GABRIELA USA Condemns Violent Dispersal and Arrests of of NutriAsia Workers! Justice for NutriAsia Workers NOW!
GABRIELA USA condemns the violent dispersal of 300 striking NutriAsia workers and their supporters. On July 30 in Marilao, Bulacan, protestors were sitting on the road at an ecumenical mass when around 70 Meycauyan police and security guards charged the picket line with police shields, stones, and rattan sticks. Among the 19 arrested and at least 20 wounded people are an elderly woman, youth, labor activists, journalists, and videographers documenting the protest. Those arrested included long-time community organizers from Southern California, Eric Tandoc and Hiyasmin Saturay. NutriAsia workers have been holding their picket line since early June to demand regularization, recognition of their union, safer working conditions, and fair pay. Although NutriAsia is a billion dollar multinational corporation (MNC), its employees are paid about $7 a day. Even workers who have been at NutriAsia for years are bound to contracts without benefits, which leaves them vulnerable to being fired for getting injured in the workplace or unionizing. It is understandable that under these conditions, NutriAsia workers are now fighting to make a living for themselves and their loved ones. Widespread mistreatment and lack of protection for workers contributes to the 5,000-6,000 people who leave the Philippines to find work every day— most of them being women. To them, it is no longer just about wages –- it is a bigger fight they need to win to regain their dignity as workers after their rights have been trampled upon for so long. GABRIELA USA recognizes that the lack of opportunity to work safe jobs with livable wages is rooted in imperialism, bureaucrat capitalism, and feudalism that continues to plague the Filipino people. NutriAsia employees exemplify the thousands of workers that must make difficult choices that impact their livelihood and families every day. The arrests of media personnel and the charge that drugs and guns were found on the picket line during mass are clearly an attempt by the corporation and Philippines National Police to delegitimize the workers’ cause. This is also a testament on how Duterte’s so called “war on drugs” is being used as an excuse to repress activism. We condemn NutriAsia in using contractualization schemes that are promoted and defended by Duterte. We can clearly see that the PNP is acting under the command of the macho-fascist Duterte who continues to breathe repression on the Filipino people with impunity. We encourage all workers and justice seekers to speak out against NutriAsia and the PNP and hold them accountable for their inhumane treatment of workers. GABRIELA USA calls on organizations and unions everywhere to RISE and UNITE to demand the release of the workers, allies, and journalists who have been arrested at the picket line. Sign the Petition DONATE and Support the NutriAsia workers Boycott NutriAsia! End Contractualization Now! Regularize NutriAsia Workers! End Trade Union Repression and State Violence! ### 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Angelica Lim, Chairperson GABRIELA Portland www.gabrielaportland.org gabriela.pdx@gmail.com Abolish ICE! No to Deportations and End U.S. Intervention Abroad! Portland, OR, June 23, 2018 -- The “zero tolerance” policy is an abhorrent move by the Trump administration. In the past five weeks, over 2,300 children were separated from their parents and placed in shelters under horrifying condition and amidst reports of ongoing abuse inside. We especially stand in solidarity with the women who have survived domestic violence and are seeking safety for themselves and their families. The recent executive order is a poor so-called “amendment” of this policy, since it lacks any plans to reunite families that have already been separated and calls for the creation of more detention centers that will hold families indefinitely. As GABRIELA Portland, we fiercely condemn the separation and detention of families at the border. However, we also recognize this is nothing new. It is merely a continuation of previous administrations’ efforts to destabilize previously colonized countries and create the conditions for forced migration. The draconian policies of the Trump administration only reveal the crisis of imperialism as capitalists will always prioritize profit over people. “The continued economic destabilization of previously colonized countries are forcing mothers to make hard choices about livelihood including how to provide food, clothing, and education to their children. This is true of Filipino women, who make up the majority of the 5,000-6,000 people leaving the Philippines every day in search of stable employment”, stated Vice Chair Daphne Auza. Many travel to the United States in order to send remittances back to the families they left behind, but not all are able to enter legally. One in five Filipinos in the United States are undocumented. Separating children from their families has long been a tactic used by the United States to traumatize indigenous, black, and brown women and families. From boarding schools for Native children, to the sale of African children into slavery, to the military order to “kill everyone over the age of 10” during the Filipino-American War, the policy of the Trump administration is merely the United States’ current manifestation of the same brutal violence it was founded on. “This is a reflection of the current economic situation, one where the profits gained from private prisons are given precedence over the distressed cries of children to be reunited with their families,” noted Chairperson Angelica Lim. We urge the greater Portland community to participate in and support local actions that call to abolish ICE facilities and the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy. We resolve not only to address ICE as a tool of imperialism, but also stand against U.S. intervention abroad that forces black, brown, and indigenous families apart. This is no time to be silent. Now more than ever, women must rise against this fascist state, resist these anti-people policies, and unite for the rights and welfare of migrants and refugees! ### #BabaeAko #OccupyICEPDX #abolishICEPDX #RiseResistUnite #MigrantRightsareHumanRights For Immediate Release
