Category Archive for: pangyayari

komentaryo

Duterte spins the #Sept21 protest #Luneta

President Duterte is trying very hard to spin the September 21 protest in Luneta, by trying to feed whatever divisions already exist, if not by sowing fear in a gathering that government expects will be massive.

One can only take this well. After all, it reveals an acknowledgment of the very valid demand to #StopTheKillings and to say no to tyranny and the return of dictatorship. At the very least, it’s an acknowledgment of how government is being affected by the growing public outcry against the killings. It also reveals that Duterte just does not know how to handle this courageous collective that is taking a stand against the current culture of violence which his government has encouraged.

The best part: when Duterte tries to handle it, he does so by threatening us with a Martial Law declaration and the use of force against citizens. What does that do but prove us all correct about this culture of violence, Presidential rhetoric included?

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komentaryo

How we lost our rights in 15 months #Duterte

I am one of many who gave the Duterte administration a chance. Despite not voting for him, and despite having been very critical of the killings attributed to him in Davao, I thought he deserved about the amount of time I gave PNoy to get used to the position. A year, maybe?

But six months into his term, there were already 6,000 killings attributed to Duterte’s war on drugs, and instead of stopping, he was on a roll, consistently egging the police on, pushing them to kill suspects, and promising them pardon if they kill innocents (or rape women as he promised the military). Instead of backing down and reconfiguring the drug war given the growing body count and contingent outrage, Duterte instead kept saying he will not stop the war on drugs, these people all deserved to die.

Fast forward to the present and there is no other word to describe Duterte by but tyrant. The stage was set for this point where his House of Representatives is giving him absolute power on a silver platter, delivering all that he asks for to ensure that he will not be held liable for any of the violence on our streets and the abuse of our rights.

Things are coming to a head, and it seems it’s important to take stock by reminding ourselves why it has come to this, towards hopefully understanding better where we go from here.

How did we lose our rights in 10 months?  (more…)

komentaryo

Sabotage, malignant elements, damage control

It reeks of desperation, the President now asserting that there is someone out to get his government and / or its war on drugs, which to him is proven by the corpses turning up with heads wrapped in tape.

“The police would not wrap (victims). That is not the job of the police to…you wrap, that’s foolishness. So there are saboteurs. <…> That’s why I have said to, the PNP Chief is here, to closely look into this because we are being sabotaged.”

Sabotaged? It sounds like the President is merely echoing his supporters about a (dilawan) destabilization plot against him, which is really nothing more than an excuse that absolves government of all responsibility for the state of violence on our streets, police brutality included. If we let this pass, and allow Duterte to imagine we believe this narrative to be true, then the next thing we know everything wrong with this government will be blamed on sabotage.

Taguiwalao and Mariano not confirmed? Sabotage! The Senate refuses the terrible National Budget that D(uterte)-House of Representatives is putting together where Oplan Tokhang gets BILLIONS in funding? Sabotage! The Senate puts into question the impeachment of Sereno and Morales? Sabotage! People rally out on the streets against the killings and this culture of violence? Sabotage! And of course the expected (and already articulated outcome): Duterte must now declare Martial Law because look! Saboteurs all around!

We can see through this strategy. And this is so easy to discredit using Duterte’s own words.
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komentaryo

Mocha and the end of troll discourse

If there’s anything the past week has revealed it’s the slow death of troll discourse. It’s entirely possible the social media armies aren’t being paid enough, but it’s also possible that we just have ceased to be afraid of being bullied online. The latter is my more optimistic perspective, because it’s been a year after all, and now more than ever, this government’s strategies of silencing and skewing discourse have been exposed to be nothing more than bad communications and terrible damage control.

The only reason it requires mention at this point in fact, is the existence of one Mocha Uson, whose behavior has not evolved from being rabid Duterte supporter during the campaign to being a government employee whose salary is being paid for by public funds. The latter behooves us all to critique her and her actions — as we should all government officials, especially when they continue to be a source not just of falsity and hate, but also — and more importantly — the most terrible kind of propaganda that justifies the killings of thousands.  (more…)

komentaryo

This is on you, President Duterte

It was a little over a year ago, in July 2016, when President Duterte first talked about pardoning policemen in the name of the drug war. He had been turning defensive because of constant criticism about the human rights violations of his war on drugs and its contingent, growing body count.

In a speech in front of San Beda batches 1971 and 1972, Duterte spoke of how he is the President and therefore is not required to respect due process. And instead of addressing questions about human rights violations, he talked about how the police could point a finger at him for whatever crime they commit in the name of the drug war, and as long as they did not lie to him about what they’ve done, he would pardon them.  (more…)