By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
11 July 2007
I am pleased to learn that the Supreme Court of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) has made final its decision to dismiss the false charge of rebellion against the Batasan 6, a number of consultants of the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and others by rejecting the motion for reconsideration filed by the Solicitor General.
I wish to congratulate all those who have been accused and persecuted by the Arroyo regime for winning their case before the Supreme Court. They include Rep. Crispin Beltran and Rep. Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis (Toiling Masses), Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela, Rep. Satur Ocampo, Rep. Teodoro Casino and Rep. Joel Virador of Bayan Muna (The People First) as well as Rey Casambre of the Philippine Peace Center, Vicente Ladlad of Bayan Muna, Rafael Baylosis of the Kilusang Mayo Uno and Randall Echanis of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas who are consultants of the NDFP Negotiating Panel but are not members of any NDFP organization.
I also wish to congratulate the lead lawyer, former UN ad litem judge Atty. Romeo T. Capulong and all other lawyers of those falsely accused and persecuted for their highly competent and successful defense of their clients.
I am happy about the Supreme Court decision dismissing the false charge of rebellion on the ground that it is legally and factually baseless. As one among the falsely accused and persecuted, I benefit from the decision. The Supreme Court has reaffirmed certain legal principles about the charge of rebellion and has rendered null and void the false claims against all the accused, including me.
The authorities of the European Union should take notice that the Arroyo regime has used executive organs and the lower courts of the GRP to persecute its political opponents through politically motivated false charges of rebellion. They should also take notice that in my particular case the Supreme Court of the GRP has in effect dismissed the charge of rebellion against me and that the Arroyo regime will have to fabricate a new set of claims and arguments for any new charge of rebellion.
The fake president Gloria M. Arroyo and her top subalterns in the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security (especially Eduardo Ermita, Norberto Gonzales and Raul Gonzalez) should take responsibility for having trumped up the politically-motivated charge of rebellion and persecuting those falsely accused. But they are consistently irresponsible, repressive and shameless. No one among them is resigning.
The Arroyo regime should cease and desist from using the executive organs and the courts to persecute its political opponents and oppress the people by filing false charges of rebellion and common crimes. In my particular case, the military and police minions of the regime have multiplied charges of rebellion and common crimes against me all over the country. They wish to compound these trumped up charges into an overarching false charge of terrorism.
The Arroyo regime has subjected the people to extreme exploitation by imperialist and local vested interests and to state terrorism and excessive cruelty through extrajudicial killings, abductions, torture and mass displacement of entire communities and families. The broad masses of the people need to be more alert and militant than ever before in the struggle for human rights, especially now that the Arroyo regime is hell-bent on using the Anti-Terrorism Act to escalate state terrorism.###
