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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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Fil-Am running for Congress wins
discrimination suit vs. U.S. federal government
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Gonzalo Policarpio with NY State Senator Frank Padavan at the Northeast
Queens Republican Club dinner, September 25, 2003.
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NEW YORK, September 30, 2004 --- A New York City court found in favor of a Filipino-American running for Congress in a discrimination lawsuit brought against the U.S. federal government and its agencies.
The court awarded $27,500 to plaintiff Gonzalo M. Policarpio, an independent candidate in the 5th Congressional District of New York in the coming elections, as settlement for his employment and retaliation claims filed against the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies, including the INS.
In 2000, Policarpio initially sued his former employer — the INS — without asking for any compensatory damages, after he was denied the benefit of priority consideration for promotion based on the agency’s act of reprisal for whistleblowing.
“I was a supervisor at the INS in Long Island, New York, initiating backlog operations. One day my team found a room full of pending cases for naturalization,” Policarpio, 63, said. “When I brought the matter to my immediate boss, I was told to “fix it” — meaning cover what I found. Of course, I couldn’t do it because I was asked to do something unlawful.”
Policarpio said after he declined to follow unlawful orders, his job performance was rated “minimally satisfactory.” It was the time that he appealed before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, which settled his case later that year and changed the rating to “fully satisfactory.”
But his struggles for a promotion didn’t end there. Despite his higher qualifications over the other selected candidates, Policarpio said, he still wasn’t considered for promotion several times.
“I was interviewed for promotions, but I wasn’t promoted. The reason given to me was that ‘you are not loyal to the management’,” he said.
On March 14, 2002, after completing the informal discrimination complaint process, Policarpio filed a formal case with the Department of Justice Office of Equal Employment Opportunity based in Washington, D.C.
It was then his lawyer, Ambrose Wotorson, advised him to bring up his complaint into a civil case of employment discrimination based on race, color, ethnic origin, age and reprisal.
Policarpio also filed a separate case of retaliation against his supervisors at the Adjustment of Status Unit of the BCIS Adjudications Branch in Manhattan, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handling the case.
On Aug. 23, 2004, U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley for the Southern District of New York opted to give Policarpio a monetary compensation of $27,500.
“Should my case have gone to Trial by Jury, the original amount of compensatory damages claimed amounting to about $150,000 would have been awarded to me,” Policarpio said.
He decided to accept the settlement in order to free himself from any court proceedings since he has been campaigning hard for his candidacy in the Congress.
“This is victory for me. Justice still prevails in America,” Policarpio said. “This is a symbol of my justice for my struggles with inequality to achieve the American Dream.”
The monetary settlement, he said, is also a vindication of his long struggle for equal career opportunity dating back to 1994 when he first lodged a discrimination complaint based on his national origin.
His complaint, however, didn’t prosper, because he said he “couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer at that time.”
“I was then an inspector at the INS Newark office. Because of my Filipino accent, I wasn’t treated fairly.”
He said he will keep the monetary settlement, which he expects to receive next month, for his retirement. He plans not not use a single cent of it for his campaign.
If elected on Nov. 2, Policarpio said he will strengthen the enforcement of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1967, as amended, as well as implement equal employment opportunity and tax regulations for Americans regardless of color and ethnic backgrounds.
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A group of children hold on to a placard during a rally near the US Embassy
in Manila calling for the return of the Balangiga Bells. The church bells
was taken by the American soldiers during the Filipino-American war of
September 28, 1901 as a war booty and are now in the possession of the 9th U.S.
Infantry regiment at their base in South Korea and two others remain with the
11th Infantry Regiment at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
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Chicago, ILLINOIS, September 30, 2004 --- The American government must abide by its bilateral treaties, and its own American law, if it wants to regain its “plummeting credibility on the war on terrorism,” according to British author Bob Couttie.
According to Couttie’s new book, “Hang The Dogs: The True Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre,” the U.S. government’s refusal to return religious artifacts, two bells, looted from a church in Balangiga, Samar at the central Philippines, 103 years ago this week, is taking a toll on the U.S. war on terrorism.
