THE ALLIANCE  of Concerned Teachers  condemned President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘Huli Week’ as state forces arrested progressive leaders and raided their offices and homes in the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga on Holy Tuesday.

“Instead of focusing all its efforts on controlling the raging pandemic and providing aid to locked down communities, the government opted to take advantage of such restrictions to hunt down their targets for repression and state terror,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

The group said that Florentino ‘Pol’ Viuya, KMU’s Workers Alliance in Region III chairman, and Joseph Canlas, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas vice chairman, were arrested by authorities.

Basilio said both leaders and their organizations have been red-tagged in the last few months.

On Palm Sunday, another red-tagged labor leader was shot dead in Laguna.

“Weeks before that, our own Teacher Lai Consad — ACT Caraga union secretary and Asst. Principal — was unjustly arrested on trumped up charges,” Basilio said.

“The relentless attacks on our organizations and leaders are attacks on the just causes we forward: aid and medical services amid the pandemic, free distribution of lands to farmers, decent wages and salaries, better social services for the people,” he said.