KAISA KA to hold National Congress—Call for Support

March 19, 2008

Dear Friends,

KAISA KA, the women’s organization that first came out in 1998 will be holding its first National Congress this coming May.

It took us that long. But we are proud to declare that now that we are holding this congress, KAISA KA has indeed become a national organization with a sizeable membership and a record of achievements in the women’s movement.

It is high time that we call this Congress. Not only will this consolidate the organization and the gains of the past ten years, but also, and more so, this congress shall unite the organization strongly along more effective means of confronting big threats to Filipino women’s human rights and security.

The congress carries the theme: Sulong Kababaihan! Tumindig, Lumaban, Lumaya para sa sarili at sa bayan! (Women, Advance! Make a Stand! Fight! Be Free for ourselves as women, for the people!)

As this congress will take three days and attendees will have to come from as far away as Zamboanga and Davao, the holding of this activity will cost a minimum of
PhP546, 000.00

We need to raise the amount of PhP 8,875 to for the transportation, food and accommodation, conference kit and travel incidentals for every person coming from the Mindanao area. A delegate coming from Cebu or Negros would need around PhP 7,275.

We are asking for donations to help pay for the food, transportation and rental of the venue. We shall accept cash donations and air line tickets, office supplies or free use any transportation facility.

Please inform us about what you can possibly donate as soon as possible. Please find our contact details below .

Yours truly,


CORAZON D. REQUIZO
Secretary General
KAISA KA
22A Libertad St. Brgy. Highway Hills,
Mandaluyong City 1501
Philippines
Tel. 632-5321746
Fax. 632-7173262

Anti-rape/anti-VFA Activists Urge CA not to Yield to Pressure on Smith

Press Release
May 27, 2008
Reference: Yuen Abana - 09162811934
Lotlot Requizo – 0917 860 6650
Pangging Santos - 09156484638


Anti-rape/anti-VFA Activists Urge CA not to Yield to Pressure on Smith

“Enough of the Philippine government’s licking US masters’ boots! Make history by making an independent stand!”

These came from members of Task Force Subic Rape (TFSR) who went back to the streets this morning and trooped to the Court of Appeals to ask the justices not to yield to pressure to acquit L/Cpl Daniel John Smith. A lower court found Smith guilty of raping a 21 year-old Filipina in 2005.

“We got information that a justice is preparing the decision to reverse Judge Pozon’s verdict. We are not entirely surprised because we saw how the US exerted pressure on the GMA government just to have Smith turned over to them after the guilty verdict. We also saw how compliant the GMA government has been, even to the point of stealing Smith from a Philippine jail in the dead of the night.” Yuen Abana of Partido ng Manggagawa explained.

“But we are still urging the justices”, added Pangging Santos of Sarilaya. “Some may have the courage to convict a member of the strongest armed forces in the world as evidence is strong.”
The rally participants decried the Philippine government’s long history of subservience. In Subic and Clark, Filipinos filed some 3,211 different cases against American soldiers from 1980 to 1987 alone but no case ever prospered in court. More than 48 Filipinos have been murdered from 1947 to 1980 alone but local politicians were first to look for an out-of-court-settlement or dissuade victims from pursuing the cases.

“Japan has its first conviction of a US soldier in 1948 and it has convicted some other US soldiers for the same crime. Korea has convicted 84 US soldiers for rape. But the Philippine government, still very afraid of hurting US-Philippines relations, did its best to keep the latest case of a Filipina raped in Japan hushed and is working to clear Smith of that rape in Subic.” Lotlot Requizo of KAISA KA lamented.

Task Force Subic Rape handed to court personnel a letter of appeal for the CA justices before they left.

CHEVRON: FUELING WARS AND ABUSING HUMAN RIGHTS & THE ENVIRONMENT

BY FACES
WEDS, May 28, 7-1030am. Chevron Shareholder's Mtg.
From Richmond to Ecuador, Nigeria, Canada, Philippines, Burma and Iraq

Join FACES, local Richmond groups, Ecuadorian, Nigerian and other international communities and tell Chevron Executives and Shareholders: WE DEMAND PEACE, CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. Please arrive at the site preferably at 7am in order to be present as shareholder's enter the meeting, and meet at the FACES banner! Additional signs/posters are welcome.

