Moment of Truth:
Time to Speak up and Rise to the Challenge
Roxas City, Capiz
25 August 2017
Maayong aga sa mga pinalangga ko nga mga Capizeño.[1]
I thank you all for being here to listen and show your support and encouragement.
Gustuhon ko man kamu nga makaupod subong nga adlaw para macelebrar ang akun kaadlawan sa maabot nga Domingo kaupod kamu, pero sa subong nga ti-on indi pa pwede. Pero sa pihak sang tanan malipayon man ako sa gihapon kay ginakabig ko gid nga bulawanon nga regalo ang inyo wala katapusan nga pagpalangga kag pagsuporta.[2]
It is an honor and privilege to share with you my views on the true state of the nation, particularly, the human rights situation in our country under the Duterte administration.
Part of our Constitution’s preamble is the Filipino people’s collective aspiration to:
… build a just and humane society… and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace…”
Halos lahat po, kundi man lahat ng kumuha ng abogasya at political science na kurso, kinabisado ang mga linyang ito sa ating Konstitusyon, bilang batayang prinsipyo ng ating batas.
For those who don’t know, the current Philippine President is a lawyer by profession. But obviously, this basic tenet of our laws is not on his mind. On the contrary, he is the first one to violate this.
Piskal pa lang noon, ayon mismo kay Duterte, nagtatanim na siya ng ebidensya. Nung Mayor ng Davao, pumapatay na. At ngayong Pangulo na, ipinag-utos na pumatay ng milyon-milyong Pilipino. Nasaan ang pagiging “makatarungan” at “makatao” sa ganitong klase ng Pangulo?
Paying attention to the President’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July, I could not help but think: This is the reason why our country has turned upside down. Instead of hearing about the government’s accomplishments in the past year and concrete plans for the future, Duterte spewed curses, rants, and insults to his critics.
His latest SONA was reminiscent of his preposterous campaign promises and empty rhetorics; it was full of contradicting statements on pressing issues. He stated that he valued human life but also wanted to pursue retribution and killings.
Mabudlay gid katama nga intiendihon ang paminsaron sang isa ka lain ulo nga Presidente.[3]
Imbes na ilatag ang kanyang plano para sa proyekto ng gobyerno sa “build, build, build,” wala na naman siyang ipinagmalaki kundi ang “kill, kill, kill.”
Last Wednesday, marked the first year since I started the Senate inquiry into the rampant extrajudicial and summary execution in the country.
Just think: When I filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 9 on July 13, 2016 to probe the brazen daily killings, according to reports, only 136 people were killed since the Duterte government took office. And after one month, when the first EJK hearing started, it already ballooned to more than 1,500 deaths.
And what happened? After three hearings, I was ousted as Chair of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights. I was replaced by Sen. Gordon who abruptly ended the inquiry even though there were still witnesses yet to be presented.
Fast forward to August 2017. The War on Drugs has now claimed more than 12,000 lives (and counting), including that of 17-year-old student, Kian Loyd delos Santos. Kian’s death has created an uproar and sparked the call for justice not only for his death, but also for the unlawful demise of all victims of the War on Drugs.
What is happening right now after the brutal murder of Kian is a clear wake-up call to all, especially to our leaders in government, that EJKs are indeed happening and are officiated by some members of our own police force. Even Senators who have previously closed their minds to this reality have now backtracked from their claims.
Nasabi ko na ito sa aking Dissenting Report noon sa Senado ukol sa EJK hearings. Pero nagkibit-balikat lang po ang karamihan sa aking mga kasamahan.
Kian’s death has become the face of the brutal and bloody drug war. But this is not the first time that a minor or child was killed: There were 7-year-old Saniño Butucan of Cebu, 5-year-olds Danica May Garcia of Pangasinan and Francisco Manosca of Pasay City, and 4-year-old Althea Fhem Barbon of Negros Oriental.
Dito po, hindi ko maiwasang manghinayang. Kung noon pa lang, naging masusi na ang pag-iimbestiga sa mga patayan, kung noon pa lang, hindi na pinalampas ang mga pang-aabuso ng mga scalawag na pulis, kung noon pa lang, pinahinto na ng Pangulo ang patayan, at kung hindi lang nanahimik ang karamihan, marami pa sanang mga Kian ang kapiling ng kanilang pamilya. Marami pa sanang Kian ang hindi napagkaitan ng kanilang pangarap.
Ang mga biktima po ay may mukha. Sila po ay hindi lamang mga numero.
This is our challenge: how to get the rest of the nation to relate to the negative impact of human rights abuses – even if we have not experienced the losses and sufferings of the victims and their families.
