Bericht von Human Rights Watch

Die amerikanische Menschenrechtsorganisation hat ihren neuen Report über die Philippinen heruasgegeben. Er ist hier einzusehen.

Arroyo warnt vor EDSA 3

Auszug aus der "Manila Times" vom 23. Februar 2009:


"The Philippines would turn into an international pariah
if its people staged another uprising bloodless or
not to unseat those in power.
President Gloria Arroyo made the warning on Sunday,
which marked the start of rites marking the 23rd
anniversary of the so-called 1986 people-power revolt
that toppled then-President Ferdnand Marcos.
“The world embraced EDSA 1 in 1986. The world tolerated
EDSA 2 in 2001. The world will not forgive an
EDSA 3 but will instead condemn the Philippines as a
country whose political system is unstable,” President
Arroyo said in her address during the kickoff for EDSA
1 celebrations.
EDSA 2 catapulted her to Malacañang in 2001 after
the incumbent President Joseph “Erap” Estrada was
toppled in another bloodless uprising reminiscent of
EDSA 1. The President’s statements came amid speculations
that she intends to remain in power beyond
2010."

Interview with Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros

Ein Interview mit Risa Hontiveros, Kongress-Abgeordnete der Pateienliste Akbayan, über die Zukunft des CARP:

1. On December 17^th your vote was against the Joint Resolution No. 19 on Agrarian Reform. What reasons did you have?

   Joint Resolution 19 was nothing if not an action designed to remove compulsory acquisition under the guise of CARP extension. Any attempt to make agrarian reform optional and make the rights of farmers vulnerable should be exposed for what it is and condemned. Without compulsory acquisition, the Constitutional mandate to redistribute all agricultural lands will ne rendered inutile.

2. There are plans of Rufus Rodriges to file a bill that restore the essential provision of CARP, the compulsory acquisition and distribution of land. Some farmers group will bring the matter to the Supreme Court in order to examinate whether the Joint resolution is conforming to the law. What do you think about it? And what are the plans of Akbayan? What will you undertake?

   AKBAYAN continues to push for the passage of House Bill 4077, and for the inclusion of more significant reform-oriented amendments. It also supports moves to bring the matter of the Joint Resolution to the Supreme Court so that it may finally be resolved. Its farmers groups will participate in the Supreme Court case as petitioners.

3. Some groups say, the Congress should pass House Bill No. 3059 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill. As much as I know, Akbayan gets involved with the extension of CARP, but not with the one of Genuine Agrarian Reform. What are your reasons?

   AKBAYAN believes that HB 3059 is an unconstitutional measure. It provides for the confiscation of lands from landowners without just compensation, in violation of the constitutional provision that ensures just compensation. Lands defined as “sullied lands” will be confiscated. Under Sections 21-23 HB 3059, the process for the determination and confiscation of “sullied lands” merely involves the conduct of a consultation of affected farmers and the documentation of such cases.

   The process enumerated under said provisions clearly violates Article 3, Section 1 of the Philippine Constitution which guarantees the right of every person to “due process of law.” The process indicated under Sections 21-23 of HB 3059 clearly violates “due process of law” as the landowner of alleged “sullied lands” are not given their “day in court” (likewise, Section 46 of HB 3059 already prohibits the incursion of all judicial courts on all agrarian cases) to answer the claim against their property and are not even allowed to participate in the said “consultations.”

   It also falls short of the constitutional mandate to allow farmers to own their lands. The bill’s title is a misnomer since what is being proposed is not agrarian reform, which under general definition refers to the restructuring of landownership patterns towards “a more equitable distribution and ownership of land”, but rather some form of a stewardship/land allocation program for farmer-beneficiaries as ownership of awarded lands under this bill is not provided to the farmer-beneficiary.

4. In case that President Arroyo signes Joint Resolution No. 19, and there will be no other decision in Congress – what will be in the end of June 2009? What is your forecast? What possibilities will have the farmers? And what result the outcome of CARP will have on the whole society of the Philippines? What does it mean for the feeding of the whole population?

   Our farmers will continue to press for the passage of an agrarian reform law consistent with what is written in the 1987 Constitution. Obviously, the struggle will be much harder as our leaders clearly demonstrated their aversion to agrarian reform and land distribution. The Joint Resolution will certainly impact on Philippine society. Directly, it will impact on the 1.3 million hectares of land yet undistributed and without notices of coverage. Indirectly, it will have a big impact on food security, because it will signal a situation where huge tracts of agricultural land that should be used for food will now be used for industrial/commercial/residential purposes.

IPON macht weiter

Wer auf dem Laufenden bleiben will, was die Menschenrechtsbeobachter von IPON sonst noch alles auf Bondoc erleben, kann hier weiterlesen.



Ein weiterer IPON-Link und noch mehr ist hier zu finden.

