Never Again
June 30, 2016, Rodrigo Roa Duterte was elected as the new president of the Philippines. Duterte is the first president from Mindanao and the oldest person to be elected as one. During the candidacy, his name was the talk of the town because of the way he talks, act and the usage of foul words are very new to the eyes of the people when it comes to public officials. Because of Duterte’s famous “iron fist” which he used to discipline or to tone down criminality in his native Davao, many believed that if he will win the presidency, we will experience change. He is very vocal in his campaign that he will kill criminals if he was elected as president— and he kept his word.
On the eve of May 19, 2016 for his election victory, President Duterte said this, “If I make it to the presidential palace I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, holdup men, and do-nothings, you better get out because I’ll kill you.” As soon as he won the presidential 2016, the government launched Oplan tokhang: the Philippines’ war on drugs under Duterte which aims to eliminate illegal drugs in the Philippines. I can still remember how he promised the Filipino people that he will finish drugs and criminality in his first 3-6 months as a president but up until now where many years have passed, his war on drugs just gave the police the power to kill innocent people which resulted to the extrajudicial killings that violate the rights of the poor and helpless people. August 17, 2017, a 17 year old boy student named Kian Delos Santos was helplessly shot by the police while conducting an anti- drug operation. It was followed by many more minor killed under Duterte administration and now, the youngest that they killed is a 3 month old baby named River.
In present time wherein a pandemic is currently happening, Duterte administration did so many things to silence the cries and opinions of his people. In just a span of 7 months where they locked us up in our houses, President Duterte called out the senate to prioritize the passing of the Anti- Terrorism Bill wherein, this bill is a big threat to our human rights and to our freedom of speech. Instead of prioritizing the plans on how they can eliminate Covid19, they chose to prioritize this bill for their own personal reason and desire. Amidst the increasing cases of Covid19 here in the Philippines where many people lost their jobs, and many family is crying for help to support their needs, this administration chose to shutdown the largest broadcast network in our country not thinking of what may happen to those workers who might lose their jobs. Because of this, many feared for the our democracy, freedom of speech and the press freedom.
Injustices and abuse of power are very evident especially in this time of pandemic where Debold Sinas who held a mananita party which is against the quarantine protocols is still free and was almost given a promotion. Koko Pimentel who also violated quarantine protocols and later on tested positive for covid19 is still free and the complaints/case that are filed against him was dismissed by the DOJ. The case of Pemberton wherein, he killed Jennifer Laude, a Filipino transgender woman but despite the crime that he did, they still granted him a parole just because of his good conduct. The tricky part here is that they are not even applying for parole but Pres. Duterte still gave him one. Because of the Philippines’ selective justice system, many poor suffered and still continue to suffer.
Despite having an incompetent government where position and power is more important than a person’s life, I’m still hoping for a change. A change where a leader will put the betterment of his people above all. A leader who is willing to fight for the rights of his countrymen. And a leader who will serve his/her fellowmen with dignity and compassion. Let us recognize our power and be the change that we want to have.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/rodrigo-dutertes-campaign-of-terror-in-the-philippines
https://www.google.com/amp/s/opinion.inquirer.net/83733/can-the-philippines-afford-a-kamay-na-bakal/amp
https://votepilipinas.com/
