A plan to declare nationwide martial law is underway, or so says the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
“[Duterte] is increasingly desperate amid broad rising calls for his ouster. He seeks to prop himself up as a fascist dictator in his despair [sic] to cling to power,” the CPP said in a statement sent to media yesterday.
The statement contains examples of recent events they say signal an alleged plot by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to declare military rule.
It cited the national ID system Congress approved by Congress last Friday that will include finger prints, iris scans, and a “facial image exception code.”
It also included the postponement of the upcoming barangay (village) elections to 2018, a move the CPP — which has maintained an insurgency against the government for nearly 50 years — said could allow Duterte to assign his “loyalists” to the posts, and the government’s alleged use of government money to fund propaganda and spy networks.
“Duterte is presently carrying out a mind-conditioning campaign to justify his plan to impose martial law. Through mostly foul means, he has silenced critical opinion in mass media. He employs his horde of paid trolls to flood social media with Duterte adulation and to vilify the Left and political opposition,” the statement said.
In another statement, CPP founding member Jose Maria Sison said that the impeachment raps against Chief Justice Sereno show how the administration is trying to take control of the judiciary.
“The majority of SC already belongs to Duterte, as evidenced by the quick acquittal of GMA [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] and giving Duterte unlimited power to proclaim martial law,” he said. “The impeachment of CJ Sereno is aimed at completing Duterte’s control of entire [Supreme Court].”
In May, Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao island after ISIS-linked terrorists attacked Marawi City. On Saturday, he said that he could declare nationwide martial law in response to a supposed communist threat.
The CPP supported Duterte’s war on drugs early in the president’s term but eventually withdrew their support. The communist group first agreed to have peace talks with the government, but said in August that it will no longer cooperate with the president, calling him “anti-people” and “anti-worker.”
