became a political event that criticized the government’s counter-insurgency program.

But the most impressive example of political activism was the brave decision of the Lumad who defied state-sponsored violence and corporate plunder in their communities. Together with farmers struggling against climate injustice, these rural heroes became the fiercest and most credible critics of the Aquino regime.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation as democratically-elected president is seen by many as a sign of the public rejection and repudiation of the outgoing government of President Noynoy Aquino and its discredited ‘Daang Matuwid’. Duterte’s victory also sparked a general public optimism among the majority; many people are expecting the incoming Duterte government to make radical and sweeping changes happen in its first 100 days in power. That optimism was much higher than such optimism in the first 100 days of outgoing President Noynoy Aquino in power. But when would it really last?

Would President Rody Duterte, as he wants to be called by the people, bring swift changes to this nation for the benefit of the majority? Or would he only continue the same neoliberal economic policies that his predecessors had adopted for the benefit of the local ruling elite and big corporations? Would there be room for healing, national unity and peace in this nation under President Rody?

In a protest yesterday, hospital staff and supporters urged the incoming President Rodrigo Duterte to intervene in the shut down of Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, the country’s sole hospital specializing in Maternal Health. According to the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), they sent a letter to President-elect Duterte urging him to help them save the hospital.

The hospital is set to be closed today and the 1,300 employees and patients are supposed to be temporarily transferred to a 50 bed capacity Philippine Blood Center in Quezon City. The Department of Health (DOH) plans to transfer the hospital inside the DOH compound in Sta. Cruz, Manila. The AHW claims that construction for the new hospital has barely started.

Fabella Hospital, with its 700 bed capacity, handles 1000 obstetrical and gynecological in-patients daily. The public hospital is dubbed as “Paanakang Bayan” since most of its patients are indigents coming from Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Photos by Rolando Que

“Simple living, painstaking struggle,” this is how incoming Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, described how he lived for the past 30 years before being selected by incoming President Rodrigo Duterte as head of the Agrarian Reform government agency. The incoming Secretary is a farmer, peasant leader and former legislator representing Anakpawis Party-list.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary can issue orders, rules and regulations and other issuances to ensure the implementation of DAR’s mandate. The Department’s authority includes acquiring private agricultural lands and administer cultivable public domain for distribution to qualified farmers; issue emancipation patents to farmer beneficiaries; facilitate the compensation of landowners covered by the agrarian reform program; and approve or disapprove land conversion of agricultural lands into non-agricultural uses. The DAR Secretary is considered as the President’s alter-ego in the Agrarian Reform agency.

Poor peasant

Ka Paeng, as friends, comrades, colleagues fondly call the peasant leader, hails from a poor farming family in Quezon, Nueva Ecija. His family plants palay in a two-hectare land inside Rafael Escueda’s hacienda that was subjected to land reform under President Ferdinand Marcos’ Presidential Decree No. 27. Ironically, they still do not own the land they till due to failure to pay the amortization.

The 59-year old peasant leader recounted in an interview that his activism came from the worsening condition of his family and fellow farmers inside the hacienda.

“Our share with the landlord during harvest was 50-50 minus the expenses during planting season. But, we have no regular harvest. Our palay would be flooded during rainy seasons. During summer, there’s no water from the irrigation because we are at the end of the canal. At times when we can’t plant palay and when we don’t need that much water, the irrigation would flood our vegetables,” Ka Paeng narrated.

Peasant leader

While studying BS Agricultural Cooperative in Wesleyan University in Cabanatuan City, Ka Paeng’s father Narciso got sick for which he dropped out of college and took up the responsibility of working in their farm. He joined a local youth organization, Bisig ng Kabataan, in their village and eventually became active in organizing his fellow farmers. He was elected as Vice Chairman of the Alyansang Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon, a regional peasant alliance in Central Luzon.

The first protest he joined called for the lowering of prices of fertilizer and pesticides in at the Ministry of Agriculture in December 1981.

Ka Paeng was Secretary General of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in 1987, the same year when a 20,000-strong delegation of farmers gathered in Manila to demand for genuine agrarian reform that was promised by Corazon Aquino when she was sworn in as President during the People Power uprising. Government forces open fired at the protesters when they reached Mendiola bridge near the Malacañang Palace killing 13 farmers. An event that now we call Mendiola massacre.

Struggle from within

In 1993, Ka Paeng was faced with the struggle within the national leadership of KMP on how to treat the government’s agrarian reform program. He affirmed that the peasant movement should continue to rely on its collective action and should not collaborate with the state in implementing a bogus agrarian reform program.

