Thirst & the Need for More.

(Photo by Nicole Manzana) Left to Right: Dexter, Marcus, Emerson, & Kevin. These boys followed me all around.

It was the crack of dawn and I haven’t been able to write about my experience in Payatas. First off, I just wanted to explain what we were doing in Payatas was that we were joining Kabataan Partylist in their Medical Mission. I was informed the night before that were going to join them and I was notified to wake up at 6am.  I’ve been waking up first in the group for the past week and it is just out of the eagerness of myself to be able to take in every moment and every second I breathe here in the Philippines and with the National Democratic Movement.  So I initially thought that we were leaving at 7am to head to Payatas with the Medicine.

Troy from KPL (Kabtaan Partylist) told me the latest we’ll be leaving would be around 9 am. We got in our collective and decided to pick what tasks we wanted to take part in during the Medical Mission. The tasks laid out were the Medical Mission, Telling stories to the kids in the neighborhood, and the final task was to help outreach for KPL.

Payatas is an urban poor community located in Quezon city where the entire community is living next to and in the dump site.  I won’t lie, for I held thoughts about what the smell would do to my health and the ever increasing list of Kasamas feeling ill.  We all boarded a Jeepeny filled with Medicine and the ulam (Lunch) we would be having, along the way we picked up 3 Doctors from Sacred Heart who would be providing the Medical Check-Ups for the community. We had to stop by the Barangay Hall first before we headed to the Phase 2 (A Basketball Court).  As we arrived on site, Waki our guide reminded us that we would have to speak Tagalog as our Primary language.  I’ve been able to speak Tagalog more than ever during this trip and I must say it has helped me create dialogue and share stories here in the Phils.  I came in thinking that I was going to be part of the Medical Mission and help check blood pressure and give out medicine as a Pharmacy tech.

I hear Faye shout my name and along with Roger of KPL I joined the outreach team that would help notify the Community about the free medical mission and be able to recruit for Kabataan Partylist and hand out an LFS Brochure as well.  I was surprised on how my role changed, but I felt open minded and my attitude towards it was far from negative at all.  We began to walk around the community in Payatas A and Rodger held a  speaker and wireless mic as me and Faye would directly speak to the members of the community.  I found it challenging that I was going to speak to random strangers, but this trip for me has been rewarding at the most when I’ve completely opened myself to the integration with the masses.  I’ve never seen such outreach in my organizing life, I was at awe at how Roger was doing his outreach and even tho he held a speaker and mic, for every person he walked by he talked to them personally.  Right when we got to the entrance of the dump, Roger told me that there were communities in Smokey Mountain and even tho the trash has been a little less than before, it still was filled with trash. We continued our outreach and then I met these two little kids, brother and sister. Her name was Angelique and I got to high five them and we continued on.

Feelings of Liberation. Reflections of Life.

Almost done with the finishing touches of packing everything I need for the next 4 weeks. I’ve made sure my student status at San Francisco State University is settled for (Hopefully, the beginning of the last) Semester(s) I have. My sister will be registering my classes for the Fall Semester and I must say it’s been such a protracted struggle to just get myself in the position I am with my education. I haven’t had Financial Aid since the Fall Semester of 2010. So applying back in March last minute has paid off.

So first off… I wrote a journal entry a couple weeks ago and saved a draft. I decided that at moment how I felt about going will change in a couple more weeks and days. Here I am my flight is in about 8 hours or less. What’s rushing through me is that it’s been about 7 months since we all started meeting back in December to plan for a trip that is about 4 weeks. The process of going on exposure began in those early meetings. I’m currently writing down the numbers of my kasamas who are already in the Phils. What’s been amazing during this process of going on my first exposure trip is how I’ve been able to include my family in this process. When I was a member of Anakbayan East Bay as a 17-18 year old, I was lying to them about my politics and what I was doing. Right now, I can’t explain how it feels to include to have my parents in this process. They’ve helped me pack, allowed me to house meetings at our house. Gonna out myself on how much my mom means to me… I’ve seen her cry multiple times and I can’t stand it, but I know she lets those tears flow because she has to stay strong for our family.

