Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

from Monica Urrutia, PSAC Regional Representative

Hi all,

Many of you know that I am very active in the Filipino community. As the press release below states the political killings in the Philippines keeps increasing, so the Filipino community and our supporters and allies are also stepping up starting off with weekly actions at the Philippine consulate. International condemnation seems to be one of the few things the current Philippine President responds or reacts to. With that in mind I am sending this out to those within the PSAC and the labour movement whom I’ve met or worked with and ask for your support.

There are always loads of things to do but to keep it simple I’ll list just a few:

1. Come to at least one of the weekly vigils. We have them scheduled to kick off this Friday, August 11, and will be held every Friday until October 27th. Today’s vigil will be from 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm but keep in touch for future ones because we might make them start a little later in order to accommodate those who want to participate after their work. update: vigils will take place from 5-7PM, starting August 18th.
2. Donate flowers/candles for the vigil. Each week we will have an educational/commemoration program on those who have been killed (often and unfortunately those killed since the last vigil) and will include a laying of flowers/lighting candles ceremony as part of the commemoration. If you have flowers in your own garden, or know people who be willing to donate flowers/candles please let me know and I can coordinate with you which week they can be brought. We are requesting cut flowers to symbolize how the lives of these progressive activists have also been cut short and will no longer bloom.
3. Write letters of protest. If you’re interested in doing this let me know and I’ll get you on a special “urgent actions” email list so that you can respond. The ‘urgent actions’ usually come with a suggested letter format.

There are lots of other things that could be done, but I promised to list only a few. I also know as seasoned activists you’ll find your own way to support and also continue the important and progressive work you are also doing.

Thanks for your continued support, more power to us all!

In Solidarity, Monica Urrutia, urrutim@psac.com

For immediate release, 9 August 2006 - Media Advisory

Local Filipino community to launch weekly vigils against escalation of political killings in the Philippines

Vancouver, B.C. - Responding to the intensified use of political repression in the Philippines under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through killings of activists, church people, journalists, judges and other unarmed civilians, local Filipino groups alongside Canadian supporters will launch plans for weekly Friday afternoon vigils during a press conference on Friday, 11 August 2006, 10:30 a.m. at 451 Powell Street, Vancouver.

The local Filipino community will announce goals to step up its protest actions demanding that Vancouver-based Philippine Consul General Minerva Falcon publicly condemn the undeclared state of martial law in the Philippines. Organizers argue that although the primary duty of the Philippine government is to protect the life of the people, the Arroyo administration has hardly done anything to address the extrajudicial killings effectively.

As of 1 August 2006, 717 Filipinos have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings since Arroyo assumed presidency in 2001. Since the first quarter of 2005, one person has been killed every two days. They are workers, farmers, lawyers, teachers, students, pastors, priests, and human rights advocates. For the over 700 killed, all were unarmed citizens, and none of the killers have been convicted to date.

One of the latest attacks involves the shooting death of Isaias Sta. Rosa, 47, a pastor of the United Methodist Church in Albay, Bicol who was also a member of a leftist farmers’ group, outside his home last Thursday, August 3. Other recent victims include the killing of Alice Claver, and the attempted murder of her husband, Dr. Constancio “Chandu” Claver and their seven year-old daughter, Cassandra, who were ambushed on 31 July 2006 in Tabuk, Kalinga. Dr. Claver is the Chairperson of Bayan Muna-Kalinga (People First), a progressive political partylist. Alice was an active member of Cordillera students’ organizations.

The Friday, August 11 press conference will feature speakers from the British Columbia Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, the Philippine Women Centre of B.C., and the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance. They will highlight some of the stories of women, youth, as well as human rights workers themselves who have been victims of politically-motivated killings.

The weekly vigils will take place in front of the Philippine Consul office, 700 West Pender (at Granville), every Friday beginning on August 11 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. until October 27. The vigils will include mock tombstones with the names of victims, candle lighting, offering of flowers and dramatizations to honor the many who have died for their conviction for social change.

There are an estimated 500,000 Filipinos in Canada, making them the fourth largest visible minority group in the country. Filipinos are the third largest visible minority group in B.C. and the second in Vancouver.

Filipino community members in Toronto and Montreal are also holding protest actions, information drives, and petition signing as part of the Stop the Killings in the Philippines international campaign, building up to September 21 internationally coordinated protests to mark the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law under former President Marcos and a fact-finding mission to the Philippines on the state of human rights in November.

For information on the growing international campaign, please visit cp-union.org and pinoyhr.net

For Filipino-Canadian participation in the Stop the Killings in the Philippines campaign, please visit kalayaancentre.net or call Sheila Farrales at 604-215-1103 or email pwc@kalayaancentre.net