“Ang pagtingin ko noon…ang lakas at pagkakaisa ng mga magsasaka ang magsusulong at magpapatupad ng akmang hakbang sa kanayunan ng tunay na reporma sa lupa. Hindi mo iaasa sa isang reaksyunaryong estado,” he said.

He faced another major struggle in 1998 when other members of KMP’s national leadership insisted on a different class analysis equating merchants and usurer to landlords as the peasant’s primary enemy. He asserted that big landlords are the peasants’ primary enemy and landlessness is the Philippines’ fundamental problem. He said that class analysis and identifying the fundamental problems of farmers should be clear to ensure the right direction of the peasant movement

Regional chapters of KMP had the same assertion as Ka Paeng. Eventually, other members of KMP’s national leadership was kicked out due to collaboration with the government and pushing for programs inimical to peasants’ interests.

According to Ka Paeng, these two major struggles in KMP strengthened his resolve to firmly hold on to his principles: to trust the masses by primarily relying on their strength brought by their collective and militant action.

The peasant leader’s contentions were affirmed when Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco-Aquino’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which was implemented in 1988, failed to address the country’s agrarian reform problem given its loopholes that favor big landowners. Hacienda Luisita, which is controlled by Cojuangco-Aquino’s family, was covered by the agrarian reform program but farmworkers were tricked into opting for Stock Distribution Option (SDO) under CARP which retained the control of the Cojuangcos of the more than 6,500-hectare land.

At present, Ka Paeng is the Chairperson of KMP. He is also the President of Anakpawis Party-list.

Farmer turned legislator

After the successful run of Bayan Muna Partylist in the 2001 elections, Anakpawis Partylist was formed in 2002 to represent workers and peasants inside the Philippine government. In the 2004 elections, Anakpawis won two seats and Ka Paeng became the first ever farmer-turned-legislator. The other representative was labor leader Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran.

In Congress, he pushed for the passage of the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) that aims to distribute land for free to farmer beneficiaries and provide adequate agricultural assistance. He authored and co-authored at total of 377 bills and 966 resolutions during his three-term stint in Congress.

In the 16^th Congress, GARB or House Bill No. 252 reached the committee-level hearings. The bill would be refiled in the next Congress.

He co-chaired the Agrarian Reform, Agriculture, and Food committees and became a member of several committees in the House of Representatives.

According to Ka Paeng, during his stint as a legislator, he affirmed the anti-peasant nature of Congress.

He recounted that the CARP extension with reform bill was railroaded in 2009 by the landlord-dominated House of Representatives.

“Gusto ko pang mag-interpellate noon bago pagbotohan ang panukalang batas ng extension ng CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program), pinigilan na ako kayo yung papel na hawak ko ibinato ko na sa loob ng plenary hall eh. Doon makikita mo talaga na hindi nila isusuko yung kanilang interes,” recalled Ka Paeng.

Simple living, painstaking struggle

As his term ended in 2013, he remained the poorest Congressman without any record of corruption within his nine years of service.

As KMP’s Chairperson, Ka Paeng is tasked with representing the peasant organization in activities and in the media.

Ka Paeng’s day starts with preparing his own coffee and breakfast while reading important documents or readings. When he arrives at the KMP national office, he would read the newspaper and listen to the radio or watch the news. Usually he would attend meetings or forums where he is invited to talk. If there are protests actions, he would attend them to represent KMP and speak during the program. If there are no activities outside the office, he would actively seek the media so the people can hear or read about his organization’s stand or clarifications on certain issues. Before going home in the evening, he would watch the news since he has no radio or TV in his house. His day never ends without him reading anything or discussing issues with the media or people.

Part of his tasks as KMP Chairperson is to visit peasant communities and KMP chapters all over the country for consultations and discussions. He shared that he listens carefully to what his fellow farmers have to say. He said that these discussions are his most important and lively activities.

Ka Paeng does his own laundry and irons out his barong even when he was still in Congress. He commutes everyday and maintains a simple and modest lifestyle.

Wide reader, sharp in statistics

Ka Paeng is very articulate when it comes to agrarian laws and cases. In an interview, he mentioned that he persevered in reading all the case files of Hacienda Luisita, Hacienda Looc, Hacienda Roxas, Araneta Estates and many more including important court decisions; laws and Supreme Court decisions about agrarian reform since Commonwealth up to present; and memorandum circulars issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

During the interview, he showed all the books on the ‘Administrative Issuances and Pertinent Memorandum Circulars’ published by DAR and shared that he has read all of it. He said that he saw the need to review these books as the incoming DAR Secretary.

