Opposition complains of government 'repression'

Despite the Presidential Palace's repeated claims to the contrary, the political opposition still believes repression of political dissent is on the rise in the Philippines.

The Movement Against State Suppression (MASS), a group allied with former president Joseph Estrada, said recent events involving supporters of the deposed Philippine leader are indicative of a double standard of justice practiced by the incumbent administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"Repression of the political opposition is on the rise. The arrest and detention of a mass leader and the implication of opposition senators and personalities in various plots have been resorted to by the Arroyo regime to stifle legitimate dissent," the MASS said in a statement.

It was referring to the arrest last April 25 of Ronald Lumbao, a hardline supporter of Estrada and the secretary-general of the People's Movement Against Poverty, which launched a failed uprising in May 1 last year to bring back the former president to power.

Apart from Lumbao, the MASS said, other opposition figures have been targets of a government crack-down, including Senators Edgardo Angara and Panfilo Lacson.

MASS said Angara, Lacson and Sen. Gregorio Honasan, and even Mariano "Mike" Velarde, leader of the influential Catholic sect "El Shaddai", were implicated by administration officials in plots against the government.

Yet, it said, even Honasan, Lacson, and former Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Santiago were luckier - the rebellion charges against them last year were dropped.

"Justice Secretary Hernando) Perez's remarks on several radio stations that Lumbao must first be a senator in order to be bailed out personifies the Arroyo regime's justice system," the MASS statement said.

In contrast, the group said, the government could not even touch the Council on Philippine Affairs (COPA) despite its involvement in a supposed plot to install a junta.

MASS noted that even Manila Archbishop, Jaime Cardinal Sin, had already implicated COPA members in the junta plot.

Yet, it alleged, "there were no arrests and there were no charges", as the administration ignored Sin's revelations.

"These events show an alarming perception of double standards of justice being put into practice by the regime by dealing very softly with big personalities while very harshly against ordinary citizens and mass leaders," it said.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals on Friday indicted three former police generals who served under Estrada for the abduction and killing of a publicist and his driver on November 24, 2000.

The appellate court, with its decision, removed all legal obstacles to the inclusion of the names of Senior Superintendents Michael Ray Aquino, Cesar Mancao III and Teofilo Vina in the kidnap and murder of Salvador Dacer and Emmanuel Corbito more than a year ago.

All three, however, remain at large and are believed to be in Canada.