Manila, Philippines – “A strong condemnation is not enough to express our anger on the extrajudicial killing of a unionist in Southern Tagalog, the very hours before the implementation of the revived stricter quarantine where law enforcers were supposed to be everywhere!” this was the statement of the militant group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Monday, enraged over the killing of labor leader Dandy Miguel in Calamba, Laguna, last night, hours before the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) +.
Vice President of Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK-KMU) and president of the local Lakas ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa Fuji Electric union, Miguel sustained at least eight gunshot wounds that immediately ended his life.
In a statement, PAMALAKAYA said that “it was undeniably the CALABARZON police involved in the Bloody Sunday, who plotted the execution of Miguel”. The group was referring to the “Bloody Sunday” police raid that killed 9 activists and arrested many others on the wee hours of March 7.
“Who else are capable of carrying out such heinous crime while the province would be implementing in a moment the ECQ? Looking into the police’s involvement on the region-wide execution of activists two weeks ago, it is without a doubt that they were also complicit with the killing of Miguel,” PAMALAKAYA said in a statement issued to media outfits.
“This should be exposed and publicly condemned as a state-backed policy. It was no less than President Duterte himself who boldly empowered his police and soldiers to kill everyone they link to insurgents, without regard for human rights,”
“We remind the Filipinos to be extra vigilant while silently observing the lent as the police and state-backed death squads are on the loose, wreaking havoc to the people through EJK amid the ECQ,” the progressive group ended. ###