November 20, 2017 Reference: Angelica Lim, Chairperson, Gabriela Portland (gabriela.pdx@gmail.com) GABRIELA Portland Remembers the life of Jennifer Laude on Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilence On November 20th, 2017 Trans Day of Remembrance/Resilience, GABRIELA Portland and Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (PCHRP) remembers the life of Jennifer Laude, a trans woman killed by U.S. Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton in 2014. U.S. imperialism and a long history of feudalism have created violent and unsafe conditions for the Filipino people, especially working women and gender non-conforming individuals. Like many Filipina women forced into prostitution due to US imperialism causing a lack of job opportunities and economic uncertainties, Laude left her home in Leyte to support her family financially. She was 26 years old when she met Pemberton, who was in the Philippines for regular military exercises. In a sexual encounter, Pemberton killed Laude upon discovering that she was a trans woman. Pemberton was convicted of murder and given 12 years in jail, a sentence that was later reduced to 6-10 years. Initially the judge presiding over the trial demanded that Pemberton carry out his sentence in a Manila prison, but U.S. authorities refused to hand him over, citing the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Even in the final sentencing, the court lowered the charges to homicide rather than murder because Laude had not immediately disclosed her trans identity to Pemberton. We can trace this state-sponsored bigotry back to feudal patriarchy and U.S. imperialism. Feudal values that have persisted since Spanish colonization erase the history of gender-fluid identity in pre-colonial Philippines, like the babaylan who served as respected leaders and healers in ancient societies. Agreements between the United States and the GRP, like the VFA and its complementary Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), allow military personnel like Pemberton impunity when they participate in military practices on Philippine soil. Until today, the United States has shown no interest in loosening its military and economic holds on the Philippines. On his recent trip for the ASEAN Summit, Trump called the country “prime real estate from a military standpoint.” It is clear that the military presence aims to continue Obama’s strategic pivot to Southeast Asia and protect U.S. imperialism’s economic investments in the country’s resources, not hold American personnel harming trans lives accountable. Disregarding the Filipino people’s call for national sovereignty demonstrates both the United States and the Philippine government’s compliance in violence towards the Filipino trans community. Although Laude’s story took place in the Philippines, we see similar delays or total denials of justice and self-determination happening to trans women all over the world. U.S. Imperialism and Capitalism and its manifestations of white supremacy have a propensity for prioritizing profit over people that thrives here in the belly of the beast. We have seen its devastating, life-shortening effects on trans women of color. From our homeland to Candace Towns in Georgia to Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow in South Dakota, our organizations demand swift and immediate justice for all trans women of color and their loved ones. We desire a world where we may all thrive, where the human rights of all are upheld, where we are celebrated in all our gender expressions and identities. We pledge to continue to educate our communities on the need to fight for justice and self determination for all trans and gender nonconforming people, while building safer and supportive spaces. Our organizations invite the wider Portland community to learn more and to engage with our upcoming campaigns that serve our communities and put the needs of the people at the forefront of liberation work. Today, we unite in solidarity as we continue to link solidly with our trans and GNC siblings, in remembrance and resistance. GABRIELA Portland and PCHRP empower our community to join organizations that defend and fight for trans lives and human rights. Trans Lives Matter! End violence against trans and gender non-conforming people! Healthcare, housing, and human rights for trans and gender non-conforming people now! Justice for Jennifer Laude and for all victims of transphobia, militarization, and state violence! #TDOR 2017 #TurnUpForTrans People #TransJustice #StopTransViolence #USGTFO #Justice4JenniferLaude For Immediate Release