Location: Chevron World Headquarters, 6001 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA. Parking is available at the shopping center across the street, and public transit and carpool options are available. (Pls. read full info below).
FACES event contact: Aileen Suzara, aileensuzara@ gmail.com, 808-896-7299. Please contact if you are interested in joining the FACES contingent or have questions about logistics and arranging carpools!

http://bayareadirectaction.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/may-28-demand-justice-from-chevron/

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THURS. MAY 29, 7pm. Community Forum: Capping Chevron's Crude. Richmond Alliance for Environmental Justice hosts a public teach-in on the Dirty Crude Richmond Refinery Expansion plans that will go before the Richmond Planning Commission on June 5. Richmond Recreation Complex, 3230 Mac Donald Ave., Richmond.

THURS., JUNE 5, TBA
Chevron's Richmond Refinery Expansion plans will go before the Richmond Planning Commission. Stay tuned for details and ways to support this key event in the Bay Area with community groups!

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SHAREHOLDER'S Meeting Info:
CHEVRON: FUELING WARS AND ABUSING HUMAN RIGHTS & THE ENVIRONMENT
From Richmond to Ecuador, Nigeria, Canada, Philippines, Burma and Iraq

WED, MAY 28, 7am to 10:30am
Mass Theater Action and Demonstration
Chevron World Headquarters
6001 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/20/18500470.php

Special Guests:
Luis Yanza, Ecuadorian Community Organizer and 2008
Goldman Environmental Award Recipient

Hugo Criollo, Ecuadorian Indigenous Leader

Omoyele Sowore, Nigerian human rights, pro-democracy
and anti-corporate leader.

Larry Bowoto, Plaintiff in the lawsuit against Chevron
for their 1998 flying of Nigerian soldiers by
helicopter to attack a nonviolent occupation of
Chevron’s Parabe offshore oil platforms. Two
activists were killed, others injured, and Bowoto
himself was tortured.

These leaders from Ecuador and Nigeria will
demonstrate with Bay Area environmental justice,
solidarity, antiwar, and human rights groups, and will
also join supportive shareholders and organizers in
confronting Chevron executives and shareholders inside
their annual shareholder meeting. While we take
action at the gates of Chevron World Headquarters
(please come on time so we can greet the shareholders
who arrive by 7:30am), some shareholders have filed a
resolution demanding that Chevron report on the
environmental laws in every country where it has
operations, in an attempt to push for accountability.
http://www.chevront oxico.com/ article.php? id=381

MASS THEATER: We need 100 people to join us, put on
HazMat suits and gloves, and help us clean up Chevron's
human and environmental rights abuses and
oil wars. If you are willing to join us, please send a
note to: info@chevrontoxico. org

How to Get There:
Take BART to Walnut Creek BART: We will provide
shuttles from Walnut Creek BART to the demonstration.
Or you can take short ride on County
Connection shuttle 121, or it's a flat 12-mile bike
ride.
Carpools: (if you have space in your car or need a
ride):
SF: Meet @ 6am; Safeway parking lot, Church and
Markets Sts.
East Bay: Meet @ MacArthur BART @ 6:15am
Driving/Carpooling Directions: Fast 25 miles E. of
Oakland.
Take 580 to Hwy 24 E. to I-680 S to exit #34/BOLLINGER
CANYON ROAD. Left over Hwy. 1st left into Shopping
Center. Park, walk back to Chevron across Bollinger.