One striking trait of Ka Paeng is his sharp memory of statistics and numbers. He can recite from memory the number of land reform beneficiaries, how many of them have failed to pay amortization, how many hectares have been reportedly distributed and how many needs to be distributed. He can also remember all the House Bills they filed in Congress and Republic Acts and Presidential Decrees about agrarian reform and agriculture.

When asked how he developed his sharpness in statistics, he said he is not good in mathematics but his years in the peasant movement required him to translate statistics into simple terms to make them easier to understand by his fellow farmers.

First order of business as DAR Secretary

On his first day as DAR Secretary, Ka Paeng shared that his first order of business is to direct an inventory of all the land acquisitions to know the state of awarded lands all over the country, and this to ensure that farmer beneficiaries are secured in their awarded lands. He also wants to immediately review the ‘tambyolo’ land reform implemented by DAR in Hacienda Luisita that is controlled by the Cojuangcos.

In the absence of an Agrarian Reform Program for almost two years now, DAR cannot issue new Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) and Emancipation Patents (EPs) to farmer beneficiaries. Many CLOAs and EPs have been reportedly cancelled due to exemption and land use conversion. Congress failed to extend CARP with Extension and Reforms (CARPER) in 2014, leaving the country with fundamentally no land reform program for two years under the presidency of Benigno Aquino, son of Cory and criticized as “Haciendero president.”

Ka Paeng said that his advocacy for a Genuine Agrarian Reform Law would continue and he would support the refiling of the bill in the next Congress.

He also added that he would respect the rights of DAR employees and would support the DAR employees’ association’s Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) with the DAR management.

Addressing poverty

Ka Paeng sees his appointment to DAR as advantageous to the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). As DAR Secretary, he would be consulted by the GPH in drafting its version of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER). Agrarian reform is one of the most important economic issues in the agreement. The socio-economic reforms are the next agenda in the talks.

But the peasant leader reiterated that the peasant movement should not be complacent even if he would be the DAR Secretary.

“Still, it is important for the Filipino peasantry to mainly rely on their organized strength and collective actions in asserting their rights to the land,” he said.

Asked if there would still be protests, a cliché question for him during these times, he answered: “Dapat nga ay salubungin sila ng mga opisyal at kawani ng DAR at tanungin kung ano po ba ang kalagayan ninyo? Ano po ba ang inyong mga suliranin sa inyong mga sinasakang lupa? Ano po ba ang aming maipaglilingkod at maaaring gawin.”

He said that with this kind of atmosphere, there would be a healthy relationship between the farmers and DAR officials and employees.

Big challenge, no compromise

Ka Paeng said there were no conditions when he was selected as DAR Secretary. He added that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte expects all his Cabinet members to do their job well. Either way, there would be no compromises when it comes to his principles and the interest of the masses.

The DAR post is a big challenge and a new battlefield for the Philippine Left according to the incoming Secretary. It is a challenge to prove that people from Left or National Democratic Movement can run a government that truly serves the interest of the people.

“It is my unwavering commitment to fulfill my part in the realization of the desire and aspiration of the landless Filipino peasants to emancipate themselves from the bondage of the soil they till through genuine agrarian reform,” Ka Paeng pledged.

“Mura ang babayaran at maasikaso ang mga nars at doktor dito,” pagsasalarawan ni Maricris Rafols, 29 taong gulang, sa kanyang karanasan sa panganganak sa Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. Panglimang anak na ni Maricris si Zeus, na kakapanganak pa lang, pero unang beses pa lang niya manganak sa ospital na ito. Aniya, sa mga kapitbahay niya nabalitaan na mainam manganak sa Fabella Hospital dahil sa magandang serbisyo nito lalo na para sa mga maralita.

Ayon sa Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), nagbigay ng kautusan ang Pangalawang Kalihim sa Operasyon ng mga Ospital ng Kagawaran ng Kalusugan (Department of Health o DOH) sa pamunuan ng ospital na binibigyan na lang ng hanggang Hunyo 9 ang mga empleyado ng ospital para lumipat sa Philippine Blood Center sa Lungsod ng Quezon.

