A more disturbing war

Last Tuesday, Judge Mario Anacleto Bañez was shot to death while onboard his vehicle in San Fernando, La Union. By some counts, Judge Bañez is the fifth judge killed under the Duterte administration, joining at least 41 judges, prosecutors and lawyers who had been killed since July 2016.

There are many reasons for the killing of agents of the court, but there is suspicion that Judge Bañez’s murder is linked to his acquittal last September of health worker Rachel Mariano, who had been accused of being a member of the communist New People’s Army. Mariano allegedly masterminded the ambush of an infantry battalion in 2017 that resulted in the death of one soldier.

In his decision, Judge Bañez condemned the killing but said “it would be more deplorable and unfair to convict the accused of all these serious crimes charged against her upon the quality of the evidence adduced by the prosecution.” In other words, the evidence presented was flimsy.

What are we to make, then, of the killing of Bañez?

A day before the judge was murdered, Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., who heads an anticommunist task force, asked the Supreme Court to “investigate judges dismissing charges against members of progressive organizations.” Asked about objections raised by progressive legislators regarding the spate of arrests of members of Left-leaning organizations in Manila and Bacolod, Parlade was reported as replying, “So, what else is new?”

Indeed, the law-enforcement establishment appears to display a topsy-turvy understanding of the law. In interviews, PNP officer in charge Police Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa challenged the arrested activists to prove that they are innocent, even if the onus of proving a suspect’s guilt is laid squarely on the shoulders of the state.

On Oct. 31, 40 persons were arrested while 14 children were “rescued” in a series of raids that targeted the offices of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Anakpawis, Gabriela, the National Federation of Sugarcane Workers, as well as a private residence. Three more activists were arrested in Tondo for alleged possession of guns and explosives.

The quality of the “proof” offered by the military and police seems iffy at best. The Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office has ordered the immediate release of 31 of the 42 adults arrested in Bacolod and Escalante cities, for lack of probable cause to indict them. Among those ordered released were 21 former employees of Vallacar Transit Inc., a bus company embroiled in a family dispute of the owners, who were in the offices of the KMU regarding their labor concerns.

Of the 11 remaining in detention, the prosecutor said four of them could post bail. The others face charges of illegal possession of explosives, which is a nonbailable offense.

Lawyers of the targeted groups are appealing to the Supreme Court to review the actions of Quezon City Judge Cecilyn Burgos Villavert, who issued the warrants allowing the search and arrests in Manila and Bacolod, with Bayan Muna demanding that the judge explain her actions and accusing her of abuse of power.

Meanwhile, even as their campaign against militant groups hits legal snags, authorities seem even more determined to cast a wider net. In a congressional briefing, the AFP unveiled a list of 18 organizations that were allegedly linked to communists, among them the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Oxfam sa Pilipinas, and the Farmers Development Center.

The NCCP immediately condemned the “malicious and careless tagging” of its ecumenical gathering of Christian denominations. Oxfam, for its part, explained that it is a development and humanitarian organization that has been in the country for 30 years, one of 19 organizations that are part of Oxfam International.

There certainly seems ample ground for opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan to share the sense of a “troubling trend” being felt by progressive sectors over this wave of police and military crackdowns.

Condemning the arrests and raids, Pangilinan said these are an “appalling continuation of the apparent state policy to decimate any opposition to its wrong-headed policies like the fake but nonetheless deadly drug war.”

Well, the President has said he is transferring responsibility for the war on drugs to Vice President Leni Robredo, who accepted the challenge. But it seems Mr. Duterte has set his sights elsewhere, and perhaps the VP’s appointment is just a distraction in the midst of a more disturbing, deadly war.