ANALYSIS
Murder, She Wrote
To date, there have been
601 cases of political killings. Political killings or assassinations may
be the appropriate term to describe it. But the way these killings were
carried out, the use of authority and superior force over an unarmed and
unknowing civilian, is worse than murder. And murder is a criminal act
abhorred by all with a penalty more than execution, eternal damnation.
Political killings, therefore, are not only violations of our rights, it
is a violation of our dignity as humans.
BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
Bulatlat
Barely three days
after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo broke her deafening silence on the
killings of political activists, administration officials have already
been echoing the line of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The
head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Task Force Usig formed May 13
to investigate the killings, Deputy Director General Avelino Razon Jr.,
said that of the 25 of the killings were committed by soldiers and
paramilitary groups while 13 may have been the result of a purge within
the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National
Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Razon came out with a
subsequent statement saying that people should not blame President Arroyo
for the killings. The PNP, which in other cases, especially of high
profile crimes, refuses to reveal the identity of suspects so as not to
preempt the investigation are suddenly quick in coming out with a
conclusion. The haste by which these conclusions were drawn up raises
doubts on the seriousness of these investigations.
As of May 16, there
were already 601political killings since the Arroyo administration took
over in 2001. Of these, 221 were confirmed to be members of people’s
organizations, 93 from Bayan Muna (People First).
The “purge” theory
has been the standard response of the AFP whenever they are suspected of a
killing or a forcible abduction and disappearance. It is now being raised
by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales and Interior and Local Government
Secretary Ronaldo Puno.
But Karapatan or the
Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights in a press statement May
16 cited two cases where soldiers or policemen were identified. In the
case of
survivors Emmylou Buńi and husband Brylle Cruz, KARAPATAN-Central Visayas
staff and Bayan Muna organizer, respectively, the couple was able to
identify the gunman, Ricky Lao and two more intelligence agents of the
78th IB under the command of Lt. Col. Jessie Alvarez as the ones who fired
at them last November 24, 2005. Another survivor, Gerardo Cristobal, a
union leader, was able to defend himself and remove the ski mask covering
his attacker. The attacker turned out to be SPO1 Romeo Lara. And in all
of the cases, the victims were accused of being communists or NPA
guerrillas before being killed.
The
“purge” theory is like a badly written script oft repeated in the hope
that people will believe in it. While the CPP admitted to errors in
conducting anti-infiltration campaigns in the past, it is difficult to
imagine how an underground organization could form so many teams of armed
motorcycle-riding men spread all over the country to kill its own members.
If that is the case then the AFP need not conduct massive military
operations and just wait for the CPP and the NPA to extinguish itself.
To
further stress the obvious, a lot of these killings were done in broad
daylight often near military detachments. Sounds of gunshots are heard
from great distances especially in wide open spaces in rural areas.
Second, there are a lot of AFP and PNP checkpoints especially in areas the
government deem as critical. These hit squads must have mastered the art
of disappearing into thin air after a killing.
When
the Batasan 5 were about to leave the House of Representatives, where they
took refuge under the protective custody of the Lower House, last May 8
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales lifted the arrest order and was quoted as
saying that the Arroyo administration did not want to be part of a script
that would portray the embattled legislators as “heroes.” But the way
things are going, it seems that it is the Arroyo administration that is
following a script.
First, the
administration would put the blame of the political killings on the CPP.
This would not only enable the Arroyo government to evade its
responsibility over the killings. It is also a way of vilifying the CPP
as a ruthless and violent organization that is capable of doing anything
to pursue its rebellion.
Second, the
Department of Justice (DoJ) would bring out the issue of alleged “purges”
and the killings of Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, which the CPP
claimed, and that of Filemon Lagman, whom the CPP stated it did not kill,
in the rebellion case against the Batasan 5 and 49 others. Through this,
the DoJ hopes to build their case that CPP is continuously committing
violent acts of rebellion and that the six legislators, six personalities
of legal organizations, and the 43 others had, by their alleged
affiliation, directly and indirectly participated and are still
participating in these acts. This, in turn, would also fit in the script
blaming the CPP for all the killings of its alleged comrades.
It may be a badly
written script but it is a script nonetheless. And all freedom-loving
Filipinos who are seeking truth and justice should not let it pass.
Political killings or
assassinations may be the appropriate term to describe it. But the way
these killings were carried out, the use of authority and superior force
over an unarmed and unknowing civilian, is worse than murder. And murder
is a criminal act abhorred by all with a penalty more than execution,
eternal damnation. Political killings, therefore, are not only violations
of our rights, it is a violation of our dignity as humans.
The Arroyo government
is trying to get away with it by using a badly written script. If it
does, the Filipino people would have to continue the count beyond 601.
Moreover, it had been said that if one would be able to get away with
murder, he would think that he would be able to get away with anything.
Threats, constriction of civil liberties or even a declaration of Martial
Law would then be an easy thing to implement. Will the Filipino people
let this happen? Bulatlat
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