“The IPT belie Marcos Jr.’s posturing that his administration is different, that it has new ways to address the issues facing the country. But until the government changes its programs, rights violations will continue no matter how many foreign trips Marcos Jr. will do.”
“Former President Rodrigo Duterte along with those who conspired to bring such patently false charges against de Lima should be held accountable.”
“Though factually baseless and clearly malicious, I cannot merely dismiss Respondent Duterte’s red-tagging and accompanying grave threats as either figurative, joking, or otherwise benign considering that many victims of extrajudicial killings, illegal arrest and detentions, excommunicado confinements, forced disappearances and other analogous attacks were called or labeled ‘communists,’ members or supporters of the NPA, “terrorists,” and like labels before they were attacked.”
Now, what Duterte is essentially doing is to favor one oligarch over another. And this is no different to what Ferdinand Marcos did during his dictatorial regime, when he simply favored one faction of crony oligarchs over another faction of non-crony oligarchs.
Poet, social commentator and literary scholar Bienvenido Lumbera only had two words when asked what birthday present he would like to receive from the president, “Go away!”
“This bloodthirsty regime fetishes death and violence, and Duterte strongly batting to reimpose death penalty is not surprising but no less infuriating — it’s as if the mass murder of the poor at the hands of the police in the sham drug war or in the hands of soldiers through the counterinsurgency program aren’t forms of death penalty already, while the rich, the regime’s most gung ho allies, and human rights violators can blatantly escape accountability without even an iota of remorse for their crimes.”
President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 27. Bulatlat examines Duterte’s policies on the economy and foreign policy, his COVID-19 response and track record on human rights and the attacks on press freedom and expression since the lockdown.
As we witness the excruciatingly slow and inefficient governance of this administration, more lives are on the line – not only due to the dreaded disease but also due to hunger and desperation.
By DEE AYROSO
By DEE AYROSO
By DEE AYROSO