The brave Filipino rights advocates

THE brave Filipinos who love their country are committed to helping the poor and the exploited and are changing the culture of corruption and injustice that pervades our nation are being killed and arbitrarily arrested. Good people must support them and their cause for social justice and demand an end to the violence against them. Wayward police and military units are allegedly killing human rights activists, labor leaders, journalists, and advocates for exploited farmers, workers and Indigenous peoples (IPs).These are courageous Filipinos whom the nation should be proud of, and take a stand to defend them and not believe the false claims and slurs against their work for the poor and the exploited.These are good people who are truly Christian in doing good, who stand with the oppressed and the exploited. They are dedicated to helping them find justice, standing up against evil forces and helping transform society for the better. This is the mission of Jesus of Nazareth when he was on Earth, and his dedicated followers are taking this on today.Jesus showed the way and did great good for the poor. He challenged the political leaders of his day when he cleansed the Temple of the corrupt traders whom the authorities had allowed to desecrate. From that day, he was a target for assassination. Today, his followers who do the same are also branded as enemies of the state and "red-tagged" as communist insurgents. In fact, the majority of them are humanitarian workers and human rights advocates. Like Jesus himself, they are falsely branded subversives and targeted for execution.One of these advocates is Cirila Estrada, who has dedicated her life to campaigning for the rights of exploited Filipino farmers. She and fellow human rights activist Victor Pelayo were red-tagged, thus considered a threat to the Philippine government and its military.If a few hundred human rights advocates helping farmers, workers and IPs could threaten the government, then it is very weak, indeed. Do members of the military fear the truth and shiver in their boots because of the human rights advocacy of Christian humanitarian workers?Cirila once won a court case against bad actors in the anti-subversive units of the military. The armed communist movement is almost dead, so these army units apparently had to find and frame innocent humanitarian workers as subversives to keep their intelligence funds flowing into their accounts. They have to show success, real or not.Cirila was charged with possessing firearms and explosives. But the judge dismissed the charges, and she was declared innocent. This seemed to have infuriated the military commanders, and retaliation was swift. Cirila and Victor went missing in Capiz on August 29. They were allegedly arrested by military personnel and hidden away or executed. These are the latest in a long line of arbitrary arrests and enforced or involuntary disappearances. These disappearances were so many that the 2012 Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act was passed. But it is rarely implemented, as it is unlikely that wayward authorities would investigate those disappearances themselves. An independent international probe is needed where the investigators would not be intimidated.Members of the police and military allegedly get latitude to kill and abduct by a grateful ruling elite who need death squads and killers in uniform to protect their corrupt business interests from investigators and rights advocates. The ruling elite have a money-making system for themselves that leaves 16 million Filipinos in dire poverty. Who else would benefit from this state policy to silence dissent?It is not communism the elite fear but the revelation of the truth. Hundreds of journalists have been killed, too. Did Jesus not say the truth will set you free? That is free to speak the truth, free from fear, injustice and poverty, free to live a happy life. The Asian Forum for Development and Human Rights has claimed that since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. came to power in June 2022, the number of enforced disappearances, abductions and arbitrary arrests has grown.In August 2023, prosecutors from the Department of Justice dismissed charges against 17 police officers over the killing of nine labor organizers. The case was brought by the wife of Emmanuel Asuncion, a labor leader who was killed with eight others in March 2021 during a police operation in Central Luzon.The murder of radio journalist Percival Mabasa, better known as Percy Lapid, in October 2022 apparently followed his on-air criticism of high government personalities. His confessed assassin has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, along with four others, but the mastermind has not been identified and charged. Longtime activists James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr. are believed to have been abducted by state forces last August.Human rights group Karapatan has also reported on the disappearance of environmentalist Rowena Dasig, who was released from police detention on August 22 after she was acquitted of illegal possession of firearms. In August 2023, teenagers John Francis Ompad and Jemboy Baltazar were shot dead by police in Rizal province and Navotas, respectively. The following month, human rights lawyer Maria Saniata Liwliwa Gonzales Alzate was shot dead by a death squad in Bangued, Abra province.All these met their deaths, speaking and working for justice. It seems evil forces wish to eliminate them and silence those who work for the greater good. Who would be killed next?We need faith that will move mountains of evil and replace them with goodness and convince people that the power of good will win.

