Impunity rears its ugly head
Published Oct 8, 2022 12:05 am
PAGBABAGO
Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid
Just recently, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and President Marcos, Jr.’s administration noted that they would like to see the Philippines as an upper-middle income country by 2028. That it would have a single-digit poverty incidence rate, a narrowing budget deficit, and lower public debt ratio which is close to pre-pandemic levels.
Laudable goals, but can we really hack it? Are these doable considering recent headlines that sound alarm bells over current acts of impunity.
In 2012, “Crimes and Unpunishment: The Killing of Filipino Journalists” published by UNESCO and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication documented major crimes against Filipino journalisms since 1986. With a total of 125 killed by then, the country had the dubious distinction of becoming “the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists.” Six Filipino scholars analyzed the reasons for this seeming “culture of impunity from these perspectives: anthropological, psychological, political, political economy, structural-legal and mass media.”
Today, we see impunity rear its ugly head again – in the spate of media killings, in health and education budgets, disinformation, and attacks against the justice system.
The recent killing of broadcaster and vlogger Percy Lapid who was gunned down near his home at a gated Metro Manila village had drawn uproar among several European governments and North America. Here, Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos had offered ₱500,000 to anyone with information on the assailants. Lapid is known for his biting criticisms aired on radio and on social media. His YouTube account had 218,000 subscribers and a Facebook page with 50,000 followers.
It is feared that this would have a chilling effect that would limit capacity of our journalists to report news freely and safely, the Canadian and Dutch embassies which are co-chairs of the global Media Freedom Coalition said.
Then there is the much-criticized “red-baiting” or red-tagging by Lorraine Badoy, former spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict of Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, presiding judge of Manila Regional Trial Court. The latter had issued a 135-page court resolution where she dismissed the Department of Justice’s petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-National People’s Army (CPP-NPA) terrorists. A portion of the decision reads: “Nothing is better arrested by present realities than that terrorism does not flourish in a healthy, vibrant democracy… Efforts to counter insurgency should include respect for the right to dissent, to due process, and to the rule of law.” This decision was based on Judge Malagar’s conclusion after studying the CPP’s 10-point program.
Various individuals and groups — Human Rights’ Karapatan, two groups of trial court judges, Philippine Judges Association, Hukom, Inc., over 170 lawyers, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, among many, slammed Badoy’s attacks on the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.
Finally, the ₱150 million additional funding for “intelligence funds” requested by the Department of Education came under fire at the Senate Finance Committee where Sen. Risa Hontiveros noted that it was ₱9 million more than the ₱141 million sought by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) itself.
While acts of impunity continue to occur, the fact that our citizens are still emboldened to speak out, demonstrates that democracy is still alive!
My email, [email protected]
Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid
Just recently, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and President Marcos, Jr.’s administration noted that they would like to see the Philippines as an upper-middle income country by 2028. That it would have a single-digit poverty incidence rate, a narrowing budget deficit, and lower public debt ratio which is close to pre-pandemic levels.
Laudable goals, but can we really hack it? Are these doable considering recent headlines that sound alarm bells over current acts of impunity.
In 2012, “Crimes and Unpunishment: The Killing of Filipino Journalists” published by UNESCO and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication documented major crimes against Filipino journalisms since 1986. With a total of 125 killed by then, the country had the dubious distinction of becoming “the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists.” Six Filipino scholars analyzed the reasons for this seeming “culture of impunity from these perspectives: anthropological, psychological, political, political economy, structural-legal and mass media.”
Today, we see impunity rear its ugly head again – in the spate of media killings, in health and education budgets, disinformation, and attacks against the justice system.
The recent killing of broadcaster and vlogger Percy Lapid who was gunned down near his home at a gated Metro Manila village had drawn uproar among several European governments and North America. Here, Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos had offered ₱500,000 to anyone with information on the assailants. Lapid is known for his biting criticisms aired on radio and on social media. His YouTube account had 218,000 subscribers and a Facebook page with 50,000 followers.
It is feared that this would have a chilling effect that would limit capacity of our journalists to report news freely and safely, the Canadian and Dutch embassies which are co-chairs of the global Media Freedom Coalition said.
Then there is the much-criticized “red-baiting” or red-tagging by Lorraine Badoy, former spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict of Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, presiding judge of Manila Regional Trial Court. The latter had issued a 135-page court resolution where she dismissed the Department of Justice’s petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-National People’s Army (CPP-NPA) terrorists. A portion of the decision reads: “Nothing is better arrested by present realities than that terrorism does not flourish in a healthy, vibrant democracy… Efforts to counter insurgency should include respect for the right to dissent, to due process, and to the rule of law.” This decision was based on Judge Malagar’s conclusion after studying the CPP’s 10-point program.
Various individuals and groups — Human Rights’ Karapatan, two groups of trial court judges, Philippine Judges Association, Hukom, Inc., over 170 lawyers, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, among many, slammed Badoy’s attacks on the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.
Finally, the ₱150 million additional funding for “intelligence funds” requested by the Department of Education came under fire at the Senate Finance Committee where Sen. Risa Hontiveros noted that it was ₱9 million more than the ₱141 million sought by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) itself.
While acts of impunity continue to occur, the fact that our citizens are still emboldened to speak out, demonstrates that democracy is still alive!
My email, [email protected]