Sa simula ng ikatlong taon ng kasalukuyang administrasyon, binibigyan pansin ng Akbayan ang mga mahahalagang hakbang na natamo nito sa pakikibaka laban sa katiwalian at para sa pagbabalik ng integridad sa ating demokrasya.
Ngunit marami pang kailangang gawin. Patuloy ang hamon sa administrasyong Aquino na sabayan ang mamayan para ipaglaban ang ating mga karapatan at ang ating soberenya at isulong ang malawak na pagunlad ng ekonomiya para sa taong bayan.
Most of those living in poverty are found in rural areas. We call on the administration to heed their demand that the administration complete the agrarian reform program and raise the standards of living in both inland and coastal communities.
Agrarian reform has been going off and on for over 35 years. Its completion is long overdue. Kailangang ipatupad ng administrasyon yung kanyang pangako na ipamimigay na ang natitirang lupa at itatayo yung mga kinakailangang support services para sa mga magsasaka at agrarian reform beneficiaries. The administration must stop dragging its feet on the redistribution Hacienda Luisita. It is also imperative for the administration to repeal all the provisions of Administrative Orders 7 and 9 that accommodate the landowners’ delay tactics.
In order to uplift the lives of 20 million Filipinos farmers and their families, the administration must utilize the 24% share of San Miguel from the Coco Levy funds to benefit long-deprived coconut farmers and the agricultural sector as a whole.
For the fisherfolk and our coastal communities, it is imperative that the administration create a Department of Fisheries that will protect the rights of small fisherfolk and their families. It is also important to ensure that decent housing will be made available for small fishers in fisherfolk settlements. Dapat bigyan ng pantay na prioridad ang pangangailangan ng magsasaka at mangingisda.
The administration is likewise faced by a challenge on the ecological front. It must protect the environment from the ravages of private, foreign mining corporations, and promote the welfare of our communities and their rights to our natural resources. While positive in many ways, EO 79 is inadequate since it is within the paramenters of a bad law, the 1995 Mining Act. The Aquino administration must certify House Bill 3763, or the Minerals Management Bill, as urgent.
To make Philippine society truly inclusive, the administration must also promote the well being of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders, Intersex and Queers (LGBTIQ) by supporting the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill. Let us work together to transform Philippine society to one that is truly accepting of LGBT community by ensuring the recognition of their rights.
The Filipino people are in a race against time for the passage of laws that are crucial for achieving their political and economic rights. Bago magtapos ang 15th Congress, dapat ibigay ng Administrasyon at ng Kongreso sa taong bayan ang Reproductive Health Act at Freedom of Information Act.
We challenge the Aquino administration to break the cycle of poverty and empower the people to make the right choices for their families by ensuring the passage of the Reproductive Health bill. The Filipino people are tired of delaying tactics and ill-intentioned attempts to discredit the measure. The people have done their job, fighting for the passage of the reproductive health measure for over 16 years. Kailangan paalalahanan ni Presidente Aquino ang Kongreso na ang pagpasa ng Reproductive Health Bill ay responsibilidad sa ating mga nanay, sa ating mga anak, at sa sambayanang Pilipino.
The Impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona revealed the extent at which corrupt officials will use public office to amass personal wealth. Sa impeachment trial natin nakita ang kahalagahan ng masusing pagbabantay sa kayamanan ng liderato ng pamahalaan. Information is power, and for the Filipino people to be effective in the efforts to eliminate corruption, we need unimpeded access to information. We ask the president to live up to the promise he made last January and exert his influence to pass the the Freedom of Information Act.
Panalo ng mamamayang Pillipino ang pagkabilanggo ni GMA, pero marami pa siyang mga kasabwat sa pangungurakot at paglabag sa karapatan pantao na kailangang dalhin sa hustisiya at ikulong. Let us make good on the call for “all-out-justice,” it is imperative that the government fast track the Ampatuan trial and the arrest of Jovito Palparan.
The Ampatuan Massacre is a festering reminder of the need to change our political culture. Victims of the Ampatuan massacre and their families have waited long enough for justice.Let us send the clear message that election violence is a violation of democracy, and is an affront to humanity. Salubungin natin ang pagbubukas ng Kongreso sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng hustisya sa mga biktima ng Ampatuan Massacre at sa kanilang mga pamilya.
The administration also has to arrest another threat to our democracy; Jovito Palparan, The Butcher, Gloria’s chief executioner, remains at large. Families continue to agonize over the loss of their loved ones, fallen to the Butcher’s knife for political dissent. Para pagtibayin ang hustisya at demokrasya, kailangang harapin ng administrasyon ang hamon na hulihin at isakdal si Palparan. Alam naman ng lahat na itinatago ng mga aliado ni Palparan itong kriminal na ito. Dapat sabihin ng Presidente sa AFP High Command na hindi niya hahayaan itong hamon na ito sa kanyang autoridad.
Another major challenge for the administration is to ensure that the economy works for the people. The administration has scored high in political reforms and anti-corruption, it is now time to give the same energy to economic reinvigoration. In particular, the administration needs to do the following:
– Review and revise economic policies to ensure that it redistributes wealth, prioritizes the development of the local economy and generate jobs for the people;
– For food security and poverty alleviation, let us make agriculture the backbone of our economy.
The administration must also implement a National Moratorium on Demolitions. Kailangan siguruhin ng administrasyon ang maayos na pabahay sa mga mamayang Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng on-site, in-city relocation. Ihinto na ang demolisyon. Period.
The administration must also join the people for the passage of the Security of Tenure bill for all Filipino workers. Not only will the Security of Tenure bill ensure that workers are freed from the threat of endo and deeper poverty, it will also stabilize the economy.
In order to defend the sovereignty of the Philippines and the integrity of our territories from violations from foreign powers, it is important that the Aquino Administration remain resolute in asserting our claims in the West Philippine Sea. The People’s Republic of China has no right to establish a legislative prefecture that covers the Kalayaan Island Group. We must mount massive diplomatic and civil protests against a brazen move to rob us of our sovereignty.
And as we beef up our capabilities against foreign incursions, we must also be wary of selling our sovereignty in exchange for military assistance from the United States of America. Hindi natin puedeng hahayaan na gawin ng Estados Unidos ang gusto niyang gawin sa territoryo ng bansa natin, gaya ng paggamit ng drone sa mga military operations. Ayaw natin maging Afghanistan o Pakistan. Huwag nating hayaan na ang Pilipinas ay maging isang frontline state sa labanan ng mga superpower.
Umaasa ang Akbayan at ang sambayanang Pilipino na patuloy na pakikinggan ng Administrasyon Aquino ang mga tinig ng tunay nilang Boss