CEGP: No more martial law extension

Following the deadly blast in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat last August 28, the Duterte regime hinted on a possible martial law extension in Mindanao.

Immediately after the alleged terror attack left three dead and several wounded, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea was quoted to say that the extension is “an option,” a suggestion that took the nod of bureaucrats like Pampanga representative and House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and local executives in Mindanao.

As if into a year of martial rule is not enough, a seeming extension befit the diabolical scheme of the Marcos-Arroyo-Duterte (MAD) alliance in establishing a nationwide dictatorial regime, a fete that Mindanaoans now bear.

“No longer shall the Mindanaons suffer under a sham rule into quelling rebellion in the region,” Jon Callueng, president of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines said.

Rather than resolving the root of armed resistance in the region, Duterte has been incessantly attacking the vulnerable Lumad and peasantry with false rebellion charges, illegal detention, indiscriminate bombings, and forced disappearances. There were 130 cases of extrajudicial killings recorded by human rights group Barug Katungod.

Not only an elusive justice but a persistent neglect to civil rights of the peasants and Lumad coincide into the third year anniversary commemoration of the Lianga Massacre that claimed the lives of Manobo leaders Dionel Campos, Datu Bello Sinzo, and school director Emerito Samarca on September 1, 2015,

“The Lumad and the peasants were clear victims to an unforgiving regime that pretends to be upholding their basic rights in its sweeping counterinsurgency programs. The call is clear to lift martial law in Mindanao,” Callueng exclaimed.

College Editors Guild of the Philippines

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