‘Militant’ candidate receives death threat

BAGUIO CITY -- A candidate for councilor here this coming elections was threatened with a death threat by still unidentified persons believed to be members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for allegedly being allied with the Communist Party of the Philipines,

Art Allad-iw filed his candidacy as an independent but was adopted by the Nationalista Party under its wing. Allad-iw is a writer of the Northern Dispatch (Nordis), a weekly publication and the International Press Service News, a wire agency. He also teaches here at the Easter School College.

Allad-iw received a letter though postal mail March 23. A black ribbon was inside the letter with the following written in tagalong: “Tila walang saysay at huwad ang inyong planong paglilingkod sa bayan. Aming napatunayan na patuloy ang iyong pakikipag-alyado sa kaaway ng demokrasya, ang CPP-NPA. Malinaw na ito’y pagsang-ayon at pagtalima sa buktot at maling paniniwala ng komunismo. Sa ganitong kadahilanan, aming ipinararating ang “itim na laso” kalakip ng liham na ito, na magbibigay babala na ang iyong buhay gayun din sa pamilya mo ay hiram lamang.
Sumalangit nawa ang inyong kaluluwa.Nagmamahal sa Bayan at Demokrasya.”

(It seems that your intention to run and serve the people is without basis. We have confirmed that you are still having alliances with the enemy of democracy, the CPP-New People’s Army. This means your connivance with the wrong ideology of communism. It is because of this reason that we are sending this black ribbon and this letter as a warning that your life and that of your family are temporary. Let your soul rest in peace. – One who loves our country and democracy)

The threat was seen by militant cause oriented groups in the region as “a move to deter him (Allad-iw) from participating as a candidate in the elections but also as an attempt to neutralize his efforts in criticizing anti-people policies, acts and programs of the Arroyo government.”

Allad-iw was former deputy Secretary General of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and staff of Dinteg Cordillera Indigenous Peoples Legal Center.

“The threat against him and his family is also connected to the vilification campaign against progressive people’s organizations, Senatorial candidates Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo and the different partylists like Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women’s Partylist, Katribu, ACT, and Anakpawis that we have documented and complained with the Commission on Elections,” the groups said.

In a statement, the groups said: “Recently, some city councilors and candidates in the local elections have informed us that they received letters threatening them if they would continue to support Liza Maza, Satur Ocampo and the progressive partylists.”

A letter blamed on the AFP state that: “Ang BAYAN MUNA, ANAKPAWIS, GABRIELA, KABATAAN, KATRIBU, ACT at AKAP BATA Partylists ay mga kasangkapan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas para sa eleksyon 2010. Layunin nito ang mapasok muli an gating demokratikong institusyon upang sirain mula sa kaloob-looban…kaya sa darating na eleksyon ngayong mayo 2010, huwag magpalinlang. huwag makipag-alyado, sumuporta o humingi ng tulong sa mga komunista. Mahalin ang iyong buhay at demokrasya. ito ay paunang babala!”.

The groups said the letters also had the same signatory as the one Allad-iw received.

“The Cordillera Human Rights Alliance strongly condemns these recent human rights violations which we see as part of the desperate attempts of the Arroyo government to accomplish its Oplan Bantay Laya targets by June 2010,” the CHRA said.