Progressive youth groups condemn Aquino’s dismal human rights record

By LITO RULONA,
Correspondent

MEMBERS of the Kaba-taan Party-List and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) – Min-danao condemned the Aquino administration for its grave assault on the rights of the Filipino people during the commemoration of the International Human Rights Day, yesterday.

Rochamae Bihag, CEGP Vice President for Minda-nao said the people in Mindanao are currently facing a grave condition of state-perpetrated human rights violation, furthering the hardships of the Lumad, peasantry, workers, students and journalists.

While, Vennel Francis Chenfoo, KP coordinator for Northern Mindanao also condemned the Aquino administration for the unsolved extra-judicial killings in Northern Mindanao and other areas in Mindanao.

Chenfoo cited their monitoring of cases of extrajudicial killings where: three cases in 2010, another three in 2011, six in 2012, five in 2013 and two in 2014 and 18 in 2015. The 18 cases were committed in a span of a year which has almost the same number with the 20 extrajudicial killings cases that were committed from 2010 to 2014.

“Lumad people suffer from the unabated political killings, attack on communities and on self-initiated schools, forced evacuation, among many other military atrocities,” Bihag said.

“This year’s infamous massacres in Tagoloan, Paquibato, Pangantucan and Lianga speaks of the climate of impunity that continues to prevail in Mindanao and in the country. This is further intensified by the presence of at least 55 combat AFP battalions or 44,000 troops – where the Aquino administration deploys almost 60% of the country’s arm for-ces.” Bihag said the cases of media killings in Mindanao heightened under the current administration.

“This year’s murder of Cosme Maestrado and Gregorio Ybanez, manifests the aggravating threat against the press and does nullify the negligence of the Malacañang to resolve media killings in the country,” Bihag added.

The campus press has also beeen a target of rights abuses. Former CEGP Vice-President for Mindan-ao Benjaline ‘Beng’ Her-nandez’s murder remains unsolved despite the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution dated July 2010.

CEGP claims that military also continues to harass, intimidate, closely watch, and red-tag progressive student publications and student leaders across the archipelago, putting the lives of the youth in jeopardy.

CEGP Mindanao holds Aquino accountable to extrajudicial killings, enforce disappearances, torture, forced evacuation, and other grave abuses to the rights of the people. Kara-patan human rights group reported 294 counts of extrajudicial killings and 15 massacres under the Aquino administration.

“Aquino only proves to us his negligence to improve the human rights situation in the country while he and his arm forces continue to attack the rights of Filipino people,” she said.