Stop labeling health workers as ‘communists’- KATRIBU

KATRIBU president Beverly Longid says the military should stop calling the 43 detained health workers including human rights defenders as 'communists'.

This, during her visit to two members of indigenous tribes- Among, a 22 year old Mangyan from Manalaysay, Mindoro Oriental and Angela Manogan Doloricon from the Aplai tribe of Sagada, Mountain Province- at the military camp in Mount Capinpin, Rizal.

Longid also called for the immediate release of the detained health workers.

Among and Manogan are two of 43 health workers who attended a health skills training to provide services to needy communities, as conducted by Community Medicine Development Foundation and Council for Health and Development.

They were arrested on February 6 by heavily armed elements of the 202nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army and the Rizal Philippine National Police on claims that the health workers were doing a training on bomb making.

Others who were illegally arrested and detained by the military are graduates from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) who provide health services and training to needy communities.

The health workers are branded by the government military forces as members of the New Peoples Army (NPA).

Branding human rights activists and now health workers as NPAs and ‘communists” have since been an age-old tactic of the government's military forces. Such an obsolete military method hounding on suspected members of the NPA is perpetuated at the detriment of human rights and social rights of needy communities.

While the world is moving towards a participatory form of governance, this illegal and obsolete manner of frisking health workers is absolutely not healthy nor is it helpful to making a better Filipino people nor a better Philippines. It is actually making people cry, angry, and more miserable in an already miserable country.

As a matter of fact, a number of young and potential leaders for the development of the country and suspected to be "communists' and members of the NPA had either been reported missing and worse died under conditions strongly suspected to have been perpetrated by government military forces. When will this government learn.

The military’s counterinsurgency program, Oplan Bantay Laya, continue to brand and terrorize human rights activists as “communist terrorists” which in fact have given way to cases of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, illegal arrest, torture and illegal detention.

Conducted under sloppy circumstances, the health workers’ arrest was done without a valid search warrant as the arresting elements of the law blatantly ignored the rule of law which they in the first place should observe.

Reports say the victims were also subjected to torture-continuously interrogated while denied food and sleep, threatened bodily harm or beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed, and treated to indignities. Reports say they were also held incommunicado and denied visits by relatives, lawyers, physicians and human rights officials. And lately, the military’s defiance of a Supreme Court ruling that the detainees be produced in court.

All these on claims by the military that the health workers are members of the NPA. Where so, reports point out their sloppiness and intent to make it appear that the health workers are members of the NPA. The military must be running out of professionalism!

They are also running out of their duties to defend the people. As it is, the arrest and detention of the 43 health workers is stifling exercise of freedom and pursuit of humanity. Denying people of health services by arresting health workers is a crime of humanity in itself.

"It is precisely government’s neglect to provide basic services such as education and health that drove the health workers to serve poor communities. Now such State neglect becomes the crime of the health workers?” Longid asked.

The military better find other ways of making themselves relevant instead of picking on innocent civilians and branding them as NPAs.

Besides, if the health workers are NPAs, then they must be doing helpful service to the people to complement or answer to the gaps on health services the government should provide.