Let us share the story of Michelle Mergillano of Marikina City: How she was shot four times all in the head by four armed men in front of her children. How her eight-year-old daughter begged for her mother’s life to be spared. How one of the intruders took from her arms the baby she was holding, and thereafter, dropped the baby on the floor before proceeding to kill her. How her children had to clean up the gruesome aftermath of the murder, and found two of her teeth on the floor.
Let us tell the case of James Matela, a 16-year-old boy who was taken from his home in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City, and repeatedly shot – more than 10 times according to witnesses’ accounts – by seven masked men in front of his family. How his mother, Luzviminda, in her attempt to protect her son from the assault, was also shot while other family members were beaten up. How James’ family was too afraid to have his death investigated because there were too many children in the house who might be targeted.
Let it also be known to the public the story of a 12-year-old girl given the alias “Linda,” who saw how her parents were shot in front of her and her siblings in Caloocan City, according to the account of Fr. Gilbert Billena. How, in the eyes of Fr. Billena, change had indeed come for the poor who became more indebted in order to pay for funeral services to bury their mothers, fathers and children killed by the police.
At huwag din natin kalimutan ang kuwento ni Kian: Kung paanong isang gabi, dinakip na lang siya ng mga pulis, pinahawak ng baril, tinaniman ng ebidensya, at habang nakikiusap: “Tama na po, may test pa po ako bukas”, ay walang awang pinagbabaril ng ilang beses hanggang malagutan ng hininga at magsara ang kabanata ng kanyang mga pangarap, para sa sarili at sa pamilya. Tandaan po natin kung paanong pinipilit pa ring pagtakpan ng mga pumatay sa kanya ang kanilang kasalanan, at idahilan pa ang pagiging adik diumano ni Kian.
I believe that defending and upholding human rights in our country is reflected not just through images of blood splattered on the streets; or in photos of corpses piled on top of each other in morgues and hospitals; or in the sufferings of orphaned children – but also, and perhaps ever more so, in the absence of public outrage against the violations of human dignity.
It does bother me that thousands of our countrymen are getting killed, and many of us seem unperturbed. Why is it that the majority of Filipinos are silenced despite the prevalence of violence in our society?
Let us be angry by all this inhumanity. Let us stand up for those who cannot.
Sana umpisa na itong lumalakas na panawagan para sa hustisya sa mga biktima ng EJK at sa pagpapanagot sa tunay na maysala. Noon ko pa tinanong: Saan tayo dadalhin ng mga patayang ito? Kung hindi tayo kikilos, ilang Kian pa po ang mawawala?
As how former Rep. Walden Bello put it: If the rate of killings continues, by the end of six years we will have more than 60,000 people killed, which would make the Duterte drug massacre the third bloodiest in the history of Southeast Asia. The first is the killing of Cambodians in the Khmer Rouge in 1975 to 1978, the second is the killing of communists by the Indonesian military in 1965 and 1966. Rep. Bello even compared Duterte’s drug war to Hitler’s campaign to eliminate the Jews.
Ibang klase po talaga ang Pangulo na meron tayo ngayon. Ang kitid ng pag-iisip. Wala pang direksyon ang pamumuno.
Paano babawasan ang kahirapan? Ang solusyon niya: Patayin ang mahihirap.
Kailangan ng kapital para sa mga proyekto at ayaw ng gulo sa teritoryo. Solusyon: Ibigay sa China kung ano ang atin, at umutang pa ng bilyon-bilyong piso mula sa kanila.
Pag may palpak sa gobyerno. Kasalanan ni De Lima.
Meron pa ring ilegal na droga kahit nakakulong na si De Lima. Sagot ni Duterte: Kasalanan pa rin ni De Lima.
As I said, every time a scandal hits his administration, especially if it is connected to him or somebody close to him, like his dearly beloved son Paolo, Duterte goes on a diversionary tactic by cursing me and other human rights advocates.
But let us not be deceived by this government which always creates scenarios just to replace news headlines that highlight its failed policies and unfulfilled promises. Let us not be fooled by Duterte who is hell-bent to divert the attention of the public from the recent corruption scandal at the Bureau of Customs, where ₱ 6.4B worth of shabu was discovered at the warehouse owned by one of Paolo Duterte’s alleged close Chinese friends. Paolo Duterte was even mentioned to be involved in the so-called “Davao group,” and is being considered by some quarters as “the lord of all drug lords.”
