END WARLORDISM!

END WARLORDISM!

THE Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas condemns in the strongest possible terms the Ampatuan (Maguindanao) massacre in which some 60 people were slaughtered, around half of them members of the media and many of them women. The barbaric violence jolts us to the dark reality that in some areas of the country, there is virtually no state as warlords rule by terror with their private armies. The darker truth is that national politicians help these warlords rise in power and maintain their power by seeking alliance with them to access the votes that the latter can command during elections. The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) represents the worst of areas in the grip of warlords.

The Ampatuan massacre also highlighted the danger of arming civilians for helping fight rebels without the right orientation, proper training and effective supervision. Reports point out that among the some 100 armed men who perpetrated the unimaginable crime were members of civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs) armed and mobilized by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police to help government in its anti-insurgency drives. These civilian volunteers’ involvement in the mass slaying confirms fears that many of militiamen end up being part of warlords’ private armies. Our security forces, which are overextended, need the support of the citizenry in pursuing their manifold missions. The building of military reservists and other auxiliaries is in line with the building of citizens’ army which is mandated by our Constitution. However, if armed civilian units are to be effective support guardians of democracy—and not otherwise—they should be properly motivated, adequately trained and well supervised.

The Ampatuan massacre should serve as a wake-up call for the nation to start putting an end to warlordism. Doing so requires swiftly bringing the perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice, disarming the CVOs and rethinking the proper role of civilians in the government’s anti-insurgency campaigns, and working towards dismantling all private armies. The loud outcries against the mad violence in Maguindanao, both inside and outside the country, provide a favorable environment for the nation to strike against warlordism. There is an urgent need, in particular, to bring back government in ARRM where people do not trust government because its face are the warlords.

PDSP Secretariat
2 December 2009