October 21, 2017 Contact: Angelica Lim, GABRIELA Portland Chairperson, gabrielaportland.org Portland, OR -- For Filipino-American History month and Domestic Violence Awareness month, GABRIELA Portland seeks to highlight the interpersonal, economic and systemic violence experienced by Filipinas. Too often these issues and their root causes are silenced because feudal patriarchy has been normalized to the point that women are treated not like agents of their own lives, but subject to patriarchal interests. As women engaged in the struggle for liberation through the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines, it is our duty to unearth and uplift the realities of Filipinas and truly understand the root causes of exploitation and repression. It is only through recognizing the chains that bind us that we will learn to break them. The recent case of domestic terrorism in Las Vegas by shooter Stephen Paddock further highlights the tropes of Filipinas as gold diggers, caretakers, and subservient mail-order brides. One news article discusses that Danley’s relationship with Paddock transformed into a dynamic of her doing caretaking work. Another news report discusses how he was verbally abusive towards her in public. Marilou Danley’s information, including her name and address were released by investigators and media on October 2nd before any of Paddock’s information, even though she was not a suspect. Three hundred and thirty three years of Spanish colonization embedded narratives of Filipinas as subservient to men. We know that Filipinas are victims of interpersonal violence at disproportionate rates. Their abuse is relegated to mere matters of the family, leaving the resolution of their suffering up to those who perpetrate that violence against them. Feelings of shame and isolation are echoed among Filipina survivors in the diaspora, who experience physical and emotional disconnect from their communities, including resources that could provide assistance or support. Unfair trade agreements between the United States and the Philippines create the conditions where an average 5,000-6,000 Filipinos migrate every day in search of economic opportunity and security. Seventy percent of migrant Filipinos are women, many of whom enter domestic work, which makes them further vulnerable to economic exploitation and interpersonal violence. Of those overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), roughly five million live in the United States, one million of which are undocumented. As recent high profile stories have shown, the economic violence committed against Filipina domestic workers is a widespread occurrence. We have seen this with Eudocia 'Lola' Pulido, whose exploitation took place here in the Pacific Northwest, and Edith Mendoza and Sherile Pahagas in New York, who are currently fighting for justice and a public apology from their former employer and German diplomat Pit Koehler. “The Philippines’ number one export is its own people. Many of these women left the Philippines in order to meet their basic needs, such as putting food on the table and sending their children to school,” said GABRIELA Portland Deputy Secretary General Internal, Aleris Villegas. Addressing the economic conditions in the Philippines through genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization would keep mothers with their families and lessen their economic burden. Militarization and counterinsurgency tactics like Oplan Kapayapaan further leave Filipinas in the homeland vulnerable to interpersonal and economic abuse. These anti-people policies normalize rape and murder as tools of war. In our #Justice4JenniferLaude campaign, we assert that it also is an example of how Filipinas are treated as disposable. On October 11, 2014 transwoman Jennifer Laude was found murdered by US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was later found guilty of aggravated murder in the Philippine courts. “Under the Enhanced Defense Military Agreement (EDCA), the US refuses to release him into Philippine custody showing how US military personnel are allowed to harm and kill with impunity,” said GABRIELA Portland Secretary General, Fredi Guerrero. Instead of pursuing national sovereignty, the Duterte administration has accepted more military aid from the United States in technological surveillance, weaponry, and joint-combat military exercises. These militaristic agreements only increase human rights abuses. This November, GABRIELA Portland will be honoring the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW). As women in the struggle, we organize against these varying and persistent forms of violence, building a community that is empowered to reclaim their history and take action against these injustices. We not only envision a world where women are free of interpersonal and economic violence, but agitate, organize and mobilize for political power and the liberation of our people. “The ever-worsening crisis of imperialism will continue to heighten the oppression of the Filipino people. Only through building an anti-imperialist united front will the chains around us be broken,” stated GABRIELA Portland Chairperson Angelica Lim. Like the revolutionary mothers before us, we will be bold and daring in exposing and opposing the root problems of violence against women. As women engaged in the struggle, as women unbound, we continue the call of GABRIELA USA to Rise against Fascism, Resist Militarization, and Unite for Liberation. We invite the the larger Portland community to join us as we forge ahead to seek a new and bright future, a future towards liberation and justice. Rise, Resist, Unite! Justice4JennierLaude Kababayan4Change USGTFO ### 
For Immediate Release
May 23, 2017 GABRIELA Portland condemns the threat of Martial Law in Mindanao, recognizing that this opens the door to more human rights violations. With increased militarization comes increased violence against women and children. We encourage the Government of the Republic of the Philippines to engage in Peace Talks and address the root causes of the armed conflict. We discourage the deployment of more US troops in the Philippines, which will only further US imperialism within the region. This is in direct violation of the people’s aspirations for national sovereignty. We stand with all Moro people and the oppressed masses in their struggle for self-determination and liberation.