Today, the bells are mounted as war trophies in Wyoming, “mainly by accident,” according to Couttie. The third bell is located at the 9th Infantry Museum at Camp Red Cloud in Tongduchon, South Korea.
In an e-mail, Couttie said: “It is ironic that the very first agreement signed by the US government with the new Philippine government, on the same day that the U.S. gave independence to the Philippines, has been ignored for more than half a century. Under the treaty of general relations, the bells should have been returned, and they remain a sore point between the Philippines and the United States even today.”
“With the present war on terrorism, America needs every friend it can get and it needs to earn the right to be trusted. Breaking international treaties and agreements is not a great way to gain trust. Returning the bells would be a small gesture, but one that would show that America keeps its word.”
“Under American law, both civil and military,” Couttie said, “the bells still belong to the town of Balangiga. If the American government wants other countries to adhere to, and abide by American law, then it must first do so at home. The bells should be returned. If the most powerful man in the world can’t do what is ethically and morally right to do, then we’re all in trouble.”
Filipinos have firmly backed the United States in every conflict of the 20th century. Last month, the Philippine government was forced by domestic pressure to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from Iraq. It was the first time in the country’s history that it did not toe the American line” in not negotiating with the terrorists.
“The Philippine president was elected on a slim mandate and she had little choice but to withdraw Philippine troops after the kidnap and threatened beheading of a Filipino truck driver,” explains Couttie, “Returning the bells, which are intensely symbol of the Filipinos fight for independence, may have given her the leverage she needed to keep troops in Iraq. So, the issue is not just theoretical. Not returning the bells is detrimental to America’s own interests.”
The Balangiga incident itself occurred on September 28, 1901, during the Philippine War of Independence following the refusal of then-president William McKinley to recognize Philippine independence. Townspeople in Balangiga on Samar, central Philippines, attacked and defeated a garrison of the 9th Infantry, killing two thirds of the American soldiers. Later the town was burned and the commander of US forces on the island ordered the killing of everyone over the age of ten. A month later the bells were looted by members of the 11th Infantry who took them to Wyoming. The town priest had opposed the attack on the garrison but was ignored.
‘American promises’ is a term widely used in the Philippines to denote promises made without being kept. Couttie said, “This is a bad time for ‘American promises.’ It is in the country’s interest to be seen to act lawfully and honourably and return the bells.”
A native of Woking, Surrey, England, Couttie was a former foreign correspondent for various UK publications, before becoming a video director, film screenwriter and radio playwright. His first book, “Forbidden Knowledge: The Paranormal Paradox,” was published in 1988.
In the Philippines, he is best known as co-writer and associate producer for ABS-CBN’s “Goodbye America.”
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NEW YORK, September 30, 2004 --- Former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez, who is serving a two-year term in a jail in Florida, may be returning to the country as early as November.
Manila Rep. Joey Hizon said, in a statement sent to press, the court may reduce Jimenez’s sentence.
“He may be able to return to the country in November,” Hizon said, based on his conversation with Jimenez.
Others who were close to Jimenez could not confirm Hizon’s statement.
Francisco Escueta, Jimenez’s lawyer, said Jimenez never told him about a shortened sentenced when they talked a month ago.
Escueta said all he knows is that Jimenez’s American lawyers were preparing to file a motion to reduce his sentence.
“I just donít know whether the plan pushed ahead or not,” he said.
Even former Bulacan Rep. Wilfrido Villarama said he wasnít aware of any plans of Jimenez returning to the country, but noted it could be true.
“The two-year sentence could be lowered since the offense was considered a white-collar one,” Villarama said.
Jimenez was extradited to the United States in December 2002 on charges of election fraud and tax evasion during the Clinton administration.
About a year later, the House of Representatives declared Jimenez’s seat vacant.
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NEW YORK, September 30, 2004 --- Two months ago, the U.S. government was dismayed when Philippine troops withdrew from Iraq, triggering a diplomatic fiasco and temporary cooling of a relationship.
Now, renewed efforts to start negotiations to end war and terrorism in Southern Mindanao, gave impetus for a new peace talks, boosting support from the U.S government.