Masyado nga pong nakapagtataka, na kung kailan mainit ang isyu sa Customs at sa nadawit na anak ni Duterte, bigla namang nagkaroon ng “One Time, Big Time” na operasyon ang PNP na kumitil ng mahigit 80 katao sa apat na araw.
Ang hindi nila inasahan, lumabas ang footage ng CCTV camera ilang sandali bago patayin si Kian. Ang panakip butas sana nila sa isyu ng tone-toneladang shabu sa Customs, nagresulta pa sa mas malaking butas na kailangang pagtakpan sa usapin ng EJK.
At hindi natatapos dito ang mapaniil at di-makatarungang gawain ng administrasyong ito.
Sa ilang lugar ng mga maralita tulad ng tinatawag na “Lupang Pangako” sa Barangay Payatas, nagbabahay-bahay ang mga pulis para sa random drug testing: Papaihiin sa isang plastic na lagayan ang mga taong nasa kanilang listahan.
May palit-ulo pa, dahil kung hindi nila datnan sa bahay ang taong hinahanap nila, papaihiin nila ang ibang taong nakatira sa bahay. Ito ang nangyari sa isang 19-taong gulang na lalaki nang hindi datnan ang kapatid niya na nasa listahan.[4] Ganun din ang pagpapaihi sa isang lola, nang hindi datnan ang babaeng nasa listahan ng mga pulis. Nagtanong ang lola, “bakit ako”? Paliwanag ng pulis, sakop raw ng drug testing nila pati mga kamag-anak na dadatnan sa bahay.[5]
Halatang hindi random ang drug testing na ito. Worse, it has no basis in law.Targeted ang drug testing na nagaganap, base sa listahan ng mga pulis na hindi man lang suportado ng warrant mula sa husgado. Malay natin kung listahan ng mga may personal na atraso sa pulis ang mga iyon. O, di kaya, iyon ay listahan ng mga gustong takutin at patahimikin ng mga pulis dahil puwede nilang ibulgar ang mga tiwaling gawain ng ilang miyembro ng hanay ng pulisya.
At mas lalong hindi boluntaryo. Dahil kahit sabihin pa ng mga pulis na hindi nila pinipilit ang mga tao na magpa-drug test, dapat nating tingnan ang delikadong sitwasyon ng mahihirap nating kababayan sa konteksto ng madugo, marahas at nababalot sa kasinungalingan na operasyon ng mga pulis. “Nanlaban”. Ang kaso ni Kian ay nagpapatunay lamang kung gaano kawalang-hiya mag-imbento ng kwento ng panlalaban para lamang ma-justify ang pagpatay sa mga inosente at walang kalaban-laban. Sino ngayon ang maglalakas-loob na manindigan para sa kanilang karapatang pantao? Sino ang magtatanong kung anong batas at kung anong husgado ang nagpapahintulot na gawin ito sa mga tao sa sarili nilang tahanan? Sino ang tututol kung sila ay papatayin? Kaya tutupi na lamang. Iyan ang sambayanang Pilipino, api sa sariling bayan. Walang karapatang tumanggi. Walang karapatan.
Ngunit hindi rin iyan ang buong katotohanan.
May mas malala at mas buktot na aspeto ang house-to-housedrug testing ng mga pulis. Mas buktot at baluktot dahil hindi patas ang pagpapatupad nito, dahil inamin ng mga pulis na hindi nila pwedeng gawin ito sa mga “gated communities” o mga susyal na subdivision ng mayayaman, tulad ng “Forbes Park, Dasmariñas, San Lorenzo, at Urdaneta, which are home to some of the country’s wealthiest families.”[6] Base raw kasi sa records ng pulis “no single resident is involved in illegal drugs,”[7] pero alam nating lahat ang pagkakaiba kung bakit wala sila sa listahan – hindi dahil wala ni isang mayamang tao na nakatira sa mga exclusive subdivision ang gumagamit o nagbebenta ng droga, kundi dahil mayayaman, makapangyarihan at maimpluwensya sila. Sabi nga ng isang barangay official:
“Sa villages naman kasi, siyempre yung tao nakatira, siyempre high-profile. Kilala rin sila sa industriya, kilala sa gobyerno, hindi na sila lalapit pa sa gobyerno para ipa-rehab yung mayroon man.”[8]
Malinaw na iba ang hustisya para sa mahihirap, at iba para sa mayayaman. Para sa mahirap, kakatok, mananakot at kampante na hindi aangal ang mga tao. Para sa mayaman, hihingi ng pahintulot ng kung sino-sino para lamang makatuntong sa loob ng subdivision, tapos parang mga anghel na mamimigay ng flyers sa bahay ng mayayaman at maghihikayat na mag-report kung mayroon silang nalalaman.
