“While the state forces tried to protect their indefensible president at yesterday’s SONA, BS Aquino thanked his minions but obviously failed to recognize the fallen 44 SAF, his very own men, in the botched Mamasapano operation in January. It is predictably BS Aquino’s way of glossing over human rights and peace issues that beset his regime during the last five years,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
“While the state forces tried to protect their indefensible president at yesterday’s SONA, BS Aquino thanked his minions but obviously failed to recognize the fallen 44 SAF, his very own men, in the botched Mamasapano operation in January. It is predictably BS Aquino’s way of glossing over human rights and peace issues that beset his regime during the last five years,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
Karapatan lambasted the criminalization of the arrested peace consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines such as Benito Tiamzon, Wilma Austria-Tiamzon, Ruben Saluta, and political prisoner Emmanuel Bacarra. The three, with 15 other consultants were all arrested because of the government’s malicious maneuvers and sabotage of the peace talks with the NDFP. The GPH has repeatedly violated joint agreements with the NDFP such as the GPH-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
Yet, the DND-DILG Order on Reward Number 14(A)-2012 issued on December 12, 2012 amended earlier DND-DILG Joint Order Number 14-2012 in “Pursuant to the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) dated 24 February 1995 and the current GPH list of JASIG-covered personalities, the following names are to be deleted from DND-DILG JOR Number 14-2012 in recognition of the pending peace negotiations and conditions upon the existence of said peace negotiations”. The amendment ordered the deletion of names of Wilma Austria Tiamzon, Rafael Baylosis, Vicente Ladlad, Reynaldo Bocala and Jose Maria Sison from the list of so-called 235 “communist personalities” who are targets of arrest or neutralization, with corresponding reward money.
“The BS Aquino regime has been double-dealing with the NDFP, dangling the peace talks while hunting down peace consultants and arresting them through trumped-up criminal charges using false witnesses and “planted” evidences like arms and explosives,” said Palabay.
BS Aquino’s insincerity in pursuing genuine and lasting peace showed when he tagged the peace consultants “kilabot” along with other criminal gangs and lumping them together with “The Butcher” Gen. Jovito Palparan, whose hands are blood-stained for all the human rights violations he and his AFP units have committed against the Filipino people.
“He even failed to mention that while Palparan is on staycation in his own headquarters at the Fort Bonifacio, some 537 political prisoners are languishing in jails for criminal crimes they did not commit, except standing up for the rights of the Filipino people,” added Palabay.
Palabay said, “For all his contempt for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, BS Aquino is simply enamored with the murderous skills of the Arroyo generals Año and Baladad whom he promoted to the high positions of the AFP, to complement his equally fascist new chief-of-staff Gen. Iriberri.”
“BS Aquino’s much touted ‘tuwid na daan’ has been tainted with blood since day one. There is no way the people should allow ‘tuwid na daan’ to continue. It must be repudiated. Tama na, tapusin na,” Palabay called on. ###