North, Central Luzon activists list Aquino’s failures in Sona protests

POLITICAL activists and members of various groups in Northern Luzon outlined what they called the “epic failures” of President Aquino’s administration in protest actions hours before he delivered his final State of the Nation Address on Monday.

The rallies were staged in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte and in Baguio City.

Protesters form other provinces in Central Luzon and Northern Luzon joined the protest actions in Metro Manila.

About 100 people, composed of church workers, farmers, students, government workers and women from Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra and La Union joined the protest at the Aurora Park in front of the provincial capitol in Laoag City.

The protesters displayed an effigy of Mr. Aquino and carried streamers and placards denouncing the policies of the administration.

“No matter how much [Mr. Aquino] skillfully paints these images [of success under his `Daang Matuwid’ platform], he can never cover the truth that his administration’s continuing plunder of our natural resources has not only destroyed ecosystems but also amplified the poverty and disasters experienced by the Filipino people,” said Sherwin de Vera, regional coordinator of the group Defend Ilocos.

Catholic priest, Fr. Saranay Respicio, chair of the Ilocos Human Rights Alliance, said: “Church workers are challenging the sham that was Mr. Aquino’s ‘tuwid na daan (straight and righteous path).’”

De Vera said the threat of magnetite extraction continues in the Ilocos region.

The protesters also assailed the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) to develop clean energy. These projects required the cutting of trees and were blamed for the siltation of creeks and farmlands in some areas, they said.

After burning the President’s effigy, the group crossed the Laoag Gilbert Bridge and marched to San Nicolas town, this time to address the issue of the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

But before they could reach the Chinese Consulate Center there, the protesters were stopped by a barricade set up by the San Nicolas police.

In Baguio City, 60 members of the Tongtongan ti Umili (TTU) marched to City Hall carrying placards and streamers which said the Aquino administration failed to bring about change.

They were initially blocked by policemen, who relented when they promised to speak for only five minutes in front of City Hall.
They proceeded to Malcolm Square in downtown Baguio for their version of an anti-Sona program.

In Bataan, at least 100 farmers staged a rally at the Dinalupihan town plaza to press the Aquino administration to implement a genuine land reform program.

They criticized the government for supposedly ignoring the concerns of small farmers in the provinces.

In Pangasinan, at least 80 farmers from the towns of Bautista and Bayambang went to Metro Manila as early as Sunday to join the protests at the Batasang Pambansa.

Supt. Ferdinand de Asis, Pangasinan police spokesperson, said the farmers are members of a people’s organization that is fighting for ownership of 300 hectares of farmlands in Bayambang town.

The Cabanatuan City chapter of the group Migrante and Alyansang Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon in Nueva Ecija also went to Metro Manila to join anti-Sona activities there.

Cristina Valdez, a Migrante leader, said the case of death convict Mary Jane Veloso, a native of Nueva Ecija, is proof of the government’s failure to generate jobs for its people. Veloso is facing execution in an Indonesian jail for an illegal drugs offense.

In Zambales, 30 members of the militant group Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (Kilusan) joined the anti-Sona rallies in Metro Manila to protest the presence of American troops in the country.

Lawyer Virgie Suarez, chair of Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan (Kaisa Ka), said Mr. Aquino has skirted the constitutional prohibition against foreign military troops and has allowed the re-basing of US troops.

Suarez is one of the counsels of the family of transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, who was killed allegedly by US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton in Olongapo City on Oct. 11 last year.

Reports from Leilanie Adriano, Jessica Tabilin and Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Tonette Orejas, Allan Macatuno and Greg Refraccion, Inquirer Central Luzon