P1 B counter-insurgency budget a piggybank for GMA's 2007 electoral campaign

From the Office of Congressman Crispin Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news
NEWS RELEASE
June 17, 2006

P1 B counter-insurgency budget a piggybank for GMA's 2007 electoral campaign, Beltran says

The P1 billion counter-insurgency fund will only be serving as a convenient piggybank to fund covert assassins and GMA's 2007 electoral campaign, Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran predicted of the Palace's release of P1 billion to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the war against the New Peoples' Army (NPA).

"Monkey business is brewing again. It's obvious that President Arroyo is all to eager to use the P1 billion to prop up her 2007 electoral campaign, whether that be a Presidential or parliamentary election. Aside from more purchases of military equipment and more black propaganda, I would not be surprised to see so-called 'humanitarian' or false livelihood projects all over the provinces bearing the President's smirking face or the acronym 'GMA'. This would be tantamount to appropriating public funds for personal advantage," Beltran said.

"This sudden and massive release of funds to the police and the military is startingly similar to the Arroyo administration's sudden and massive release of funds to selected government agencies prior to the 2004 national elections. The Arroyo Presidency will be benefitting from the P1 billion military fund just as it has benefitted from the fertilizer and Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) funds and the OWWA funds during the 2004 elections. GMA will be dipping her hands into the money pile once more," Beltran said.

Beltran also "feared that a large chunk of the P1 billion military release would be used to fund more covert assassins tasked to kill leaders and members of progressive party list groups such as Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, and Gabriela during the electoral campaign".

Beltran also blasted the Palace for "splurging on the military allotments while chronically neglecting and scrimping on the budget for basic social services".

"Alloting a staggering P1 billion for counter-insurgency operations is damning in the current chronic shortage of classrooms and educational access, health services, land reform, mass housing, and stable jobs. The Arroyo administration is always saying that it has no money to spare for the long-clamored for P3,000 across-the-board salary increase for government employees nationwide, but is now contradicting this claim through such ostentatious releases to the military and the police," Beltran said.

"But when government officials or statistics faithfully report the inadequacies of the Arroyo administration in providing basic social services to the people, the President and her cohorts resort to unfair public rebuke and bullying to recant¡½as in the case of DepEd official Fe Hidalgo¡½or outright manipulation or revision of statistics to mask the real depth of joblessness, landlessness, and hunger, as what the government did with the definition of 'employment' last April 2005," Beltran said.

"Spending big-time on counter-insurgency operations is an implicit acknowledgement that the Arroyo administration is quickly losing the war against the New Peoples' Army. It's an unwitting acknowledgement of the Arroyo administration's dismal failure to solve the root problems of this country, which leads more and more of the poor to support the revolutionary forces," Beltran said. ###

Gov't creating its own destabilizers

From the Office of Congressman Crispin Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com

NEWS RELEASE
June 16, 2006


Gov't creating its own destabilizers, Beltran says
Detained solon hits AFP's justifications for Erap 5 raid, says relief of ISAFP head only a band-aid remedy to cover up for govt's flawed counter-insurgency campaign


"The Arroyo government and her cohorts in the military are creating their own destabilizers by forcing fabricated confessions from civilians and irresponsibly tagging activists as enemies of the state," Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran said today in reaction to the military's continuing over-ups for the Erap 5 case.

Beltran, currently detained by the Arroyo administration under rebellion raps, said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is now trying to "lamely justify this blatant and condemnable violation of civil and political rights by fallaciously implying that it was done in the service of fighting communism".

"So what if it was a botched 'anti-communist' raid? Does being a suspected communist justify the state's warrantless arrest, arbitrary detention, and torture of civilians? Does being a suspected communist justify the total suspension of one's civil, political, and human rights? The military exposes its relentless murder of logic and basic democratic rights with such statements.," Beltran said.

"Under the Arroyo administration, at least 607 civilians and activists have been assassinated by suspected military death squads on the flimsy excuse that they were 'suspected communists'. The Arroyo administration has blatantly tolerated the spread of such killings, and is now making excuses for grave violations of civilian rights against people who are speaking out against the massive electoral fraud, betrayal of public trust, corruption, Constitutional and human rights violations that President Arroyo and her cohorts have engaged in since 2001," Beltran said.

Beltran also viewed the relief of Lt. Col. Henry Robinson as commander of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP)- Military Intelligence Group (MIG-15) as a "mere band-aid remedy to cover up for the flaws and injustices inherent in the government's draconian and repressive anti-insurgency campaign, Oplan Bantay Laya."

"Panakip-butas lang ito sa pasismong pinapairal ng administrasyong Arroyo.The military dismisses and flogs the fall guys. But it retains and coddles the framework of political repression under which these abominable arrests, detentions, killings, and tortures are perpetuated," Beltran said.

The 73-year old solon and labor rights leader has been arbitrarily detained by the police since February 25, 2006. He remains under police custody at the Philippine Heart Center after his health deteriorated while under solitary confinement in Camp Crame. ###

MEDIA ADVISORY: A forum on the sad fate of Pinay caregivers

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63) 927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news





MEDIA ADVISORY

June 13, 2006.



As part of Migrants Month 2006, the Office of Congressman Crispin Beltran and Migrante International is inviting you to a forum on the realities faced by Philippine health professionals, particularly Filipino/a caregivers abroad.





Caregivers need care too:

A forum on the sad fate of Pinay caregivers

under the Live-in Caregiver Program in Canada



June 14, 2006 (Wednesday), 1-5 PM

Room 7 and 8, Mitra Hall

House of Representatives, Quezon City



Panelists include representatives from

the Committee on Overseas Workers' Affairs,

Center for Philippine Concerns-Canada,

SIKLAB-Canada, Alliance of Health Workers,

and Health Alliance for Democracy.