#NoToMartialLaw #NeverAgain #PeaceTalksNow To learn more about what is happening, please read the following statement put out by Cristina Ellazar Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan or the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights-Philippines that works for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines: www.facebook.com/tinay.palabay/posts/10211387821103999 
For Immediate Release
May 3rd, 2017 Contact: Joseph Gonzalez, Chairperson, Anakbayan Portland, anakbayanpdx@gmail.com Nikki De Leon, Chairperson, PCHRP, portlandchrp@gmail.com Angelica Lim, Chairperson, Gabriela Portland, gabriela.pdx@gmail.com Police Escalation Endangers Working Families, Immigrants, Faith Leaders, & Community Members at May Day March Portland, OR - On May 1, 2017 the Portland May Day Coalition welcomed the JustPeace PH Peace Tour, a US-wide speaking tour of Filipino human rights defenders on the frontlines of the struggle to address the root causes of the civil war in the Philippines, an armed conflict which has claimed the lives of a reported 30,000 people since it began in 1969. The rally featured Cristina Elizar Palabay, the Secretary General of KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights- Philippines. KARAPATAN works for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines, working to expose and defend human rights violations against Filipino farmers and indigenous people protecting their land from incursions by large local and foreign multinational corporations. A legally permitted, city sanctioned march was scheduled to follow the rally. After hours of peaceful protest, officers from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) endangered the lives of hundreds of community members by shooting rubber bullets and tear gas into a crowd that included families with children, immigrants, and people with disabilities. The march that had been planned by a large collective of community organizations was declared an “unlawful assembly” under accusations of violence towards police. In a reckless show of force by PPB officers, marchers were not given the opportunity to exit the march after the permit was revoked. Multiple news sources (including NBC, ABC, KGW, and the Oregonian) referred to this march as a “riot”. This false characterization is a dangerous assertion that police use of force is permissible, even encouraged, by the City of Portland. A media statement put out by the Portland May Day Coalition states: “ Today the Portland police chose to violently escalate a peaceful march. The people asserted their (lawful) right to be in the street and express solidarity with immigrants, with workers, with Indigenous sovereignty, and against capitalism... ...the PPB attacked a permitted march whose only goal was to keep moving along its planned route because some noisemakers and name-calling were enough of an excuse for them to use their large surplus of explosives and chemical weapons against those who had committed to rise, resist, and unite, against fascism and capitalism.” As justice seekers and human rights defenders linking arms with workers of the world, we see the clear connections between the violent repression of democratic protest in the United States and the incursions of the US military into the Philippines. Angelica Lim, Chairperson of Gabriela Portland, offered, “The same reasons for the necessity of the Peace Tour are also manifested in the people’s right to organize here in the Belly of the Beast. This hyper-militarization and attack on workers shows us that the state and its economic interest are prioritized over the interest of workers, women, families and communities all over the world. As the Peace Talks highlight the need for genuine peace in the Philippines, we link the struggle of self-determination, land, and livelihood of the toiling masses of all nations against imperialism.” A former official colony of the United States, the Philippines was nominally granted national independence in 1945. Though the formal colonial relationship has ended, the influence of the US in the Philippines remains the principle guiding force in the social, economic, and political spheres. The Philippines continues to receive millions of dollars in US foreign military aid, which is often used to violently suppress lawful acts of protest and free speech in the country. This relationship can be seen in the counter-insurgency campaign Oplan Kapayapaan waged by the Armed Forces of the Philippines against the peasants and workers in rural communities. While this campaign takes its title from the Tagolog word for “peace”, US military spending and training have directly enabled the extrajudicial killings, abductions, tortures, and mass displacement in the countryside. The violence has been specifically targeted against community organizers, with 401 currently being held as political prisoners -- the charges against these activists are usually trumped up by reactionary forces in order to imprison the voice of the people. This hypocritical naming of a violent