A DYSTOPIAN society is a fictional society that imposes a harmful, oppressive and miserable existence upon its members. There is a perception from human rights advocates that our country is fast becoming a dystopian society.
First, there was the Anti-Terrorism Law (Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020) that is intended to prevent, prohibit and penalize terrorism in the Philippines. Human rights groups believe that the law could be used to prosecute political opponents and chill freedom of expression.
The law explains that any act that does not create a serious risk to public safety is not covered. That could be funny because we do not know who will define what is and what is not a serious risk. Activism is not terrorism but if activism is perceived by the government as terrorism, a form of dissent, then it could be terrorism.
Recently, we have a group of Duterte supporters calling for a revolutionary government. The supporters also push for the change in the constitution.... Federalism! (ABS-CBN News, August 22). Are we on a road towards forming a dystopian society?
We are given a scenario that matches a dystopian society. There is strong government control. Under the reign of Covid-19, we have to follow orders. Many eyebrows are raised because our Department of Health is still headed by a secretary who is perceived to be incompetent. The implementation of health guidelines in the community is under the supervision of the military.
Environmental destruction is apparent. The reforms initiated by the late Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez are now gradually forgotten. The mining industry is back on its feet. Industrial firms are operating with less supervision from the concerned government agencies. Chinese fishermen are destroying our marine reserves and use illegal devices on our fishing grounds. Is the Philippines now losing its sovereignty?
Technological control could be felt already. The government threatens companies that are in the technology business. It has shown muscles to ABS-CBN and other information technology providers. There are conspicuous moves that our government is connecting to China to replace our obsolete existing technology. This could be good but we are not sure of the other motives behind.
In this time of uncertainty, survival is the name of the game. For several times, the government is saying that we have no more money. Business flow is restricted because of the pandemic. The government has no tangible move to flatten the curve. Our overseas Filipino workers and locally stranded individuals are still grounded in our local airports and seaports. The government solution is at a turtle pace.
Most Filipinos have no choice but to fall in line or comply with certain standards. If someone starts to question openly the existing social and political system, that someone will be subjected to surveillance. One morning that someone could be dead. The case will just add up in the police crime index as an unsolved case, soon to be forgotten.
Concerned groups safeguarding human rights simply do not want a society that is repressed, controlled, restricted with multiple social controls put in place via government, military or a powerful authority figure. These people may not necessarily be fans of “Hunger Games” wherein in the movie, the government is featured as a perfect example of a structure that embraces dystopian ideology.
Conscientious Filipinos have come to an extreme thought that in our midst there is fear, oppression, exploitation, consumerism and violence of capital society. They do not want to live in a propaganda-motivated civilization. They simply want a good government that protects its citizens in a non-coercive way. They say no to a dystopian society under a dystopian leader.