(Eagle News)—The government should stop its bid to have the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army declared as terrorist groups,a lawyer for two individuals who were recently declared as “non-parties” to the case said.
According to Rachel Pastores, who represents former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultant Rafael Baylosis, the “policy” of also “linking our clients, activists, and critics of the government to the CPP-NPA” should stop.
According to Pastores, in the first place, the Department of Justice “should have been prudent not to just swallow hook, line and sinker all information supplied by these intelligence agencies.”
In the case of her clients, she said the filing of the petition for them to be declared as terrorists has “put their lives and security at risk.”
“Their public vilification through the filing of the case has also cast aspersion upon their characters and besmirched their reputations,” she said.
A Manila court has declared Ocampo and Baylosis as “non-parties,” noting there was no evidence in the petition that they were indeed officials of the CPP-NPA.
The DOJ filed the petition in compliance with the Human Security Act, after President Rodrigo Duterte suspended peace talks with the Communist rebels last year.
