Human Rights Day: ‘Political tokhang’ condemned

ILOILO CITY—Organizers are expecting at least 5,000 people to join rallies on Panay Island marking Human Rights Day on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and decry what human rights groups said were escalating attacks on political dissenters.

The biggest rally would be in Iloilo City, where at least 2,500 people, led by members of the Promotion of Church People’s Response and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan are to hold a program at Sunburst Park.

Rallies or programs were also to take place in the capital town of San Jose in Antique province, Roxas City in Capiz province and the capital of Kalibo, Aklan province.

“The attacks and threats against those critical of the policies of the Duterte administration are continuing and even worsening,” said Elmer Forro, secretary general of Bayan-Panay.

Pictures of nine lawyers belonging to the National Union of People’s Lawyers have been displayed in posters along with leaders of progressive groups and marked as supporters of “terrorist” groups.

Forro said arrests have targeted leaders of activist groups like those in Negros Occidental while lawyers and other activist leaders had been Red-tagged, or accused of being communist rebels.

Police and soldiers arrested 55 persons accused of being leaders and members of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Bacolod City last month and its armed wing New People’s Army in Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor Islands.

Progressive groups, however, denied their leaders were involved in CPP or NPA, saying they were public figures well known in their communities and among reporters.

Most of those arrested were later released after the complaints were dismissed or after they posted bail.

Forro called the practice “political tokhang” referring to Oplan Tokhang, a play on words which mean knock and plead and which was the hallmark program of the Duterte administration’s bloody campaign against drugs.

Forro said five farmers had been arrested on Panay Island and accused of being New People’s Army rebels.

The most recent was the arrest last Nov. 10 in Maasin town in Iloilo of Herman Allesa, a former village chief and leader of the Federation of Iloilo Farmers Association (FIFA).

The Philippine National Police alleged that Allesa was an NPA platoon leader.

Edited by TSB