Minority groups to Duterte: Address socio-economic roots of drug use

LGBT organization Bahaghari together with the UP Diliman Center for Women's and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) on Friday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to rethink his strategies on the war on drugs.

UPCWGS deputy director Bernadette Neri said during the "Kalembang Kontra Bang! Bang!" assembly at the Carillon Tower, UP Diliman that ending the life of criminals does not address the problem of drug use at its roots.

"Hindi karahasan ang tugon sa ganitong suliranin," Neri asserted, "Ang tugon ay sosyo-ekonomikong reporma. Bigyan ng edukasyon 'yung mga kabataan. Bigyan ng trabaho 'yung mga walang trabaho. Bigyan ng nakabubuhay at sapat na suweldo 'yung mga manggagawa. Wakasan ang kontraktuwalisasyon. Bigyan ng lupa ang mga magsasaka. 'Yon ang tunay na makatutugon at makapagdudulot ng pagbabago at pagkakapantaypantay dito sa ating lipunan."

Neri pointed out that though the dictator Ferdinand Marcos during Martial Law was the most prolific violator of human rights, the brutality and the extrajudicial killings are not unique to either him or the current administration.

"Kinikilala natin na hindi ito nahinto ang ganitong klase ng karahasan [matapos ang Martial Law]. Nagpatuloy ang ganitong karahasan sa panahon ni Corazon Aquino, ni Fidel Ramos, ni Erap Estrada, ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, ni Benigno Aquino III, at hanggang ngayon ay nagaganap pa rin," she said.

Bahaghari's secretary general Aaron Moises Bonette in his speech also condemned the crimes committed against LGBT individuals like Jennifer Laude and an unnamed transwoman who was found wrapped in duct tape in Cebu this year. The disregard for due process only leaves the LGBT community and other minority groups vulnerable to violence, he claimed.

"Hindi hiwalay at hindi makakaiwas ang sektor ng mga LGBT sa issue na ito, dahil kasama 'yung sektor ng LGBT doon sa vulnerable sector o doon sa iba pang marginalized sector na target ng EJK [extrajudicial killings] o ng ganitong klase ng karahasan," he said. "Tayo 'yung mga maliliit, tayo 'yung kayang-kaya nilang gawan ng karahasan, idiskrimina o paslangin."

SELDA chair Marie Hilao-Enriquez also spoke to condemn vigilantism and groups riding the spate of killings to commit murder, quipping, "Sana nga ang mga drug lord ang napapatay eh—eh wala namang nangyayari po kasi ang napapatay ay 'yung maliliit na naghahanapbuhay (dahil) walang hanap-buhay dito sa atin."

Deaths without due process

Jang Monte-Hernandez of Gabriela recounted for the audience their family's experience with extrajudicial killings through the story of her sister Recca's death. Recca was a member of the New People's Army (NPA) and was allegedly killed during an encounter, but the autopsy exposed a different tale.

"Siya po ay wala ni isang tama ng bala," Monte-Hernandez revealed. She went on to describe the state of her sister's body, "Basag ang bungo, wala na ang kalahati ng kaniyang mukha, wala na ang kaniyang mga mata ... Mula doon sa kaniyang otopsiya, napag-alaman na bugbog—hematoma...punung-puno ng pasa ang kaniyang katawan at basag-basag rin ang kaniyang buto sa paa."

She recognized that her sister's choice to join the NPA was a one-foot-in-the-grave decision, but torture is another matter entirely. War should not reduce humans to savages, she said, adding that Recca should have been a prisoner of war instead of a victim of barbarism. Due process should have been afforded her sister and to the alleged criminals gunned down on the streets.

"We share the same sentiments with the families of those who are killed without due process," Monte-Hernandez stated.

"Sana may proseso, katulad noong sana may proseso ikunulong niyo 'yung kapatid ko muna," she explained. "Puwede niyo siyang ikulong, ihabla—pero hindi iyon ang ginawa. Kung sa pagtingin ng mga sundalong nakakita kay Recca noong panahong iyon ay mali ang pagiging NPA niya, puwede at puwede-puwede sana nilang hinuli, dinakip, inaresto, sinampahan ng kaso. Pero hindi po iyon ang kanilang ginawa."

University Student Council chair Bryle Leaño and national chair of the All UP Academic Employees Union Dr. Ramon Guillermo also spoke in solidarity with Bahaghari's initiative. —ALG, GMA News