More troops may escalate tension, fuel fear — CHR

MANILA, Philippines — Increased police and military presence in areas supposedly wracked by “lawless violence” could further escalate tensions and stoke fear among the people, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said yesterday, as it cautioned the government against deploying more security forces to these areas.

Instead of sending additional troops, CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said the Duterte administration should focus on addressing the root causes of the alleged lawless violence in Samar, Negros provinces and the Bicol region.

“The recent incidence of violence in the area demands thorough investigation and expedient justice for the victims. This is the more immediate clamor that needs to be addressed to truly stop the cycle of violence,” she said yesterday.

“Moreover, there is a need to address the root causes of violence – primarily land issues and the plight of farmers in the said areas,” she added.

De Guia noted that pursuing development solutions rather than a military approach would have significant impact on the basic rights and dignity of the people.

“We call on the government to address these problems instead of simply increasing the presence of security forces, which may escalate tension and fuel fear in the community,” said the CHR official.

Duterte’s directive was contained in Memorandum Order 32, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and released on Friday.

Malacañang maintained that the order is not a prelude to the declaration of nationwide martial law.

For former Bayan Muna party-list congressman Neri Colmenares, the presidential order is meant to silence his critics, particularly those in the opposition.

MO 32, he said, would allow security forces to intimidate or silence dissenters, activists and other members of the opposition who disagree with his policies.

“We are afraid that it will increase human rights violations,” Colmenares said at a news forum at the University of the Philippines Hotel in Quezon City yesterday.

Colmenares said soldiers and police officers could always pursue New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and other groups perceived as lawless elements even without MO 32.

He said that if an NPA rebel is spotted, he’ll just be shot, adding that Duterte himself had admitted there’s no need for a special order against lawless elements.

By issuing the MO, the Duterte administration is setting the stage for nationwide martial law, said Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison said.

“Memorandum Order No. 32 is formally and actually a declaration of a state of national emergency. This is in furtherance of the ongoing tyranny and de facto martial law nationwide. It is preparatory to formal proclamation of martial law nationwide, the screwing up of the 2019 elections, Chacha for bogus federalism and establishment of fascist dictatorship a la Marcos,” Sison said in a statement posted on the National Democratic Front website.

“The lawless violence that now reigns in the Philippines is actually a monopoly of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP), especially with their perpetration of mass murders with impunity and with presidential protection and cash incentives from the intelligence and discretionary funds of the Office of the President,” he said.

Admission of NPA strength

He maintained it was Duterte’s Oplan Tokhang and Oplan Kapayapaan that had fueled “lawless violence” in the provinces covered by MO 32. Furthermore, Duterte’s order was an indirect acknowledgement of the guerrilla movement’s strength.

He claimed there were “patriotic and democratic-minded” officers in the military and the police aiming to withdraw support from Duterte. A “small criminal gang” within the AFP and the PNP is all Duterte can depend on to stave off any ouster plot.

“The tyrant Duterte has worn out and fatigued his limited military and police forces and cannot increase them because of the worsening economic crisis and financial bankruptcy of his regime, aggravated by debt enslavement to China which will start to weigh heavily on the Philippines next year,” Sison said.

“Duterte seems to be aware that he is sitting on a throne made of bayonets. Thus, now and then, he publicly expresses fear of a coup d’etat,” he said.

A separate statement from the CPP called the MO Duterte’s “desperate attempt to stop the rising tide of peasant unrest and nationwide growth of the NPA.” 

The CPP noted what it claimed was the rising number of peasant killings, including the recent massacre of nine peasants in Sagay City in Negros by paramilitary forces allegedly attached to the military.

The National Federation of Sugar Workers said the Palace was using the Sagay massacre as an excuse to send more troops to Negros. – Emmanuel Tupas, Jose Rodel Clapano, Rhodina Villanueva, Artemio Dumlao