MEDIA COVERAGE IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED.



For inquiries, please contact the Office of Congressman Beltran

at 931-6615 or 931-5001 local 7300. Thank you very much!

President acts more like a salivating appendage of imperialist globalization than a patriot

From the Office of Congressman Crispin Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
June 12, 2006

President acts more like a salivating appendage of imperialist globalization than a patriot
Detained solons decries reversals of freedom, nat'l sovereignty
under GMA administration, dares President to withdraw Cha-Cha


Despite being unable to personally participate in the rallies and Independence Day rites this afternoon, detained Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran said that he was "one with the people in combatting the assaults against freedom and national sovereignty under the Arroyo administration".

Beltran, speaking from his room at the Philippine Heart Center, said that "President Arroyo has no moral, political, or historical ascendancy at all to lead any Independence Day rite, especially in light of her administration's blatant promoting of anti-Filipino Charter Change schemes and political repression".

"It's a sham kind of independence that the Arroyo administration is paying lip-service to today. She is reversing the gains for national freedom forged by Filipino revolutionaries and patriots by allowing foreign corporations to plunder our national patrimony, by allowing U.S. military troops to rampage Filipino lands and women with impunity, by forcing Filipinos to be exported abroad as cheap labor, and by promoting Constitutional changes that will only support more intervention by imperialist globalization in the local economy, politics, and patrimony," Beltran said.

"There is no protection of national sovereignty as far as the Arroyo's current economic framework is concerned. One can not even declare that there is 'freedom' in the sense of political freedom or civil and democratic rights today. More than half a thousand activists have been assassinated under the Arroyo Presidency, journalists are being killed with impunity, and rallies are being violently dispersed," Beltran said.

"Worse, the Arroyo administration has blatantly supported wars of imperialist aggression and intervention in other nations, even sending military support for the US war of terror in Iraq and elsewhere. It is ironic that the President of country that has fought over four centuries of Spanish, American, and Japanese colonialism is now supporting other similar wars of imperialist aggression today," Beltran said.

"If the President is really sincere on living the spirit of independence forged by previous generations of Filipinos, she should immediately withdraw her plans for changing the Constitution," Beltran said.

"I challenge her to withdraw her odious plans for Charter Change and to step down as well, considering that she has acted more like a salivating appendage of the Bush administration and imperialist globalization and a spineless middleman for foreign corporations than a patriot," Beltran said.

Beltran was among those illegally arrested and arbitrarily detained by the government shortly after Arroyo's declaration of Presidential Proclamation 1017 last February 24. He remains detained under heavy police custody at the Philippine Heart Center, on false and fabricated charges of inciting to rebellion. ###

From the Office of Congressman Crispin Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news



NEWS RELEASE
June 11, 2006

Beltran slams Sto. Tomas' call to redefine meaning of 'work'

Veteran labor leader and migrant's rights advocate Crispin Beltran of Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Party List criticized outgoing Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas' call to the international community at the 95th International Labor Conference in Geneva to redefine the meaning of work by including overseas foreign workers (OFWs), saying that this is was a "lame attempt to mask the local and global problems caused by labor export".

"This call to redefine the meaning of work will only legitimize and perpetuate the government's labor export policy, which blatantly condones such exploitative practices such as subcontracting and the exporting of cheap labor from underdeveloped countries. This is adjusting the definition of work to justify the disruptions caused primarily by imperialist globalization through the GATT-WTO," Beltran said.

The migrant's rights advocate issued his statement while confined under police custody at the Philippine Heart Center.

"It is insensitive of Sto. Tomas to assert such a thing, especially at this time when even the Church is warning Filipinos to think twice about working abroad, due to the government's lack of adequate support services for OFWs who are being abused and exploited," Beltran said.

"Sto. Tomas' redefining of work as being beyond national boundaries is also meant to hide the government's inability to provide adequate local employment for Filipino workers. It is meant to be a smokescreen for the massive problem of unemployment and underemployment in the Philippines, which has compelled at least eight to ten million Filipinos to seek jobs abroad in order to survive," Beltran said.

"This call to redefine the international definition for 'work' is no different in intention from the government's changing the definition of 'unemployment' last April 2005, which had the effect of drastically downplaying the crisis of unemployment in the country from 11.3% to only 7.7%," Beltran said.

"In fact, the Philippines is ranked as the third country with the most number of OFWs, next to China (35 million) and India (22 million). This is deeply disturbing because the Philippines has a disproportionate number of OFWs compared to its population and overall labor force," Beltran added. ###

Beltran angered over House leadership's backtrack on HB 0345

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63) 927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news







NEWS RELEASE

June 7, 2006



Beltran angered over House leadership's backtrack on HB 0345



"The leadership of the Lower House should remember that they are accountable to the majority of the people and should not be beholden to the Palace and to employers alone ," Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran, proponent of the P125 legislated across-the-board wage increase for private sectors workers, said today.



Beltran was angered, although not surprised, at the House leadership's announcements yesterday that HB 0345 would not be tackled during the last session day today. "The House leadership is doing everything to delay the passage of HB 0345. They are trying to stall the third reading today on a technicality," Beltran said.



"While the Palace may have refused to certify HB 0345 as a priority bill, more than 14.4 million Filipino workers are counting on its passage as a matter of immediate economic relief, and even life or death," Beltran said.



"Any delaying tactics to prevent the passage of House Bill (HB) 0345 is reprehensible. They are prolonging the hardships of the Filipino working class by such malicious foot-dragging. These maneuvers by the House leadership are clearly intended to prevent the passage of this bill. Even if they promise to tackle the bill during the next opening of session, this lull will give the Palace only more time to drum up more excuses to kill the bill," Beltran said.

