NR0131: Pro-VAT Senators to be target of protests

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 31, 2005

Rep. Beltran says Senators who support the 12% VAT bill will also be the
target of protests; reminds them of their campaign promises last May that they
will fight for the poor

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that Malacanang and its
allies who support the 12% increase in the value-added tax where using the
fiscal crisis to justify heightened attacks against the poor and the rest of
the Filipino people. He said that if the Senate railroads the increased VAT
bill the same way Congress did last week, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration
will have bigger protests against it, and the pro-VAT senators and congressmen
will also be the target of these protests.

"They'll be denounced in very urban poor community, barangay, marketplace and
factory belt. There is no justifying the passage of a bill increasing taxes.
The Arroyo administration is using the fiscal crisis against the Filipino
people as if the poor and marginalized sectors aren't the main victims of this
crisis," he said.

Beltran said that Senator Francis' Pangilinan decision to support the bill was
a massive disappointment. He said that it was the poor who supported
Pangilinan's candidacy and secured his victory in the 2001 elections,
nevermind that he had previously had a losing streak in elections in the
local government levels.

"Even if many would say that Sen. Pangilinan won because of the star power lent
by his wife Ms. Sharon Cuneta, he has the chops to do a good job as a solon of
the poor if he wanted to. It's such a disappointment that Sen. Pangilinan is
supporting a measure that directly attacks the poor and working people directly
in the gut," he said.

The veteran labor leader said that senators should remember the promises they
made to the poor during the electoral campaign leading to May 11, 2004. "At the
time, they were wooing the poor and begging for their support and their votes,
pledging loyalty to them and vowing to alleviate their poverty. Now, pro-VAT
senators like their counterparts in Congress have shown that their true
allegiances lie with Malacanang."

Finally, Beltran said that it will not be surprising if the impeachment calls
and demands for Pres. Arroyo's resignation begin pouring in. "There are already
numerous bases to call for the president's impeachment -- she continues to
sign executive orders and forge agreements with local and foreign business
groups as well as foreign governments that directly undermine the welfare and
interest of the poor and working people. The leniency she has shown to ousted
president Joseph Estrada, and her continuing support to the US' so-called
campaign against terrorism to t he extent of allowing an American spy network
in the country to be established are already strong arguments against her. She
has betrayed the nation and the people time and again," he said.#

NR0128: GMA's premature glee

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 28, 2005


GMA's glee over P55:$1 exchange premature; mining companies to destroy
environment, dislocate thousands - Rep. Beltran

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo's jubilation over the supposed appreciation of the peso
versus the dollar was premature.

"The exchange value is a whopping P55.15:$1 and the president's gleeful?! It
seems like only yesterday when the exchange rate P40:$1, but the Arroyo
administration has not been able to keep it to that level. In the meantime,
costs of living have gone up while the purchasing power of the peso continues
to go down. Pres. Arroyo shouldn't pat her own back just yet," he said.

Beltran said that Pres. Arroyo's glee over the entry of new investors into the
country translates to copious tears for the Filipino people, and the
destruction of the Philippine environment.

"Pres. Arroyo has put on the auction block millions of hectares of Philippine
land and sea areas, and opened them up for mining. Thousands of Filipinos in
the countryside will be displaced by the corporations, their agriculture-based
livelihood destroyed by open-pit mining. Indigenous peoples will be driven away
from their ancestral lands, their culture also severely attacked. These foreign
corporations that are coming in the rape and plunder the country's resources
will be making millions at the expense of the Filipino people, and
Macapagal-Arroyo administration is gloating?"

The veteran labor leader also said that there was little cause for rejoicing
as it will be clear that employment rates will not be boosted by the entry of
new investors. "The added employment will hardly make a dent in the
double-digit unemployment rates, as investors are keen on maximizing and
exploiting to the hilt the country's slave-standards of wages and benefits for
labor. Also, these investors also utilize contractual employment," he said.

Wage hike to cushion impact of 12% VAT, high prices

In the meantime, Beltran said that the mere announcement of the VAT's
impending passage has already cause prices to go up in some markets.
"Manufacturers have already begun to compute their increased price adjustments
-- adding 12% VAT to the tag prices of their products that are 'VATable'," he
said.

"Social Welfare secretary Diky Soliman's attempts to downgrade the impact of VAT
on consumers and wage-earners are insulting. To her and the rest of the
officials of the administrat ion who support the 12% VAT, a few centavos
added to the prices of basic commodities are nothing; but for minimum wage
earners and the unemployed, a few centavos is a lot and spell the difference
between skipping a meal or not," he said.

The veteran labor leader said that Congress should immediately legislate a P125
across-the-board wage increase for all workers nationwide. "High oil prices
and electricity rates as well as the impact of the VAT can only be cushioned
with the help of a wage increase," he said. #

NR0128: DFA secretary Romulo's inaction on Malaysia

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 28, 2005

Rep. Beltran lashes out against DFA secretary Alberto Romulo for not lifting
a finger to help Pinoys to be deported from Malaysia beginning February 1

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today urged the House of
Representatives and the Senate to pool their collective strength and urge
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to exert all diplomatic effort to secure from
the Malaysian government an extension on the January 31 deadline it set for
the deportation of all illegal migrants, including 170,000 Filipinos.

"It's appalling that the Malaysian government has been consistently sending out
announcements, calling on neighboring governments to assist their nationals in
Malaysia to avail of the amnesty program; but clearly, the deadline is right
upon us and Filipinos are going to be deported by the thousands," he said.

He slammed Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo for his inaction. "Romulo's
on the warpath, trying to get National Democratic Front of the Philippines chief
legal adviser Jose Maria Sison deported from the Netherlands, but he hasn't
lifted a finger to secure the Filipinos about to be repatriated from Malaysia,"
he said.

Last January 25 it came out in newsreports that Malaysia will press ahead with a
controversial plan to arrest and deport hundreds of thousands of illegal
migrants on February 1.

Malaysian Home Azmi Khalid told Agence France-Presse there would be no change in
plans to deploy more than half a million Malaysian members of volunteer
neighborhood security groups to track down and detain the illegal migrants.
The Malaysian government is also seeking to prosecute all arrested undocumented
migrants under the Immigration Act prior to deportation. Those convicted under
the Act are liable to imprisonment and caning.

The Malaysian government intends to deploy the People's Volunteer Corps, an
organization of uniformed part-time volunteers with some policing powers, to
assist the regular police and immigration officials in the planned mass arrest
and detention operations. Preparations are also underway to introduce biometric
identification cards to enhance the long-term regulation of the entry and exit
of migrant workers.

