MANILA – Opposition lawmakers warned that Rodrigo Duterte’s order to send more police officers and soldiers to Negros Occidental and three other areas could be a prelude to a countrywide martial law, while the Commission on Human Rights asked the President to address the root cause of “lawless violence” there instead of beefing up troops.
Duterte could be testing the waters, through Memorandum Order 32, before expanding the martial law currently imposed in Mindanao throughout the Philippines, critical party-list representatives said.
“Ginagawang tuntungan ang mga incidents of lawlessness violence sa Negros, Bikol at Samar para bigyang hugis sa pambansang saklaw ang state of emergency na ang pangunahing layunin ay magdeklara ng martial law sa buong bansa,” said Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis, a member of the Makabayan bloc.
“I called on the Filipino people to oppose Duterte’s attempt to impose a nationwide martial law,” Casilao added. The deployment of more troops was “meant to quell people’s just and legitimate socioeconomic demand. It should be rejected.”
Another Makabayan bloc member, Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers, said the administration could be moving against opposition groups.
Tinio believed this order “will only lead to greater repression in the face of growing resistance to the administration’s anti-poor and pro-oligarch policies.”
“Instead of waging war against its own people, the Duterte administration should address their demands for land reform, regular employment, decent wages, and adequate social services,” he added.
Duterte ordered the deployment of additional troops to Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Samar, and the Bicol region to “suppress lawless violence and acts of terror in those areas,” the memorandum order read.
“There is a need to reinforce the directive of the President in order to prevent the loss of innocent lives and destruction of property, and bring the whole country back to a state of complete normalcy as quick as possible,” it further stated.
‘GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE’
The Commission on Human Rights was wary of the latest order.
The so-called violence in these areas demands thorough investigation and expedient justice for the victims, spokeswoman Jacqueline de Guia said on Saturday.
The government must find their root causes if it was to halt the “number of sporadic acts of violence” in these areas, she said in a statement.
“This is the more immediate clamor that needs to be addressed to truly stop the cycle of violence,” she said. “There is a need to address the root causes of violence – primarily land issues and the plight of farmers in the said areas.”
Among the reported acts of violence in Negros Occidental was the massacre of nine farmers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental. Duterte believed it was carried out by the New People’s Army.
“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,” de Guia said.
“We urge the government to pursue development solutions rather than a military approach to truly address the long-standing problems that impact the basic rights and dignity of the people,” she added./PN
