Blog ng Kabataan

http://www.bulatlat.com/2007/05/military-behind-killing-pollwatchers-bicol-kabataan-party-list

Witnesses and evidences gathered by human rights and people’s organizations point to the military as the perpetrators in the abduction and killing of two Kabataan (Youth) Party-list poll watchers last May 15.

BY ZOFIA LEAL
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 16 May 27-June 2, 2007

Last May 15, Ronilo Brezuela, 16 years old, and Roberto “Jun Jun” Bagasbas, Jr., 20 years old, were abducted and then killed at Camarines Norte. Both were members of Kabataan (Youth) Partylist. The two were abducted after bringing food to their poll watchers last May 15.

An investigation by Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights)- Camarines Norte and local people’s organizations revealed the following series of events that took place from May 14-May 19:

* May 14: Ronilo asked permission from his mother to attend a fiesta at Brgy. Old Camp and said that he would be sleeping at a friend’s house.

By the end of April, Jun Jun told his father that he would go to Manila to look for work.
* May 15: Ronilo and Jun Jun brought food to the poll watchers at the Capalonga polling precinct in Brgy Old Camp. They were leaving the place when abducted by armed men.

According to some of his neighbors, they last saw Ronilo with Jun Jun last May 15, at around 7 a.m.
* May 16, 2007: At around 2 p.m members of the CNPO (Camarines Norte People’s Organization) of Brgy. Mataqui ( three kilometers away from Poblacion, Capalonga) were able to speak with the person ordered by the military to drop the two bodies at his barrio. He then placed the bodies on his paragos (a cart that is pulled by a carabao) on his way to the barrio. He also went to the city to rent a vehicle to transport the bodies.

On that same day, the radio program Bombo Radio Daet reported that the Philippine Army claimed that there had been an encounter between the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Philippine Army at Capalonga and that there had been two NPA casualties.

Fr. Abel, the parish priest of Capalonga, blessed the two bodies that night. According to Fr. Abel, one of the bodies had a broken lip, a cut in his chin, and a hole on the left side of his chest. According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), the body was stabbed and had a gunshot wound.
* May 17, 2007: Roberto Bagasbas Sr., the father of Jun Jun, received news that there were two dead bodies at the plaza of Capalonga and that one of the bodies resembled his son. Bagasbas then went immediately to Capalonga and saw two plywood boxes where the bodies were placed. Bagasbas was able to peep through the boxes by removing three nails. He then saw the face of his son, Jun Jun. Bagasbas noticed that the skin on Jun Jun’s chin was removed and that he had a hole in his chest. Jun Jun’s feet and hands were also tied. The smell of the rotting body was already strong. At around 12 noon Bagasbas asked permission from the PNP to take his son’s body home.

Jun Jun’s body was embalmed at Funeraria Adea. According to the embalmer, the body was sadistically tortured. The body of Jun Jun was covered with a plastic bag before being placed in the coffin because the smell was strong.
* May 19, 2007: Anita Brezuela (Ronilo’s mother) was informed by her neighbors that her son is dead and was already buried.

The remains of Jun Jun was buried at the cemetery of Brgy. Dahican.

Karapatan and people’s organizations in Camarines Norte point to soldiers from Alpha Company of the 31st Infantry Battalion based in Tigbinan, Labo, Camarines Norte as the perpetrators.

Marites Lopez, Kabataan Partylist spokesperson in Bicol said, “Naniniwala kami na ito ay bahagi ng pandarahas ng militar at gubyernong Arroyo sa aming hanay upang pigilan ang tagumpay ng Kabataan Partylist sa Bicol. Pilit na pinagtatakpan ng militar ang kanilang krimen sa pagpapalabas ng iresponsableng pahayag na namatay ang dalawang kabataan sa isang engkwentro.” (We believe that this is part of the violence being perpetrated by the military and the Arroyo government against our ranks to hinder the success of Kabataan Party-list in Bicol. The military is covering up their crime by saying that the two died in an encounter.)

Lopez added that the military’s claim that they are not intervening in the elections and that the elections held in Bicol was peaceful is not true. Lopez said that they have evidence and data that can show that the military and its agents are directly involved in the harassment of Kabataan Party-list and other progressive party-list members.