Beltran said that the Malaysian government' mass deportation plans may result
in serious human rights violations. As part of continuing efforts to regulate
migration flows, Malaysia has periodically implemented "special operation" mass
expulsions within specified time frames.

"There will be clear contravention of international standards on the treatment
of detainees, unsanitary conditions and inadequate provision of food, clean
water and health care during the deportation process. What happened in 2001
when the first wave of deportation took place should not be repeated, " he
said. In 2001, hundreds of Filipinos were herded like cattle and made to fit
into ships and repatriated to the Philippines. The inhumane conditions and
various treatable illnesses that broke out victimized scores of deportees,
killing at least six children," he said.

"It is the responsibility of the Philippine government to ensure the safety and
security of Filipinos in Sabah. Philippine officials led by President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo should hasten to protect these Filipinos, and exercise
diplomatic but very firm pressure on the Malaysian government to further extend
the deadline even as the Philippines also makes preparations for the
repatriation of its nationals," Beltran said.

Beltran expressed exasperation with statements from Malaysia-based Philippine
officials that the Philippines is is not prepared to rescue and attend to the
needs of undocumented Filipino nationals. Most of the undocumented Filipinos in
Malaysia hail from Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi far-flung provinces that are
among the nation's poorest provinces plagued by war.

"At all costs what happened during the 2001 Malaysian crackdown should not be
repeated," he said.

The crackdown against illegal immigrants on February 1 is already an extension
as Malaysia extended the Dec 31 deadline by a month following the Dec 26
earthquake and tsunami tragedy. The deadline was first extended from Oct 29 in
conjunction with the Indonesian President's inauguration.
There are an estimated 1.2 million illegal immigrants in Malaysia, mainly from
neighboring Indonesia and the Philippines but also from India and Bangladesh,
who are drawn by jobs in construction, plantation work and services.#

NR0127: GMA's DTI appointee anti-labor

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 27, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Rep. Beltran opposes choice of PGMA for trade secretary; says Santos should
not be in government service

Anakpawis Representative Crispin beltran today echoed the protest of workers
against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's appointment of a corporate
executive for Trade and Industry secretary,
saying that the appointee was a well known union buster, and violator of trade
union rights. He said that he will file a petition at the Commission on
Appointments against the president's anointed anointed one for the DTI.

"Workers are against the appointment of corporate executive Juan B. 'JB' Santos
as DTI secretary because of his spotted record as as an anti-worker and
anti-trade union corporate bureaucrat. The Commission on Appointments should
invite labor groups to give their stand on the president's choice for DTI
chief," he said.

Beltran said that Santos is the first Filipino president of Swiss multinational
subsidiary Nestle Philippines Inc. and a current member of the board of
directors of the Danding Cojuangco-owned food and beverage conglomerate San
Miguel Group of Companies. He is also a member of the Governance Advisory
Council representing the private sector for globally-competitive service
industries.

"Santos may be a respected member of the corporate world, but workers regard him
as a union buster and exploiter extraordinaire. What business savvy he has is
equaled by the ruthlessness he has in pursuing the anti-labor agenda of
keeping wages down and unions out. The likes of Santos should not be in
government service. He should be kept out of the government bureaucracy because
it is certain that once part of it, he will contribute more to the
administration's anti-labor programs and policies," he said.

The veteran labor leader also cited Santos' management experience as "brutal"
and "cold-hearted."
"He is totally unscrupulous when it comes to imposing anti-labor policies. Under
him, the DTI will further promote and encourage anti-worker policies in
corporations and business, particularly the promotion of wage freeze policy,
labor contractualization and trade union repression. As a corporate manager of
Nestle and San Miguel, he imposed the most exploitative policies against
workers."

Beltran said that Santos' track record includes the following atrocities
against workers:

1) He is strongly suspected of masterminding the brutal killing of then Union of
Filipro Employees (UFE) union president Mel Roxas and three other workers
outside the Nestle Cabuyao plant in 1987;
2) Dismissal of 300 workers of Magnolia-Nestle in 1997; violent dispersals of
the Magnolia strike;
3) Dismissal of 900 striking workers of Nestle Cabuyao in 2002;
4) Violation of Supreme Court ruling including retirement benefits as Collective
Bargaining issue for Nestle workers;
5) Implementation of labor only contracting, sub-contracting and various
downsizing corporate schemes;
6) Closure of Nestle plants in Alabang, Pulilan that retrenched thousands of
workers;
7) Intensification of spin-off, merger and joint venture policies that led to
the dismissal of thousands of workers and abolition of various Nestle and San
Miguel companies.#

NR0127:US' spy network operatives in Europe

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 27, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Solon denounces European trip of GMA cabinet secretaries as a directive from
the US; says spy network already at work

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that the European tour of
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process Teresita Deles and Presidential Chief of Staff Norberto Gonzales is
clearly on the behest of the United States government and the demands it is
making on the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. Beltran said that it was an
outrage that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration released thousands of pesos to
fund this European tour of its cabinet members for the purpose of forcing
National Democratic Front chief political adviser Jose Maria Sison to return to
the Philippines.

"It all ties neatly together, the way the US is establishing a comprehensive
spy network in the country and the renewed red-baiting campaign of the
Macapagal-Arroyo government. The intensifying interference of the US in the
country's political affairs is not really because the US is after terrorists
-- it's targeting the revolutionary and progressive forces in the Philippines
who oppose the economic crisis and the government's uselessness in solving it.
The US and the Macapagal-Arroyo administration are closely coordinating in a
plan to crack down on the growing protest movement and genuine progressive
forces," he said. "The renewed harassment against Jose Ma. Sison is a direct
command from the US government who sees Sison as a big thorn on its side. The
Philippine government is, in the meantime, ever willing to obey."

He said that there was an emerging pattern in the US' declarations and actions
when it comes to Philippine affairs.

"The political interference is directly connected to the economic and military
agenda of the US in the country. Already the Arroyo administration has succeeded
in ramming through eight regressive and anti-poor tax measures that are all,
without a doubt, prescriptions of the US-led International Monetary Fund
(IMF). Now, the moves are becoming more drastic as the US wants the
administration to completely scuttle the peace negotiations with the NDFP
and repatriate Sison who is a representative of the Filipino people's
struggle for liberation against US interference," he said.

Beltran said that not even the Dutch government or the European Union can force
Sison's repatriation because he is as a recognized political refugee and thus
protected by the Refugee Convention and by Article 3 and entirety of the
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms.

