Akbayan accuses AFP of harassment, campaigning

Partylist group Akbayan on Tuesday accused the Armed Forces of harassing their members and campaigning against them. "It's a reprise of what they did during the 2004 polls. The military obviously wants to block the entry of opposition forces in the House of Representatives," Akbayan Representative Ma. Theresia Hontiveros said in a statement. She said they are set to file separate charges before the Commission on Elections, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Commission on Human Rights. "Elections are a fundamental expression of civilian supremacy. Any armed organization, state or non-state, has no business coercing voters on what or whom to support in the elections," Hontiveros said. She said they documented three cases in urban poor communities in Caloocan City where military men in full battle gear have demanded for the list of Akbayan members from the group's community leaders. In meetings organized by the military, they allegedly told Akbayan members not to campaign for the group and to stop participating in its activities because of its links with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF). Hontiveros said in Barangay 175, Zone 15, Camarin, Caloocan City , a certain Colonel Bisaya and Major Geneneral Puno asked members of the Samahan ng mga Maralita sa Camarin (SAMAKAI), an Akbayan-affiliated group, to junk the partylist group in the forthcoming polls. "Initially, the military promised to help in the organization's housing and land problems. Later, however, they warned the group against joining AKBAYAN because it is one of the fronts of the CPP-NPA," she said. After the meeting, SAMAKAI officers reportedly discovered that the military had prepared an attendance sheet containing the names of SAMAKA members and leaders, with their signatures allegedly forged. The group said fully armed military men have also visited the homes of SAMAKAI leaders on a regular basis, particularly the house of Marieta Barandino, also an AKBAYAN member, to get the list of their members in the area. "They (Akbayan members) are now scared of campaigning for Akbayan. Some of them have actually decided to stop campaigning altogether and removed lawful campaign materials that they have posted in their homes," the partylist representative said. In Barangay 176, Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, Hontiveros said that the deployment of uniformed and plain clothed military men reportedly started as early as November 2006. The soldiers were allegedly headed by a certain Major Tabas. "They have questioned the participation of Dang Meneses, Akbayan's section chairperson, in our activities. They also reportedly demanded that she admit that she and her family are affiliated with the CPP-NPA," Hontiveros said. The military also visited the home of Akbayan Division Chair Daniel Perocha in Barangay 174, Camarin, Caloocan City , and discouraged him from joining in Akbayan-related activities. Perocha was also asked to reveal the names of Akbayan members in the area. Hontiveros said military intervention during elections violates the Omnibus Election Code which bars the military from intervening in any election campaign or from engaging in any partisan political activity. “They are also violating Section 55 of the 1987 Administrative Code, which does not only prescribe any partisan activity by the military but also penalizes the use of authority to coerce any political partisan activity," she said. She added the military also violates Section 2, Article IX-B of the 1987 Constitution which prohibits the military from engaging in any electioneering or partisan political campaign. - GMANews.TV