In the last poll results for party-lists in the Bicol Region, Kabataan is already in the top 10. Citing the poll results, Lopez said, “Abot-kamay na namin ang tagumpay dito sa Bicol at amin itong inaalay kasabay ng pinakamataas na pagpupugay sa dalawang kasama naming nagbuwis ng buhay para bantayan ang boto ng kabataan at mamamayang Bikolano at isulong ang pulitika ng pag-asa, pakikibaka at pagbabago,” (Victory is already within our reach here in Bicol and we are offering this together with our highest praise to our two comrades who risked their lives to guard the votes of the youth and the people of Bicol and uphold the politics of hope, struggle and change.) Bulatlat

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=65336

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 10:38am (Mla time) 05/11/2007

MANILA, Philippines — The Kabataan (Youth) party list group has started holding its Miting de Avance in cyberspace with a little help from prominent Filipino bloggers.

With barely a day before the last day of campaigning, the Kabataan party list organized a “viral marketing” campaign that led by Filipino bloggers who are connected to a larger network of Filipino bloggers, first nominee Raymond Palatino told INQUIRER.net.

This final push, dubbed “Kabataan Cyber-Fever,” hopes to encourage more “educated voters” to vote for the party list group.

Among the local bloggers tapped are Shari Cruz (misteryosa.com), who bagged the Best Personal Blog Award in this year’s Philippine Blog Awards; Victor Villanueva (bikoy.net), who is also a finalist in the same category; Jay Rocas from the De La Salle University in Dasmarinas (Four-eyed Journal), and; Vencer Crisostomo (Student Strike) and Sarah Katrina Maramag (Adarna’s Attic) of the Young Radicals blog.

The group said that prominent political blogger and analyst Manuel L. Quezon III has also endorsed the party list group in his blog (www.quezon.ph).

A blogger himself, Palatino said this effort is consistent with their campaign strategy that was launched in cyberspace through popular video hosting service YouTube. The campaign involved a short video clip featuring popular youth artists and personalities.

Palatino maintains his own blog (mongser’s nest) and is Global Voices Online’s Filipino correspondent.

Meanwhile, the group disclosed that Filipino-American youth organizations and cause-oriented groups supportive of the party list group have organized a campaign using text messaging.

Dubbed TEXT B.A.C.K. Internet Blast, the effort involves supporters sending a blast of text messages to friends and relatives to encourage them to vote for the youth party list group.

Kabataan said this initiative is led by the US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, called TEXT BACK (TEXT Brigade Against Cheating and Killings).

Last Sunday, May 6, starting 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time and 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time in the United States, the group sent “nationally coordinated text messages” from subscribers in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu and other US cities to various Philippine cities including Manila, Baguio, Davao and Cebu City.

Text messages were written in English and different dialects incuding Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano.

The messages include catch-phrases that focus on battling cheating and opposing political killings.

“It is estimated that one Filipino in the US supports 4-5 Filipinos in the Philippines. Fil-Ams are the largest overseas community outside of the Philippines, with almost 4 million Filipinos. With those
calculations we anticipate TEXT BACK USA spreading like wildfire reaching thousands, maybe more, of our countrymen this final week of before elections,” stated Sarah Katrina Maramag, Media Officer of Kabataan Party List in Manila and of the international Filipino youth organization known as Anakbayan.

Meanwhile, he said that the party list group was endorsed Thursday by consumer and mobile rights advocacy group TXTPower.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=65353

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 03:57pm (Mla time) 05/11/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Ten senatorial candidates have been endorsed by a youth partylist group, saying it believes that they will serve as the “youth’s voice” in Congress.

Youth partylist group Kabataan (The Youth) has endorsed 10 senatorial candidates whom they believe will serve as the “youth’s voice” in Congress.

Kabataan (The Youth) said it has chosen Genuine Opposition candidates Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel Jr., Sonia Roco, Dominique “Nikki” Coseteng, Manuel “Manny” Villar, and independent candidate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan for their accomplishments in youth and students’ rights to education and employment.

Kabataan also endorsed TEAM Unity’s Joker Arroyo and Ralph Recto and GO’s Alan Peter Cayetano whom they believed upheld human rights and fought against political repression.

It said that it was also supporting GO’s Loren Legarda who had been vocal about the importance of youth representation in Congress.

Raymond Palatino, Kabataan national president and nominee, said that the party chose these candidates because they believed that they were the “champions of and for the youth’s cause.”

