FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rhonda Ramiro, BAYAN-USA Secretary General, secgen@bayanusa.org
Photos and video available for media distribution
Members Deliver $15K, Medicine and 2,000 Bags of Food to Typhoon Victims
DAGUPAN CITY, PHIILIPPINES– Filipino-Americans under the banner of BAYAN-USA, a US-wide alliance of 14 Filipino organizations, have been actively responding to the needs of the victims of typhoons Ketsana (Ondoy) and Parma (Pepeng) that slammed through the Philippines in the past few weeks killing hundreds and devastating thousands. In addition to conducting on-the-ground emergency relief operations in the Philippines, the alliance reached its projected goal of $15,000 for BALSA (Bayanihan Alay Para Sa Sambayanan), a broad, multi-sectoral disaster relief organization affiliated with its mother alliance, BAYAN Philippines, in addition to gathering dozens of boxes across the US filled with in-kind donations of clothes, food, and medicine.
This week, members of BAYAN-USA traveled to the Philippines to deliver their monetary donations and participate in relief operations. In Dagupan City, Pangasinan, BAYAN-USA joined Congresswoman and Senatorial Candidate Liza Maza of the Gabriela Women’s Party and MAKABAYAN Coalition for one day in handing out over 2,000 sacks of food to long lines of families who had been devastated by the typhoon’s destructive force, but met with the inadequate response of the Philippine government in providing relief. Pangansinan, one of the most impacted provinces in the nation, was 80% submerged due to the man-made disaster of the San Roque Dam opening that unleashed more than 8 million cubic meters of water.
“We have seen with our own eyes how the Philippine government has neglected the needs of the typhoon victims at a time of tremendous need for basic necessities like medicine, food, and shelter,” commented Bernadette Ellorin, chair of BAYAN-USA and one of the members of the relief team. “It has been the responsibility of people’s organizations, like BAYAN-USA, to provide the emergency response needed for our families and loved ones back home who are suffering and will continue to suffer from the Arroyo government’s greedy, disaster-creating policies.”
In relaying its monetary and in-kind donations, BAYAN-USA expressed distrust over the Arroyo government’s recent directive for all donations from abroad to be coursed only through accredited organizations with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or face taxation and other types of penalties and fees.
Furthermore, Philippine Consular offices in the U.S. have imposed restrictions on courier services from shipping relief goods collected by organizations whose efforts are not affiliated with the Philippine government. Courier services face high penalty fees should they choose to ship goods from people’s organizations collecting donations such as BAYAN-USA.
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GOVT HELD ACCOUNTABLE: Ondoy Victims Storm HUDCC
October 17, 2009
October 12, 2009
Reference: Shiela Ferrer, National Council Member (0926-6446402)
“More than storm Ondoy, what placed the poor at risk is the Arroyo government’s ineffective housing programs and services, and worsened by its inept disaster response,” stated Shiela Ferrer, GABRIELA National Council member.
Led by the militant women’s group GABRIELA, women and their families who were victims of the freak flood triggered by Ondoy staged a protest action in front of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to demand the government’s accountability over its failure to address the issues of housing and calamity.
According to GABRIELA, the present situation is being used to further displace communities. The group strongly condemned the plans to demolish urban poor communities located in what the government calls “danger zones” such as those under the bridge of San Mateo and along the Marikina Floodway, without clear and definite plans of genuine relocation. They also criticized the palliative solutions of the government such as the “balik-probinsya”.
“If the victims are relocated to an area, just so the people in government could show they are not sleeping on their job, but without livelihood and social services, it is no different from a calamity hitting the victims again,” said Ferrer.
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YouTube Star “HappySlip” in first Seattle Show to raise funds for Filipino Youth Programs
October 15, 2009
October 14, 2009 – Seattle, WA. Christine Gambito, better known as “HappySlip” will be performing her one woman comedy show “HappySlip LIVE” for the first time in Seattle on October 30th at University of Washington Kane Hall. Gambito is an internationally recognized Filipino-American YouTube personality, actress, and comedian and Philippine Tourism ambassador. She maintains one of the most-subscribed-to channels on YouTube and named second Best Comedy at the 2006 YouTube video awards. Massive Monkees, recently back from MTVs America’s Best Dance Crew will also give a performance. Proceeds will go towards Seattle youth programs at the Filipino Community Center and the Northwest Filipino American Student Alliance. Cash donations and medical supplies will be accepted for typhoon relief operations in the Philippines.
This fundraiser is a large step in expanding Filipino youth programming. This expansion of services include: workforce readiness programs, life skills training, cultural enrichment programs, college exploration and mentorship, leadership training, case management services, gang prevention and family support services to be housed in the newly renovated Filipino Community Center. The youth program seeks to be a safe and inclusive environment supporting holistic academic, personal, and cultural growth.