Noong unang araw ng Hunyo, sinimulang ikarga ang mga kagamitan ng ospital para dalhin sa pansamantalang lilipatan nito sa Philippine Blood Center sa Lungsod ng Quezon. Nabigo ang tangkang ito dahil sa pagbarikada ng mga empleyado at mga residente sa palibot ng ospital.

Abril 18 pa nitong taon nang magsimula ang araw-araw na protesta ng mga empleyado ng ospital at mga tagasuporta nito.

“Kung mawawala ang ospital na ito, saan pupunta ang mga mahihirap na mga nanay? Hindi nila kakayanin ang pumunta sa mga pribadong ospital na malaki ang bayad,” ayon kay Benjie Santos, Pangkalahatang Kalihim ng AHW.

Ayon pa sa AHW, tuluyan nang mabubuwag ang Fabella Hospital kung ipadala sa iba’t ibang ospital ang mga pasyente at empleyado nito dahil hindi na ito gagana bilang dalubhasang ospital ng panganganak.

“Paanakang Bayan”

Kinilala ng World Health Organization (WHO) ang Fabella Hospital bilang “modelo ng WHO-Western Pacific Regional Office” dahil sa mga esensyal na programa nito para sa pag-aalaga ng mga bagong panganak, na napatunayang nagpapababa ng bilang ng namamatay na mga sanggol.”

Kinikilala naman ang ospital bilang dalubhasa sa obstetrics, gynecology at pediatric cases sa bansa. Kinokonsidera ito bilang pambansang sentro ng paanakan. Ito rin ang nagpasimula ng Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), isang pamamaraan para matulungan ang mga sanggol na ipinanganak na kulang sa buwan o hindi malusog na hindi na kailangang gumamit ng incubator.

Sa loob ng 96 na taon, patuloy ang pagbibigay ng ospital ng kinakailangang serbisyo sa mga nanay at sanggol, lalo na sa mga mahihirap sa kabila ng limitadong rekurso nito.

Ayon sa AHW, umaabot sa mahigit 2,000 ang in-patient at outpatient ng ospital araw-araw sa iba’t ibang departamento nito. Aabot naman sa 50 sanggol ang ipinapanganak dito araw-araw.

Nasa 700 lang ang higaan sa Fabella Hospital kaya’t sa isang higaan ay nasa dalawa hanggang apat na mag-ina ang magkakahati.

Sineserbisyuhan nito ang mga nanay at bata hindi lang nagmumula sa Kalakhang Maynila kundi maging sa mga kalapit na probinsya katulad ng Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna at Batangas.

Luma at mabuway na istruktura

Sa ulat noong Pebrero na inilabas ESCA, Inc., isang kumpanya na gumagawa ng mga disenyo at konstruksyon ng mga istruktura, sinabi nitong 76% ng mga haligi at 80% ng mga barakilan (beams) ng ospital ay lumagpas na sa kapasidad nito. Nirekomenda nito ang pagpapalakas ng mga istruktura ng ospital o maaaring ikonsidera ang paglipat ng pasilidad.

Aabot na sa 65 taon ang ospital mula sa orihinal na istruktura nito na dating Administration Building ng Bilibid Compound. Ayon na rin sa nakalathalang kasaysayan nito, sa paglipas ng panahon pinaayos na ang orihinal na istruktura at patuloy na nadagdagan ang mga kuwarto at gusali dahil sa paglawak ng serbisyo ng ospital.

Pero ayon sa AHW, taong 2007 pa ipinahayag ng dating Direktor ng ospital na mahina na raw ang istruktura nito pero walang pagsasaayos o pagpapatibay na ginawa sa Fabella Hospital ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan (Department of Health o DOH) na siyang namamahala ng ospital.

“Naglabas ng report ang City Engineering Office ng Lungsod ng Maynila at sinabi nitong may depekto nga ang ospital pero kaya pang i-retrofit,” ayon kay Santos.

Mababang badyet

Sa kabila ng pagiging pangunahing ospital na nagpapakadalubhasa sa kalusugan ng mga nanay at sanggol, umabot lang sa halos P629.7M ang inilaang pondo ng gobyerno rito para sa taong 2016. Ayon sa ulat ng ospital na nakalathala sa kanilang website, mahigit P705M ang naibigay na badyet sa ospital mula sa iba’t ibang pinagkunan para sa operasyon nito noong nakaraang taon.

Sa anim na taon ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Noynoy Aquino, tatlong taong (2011, 2013 at 2015) walang inilaan na badyet ang gobyerno para sa Capital Outlay ng ospital. Ang badyet sa Capital Outlay ay nakalaan para sa pagkukumpuni at pagpapatayo ng mga bagong istruktura ng ospital.

