The killings just won’t stop

By Joshua Corcuera

 

During my first semester in college at Adamson, I remembered my professor in Ethics telling us an ancient curse: may you live in interesting times. He told the class that we are indeed living in such times. This came to my mind following the killing of activist and National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant Randall Echanis in Quezon City during the wee hours of August 10. In less than a week, human rights activist and research and advocacy officer Zara Alvarez met the same fate after being shot in Bacolod. It isn’t a great time to be an activist in this country, even when such people are needed to promote inclusive growth and achieve genuine progress in this nation.

 

Cruel and inhumane society

One part of the preamble in the Philippine Constitution mentioned that we, the sovereign Filipino people, implore the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society. It seems, however, that the country we’re living in is neither just nor humane. Instead, we are living closer to a cruel and inhumane society for the past few years — the recent killings would attest to that claim. Some people claimed that it is necessary to punish those who commit violations in society; though this is true, everyone must strictly observe and respect the due process of law. Otherwise, we’re living in a society ruled by the law of man where those who are killed and arrested may have not even committed a crime.

 

For the nth time, activism is not terrorism 

Prior to the passage of the Anti-Terror Act into law, dissidents have warned that it could tag activists and critics as terrorists. Moreover, they cautioned that those who are critical of the administration can be threatened or even killed with impunity. Based on the terrible fate of Echanis and Alvarez, they were right. Even though their assailants haven’t been identified yet, the message is clear: do not speak up against the regime or meet the same fate. However, history dictates that when those in power force to silence the people, the noise will become even louder. For instance, despite shutting down the media and silencing critics upon declaring martial law in 1972, the press still operated underground and — ultimately — Marcos was ousted in a revolution in 1986.

Instead of threatening activists and silencing critics, politicians and people alike should learn and appreciate the fact that activism is not terrorism. After all, activists — such as Jose Rizal, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. — have created a lasting impact on their nations. More importantly, the concerns of the marginalized must be freely expressed if the powers that be are true to their promise of change.

 

Stay silent, stay slaves

Besides the curse I mentioned earlier, another thing that came to my mind was my teacher in sixth grade, who told us to learn by heart the preamble of the Constitution, and to understand the Bill of Rights. At first, it’s difficult to understand the words in it and what it’s trying to reach out. But, as the years have gone by, I realized its importance when great socio-political events occur. When political decisions have affected too many in a negative manner, people would eventually go out and break their silence. In the middle of the pandemic, protests are erupting all around the world — from Thailand where people are fed up with a military junta, to Belarus where Europe’s last dictator won a sixth term in a controversial election. But there’s one tagline from Thai protesters which I wanted to share: stay silent, stay slaves. When people are greatly aggrieved because of those in power, it’s time to express our grievances. And Filipinos may do as such in the near future, as dissenters grow in social media. As one concerned citizen said in regard to the killings of Echanis and Alvarez, we now know who the real terrorist is.