Walden Bello, now a member of Philippine Congress

Professor Walden Bello, AKBAYAN Chair Emeritus, was proclaimed on Friday by the Commission on Elections as AKBAYAN party's second representative in Philippine Congress. He will have his oath-taking on Monday and will hit the legislative ground running, with the endorsement of the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and participation in committee hearings. A recipient of the Alternative Nobel Award (Right to Livelihood Award 2003), Rep. Walden Bello is a welcome change in the House of Representatives.

To know more about Walden, please read his profile here: http://www.waldenbello.org/

Gaza conflict: War is stupid!

Humanitarian crisis has worsened in Gaza after Israel intensified its operation against the Palestinian people. Israeli tanks has penetrated deeper inside the densely populated-city on Sunday. The ground operation into Gaza strip had been preceded by air and artillery attacks on the territory in more than seven days of bombardment which killed more than 500 people so far, mostly civilians.

War is stupid!
Hatred has to stop now!
Aggression is not the solution to the ongoing conflict!
Both parties should enter into a peace effort at once!

photo credits: ABC news

2008's Worst Soundbytes

The 2008 TOGY Awards

As a three-month-old column dedicated to communicating better in life, Ms.Com meets the yearend by launching the 2008 TOGY Awards (The Outstanding Gaffes of the Year Awards). This is the communications version of the late Richard Blackwell's notorious "10 Worst Dressed List."
Choosing the nastiest, most insensitive, patently untruthful, idiotic public declarations and sound bytes turned out to be a very tough job.
You see, determining the year's 10 worst statements was the ironic counterpart of Diogenes's search for one honest man. He didn't find any, while Ms.Com found too many.
So, instead of the T in TOGY standing for "ten," it now stands for definite article "the."

Read on: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=423923&publicationSubCategoryId=82

The universal declaration of human rights

On 10 December, we are commemorating the 60th birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on Human Rights Day 2008. The United Nations will launch a year-long campaign around the globe to focus on helping people everywhere to learn about their human rights. The UDHR was the first international recognition that all human beings have fundamental rights and freedoms and it continues to be a living and relevant document today. The theme of the campaign, “Dignity and justice for all of us,” reinforces the vision of the Declaration as a commitment to universal dignity and justice and not something that should be viewed as a luxury or a wish-list.

Click here to learn more about the UDHR: http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/declaration.shtml

Burma Bulletin-November 2008 issue

The Burma Bulletin is a short month in review of events in Burma, particularly those of interest to the democracy movement and human rights activists.

In the November 2008 issue you will find:
* SPDC jails 186 dissidents
* Landmines casualties rising
* Forced labor increases
* CEDAW conclusions
* UNGA condemn s SPDC
* SPDC-Bangladesh face-off
* Other Burma news
* List of Reports
* Much more...

Click to here to read the November 2008 Burma Bulletin: http://www.altsean.org/Reports/Burma%20Bulletin/BBNovember08.php

AKBAYAN VOTES NO TO THE 2009 NATIONAL BUDGET

Below is the vote of Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros on HB 5116, the National Budget for 2009. A total of 160 legislators voted in favor of the bill, 16 voted against it, and one abstained. Rep. Hontiveros voted No to the bill.

Mr. Speaker, AKBAYAN engaged in the process. We submitted several amendments to the 2009 General Appropriations Bill, among them:

A special provision in the DPWH budget to require the conduct of feasibility studies for all locally funded projects to prevent corruption
A special provision in the DPWH budget so that NO appropriation would be allocated to projects with less than 15% economic internal rate of return (EIRR) to prevent wastage in the use of public works funds.
A cut in DPWH's budget by P64.7 billion due to its failure to account for billions of missing funds
A total of P1.1 billion additional appropriation for the Department of Health, for the following programs: subsidies to indigent patients (P133 million); epidemiology and disease surveillance (P553 million); Family Health, including family planning (P470 million)
The appropriation of funds for the implementation of the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers (P1.3 billion)
A special provision in the budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform to ensure that the budget for Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) would not be subject to reallocation
Additional budget for the Department of Science and Technology (DOST): an additional appropriation for the Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers, and other S & T government personnel (P441 million); Payment of P5.7 million for the Night Time Differential of PAG-ASA employees and P3 million for PHILVOLCS employees.
Additional budget for the Commission on Audit to the amount of P152 million
Additional budget for the Commission on Human Rights to the amount of P284 million
Inclusion of several special provisions on debt appropriation, specifically to restrict the use of government funds on the following: the onerous Austrian Medical Waste Incinerator Project; on the interest payments to loan agreements challenged as fraudulent, anomalous, and wasteful, and; on payment for accounts payable accruing in the previous fiscal years unless fully liquidated according to existing COA guidelines.
Tighter guidelines in the release of lump sum funds, including the Kilos Asenso fund, to ensure compliance to the NEDA-ICC policy on NG-LGU Cost Sharing Policy

Mr. Speaker, we did not receive the courtesy of reply on these proposed amendments. There was no transparency. We don't know what happened to the amendments we painstakingly worked on with the help of civil society partners.