Negosyo hindi serbisyo

Ang Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC), isang government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) na direktang nasa ilalim ng Opisina ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas, ang nagmamay-ari ng Old Bilibid Compound (OBC) kung saan nakatirik ang Fabella Hospital.

Sa isang sulat na ipinadala ng HGC sa pamunuan ng ospital noong Setyembre 4, 2015, mandato umano nito na ilako at ibenta ang OBC para makabawi sa pinansya ang gobyerno kaya’t kagyat nang pinapaalis ang Fabella Hospital dito. Binantaan pa ang pamunuan ng ospital na gagawa ng ligal na aksyon kung hindi ito tumalima para maprotektahan ang interes ng HGC at ang pamumuhunan ng Pambansang Gobyerno.

Taong 2004 nang pinirmahan ng dating Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ang Proklamasyon Blg. 661 na naglilipat ng awtoridad at pamamahala mula sa Public Estates Authority patungong HGC para ibenta ang OBC.

Ayon sa AHW, taong 2007 ay naglabas ang HGC ng imbitasyon para magsumite ng mga panukala para sa isang Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) para sa pagsasaayos ng mga pag-aari nito sa OBC.

“Lumalabas na ang bottomline nito ay ang pagbebenta lamang ng lupa ng Fabella Hospital na bahagi ng Old Bilibid Compound,” dagdag ni Santos.

Ang JVA ay mga kasunduan para magsagawa ng mga pampublikong proyekto sa pagitan ng pribadong sektor at gobyerno. Isa itong lokal na implementasyon ng mga programang Public-Private Partnership (PPP) ng gobyerno.

Mas kaunting pasyente

“Patuloy ang konstruksyon ng bagong istruktura ng Fabella Hospital sa loob ng compound ng DOH [sa Tayuman, Manila] at matatapos ito sa Mayo 2017,” ayon kay Dr. Antoinette Pacapac, Media Relations Officer ng Fabella Hospital.

Naglaan ng P714.3M na pondo ang DOH para sa ikalawang bahagi ng konstruksyon ng Fabella Hospital. Nakuha ang kontrata ng J.D. Legaspi Construction sa halagang P713.8M.

Pero sa kabila ng ipinagmamalaking bagong istruktura, lalabas na mas kaunting pasyente ang kayang serbisyuhan ng itinatayong ospital dahil aabot lang sa 400 ang higaan nito kung ikukumpara sa 700 higaan na kasalukuyang kapasidad ng Fabella Hospital.

Walang seguridad para sa mga empleyado

Ayon kay Dr. Pacapac, aabot sa 1,200 ang mga empleyado ng ospital kabilang na ang mga doktor, nars at iba pang manggagawang pangkalusugan.

Dagdag pa niya, pansamantalang itatalaga sa ibang ospital ang ibang mga empleyado at papabalikin din kapag kumpleto na ang bagong ospital.

Ayon naman sa AHW, nakatanggap na ng termination of contract letters ang mga residenteng doktor mula sa pamunuan ng ospital. Wala rin daw garantiya na matatanggap sa ibang mga ospital ang mga empleyado ngayon dahil wala nang mga bakanteng pusisyon.

Tuloy ang laban

“Patuloy ang pagkilos ng mga empleyado kasama ang Alliance of Health Workers at Save Fabella Movement hanggang sa katapusan ng Hunyo kung saan uupo na ang bagong gobyerno,” sabi ni Santos.

Ayon pa sa kanya, natanggap na ng bagong halal na Presidente ng bansa si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang sulat na kanilang ginawa. Tinitingnan daw nilang magiging positibo ang tugon nito dahil nabanggit na ni Duterte na prayoridad ng kanyang administrasyon ang edukasyon at kalusugan.

“Hangga’t hindi nagsasabi ang pamunuan ng Fabella Hospital na ititigil nila ang paglilipat ay tuloy ang pagkilos namin dito sa labas ng ospital,” aniya.

May estudyante pero walang gusali. May classroom pero walang teacher. O may classroom at teacher pero kaunti ang estudyante. Ganito ang mga eksena sa unang araw ng pasukan sa mga pampublikong paaralan at unang araw ng pagkakaroon ng Senior High School (SHS) sa Kalakhang Maynila at sa buong bansa.