As a student, I’ve done the various study of our movement, the history of our people, help teach it to others. One thing I have learned and will always admit. Our people’s movement and the National Democratic Movement will NEVER just be an Academic topic. This movement is living and breathing with people in it so amazing and I am looking forward to immersing myself with the masses. We can analyze the Three Basic Problems by taking a class, reading a book, participating in a workshop, BUT we will never have to live those conditions in the belly of the beast. I’ve tried in previous years to go on exposure, but life just didn’t let me and this summer, this year just feels just right. I’m so humbled that we are going to be be the 15th Exposure Trip Group to go if we’ve sent delegations since LFS has been founded here in the United States back in 1996. Thank you to all the Older/Experienced Kasamas who’ve imparted their advice, wisdom to me about going on this trip. I know one thing for certain.

This trip will change my life.

PLEASE REPOST: LFS calls for the immediate release of 3 UP students illegally arrested in Cebu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUGUST 29, 2011

 

LFS calls for the immediate release of 3 UP students illegally arrested in Cebu

 

Reference:

Jed Bautista, 09329138187

 

 

The League of Filipino Students calls for the immediate release of 3 University of the Philippines Cebu students who were illegally arrested and are currently detained in Philippine National Police Precincts in Toledo City and Pinamongajan.

 

Melanie Montano, a member of the League of Filipino Students UP Cebu chapter; Remy Jade Manzon, a member of KARATULA UP Cebu chapter, and Januelle Rontos of the Nagkakaisang Kusog ng mga Estudyante, a political party in UP Cebu were arrested while elements of the Philippine National Police violently dispersed a protest camp of peasants in Sitio Camarin, Brgy Bonbon, Aloguinsan, Cebu. The students were there for an immersion program, joining the campaign against land grabbing allegedly led by the powerful corporate family of the Aboitizes, to convert the 168 HA of land into a shipyard and a special economic zone.

 

At around 5:30 in the morning, a 300-strong group of PNP units and SWAT elements coming from 5 municipalities in the area, including Aloguinsan, roused the sleeping camp saying they have an order to arrest everyone who was staying at the camp. By 10 am, the 3 students, with peasants and youth, were arrested and brought to the custody of Toleda City Jail and Pinamongajan Municipal precinct.

 

The League of Filipino Students is fuming over this recent blatant violation of the people’s human right, another manifestation of whose interest the government is serving. The peasants of Sitio Camarin have all the right to defend their land, more so continue to till it, but elements of the government’s defense, the Philippine National Police became the principal ushers of the ruling few in stepping on the right of the peasants to the land and their right to peaceably assemble for redress of grievances.

 

This incident soundly fit the framework of the Aquino regime, putting first the few’s interest for more profit, in this case the filthy rich Aboitizes, over the land and lives of the 200 families whose ancestors have tilled the land.

 

All over the country, hundreds of thousands of peasant families experience the same fate, to be betrayed by their own government in pursuit of greater profit for the ruling elite and foreign corporations. This mirrors Aquino’s skewed agrarian reform policy or the CARPER.

 

While the Aquino government and its whole machinery continue to use force and the people’s money to quash the rights and interests of the people, thousands upon thousands of youth and students will continue to join the peasant’s fight for genuine land reform and the people’s fight for a government that will truly serve its interests.

 

IMMEDIATELY RELEASE MELANIE MONTANIO, REMY JADE MANZON, JANUELLE RONTOS!

 

GENUINE LAND REFORM, NOW!

 

FIGHT THE FASCIST AND ANTI-PEOPLE AQUINO REGIME AND ITS COHORTS!###

For Immediate Release: Fil-Am Students in the U.S. Condemn Police Brutality Against Anti-Budget Cut Demonstrators in the Philippines

 

August 28, 2011
Reference: League of Filipino Students at San Francisco State University
lfs.sfsu@gmail.com

For Immediate Release: Fil-Am Students in the U.S. Condemn Police Brutality Against Anti-Budget Cut Demonstrators in the Philippines

On August 25, 2011, thousands of students, youth, educators, health workers, overseas workers (OFWs), and community members under the multi-sectoral alliance of Kilos na Laban sa Budget Cuts (Act Now Against the Budget Cuts) peacefully rallied in front of the Philippine House of Representatives, decrying the Aquino administration’s proposed 2012 National Budget. The newly proposed budget would disproportionately cut funds for basic social services in the Philippines, such as healthcare, education, and housing, and instead allocate aid for military and intelligence operations.