This is exactly the environment that breeds corruption, and this being the de facto election budget, we won't be surprised if this budget only goes to the pockets of corrupt officials.
By not allowing members of the House to scrutinize the budget, voting for this budget is a vote to erode the integrity of Congress as an institution.

AKBAYAN is deeply frustrated with the outcome and the shortcutting of an already abbreviated process. The House has denied itself an opportunity to achieve greater bi-partisan consensus on the budget based on amendments submitted in the spirit of recovering Congress' power of the purse and the spirit of fiscal democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I therefore vote No to HB 5116.

Statement of the Peoples Global Action (PGA)

Statement of the Peoples Global Action (PGA) on the Unjustified Revocation of the Issued-Permit to Hold Parallel Events during the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development
October 17, 2008

We, the organizers of the People’s Global Action on Migration, Development and Human Rights, are outraged by the revocation of our permit to hold activities from October 22 – 30, 2008 at the Rajah Sulayman park, a public space, as parallel events organized by migrants, advocates, and other civil society organizations, to the forthcoming 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). The Manila City government had issued a permit for the use of the park last June 25, 2008 only to revoke it on October 2 on the recommendation of Manila Police District. It was conveyed to the PGA by fax on October 6, 2008 and was affirmed with finality on October 16, 2008 during our meeting with PNP PNP-NCRPO Regional Director Jefferson Soriano and Manila Police Department Director Roberto Rosales . We do not accept the so-called alternative venue that has been offered to us, the Mehan Garden / Bonifacio shrine, for doing so would mean accepting the further exclusion of migrant workers and their advocates from the global discussions at the 2nd GFMD which will take place at the PICC that would ultimately affect their plight.We recognize the GFMD in the Philippines as an event that can open opportunities for migrant workers and their advocates to meaningfully contribute to the current global discourse on migration and development. The People’s Global Action is planned to be organized in and around Rajah Sulayman Park, events open and visible to the public at-large and to the GFMD delegates themselves. Foreign and local dignitaries, such as Sharan Burrow of the Chairperson of the Civil Society Day of the 2nd GFMD and the First President of the UN Human Rights Council, Ambassador Luis de Alba of Mexico. Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim among others are scheduled to address our activities The PGA is a demonstration of global cross-border solidarity among migrant workers and their advocates that is peaceful and legitimate. We had welcomed the issuance of our permit last June 25, a result of a transparent and aboveboard process of dialogue with city officials. To say that we are disappointed by its revocation at this late hour, is to say the least. The stated official reason for the last-minute revocation of the permit – and that is, that our ranks will be ‘infiltrated by the leftists’—is a flimsy reason without basis, and no more than the usual standard excuse whipped out by authorities when no other reasonable justification could be produced. The revocation of our permit is most unreasonable, and we cannot but view it as an extension of the national government’s policy of continued denial of migrant workers’ rights and the citizens’ rights to freedom of expression. Moreover, we believe it also reveals the increased anxiety of the national government and the forces of neo-liberal globalization in the light of the unfolding global financial crisis and its impending impact on the situation of migrants worldwide. The revocation of our permit signifies another act of ‘management’, also known as ‘control’, as in ‘the management of migration’ which now dominates official global discourse on development, but without substantive consideration for migrants’ rights and of the fundamental issues that underlie the so-called pursuit of development. We believe that migration should not be viewed merely as a problem or crisis to be ‘managed’; migrant workers and other citizens are not commodities to be traded, nor objects and statistics to be ‘managed’. In this moment of heightened insecurities among migrant workers and their families, especially in the face of the global financial crisis, the best policy on the part of governments would have been to extend a hand of assurance and demonstrate genuine openness to listen to the voices of those who would most likely suffer its adverse impact. Instead, we are witness to the further suppression of the voices of the migrant workers and the curtailment of our rights and freedoms. We cannot respond to this latest development with silence. We will continue to demonstrate the solidarity among migrants, migrant workers, their advocates, and all those concerned about development and democratic rights – a solidarity forged across borders and tempered by our common struggles and shared vision for a world that is more equitable and a future that is more sustainable and inclusive to all.

Sgd. Members of the Peoples Global Action

Contact Person:

Ellene A. SanaExecutive Director, Center for Migrant Advocacy Member, PWGTelephones: 920-5003; 433-0684Cellphone: 0917 448 1464