Sponsored by:
Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Direct Action to
Stop the War, Amazon Watch, Laotian Organizing
Project, Justice for Nigeria Now, Global Exchange,
Burmese American Democratic Alliance-SF, Filipino
American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity
(FACES), Rainforest Action Network, West County Toxics
Coalition, Richmond Greens, Richmond Progressive
Alliance

For more information:
info@chevrontoxico. org
(510) 984-2566
ActAgainstWar. org

4th ANNUAL QUEER WOMEN OF COLOR FILM FESTIVAL

Visit the website at http://www.qwocmap.org/festival.html

FRIDAY, JUNE 13
7:30PM - Opening Night Screening: Kindred Queers

SATURDAY, JUNE 14 **FESTIVAL FOCUS**
2PM - Featured Panel & Retrospective Screening: Pratibha Parmar
5PM & 8PM - Featured Screening: From Queer API Women With Love

SUNDAY, JUNE 15
3PM - Centerpiece Screening: Sexily Subversive
6PM - Closing Night Screening: Delectably Yours

4 Film Screenings: FREE
Featured Panel: $10-$20

Information & Tickets:
www.QWOCMAP.org
festival@qwocmap.org
415-752-0868

VENUE
Brava Theater
2789 24th Street (at York)
San Francisco


******** FRIDAY JUNE 13 ********

FRIDAY, JUNE 13 - 7:30PM
Opening Night Screening: KINDRED QUEERS
Free

From a young girl's magical waltz with the moon, to
a mother-daughter tango of fear and acceptance, to
the quick turns of a dyke couple on a mission to
conceive, these films will shake you in a samba of
spirit and determination.

All films created by QWOCMAP filmmakers. Screening
followed by Q&A with filmmakers.

MAGIC & THE MOON (Pia Infante, 2008)
BOTH/AND (Stephanie Yang, 2006)
JAGADAMBA, MOTHER OF THE UNIVERSE (Amber Field, 2008)
RENACIMIENTO DE UNA BRUJA (Zemaya, 2008)
YO SOY/I AM (Nancy Angel, 2007)
SEEING GOLDA (Michelle Alcedo, 2008)
QUEERING MY MOTHER (Lourdes Rivas, 2007)
ONE IN A MILLION (Monifa Porter, 2008)
Running Time: 66 minutes


******** SATURDAY JUNE 14 ********

FESTIVAL FOCUS: Queer Asian Pacific Islander Women


SATURDAY, JUNE 14 - 2PM
Featured Panel & Retrospective Screening: Pratibha Parmar
$10-$20

FEATURED PANEL
Representations of Queer API Women in the Media
Moderated by Helen Zia

RETROSPECTIVE SCREENING
Khush - an exploration of queer South Asians in diaspora
Bhangra Jig - a celebration of culture and desire
Wavelengths - a quest for love and intimacy

~~~~~~~~

SATURDAY, JUNE 14 - 5PM & 8PM
Featured Screening: FROM QUEER API WOMEN WITH LOVE
Free

From a tricky tap dance with immigration agents, to
lyrical interpretations of grief, to the dynamic strut of
a queer secret agent, these powerhouse combinations
are a vibrant groove of heritage, humor and insight.

All films created through QWOCMAP. Screening
followed by Q&A with filmmakers.

LOOK AGAIN (Jennifer Lin, 2008)
LESBIANS TRYING 2 CONCEIVE (Helen Lin, 2008)
PIECES OF YOU (K.V. Cao, 2008)
IF YOU KNEW (Lida Shao, 2008)
VISIBLE VOICE (Paulette Tran, 2008)
JUST ANOTHER DAY (Thu Trinh, 2008)
ALL OF ME (Margaret Rhee, 2008)
LABELS ARE FOREVER (Jinky de Rivera, 2008)
Running Time: 69 minutes


******** SUNDAY JUNE 15 ********

SUNDAY, JUNE 15 - 3PM
Centerpiece Screening: SEXILY SUBVERSIVE
Free

From a 12-year-old who tip-toes around her boyish
desires, to the visual legacies embodied by Black
women, to the fierce shimmy of big bodacious babes,
these films will spin, sway and swing you on the
streets and between the sheets. Explicit content.

Screening followed by Q&A with filmmakers.

S/HE (Gina Chan, 2007)
THE WINK & THE PUCKER (Ami Puri, 2008)
HOKUM (Kortney Ziegler, 2007)
HOT/N/TOT (Stephanie Cooper, 2008)
CAUSE SHE'S GOT IT LIKE THAT (Vanessa Lewis, 2008)
SHE EJACULATES (Nenna Jonier, 2008)
PLAY WITH ME (Leslie Mullins, 2008)
CUT & PASTE (Alexis McCrimmon, 2007)
Running Time: 61 minutes

