Salute the flag, but there is no national independence to speak of or celebrate tomorrow, June 12; Proclaim Pimentel, Trillanes
Monday, June 11, 2007
Salute the flag, but there is no national independence to speak of or celebrate tomorrow, June 12
Detained lawmaker Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran today said that celebrating Independence Day in the Philippines tomorrow, June 12, was a farce. He said that the country has yet to gain genuine economic, political and cultural independence from foreign interference and intervention.
"The massive display of the national flag all over the country is well and good, but it should be made clear that there is no national independence to celebrate. Gazing at the flag and giving tribute to what it stands for should be taken in the context of the Filipino people's continuing struggle against economic and political oppression. Under the Macapagal-Arroyo presidency, the Philippines has become even more of a neo-colony of the United States, a drummer boy for the US' anti-terrorism campaign in the Asia-Pacific," he said. "The country remains dependent on foreign aid, with no self-sustaining, self-reliant national industries or finance and trade systems. "
He said that many of the laws and resolutions prioritized by Malacanang and railroaded by its allies is congress were dictates of foreign multilateral finance agencies among them the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as conditions before they grant aid to the Philippines. "These laws favor foreign investors in the Philippines while sacrifice the welfare of local manufacturing companies and firms, and inevitably, Filipino workers and consumers and the general national interest," he said.
"In the meantime, Human rights and civil liberties are under severe attack, and with the pending implementation of the Human Security Act in July following the dictates of the United States government, these attacks will further escalate. We have no genuinely independent government and we don't have a government that recognizes much less respects human and civil rights of its constituents," he said.
Beltran said that the approval of the Human Security Act was one of the dictates coming from the White House, 'a conditionality before the US proceeds to give more economic and military aid to the Philippines. The HSA will exacerbate the already serious situation of civil rights in the country.
Proclaim Pimentel, Trillanes
In the meantime, the veteran labor leader turned lawmaker continued to rue the Commission on Election's slowness in finalizing the winners of the senatorial polls, saying that Genuine Opposition candidates Aquilino Pimentel III and Antonio Trillanes clearly have the edge over Team Unity candidate Miguel Zubiri.
"The Comelec is only postponing the inevitable, which is the poll victories of Trillanes and Pimentel, both vocal critics of the administration and untainted by corruption. The delay in Trillanes' proclamation is clearly the doing of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) , specially the leadership led by AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon. Trillanes' victory is a slap in Esperon's face and his assertions that the rank and file of the AFP or the general voting public do not support the young firebrand and his advocacy against the corruption in the AFP and the executive. "
"As for Pimentel, he should also already be a declared a winner because of his substantial lead over Zubiri. The votes coming from Maguindanao are tainted with fraud and should no longer be taken into account. Zubiri should take the cue from his Mike Defensor and their other teammates from Team Unity and concede defeat," he said. #
Salute the flag, but there is no national independence to speak of or celebrate tomorrow, June 12
Detained lawmaker Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran today said that celebrating Independence Day in the Philippines tomorrow, June 12, was a farce. He said that the country has yet to gain genuine economic, political and cultural independence from foreign interference and intervention.
"The massive display of the national flag all over the country is well and good, but it should be made clear that there is no national independence to celebrate. Gazing at the flag and giving tribute to what it stands for should be taken in the context of the Filipino people's continuing struggle against economic and political oppression. Under the Macapagal-Arroyo presidency, the Philippines has become even more of a neo-colony of the United States, a drummer boy for the US' anti-terrorism campaign in the Asia-Pacific," he said. "The country remains dependent on foreign aid, with no self-sustaining, self-reliant national industries or finance and trade systems. "
He said that many of the laws and resolutions prioritized by Malacanang and railroaded by its allies is congress were dictates of foreign multilateral finance agencies among them the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as conditions before they grant aid to the Philippines. "These laws favor foreign investors in the Philippines while sacrifice the welfare of local manufacturing companies and firms, and inevitably, Filipino workers and consumers and the general national interest," he said.
"In the meantime, Human rights and civil liberties are under severe attack, and with the pending implementation of the Human Security Act in July following the dictates of the United States government, these attacks will further escalate. We have no genuinely independent government and we don't have a government that recognizes much less respects human and civil rights of its constituents," he said.
Beltran said that the approval of the Human Security Act was one of the dictates coming from the White House, 'a conditionality before the US proceeds to give more economic and military aid to the Philippines. The HSA will exacerbate the already serious situation of civil rights in the country.
Proclaim Pimentel, Trillanes
In the meantime, the veteran labor leader turned lawmaker continued to rue the Commission on Election's slowness in finalizing the winners of the senatorial polls, saying that Genuine Opposition candidates Aquilino Pimentel III and Antonio Trillanes clearly have the edge over Team Unity candidate Miguel Zubiri.
"The Comelec is only postponing the inevitable, which is the poll victories of Trillanes and Pimentel, both vocal critics of the administration and untainted by corruption. The delay in Trillanes' proclamation is clearly the doing of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) , specially the leadership led by AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon. Trillanes' victory is a slap in Esperon's face and his assertions that the rank and file of the AFP or the general voting public do not support the young firebrand and his advocacy against the corruption in the AFP and the executive. "
"As for Pimentel, he should also already be a declared a winner because of his substantial lead over Zubiri. The votes coming from Maguindanao are tainted with fraud and should no longer be taken into account. Zubiri should take the cue from his Mike Defensor and their other teammates from Team Unity and concede defeat," he said. #
posted at 9:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home