Beltran asks Judge to reconsider earlier order

From the Office of Congressman Crispin Beltran

Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news


NEWS RELEASE
June 9, 2006

Beltran asks Judge to reconsider earlier order
Previous decision has "no leg to stand on", Ka Bel's lawyers assert

The lawyers of Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran have asked Presiding Judge Encarnacion Jaja Moya of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 146 to reconsider her earlier Commitment Order, asserting that this "short and sweeping order...dismissed the fundamental issues [raised by the Prosecution] and [resulted] to serious injustice and far-reaching implications to the life and liberty of a 73-year old sickly legislator".

Through a MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION filed earlier this morning, June 9, Atty. Romeo Capulong, Atty. Amylyn Sato, and Atty. Rachel Pastores asserted that the "Honorable Court erred and violated the Constitutional rights of Cong. Beltran to due process and to be Presumed Innocent until proven guilty when it evaded and refused to rule on the fundamental issues raised by the defense in the Motion for Judicial Determination of Probable Cause."

Atty. Capulong stressed that "the Court erred when it found probable cause and issued a Commitment Order without allowing and fixing bail against Cong. Beltran despite the defects and infirmities of the case for the Prosecution".

These defects and infirmities included the "utter lack of admissible and credible evidence to support such findings", the "illegality of the warrantless arrest of Cong. Beltran on February 25, 2006, the "invalidity of the inquest proceeding conducted by the public prosecutors on Februry 27, 2006 for failing to comply with the mandatory requirements of the Rules and thereby violating Beltran's Constitutional Rights to due process", and for "implicitly denying Beltran's Constitutional Rights to Bail despte the fact that the evidence for the Prosecution is not strong".

Capulong stresed that Judge Moya's May 31 "two-paragraph order finding Probable Cause has no leg to stand on and violates Beltran's Constitutional rights". He said that Beltran "raised several valid, relevant, and fundamental issues which the court should have addressed and resolved, noting that the hearing on the issue of Probable Cause extended over a period of almost three months the issue of probable cause extended over a period of almost three months from the time Cong. Beltran filed his motion on March 3, 2006 in the sala of Judge Jenny Lind Aldecoa-Delorino of Branch 137.

"Unfortunately, the court disposed of these fundamental issues through the mere expedient of a short and sweeping order, albeit resulting to serious injustice and far-reaching implications to the life and liberty of a 73-year old sickly legislator," the MR said.

"It is respectfully submitted that this astonishingly curt order that sweeps all issues aside, impairs the constitutional right of the accused to due process and presumption of innocence, raises questions and doubts about the integrity of the order itself, and erodes public and litigants' trust in our judiciary," it stated.

In this light, Beltran appealed that Judge Moya's order dated May 31, 2006 "be reconsidered and set aside and Cong. Beltran be forthwith released" or that the constitutional right to bail be granted in a reasonable amount".


Beltran's lawyers also filed a Motion to Strike Out [the] Sham Motion filed by the Prosecution on June 7, 2006.

"By accident and sheer luck, Congressman Beltran's counsel discovered that the public prosecutors surreptitiously filed an Ex-Parte Motion To Admit Attached Amended Information on 7 June 2006 without informing or furnishing undersigned counsels with a copy thereof and without setting it for hearing," Capulong stated in the Motion.

Beltran's lawyers pointed out that "this Ex-Parte Motion is prohibited by the provisions of Rule 15 of the Rules of Court" and attempts to insert "Amended Information [which] adopts a new theory and makes allegations of new matters, acts and events which this court, through the Honorable Judge Jenny Lind Aldecoa-Delorino already ruled in her Resolution dated 4 May 2006 as a violation of the due process rights of Cong. Beltran".

"We believe it is our duty as officers of the court to state for the nth time that the public prosecutors, in surreptitiously filing this Ex-Parte Motion without notice to the accused, without furnishing undersigned counsels with a copy thereof and without setting it for hearing, committed another act of deception which undermines the orderly administration of justice and public trust and confidence in the integrity of the proceedings," Capulong said. ###

MEDIA ADVISORY: KA BEL'S JUNE 8 HEARING CANCELLED

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63) 927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news



MEDIA ADVISORY

June 7, 2006



Attention: News Desks



KA BEL'S HEARING CANCELLED



We would like to inform you that the hearing for Congressman Crispin Beltran's arraignment tomorrow (June 8) at the Makati RTC Branch 146 has been CANCELLED, as per orders of Judge Encarnacion Jaja Moya on June 7, 2006.



Thank you very much.


For inquiries, contact Cong. Beltran's office through 931-6615.






-----------------------------

TEXT OF COURT ORDER:

Republic of the Philippines
National Caital Judicial Region
Regional Trial Court
Makati City, Branch 146



ORDER

Considering that there is a pending Ex-parte Motion to Admit Attached Amended Information by the Prosecution, as well as manifestations of the accused through counsel that they will file a Motion for Reconsideration on the June 1, 2006 Order of this Court, the scheduled arraignment of accused Crispin Beltran on 8 June is CANCELLED.

Encarnacion Jaja Moya
Judge

Arroyo's intent to remain president until 2010 should be defeated

FROM THE OFFICE OF ANAKPAWIS CONGRESSMAN CRISPIN BELTRAN
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE

June 7, 2006


Arroyo's intent to remain president until 2010 should be defeated – Rep. Beltran

Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran today said that illegitimate president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's assertion that she will remain president until 2010 'and no minute less' is wishful thinking on her part. He said that even as Arroyo and her supporters continue to feign confidence, the odds of Arroyo remaining in office up to 2010 are dwindling.

"There is no way that this highly unstable political situation can be contained until then," said Beltran while confined under heavy police custody at the Philippine Heart Center.