Pag mahirap, guilty agad. Ihi agad. Patay agad.
Pag mayaman, due process.
This is our country today. There are more than 100 million Filipinos, only the tiny percentage of the rich are entitled to their rights – because they have the money, power and influence to ensure that their rights will be respected.
What about the poor? What do they have? Supposedly, law is the great equalizer, so that those who have less in life could at least have more under the law. And what greater law seeks to equalize the conditions of the rich and poor, but the Constitution itself? With its provisions on human rights, a whole Article dedicated to the Bill of Rights, and provisions demanding the accountability of government officials, just to name a few?
The poor, like the rich, should also have the law be respected for the protection of their rights.
But in these times, that is not the case. The rich have more in life – more money, more and nicer houses, more and nicer cars, more and nicer of everything, including much, much nicer and more courteous service from the police and the government.
This administration says it is pro-poor? Do you believe that?
Think again. Then think some more. Look around you, and think even more.
It’s a crock of lies. They make promises that they never fulfill. This is not a government of laws. It is a government of bullies. Worse, these are bullies who only prey on the poor, the weak, the hungry. They are suddenly struck dumb, deaf and blind when faced with the prospect of even conducting an investigation into the accusations of smuggling and drug trafficking against the Presidential son.
Corrupt.
Cowards.
That is the only way to describe the people who are killing the Kians of our nation and, at the same time, cannot even investigate the Paolo Dutertes in our society.
They do not stand for the Truth.
They stand for Oppression and Profit.
So Ano Na?
Clearly: This fight is not mine alone. This fight is our fight for the victims of the government’s failed, bloody and hypocritical War on Drugs.
Gaya nga po ng panawagan sa social media: Lahat tayo, posibleng drug pusher. Lahat tayo, bukas makalawa, puwedeng pagbintangan na nanlaban at maging biktima.
Tama na ang pananahimik. Magsalita. Kumilos na.
Sa totoo lang po, hindi nagkulang ang pamilya ko, mga kaibigan, at mga kakilalang nagmamalasakit sa akin. Nagsisimula pa lang po akong maging Senador, ang paalala na nila:
“Manahimik ka nalang muna. Huwag mo nang kontrahin ‘yang si Duterte.”
I refused because it is my strong belief that killing anyone through the power of the State is enough reason for us to express our condemnation and demand for accountability to whoever is at fault.
As what Ninoy once said: “I will never be able to forgive myself if I will have to live with the knowledge that I could have done something and I did not do anything.”
Sa liwat, madamu gid nga salamat sa inyo tanan. Isa gid ka daku nga Bugal para sa akun nga magserbisyo sa mga Pilipino kaupod na dira ang mga pinalangga ko gid nga mga Capizeño. Bugal ko gid nga kaupod ko kamu sa aton nga pagbato sa kamatuoran, hustisya kag demokrasya.[9]
At this point, I would like to share with you a video presentation that poses both a challenge and a plea.
Amid the spate of killings, why are we drowning in silence? Amid the suffering of families of victims, are we just going to turn a blind eye to the abuses and injustice?
[1] Magandang araw po sa mga minamahal kong Capizeño.
[2] Gustuhin ko man kayong makasama ngayong araw para mai-celebrate na rin ang birthday ko sa darating na linggo kasama kayo, hindi pa po posible. Pero masaya na rin po ako, dahil itinuturing kong birthday gift ang walang sawa ninyong pagmamahal at pagsuporta. Salamat po sa pagpaparamdam sa akin na hindi ako nag-iisa.
[3] Mahirap nga po talagang unawain ang pag-iisip ng isang baliw na Pangulo.
[4] http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/23/1731621/police-do-house-house-drug-testing-no-law-allows-it
[5] http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/23/1731621/police-do-house-house-drug-testing-no-law-allows-it
[6] http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/577282/makati-pnp-admits-we-can-t-implement-same-barangay-drug-campaign-in-exclusive-subdivisions/
[7] http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/577282/makati-pnp-admits-we-can-t-implement-same-barangay-drug-campaign-in-exclusive-subdivisions/
[8] http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/577282/makati-pnp-admits-we-can-t-implement-same-barangay-drug-campaign-in-exclusive-subdivisions/
[9] Muli, maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Napakalaking karangalan para sa akin ang maglingkod sa sambayanan kasama ang mga pinalangga kong Capizeño. Isang karangalan po ang makasama kayo sa ating laban para sa katotohanan, sa hustisya at sa demokrasya.