He is also a complainant before the proper courts in charges against the Dutch
government and the European Council for violating his basic human rights in
connection with the "terrorist" listing started by the US and followed by the
Dutch government and the European Council.

"It's lamentable and a betrayal of the country's sovereign independence that
the Philippine government has stood idly by as the US declared Sison a
terrorist regardless of the fact that no single court in the Philippines has
laid down a single accusation against the man or declared him a criminal," he
said.

Beltran said that civil libertarians and all patriotic forces in the country
including congressional representatives and senators should oppose the blatant
interference of the US in the country's internal affairs. He said that they s
hould oppose the US' labeling of Sison, the NDFP, the Communist Party of
the Philippines and the New People's Army (NPA) as terrorist. "The US has
no right to declare leaders of a widely-recognized people'liberation movement
as terrorist."
#

Anakpawis solons walk out on VAT hike passage

Joint statement of Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano and Crispin
Beltran on the VAT walkout
January 26, 2005

"We will never betray the people"

House Bill 3555, the bill increasing the value added tax to 12 percent does not
and will not answer the present crisis we are experiencing. Instead, this bill
will further push the Filipino people to the quagmire of poverty, especially
the workers, peasants, urban poor and all members of the toiling masses who, as
end-users, will be hardest hit by soaring prices of basic commodities due to the
VAT increase.

Malacanang's claim that the VAT increase will not hurt the poor mainly because
of so-called exemptions of the bill, particularly, agricultural products, like
rice, fish, meat and vegetables in their original state, is a blatant lie.

In fact, big landlords are the main beneficiaries in the VAT's exemption
provisions. In the present semi-feudal social structure, the large chunk of
farmers' produce are concentrated in the hands of big landlords in the form of
the latter's extraction of high land rent, usury, and tributes. On top of
these, the VAT increase will also increase the costs of production that will
also be shouldered by the Filipino peasantry.

These days, the cost of living for a family of six in the National Capital
Region is pegged around P602.31 for a family of six or P498.04 on the average
nationwide. The prevailing daily minimum wage, however, is only P250 for
non-agricultural workers and P213 for agricultural workers. The gap between the
minimum wage and cost of living ranges from a low of P352 to a high of P389. The
12 percent VAT that will be imposed nationwide will spare no one, neither
workers who earn much less than what they deserve and need, nor the unemployed
and poor.

We will never betray the toiling masses of workers and peasants that will
shoulder the burden of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's unjust and
anti-people tax measures.

We will not be surprised that upon the passage of this infamous bill, there will
be intensified peasant uprisings and greater labor unrest principally directed
against the US-Arroyo regime.

We call on the Filipino people, particularly the toiling masses of workers and
peasants, to intensify their resistance against the Arroyo government's
anti-people programs and policies dictated by no less than her imperialist
masters through the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.



Rep. RAFAEL MARIANO Rep. CRISPIN BELTRAN

DOLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas’ crimes against the workers and the people - Privileged speech of Anakpawis Rep. Crispin B. Beltran

Click here to download the MSWord file

NR0126: Malaysia to begin deporting 170,000 Pinoys

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 26, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Solon sounds the alarm for 170,000 Filipinos to be deported from Malaysia
beginning February 1

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today sounded the alarm regarding the
crisis threatening to erupt in Malaysia that will victimize Filipino migrants
there. Beltran, vice-chairman of the Special Committee on Overseas Workers'
Affairs said that the Malaysian government is slated to begin its a crackdown
againstPhilippine nationals who are staying illegally in the state on February
1.

"It's very doubtful that the Philippine government is prepared to rescue and
receiving deported Filipino nationals from Sabah. The arrest and deportation
of an estimated 170,000 Filipino illegal immigrants in the state over a short
period could lead yet another crisis for the Philippines," he said.

Beltran said that Philippine officials in Sabah have already admitted that its
impossible for the government to handle the situation if 170,000 people are
deported and made to return to the Philippines almost at once.

"We cannot have Filipinos - including babies and the elderly- being stuffed into
ships and made to suffer the most degrading conditions while being transported.
The Macapagal-Arroyo government should work full-time in negotiating with the
Malaysian government to extend the deadline, even as the Philippine authorities
prepare for the repatriation of the Filipinos,"

Beltran criticized the Macapagal-Arroyo government for for its lack of
proactive response to the plight of Filipino refugees. "Whether government has
prepared contingency measures to help the deportees rebuild their lives or build
new homes remains questionable," he said." The Departments of social welfare
and development, foreign affairs, and health should immediately get cracking
and prepare a contingency plan to secure the health and safety of these
Filipinos."

Most refugees hail from Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi far-flung provinces that are
continually gripped by grinding poverty and war. Under these circumstances,
carving out a new life looks dim. After nearly a decade in Sabah, many people
like Uttoh and Nusia have returned to Mindanao only to find that the conditions
that forced them to leave have hardly improved.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said recently that there
would be no extension of the Jan 31 amnesty deadline.

The impending operations against illegal immigrants from Feb 1 is already an
extension as Malaysia extended the Dec 31 deadline by a month following the Dec
26 earthquake and tsunami tragedy.
The deadline was first extended from Oct 29 in conjunction with the Indonesian
President's inauguration.#

NR0126: US spy netowrk to target progressives

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 26, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

US Espionage network targeting revolutionary and militant democratic forces
opposing Macapagal-Arroyo's tax measures, political repression

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today lashed out anew against the
Macapagal-Arroyo administration for its defense of heightened and intensified
US military interference in the country.
"It's not so much the scourge of terrorism that the US and the Macapagal-arroyo
government is targeting - but the revolutionary and militant forces in the
country who are leading the people in their fight against the economic and
political betrayals of the administration."

The veteran labor leader said that the US is clearly aware of the increasing
tension in the country, "It's a social volcano threatening to erupt as the
Macapagal-Arroyo administration heartlessly continues to impose new tax
measures while cutting employment and diminishing public welfare and benefit
funds for the poor and marginalized," he said.

"What's even more certain, there will be more violations of human and civil
rights, as the US aids the mercenary forces of the Philippine government such
as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National
Polices (PNP) and their units in suppressing political dissent in the
country."

Beltran said that the new espionage network the US is setting up in the
Philippines should not be
allowed to exist. He said that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration was guilty
of treason if it allows the US to spy on the Filipino people using covert and
law-bending, law-breaking means and methods.

