Made by Duterte
During a time of crisis, the people are silenced.
In May 2020, the Philippines’s biggest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, was forced off-air leaving 10,000 people unemployed and a vital source of information dissemination eradicated. President Duterte passed the Anti-Terrorism Law in July, allowing critics, journalists, and anyone who speaks out against the administration immediately liable to be arrested without warrants or charges.
During a time of crisis, the killings persist.
The police have killed 50 percent more people between April to July 2020 than they did in the previous four-month period. In total, since Duterte took office in June 2016, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has officially recognized 5,810 persons killed as of the end of July 2020 but that does not include deaths from unidentified assailants.
Nine Tumandok Indigenous people were killed and 10 others were arrested in police operations on Panay Island in December in a bloody massacre. 61 lawyers have been killed under the Duterte Administration to date. In December, police officers of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) simultaneously raided the houses of six trade unionists and a journalist and arrested them. Just this month, the police and military served a total of 24 search warrants in the Calabarzon region, leading to 9 deaths and 6 arrests.
During a time of crisis, who can we trust?
Now more than ever, the number one priority should be saving lives. Instead, the killings continue. The Philippines has been in a tango with death this pandemic, circling back and forth between shapeless plans and hundreds of lives lost for reasons besides COVID-19. Targeting activist groups, lawyers, journalists, media groups when information dissemination and discourse is more valuable than ever makes the Filipino people more vulnerable than ever before. Where do the priorities of our government lie? When all hands should be on deck saving lives, there are fingers around triggers and civilians behind bars.
The pandemic has surrounded us by death; we are governed by rulers with bloody hands.
This is the Philippines, a year into lockdown, made by Duterte.
Sources
Aspinwall, Nick. “9 Indigenous Leaders Killed by Philippine Police in ‘Massacre.’” Thediplomat.com, 2021, thediplomat.com/2021/01/9-indigenous-leaders-killed-by-philippine-police-in-massacre/.
“Killings in Philippines up 50 Percent during Pandemic.” Human Rights Watch, 8 Sept. 2020, www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/08/killings-philippines-50-percent-during-pandemic.
“Record High Killing of Philippine Lawyers.” Human Rights Watch, 15 Mar. 2021, www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/15/record-high-killing-philippine-lawyers.
“World Report 2021: Rights Trends in Philippines.” Human Rights Watch, 16 Dec. 2020, www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/philippines.
