NEWS AT A GLANCE

Troops in urban areas part of undeclared martial law – Solon

AnakPawis (Toiling Masses) party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano said Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan’s deployment of military troops in urban centers of Central Luzon is “a major component of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s undeclared martial law.”

Palparan, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, confirmed last June 13 that some 500 of his forces were deployed to urban centers in Pampanga and Bulacan because he said “the enemy is everywhere so we have to be everywhere.”

“On what authority does Gen. Palparan deploy military troops in urban areas?” asked Mariano.

He said that the deployment of troops in Central Luzon’s urban areas under Gen. Palparan’s command shows that the Arroyo administration is laying the ground work for a nationwide militarization of key cities nationwide.

“Malacañang turned Central Luzon’s urban centers into a laboratory for its plans to militarize the urban areas nationwide,” Mariano said. “Piece by piece, Ms Arroyo is constructing the jigsaw puzzle of martial law.” Bulatlat

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‘Preliminary investigation a sham’ - Ladlad 

One of the personalities charged with rebellion welcomed a Supreme Court (SC) decision stopping the preliminary investigation, as he accused state prosecutors of pushing for a “sham” court proceeding which only aims to put them in jail even without conviction.

Vicente Ladlad, a Bayan Muna (People First) party-list official and one of the 50 people accused by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of rebellion, said the SC decision gave “temporary relief” from the “vicious persecution by the state prosecutors” which he said had violated their constitutional rights and basic procedures in preliminary investigation.

On June 5, the SC First Division issued an order stopping the DOJ and the Philippine National Police from proceeding with the preliminary investigation on the charge of rebellion. The order was in response to a petition filed by Ladlad, along with Nathanael Santiago, Rey Casambre and Randall Echanis. The SC order also covers a similar petition by the five party-list representatives now pending with the Third Division.

“The state prosecutors know too well that the rebellion case against us is a fantastic tale which will not hold water in court…While state prosecutors cannot allow a fair preliminary investigation so they can put us behind bars immediately, the armed agents of the state could not even wait for the court to have us convicted,” Ladlad said, citing the May 29 killing of Sotero Llamas who was also on the DOJ list. Bulatlat

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