(We yield this space to the statement of ACT Teachers’ Rep. France Castro due to its timeliness. – Ed.)
WE FIND it difficult to stomach that in the midst of the COVID-19 threat, and the hunger and joblessness of Filipinos, the Duterte administration still found time to investigate and threaten with lawsuits public officials who are actually doing their job to ease these hardships. It still found time to run after ordinary citizens who point out the delays in medical and socioeconomic solutions and demand transparency.
What the administration is doing — treating the compassion, competence, and hard work of Vice President Robredo and Pasig City’s Mayor Sotto as “competition” and “quarantine violation” — is plain and simple politicking. Worse, politicking in the midst of a health crisis. The legal attacks against VP Leni and Mayor Vico partly show why government is so slow and inefficient in times of health crisis: Because government chooses to play dirty politics rather than solve the actual problems.
And clearly, the Duterte administration aims to send out intimidating vibes against those who air their sentiments on the government’s lackluster response to COVID-19 and thus cast a chilling effect on freedom of speech. Filipinos are dying, but instead of eliminating COVID, the Duterte administration is eliminating legitimate criticism. Under our Constitution and laws, even in a state of martial law, democracy should still reign — unless the President is doing a Marcos and creating a society where only his version of the “truth” is published and only his supporters can speak.
What is more, the administration is weaponizing a patently unjust and unconstitutional law since Republic Act 11469 punishes acts without even bothering to define them. President Duterte’s emergency powers law exposes itself as mere fakery, hiding behind the name “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.”
We call on the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to speak out against the malicious and oppressive acts of government offices and lawyers in government who weaponize the law amid the COVID crisis.
