Filipino-Canadians gather donations for victims of Leyte disaster

National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
SIKLAB - Canada
Press Release


Filipino-Canadians gather donations for victims of Leyte disaster

For immediate release: February 19, 2006

A network of progressive Filipinos in Canada is gathering donations for the victims of the recent Leyte disaster that claimed an estimated 1,800 lives.

"As the progressive Filipino Canadian community in Canada we extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those 1,800 people killed in the mudslide in Guinsaugon, Leyte, Philippines," said Cecilia Diocson, Chairperson of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC).

"We call on Filipinos in Canada and other Canadians to gather what financial support they can to help in the relief and recovery efforts of this tragedy," said Roderick Carreon, Chairperson of SIKLAB – Canada (Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers).

Filipinos are the fourth largest visible minority group in Canada, numbering close to 400,000.

"This is a case of simple government neglect," says Diocson. "Even the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said yesterday the landslide was a tragedy waiting to happen," she added.

Diocson criticized Philippine President Gloria Macapgal-Arroyo's anti-people policies that have aggravated and not solved the chronic economic crisis in the Philippines. She said more government spending is directed towards servicing the foreign debt than badly needed social and economic programs. An estimated 88% of the population lives in poverty.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the region has been the scene of natural disasters since 1749, when a volcano in the area erupted. Since 1991, four deadly landslides and floods have also struck the region and claimed thousands of lives.

"At the same time, we question claims by the Philippine government that the mudslide was mainly due to illegal logging," states Carreon. "The real reason for the tragedy and others like it are the large-scale logging operations mostly by foreign-owned companies which have caused massive deforestation and environmental damage all over the Philippines," he added.

Carreon pointed to government policies of liberalization that, "give foreign companies the right to plunder the nation's natural resources at the people's expense."

The group is setting up a trust fund in the Vancouver area to accept donations to be coursed to the disaster area. Donations of $25 or more can also be made to SAPED-PCDI c/o 451 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1G7 and a tax receipt will be issued.

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For more information, please contact:

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VANCOUVER: Cecilia Diocson (NAPWC) or Ted Alcuitas (BC Commitee for Human Rights in the Philippines) at: 604-215-1103 or e-mail: pwc@kalayaancentre.net
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MONTREAL: Roderick Carreon (SIKLAB - Quebec) at: 514-344-2709 or Joanne Vasquez (Philippine Women Centre of Quebec) at: 514-659-4300
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TORONTO: Joy Sioson, Philippine Women Centre of Ontario or Yolyn Valenzuela (SIKLAB - Ontario) at: 416-878-8772 or e-mail: siklab_ontario@yahoo.ca


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MONTREAL: Roderick Carreon (SIKLAB - Quebec) at: 514-344-2709 or Joanne Vasquez (Philippine Women Centre of Quebec) at: 514-659-4300
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TORONTO: Joy Sioson, Philippine Women Centre of Ontario or Yolyn Valenzuela (SIKLAB - Ontario) at: 416-878-8772 or e-mail: siklab_ontario@yahoo.ca

Fqs report back fundraiser

On friday January 27 2006,

Kabaatang Montreal held a fundraiser party hosted by Sigaw ng Bayan (CKUT 90.3 fridays @ 2pm) for the FQS Report Back from the Vancouver Youth Conference last November 2005.

The evening began with a short play by the KM cultural committee dramatizing various historical and cultural events that happened in filipino history including the present day situation. The night also featured various bands playing including the RnB reggae sounds of Da Funk Lab, the hard punk rock of Frozen flame and sweet sounding pop rock of 15th station, formely know as the SFC band. Each band bringing it's own unique brand of music proved most entertaining.

To brief on what the FQS is, it began on January 26, 1970, with youth and students protesting Marcos' State of the Nation address. This led to a series of rallies where militant students, workers and farmers staged demonstrations in the streets of Manila to protest oil price hikes, graft and corruption in government, and the worsening economic situation at that time. Invariably, these protest actions turned violent and bloody as law enforcers responded with tear gas and, in some instances, with bullets. Thus has came to be known among activists and political observers as the First Quarter Storm, or simply the FQS.

The Youth Conference in Vancouver was to celebrate and draw lessons from the FQS so that we can continue the struggle of the youth and the people.

-A.D.Santos