“On May 14, we encourage youth and students to vote for these candidates. Let us vote for principled leadership and meaningful change in government. Let the youth decide who among the senatorial candidates are worthy of serving the country,” said Palatino in a statement.

Meanwhile, the partylist group also announced Friday that it would hold a Protest de Mayo at the Plaza Miranda in Manila where participants would be wearing “gowns” highlighting issues on electoral fraud and violence.

The parade will commence in a nationally-coordinated noise barrage along España later on Friday.

Kabataan also said that supporters would hold a camp-out vigil in front of Comelec on May 12 to ask for clean and honest elections.

At least 17 party-list groups poised to win

Inquirer
Last updated 05:26am (Mla time) 05/11/2007

MANILA, Philippines — At least 17 of the 93 party-list groups could win seats in the House of Representatives, with Bayan Muna topping the list followed by Akbayan, according to results of a nationwide survey conducted by Social Weather Stations on May 2-4.

Bayan Muna had 8.4 percent of the votes, followed closely by Akbayan with 8.2 percent.

Although the number of votes they got last week declined from last month’s 10.4 percent (Bayan Muna) and 9.8 percent (Akbayan), the two groups could retain their current three seats each.

Fifteen more groups have a statistical chance of winning at least one seat each in the House.

Under the 2-percent rule, a group that gets 2 percent of the votes cast for the party-list system is entitled to one seat in the House, according to SWS. A group can have a maximum of three seats, or 6 percent of the votes.

Under this rule, the 17 party-list groups could take a total of 23 seats in the House.

However, the Supreme Court’s “Veterans Formula,” in its October 2000 decision in Veterans Federation Party v the Commission on Elections, provides that the allocation of seats to party-list groups depends on the total number of votes garnered by the top party-list.

Other party-list groups that made the cut were Luzon Farmers Party (Butil, 4.9 percent), Buhay Hayaan Yumabong (Buhay, 4.2 percent), Gabriela (3.9 percent), Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Toward Educational Reforms Inc. (A Teacher, 3.6 percent) and Ahon Pinoy (Ahon, 3.5 percent);

Citizen’s Battle Against Corruption (Cibac, 3.4 percent), Aangat Tayo (AT, 3 percent), Agricultural Sectoral Alliance of the Philippines Inc. (Agap, 2.7 percent), Anakpawis (2.7 percent) and Ahonbayan (2.6 percent);

Cooperative-Natcco Network Party (Coop-Natcco, 2.3 percent), Abakada Guro (Abakada, 2.2 percent), Kabataan (2.1 percent), Anak Mindanao (Amin, 2.1 percent), and Kapatiran ng mga Nakulong na Walang Sala Inc. (Kakusa, 2 percent).

Butil and Buhay were each poised to get two seats, while the rest of the groups would each get one seat, according to SWS.

However, if the Veterans Formula were applied, all the groups would get only one seat each, except for Bayan Muna, which would still get three seats.

Poised to retain their current seats in the House were Buhay (2), and Gabriela, Cibac, Coop-Natcco and Amin (1 each).

Anakpawis is poised to retain only one of the two seats it currently holds.

Nominees

The nominees of Bayan Muna are Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares.

Akbayan — Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, Walden Bello and Enrico Dayanghirang.

Butil — Leonila Chavez, Agapito Guanlao and Herminio Ocampo.

Buhay — (1st set) Hans Christian Señeres, Hermenegildo Dumlao and Antonio Bautista; (2nd set) Rene Velarde, Ma. Carissa Coscolluela and Wiliam Irwin Tieng.

Gabriela — Liza Maza, Luzviminda Ilagan and Flora Belinan.

A Teacher — Mariano Piamonte, Ulpiano Sarmiento III and Carolina Porio.

Ahon — Dante Francis M. Ang II, Bernardo F. Ople and Ernesto Herrera III.

Cibac — Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, Luis Lokan Jr. and Cinchona Gonzales.

Aangat Tayo — Daryl Grace Abayon, Eden Debulgado Rivera and Meriam Lasta Paylaga.

Agap — Nicanor Briones, Cesar Cobrador and Rosalinda Dacanay.

Anakpawis — Crispin Beltran, Rafael Mariano and Joel Maglunsod.

Ahonbayan — Edgar Catarongan, Edgardo Manda and Raden Sakaluran.

Coop-Natcco — Guillermo Cua, Jose Ping-ay and Cresente Paez.