military suppression campaign invokes the message of the Peace Tour - without justice, there can never truly be peace. The disproportionate and dangerous response of the Portland Police Bureau to the May Day march is a clear indicator of the City of Portland’s priorities towards the creation of a just community. GABRIELA Portland, Anakbayan Portland, and Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines stand in opposition to the state sponsored violence against this act of peaceful protest. The beauty and power of the people’s collective voice rose during this years Portland May Day, marked with solidarity, unity, and a call for liberation. We will continue to defend the right to resist attacks on our community, as we struggle towards a just and lasting peace, in the Philippines, the United States and all across the world. The Peace Tour event was organized by the International Coalition for Human Rights - Northern California Network, with support from legal, faith and environmental justice partners. From April 18-May 8, the Peace Tour tours New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Oakland, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Chicago and St. Paul, MN. For more on the tour, visit: www.humanrightsphilippines.net/events or #JustPeacePH. ### |
 (Delegates from the JustPeace PH Peace Tour march in downtown Portland)
For Immediate Release
May 1, 2017 Contact: Drew Elizarde-Miller, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines PNW ichrp.pnw@gmail.com 503 476 2179 Amidst Escalating State Violence on May Day, Community Members Join Together in International Solidarity To Rally for Peace with Justice From Portland to the Philippines Portland, OR- On May 1st, 2017 delegates from the JustPeacePH Peace Tour 2017 joined hundreds of immigrants, workers, students, and families for a legally-permitted community march hosted by the Portland May Day Coalition. The JustPeacePH Peace Tour brings Indigenous organizers, faith leaders, and human rights observers to discuss the ongoing peace process in the Philippines. The rally featured Cristina Elizar Palabay, the Secretary General of KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights- Philippines. KARAPATAN works for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines, working to expose and defend human rights violations against Filipino farmers and indigenous people protecting their land from incursions by large local and foreign multinational corporations. With the conclusion of the fourth round of peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), residents from the Greater Portland Metro Area convened to welcome the Peace Tour, a US-wide speaking tour of Filipino human rights defenders on the frontlines of the struggle to address the root causes of the civil war in the Philippines, an armed conflict which has claimed the lives of a reported 30,000 people since it began in 1969. In the United States, the focal point of mainstream media coverage has been President Duterte's so-called "war on drugs". Given recent international attention to the upwards of 7,000 extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, the Peace Tour aims to expand support for the continuation of the peace talks between the NDFP and GRP, and help build the movement in solidarity with the Filipino people’s aspirations for just and lasting peace in the Philippines. Delegates of the peace tour remarked that there is no gap between the calls of May Day-- for jobs and worker’s rights--and the call for the continuation of the peace talks in the Philippines. Another member of the Peace Tour delegation, Dulphing Ogan (Secretary General of Kalumaran, an Alliance of Indigenous People’s organizations in Southern Philippines) noted, “As indigenous lumad people, we have long understood the exploitation of our people and land as the interests of the wealthy elite against the interests of farmers and workers. The peace talks must address the economic problems at the root of the armed conflict; for us, peace is returning the land and jobs stolen from us.” Accompanied by raucous chanting and singing, leaders from the Peace Tour led a contingent of organizations united under the banner of ending economic exploitation, foreign military intervention, and the effects of colonialism on Indigenous peoples worldwide. The Towards Liberation!: Rise Up and Fight rally and contingent was co-sponsored and endorsed by numerous organizations including the Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (PCHRP), GABRIELA Portland, Anakbayan Portland, Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (AAPRP), Brown Berets, and People Organizing for Philippine Solidarity among others. Joining as working peoples of the world, the contingent united in this struggle against imperialism, capitalism and colonialism. The march came to a stop when riot police in military gear threatened May Day participants with use of force. Such demands on the part of the police furthered affirmed the message of the Towards Liberation contingent: that across