there's our catastrophe

Mar 11

GABRIELA: Justice for Cristina Jose

GABRIELA Alliance of Filipino Women condemns the murder of Barug Katawhan leader and typhoon Pablo survivor Christina Morales Jose by an unidentified motorcycle riding assassin in Baganga, Davao Oriental around 6:00 PM on Monday, the 4^th day of Women’s Month [March].

“We condemn the persistence of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines which claimed Jose as latest victim. The circumstances surrounding her murder is suggestive of the ways gunmen kill citizens who have been branded as enemies of the state for criticizing corrupt, unjust and inhumane government programs and policies. We reiterate our condemnation of the government’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan which has made extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations against Filipino women, children and men a despicable pattern under the Aquino administration.”

Feb 7

artivista:

#iamnd #hustisya #karapatanngmamamayan

Jan 8

Filipino Mathematics

(via memejacker)

Dec 11

kapwacollective:

“Unless foreign large-scale extractive mining and other business interests will be stopped, we fear that Mindanao will soon be divided into three: one, foreign companies’ land; two, evacuation centers of both people from disaster stricken areas and those affected by military operations; and three, cemetery.”

- Sr. Stella Matutina, Secretary General of PANALIPDAN-Mindanao, a network of environmental defenders

Read more here: http://bit.ly/11Z2D66
come learn with us - Kapwa Collective

Original artwork by Enrico Maniago - posted with permission of the artist.

Enrico wishes to credit his organization Filipino American Health Workers Association and Habi Arts USA for inspiring the ideas that materialize in this mural.

More work by Enrico Maniago:
http://enricomaniago.deviantart.com/art/Defend-the-Right-to-Land-Defend-the-Right-to-Life-341450089

Oct 3

It’s not only about the urban social media user

ellobofilipino:

An early morning discussion with @iwriteasiwrite and @renguila on Twitter brought to the fore some realizations which have been unnoticed over these past few days of objections against the Cybercrimes Prevention Law of 2012 (Republic Act 10175).

In the middle of our discussion as to why very few offline seemed to be bothered by the implications of the law on freedom of speech, privacy of communication and due process, we threshed out that the effect actually goes beyond the young, urban, middle-class, social media-using demographic. And perhaps the rest of the population (roughly 70%) are not bothered because there has been little effort to make them see how the law might affect their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights.

For those who may not know, there have been several groups in the Philippines which also use social media to advance land rights and agrarian reform. And in the process of advancing these rights, it is inevitable that some of the materials that they post online as updates of their struggle, would ruffle the feathers of some local politicians and bosses in the multinational companies which encroach upon their land.

Take for example the case of indigenous communities in Luzon and Mindanao. Indigenous groups like the Koalisyon ng Katutubong Kasamahan sa Pilipinas or KASAPI have been actively engaged in capacity building of indigenous communities in the effort to protect their ancestral domain against encroaching by mining, logging firms and even real estate and golf course developers.

In the face of ineffective enforcement of laws relating to the protection of ancestral domain, KASAPI, aided by groups like the Philippine Association for Intercultural Development or PAFID, have used technology and the internet to document and register their ancestral domain with the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas, in the hopes that international recognition will better protect their ancestral domain.

In agrarian reform, groups like Task Force Mapalad regularly post updates on land acquisition cases and claims that their farmer-members are working on in various parts of the country. TFM has been involved in several bloody confrontations with armed groups of rich landowners who refuse to honor the land rights given by the government to farmers. They use social media to bring the incidents to the attention of the media and general public.

These groups are but only a few of several indigenous groups, farmers’ organizations, fisherfolk communities and almost invisible groups which use social media to draw attention to the exploitation and repression they experience from corporations, private individuals, even the government armed services and some local officials interested in their land, waters and forests.

With the implementation of the Cybercrimes Prevention Law, it is highly possible that the law would also be used to silence these groups. If prior to the passage of the bill, members of these indigenous and farmers groups have been harassed, coerced and even murdered, the new law will certainly add a new (even legal) option to the disenfranchising means which can be leveled against them.

Considering that our indigenous’ and farmers’ legal options are limited, their ability to mount a successful defense against multinational corporations, politicians or private individuals, should they need it in the face of libel charges based on RA 10175 (which are criminal in nature), might be very limited.

It would be possible then that we might see several farmers, development workers and even media professionals who have aided the indigenous communities and farmers groups, charged and behind bars for allegedly violating the law. Effectively, the law can be used to silence sectors which have already been often and long ignored.

the cyber crime law and bakla, trans women, and other GSM people in the Philippines

biyuti:

Note how the recent bill includes cyber sex. Note how #GirlsLikeUs News posted a link a few days ago about how this law will impact people like me in the Philippines.

Things being what they are and how bakla people are marginalized in the Philippines and often need to turn to sex work to support themselves (and their families as needs be).

This includes cyber sex, cam work, online porn, etc.

I’ve mentioned before how many people find my blog looking for ladyboy porn.

Online sex work has become much, much, much more dangerous for #girlslikeus in the Philippines.

They’ve all become targets.

Oct 1

artivista: Youth indigenous leader tortured and killed

artivista:

Published by kamp_admin on September 20th, 2012 in human rights national

National alliance of indigenous peoples Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) expressed fury over the killing of another indigenous leader.