“Palpak at magulo ang unang araw ng klase at ng Senior High School. Inaasahan nating mas lalala pa ito sa mga susunod na araw dahil sa pagpapatupad ng programang K to 12,” pagsasalarawan ni Benjie Valbuena, Pambansang Tagapangulo ng Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

Luma at bagong problema

Sa kabila ng pagpapatayo ng mga bagong istruktura para sa SHS, batbat pa rin ng parehong problema ng kakulangan ng silid-aralan ang mga pampublikong paaralan.

Sa Tondo National High School, tatlong seksyon ng ika-pitong baitang ang nagkaklase sa basketbolan ng paaralan.

May 267 mag-aaral ng SHS naman ang naka-enrol sa Jose Abad Santos High School sa Lungsod ng Maynila pero anim lang ang mga guro na kanina lang pinadala.

Ayon sa datos ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon (Department of Education o DepEd), 6,002 ang nagbukas ng pampublikong SHS at 5,031 naman sa mga pribadong mataas na paaralan, pribado at pampublikong kolehiyo at unibersidad, at technical-vocational na mga paaralan sa buong bansa. ‘Di hamak na mas maliit na bilang ang mga pampublikong SHS kumpara sa 8,195 na pampublikong Junior High School noong nakaraang taon.

Paglobo ng dropout

Naitala ng Anakbayan Metro Manila na maraming paaralan ang mababa ang naka-enrol mga mag-aaral ng SHS kumpara sa nagsipagtapos ng Grade 10 o iyong regular na apat na taon ng hayskul.

Sa Paez High School sa Tondo sa Maynila, 300 lang ang pwedeng tanggapin sa Grade 11 ngayong Hunyo sa kabila nang 500 ang nagtapos ng Grade 10 nitong Marso. Pero hindi pa makakapagsimula ang klase dito dahil ginagawa pa rin hanggang ngayon ang gusali para sa SHS.

May 89 na naka-enrol sa Grade 11 sa Tondo High School pero 300 ang nagtapos ng Grade 10 dito.

Sa E. Rodriguez High School sa Lungsod ng Quezon naman ay 600 ang inaasahang mag-aaral para sa SHS pero 200 pa lang ang nagpatala. Limang mataas na paaralan kalapit nito ang walang SHS.

Sa Batasan High School naman ay 2,000 ang nagtapos ng Grade 10 pero 89 lang ang nakatalang mag-aaral sa SHS.

Hindi na nagbukas ang V. Mapa High School sa kabila ng konstruksyon ng mga classroom para sa SHS dahil walang nag-enrol mga mag-aaral para sa Grade 11.

Ayon kay Valbuena, sa Dibisyon ng Maynila pa lang ay 8,883 estudyante sa 16,887 o kalahati ng nagtapos ng Grade 10 ang hindi malaman kung nasaan. Sa tingin nila ay hindi na tutuloy sa SHS ang mga ito.

Tinatayang nasa 1.2M mag-aaral ang nagtapos ng Grade 10 ngayong taon sa buong bansa pero ayon na rin sa DepEd, tinataya nilang aabot sa 200,000-400,000 ang hindi makakapasok sa Grade 11.

Ayon kay Gail, Grade 10 na estudyante ng Batasan High School, wala pang SHS na mga estudyante na pumasok ngayong araw sa kanilang paaralan. Pinalawig pa raw ang enrollment ng Grade 11 sa pag-asa na marami pa ang magpapatala.

Pero ayon naman sa kasalukuyang Kalihim ng DepEd na si Bro. Armin Luistro sa isang panayam nang bumisita ito sa Commonwealth High School, itong taon na ito ang isa sa pinakamaayos na pagbubukas ng ekswela kahit bago ang pagpapatupad ng K to 12.

Negosyong SHS

Saan nga ba mapupunta ang ibang mga mag-aaral?

Sa Kalakhang Maynila, aabot sa 5,612 ang nagpatala sa mga pribadong paaralan. Umaabot sa P20,000 hanggang P50,000 ang karaniwang matrikula sa mga pribadong mataas na paaralan.

May tulong pinansiyal na ibibigay ang DepEd sa mga mag-aaral na sa pribadong paaralan mag-aaral sa pamamagitan ng kanilang Voucher Program. Sa mga mag-aaral mula sa Kalakhang Maynila, P22,000 ang pinakamataas na pwede nilang maibigay at P11,000 ang pinakamababa.