the world, masses of people are denied basic rights to freedom of movement and freedom of speech, and that peace will not last until the masses of people retain their basic rights to self-determination. LJ Johnson, member of Showing Up for Racial Justice & People Organizing for Philippine Solidarity, remarked on the need for unity across movements: “We see clearly the devastating effects of systems that exploit our communities for economic gain of the ruling class. Until all people understand that our struggles are inextricably linked we are doomed to perpetuate the violence of imperialism, capitalism, and colonialism. From Portland to the Philippines we must build the broadest alliance of people to rise up and fight for people’s rights.” The peace negotiations between the GRP and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) aim to address the roots of the conflict, but have flown under the radar in a virtual international media blackout of the peace talks. With little coverage available to the international community, the Peace Tour aims to provide education and build support for the peace process in the Philippines. In Portland, where people of color are a demographic minority, Peace Tour speakers joined the call of representatives of the May Day Coalition in calling for unity among marginalized peoples. International solidarity, they asserted, is the key to lasting structural change. Quoting the author and human right's advocate Arundhati Roy, delegate Cristina Ellazar Palabay told the crowd "... another world is possible, and I can hear her breathing." The Peace Tour event was organized by the International Coalition for Human Rights - Northern California Network, with support from legal, faith and environmental justice partners. From April 18-May 8, the Peace Tour tours New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Oakland, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Chicago and St. Paul, MN. For more on the tour, visit: www.humanrightsphilippines.net/events or #JustPeacePH. Livestream of the May 1 Portland Events, Towards Liberation!: Rise Up and Fight Rally , can be found at: facebook.com/justpeaceph ### 
(Peace Tour delegate Cristina Ellazar Palabay, center, speaking at the Portland May Day rally)
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(Members of the All-African Revolutionary Party marching with the “Towards Liberation! Rise Up and Fight” contingent)
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(May Day marchers dancing and chanting in the the “Towards Liberation! Rise Up and Fight” contingent)
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For Immediate Release
January 21, 2017 Reference: Adrianne Sebastian, Vice Chairperson Fredi Misay, Mass Campaigns Member gabriela.pdx@gmail.com Gabriela Portland Rises against Fascism, Resists against Militarization and Unites for Liberation! Portland, OR --- Capitalism is not serving the people. It never has and never will. It continues to lay waste to the most devastating exploitation of women all across the world. Through the national actions of GABRIELA USA, GABRIELA Portland continues to wage the fight against imperialism and capitalism, rising and uniting against the oppression of women at the Women’s March in Portland. “The only way to defeat this fascist beast is our collective strength. It is through organizing. It is through our will and power to unite”, urges Angelica Lim, Chairperson of GABRIELA Portland. GABRIELA Portland is a grassroots militant Filipina organization that is advancing the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines through political action, education, cultural expression and mobilizing our community. In solidarity with the Portland Brown Berets, Pochas Radicales and Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (PCHRP), GABRIELA Portland lead an anti-imperialist, anti-fascist contingent demanding justice. Together, we united in genuine international solidarity. “The 100,000 women in these streets today is a testament to the resistance of women and we refuse to be silenced! The new president pushes anti-immigrant and racist ideologies, yet this is nothing new. As Filipinas we remain ready to resist and put our bodies at the frontlines for a future we believe to be possible,” states Adrianne Sebastian, Vice Chairperson of GABRIELA Portland. The incoming Trump administration will implement neoliberal policies that threaten the lives of immigrants, LGBTQ, Muslims, Black people, low-income families, people with disabilities, women and children. Through the Women’s March, GABRIELA Portland spoke to the hundreds of thousands of people, raising the analysis to a global perspective, highlighting the ever worsening crisis of global imperialism. The hyper-militarization of poor nations, where governments prioritize profit over people and commodify women through their labor and their bodies will only worsen under a new fascist regime. Working-class women and their families will continue to bear the weightiest costs of a system that profits from the