Seit kurzem arbeitet IPON auch auf der Insel Negros. Wer sich für die Arbeit dort interessiert, kann sich hier informieren.

Jahrestag des Todes von Julie Deolito

Der 19. Februar ist ein trauriger Tag für die Familie Deolito: An diesem Tag kommt die ganze Familie zusammen, um den ersten Todestag ihres Vaters, Julie Empas Deolito zu begehen.

Genau vor einem Jahr war der Bauern-Anführer, der sich für die Landreform CARP stark gemacht hatte, von drei Männern entführt und ermordet worden. Drei Wochen später fand ihn die Polizei; verscharrt in einer Erdgrube und zu Tode gefoltert.

Bis jetzt sind die Täter immer nicht vor Gericht gestellt und verurteilt.

Das aktuelle Menschenrechtsbeobachter-Team von IPON kümmert sich nach wie vor um die Aufarbeitung des Mordfalles an Julie Empas Deolito. Rosemenia, die Ehefrau des Ermodeten, und ihre Kinder wurden in der Zwischenzeit wiederholt von Unbekannten bedroht. Trotz Zusage von staatlichen Stellen genießt kein Familienmitglied Zeugenschutz. Wie Rosemenia in einem IPON-Interview berichtete, zeigen sich in ihrer Nähe immer wieder Vermummte. Der Hund der Familie wurde vergiftet. Aus Angst um ihre eigene Sicherheit und die ihrer Kinder hat Rosemenia Deolito inzwischen ihr Vorhaben aufgegeben, sich ins Amt als stellvertretende Dorfvorsteherin (Kagawad) wählen zu lassen.

Weiterhin ist IPON auch mit dem Problem der Kriminalisierung konfrontiert: Bauern, die einen Landantrag stellen, werden von den Großgrundbesitzer wegen verschiedener Delikte angezeigt. IPON beobachtete, wie Prozesse nach wie vor systematisch verzögert und kurzfristig verschoben werden. So ziehen sich manche Prozesse über Jahre ohne erkennbare Fortwschritte hin, und die Bauern müssen zu jeden Prozesstag lange Wege auf sich nehmen. Derzeit gibt es der Organisation QUARDDS zufolge allein auf Bondoc 303 Anklagen gegen Antragsteller. 51 von ihnen verstecken sich, da sie mit Haftbefehl gesucht werden und sonst wegen Kokosnussdiebstahls oder ähnlicher Vergehen ins Gefängnis müssen.

Immerhin kam Kagawat Bienvinido (Benito) Mahilom inzwischen frei, der in San Andres wegen neun Fällen von Kokosnussdiebstahls im Gefängnis saß.

Widerstand gegen Resolution No. 19 hält an

Der Widerstand gegen die Resolution Nummer 19, mit welcher der Kongress Ende 2009 den schleichenden Ausstieg aus der Landreform CARP weiterführte, hält unvermindert an. Im Januar bezogen einmal mehr die katholischen Bischöfe Position mit einem offenen Brief:

POSITION PAPER ON JOINT RESOLUTION NUMBER 19

"We, the Bishops of the Catholic Church, are one in opposing Joint Resolution No.19 that was approved by Congress. The resolution was crafted not to extend the implementation of CARP for another six (6) months but to kill agrarian reform.

Joint Resolution No. 19 mandated the removal of the compulsory acquisition mode of land distribution which is the heart and soul of the agrarian reform program. The resolution covers only private agricultural lands whose landowners have offered their lands under the Voluntary Offer to Sell (VOS) and under the Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT).

Joint Resolution No.19 must be stricken down. It is clearly unconstitutional since the Constitution mandates that the State shall undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands. The said provision clearly commands the State to distribute and subject to agrarian reform all lands; not only those that will be covered under the voluntary schemes: Voluntarily Offer to Sell (VOS) and Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT).

Joint Resolution No.19 effectively cancels the distribution of 64 percent (64%) of new lands which are set to be covered by CARP as well as halts the distribution of all lands that are being processed for distribution under the compulsory acquisition mode. JR No.19 clearly discriminates against thousands of farmers who have currently pending application for coverage will not be acted on by government.

The resolution ends Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) under CARP as landowners are not expected to voluntarily offer their lands under CARP. These are mostly private agricultural lands owned by landowners who have been resisting the program for the past twenty (20) years. Landowners of landholdings currently under VOS and VLT are also expected to withdraw their application for VOS and VLT to altogether avoid CARP coverage.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) delivered the final blow on CARP by issuing the DAR Memorandum No. 09-01804. The memorandum is an operational directive that provides the guidelines in implementing the Joint Resolution No.19. However, it worsens the situation by ordering the deferment of the "processing of Compulsory Acquisition (CA) including landholdings already in the pipeline, and survey activities for lands under CA until further notice". Furthermore, the memorandum is prematurely issued because JR No.19 has yet to be signed into law.

