by Giancarlo Rafael Tabios │
Using your voice is the most excellent means to ignite change. Through speeches, rallies, and protests, we can create platforms for the voiceless to speak out about their stories and instigate awareness of particular issues tearing the fabric of society. Our voices can spark a chain reaction that primes others to put their passion into action, shaping the world into a better one. Nevertheless, there will always be wolves in sheep's clothing that will try to terrorize the peace and justice that keeps our nation's foundation robust, instilling fear in people's hearts and silencing those who dare stand against them.
Red-tagging refers to the malicious blacklisting of persons or groups critical of a sitting government administration's acts or not entirely supportive of them. The Duterte administration proposed this to target supposed individuals or organizations that are considered threats or enemies to the State of being subversives, communists, or terrorists. However, it is now using this to violate our human rights, impinging our right to freedom of expression, invasion of our privacy and security, and threatening our safety, with the streets turning red because of these extrajudicial killings. Moreover, humanitarian, ethnic, and religious organizations and advocates, human rights activists, labor unions, writers and journalists, entertainers, and public servants are being red-tagged without any proof of illegal activities or extensive fact-checking of information. Even innocent people like us who have different political views than the government are also red-tagged even though our Constitution ensures that no man shall remain in prison or even be murdered solely because of his political beliefs and ambitions.
Instead of undertaking it through peaceful and lawful means, the government insists on bloodshed, unwarranted raids, and illegal arrests to distribute order into our nation, such as in the case of Mary Rose Sancelan, the only doctor working to contain the pandemic in her city, was falsely accused of being a member of a communist rebellion organization and later died in a shooting incident. Another case is of Zara Alvarez, a human rights worker documenting the abuses and killings in Negros Island and helping those marginalized, was tagged as a terrorist by the Department of Justice and later shot dead multiple times by a lone gunman. Even online personalities and celebrities like Angel Locsin, Liza Soberano, and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, and many others, who are using their influence to spotlight specific issues in our country, are being mistakenly red-tagged.
Red-tagging has gone too far that the administration is becoming judge, jury, and executioner when they should be the nation's shepherds. It has become terrifying than the pandemic itself, for you don't know what's lurking in the shadows. It is time we use our voice to speak out about this injustice so that our next generation will not suffer the same fate because if not, then who?
(Photos from Sunday Examiner, Taiwan News, New Naratif)
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