"Every day she remains in office worsens the economy and increases the political tension in the country. This elaborate yet essentially fraudulent charter change signature campaign will prove to be in vain and is already being exposed as a tactic to divert the public's attention away from the core issues, mainly Macapagal-Arroyo's illegal usurpation of power; relentless corruption in her administration; the escalating political repression; and the over-all failure to address the problems of worsening poverty and social deterioration," he pointed out.

The activist lawmaker said that his continuing incarceration, the persecution of the Batasan 5 and the killing spree victimizing political activists and members of progressive people's organizations were glaring proof of that the Arroyo administration has turned into a virtual dictatorship. "And a dictatorship of this vicious stripe should always be opposed and fought. The Philippines can never move forward in any way with Arroyo at the helm. She remains in power by means of thinly-disguised dictatorship," he said.

Beltran said that to tolerate Arroyo and to allow her to remain in Malacanang until 2010 is what constitutes treason –- a betrayal of the national interest and the Filipino people's welfare.

Beltran also blasted the presence of "people such as Norberto Gonzales in the Arroyo Cabinet, who contributes more to the political turmoil and violations of civil, human, and political rights". "Gonzales' flaunts that he will be targetting leftists, progressives and communists until June 30 2010 with Arroyo's full support. This only betrays their intention to maintain their questionable and oppressive hold over the country's political institutions even as the people are clamoring for their ouster from office," Beltran said.

"Arroyo is blinded by power and she is desperate to keep it. Her deafening silence and apathy to the flood of reports of political killings constitute tacit approval for these killings. Her stand against an immediate, legislate wage increase for workers confirms her anti-poor bent and her loyalties to the big business groups. Her illusions of grandeur and the Philippines being an enchanted kingdom are an endless nightmare for Filipinos. For the sake of the nation and all that is good for Filipinos, Arroyo should not be allowed to remain president," he concluded. ###

0607: Solons uphold IPU resolution on Beltran's release

FROM THE OFFICE OF ANAKPAWIS CONGRESSMAN CRISPIN BELTRAN
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
June 7, 2006

Solons uphold IPU resolution on Beltran's release

Solons yesterday afternoon filed a resolution urging the Arroyo government to uphold the recommendations of an international organization of parliamentarians to release Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran on the presumption of innocence.

House Resolution (HR) 1280 (Right-click here to download HR1280 (PDF file)), filed last night, moved that the Lower House adopt the resolution of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) approved by its Governing Council during its 114th Assembly last May 12 in Nairobi, Kenya, and urges that the Philippines government release Crispin Beltran from detention, as recommended by the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (please refer to file attachment for the copy of the resolution).

The resolution was signed by Rep. Rafael Mariano, Rep. Roseller Barinaga, Rep. Edcel Lagman, Rep. Eduardo Gullas, Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, Rep. Satur Ocampo, Rep. Teddy Casino, Rep. Emilio Espinos, Jr., Rep. Raul del Mar, Rep. Felix Alfelor, Jr., Rep. Renato Magtubo, Rep. Clavel Martinez, Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, Rep. Rodito Albano III, Rep. Benhur Abalos, Jr., Rep. Antonio Cerilles, Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, Rep. Vincent Crisologo, Rep. Rene Velarde, Rep. Teodoro Locsin, Rep. Constantino Jaraula, Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla, Rep. Gerry Salapaddin, Rep. Catalino Figueroa, Rep. Prospero Pichay, Rep. Francis Escudero, Rep. Teofisto Guingona, Rep. Eduardo Veloso, Rep. Harlin Cast Abayon, Rep. Leovigildo Banaag, and Rep. Danilo Lagbas.

The IPU Governing Council's resolution "recalls the principle of presumption on innocence, which implies that pre-trial detention should be the exception and as short as possible" and "consequently urges the authorities to release [me] forthwith, particularly in view of his state of health and the fact that the court ordered his release in March 2006".

"Article III of the Constitution of the Philippines contains a Bill of Rights which in its Sections 12 to 19 enshrines extensive fair trial guarantees, and that the Philippines is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and thus bound to respect the right to liberty and to fair trial, as enshrined in Articles 9 and 14," the IPU resolution noted.

The IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians, meanwhile, said it will continue to examine Beltran's case and that of Reps. Mariano, Ocampo, Virador, Maza and Casino. The Committee will issue a report to the IPU Governing Council at the 115th IPU Assembly scheduled in October 2006.

Meanwhile, individual foreign parliamentarians are continuing to express their support for Rep. Beltran.

Australian Federal MP Anthony Albanese recently expressed concern over the state of democracy in the Philippines. Albanese charged in a statement quoted in an Australian newspaper that "a democratically-elected member of the Philippines Parliament [sic] Mr. Crispin Beltran was arrested and detained under the special powers of arrest granted under the state of emergency" by the Arroyo administration.

"The arrest and detention of one's political opponents under cover of emergency powers and without warrant are¡Ä a cause for legitimate concern¡ÄThe suppression of political dissent cannot be allowed to be the legacy of the people power movement that captured the world's attention some twenty years ago," Albanese said.

In the U.S., Rep. Bob Hasegawa of 11th legislative district, in Seattle, Washington signed the resolution of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) National calling for Beltran's immediate release of detained Philippine labor leader Crispin Beltran last April 29.

