Day of Action: Junk the VFA, Justice for the Abducted

**Please forward widely**

DAY OF ACTION AGAINST THE VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT

10 years of the VFA = 10 years of military occupation, abductions, and rape

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

PROTEST and Meeting with the Philippine Consulate General

3:30pm

@ the Philippine Consulate [**note location change**]

447 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Teach-In on the VFA

6pm

@ SOMCAN

1070 Howard Street (c/s: 7^th Street)

San Francisco, CA
Both events featuring special guest speaker Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and representatives of BAYAN-USA, GABRIELA USA and NAFCON-Norcal

In the wake of the abduction of Filipino American human rights advocate and health worker Melissa Roxas and her companions Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Handoc, please join BAYAN-USA and GABRIELA USA as we condemn the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and demand justice for victims of abduction and all human rights violations with an action and educational forum on the 10th anniversary of the VFA’s ratification.

GABRIELA USA Denounces US-Philippine Collusion in the Acquittal of a High-Profile Military Rape Case

For Immediate Release
April 23, 2009

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chair, GABRIELA USA, 415-244-9734

GABRIELA USA Denounces US-Philippine Collusion in the Acquittal of a High-Profile Military Rape Case

Filipina-Americans in the United States express our disgust and anger at the news that the Court of Appeals in the Philippines has acquitted Lance Corporal Smith in the 2005 rape case of “Nicole.” Lcpl. Smith was convicted of raping “Nicole” on December 4, 2006, and legalities around custody and sentencing has been ongoing for the past three years. Due to the highly contentious Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Smith has been in the custody of the U.S. Embassy instead of a Philippine prison. However, on March 12 of this year, a questionable recantation by “Nicole” was released while in the same month, monetary compensation and the termination of her legal counsel casted doubt on who prepared the content of the affidavit.

In this long and dirty case, US and Philippines collusion through loopholes in the VFA have demonstrated that in the Philippines, the rule of law and justice are commanded by American interests and corrupt politicians. The Court of Appeals has failed Filipino women worldwide. Instead of holding Smith accountable of rape, the appellate court has repealed the justice that was already rightfully won by “Nicole” and her family. After years of struggling and fighting with huge and broad support from Filipino organizations like GABRIELA in the Philippines and worldwide, Smith’s acquittal from his legitimate conviction in 2006 is a betrayal to both Nicole and her loved ones, but also to all of the Filipino women, children and men who have been victims of sexual assault and crimes by US military servicemen.

SMITH ACQUITTAL A COLLABORATIVE MANEUVER BY ARROYO & US GOV’T TO PROTECT VFA

RP court acquits US Marine convicted of raping Filipina

MANILA, Philippines – Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, the American who was earlier convicted by a lower court of raping a Filipina in Subic, was acquitted by the Court of Appeals (CA).

The Philippines has many ‘Nicoles’

The Philippines has many “Nicoles,” but only Suzette Nicolas was served justice when the Makati Regional Trial Court convicted Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith of rape on December 4, 2006.

From 1981 to 1988, when the US military bases were in the Philippines, 3,274 cases of abuse of women and children were filed against US servicemen in Subic and Clark. However, not one of the US servicemen was convicted.

Data from the Olongapo City prosecutor’s office showed that during the same period, cases of rape and sexual abuse involving children ages 11 to 16 were filed against US servicemen. Another 82 cases of sexual abuse involving young women were also recorded. All of these cases were dismissed.

Ninety-seven of these cases, in which 15 children were involved, were filed by the non-government Bikolana Gabriela against American soldiers in Clark and Subic.

Smith was the first-ever American military personnel who was convicted of committing a crime on Philippine soil since the establishment of the US military bases at the Subic Bay Naval Base in Zambales province and Clark Air Base in Angeles, Pampanga and the passage of the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999. – GMANews.TV

News Release
April 23, 2009

Reference: Rhonda Ramiro, Secretary-General, BAYAN USA, email: secgen@bayanusa.org

SMITH ACQUITTAL A COLLABORATIVE MANEUVER BY ARROYO & US GOV’T TO PROTECT VFA– BAYAN USA

BAYAN-USA, an alliance of Filipino organizations in the United States, declared the recent court acquittal of US Marine Daniel Smith of a rape conviction back in 2006 as a collaborative move by the US and Arroyo governments to protect the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The controversial decision comes right after a Philippine Supreme Court (SC) ruling to probe into the circumstances surrounding the affidavit issued by rape victim Nicole and the leakage of a draft Court of Appeals (CA) ruling of acquittal for Smith last week, prompting CA officials to act fast.

