Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounces the arrest of 76 activists and relief volunteers by police elements in Metro Manila and Iloilo on Labor Day.

“The Duterte regime marked Labor Day with mass arrests to stifle dissent and muffle criticism in its desperation to cover up its ineptness and failure to address the hunger and plight of the working class amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” said CPP Chief Information Officer Marco L. Valbuena.

“Using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse, Duterte is flexing his martial law muscles to impose an undemocratic ‘new normal’ of heightened repression, accelerated implementation of neoliberal policies and unchecked corruption,” Valbuena added.

Ten volunteers were arrested in Marikina while conducting a feeding program for urban poor residents. Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro ordered the release of the victims asserting that they observed physical distancing. The police, however, refused to comply and continued to detain the victims.

In Quezon City, eighteen youth volunteers were arrested while conducting a feeding program in Barangay Central. Four activists were also arrested for protesting at home and posting their demands on social media. Two others were arrested in Rodriguez, Rizal.

Forty-two individuals were arrested in Jaro, Iloilo City while preparing for a caravan to condemn the recent killing of relief worker Jory Porquia. The police is set to charge Porquia’s daughter, colleagues and seven journalists with various criminal charges.

Meanwhile, elements of the 202nd Infantry Brigade illegally arrested 16 Coca-Cola workers in Santa Rosa, Laguna on April 30. The victims were brought to Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba City and were then presented before the media as “surrendered” members of the New People’s Army on Labor Day.

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