The Good Germans

by: John S. Hatch

12/06/04 "ICH" -- It is a commonplace that at the end of WWII scarcely a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer could be found, or even anyone with an inkling that a Holocaust had been taking place. Even as rocks flew through Jewish shop windows and homes were burned, the Good Germans didn't know. Even when Jews began disappearing in huge numbers from right under their noses, the Good Germans weren't aware. Later on, even amongst Holocaust deniers I used to wonder if there were a mitigating percentage, however small, who as otherwise decent human beings simply could not accept the horror that human nature can be so vile. To admit the truth would be to recognize that life was essentially meaningless and insane, with suicide as the only logical course, a choice which the all-powerful instinct for self-preservation attempted to prevent. Thus self-deception for self-preservation; an unhappy compromise. It was the Nazi-exploited Nietzsche who pointed out (in the late 1800's remember) that one must first know the truth in order to bury it. Everybody knew, in one way or another. Violence, after all, is what One-Thousand Year Reichs do, and they must start very early.

America, America, Uber Alles

While there is much justified consternation surrounding the truly astonishing election of George W. Bush-first he steals power, then it's handed back to him tied with a fancy yellow ribbon-the fact is that for the longest time American foreign policy (and often domestic as well) has been so savage as to shock the world. Yet the average American seems to care as little as the average German did about the Third's Reich's crimes against humanity or the Holocaust. Didn't know, didn't care or-liked it very much. 'We' are empire! Therefore 'we' are a priori justified in anything we do. Rules only apply to lesser nations, lesser beings.

Just to go back a short way, while George crusades to 'free' his beloved Iraqis' (almost universally referred to as 'ragheads' and 'sandniggers' (!) , bastards and faggots by his like-thinking men and women in the field), LBJ was a crook with indirect ties to the Mafia, and likely foreknowledge of the Kennedy assassination. (And we can't forget his vice-crook 'Nolo Contendere' Spiro Agnew, can we?) Nixon's boys had their inherited gooks and commies to torture and murder and bomb and napalm, and he had even more direct ties to the Mafia from almost the beginning of his criminal career. (And Rumsfeld and Powell were honing their skills for later- Rumsfeld in Defense, Powell as chief spinner for My Lai). Both Nixon and Bush lied about their respective wars, using the most unscrupulous but effective assistants (Murray Chotiner, Karl Rove) in order to get elected, and then surrounded themselves with ambitious thugs and criminals, all rising like pus out of a pimple (Kissinger, Mitchell, Erlichman, Haldeman, Liddy, Hunt et al), or far-right religious zealots (Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft et al, including the multi-untalented David Frum, sophomoric enough to brag about the pathetic comic-book phrase 'Axis of Evil'). Then came Ford, who will always be remembered for pardoning Nixon's crimes, many of which weren't then known to the public, and as a participant in the official Kennedy assassination cover-up known as the Warren Commission.

Meanwhile the CIA continued to mingle, meddle, and assassinate willy-nilly wherever they felt like it. Jimmy Carter may have been a gentler soul, but he welcomed the despised Shah of Iran, installed by the US after deposing the elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq for deciding to take control of Iran's own oil resources. The nerve of that uppity Mohammed! (Yet the neo-con tut-tutters keep saying that oil was not a factor in Iraq's invasion-they forgot all about Iran, but would like to visit again, and soon.) The corporate press blubbered on and on when Reagan mercifully died, with scant mention of his murderous if shaky hand, guided by the likes of the truly bizarre Ollie North, John Poindexter, and the depraved (but very ambitious) John Negroponte, newly appointed ambassador to Iraq (honestly, it would require an outsourced factory of Shakespearian elves working overtime to do adjectival justice to some of these malicious miscreants).

How much American psychic energy was required to 'forget' Reagan's 'freedom fighters' of Nicaragua ('the equivalent of our Founding Fathers', he was already demented enough to pronounce)? They used tactics learned at the famous US Army 'School of Americas' at Ft. Benning, Georgia, also known as 'School of the Assassins', whose distinguished graduates include Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos, formerly of Panama, and Roberto Violo of Argentina. The freedom fighters raped nuns and peasant women and used all sorts of lethal terror methods in the countryside to dislodge the elected government. Preferred targets were teachers and medical staff, but they bagged an Archbishop as well. A favorite horror method involved the stuffing of a grenade into the bleeding, broken-toothed mouth of an innocent man woman, and yes, even child (of course child, when you think about it) and then detonation in front of what might be left of the as-good-as-dead family. Well it seemed to work in the long run. Ronnie must have been proud. And looking at The Gipper's shiny coffin and poor Nancy's touching grief, how hard was it to forget Reagan's prior treasonous secret interference in foreign policy affairs in order to have the American hostages in Iran freed later rather than sooner, with arms as a reward, more cash to the freedom fighters for grenades, and coke to California as a byproduct? He forgot all about it, right away. Ollie too. I wonder if any one of those dignitaries was trying to forget Ronnie's pal 'Blowtorch Bob' (D'Aubisson) of El Salvador, and how he came to acquire his colorful sobriquet? Or even remember?

On and on. Bush I's puerile denial that he wasn't in Reagan and Ollie's loopy 'loop' regarding Iran-Contra, his message to Saddam through Ambassador April Glaspie (July 25, 1990) that America was neutral regarding Iraqi plans vis a vis Kuwait, then presto! Ill-equipped, ill-trained and terrified Iraqi soldiers were being buried alive in the desert, surrender not even an option. Later, elsewhere, weaponless soldiers were picked off one by one by stationary, low flying helicopters while their brave pilots whooped and hollered, intoxicated by the sheer joy of delivering no-risk murder.

Then there was the notorious 'Highway of Death', a 60 mile stretch between Mutlaa, Kuwait and Basra where non-combatant soldiers, fleeing back to Iraq on orders and civilian men, women and children were mowed down by bombs (including napalm and/or phosphorus) and bullets from planes and helicopters until not a single human being remained alive. Not even a dog. Such was the enthusiasm for the sport that extra air traffic controllers had to be brought in so that as many pilots as possible could participate without fear of bumping into each other. Estimated casualties (just dead, no wounded) were in the tens of thousands. Tens of thousands.

Then there came the insane sanctions, which did absolutely nothing to slow the building of palaces for Saddam and his revolting sons (did we forget that America had earlier assisted Saddam in its war against Iran, even providing certain chemicals which were to become famous?) Extending through the Clinton years these otherwise ineffectual measures are conservatively credited with killing one million ordinary Iraqis through malnutrition and lack of basic medicines.

Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking, irrevocably America-defining utterances regarding Iraq and America's arrogance and ignorance and self-induced amnesia was not by some slippery, war-mongering Republican from Kentucky, but from educated, refined ex-Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who when asked if the cruel and futile sanctions had been worth the deaths of 500,000 innocent Iraqi children, looked genuinely thoughtful for a moment, then answered in the affirmative. It is truly to weep. Adieu America! The requiem is for you too.

Armageddon the Blues

With his second, and perhaps final term (don't forget, many Americans wanted to amend the Constitution to allow dear old Ronnie a third term) George W. Bush will feel emboldened to spend his famous political 'capital' in a world growing increasingly wary, fearful, and fed up with America's growing rogue status, lack of trustworthiness, and willingness to embrace violence.

That Bush would ever even consider appointing as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is a signal that the former's one-finger victory salute was not a joke, as tasteless as it was. To appoint as top law enforcement officer a man who considers the Geneva Conventions 'quaint' and obsolete and the strictures against torture inapplicable, the World Court without jurisdiction is unprecedented in any civilized nation anywhere. Add to that even more draconian elements to the execrably designated 'Patriot Act', and I am genuinely surprised that given the American proclivity for chattering incessantly about love of country and constitution, and bravery and freedom ('Give me freedom, or give me fries!' Freedom fries!) that the streets haven't been deluged with incandescently angry (real) patriots demanding their country back. No not demanding, taking.

Perhaps America was always just empty talk, a superpower as vacuous as some of your 'superstars', as George II, lead by the nose by crazy Likudites, crazy Christians, and just plain power-mad crazies, leads the world to the brink of Armageddon. But there is no Jesus waiting (and, thank goodness, certainly not the creepy Christ of the cretinous far Christian right), no Anti-Christ (not even the U.N.), only prolonged hell on earth for many, hamburgers and SUV's and beer for the few. And of course, Wal-Mart for everyone. George II insists we have to be for or against. Well, I'm proud to come out against. I know America is a ruthless and formidable foe, but remember, there are billions of us around the world We are angry and sickened, and perhaps have finally had enough.

