The Palace on Saturday belittled leftist groups’ latest call for President Rodrigo Duterte to resign owing to “alleged crimes against the people,” saying the call was part of propaganda by Communist Party of the Philippines leader Jose Ma. Sison.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said there is nothing new with the leftists’ latest call for the President to step down, saying the communist groups were the ones committing criminal acts against the Filipino people.
The Palace spokesman was referring to the “resign” call of the Kilusang Mayo Uno and Makabayan groups at a recent protest action in Davao City. They called for ending violence and the killings of indigenous people, and the lifting of martial law in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, two party-list lawmakers condemned the “terrorist tagging” by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio of progressive party-lists and organizations.
ACT Teachers Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro responded to the statement issued by the mayor against the Makabayan bloc and other progressive organizations as they joined protests against the martial law extension in Mindanao, the continuing alleged militarization in communities, and extrajudicial killings.
“We strongly condemn the statements made by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio against progressive party-lists and organizations,” Tinio said.
He alleged that Duterte-Carpio “continues to sow terror against progressive groups to divert the public attention from the economic crisis, extrajudicial killings and the emerging dictatorship caused by the anti-people policies of the Duterte administration.”
However, Panelo said it is Sison’s armed comrades, the New People’s Army, that were the ones inflicting violence throughout the country and threatening the safety of the people.
The government continues to blame NPA members for attacking civilians and military posts who were conducting medical and assistance missions in several parts of the country, he added.
Panelo was referring to the ambush of a government convoy in Camarines Sur that killed three policemen as well as the attack of a municipal police station in Northern Samar, torching heavy equipment in three barangays in Davao City, and burning a logging company’s equipment in Isabela province over refusal to pay “revolutionary taxes,” among other “more deplorable crimes.”
“It is very clear to us and to our people who the adversaries of this nation are. This administration is firmly devoted to protecting the security of all Filipinos and ensuring peace and order in our communities,” the spokesman said.
“If someone should be blamed for promoting violence in the country, perhaps the CPP-NPA should point the finger at themselves,” he added, even as he assured the public the Duterte administration can take care of the security of civilians.
Still, Tinio alleged that Duterte-Carpio “continues to sow terror against progressive groups to divert the public attention from the economic crisis, extrajudicial killings and the emerging dictatorship caused by the anti-people policies of the Duterte administration.”
“Straight from the pages of her father’s dictator book, Mayor Duterte-Carpio is actively campaigning against progressives with long standing records of fighting for the rights of the people especially the marginalized sector. These kinds of statements put the lives of activists in danger making them targets of the military and the police,” Castro said.
“To tag us as terrorists and criminalize our legal protest actions with legitimate demands is a denial of the rights and demands of the Filipino people for a more decent life,”
“It is the right of every Filipino to criticize anti-people policies of its government. In times of the worsening culture of impunity, to stand with the people and fight for their rights is only just,” Tinio added.
Castro, for her part, said: “Mayor Duterte should first listen to the legitimate demands of the people she keeps on tagging as terrorists.”