ADVERTISEMENT
“Removing or lowering these penalties gives State authorities a free pass, if not outright approval and endorsement, for violations on human rights and civil liberties...”
Who is exempted from being labeled “terrorists?” Rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, Church people, peasants, indigenous peoples and workers have been publicly vilified by state security forces as such.
President Duterte may look like he is merely copying the atrocities of the Marcos dictatorship. But a deeper scrutiny shows the system that allowed the Marcos dictatorship to rise prevailed even after his ouster.
Since March 2019, the 85th IBPA has been involved in human rights violations against coconut farmers in Quezon. Farmers in Macalelon and Lopez towns have been forced to evacuate due to continuing harassment and accusations of being supporters of the New People’s Army.
Because what Parlade is doing is taking a page from Palparan’s, and Marcos’, and ultimately, the CIA’s playbook. He thinks that barbarity will result in fear, and thus compliance. He thinks that the way to curb legitimate dissent is by becoming an aswang; a murderer in the night, and desecrator of the flesh.
“We were shocked. If there were really guns or explosives there, these will surely be found in less obvious areas. That’s a no-brainer."
“The arrest of the Tacloban 5 (us) through the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police tanim ebidensya (planting of evidence) scheme is a manifestation that President Duterte’s administration and his cronies in the AFP in Eastern Visayas are trembling in fear because the legal activists, despite our young age and short experience just like what the AFP would say, did not fail to reach the grassroots.”
“But now more than ever, the RMP will live out its commitment to be servant-leaders with the poor farmers, fisherfolk, agricultural workers, and Indigenous Peoples so that all may truly experience God’s compassion and mercy in the here and now.”
“The arrests of Cumpio and, before her, Krueger, the red-tagging of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and other press freedom groups and advocates, the continued attempts to shut down Rappler, ABS-CBN and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, are all part of this government’s efforts to silence the free exchange of ideas and coopt media into mouthing only what it allows.”
“We condemn the Leyte police and state forces for this latest attack on Eastern Vista, our fellow community journalist Cumpio, and against people’s groups in Leyte. We demand their immediate and safe release, and call on the public to denounce this latest attempt to silence and intimidate independent media and human rights defenders.”
The human rights group stated that “no legal documents were processed to authenticate the identities of the two remains,” and that they were only positively identified as Pinza and Candor upon exhuming.
“If their claims that they were killed in an encounter were true, then why can't they show the body to the family? Why are they so adamant in insisting that they have already buried the two while claiming they are still unidentified?” asked Karapatan in a statement.
“We are disappointed and angry at the military, who not only took Jay-ar’s life, but also blatantly violates the rights of the family by performing delaying tactics and depriving them of the right to claim their relative’s remains.”
The situation has not changed up to now. Armed and supported by the military, these paramilitary groups continue to sow fear among the Lumad.
The Regional Peace and Order Council of Region 12 released an order for the closure of UCCP Haran.
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.
Save as PDF