Maguindanao massacre a signal fire: Anakpawis vows to keep eye on state-sponsored violence in 2010 polls

In the aftermath of the massacre in Maguindanao, “party-list of the poor” Anakpawis vowed today to expose and thwart election-related violence perpetrated by the military and police as it files its certiticate of candicacy at the Commission on Elections.

Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno said Anakpawis – the unified voice of workers, farmers, slum-dwellers, fisherfolk, and other poor sectors – shall mobilize its considerable membership to keep a vigilant eye on moves of Arroyo allies and government troops to sow fear and violence among parties and individuals seeking change.

“Rather than cower and refuse to participate in the elections in view of the brutal massacre, Anakpawis is even more determined to lead the people’s watch versus poll violence. We shall campaign for genuine representation of the poor in Congress while carefully watching the moves of the PNP and the AFP whose hands have again and again been proven bloody even in previous elections,” said KMU chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog.

“This we vow even as the AFP named Anakpawis, a day before the massacre, as one of its targets in the upcoming elections,” added Labog, referring to a recent statement of the 1003rd Infantry Brigade (1003rd IB) of the AFP to residents of Compostela Valley.

In a statement published in the Philippine Information Agency website, the military labeled Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, KMU, among others, as “terrorist organizations” and as “front organizations” of the National Democratic Front, an allegation which Labog said the Arroyo regime has used to justify the extra-judicial killings and abductions of critics. 

“Such statement by the military clearly portends more election-related killings similar or perhaps even worse than what the Ampatuans and their private army orchestrated. It serves as a proof that Gloria Arroyo, the commander-in-chief, has reiterated her order to silence progressives in the run-up to the 2010 elections,” said Labog.

“Once again, Anakpawis is put at the military’s crosshairs. In the months prior to and after the 2007 elections, many of our members were gunned down and harassed. Next year, it appears that the armed forces are poised to do the same,” he Labog.

KMU said that despite the state-sponsored campaign against Anakpawis, the party-list succeeded in gaining two Congress seats in the 14th Congress. 

It was also able to establish chapters at the municipal, provincial and regional level, proving that the government did not succeed in discrediting party-lists which push for the interests of the poor and marginalized. #