STAINED RED: How the Duterte administration ‘poisoned’ the country’s values

By Ericka Marie Banting and Alysha Mae Gelvosa

The beginnings of Duterte’s regime promised a bright future for the country. From purging the land of illegal drugs to assigning progressive activists to roles that could give hope for a better tomorrow for the people with the likes of Judy Taguiwalo, Rafael Mariano, and Liza Maza.

People were looking forward for better days under his leadership but things turned sour after a year.

“Sa kalaunan, nakita kung ano talaga ang pagtingin niya and in fact, naging malala at hanggang ngayon, patuloy ang paglala ng pag atake niya sa mga [tao, bukod] sa mga tulad namin na may record na ng paninindigan at nag e-expose ng kahit sino ang nakaupo sa liderato ng aming mga demands at nag e-expose kung ano yung mga mali at palagay ko, eto yung sinasabi kong napakalaking deception na nangyari doon sa limang taong panunungkulan,” GABRIELA party-list Rep. Emmi De Jesus said.

The Duterte administration, despite its few notable feats, continues to stain the country’s cultural values by negatively connoting different forms of activism.

“Mabuti pa kaysa sa wala”, “Kaladkarin ko ang mga jeepney drivers na susuway”, “Yung mga mahihirap, patayin na lang.”

Those are just some of the statements that the President used to counter activism.

“Anong ibig sabihin nito? Degrading. Dine-degrade yung kalidad ng pagiging tao,” De Jesus said.

The relentless harassment with the use of vulgar remarks and outrageous statements undeniably poisoned the country’s cultural values and deprived the citizens of their right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances with respect to Article III Section 4 of the Philippine Constitution.

“That is one of his legacies na very negative, kaya hindi katanggap-tanggap para sa amin yung naging pamumuno ng isang highest position in the land, na ang naging contribution ay ang pag poison ng ating values sa kabataan, sa kababaihan, at doon sa general framework na paano titignan talaga ang magandang buhay,” De Jesus added.

Duterte’s sexist statements and double standards towards females with positions in the government and his childish actions towards women in general are degrading as well.

From ordering soldiers to shoot female rebels in the vagina to him publicly joking about rape and his unwarranted actions towards his employees, it is sickening to see how these things are being normalized and used as jokes in an everyday basis by the President himself.

“Sa lahat na siguro ng statements ng pangulo, mula doon sa kababaihan, sa isyu ng rape, etc. ito yung isang pagdausdus na talaga eh,” De Jesus expressed.

From the promised future of a drug-free Philippines to the bringing down of morale and cultural values, from assigning leaders that care for the masses to the exposing of selfish intentions, activism will prevail despite the attacks on one’s freedom to criticize.

(Ericka Marie Banting and Alysha Mae Gelvosa are Communication and Media Studies students of UP Visayas)