Kumusta, Kumare!

This episode is a continuation of our discussion on the sex trade in the Philippines.  Last episode, we provided an introduction about the role of U.S. occupation/militarization on the sex trade in the Philippines.  Our in-house herstorian, Emma, provided a connection between the U.S. occupation/militarization and the sex trade.  For this episode, we will discuss sexual objectification and hypersexuality of Asian women, its connection to U.S. occupation and the sex trade, and to the work of Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity.  For this episode, Lata D’Mello, Monsoon’s Director of Programs and Outreach who is based in Iowa City will join our conversation.

Music from www.purple-planet.com. Thank you!

For this episode, our kumares, Mira, Rochelle, and Emma, will explore the role of U.S. occupation/militarization in the sex trade in the Philippines.  There have been several studies and documentaries on this issue, but this does not mean that this issue ended or has gotten better for the individuals who are part of the sex trade.

Credits:

Background music: "Hard Fought Victory", https://www.purple-planet.com

Featured music: "Base Militar", Inang Laya (Becky Demetillo Abraham, Karina Constantino David)

Audio clips: "Under the sun : Olongapo Rose", BBC-TV production in association with Arts and Entertainment.

Audio materials used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

In this episode, we are in conversation with Moro People’s CORE or MoroPCORE, a Mindanao-based organization that NAPIESV is supporting under our Bersama-sama Project. Moro People's Community Organization for Reform and Empowerment is a non-profit organization working for community empowerment and peace through education, organization and mobilization. Its mission is to reach out, educate, organize and mobilize the community for empowerment. It believes that through grassroots efforts, a genuine peace can be realized through dialogue, mediation, negotiation, consultation and meaningful talks.  

Let’s get to know our sister organization and check out the interview with Zaynab Ampatuan and Ivy Ampatuan.

Music credits:

"Hard Fought Victory" https://www.purple-planet.com

"Improvisation 1" Live at WFMU on Rob Weisberg's Show on 9/27/2008 by Electric Kulintang, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.

This is the second part of our discussion on Ending Rape Culture in the Philippines. At our last episode, we discussed in detail and dispelled the different rape myths which, even to this day, are still largely accepted as truths by a lot of folks and institutions here in the Philippines and around the world. This time, we will talk about what exactly is rape culture, its roots, and how women, throughout our history, persistently and fiercely struggle to overcome it. 

Music Credits

Hard Fought Victory -- https://www.purple-planet.com

"Babaylan" -- composed by Tony Palis and performed by Talahib People's Music. Live multitrack recording at the CStudio.

In this episode, we will discuss sexual violence, but specifically the rape culture in the Philippines. 

This is the first of the two-part episode that we’re having for this topic: what it is exactly, why it exists and persists, and how do we end it as women and as a society that wants to realize genuine equality and development as a nation. 

In this episode, we will discuss the plight of women workers in the Philippines. We’ll be hearing from Liza, a contractual worker at a factory producing luxury bags for big brands like Michael Kors, Coach, Louis Vuitton , as well as Tin and Din, tenacious women labor leaders from the province of Laguna.

“Kumusta, Kumare!” is Bersama-sama Philippines Team podcast and a way for our team to discuss issues facing women and girls in the Philippines. 

Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

[music]

Rochelle: Hello, everyone! Welcome to the second episode of Kumusta, Kumare!, NAPIESV - Bersama-sama Project Philippine Team’s podcast.

Mira: Kumusta, mga kumare! I’m Mira Yusef, based here in Iowa and can’t wait to do a lot of stuff when we can safely travel and be with other folks!

Rochelle: I’m Rochelle Aguilar, literally hot and bothered here in Angeles City. 

[laughter]

Emma: And I’m Emma, locked down but my mind, heart and spirit still roam wild and free here in South Luzon. 

[laughter]

[Music]

Mira: NAPIESV or the National Asian & Pacific Islander Ending Sexual Violence is a U.S.-based organization and our mission is to end sexual violence in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities and build healthy communities through transformative justice and social change.

Last year, we started the Bersama-sama Project in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Guam in order for immigrant/refugee/settler communities from Asia and the Pacific to connect to their home countries. 

By building this relationship, communities will be able to both reconnect with traditional/cultural practices and share movement-building strategies. 

Rochelle: In this episode, we’re diving deep into the nuts and bolts of organizing women-led community kitchens while in lockdown, bayanihan style.

Emma, our in-house food historian (sorta) will share with us how they’re able to operate community kitchens in several workers communities surrounding the export processing zones in Laguna.

Emma: Joining us also is women and children’s rights activist, Dimple Paz, of Lingap Gabriela and a volunteer of Bayanihang Marikenya Marikenyo and who, together with nine others volunteers, were arrested and detained on May 1, Labor Day, for supposedly violating the lockdown orders while serving food for public utility jeepney and pedicab drivers who are not able to work due to the lockdown. More about their story later. 

Mira: Before we proceed with the main segment of this episode, a brief update on the latest news in the Philippines. 

[music]

Rochelle: As of May 23rd, the Department of Health of the Philippines has reported that there are 13,777 confirmed COVID-19 cases, roughly 7,000 more cases, and 401 more deaths from last month, April 23rd, despite the hard lockdown in Luzon. The death toll is now at 863 with over 50 percent declared posthumously. There are also 25,048 suspected and 803 probable cases. 

Meanwhile, an independent local COVID-19 monitor, covid19stats.ph, which gets their data from the Johns Hopkins Corona Resource Center and the DOH NCov tracker shows that there are 20,264 reported positive cases with a discrepancy of over 6,000 due to laboratory case validation and processing backlogs.

The tracker also noted that there are 9.87 average days of delays in the DOH reporting on the number of deaths. 

Earlier this month, a team of experts from the University of the Philippines -- UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team -- pointed out...