Senator Leila de Lima said she is not ‘second guessing’ President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of “state of lawlessness” but called on the people to be vigilant in making sure their rights are not violated.
“I will not second guess the judgment of the President in declaring the existence of a state of lawless violence, when he himself cites the example of the extra-judicial killings of the past two months and now the terrorist attack in Davao. He is in the best position to determine the propriety or not of issuing such a declaration,” de Lima said in a statement released via her official Facebook page on September 4.
De Lima cited how there is an average of 36 extrajudicial killings per day in the past two months, considering it lawless violence. She added that if Duterte’s recent declaration could stop these killings, “then so much the better.”
Amid Duterte’s declaration, the senator called on the Filipinos to protect their own rights.
“While it is for the President to decide what powers are needed to respond to the current situation, it is also for the people to be vigilant that the government response to the crisis does not result in the restriction of their civil liberties and political rights,” de Lima said.
She added that the people should also remind the government about the limitations of its power and to watch out for abuse.
De Lima said that with the current nationwide policy of the state of lawlessness, the government should “be clear” in pinpointing the State’s enemies and treat them with the appropriate response depending on the level of threat they pose to the country’s security.
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She went on to say how wrong it is to “lump together” all groups identified by the government as “threats to national security” as the minds behind the attack in Davao City.
“It is more than inappropriate to characterize in the same breath the extremist terrorist attack in Davao City also as an act of ‘narco-terrorism,’ or worse, as having been funded by the political opposition – the first as advanced by the PNP (Philippine National Police) chief [Director General Ronald dela Rosa], and the second by a well-known ideologue of the Duterte Administration – without any verification or validation,” de Lima said.
De Lima did not agree with attributing the attack from an extremist group as a conspiracy against the Philippines, brought together by the drug lords, terrorists, and the legitimate political opposition.
She added that the Davao bombing “should never be used as an excuse to crack down on civil liberties, political rights, and legitimate dissent.”
The senator also hoped that Duterte’s “close advisers” and other officials will not lead to using every terror attack to “wag the dog.” In the 1997 movie “Wag the Dog” with Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman in the leads, the US President started a war scenario to cover up a sex scandal. The idiomatic expression also means, “When something of secondary importance improperly takes on the role of something of primary importance.”
De Lima said that she wanted the Malacañang officials and the President’s advisers to clarify that the threat comes from terrorism, “not democracy and free speech.”
She also condemned the Davao City night market bombing on Friday, calling the attack “not only a terrorist act, but a violation of international humanitarian law as a war crime consisting of an attack on a civilian population.” She called those responsible behind the attacks “war criminals.”
De Lima sent her condolences to the families of the victims who died and got injured in the attack.
This official statement from the senator came after a false statement attributed to her started circulating online.
Sources: (facebook.com, urbandictionary.com)
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