INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION The issue of political killings ha
s taken center stage in the Philippines with the
recent statements coming from the United Nations
and the Melo Commission pointing to the military
as the perpetrators. The Armed Forces of the Ph
ilippines for its part has embarked on a campaign
to vilify and demonize legitimate peoples
organizations, labeling them as communist
fronts, instead of addressing allegations that
the AFP is behind the killings.
We are coming out with this Powerpoint presentat
ion to show the public who are really behind the
murders, who are the killers, who are the real
terrorists, and who are the real enemies of the
people.
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Activist Targets
Unmasking the real enemy

• prepared by the
• Bagong Alyansang Makabayan

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1. Is there a national trend or pattern in the
killing of activists under the Arroyo regime?
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Indeed
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It is now beyond question that there is a pattern
in the killing of activists. The largest number
of extrajudicial killings to date since Martial
law - 835 victims as of March 2007.
Of the 835 victims, 378 were identified
activists. Documented by Karapatan (Alliance f
or the Advancement of Human Rights from January
2001 to March 2007.
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The killings do not happen in just one area or r
egion.

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Victims of extrajudicial killings from 2001
to February 2007 by location

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(No Transcript)
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Cagayan Valley 30
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Cordillera Administrative Region - 18
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Central Luzon - 142
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Southern Tagalog -152
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Bicol Region - 119
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Visayas Region - 126
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Mindanao Region - 208
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2. Who are the victims of extrajudicial killings?
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Civilians, unarmed, who had either pursued or
supported political causes. Many are ordinary
people.
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Church leaders and members have also been assass
inated.

• Fr. William Tadena of the Iglesia Filipina
  Independiente in Tarlac
  
• 2. Rev. Edison Lapuz of the Conference Minister
  of the United Churches of Christ in the
  Philippines.
  
• 3. Bp. Alberto Ramento the Iglesia Filipina
  Independiente.

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Even human rights workers themselves are victims
of extrajudicial killings.

• Eden Marcellana, Karapatan Southern Tagalog
  Secretary General
  
• Benjaline Hernandez, Deputy secretary general of
  Karapatan Southern Mindanao Region
  

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Victims who received death threats from the
military before they got killed

• Ricardo UY, Bayan Muna member. Before he was
  killed, a radio program run by the Philippine
  Army in dzMS Sorsogon City, "Ugnayaan sa
  Kapayapaan" (linking for peace) tagged him as an
  "emerging leader of the NPA.
• Marcelino Fabula, Anakpawis - Laguna.
  Interrogated by Lt. Andy Veneracion of Camp
  Lusiana prior to his death on December 4, 2005.
  
• He was shot dead by Jacinto Losano, a CAFGU
  member closely linked with Veneracion

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The rest of the victims have no political
affiliation but have been killed in the course of
military operations, usually in communities
labeled by the military as "red areas"
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"We should remember that most of the victims
were not even members of armed groups, even
though they may have sympathized with their
ideology. It is a matter of importance for
everyone in the Philippines that individuals
should be able to affiliate with the political
party or group of their choice and not be subject
to politically motivated violence as a result."
Amnesty
International
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For now, the targets seem to be the organized
activist groups and partylist formations.
In the future, the targets can be ANYONE opposed
to the administration. They too may be called
enemies of the state and may be targeted by the
repressive agents of government.
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3. Who are the perpetrators?
Fact sheets, eyewitness accounts, direct and cir
cumstantial evidence point to the elements of the
AFP and their death squads as the perpetrators.

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Motive, means and opportunity
A study on the means and opportunity behind such
killings points to the elements of the AFP and/or
their agents like the Civilian Armed Geographical
Unit (CAFGU) and death squads.
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Motive, means and opportunity
The AFP, being the biggest armed group in the
country, has the means of launching such
offensives on a nationwide scales. It has enough
resources and manpower to undertake a systematic
attack on the progressive movement.
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Motive
As early as 2004, Norberto Gonzales named the
progressive party-list groups Bayan Muna,
Anakpawis, Gabriela, Anak ng Bayan, Suara Bangsa
Moro and Migrante as communist fronts.
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Motive
In the power point presentation "Knowing the
Enemy" by the AFP, more legal organizations
including church groups and journalists' groups
were branded as communists fronts.
In the book "Trinity of War" the Northern Luzo
n Command (Nolcom) further identifies alleged
front organizations of the CPP and the NPA.
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Motive
The communist-labeling of legal organizations is
itself a policy declaration of the Arroyo regime.
It lays the basis for the vicious attacks on t
hese legitimate organizations.
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• The Melo Commission believes that some elements
  of the military are involved in the killings. In
  its report, the Commission believes that
  
• The military, not the NPA, is involved in the
  killings of activists.
  