Abakada — Jonathan de la Cruz, Samson Alcantara and Cecilia Dy.

Kabataan — Raymond Palatino, Enrico Almonguerra and Mary Francis Veloso.

Amin — Mujiv Hataman, Ariel Hernandez and Arnel Arbison.

Kakusa — Ranulfo Canonigo, Omar Rivera and Ma. Jesusa Sespeñe.

Only 53 percent of voters

The last installment in the three-part series of SWS surveys with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net, as its exclusive media partner also found that 53 percent of some 45 million registered voters chose a party-list group from the official Commission on Elections list. This was equivalent to 23.9 million votes.

The survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 registered voters divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Just below threshold

Groups “just below the threshold but within statistical reach” include Abanse! Pinay (1.9 percent), Cocofed-Philippine Coconut Producers Federation Inc. (Cocofed, 1.8 percent), Abono (1.7 percent), Advocates for Special Children and the Handicapped Movement (Asahan Mo, 1.5 percent), Alagad (1.5 percent), Veterans Freedom Party (VFP, 1.5 percent), 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1-Utak, 1.5 percent) and Suara Bangsamoro (Suara, 1.5 percent).

Alyansang Bayanihan ng Magsasaka, Manggagawang Bukid at Mangingisda-Adhikain at Kilusan ng Ordinaryong Tao (Aba-Ako, 1.4 percent), Alyansa ng Mamamayang Naghihirap (1.3 percent) and Association of Philippine Electric Cooperative (Apec, 1.3 percent).

Angat Ating Kabuhayan Pilipinas Inc. (Anak, 1.2 percent), Akbay Pinoy OFW-National Inc. (APOI, 1.1 percent), Bagong Alyansang Tagapagtaguyod ng Adhikaing Sambayanan (BATAS, 1 percent) and Assalam Bangsamoro People’s Party (Assalam, 1 percent).

“Allowing for sampling error, with a survey outcome of 3 percent or more, it is statistically safe to say that a party has truly reached the threshold of 2 percent. On the other hand, a survey outcome of below 1 percent makes it statistically very unlikely that the threshold has in truth been reached,” SWS said in a statement released Thursday.

Incumbent party-list groups that scored below the statistical threshold include An Waray (0.6 percent), Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE, 0.1 percent), Ang Laban ng Indiginong Filipino (ALIF, 0 percent) and Partido ng Manggagawa (PM, 0 percent).

An Waray is currently represented by Florencio Noel; AVE by Eulogio Magsaysay; ALIF by Acmad Tomawis, and PM by Renato Magtubo.

Results by area

Akbayan, Gabriela and Ahon met the 2-percent threshold across all areas — Metro Manila, Luzon outside Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Bayan Muna and Kabataan satisfied the 2-percent rule in all areas, except in Mindanao, where Bayan Muna only got 1.7 percent and Kabataan received none (0 percent).

A Teacher and AT missed the threshold only in Metro Manila (1.2 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively), while Cibac missed it in the Visayas (0 percent).

Butil (11 percent) and Ahonbayan (5 percent) drew their support mostly from respondents in the balance of Luzon; Buhay from Metro Manila (11 percent) and the balance of Luzon (5.6 percent), and Amin and Kakusa, from Mindanao ( 10.3 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively).

Coop-Natcco received most of its votes from the Visayas (4.2 percent) and Mindanao (3.3 percent), while Abakada from Metro Manila (3.7 percent) and Mindanao (5.5 percent).

Results by class

By socioeconomic class, the top five groups — Bayan Muna, Akbayan, Butil, Buhay and Gabriela — along with Ahon, Anakpawis and Abakada, satisfied the 2-percent threshold across all classes ABC, D and E.

A Teacher (1.6 percent), AT (0 percent), Ahonbayan (0 percent), Kabataan (1.6 percent) and Amin (0 percent) missed the threshold among members of class ABC, while Cibac (1.8 percent), Agap (1.2 percent) and Coop-Natcco ( 1.8 percent) missed it in class E.

Kakusa drew much of its support from class E (5.7 percent). Kate Pedroso, Inquirer Research

Kabataan partylist was featured in this article….

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=69685

BY MA. ALETA O. NIEVA
abs-cbsNEWS.com

The Internet has made it possible for millions of Filipinos to stay connected online with loved ones working or living abroad, former classmates and friends and even meet thousands more that may be impossible to accomplish in a lifetime. (more…)