The proposed national budget would cut another daunting P500 million in 2012 to fifty state universities and colleges in the Philippines, on top of the P1 billion cut to higher education in 2011. Hundreds of youth and students were present at the rally, denouncing the government’s budget cuts to education.

The rally was carried out peacefully, up until the third to last speaker of the program, when the Philippine National Police (PNP) and House of Representatives security personnel began violently attacking demonstrators near the gates of the Congress building with batons, wooden rods, and rocks. The police then proceeded to fire water cannons at the crowd, even after demonstrators had backed up and peacefully resisted the beatings.

Five were reportedly severely injured at the scene, two of which were committee members of youth organization, ANAKBAYAN. Aki Merced, spokesperson of the League of Filipino Students, stated that “some were poked in the eyes with blunt objects, some got seriously hurt because the police hit them with wooden rods that had metal inside. Ironically, among our demands is to augment the health budget, we probably won’t be able to afford getting medical attention as most public hospital services are privatized now”.

ANAKBAYAN and Kilos na Alliance have jointly filed charges against the Commission of Human Rights against the Quezon City Police District and the Security Office of the House of Representatives.

The League of Filipino Students at San Francisco State University support the Filipino people’s right to assemble peacefully and demand higher budget allocations to healthcare, education, and housing. We denounce the Philippine government and the National Police for its violent dispersal against the demonstrators, and support the filing of the charges against the Quezon City Police and Security Office of House of Representatives.

Under this worsening economic crisis, the Aquino administration should be adequately serving the needs of Filipino people, not violently suppressing those who are critical of the government’s neglect and failure to do so. Coupled with economic unrest, these brutal police attacks on the people will only further intensify the resistance and militancy amongst the youth, students, and people of the Philippines.

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Diwang Pinay 2011 “Motherhood, Sisterhood, Sustained” Press Release

For Immediate Release

April 23, 2011

Contact: Melissa Reyes, LFS-San Francisco State University lfs.sfsu@gmail.com

Ninth Annual Diwang Pinay to Highlight Importance of Sacred Bonds of Motherhood and Sisterhood

Themed “Motherhood, Sisterhood, Sustained,” the event will raise funds for exposure trips to the Philippines for the International Women’s Alliance First General Assembly and the International League of Peoples’ Struggle Conference. Funds will also be donated to various communities in the Philippines

San Francisco, CA— On Friday, April 29, 2011 Babae San Francisco-Gabriela USA, League of Filipino Students, and Kappa Psi Epsilon will host the 9th Annual Filipina Women’s Showcase, Diwang Pinay. With the recent attacks on women’s reproductive rights by House Republicans, the women of these organizations will come together in defense of our mothers and sisters. The House Republicans’ proposals in Congress would indefinitely slash funding for Planned Parenthood and services for women, such as abortions and family planning services. With Babae’s ongoing campaign to fight Violence Against Women, this campaign includes the State’s violent attacks on women’s most basic human rights. By highlighting motherhood, sisterhood and our collective reality, we hope to celebrate our triumphs in the face of oppressive power.

Diwang Pinay (Spirit of the Filipina) is an annual performance and silent auction showcasing Filipina/Filipina-American performers, writers and artists. This event serves as one of very few venues solely dedicated to providing pinays from the Bay Area and beyond a platform to proudly share and express their struggles and triumphs.

This year’s celebration is themed “Motherhood, Sisterhood, Sustained,” to highlight the importance of the sacred bonds of motherhood and sisterhood and how essential these bonds are in sustaining healthy communities. By strengthening our connections as mothers and sisters, our relationship with systems of oppression becomes less difficult to fight. When we reclaim our sacred bond and work toward interdependence in the defense of our communities, we are victorious in every battle against those that deem us unworthy of our basic rights, like the choice to control and determine the rights to our bodies, whether that be access to abortion or family planning and reproductive rights services.

This year’s Diwang Pinay hosts an array of performances from talented pinays from San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, with acts like spoken word artist and rapper Ruby Ibarra, singing and poetry by members of the Galing Bata Afterschool Program, and an in-progress teaser for Pinay Stories, a production by an entire Filipina cast. There will be an art gallery on display and a silent auction showcasing art work of different mediums by artists such as Dianne Que of Hurley Sashimi Handmade, Faye Lacanilao, Raisa Cuevas, Vee Caragay, and a live art session by Niki Escobar.

