Philippines labor leader released but harsh law passes

Joyful celebrations were held in the Philippines and around the world on news of the release of Crispin Beltran, a legendary labor leader and member of the Philippines Parliament who had been charged on Feb. 25, 2006, with “rebellion” against the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Crispin Beltran, known to the people as ‘Ka Bel.’

Known as Ka Bel to millions of Filipino workers and peasants, Beltran has a history of standing up for the rights and welfare of the poorest sectors of the population going back more than 50 years. He was imprisoned and tortured during the brutal U.S.-backed dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, headed the militant workers’ organization known as KMU (May 1st Movement), and in 2001 was elected to the Philippines Parliament.

As a representative of the Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) partylist, Ka Bel spoke out forcefully against the fraudulent election of Gloria Macapagol-Arroyo, championed the rights of migrant workers forced to leave the Philippines by the extreme poverty epidemic throughout the country, and argued passionately for an increase in the minimum wage.

In 2006, Arroyo’s government was in severe crisis with increasing popular unrest over her policies of subservience to multinational corporate interests and U.S. military plans. Continuous charges of corruption, graft and electoral fraud made banner headlines in newspapers across the country. In addition, the level of police and paramilitary violence and repression against all forms of dissent during her term of office had reached unprecedented numbers, with hundreds of activists killed, “disappeared” or imprisoned.

The gigantic gap between rich and poor is evident to the eye as soaring luxurious hotels and condominiums tower over shantytowns made of cardboard boxes and scraps of metal. Row after row of cash crops such as pineapple line the rural roads while agricultural workers have little to eat. From the ranks of the Catholic Church to students to the urban poor, there has been great discontent with the Arroyo government.

In February 2006, as rumors spread of a coming military coup, she declared a “state of emergency” and ordered the arrest of Crispin Beltran and five other elected parliamentarians, plus other leaders of civil society, on the bogus charge of “rebellion” for organizing opposition to the state’s repressive policies.

After 16 months of legal motions and demonstrations, international petition drives, rallies and other types of support for Beltran and the others, the Philippines Supreme Court this July 10 rejected the government’s case and ordered Ka Bel’s release, declaring him and his compatriots innocent of the charges.

Despite international condemnation of the Arroyo government’s human rights record, on July 11 the U.S. Congress appropriated $30 million for military aid to the Philippines for fighting “terrorism.” This is almost three times what the Bush administration had requested.

It is a clear indication that both big business parties in the U.S. share a common view on the strategic importance of a compliant political proxy in the Pacific. Declaring the Philippines the “second front on the war on terrorism,” the Pentagon already has brought thousands of U.S. troops to the Philippines to train Filipino soldiers.

U.S. forces have taken part in military operations against armed resistance movements on various islands of the Philippines, including Mindanao, where indigenous peoples and Moslem communities have remained unconquered since the early 1900s, when the U.S. first gained control of the country.

The millions appropriated by Congress will be used to bolster the firepower of the Filipino military and police, both of which have been accused of being involved in more than 860 extrajudicial killings of activists from every sector of Philippine society, from priests and archbishops to peasant and labor leaders. In addition, some 200 members of various opposition groups have been “disappeared” and another 200 imprisoned during the six and a half years of the Arroyo presidency.

Just days after having $30 million more to spend on counterinsurgency weapons and training, the Philippines Parliament passed the Human Security Act, a measure similar to the USA Patriot Act, which expands the government’s ability to curtail dissent in the name of fighting “terrorism.”

The HSA defines “terrorism” in such broad language that almost any protest or campaign that “alarms” the population against a policy advocated by the government could be subject to the law’s jurisdiction.

Among its many dangerous and abusive provisions is one that allows anyone to be arrested and held for three days without being charged. Still another section provides for “extraordinary rendition,” the notorious policy of sending a prisoner to another country—particularly one that uses torture—to be interrogated.

Ka Bel, immediately upon his release from detention, appeared on the floor of the Parliament to denounce the Human Security Act. Refusing to be intimidated, the various movements in the Philippines have conducted protests and demonstrations in many cities and towns, demanding its repeal.

Mathiowetz was part of an International Action Center delegation that visited Crispin Beltran for several hours in December 2006 at a Manila hospital, where he received medical treatment while under police guard.