Davao City Bayan Muna mourns over the death of Bayan Muna-Bohol secretary general Mario Auxillo saying the latest victim of political killing under the Arroyo regime bares the unabated operation of Oplan Bantay Laya and the presidents lip service in dealing with the matters of human rights violations.
Bayan Muna will also press a broad support for the investigation that newly elect Senator Antonio Trillanes has affirmed to reopen the Hello Garci controversy and the long standing allegations of military-operated extrajudicial killings.
We don not trust Gloria Arroyo to be sincere in her recent pronouncment to form a new investigating team for the cases of extrajudicial killings. She has formed enough commissions and has sought enough assistance from local and foreign human rights dignitaries only to reject the results of their investigations in the end, Bayan Muna Southern Mindanao regional coordinator Jeppie Ramada said.
Mario Auxillo died two days after he was shot at the public market of Bien Unido town in Bohol. The provincial police of Bohol dismissed the allegations that the crime was politically motivated and had further claimed that the suspect was an ally of Auxillo.
The independent investigation conducted by Bayan Muna revealed the suspect as Hilario Diola who was positively identified with the Alimaong Vigilante group directed by the 15th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
This is one case of political killing that lucidly proves the militarys guilt and accountability and we warn the AFP from making any move to whitewash the investigations, Ramada said.
Ramada noted the abduction of Bayan Muna South Cotabato provincial chair Gilbert Cardio last June 6 as a mileage in proving the state-sponsored political killings and harassments. Cardio earlier stated that he was forced by his abductors to cooperate as a spy agent of the government.
Bayan Muna noted a document containing the pronouncements of the Arroyo regime’s Cabinet Oversight Committee for Internal Security (COC-IS) which reveal the motives behind the killings. Its members include General Eduardo Ermita, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Generoso Senga, and PNP Director General Arturo Lomibao.
Extra judicial killings and other forms of political persecution heap members of progressive partylists and peoples organization as the victims to sow fear among the Filipino people and prevent dissents from ousting Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,. Ramada stressed.
Bayan Muna is set to meet with the members of the European Union human rights mission to indicate the state of human rights situation and the damages of human rights violations in the country.
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Extrajudicial Killings