Beltran is currently confined under heavy police custody at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City since April 26. He is scheduled to undergo his arraignment for the rebellion case filed against him at the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 146, under Judge Encarnacion Jaja Moya, tomorrow at 2 PM. ###

Right-click here to download HR1280 (PDF file)

Arroyo gov't is using P125 wage hike bill as a scapegoat

FROM THE OFFICE OF ANAKPAWIS CONGRESSMAN CRISPIN BELTRAN
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news



NEWS RELEASE
June 6, 2006

Arroyo gov't is using P125 wage hike bill as a scapegoat
for its inability to solve the rising crisis of unemployment, poverty

Anakpawis Party List Representative Crispin Beltran slammed the government's doomsday scenarios of unemployment and inflation if House Bill 0345 permitting a P125 legislated across-the-board wage hike is passed.

"The issue of workers fighting for a living wage is not the main cause of massive retrenchment, closure of industries, and poverty in the Philippines," Beltran stressed.

Beltran said that there was already a crisis of unemployment in the Philippines long before the issue of the P125 legislated wage hike was raised in Congress. "The government is using the issue of the P125 legislated wage hike as a scapegoat and a fall guy for its inability to create more jobs at home," Beltran said.


Beltran explained that unemployment was caused mainly by the government's lack of support for local industries in favor of foreign businesses and "free trade" policies.

"The crisis of massive unemployment intensified ever since the Philippines, through government officials such as then-Senator Gloria Arroyo, futher opened up its labor, industries, and patrimony to imperialist globalization. Remember that it was Pres. Arroyo who spearheaded the country's all-out puppetry to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has caused the rapid decline of local industries and existing small and medium-scale industries. She is partially to blame for the closure of local businesses that are causing more Filipinos to lose their jobs," Beltran said.

"Unemployment has worsened at an exponentially-increasing rate after the Philippines entered the WTO. 3,000 establishments have been closing annually, while at least 200 workers are being retrenched every day. The unemployment rate of 11.8% for 2004 is one of the highest in the country since 1956. This alarming figure would have even dramatically increased in 2005, had not the government adopted a new official definition of unemployment last year. And around half of 32 million who were "employed" in 2005 did not find jobs in the formal labor market, and were only able to gain jobs as migrant workers, unpaid family workers, or self-employed workers," Beltran said.

"As for the issue of inflation, Filipinos have been suffering from obscenely high prices and rates due to E-VAT, escalating oil price hikes due to a deregulated and cartelized oil industry, and the rapid privatization of power and water services. The denial of a substantial wage hike only makes it harder for the poor to cope with these rising prices, rates, and services," Beltran said.

"The government should not blame inflation and poverty on wage hikes. Eight out of ten Filipinos are already wallowing on poverty in the absence of jobs and wage increases. The levels of hunger and malnutrition here are already comparable to the African Sahara. And take note that the regions with the highest poverty rates are also the ones with the lowest wage rates," Beltran said. ###

Don't blame wage hike for economic crisis, Beltran tells business

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news



NEWS RELEASE
June 5, 2006



Beltran warns Palace, business against killing P125 wage hike initiative:

Don't blame wage hike for economic crisis, Beltran tells business

Businessmen are barking up on the wrong tree by predicting an economic melt-down if the P125 legislated wage hike (House Bill 0345) passes into law, Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran said today.

"The local employers should not be blaming wage hikes for the economic crisis. The problem is not with the wage hikes needed by the workers sector. The problem is with the Arroyo administration's lack of adequate support mechanisms and policies for the protection and development of local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and national industries," Beltran said.

"The Palace has done virtually nothing to protect local industries from being swallowed up whole by foreign imports and by massive foreign corporations. It is putting local industries in peril by opening and selling the country through virtual foreign domination, which is also why many businesses are closing shop and retrenching workers andleaving them poorer than ever. It is precisely this sorry state of the Philippine economy that gives the majority no other choice but to buy cheaper foreign imports, instead of patronizing local goods and contributing to the local economy," Beltran said while confined at the Philippine Heart Center.

Killing the bill will only cause more people to reject GMA, Ka Bel says

Killing the P125 legislated wage hike bill will only force more poor Filipinos to kick the Arroyo administration out of commission once and for all, Beltran underscored. "This will be the final straw for millions of Filipino workers and their families, who are counting on the P125 legislated wage hike for temporary economic relief. The people will be holding the Palace even more accountable for the hunger, sickness, and despair that they have to face every day," the veteran labor leader said.

"It's obvious to all how Pres. Arroyo is bending over backwards and sidewards to kowtow to the demands of foreign investors and businessmen, but refuses to budge an inch when it comes to protecting the interests of suffering workers and peasants," he said.

Beltran also cast doubts on the effectivity of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) to effect a nationwide wage increase acceptable to Filipino workers.

"These wage boards are slow-pokes and misers, if we are to judge by their track record of giving wage increases. Workers and their families will only die of hunger and neglect if they wait for the wage boards to agree on and implement decentralized wage hikes that will provide substantial economic relief for workers in all 79 poverty-stricken provinces and 17 regions nationwide," Beltran said. ###

Don't blame teachers for deteriorating quality of RP education

NEWS RELEASE
June 5, 2006


Don't blame teachers for deteriorating quality of RP education

Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran today said that neither Department of Education officials nor anyone else in the Macapagal-Arroyo administration should blame teachers for the deteriorating quality of public school education.

"The country's educational system continues to deteriorate because of the lack of support from the government. Teachers are overworked and underpaid, and there's a severe lack of facilities. From the beginning, teachers and teachers-in-training have had to contend with the most severe limitations imposed by budget restrictions on the one hand; and low salaries and benefits on the other," he said.

Beltran said that it was not fair to make generalities against public school teachers and say it's laziness that's at the core of their poor teaching skills.

"When they were still students themselves, most public school teachers were also subjected to an educational system that's for the most part neglected by the government. Classrooms were packed with too many students; books were expensive; facilities such as computers were essentially non-existent. Parents struggled long and hard to cope with the day-to-day expenses of sending their children to school and to keep them there. It is this cycle of hopelessness that victimizes students and teachers alike, and they cannot be blamed for this," he said.

