Pinoys in HK rally vs. Duterte’s ‘tyrannical tendencies’

Some Hong Kong-based Filipinos, joined by other nationals, held a protest action on Thursday to condemn what they described as the "tyrannical tendencies" of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The rally, attended by over 60 activists, was held at the Philippine Consulate in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines by the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

A representative of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, a group of trade unions in the city, said they joined the fight of the Filipino people against human rights abuses in the name of Duterte's bloody war on drugs.

Italian priest Father Franco Mella of St. Stephen's Church also cited two cases of Filipino domestic workers whose husbands were killed in May owing to their alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

"One of the women told me that she was just waiting for the political regime to change so she could file her case in court," he said during the picket at the PCG.

The protesters also criticized the impeachment threats against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, who were deemed as critics of the Duterte administration, and the P1,000 budget allocated by the House of Representatives for the Commission on Human Rights for 2018.

They said these moves were reminiscent of Marcos' actions during his reign as a dictator.

On Thursday, thousands gathered at the Luneta to call for a stop to the killings linked to Duterte's anti-drug campaign. 

Duterte declared September 21, 2017 as National Day of Protest so people can air their grievances against what they perceive to be the government's excesses and shortcomings and at the same time express their desire to uphold the highest standards of integrity, efficiency and accountability of their elected officials. —KBK/KVD, GMA News