July, 2008

Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza today urged the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs to waive former UN envoy Lauro Baja's diplomatic immunity to give due course to the trafficking, forced labor and slavery cases filed by domestic worker Marichu Baoanan in the US courts.
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Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Liza Maza today criticized President Arroyo’s SONA double talk on the government’s population policy as one driven by her administration’s need for survival. "Nakakadismaya na maging sa usapin ng panganganak at matris ng kababaihan ay nagsisinungaling pa rin si Presidente Arroyo."
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Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Liza Largoza Maza today said President Arroyo’s defense of the Value Added Tax at the State of the Nation Address is the biggest of all lies at yesterday’s 57-minute, tall-tale marathon.

“It is not true that 90% of the country’s VAT on power collection is being paid for by the rich and well to do,” said Maza, citing research conducted by the consumer group, POWER and statistics from the Department of Energy which reveals that:
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Mainit na pagbati sa bawat isa sa ating tumitindig at nagpapahayag ng tunay na kalagayan ng mamamayan, ng tunay na SONA. Ang pagbuhos natin sa lansangan sa araw na ito hindi lamang sa Maynila kundi sa mga probinsya ay patunay lamang na isinusuka natin ang mala-pantaseryeng drowing ng kaunlaran ng peke, korap at abusadong lider ng sindikatong nasa Malakanyang, si Gng. Arroyo.
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"Nakakasuka na. What with lies as your staple and empty promises for dessert. President Arroyo's SONA is replete with fake economic gains and band-aid solutions to the worsening poverty.”

Thus said Gabriela Women's Party Representative Liza Maza who, in contrast to the glitter of gowns and jewelry, donned her faded maong jeans and rubber shoes on Congress’ red carpet, walking out of the Batasan after attending the morning session.  read more »

"Hazel was indeed raped, she was a victim of human trafficking and that the Philippine government had been sorely remiss in providing her adequate and proper assistance." This was the statement of the mission team, headed by Gabriela Representative Hon. Liza Maza, that went to Okinawa, Japan last week to look into the case of Hazel, the 22-year old Filipina allegedly raped by a US soldier.
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“President Arroyo can claim to have successfully achieved her SONA targets year after year but the fact remains that rice prices have soared 100% since she first came into power in 2001. Gabriela Women’s Party holds the Arroyo leadership personally responsible for the widespread hunger and poverty that our country has sunk into.”
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"Ramdam na ramdam ang kagutuman. President Arroyo can harp all she wants about the supposed  economic gains but the truth of the matter is that seven SONAs later, hunger incidence in the Philippines has gone from bad to worse."

Thus said Gabriela Women's Party Representative Liza Largoza Maza in reaction to the latest survey released by the Social Weather Station. The lawmaker noted that surveys conducted by the SWS the past seven years indicates that hunger which was at 9.8% in July 2001 is now at 16.3% in the latest survey.
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Protests against the rising prices of oil took a creative twist as members of Gabriela Women's Party today stormed Pilipinas Shell head office in Makati, where they hurled slippers against Shell's main building while "Gasolinda" danced and belted out a song of protest to dramatize their condemnation of the recent spate of oil price hikes and the Oil Deregulation Law. "Gasolinda" is inspired by the hit Mexican telenovela Rosalinda.  read more »

Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Liza Largoza Maza today said that it is the government's overpriced ODA obligations and not the poor that is the reason behind President Arroyo's mulish stance against the scrapping of the 12% Value Added Tax.

"A huge chunk of the government's spending still goes to foreign debt payments. And for the past seven years, ODA availments have increased the debt service burden, " said Maza citing IBON studies indicating that around 40% of outstanding foreign debt may be attributed to ODA loans.
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"The Gabriela mission to Okinawa hopes to give Hazel the much needed moral and legal support in this uphill battle for justice. Hazel needs the support of her kababayans now more than ever, especially since the Arroyo government's neglect and inutility in her case, and their obvious complicity with the US government has made justice even more difficult to attain for Hazel and her family."

Thus said Gabriela Women's Party Representative Liza Maza as she leaves today for Okinawa, Japan with Nanay Melly, mother of the Okinawa rape victim, Hazel.
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Gabriela Women's Party Representative Liza Maza today called for the immediate termination of the Northrail contract saying that the issues now being raised by the China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. Group (CNMEG), as well as price adjustments amounting to over US$ 299M corroborate allegations of bribes and anomalies that have hounded the US$ 503M Northrail Project.  read more »

Gabriela Women's Party Representative Luzviminda C. Ilagan condemned the inhumane treatment of 250 Filipinos, majority of whom came from the southern part of Mindanao, detained in Sabah jails prior to their deportation.

"The imprisonment of 250 undocumented Filipinos in Sabah was illegal. Their detention without proper trial and means is in violation of universal rights and laws," the Mindanaoan solon said.  read more »

Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Liza Maza today expressed fears that the statement issued by Church leaders seeking to deny communion to authors of legislative measures on reproductive health care could bring the delivery of services and education on women’s healthcare and protection to the dark ages and set the country back from meeting Millennium Development Goal targets.
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