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On GMA rally ban: Tough gets desperate and dictatorial Mrs. Arroyo is playing the role of dictator by deciding which rights will be upheld and which will be limited. This was the reaction of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan to statements by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announcing a ban on rallies and the implementation of "calibrated preemptive response" against ant-Arroyo protests. " We challenge Mrs. Arroyo and her cabal of lawyers and hawks to tell us what laws were violated when we held peaceful mass actions over the past three months? If they can't cite any violations, then they should stop playing wannabe dictators," said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes,Jr. Reyes said that most of the rallies during the past three months, including the huge Ayala rallies and theState of the Nation protests were peaceful and well-organized. He said he does not know of any law that may have been violated as a result of the mass actions. " Freedom of expression and the right to peaceably assemble are guaranteed in the constitution. Does Arroyo think she is higher than the constitution? Who's the bully now?" Reyes said. Damaging the country Bayan believes that what is more damaging to the country today is the current administration. "Rallies don't ruin the economy. Bad governance does. Even without our protests actions, the economy is already in bad shape because of the massive corruption, lack of confidence in the government and the wanton abuse of power by high public officials," Reyes said. " It is Mrs. Arroyo who has abused her office and betrayed public trust. She has done far worse than cause traffic in the streets. She has stolen the elections, spent millions in public funds, allowed foreign intervention in domestic affairs and committed gross human rights violations. Bayan cited as another disturbing trend the rising number of activists killed this year. Yesterday, unionmleader Ding Fortuna was shot in Calamba, Laguna. His death came a day after the 33rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law. " The administration is showing just one kind of response to anti-Arroyo groups. Zero tolerance. They ban rallies and they kill activists. Truly this is a repeat of the horrors of martial law," Reyes said.
September 14. 2005
DEBT-FOR-EQUITY SCHEME WILL LEGITIMIZE FRAUDULENT LOANS
Despite all the hype, House speaker Jose de Venecia’s debt-for-equity scheme is not a solution to the country’s debt crisis but may in fact even worsen it, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.
The plan does not call for debt forgiveness or cancellation, but will instead convert half of the debt-service receipts of multilateral lending institutions and multinational commercial banks such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to “equity development and anti-poverty projects that poor countries are undertaking to meet their national Millennium Development Goals (MDG) goals over 2005-15.”
Accepting this proposal recognizes that all debts are legitimate, including those deemed as onerous, says IBON. An example of onerous debts is those contracted by former President Ferdinand Marcos-- such as debts for the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which Filipino taxpayers will have to pay almost $76,000 daily until 2007.
According to IBON, debt cancellation of fraudulent loans incurred under Marcos, the BNPP debt in particular, is an option that government should seriously consider if it is looking for a doable solution to ease its debt problems. The debt of the national government stood at almost P4.1 trillion as of February 2005, while debt servicing in 2004 reached P601.7 billion, more than half of national government expenditures.
IBON adds that using the MDGs as an end-goal makes the debt-for-equity scheme a shrewd strategy to promote neoliberal globalization The MDGs, through the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), promote a package of neoliberal reform policies that developing countries must implement if they want to avail of concessional lending or poverty reduction assistance from the World Bank.
These Papers may require developing countries to privatize state-run utilities or reduce spending on social services to pave the way for private sector participation, resulting in increased user fees and less access by the poor to vital services such as water provision and health. It would also open the door for further foreign corporate control over the ailing domestic economy.
According to IBON, instead of pursuing the debt-for-equity-scheme, implementing a sound debt management plan that would include cancellation of odious and illegitimate debts and stopping automatic appropriations for debt service is a more logical step in solving the debt crisis. (end)