"This is yet another impeachable offense on the part of President Arroyo. She
is assisting foreign forces in undermining the country's sovereignty laws.
Time and again has she bent over backwards for the US and let them violate laws
of the land pertaining to national sovereignty and territorial independence
via the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement
(MLSA) and the Balikatan exercise. Now she's allowed a secret network to be
established. Enough is enough," he said.

Beltran said that the activities of the spy network are not going to be a series
of Mission: Impossible movies wherein the US will be allowed to disavow any and
all knowledge of intelligence operations if their agents are called.

"The US government should be made to account for all the actions of its
military and diplomatic envoys in the country - it's a national outrage that
the US has placed the Philippines under such a category that makes us even more
vulnerable to attacks from the enemies of the US," he said. #

POSITION PAPER ON THE PROPOSED CREATION OF DHUD

Click here to download the MSWord file

NR0124: Protest against new Japan immigration laws

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 24, 2005

Solon says moratorium on Japan immigration control law not enough to protect
OPAs, Filipinos in Japan

Fresh from his working visit to Japan, Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran
today echoed the stand of one of the biggest and well-known alliance of
Filipino migrants and migrant workers Migrante International in saying that
the Philippine government's program to help aspiring overseas entertainers
leaves much to be desired. He said this particularly regarding the issue of
the issuance of Artist Record Books to all overseas performing artists as among
the primary ways the government regulates the deployment of entertainers and the
weak response of the Philippine government to Japan's new immigration law.

The Partial Amendment of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
aims to immediately decrease the number of "illegal foreign residents" in
Japan, in reaction to a purported "deterioration of public security" and
rampant human trafficking.

"Closer analysis, however, will show that the law could affect at least 31,000
overstaying Filipinos, 82,000 Filipino entertainers and thousands of Filipinas
married to Japanese. The new law has outlawed their continued stay in Japan,
effective Dec. 2, 2004. Thus, most of the 304,678 Filipinos in Japan may be
subjected to the harsh, inhumane penalties and procedures under the law. These
include warrantless arrests, jail terms, steep fines and deportation," he said.

Beltran said that the law and the crackdown on undocumented Filipinos in Japan
will not solve the the issue of human trafficking. "It will only raise
revenues for the Japanese authorities by further penalizing Filipino victims of
human trafficking. Meanwhile, human traffickers will go scot-free, able to
peddle their flesh trade and victimizing more foreign residents including
migrant workers," he said.

The Arroyo administration has so far only expressed concern for the possible
loss of $1 billion in remittances from Filipinos in Japan. It is, therefore,
only seeking a moratorium in the implementation of the new law and looking for
other country-destinations to deploy Filipina entertainers. In this light, both
the Philippine and Japanese governments are in fact perpetrators in the
trafficking of Filipinas.

"To demand a moratorium on the new law is a weak position that will inevitably
prove useless in stopping the wave of abuse and criminalization of migrants
and OPAs in in Japan," he said. He also called for the scrapping of the
ARBs, saying that they do not help 'professionalize' artists, it only subjects
them to further hardship and expense. He said that Malacanang and its diplomats
to Japan should urge their counterpart authorities to scrap the ARB system.

Under the Department of Labor and Employment's Department Order No.10, series
2001, all OPAs need artist record books before they are sent abroad. The ARBs
are issued by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. In
2001, there were 74,000 OPAs deployed to Japan, according to the Batis Center
for Women.

"This means the government raked in at least P370 million from entertainers
forced to buy ARBs. But in return, the ARBs do little to protect them from
harm once they're working in nightclubs across Japan or other countries. It
doesn't protect the OPAs against physical abuse, forced prostitution and other
human rights violations.

Batis Center for Women statistics further indicate they documented 351 cases of
abuse against entertainers last year. Abuses include sexual trafficking,
unfair labor practices, domestic violence and abandonment of Filipino wives and
Japanese children."The ARB is essentially useless in protecting Filipino OPAs in
Japan. OPAs are better off without the ARBs," Beltran said.

Beltran said that OPAs who go through promotion agencies and training centers
usually end up beholden to recruiters who initially pay for ARB and other
living expenses they incur while "training". Because of this, entertainers
often end up owing recruiters thousands of pesos even before they go abroad. He
said that because of this, when the OPAs get to their country of destinations,
many are forced to agree to "dohan" (in Japan) or pairing which eventually
results in forced prostitution. If the OPAs do not agree to do this, they are
fined heavily by the bar owners.

Beltran said that the ARB system also lengthens the chain of exploitation tying
the OPAs to the talent manager, the training center, the testing center, the
testing officer and up to the nightclub owner. Bribes to facilitate ARB
issuance are commonplace with ARBs costing as much as P50,000 in some cases.

"But in contrast to moves by local recruiters and agencies to deregulate and
privatize ARB issuance, the ARB system should be scrapped altogether because
it's only an added burden for the OPAs. It fails to protect them regardless of
their skill level as singers or dancers," he said.#

NR0124:Solon decries US spy network

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 24, 2005


Solon decries reports of US spy network in the Philippines, demands US
Ambassador Francis Ricciardone give a report to members of Senate,
Congress

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today demanded that the US Embassy
immediately reveal to the Philippine Senate and Congress all details of the
US government's "Strategic Support Branch" group which is supposedly a spy
network that will operate in certain countries where the US has economic and
military interests, among them Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The group is said to facilitate the deployment of case officers, linguists,
interrogators and technical specialists and conduct espionage activities.

Beltran said that US Ambassador to the Philippines Francis Ricciardone should
be compelled to give members of the Senate and the Congress' committees on
foreign affairs a briefing on the entry of its spy experts in the country.
"Who are they reporting their information to and against who is the
information? The US has long been known to foment war between military and
political factions in nations where they interfere, and in the process
insinuate itself and its policies even deeper. "

Beltran said that the Pentagon's denial regarding the existence of such a group
was worth nothing. He said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her
henchmen in the Department of National Defense have not denied helping the US
establish its spy network in t he country. "For the longest time, patriotic
forces in the country have been pointing out the US government's various
means of surveillance which violate civil and democratic rights and sovereignty
laws. Now it's been revealed that the US has already trained spy satellites in
Mindanao as well as unmanned surveillance planes. W here did the US get the
permission to do all this? Malacanang also has its share of serious explaining
to do," he said.

"For all we know, t he Macapagal-Arroyo administration is also in cahoots with
the US government in putting up the spy network system also to spy on members
of t he opposition and its plans," he said. "Up to what extent has Malacanang
allowed the US to spy on its citizenry?"

"There should be transparency in the operations and workings of the US
intelligence and military - it's contemptible that they're even in the country
and continuing their spy activities with impunity. The longer they remain in the
Philippines the greater the threat that the country and the Philippines will be
attacked by the US' enemies."