Violence is not necessary (if only America would learn that) - imagine what a worldwide boycott of every single thing American would do to your economy, in fairly short order. The dollar would further erode, stock market indicies would plunge, more countries would switch to the Euro as reserve currency, foreign owned treasury bonds would be called in in the billions, the American financial system would risk collapse. Imagine that your political elite and their oozing advisors not daring to leave the country for fear of arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It happened to Chile's Pinochet in great Britain, and Kissinger escaped detainment in France only by a whisker (or was it a prayer?). That America no longer recognizes Geneva Conventions and International Rules of Conduct doesn't mean that more civilized nations no longer do.

For starters, a few days ago President Bush came to my country, Canada. Were there to exist true justice, he would have been arrested the moment he stepped off Air Force One in Ottawa, and would be held on suspicion of having committed a breath-taking array of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Of course that didn't happen. Yet. But we can take some consolation in the fact that, despite being invited to address a joint session of Parliament and Senate as protocol dictates, his handlers politely declined, fearful of what his reception might be.

Now, a group of Vancouver Lawyers (L.A.W.-Lawyers Against War) has filed papers with the U.N. charging Mr. Bush with war crimes. As Mr. Bush is not Canadian, our Attorney General has eight days in which to approve the filing or reject it. It will of course be rejected. For now.

John Hatch is a writer, novelist, and film-maker living in British Columbia, Canada. His novel The Wolfe Chronicles was published in 2001. He is also a contributor to bcpolitics.ca He can be reached at johnhatch@canada.com

© John S. Hatch

Sakripisyo (Sa Bayan Ko)

ni: Tata Raul G. Funilas
Disyembre 3, 2004
Ilog ng Dupinga, Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija

Isang bangungot ang nililok
Ng mga tunggak at balakyot,
Sa lalawigang Quezon, Nueva Ecija
At ang probinsiyang Aurora;
Sa bansa kong sinisinta—
Ang Pilipinas na abang-aba.

Mga bayang Heneral Nakar, Real, Infanta,
Bulubunduking Gabaldong may ilog Dupinga
At kubling paraisong nangangasul na Dingalan.
Walang sawang pinagsamantalahan
Ang gubatang walang kamalay-malay
Ng tusong-ganid na magtutroso sa kabundukan.

Isang delubyo ang pinaalingawngaw
Ng langit. Ang sigwadang alimpuyo’y sumalimbay
Ang laksang pinaslang na talaksang kahoy
Na mahibik ang hikbi ng pagngunguyngoy,
Sa ilambo ng hangi’t ula’y gumulong-gulong;
Nanalasa’t kumitil ang rumaragasang daloy.

Nagsakripisyo ang Lumikha umungol ang taghoy,
Pumatak ang luha sa bultong-anak na nakikanlong;
Upang ibantad sa lahat ang walang pangil na batas
Ng sinalaula at binalahurang nakakalbong gubat.
Ang sigaw ng lahat: Parusahan ang kapural na palangas
Sa Malayong Silangang dinidiyos ay pilak.

© 2004 Bulatlat ■ Alipato Publications

Emotional Cost of Philippine Exodus

By: Sarah Toms
BBC Correspondent in Manila
13 September 2004

Many Filipinos even want to work in Iraq, despite the risks. The millions of Filipinos working overseas make a huge financial differenceto the lives of their families back home - the difference between basic survival and a better life.

But there is a social cost too, as children grow up without their parents.

Thirteen-year-old Marc Anthony Terencio has never met his American father,and it has been two years since his mother left to work as a domestic help in Saudi Arabia. He is being brought up by his weathered but sprightly grandmother, in a Manila neighbourhood made up of a warren of shacks. "My mother went abroad to earn a living to support school expenses and other basic needs," he said. "We eat good food a lot, and our house has been improved, like the floor got cemented."

Brain Drain

There are millions of children like Marc Anthony, being raised by a relative because one or both parents work overseas. With an unemployment rate that is usually above 10%, the search for opportunities has taken eight million Filipinos - a tenth of the population- away from their country and their families.

"I am used to her being away and I appreciate having extra money. But I wish she would come home because I need a mother."

The $8bn they send home each year helps their relatives and gives vital support to an economy burdened by debt, corruption, tax evasion and poverty. But it also creates other problems, such as a loss of skills in their home country.

"At least 73% of workers are women, and the jobs they go into are usually in the service sector," said Malou Alcid, who teaches social work at the University of the Philippines. "Many of them are college graduates, so you have over-qualified women taking on domestic work because the salary is better than what they would get here as a teacher or an engineer."

Mia Nabulenai, who has three children and a husband with no job, is a case in point. She used to be a supervisor at a hotel, but decided to go to an overseas employment agency in Manila in the hope of getting work as a laundry woman at one of the US military bases in Iraq. "It will give a nice future to my children," she said. "Sometimes the people here don't get meals three times a day. A lot of people are applying to this agency. They sleep overnight in the street."

Many Filipinos want to go to Iraq, despite the risks, and nearly every week hundreds of workers like Mrs Nabulenai stage noisy protests calling on President Gloria Arroyo to lift the ban on Filipinos working there. The government stopped its citizens from taking work in Iraq after aFilipino lorry driver was taken hostage by militants in July. He was released two weeks later but the ban remains, as officials study whether it is safe to go back there.

Psychological Scars

According to Connie Bragas-Regalado of Migrante, a lobby group for overseas workers, it is not just the loss of talented Filipinos that is of concern. Angelo de la Cruz, who was held hostage in Iraq, is a father of eight "We have many cases of broken families, and children are dropouts atschool," she said. "So if you look at the economic benefits and if you look at the socialcosts, it's really not compensating. But then we have no other option."

Studies have shown that children can have behavioural problems at school because of the absence of one or two parents, said Ms Alcid of the University of the Philippines. "One academic has used the term emotional orphans to describe the children of overseas workers," she said. "They fall into bad company, so they get into drugs. Some of the girls get pregnant. They are looking for acceptance, for love. They are looking for people to care for them."

In the alley outside his two-room house, Marc Anthony bounces a basketballas his grandmother sits on a wooden bed inside. His mother has worked in Saudi Arabia for two years, but there is still not enough money for a mattress or glass in the windows.

"I am used to her being away and I appreciate having extra money," Marc Anthony said. "But I wish she would come home because I need a mother."

Belgian Doctor Treads Paths Least Traveled

In one ironic twist, while many of the country’s medical doctors are leaving for abroad for lack of better career opportunities at home, one foreign doctor – a Belgian – has been in the country as a medical volunteer. He stayed for eight years and he leaves some valuable lessons not only to Filipinos doctors but health authorities as well.

BY RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat

In one ironic twist, while many of the country’s medical doctors are leaving for abroad for lack of better career opportunities at home, one foreign doctor – a Belgian – has been in the country as a medical volunteer. He stayed for eight years and he leaves some valuable lessons not only to Filipinos doctors but health authorities as well.

Wim De Ceukelaire, a Belgian doctor, came to the Philippines in January 1996. He was sent by New World, a non-government organization supporting struggles of different countries in Asia and Africa for food security.

In his eight years of stay in the Philippines, Wim, as friends and colleagues would call him, has seen the country as one of the best examples of the negative impact of globalization on health. “[The Philippines is] remodeling to the needs of rich countries,” he told Bulatlat in an interview last week. “Rich countries need cheaply trained but highly qualified doctors, nurses and other health professionals. Pharmaceutical transnational corporations (TNCs) need market.”

He said that medicines in the Philippines are one of the most expensive in Asia, second only to Japan. The country, he said, is also among the top five countries exporting cheap labor of health professionals.

Witness

From the year he stepped foot on the Philippines in 1996, the Belgian doctor, who’s 36, worked for the Council for Health and Development (CHD), a national organization of community-based health programs (CBHPs) until 2001. Wim helped in CHD’s research work and international networking. He joined medical missions and trainings and visited community based health programs (CBHP) all over the country.

Looking back, Wim said, “Providing services is important. [But] my role as a witness is even more important. It strengthens the morale of the people, signifies to those in power and to the big companies that people have support even from other countries.”

