MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna party-list is asking the Commission on Human Rights to look into the alleged “mass surrender” of its and Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap’s (Kadamay) members in exchange for aid from the government. In a letter to CHR chairperson Jose Luis Martin Gascon, Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares called the supposed mass surrender another instance of red-tagging by President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-communist task force. State-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported that on April 30, around 200 members of Bayan Muna and Kadamay, which it identified as “communist front organizations,” surrendered to the government and withdrew their support for the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army. It is unclear why members of unarmed civilian organizations would “return to the government fold,” but PNA reported that those who surrendered were given rice and grocery items. Bayan Muna, along with the other members of the leftist Makabayan bloc, has been targeted by Duterte’s anti-communist task force for supposedly being front organizations of the underground communist rebellion, though it has yet to provide strong evidence linking them.

Source: Philippine Star May 14, 2021 08:48 UTC