"The US is already violating numerous civil and democratic rights of the
Filipino people by putting up this spy network in the country. Already, the
conduct of US military troops remain largely unmonitored, or at the least
their activities have not been publicly disclosed. Here we see the complete
and shameless surrender of the Macapagal-Arroyo government of the country's
sovereignty, and it's appalling that the leaders of the Senate and Congress
have not spoken up against this," he said. #

NR0123: Noberto Gonzales & HLI

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 23, 2005

Rep. Beltran challenges Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales to declare the
country's entire political and economic situation a massive issue of national
security

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today lashed out against the Northern
Luzon Command and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales for declaring
that there the Hacienda Luisita labor dispute was already an issue of national
security.

"Coming from a war-mongerer like Gonzales, this is an outright threat against
the strikers and consequently all the residents of worker and farmworker
communities surrounding and within Hacienda Luisita. Gonzales has most likely
gotten the go-signal from his commander in chief Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
in declaring the Hacienda Luisita picketline a war zone. In fact, it was
precisely the Macapagal-Arroyo government and its support to the inhumane and
unjust anti-labor practices and land grabbing of the Cojuangcos and Aquinos of
the Hacienda that has turned Hacienda Luisita into a battle zone," he said.

"Gonzales is not cowing anyone with this barely-veiled threat. If he and the
other henchmen of Pres. Arroyo in the Philippine National Police and Armed
Forces of the Philippines insist launching an open, full-scale campaign of
political repression against the strikers of Luisita, human rights groups and
advocates including civil libertarians will make sure that Pres. Arroyo's
name will be remembered as that of a brutal human rights violator," he said.

"It's a wonder that Gonzales does not declare the entire nation as under a
state of political and economic calamity, and thus a gargantuan national
security issue. The poor and working people are agitated and declaring their
disgust and antipathy for this government that has done nothing to liberate
them from poverty but instead manufactures laws and programs that worsen the
people's misery."

Beltran said that Pres. Arroyo is playing with fire if she thinks that she
will be able to put an end the Hacienda Luisita dispute easily. "There has
not been the slightest move on the part of the Arroyo administration to help
settle the dispute and ensure the safety, rights and welfare of the oppressed
and exploited workers and farmworkers in the Hacienda. The brutality the PNP
and the AFP have unleashed against the strikers remain unpunished, and this
is a massive red mark against the administration's human rights record."#

NR0123: Rep. Beltran consults OPAs in Japan

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 23, 2005

After visiting Japan, Rep. Beltran says Filipino OPAs need protection from
sex trafficking syndicates and Japanese mafia

After arriving from a 5-day visit to Japan, Anakpawis Representative Crispin
Beltran, vice-chair of the Committee on labor and Vice-chair of the Special
Committee on Overseas Workers' Affairs, said that the Philippine government
should take a more active stance in opposing the decision of the Japanese
government to impose stricter requirements on the entry of entertainers. He
was vetted by OPA and Filipino migrant groups in Japan affiliated with Migrante
International.

Beltran said that the Filipino community of migrant workers including OPAs in
Japan were very alarmed over the Diet's new rulings. According to estimates,
some 80,000-100,000 Filipino entertainers currently working in Japan are in
danger of losing their jobs with the implementation of the new
restrictions.

"It's an unfair and insulting conclusion on the part of the Philippine
government and its Japanese counterpart to even just make t he insinuation
that many OPAs in Japan actually end up as prostitutes and thus justify the
need for stricter measures on t heir entry. The Filipino OPAs in particular are
hard-working men and women who have families at home, and whose only goal is
to earn a decent living. Protecting them from sex-trafficking or the dreaded
Japanese mafias are what the Philippine and Japanese governments should be
focusing on," he said.

Beltran said that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as well Malacanang itself should, in dilomatic but
firm terms, express opposition to ththe Japan Diet's amendment to Immigration
Control and Refugee Recognition Act. He said that the new ruling was
anti-migrant, and anti-labor. He also said that the Japanese Diet was
discriminating against overseas performing artists and that the ruling was in
truth a means for the Japanese government to extract more fees from them.

Beltran said that Malacanang through its emissaries should urge the Japan
government to reconsider its decision to impose stringent requirements, seeking
from an artist visa applicant a two-year study from an educational institution
specializing in the performing arts and another two years of relevant
experience outside Japan.

"These new requirement will only mean more financial outlay on the part of the
OPAs, and will cut severely into their income. Instead of stricter requirements
for the OPAs, the Philippine government should push for more protective
measures for the OPAs - laws and regulations that will safeguard the health,
safety and security of OPAs in Japan. This is what's lacking, not the
training or documentation requirements," he said. "The Japanese and Philippine
governments should work hand-in-hand to catch and penalize illegal
traffickers."#

NR0122: Sto. Tomas should resign

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 22, 2005

Rep. Beltran demands DOLE's Sto. Tomas' resignation over dragging labor row
in Hacienda Luisita; says latter guilty of failure of leadership and abuse of
authority

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today demanded that Department of Labor
and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas immediately resign and for
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to axe the said official over the gross
failure of leadership and abuse of authority the former has exhibited regarding
the still unresolved Hacienda Luisita labor and land-ownership dispute.

Beltran said that Sto. Tomas has lost all semblance of integrity and is in fact
hanging on to her position only by the skin of her teeth. He said that the fact
that Sto. Tomas remains defiant in the face of the strong clamor for her to
step down only adds to her lack of integrity.

"She is the most despised labor secretary in recent history, and under her
leadership, the DOLE has completely lost all moral right or even legal
credibility to decide on labor issues. Her handling of the labor row in
Hacienda Luisita has exposed her as a government bureaucrat unabashedly on the
side of employers and capitalists, without the slightest sympathy or compassion
for the underdog and much-oppressed workers. It's often said that those who
have less in life should have more in law; but clearly, Sto. Tomas has no
respect for this adage. She has abused her powers as labor secretary time and
again with impunity," he said.

The veteran labor leader turned lawmaker said that Sto. Tomas will not be able
to wash her hands of the blood shed in Luisita, and her most recent decisions
declaring the lay-off of the 30 workers and imposing a return-to-work order in
the hacienda regardless of the fact that none of the crucial issues that led to
the strike has been resolved will only add fuel to the fire that would
eventually consume her office.

