Socialist Alliance condemns attack on Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) delegation in the Philippines

Socialist Alliance condemns the violent attack that occurred yesterday (April 19) in Mindanao, targeting Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) presidential candidate and labour leader Leody de Guzman.

Shots were fired at the PLM delegation, led by de Guzman, while they were visiting the ancestral lands of the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe in Quezon, Bukidnon.

The tribe has been protesting land-grabs on their ancestral lands and the attack was clearly politically motivated.

PLM said several shots were fired during a meeting between PLM and the leaders of the tribe. Five people were wounded, including a farmer organiser, who was standing beside de Guzman at the time, and a tribal leader.

De Guzman was unharmed.

PLM is contesting the election on a radical anti-capitalist platform, challenging the Marcos-Duterte alliance in the presidential race.

Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year authoritarian rule has been marked by extra-judicial killings and political violence, under the guise of a “war on drugs”.

We call for an end to political violence against the opposition in the Philippines.

We stand in solidarity with Leody de Guzman and PLM in their fight for a new political and economic vision for the Philippines.

Socialist Alliance (Australia)

April 20, 2022.