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CHR says taking steps over death threat vs Martial Law survivor

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<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2403406" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>MANILA—The Commission on Human Rights on Friday said it&#x27;s taking steps to investigate the death threat against Bonifacio Ilagan, a co-convenor and spokesperson of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA).Ilagan, an award-winning playwright, activist, and Martial Law survivor, said Wednesday that he had received the death threat through a phone call for the &quot;first time.&quot;In a statement, the CHR condemned the threat against Ilagan, noting the perpetrator allegedly asked Ilagan to &quot;stop&quot; what he was doing.&quot;We commend our law enforcement counterparts who are also looking into this case. The Commission stands against any form of intimidation, harassment, and threat to life which assaults people&#x27;s freedom and dignity,&quot; the commission said.&quot;The Commission stresses that in a democratic country, it is only natural for different, sometimes conflicting, political perspectives to emerge in matters of history and the arts. It is in the interest of the State to protect the freedom of expression in these spaces of discourse from threats of violence. Conflicting opinions often facilitate the synthesis of a peaceful, democratic middle ground,&quot; it added.Ilagan earlier said the threat that he received on the afternoon of Jan. 2, 2023, came from a man who claimed to be part of a &quot;unit&quot; tasked to &quot;eliminate&quot; communists. &quot;He introduced himself as a commander something,&quot; Ilagan said of the person who made the threat, adding he&#x27;s not a communist. &quot;He knew enough of me.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/01/04/23/i-was-shaken-martial-law-survivor-ilagan-gets-death-threat">&#x27;I was shaken&#x27;: Co-convenor of group against Marcoses details receiving death threat</a></li></ul>Asked if the man meant to kill him, Ilagan said, &quot;In the context of his message and in the context of everything that has been happening around, there was no other reason for me to interpret &#x27;get&#x27; [for] &#x27;kill.&#x27;&quot; CARMMA has condemned the death threat, saying it was because the activist courageously stood up for his principles.&quot;We take this latest threat against Boni Ilagan as still another proof of the overweening arrogance of the Marcoses and their ilk and their utter lack of remorse for their crimes,&quot; it said in a statement.The military has yet to release a statement on Ilagan&#x27;s accusation. The Marcos family also has yet to comment on the issue.Ilagan suffered mental and physical torture during the administration of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father and namesake of the incumbent President.Ilagan&#x27;s sister was among those who disappeared during the Marcos Sr. dictatorship.

In a statement, the CHR condemned the threat against Ilagan, noting the perpetrator allegedly asked Ilagan to 'stop' what he was doing.