"If another massacre explodes in Luisita as a result of Sto. Tomas' most recent
declaration, she will again be held accountable. The fact that she has
authorized the Philippine National Police (PNP) and allowed the involvement of
the Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) in the strike area also comprises
abuse of authority. The angle of corruption - whether there was an exchange of
money between herself and the management of the Hacienda - is also under
investigation. Sto. Tomas enjoys the support and patronage of big business
groups, and it can't only be because she's a good ally. It's not an
impossibility that she also receives something pecuniary in exchange for her
anti-labor, pro-employer decisions on labor disputes."

"Mark my words, Sto. Tomas will go down in Philippine labor history as a
modern-day Hitler. The DOLE under her leadership has completely shed off all
pretences or facades of being an institution that cares for workers' rights and
welfare. She is an albatross around the neck of the Macapagal-Arroyo
administration - among the most vilified and with justified reason," he said.
#

NR0120: ADB's report on RP corruption

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 20, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Rep. Blames blames both the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the ADB and
other multilateral finance agencies for deep-seated corruption in
government

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that the results of the
study of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), "Improving the Investment Climate
of the Philippines" saying that the country ranks among the most corrupt in
the world was not surprising, "but the motives of the ADB for releasing such a
paper were also tainted and definitely self-serving."

"It is not as if the ADB made the study to help the Philippine government to
clean up its act. On the contrary, the ADB's motives are more to goad the
Macapagal-Arroyo government to hasten the passage of the tax bills and impose
more laws that will give greater leeway for foreign investors and their big
local counterparts to extract more profits at the smallest possible capital
outlay," he said. "Corruption in inherent and endemic in the Philippine
government precisely because of the clout, influence of multilateral finance
agencies the likes of the ADB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over
public officials up to the executive levels."

Beltran said that it was certain that the ADB is also involved in the current
rush of the Mcapagal-Arroyo administration to ratify its tax measures. He said
it was an open secret that the ADB and the corporations under its wing
release billions yearly in influence-peddling money to pressure governments
into initiating economic reforms that will reflect the globalization agenda.

Beltran said that the ADB's report did not contain any real nuggets of wisdom
nor did it present any solutions or alternatives to the government's current
system of doing trade and business with foreign corporations.

"Corruption in the government is being blamed for the fiscal crisis and slow
economic growth; but in truth corruption is also because of the globalization
policies the ADB and the IMF are imposing on the country. The liberalized
economy is mainly responsible for the widespread and deep-seated and systemic
corruprion, smuggling and multi-billuon tax evasion which have robbed the
public of much needed revenues and destabilized the economy," he said. "The
ADB is one of the proponents of globalization and thus a promoter of government
graft and corruption. It's hypocrisy on the part of the ADB to point out all
this and blame it solely on the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. They're
partners in this corruption after all." #

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 20, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Rep. Blames blames both the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the ADB and other
multilateral finance agencies for deep-seated corruption in government

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that the results of the
study of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), "Improving the Investment Climate
of the Philippines" saying that the country ranks among the most corrupt in
the world was not surprising, "but the motives of the ADB for releasing such a
paper were also tainted and definitely self-serving."

"It is not as if the ADB made the study to help the Philippine government to
clean up its act. On the contrary, the ADB's motives are more to goad the
Macapagal-Arroyo government to hasten the passage of the tax bills and impose
more laws that will give greater leeway for foreign investors and their big
local counterparts to extract more profits at the smallest possible capital
outlay," he said. "Corruption in inherent and endemic in the Philippine
government precisely because of the clout, influence of multilateral finance
agencies the likes of the ADB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over
public officials up to the executive levels."

Beltran said that it was certain that the ADB is also involved in the current
rush of the Mcapagal-Arroyo administration to ratify its tax measures. He said
it was an open secret that the ADB and the corporations under its wing
release billions yearly in influence-peddling money to pressure governments
into initiating economic reforms that will reflect the globalization agenda.

Beltran said that the ADB's report did not contain any real nuggets of wisdom
nor did it present any solutions or alternatives to the government's current
system of doing trade and business with foreign corporations.

"Corruption in the government is being blamed for the fiscal crisis and slow
economic growth; but in truth corruption is also because of the globalization
policies the ADB and the IMF are imposing on the country. The liberalized
economy is mainly responsible for the widespread and deep-seated and systemic
corruprion, smuggling and multi-billuon tax evasion which have robbed the
public of much needed revenues and destabilized the economy," he said. "The
ADB is one of the proponents of globalization and thus a promoter of government
graft and corruption. It's hypocrisy on the part of the ADB to point out all
this and blame it solely on the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. They're
partners in this corruption after all." #

NR0120: Public preparedness to absorb 12% VAT

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 20, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Beltran challenges Congress to first determine the public's preparedness to
absorb a 12% VAT given low wages, high prices, and widespread unemployment

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that Congress should drop
deliberations on the value added and working people are in any shape to
absorb an additional increase in prices of commodities. He said that Congress
should prioritize deliberations on the P125 across-the-board wage hike bill
and use the debates as a means to gauge the preparedness of the public to
absorb a new VAT.

"The workers and other laboring and impoverished sectors have nothing to spare
for this VAT. What the people need are increases in wages, salaries and
benefits - not new taxes,' he said.

Beltran said that prices of basic commodities increased sharply in November
2004, with the inflation rate recorded at 7.6%, the highest in five years.
Price increases were a result of soaring global oil prices which in turn
caused steep increases in the prices of food, LPG, kerosene and other fuels,
electricity rates and transportation. Price increases were also notable in
items such as cooking oil, juices, coffee, sugar and seasonings.

Chicken, pork and vegetables were particularly more expensive in 2004 as the
country felt the impact of trade liberalization. Cheap imports sent local
raiser and growers out of business, while traders sold the imports at higher
prices.

"Prices of commodities continue to rise and inflation to grow, but through it
all there has been no wage increase to help the people cope with the rising
costs. It's not going to be a 2% increase in VAT, but prices will be taxed by
12%. There's a big difference between 10% and 12%,' he said.

The veteran labor leader also pointed out that the average family income has
decreased by 10 percent in the last year. Family savings decreased on the
average, with the bottom 30% experiencing income shortfalls. Ibig sabihin, mas
maraming Pilipino ang wala talagang naiiipon o naitatabi kahit for emergency
needs," he said. "Given that, how will ordinary Filipinos - the laborers,
the rank and file government employees, the unemployed urban poor, the
farmworkers, the peasants - be equipped to deal with the 12% VAT imposition?"