Community-based health programs

Wim has seen the work of the CBHPs as unique. “The approach of the CBHPs strongly asserts that health is in the hands of the people, not dependent on TNCs, high technology or highly qualified doctors. The people can take charge of most of their health needs.” He mentioned some basic requirements to enable people to manage their health needs. “The people must be united, organized. They should analyze their health situation in the right context.”

To illustrate, he cited the health problems of the children related to malnutrition. Wim said that the right answer to malnutrition is not food supplements. “The right answer is basically the improvement of livelihood of the people … When you speak of livelihood, you’re talking about land ownership and the problems of high costs of farming inputs, usury, among others.”
He said health problems are analyzed in a comprehensive way, within social and economic contexts. “[From there, the people] unite and take action accordingly.”

“People themselves take charge of their development, their food security, their health or economic progress. That is the real meaning of community-based,” he said. While other non-government organizations are claiming they are grassroots-oriented, he said it was just a flavoring.

Among the peasants

While still working for the CHD, Wim also did work for the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), a national organization of peasants. “I saw the importance of working with the rural community.”

He was involved in strengthening peasant organizations and research work, some of which were health-related like studies on the effects of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) and pesticides.

“I’ve learned most from the ordinary people, from sharings with farmers, indigenous [people],” Wim continued.

Wim related an incident where he was greeted by the indigenous people with in one barrio, “Dati, galit na galit ako sa mga puti.” (Before, I’m very angry with the white people.)” He said he has learned more from them about colonialism, imperialism than from books.

At the KMP, Wim said he learned so much. “I’m very proud that I had discussions with Ka Daning and Ka Paeng,” he said of the two peasant leaders. “The way they analyze problems is so sharp—GMOs, pesticides, high-breed rice, trade liberalization. Everything I cannot achieve despite my supposed scientific background and years in the university. Ka Paeng is a scientist even though he did not finish college. Alam niya lahat. (He knows everything) and I have to read many books on GMOs to keep up with him.”

Ka Daning Ramos is the current KMP chair while Ka Paeng Mariano, who also served as KMP chair, is now AnakPawis representative in Congress.

Besides Ka Daning and Ka Paeng, Wim said he had met so many interesting and inspiring people. “Ka Dan Vizmanos who was proud that he was born on the same year as Che Guevarra. He is already part of Philippine history. EdVil (Prof. Edilberto Villegas), Rey Casambre, mga matatanda (older people) who already earned their mark in Philippine history.“ He said he was able to discuss with them political and economic problems in the Philippines. Those he mentioned are fellows of the Center for Anti-Imperialist Studies (CAIS).

Mindanao

Asked what place he likes best in the Philippines, Wim answered, “So many. It’s a very beautiful country. In general, Mindanao is my favorite.” He explained that his love for Mindanao stems not only from the beauty of its natural resources but also because of its people. “It is like a melting pot. Foreigners are easily accepted.”

Wim believes though that in Manila, people know so little about what’s happening in Mindanao.
He said he has been in Pikit, North Cotabato twice. The first time was in 1998 during the major offensives of the AFP against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Wim went to Camp Rajamuda and found it was not a military camp at all. “Rajamuda is just a barangay (village) with school building, houses, palengke (market). But we are made to believe it’s a military target.”
In 2003, he also went to Buliok Complex. Again, he said, “There is no such thing as Buliok Complex…no military installations, just another barangay.” He said that what people see on television, read in papers is not always the truth.”

He recounted that in Buliok, some media people were saying, “We are sorry but we are sure it won’t get through Manila.” Wim deems they practice self-censorship. “I don’t blame them. They know their editors will kill their stories.”

Significant experience

Wim recounted a fact finding and medical mission in a community of B’laan, indigenous people in South Cotabato, sometime in late 1996. It was his first encounter with victims of human rights violations. The area was being claimed by the Western Mining Corporation, an Australian firm, and the AFP was protecting the company’s interest.

Wim said, “They knew exactly what the military took away from them, how many plates, spoons. Nagtaka ako kung bakit. (I was surprised why) I realized that’s all they have.”
“In hindsight, it was even more significant for me. The mining company pulled out two or three years later because of the resistance of the people. Our efforts, especially of the B’laan people, were not in vain. It was a sad experience but had a happy ending.”

International solidarity

Since 2001 until before leaving the Philippines last week, Wim served as the country representative of New World and International Action for Liberation (Intal). Intal is focused on health.

He coordinated partnerships, solidarity work. Every two weeks, he would dispatch news briefs on the Philippines.

He would also email a monthly newsletter, with links for people who want to know more. He said some articles were taken from Bulatlat. These publications are read by people in Belgium and the Netherlands who are interested in the Philippines.

Pinoy culture

During his stay, he does not think he acquired any trait of Pinoy culture. He related that last year, there was a balut- eating contest for non-Filipinos. “I just finished the duck egg’s soup.”
Wim said that in the community though, he just eats what they serve. “Rice with salt, there’s nothing else. It’s a good experience after all to eat rice and salt once in a while… to remind us that there are people who do not have any other ulam (viand) but asin (salt).”

Wim also appreciates the Filipinos’ happy disposition, “European culture is actually the opposite. Even in the best of circumstances, what is seen there are the weaknesses, the bad side. Dito baligtad (Here, it’s the other way around). Even if everything looks black, people will find a bright spot somewhere.”

He admitted that in the beginning of his stay, it was very hard for him. When he was first asked,“Saan ka galing?” (Where did you come from?) His first reaction was, “Why do you want to know?”

Before eating, his officemates would ask, “Anong ulam mo?” (What’s your viand). “People decide whose ulam they will collectivize. I just find someone eating on my plate.”

The People’s movement

“Since 1996, I have only seen the advance of the people’s movement. Pataas nang pataas. (Ever advancing)… I witnessed the expansion of people’s organizations and other manifestations of the growth of the people’s movement. We even have progressive congressmen today.”
Wim said with certainty, “In the near future, if the progressive movement builds further on that, there will be major developments here that I’m going to miss. The people’s movement is stronger after ousting Estrada in 2001. There will be defining moments in Philippine history and the people’s movement will have a significant role. I will monitor that, of course. I know what I’ll miss.” Bulatlat

© 2004 Bulatlat ■ Alipato Publications

The Road To Perdition

Streetwise
by Carol P- Araullo
The Business World/5-6 November 2005

There's one crisis in our crisis-ridden country that I feel compelled to write about, setting aside the urge to comment on the electoral victory of George W. Bush, the man the rest of the world's peoples love to hate.

The brain drain in the health professions, specifically in nursing and medicine, has been going on since the 1960s as far as I can tell. Definitely, by the time my UP Medicine class of about 145 students graduated in 1979, more than half were destined to go abroad, at first to train, then to establish their practice and stay on. (I bet many of them got to vote in the last US presidential elections.)

So the news that the Philippines has the dubious distinction of being the top exporter of nurses in the world is old hat. We used to be the No. 2 exporter of doctors, but maybe India has taken over considering the cost of medical education and the economic crunch that Filipinos have been living under for two and a half decades. What has got people sitting up to take notice is the fact that physicians are going back to school to become certified nurses. We're not just talking about fresh medical graduates either. Medical specialists who have been practicing five or more years are abandoning their hard-earned professions to work as nurses, mostly in the US and UK.

It doesn't take an economist to figure out why. One estimate is a stark US$400 working as a doctor in a Philippine state hospital versus $4,000 doing duty as a nurse in US hospitals (with immigrant status for family members to boot). I wager $400 is even on the high side since resident physicians, those doctors who are still undergoing specialty training, would be getting much less.

Consider the powerful cultural factors at play in making the switch from doctoring to nursing, but are easily swept aside by the economic imperatives: the general perception, correct or not, that becoming a nurse after having studied or worked hard as a doctor, constitutes a denigration of one's professional status. There is an implied intellectual superiority that derives from the assumption that it takes more brains to be a doctor than a nurse when in fact, in most instances, the more accurate premise is that it takes more money to go to medical school and thus the higher status has more to with socioeconomic class than anything else.

In our still macho society, the shift to nursing constitutes a double demotion on the part of male doctors. In the hierarchy of the health professions, the doctor is still the decision-maker, the leader of the health team, if not the undisputed "boss," while the nurse takes down the doctor's orders and implements these.

The implications of the continuing brain drain deserve to be confronted especially when our political leaders, the bureaucrats at DOLE, the recruitment agencies as well as owners of mushrooming nursing schools all over the country peddle the lie that the country has a net gain in exporting our human resources. They extol rather than decry the fact that we are spending scarce social capital on future doctors and nurses, only to lose them to richer societies that can afford to give them decent salaries and a modicum of respect, if not reward, after all the hard work and personal sacrifice.

