LETTER OF APPEAL TO HELP VICTIMS OF TYPHOON ONDOY

September 27, 2009

Dear Friends of Bayan Muna,

Typhoon Ondoy caused so much devastation in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces and rendered many helpless families without food, clothing and shelter. Many communities, including those in Marikina, Pasig, Manila and Quezon City, were among the most heavily affected as floods swept away their meager belongings and destroyed their homes. Children and the elderly are the most vulnerable victims especially since rains continued in many of these devastated areas.

Bayan Muna, with its active and organized members in many communities, plan to hold relief operations in Metro Manila starting Wednesday by distributing rice, canned goods, clothes, potable water, medicine and other relief materials to those seriously affected by the flood. We ask for your utmost support and donations in these trying times so that, together, we can help alleviate the plight of the flood victims.

Please send your donations to the Bayan Muna Office at #45 K-7th Street, West Kamias, Quezon City, Philippines. For more information, please call Tel (632) 921 3473 and coordinate with Ms. Grace Saguinsin or Ms. Gemma Bunag.

Thank you for your support.


Very truly yours,


REP. SATUR OCAMPO
President

Postcard Campaign to President Obama to Free the Cuban Five

Update on the Postcard Campaign to President Obama to Free the Five

It has not even been a week since we picked up 21,000 postcards at the printers to send to President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and other elected officials calling for the freedom of the Cuban Five. The orders coming in have already greatly exceeded our expectations. We have sent out most of the cards from this initial print run and we are now discussing how we can print more.

What appears to be making this project of the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five take off is its international grassroots appeal. This is a hands-on project with people meeting people and getting others to take that step forward to sign the postcard, get a stamp on it and send it to Washington . It is a concrete expression of solidarity with our 5 Cuban brothers.

We have sent batches of postcards in English and Spanish to many countries, including Argentina , Canada , Cuba , Lebanon , Mexico , Peru , and the United Kingdom . In the United States many people are also using the card that can be addressed to their Congressperson. Cards have gone to Florida , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Minnesota , New York , Oregon , Texas , Wisconsin , and many cities in California .

Committees in other countries have already translated the postcard and are printing them to distribute them locally. We know for sure that in Russia the postcard has been translated and is now being printed. It is also being translated into German, Catalan, Swedish and Portuguese.

Now that the case has been filed before the U.S. Supreme Court, it is more important than ever to get the word out about this miscarriage of justice. We must let the new administration know that, despite the ongoing media blockade, there is an international movement calling for the freedom of the Cuban Five.

Now is a great time to get involved in this campaign. You can order postcards by writing to info@thecuban5.org and let us know how many you want. You can also send a tax deductible donation to help with the printing and shipping costs made out to: IFCO/Awareness Project and mailing it to International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five, P.O. Box 22455 , Oakland , CA 94609.

Bayan Muna congratulates the US People and Pres. Barack Obama

Bayan Muna congratulates Sen. Barack Obama on his election as 44th president of the United States of America.

We especially congratulate the people of the United States for overcoming age-old bigotry and racial prejudices in electing their country's first African-American president.

Sen. Obama's victory signals a rejection of George W. Bush's rabid pursuance of neoliberal economics, unilateralism in foreign policies and naked military aggression that are a bane to the whole world. Such a victory opens up hope that somehow, US foreign policy might change for the better.

The challenge now is for Pres. Obama to fulfill his promise of real change, in particular the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and other places where they have conducted unilateral military action, and the dismantling of notorious detention camps in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and more constructive policies with regards to Iran, Syria, North Korea and other states labeled by Bush as the "Axis of Evil." He should stop the US government's policy of labeling and persecuting national liberation groups as "terrorists."

We would be pleasantly surprised if Pres. Obama's mantra of change would entail a review of US policy on the Philippines, particularly the removal of US troops and facilities from Philippine soil, the abrogation of unequal and onerous economic and political agreements like the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, as well as a fundamental revision of RP-US relations based on the principles of mutual benefit and respect.###