Beltran said that as of January 14, 2005, the cost of living for a family of
six in the NCR is around pegged at P602 .31 for a family of six in the National
Capital region, or P498.04 on the average nationwide. The prevailing daily
nominal minimum wage, however, is only P280 for non-agricultural workers and
P213 for agricultural workers. The actual value of P280, however is much
lower. Using 1994 as the base year, the real value of current wages in the NCR
is only P152.17.

Finally, Beltran said that a 12% VAT will also direly affect the unemployed
brothers and sisters. The VAT increase is an indirect tax, and its
implementation will be across-the-board and that means everyone will be
affected. The unemployed will be even ill-equipped to adjust to the new VAT.
That means more starvation, more forced scrimping. The country continues to
have double-digit unemployment rates throughout 2004? 13.7% in April, 11.7% in
July, and 10.9% in October. The country's unemployment rate is among the
highest in the world," he said.#

NR0119:NCR wages real value only P152

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 19, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Rep. Beltran slams DOLE's attack against P125 wage hike bill; says real value
of current minimum of P280 in the NCR is only worth P152

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today slammed anew the Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Labor Assistant Secretary Ernesto Bitonio for
warning Congress against legislating a P125 across-the-board wage increase.
Beltran scored the inutility of the DOLE in helping workers cope with
economic crisis. "The DOLE is the primary henchman of big business groups when
in comes to keeping workers' wages down. Instead of batting for wage increases
and supporting the well-justified demand of workers for immediate economic
relief, the DOLE does nothing but parrot the claims of big business," he said.

Beltran lashed out against the hypocrisy of Bitonio and the DOLE's offer that
they provide Congress with supposed "necessary information needed for drafting a
new wage measure."

"Thanks but no thanks. We already have all the information we need and the data
already comes from the DOLE and other government economic agencies. From the
very data provided by the government it's clear as day that workers need a
wage increase, and a P125 increase is the smallest possible amount they should
be given to help them cope with the econ crisis. Workers' productivity
continues to increase as employers and business exploit their manpower to the
hilt; but workers continue to be given slave wages in return for their labor,'
he said.

Beltran urged his fellow legislators to support the P125 wage hike bill which
has now been calendared in Congress and up for second reading and
interpellation. He said that solons should listen to the demand of their
worker constituencies- including the agricultural worker- and legislate an
across-the-board wage increase by P125.

Beltran said that as of January 14, 2005, the cost of living for a family of
six in the NCR is around pegged at P602 .31 for a family of six in the National
Capital region, or P498.04 on the average nationwide. The prevailing daily
nominal minimum wage, however, is only P280 for non-agricultural workers and
P213 for agricultural workers. The actual value of P280, however is much
lower. Using 1994 as the base year, the real value of current wages in the NCR
is only P152.17.

Nominal wage rate refers to the basic pay and Cost of Living of Living
Allowance (COLA). Real wage rate, meanwhile, refers to how much the current
wage compares to the wage of a given base period - the real wage in this
juncture takes into consideration 1994 prices

The situation is similar or even worse for the other regions:

o In the Cordillera Autonomous Region, the highest nominal minimum wage is
pegged at P190 and the lowest is P171.

o In Region I, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wages are pegged at P175
and P141 respectively. Real wages are much lower at P109.17 and P77.13

o In Region II, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P185
and P165. Real wages stand at P118.51 as the highest, and P88.52 the lowest.

o In Region III, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at
P228.50 and P147 respectively, while the real wage balances between P143.08
and P88.54.

o In Region IV, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P237
and P147. Real wages stand at P133.82 as the highest level, and P 79.63.

o In Region V, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P182 and
P130. Real wages are at a highest at P98.48, and a lowest at P62.17.

o In Region VI, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P180
and P135. Real wages in the meantime are between P112.64 and P65.79.

o In Region VII, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P200
and P175, while real wages are at P111.79 at P91.99

o In Region VIII, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P188
and P144.50. On the other hand, real wages balance between P199 and P76.86.

o In Region IX, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P180
and P135; real wages are at P106.38 as the highest, and P76.14 as the lowest.

o In Region X, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P222
and P175. Real wages at between P122.05 and P97.93.

o In Region XI, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P195
and P162. real wages stand at P113.77 as the highest, while the lowest is at
P87.57.

o In Region XII, the nominal minimum wage is pegged at a standard P180 as daily
rate while hourly rates are pegged at P22.50. The highest real wage equivalents
however of daily wages is only P112.64 and the highest hourly rate is P13.07.

o In the ARMM, the highest and lowest nominal minimum wage is pegged at P140 and
P129. The real values of these amounts are between P73.61 and P48.34. #

NR0118: GMA encouraging tax evasion

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 18, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Rep. Beltran slams Malacanang's exemption of tax audit for delinquent tax
payers and big-time tax evaders

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyos offer to free taxpayers from audit if they pay 25 percent
more of their current tax bills was outrageous. This was the gist of Executive
Order (EO) 399 the executive signed yesterday. The "no audit scheme" will be
offered for five years starting the last taxable year. According to Malacanang,
the is designed to reduce corruption and administration costs while enhancing
voluntary compliance which lies at the foundation of any sound revenue
program.

"Malacanang's tax and revenue program has gone completely haywire - and it's
even encouraging tax evasion by doing away with the necessary auditing process
which determines how much a business or individuals owes the government in
taxes," he said. "By doing away with the audit requirement, the government is
giving tax evaders greater leeway. This EO makes tax evasion more
permissible."

"There is neither sanity nor lucidity in the revenue generating schemes of the
Macapagal-Arroyo administration. On one had it is angling to increase value
added taxes and remove many agricultural and manufactured products from being
exepted from VAT; but on the other hand it's granting multi-million tax
exemptions and more tax holidays to big-time tax evaders.

"In the case of this latest executive order, Pres. Arroyo is encouraging
corruption and more tax evasion by promising corporations and other businesses
that they will not be audited for the next five years ," he said. He also
pointed out that for all the limits and conditions supposedly being set by
the EO and the Bureau of Internal Revenue on the audit-free benefit, it was
easy to see how unscrupulous businesses will further bend and twist the rules
to escape their tax payments AND avoid getting audited.

The veteran labor leader expressed incredulity over the EO's justification of
the no-audit scheme: "Voluntary tax compliance is enhanced when compliant
taxpayers are protected against undue audits and investigations even as tax
evaders are punished. There is a need to establish a program to increase tax
collections by providing taxpayers with incentives to voluntarily declare and
pay higher taxes and by reducing administrative costs that are entailed from
audits and investigations conducted by the BIR."

