News Release
05 November 2012
“Impunity continues and we have not seen the last of Palparan or his ilk. Until such time that General Jovito Palparan is jailed and prosecuted, President Aquino sends the message that criminals and butchers in the Armed Forces can and will get away with their bloodied hands.”
Thus, said Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Luz Ilagan amid claims made by Army chief Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista that the AFP has been addressing human rights violations. “Addressing human rights violations starts with making butchers accountable for their crimes. Hanggang ngayon wala namang napaparusahan,” Ilagan said.
“Wag na tayong maglokohan. The recent massacre of the Blaans, the deaths of indigenous leaders and environmental activists in Mindanao clearly refute the AFP’s statement. The Aquino government is responsible for the extrajudicial killings of at least 114 activists, the illegal arrest of 127 individuals and the forced evacuation of tens of thousands of individuals,” Ilagan said.
The Gabriela solon further said that Aquino’s Oplan Bayanihan gives a cloak of approval to human rights violations.
“The components of Oplan Bayanihan — intensified militarization, illegal arrests and the creation of trumped up charges against activists, extrajudicial killings — all boldly spell human rights violations. It carries no distinction from Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya and makes President Aquino no different from his predecessor or even Palparan himself,” Ilagan concluded.
For Reference
REP. LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN 0920-9213221
Jang Monte (Public Information Officer) 0917-4049119