This is the stark reality. The country has reached the point where there is now a developing scarcity in medical human power even in the cities, in tertiary care hospitals (i.e. those providing more specialized and expert medical care), and in the private sector. It used to be that scarcity was relative. It followed that doctors and nurses tended to be hospital-based, both to earn more as well as to be able to avail of the newer medical technology and convenience any health professional educated in the Western tradition looks for. It was to be expected that rural areas would have a difficult time attracting doctors and nurses to practice there because of the expected low paying capacity of its population, mostly farmers and small- to medium-size merchants. There were always vacancies in rural health centers and even secondary government hospitals especially in such far-flung areas like Samar, the Cordilleras and western Mindanao.

Metro Manila, on the other hand, had a surfeit not only of doctors, but of world-class physicians, you just had to be able to afford them or have the patience to queue up in the interminably long lines at the Outpatient Department of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). Thus, the crowding in the cities where not only the money is better, the schools for the children are more prestigious, the shopping malls are more complete and the general socioeconomic environs cum cultural life more upscale than anything a small town, much less a barrio could ever hope to offer.

But now, the telltale signs of a worse crisis to come are truly worrisome. Hospitals in Mindanao and Negros Oriental are facing closure because of a lack of doctors and nurses. UP-PGH, that venerable institution which produced the top-notch specialists practicing in the major urban centers of the country as well as top-rated US medical centers, is having difficulty attracting fresh graduates to fill up the slots in what used to be highly competitive residency programs. The high turnover of nurses has accelerated in the last decade with the huge number of nursing schools unable to churn out graduates fast enough to fill in the slots their more-honed predecessors left.

No doubt about it, what has been a long-running crisis in our low priority, under-financed and decaying health care system will soon become a full-blown emergency. It's just another example of how the myopic, or rather, head-in-the-sand attitude, of our political leaders promises to lead us to even greater perdition as a country. That's the fearsome scenario our young doctors and nurses are running away from, and who can blame them.

GMA: BRING CHRISTMAS CHEERS THROUGH PRICE ROLLBACKS, WAGE HIKES

PRESS RELEASE/November 7, 2004
Reference: Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, OFM
National Co-Chairperson
Contact: 4107623PCPR

The Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) stated today that Malacañang can truly bring Christmas cheers by ordering price rollbacks especially on oil, power and water rates; substantial wage and salary hikes; re-channeling of the debt-service and military budgets to social services, tax reduction and other beneficial moves for the poor.

The activist church group criticized Malacañang for acting like a clown who expects the people to smile amidst intolerable economic hardships.

“How can jobless fathers and mothers bring cheers to their families in the face of dimmer prospects of stable incomes and the burden of eight new sinful taxes? There are tears and no cheers as many Filipinos can hardly cope with the ever increasing cost of living. We cannot be cheerful when despite the sacrifices of the poor, the shameless corruption of high government and military officials continue to worsen the country’s economic crisis,” Rev. Fr. Allan Jose Arcebuche, OFM, PCPR National Co-Chairperson stated.

“It’s so easy for the President and her spokespersons to say “cheers” as they don’t suffer the plight of many Filipinos who are doomed to spend Christmas with less paychecks and ever increasing debts,” the activist priest added. PCPR further decried the government’s ‘no permit, no rally’ policy and its increasing repression against workers groups rallying for wage hikes and other people’s organizations demanding urgent socio-economic reforms.

“Tomorrow, November 8, marks the death anniversary of Capt. Panfilo Villaruel – a man who was brutally killed by police agents under the orders of Malacañang officials who were not amused by his extra-ordinary expression of outrage against the corruption in government. We demand justice for Capt. Villaruel and all victims of police brutality as we continue to demand long-term resolutions of the main causes of the country’s economic crisis,” PCPR concluded.

UPDEYT sa Rice Subsidy

Ngayong araw na ito, ika-25 ng Oktubre 2004 ay pormal nang ini-award sa lowest bidder and ating rice subsidy sa UP Manila (kasama siyempre ang PGH) para sa taong 2004. Ang ating bigas na nagkakahalaga ng P1,000.00 kada sako ay aabot sa 56 Kgs. o P17.86/kilogram. Ito ay Sinandomeng variety pa rin. Tinatanyang ito ay sisimulang ididistribute sa atin sa ika-3 ng Nobyembre 2004. Ang distribution ay ayon sa opisina o yunit na kinabibilangan at may eskedyul bawat opisina para hindi uli magkakaroon ng biglang buhos ng tao sa pagbaba ng bigas. Mayroong kinaukulang Memorandum na ipapalabas ang Opisina ng Tsanselor o ang Direktor kaugnay dito.

Wala pa man ang ating bigas, ay mayroong mga samut-sari at walang batayang haka-haka. May petisyon pa ngang inikot ang mga ilan nating kasamang walang magawa at mas naniniwala sa sabi-sabi kaysa makinig o humingi ng opisyal na pahayag mula sa All UP Workers Union.

Ang ating rice subsidy ay malinaw na nakapaloob sa Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) sa pagitan ng UP at All UP Workers Union kayat obligado ang Administrasyon ng UP na ipatupad ito, gayundin ang ating year-end incentive bonus at iba pang mga economic benefits sa ilalim ng nasabing kasunduan. Wala ring dahilan para pag-awayin ang rice subsidy at year-end incentive bonus kaya't hindi totoo na ang rice subsidy ay kukunin mula sa ating year-end incentive bonus.

At dahilan sa ang CNA benefits ay kabilang sa mga exemptions sa mga "Austerity Measures" sa ilalim ng Administrative Order 103 ng Pangulong GMA, nasa ating mga kamay kung gayun kung papayagan nating magdahilan pa ang UP sa usaping ito.

Sa ating mga kasamang kawani na patuloy na sumusuporta at sumasama sa mga pagkilos ng unyon para sa tuloy-tuloy na kampanya sa ating Sahod, Trabaho at Karapatan; taus puso kaming sumasaludo sa inyo! Nagsisilbi kayong inspirasyon para sa ibayo at mas masikhay pa nating mga pagkilos! MABUHAY!

TULOY-TULOY ANG LABAN SA P3,000 ACROSS-THE-BOARD SALARY INCREASE!

Makiisa sa Gagawing Noise Barrage at Makisalo sa Pagdildil ng Asin sa Lunes, October 11, 2004 12:00 –1:00 PM sa PGH Flagpole.

Makiisa din sa gagawing “Sanduguan” sa Huwebes, Oktubre 14, 2004Simula ng 8:30 AM sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM)

Hindi pa man din nakakaraos sa sunod-sunod na pagtaas ng presyo ng petrolyo at mga pangunahing bilihin, ay mayroon na namang pagtaas ng singil sa kuryente at nakaambang pagtaas ng singil sa tubig! Bukod pa diyan ang iba pang maiitim na balak ng gubyerno upang tugunan daw ang “fiscal crisis”, mga hakbang na lalong nagpapahirap sa mga mamamayan! Ilan dito ay ang mga tax measures, early retirement, at budget cut sa edukasyon, kalusugan, atbp. – mga band-aid sa nagnanana at nabubulok na sistema. At habang nag-iisip ng mga patapal-tapal na solusyon ang gubyerno, libo-libong empleyado naman ang patuloy na umaasa at naghihintay na tugunan ang panawagan sa karagdagang sahod!

Sa kasalukuyan ang sweldo kada buwan (gross) ng Utility Worker I (SG1) ay P5,082.00, Nursing Attendant II o Clerk III (SG6) ay P7,606, Nurse I (SG10) ay P9,939.00 at ang Medical Officer III (SG18) ay P15,831.00. Ito ay napakaliit kung ikukumpara sa poverty threshold sa NCR na mahigit P16,862.00 (ayon sa NSCB) para sa isang pamilya na may apat na miyembro!

Ang tunay na halaga ng piso ay nasa 40 sentimos na lamang. Sa kinikita ngayon ng isang ordinaryong kawani, halos bigas at asin na lamang ang kayang mabili nito para sa pang-araw na pagkain.