Sa programang K to 12, nakakapagtiyak ng kita ang mga pribadong paaralan sa dalawaang paaraan: dalawang taong SHS na may mataas na matrikula kaysa sa karaniwang elementarya at hayskul at subsidyo ng DepEd para sa mga mag-aaral na manggagaling sa pampublikong paaralan.

Kalakal na lakas paggawa

Ayon sa ACT, sa 197 na ibinukas na Senior High School sa Kalakhang Maynila, 137 dito ay technical-vocational-livelihood (TVL) track lang ang inaalok.

“Sinasabi ng ibang guro sa amin na kapag wala yung track na gusto namin sa loob ng Batasan, no choice kami kundi lumabas, kundi maghanap kami sa iba.” ayon kay Ella, mag-aaral ng Batasan High School.

Kabilang sa mga karaniwang kurso sa TVL ay welding, housekeeping, automotive servicing, contact center services, food and beverage services, tailoring at caregiving. Karamihan dito ay mga kasanayan na kailangan para makapagtrabaho sa labas ng bansa.

“Minamarkahan ng programang K to 12 ang simula ng pagiging pabrika ng mga paaralan ng bansa na pagkukunan ng mga manggagawang may kaunting kasanayan, mura, kontraktwal at maamong paggawa,” ayon kay Lloyd Magsoy, Tagapangulo ng Anakbayan Metro Manila.

Dagdag pa ni Magsoy, hinahanda raw ang kabataan para maging alipin ng mga korporasyon na ganid sa tubo.

Ipinagkaila naman ni Br. Luistro na nakadisensyo ang K to 12 para maikalakal ang lakas paggawa ng kabataan sa mga dayuhang bansa.

Apela sa bagong Pangulo

Nanawagan ang Anakbayan Metro Manila sa bagong halal na Pangulo na si Rodrigo Duterte na ipatigil ang K to 12. Dapat daw tugunan ni Duterte ang panawagan ng mamamayan para sa isang libreng pampublikong edukasyon sa lahat ng antas at isang sistema ng edukasyon na tutugon sa pangangailangan ng mamayan at bansa.

Sa isang panayam ng Sunstar kay Duterte noong 2015, nagpahayag si Duterte na gawing optional na lamang ang K to 12. sinabi nito na ang gagawin lang ng K-12 ay dagdagan pasanin na dalawang taon ang pag-aaral ng mga estudyante. Aniya, pwede namang pumili ang mga estudyante kung mag-aaral sila ng kolehiyo o ng technical course.

On this new column

My return to this news website has given the crucial answer to three tough questions that come to my mind about my secret dream of becoming an investigative journalist: how could I become an investigative journalist in the time when many Filipinos hope that things would become well for this nation in the next six years? How could I become an investigative journalist when the dominant media’s sensationalism trivializes basic issues? How could I investigate present events in the Philippines if I am not aware of what is happening even only in my neighborhood?

I have an ironic but understandable reason for answering my own questions. Many political experts and personalities are being interviewed here, there, and everywhere on every turn regarding standard issues just to fill airtime. It is a fruitful and timely space for a returning writer like me to admit that I often seek the opinions of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison about this nation’s hottest issues at a certain time when I was not a member of any mass organization. The only arguable difference is that Prof. Sison articulates the most comprehensive analysis of the nature of Philippine society’s basic ills and the way to root out these ills. Personal feelings may matter in reporting and explaining the viewpoints of a personality who polarizes many Filipinos, but in journalism, I have to be serious in airing and sharing his outspoken viewpoints for the enlightenment of the general public.

This column’s sole objective is not only to share Prof. Sison’s valuable viewpoints regarding every major development for the enlightenment and awareness not only of mass activists, but also of the Filipino masses. This is also to explain the Filipino nation’s basic issues in a pro-Filipino and pro-people perspective. He is the celebrated and vilified icon of the broad Left movement – celebrated by mass activists, socially-conscious personalities and the ‘unwashed’ masses and vilified by personalities with convenient and vested interests, rabid anti-communists and reactionaries in almost every sector in Philippine society as a “crazy godless communist ideologue”, a “troublemaker” and a “dangerous subversive”.  Coincidentally, he was the political science professor of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte during his student days at the Lyceum of the Philippines University. Another coincidence was that both Duterte and Prof. Sison were members of the nationalist Kabataang Makabayan [Patriotic Youth] to which many young nationalists and martyrs who fought for freedom and democracy belong.

