BY THE PROMOTION OF CHURCH PEOPLE’S RESPONSE
DEMOCRATIC SPACE
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 37, October 21-27, 2007

The Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) condemns the deadly bombing of the Glorietta Mall in Makati City, October 19. A thorough and truly credible investigation must be done on the incident. Immediate medical and financial assistance must be extended by the appropriate government agencies to all the victims.

In the face of a series of corruption scandals rocking the Arroyo administration, we cannot dismiss the possibility that Malacañang may have a hand in this incident.

At this point, the Arroyo clique is desperate to escape public outrage over its latest string of scams, including the exposé on Malacañang pay-offs. Is Arroyo stung and threatened by the Catholic bishops’ recent pronouncements following Gov. Panlilio’s explosive testimony on Malacañang cash gifts that her operatives decided to explode a bomb to create a climate of terror and discourage people from joining demonstrations in public places?

We cannot help but wonder if this was hatched by those who wish to deflect public attention on the burning issues hounding Arroyo. It is not unlikely that Arroyo’s operatives are responsible for this fatal bombing that left scores wounded and at least eight people instantly killed.

While Malacañang and police authorities may again pronounce that this is a terrorist attack that needs all-out security measures and as such, justify warrantless arrests under its Human Security Act (HSA), we warn against extreme government actions that will again arrest and imprison innocent people wrongly accused as the bombers.

The Glorietta bombing reminds us of the deadly blasts at the Davao airport, the Sasa wharf and a number of malls, markets and other public places in Mindanao. We are also reminded that these bombings happened at a time of political turmoil under Arroyo and in the context of government justification for continuing U.S. military presence in Mindanao.

These bombings were used by Arroyo to declare a state of lawlessness and effectively authorized police forces to raid communities and arrest scores of innocent Muslims wrongly accused as terrorists. These
bombings were also used by Arroyo’s lawmakers to justify the passage of the anti-terror law amid the people’s protests on its implications to civil liberties.

We therefore call on Filipinos to exercise vigilance in the face of extremely repressive schemes that will be unleashed by the Arroyo government in the guise of pursuing the “terrorist bombers.” (Bulatlat.com)

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