exploitation of the majority. The National Democratic mass movement, representing the democratic aspirations of the Filipino people, will continue to wage a vibrant struggle against US imperialism, linking the struggles of all oppressed peoples and nations. “GABRIELA Portland is helping to expand the anti-imperialist united front in Portland. Today we represented not just the Filipino people but all people waging liberation in their lands. In solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the Portland Brown Berets, we marched together with resilience against Imperialism, capitalism and its manifestations of white supremacy,” explains Fredi Misay, Mass Campaigns Member of GABRIELA Portland. Now is the time to join an organization where we learn about our rights and how to take collective action! We must organize within our communities for a world that loves and protects its people. From the Philippines to Palestine, to Ferguson, to Standing Rock, to today, right now, we rise amongst the ranks of justice seekers. Rise against Fascism! Rise to End Violence Against Women (VAW)! Resist against Militarization! Resist Economic Violence! Unite for Liberation of all oppressed peoples! #### |
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For Immediate Release
October 20, 2016 Reference: Angelica A. Lim, Chairperson Angelica.a.lim@gmail.com GABRIELA Portland Denounces the Violent Dispersal of Peaceful Protest of Indigenous People and National Minorities at the U.S. Embassy in Manila “From the Philippines to Standing Rock.” GABRIELA Portland stands in solidarity with our indigenous and Moro comrades in Manila and condemn the violent nature in which their peaceful protest was dispersed. On the morning of Wednesday, October 19, members of the newly-formed SANDUGO alliance of indigenous people and national minorities in the Philippines convened at the U.S. Embassy in Manila to call for an end to U.S. military presence throughout the country when members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) began attempting to disperse the crowd using tear-gas, batons, and other violent means. PNP also started arresting demonstrators, including some minors. The scene culminated in a horrific display when police drove through the crowd with a van, injuring at least fifty people. GABRIELA Portland recognizes that the issues of oppression by the state and police violence are felt by marginalized communities across the globe, including here in Portland and across the continent. Indigenous peoples of North America, including the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, are actively protecting their land and water against the Dakota Access Pipeline and are experiencing police and state violence as a result. We are linked in the struggle against the terror, violence and political repression enforced by the state and governments that are supposed to protect its people, and are outraged by the PNP’s reaction. We also know that the PNP is directly influenced by the training and corruption of US Imperialism, which continues to exploit the Filipino people and devastate our lands. We know that among the most affected, indigenous and Moro women and children stand to receive compound effects of state violence, neglecting the health and welfare of families. We demand that Col. Marcelino Pedrozo and the PNP be held accountable for their acts of violence towards this peaceful assembly of indigenous people and national minorities calling for land, rights, and just peace. We call for the end to the continuous violence against the people, speaking out and demanding justice. We call for the end to US Imperialist occupation and its direct influence on Philippine Government. #LakbayanPambansangMinorya #justpeacePH #### |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2016 Contact: Angelica A. Lim, Chairperson, GABRIELA Portland, gabrielapdx@gmail.com GABRIELA Portland and Solidarity Allies Exposure Trip to North Cotabato GABRIELA PDX at Spottswood Methodist Center, where thousands of Lumad and farmers sought refuge after the Kidapawan Massacre on April 1st. “We are catalysts. We can’t push you, but we can travel together side-by-side, arm in arm,” uges Percinita “Daidai” Sanchez, director of Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Incorporated (MISFI). From July 16-20th, GABRIELA Portland (GAB PDX) with the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (PCHRP), Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights, and Portland Rising Tide integrated with North Cotabato communities to witness and document the numerous grave people’s rights violations perpetrated by the US-funded and US-guided Philippine Government, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and paramilitary troops. The cooperation between US Imperialists and the ruling class of the Philippines make way for transnational mining corporations and Agro-businesses to work in unison with Philippine landlords and compradors to grab and lay claim to the Ancestral Domain of the indigenous Lumad peoples. “As a