José María Sison
Encyclopedia
Jose Maria Sison is a writer
and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines
and added elements of Maoism
to its philosophy.
Since August 2002, he has been classified as a "person supporting terrorism
" by the United States
. The European Union
's second highest court ruled to delist him as a "person supporting terrorism" and reversed a decision by member governments to freeze assets.
. A 1959 graduate of the University of the Philippines
, Sison studied in Indonesia
, before returning to the Philippines to settle as a university professor of literature. Sison also joined the Lavaite Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas as well as one of the founding members of the Socialist Party
and Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism. And in 1964, he co-founded the Kabataang Makabayan or Patriotic Youth with Nilo S. Tayag. This organization rallied Filipino youth against the Vietnam war, against the Marcos presidency and corrupt politicians alongside Imperialism, Bureaucrat Capitalism and Feudalism. The organization also spearheaded the studying of Maoism as part of the struggle.
On December 26, 1968, he formed and chaired the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), an organization founded on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought
, stemming from his experience as a youth leader and labor and land reform
activist. This is known as the First Great Rectification movement where Sison and other radical youth criticized the existing Party leadership, that was run under the Moscow leaning Lava and its failure. The reestablished CPP set its general political line as two-stage revolution comprising national-democratic as the first stage then proceeding to the socialist revolution. During this period, Sison went by the nom de guerre of Amado Guerrero, meaning "beloved warrior", under which he published the manifesto Philippine Society and Revolution. In December 2007 the Communist Party of the Philippines
commemorated its 39th anniversary.
Jose Maria Sison was confirmed to have given birth, at Barangay Dulacac at the tri-boundary of Alaminos
, Bani
and Mabini
, Pangasinan
, where the CPP "congress of reestablishment" was held on December 26, 1968, exactly at a hut near the house of the Navarettes, the parents-in-law of Arthur Garcia, one of the CPP founders. Sison announced that communist guerillas held "cultural activities" and celebrated the 39th anniversary of the movement.
After this, the old Communist Party sought to eliminate and marginalize Sison. However, the reorganized CPP had a larger base and renewed political line that attracted thousands to join its ranks.
On March 29, 1969, the CPP, along with an HMB (Huk) faction led by Bernabe Buscayno, organized the New People's Army
(NPA), the guerrilla
-military wing of the Party, whose insurgencies around the Philippines, particularly in the northern part of the country, persist to this day. The NPA seeks to wage a peasant-worker revolutionary war in the countryside against landlords and foreign companies.
Sison was arrested during the Marcos dictatorship and was imprisoned for almost 9 years. He was subjected to several forms of torture and chained to a cot for 18 months in a solitary cell. His experience was described in Prison & Beyond, a book of poetry
released in 1986, which won the Southeast Asia WRITE award
for the Philippines.
The CPP has stated for 20 years that Sison is no longer involved in operational decisions and serves from Europe in an advisory role. In 1986, after he was freed from prison, Sison embarked on a world tour. In October he accepted the Southeast Asia WRITE award for a book of his poems from the Crown Prince of Thailand in Bangkok
. While visiting the Netherlands
three months later, he was informed that his passport had been revoked and that charges had been filed against him under the Anti-Subversion Law of the Philippines. Those charges were later dropped, as have subsequent charges filed by authorities in the Philippines.
after the Marcos
regime ended. He had already been released from prison by the government of Corazón Aquino
for the sake of "national reconciliation" and for his role in opposing Marcos. The release of Sison was vehemently protested by the military
. It is reported that upon his release, Sison and his followers actively sought to discredit the Aquino government in the Europe
an media by speaking out on Aquino's human rights violations including the Mendiola Massacre
, in which members of the military were accused of firing on unarmed peasants in Manila
, killing 17 people.
After the attacks
on the World Trade Center
on September 11, 2001, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
joined United States President George W. Bush
, in using the event as a means of labeling Sison a terrorist.
He is currently Chief Political Consultant of the National Democratic Front
of the Philippines. Since 1987, Sison has resided in the Netherlands where he is seeking asylum as a political refugee. A 2004 court ruling by the European Union
endangers the residency status of Sison in Europe and he is expected to be expelled. He has been charged with orchestrating the 2001 murder of Congressman Rodolfo Aguinaldo in the Philippines. There has even been speculation the revocation of the death penalty in that country was in part to convince the Netherlands he could safely be deported, as he would have been facing the death penalty if convicted.
), Jose Maria Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines
leader, predicted the downfall and failure to finish the term of the 14th President of the Philippines
:
“She [Arroyo] can fix the Constitution so she could stay on beyond 2010. But it remains to be seen if she can stay on and end her administration by 2010.” Sison submitted the reasons, to wit: "the mass organizations of the national democratic movement, the opposition parties, factions within the military and police organizations, among others, would try their best to wrest power from Mrs. Arroyo before her term ends." In Davao City
, unidentified groups distributed manifestos (“Hataw” and “Hatak”) and called for the ouster of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
per radio stations.
on August 28, 2007. Sison was arrested for his involvement from the Netherlands in three assassinations that took place in the Philippines, the murder on Romulo Kintanar in 2003, and the murders of Arturo Tabara and Stephen Ong in 2006. On the day of his arrest, Sison's apartment and eight apartments of his co-workers were searched by the Dutch National Criminal Investigation Department.
Some 100 left-wing activists held a demonstration for the release of Sison, marching towards the Dutch embassy in Manila
on August 30, 2007. The demonstration was ended by the police.
The trial
will not be held in the Philippines, but in the Netherlands, since there is no extradition request
and the crimes Jose Maria Sison is accused of were committed in the Netherlands
. Jose Maria Sison will appear in court in The Hague
on August 31, 2007. Dutch lawyer, Victor Koppe said that Sison will enter a plea
of not guilty during his indictment
on that day. He could face the maximum penalty of life imprisonment
. The only person allowed to see Sison, lawyer Michiel Pestman met with him to prepare for the indictment. Sison (detained at the Scheveningen prison
in The Hague) appeared before a court at the Palace of Justice and per decision, will remain in detention for 14 more days. The judgment was made after evidences were presented by the prosecution panel.
On September 1, 2007, National Democratic Front
peace panel chair Luis Jalandoni confirmed that the Dutch government was "maltreating" Sison because the Court detained him in solitary confinement
for 2 more weeks without access to media
, newspapers, television
, radio
or visitors; it also denied him right to bring prescription medicines to his cell. The judge also scheduled another hearing on September 7 to rule if Sison would be released after 14 days or if his detention would be extended by another 90 days (the resolution can be appealed to the Dutch
court of appeals). The place where Sison is to be jailed is the same one used by the late former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic
who was held for war crimes and corruption. Meanwhile, protests were held in Indonesia
, Hong Kong
, Australia
, the United States
and Canada
, and the Communist Party of the Philippines
(CPP) feared Sison may be “extra-judicially" transferred to the United States. CPP spokesman Gregorio Rosal said that the U.S. may detain and subject Sison to extraordinary rendition in Guantanamo Bay or some secret facility. U.S. ambassador Kristie Ann Kenney formally announced that the U.S. will extend support to the Dutch government to prosecute Sison.
In New York City
, former United States Attorney General
and left-wing human rights lawyer Ramsey Clark
called for Sison's release and pledged assistance by joining the latter’s legal defense team headed by Jan Fermon. Clark doubted Dutch authorities'
validity and competency, since the murder charges originated in the Philippines
and had already been dismissed by the country's Supreme Court.
Committee DEFEND, an International group stated that the Dutch government tortured Sison at the National Penitentiary in Scheveningen (used by the Nazis in World War II
to torture Dutch resistance
fighters). His wife, Julie De Lima failed to see him to give medicines and warm clothes on August 30, 2007.
Meanwhile, counsel of Sison Romeo Capulong will question the Dutch government's jurisdiction
over the issue and person alleging that the Supreme Court of the Philippines
already dismissed the subject cases on July 2.
On September 7, 2007, the Dutch court heard defense arguments for Sison, and stated that it would issue the resolution
next week on whether to extend the detention
. Supporters outside the Hague District Court
chanted slogans while the wife, Julie De Lima stated that they complained to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Luis Jalandoni, chairman of the National Democratic Front
accused the government of Prime Minister
Jan Peter Balkenende
of being "a workhorse" for Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and for the U.S. government.
The National Lawyers Guild
(NLG), a progressive bar association
in New York
headed by Marjorie Cohnhas, denounced the arrest Sison: “it exposes the hand of the Arroyo administration in yet another assault on the rights of the people to dissent and organize.” Sison will remain in jail until Thursday, but was provided TV, radio and medication.
On September 12, 2007, lawyers Edre Olalia and Rachel Pastores stated that Sison's lawyers will appeal
the Dutch
court
’s newly promulgated ruling extending Sison's detention
for 90 days.
Sison may is liable under violations of articles
47, 48, 140, and 289, Dutch
Penal Code but had not been arraigned on any charge. On September 13, 2007, however, National Democratic Front
chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni, confirmed that Sison’s lawyer Michiel Pestman said that: “It appears that the president of the chamber made the decision and called [Pestman] to say that there’s no extension.” Malacanang's National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales stated that it was surprised by the Dutch
government
’s decision to release Sison from jail
.
public prosecutor
's office's Wim de Bruin stated that Sison was released from jail at 10:45 a.m. on September 13, 2007. The court ruled that there was no sufficient evidence
to detain on murder
charges, specifically, if Sison "had a conscious and close cooperation with those in the Philippines who carried out the deed."
On September 27, 2007, Sison appeared before the Hague Court of Appeal panel
of 3 judge
s on the public prosecutor's appeal
against the district court
's September 13 judgment of release. The Dutch
court
will promulgate the verdict
on October 3.
On September 28, 2007, the Dutch Ambassador to the Philippines
, Robert Brinks announced that 3 Dutch
judicial officials and Dutch prosecution lawyer Wim De Bruin will visit the Philippines "later this year" to review the evidence against Jose Maria Sison. The next day Leung Kwok Hung, a Hong Kong
politician and member of the April Fifth Action
vowed to support Sison. Leung was in Europe at the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. He sits in the Hong Kong legislature as member of the Finance and House Committees, and of the Legislative Panels on Constitutional Affairs, Housing, Manpower, Transport, and on Welfare Services.
On October 3, 2007, the Dutch court dismissed the prosecution's appeal against the release Sison, making him free during the Dutch police investigation: "the prosecution file lacks enough concrete clues that Sison can be directly linked to the assassinations which is needed to prosecute him as a perpetrator". However, the decision never bar prosecution for murder. But the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office (per spokesman Wim de Bruin) stated that it did not drop the charges against Sison yet, who remains a suspect. De Bruin said: "No, you have to separate the criminal investigation by the police from the investigation by the examining judge in The Hague. So the judge decided to finish the investigation but the police investigation will be continued and that means that Mr. Sison is still a suspect."
The Dutch court on May 20, 2008, heard Sison's appeal against the Dutch Public Prosecutors Office's request to extend its investigation until December, since the investigators arrived in the Philippines in February and interviewed witnesses. At the trial, however, the new evidence showed that there were indeed attempts to kill him, in 1999 and 2000, while Kintanar's wife, Joy, directly accused Edwin Garcia in the murder of her husband. The Dutch court scheduled the promulgation on the verdict on June 10, 2008.
The Dutch District Court of The Hague on June 5, 2008 decided in camera “that the Public Prosecution Service may continue the prosecution of Jose Maria Sison for involvement in, among other matters, a number of murders committed in the Philippines in 2003 and 2004; that while the prosecution's case file still held insufficient evidence, the investigation was ongoing and should be given time to unfold.”
, war hysteria and the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim drumbeat."
- Jose Maria Sison At Home in the World: Portrait of a Revolutionary (co-authored by Ninotchka Rosca
)
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
and added elements of Maoism
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
to its philosophy.
Since August 2002, he has been classified as a "person supporting terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
" by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's second highest court ruled to delist him as a "person supporting terrorism" and reversed a decision by member governments to freeze assets.
Early years
Jose Maria Sison was born at Cabugao, Ilocos Sur on February 8, 1939. Also a member of a prominent family with the connections to other prominent personalities like the Crisologos, Sison affirmed his background as a member of a landowning family. But during his childhood days, his inclination to the left began by listening to his barber discussing him about the Hukblahap in Ilocos (kwentong barbero), as well as studying in a public school in Ilocos (unlike his relatives) before entering Ateneo de Manila, then in Colegio de San Juan de LetranColegio de San Juan de Letran
The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Letran College, or simply Letran is a private Roman Catholic institution of learning located in Intramuros, Manila, in the Philippines. The college was founded in 1620. Colegio de San Juan de Letran has the distinction of being the oldest college in the...
. A 1959 graduate of the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
, Sison studied in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, before returning to the Philippines to settle as a university professor of literature. Sison also joined the Lavaite Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas as well as one of the founding members of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of several different political parties around the world that are explicitly called Socialist. All of these parties claim to uphold socialism, though they might belong to different branches of the socialist movement and might therefore have different interpretations of...
and Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism. And in 1964, he co-founded the Kabataang Makabayan or Patriotic Youth with Nilo S. Tayag. This organization rallied Filipino youth against the Vietnam war, against the Marcos presidency and corrupt politicians alongside Imperialism, Bureaucrat Capitalism and Feudalism. The organization also spearheaded the studying of Maoism as part of the struggle.
On December 26, 1968, he formed and chaired the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), an organization founded on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
, stemming from his experience as a youth leader and labor and land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
activist. This is known as the First Great Rectification movement where Sison and other radical youth criticized the existing Party leadership, that was run under the Moscow leaning Lava and its failure. The reestablished CPP set its general political line as two-stage revolution comprising national-democratic as the first stage then proceeding to the socialist revolution. During this period, Sison went by the nom de guerre of Amado Guerrero, meaning "beloved warrior", under which he published the manifesto Philippine Society and Revolution. In December 2007 the Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
commemorated its 39th anniversary.
Jose Maria Sison was confirmed to have given birth, at Barangay Dulacac at the tri-boundary of Alaminos
Alaminos
Alaminos may refer to:* Alaminos, Cyprus* Alaminos, Guadalajara in Spain* Alaminos, Pangasinan, Philippines* Alaminos, Laguna, Philippines...
, Bani
Bani
Gurbani is the term used by Sikhs to refer to any compositions of the Sikh Gurus. Gurbani is composed of two words: 'Gur' meaning 'the Guru's' and 'bani' meaning 'word'....
and Mabini
Mabini
Mabini may refer to:*Apolinario Mabini , Philippine revolutionary leader*BRP Apolinario Mabini , a vessel in the Philippine Navy*The Mabini Academy, a school in Lipa City, Batangas, PhilippinesPlaces in the Philippines:...
, Pangasinan
Pangasinan
Pangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers . According to the latest census,...
, where the CPP "congress of reestablishment" was held on December 26, 1968, exactly at a hut near the house of the Navarettes, the parents-in-law of Arthur Garcia, one of the CPP founders. Sison announced that communist guerillas held "cultural activities" and celebrated the 39th anniversary of the movement.
After this, the old Communist Party sought to eliminate and marginalize Sison. However, the reorganized CPP had a larger base and renewed political line that attracted thousands to join its ranks.
On March 29, 1969, the CPP, along with an HMB (Huk) faction led by Bernabe Buscayno, organized the New People's Army
New People's Army
The New People's Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners...
(NPA), the guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
-military wing of the Party, whose insurgencies around the Philippines, particularly in the northern part of the country, persist to this day. The NPA seeks to wage a peasant-worker revolutionary war in the countryside against landlords and foreign companies.
Sison was arrested during the Marcos dictatorship and was imprisoned for almost 9 years. He was subjected to several forms of torture and chained to a cot for 18 months in a solitary cell. His experience was described in Prison & Beyond, a book of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
released in 1986, which won the Southeast Asia WRITE award
S.E.A. Write Award
The S.E.A. Write Award, or Southeast Asian Writers Award, is an award that has been presented annually since 1979 to poets and writers in Southeast Asia....
for the Philippines.
The CPP has stated for 20 years that Sison is no longer involved in operational decisions and serves from Europe in an advisory role. In 1986, after he was freed from prison, Sison embarked on a world tour. In October he accepted the Southeast Asia WRITE award for a book of his poems from the Crown Prince of Thailand in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. While visiting the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
three months later, he was informed that his passport had been revoked and that charges had been filed against him under the Anti-Subversion Law of the Philippines. Those charges were later dropped, as have subsequent charges filed by authorities in the Philippines.
Exile
Sison went into exile in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
after the Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
regime ended. He had already been released from prison by the government of Corazón Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
for the sake of "national reconciliation" and for his role in opposing Marcos. The release of Sison was vehemently protested by the military
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...
. It is reported that upon his release, Sison and his followers actively sought to discredit the Aquino government in the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an media by speaking out on Aquino's human rights violations including the Mendiola Massacre
Mendiola massacre
The Mendiola massacre, also called Black Thursday by some Filipino journalists, was an incident that took place in Mendiola Street, San Miguel, Manila, Philippines on January 22, 1987, in which state security forces violently dispersed a farmers' march on Malacañang Palace...
, in which members of the military were accused of firing on unarmed peasants in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, killing 17 people.
After the attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
on September 11, 2001, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
joined United States President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, in using the event as a means of labeling Sison a terrorist.
He is currently Chief Political Consultant of the National Democratic Front
National Democratic Front (Philippines)
National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...
of the Philippines. Since 1987, Sison has resided in the Netherlands where he is seeking asylum as a political refugee. A 2004 court ruling by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
endangers the residency status of Sison in Europe and he is expected to be expelled. He has been charged with orchestrating the 2001 murder of Congressman Rodolfo Aguinaldo in the Philippines. There has even been speculation the revocation of the death penalty in that country was in part to convince the Netherlands he could safely be deported, as he would have been facing the death penalty if convicted.
2008 Prophecy of PGMA downfall
On January 18, 2008, (in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
), Jose Maria Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
leader, predicted the downfall and failure to finish the term of the 14th President of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
:
“She [Arroyo] can fix the Constitution so she could stay on beyond 2010. But it remains to be seen if she can stay on and end her administration by 2010.” Sison submitted the reasons, to wit: "the mass organizations of the national democratic movement, the opposition parties, factions within the military and police organizations, among others, would try their best to wrest power from Mrs. Arroyo before her term ends." In Davao City
Davao City
The City of Davao is the largest city in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its international airport and seaports are among the busiest cargo hubs in the Philippines....
, unidentified groups distributed manifestos (“Hataw” and “Hatak”) and called for the ouster of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
per radio stations.
Arrest
The International Crime Investigation Team of the Dutch National Criminal Investigation Department arrested Jose Maria Sison in UtrechtUtrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
on August 28, 2007. Sison was arrested for his involvement from the Netherlands in three assassinations that took place in the Philippines, the murder on Romulo Kintanar in 2003, and the murders of Arturo Tabara and Stephen Ong in 2006. On the day of his arrest, Sison's apartment and eight apartments of his co-workers were searched by the Dutch National Criminal Investigation Department.
Some 100 left-wing activists held a demonstration for the release of Sison, marching towards the Dutch embassy in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
on August 30, 2007. The demonstration was ended by the police.
The trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
will not be held in the Philippines, but in the Netherlands, since there is no extradition request
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
and the crimes Jose Maria Sison is accused of were committed in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Jose Maria Sison will appear in court in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
on August 31, 2007. Dutch lawyer, Victor Koppe said that Sison will enter a plea
Plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
of not guilty during his indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
on that day. He could face the maximum penalty of life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. The only person allowed to see Sison, lawyer Michiel Pestman met with him to prepare for the indictment. Sison (detained at the Scheveningen prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in The Hague) appeared before a court at the Palace of Justice and per decision, will remain in detention for 14 more days. The judgment was made after evidences were presented by the prosecution panel.
On September 1, 2007, National Democratic Front
National Democratic Front (Philippines)
National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...
peace panel chair Luis Jalandoni confirmed that the Dutch government was "maltreating" Sison because the Court detained him in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
for 2 more weeks without access to media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, newspapers, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
or visitors; it also denied him right to bring prescription medicines to his cell. The judge also scheduled another hearing on September 7 to rule if Sison would be released after 14 days or if his detention would be extended by another 90 days (the resolution can be appealed to the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
court of appeals). The place where Sison is to be jailed is the same one used by the late former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
who was held for war crimes and corruption. Meanwhile, protests were held in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
(CPP) feared Sison may be “extra-judicially" transferred to the United States. CPP spokesman Gregorio Rosal said that the U.S. may detain and subject Sison to extraordinary rendition in Guantanamo Bay or some secret facility. U.S. ambassador Kristie Ann Kenney formally announced that the U.S. will extend support to the Dutch government to prosecute Sison.
In New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, former United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
and left-wing human rights lawyer Ramsey Clark
Ramsey Clark
William Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
called for Sison's release and pledged assistance by joining the latter’s legal defense team headed by Jan Fermon. Clark doubted Dutch authorities'
validity and competency, since the murder charges originated in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and had already been dismissed by the country's Supreme Court.
Committee DEFEND, an International group stated that the Dutch government tortured Sison at the National Penitentiary in Scheveningen (used by the Nazis in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to torture Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized by its prominent non-violence, summitting in over 300,000 people in hiding in the autumn of 1944, tended to by some 60,000 to 200,000 illegal landlords and caretakers and tolerated knowingly...
fighters). His wife, Julie De Lima failed to see him to give medicines and warm clothes on August 30, 2007.
Meanwhile, counsel of Sison Romeo Capulong will question the Dutch government's jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
over the issue and person alleging that the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...
already dismissed the subject cases on July 2.
On September 7, 2007, the Dutch court heard defense arguments for Sison, and stated that it would issue the resolution
Resolution (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
next week on whether to extend the detention
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...
. Supporters outside the Hague District Court
District court
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. These include:-Australia:District Court is the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian States. They hear indictable criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some States, manslaughter...
chanted slogans while the wife, Julie De Lima stated that they complained to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Luis Jalandoni, chairman of the National Democratic Front
National Democratic Front (Philippines)
National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...
accused the government of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...
of being "a workhorse" for Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and for the U.S. government.
The National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....
(NLG), a progressive bar association
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
headed by Marjorie Cohnhas, denounced the arrest Sison: “it exposes the hand of the Arroyo administration in yet another assault on the rights of the people to dissent and organize.” Sison will remain in jail until Thursday, but was provided TV, radio and medication.
On September 12, 2007, lawyers Edre Olalia and Rachel Pastores stated that Sison's lawyers will appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
’s newly promulgated ruling extending Sison's detention
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...
for 90 days.
Sison may is liable under violations of articles
Article (publishing)
An article is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis or debate.-News articles:...
47, 48, 140, and 289, Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Penal Code but had not been arraigned on any charge. On September 13, 2007, however, National Democratic Front
National Democratic Front (Philippines)
National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...
chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni, confirmed that Sison’s lawyer Michiel Pestman said that: “It appears that the president of the chamber made the decision and called [Pestman] to say that there’s no extension.” Malacanang's National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales stated that it was surprised by the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
’s decision to release Sison from jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
.
Release from detention
DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
public prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
's office's Wim de Bruin stated that Sison was released from jail at 10:45 a.m. on September 13, 2007. The court ruled that there was no sufficient evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
to detain on murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
charges, specifically, if Sison "had a conscious and close cooperation with those in the Philippines who carried out the deed."
On September 27, 2007, Sison appeared before the Hague Court of Appeal panel
Judicial panel
A judicial panel is a set of judges who sit together to hear a cause of action, most frequently an appeal from a ruling of a trial court judge. Panels are used in contrast to single-judge appeals, and en banc hearings, which involves all of the judges of that court.In the United States, most...
of 3 judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s on the public prosecutor's appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
against the district court
District court
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations. These include:-Australia:District Court is the name given to the intermediate court in most Australian States. They hear indictable criminal offences excluding treason, murder and, in some States, manslaughter...
's September 13 judgment of release. The Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
will promulgate the verdict
Verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. The term, from the Latin veredictum, literally means "to say the truth" and is derived from Middle English verdit, from Anglo-Norman: a compound of ver and dit In law, a verdict...
on October 3.
On September 28, 2007, the Dutch Ambassador to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Robert Brinks announced that 3 Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
judicial officials and Dutch prosecution lawyer Wim De Bruin will visit the Philippines "later this year" to review the evidence against Jose Maria Sison. The next day Leung Kwok Hung, a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
politician and member of the April Fifth Action
April Fifth Action
April Fifth Action or AFAG is a group named after the first Tiananmen incident of 5 April 1976. It is a small socialist group in the Hong Kong...
vowed to support Sison. Leung was in Europe at the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. He sits in the Hong Kong legislature as member of the Finance and House Committees, and of the Legislative Panels on Constitutional Affairs, Housing, Manpower, Transport, and on Welfare Services.
On October 3, 2007, the Dutch court dismissed the prosecution's appeal against the release Sison, making him free during the Dutch police investigation: "the prosecution file lacks enough concrete clues that Sison can be directly linked to the assassinations which is needed to prosecute him as a perpetrator". However, the decision never bar prosecution for murder. But the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office (per spokesman Wim de Bruin) stated that it did not drop the charges against Sison yet, who remains a suspect. De Bruin said: "No, you have to separate the criminal investigation by the police from the investigation by the examining judge in The Hague. So the judge decided to finish the investigation but the police investigation will be continued and that means that Mr. Sison is still a suspect."
The Dutch court on May 20, 2008, heard Sison's appeal against the Dutch Public Prosecutors Office's request to extend its investigation until December, since the investigators arrived in the Philippines in February and interviewed witnesses. At the trial, however, the new evidence showed that there were indeed attempts to kill him, in 1999 and 2000, while Kintanar's wife, Joy, directly accused Edwin Garcia in the murder of her husband. The Dutch court scheduled the promulgation on the verdict on June 10, 2008.
The Dutch District Court of The Hague on June 5, 2008 decided in camera “that the Public Prosecution Service may continue the prosecution of Jose Maria Sison for involvement in, among other matters, a number of murders committed in the Philippines in 2003 and 2004; that while the prosecution's case file still held insufficient evidence, the investigation was ongoing and should be given time to unfold.”
Controversies
- Former Senator Jovito SalongaJovito SalongaJovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga is a Filipino nationalist politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the Marcos regime from 1972, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, until 1986, when Marcos was deposed as a result of a bloodless revolution...
accused Sison of orchestrating the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing1971 Plaza Miranda bombingThe Plaza Miranda bombing occurred during a political campaign rally of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda in the district of Quiapo, Manila in the Philippines on August 21, 1971...
during the Liberal PartyLiberal Party (Philippines)The Liberal Party of the Philippines is a liberal party in the Philippines, founded by then senators Senate President Manuel Roxas, Senate President Pro-Tempore Elpidio Quirino, and former 9th Senatorial District Senator Jose Avelino, on November 24, 1945 by a breakaway Liberal group from the...
Convention to force Marcos to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and sign Proclamation Number 1081 initiating the advent of Martial Law in the Philippines. This accusation comes from former CPP members such as Victor Corpuz and others. The Philippine National Police (PNP) filed a criminal case against Sison for the Plaza Miranda bombing, but the charges were dismissed for utter lack of evidence, with the dismissal order citing the complainant's filing criminal charges based on speculation.
- In the mid to late 1980s, certain CPP-NPA elements such as Víctor Corpuz, Popoy Lagman, Romulo Kintanar and Hector Mabilangan sought quick military victory against the Philippine government as mass protest against Marcos erupted in urban areas. With military victory for the CPP slower than expected, hysteria about DPAs (Deep Penetration Agents) was widespread. A purge initiated to root out DPAs resulted in the killing of thousands of people, including loyal and effective cadres of the Communist Party. Evidence of the bloody purge is beginning to surface with the discovery of mass graves in Quezon Province, Laguna, and in some parts of MindanaoMindanaoMindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
. Former CPP/NPA member, Robert Francis García wrote a disturbing chronicle of the wild murders in his book, To Suffer Thy Comrade. This initiated the Second Great Rectification movement by Sison to end the bloody purges and to criticize leaders for errors that led to extreme actions such as the Kampanyang Ahos. In fact Sison, himself in various books, articles, and essays have repeatedly condemned these bloody purges the root causes of which are to be traced on the "left" and right ideological, political, and organizational deviations instigated by the Rejectionist factions. While the Reaffirmist bloc has already publicly owned up of its responsibilities for Kampanyang Ahos, Kampanyang Operation Missing Link, etc., the Rejectionist bloc, whose ringleaders like Ricardo Reyes, Romulo Kintanar had direct supervision of the implementation of the aforementioned purge campaigns, has yet to come forward to detail its own culpability and admit responsibility.
- On July 4, 2008, ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
's RTC Executive Judge Reynaldo Ros assumed jurisdictionJurisdictionJurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
over the 1,551 pages records/cases of multiple murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
lawsuit against Sison, Bayan MunaBayan MunaBayan Muna is a leftist political party in the Philippines.The motto of the party is "New Politics, the Politics of Change", against "traditional, elitist, pro-imperialist politics". Its platform includes the advocation of a government that progressively supports the working class, with meaningful...
Representative Satur OcampoSatur OcampoSaturnino Cunanan Ocampo is a former Filipino partylist representative, journalist, and writer. As party president and first nominee, he led the partylist group Bayan Muna in three successful elections. He was a member of the House of Representatives, and Deputy Minority Leader in the 14th...
and National Democratic FrontNational Democratic Front (Philippines)National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties, churches , agricultural unions, trade unions, and other related groups in the Philippines...
member Luis Jalandoni after the Supreme Court's Third Division ordered a change of venue from the Hilongos, Leyte RTC Branch 18, for safety reasons. The accused were charged of executing 30 farmers in 1985, in purging military assets within the New People’s Army in Southern LeyteLeyteLeyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
. 15 corpses were found in a mass graveMass graveA mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
in Inopacan, Leyte, in 2006. Meanwhile, it should be remembered that during the time when these so called killings supposedly took place, Sison and Ocampo had long been placed under maximum detention of the Marcos dictatorial regime. Sison, Ocampo, and other political detainees were only freed in 1986 after the first EDSA uprising of the same year.
- He is reported to have overseen the trial of Popoy Lagman, Romulo Kintanar, Héctor Mabilangan and members of the CPPCommunist Party of the PhilippinesThe Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
. These individuals were tried by a “people's court” composed mainly of peasants who were alleged victims of human rights violations and the families of the victims of the purging caused during these individuals command.
- The Philippine Military lately informed newspapers and released pictures of the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines dancing with Ara Mina in a sexy outfit and a young European girl and states the leader's life is different from those struggling in the hills. Asked to comment, Jose Ma. Sison said he was invited to a Christmas party by the local Filipino community. He also responded in a statement to the Daily Inquirer that to counter being labeled a "terrorist" by the EU and Philippine government, he is also trying to show his social side.
- The European Union's second highest court ruled to delist Sison and the Stichting Al-Aqsa group from the EU terror list since the 27-nation bloc failed to respect their right when blacklisted. The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice further reversed a decision by member governments to freeze the assets of Sison and the Netherlands-based Al-Aqsa Foundation, since the EU governments failed to inform them why the assets were frozen. Dekker said that EU lawyers in Brussels can lodge any appeal. EU was also ordered to shoulder all the litigation expenses during the five-year appeal of Sison against the Dutch government and the EU. Sison however, is still part of the European Union’s terrorism list according to the Royal Netherlands Embassy in the Philippines (July 13, 2007). In a media released one-page statement, the embassy said that all persons and organizations on the EU terrorism list [and] includes Mr. Sison, the CPP, and the NPA [New People’s Army] on the list and maintains the freeze on their assets. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales explained that the EU's decision is "not enforceable": “The council is higher than the court. There is a provision in the EU Charter that when a court ruling goes against the council’s decision, the latter will be upheld. The council has decided he is a terrorist, and because of this his assets should be frozen”. Gonzalez said, the Luxembourg-based court did not categorically say Sison’s assets should be released, but had merely questioned the process.
Quotations
"The people of the world, including progressive American forces, should forewarn the American people not to be carried away by JingoismJingoism
Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. In practice, it is a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests...
, war hysteria and the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim drumbeat."
- Jose Maria Sison At Home in the World: Portrait of a Revolutionary (co-authored by Ninotchka Rosca
Ninotchka Rosca
Ninotchka Rosca is a Filipina feminist, author, journalist and human rights activist who is active in AF3IRM , the Mariposa Center for Change , Sisterhood is Global and the initiating committee of the MARIPOSA ALLIANCE , a multi-racial, multi-ethnic women's activist center for understanding the...
)
Works
- 2003. US Terrorism and War in the Philippines. Netherlands, Papieren Tijger
- 1998. Philippine Economy and Politics. Co-authored by Julieta de Lima. Philippines, Aklat ng Bayan, Inc.
- 1989. The Philippine Revolution : The Leader's View. With Rainer Werning. New York : Crane Russak.
- 1984. Prison and Beyond: Selected Poems, 1958-1983. Quezon City: Free Jose Maria Sison Committee.
- 1971. Philippine Society and Revolution. As Amado Guerrero. Manila: Pulang Tala.
- 1967. Struggle for National Democracy. Quezon City, Progressive Publications
External links
- Josemariasison.org
- The Arrest of Joma Sison (dossier of the Philippine Daily InquirerPhilippine Daily InquirerThe Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
) - The Case of Jose Maria Sison
- A talk from Jan Fermon, lawyer for Jose Maria Sison
- comments from Jan Fermon and others on UK/EU Terror Laws