The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) today joins all anti-imperialist and democratic forces around the world in the global day of action to protest and resist imperialist plunder, state repression, and wars of aggression perpetrated by monopoly capitalism in the name of profits.
We condemn the government of President Benigno S. Aquino III for continuing the programs and policies that have allowed the wanton plunder and exploitation of the country's natural resources by corporations from the imperialist countries. The reckless large-scale corporate mining for exports, for instance, such as the case of Japanese giant Sumitomo in the town of Claver, Surigao del Norte, has not only severely harmed our environment but has also escalated the violation of the human rights of the mining workers and adjacent communities of peasants and indigenous peoples. Yet mining remains among the priority areas of the Aquino administration as outlined in its Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 wherein mining was identified as one of the key priority areas of government to achieve supposed "inclusive growth" with the goal of increasing by 100% the country's export of minerals by the end of Aquino's term.
We also call on all Filipinos to continue resisting all attempts by members of the political elite, as pushed by the monopoly capitalists and their agents, to further open up the domestic economy for imperialist plunder and exploitation through the notorious Charter change (Cha-cha). The latest revival of moves to tinker with the 1987 Constitution to introduce amendments that will allow 100% foreign ownership of lands, public utilities, media and educational institutions, etc. as well as further liberalize the participation of foreign companies in the exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources could only be but the result of the persistent pressure from the imperialist powers. Note that groups such as the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), US Trade Representative (USTR), and the European Union (EU), among others, have consistently pointed out the need for Cha-cha to supposedly spur economic growth and development. If implemented, Cha-cha will not only satisfy the narrow, self-serving political agenda of the ruling elite but it will also facilitate the all-out attack to whatever little is left of our patrimony and sovereignty, of our lands, jobs, and industries.
We denounce the continuing military presence and intervention of the US in the Philippines and the puppetry of the Aquino administration to allow such blatant violation of our national sovereignty and the human rights of our people. We are further enraged that the US and the Philippines are even using natural disasters and the consequent sufferings of our people – which in the first place are aggravated by years of neglect and wrong policies of the national government – and the lack of development projects in the countryside to justify their joint military exercises. The latest of these war games, called the RP-US Amphibious Landing Exercise (Phiblex), for instance, focuses on "the interoperability of the Philippine and US militaries in post-conflict response through the conduct of disaster rehabilitation and rural development projects." These military exercises also serve to fan the raging territorial dispute in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China and other claimants, and exposes us to an unnecessary armed conflict with our neighbors, instead of promoting diplomatic means to resolve the territorial dispute. As part of the Phiblex, for example, joint marine exercises will be conducted by Filipino and American troops in Palawan, which is near the disputed Spratlys.
The Filipino people's struggle for national democracy and independence, and against imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism forms part of the greater and wider anti-imperialist and democratic struggles happening around the world. We are in solidarity with the youth and unionists occupying the Wall Street in New York to protest against corporate greed and bank bailouts while ordinary Americans remain homeless and jobless, to the pro-democracy and anti-imperialist forces in the Middle East and North Africa. The still raging crisis of overproduction of the global monopoly capitalist system continue to create the most favorable conditions to arouse, organize, and mobilize the greatest number of people worldwide to bring an end to imperialism and build a truly just and humane economic and political system.
from: bayan.ph
