KADENA BICOLANDIA Links People’s Dissent to Oppose Aquino’s String of Predicaments

News Release

December  10, 2013

Reference: Vince Casilihan

“Oppressed people when united lose nothing but their chains.”  This is how Vince Casilihan of Karapatan-Bikol rephrases the motivation of a great thinker, as the human rights organization spearheads today’s commemoration of International Human Rights Day with an expanse of mass actions along the major roads of Bicol region.

Dubbed as KADENA BICOLANDIA, Casilihan describes the extensive network of protest actions as a demonstration of Bicolanos’ dissent against the Pork Barrel Scam, graft and corruption, and various torments imposed by the Aquino regime on Bicolanos. “Adversity after adversity, Noynoy Aquino is at the forefront of inflicting a chain of problems on the people,” points Casilihan. “While we are hunched with sweat and blood at toiling to create the nation’s wealth, Aquino and his hacendero-comprador ilk run amok at stealing public funds and sanctioning the further violation of our rights and legitimate demands,” Casilihan added.

The Karapatan-Bikol spokesperson enumerates the string of hardships Bicolanos face to the worsening of their daily survival: “We have thieves for lawmakers, and The Lord of Thieves for a president; our people live in the dark, literally, as we have greed-driven capitalists taking over ALECO, CASURECO 3, and soon, SORECO and the rest; we are left with toxic wastes while large foreign mining corporations are monsters plundering our minerals; we have rabid dogs donning AFP uniforms and running around on a killing binge targetting protesters.”  The list goes on, Casilihan furthers, as he likewise draws attention to age-old landlessness of peasants, escalating prices of goods and services, and the declining value of stagnant wages, among others.

To this, Casilihan reaffirms the aptness of KADENA BICOLANDIA as the people’s opposition to the Aquino regime’s ills. “We face Aquino’s string of predicaments with Bicolanos’ protests linked across the region,” he sums up. To be likewise participated in by various progressive organizations, KADENA BICOLANDIA will be started off from Quirino Highway in the town of Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte, all the way to Matnog and Bulan towns in Sorsogon. One hundred ten (110) mass action centers will be put up in key places along Quirino and Maharlika Highways, as well as along the roads of Catanduanes, and all over the three major islands of Masbate. Protest concerts in the major urban areas will conclude today’s activity.

In conclusion, Casilihan echoes the people’s determination: “Not only with arms united, but fervor after fervor, we will conjoin with the last man on the link to demonstrate our relentless struggle to break the chain of ills being forced upon us by Aquino and the system that he represents.”