MANILA (UCAN): Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, in Mindanao, along with lay groups and rights organisations denounced the killing of nine human rights activists by security forces in raids in four Philippine provinces on March 7. They called for an investigation into the carnage which they attributed to the culture of red-tagging (labeling as communist) promoted under the administration of the country’s president, Rodrigo Duterte.
Police and soldiers shot the activists while serving search warrants to look for firearms and explosives.
“We denounce the unnecessary use of force and violence in the government’s quest for peace which only victimizes the poor and the vulnerable,” Bishop Bagaforo said.
The bishop also condemned Duterte for recently urging security forces to “kill” and “finish off” armed communist rebels and “not think about human rights.”
Several victims, including a married couple, were members of human rights group Karapatan, a staunch critic of Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.
The couple were reportedly shot in the presence of their 10-year-old son.
“The blood of these fellow Filipinos is literally crying for justice as they are wiped off the floor tiles of their homes,” the Council of the Laity of the Philippines said in a statement on March 8.
The group called on the Filipino people to stand for due process and the right to a fair and just trial.
“We call on peace-loving Filipinos to make strong statements of condemnation against these brutal and organised atrocities,” the group added.
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“We also call on our lawmakers and magistrates to give justice and show to the world that we are still ruled by laws and not by men,” the statement said.
The Catholic bishops’ social action group urged the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the killings.
Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said her group would not be threatened or silenced by the killing of its members.
“We urge all Filipinos to condemn these raids and to stand with us in the struggle for justice and in defending people’s rights,” she said.
Palabay also urged the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the raids and “ensure that justice and accountability is served for the victims of state terror and fascism.”
