AO35 task force may tackle Southern Tagalog killings

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 8, 2021): AO35 task force may tackle Southern Tagalog killings (By Benjamin Pulta)

EVIDENCE. Authorities log the pieces of evidence gathered in simultaneous operations on Sunday (March 7, 2021) in Southern Tagalog provinces. The police said the legitimate operations were conducted based on search warrants. (Photo courtesy of PRO-4A)

MANILA – Are they legitimate operations?

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said it will dig deeper into the death of nine individuals, alleged members of so-called progressive groups, in Southern Tagalog over the weekend.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed on Monday that six in Rizal, two in Batangas, and one in Cavite died in “search warrant operations”. There were also six arrests made — three each in Laguna and Rizal. It added nine were still at large — eight in Rizal and one in Batangas.

“Kung mga activist ang mga involved na may mga (If activists were involved and who had) certain advocacies, whether it be trade unionism, or peasant associations or organizations or IPs (indigenous peoples), ‘yung may specific advocacies, we will definitely include them in the AO 35 task force (since it would be) within their jurisdiction,” DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in an interview.

Administrative Order 35 Task Force is the government's inter-agency committee on extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations on the right to life liberty and security of persons. A meeting is scheduled this month.

“This interagency committee task force can address this growing number. Maybe in the third or fourth week of March. It’s difficult to convene person to person with what’s happening, but we have to, we need to, and were going to have this meeting,” he said.

Guevarra said the National Bureau of Investigation is part of the task force and will be represented in the meeting.

The simultaneous arrests, according to the Police Regional Office 4A, were armed with 24 search warrants for Violations of Republic Act 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) and were carried out by the Calabarzon police, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the Special Action Force and its military counterparts.

"As far as the PNP is concerned, it was a legitimate operation. We have the search warrant, the order from the court. We just implemented the search warrant," Laguna police spokesperson, Lt. Col. Chitadel Gaoira, told CNN Philippines.

"Based on our records, a crime is usually committed with these firearms, with these instruments, so we have these operations. We don't want to wait for the suspects to use these explosives and loose firearms in criminal or illegal activities," she added. (

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1132904