delegation of international solidarity allies and Filipino Americans integral to the movement for National Democracy in the Philippines, GABRIELA Portland is here to expose and oppose the corruption and culture of impunity of the Philippine government that red-bates Lumad leaders, while binding them in legal disputes based on trumped-up charges, a tactic that has been primarily guided by US Imperial intervention”, stated Adrianne Sebastian, GABRIELA Portland Vice Chair. The Portland and New York delegations visited Alibunan in the municipality of Arakan, N. Cotabato to learn how the drought is worsening the semi-feudal conditions of the communities. The group met with the family of Darwin Sulang, a 22-year old farmer who was murdered during the Kidapawan Massacre. “As his family seeks justice for his death and accountability by the Philippine government armed forces for their loss, the family faces elevating harassment and bribery by the paramilitary, forcing them to move daily from home to home seeking protection. Darwin’s father stays resilient knowing that bribery and money are not the true forms of justice or reparations”, explains Trisha Elizarde-Miller, GABRIELA Portland Secretary General. Also in contradiction to the real conditions of the drought, the Barangay captain and Mayor of Magpet, told the delegates that the Lumad had been given Government assistance in the form of sacks of rice for famine relief. Yet, the Monobo tribes and community members of state that not only was promised government assistance not given, but the price of food such as coconuts, bananas, and other local produce drastically increased. This is a prime example of how the capitalist market forces are not in favor of those most marginalized and vulnerable, but are only concerned with increased profit, even in the face of environmental and climate calamities. The delegation also integrated with the Monobo Peoples in Tempuran, Magpet where they met with Bai Norma Capuyan, Chairperson of Apo Sandawa Lumadnong Panaghiusa sa Cotabato (ASLPC), Chairperson of BAI Mindanao indigenous women’s network, and vice chairperson of KALUMARAN. She spoke to the land grabbing and planting of rubber trees by the ruling class of the Philippines to maintain Lumad as slaves of their own land. Again, the Philippine government worked against the rights of the Lumad to secure and protect their ancestral domain, creating trumped up charges of animal murder, robbery, paralyzing economic activity and grave threat. Yet, the spirit of the people continues to rise to expose the corruption of the government and oppose landlord and corporate interests. Within the Monobo tribe, the delegation met with the President of the women’s sector and other resilient women leaders. “Here we were able to bear witness to the ways feudal patriarchy is enacted against the women and the ways they are mobilizing. Often, women in their 20’s are forced to migrate to the city to work as household help to earn livable wages, further exposing them to physical and economic violence. Women told us of their campaigns against domestic violence, making sure women abused are empowered to jail their husbands with community support”, explains Aleris Villegas, GABRIELA Portland member of the Educational Development Committee. In addition, the Portland and New York delegations visited MISFI Academy, a school providing free, progressive, and community-relevant education to its students, teaching them how to protect their ancestral domains, and how to provide community-specific services such as dental work and traditional herbal medicine. As described by a young Lumad girl, “In public schools, the teachers would shame us for being late. We had to walk a very long way. Here at MISFI, the teachers and students are equal.” The delegation ended with a cultural solidarity night that allowed the children, students, and teachers to enact the impacts of the trauma caused by militarization. It is clear that the children and the rest of the community deeply understand the call to fight, defend their ancestral lands, and to save their schools. GABRIELA Portland calls on the global community to join side-by-side and arm in arm to take action against these grave injustices of people’s rights. We have witnessed semi-colonial, semi-feudal and feudal-patriarchal conditions of the country specifically impacting the rights and welfare of Filipino women. As members of GABRIELA Portland, we dedicate our lives to genuinely serving the people until true liberation for Filipinas and the Philippines is attained. We urge the new presidency of Duterte to enact the Women’s Agenda for CHANGE called by GABRIELA Philippines, and resume the peace talks between the GRP-NDFP so that we may continue the fight for justice and lasting peace for the Lumad, migrants, mothers and women in the Philippines and around the world. Yutang Kabilin! Depensahan, depensahan! Panalipdan! Ancestral Land! Defend, Defend! Protect! #SaveOurSchools #StopLumadKillings #WomenwantCHANGE #USoutofthePhilippines #GABRIELAUSA #ICPRP2016 ### |