On terror listing and peace talks

We have an interesting discussion on the possible resumption of peace negotiations between the Philippine government under the incoming Duterte presidency and the NDFP. I don’t realize that an alarming development is headlining. The United States of America (US) government recently included him, the CPP and its armed wing New People’s Army (NPA) in its list of terrorist groups and personalities. However, Prof. Sison and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, a broad anti-imperialist and democratic formation, had promptly issued separate but similar statements condemning such renewed inclusion of communist rebels in the terror list as a calculated maneuver in order to undermine the momentum for the formal resumption of peace negotiations. There is a worst-case scenario that the US authorities would spoil his anticipated homecoming by arbitrarily intercepting and arresting him on board because of the absence of any direct flight between Amsterdam and Manila, which would violate his rights as a factually recognized political refugee in accordance with the Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

I sought Prof. Sison’s urgent reaction in this sour development. He confidently answered to me that the progress of the peace negotiations depends on the political will of the principals of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the NDFP and of course the entire Filipino people. He even brushed off the inclusion of CPP and NPA in the US government’s terror list as a “mere annoyance” despite the awful fact that his name’s inclusion in the terror list would jeopardize his homecoming and even the peace negotiations.

“Even under the Aquino regime, the GPH assured the NDFP that it does not consider the CPP and NPA terrorist, although it was previously the Arroyo regime that had requested the US government to designate the CPP, NPA and myself as terrorist,” he said.

“As a matter of principle, we must condemn the terrorist listing of the CPP, NPA and myself as terrorist by the US as a big lie and as a gross intrusion in the internal affairs of the Filipino people,” Prof. Sison said.

He branded the US as the “biggest terrorist force in the world historically and currently.”

According to him, “it has absolutely no moral, political, legal and factual standing or ground for designating revolutionary forces as ‘terrorist.’”

“Of course, there are rabid anti-communists who are inspired by terrorist labeling by the US government. They may be in a position to influence parts of the military and police forces to stage sham and real coup attempts. But they are few and have exposed themselves and can be easily preempted or even crushed as traitors if necessary by a combination of patriotic forces in the GPH and the revolutionary forces,” Prof. Sison said in an obvious reference to Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and returning Senator Panfilo Lacson who had expressed security concerns on the president-elect’s previous offer of a coalition government to them after the concluding national and local elections.

Not fearing any sign of resistance from the possibly hostile sections of the military and police forces to the idea of a coalition government with communist rebels, Duterte consented to offer the significant olive branch and four cabinet departments to NDFP-nominated progressive personalities.  Eventually, he named peasant leader Rafael Mariano of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas as Agrarian Reform Secretary, labor leader Joel Maglunsod of Kilusang Mayo Uno as incoming Labor Undersecretary and former University of the Philippines Faculty Regent Prof. Judy Taguiwalo of Alliance of Concerned Teachers as incoming Social Welfare and Development Secretary.

Prof. Sison cheerfully welcomed the presence of three progressives in the Duterte cabinet.

“NDFP endorsed them after President Duterte offered four cabinet posts to the CPP and NDFP.  They are a minority in the cabinet but their presence there signifies the willingness of Duterte to take a patriotic and progressive stand and the hope that there can be a government of national unity, peace and development,” he said.

A fair amount of guarded optimism and enthusiasm pushed me to seek his thoughts on the forthcoming preparatory discussions on the agenda for the formal resumption of peace negotiations between the government and the NDFP.

“The NDFP is already making preparations for the resumption of formal talks with the Manila government in July.  For the purpose, teams of the two sides will undertake preliminary talks in Oslo this June.  They will pave the way for the release of all political prisoners and set the agenda for the resumption of formal talks,” Prof. Sison replied.

However, it seems in this moment that holding formal talks in Manila would possibly invite what he says at this crucial time as ‘peace spoilers’ to create a series of scare-mongering incidents that would sabotage the peace negotiations.

He added that the Filipino people would benefit immediately from the release of all the political prisoners, the interim ceasefire and the plan to accelerate the peace negotiations.  According to him, they would reap the greatest benefits from the social, economic and political reforms that shall be agreed upon to address the roots of the civil war and lay the basis for a just and lasting peace.

“As the peace process progresses, the Left and broad masses of the people will be able to discredit and isolate further the terrorist labeling and those rabid anti-communists who follow the baton of US imperialism.  The government of national unity, peace and development and the Filipino people will push aside or knock down any obstacle to the struggle for a just and lasting peace,” Prof. Sison confidently said.

The government of national unity, peace and development and the Filipino people will push aside or knock down any obstacle to the struggle for a just and lasting peace.