Missionaries call for unity vs ML; opposition snowballs

By LITO RULONA
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondents

A GROUP of missionaries yesterday called on faith-based groups to close ranks and unite against the imposition of martial law in Mindanao by President Duterte.

In a statement, Ailene Villarosa, advocacy officer of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in northern Mindanao, said, “There is a need for interfaith understanding and empathy to mend the relationships torn by political agendas of the evil powers that manipulate humanity.”

Part of the missonaries’ group said, “We are dismayed that the President who dares declare martial law, suspend the writ of habeas corpus and allow military power to take over, is from Mindanao himself. We had believed that he would know how it is on the ground. We had thought that his previous involvements in the Bangsamoro peace negotiations would give him the insights he needed and saw the inappropriateness of resolving armed conflicts with more violence. We had hoped that he would understand the root causes of the conflicts we have in our island.”

Many other groups also issued separate statements, expressing dismay over Duterte’s declaration of martial law.

The group Sowing the Seeds of Peace said imposing martial law is a “simplistic, militaristic, and an ahistorical approach to the persistence of the Bangsamoro problem.”

It said Duterte’s martial law has been engineered by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon and Armed Forces chief of staff Eduardo Ano.

It is like “burning the haystack to find the needle. They purposely blur the lines between the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups from the rest of the Bangsamoro people to justify their continuing fascism in Moroland. They also put to waste the social investments of the legitimate Bangsamoro groups in the peace process,” the group said.

Selda chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez called on Duterte to immediately lift the declaration as called on citizens to be vigilant and guard against abuses and atrocities.

“How can martial law be ‘very good,’ President Duterte? Are the arrests, detention, torture, killings during martial law good? The mindset of the military from Marcos and up to now remains the same, that anybody who they consider an enemy of the state may be targetted. What is good with that?” Selda asked.

Sarah Elago, representative of the group Kabataan, said that while there is a need to stop Isis-affiliates from causing more harm, “we oppose Duterte’s declaration of martial law because it is open to all sorts of abuses by government troops notorious for human rights violations. It is a blanket endorsement for so many abuses, including warrantless arrests, searches and seizures.”

The Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) said martial law in the whole of Mindanao would only aggravate the problem.

“The attacks have pinpointed Marawi City yet the entirety of the Mindanao region is now under military control. Kadamay says that militarization beset against all people and civilians will only cause undue distress and violence towards Filipinos,” Kadamay stated.