The veteran labor leader turned legislator said that it will take a comprehensive overhaul of the economic policies and programs of the national government to turn the educational system around.

"The commercial and profit-oriented nature and thrust of the economic programs of the incumbent government, like those of its predecessors have ensured that the country's educational system will never improve. Teachers need all the support they can get, not only in terms of substantially increased salaries and benefits, but also developed infrastructure and technical support. Student, in the meantime, would also benefit from any substantial increase in the wages of their parents, most of whom are workers," he pointed out.

Beltran said that it so long as the political and economic situation in the country continues to worsen, there is little or no hope for it to improve.

"If the Arroyo administration and the DECS were sincere in the goal of improving the educational system, they should start off by giving all public school teachers a P3,000 across-the-board salary increase and the worker-parents of students a P125 legislated across-the-board wage hike. Next, there should be the complete reorientation of the curriculum and school administration away from commercialization and privatization and towards nationalization," he concluded. ###

PROTECTION, NOT EXACTION: STOP THE PLUNDER OF OFW FUNDS!

FROM THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN CRISPIN BELTRAN


Keynote speech of Congressman Crispin Beltran
PROTECTION, NOT EXACTION: STOP THE PLUNDER OF OFW FUNDS!
A Forum on the Rights and Welfare of OFWs and their Families

June 05, 2006 , Andaya Hall, House of Representatives



Isang magandang hapon sa lahat ng dumalo sa talakayang ito!

Ikinalulungkot ko na hindi ko kayo makakapiling ng personal sa araw na ito dahil sa arbitraryong pagkakapiit at panggigipit ng administrasyong Arroyo. Gayunpaman, malugod akong nakikiisa sa layunin ng talakayang ito: ang ilahad ang tunay na halaga at kalagayan ng ating mga overseas foreign workers (OFWs) at iwaksi ang mga porma ng pagsasamantala ng estado sa mga OFW at pamilya nila.

Sa isang pahayagan noong sabado ("OFW remittances lift peso to 52.85 to $1", Hunyo 3 isyu ng Philippine Daily Inquirer) , ibinalita na tumaas ang halaga ng piso sa pagpasok ng mga remittance ng OFWs na nagpapa-enrol sa kanilang mga anak ngayong pasukan. Ang mga padala nila ang pansamantalang nagsalba sa halaga ng piso laban sa dolyar, pagkatapos ng limang-buwan na pagbagsak nito.

Noong Sabado din ay ibinalita na ang mga OFW ang bumibili o nag-iinvest sa 20 porsiento ng mga housing project sa bansa ("OFWs take 20% of preselling residential developments", PDI), karamihan ay sa porma ng mga pre-selling arrangement. Dumami diumano ang kita ng malalaking kumpanyang nagbebenta ng mid-income condominiums dahil sa mga OFW.

Hindi nakakagulat ang mga balitang ito, kung tutuusin. Una, dahil pinapadala ng mga OFW ang kanilang sahod sa mga panahong kailangan talaga ito ng kanilang pamilya, katulad ng pasukan tuwing Hunyo, o kaya tuwing Pasko, dahil mahalaga ang pagdiriwang nito sa ating kultura. At, ikalawa, dahil pangunahing prayoridad pa rin ng mga kapatid nating OFW ang maglaan ng sahod para sa edukasyon at kabahayan. Pero walang kaseguruhan na makakakuha ng maayos na trabaho ang kanilang anak kapag nakapagtapos, o kaya ay tuluyang mapapasakanila ang mga housing na pinaghirapang hulugan.

Pahiwatig din ito na ang mga OFW remittance ang pangunahing nagtataguyod sa pabagsak na ekonomiya ng ating bansa. Ito ang tanging panangga ng gobyerno laban sa disempleyo, mababang sahod, at kawalan ng oportunidad, magmula sa administrasyong Marcos hanggang sa kasalukuyan. At nagpapatuloy ang kalakarang ito. Sa pagtataya ng mismong pamahalaan, mahigit isang milyong Pilipino na ang lumalabas ng bansa taun-taon upang magtrabaho bilang katulong, entertainer, care-giver, trabahador, nars, at iba pa.

Sa ngayon, ikatlo ang Pilipinas sa mga bansang may pinakamaraming migrante sa buong mundo, kasunod ng mga dambuhalang bansa na Tsina at India. Lubhang nakababahala ang pagpasok natin sa "Top Three" na ito, dahil maliban sa namumukod-tangi ang Pilipinas sa dami ng migrante kumpara sa populasyon at kabuuang lakas-paggawa, ay patuloy pa rin ang pagtahak ng administrasyong Arroyo sa landas ng labor export.

Lumulubhang krisis ng disempleyo na dulot ng isang atrasadong ekonomiya at sistemang pampulitikal. Ito ang kalagayang panlipunan na ipinahihiwatig ng mass exodus ng mga Pilipino. Mula noon hanggang ngayon, ang mga OFW ang sumasalo sa ekonomiyang hindi makabangon dahil sa mga maka-dayuhan, maka-kapitalista, at kontra-mamamayang patakaran na ipinapatupad ng iba't ibang administrasyon. Kung wala ito, wala nang maipapakitang pag-unlad si Pangulong Arroyo sa ilalim ng kanyang panunungkulan.

At ano naman ang ginagawa ng gobyernong Arroyo upang proteksyunan ang mga itinuturing nitong "bagong bayani"? Wala. At kung mayroon may ay huwad, mapagsamantala, at mapaglinlang ang katangian ng mga programang ito. Sa halip na tulungan sila, ginawang negosyo ng pamahalaan ang pangingibang-bansa ng ating mga kababayan. Pinagkakakitaan ang bawat OFW na napipilitang mangibang-bansa, na nawawalay sa pamilya at lumusong sa hirap, kawalang-katiyakan, panganib, at kalupitan.

