Stiff opposition, protests to meet AFP's nat'l ID proposal

Strong opposition and protests will hound all efforts by Malacañang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to revive a national ID system, a militant group said on Tuesday. In a statement, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) expressed concerns that human rights violations may be committed under the national ID system cover, which it said was just another measure that threatens the people’s civil liberties. Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes, Jr noted that the proposal's coming from the AFP is already a cause for concern. "Bayan believes that the proposal of the AFP will be met with strong opposition and protests and will be defeated in any legal forum," Reyes said. "We all know the dismal record of the AFP when it comes to respect for human rights. The fact the AFP wants this measure to allegedly fight the insurgency means that there is a high possibility that human rights will again be violated," Reyes said. International monitoring groups including United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston has blamed the counter insurgency program of the AFP as the reason for the high numbers of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of activists under the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration, the group noted. "If government allows the proposal, it would be like nationalizing the dreaded cedula campaign of (retired) Gen. Jovito Palparan. Those without ID's would be immediately labeled as suspects. This can open the floodgates for further human rights abuses," Reyes said. The group claimed that during his term as commander of the 7th Infantry Division in Central Luzon, Palparan required villagers in Nueva Ecija to acquire cedulas as proof that they are indeed residents of a certain place. Failure to produce a cedula when inspected would mean one is an outsider or a suspected member of the New People's Army. The practice gave rise to many abuses that were reported in the media, the group added. "The Arroyo (administration) is toying with all the ingredients of another martial law. It has used emergency powers in 2006. It has test run a curfew in 2007. It seeks the revival of the antisubversion law. Now it wants a national ID system in the name of national security," Reyes said. "There may be a grand design here being cooked up by Malacañang, one that seeks to keep the president in power until and beyond 2010," he added. - GMANews.TV