Groups hit shoot-to-kill-order of Cordillera police against ‘communist organizers’

‘Inappropriate, problematic, illegal’

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Groups assailed an order of Police Regional Office Cordillera director Brigadier General R’win Pagkalinawan for government snipers to shoot “communist organizers who “unnecessarily organize the masses at this time.”

The Tongtongan ti Umili condemned the police regional director’s remarks, saying these mirrored the position of his commander-in-chief. “His pronouncement is an affront to democracy and the police forces’ mandate to uphold, fulfill, and respect human rights and dignity especially now in the middle of a health and humanitarian crisis,” the TTU said in a statement Friday.

“This COVID-19 crisis has struck many of the most vulnerable parts of our population to hunger and desperation, and has no recourse but to demand for better economic and social aid. However, with this ambiguous shoot-to-kill order against alleged ‘communists’, paired with the relentless spate of red-tagging and political vilification against those who are speaking out, lives are now even more at risk.”

The group said, “Such kind of pronouncements only enables more our police forces to silence innocent individuals only expressing their legitimate concerns and demands. The shoot-to-kill order plays no role in addressing the health and humanitarian crisis we are facing now. That kind of response is not what we expect from our police force and the government as we continue to face more difficulty amid this pandemic.”

               The militant Cordillera People’s Alliance earlier assailed Pagkalinawan’s order