SANLAKAS condemns PNP’S violence against peaceful SONA 2012 marchers and to file charges against NCRPO AND QCPD officials

SANLAKAS totally condemns yesterday’s multiple violent attacks by the PNP (Philippine National Police) against peaceful SONA (State of the Nation Address) activists who marched towards the House of Representatives in Quezon City yesterday afternoon.

The PNP’s NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office) and QCPD (Quezon City Police District), specifically their CDM (Civil Distrurbance Management) units and their ground commanders are to be blamed for the direct violations of human and political rights, including Batas Pambansa No. 880 (Law on Public Assemblies and Rallies).

In particular, SANLAKAS will file charges against NCRPO Regional Director, P/Director Alan Purisima and QCPD District Director, Chief Superintendent Mario Dela Vega as the overall commanders in charge of yesterday’s police forces tasked to block peaceful rallies. These charges stem from the fact that many rally leaders and organizers, including SANLAKAS Spokesperson Rasti Delizo, were slightly injured by the violent assaults of the joint-QCPD-NCRPO CDM personnel. Likewise, SANLAKAS views the illegal police actions as a direct violation of our human rights (physical injuries), political rights (the blocking of peaceful rallies) and also BP#880’s own provision stipulating that all PNP-CDM personnel shall be in proper uniform with nameplates prominently visible on their uniforms. In the case of the latter, several CDM personnel were spotted without any nameplates.

According to Rasti Delizo, “I already personally warned Generals Purisima and Dela Vega last July 16 during a dialogue between the NCRPO and SONA rally leaders, that SANLAKAS will file administrative charges against them should any violations occur during the SONA rallies. In fact, I specifically warned them about the no-nameplate concern which was already a problem from past rallies. But I also assured them that our rally shall be peaceful and that if any violence will occur, it will not come from our ranks but from the police themselves. And now, we were correct because that is exactly what happened yesterday.”

SANLAKAS is a lead Convenor of the ‘Martsa para sa Alternatibong Ekonomiya’ that mobilized over 5000 activists from various broad formations, sectoral organizations and political blocs. These include the FDC (Freedom from Debt Coalition), Nagkaisa, KAMP (Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay), PAHRA (Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates), PMCJ (Philippine Movement for Climate Justice), YAD (Youth Against Debt), and the Stop the War! Coalition. At around 3p.m. yesterday, SANLAKAS and its allies marched along Commonwealth Avenue in order to proceed to the HoR to face PNoy during his SONA as his Bosses. Expectedly and unsurprisingly, PNoy ordered the PNP to block our contingent as we crossed into the Southbound lane at a U-turn slot along Commonwealth Ave. within the vicinity of the Diliman Preparatory School.

The PNP’s CDM blocking forces from the QCPD-NCRPO immediately assaulted our frontline of mass leaders. The SANLAKAS spokesperson, who was one of the frontline leaders and a lead negotiator with the PNP, attempted to reach out to Gen. Dela Vega repeatedly but was screened out by a certain S/Supt. Pagdilao and a certain Supt. Obon. Instead of holding any peaceful negotiations, Pagdilao and Obon told Delizo that he was interfering in police operations as they kept on barking out orders to the CDM forces to disperse our peaceful rally.

Lastly, SANLAKAS Spokesperson Delizo stated that, “It now seems that Gloria Arroyo’s old CPR (Calibrated Preemptive Response) policy has just been revived by the PNoy Regime after yesterday’s violent ‘No-Maximum Tolerance’ attacks by the PNP against peaceful rallyists. This is a contravention of the Supreme Court’s April 2006 ruling declaring the reactionary CPR policy as anti-democratic and unconstitutional. And so now, if this is the case today, then PNoy should already declare it to be so to his own Bosses, and just as his immediate predecessor did so herself on September 21, 2005. If he is really a democratic leader and we the masses are his Bosses, then PNoy should not be afraid to face us publicly and to talk to us openly without unleashing the brutality of his blue-uniformed goons upon his own Bosses. Otherwise, we shall bring this matter to a proper court and PNoy would be politically.” ###

*For more information/details, please contact:
Mr. RASTI DELIZO (SANLAKAS Spokesperson)
@ Cellphone No.: 09998092461

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