The 2005 rape of 22 year-old Filipina Nicole leading to the 2006 trial and conviction US Lance Corporal Smith was a landmark case that marked the first time in the 100+ history of US military presence in the country that a US military personnel was actually convicted under the Philippine judicial system for a crime committed in the Philippines. But the events following the celebrated conviction, beginning with Smith’s transfer of custody from Philippine jurisdiction to the US Embassy drew such outrage and condemnation from the streets that it sparked a burgeoning patriotic movement inside Philippine Congress to abrogate the 10 year-old VFA military agreement, which allows for the “temporary basing” of US military troops in over 20 ports throughout the Philippine archipelago.

Need some JUFRAN on that blog?

Every Spring, LFS has a peer mentorship program called “JUFRAN“, which stands for Journey to Understand Forgotten Reasons to Act Now. This semester-long program helps integrate interns into the different issues, politics, and community work that LFS is involved in. Interns meet every week for a workshop/ educational discussion, go on field trips, and have kick-its with each other and other LFS members. All of this culminates into a final project that the interns work on as a group.

This year, LFS have an awesome group of 10 ‘JUFRANians’. Every week, they are required to write a journal entry about what they learned in the previous workshop and to share something creative with the rest of the group. LFS is so proud of the creativity that’s been coming out of this year’s batch, that we want to share it with all of you. Eventually, we hope to post one journal from each JUFRANian. We hope you enjoy!

The following entry is from JUFRANian (and newest member of LFS) Kristina Nagales. It comes after last week’s workshop which focused on Imperialism and Globalization.

“Bag Lady”

Throughout this entire ED my family was constantly on my mind. Imperialism+Globalization does equal bad. It breaks my heart to think of how my loved ones are struggling in the Philippines. My own blood must question if they’re going to make it through a single day, week, and month. My dad’s side lives in the Bicol and right now things in this area are not good, especially with the issue of the VFA. I fear for their well being everyday. I pray to God that they are able to eat, stay safe, and have the strength to keep fighting. I really enjoyed the part on how the women in the Philippines are being effected by Imperialism and Globalization. One of my cousins is a prostitute. This is not something she wants to do, but was forced to do. In order for her family to survive she feels she needs to sell her body for money. She is a beautiful, intelligent, and kind spirited person. But her spirit is slowly dying every time she walks out the door and goes to work. So many people are suffering and these people are my family. I wish I could do more to help them because this issue hits close to home. Education is a very important part to this aspect because I believe this is the first step towards change.
I really liked the game we played in the beginning of the ED. It was fun and a really good energizer. I also enjoyed the last activity we did in groups. It was cool to see all the different forms of awareness we used to discuss the topic. I love how we have so many talented Jufranians. Each person’s talent was used to relay an important message.

The effects of Imperialism and Globalization on women → Prostitution
~Dedicated to Ate Grace~

On Tax Day: Cancel the $400 Million Payment of U.S. Tax Dollars for Human Rights Violations

**Please forward widely**

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 15, 2009

Reference: Rhonda Ramiro, Secretary General, secgen@bayanusa.org

On Tax Day: Cancel the $400 Million Payment of U.S. Tax Dollars for Human Rights Violations

Filipino Alliance in the U.S. Calls for End to Costly Balikatan War Exercises in the Philippines

Today, 138 million people in the U.S. will file their income taxes and pay a third or more of their income to the U.S. government. Today, 8,000 miles away in the Philippines, the U.S. will launch military exercises and begin its spending spree of $400 million taxpayer dollars over the next 10 years to pay for military war games, training, and materiel that fuel violence, rape, killings, abductions, and other human rights violations against innocent civilians.

BAYAN-USA condemns the continuation of the joint military exercises between Philippine and U.S. troops in the Bicol region of the Philippines, which begins today and runs through April 28. The resumption of the so-called Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) exercises clearly indicates that President Barack Obama has not fundamentally revised the foreign policy of his predecessor. The Balikatan exercises show that the U.S. continues to use its military power to enhance its geopolitical interests in the world, at the cost of innocent lives in countries like the Philippines and hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars that are desperately needed for education, health care, affordable housing, and other domestic services.

Can Filipino Women Survive the Deluge? Freedom of Fear

Can Filipino Women Survive the Deluge?

from ULAT LILA publications

created by Center for Women Research in the Philippines

Now, more than ever, the issue of security among the Filipino women are at stake.  The basic rights of freedom from fear and freedom from want have to be considered during these difficult times.  The freedom from fear is once again being threatened by the continuing presence of the US military soldiers the country through the Visiting Forces Agreement. Their presence is in the guise of guarding the people against “terrorism”.  The freedom from want is at risk by the worsening economic crisis. The global economic depression contributes to the chronic problem of impoverishment in the country.

These are chronic issues that could hardly be solved by 2015, as what the deadline of the Medium Development Goal (MDG) has declared. These are issues with a systemic problem and can only be solved through a systemic change.