Statement — Murder by numbers

In its efforts to "stamp out" the communist revolution and whatever "terrorist" threat it perceives, is the Arroyo administration hell-bent in stamping out democracy as well?

It is appalling to hear our so-called leaders talking about people's lives so lightly, even naming those who have died for the cause of democracy as "collateral damage". We can always talk about how many have become victims to extra-judicial killings: 685 victims of politically-motivated killings, 350 victims of frustrated killings, 165 killed vigilante-style in Cebu, and the counting goes on endlessly.

But it is not enough that we treat these murders only in numbers. We need to see these people as human beings who have families, children, and responsibilities to their communities, and not merely faceless numbers of collateral damage.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez put it so plainly during his visit in Cebu: Criticize the corruption and degradation of the present government and you are nothing more than a terrorist who deserves to die. His clumsy and irresponsible statements against legal progressive organizations disclose the framework of this militarist administration that has resulted to the murders of hundreds of defenseless civilians.

On one hand, the Arroyo regime claims to uphold the principles of democracy, but on the other, it wields a sword against those who do practice the essence of democracy under a national program it calls OPLAN Bantay Laya. The regime goes about making its own laws outside the constitution and persecuting and killing dissenters with impunity, while at the same time trying to change a charter it doesn't even uphold. Like the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Gloria Arroyo is using "the fight against the left insurgency" as an excuse to legitimize another martial rule.

If the Arroyo regime is sincere in stamping out terrorism in the country, it should address the worsening economic crises that terrorize the people everyday. The government should pursue the interest of the basic sectors rather than that of its foreign and local financiers. It can start with purging the administration of resident terrorists as well as get rid of a militarist and illegitimate president.

Kaira Zoe Alburo
Provincial Spokesperson
Gabriela Women's Party-Cebu