That was the issue on the complex struggle for peace in Mindanao tackled by foreign relation experts, Muslim leaders, government representatives, non-government organizations and members of the academe gathered on Monday in a forum sponsored by the Asia Society.
“We need to go back and ask Congress to appropriate more money that would be spent in peace process in Mindanao,” Eugene Martin, executive director of the US Institute of Peace (USIP) said in an interview during the forum. USIP is playing a major role in the peace talks and was tasked by the White House and the State Department to facilitate a lasting peace in Mindanao. “Two sides must come together again. The (Philippine) government must be interested to share power so they have more contact and don’t need to fight,” said Martin.
He said they were working with Malaysian representatives so they could work together for a successful peace talks, and that USIP was ready to bring together the two opposing parties and to offer its expertise to guarantee a peace agreement.
Martin said the challenge on the peace talks is “to negotiate with one voice, rather than through the back channels “ and to find ways to build confidence-building measures.
He said $30 million aid has been fully given to the Philippine government this month to support education programs in war-ravaged Mindanao and to create projects that would improve the economy of the afflicted areas.
In the aftermath of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. gave a closer attention on Mindanao in the wake of reports that its jungles have been used as a training grounds of Al Qaeda terrorists. The terrorist group- Jamaah Islamiyah, a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda was known to have set up cells in Mindanao and Indonesia.
Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez, senior research associate of USIP, said the U.S. would apply a carrot and stick approach to achieve peace.
The US, she said, would grant more incentives if peace would be achieved, as well as would impose sanctions if there would be violations on peace agreement.
She said past peace talks failed because conditions and agreement were not fulfilled.
Peace talks in 2000 and 2003 were derailed in view of continued violence in the area. The sending of U.S. troops for joint military exercises also scared off some members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to talk on the negotiating table.
The government also failed to implement livelihood projects and infrastructure projects that would uplift the lives of the Muslim people, making the 1996 peace agreement a failure, said Carolyn Arguillas, editor of the Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Center.
In a forum, she said there were no international observers during the 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), adding that “grassroot ceasefire monitoring team” was also needed.
She said Mindanao, a "land of promise,” is beset with conflicts over its land and rich resources like gold. Despite its rich natural resources, millions of indigenous Muslim minorities in Mindanao have remained poor, Arguillas said.
With the coming of 60 members of international monitoring team on Oct. 10, Mindanao leaders saw a glimmer of hope.
“As Muslims, we stand firmly for peace and justice. In this context, we fully agree with and strongly endorse the popular consensus that the war in Mindanao, as in all conflicts and wars throughout the globe, should be resolved thorough peaceful dialogs and through the democratic processes, said.
Dr. Syed Lingga, chairman of Bangsamora People’s Consulatative Assembly, in a paper. He and other panelists flew from Cotabato City and other Mindanao cities, to the U.S. to attend the conference.
Lingga said a creative formula was needed to ensure a lasting peace.
“Peace process is incremental. Its benefits are achieved through the years. We must continue the peace talks,” said Lingga in an interview.
He also supports the holding of a referendum to be supervised by the United Nations so that Muslim and Christians in Mindanao could vote if they want to be an independent state or remain part of the Philippine government. He called for right to freedom and independence of the Muslim people in Mindanao.
Lingga said that the issues of mass poverty, neglect and underdevelopment and other social inequities should be addressed to solve the conflict in Mindanao.
As part of conditions on the peace talks, Muslim representatives want that criminal charges against their leaders be withdrawn, he said.
Nicholas Platt, president emeritus of Asia Society and former U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, wrote in a column published at the International Herald Tribune that all sides should take a fresh look at the negotiations. He said President Gloria Arroyo has declared her commitment to peace in Mindanao and is cracking down on terrorist cells and even readying a battalion of soldiers to go back to Iraq under the mandate of UN.
During the forum, Platt said the strategic framework for peace is to support moderate Islam.
David Phillips, senior fellow and deputy director of Council on Foreign Relations is pushing for new deals with Philippine government that would promote economic, government and defense security in Mindanao.
