Abuse of ‘progressive workers’ by lawmen

EDITORIAL

The Community Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region has decried the dismissal by the Commission on Human Rights– Cordillera Administrative Region of harassment cases it filed last March against army and police personnel.

According to Chestcore, their workers have been intimidated and harassed, received death threats and their rights violated by the lawmen so they submitted their case to the CHR-CAR for appropriate action.

“But the CHR-CAR did not recognize the merits of our case, treating the documents as papers that must stand in court,” Chestcore said in a press statement. “And that if these papers don’t, our rights don’t cease to be and our case must be dismissed and archived.”

The statement said Chestcore was “left with little or no recourse because the Philippine justice system is slow-grinding and favors the moneyed and those in power. This is rubbing salt to the wounds of our individual staff, our institution and most of all, the communities we serve.”

The group asserted human rights violations were continuing and escalating. “We protest the conduct of military combat operations which violates the rights of the communities to safety and security.

It is shocking and deplorable that the CHR-CAR tags certain communities as ‘red areas.’ Our communities have a long history of struggle against militarization and the destructive World Bank Chico dams that would have submerged a significant number of Kalinga and Bontoc communities.

These communities continue to defend their land, this time, against multinational large-scale corporate mining. This wider context of development aggression includes intimidation, harassment and threats, according to the group.

Chestcore blamed state security forces as perpetrators of these violations. The statement said the group serves marginalized and indigenous people’s organizations. “But then,” the statement added, “together with other progressive people`s organizations, Chestcore had been connected to and tagged as a Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army front.

“It is continuously being demonized in AFP/PNP propaganda, making it an open target for rights violations. A significant number of these organizations’ leaders and members have been victims and targets of harassment, trumped-up cases, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings.”

The group said this had been part of counter-insurgency programs in the region for many years. “It took its greatest toll with OplanBantayLaya I and II under then Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and now continues with President Benigno Aquino III under OplanBayanihan.

“We oppose OplanBayanihan. It is a deceptive tool meant to sanitize the image of state security forces through their employment in government socio-economic projects. It aims to quell just opposition against development aggression and destructive projects that grab people’s land and resources and endanger peoples’ health.

“We demand that the CHR-CAR recognize, uphold and fulfill the human rights of our people with clear bias for the marginalized sectors and communities against violations of the state.”