Join us on Friday, April 29, 2011, from 7 to 9 P.M. at the Cesar Chavez Student Center-Jack Adams Hall at San Francisco State University: 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132. The suggested donation will be a sliding scale of $7-12, $5 for students ages 10-17 with a valid student ID, and free for children under the age of 10. For more information, visit Diwang Pinay’s official website at https://sites.google.com/site/sfdiwangpinay.

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–
“The very time I thought I was lost, my dungeon shook and my chains fell off.”

Another Summer, Another Exposure Trip!

Ever since LFS-SFSU has existed, one of our main goals has been to not only talk about and study the movement in the Philippines, but to experience it for ourselves. As a chapter of LFS in the Philippines and a member organization of BAYAN-USA, we have a direct link to our kasamas in our homeland. With that link, comes the opportunity to visit, study, and integrate with the various mass organizations in the Philippines fighting for National Democracy.

Each summer we plan “Baliksambayanan”, our annual exposure trip to the Philippines. The number of exposurists can vary year-to-year. Sometimes we have over 10, others times there are less than 5. Also, you don’t have to be Filipino to attend the exposure trip. We welcome anyone who wants to learn about our movement and how our kasamas organize in the Philippines. However, there is a process. We always say: “The exposure trip begins as soon as you commit yourself to the trip.” That means much preparation months before you leave.

This year, we are proud to have sponsored Jack Stephens, LFS member and former Educational Development Officer (2007-2008). Though he is our lone exposurist this year, we are very excited for him and know that he will receive the same rich and life-changing experience others have had before him. Though Jack is not Filipino, he has done much work for LFS throughout his years as a member and an officer. It’s all about international solidarity yall!

Jack will be in the Philippines for 3 weeks, integrating with various sectors of society such as the workers through Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and peasants through Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP). Jack will be writing about his experiences in the Philippines through his blog, The Mustard Seed. Check it out! Especially if you’re interested in participating in Baliksambayanan one day, or with any of our other BAYAN-USA organizations or with other programs that connect you back home, such as the Philippine Studies Program. He’s already put up a couple entries up.

We look forward to the stories and lessons learned. Good luck Jack! See you in 3 weeks!

ILPS: ON THE COUP D’ETAT IN HONDURAS

ON THE COUP D’ETAT IN HONDURAS
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
08 July 2009

Honduras President Manuel Zelaya Rosales (UPI Photo/Monika Graff)

Riot police disperse supporters of ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya near the presidential residency in Tegucigalpa (Esteban Felix / Associated Press)

Before the dawn of June 28 in Honduras, some 200 heavily armed soldiers of
the Honduran army stormed the residence of elected President Jose Manuel
Zelaya, took him at gunpoint and drove him to an airplane that flew him to
Costa Rica. A few hours later, the National Congress comprised of the
country’s oligarchs quickly installed erstwhile Speaker of the House Don
Roberto Micheletti Bain as “interim president” who read a bogus letter of
resignation allegedly signed by Zelaya himself.  Later in the day, the
military arrested members of Zelaya’s cabinet, detained the ambassadors of
Venezuela and Cuba, began hunting down leaders of progressive mass
organizations and imposed a nationwide curfew.

This brazen takeover by the top brass of the Honduran Armed Forces and the
country’s traditional oligarchs has outraged the Honduran people who have
now taken to the streets to reject the putschists. Unions, students, women
and other social sectors have launched a general strike, setting up
barricades and defying the curfew imposed by the Micheletti government. The
army, headed by US-trained General Romeo Vasquez, has responded with
increasing violence which has so far resulted in at least two deaths, over a
hundred injured and hundreds more imprisoned.

The international community has roundly condemned the coup d’état and the
escalating violence of the army in Honduras. The General Assembly of the
United Nations has unanimously denounced the military takeover and demands
the restoration of Zelaya to the Honduran Presidency.  But the de facto
Micheletti government, with the support of the Army, the National Congress,
the Supreme Court and local mass media, continues to defy the Honduran
people and international opinion.

The coup d’état in Honduras is a desperate attempt by ultra-rightist forces
within the traditional pro-US Honduran elite to stem the rising tide of
change swelling from below.