“The Filipino youth programs helped me and supported me through my academics,” said Jhenalyn Rapanan. “Teachers like Mr. Rigor and my tutors helped me pass my WASL and get me into the University of Washington. Now they are supporting me in every decision that I make and leading me in the right direction. [It] is really good for high school students especially those who have big dreams like I do.”
Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:30pm. For more information or to purchase tickets please go to http://fcsyouth.wordpress.com.
News Release
02 October 2009
Reference: Joms Salvador, Spokesperson, 371-2302 / 09189182180
Celebrities lend help to GABRIELA members victims of typhoon Ondoy
Angel Locsin was in Veterans, Bgy. Bagong Silangan handing out
groceries to families. Judy Ann Santos’ Mommy Carol gave out blankets
and mats and fed residents of Bgy. Tatalon with arroz caldo she cooked
herself. Katrina Halili donated boxes of canned sardines and bags full
of underwear and distributed the goods herself in Bgy. Loyola. Indeed,
celebrities were quick to give their support to families of GABRIELA
members within Metro Manila who were victims of typhoon Ondoy.
“The lives of thousands of our members in Metro Manila were devastated
with typhoon Ondoy. We are very grateful that support for the
immediate relief came immediately from our friends, allies and network
including celebrities,” said Joms Salvador, GABRIELA spokesperson.
According to Salvador, among those hardest hit were GABRIELA members
in Bgy. Bagong Silangan, Bgy. Tatalon, Bgy. Batasan Hills and
Commonwealth in Quezon City, Bgy. Olandes in Marikina and Bgy. Cupang,
Bgy. Alabang and Bgy. Sikatville in Muntinlupa. Also destroyed by
typhoon Ondoy was their daycare center in Batasan Hills while the one
in Bgy. Bagong Silangan served as an evacuation center.
“While typhoon Ondoy devastated lives and livelihood, it also brought
out the strength of women’s collective action. Leaders and members of
local chapters of GABRIELA organized and lead the distribution of
relief operations in their communities.
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Separating Children from Parents in the Face of Impending Disaster is Equally Disastrous
October 6, 2009
NEWS RELEASE:
Reference: Ms. Sophia Garduce, spokesperson (0928-5089104)
September 30, 2009
“Secretary Gilberto Teodoro seems more concerned with his “pogi” points than preventing another disaster where children are most vulnerable,” this is the strong reaction of child rights advocates led by SALINLAHI Alliance for Children’s Concerns, in his recent directive regarding the forced evacuation of minors in the face of another typhoon (international name “Parma”).
“The destruction wrought by typhoon Ondoy is not a new phenomenon in the Philippines. We witnessed the thousands of lives affected by Milenyo, Rosing and Reming, many of whom come from very poor families with little or no resources at all to cope effectively and quickly in the face of such calamities. The government and its disaster arm, the NDCC, know that the Philippines is in the typhoon belt, yet it is always caught flat-footed every time!” said Ms. Sophia Garduce, spokesperson of SALINLAHI. She added that the policy of pre-emptive evacuation and stand-by rescue operation should be implemented long before a typhoon hits land.
Garduce also criticized the idea of forcibly evacuating minors “who cannot legally decide for themselves.” “This directive by Teodoro is downright stupid and contravenes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which affirms that a child’s place is with his or her parents. Taking children away from their parents in times of crisis is as Neanderthal as the response to unaccompanied and separated children during World War II. In fact, if Teodoro might want to take a few minutes of his time to do research, this situation of children being separated from their parents was the impetus for the Declaration on the Rights of the Child.
According to Garduce, children feel most secure when they are within the comforting arms of their parents, particularly their mothers. “To separate them from their parents in the face of disaster is equally traumatic as the disaster experience itself. It is also impractical as young children need to be cared for by an adequate number of trained personnel.”
She also pointed out that this directive implicitly puts the blame for the death toll among children on the parents. “The Arroyo government cannot escape accountability by implying that the parents of the children were to blame for the deaths. The fact is that the government has no disaster preparedness program and that the government rescue operations were slow and inadequate to say the least. These children could have been alive and probably helping their parents clean up their mud-soaked houses today had the government been prepared for this eventuality,” Garduce added. ###
SALINLAHI Alliance for Children’s Concerns
21-A1 Malvar Extn. Brgy. Bagumbuhay
Proj. 3, Quezon City, Philippines
telefax # 439-3104
website: www.salinlahiphilippines.org
NEWS RELEASE
30 September 2009
For Reference:
REP. LUZ C. ILAGAN 0920-9213221
Abby Valenzuela (Public Information Officer) 0915-7639619
Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Luz Ilagan expressed concern over the alarming increase in the number of children not able to go to school and who cannot read or write as a result of the continued armed conflict in Mindanao.
“Education is a basic right. The government is depriving children of Mindanao this right by not just allowing but ordering continued military existence and operations in the island in pursuit of its so-called enemies,” Ilagan said.
