By Leilani S. Junio
Students participate in a noise barrage along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City, on the eve of the 44th anniversary of the late President Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law declaration, Tuesday. Students, led by representatives from Ateneo de Manila University, paid tribute to and sought justice for victims of martial law. (MNS photo)
MANILA (PNA) – The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on Wednesday for a stop to the killings due to the war on drugs and justice for one of its leaders who was ambushed and killed in Cebu last Saturday.
The call was made by PM as they joined the big mobilization of the coalition iDefend (In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity) Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the anniversary of the declaration of martial law in September 1972.
“On the 44th anniversary of martial law, the struggle for human rights and democracy for all remains as relevant and critical as ever. With the war on drugs claiming thousands of lives and a state of lawlessness imposed on the whole country, civil liberties and democratic freedoms are under clear and present danger,” Wilson Fortaleza, PM spokesperson, said.
Fortaleza added, “The prevailing climate of impunity that has resulted in wanton killings of alleged drug pushers and addicts has also provided fertile ground for politically motivated slayings.”
He said that the ambush-killing of PM-Cebu leader and organizer Orlando Abangan a few days ago is testament to this.
He noted that Abangan’s murder came after the killing of Gloria Capitan, an environmental activist in Bataan, last July 1, on the first official day in office of the Duterte administration.
He warned that extrajudicial killings done in the name of the war on drugs are spilling onto slayings of human rights defenders.
The iDefend members started assembling at 2 p.m. in Bustillos Church in Sampaloc, Manila, before marching to Plaza Miranda in Quiapo for a mass and program.
At 6 p.m., the group iDefend marchers lighted candles to commemorate the victims of martial law, the war on drugs and political killings of human rights defenders like Abangan and Capitan.
Meanwhile, Fortaleza said that in Cebu, PM and other militant and human rights groups also held a rally on Wednesday to call for justice for Abangan and Capitan.
The group also marched around downtown Colon in Cebu City to call for a stop to the killings and to never forget the terrors of martial law.
“We call on the authorities for a swift but thorough investigation of the killing of ‘Ka Lando’ Abangan. We know that they are already pursuing leads that point to certain suspects. Still we urge them not to stop at the arresting suspected gunman but to probe who the mastermind is,” said Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson.
Derige insisted that ‘Ka Lando’ was not involved in drugs and was respected in his community as an activist.
His group further stated they believed that the killing was politically motivated and related to his work as a human rights defender of urban poor and workers.
He also revealed that five days before Abangan was shot to death, the latter escaped a first attempt on his life.