Protesters brave rainy EDSA to denounce EJK

QUEZON CITY , Philippines — “Sigaw ng taong bayan, itigil ang patayan!” hundreds of protesters cried as they flock to the EDSA People Power Monument at 6pm on a rainy Monday to denounce President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs triggered by the death of 17-year old Kian delos Santos.
Delos Santos is one of the 81 killed in a simultaneous police operations conducted last week.
Clad in black and represented by different sectors, protesters claim that staging this rally was a way to express outrage to thousands of lives lost due to this ongoing campaign.

“Walang inang dapat inililibing ang kanilang anak, ngunit 13,000 ngayon ang pinapatay pa. Nandito kami para baguhin ang kultura ng pananakot at kasinungalingan,” said Jean Enriquez from Coalition Against Trafficking in Women — Asia Pacific (CATW-AP), referring to the rising death toll from the simultaneous anti-drug operations held last week.
Celebrities and influencers spotted at the rally were musician Jim Paredes, political activist Mae Paner or “Juana Change” and veteran actor Pen Medina.
The youth speaks up
Dominated by the youth, the rally was attended by different groups including Youth Resist, Millennials Against Dictators, Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) Youth Philippines and students mostly from the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and University of the Philipines (UP) Diliman.
Protesters clamored that only the rich is given the right to due process while the poor is stripped off the rights to fair trial and justice to live.

“Due process is a right, not a privilige,” said Dakila group member Tasha Kintanar.
As of 7pm, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) estimated the crowd to 600. Police Supt. Ariel Capocao said that it was a “peaceful rally” with this number. However, organizers claim that around a thousand protesters attended despite the rain.
Jovelyn, 18, came all the way from Commonwealth to seek justice for her friends and classmates who have been victims of the extrajudicial killings (EJK’s).
“Yung kaibigan ko namatay sa tokhang, kahit kapangalan at kalugar lang,” she told The Manila Times.
Couple Angel and Myrza Sabas, who were also present at the EDSA rally in 1986, claim that they are here again to express indignation for the government.

“We live in Manila and we are afraid. We feel for the children.”
“Nandito kami hindi lang para kay Kian, kundi para sa Pilipino. Democracy is worth fighting for.” they added.
Blood still sheds
34 years ago today, Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was killed, also sparking numerous EDSA protests to throw out dictator and former President Ferdinand Marcos who was allegedly linked to Aquino’s assassination.
According to data gathered by human rights organization Amnesty International (AI), 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 tortured, and 3,240 were killed during Marcos’ regime.
Today, out of 13,000 victims, around 4,000 lives were already lost in this ongoing drug campaign since President Duterte took office last year.

