‘KILL KILL KILL’ (4)

IPINALIWANAG ko sa aking unang aklat “KILL KILL KILL Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines; Crimes Against Humanity vs Rodrigo Duterte Et. Al.” ang takbo ng pag-iisip ni Gngdi sa malawakang patayan sa ilalim ng kayang termino. Ano ang doktrina na sinunod niya sa kanyang panguluhan?

Mayroon akong pangalawang aklat sa kasalukuyan. Ito ang pamagat sa ngayon “BUMPS Fifty Years of Dictatorship and Democracy in the Philippines (1972-2022).” May mga ilang paggambala sa akin sa mga nakalipas na buwan at ito ang dahilan kung bakit naantala ang pagtatapos ng pangalawang aklat.

Itinulad ko sa isang kalye ang daan tungo sa demokrasya. Maraming lubak at hindi ito patag. Mga tangkang guluhin ng bansa at mga malawakang pagnanakaw sa gobyerno. Maaaring matapos koi to sa Hunyo at kung papalarin, lalabas sa Hulyo o Agosto palimbagan ang mga sipi ng panibagong aklat.

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INTERFERENCE. Duterte violently reacted to the {International Commission of Jurists]’s letter, describing it as “interference” into the Philippine internal affairs. Duterte made a series of condemnations on the criticisms lodged against him in several public engagements and fora. He claimed that the ICJ prognosis and its recommendations were outrageously wrong and way out of line. Virtually frothing at the mouth in anger, Duterte rejected without reservations the ICJ recommendations and warned not just the ICJ, but the entire global human rights community that they face arrest and murder too – if its advocates enter the Philippines.

In what appeared to be his way to turn the table against the people in illegal drug trade, Duterte came out with a purported list of about 1,000 personalities, whom he alleged to have been involved in illegal drugs.8 Duterte brandished the list in several fora and mentioned names, whom, he said, were listed, but no independent confirmation came out on the veracity and integrity of his much ballyhooed list of over 1,000 names. Neither did he mention and explain any process of vetting the list. They were all just claims, albeit empty and done in an atmosphere of bravura and bravado. Incidentally, some names he mentioned were long dead or ailing. It was an exercise in futility as the list was virtually of very little or no value at all.

Rodrigo Duterte went to the extent of encouraging police officers to keep on killing suspects (drug users, pushers, and retailers etc.) under his war on drugs. In several speech engagements, Duterte used the line “sagot ko kayo (I’m answerable for you)” as his way to assuage their hesitation to go on killing sprees. His line could have perked up the law enforcers for the official statistics on EJKs kept on going up for a while.

DUTERTE DOCTRINE. Infamous modern-day dictators in history ordered the murder of millions of people mainly on the bases of certain doctrines – racial or ideological. Joseph Stalin, dictator of the old Soviet Union, and Mao Zhedung, ruler of China, murdered millions because they claimed they were the “class enemies,” representing the bourgeoisie, or the people, who had kept on exploiting the long suffering masses, who belonged to their antithesis, or the “exploited class” or the proletariat. The classical Marxist lines posited that the interest of the working class could be best upheld and sustained by the ideological lines that included the physical extermination of their class enemies.

German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered the murder of six million Jews, and hundreds of thousands of homosexuals, persons with disabilities (PWDs), Gypsies, and Slavs because of racial doctrines that identified them as physically and racially inferior to the Aryan race. Hitler was a believer of the concept of racial superiority and its flipside – racial cleansing. This is the reason he has been viewed as a villain in modern history. By mere accident of birth, or because he was born a Jew or a PWD, he was physically exterminated.

Rodrigo Duterte was neither a believer of racial nor class superiority. He could not be counted along with Stalin, Mao, and Hitler. But he believes in the perverted doctrine that drug users are “lowlifes,” whose brains “have been cooked” by frequent drug use. These people are beyond redemption, he claimed with an air of finality. They can no longer be rehabilitated to return to society and become productive citizens again. Ergo, they should be exterminated. There is no better way to exterminate them but to adhere to his concept of war on drugs. His distorted anti-drug war would ensure their social and physical elimination.

Duterte spoke of his doctrine, not once, or twice, but in several speaking engagements. It was believed that many police officers have felt enamored with his distorted beliefs. Falling victims to his shortsighted views, they were the police officers, who were believed to have been mostly engaged in the Project Double Barrel. Duterte did not offer empirical basis for his assertions, but believers have taken them as gospel truths. They hardly raised any opposition, but followed him blindly.

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SA aking social media account, ipinaliwanag ko na may pagkakatulad ang ginawa ni Bato dela Rosa sa pagtatraydor ni Brutus kay Julius Caesar. Inalagaan ni Caesar si Brutus hanggang maging isang senador sa imperyo ng Roma, ngunit nagtaksil at sumama sa sabwatan sa pagpatay kay Caesar. Aking isinulat:

“The dramatic scene this afternoon at the Senate could have been the “Ides of May.” It was not far from the dramatic scene when Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the ill-fated Ides of March. ‘You too,’ the bloodied Julius Caesar, who was on his death throes, told Brutus, who was among the guys who slew Julius. The Shakespearean drama pointed out that when Julius Caesar became ambitious, the Roman senators slew him. Migz Zubiri merely protected Gongdi at BBM’s expense. He’s a guy of doubtful loyalty. Of course, those guys hardly know the classics… They could not make a spin on that classic scene… They are too dumb (or dumbfounded) to make a strong case out of it. It’s like asking for the moon. Uso ang tanga at bobo, ngayon.”

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MGA PILING SALITA: “Traditions and history show that we are a storytelling people. We prefer to hear stories rather than read them. That is why it is a challenge to cultivate a love for reading. We should cultivate that culture of reading to our young people.” – PL, netizen, kritiko

“It is always unfortunate when the Senate leadership changes just because the ousted leadership does not cater enough to Malacañang. But the reality of our politics is such that despite a bicameral Congress theoretically independent of Malacañang, the Senate President, a Senator, and the Senate can only go so far in not doing Malacañang’s bidding. I experienced this firsthand when I investigated Duterte’s EJKs. I was stripped of my committee chairmanship and worse, imprisoned and severely vilified. That was of course far worse than a mere leadership ouster, but the issue remains to be the independence of the Senate and the Senators’ willingness to fiscalize the Executive Branch. As such, Malacañang getting its way every time with the Senate is not a good thing as it goes against the very principles of checks and balance and separation of powers. At some point the Senate has to stand steadfast to defend its independence from Malacañang. Yesterday’s Senate leadership change was not one of those days when it did.” – Leila de Lima, dating senadora