Mr. Chairman and honorable members of the Committee, good morning.

We in the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) would like to first of all thank the Committee for its interest in investigating the abduction, illegal arrest and detention of Mr. Vicente P. Ladlad, National Executive Board member of the Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Para sa Amnestiya (SELDA), consultant to the GRP-NDF peace negotiations, and former National Executive Committee member of Bayan. Like Congressmen Wigberto Tañada and Michael Defensor, we feel that the actions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in this case, specifically its intelligence service (ISAFP), has dangerous and far-reaching implications on our people's continued enjoyment of their civil, political and human rights.

Mr. Chairman, we will not delve too much on the facts of Mr. Ladlad's illegal abduction, illegal arrest and illegal detention. The AFP's blatant violation of his civil, political and human rights is well documented and clearly borne out by the facts. What we are more concerned about are:

1. The possible implications of Mr. Ladlad's arrest on opposition groups and legitimate political dissent;

2. The AFP's current mindset that this case has brought out in the open, particularly the AFP's failure to shed its fascist, martial law mentality; its contempt of human rights, due process and civilian authority; and its intolerance of legitimate political dissent leading to paranoia and anticommunist hysteria.

In a press statement issued when Mr. Ladlad was first presented to the media on 24 June 1999, the Department of National Defense said that the arrest was made after a week of surveillance of Mr. Ladlad's so-called hideouts in Quezon City, Makati City, Bulacan and Laguna. He was supposed to be meeting with prominent CPP/NPA/NDF personalities that month to discuss possible scenarios for the left's "tactical propaganda offensives." Also, that Mr. Ladlad would be "somewhere in the vicinity of Teacher's Village, Quezon City" on the third week of June to discuss the CPP's stand on the VFA and the peace talks.

The report makes it appear that Mr. Ladlad has been in hiding, such that a team had to be dispatched to survey his activities. It cannot be emphasized enough that Mr. Ladlad's activities and whereabouts have never been secret. In the particular three weeks prior to his arrest, he was accessible to everyone who needed to see or talk to him. He was going around doing his job as a SELDA official and wrapping up his work for the failed GRP-NDF peace negotiations. In this light, the so-called hideouts mentioned by the DND can be nothing more than his house, the Philippine Peace Center office; the offices of Bayan, Karapatan/SELDA and other cause-oriented groups and NGOs which, in the first place, Mr. Ladlad regularly visits as part of his work. In particular, the report said Mr. Ladlad would be in the vicinity of Teacher's Village on the third week of June. For your information, the offices of Bayan, Karapatan/SELDA and a host of NGO's are all located in Teacher's Village. The question now is, does the ISAFP now consider these legitimate offices as hideouts of so-called "dissident terrorist leaders" like Mr. Ladlad, and thus subject to stake-outs, wiretappings, photo documentation and the whole gamut of surveillance activities? And are the members of these organizations now considered operatives of the CPP/NPA/NDF as well, subject to the same surveillance?

A week before he was arrested, on June 17-19, Mr. Ladlad attended the National Council Meeting of Bayan at Guimaras Island, Panay. The NC is Bayan's second highest policy-making body, and is attended by all of Bayan's national, regional and sectoral leaders. Mr. Ladlad was invited to that meeting to share his views on the prospects for the continuation of the peace talks, as well as his insights on various issues affecting the country, including the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement. We wonder, is this the so-called meeting of prominent CPP/NPA/NDF personalities which Mr. Ladlad was said to have attended? If the ISAFP views Bayan's second highest policy-making body as a meeting of the CPP/NPA/NDF, then we really are in big trouble. Baka wala na pong dumalo sa aming mga meeting.

Finally, the press statement says the arrest of Mr. Ladlad manifests the Estrada government's vigilance and sustained operations against "all forms of threats to peace and order and national security… and all forms of terrorism and insurgent activities." Given the way the ISAFP and the DND used flawed logic in this case, and how they lumped together perfectly legal organizations to the underground CPP/NPA/NDF, we fear that groups and individuals that disagree with the Estrada government might find themselves the easy targets of these military operations.

This brings me to my second point, which is that the illegal abduction, arrest and detention of Mr. Ladlad merely manifests the martial law mentality that the civilian authorities have failed to exorcise from the AFP. The facts of the case show how the ISAFP abducted Mr. Ladlad in that classic style reminiscent of the martial law years. How its' highest officials repeatedly and with impunity ignored the order of the civilian courts to release Mr. Ladlad. It is also clear how the ISAFP tried to deceive the courts and continue detaining Mr. Ladlad by coming up with a falsified document. Lastly, it shows how the AFP brands legitimate political dissenters and activists as communists and terrorists and thus subject to vicious attacks and human rights violations.

The AFP's actions and fascist mindset take on graver significance in the face of the government's latest counter-insurgency program codenamed "Oplan Makabayan," which is not only heavy into intelligence operations, but uses the dangerous tack of lumping together NGOs and people's organizations as targets in the counter-insurgency drive.

Of course, a major aggravating factor in all these is the AFP's Commander-in-Chief's intolerance to criticism and political dissent, propensity to abuse his power and influence, and tendency to solve complex social problems with police and military solutions. This is especially dangerous given the worsening economic and political conditions leading to social unrest, the very same conditions that pushed then President Ferdinand Marcos to declare a state of emergency then martial law 27 years ago.

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, we in Bayan respectfully suggest that Congress come out with legislation cutting the budget and curbing the powers of the ISAFP and its agencies which, in the past, have been notorious in violating the people's civil, political and human rights. We also recommend legislation that would further reorient the AFP and wean it away from its paranoid, martial law mentality. Oplan Makabayan has to come under Congressional review and investigation considering its openess to abuse and human rights violations.

Further, that legislation be put in place further protecting and promoting the people's civil, political and human rights. A starting point could be the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHR-IHL) signed by both the GRP and NDFP during the last peace talks. We understand this remains in effect. Legislation towards its implementation should probably be made.

That is all for now. Thank you very much for this opportunity.