A LEFTIST lawmaker on Friday said he was wary over the declaration of a nationwide terror alert level 3 by the Philippine National Police due to the alleged spillover of violence by the Maute terrorist group in Mindanao.
Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao warned that the Duterte administration should not use this security alert to sow fear among the people, and said this was prone to abuses against those who exercise their democratic rights.
“The Duterte government should think of a better way to address the terror threat, if there is really any, and not execute a blanket measure that includes trampling on democratic rights,” Casilao said.
Casilao made the statement after PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa announced that people should expect more and stricter checkpoints as well as raids.
“We oppose this measure as this clearly is to discourage people from joining legitimate rallies, and we totally doubt if these checkpoints would allow passage of [protesters], and the mere fact that their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are surrendered to the police’s discretion is an outright violation,” Casilao said.
Casilao cited the case of peasants in San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan who became targets of the PNP’s “Oplan Tokhang” anti-drug operation and arrested in October, in what he said was actually harassment related to a land grabbing case.
The military on Friday put the provinces of Davao, Cotabato and Zamboanga under red alert, following intensified operations against the Maute terrorist group and the Abu Sayyaf.
The declaration is separate from the Terror Alert Level 3 raised by the police Thursday in response to a failed bomb attack on the US Embassy.
In a Palace press briefing, Armed Forces spokesperson Restituto Padilla Jr., said the provinces and the areas covered by the Eastern Mindanao Command and the Western Mindanao Command remain under red alert due to “prevailing terror threats and other contingencies.”
“We have an ongoing offensive against the Abu Sayyaf in those areas, including Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi,” Padilla said.
Metro Manila, Padilla added, was under white alert, despite the discovery of the US Embassy bomb.
Padilla said the military follows a different alert system than the police.
“This is the simplistic alert system that we follow and we do not subscribe to the terror alert level that was recently announced. This level system—this alert level system is actually an issuance from the Anti-Terrorism Council and I understand that the police has been following this alert level system,” he said.
“In any case, the primary responsibility for securing our cities is in the hands of our police personnel. They are tasked to lead in all major cities and the Armed Forces [will] only provide support.”
Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa announced Thursday that the entire nation was under Terror Alert Level 3 after police arrested two men suspected of planting a bomb near the US Embassy in Manila on Monday.
Dela Rosa said that the higher alert level meant tighter security measures, particularly the setting up of random and mobile checkpoints.
The leftist National Union of Students of the Philippines urged the public to remain vigilant with the government’s declaration of terror alert level 3 all over the country.
“With the sustained efforts of the government to end the drug problems through the war-on-drugs campaign, it is not surprising for this government to put the country under the total rule of the military. Putting the entire nation at terror alert level 3 is a step closer to a declaration of martial law, bringing back the country to its mired and dark history under a fascist dictatorship,” Kevin Castro, NUSP spokesperson, said.
“While the National Union is not disregarding the threats from terrorist groups, we must still be on our guard with such a decision, coupled with the earlier declaration of state of lawlessness. Given the fascist nature of the state’s armed forces, such pronouncements can be used to silence those who show political dissent against the current administration. In times where clamor and opposition against the regime is at its peak, political persecution and crackdowns might ensue,” Castro said.