Front Page > Issues > 2005>June

U.S. funding murder of activists

Bush’s War on Terror is providing the current regime in Philippines cover for eliminating political opposition.

By Dave Mazza

Milagros Belga, a 41-year-old human rights paralegal, was brutally murdered in front of her children by two men who broke into Belga’s Magdalena, Laguna home on July 22, 2001. One of the murderers was identified as a member of the paramilitary group Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit.

Masked men wearing military uniforms assaulted Manuela Albarillo and her husband on April 8, 2002. Their bodies were later found near their home in Magdalena, Laguna. Their children have been moved off the island due to continuous threats against their lives.

The bodies of Rodriga Apolinar, her husband Ruben and eight-year-old daughter Nina Angela were discovered inside their house on May 21, 2002 after neighbors reported hearing gunfire the previous night.

These three women shared in common a commitment to improving conditions for Philippine women and holding membership in Gabriela Network, a Philippine-U.S. women’s solidarity network. Inspired by Gabriela Silang, an 18th century woman general who led a series of revolts against Spanish colonizers, Gabriela Network addresses issues affecting women and children of the Philippines, but which have their root causes in decisions made in the U.S.

Members of the newly formed Portland Chapter of Gabriela Network gathered in downtown Portland’s Lownsdale Square to give voice to these slain women in a national vigil. Standing before a monument to the Oregon Volunteers who fought in the Spanish-American War, including in the Philippines, Gabriela coordinator Josie Margallo Michael pointed out that the fate of these three women was not unique.

“The Philippines has become a very violent place,” Michael stated. “Since 911, political deaths have gone up sharply, especially among women.”

Since the United States declared the Philippines the “Second Front” on the war on terrorism, assassinations and other politically motivated human rights violations have risen sharply. Over 300 political assassinations and abductions have taken place since 2001 - 32 killings and 6 abductions in the first quarter of 2005 alone. During the first quarter of 2005, there have also been 100 cases of human rights violations affecting 23,252 victims in 91 communities.

Violence has spread beyond the politically active to include journalists. Last year, 13 journalists were killed. Three more have died during the first quarter of 2005. The International Committee for the Protection of Journalists has declared the Philippines the “most murderous country” for the media, replacing Iraq in that dubious title.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroya has shifted her nation’s scarce resources away from meeting human needs and towards the war on terrorism. Military spending has increased by 60 percent since 2002. This expanded military capacity has been used on the Philippine people living in the southern islands of the 10,000-island archipelago according to Gabriela.

Last February, the Philippine military bombed the island of Sulu for nine days, destroying mosques, schools, farms and villages. Over 50,000 refugees were created by the attack. Following the bombing raids, ground troops seized the land and livestock for their own use. Residents now engage in what they call “guerrilla farming” - sneaking to and from their farms at night - to survive.

Last November, troops opened fire on striking sugar workers who had been demanding an increase in work and wages. When the smoke cleared, 7 workers were dead, 21 wounded and 111 illegally arrested and detained.

This violence is justified by the Arroya regime as the only way to eradicate terrorists who are strongly embedded in the southern islands, particularly Muslim separatist groups and the Abu Sayyaf bandits. But as Michael points out, there’s more to it than that.

“The government’s attacks in the south in places like Mindanao and Sulu are taking place because of what those islands have,” stated Michael. “Mindanao and most the other southern islands were never fully colonized by the Spanish. Their natural resources are waiting to be exploited.”

Over 200 million barrels of oil and 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas are in the Sulu Sea. An Anglo-Australian firm containing a consortium of U.S. oil companies are currently bidding for the rights to explore the area for drilling. Many of the islands contain valuable minerals and exotic woods as well.

Which explains U.S. generosity in aiding the Arroyo regime in its war on its own people. The Bush administration has committed to a minimum of $356 million to the Arroyo regime to assist in security. A portion of the aid packet will go to towards Philippine-U.S. training exercises in the Muslim-populated province of Sulu. Other items in the packet include funding for 33 helicopters and spare parts, C-130 cargo plans, M-35 trucks, and patrol vessels. The U.S. has set aside $30 million for creating Philippine “light reaction companies” and Philippine Navy SEALS.

While the Defense Department is increasing the flow of dollars to the Philippines, the U.S. State Department is expressing concerns about how those dollars are being spent. A Feb. 2005 report by the State Department concluded that Philippine security forces were responsible for serious human rights abuses. The report found evidence that these forces were engaged in extra-judicial killings, vigilantism, disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrest and detention.

Which is why Michael and other Gabriela members in Portland and across the nation will be holding vigils and other actions to pressure U.S. policy makers to stop bankrolling the Arroya regime’s war on its own people.

Dave Mazza is editor of The Portland Alliance.