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Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Palace probe will not solve political killings: militant group
MILITANT group Bayan Muna expressed doubt on the sincerity of Malacañang to solve political killings in the country.
The group condemned the spate of political killings at the same time doubting that a genuine investigation can be undertaken by an "administration that is bent in snuffing out its critics."
"It is so alarming that in a matter of days, Bayan Muna members are being slaughtered like animals. Even more damning is the military's claim that the killings were perpetrated by the underground communist movement," Bayan Muna regional coordinator Jeppie Ramada said.
Last Saturday, Bayan Muna coordinator Manuel Nardo of Pampanga City was killed by unidentified gunmen.
The incident brought to at least 123 the number of leftist activists killed since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001. Of this figure, 93 were Bayan Muna members.
Nardo was also the fourth militant to die in an assassin's hand in five days.
The slaying followed the abduction of Anakpawis leader Benedicto Magdaong in Angeles City on May 5. Magdaong is still missing.
On May 9, Bayan Muna's chair in Misamis Occidental province, Jemias Tinambacan, was also killed by unidentified assailants.
The following day, in Isabela province, two more Bayan Muna members were murdered.
Local leaders in the region attended a pre-trial hearing over the weekend for the charges against two police investigators, Franco Dunca and Rex Rodriquez, who accused them of participating in a rebellion last February.
Bayan Muna linked the rebellion charges that the two local police officers had filed against the "Davao 8" to the ongoing nationwide crackdown of militant leaders.
Dunca and Rodriguez in their affidavits, which were attached to the rebellion charges against Bayan Muna Representative Joel Virador, accused Ramada and seven other leaders of conspiring to overthrow the government during its February 25 Edsa day commemoration.
Ramada said the failure of the cops to show up during the pre-trial last May 13 before the People's Law Enforcement Board proves that the complaint "cannot hold water" and is meant to intimidate them. (BOT)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (May 16, 2006 issue)
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