Labor groups, Human Rights Watch slam govt over 9 activists’ killings

THE coalition of the country's biggest labor groups on Sunday demanded that the government hold accountable the people responsible for the killing of nine activists in Calabarzon at the weekend.

In a statement, Nagkaisa condemned the separate incidents, which happened in Laguna, Rizal, and Batangas, and called for its immediate investigation.

“Nagkaisa is outraged with the continuous killings of trade unionists and questionable arrests of activists. It calls on the government to investigate and stop this impunity against trade unionists,” it said.

Based on news reports, the nine activists, who were being investigated for their supposed links with communists insurgents, were allegedly killed by the police, while they were serving search warrants.

The operations led to the arrest of six other activists.

The incidents happened after President Duterte reiterated in his speech last Friday that he wants to “kill” communist insurgents.

Nagkaisa called out Duterte for the pronouncement, which it blamed for emboldening the police to commit brutal red-tagging operations.

“Are we going back to the dark days of authoritarian rule? What is happening to our country, Mr. President?” Nagkaisa said.

“People in government appear to be ordering if not in cahoots with criminal perpetrators or tolerating their acts,” it added.

In a separate statement, Human Rights Watch expressed seriously concern about the raids, which it said were “clearly part of the government’s increasingly brutal counter-insurgency campaign aimed at eliminating the 52-yearold Communist insurgency.”

HRW said the “fundamental problem is this campaign no longer makes any distinction between armed rebels and noncombatant activists, labor leaders, and rights defenders. It is also not a coincidence that these incidents occurred in provinces overseen by the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, led by Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., who has led a vicious ‘red-tagging’ campaign against activists by accusing them of rebel links without providing any evidence that can stand up in a court of law.”