Another martial law? CPP says nationwide declaration ‘underway’

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (PCOO photo)

“He continues to style himself as a ‘leftist’ or ‘socialist’ in order to deceive the people and their revolutionary forces,” the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said in a statement on Thursday, claiming that the President’s ‘plot’ of a nationwide martial law declaration is in the making.

On the same day when seven party-list representatives left the majority coalition of the House of Representatives to further intensify their opposition to the Duterte administration, the CPP released a statement saying that a nationwide martial law declaration is in the making.

As if mirroring the seven leftist legislators of the Makabayan bloc who called the President Rodrigo Roa Duterte administration ‘a fully unraveled fascist, pro-imperialist, and anti-people regime’ in a press conference, CPP said that the President ‘seeks to prop himself up as a fascist dictator in his despair to cling to power.’

“Duterte has been carrying out brazen steps to establish a fascist dictatorship by silencing the political opposition, striking terror among through mass murder, suppressing their resistance and monopolizing political power,” the statement furthered.

The statement cited the recent developments and activities in the lower house and the local government units as ‘preparations’ for the nationwide martial law.

“Duterte and his shameless cohorts of congressional supermajority allies have railroaded the National ID system. They have cancelled the scheduled barangay elections and seek to grant Duterte the power to supplant tens of thousands of village officials with his loyalists. They acted swiftly to impeach the chief justice as an over threat to make the Supreme Court and judiciary bow to Malacañang’s whims,” it said.

CPP also mentioned that the President wanted a quick approval of the P3.7 trillion 2018 budget as a funding for ‘his triple wars of death and destruction’ further labeling it as ‘the biggest corruption budget.’

“Duterte is also set to receive P3 billion in discretionary ‘intelligence funds.’ A 500% increase over the previous regime. Funds for his anti-drug campaign of mass murder are set to increase by 4000%,” CPP said.

The statement also said that Duterte’s ‘mind-conditioning campaign’ has touched the mass media and social media, when critical opinions on him are ‘silenced’ and the existence of ‘hordes of paid trolls’ and fake news.