Sa harap ng lumalalang kalidad ng pamumuhay, nananawagan ang All UP Workers Union kasama ang kalakhan ng mga kawani sa pamahalaan ng patuloy na panawagan para sa P3,000 Across-the-Board Monthly Salary Increase. Ang tinatayang P43B na kailangan para sa P3,000 monthly increase ng may 1.2M na mga kawani ng gubyerno ay barya lamang sa P695B na ibabayad ng gubyerno sa kautangan para sa susunod na taon, kung saan marami dito ay hindi ang sambayanan ang nakinabang at napunta lamang sa iilang pribadong kumpanya at mga indibidwal. Bukod pa dito ang iba’t-ibang anomalya na kinasangkutan mismo ng nasa posisyon, lalo na ng mga kasapakat ni Pangulong GMA, halimbawa na lang dito ang tinatayang halos P15 – P17B mula sa PCSO, PAGCOR, GSIS, OWWA, at DA na ginamit sa nakaraang kampanyang reelection, ang Diosdado Macapagal Blvd, mga tax credit scam, malawakang “conversion” sa AFP at marami pang isyu ng graft and corruption.
Ang ating laban sa sahod ay makatarungan. Ang P3,000.00 dagdag sahod ay may 5 taon na, at sa patuloy na pagtaas ng mga serbisyo’t bilihin, inflation at depreciation ng Peso, ito ay halos hindi na angkop sa kasalukuyang panahon. Ang tuwina ang sagot ng inutil, incompetent at puno ng corruption nating gubyerno, ay patuloy na pagbubulag-bulagan at pagbibingi-bingihan.

Tinutulak tayo ng gubyerno sa bingit ng kahirapan, na magdildil sa asin habang ang mga nasa matataas na posisyon ay namimihasa sa garbo ng taas ng sahod at mga benepisyo. Ang mga ahensiya ng gobyerno ay pilit pinapatupad ang mga “austerity measures” subalit taliwas naman dito ang dalas ng foreign travel, pagtaas ng budget para sa advertisement at mga descretionary fund tulad ng Intelligence Fund ng mismong opisina ng Pangulong GMA. Walang katotohanan kung gayon ang “burden sharing” na ipinamumukha ni GMA! Ang mga karaniwang mamamayan lamang ang nagpapasan ng hirap, samantalang puro pagpapapabor sa malaking negosyo at kanilang mga kasapakat sa Kongreso at Malacañang ang naging prayoridad ng ating gubyerno. Mga tax incentives, tax holidays, tax amnesty, ang unilateral na tariff reduction, mga batas tulad ng EPIRA, Oil Deregulation Law, atbp. Lahat ito ay malinaw na ang mga nakinabang ay mga malalaking negosyo lamang at hindi ang mamamayan.

Patuloy na ipaglaban ang ating salary increase! Ito ay bahagi pa rin ng ating panawagan para sa pagtaas ng badyet pangkalusugan at pagkakaloob ng iba pa nating mga benepisyo – quarterly rice subsidy, backpay ng COLA, increase ng hazard pay, subsistence allowance at iba pa.

All U.P. Workers Union, Manila Chapter

"Lansagin ang Ibagsak" Part I

POETRY: Ang Kuwento ng Balangiga

Balangiga

ni: RICHARD GAPPI

I. Parapamatba

Casiana Nacionales, acting as the “parapamatbat” (the one who leads the prayer) rush from the church, and with rosary beads held high, extolled and rallied the people to attack.

-isang tala ukol sa atake ng mga taga-Balangiga, Samar

Inaaba kami ng mga ginoong napadpad dito ayon daw sa iyong bulong.

Pinuno nila ng barya at grasya ang kanilang bulsa dahil sumasakanila ka raw at bukod-tangi mo silang pinagpala.

Itinatwa nila ang aming tuwa.

Kaya sa kanila ang ligaya at sa amin ang dusa.

Gayunman, hindi ito misteryo para sa amin.

Batid mong umiikid na siklo ang nakabakat sa aming daldak at may dugong nakakulapol sa badhi ng aming alaala.

Sa pagtaas ng rosaryo, Panginoon, iniaangat ko sa iyo ang dalit ng lupang dagan-dagan ng dayong talampakan.
Sa bawat pisil ng hinlalaki sa mga butil ng bubog, sindiin nito ang bagsak ng bolo, piko, pala, at itak sa ulong ayaw naming yukuran; sa mukhang taliwas sa iyong katauhan; at sa balikat na itinuring kaming hindi kapantay.

Kaya patnubayan nawa kami ngayong Linggo ng umaga.

Habang sabay-sabay na namumutawi sa aming mga labi ang misteryo ng kinimkim na luwalhati:
“Atake! Balangigan-on!”


II. Amen

Capt. Thomas Connell, leader of the 9th Infantry assigned to Balangiga, Samar, was sitting near a window saying his prayers when the attackers stormed into his room.

Bukas at malapad na daigdig ang nakalatag sa aking panginorin, Panginoon.

Sa pagdaop ng mga palad, nais kong matutop ang palad ng makinis na bukas.

Hindi ka namin sinisisi.

At hindi kami nagsisisi: kung ipinadpad mo man kami rito sa bayang laging nakakunot ang rabaw ng dagat.

Gayunman, kung tumubo sa aming badhi at daldak ang mga kalyo at kulugo, sanhi ng ‘di mabilang na kalabit sa gatilyo at pagpagkit ng kalburo, iadya mo kami.

Alam mong higit sa hinahong kaloob ng dalangin, itinuro mo sa amin ang magalit.

Tulad ng ginawa mo nang nasa harap ka ng patio.

Alam mo, Panginoon, na upang mabatid ng bagong tagpo naming mga kapatid ang tapat naming malasakit, paminsan-minsan, kailangang kumulo ang aming dugo tulad ng aserong dinadarang sa apoy.

Kung mangyari man ito, tanggapin nawa ang pagyukod ng ulo.

Alay naman ang lahat na ito para sa kanila – silang kulay-kalawang ang balat at hindi makapanimbang sa sariling talampakan.

Kaya bigyan kami ng unawa. Sumaamin ang iyong awa.

Siya nawa.


III. Panday

Rosauro Cabillo was a blacksmith who provided weapons, including knives smuggled to prisoners in the Sibley tents in water carriers the previous night. He was believed to have died in the attack.

Nang silaban ng isang taga-Tondo sa sentro ng Maynila ang liyab ng tabak, apoy itong kumalat hanggang sa aliw-iw ng aming dagat.

Limang taon pa lamang ngayon ang pingas na inaagaw ng panahon sa talas ng aming pandama.

Gayunman, hindi pa kinakalawang ang aming alaala.

Singliwanag pa ng mga kintal ng hinuhulma kong bakal ang aming katwiran.

At ito ang katwiran: lakas sa aming bisig ang tanging magbibigkis at apoy lamang ang magpapakupot sa asero.

Dito namin hinubog ang lunggati ng aming pagkatao at isinaulo ang dalumat na ito ng kahapon sa gatla ng aming mga noo.

Talino itong inangkin pa namin mula pa kina Sumuroy,

Tamblot, at Dagohoy.


IV. Dila ng Umaga

Vicente Candillosas was the teen-age boy who rang the church bell for the attack.

Hindi ako si Crispin o Basilio na ipinaubaya ang likod at mga hita sa latigo ng kura.

Hindi rin ako bata-batuta at halaga ko’y hindi isang perang muta.

Sapagkat batid kong hindi sapat ang tumunganga, lalo na sa gawain at usapan ngayon ng mga matatanda.

Isinilang ako sa panahong napapanikluhod ang lahat sa oras na kumalat na ang kilapsaw ng kalembang.

Kapag humilata na ang araw sa malikot na panginorin ng aming dagat, isusudsod na naman ng mga parapamatbat ang kanilang mga tuhod sa sahig na niyayapakan ng mga dayuhan.

Pipisilin nila ang mga butil ng kristal sabay ang pag-ikid sa bibig ng mga litanyang walang patid.

Kaya narito ako ngayon (patunay sa pagsuway sa bilin ni Ina).

Handa kong batakin ang lubid na magiging dila at signos sa tagong-diwa na ipababatid.


V. Kuwentong tinahi ng isang mananahi

The officers sat up late supervising the captain’s houseboy Francisco in sewing the mourning bands on their uniform.

Singlalim ng nangangalumatang ulap noong Biyernes, Setyembre 26, ang panimdim na tinatahi sa kanilang kamiseta.

Tulad ng iniutos ng kanilang Kapitan, ililislis nila ito sa manggas pag-ikid ng buwan; kasabay ang wagayway-paalam ng kanilang bandilang nasa hati ng tagdan.

