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Press Release
August 15, 2008
OBL 2 Behind Harassment of Human Rights Defender- PCPR
The Promotion of Church Peoples' Response- Negros (PCPR) today strongly
accused the Operation Bantay Laya 2 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) and the US-Arroyo regime in conducting neutralization campaign
against Reverend Father Romeo Tagud of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente
(IFI) who in August 3, 2008 between 6:00-6:30am received an envelope
containing an M16 bullet.
" We strongly condemn this desperate and evil act as this is clearly a
handiwork of the AFP's OBL 2 that uses unjust, brutal, destructive and
antipeople instruments to sow fascism and terror against legitimate,
legal, progressive and democratic personalities and consistent anti-Arroyo
oppositionists like Fr. Romeo Tagud", says PCPR.
Rev. Fr. Romeo Tagud, the present Secretary-General of PCPR-Negros and a
staunched human rights defender recently joined the 8-member delegation of
Filipino-Americans from the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the
United Methodist Church, USA who made a pastoral visit last June 30-July
2, 2008 in the farflung barangays of Guihulngan City.
It is in this pastoral visit that Fr. Romeo Tagud bonded himself with the
delegation's expressed serious concern on the continuing deterioration in
the observance of human rights in Negros, the existence of pervasive
climate of fear and the lack of care and respect by government and the
military towards the Filipino people as they live in extreme poverty.
The church delegation's vow to help campaign against extra-judicial
killings and other human rights violations happening in Negros gained
significant projection not only in Negros but in the international
community as well.
" It is because of this shameful and strong criticism in the international
community that the US-Arroyo regime became rubbish and unpopular."
" The harrassment happening to Fr. Tagud is a clear wicked, immoral and
unjust act to silence him in pursuing his sincere advocacy to respect
human rights and the international humanitarian Law. As a church worker,
Fr. Romeo Tagud adhered himself to the Christian tenet of "Love the least
of thy brethren" and uphold the democratic rights of the poor and the
oppressed to assert and exercise their basic right to life", PCPR added.
Like all of the puppet state's internal security plan that came before the
US-Arroyo regime, the unjust, brutal, destructive and antipeople OBL 2 is
bound to fail. The fake Arroyo presidency is foolish to think that it can
defeat those it considers as the "enemies of the state" for the reason
that the current regime completely disregards human rights and
international humanitarian law with its mounting cases of killings,
abductions, forcible evacuations, torture and other atrocities.
"As the Christian Church urged us to courageously defend and vindicate the
rights of the poor and the oppressed, even when doing so will mean
alienation or persecution from the rich and powerful , PCPR is calling to
all peace-loving church workers, priests, religious sisters, brothers,
formandi, pastors, deacons, deaconesses, bishops, lay workers and to all
the Filipino people to help defend and advocate human rights and stand up
in venting the fascist and brutality of the AFP's Operation Bantay Laya 2"
PCPR ended. #
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About Oplan Bantay Laya
When Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL)
was at its closing stages at the end of 2006, the US-Arroyo regime and the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) bragged about the supposed success
of its five-year counterrevolutionary Internal Security Operations Plan.
And when OBL 2 was begun last January, fascist officials repeatedly
boasted of "decisively defeating the revolutionary forces by 2010."
As early as October 2007, however, a secret AFP document leaked to the
public admitted the impossibility of achieving OBL 2's target. It also
acknowledged the impossibility of attaining OBL 2's target this year of
crushing 12 guerrilla fronts.
The revolutionary forces are accumulating important lessons both from the
hardships they have experienced and the successes they have attained.
These serve as crucial guideposts in the effort to thwart and eventually
defeat the current OBL 2.
That every counterrevolutionary oplan becomes more vicious than its
predecessor is an indication of the ruling regime's growing desperation.
OBL 1 and 2 nonetheless stand out for venting their brutality on the
people in accordance with the fascist principle of "draining the water to
catch the fish." The current regime completely disregards human rights and
international humanitarian law with its mounting cases of killings,
abductions, for-cible evacuations, torture and other atrocities. Such
violence is targetted not only against the revolutionary forces, but more
so against activists and civilians suspected of supporting the
revolutionary movement.
OBL 2 causes greater suffering to ordinary civilians, disrupts their
economic activities and worsens their already depressed conditions. Not a
few communities have been attacked, bombed and forcibly displaced. Houses
have been burned and farmlands destroyed to terrorize the people and force
them to capitulate.
At the core of OBL 2 is the objective of stopping the people from fighting
for their
rights, their welfare and theirfuture. OBL 2 defends the ruling government
and system that exploit and oppress the broad masses of the people. The
US-Arroyo regime uses OBL 2 to serve its narrow interest of latching on to
power.
OBL 2 uses as terrorist instruments the reactionary military, fascist laws
such as the Anti-Terror Law and government agencies that plan and direct
"legal" offensives to shunt aside and suppress those considered as
"enemies of the state." These instruments sow fascism and terror against
the open, legal progressive and democratic forces and consistent
anti-Arroyo oppositionists.
The US-Arroyo regime gains nothing in implementing OBL 2 but the people's
utter hatred and its utmost isolation from the broad masses. It is the
military's abuses and brutality that push the people to resist OBL 2 and
the US-Arroyo regime's other vicious and repressive acts. The US-Arroyo
regime has likewise earned the opprobrium of the international community.
A number of politicians within the ruling coalition are already taking a
stand against the Arroyo clique. Even the Supreme Court has made landmark
decisions thwarting the regime's fascist campaign. More and more elements
from the state's armed forces can no longer stomach the regime's
corruption, the people's sufferings and the way the regime has been using
them to violently suppress the people.
The people are increasingly determined to resist, frustrate and overthrow
the US-Arroyo regime. They and their army will defeat OBL 2 and the rotten
regime that is behind this utterly brutal counterrevolutionary scheme.
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