Rosales: Duterte’s order will make the situation worse

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Workers’ rights group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) will be holding a demonstration on Friday, Bonifacio Day, to protest President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent order deploying additional troops to Negros in response to the recent spate of violence, including the ‘Sagay 9’ incident and the murder of National Union of the People’s Lawyers-Negros secretary-general, Atty. Benjamin Ramos, Jr.

KMU head Noli Rosales called the order “unjust” and said it would only instill fear among local residents. He added, the order will likely “worsen the violence in the province.”

Rosales echoed earlier statements by local Bagong Alyansang Makabayan official Michael dela Concepcion, by saying the government needs to find solutions to “agrarian problems” and address poverty issues.

The Bayan-Negros official pointed to land conflicts as the cause of recent violence.

In an earlier released statement, Dela Concepcion said the president’s move shows “the government is useless in solving the country’s problems.”

The order, signed last week by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, cited recent acts of violence in justifying the need for reinforcements in order to “prevent further loss of innocent lives and destruction of property.”

The added security seeks to “bring the country back to a state of complete normalcy as quick as possible.”

The order also reiterated measures the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) can undertake during a state of national emergency on account of lawlessness; along with directing the AFP, PNP, and Department of Justice to closely coordinate and intensify local and transnational intelligence operations./DGB, WDJ