THE brave Filipinos who love their country are committed to helping the poor and the exploited and are changing the culture of corruption and injustice that pervades our nation are being killed and arbitrarily arrested. Good people must support them and their cause for social justice and demand an end to the violence against them. Wayward police and military units are allegedly killing human rights activists, labor leaders, journalists, and advocates for exploited farmers, workers and Indigenous peoples (IPs).

These are courageous Filipinos whom the nation should be proud of, and take a stand to defend them and not believe the false claims and slurs against their work for the poor and the exploited. These are good people who are truly Christian in doing good, who stand with the oppressed and the exploited. They are dedicated to helping them find justice, standing up against evil forces and helping transform society for the better.

This is the mission of Jesus of Nazareth when he was on Earth, and his dedicated followers are taking this on today. Jesus showed the way and did great good for the poor. He challenged the political leaders of his day when he cleansed the Temple of the corrupt traders whom the authorities had allowed to desecrate.

From that day, he was a target for assassination. Today, his followers who do the same are also branded as enemies of the state and "red-tagged" as communist insurgents. In fact, the majority of them are humanitarian workers and human rights advocates.

Like Jesus himself, they are falsely branded subversives and targeted for execution. One of these advocates is Cirila Estrada, who has dedicated her life to campaigning for the rights of exploited Filipino farmers. She and fellow human rights activist Victor Pelayo were red-tagged, thus considered a threat to the Philippine government and its military.

If a few hundred human rights advocates helping farmers, workers and IPs could threaten the government, then it is very weak, indeed. Do members of the military fear the truth and shiver in their boots because of the human rights advocacy of Christian humanitarian workers? Cirila once won a court case against bad actors in the anti-subversive units of the military. The armed communist movement is almost dead, so these army units apparently had to find and frame innocent humanitarian workers as subversives to keep their intelligence funds flowing into their accounts.

They have to show success, real or not. Cirila was charged with possessing firearms and explosives. But the judge dismissed the charges, and she was declared innocent.

This seemed to have infuriated the military commanders, and retaliation was swift. Cirila and Victor went missing in Capiz on August 29. They were allegedly arrested by military personnel and hidden away or executed.

These are the latest in a long line of arbitrary arrests and enforced or involuntary disappearances. These disappearances were so many that the 2012 Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act was passed. But it is rarely implemented, as it is unlikely that wayward authorities would investigate those disappearances themselves.

An independent international probe is needed where the investigators would not be intimidated. Members of the police and military allegedly get latitude to kill and abduct by a grateful ruling elite who need death squads and killers in uniform to protect their corrupt business interests from investigators and rights advocates. The ruling elite have a money-making system for themselves that leaves 16 million Filipinos in dire poverty.

Who else would benefit from this state policy to silence dissent? It is not communism the elite fear but the revelation of the truth. Hundreds of journalists have been killed, too. Did Jesus not say the truth will set you free? That is free to speak the truth, free from fear, injustice and poverty, free to live a happy life.

The Asian Forum for Development and Human Rights has claimed that since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. came to power in June 2022, the number of enforced disappearances, abductions and arbitrary arrests has grown. In August 2023, prosecutors from the Department of Justice dismissed charges against 17 police officers over the killing of nine labor organizers.

The case was brought by the wife of Emmanuel Asuncion, a labor leader who was killed with eight others in March 2021 during a police operation in Central Luzon. The murder of radio journalist Percival Mabasa, better known as Percy Lapid, in October 2022 apparently followed his on-air criticism of high government personalities. His confessed assassin has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, along with four others, but the mastermind has not been identified and charged.

Longtime activists James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr. are believed to have been abducted by state forces last August. Human rights group Karapatan has also reported on the disappearance of environmentalist Rowena Dasig, who was released from police detention on August 22 after she was acquitted of illegal possession of firearms.

In August 2023, teenagers John Francis Ompad and Jemboy Baltazar were shot dead by police in Rizal province and Navotas, respectively. The following month, human rights lawyer Maria Saniata Liwliwa Gonzales Alzate was shot dead by a death squad in Bangued, Abra province. All these met their deaths, speaking and working for justice.

It seems evil forces wish to eliminate them and silence those who work for the greater good. Who would be killed next? We need faith that will move mountains of evil and replace them with goodness and convince people that the power of good will win..