Bago pa man makaalis sa bansa ay baon na sa utang ang bawat OFW. Pinagkakakitaan ng mga ahensyang pribado at pampamahalaan ang mga papeles at iba pang mga dokumentong kinakailangan upang makapagtrabaho sa ibayong-dagat. Nililimas naman ang mga bulsa ng mga migrante sa pagbabayad ng mga serbisyo at produktong pag-aari rin ng kanilang mga amo. Pagkabigay ng sahod ng mga OFW, kumikita pa rin ang gobyerno at ang mga pribadong institusyon sa pamamagitan ng mga remittance channels atbp. Ipinagkakait sa maraming migranteng Pilipino ang makatarungang sahod, benepisyo, seguridad, at pantay na pagtingin upang makakamal pa ang mga kapitalista at estado ng mas maraming tubo.

Kung gayon, ang yamang nililikha ng lakas-paggawa ng masang anakpawis ay napupunta sa kamay ng iilan: sa mga malalaking korporasyon, kapitalista at sa mga opisyales ng pamahalaan. Sa halip na gamitin para proteksyunan ang mga OFW, ginagamit ng pamahalaan ang pera ng mga migrante para sa pagpapalago ng kapital, pagnenegosyo, at pangungurakot. Isang matingkad na halimbawa nito ay ang pagkuha ng gobyernong Arroyo sa P530 M mula sa pondo ng OWWA upang ilipat sa PhilHealth, na pinagbibintangang nakapagambag sa kampanya ni Gng. Arroyo noong pambansang halalan.

Maging ang P8 bilyon na pondo ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) ay nagsilbing gatasan ng gobyerno. Ayon mismo sa datos ng Migrante, sa P538 milyon na pondo ng OWWA para sa taong 2005, P467.6 milyon ang ginastos ng administrasyong Arroyo, samantalang P28 milyon lamang ang ginamit para sa serbisyo ng OFW at ng kanilang mga pamilya, at P5 milyon lamang ang inilaan para sa welfare assistance sa labas ng bansa. Wala ni singkong inilagay ang gubyerno rito ngunit sila ang nagpapasya sa kung saan dapat ito gamitin at iniwawaldas ang pera ng OFWS.

Samantala, hindi nagsisilbi ang mga kasalakuyang batas para proteksyunan ang interes ng migranteng Pilipino. Palamuti lamang ang kasalukuyang Migrants Act of 1995 o Republic Act 8042, ang mga OWWA Omnibus Policies, at ang iba pang patakarang pinanghahawakan ng administrasyong Arroyo. Ang Migrants Act, halimbawa, ay madaliang isinabatas upang maibsan ang pagkamuhi ng mamamayan sa gobyerno nang hindi nito napigilan ang pagbibitay ni Flor Contemplacion noong Marso17, 1995. Hindi ito nakatulong sa mga OFWs dahil hindi rin ito ipinatupad ng gubyerno at ipinangpahamak pa sa mga kababayan nating naipit sa gerang agresyon ng Estados Unidos sa Afghanistan at sa Iraq.

Mahigit isang dekada na ang nakalipas pagkatapos itong maipasa. Ngunit hindi nabawasan ng Migrants' Act of 1995 and dami¡½at dumaraming¡½bilang ng mga OFW na inabuso, illegally-recruited, biniktima ng sex trafficking, nadamay sa gera, nasa death row, at pinabayaan ng mga embahada, konsulado at ahensya ng pamahalaan.

Proteksyon, hindi pangungupit at pangongotong, ang dapat isukli ng gobyerno sa pagsasalba ng ating mga OFW sa kaban ng bayan. Malinaw na hindi na makatarungan ang nagaganap na state exaction na napupunta lamang sa bulsa ng iilan. Mahigit sampung milyon ng ating mga migrante ang napilitang lisanan ang mga tahanan at bayan upang makipagsapalaran sa among dayuhan. Nararapat lamang na lumikha ng sistemang mangangalaga sa kanilang kapakanan, ng isang sistemang pang-ekonomiya na hindi magtutulak sa mga kapwa nating Pilipino na mangibang-bansa para lamang mabuhay.

Panahon na upang tignan muli at ibasura ng pamahalaang ito ang umiiral na labor export policy. Dapat nang iwaksi ng tuluyan ang kotong ng estado sa mga OFW at ibasura na ang mga patakarang lumilikha at nagpapadagdag sa paghihirap ng migrante. Nararapat lamang na labanan ang ganitong mga uri ng pagsasamantala sa mga OFW at kanilang pamilya, sa pamamagitan ng sama-samang nating pagtataguyod at paggiit sa karapatan at kagalingan nila.

Maraming salamat at magandang hapon sa inyong lahat!

Palace rejection of P125 wage hike bill unreasonable, anti-worker, and insulting to Congress

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 431-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
June 3, 2006



Palace rejection of P125 wage hike bill unreasonable,
anti-worker, and insulting to Congress¡½Beltran

The Palace's rejection of the P125 legislated wage hike only exposes its lack of accountability and responsibility for the welfare of millions of Filipino workers, Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran said today in response to statements from the Arroyo administration that it is thumbing down the landmark bill passed by the Lower House this week.

"Nakakakuliglig sa pag-iisip ang pahayag ng Palasyo. Si GMA mismo ang nagsabi dati na kailangan ng isang wage increase, at alam niya na napakatagal nang nakabinbin ang panukalang-batas ito," Beltran said while under heavy police custody at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.

