With what was gleaned as "intimidation tactics" of uniformed men, will the current leaders be true to their pro-people mandate as the “Protectors of the People” and “Promoters of Peace and Progress” for the country.
On the morning of June 26, 2023, Karapatan Southern Tagalog received a copy of a complaint by Sgt. Jean Claude E. Bajaro, PA, against Anakbayan Southern Tagalog Regional Coordinator Ken Rementilla and Jasmin Rubia, Secretary-General of Mothers and Children for the Protection of Human Rights (MCPHR), for violation of Section 12 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
This is just one instance that the military, specifically the 59th Infantry Battalion, has made accusations without basis against legitimate human right groups of allegedly supporting the CPP-NPA.
Karapatan Southern Tagalog stands by its demand that this intimidation tactic of the 59th IB against members of human rights organizations be stopped.
This is "red-tagging" of a legal NGO providing help to people in need, and this can lead to serious consequences for Ken and Jas, two Filipino youths doing their share of helping their fellow Filipinos.
The past six years of the Duterte administration has resulted in more than 30,000 people killed under its “war on drugs” or “red-tagging” policy, and justice has eluded until now the victims and their families.
As of today, according to Karapatan’s monitoring of human rights violations nationwide, there are currently 778 political prisoners, and under the current administration, more than 300 additions. Indeed, the Bongbong Marcos – Sara Duterte administration looks bent on continuing such a bloody program as “legacy of impunity,” if we may say so.
In Southern Luzon alone the past few months saw the deaths of Kyllene Casao and Maximino Digno in Batangas, the disappearances of paralegals Jade Pecayo of Tanggol Batangas and John Peter Garcia of Youth Advocates for Peace with Justice – UPLB (YAPJUST-UPLB), and harassment of Felipa Cheng, coordinator of Karapatan Rizal.
The facts of killings and harassment of innocent, if not socially concerned, Filipino youths in Southern Luzon have not been reported in the mainstream media. But it’s as clear as day that impunity still reigns under this current administration, especially in such militarized regions such as Cagayan in the north, Bicol, Samar, Negros, and down south in Mindanao.
We are not surprised if such similar dire happenings are the lot particularly of those in the far-flung areas.
We do wonder when will the AFP and PNP, under this Bongbong-Sara leadership, become true to their pro-people mandate as the “Protectors of the People” and “Promoters of Peace and Progress” for the country.