Concerns raised over killings of Calabarzon 9 during police crackdown

By Joshua Montecillo

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The United Nations (UN) human rights office raised concerns over the 'arbitrary' deaths of 9 people from Calabarzon during a region-wide police operation on March 9.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that the office was "appalled by the apparently arbitrary killing" of the activists, according to Rappler.

"We are deeply worried that these latest killings indicate an escalation in violence, intimidation, harassment and 'red-tagging' of human rights defenders," she said in a news briefing.

On March 10, the European Union (EU) reminded the Philippines of its commitment, where both parties agreed to "acknowledge and to protect human rights defenders and enable their work in accordance with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders" from a statement with the bloc last Feb. 5.

"The Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines welcomes the announcement by the Government of the Philippines to investigate the killings of nine individuals by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines on 7 March 2021 in Calabarzon region," it said.

"Reports on the use of excessive force against unarmed individuals and alleged irregularities in the law enforcement operations have raised concerns." it added

On March 18, Antonio Carpio, a retired senior associate justice, urged the Supreme Court to investigate further the Calabarzon killings.

"The fact that the search warrants were served by police and military personnel, who are under the Executive branch of the government, does not excuse the Supreme Court from investigating the killings, which happened while judicial warrants were being served," Carpio said in a column from The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Last March 7, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) mounted simultaneous police operations throughout Calabarzon.

Nine people were killed, while six others were detained, believing them to be with activist groups from provinces surrounding capital region Metro Manila.

Among the 9 who were killed, PRO 4A information officer Lt. Col. Chitadel Gaoiran reported six in Rizal, two in Batangas, and one in Cavite.

The operation saw the AFP and the PNP serve 24 overall search warrants all over Calabarzon, making it one of the biggest one-day attacks against activist groups

“[Twenty four] po lahat na SW [search warrant] ang sinerve. May mga nakuha pong explosives at assorted firearms sa mga suspects,” Gaoiran said in a text to The Inquirer.

The region-wide crackdown came to be known as "Bloody Sunday."

The killings took place only a few days after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his forces to "finish off" and "kill" any communist rebels.

The UN rights office stated that the Philippine government must "refrain from rhetoric that may lead to violations, and instead make public commitments to uphold human rights and the rule of law."