Philippines - Campesinos on the street - Corruption in the Palace

international | crime and justice | other press

Saturday June 11, 2005 12:02

by iosaf

To understand the Globalised world you must compare & contrast more than just the Americas & Africa.

For the last 48 hours, the situation in Manila, Philippines has worsened...

Campesinos in their thousands have marched to the presidential palace demanding that the president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo resign (she was elected in may 2004).
They have been water cannon-ed by the police and many are injured. They have not left the city. There have been reports of a "coup d'etat" in the last week, which set against a history of over 20 military interventions, merely signals that certain military officers are "taking an interest".

Today's national day is thought tosee tensions peak.

This follows consistent allegations of c-o-r-r-u-p-t-i-o-n, which have at all levels dogged the Pacific republic, made up of 7000 islands and counting on a population of roughly 85 million.

Manilla yesterday.

Immediate Cause:

A recording which implies the president is embroiled in gambling carcel corruption has emerged and for some proves a non-constitutional, non-democratic, and downright illegal influencing of the general election in 2004 topped with old fashioned fraud.
The recording is in the hands of a former member of the Philippino intelligence services, who is in hiding.

Factoids:
the Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries to live in, on earth. Natural disasters abound, from earthquakes to volcanos, from tsunamis to shark-infested waters to jungles where everything wants to bite you and then there's the people, piracy (the real kind) flourishes in the narrow waters which for most are off the tourist trail, and many of the islands are for most practical purposes "unexplored". Proof of which might be the surprise "discovery" of two soldiers of the japanese WW2 imperial army on outlying islands in mid 2004.

There are seperatist muslim fundamentalist factions who "with the support of AlQ" fought a low intensive campaign against western tourism interests mostly located on the beaches of islands in the west of the archipelago, and built on Au$tralian channeled finance but they only *ethnically* represent about 5% of the population.
It is believed that those responsible for the Bali hotel bombing are in hinding in the Philippines.

The republic is poor. So poor that its credit rating for that type of thing, at both IMF and World Bank was put almost irrevocably into the black in the last year, if you're an trans-national financeer, you're not going near the Philippines. As a result the country has lost much of its temporary "globalised precarity" production industry which once ensured that most electronic and electrical goods in western stores counted at least one part made in the philippines. The sweatshops have moved out and on...

And they have moved (because their financial sector is not australian) to Taiwan, the new economic zones of China, and wherever the Japanese can make things cheaper...

The Philippines is thus one of those "grey area" countries of the "imperialist congress G8" where no one power (or as more usual two) may claim influence. The Pacific rim is meddled in by -
USA, Australia, Japan, China and EU.

links español (((though not their territory, most philippinos speak creolo [or pidgeon] dialects of 7 differing Formosian tongues heavil influenced by español, and with over 80% of the population professing RC belief, there is still migration to Spain a one time colonial power in the archipelago and because of language and geographic proximity Latin America)))
http://www.cerestvnoticias.com/portal/noticias/noticia.asp?canal=internacional&fecha=20050611&hora=103212
http://www.europapress.es/europa2003/noticia.aspx?cod=20050611103212&tabID=1&ch=69
http://www.lahora.com.ec/noticiacompleta.asp?noid=345219
http://www.prensalatina.com.mx/Article.asp?ID=%7B4752300F-16BB-4577-9150-777849829D53%7D&language=ES
http://actualidad.terra.es/nacional/articulo/gobierno_calma_aumenta_seguridad_ataques_346795.htm
http://www.larioja.com/pg050611/prensa/noticias/Mundo/200506/11/RIO-MUN-068.html
http://actualidad.terra.es/nacional/articulo/presidencia_gobierno_calma_poblacion_campana_346737.htm
http://www.prensalatina.com.mx/article.asp?ID=%7B06A18CF9-4B7F-4C05-A9FF-1605B2768EDB%7D&language=ES
http://www.eldiariomontanes.es/pg050611/prensa/noticias/Internacional/200506/11/DMO-INT-117.html

ENGLISH
latest link BBC (((now kids this is not really aunty beebs territory)))
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4077068.stm
background
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4614393.stm

Australian media:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1389822.htm
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0610philippines10-ON.html
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1389974.htm

THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES?

the bourgois of Manila today wonder what's in store for them, as the farmers march on the city, protesting not for the name "manila mango" which is subject of a international trade law suit with Mexico whose farmers also package fruit under the same name, but rather for their sons and daughters.
You must understand, that land ownership in the third world is grossly unfair and mismanaged.
Thus the children of campesino's have no option but to follow their work options in either the cities, facing all the deprivation of 3rd world urbanism, or (if girls) in the purpose built sweatshop towns.

The average age your kid leaves is about 14.

But this is not an issue for the Manilla bourgois,
rather they're troubled by the dishing their judicial system has received from Hong Kong media
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2005/jun/11/yehey/opinion/20050611opi1.html
http://www.mb.com.ph/OPED2005061136659.html

US based telecommunication companies use the Philippines as their call centre pacific hub.
The USA's only experience in direct imperialism was the Philippines which they annexed in the 20th century.

Chinese view "the mother of all tapes":-
http://english.people.com.cn/200506/11/eng20050611_189711.html