Consumers Domain
ASEAN: Caring and sharing?
"'Cause I remember when we used to sit,
in the government yard in Trenchtown,
observing the hypocrites,
as they would mingle with the good people we meet..."
--Bob Marley
"One Caring and Sharing Community". This is the theme chosen by the Philippine government as it chairs this year's ASEAN Summit. The 2006 ASEAN Summit will be held in Cebu in December. Leaders coming from different Southeast Asian nations will be present, as they will attempt to formalize the integration of the region.
ASEAN or the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations is another regional formation that seeks to promote cooperation in trade, economy and security.
While all these sound beautiful at the surface, the reality is that underneath it is not a pretty sight at all -- at least in the perspective of Philippine industries and especially the marginalized sectors. The problem with this, just like other formation that promotes the policies of globalization and trade liberalization, is that it doesn't take serious consideration at the different levels of development of each member nation.
Regional integration of economies as currently defined maybe beneficial to industrialized nations. However it will always be a bane to smaller economies, like the Philippine economy that is mainly buoyed by OFW remittances and driven by debt.
Anyway, this anti-poor mechanism of ASEAN is even manifested by the way the Philippine government is handling the preparation of the December meeting. To show our foreign guests how beautiful our country is, the administration of Gloria Arroyo is making sure that urban poor communities near the venue of the meeting will be obliterated.
What's worse is that the regular legal processes were skipped just to fast track the demolition of the dwellings of the poor Filipinos. This is sort of a déjà vu of the APEC summit under the Ramos administration. Now here they are again, spending billions of pesos for a showoff opportunity at the expense of the ordinary Filipino on the street.
In the process of demolition, they detained 12 urban poor leaders and activists who until now (or as of this writing) are still languishing in jail. The bail for their temporary release, apparently upon the "request" of Malacanang, was set to a very high amount to make sure they can't avail of their right to bail. One caring and sharing community indeed.
I am featuring a press statement below of various groups calling for the release of the 12 members of the urban poor and their leaders.
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PRESS STATEMENT
ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)
Philippine NGOs demand release of detained ASEAN Summit activists in Cebu
We, civil society participants to the Philippine Process of 2nd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC2) held on 13-14 October 2006 in Quezon City collectively express our indignation over the illegal demolition of an urban poor community and the subsequent arrest and detention of twelve (12) activists from the Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) on September 29 in front of Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort and Spa in Mactan Island, Cebu.
Such actions--targeted at urban poor communities within the area are seen as part of the preparations for the 12th ASEAN Summit this December to be hosted by the Philippines in Cebu City.
We deplore such action by the police and the demolition crew as an affront to civil rights which sharply contrasts with the ASEAN's declaration to promote a "caring and sharing" community.
We abhor and condemn the outrageous cases filed against them and the excessive bail recommended for their temporary liberty, which compounded the injustice that had been perpetrated.
We declare that the demolition, arrest and detention put into focus the social costs of the ASEAN Summit preparations. What is appalling is that the City Council of Lapu-Lapu City, where Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort and Spa is located, declared the city under an imminent state of calamity so that the local government unit can utilize P10 million from its calamity fund for the summit preparations.
We view this event as a prelude to a systematic and repressive government campaign to muffle the voices of civil society, not only in the Philippines, but also those from other ASEAN countries who will be participating in the forthcoming peoples' conference and related events in parallel with the scheduled 12TH ASEAN Summit in Cebu City this December.
We demand the immediate dismissal of the cases and the urgent release of our colleagues from the harsh realities of crowded and inhumane conditions of detention cells.
We call on the Macapagal-Arroyo administration to show its sincerity in putting peoples' interests at the center of development by releasing unconditionally the detained Filipino activists.
Lastly we call on all governments of the ASEAN to uphold democracy, human rights and social justice in their respective countries, and respect the Southeast Asian peoples' struggle for self determination and authentic sustainable development.
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