Wankette 18: Aksa Begs to Differ
Aksa gave us a piece of their mind:
Here are the "lies":
1.That AKSA is a front of the administration and is a 'project' of Sec. Norberto "Banana Eater" Gonzales
*AKSA** is NOT a front of this administration or any of its leaders or instrumentalities.* AKSA is its members, the organized women, urban poor, workers in the formal and informal sectors, farmers, fisherfolk, muslims, elderly, workers in the transport sector, and indigenous cultural communities. To say that *AKSA* is a project of anybody besides those who compose it is a big insult to the masses that have been at the forefront of *AKSA*'s struggles. It reeks of the elitism that pervades many NGOs in the country. It undermines the masses' capacity and right to form their own organizations, to critically analyze issues and push for their agenda. *AKSA* is a social democratic group, linked with progressive organizations in countries where social democracy is tried and tested, where the quality of life is high, and where governance is geared towards the common good.
*AKSA *carries a pro-poor program of government that: upholds, respects and promotes human and women's rights; brings to the people the basic services they so desire and need; defends the Filipino people's democratic gains; and pushes for authentic politics of ideologies and well-defined programs. This program of government is developed from the decades of active involvement of *AKSA *organizations in people's movements and advocacies. Because of *AKSA*'s ideology and program of government, we have taken positions contrary to those of the past and present administrations. For instance, on the matter of amending the Constitution, *AKSA* has consistently pushed for a parliamentary and unicameral system and federal form of government through *CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.* We have always stressed that the people should understand the complicated issues surrounding charter change to make an intelligent decision. The allegation peddled by Rep. Etta Rosales that AKSA is part of Sigaw ng Bayan is an outright *LIE*! *AKSA* is for the enactment of a comprehensive and rights-based reproductive health law. The DSWP, one of *AKSA*'s big organizations has been actively working on this for the last 3 Congress terms. RH is included in *AKSA*'s program of government as well as the anti-discrimination bill for the LGBT community and strong programs towards gender equality.
2. That AKSA is connected with the Office of External Affairs (OEA)
This is the second time that *AKSA* is running for the Party List. Therefore, *AKSA* DID NOT anymore need accreditation from the COMELEC. All we needed was to submit a manifestation of our intent to participate in the 2007 elections. There is no reason for *AKSA* to link with any government office to get accreditation from COMELEC. Moreover, there was and is no reason why *AKSA* would need the OEA to decide on our list of nominees.
3.That AKSA's nominees do not represent the marginalized sectors.
For the record, the following are the nominees submitted by *AKSA* to the
COMELEC:
1. *ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO* – (Luzon) National Chair, Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP); known feminist; international awardee for human and women's rights; has for decades led in the implementation of various programs for women and the advocacy of pro-women laws.
2. *TIMOTEO A. ARANJUEZ* – (Visayas) President, Union of Filipino Workers (UFW) and Congress of Labor Organizations (CLO); veteran trade union leader of 45 years.
3. *MAO "Ka. Benjie" ANDONG JR. *– (Mindanao) Bangsa Moro community leader; known peasant leader and organizer; President, Kongreso ng mga Manggagawa, Magsasaka at Mangingisda Para sa Kaunlaran (KOMMMPaK)
4. *FERNANDO GANA *– ( NCR) veteran urban poor organizer; youth leader and field educator.
5. *Donna A*. *Casio* – (Visayas) respected community development leader; implementor of various development programs such as micro finance, skills enhancement for livelihood and social participation.
6. *HADJI BALAJADIA* – (Mindanao) youth and LGBT leader; Co-Chair AKSA Youth; Co-Convenor AKSA LGBT; Secretary General, 6th National Youth parliament.
Here are the "lies":
1.That AKSA is a front of the administration and is a 'project' of Sec. Norberto "Banana Eater" Gonzales
*AKSA** is NOT a front of this administration or any of its leaders or instrumentalities.* AKSA is its members, the organized women, urban poor, workers in the formal and informal sectors, farmers, fisherfolk, muslims, elderly, workers in the transport sector, and indigenous cultural communities. To say that *AKSA* is a project of anybody besides those who compose it is a big insult to the masses that have been at the forefront of *AKSA*'s struggles. It reeks of the elitism that pervades many NGOs in the country. It undermines the masses' capacity and right to form their own organizations, to critically analyze issues and push for their agenda. *AKSA* is a social democratic group, linked with progressive organizations in countries where social democracy is tried and tested, where the quality of life is high, and where governance is geared towards the common good.
*AKSA *carries a pro-poor program of government that: upholds, respects and promotes human and women's rights; brings to the people the basic services they so desire and need; defends the Filipino people's democratic gains; and pushes for authentic politics of ideologies and well-defined programs. This program of government is developed from the decades of active involvement of *AKSA *organizations in people's movements and advocacies. Because of *AKSA*'s ideology and program of government, we have taken positions contrary to those of the past and present administrations. For instance, on the matter of amending the Constitution, *AKSA* has consistently pushed for a parliamentary and unicameral system and federal form of government through *CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.* We have always stressed that the people should understand the complicated issues surrounding charter change to make an intelligent decision. The allegation peddled by Rep. Etta Rosales that AKSA is part of Sigaw ng Bayan is an outright *LIE*! *AKSA* is for the enactment of a comprehensive and rights-based reproductive health law. The DSWP, one of *AKSA*'s big organizations has been actively working on this for the last 3 Congress terms. RH is included in *AKSA*'s program of government as well as the anti-discrimination bill for the LGBT community and strong programs towards gender equality.
2. That AKSA is connected with the Office of External Affairs (OEA)
This is the second time that *AKSA* is running for the Party List. Therefore, *AKSA* DID NOT anymore need accreditation from the COMELEC. All we needed was to submit a manifestation of our intent to participate in the 2007 elections. There is no reason for *AKSA* to link with any government office to get accreditation from COMELEC. Moreover, there was and is no reason why *AKSA* would need the OEA to decide on our list of nominees.
3.That AKSA's nominees do not represent the marginalized sectors.
For the record, the following are the nominees submitted by *AKSA* to the
COMELEC:
1. *ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO* – (Luzon) National Chair, Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP); known feminist; international awardee for human and women's rights; has for decades led in the implementation of various programs for women and the advocacy of pro-women laws.
2. *TIMOTEO A. ARANJUEZ* – (Visayas) President, Union of Filipino Workers (UFW) and Congress of Labor Organizations (CLO); veteran trade union leader of 45 years.
3. *MAO "Ka. Benjie" ANDONG JR. *– (Mindanao) Bangsa Moro community leader; known peasant leader and organizer; President, Kongreso ng mga Manggagawa, Magsasaka at Mangingisda Para sa Kaunlaran (KOMMMPaK)
4. *FERNANDO GANA *– ( NCR) veteran urban poor organizer; youth leader and field educator.
5. *Donna A*. *Casio* – (Visayas) respected community development leader; implementor of various development programs such as micro finance, skills enhancement for livelihood and social participation.
6. *HADJI BALAJADIA* – (Mindanao) youth and LGBT leader; Co-Chair AKSA Youth; Co-Convenor AKSA LGBT; Secretary General, 6th National Youth parliament.
posted by Unknown at 9:47 AM
1 Comments:
Very interesting post. I support any advocacy campaign that aims to promote women's rights. I live in a country that has a patriarchal tradition so women have faced a lot of unfair restrictions.
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