Press Release
February 11, 2010

Davao City- Students led by League of Filipino Students (LFS) and Anakbayan yesterday staged a lightning rally as Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales spoke in a forum held at the Ateneo de Davao University. Ironically, as he urged for a democratic election, Gonzales was interrupted by students who called him as “Secretary of Arroyo’s Defense” and lambasted his brainchild, the government’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) as having victimized thousands of youth and civilians.

“How can someone who masterminds political killings in the country represent democracy?” said Karlos Manlupig, LFS-Southern Mindanao spokesperson. “Hindi makakalimutan ng mamamayan na isa si Gonzales sa arkitekto ng Oplan Bantay Laya 2. Hindi makakalimutan ng kabataan ang libu-libong walang-awang pinatay sa ilalim ng rehimeng Arroyo.”

The youth also condemned the harassment done by Gonzales and the security personnel. One student was dragged and was forced to surrender his school ID. And Gonzales blatantly tagged Manlupig as a communist whom he said belongs to a group who wants him dead.

“Gonzales is a bigot. His ideas are not only preposterous, his anti-communist tirade belongs to the dustbin of history, as old as US Senator Mc Carthy in the 1950s. We belong to a legal organization fighting for just demands. By publicly declaring that we are communists, Gonzales signed our death sentence, as it is an indirect order for the state mercenaries to arrest, torture and kill us,” Manlupig stressed.

The youth insisted that the objective of Gonzales in the city is to further manipulate the election to serve the interest of Arroyo.

“The presence of Arroyo’s most rabid dogs, including Palparan, Alcover, Nograles and Gonzales, in the city means that Arroyo is desperate to cling to power,” stressed Manlupig. “But we warn you. The youth will not think twice to defend their rights.”

“We will fight these demons until Arroyo and her minions be severely punished,” Manlupig said.

OBL 2, the controversial counter-insurgency program of the US-Arroyo Regime, brought havoc among the citizenry killing thousands of activists, church people, social workers and innocent civilians. As May 10 elections and June 2010 deadline of Arroyo to crush the revolutionary movement nears, massive military operations occur in the regions particularly in Southern Mindanao. ###