In a study by E-Net Philippines, a Kidapawan City-based network of organizations aiming to reform education in the Philippines, it was found that four out of ten children and youth in SOCCSKSARGEN (Region 12) are missing school due to the armed conflict in Mindanao. This number is three times higher than the 14% national average.
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“Prayers and Pesos” for the Victims of Typhoon Ondoy
September 30, 2009
Please join us for this free community event.
October 2 at 6pm. “Prayers and Pesos.” A vigil and donation drive for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines.
Filipino Community Center (5740 MLK Jr Way S, Seattle).
Online donations can be made at www.bayanusa.org.
Questions, call Pinay sa Seattle-GABRIELA USA at 206.859.7525 or email pinayinfo@gmail.com.
Support the victims of Typhoon Ondoy
September 29, 2009
From: Rhonda Ramiro
Date: Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 9:32 AM
Hello friends and supporters of the Philippines, On Saturday September 26th, Typhoon Ondoy struck the Philippines with the heaviest rainfall recorded followed by the worst flooding in 40 years. BAYAN-Philippines’ “BALSA” (Bayanihan para sa Sambayanan, or “People’s Cooperation for the People”, an organization that was formed 12 years ago to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crisis that the government fails to address), is calling upon compatriots and friends to gather financial donations for the victims of the Big Flood.
As of this writing, there are at least 100 dead or missing and 435,000 victims who are homeless, injured or have lost all of their belongings. There are still as least 1 million people without electricity. Scenes are eerily similar to “Hurricane Katrina” and President Bush’s response in 2005 (or lack thereof).
President Arroyo’s lack of preparation and priority to acquire hundreds of big rubber boats (officials admitted they only had 13 rubber boats), amphibian vehicles, dump trucks, thousands of life vests and food/medicine kit for our compatriots who are trapped in rooftops has led to a humanitarian crisis.
We are making this appeal for financial support as the current administration is woefully unprepared and unable to help the hundreds of thousands of our compatriots and friends. BALSA will be coordinating efforts to distribute food, medicines, clothing and other basic necessities to help the people through this crisis. Because BALSA is firmly linked with the masses, aid will directly go towards the basic sectors of society – the workers, peasants and the urban poor who make up the majority of the victims (despite media attention that “the poor and rich are equally impacted”).
Please make a donation through BAYAN-USA or a local member organization of BAYAN-USA. Donations can be given to your local member organization of BAYAN-USA or online at www.bayanusa.org.
Please make checks payable to “BAYAN-USA.” Thank you for your support. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Rhonda Ramiro, Secretary General of BAYAN-USA at secgen@bayanussa.org, or Jeff Rice, Finance Officer of BAYAN-USA.
*Checks payable to “BAYAN-USA” can be sent to
Pinay sa Seattle
5740 MLK Jr Way S, Room 106
Seattle, WA 98118
U.S. Troops Fuel Insecurity Crisis in the Philippines
September 18, 2009
September 16, 2009
U.S. Troops Fuel Insecurity Crisis in the Philippines
BAYAN-USA Calls on U.S. Government to Terminate Visiting Forces Agreement
September 16 marks the historic Philippine Senate vote to reject the renewal of a U.S. military bases treaty, but recent declarations by U.S. and Philippine defense officials reveal their desire to erase history in order to secure the future of U.S. imperialism and the Philippine elite who benefit from it.
Responding to decades of protest demanding that U.S. bases in the Philippines be shut down, the 12-11 Senate vote on September 16, 1991 effectively ejected U.S. troops from the country. In a clear affront to Philippine sovereignty and the will of the people, however, the controversial U.S.-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement was enacted shortly thereafter in 1999. Since then, tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers, commanders, advisors, special operatives, and other military personnel have flooded back into the country, along with nearly $1 billion worth of military aid and materiel.
Despite massive demonstrations, senate and congressional hearings, and a Supreme Court review of the constitutionality of the agreement in the Philippines, president after president in both countries has staunchly defended the reviled agreement. In a phone call in March and a state meeting in July with President Gloria Arroyo this year, President Barack Obama affirmed his support for the Visiting Forces Agreement and continuing the annual joint military exercises known as “Balikatan” (“Shoulder-to-Shoulder”). “Despite his rhetoric of ‘change,’ President Obama and his cabinet have clung to Bush’s foreign policy when it comes to the Philippines,” said BAYAN-USA Chair Berna Ellorin.
At the end of last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the U.S. has been keeping a 600-strong Joint Special Operations Task Force in the Philippines since 1999, and that the U.S. intends to maintain the forces there indefinitely. Gates’ announcement was followed by a visit from Philippine Defense Secretary and presidential aspirant Gilberto Teodoro, who last week pledged his commitment to the Visiting Forces Agreement and continued “cooperation” with the U.S. military.
