Archive for February, 2008
FDC In The News: On 22nd EDSA People Power Anniversary
Aside from live TV and radio coverage, our protest action, led by Laban ng Masa, yesterday came out in today’s editions of The Philippine Star (Banner photo and story), The Daily Tribune (Page 1) and Philippine Daily Inquirer (online). Meanwhile, our statement is BusinessMirror’s editorial topic today.
BusinessMirror
26 February 2008, Page A10
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/02262008/opinion01.html
EDITORIAL
Where it failed the people
FOR this year’s anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution, one of the most relevant insights comes from the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), which was born at the height of the nation’s preoccupation with the gargantuan debt burden left behind by the Marcos dictatorship.
According to the FDC, one of the deep-rooted causes of the continuing instability 22 years after February 25, 1986, and the prevailing sense that the revolution has failed the people is the betrayal by succeeding post-Edsa governments of the “social-justice issues that were the backbone issues of the first Edsa uprising.”
These, added the coalition that, along with other civil-society groups, played a key role in engaging lawmakers in the crafting of the national budgets for 2007 and 2008, “were swept aside in favor of the return of elite and patronage politics, the restoration to political and economic preeminence of the traditional ruling classes and their continued subservience to foreign interests and institutions.”
The Philippine Star
26 February 2008, Banner story
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080225117
Headlines
‘Push away evil’
By Michael Punongbayan
(Con’t)
Anti-Arroyo rallyists also managed to breach legions of policemen stationed to guard the EDSA Shrine and reached the no-rally zone, following a brief but tense standoff yesterday.
Policemen were caught by surprise after militants belonging to groups like Laban ng Masa, Akbayan, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Sanlakas, and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino rushed towards the EDSA Shrine from different directions.
Bobby Deciembre, of LnM and FDC, said a thousand of their members assembled around 12:30 p.m. at Cubao before proceeding to the EDSA Shrine.
The Daily Tribune
26 February 2008, Page 1
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20080226hed3.html
GMA ‘snubs’ Edsa rites; protests mark people power
(Con’t)
In Mandaluyong City, police were caught flat-footed as thousands of anti-Arroyo protesters ran toward the Edsa Shrine despite it being declared as a “no-rally zone” by authorities.
Led by party-list Rep. Etta Rosales (Akbayan), the group, that include members from the Freedom from Debt Coalition, Sanlakas, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and Muslim groups Bisig and Bangsamoro, were able to approach the Edsa Shrine around 3 in the afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Bishops Deogracias Iñiguez and Teodoro Bacani presided over a Mass held inside the shrine and later joined the protesters.
Inquirer Headlines / Nation
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080226-121210/Dont-wait-for-another-Cardinal-Sin-bishop-tells-people
Don’t wait for another Cardinal Sin, bishop tells people
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: February 26, 2008
(Con’t)
Outside, close to a thousand militants breached the police cordon around the Shrine for the first time since 2001.
The EDSA Shrine, also the site of EDSA II which ousted President Joseph Estrada, was declared by the late Pope John Paul II to be a “Sacred Place” resulting in the banning of protests and rallies in the area.
Some 1,000 militants from groups like Sanlakas, Akbayan, Freedom from Debt Coalition and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino managed to outwit policemen at EDSA and step into the shrine area, with only a phalanx of policemen and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s pink fences between them and the church.
Add comment February 26, 2008
Illegitimate Debt: The Betrayal of Post-Edsa Governments
On the 22nd Anniversary of People Power 1
Quezon City, 25 February 2008
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) joins the entire country as we commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the first people power uprising that gave birth to a new nation long thirsty for justice, equality and peace. We join the Filipino people as we relive this historical and significant occasion—an important juncture that saw not only a united people unceremoniously removing an authoritarian regime through collective struggle, but also the political nativity of “people power” as a potent tool of the citizens against institutionalized social ills.
However, the ethos and the principles of this significant event had been gravely bastardized and betrayed by succeeding post-Edsa governments. Social justice issues which were the backbone issues of the first Edsa uprising were swept aside in favor of the return of elite and patronage politics, the restoration to political and economic pre-eminence of the traditional ruling classes and their continued subservience to foreign interests and institutions.
