INQUIRER.net Eleksyon 2007

Estrada joins calls for troop withdrawal in Metro Manila

INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- Jailed president Joseph Estrada has joined various sectors in calling for the immediate withdrawal of military troops in Metro Manila, saying it was a “very partisan electoral psy-war operation” to prevent the victory of left-leaning party-list groups in Congress this coming elections.

In a statement on Monday, Estrada urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to order the Armed Forces of the Philippines to stop its partisan electoral activities in urban and rural areas and to return its troops to their camps.

He said the deployment of troops was “very alarming because it was reminiscent of General [Jovito] Palparan’s counterinsurgency operations” in the provinces.

Estrada was referring to retired Major General Jovito Palparan, who had been blamed for the extrajudicial killings of militants and labor leaders in the country.

Estrada said he was also convinced that the deployment was meant to silence the administration’s critics and prevent the victory of left-leaning party-list organizations like Bayan Muna, Anak-Pawis, and Gabriela.

“It has become very obvious to me that this urban troop deployment is a very partisan electoral psy-war operation designed by GMA [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] and her generals to prevent the leaders of Bayan Muna and other anti-GMA party-list organizations from being elected to the House of Representatives and added to the pro-impeachment bloc,” he said.

Estrada then called on the professional officers and soldiers of the AFP to stand by their constitutional role as “protectors of the Filipino people” and to oppose any further attempts by their commanders to use them for partisan electoral activities.

“I call on our people, especially the poor, to oppose the deployment of troops to your communities and to vote fore candidates and party-list organizations that will genuinely champion your interests,” the former leader added.

Maila Ager

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