By Jeffrey Damicog
Former Quezon Representative Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III on Friday (August 9) described as “harassment” the sedition complaint filed against him and other members of the opposition.
Former Quezon Representative Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III
(“Erin” Tañada FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
“This is political harassment,” the Liberal Party (LP) vice president said in a statement.
Tañada, who lost in the senatorial race under the LP’s “Otso Diretso” slate, was at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday morning to attend the start of the preliminary investigation of the complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) against him and his co-respondents.
“This is the biggest case the collective opposition has so far faced under this administration. The Vice President, lawmakers, former senatorial candidates, human rights activists, private citizens, even priests and bishops have not been spared in this massive legal attack against those who have not stayed silent against the mass murder of drug suspects, the kowtowing to China, and the revisionism of Marcos history,” he lamented.
Tañada assured that they will not be silent over issues that the administration should face.
“If they think they can silence us. If they think that these attacks would stop us from telling the truth. If they think dragging us down in the courts of public opinion would quiet dissent, they are wrong,” he stated.
“Dissent is essential to a democracy. We will continue to fight against abuses of power. We will continue to call out questionable actions and decisions. Most importantly, we stand by our people and continue to defend our democracy,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tañada expressed confidence that the panel of prosecutors handling the case will rule in favor of the respondents.
“We put faith in our institutions that they remain firm in upholding the truth. We encourage our people to think critically and to not be afraid. We are on the right side of history,” he said.