~~~~~~~~

SUNDAY, JUNE 15 - 6PM
Closing Night Screening: DELECTABLY YOURS
Free

From a yummy chance encounter over Pho noodles,
to a rebellious zapateado against green tortillas,
to tasty platanos from the lands of merengue, salsa
and calypso, these delectable films will move you
while they satisfy your hunger for community and
connection.

All films created through QWOCMAP. Screening
followed by Q&A with filmmakers.

OVER PHO (Rui Bing Zheng, 2008)
FRIED CHICKEN FEET (San Ng, 2008)
TOO MUCH PLAID (Caroline Le, 2008)
YOURS, ANONYMOUS (Puck Lo, 2007)
NO STINKIN' GREEN TORTILLAS (Norma Ramos, 2008)
BANADY & BANARIA (Jay Takeda, 2007)
THE COCK: LESBIAN OWNED & OPERATED (Luna Han, 2008)
MASHED, BOILED & FRIED (Margo Rivera-Weiss, 2008)
Running Time: 78 minutes

Suffering Without Suffrage

Here is a link to the documentary:

http://current.com/items/88967762_suffering_without_suffrage

Please watch and leave comments. Current TV will also air the documentary on its TV stations, which have more than 54 million viewers in the US, UK and Italy.

Si Yu'us Ma'ase,
Victoria

STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF CHERRIE ANN GUZMAN-COLEMAN

Philippine Women’s Network on Peace & Security

Amnesty International-Pilipinas * Buklod Center * KAISA Ka* Metro Subic

People’s Task Force on Bases Clean Up * WEDPRO * WomanHealth-Philippines

Member, International Women’s Network for Genuine Security

On October 4, Cherrie Anne Guzman-Coleman died under suspicious circumstances, allegedly by hanging herself. Cherrie was the bride of SSgt. Glenn Edward Coleman of the 733^rd Air Mobility Squadron, which is stationed at the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The two met when Cherrie worked for six months in Okinawa as an overseas performing artist, and had only been married for five months when Cherrie died. Coleman claims that Cherrie took her own life after a “slight” domestic disagreement. Cherrie’s friends have said that the couple often quarreled due to Coleman’s jealousy. They had seen Cherrie distraught, in tears and bruised after such incidents. On October 13, the battered body of Cherrie Ann Guzman-Coleman arrived in the Philippines and was claimed by her grieving mother, Ms. Myrna Vergara.

Almost 50,000 US forces and their dependents are stationed in Okinawa’s 42 military installations under Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, current commander of all US forces in Japan. Sexual crimes and violence directed at women, including domestic violence, are the most common forms of human rights violations in the world. Violence against women is particularly pervasive in the context of military bases and prevailing military culture and training. The number and gravity of cases of violence against women have been especially shocking in Okinawa where US bases began its operations in 1945. In the past 62 years, hundreds of victims have been attacked, kidnapped, abused, gang raped or murdered, including a nine month old baby and girls with ages ranging from six to fifteen. Cherrie may well be the latest in a long line of women who have been attacked, kidnapped, abused, raped and even murdered by US servicemen in Okinawa.

Actions taken by Coleman and US military authorities in Okinawa have raised speculations that they have engaged in an attempt to cover-up the real facts regarding Cherrie’s death. The 20 year old Filipina’s death certificate, signed by medical examiner Capt. James Caruso of the US Naval Hospital in Okinawa did not contain cause of death, although an autopsy was supposedly carried out.

The Philippine Women’s Network on Peace and Security Network (PWNPS) calls on the Okinawan authorities, along with the Japanese Government, to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation on the death of Cherrie Ann Guzman-Coleman.

We call on the Philippine Government to assist the family of Cherrie through her mother, Ms. Vergara, to determine the actual cause of her death and seek justice for the untimely death of her daughter.

