Bayan office raid in Manila proof of 'creeping martial law' — Zarate
MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate on Tuesday denounced the early morning raid of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan office in Tondo, Manila that led to the arrest of three activists.
The raid at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday was reportedly conducted by officers of the Philippine National Police based on allegations of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. It resulted in the arrest of Bayan Manila campaign director Ram Carlo Bautista, Manila Workers Unity secretariat Alma Moran, and Kadamay Manila coordinator Ina Nacino.
“The raid is reminiscent of the same modus operandi done by the police in the Bacolod raids and mass arrests as well as filing of trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives,” Zarate said.
The offices of three progressive groups in Bacolod, Negros Occidental were raided last week, along with the houses of Bayan Muna regional coordinator Romulo Bito-on and Gabriela Metro Manila spokesperson Cora Agovida — resulting in more than 50 arrests.
Human rights monitor Karapatan said the allegations of guns and bombs in the Bayan office is “a barefaced lie meant to justify these patently arbitrary arrests and to silence social justice workers and activists.
“[W]hatever evidence is planted, the police and government narrative defies logic and those who enforce and abetted these patently illegal moves, including judges, should be held to account,” Karapatan said in a release.
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