"This is a naïve and dare it be pointed out stupid justification. What is
needed is more political will and determination on the part of
Macapagal-Arroyo administration and its tax collection agencies to collect
the taxes and to say NO to corruption, the "lagay" system," and to
overhaul the general orientation of the revenue and tax collection system.
Less incentives and more law enforcement; fight corruption and radical reforms
which end the government's tolerance and coddling of big time tax evaders.

Finally, the activist lawmaker said that Malacanang's EO 399 is a slap on the
face of the Senate and Congress. "Malacanang is essentially abusing its
authority and rewriting laws without having to go through Congress and the
Senate. If she wanted, Pres. Arroyo could probably issue yet another executive
order that will impose a 2% increase on the VAT and remove many more products
off the list of VAT-exempt products. This is blatant abuse of authority." #

NR1117: Veep Noli antagonizes Commonwealth vendors

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 17, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

Rep. Beltran scores Vice-President de Castro for leading efforts to sell-off
Commonwealth Market, demolish surrounding urban poor communities

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today echoed the deep disappointment
and frustration of the residents, consumers and vendors in the Commonwealth
Market in Quezon City, saying that Vice-President and housing czar Noli de
Castro is now at the forefront of attacks against urban poor and small
vendors. Today, January 17 marks the sale of the market and the announcement
of who has won the bidding. Over 200 vendors and 60,000 community residents
will be affected by the privatization of the market. Privatization, Beltran
said, will lead to increased stall rents and the demolition of surrounding
urban poor communities. Prices of basic goods being sold in the market will
also be affected.

"The vice-president has now overtaken Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)
chairman Bayani Fernando in being the scourge of small vendors and urban poor
residents," he said. Beltran explained that the vice-president is now pushing
for the immediate privatization of the Commonwealth market, and that
residents and vendors quote him as irritably saying in a dialogue held in
Payatas last January "Wala kayong magagawa riyan! Hindi nyo ako pwedeng
mapigilan na iprivatize yan, nagpasya na ako!" and "Lugi ang
gobyerno…wala kayong security of tenure!"

Beltran was approached early this morning by groups under the alliance of
vendors, residents and church groups in Commonwealth, among them the
Commonwealth Market Stallholders-Vendors Federation, Alyansa ng Manininda sa
Komonwelt, Commonwealth Multisectoral Council, Mabuting Pastol Credit
Cooperative, The Diocese of Novaliches, Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap,
Parokya ng Kristong Hari, and the Katuparan Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

"The vendors, urban poor residents and consumers groups in Commonwealth and
highly disappointed and disillusioned with Vice-President de Castro. He has
promoted an image of himself as a man of the common masses, but now here he
is at the helm of a program that will render more of our kababayans
destitute," he said. Beltran said that de Castro, and the Housing and Urban
Development Coordinating Council (HUDDC), is also the head of the bidding
committee for the Commonwealth Market. According to documents given by the
residents, de Castro and the other officials such as Secretary of Finance
Amelia Amatong and businessman Gonzalo Bongolan (president the Home Guaranty
Corporation or HGC) accepted bids from businessmen Napoleon Co, Gothong
Commercial Inc., Aycel Construction, 3-A Copr, FMRG Real Estate and Aluminum
Corp.

"According to the guidelines of t he Commission on Audit (COA), the vendors
should be part of the bidding process, but they have been denied bidding
forms and were not allowed to submit their own offers as a collective,"
Beltran said. #

NR0117: The opposition should unite behind the P125

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release January 17, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio, Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
Cellphone number 09213907362
Visit geocities.com/ap_news

All Labor Groups and members of the Political Opposition should support the
P125 wage hike demand and pressure the Arroyo administration
to declare a wage increase - Rep. Beltran

Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran said that all labor organizations from
the radical to the conservative should unite and demand that Congress
immediately act on the P125 across-the-board wage hike bill. The bill which
passed the committee level early in August last year is up for second reading
in Congress.He expressed welcome to the support to the P125 bill by other labor
groups apart from the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) who lead the campaign for the wage
increase outside the halls of Congress. He said that groups such as the Alliance
of Progressive Labor (APL) and others should put their collective strength and
support the P125 wage hike bill.

"The Macapagal-Arroyo administration and its allies in Congress have long been
evading their responsibility to workers and legislate a wage hike. Their
excuses that a wage hike is inflationary have been exposed as bunk: prices of
basic commodities continue to increase despite the fact that wages remain
pegged to the floor, and the actual purchasing power of workers wages continue
to shrink. A P125 wage increase added to the current minimum wage, but is will
at least provide immediate economic relief. Something to extend the gasping
budgets of most working families and help them cope with the relentless series
of oil price hikes, increasing electricity rates and sky-rocketing prices of
most basic commodities. Also , if Malacanang succeeds in railroading its
infamous tax bills, heavier burdens are in store for consumers and the rest of
the working people."

Beltran expressed regret over the excuses of the administration and its allies
who justify the immediate passage of the tax bills. "Their arguments are so
transparently pro-business and anti-poor. They have no qualms whatsoever about
the direct negative impact of the new tax measures on the common folk, but they
profess to be alarmed over what the business community, foreign investors, and
the International Monetary Fun (IMF) will say if the tax bills are not
approved," he said.

"Pres. Macapagal-Arroyo and her government show little or no compassion for the
countless problems of the poor and the working people. Conditions continue to
worsen, but the government's policies and programs not only ignore the
situation, but even contribute to the exacerbation of these conditions. The tax
measures should be junked, and instead, bills and measures that seek to
alleviate the people's poverty should be the ones prioritized and immediately
passed and implemented," he said.

The Opposition led by Angara, Lacson should unite for the P125 wage bill

In the meantime, Beltran challenged members of the opposition including those
allied with the camp of ex-president Joseph Estrada. He said that the
Opposition should rally behind the P125 wage hike bill and thereby do something
concrete and gainful for their impoverished followers. "The Opposition should
support the P125 wage hike bill and challenge the Macapagal-Arroyo
administration to prioritize it above her own, infamous tax measures," he said.
He urged Senators Edgardo Angara and Panfilo Lacson, both acknowledge leaders of
the opposition, to put their political difference aside even temporarily and
support the wage hike campaign of workers. He said that Pres. Arroyo's refusal
to legislate a much needed wage increase was potentially a strong issue wherein
the opposition can unite the Filipino people.

"It is also our hope that the members of the Minority in the House would also
stand firmly behind the wage hike bill. As for the members of the Majority,
even if the wagehike bill is not a bill of the administration we hope that they
will see it in their hearts and consciences to vote in favor of it for the
common good of the people,' he concluded.#