He supports debt-reduction, setting up of a watchdog to check corruption and basic safety net to boost the Philippine economy and to improve its defense capability.
A supporter of power sharing in government, Phillips, in a paper, said conflict results when state claims of sovereignty clash with demands of minority groups for self-rule. Autonomy arrangements can be an effective solution for resolving tensions. They preserve territorial integrity while protecting and promoting minority rights.
“States shall respect the rights of minorities to participate effectively in public life, through including elections, holding public office and participating in other political and administrative functions,” said Phillips.
Faced with the reality of tribal wars, kidnappings, corruption and terrorists activities, the Mindanao island is a battleground for centuries-old conflict between separatist Muslim rebels and Philippine troops. In recent years, beheading and killing of U.S. missionaries in Mindanao had angered the U.S., pushing it to send more U.S. troops in Mindanao to train Philippine military troops.
Dr. Steven Muncy, executive director of community and family services international (CFSI) said that when former President Joseph Estrada declared an " all out war" on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2000, over 900,000 people were displaced in the months of conflict and hundreds of civilians were caught in the crossfire.
He said that in 2003, the Armed Forces of the Philippines under President Arroyo, launched an offensive in Central Mindanao, that displaced 400,000 people.
“Conflict and displacement has torn the social fabric of the 150 directly affected municipalities. Neighbors find it difficult to trust each other, particularly those of other faiths, ideologies, or ethnic backgrounds,” said Muncy.
A bright side of the conflict is the launching of the " Mothers Campaign for Peace" in Mindanao last year when mothers wore blue head scarves and joined rallies along the highways of Mindanao to show their desire for peace, said Dr. Muncy. Advocates also created slogans like “arms are for hugging” to promote peace in Mindanao.
While government officials are talking peace, it is ironic that human rights abuses have remained unabated in Mindanao.
Potri Ranka Manis, a Muslim Princess from Mindanao, who flew to the U.S. in 1990, shed tears as she recalled how she was tortured in prison, when she was 13 years old during the Marcos dictatorial regime. Her parents were supporters of the separatist group–Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). She said her uncles and aunts were also murdered by Philippine troops. She believes that human rights abuses have continued .
“As long as I can recall, I don’t see Muslim representation in Philippine government,” said Manis. She said the government should recognize ancestral lands, indigenous culture and tribal Muslim laws so that the Muslim people would achieve self-determination.
Amid the current gloom in Mindanao, development officials said creating livelihood would be critical to peace in the region.
John Gershman, Co-director of interhemispheric resource center based in Princeton, NJ said there’s a logic in the trade proposal to allow the entry of more tuna and tuna products from Mindanao to the U.S. as this would create jobs in the war-torn areas.
He said the tremendous economic cost of war and terrorism in Mindanao should push the international community to support the peace process. He urged for the strengthening of cultural institutions of Moros ( Muslims) , state and national reforms, development of education and cultural pluralism in Mindanao. To ensure success of the peace talks, he said civil societies must participate in the peace process.
Mary Judd, Mindanao coordinator of the World Bank, said they granted last year $35 million loan to develop the region economically. Additional $20 million was given by Japan’s International Cooperation Fund and $10 million grants were given by the Canadian government.
The question, however, is whether these grants have trickled down to the masses.
Elena Brimm, a native of Davao and a long-time resident of New York. who attended the forum criticized the Philippine government of corruption, saying that when she went to Mindanao recently, she saw how relief goods from donors were being sold in Mindanao.
Skepticism has remained in view of red tape in government and political wrangling that have discouraged investors to come to the region.
But Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo who is currently at the United Nations, said, in a statement, that development cooperation holds the promise of growth and development for the years to come.
“The sad reality of violence and conflict in southern Philippines is being transformed into brighter hopes for peace, thanks to the contribution of the members of the international community,” said Romulo whose statement was read by the Philippine Embassy Representative Evan Garcia. Garcia said the Philippine government will never allow total independence of Mindanao island.
Romulo said the military training, advice and assistance given by the U.S. helped them to break the back of the Abu Sayyaf. He said several members of the Organization of Islamic Countries have agreed to join the International Monitoring team to start the formal peace talks .
