Philippines: Militants, Religious Ask for Ban of AFP Deployment in NCR
| 
Subscribe: Church leaders described the militarization of urban communities as a “nail hammered on the flailing limbs of freedom in this country.”
BY AUBREY MAKILAN
Bulatlat
ELECTION WATCH
Vol. VII, No. 14 May 13-19, 2007
Catholic and Protestant bishops and militants call for military pullout in urban poor communities in Metro Manila, May 9 (By Aubrey Makilan)Militants welcomed the order of AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. for the complete pull out of the 260 soldiers deployed in 26 “depressed communities” in Metro Manila. Since November last year, the AFP has deployed troops in 26 slum communities in Quezon City, Caloocan, Manila, Taguig, Parañaque and Marikina.
The Inter-Faith Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Network, together with sectoral groups, criticized Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. for his declaration that soldiers will likely return to the communities after the elections if the residents request them to do so.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr. said that the current order for the withdrawal of troops in Metro Manila is just a “short term victory” and called for a “permanent ban on the deployment of soldiers in Metro Manila.”
“There is no war or invasion that merits the stationing of troops in heavily populated city centers. Even after the elections, the AFP should just stay in their barracks,” Reyes said.
On May 7, militant party-lists Bayan Muna (People First), Anakpawis (Toiling Masses), Gabriela Women’s Party, Kabataan (Youth), and Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro people), and a certain Roberto Corbes, petitioned the Supreme Court to order the AFP to pull out its troops in Metro Manila. The 20-page petition also asked the High Court to nullify the AFP’s order to deploy over 250 soldiers around the metropolis.
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo said that the pullout of military troops in Metro Manila villages is a “tactical victory” for the Filipino masses. Despite the pullout order, Bayan Muna still called upon the Supreme Court to decide on their petition regarding the matter.
“The pullout of troops in Metro Manila is a tactical retreat. It is AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr’s attempt to pre-empt the Supreme Court ruling on the Bayan Muna petition questioning the constitutionality of his orders,” Ocampo said.
They have also sought the help of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to order the pullout of troops in the metropolis. According to the party-list groups, the military deployed in urban areas are urging the public not to vote for them and are accusing them of being communist front organizations.
The petitioners said that aside from the fact that the AFP could not unilaterally decide to deploy troops in the metropolis, the order clearly violated the principle of civilian supremacy over the military as enshrined under Section 3, Article III of the 1987 Constitution.
Campaigning against party-list groups
Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, military commander of Manila, said that the pull out was to “dispel accusations” that the soldiers’ presence was intended to influence the elections. He said that the deployment in urban poor communities was part of the military’s “internal security operations” to prevent terror attacks.
Soldiers in civilian clothes deployed in Parola, Tondo, Manila stay at the barangay’s multi-purpose hall and day care center, May 9 (By Aubrey Makilan)But the Supreme Court petition was based on reports received by progressive party-list groups that AFP soldiers were intimidating and interrogating their members.
Luzviminda Sulayaw, 53, and four other Bayan Muna members in Isla Puting Bato, Tondo, Manila, also filed a complaint against the military this time with the Commission on Human Rights.
Sulayaw said the military was reportedly asking about her whereabouts and her affiliation with Bayan Muna. When the soldiers first arrived in the area in December, she said, they accidentally asked her about a certain Luz Solano. She believed the soldiers were actually looking her but misspelled her surname. She also complained that the soldiers stayed in front of her house almost everyday. The soldiers even asked her son about her activities and why she was always out of the house.
Sulayaw said her neighbors advised her to temporarily leave their place for fear that something bad could happen to her. But she refused because she has not done anything wrong. She has lived in Isla Putting Bato for more than 30 years now.
Marie Casas, 30, is a witness to the harassment against Sulayaw, and a victim and one of the complainants as well. During their dialogue with Col. Ricardo Visaya, Civil Military Operations (CMO) chief, at the CHR, she said soldiers took pictures of them. The soldiers accused Bayan Muna of recruiting for the New People’s Army. The residents argued that this was not true. In fact, Sulayaw and Casas said, ever since a fire razed their houses in 2006, Bayan Muna has been helping them.