Tanda ito sa pagkatastas ng mga bituin sa hiblang panaginip na hinabi raw ng langit.

Buhat ng sulat buhat sa pinagyaman nilang lupa ang balitang sinaksak at napatay ng asesino ang Pangulo ng Estados Unidos.

Sa pagpanaw ng kanilang punong militar, ayon pa rin sa Kapitan, mamamaalam na rin ang mapagkandiling pananakop na kumupkop sa aming mga Filipino.

Ngayong alas otso ng umaga,

Linggo, Setyembre 28, susulsihin ng aking dila ang maaaring napunit na kuwento nang salakayin at paslangin sila ng aking mga kababayan.

Tatahiin ko ang katotohanan: na tunay na tapat ang 48 sundalo ng Company C ng 9th Infantry, lalo na ang kanilang Kapitan; sinamahan nila si Pangulong McKinley hanggang sa kanyang libingan.


VI. Pintakasi

It is a custom in Samar since time immemorial that whenever it is desired to clean the streets of town from weeds and herbs, the local authorities call upon the inhabitants to perform this work called pintakasi.

Sabado ng gabi, Setyembre 27, nagtipon-tipon sila sa Canlara.

Mag-aala-una ng umaga, Setyembre 28, inilikas tungo sa liblib ng bundok ang mga bata, matatanda, at may sakit.

Samantala, nagkanya-kanya naman ng puwesto ang mga lalahok, batay sa plano.

Pinamunuan ni Maj. Eugenio Lopez ang unang kumpanya.
Sina Kapitan Benito Canillas at Lt. Artemio Balaez sa ikalawa. Sa ikatlo, sina G. Petre Abit at Bartolome Ayjon ang nakatoka.

Sa ikaapat, sina Kapitan Lopez Angorin at Pelagio Acosta ang mangunguna. Sina Andres Hilaria at Pedro Avila sa ikalima. Sina Pablo Paulo Gacho at Custodio Salazar naman sa ikaanim -- sila ang bahala sa mga damong nakapaligid sa simbahan. At ang ikapito, pamumunuan naman ni Valeriano Abanador, ang hepe ng lokal na pulisya.

Magsusuot ng palda at bestida ang marami sa lalahok.

Magdadala rin sila ng piko, pala, itak, at bolo.

Kapag naagaw na ni Abanador ang baril sa bantay na sundalo, paputukin niya ito sa alapaap.

Kakalembang naman ang simboryo.

Hudyat ang mga ito sa simula ng pintakasi.


VII. Ang Kanilang Itinuro

The army’s retaliation measures after the Balangiga attack included actions that resulted in the court-martial of two field commanders.

Nang tumestigo si Maj. Littleton Waller, ang opisyal na itinalagang mamuno upang papayapain ang isla ng Samar, lalo na ang Balangiga, ganito ang kanyang sinabi:

Inaamin kong binaril at pinatay namin ang labing-isang katutubong tumulong sa amin sa pagtugis ng mga tulisang nagtatago sa gubat.

Nais nila kasi kaming gutumin.
Kinutsaba nila ang mga tulisan.

Hindi nila sinabi sa aming meron pala ritong nakatanim na ube at balinghoy.
Pero buong puso ko lamang sinunod ang utos ng aking amo.

Inaamin kong binaril at pinatay namin ang lahat ng bata, babae, lalaki, matatanda; basta lahat ng sampung anyos pataas na alam naming makapagdadala na ng armas.

Pero buong puso ko lamang sinunod ang utos ng aking amo.

Inaamin kong minasaker namin ang 39 na katutubo at mangmang, sinunog ang 255 bahay, at kinatay ang 13 kalabaw.

Pero buong puso ko lamang sinunod ang utos ng aking amo.

Inaamin kong ninakaw namin ang simboryo ng simbahan upang habambuhay na umalingawngaw sa alaala ng aming mga apo ang matagumpay na paghihiganti para sa mga kasama naming pinatay ng mga bandido at tulisan.

Pero buong puso ko lamang sinunod ang utos ng aking amo.

Buong puso ko lamang sinunod ang utos ng aking amo:

“I want no prisoners, I wish you to kill and burn, The more you kill ang burn, The better it will please me!”
bilin sa amin ni Hen. Jacob Smith.

Buong puso ko lamang sinunod ang utos ng aking amo:
ang gawing paraiso ang isang impiyerno.

Dahil sa matapat na sumunod lamang sa utos ng kanyang amo, pinawalang-sala siya sa hukom-militar ng Kalihim sa Pakikidigma ng Estados Unidos.

Samantala, nang tumestigo naman si Hen. Jacob Smith, ganito ang kanyang sinabi:

Oo. Inaamin ko at sinususugan ko ang lahat ng sinabi ni Major Waller.
Kaya lamang, nakaligtaan niyang sabihin na sa limang buwan ng pagpapatahimik sa Samar, humigit 50,000 lahi ng tsonggo ang pinababa namin sa puno.
Kaya nga sa humigit 312,000 populasyon bumaba ito sa 257,000.

Gayunman, nais ko ring sabihin na buong puso ko lamang sinunod ang utos ng ating punong militar, ng ating Mahal na Pangulo.

Sa harap ng lipunang Amerikano, ipinangako niya na sandali lamang ang digmaan.
Alam n’yo ‘yon!

Pero tumatagal na ang digmaan at malaki na rin ang ating gastos.

Alam n’yo rin ‘yon!

Tanging sa singasing lamang ng nguso ng baril ganap na mapapaamo at mapapatahimik ang mga tulisan at
bandido.

Alam n’yo rin ‘yon!

Hindi nakumbinsi ang hukom-militar sa argumento ni Hen. Smith.

Kaya hinatulan siyang nagkasala at itiniwalag sa serbisyo-militar.

Nang magbalik siya sa kanyang bayan, pinalakpakan siya ng kanyang mga kababayan.

“Mabuhay ka Hen. Smith! Mabuhay ka!” sigaw nila.

Tinanggap nila ang pagdating ni Smith tulad ng isang nadistiyero at bumabalik ngayong bayani ng bayan.

Inakbayan siya ng mga kapwa opisyal sa militar na tumugis at nagmasaker din sa mga katutubo ng Apache,
Comache, Kiowa, at Sioux sa Latina-Amerika.

Sa ganitong mabuting halimbawa, itinuro ng unang imperyalista sa Asya ang wastong kahulugan ng hustisya.


VIII. Hagulgol ng Gubat

In brutal retaliation for the Balangiga attack, villages were set on fire, crops were destroyed, and thousands are believed to have died.

I.

Ngayon ay labingsiyam at isa.

At dito sa aking tahanan, langit man ay naliligalig, ayaw tumahan.

Nasasaid ang aking lakas upang bigyan pa ito ng ibang pangalan.

Maliban sa impiyerno, impiyernong katahimakan ang nakaratay sa lupa.

Sa maraming taon, nakaukit sa kanyang mga puno at bundok ang kanyang pangalan.

Ito ang Samar!

Sa maraming taon, ibinubulong ng hangin at dalampasigan ang kanyang pangalan.

Ito ang Samar!

Ito ang Samar!

Ngayon ay labingsiyam at isa.

At dito sa aking tahanan, ang nakahimlay na kapayapaan ay nakaukit sa lapida ng mga namatay.

II.

Tag-araw at totoong walang nakadapong halumigmig.

Ngunit nangangaligkig ako, sukol ako ng aking mga tadyang at gulugod;

Pilit kong nilalabanan ang ‘di mabatid na sumpang lamig mula sa Kanluran.

Tila ako isang batang sumisinghap, nalulunod sa bangungot, nagpupumiglas na makakawala sa malawak na kamay ng dagat, o sa sikmura ng sinaunang kuweba, o sa pagkakalingkis ng bolang apoy.

Tila ako isang langong pulpito na natutuliro, mag-isang naglalakbay sa puso ng gabi habang nasa kamposanto.

Ngunit hindi ito sementeryo – wala ritong krus na nakatundos sa mga hungkag na hukay.

Walang punong santol na magsisilbing lilim at pahingahan ng mga nagluluksa – mga naulilang umaasa sa ulan, pang-ampat sa nakatalukbong na init ng araw.

Sapagkat dito, isang dambuhalang lapida ang buong Isla.

Isang malawak na kamposanto itong arkipelago sa Asya.

Sapagkat dito, hindi tubig ang pumapatak na ulan kundi mga bala mula sa bunganga ng Springfield.

