3 MIN READ

By SHERWIN DE VERA
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — A group of former political prisoners has declared strong opposition to the Senate reelection bids of Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Christopher “Bong” Go, and Imee Marcos, citing their alleged roles in human rights violations and in preserving dictatorship-era policies.

The Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), formed by martial law survivors in 1985, urged voters to reject the three senators in the 2025 elections. The group accused them of enabling or defending state abuses, including killings, torture, and unlawful arrests.

The group warned that both Dela Rosa and Go are “reportedly on the list of persons to be ordered arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC)” for their roles in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war. Meanwhile, Marcos, the president’s older sister, “is a living embodiment of the injustices and plunder that characterized martial law.”

SELDA urged voters to reject the reelection of Dela Rosa, Go, and Marcos, stating that they have perpetuated policies leading to widespread rights violations.

“Well practiced in repression”

The group criticized Dela Rosa’s track record as police chief under Duterte, during which he led the implementation of the anti-drug campaign linked to thousands of deaths. They highlighted his support for counterinsurgency programs and legislation that, they argued, targeted activists. These include institutionalizing the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and amendments to the Party-list System Act to exclude red-tagged groups.

“Dela Rosa has had a lot of practice in the matter of repression. As a young lieutenant in 1986 in the now defunct Philippine Constabulary in Davao City, Dela Rosa was the chief handler of the anti-communist religious cult known as the Tadtad… infamous for beheading suspected communist sympathizers,” SELDA stated.

The group also denounced him for promoting red-tagging in schools and for praising acts of harassment against youth activists. It cited an incident in Davao City where materials for the Kabataan Partylist were torn and confiscated.

“By encouraging harassment and red-tagging, he endangers the victims and sets them up for more serious human rights violations,” the group said.

“Gofer and bagman”

Meanwhile, SELDA described Go as Duterte’s “gofer and bagman.” The senator was among those who supported the Anti-Terrorism Act, which the group said is being “weaponized against activists and other dissenters.”

He also backed Duterte’s closure of Lumad schools and the order to “flatten the hills,” referring to military offensives in rural communities.

They added: “Testimonies at the Quadcom hearings indicate that Bong Go not only disbursed monies on Duterte’s orders to incentivize the death squads to continue perpetrating the drug war killings… Go, in all likelihood, gave out reward money to them as well for political killings.”

“Dictator-father’s apologist”

SELDA also opposed a second term for Marcos, associating her with the abuses and plunder during her father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship.

According to the group, Imee Marcos continues to downplay martial law atrocities. Although she claims she was too young to be held responsible, SELDA noted that she was an adult during 14 of the 15 years of her father’s rule and actively defended the regime.

“Imee Marcos, an unabashed apologist for her dictator-father, believes, contrary to historical fact, that martial law is a panacea to the country’s ills, including high rice prices,” SELDA stated.

The group added that she benefited from the family’s ill-gotten wealth. It cited properties in the Philippines and abroad, including a 13-acre estate in the U.S. bought while she studied at Princeton University. A U.S. court ruled the property was purchased with embezzled funds. They also highlighted the ongoing application of laws rooted in martial law, such as those penalizing illegal possession of firearms and explosives, to detain activists. The group stated that these laws are often enforced with planted evidence and have resulted in the incarceration of more than 200 political prisoners. # nordis.net