Beltran said that the Palace's statement was an insult to the prolonged efforts of Congress to debate on, agree upon and finally pass pro-worker legislation.

"The Palace is throwing away like dirty water the P125 legislated wage hike bill, the passage of which both Majority and Minority solons have unanimously supported, and which millions of Filipino workers have worked to achieve since 1999," Beltran stressed.

"Pres. Arroyo is making statements about a need for a "reasonable" wage hike. We in the Lower House have tried to reach for precisely that meeting of minds through the passage of the P125 bill to be given in staggered amounts for three years. Nagkaroon na ng tawaran mismo sa loob ng Kongreso, kung saan ang majority ay binubuo ng mga alyado niya sa pulitika. Inaprubahan at ipinagtibay ng Kongreso ang hulugan na "reasonable" wage increase. Pero hindi pa rin ito katanggap-tanggap ng Palasyo," Beltran said.

"The Palace is trivializing the painstaking six-year efforts of labor formations and lawmakers to get a bill such as House Bill 345 approved by Congress. No other House Bill of recent passage has been as heavily and broadly campaigned for by the people," Beltran said.

"Napakaraming pagod, luha, at dugo ang ibinuhos ng manggagawang Pilipino para lamang maisulong ang panukalang-batas na ito, ngunit tila hindi pa rin ito sapat na dahilan upang pagtibayin ng Palasyo. Wala nang duda na si Gng. Arroyo ay diktado lamang ng malalaking negoso at ng mga koneksyon niya sa Estados Unidos, na kailanman ay hindi sumuporta sa ipinapanawagang umento sa sahod," Beltran said.

Beltran challenged House majority floor leader Prospero Nograles to "keep his word that the House Bill 345 would be prioritized and passed by Congress in the soonest possible time" when the bill will undergo a third and final reading in the plenary session.

"Inspite of the pressure by the Palace to kill the bill, I hope the Senate remains steadfast in pursuing and passing a counterpart of the P125 wage hike bill, or an even better version of it. The Filipino toiling masses, who are already on the fringes of survival due to the economic crisis and escalating oil price increases, have been waiting for six long years for this wage hike to be finally implemented," Beltran added. ###

Beltran questions judge's decision to push through with rebellion case

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 431-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
June 2, 2006

Beltran questions judge's decision to push through with rebellion case

Activist lawmaker Crispin Beltran will be appealing the decision of a Makati court to push through with the false and fabricated rebellion case against him. Beltran's legal counsel, United Nations ad litem judge Atty. Romeo Capulong said that they would be filing a Motion for Reconsideration this Monday, June 5, asking the judge in Beltran's case to change her earlier decision to push through with the rebellion case against Beltran.

In a three-sentence order dated May 31, 2006, Judge Encarnacion Jaja Moya of the Makati Regional Trial Court (MRTC) Branch 146 wrote: "After examining the record of this case, the Court finds probable cause to believe that the accused 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan, P.A., and Crispin Beltran y Bertiz committed the crime charged."

Judge Moya set Beltran's arraignment on June 8, 2006 at 2:00 pm at the MRTC Branch 146.

The one-paragraph commitment order did not even discuss how the court came to conclude that there was probable cause for rebellion in Beltran's case, despite volumes of incontrovertible documentary counter-evidence disputing the DOJ's charges, Atty. Capulong said.

Atty. Capulong cited as an example the affidavit of DOJ witness Ruel Escala, a manicurist from Manila, who claimed that he saw the six progressive party list representatives meet with alleged Magdalo soldiers at around 3:00 p.m on February 20 at a cockfighting farm in Brgy. Bukal, Padre Garcia, Batangas, while answering the call of nature in the vicinity. Escala's affidavit was countered by documentary evidence showing that all six solons were in the vicinity of the Lower House that day. These included footages from the House security camera, attendance sheets that proved their presence at committee hearings and journals of plenary sessions.

Atty. Capulong also stressed that the DOJ has engaged in forum-shopping, an unconstitutional practice to get legal cases heard in courts thought most likely to provide a favorable judgment, or to have the case moved to a different court. The DOJ previously succeeded in pressuring MRTC Branch 137 Judge Jenny Lind Aledcoa-Delorino to inhibit herself from the case after she threw out the DOJ's motion to admit amended information to Beltran's rebellion charge, which would include the 'Batasan 5' solons in the original charge sheet. The case was raffled off last May 15 to Judge Moya.

"Parang gusto kong maiyak (I feel like crying)," was Beltran's first reaction upon hearing the news yesterday morning. This is the second time in his life that Beltran will be facing court charges for rebellion. Beltran was incarcerated and tortured as a political prisoner in Camp Crame during the Marcos dictatorship. The 73-year old solon is currently confined under heavy police custody at the Philippine Heart Center, for treatment of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

"While the Arroyo administration is doing nothing to immediately stop the extra-judicial killings of activists, it is waging intense political repression against progressive parliamentarians through legalistic means. Legalistic, but not in accordance with the spirit of the law and of justice," Beltran said.

Beltran however stressed that he would "face and expose these false and fabricated charges in court and welcome initiatives to oppose repression through political means and through mass protests in the streets". ###

-----------------------------------------------------

TEXT OF COURT ORDER:

Makati RTC Branch 146
Crim. Case No. 06-45z

ORDER

After examining the record of this case, the Court finds probable cause to believe that accused 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan, P.A. and Crispin Beltran y Bertiz committed the crime charged. Let a commitment order be issued.

Considering that there is a pending Motion to Quash filed by accused San Juan and an opposition thereto has already been filed, the same is now submitted for resolution. The arraignment of accused Beltran is set onJune 8, 2006 at 2:00pm

SO ORDERED

Makati City, May 31, 2006

Encarnacion Jaja G. Moya