President Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016 proclamation of a state of national emergency provides sufficient legal grounds for him to declare martial law in Negros Oriental, where a spate of killings has been linked to communist rebels, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Friday.
The Palace, meanwhile, denied the allegations of Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares that the spate of killings in Negros Oriental and in other parts of the country were state-sponsored.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the allegations against the government were “baseless” and “laced with malice” and the remarks were part of the propaganda of the communist rebels.
“Such utterances of Mr. Colmenares are but a part of the propaganda of the Communist Party of the Philippines [CPP], to which obviously he subscribes and parrots, to discredit the administration and the security forces of the government,” he added.
The Palace official also said justice should be given to those who were murdered as well as to their families.
Negros island has suffered a surge in killings, including a lawyer, a one-year-old child, and four police personnel.
The Palace previously said Negros island would be placed under martial law to quell lawless violence if the military and local executives recommend it.
“We agree that justice must be delivered to the victims, as well as to the families of those who were killed in Negros Oriental. This government condemns all forms of arbitrary killings,” Panelo said.
Colmenares, on the other hand, said evidence suggests the unrest in the region is state-sanctioned.
“Two matters of evidence would point out that the recent cases in the country can be considered as state-sponsored killings—‘direct evidence’ from the statement of witnesses pointing to the police as the gunmen and the ‘indirect evidence’ which is the pattern of killings which publicly vilify the target,” Colmenares said.
Colmenares, who lost his senatorial bid in May elections, said “the brazenness with which the crime was committed as if the perpetrator was not afraid at all of being accosted by the police” shows why the murders were state-sponsored.
Panelo defended the police, saying “it is common knowledge that the armed component of the CCP, the New People’s Army [NPA], has committed various crimes to the people and to the nation, including the murder of many innocent government agents and civilians in ambushes, skirmishes, extortion, and burning and destruction of properties.”
“Mr. Colmenares has never condemned any of the atrocious and illegal acts of this rebellious group, a fact that demonstrates not only his use of double standards when it comes to his principles but it also shows where his loyalty belongs,” he said.
Panelo also urged leftist groups to surrender.
“It is time for them to join the rest of their surrenderers who have been coming out in droves as they respond to the call of the President to return to the democratic society and embrace constitutional order,” he said.
The Commission on Human Rights is seeking cooperation from Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde in its pursuit of a probe on the series of killings in Negros Oriental.
“We then ask the PNP to allow cooperation with CHR investigators on the ground, specifically for requests for cases’ information, so we can both serve justice to the families and loved ones left behind due to this senseless killings,” lawyer-spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said in a statement.
“Investigators from CHR coming both from its central and regional offices have been deployed to Negros to investigate these killings, involving police officers, a lawyer, educators, and even a child.
Every motive is being pursued, especially that allegations of the government and communist rebels being accountable for the executions are being floated,” she added.
With the statement of the PNP that the situation in Negros Oriental is under its control “even without extraordinary measures being applied,” she said CHR sees no reason to declare martial law in the province.
“We hold that this puts to rest the need to declare martial law or any emergency power. What we are trying to avoid is the normalization of measures reserved for extraordinary cases concerning national safety,” she said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Friday that while there is no need to declare martial law in Negros Oriental for now, he would wait for the recommendation of the military, the police, and the local government on the matter.
He said that among the grounds for the declaration of martial law would be chaos and uncontrollable killing but for now, it looks like this has stopped.
Lorenzana said the killings are “more of politically motivated than anything else” because of the recent election.
“Let us see in the coming weeks, what will happen,” he said.
The Philippine National Police earlier sent 300 members of its Special Action Force to Negros.
Police recorded a series of shooting incidents in the province from July 23 to 29 with 16 reported deaths.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said that use of emergency powers is an option the President can exercise to keep the peace in Negros Island, but is hoping it will not happen.
“That indeed is an option of the national government through the President to use such powers. I guess the purpose also is to restore peace and order in the area of Negros Oriental…I just hope it does not happen here in our island,” the governor said in a press briefing on Thursday.
Lacson noted there have been no recent reports of killings and said he hopes this will continue and not force the President to use emergency powers.
Also on Friday, Senator Christopher Go allayed fears of a nationwide declaration of martial law—but said a limited declaration in Negros Oriental was possible.
Meanwhile, Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima urged the Senate to conduct an immediate investigation into what she called the systematic attacks and continued the assault against members of the legal profession, including lawyers, prosecutors, and judges.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 33, De Lima lamented how the roster of lawyers in the country is rapidly transforming into a list of names of casualties caught in the middle of the administration’s violent war on drugs.
“This escalating and alarming trend and spate of attacks and killings of members of the Bar makes it imperative for the government and law authorities and institutions to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice,” she said.