Left warns of Duterte crackdown

Members of the left-wing Makabayan party-list bloc have warned of a looming crackdown on dissenters following the Duterte administration’s creation of an Interagency Committee on Legal Action (Iacla).

The congressmen found the Iacla, created in an Oct. 9 resolution by Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Eduardo Año, to be a revival of the Arroyo administration’s Interagency Legal Action Group (Ialag).

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said “there was a spike in trumped up charges against the opposition” during the heyday of former President and now Pampanga 2nd Dist. Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Ialag.

Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao noted the experience of the Makabayan bloc’s precursor, the “Batasan Six,” who were detained on rebellion charges when Arroyo placed the country under a state of national emergency in 2006.

Trumped up charges

He also cited the cases of activists, dubbed the “Southern Tagalog 72” and the “Tagaytay 5,” as well as more political leaders in Cebu and Davao.

“If Iacla pushes through, the possibility of us in the Makabayan bloc being accused of trumped up charges will not be remote, as it has precedent, hence, it is just to call for the immediate abolition of this authoritarian measure,” Casilao said.

“It is a shame that even this antihuman rights body under former President Macapagal-Arroyo was plagiarized by President Duterte, this was a major player in abuses against the people, particularly activists demanding then her resignation,” he added.

Muzzle dissent

Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus said the Duterte regime had set into motion the government’s legal mill to target critics with fabricated charges, intensified vilification and extrajudicial killings of activists.

“In the face of mounting criticisms and declining ratings, Duterte is resorting to the revival of Ialag in a desperate attempt to muzzle dissent, in line with the counterinsurgency plan ‘Oplan Kapayapaan’ and the US counterinsurgency manual. A desperate regime clings to heightened oppression,” De Jesus said.

Tool of repression

Meanwhile, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) echoed the sentiment and said the Iacla would “institutionalize cover-up, mechanically pass off blame and brazenly harass or intimidate so-called ‘enemies of the State’ by enemies of the people.”

“It was a legal tool of repression and a legal mantle of impunity then, it will be an illegal tool of repression and an illegal mantle of impunity now. Enough already of these silly dangerous gimmicks,” NUPL said in a statement.

Stronger coordination

PNP said in a statement on Tuesday that the Iacla was meant to “strengthen the intelligence gathering and cooperation, investigation, prosecution and monitoring of cases against threat groups … by establishing stronger coordination of ongoing and future efforts of the government in addressing these cases.”

Año reportedly said on Monday that the country has “so much democratic space that is being exploited by terror groups and also criminal groups.”