ID no guarantee or proof of holder’s civic integrity

The declaration of martial law indeed opens up the floodgates for intensified human rights violations.

No less than the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Lanao has expressed shock over the degree of human rights violations since martial law was declared in Mindanao last May 23. In an open letter sent to the Office of the President, IBP-Lanao “decried the wanton disregard of the sanctity of domicile, the right against deprivation of property without due process of law, the right to be secure in one’s person, house, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures” allegedly committed by soldiers and policemen.

We are reminded of the Marcos martial law regime when the military jailed, tortured, raped, abducted, salvaged and killed thousands of men and women, most of whom came from humble socioeconomic classes and sectors of society.

In 1986 we cried out: NEVER AGAIN!

Today, we are seeing a gradual replay of that regime. The NO ID, NO ENTRY policy in some places in Mindanao (like Cotabato City and Zamboanga City) is creating occasions for human rights violations. The policy disgraces people and regards those who have no ID with suspicion.

According to Cotabato Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, this is meant to ensure the safety of people at the barangay level. For her part, Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar ordered the imposition of this policy to prevent terrorists and other lawless elements from “infiltrating” the city.

Not having an ID card does not make one a criminal or a “suspect,” or a “person of interest.” An ID card is no guarantee or proof that its holder is neither a criminal nor engaged in illegal activities.

I’m very sure that the mastermind behind the PDAF scam has an ID, even a passport; also the operatives of the Army intelligence division, who reportedly abducted and disappeared Jon as Burgos; so do riot policemen when they beat protesters and rallyists, as they did with Raymart Sumalbag, a young man driving for some lumad and their supporters who were protesting the plunder of natural resources and human rights violations on Oct. 19, 2016, in front of the US Embassy; as well as the generals implicated in the “Hello Garci” scandal; and the members of the paramilitary Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units, which are known for being notorious human rights violators.

US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton had an ID when he killed Jennifer Laude in 2014; US serviceman Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, too, when he raped “Nicole” in 2005.

The Marcoses, who had their heyday during the Marcos martial law regime, have IDs, that’s for sure.

But many indigenous people do not have legal IDs, yet, unarmed, they risk their lives to protect our natural resources from plunder and abuse; and they are neither a threat to national security nor terrorists. A number of residents in poor urban communities do not have IDs, not because they are terrorists or criminals, but simply because they can’t afford, or are in a position, to get one.

NORMA P. DOLLAGA,Kapatirang Simbahan Para sa Bayan, [email protected]