“The Philippine government will not allow terrorism to divert us from peace. We will take all necessary steps to identify, isolate and neutralize any terrorists in the country,” said Mr. Romulo.
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Kakim Zarudin (left), with other former Muslim separatist guerrillas,
plucks out a three kilogram squash from his vegetable farm in the remote
village of Sumbakil. Zarudin head a 50-man cooperative of former Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels who turned in their weapons to become
farmers undera program sponsored by the USAID. He hopes the success story
will be repeated once the government signs a peace treaty with the breakaway
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). MNS wire photo
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MANILA --- Kakim Zarudin barks a string of figures into his mobile phone as he plucks meaty pumpkins from his garden, savoring his new status as a model entrepreneur.
The stocky father of five’s transformation from fearsome Muslim rebel leader stands out in Southern Philippines which has been wracked by more than three decades of insurgency.
Trading his guns for a hundred sacks of corn seeds when the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed a peace pact with Manila in 1996, Zarudin and 49 of his men became farmers.
Zarudin’s band began the Mapia Multi-Purpose Cooperative that now has control of some 100 hectares of farmland around the town of Polomolok.
Washington, Manila’s military ally, helped underwrite the peace with the United States Agency for International Development’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program providing seed funds to help former rebels find a new way of life.
Zarudin and his men first planted corn, earned a modest income to build homes and to send their children to school. Not exactly the instant prosperity they were expecting after the peace pact, but it “gave us peace of mind and control over our lives,” the 39 year-old said.
They have recently shifted to growing high-value vegetables, diversifying their resources and giving them better yields.
Old habits die hard. With his military bearing, Zarudin runs the hamlet like a drill sergeant and his word is law. His men still call him “commander” and he does not tolerate laziness.
“I run three households myself. I am able to send my children to school because of the earnings in the farm. The cooperative has just bought two vehicles and we supply vegetables and corn to nearby towns and provinces,” Zarudin said as he plucked a three-kilogram (6.6-pound) squash.
The cooperative now earns about P500,000 a year, a good start considering they began from scratch when MNLF separatist leader Nur Misuari signed the deal with Manila.
Misuari became the governor of a Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao as part of the peace deal.
But the pact is deemed a failure, with Muslims still living in poverty. Misuari himself later led a failed rebellion and is now languishing in jail near Manila.
While noting many aspects of that agreement may have failed, Zarudin said the government has at least succeeded in Polomolok.
“This is the other side of the story. This is truly a success story for the former combatants,” said Arnold Dacula, a GEM program coordinator.
“It was hard teaching them at first because they are not used to being ordered around by civilians. They thought farming was something taught in primary schools.
“But they are now rewarded for their efforts,” Dacula said.
“It was really difficult at first. We had to get used to planting instead of carrying our rifles and guns,” Zarudin said.
Like many of their former comrades, Zarudin and his men initially applied to be integrated into the police or military but failed to make the grade because many of them were not formally schooled.
For Zarudin, who had been a guerrilla in the jungles since he was seven, that was a painful reality. He found comfort in his family instead, and began working his parents’ modest piece of land in Polomolok.
He and his men were later invited to join the GEM project, given sacks of corn seed and taught scientific methods of farming.
Zarudin and his men now belong to the more than 20,000 rebels-turned-farmers in the sleepy town of Polomolok.
Many of these farmers have formed cooperatives or associations to help sell their produce.
Filipino GEM volunteers act as advisers and connect the former combatants to agricultural companies, which provide training on pest control and fertilizer techniques.
Zarudin’s land and that of his fellow farmers in the cooperative is planted with corn, sweet pepper, bittergourd, cucumber, string beans and tomatoes.
He now talks in farm jargon, carries an agriculture magazine and regularly consults a GEM volunteer — he says he wants to learn more about organic farming.
Zarudin’s cellular phone rings, and he consults a blackboard. He has a smile on his weathered brown face because the call meant more orders for his produce.
“Oh by the way, ‘Mapia’ means happy in our dialect,” Zarudin said, grinning. “Well, we are happy now.” (MNS)
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