None is more glaring of this betrayal than the refusal of all post-Edsa governments to fundamentally confront our lingering debt problem. Their refusal to undergo a progressive re-orientation of public spending towards important social services like education and health away from the burdensome payment of illegitimate debts is a complete turnaround from one of the most elemental social justice calls made by the people during and after the downfall of the Marcos regime.
From Cory Aquino’s spineless “honor all debts” policy up to Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph Estrada’s same penchant for debt servicing and accumulation of new illegitimate debts coupled with their blind acceptance of the creditor community’s ill-prescribed structural adjustment policies of deregulation, liberalization and privatization; generation after generation of Filipinos were betrayed by these governments by forcing them to live a life of indebtedness, shoved to the breadline because of debts they do not owe.
Beyond doubt, the persistent problem of illegitimate debts is a clear and costly betrayal of the true spirit of Edsa by all post-Edsa governments.
Even so, the government which can best characterize and give meaning to this treachery and tragedy is no less than the illegitimate administration of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Born out of a similar people power uprising which deposed a corrupt President, the Arroyo government broke all the promises and hopes of Edsa 2 by not only replicating the sins and failures of its predecessors but by taking them to new heights and proportions.
To date, Mrs. Arroyo’s debt payment and borrowing spree are historically unrivaled. Her total debt stock dwarfs to shame the total debt accumulation of the three administrations before her. Likewise, her track record of entering into anomalous if not illegitimate deals and contracts which in turn becomes illegitimate debts to be carried by an already debt-burdened populace is unparalleled and phenomenal.
This is the true essence of Rodolfo Lozada’s revelation on the aborted $ 329 million ZTE National Broadband Network—an anomalous contract which Mrs. Arroyo recently admitted to be flawed in the first place. Lozada’s testimony is not only a sad and appalling story of corruption, greed and bribery; moreover, it is an ugly reminder that we are still trapped in this deadly debt quagmire imposed to us by our government in collusion with unscrupulous lending institutions.
Twenty-two years have passed since the first Edsa uprising yet, our present government is still an insatiable debt addict. It not only continued to acquire new and yet unwanted debts it also created a new breed of insatiable plunderers headed by no other than Mrs. Arroyo’s First family and their entire cabal of thieves and social leeches.
We abhor and condemn this illegitimate government and their illegitimate debt!
Now more than ever, in the midst of our quest for truth, accountability and social change, we enjoin the Filipino people not only to remember the lessons of the past, not only to celebrate what was before but more importantly, to relive and reawaken the idea of another Edsa people power.
However, the Edsa we want is unlike the previous Edsas. What we want is a people power of a new-type. What we want is an Edsa that is explicitly against elite rule and elite succession, a people power that is against foreign meddling and intrusion and a new Edsa that will wipe out all illegitimate debts.
Let us finish what we have started twenty-two years ago. Let us finish our incomplete revolution.
Not to do so is truly, what’s unforgivable.
Establish a New Government of the Filipino People!
Wipe Out all Illegitimate Debts!
Add comment February 25, 2008
FDC In The News: On ODA funding suspension
The Daily Tribune
22 February 2008, Page 8
http://www.tribune.net.ph/business/20080222bus2.html
FDC seeks Congress probe into 11 aborted ODA projects
By Bobbit Mariano
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) called for a congressional investigation into the sudden suspension of funding on 11 social and economic projects of which a large percentage of funds was allocated through various grants under the Official Development Assistance (ODA).
FDC said the suspension of the projects without the benefit of a corresponding investigation made the decision doubtful. “For one, the administration may have all along been prepared to suspend a handful of projects as token palliative to dilute the call for a more comprehensive systemic change following the Senate investigation into the ZTE-NBN deal.”
Last Tuesday, Malacañang suspended 11 mega projects including the first phase of the controversial Southrail project involving the rehabilitation and construction of a railroad line along Laguna, Quezon and the so-called Luzon Urban Beltway.
BusinessMirror
21 February 2008, Page 1
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/02212008/headlines06.html
Why only 11 ODA projects?
