Bayan Muna lawmaker sees crackdown vs Left

Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Carlos Zarate (CDN PHOTO/CHOY ROMANO)

The terrorist-tagging of so-called progressives and the granting of subpoena powers to the Philippine National Police (PNP) are preludes to an intensified crackdown on the Left, a lawmaker said Sunday.

Bayan Muna party list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said he would not be surprised if the PNP would abuse its subpoena power to “harass and oppress” left-leaning individuals – an accusation that the government denied, stressing that the rule of law would prevail.

“We have laws in place that would address an abuse of this power,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing.

READ: Duterte signs law giving PNP chief, CIDG execs power to subpoena / Palace: PNP subpoena power won’t be abused

On March 1, President Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 10973, which gives the PNP chief and the director of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group CIDG the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of people or the production of documents relevant to an investigation.

It followed a petition filed by the Department of Justice before the Manila Regional Trial Court seeking to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), its military arm the New People’s Army and some 600 people as terrorists.

The list included CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, alleged ranking leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, National Democratic Front (NDF) peace negotiators, UN Special Rapporteur Victiora Tauli-Corpus and indigenous peoples’ rights advocates Beverly Longid, Windell Bolingit and lawyer Jose Molintas.

READ: Gov’t seeks terrorist tag for 600

“This is a virtual order of battle and clearly part of the state’s vilification campaign that the Duterte administration is continuing and raising to a new level,” he said in a statement.

The lawmaker said the allegations in the court petition were “utterly false.”

“The allegations in this malicious court petition are utterly false. Instead, of recognizing the legitimacy of the causes espouse by revolutionary groups and legal democratic organizations, the Duterte administration is pursuing even further the militarist line of terrorist-tagging,” he said.

The petition stemmed from Duterte’s Proclamation No. 374, declaring the CPP and its armed wing New People’s Army (NPA) as terrorist organizations last year.
READ: Human rights group slams DOJ’s ‘severely defective’ list of ‘terrorists’

Duterte declared the CPP/NPA/NDF as terrorists after peace negotiations repeatedly failed. The President blamed the collapse of the talks to relentless attacks by NPA rebels on government forces despite the peace process, leading to the death of many soldiers and civilians.

Dispelling possible abuse in the issuance of subpoenas, Roque said, “If there’s really no reason to issue a subpoena, it could be questioned through a petition for certiorari – arguing that it is whimsical, capricious.” /cbb