MANILA, Philippines - Human rights group Karapatan warned the people of an expected increase in human rights violations against activists by government agents as the 2010 elections draw near.
Karapatan said a group of armed men wearing masks raided an electoral consultation conference in Sanchez Mira, Cagayan last June 11.
Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary-general of Karapatan, said the suspects threatened the victims and took the personal belongings of the participants, including laptops, personal documents and money.
She said at least 30 men, some of whom were masked and wearing camouflage pants, combat boots, and armed with M16 rifles and .45 caliber pistols, barged into the sleeping quarters of the conference delegates at around midnight at the MasCoop Resort in Barangay Masisit, Sanchez Mira.
Some 19 local coordinators of progressive party-list groups Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, and Kabataan were the main participants in the electoral consultation and conference.
“The manner, accuracy and swiftness of the raid show a similar pattern of military attacks in many of the earlier cases of abductions and raids committed in other areas and in other cases,” Enriquez said.
Enriquez said the victims noticed suspicious persons conducting surveillance operations in the area before the incident.
The Sanchez Mira police, however, categorized the incident in the police blotter as a case of robbery.
“The brazen terrorist attack came in the wake of the government-announced abolition of the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG,) which authored the trumped up charges against leaders and key members of progressive people’s organizations labeled as ‘enemies of the state’,” Enriquez said.
Karapatan assailed the government’s offensives against people’s organizations with the continued operation of Oplan Bantay Laya 2 (OBL).
Enriquez said that an indication that OBL remains operational is the recent statement of Northern Luzon Command’s Maj. Gen. Isagani Cachuela during an interview over Cagayan Bombo Radyo that the military is also “targeting white areas (areas not infiltrated by rebels) in urban areas.”
“But the people must not be cowed by the government’s moves to silence the progressive party-list voices in the face of these attacks. By all means, the people have a right to defend and assert their democratic rights,” she added.
Data from Karapatan showed an increase in unexplained killings and other rights violations in the years prior to the 2007 election.
The group claimed that in 2005 and 2006, there were 187 and 220 victims of killings, respectively, which went down to 94 cases in the election year of 2007.