By Rene Acosta
Reporter
IT may do well for the government to audit all public debts and not stop with just the suspension of official development assistance (ODA) funding for 11 projects because many more may be qualified for the ax, said an antidebt advocate Wednesday.
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) said the administration should do the wholesale audit even if this leads to the suspension of more projects and the filing of charges against responsible officials in order to prove its claim of transparency and accountability.
The FDC also asked the Senate and the House of Representatives to immediately pass Joint Resolution 04 calling for a congressional audit of all public-sector debt and all contingent liabilities.
GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/81406/Suspension-of-ODA-funding-for-11-projects-not-enough—FDC#
Suspension of ODA funding for 11 projects not enough – FDC
Article posted February 20, 2008 – 03:40 PM
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) on Wednesday described President Arroyo’s suspension of Official Development Assistance as a “positive development”.
The FDC, however, criticized the reason – that the country has enough local financing already to cover projects – behind Mrs Arroyo’s decision.
“We believe that such an executive action is the next logical step after the legislature decided that ‘no amount shall be used for the payment of interest payments on debts which are challenged as fraudulent, wasteful and/or useless, like but not limited’” to what FDC labeled as illegitimate debts.
Add comment February 20, 2008
FDC Statement on ODA funding suspension
PRESS STATEMENT
Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) – Philippines
11 Matimpiin St., Brgy. Pinyahan, Quezon City, Philippines
Tel. No.: (+632) 9211985 | Telefax: (+632) 9246399
Email: fdc_media@yahoo.com
Contact persons:
Milo Tanchuling, FDC secretary general, @ (+63) 920-9018711
Bobby Diciembre, FDC media campaigner, @ (+63) 920-9059856
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
20 February 2008
Suspension of ODA funding for 11 projects is not enough,
Investigate and audit all public debts now!
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) sees as positive development the recent suspension of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding for the Cyber Education Project, the Southrail Phase 1, and nine other ODA-funded projects suspected to be marred with anomalies.
We believe that such an executive action is the next logical step after the legislature decided that “no amount shall be used for the payment of interest payments on debts which are challenged as fraudulent, wasteful and/or useless, like but not limited” to what FDC labeled as illegitimate debts. These loans include the Austria Medical Waste Project, Small Coconut Farms Development Project (SCFDP), Telepono sa Barangay Project, among others.
However, FDC deplores the motive behind this decision. The excuse used by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye in justifying the suspension – that we have enough local financing already to cover such projects, is evasive to say the least. His statement conveniently ignores the fact that the suspension precedes the controversies which surrounded the ZTE-NBN deal, also another loan-financed project.
Furthermore, suspending such projects without the benefit of a corresponding investigation is suspect. For one, the administration may have all along been prepared to suspend a handful of projects as token palliative to dilute the call for a more comprehensive systemic change following the Senate investigation on the ZTE-NBN deal. Also, FDC wonders if the recent suspension is in anyway related to Malacañang’s silence on the results of Administrative Order 210, which was primarily meant to investigate $232-million World Bank ODA for road projects.
What we need is an independent Comprehensive Debt Audit which will scrutinize and investigate all loan- and ODA-financed projects. If the Arroyo administration has nothing to hide, and for it to be able to give flesh to its rhetoric on transparency and accountability, then it should readily support such an audit, even if it leads to suspending more projects and holding accountable persons within the administration.
We challenge the Senate and the House of Representatives to immediately pass House Joint Resolution 04 calling for a Congressional Audit of all public sector debt and all contingent liabilities. Such an audit would serve not only to fiscalize the executive’s own investigations; it would serve to assert the Congressional power of the purse, especially since it is the Congress that, in spirit, appropriates payments for debts.
An effort to free the nation from corruption and illegitimate debt should not put people in sidelines, that is why FDC together with the People Against Illegitimate Debt (PAID!) and Assembly of Faith-based Organizations against Immoral Debt is pushing for a parallel undertaking, through the Independent Citizen’s Debt Audit Commission. Personalities from the civil society, the academe, sectoral groups, and other organizations shall be invited as Audit Commissioners tasked to investigate anomalous deals such as the ZTE-NBN project and the North and South rail projects.
