Political killings stem from opposition to Arroyo's economic policies

Political killings persist precisely because the government attempts
to stop people's opposition to policies and systems that violate their
economic rights.

By Antonio Tujan Jr.

The recent verdict of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal (PPT) found
Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo guilty of violating Filipinos' political
and civil rights, as well as their economic rights and right to
self-determination. It is important to emphasize the relationship of
these violations because it will explain why political killings
persist in the country.

Under the Arroyo government, domestic production and agriculture
remained in depression while joblessness and poverty worsened as it
aggressively implements neoliberal reforms.

What the verdict of the 7-member jury indicates is this: the current
rash of political killings stems from the regime's attempts to silence
opposition to her policies and the resulting economic crisis.

For instance, according to the PPT proceedings, in its struggle
against extreme poverty, Filipino farmers have organized themselves to
claim their rights through the democratic process. But their
resistance is met with state repression by increasing military
presence in the countryside. Statistics show that almost 60% of the
victims of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances are farmer
leaders and that these killings are not isolated but planned and
systematic.

Not surprisingly, the main target of extrajudicial killings (and
disappearances, massacres, tortures, etc.) is the legal left. For
years, it has steadily represented the people's voice in the national
and international arenas in calling for an end to policies and systems
that violate economic, social, and cultural rights of Filipinos.
Rights groups have recorded more than 800 victims of political
killings under the Arroyo administration since 2001.

The legal left has been the target in the regime's campaign to
suppress opposition, using the communist bogey and the US-led war on
terror as context. Targeting progressive party-lists, people's
organizations, and civil society groups also sends a signal to
anti-Arroyo forces without providing the push that would strengthen
and incite the opposition further.

But as history has shown, amid intense poverty, hunger, unemployment,
and landlessness, the efforts of the administration to suppress
people's movements do not decisively weaken opposition ranks but only
fuel further social unrest. IBON Features

IBON Features is a media service of IBON Foundation, an independent
economic policy and research institution. When reprinting this
feature, please credit IBON Features and give the byline when
applicable.