Church warns vs. 'political killings'

The Catholic Church in Cebu is worried that the all-out war against the communists would lead to a spate of political killings in Cebu.

Cebu Archdiocese Media Liaison Officer Msgr. Achilles Dakay said that the pronouncement of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will inspire more killings in the city.

"Basin og ma duplicate unya nato ang mga nahitabo sa Manila, and others may take advantage of it," he said.

He however clarified that he is not against the all-out war campaign of Garcia, but raised doubts on how this would be enforced.

"Basin na unyag mapareha sa vigilante-style killings nga usahay dili ta makapili og maayo nga target," Dakay said.

He added that the scope of the declaration is so wide and is not clear enough on who the real targets are.

"Basin unya og magbantay na ang nga nilitante ani nia," he said.

Garcia yesterday clarified it is not the military solution that the provincial government is trying to pursue. She explained that this total war encompasses a lot of other things and they "are fighting a way that is not only of bullets and cannons.

"With the complete comprehensive information that I have, di man pod tingale ingon na lang ka-simplistic ning akong utok," she said.

The governor said "little knowledge can cause a lot of misunderstanding."

She said, during the previous meetings of the provincial anti-insurgency task force, they laid out the various aspects of the all-out war policy.

Included here is an action plan on how they are going to counteract the propaganda. Also included are the economic aspect of the insurgency problem and how to help the military and the policemen out there in the field, who are open targets from those who chose to hide behind mask of legality.

"Well, we cannot control how minds will work noh. And we do understand that apprehensions, speculations. Sometimes even imaginations can run wild. But this should not deter us from taking decisive, concrete action against what I perceive is a real threat," she said.

"That is the challenge of governance. Whether we shall allow possible and yet not entirely probable apprehensions or speculations to control or even dictate our ways of looking for a solution that should benefit in the end the Cebuano public," she added.

The governor explained that if she would not do anything about the insurgency problem in Cebu, we may just wake up one day and find ourselves overrun by communist-terrorists "masquerading as righteous flag-waving militants."

Garcia said, "so I shall answer to my responsibility as governor of this great province in the way that I see fit with the total information that I have and I shall take responsibility for all of my decisions."

The governor further lashed at leaders of party-list groups, who expressed concern that this policy violates their civil liberties.

"It's such a highfalutin word, which always is conveniently brandished," Garcia said.

"Since we enjoy our civil liberties, they have the right to speak in much the same way as I have the right, in much the same way as the public has the right to analyze their statement and to separate the grain from the chaff, the truth from the untruths."

Bayan Muna Chairman Arman Perez said that they are seeking an audience with the Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Garcia regarding the matter, because they too would want to have a clear explanation on the rationale of the all-out war policy.

But first, Perez said that they will be meeting with the Cardinal on the 11th to inform him of the real situation and the increasing number of political killings in the country.

Perez, in an interview, said that at present there are already at least 720 political killings in the country since 2001 when President Arroyo assumed office.

From the figures, Perez said, only around 300 are real activists while the rest are innocent people including some priests and lawyers.

Last Monday afternoon, the members of the radical groups staged a rally infront of the legislative building behind the Capitol to lobby against the governor's all-out war declaration.

Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, however, has already expressed his support to the governor's pronouncement against the insurgents. He did this during the general assembly of village chiefs, who also showed their commitment to Garcia.

Sanchez said he does not understand why the militant groups were the first to react on the governor's declaration when she did not name any group in particular.

It was only during the village chiefs' general assembly last week where it was revealed by Pastor "Jun" Alcover that some party-list organizations in the country are the legal fronts of the communists.

Alcover, who is tapped by the province for its all-out war against insurgents, warned the barangay captains present in the province-wide general assembly against these legal fronts, which are used in the expansion program of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

Alcover is one of the pioneering members in Cebu when the communist movement in the country started in 1969. He returned to the fold of the government 20 years ago.

Alcover identified party-list groups Bayan Muna, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Gabriela as the communist fronts.

Alcover also showed in a slide presentation that groups like the Association of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the League of Filipino Students (LFS) are also from the same league.

He also alleged that Ibon Foundation, which comes up with reports on socioeconomic issues, always have something that are against the government because "it is not an ordinary survey group." He added that it is funded by the CPP alleging that one of its officials is a communist, who hails from Cebu.

Alcover said there is no sector, which the CPP-NPA-NDF has not been able to penetrate, including the tri-media and the police.

He, however, pointed out that there is no sufficient data yet to prove that there are policemen here in Cebu that are involved in the communist movement.

He also named Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbu (Nadsu) as transport group advancing the principles of the communists.

Alcover said that based on the protracted war plan of the NPA in the country, "Cebu will be the last to fall." This is in accordance to the "center of gravity theory," which is espoused by their founder and leader Mao Tse-Tung.

According to the economic warfare plan of the NPA, Cebu will easily collapse once the Metro Manila in Luzon, which is where the seat of government is located, and the Metro Davao in Mindanao, which is the source of agricultural supplies, are totally subjugated.

To realize her plans, Garcia has tasked the 78th IB of the Philippine Army, the Regional Mobile Group of the PNP, and the Cebu Provincial Police Office to come up with a proposal to revive the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU).

The CAFGU, which will be composed of civilian volunteers, would be supporting the regular troops in the battle against the insurgents.