Genesis Ambason, 23 year old secretary-general of…

a-bayani:

as i said before and i’ll say again until i die, due to the volatile nature of my existence i do not have the luxury of being single-issue.

something that is very very very very important to me that i have not found the strength or words for until now (which i will be posting much much much more about once #matt and kteeo are free, and i will be visiting my lola in marikina and doing what i can do to support kasamas who are struggling over there) in regards to political prisoners, forced disappearances, torture, and murder—sponsored by u.s. imperialism feat. noynoy aquino—is called oplan bayanihan.

this is a disgusting misuse of the word bayanihan, which is not translatable to english but loosely: community, solidarity, mutual aid. it comes from the indigenous tradition of kasamas helping a pamilya move by LITERALLY CARRYING THEIR BAHAY. i remember learning about this when i was young and it has been in my mind ever since. one of the reasons why i love my name, bayani, is because it is the beginning of bayanihan and reminds me of that constantly. the word bayan means community. i’ve been posting a lot of information about oplan bayanihan over the past few months/years (though only the recent ones are tagged) and many of those things have not received a single like or reblog even though i have nearly 1000 followers and a picture of my face or a gif of nicki minaj will get 100+ “likes/reblogs”.

this is but a continuation of over 500 years of colonial and imperialist rule and indigenous genocide in the collection of 7,107+ islands with SO MANY DISTINCT CULTURES, LANGUAGES, AND ETHNIC GROUPS that has since been known as “the philippines” and “filipin@”—a name which, when we use, directly refers to our spanish colonizers.

this is deeply upsetting to me because a lot of people who live in the philippines are not even aware of these atrocities that are happening because of the u.s. government and the philippines government. i expect EVERY SINGLE WHITE PERSON WHO FOLLOWS ME to educate themselves about this (i will not be answering any questions that are easily answerable with google and will delete such asks i receive immediately because they make me very angry).

i will start your journey here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=oplan+bayanihan http://www.desaparecidos.org/phil/eng.html

some tumblrs that are dedicated to posting about these atrocities and human rights violations and update regularly (message me if you know of more):

http://artivista.tumblr.com/http://sfchrp.tumblr.com/

you have no excuse to not be informed about this and to tell your friends and family what is happening in the philippines because of our corrupt governments. i have not seen a mainstream news article talking about this. you even have to do a few pages of digging on google to find people who are actively AGAINST and RESISTING oplan bayanihan. it honestly is breaking my heart how much support i am currently receiving in every other area of my life except for this.

i want to actively “reclaim” the word bayanihan from noynoy/oplan bayanihan. i want to use it as its original meaning, and as the revolutionary nature of our kapwa and commitment to decolonization.

I WANT TO ACTIVELY “RECLAIM” THE WORD BAYANIHAN FROM NOYNOY/OPLAN BAYANIHAN. I WANT TO USE IT AS ITS ORIGINAL MEANING, AND AS THE REVOLUTIONARY NATURE OF OUR KAPWA AND COMMITMENT TO DECOLONIZATION.

this is also an invitation to my kasamas to go to our homeland as soon as my back is healed enough to sit on a plane. i have the incredible privilege of having a white adoptive dad who is a commercial airline pilot and a large network of pamilya, mostly in luzon (particularly marikina, quezon city, and sorsogon. that was back when i last visited almost 8 years ago, so i’m sure i have much more pamilya spread across the islands now). i want to get as many kasamas over there as i can, for free or close to it, and i can provide kasamas with a safe bahay and plenty of delicious and healthy vegan food. i know the pain of diaspora and the incredible transformation that comes from healing that pain.

i believe in the true spirit of bayanihan. it is something within all of us, embedded in our kapwa. it is incredibly difficult to find in the diaspora but impossible to release once you connect with it.

(via a-bayani-deactivated20121004)

Sep 24

thisisnotpinoy:

obese-starving-artist:

An article on the history of Jews in the Philippines

The untold story of Jews in the Philippines; from my ancestors who escaped the Spanish inquisition to the Philippines only to face the Mexican inquisition to the refugees who escaped death camps to the community of Jewish Filipinos and the Philippine-Israeli relations today.

Sep 19

latimes:

Filipino nurses settle language-bias case: The $975,000 secured in a dispute with Delano Regional Medical Center is believed to be the largest such settlement in the U.S. healthcare industry.

During a 2006 mandatory meeting for Filipino staffers, nurses were told they were forbidden from using their native language at “any time in the hospital,” said Wilma Lamug, a former 10-year employee.

She said the hospital’s former chief executive vowed that “he would install surveillance cameras in nursing stations. Whoever is caught, they were threatened with suspension or termination,” Lamug said. “Sometimes, we were speaking English, but due to our accent and diction, they thought we were speaking something else.”

Although the hospital, near Bakersfield, employed a mix of bilingual employees speaking Spanish, Hindi, Bengali and other languages, managers targeted only the Filipinos and encouraged supervisors and other staffers to “act as vigilantes.”

Photo: Nurse Wilma Lamug is overcome with emotion as she recounts the discrimination she and other Filipino nurses experienced while working at the Delano Regional Medical Center in Delano, Calif. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

there's our catastrophe

work is its own cure. you have to like it better than being loved. ⚑ ♀

GABRIELA: Justice for Cristina Jose

Filipino Mathematics

It’s not only about the urban social media user

the cyber crime law and bakla, trans women, and other GSM people in the Philippines

artivista: Youth indigenous leader tortured and killed

work is its own cure. you have to like it better than being loved.

⚑ ♀