Because the Power of the Youth Don’t Stop!!!

There have been numerous articles and statements written about the extra-judicial killings that have occurred in the Philippines since 2001 under the regime of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Philippine-based human rights organization, Karapatan, has been at the forefront of documenting these crimes. But the investigations don’t come without roadblocks, especially from those who are the perpetrators of the abuses. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are supposed to protect the people from threats foreign and domestic, but several organizations have stated that they do the exact opposite. Human Rights Watch has issued reports (“Scared Silent” & “Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines” to name a couple) on the human rights situation and directs blame towards elements of the AFP. The PNP allows these acts to continue because of their lack of action and prosecution of the killers. UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Philip Alston stated in his report that: “The AFP remains in a state of almost total denial”.

With all that said, it is important to remember those who came before us. During these past eight years, three members of LFS in the Philippines have been killed and one more kidnapped and still missing. We seek to remember them and their work. Though we are the only LFS chapter in the U.S., there is a special bond we have with the LFS chapters in the Philippines. Our conditions are different, but the reasons why we joined are similar. We struggle with being a student and organizer, balancing the work with our daily lives, connecting with our peers who seem to have the big picture no where within their vision. While we are thousands of miles apart, we are all members of the LFS, all youth and students, all apart of the National Democratic movement, all fighting for true liberation for all oppressed people around the world. We will continue to fight for peoples’ basic right to change their oppressive conditions.

L-F-L-F-S TUNAY PALABAN MAKABAYAN!

Cris Hugo

-20 years old
-A native of San Julian, Irosin, Sorsogon, Philippines
-Regional Coordinator & National Council member of LFS (Bicol University, College of Arts & Letters)
-4th year Journalism student
-Newly elected Grand Chancellor of the Alpha Phi Omega Chapter at BU
-Killed on March 19, 2006 from multiple gunshots by masked gunmen on motorcycles while walking with a professor from BU

Resources:

“A Small Guy with a Big Conviction”
“LFS-SFSU: Mabuhay si Cris Hugo at ang Kilusang Kabataan”
“Youth Leader Killed in Albay”

JUFRAN Blog: “Turning silence into song”

For the JUFRAN workshop two weeks ago, we showed the interns a documentary called “That the Mountains May Chant the Truth”. It talked about the human rights situation in the context of the Cordillera region of the Philippines. Two summers ago, members of LFS’ Baliksambayanan Exposure Trip integrated with the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. There they saw for themselves the struggle indigenous people in the Philippines face. They’re fighting to preserve their culture, their land, and their people. Unfortunately, those are the same reasons why activists are being targeted and organizations like CPA face repression from their own government. This entry was written by JUFRANian Ian Conde, who is also a member of Anakbayan- East Bay.

Hello,

As much the ND (National Democratic) Movement here in the United States is moving in support of the movement back home in the motherland, the cause is rooted deeper back home. The different sectors are exploited. Women. Youth/Students. Workers. Peasants.  When we all watched the video from the CPA (Cordilleras People’s Alliance) all I can ever really think of was the STK (Stop The Killings) Campaign waged by BAYAN USA. I wear two pins on my backpack to not only show them off as an accessory, but a way to show people what I’m about. I get the occasional “what are those pins for?” & I can tell them with full confidence what they’re for, where I got them, & why I have them on.  As I mentioned the enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings have been escalated ever since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in the RP (Republic of the Philippines.) We may feel anger as our first impulsive emotion when we see videos that are really good at agitating an issue, but as the quote in the video says

“Turning silence into song,”

Message of Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino to the Filipino youth on the historical event of seating the first youth representative in Congress

Kabataan, tayo ang pagbabago.

Message of Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino to the Filipino youth on the historical event of seating the first youth representative in Congress

Five years in the making for the country’s sole youth sectoral party-list, but better late than never and victory is still sweet for all Filipino youth.

Kabataan Party-list, the largest youth party in the country, represented the youth sector in the 2007 elections. It was the second time for our organization to run in the party-list elections. In 2004, we ran under our previous name, Anak ng Bayan, and were among the top choices for party-list based on pre-election surveys. Anak ng Bayan, however, fell prey to massive cheating. A significant number of our votes were anomalously counted in favor of another party-list group, thus our change of name in the 2007 party-list elections.

Despite not winning, we went on with our advocacies and continued to carry on with our principles and general program of action with the help of our founding organizations, such as the National Union of Students of the Philippines, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, League of Filipino Students and Anakbayan and other supporters nationwide and abroad.

Now, five years after our first electoral bid, Kabataan Party-list has finally secured a seat in the House of Representatives per SC GR No. 179271, promulgated April 29, 2009.

Now, we are happy to convey the message to all Filipino youth that the SC Resolution, in effect, has once again marked the youth’s rightful place in history by granting the first ever youth sectoral representation in the House of Representatives.

LFS Music Break! “Kabataan Partylist” by Kiwi & “Awit Ng Kabataan” by Rivermaya

Another LFS music break. In honor of the recent victory of the progressive party-lists, in particular Kabataan Party-list, we present two videos that are dedicated to the youth.

First up, a song by Kiwi that was used to promote the party-list during the last elections.

Lastly, a song by Rivermaya called “Awit Ng Kabataan”. Enjoy!