Joint Resolution No.19 and DAR Memorandum No. 09-01804 could spark chaos in the countryside as the agrarian reform beneficiaries and landowners are bound to fight head on over the issue. This early, the Joint Resolution No.19 and Memorandum 09-01804 are already being used by landowners to block the distribution of all agricultural lands.

The Congress and the DAR subjected agrarian reform to the discretion of the landowners and removed the compulsion which is the essence of this social justice measure. Such act of emasculation committed by the Congress and DAR gauged against the relevant Constitutional provisions, amounts to a nullity.

We also call on the DAR to stick to its Constitutional mandate of continuing CARP until all agricultural lands are covered and scrap Memorandum 09-01804.

Finally, we call on the President to reiterate her support to CARP extension with reforms by re-issuing certification for HB 4077 and SB 2666 as urgent bills and by pro-actively campaign for the immediate passage of the CARP extension with reforms law."

Die Reform CARP Movement, eine Koalition aus Farmer-Organisationen, NGOs und verschiedenen Parteienlisten, bezogen in einem Positionspapier ebenfalls Stellung. Dabei forderten sie die unverzügliche Weiterführung der Landreform CARP und wiesen auf den Verfassungsbruch hin, der durch die Resolution No. 19 begangen worden sei:

"Joint Resolution No.19 must be stricken down. It is clearly unconstitutional since the Constitution mandates that the State shall undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands. The constitutional provision clearly commands the State to distribute and subject to agrarian reform not only those lands that are voluntarily offered to sell but all agricultural lands.

CARL does not set a deadline. DOJ Opinion No. 009, Series of 1997, and recently DOJ Memorandum dated 10 December 2008, state that the schedule of implementation is merely directory and not mandatory ... Joint Resolution No.19 effectively cancels the distribution of 64 percent (64%) of new lands which are set to be covered by CARP as well as halts the distribution of all lands that are being processed for distribution under the compulsory acquisition mode. Joint Resolution No.19 clearly discriminates against thousands of farmers who have currently pending application for coverage will not be acted on by government."

Durch den Passus der Freiwilligkeit beende die Resolution Landankauf und -verteilung unter dem CARP, da die Landbesitzer vermutlich nicht willens seien, ihr Land freiwillig abzugeben, lautet die Position der Koalition Pro Carp-Koalition weiter.

"We urge Congress and DAR to stop subjecting agrarian reform to the discretion of the landowners. We call on the DAR to exercise political will and stick to its Constitutional mandate of continuing to implement CARP until all agricultural lands are covered. It must rescind Memorandum 09-01804. And finally, we challenge Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to command her anti- agrarian reform partymates in Congress to support the passage of HB 4077."

Neue Entscheidung zum CARP

Im Sommer 2008 lief die philippinische Landreform CARP aus. Da sich die Politiker nicht einigten, hatten sie sich bis Ende Dezember 2008 eine Frist gesetzt, innerhalb der sie über die Zukunft des CARP entscheiden wollten. Ein halbes Jahr lang gab es angespannte Debatten, diverse Hungerstreiks und in vielen Städten Demonstrationen. In ihrer letzten Sitzung vor der Weihnachtspause einigten sich Senat und Kongress in Manila: Sie beschlossen eine neue Resolution, die das CARP um weitere sechs Monate weiterführt. Die Bauern hatten auf eine Verlängerung um fünf Jahre gehofft. Denn so lange würde es laut Experten dauern, bis die verbleibenden 1,3 Millionen Hektar an die Landlosen verteilt sind. Auch diesmal blieben Reformen fürs CARP außen vor. Die Großgrundbesitzer können wie bisher alle gesetzlichen Schlupflöcher gegen ihre ehemaligen Farmarbeiter nutzen. Nach dem Willen der Politiker wird künftig Privatland ohnehin nur noch auf freiwilliger Basis und mit Zustimmung der Großgrundbesitzer verteilt. Die Politiker betonen, dieser Kompromiss sei besser als das definitive Aus fürs CARP - Kritiker sprechen von einer pro Forma -Verlängerung und von einem „schleichenden Tod“ der philippinischen Landreform.

NPA feiert Jubiläum

Während mit der Entscheidung zum CARP die Enttäuschung groß war bei den landlosen Bauern im ganzen Land, hatten die Kämpfer der marxistischen New Peoples Army (NPA) Grund zum Feiern: Ende Dezember begingen sie im Hinterland von Davao City das Jubiläum zum 40-jährigen Bestehen der kommunistischen Partei. Seit 1968 kämpft diese für die Errichtung eines marxistischen Staates in den Philippinen. Menschenrechtsaktivisten und gemäßigte Linke stehen auf diversen Todeslisten der kommunistischen Partei. Die NPA als deren bewaffneter Arm ist verantwortlich für zahlreiche Morde, auch an Anführern der Bauernorganisationen.