Sapagkat dito, lamon ng Bolang Araw ang Sandaigdigan.

III.

Kaya ngayon, nagpasya akong maging isang panakot-uwak.

Kahit batid kong ni hindi mapapadako rito ang ulilang mayamaya

Kahit batid kong wala ritong madadagit na palay.

Lupa lamang ang narito na pinagyayaman.

Hindi ng init ng mga bulkan kundi ng malalamig na bangkay.

Lupa lamang ang naritong patunay sa halubigat na nasa aking talampakan.

Lupa lamang ang narito na patuloy kong tutungtungan –

Hanggang maulinigan ko ang pinakamatining na ungol, iyak, at sigaw ng humahagulgol na gubat -- kung saan naroon ang aking mga kasama at mahal sa buhay.

Na ang mga nalasog na buto ay tumatabing sa ‘di ko na masipat na panginorin;

Na ang mga natadtad na katawan ay simpatag ng gubat;

Na ang mga nabubulok na katawan ay tumatabon sa dating mga palayan – isang tanawin ito, Oo, isang tanawin na higit pa sa kumunoy na kailan man naisip ay kong hindi sasagi sa alamat ng aking nawalang kabataan.

Lupa lamang ang naritong patunay sa halubigat na nasa aking talampakan.

Lupa lamang ang narito na patuloy kong tutungtungan –

Hanggang dumating ang pagkakataon na umawit ang sanggol sa aking sinapupunan, at sabihin sa akin na ito, ito na ang panahon upang humakbang ang panakot-uwak, tunguhin ang dalampasigan ng Dagat Pasipiko upang doon, maging isang ulilang mayamaya – habang sinusukat ng pakpak ang lawak ng dagat at humapon sa buhanginan ng dalampasigan.

At iluwal

Siya, siya na hindi ko kilala ang ama.

Siya na hindi ko mapagsino ang mukha ng kanyang ama.

Ngunit bakit, bakit kailangan ko pang alamin…

Siya, na isa lamang ang ari ng kanyang ama sa lima o limampung ari ng puti na hindi tuli.

Ngunit walang pakundangang sinalit-salit ang aking Malayong katauhan.

Sa bawat sibat, sa bawat diin, sa bawat pagwakwak –

Bawat igkas, bawat siklot, ang bawat pagsabog ng apoy ay tila mga dambuhalang kamay,
nilalamutak ang aking sinapupunan, sinasakmal ang kalamnan.

Huwag nang banggitin pa ang lunggati ng aking kaluluwa;

Kung totoo ngang itong kaluluwa ang tanging ikinaiiba ng babae at ng butas, o ng lalaki at ng tagdang yari sa Amerika.

IV.

Oo aking anak.

Sasabihan ko kung sino man ang iyong ama.

Oo aking anak.

Sapagkat ikaw ang aking kaluluwa.

Ikaw ang aking pangalan at awit –

Ikaw ang aking kapayapaan!

Sapagkat kapwa kamatayan at paghihiganti ang kapayapaan.

At sa atin, dito sa Samar! Dito sa buong kapuluan!

Higanti ang makatarungang Himagsikan.

Ito ang aking natutuhan. Ito ang ituturo ko sa iyo.

At ito ang ating ibabanyuhay sa buong Samar.


Reprinted from Bulatlat.com

Ang tulang ito ay nanalo ng Ikatlong Gantimpala sa Talaang Ginto para sa Makata ng Taon noong 1999 ng Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino

From 2001 to 2004: More Than 12,000 Workers Repressed

Leadership Crisis

The Business World
Streetwise/September 18, 2004
by: Carolina Pagaduan-Araullo

It didn’t look good, whatever the official reason given.

First there was National Treasurer Mina Figueroa tendering her resignation at a time when there is the fiscal crisis to attend to. Then followed NAPOCOR President Roger Murga, the man GMA handpicked to head the government corporation that is in debt to the tune of 1.3 trillion, accounting for an astounding 42 per cent of national government debt.

Both came from the private business sector, highly recommended as qualified for the jobs they were about to undertake and presumably aware that they were not being asked to join a picnic considering the cash-strapped, debt-saddled state of the government. It is not at all surprising that Figueroa finally realized her own personal budget deficit was a more pressing matter than that of the government and that her time and effort should be worth at least as much as that of the GOCC fat cats who could give themselves “unconscionably high” salaries and perks while their institutions floundered.

But the persistent rumors about “policy differences” with Department of Finance officials tainted what could otherwise be accepted as a logical personal decision. And now the revelation that government, its coffers practically empty, lost more than P1 billion from the ill-timed $1billion bond the finance department offered on behalf of NAPOCOR. That, it is bruited about, is the real reason behind Figueroa’s decision to quit.

Perhaps Murga, just two years into the saddle as NAPOCOR chief, saw it coming too. The gathering storm of protest as people feel the double whammy of higher power rates combined with higher taxes. Already legislators are threatening to dig deeper into the dire state of NAPOCOR finances including the issue of how their officers continue to enjoy their fat salaries while the rest of the corporation bleeds and the people, in turn, are being made to cough up blood to keep it afloat.

But wasn’t it a political decision of President Arroyo to slash the purchased power adjustment or PPA charged by NAPOCOR to electricity consumers at a time when her popularity rating was at an extreme low? Arroyo must have known that would translate into a pile-up of debt that someone, at some point, would have to pay.

And since she was the one who asked for the PPA cutback, that meant her government would find the way to pay for the huge loss in NAPOCOR’s revenue. Surely that part of the problem cannot be blamed on Mr. Murga alone. But with the people’s anger coming to a boil and Malacañang obviously looking for scapegoats, we can understand why the NAPOCOR chief wouldn’t want to be around when all hell breaks loose.

Now if indeed the spate of resignations is merely coincidental as Malacañang claims, then it could be the meanest trick fate has played on this administration. For the public perception is that these high-level government functionaries who know the real score have lost confidence in the political leadership of Mrs. Arroyo. Certainly the resignations do not help to build public confidence in her government which is essential if it is to lead us through these hard times.

Unfortunately President Arroyo is sorely lacking in both credibility and the high moral ground with which to call upon the people to sacrifice for the common good. Wasn’t it just some months ago, during the campaign period, that her administration was spending public money like there was no tomorrow? There was no talk then among her cabinet officials and her rah-rah boys and girls about a looming fiscal crisis. The Opposition accused Mrs. Arroyo of electioneering but the GMA camp insisted that she was merely doing what a president ought to be doing, and that is, engaging in “governance.”

As late as her State-of-the-Nation address in July, even as she drew attention to the government’s worsening fiscal and debt problems calling the deficit “our most urgent problem,” she papered this over with the launch of an ambitious 10-point program promising the people food on the table, decent jobs, livelihood, housing, education and health care within her six-year term of office. She hardly gave any indication that things would probably get worse before these got any better.

And then that state visit cum family outing to China with the entire Macapagal-Arroyo household in tow, grandchildren and yaya included. President Arroyo just threw away whatever credibility she retained about imposing austerity measures -- not only on government, but even on ordinary households -- by flouting her very own pronouncements and making a mockery of her own appeals for sacrifice.

While there is unanimity in acknowledging the need for a political leadership with the will to carry out drastic measures to tide us over, if not resolve, this current crisis, we must ask ourselves, what kind of political leadership?

We contend that such a leadership must first of all have the trust and confidence of the people. The people must be assured that whatever sacrifice they make will accrue to the benefit of the greater majority, if not to the entire nation. Clearly the Arroyo government fails to measure up to this critical standard.

How much more then on its capacity to uphold the national interest, to stand up to foreign policy impositions whether these be economic, political or military. For starters, can Pres. Arroyo move to renegotiate those onerous debts and contracts? Can she put the nation’s survival ahead of paying blood money to the foreign multinational banks and kowtowing to the international financial institutions?

How much more on its commitment to the democratic process? Can Pres. Arroyo deal judiciously with the mass protests and the general social restiveness that her call for new taxes, higher rates for public utilities and more belt tightening measures will surely generate? Can she restrain the urge to resort to politically repressive measures to pre-empt and contain the people’s impending outrage?

Sadly, the first three years of the Arroyo government does not give us reason to be optimistic.

Activist Solon Gets House Support for Health Probe

P3,000 DAGDAG SAHOD: MAKATWIRAN, IPAGLABAN!

