New AFP chief "great move for govt, greater threat for Filipinos," rights group says

By HUSTISYA
January 17, 2013

QUEZON CITY  –  “A great move for the government, a greater threat for the Filipino people.”

Thus said rights group Hustisya as the appointment of Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista as new AFP chief takes effect today.

According to Cristina Guevarra, Hustisya secretary general, it is not a surprise that the government will appoint the brains behind Oplan Bayanihan, as the government targets to quash the so-called armed threats this year.

“We were not wrong when we warned that more human rights violations will come when Lt. Gen. Bautista was appointed Army chief in 2011. We closed the year 2012 counting more victims. A hundred more families of those extrajudicially killed are seeking justice, while more persons face trumped-up charges and illegal arrests,” Guevarra said.

Karapatan documented 137 victims of extrajudicial killings by the end of 2012.

“Can our families still hope for justice when the new AFP chief will only direct his men to implement the same old counter-insurgency program, only with a different name?” Guevarra asked.

Oplan Bayanihan, according to Hustisya, is a "cut-and-paste" Filipino version of the US counter insurgency guide released in 2009.

“After two years, Oplan Bayanihan cannot hide behind pro-people and pro-human rights slogans, not even with music videos that sing of peace and development. In its two years, Oplan Bayanihan is a repeating nightmare of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya, which makes anybody vulnerable to rights violations,” Guevarra explained.

Guevarra also said Bautista’s appointment reminds them of “how the past administration rewarded its loyal minions in the military for their bloody campaign against so-called enemies of the state.”