“What kind of government jails a family for 16 years and ignores all appeals for their freedom although the elderly Alegre couple are eligible for pardon and humanitarian release especially at this time of pandemic?”
“They told me we wouldn’t be released unless we admit to being rebels.” — Lumad teacher
Karapatan called the ATC a ‘copy-paste’ of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) that ‘incites violence’ now legitimized by the Anti-Terror Law.
Agroecology X, an alliance of local food producers and agricultural groups, pointed out the Department of Agriculture’s failure to address their problems, particularly the impacts of African swine fever and rice importation.
Women, who have always shouldered the overwhelming burden of unpaid domestic labor, take the brunt of workplace disruptions. Mothers now also have to supervise their children’s e-learning and attend to their needs 24/7, all the while navigating new work arrangements.
The police and military also forced the victims to sign a document linking them to the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), CEGP said.
Alliance of Contractual Employees (ACE) UP said it welcomes the “small victory” but considers the current count of reinstated guards “too few” considering the number of guards who were displaced.
The pandemic only compounded the already dismal status of occupational health and safety in the country. Workers are either thrusted into work-from-home setups, forced to risk exposure to Covid-19 in their traditional workplaces, or retrenched altogether.