Press Release
July 7, 2010
Iloilo City---Comprehensive and militant youth organization Anakbayan strongly condemns the assassination of Bayan Muna Partylist Aklan Chairperson and Lezo, Aklan SB Member Fernando Baldomero last Monday.
61-year old activist is the first victim of extrajudicial killing (EJK) since the day President Benigno Aquino III took his oath of office.
According to the initial reports, Baldomero was at the front of his house in Brgy. Estancia, Kalibo, Aklan around 6:30 in the morning and was about to bring his 12-year old son to school when two armed men shot him to death by three gunshots in the head and neck.
“This is a big slap to P-Noy’s face. Things are clear in here. Even though former president and currently Pampanga Representative Gloria Arroyo had already bid her farewell from presidency, EJKs are still possible to occur,” says Anakbayan Panay Regional Spokesperson James Saguino.
He added, “This slaying case happened after the announcement of the new counter-insurgency plan of the newly installed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ricardo David.”
Anakbayan called Gen. Mabanta ‘idiot’, criticizes OBL
AFP, in their statement last Tuesday, then denied their involvement in the said case, nevertheless predicted it as a result of a communist purge.
"We are possible suspects. But do not forget that on the other side, purging continues to be a strategy if only to tell their members that we can kill you or we can neutralize you any time," said Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta.
“When there are usually killings of, let’s say anti-government activists, one of the easier people to blame are the military," he added.
However, Anakbayan National Vice-Chairperson Anton Dulce called Mabanta an idiot and was under the mistaken belief that the public is even dumber than he [Mabanta] is which would be the only possibility for them to believe such a discredited claim.
“Yet again, we hear it straight from the horse’s mouth: the AFP and its bullets do not differentiate between unarmed civilians and armed rebels” he said.
“Through Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), the [past] Arroyo administration is conducting an inhumane war which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians and legal and underground organizations. Unless the Filipino people act to stop the killings, Philippine society will degenerate into something worse than Martial Law, not worthy of being called civilized,” said Benjie Oliveros in his article in Bulatlat as he described OBL as Arroyo’s inhumane war.
Saguino expressed disappointment to the Aquino administration. After 1190 cases of EJK, 1028 victims of torture, 205 cases of desaparecidos and more than hundreds of thousands were forcibly displaced in rural areas as a result of military operations, P-Noy has not yet presented his plan of action on how to stop political killings and enforced disappearances or at least condemn such inhumane acts.
Youth challenges P-Noy
Saguino restate the youth’s call for justice. P-Noy should bare his concrete plan or stand on this issue of political killings and other forms of human right violations.
“P-Noy should not only stop ‘Wangwang’ but also ‘Bangbang’ as soon as possible,” he said. The AFP has been the strongest perpetrator of the different cases of human rights violations in the Philippines.
The military’s power point presentation entitled ‘Knowing Your Enemy’ that tagged left-wing organizations as legal front of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) is one of the proofs that makes us point our fingers to them [AFP].
Different entities, including the Supreme Court on 2008 and UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights on 2007, alleged the AFP liable of the various cases on human rights.
He added that P-Noy enticed us to follow him in his ‘Daang Matuwid’.
Anakbayan Panay challenges P-Noy to prove it by making appropriate steps concerning this issue. Killers should be punished and these killings should be stopped. The objective of a ‘straight path’ cannot be achieved if justice and peace are yet on question.
“P-Noy should be serious on this matter. As what he said in his previous speech, ‘I will set the example.’ Now do the move,” Saguino added. # (with articles from Anakbayan Phils, Anton Dulce, Benjie Oliveros of Bulatlat, KARAPATAN and BAYAN)
Sources:
James Saguino
Regional Spokesperson
ANAKBAYAN PANAY*
anakbayanpanay@jamessaguino.4t.com
09182143454
*Anakbayan is one of the founding organizations of KABATAAN Partylist, the sole youth representation in Congress.
