Justice for ‘Sedition 36’
ALTHOUGH what had been described as “Sedition 36” happened a few weeks ago, supporters of democracy must not allow to let their guard down. They must continue to actively watch and monitor what is now ongoing at the Department of Justice. As well as continue to demonstrate outrage overwhat is evidently a tragic farce.
These are the charges of sedition against leaders from the Church, the legal profession, political opposition, and finally, the ultimate target – the second highest official of the country, Vice President Leni Robredo.
Those from the Church are Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Dagupan, Shepherd Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, Novaliches Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, former De la Salle President Armin Luistro, Fr. Robert Reyes, Jesuit Fr. Alberto Alejo , SVD Fr. Flaviano Villanueva. Among those in the legal profession are Integrated Bar of the Philippine President Egon Cayosa and Abdiel Fajardo; former spokesman of the Supreme Court Theodore Te, and lawyers from civil society. From the political opposition, Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, imprisoned Senator Leila de Lima, former Senators Sonny Trillanes and Bam Aquino, former Solicitor-General
Florin Hilbay, former Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, