VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

what is oplan bayanihan? Oplan Bayanihan is a program of the Aquino administration that aims to curb elements that oppose the government. It is a copied version of the 2009 Counter-Insurgency Guide (COIN) of the US. Different from the pre-vious operational plans, Oplan Bayanihan puts emphasis on non-combat strategies such as alleged delivery of social services in places where there is increased resistance from the people. This of course, is apart from the usual military tactics that they employ.

Oplan Bayanihan, just like the operational plans of the previous administrations, brought about different forms of violence against women and children, namely:

Under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) signed under Joseph Estrada’s administration, the launching of Balikatan exercises has been possible since 2002. In these Balikatan exercises, the whole country becomes accessible to US troops.

For women, the increased presence of US soldiers are indicative of further sexual abuses and exploitation. They be-come vulnerable to prostitution, trafficking, and sexual violence such as the case of “Nicole”, a young woman who was raped by US soldiers in 2005.

Violence is experienced by the Filipino people due to the worsening condition of landlessness, unemployment, and development aggression. Communities are dev-astated due to mining projects in rural areas, housing demolitions in urban cen-ters. Pushed to the wall, the Filipino people assert their rights for food and free-dom, jobs and justice. Such assertion is answered with state violence, which greatly affects women and children.

assault on women and children

BONDOC PENINSULA, QUEZON – Bondoc Peninsula and the rest of the south of Quezon serve as the center of agricultural production in the region due to its large productive tracts of land. These areas are also rich in minerals. Aside from being part of the “hacienda belt”, the south of Quezon is a target area for various projects such as the biodiesel plant in Gumaca, power plant in Pagbilao, Ogdel Bechtel Coal Fire Thermal Powerplant Extension in Atimonan, and a dam project in Macalelon.

As clearing operations for these projects intensifies, people face widespread poverty and dislocation. As a re-sult, people assert their right to life and livelihood. Sadly, the government perceives such assertion as rebellion and it has applied its counter-insurgency program, the Oplan Bayanihan program. Massive military operations occur in the re-gion where eight battalions of the Philippine military are presently deployed in 22 towns of Bondoc Peninsula and south of Quezon.

Various human rights violations were experienced by the people of Quezon, particularly affecting women and children. Mothers express fear every time the soldiers search their houses. Children are frightened since the soldiers use their schools and village halls as detachments. TAMPAKAN, SOUTH COTABATO, 18 October 2012 - indigenous woman leader Juvy Capion was killed allegedly by state agents. Juvy, 28 years old, was a B’laan woman leader from Tampakan, South Cotabato. She was killed together with her two children – John Mark and Jordan. Juvy was a member of KALGAD, an organization of Lumad who are keenly oppos-ing and campaigning against the SMI-Xtrata’s mining of gold and copper in the quadri-boundary of South Cotabato, Da-vao del Sur, Saranggani, and Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao. Around 30,000 B’laan were driven out of their ancestral lands as a result of SMI’s Tampakan project.

Joven Cabe, 9 Sunshine Jabinez, 7 Christian Noceto, 15 Michael Mancera, 10 Richard Mancera, 7 Rodilyn Aguirre, 6

Manuel Pamintuan, 14 Gerald Oreza, 4 Gaily Miraato, 6

Dada Botawon Haron, 5 Asmayra Usman, 4 Jordan Manda, 11

John Khali Lagrimas, 14 John Mark Capion, 13

Jordan Capion, 13 Roque Antivo, 8

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5,180 14 women or children victims daily 1 victim every 1 hour and 42 minutes 7 out of 10 victims are children

rape cases in 2012

In 2012, there were 15,181 recorded cases of domestic violence and physical abuse of children, according to the PNP-WCPC. This means that every day, there are 41 cases of violence against women and children or one case every 34 minutes and 37 seconds.

Rape and domestic violence

What compounds the problem is that those who are supposed to be “protecting” women and children are the ones who are violating them – the military, the police, and the paramilitary units of the government or the CAFGU (Citizen’s Auxilliary Force Geographical Unit). The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) was able to monitor 12 cases of rape involving soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and police from the Philippine National Police (PNP) as perpetrators in 2012. One of

the rape cases involved two 16-year-old girls in Mankayan, Benguet who were raped by military elements.

Sex trafficking, prostitution

In February 2012, eight women victims of traf-ficking were rescued from a Korean bar in Ba-guio City. Three of them were minors and three were pregnant. According to GABRIELA, the victims were recruited from Mindanao where each of the women were assured PhP10,000 for their families. But when they were transported to the bar in Baguio, the re-cruiter reneged on the promised PhP10,000 and instead only gave PhP100 each for their

food. The victims were forced to work from 8PM till 4AM; and from 4AM till 6PM, they were locked inside their quarters and were only allowed to go outside to buy their food.

According to Talikala, an organization that up-holds the rights of prostituted women based in Davao City, there is an estimated 4,000 women

and children who are victims of prostitution wherein the youngest is 9 years old while the

oldest is 60 years old.

The different forms of prostitution continue. In Iloilo, there were reported cases of “sex for rice”

or prostitution in exchange for a kilo of rice. In Navotas and Davao, cases of “akyat-barko” or

prostitution in ships are still rampant. There were also reported cases of prostitution in ex-

change for a bag of grocery or any food. In young students, there were also reported cases

of “prosti-tuition” or prostitution in exchange for payment for tuition – which usually happen every start of the semester in June or October.

Poverty is the main reason why women and even children engage in prostitution. This also puts them in a situation open to other forms of abuse such as trafficking.

Despite the increasing violence, women and children do not remain victims. They are actively participating in the struggle of the people to oppose the programs and policies that reduce and further expose them to poverty and

violence. That is why it is a challenge for women to study and to mobilize more women to collectively fight for their democratic rights.

Under the worsening crisis of poverty that beset the people, women and chil-dren experience increasing violence. According to the 2008 National Demo-graphic and Health Survey, 55% of poor women have experienced violence, compared to 12% of women in the up-per income decile. This means that poor women are more susceptible to violence.

NEOLIBERAL ECONOMIC POLICIES LIBERALIZATION

DEREGULATION

landlessness

unemployment

price hikes dislocation

low wages demolition

contractualization POVERTY

PRIVATIZATION

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