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#TINDIGPILIPINAS

Kiko, Risa, Trillanes lead coalition against EJK’s


Several organizations and opposition lawmakers have formed a coalition dubbed #TindigPilipinas to register their protest human rights violations particularly extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration.

Among those at the launch were Senators Francis Pangilinan, Antonio Trillanes IV and Risa Hontiveros.

The member-groups consist of YouthResist, EveryWoman, The Coordinating Group, NGO-PO Alliance, Business and Professional's Group, Akbayan Citizen's Action Party, Magdalo, along with the members of Senate Minority and House Independent Minority.

In a statement, the coalition said it was for a "responsible and accountable government that listens to the people, and is committed to human rights, sovereignty, peace,and the rule of law."

"We see a nation being led down a dark path filled with violence, contempt for law, and hate; where honest debate is not only shouted down, but every attempt at sobriety in public discourse is dismissed with threats," Shamah Bulangis of YouthResist said, reading from #TindigPilipinas' unified statement.

"Free speech has been replaced with hate speech. Humiliation, not just invective, is hurled at women, minorities, dissenters and institutions that incur the ire of the President, his appointees and even by small but vocal groups claiming to speak on their behalf," she added.

"The growing list of poor victims in the so-called war on drugs, nor more than 12,000 has made the public recoil in horror at home and abroad," Bulangis said.

Bulangis said that institutions have been "severely weakened," citing the Department of Justice, the Office of the Solicitor General and the Philippine National Police as examples.

She added that independent institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights, the Ombudsman and the Supreme Court which are "meant to protect the public and exact accountability" have been "openly threatened with impeachment and budget cuts."

"Our nation's security and social stability have been eroded. Lond-standing alliances have been disregarded, while our foreign policy has become compromised," Bulagis said.

"Instead of being a voice of reason, our country has been polarized, notorious for its imprudence and recklessness, our communities paralyzed in fear. Community interventions are viewed with suspicion while China, known to be the source of our drug scourge, is kowtowed to," she added.

 

 

 

 

Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano called on the public to "demonstrate solidarity."

"All of these troubling developments are being done in the name of the Filipino people, the deaths and degradation serving as a smokescreen for the increasingly clear of lack of accomplishments in solving our nation's problems," he said.

"Both the failures in governance and the violence being done to our society affect us all, including those ho had been led to believe the present administration would accomplish change. All of us deserve better. When official actions violate our country's core beliefs, all of us have the right to demand and the duty to say, 'not in our name'," he added.

Alejano also underscored that those who are opposed the Duterte admin are usually tagged as "Dilawan," noting that should not stop their movement.

"Alam naman natin na lahat ng kumukontra ay tinatawag na dilawan. That should not stop us to come together. Ang importante 'wag tayong matakot...Ang grupong ito ay hindi Liberal Party," Alejano said.

 

 

 —NB, GMA News

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