PCOO denounces Bernie Sanders for criticizing raids on progressives

Malacañang's communications group on Sunday denounced US Senator and Democratic Party presidential nominee Bernie Sanders for criticizing the Philippine government over raids and arrests on progressive organizations.

"Senator Sanders is grandstanding on an issue he obviously does not know the details of, not to mention meddling in our national affairs, which he has no business over," Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.

"Stringent measures were undertaken during operations as they are a matter of serious national security. These are steps we have to take in order to erode any probabilities of communist armed conflicts and in the long run attain peace and prosperity among Filipinos," Andanar argued further.

The PCOO Secretary also claimed that it was not a policy of the Philippine to execute suspects.

"To reiterate, the Philippine government has no policy on state-sponsored killings. The reality is that suspected drug abusers refuse to subject themselves to the police and resort to violence-- resulting to unfortunate deaths on both sides," said Andanar.

"We urge all observers and critics to check their facts as some may fall victim to the lies peddled by communist terrorists--terrorists that have humanitarian organizations fronts who seek funding from other legitimate international institutions, only to be used for violence."

In a Twitter post, Sanders had criticized the Philippine government for its "abhorrent" human rights abuses.

In recent years, we have seen abhorrent human rights abuses by the Philippine government. This repression of trade unionists is a shameful attempt to silence people's rights and freedoms. More than ever, we must stand on the side of global human rights. https://t.co/hJDrDJBX2y

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 15, 2019

The tweet was accompanied by a link to an article by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) entitled "Philippines: Government Crackdown Targets Unions."

The article was critical of the recent raids conducted by Philippine security forces in Bacolod City, and the arrest of activists from the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Gabriela Negros Center, and the Negros Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW).

The Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives had condemned the raids, which were conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Philippine Army's 3rd Infantry Division, the Joint Task Force Negros, and the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.

Prior to the operations, President Rodrigo Duterte had assigned controversial police official Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido to Bacolod City which the chief executive claimed was “badly hit” by illegal drugs.

"And I placed Espenido there, ‘yung kinatakutan nila na pulis. Sabi ko, ‘Go there and you are free to kill everybody.’ T— ina.  Start killing them. Dalawa na tayo magpapreso,'" Duterte had said on October 17. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News