FDC recognizes that the immediate cause of this quagmire is government’s policy of relying heavily on foreign lenders to finance social development projects highly susceptible to corrupt practices – a policy which, ironically, would have been unnecessary had the government chosen to allocate more to social development than debt payments. As had been recently revealed to the public, there is no shortage of cases of loan-financed projects going to waste due to inefficiency or corruption.
We call on the government to finally end its dependence on lender-driven, anomaly-ridden projects. It is high time that the government rid itself of illegitimate debt and corruption that continuously plague its institutions and agencies. -30-
Add comment February 20, 2008
FDC In The News: Picket at the Ombudsman
Our protest action yesterday in front of the Office of the Ombudsman in time for the preliminary investigation on the controversial ZTE-NBN deal came out today in The Daily Tribune (Page 1 photo and Page 3 article), BusinessMirror (Page 5 article), Malaya (Page 1 article), SunStar (online article), Hataw (Page 1 photo), and yesterday in online GMANews.TV (Photo). Said protest action was covered and aired over dzMM, dzME, dwIZ, dzXL-RMN and ANC.
Malaya
19 February 2008, Page 1
http://www.malaya.com.ph/feb19/news6.htm
Independent prober urged; Mike a no-show; classmate Gutierrez inhibits herself
BY PETER TABINGO
(Con’t)
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) described Gutierrez’s gesture as an “act of hypocrisy.”
“The people are not gullible. Just because Gutierrez defaulted from the case, it does not automatically mean this institution can provide us with genuine justice and political clarity. Its long history of inaction and of being fence sitters amid rampant graft and corruption is phenomenal,” said Milo Tanchuling, FDC secretary general.
BusinessMirror
19 February 2008, Page 5
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/02192008/nation02.html
Gutierrez recuses from ZTE deal investigation
By Rene Acosta
Reporter
(Con’t)
The Ombudsman’s action was, however, dismissed by the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), calling it as “too late.”
“Though we welcome Ombudsman Gutierrez’s decision to recuse from the investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman remains morally weak—lacking the needed integrity to search for truth and accountability,” the FDC through its secretary general, Milo Tanchuling, said in a statement.
“The people are not gullible. Just because Gutierrez defaulted from the case, it does not automatically mean this institution can provide us with genuine justice and political clarity. Its long history of inaction and of being a fence-sitter amid rampant graft and corruption is phenomenal,” Tanchuling said.”
The Daily Tribune
19 February 2008, Page 3
http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/20080219nat1.html
DoJ starts own probe in NBN, to look into Lozada’s finances
(Con’t)
Meanwhile, despite the inhibition of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez from hearing the cases filed against the Mr. Arroyo, Abalos and other government officials in connection with the NBN scam, a group of anti-debt advocates criticized Gutierrez for acting “too late” on the case.
Gutierrez announced her decision to inhibit before the start of the preliminary investigation on the nine consolidated cases relating to the broadband controversy.
“Though we welcome Ombudsman Gutierrez’s decision to inhibit herself from the investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman remains morally weak, lacking the needed integrity to search for truth and accountability,” the Freedom from Debt Coalition through its secretary general, Milo Tanchuling, said in a statement.
SunStar
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2008/02/19/gutierrez.inhibits.self.from.ombud.probe.on.nbn.mess.html
Gutierrez inhibits self from Ombud probe on NBN mess
(Con’t)
The Ombudsman’s action was however dismissed by the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), calling it “too late.”
“Though we welcome Ombudsman Gutierrez’s decision to inhibit herself from the investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman remains morally weak-lacking the needed integrity to search for truth and accountability,” the FDC through its secretary general, Milo Tanchuling, said in a statement.
“The people are not gullible. Just because Gutierrez defaulted from the case, it does not automatically mean this institution can provide us with genuine justice and political clarity. Its long history of inaction and of being fence sitters amid rampant graft and corruption is phenomenal,” Tanchuling said.
Hataw
19 February 2008, Banner photo
By Alex Mendoza
Add comment February 19, 2008
