May 1 Mass Arrests: Another nail in the coffin of democracy

The commemoration of the International Labor Day in the Philippines was marred by killings, mass arrests and forced surrenders. The International League of Peoples’ Struggle Philippines strongly condemns the Duterte regime’s fascist attacks on human rights. We demand the immediate release of volunteer workers and activists nabbed throughout the country yesterday by the Philippine National Police.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s unhinged tirades against his critics has worsened the situation for activists and members of people’s organizations which have been red-tagged as legal fronts for the Communist Party of the Philippines. On April 30, Jory Porquia, an activist was gunned down in the province of Iloilo, and those who protested against this incident on May 1 were imprisoned. Volunteers of relief operations have been harassed and detained during the short span of time that the lockdown has been imposed. Union members of a Coca-cola factory were coerced into admitting they were members of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The Duterte regime is committing human rights violations with impunity while ignoring the public demand for healthcare and economic relief. The law and order enforced by the state’s armed forces are those which protect the ruling class and leave the poor vulnerable. The government preaches “compassion” for its cronies defying quarantine protocols while readily meting out punishment for ordinary Filipinos. The arrests made on May 1 mark the intensification of the government’s sinister repression of the people’s constitutional rights.

The pandemic, the economic crisis and the threat of martial law are pressing problems the Filipinos are facing. The ILPS Philippines calls on the Filipino people to remain vigilant, defend human rights and resist Duterte’s tyranny!

No to Duterte’s Martial Law!