But in some parts of Parola, Tondo, residents favored the deployment of soldiers in their area. They said the military helped them renovate their barangay (village) hall, build comfort rooms, and restore peace and order in their area well-known as “pugad ng mga masasamang loob.” (nest of criminals)
During the CHR dialogue, Sulayaw said Visaya told them that the soldiers were just conducting population census, voters’ count and survey of health conditions of the children in Isla. But for Sulayaw and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF), the fellowship of bishops from the United Church of Christ (UCCP), United Methodist (UMC), Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP), Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI or Philippine Independent Church) and the Roman Catholic Church, there are appropriate government agencies and non-government organizations that could best do these.
Meanwhile, Reyes said it was ironic that the inauguration of the AFP’s day care center, attended by Esperon and Dolorfino, happened in the same area, in Commonwealth, Quezon City where activist Jonas Burgos, son of press freedom icon Jose Burgos, was abducted allegedly by elements of the Philippine Army. Burgos was believed to be abducted by elements of the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in a restaurant in Ever Gotesco Mall along Commonwealth Avenue.
“The military can build as many day care centers as it wants, but this cannot change the fact that they have been campaigning for administration candidates and abducting and killing activists,” Reyes said.
Church alarmed
Several Catholic and Protestant bishops denounced the so-called urban militarization which they described as a “nail hammered on the flailing limbs of freedom in this country.”
On May 9, the day EBF Bishops Broderick Pabillo, Auxillary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila, Deogracias Iñiguez of the Diocese of Caloocan, Eliezer Pascua and Elmer Bolocon of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines called for the pull-out of military troops in urban communities, Gen. Esperon announced that the soldiers would be pulled out. The Inter-Faith Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Network spearheaded the press conference at Sto. Niño Parish in Tondo and the People’s Caravan dubbed “Solidarity Mission for Human Rights” that visited communities in Tondo where soldiers have been deployed.
The EBF statement warmed, “The people have the right to hold you accountable, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, for the gross violations of citizens’ rights brought about by urban militarization, just as the people hold you accountable for the numerous cases of extra-judicial killings, abductions and other abuses perpetrated by the AFP. We see urban militarization, together with the forthcoming implementation of the government’s anti-terror bill, as part of the state policy directed against critics of the administration.”
Pabillo also said that the presence of the military in urban poor communities was “an insult” to the police force, implying that they are not doing their jobs. He also said that local government units (LGUs) are “inutile” for its failure to act on this matter, saying that military troops are infringing on the functions and authority of LGUs.
He also said that addressing the roots of poverty is the answer to peace and order problems confronting the city and the country, not increased military presence.
“Kung talagang kulang ng kapulisan, Comelec dapat ang mag-request. Wala pa ngang request nand’yan na sila,” (If the police really needed assistance, the Comelec should formally request the augmentation of troops from the military. There is still no request yet but they are already there) he said. He added that he has received reports of election-related harassments. The cases of harassments were documented by the fact-finding mission of the IF-JPIC held on March 6 in Sta. Mesa, March 12 in Tondo, and March 23 in Payatas, Quezon City.
Sister Becky Pasete, of the Medical Mission sisters, reported that during the IF-JPIC mission in Sta. Mesa, they learned that the people were not complaining about the soldiers’ presence because they feared that the military might retaliate if they did.
Fr. Dave Bitos, former parish priest of the IFI Sto. Niño Parish in Tondo, and now assigned at the IFI Paco Parish, said he interviewed a man living in Area H in Tondo who told him he was hit on the arm with a soldier’s rifle. He also said that soldiers allegedly entered houses in Tondo and asked what party-list they were supporting.
“These are vestiges of martial law, a state President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wanted to impose were it not for the vigilance of the citizenry,” said the EBF statement, signed by Iñiguez and United Methodist Church Bishop Solito Toquero.
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo earlier said that Catholic bishops are behind the Archdiocese of Manila in expressing special concern on the continuing presence of soldiers who are allegedly harassing residents supporting progressive groups.
Vigilance
Despite the reported threats and harassment, the bishops called on the people to be vigilant in exercising their rights and policing their votes.
Bolocon stressed that the “essence of democracy is the presence of various beliefs,” noting that this will not be practiced if people live in fear. He added that people exercising their right to vote should not be coerced or influenced by anyone with vested interests.
Although the EBF did not endorse any senatorial candidates, Iñiguez called on the people to discern those candidates not worthy of their votes. The bishop said people should not vote for candidates who do not keep their promises and who buy votes. Bulatlat
Davao firms to issue warning on closures, retrenchments
You must be logged in to post a comment.