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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Adiong blasts Locsin over post on Palestinian children: 'May your statement land on deaf ears.'

Adiong blasts Locsin over post on Palestinian children: 'May your statement land on deaf ears.'

Published Oct 24, 2023 02:15 am

At A Glance

  • Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong has castigated former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. for his seeming justification on the killing of Palestinian children in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. 

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Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (Facebook)


Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong has castigated former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. for his seeming justification on the killing of Palestinian children in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

"There is no room in Philippine Society, much more in the high offices of government, for the dangerous, bigoted, and islamophobic rhetoric that is palpable in your now deleted statement," Adiong said in an open letter to Locsin that he posted Monday, Oct. 23 on Facebook.

"Under no circumstance is the killing of Palestinian children justified, and it is no laughing matter when more than a thousand Palestinian children have lost their lives in Gaza within this past week alone. Right now, a child dies every fifteen minutes in Gaza," stressed the Mindanao lawmaker.

"May your statement land on deaf ears," he added.

Adiong was referring to an X post from Locsin last Oct. 21 wherein the spoke on "why Palestinian children should be killed". The latter has said that it was a sarcastic post.

Locsin, the current Philippine ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK), is very active on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

"It is unbecoming for any Filipino, much more a high official, to visit genocidal machinations upon innocent children of any nation. An ambassador who is tasked to represent the best of our nation, a defender of our nation's interests, must espouse our nation's commitment to peace and humanity," Adiong said.

FB_IMG_1698102669209.jpgTeddy Boy Locsin Jr. (Rep. Adiong's Facebook)


"That said, under no circumstance should Islam – or any other religion for that matter – be so callously associated with terrorism.

"Not when the terror being unleashed upon the innocent civilians in Palestine is hinged on the erasure of their history and the annihilation of their people – regardless of their religion. Are these not lessons we should have already learned long ago, given the gains of the peace process in the Bangsamoro?" underscored Adiong.

But the solon said he agreed with Locsin's remark that any ideology that enables terrorism must end.

"There should be no room for interpretation – or misinterpretation – when we speak about matters of life and death, because our words are not ours alone. We represent every Filipino of every religion, and we must treat every person with the respect and dignity we want for our people and our nation," he said.

"And as you are fully aware, not all Palestinians are Muslims. There are sizeable number of Palestinian Christians in Gaza. And many of them died in the recent airtrikes on a Baptist hospital and an Orthodox Christian-run hospital," Adiong noted.

Related Tags

zia alonto adiong teddy boy locsin Palestine
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