• 2) There is some circumstantial evidence to hold
  Palparan and some of his superiors responsible
  for the killings based on the principle of
  command responsibility.

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• UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston in his
  initial statements on the issue said
  
• The AFP remains in a state of almost total denial
  (as its official response to the Melo Report
  amply demonstrates) of its need to respond
  effectively and authentically to the significant
  number of killings which have been convincingly
  attributed to them.

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4. Who must account for these killings?
Ultimately, it is the State which should be
accountable for these killings for tolerating,
abetting, and sponsoring the killings of
activists
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By not doing enough to stop the killings, the
government is already liable under international
standards

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The Arroyo government in fact has encouraged the
killings through its all-out war policy against
the Left.

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The policy of political killings and all-out war
is being directed by the Cabinet Oversight
Committee for International Security (COS-IS)
reveal the motives behind the killings. Its
members include the Executive Secretary N
ational Security Adviser Defense Secretary A
FP Chief of Staff PNP Director
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The Melo report says that there is enough
circumstantial evidence to blame Palparan and
some of his superiors for the killings of
activists.
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Criminal cases have previously been filed against
Palparan for the murders of Eden Marcellana,
Eddie Gumanoy, Benjaline Hernandez, Edilberto
"Choy" Napoles.
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5. Why are activists being killed?
The Arroyo regime is waging all-out war against
the people's movement. The progressive movement
is the most determined among the forces
struggling for Arroyos ouster.
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Other factors
US imperialism for its part considers the
progressive movement as a threat to its economic
and political interests in the country.
It is in the strategic interests of the US to
eliminate anti-imperialist, anti-feudal, and
anti-fascist resistance in the Philippines.
The Philippines is the biggest recipient of US m
ilitary aid in East Asia and the Pacific Region.
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• The all-out war includes
• Harassment of legal organizations
• Communist-labeling of legal groups
• Military deployment in urban poor communities
• Filing of false criminal charges against leaders
  of progressive groups

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6. What can be done?
Some of Alstons major challenges for the Arroyo
Administration
a) Acknowledgement of the problem by the AFP
b) Moving beyond the Melo Commission
c) The need to restore accountability in
government d) Witness protection e) Acceptance
of the need to provide legitimate political space
for leftist groups f) Re-evaluate problematic as
pects of counter-insurgency strategy
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BAYANs concrete steps to stop the extrajudicial
killings

• Stop the communist-labeling of legal activist
  groups accused of being front organizations. The
  communist tag on legal activists is by itself a
  policy pronouncement of the government.
• Arroyo should issue a direct and categorical
  order to the AFP to stop all military operations
  directed against legal activist organizations.
  Withdraw Oplan Bantay Laya

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BAYANs concrete steps to stop the extrajudicial
killings

• De-militarize areas where there are high
  incidence of extrajudicial killings
  
• Relieve military officials in areas where there
  is a high concentration of extrajudicial killings
  to pave the way for impartial investigations
  which can be conducted but not limited to the
  Commission on Human Rights.

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BAYANs concrete steps to stop the extrajudicial
killings

• De-militarize areas where there are high
  incidence of extrajudicial killings
  
• Relieve military officials in areas where there
  is a high concentration of extrajudicial killings
  to pave the way for impartial investigations
  which can be conducted but not limited to the
  Commission on Human Rights.

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BAYANs concrete steps to stop the extrajudicial
killings

• The filing of the appropriate cases versus the
  military officials implicated by the Melo report
  in the cases of extrajudicial killings. These can
  be brought to the special courts assigned by the
  Supreme Court.

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What else can we do?
There is a need to step up protests to condemn
these killings.
All forms of actions here and abroad must be
undertaken to expose the state policy of
repression.

Importantly, we must struggle for the immediate
removal of the fascist US-Arroyo regime. It is
her desperation to stay in power that incites
the slaughter of political dissenters.
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