San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza is asking President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine National Police Chief Debold Sinas to stop the killings.
In an open letter, the bishop said the Catholic church has asked all Filipinos to pray for discernment and a change of heart within the Duterte government and the PNP to reconsider and stop implementing “Oplan Sauron” and the Synchronized Enhanced Management of Police Operations (SEMPO), which started in Negros Island, in the rest of the country.
His letter came in the wake of the killings and arrests of the Indigenous People (IP) leaders in Panay Island during police operations on December 30.
Alminaza recalled that in December 2018, six people were killed and 26 were arrested in Negros Oriental for alleged possession of firearms and explosives and that on March 2019, 14 farmers, who were suspected members of the New People’s Army, were killed during the service of search warrants in Negros Oriental.
“These operations were carried out mostly during the wee hours, and the farmers were shot under unproven claims that they fought it out,” he said.
He added, “Whether this is true or not, what is starkly apparent is that this violence has failed to bring lasting peace and instead bred a culture of even more violence and disrespect for our people.”
Under the Duterte administration and “Oplan Sauron” alone, over 106 cases of unsolved extrajudicial killings were recorded in Negros Island, he stressed.
He said the December 30 “massacre” of the IP community leaders and mass arrest of 17 others “disturbingly follow the same pattern of the SEMPO that claimed the lives of poor farmers and other civilians in Negros Island.”
“We are alarmed as these recent killings in Capiz demonstrate how ‘Oplan Sauron’ and SEMPO will be implemented throughout the country,” he said.
He added, “We reiterate that only through addressing the roots of the conflict, integral development and dialog can we achieve lasting peace.”
“As we celebrate the blessings of 500 years of Christianity, we call on President Duterte and PNP Chief Sinas to stop implementing these pro-death ‘Oplan Sauron’ and SEMPO in Negros and the rest of the country,” the bishop asked.*