All UP Workers Union- Manila
Setyembre 13, 2004

Tuloy ang laban para sa ating manggagawang pangkalusugan! Ang paggigiit ng P3,000 dagdag sahod, across the board ng mga kawani ng pamahalaan, kabilang na tayong mga manggagawang pangkalusugan ay makatwiran at may mga pinagbabatayan. Lubhang naiwanan na ng panahon ang sahod natin sa harap ng walang patumanggang pagtaas ng bilihin, langis, pamasahe, kuryente at iba pang pangangailangan ng mamamayan tulad sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Lalo pa itong maiiwanan sa panukala ng pamahalaang Arroyo na magtaas ng paniningil sa buwis. Walang puknat ang ginagawang pagsikil ng rehimeng Arroyo sa karapatan at kabuhayan ng mamamayan.

Hindi na maitatago ang nabubulok na ekonomya, mismong ang pamahalaan ang nagsabi na tayo ay nasa gitna ng krisis pampinansya. Ngunit di wasto ang pamamaraan ng pamahalaan para masolusyunan ito, bagkus lalo lamang pinapalala nito ang krisis. Mali na sa karaniwang mamamayan ipapabalikat ang pinakamalaking pasanin tulad ng paniningil ng mas mataas na buwis, di pagbibigay ng karampatang sahod at pinakamasahol: ang paglaan ng kakarampot na badyet sa serbisyong panlipunan sa taong 2005 tulad sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Samantalang nanatili ang mataas na porsyento ng apropriasyon sa badyet para sa pambayad utang na di naman pinakinabangan ng mamamayan at badyet para sa militar. Malinaw na ang mga hakbanging ito ay pagyurak sa karapatang pantao at kabuhayan ng mamamayan.

Ang krisis pampinansya ay matagal nang nagsimula, ito ay dahil sa walang patumanggang korupsyon ng mga matataas na opisyales ng pamahalaan, kabilang na ang gastusin nang nakaraang eleksyon; pagpapatupad ng patakarang liberalization sa ekonomya, pribatisasyon at deregularisasyon ng mga batayang serbisyo at pangangailangan na palaging pumapabor sa mga malalaking dayuhang monopolyo kapitalista. Ang mga patakarang ito ng pamahalaan ay nangangahulugan ng patuloy na pagtalima sa dikta ng Estados Unidos sa ngalan ng imperyalistang globalisasyon.

Kaya ang ALL UP WORKERS UNION ay naninindigan na wasto ang ating ipinaglalaban sa makatarungang sahod. Nasa atin ang hamon upang magpatuloy sa pagmumulat, pag-oorganisa at pagpapakilos sa ating hanay para sa ating kabuhayan at karapatan at maging sa kagalingan ng mamamayan.

P3,000 ACROSS THE BOARD DAGDAG SAHOD IBIGAY!

MANGAGAWANG PANGKALUSUGAN MAGKAISA! IPAGTANGGOL ANG KARAPATAN AT KABUHAYAN NG MAMAMAYAN!

Philippine Public Health ‘in Emergency Room’ – Health Activist

Kalbuhan sa PGH para sa P3,000.00 across-the-board na Dagdag Sahod

Ika-11 ng Setyembre, 2004

MEDIA ADVISORY
Reference: Jossel Ebesate
TagapanguloAll UP Workers Union Manila
Tel. No. 404-3721/0918-9276381

Nakatakdang magsagawa ng malawakang pagpapakalbo ang mga manggagawang pangkalusugan sa UP-PGH bilang protesta sa pagwawalang-bahala ng pamahalaan sa lumalalang kalagayan ng mga kawani at paggigiit na maipatupad ang P3,000.00 Across-the-Board Salary Increase. Ito ay gaganapin sa ika-13 ng Setyembre 2004, Lunes sa Flagpole ng PGH, mula ika-12 hanggang ika-1 ng hapon.

Note: With photo opportunity

Pictures: Health Workers Go To Congress

P3,000 ACROSS-THE-BOARD SALARY INCREASE, IPAGLABAN!

Makiisa sa Gagawing Noise Barrage sa Huwebes, Agosto 26, 200412:00 –1:00 PM sa PGH Flagpole.

Patuloy na lumalala ang kondisyon ng mga manggagawa at kawani ng pamahalaan. Ang patuloy na pagbulusok ng halaga ng piso at ang walang patumanggang pagtaas ng mga presyo ng petrolyo at mga pangunahing bilihin, maging tubig at kuryente ang lalong nagpapalubog sa ating mga kawani sa animo’y kumunoy ng kahirapan. Ano nga ba ang tugon ng administrasyong Arroyo? P20-increase sa emergency COLA ng mga manggagawa sa pribado. Ang pulis at militar ay dalawang beses tinaasan ang suweldo at benepisyo sa tatlong taon ng panunungkulan ni Pangulong GMA. Samantalang sa mga sibilyang kawani ng gobyerno, wala ni kusing! Hindi ba tayo niloloko nito?

Hindi mapakali ang gobyerno sa paggawa ng kung anu-anong malaband-aid at patapal-tapal na solusyon sa mga problemang kinakaharap ng bansa, kagaya ng pagpapataw ng karagdagang buwis at pagsasapribado ng mga pangunahing serbisyo kagaya ng tubig at kuryente na sa bandang-huli, ang mga mamamayan pa din ang apektado. Imbis na tulungan, lalong pinapahirapan.

Ang ating panawagan ay karagdagang sahod! Nananawagan ang All UP Workers Union kasama ang lahat na mga kawani sa pamahalaan ng P3,000 Across-the-Board Monthly Salary Increase. Batay sa ulat na ipinalabas ng NEDA (Abril 2003), ang isang pamilyang may anim na miyembro ay dapat na kumikita ng P16, 433.00 kada buwan para sa isang disenteng pamumuhay. Ang ganitong pamantayan ay napakalayo kung ikukumpara sa mga kawani natin na sumasahod lamang ng P5,080.00 kada buwan para sa Salary Grade 1. Kaya’t makatarungan lamang na ang panawagan natin para sa P3,000 na pagtaas ng sahod upang maibsan man lang ang patuloy na pagbaba ng kalidad ng pamumuhay.

Noong nakaraang Marso, sa kasagsagan ng pangangampanya ng Pangulong GMA ay nagpahayag ang ang Inter-Agency Budget Coordinating Council na magbibigay daw ang gubyerno ng karagdagang 10% sa suweldo ng mga kawani. Ito ay mariin nating tinututulan dahil ang makikinabang na naman nito ay ang dati ng matataas ang sahod. Habang ang karamihan sa atin ay hindi mararamdaman ang karagdagang ito. Kaya’t tama lamang ang ating panawagan para sa P3,000 across-the-board monthly Salary Increase. KAYANG ibigay ito ng gobyerno, sa katunayan, HIGIT pa dito ang kayang ipagkaloob KUNG seryoso lamang ito sa pagsugpo ng mga katiwalian ng pamahalaan, tulad na lamang ng IMPSA ($14M), Piatco ($100M), CODE-NGO Peace Bond (P10B), Macapagal Boulevard (P600M), Land Bank Tax Scam (P205B), Telecom Franchise Bills Bribery (P50M), Jose Pidal Account (P260M) at maging ang pagwaldas ng tinatayang halos P15 – P17B mula sa PCSO, PAGCOR, GSIS, OWWA, at DA na ginamit sa nakaraang kampanyang reelection ng Pangulo.

Ang tinatayang P43B na kailangan para sa P3,000 monthly increase ng may 1.2M na mga kawani ng gubyerno ay barya lamang sa halos P700B taon-taon na ibinabayad ng gubyerno sa kautangan nito kung saan marami dito ay hindi ang Sambayanan nakinabang at napunta lamang sa iilang pribadong kumpanya at mga indibidwal.

Ang ating laban sa sahod ay bahagi rin ng ating panawagan para sa pagtaas ng badyet pangkalusugan at pagkakaloob ng iba pa nating mga benepisyo – quarterly rice subsidy, backpay ng COLA, increase ng hazard pay, subsistence allowance at iba pa.

10% Salary Increase Hindi Sapat! P3,000 Across-the-Board Ang Dapat!

Badyet Pangkalusugan, Dagdagan! Mga Benepisyo, Ipatupad!

Makiisa sa gagawing Noise Barrage sa Huwebes, Agosto 26, 200412:00 –1:00 PM sa PGH Flagpole.

All U.P. Workers Union, Manila Chapter
Ika-23 ng Agosto 2004