Press Release
March 9, 2007

Statement on the Arrest Warrant on Rep. Satur Ocampo

Sen. Ralph Recto today expressed fears that the arrest warrant for Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo on murder charges when taken against the backdrop of the unsolved killings of activists might trigger a better Red than dead mentality among activists.

I hope that these developments will not lead them to abandon the legal struggle, he said.

It will be a Great Leap Backward, Recto warned, if activists who have opted the parliamentary route in achieving reforms will be forced to go underground.

That possibility, he said, would just give the already waning armed underground movement a much needed shot in the arm.

If we dont give them space and push them against the wall, they will go underground in droves and apply their talents in energizing their movement, he said.

This is what happened after the declaration of Martial Law, when mass arrests triggered an exodus of otherwise peaceful reformers into the path of armed resistance, Recto said.

Recto urged Rep. Ocampo to give our legal system, though flawed, one last chance before considering other career options.

This as he expressed confidence that our democracy is strong enough to accommodate other views.

We should celebrate our diversity and discuss our differences. We must not suppress ideas, even those expounded by a few, which must be allowed in the marketplace of ideas, he said.

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