FALSE charges, unbailable imprisonment, surprise warrants of arrests -- our right and freedom to express our dissatisfaction over the government and the state are deterred by these.
And here we thought that a just and proper state welcomes complaints and oppositions.
A government that is confident in its honest and objective delivery of its duties and services should still stand proud and tall over the many protests and adversities it faces.
However, what we see now is opposition leaders and members being captured left and right.
One recent incident is the capture of Satur Ocampo, while 74 lumads (indigenous peoples), teachers, church workers, and media people were detained in Davao del Sur recently.
In July 2018, four other leftist leaders have been charged with murder and were served with warrants of arrests.
Myles Albasin is still detained in Negros with no further evidence from the plaintiff. Her lawyer, Ben Ramos was murdered. Yet, there was no buzz from the government about it.
Instead of the government recognizing the value and existence of the leftists to further better and straighten the crooked ways of the government and some of its agencies, the opposition is being silenced by charging them with, often, unbailable arrests. The charges vary from impossible to absurd.
However, it is already crystal clear: they were already tagged as rebels or terrorists.
What’s inconsistent is that, most of the reasons or charges in their arrests are far from the tags that have been placed on their heads.
It now looks like the state has just put up together whatever bizarre legal accusations they can come up with just so they could finally capture the ‘noise makers’ – because they could not fully charge them with rebellion or sedition.
It looked like a quick way to finally silence us.
We understand that sedition and rebellion are against the laws of the land. However, instead of farfetched warrants of arrests, the government is burdened to prove that what we are shouting in the streets is illicit and that the means that we use to defend the rights of the masses are criminally offensive.
We are not after the state nor the position. We just want to defend what is rightfully for the poor and oppressed.
Prove first that what we are fighting for is unjust. Prove first that we no longer just assert the right of the oppressed.
Else, stop red tagging us.