Breaking News! 1st EVER Youth Sectorial Rep in Philippine Congress!

image from http://happypajimna.files.wordpress.com

LFS- SFSU would like to congratulate the three new progressive reps in Philippine Congress, including our good friend Mong Palatino of the Kabataan Party-list for being the first person to represent the youth and student sector in congress. We’ll miss seeing you around our events and meetings =)

KABATAAN MAKABAYAN, LUMALABAN!

Bayan Muna shall have an additional one rep ( Atty . Neri Colmenares )
Anak Pawis, additional rep ( Joel Maglunsod )
Kabataan Partylist ( Mong Palatino )

MABUHAY!  We have three more reps in Congress.  That makes it EIGHT ND reps in Congress!!

Please forward this news widely to your website, network.

SC strikes blow to Cha-cha, OKs 32 new party-list reps

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by ARIES RUFO, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 04/21/2009 3:14 PM

It was a masterful stroke that could derail Charter change (Cha-cha) initiative on its tracks.

While the House of Representatives prepares to go full-throttle on charter change, the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday allowed 32 more party-list representatives to sit in Congress, changing the configuration in the supposed number of signatures required to bypass the Senate on amending the charter.

National Democratic Youth Join Forces in LA

National Filipino Youth Join Forces in LA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
02 April 2009

References:
Jonna Baldres, Secretary General, Anakbayan New York/New Jersey, jonnabebeh@gmail.com
Katie Joaquin, Secretary General, Anakbayan East Bay, kjoaquin@gmail.com
Maridel Andrada, Secretary General, Anakbayan San Diego, maridel.andrada@gmail.com
Jeff Rice, Secretary General, Anakbayan Seattle, edjop82@gmail.com
Kuusela Hilo, Organizer, Anakbayan Los Angeles, kuusela@gmail.com
Jaye Cho, Secretary General, League of Filipino Students-SFSU, chojaye@gmail.com

National Democratic Filipino Youth Join Forces in LA

LOS ANGELES, CA – The City of Angels had been a witness to the growing movement of Filipino youth in the United States. Last March 27 to 28, the BAYAN USA 3rd National Congress was held at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center in Los Angeles City, California with the theme “Strengthen our alliance and intensify our political struggle against the US-Arroyo clique and for the rights and welfare of Filipinos in the US”.

Among the participating youth and student organizations were chapters of Anakbayan from East Bay (EB), San Diego (SD), Seattle, Los Angeles (LA) and New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) and the League of Filipino Students-San Francisco State University (LFS-SFSU). Also present were US representatives to the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS) Youth Study Commission. Officers of Sandiwa National Alliance of Fil-Am Youth and members of Active Leadership for the Advancement of Youth (ALAY), a community-based youth organization in the Bay Area, San Francisco also attended as observers.

“Two years have passed since the last congress and here we are again — stronger, bigger and more united than ever,” Yancy Gandionco, Vice Chairperson of Anakbayan NY/NJ remarked as the congress had seen the largest number of delegates since the founding assembly of BAYAN USA in 2005.

On March 29, while the GABRIELA USA Founding Assembly was taking place, BAYAN USA member organizations broke out into sector caucuses, one of which is the youth and students sector, the biggest constituting BAYAN USA.

“Even though our sector represents the most number in the US chapter of the alliance, as Filipino youth fighting for national democracy overseas, the task and challenge is still for us to intensify and make known to our compatriots and other nationalities the fight for the rights of the majority of the Filipino people — the workers and the peasants. We believe that our fight is still connected to the fight of our people back home even if most of us grew here in the US,” Sincere Born, Chairperson of Anakbayan Seattle stated.

During the caucus, the youth and student organizations shared experiences and practices in educating, organizing, mobilizing, finance and alliance work among the youth in their respective regions.

ILPS Strength in Unity and Bay Area Grassroots Contingent Mobilized over 200 to Protest the U.S. Imperialist wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan!

 

ILPS bay area grassroots and strength in unity contingent

Hundreds of protesters participated in an anti-war march in downtown San
Francisco demanding an end to the United States-led occupation of Iraq and
Afghanistan. Yesterday marked the sixth year of the invasion and colonial
subjugation of Iraq.

Organized by the International League of People’s Struggle – Bay Area
Organizing Committee, the *Strength in Unity* contingent assembled in a park
near the Embarcadero late in the morning before proceeding to the main
demonstration site at Justin Herman Plaza. Around noon, the group marched
with other formations towards the Civic Center.

The ILPS contingent was composed of 220 students, workers, professionals,
and human rights activities from around the Bay Area communities. The
Philippine delegation was led by BAYAN USA Northern California region and
member organizations Anakbayan East Bay, babae SF, Committee for Human
Rights in the Philippines SF, and League of Filipino Students – San
Francisco State University.  Other members of the contingent included Active
Leadership to Advance the Youth, Arab Resource and Organizing Committee,
Collision Course Video, Chinese Progressive Association, Malcolm X
Grassroots Movement, Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition, General Union of
Palestinian Students of San Francisco State University, Filipino Community
Center, and Viet Unity.

Carrying colorful and big placards recycled from balikbayan boxes,
protesters demanded the Obama administration to stop the criminal and
genocidal occupation of Iraq by removing U.S. troops stationed in the
war-ravaged country. They also criticized Obama’s recent decision to add at
least 17,000 more troops in Afghanistan. The illegal wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan have killed, displaced, and injured millions of innocent Iraqis
and Afghans.