2004 Campaign Trail Leaves 10 Party-list 
Members Dead; 3 Others Missing

The counting is yet to start on May 10 for the 2004 national and local elections but progressive party-list groups have already started tallying - not the votes they expect to get but the string of violence against them.

BY BULATLAT.COM

The counting is yet to start on May 10 for the 2004 national and local elections but progressive party-list groups have already started tallying - not the votes they expect to get but the string of violence against them.

The election campaign trail already left 10 members of progressive party-list groups dead and three others disappeared.

Six campaigners of Bayan Muna were killed during the three-month campaign (Feb. 10-May 10) period: two from Mindoro; three from Compostela Valley; and one from Quezon. Meanwhile, Anakpawis and Gabriela Women’s Party had deaths reaching three and one, respectively.

With the spate of violence against them, party-list groups warned of disenfranchisement of the Left vote.

In a statement, Bayan Muna third nominee Teddy Casiño said, “(W)e have…documented reports of numerous incidents…(including) the murder of six of our members, the raid of our chapter office in Angeles City on May 7, the attempted arson of our chapter office in Daraga, Albay last May 7, the massive vilification through posters, text messages, etc., and other acts of intimidation against the members of our groups by military and police agents who are taking cue from (National Security Adviser Norberto) Gonzales’ irresponsible statements.”

Raid and attempted arson

In a press conference held last May 8 in Quezon City, Bayan Muna first nominee Satur Ocampo said that the raid of the party-list group’s office in Angeles City, Pampanga just a day before was conducted without a search warrant.

Five men wearing ski masks initially asked for water from Divine Zamboanga, a staff of Bayan Muna. She was then pushed into the office, hit several times and tied to a chair. Two of the masked men poked guns at her. Her mouth was sealed with tape and she was told to stop pursuing Bayan Muna’s activities.

The raiders took from the office a computer monitor and central processing unit, a laptop computer, a cellular phone as well as a sack of documents, posters and other campaign paraphernalia, tapes, compact disks and other materials.

According to Ocampo, the raiders were “fishing for documents as evidence.” Gonzales earlier branded Bayan Muna and five other party-list groups as “front organizations” of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and that Bayan Muna channeled pork barrel funds to the New People’s Army (NPA).

That same day, there was an arson attempt on the Anakpawis regional headquarters in Legazpi City, Albay, about nine hours by train from Manila. A member of the office staff smelled gasoline and soon found out that the building was on fire. Campaign materials and a part of the office were burned. A bomb was also discovered near the door.

Vigilance against fraud, terror

Because of these and other election-related violence against progressive party-list groups, Ocampo said Bayan Muna and its allied party-list groups will seriously pursue the work of Resistance against Fraud and Terrorism (Resist).

Launched in late March, Resist is a broad alliance of progressive party-list groups and the major opposition parties and their affiliate organizations. Initiated by Bayan Muna, it is aimed at joint monitoring of and united action against electoral fraud and violence which may be committed by the administration party, its police and military units and other anti-progressive elements. Bulatlat.com

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