Palace disputes ‘state-sanctioned’ Negros killings as ‘baseless’
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2019 06:44:35 +0000
MALACANANG on Friday dismissed as “baseless and laced with malice” the claims of former lawmaker Neri Colmenares that the recent killings in Negros Oriental were state-sponsored.
In a statement, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo reiterated that the Duterte administration condemned “all forms of arbitrary killings.”
“The remarks of former senatorial candidate, Mr. Colmenares, along with his blaming the police for the spate of deaths is, however, baseless and laced with malice,” Panelo said.
“We agree that justice must be delivered to the victims, as well as to the families of those who were killed in Negros Oriental. This government condemns all forms of arbitrary killings,” he added.
On Thursday, Colmenares said that based on evidence the killings in the country were state sanctioned.
He said “the brazenness with which the crime was committed as if the perpetrator was not afraid at all of being accosted by the police” explains why it was state-sponsored.
“The way it was done in public places with so many witnesses, the killer is not afraid to be caught,” Colmenares said.
But the Palace official accused Colmenares of making remarks that were “part of the propaganda” of the communists.
“Such utterances of Mr. Colmenares are but a part of the propaganda of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), to which obviously he subscribes and parrots, to discredit the Administration and the security forces of the government, while trying to give himself the appearance of relevance after being repeatedly repudiated by the electorate in the national elections,” he said.
Colmenares, according to Panelo, “has purposely turned deaf to the voice of the people.”
“It is common knowledge that the armed component of the CCP, the New People’s Army (NPA), has committed various crimes to the people and to the nation, including the murder of many innocent government agents and civilians in ambushes, skirmishes, extortion, and burning and destruction of properties,” Panelo said.
“Mr. Colmenares has never condemned any of the atrocious and illegal acts of this rebellious group, a fact that demonstrates not only his use of double standards when it comes to his principles but it also shows where his loyalty belongs,” he added.
Panelo, who is also Duterte’s top legal counsel, called on the communist rebels to help stop the violence.
“It is time for the Left and its supporters and leaders to stop throwing everything to the government and admit that theirs is a failed rebellion,” the Palace official said.
“It is time for them to join the rest of their surrenderers who have been coming out in droves as they respond to the call of the President to return to the democratic society and embrace constitutional order,” he added.
Eighteen people were killed in a span of 10 days in July, including the four police officers who were allegedly executed by suspected NPA members in front of villagers in Barangay Mabato, Ayungon town in Negros Oriental.
The killings that followed claimed the lives of some suspected supporters and members of the communist movement.
On Thursday, Duterte warned that he might do “something drastic” to maintain peace and order in the country, as he stressed that the Negros killings were unacceptable for him.
This came a day after the Palace bared the President’s plan to declare martial law in Negros Oriental over the spate of killings in the province.
The Constitution states that the President as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces may place the entire country or any part of it under martial law “in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.”
The declaration lasts only for 60 days, but in the case of Mindanao, Congress has granted all three requests for an extension as Duterte argued the need for military rule to quell the rebellion in the region.
Negros Island, which is composed of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental provinces, is covered by Memorandum Order 32, which mandates the deployment of additional soldiers and policemen to suppress lawless violence.
Duterte, who placed Mindanao under martial law on May 23, 2017, has repeatedly said that he did not plan to declare martial law in other parts of the country.
The entire country, however, is still under a state of emergency as Duterte has not lifted Proclamation 55, which he issued on September 4, 2016, in response to the 2016 Davao City bombing. CATHERINE S. VALENTE