We call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to fulfill its responsibility to protect and promote the well-being of all its citizens, including Cherrie Ann and all Filipino women living and working in military facilities all over the world.

Ref: Women’s Education, Development, Productivity & Research Organization (WEDPRO), Inc.

Convener and Secretariat: Philippine Women’s Network on Peace & Security (PWNPS)

Email: wedprophils1989@yahoo.com

‘What are they hiding?’ Knocking on a US base’s door in Zambo, a citizens’ group is shut out

CITIZENS’ PEACE WATCH

PRESS RELEASE
19 February 2008, Jolo Sulu


ZAMBOANGA CITY (February 18, 2008) -- Members of a citizens’ fact-finding mission walked up inside Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City and confirmed the presence of a little known fortified US military base with communication facilities inside the Philippine military camp.

Asserting the right to information and transparency, the Citizens’ Peace Watch knocked on the doors of the base requesting to inspect its premises and to meet with officials of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P).

The JSOTF-P is the unit of US Special Forces that – unknown to many Filipinos – has been headquartered in the said US military base in this city since 2002 and has been deploying to various parts of Mindanao since then.

The members of the Citizens Peace Watch were told to wait, and they waited, only to be fetched by a Filipino soldier called up by the JSOTF-P to send the group away.

The JSOTF-P later sent a fax to the group saying they don’t have the authority to grant the request for a visit. They claim to have forwarded the request instead to the Armed Forces of the Philippines which is supposedly in the position to decide on the matter.

Such an explanation, however, was contradicted by a Filipino military official whom the group interviewed inside the same camp. Capt. Vicente Enriquez of the Western Mindanao Command had earlier told the group that it was not up to the AFP to approve any requests to visit the US military facilities. Only the US military can decide, Enriquez said.

Even Filipino soldiers, Enriquez stated, are not allowed to enter the military base without the US military’s permission.

“By the Philippine military’s own admission then, what we have here is clearly a US military base that is outside the control of the Philippine military, where the US exercises sovereignty within Philippine territory, and that is off-limits to Filipino citizens,” noted Atty. Corazon Fabros, a member of the Citizens’ Peace Watch.

“The ‘visitors’ have not only stayed on, they have set up camp in our house and told us – their hosts – to go away,” added Fabros.

The US military base stands out and is sealed from the rest of Camp Navarro by walls, concertina wire, and sandbags. The actual size of the area it occupies could not immediately be established from the outside. But communication facilities such as satellite dishes, antenna, and other instruments are visible.

US Marines provided protection for the facility; some workers were seen wore IDs identifying them with DynCorp, a controversial US military contractor.

What other facilities were inside the base is also unknown but the US embassy – responding to an earlier report exposing the granting of a P700-million peso contract to a company providing “base operations support” – had confirmed that they are constructing structures for “medical, logistical, and administrative facilities” for US troops “to eat, sleep, and work.”

The Citizens’ Peace Watch’s requests to various members of the cabinet, military officials, and the US embassy for meetings and for an inspection of US military facilities in the country was effectively rejected, with a Philippine military official saying that such requests would be acted on in “two months or in 2013.”

“What exactly are they hiding here? Why all this secrecy?,” asked Amabella Carumba of the Mindanao People’s Peace Movement, a member of the mission.

The following organizations are represented in the Citizens Peace Watch mission: Alyansa ng Kabataan sa Mindanao para sa Kapayapaan, Anak Mindanao Party List, Balay Rehabilitation Center, Bangsamoro Women’s Foundation, Citizen’s Coalition for Human Rights, Focus on the Global South, KaisaKa, Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, Lanao Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (LAHRA), Mindanao Peoples Caucus, Mindanao Peoples Peace Movement, Mindanao Tri-People Women Forum, Moro Human Rights Center, Muslim Women’s Organization, Peace Women Partners, Peacebuilders Community, Pinay Kilos (PINK), Resource Center for People’s Development, STOP the War Coalition Philippines, Sumpay Mindanao, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, Tulong Lupah Sug, Inc

REFERENCE:
Atty Corazon Fabros: +639178871153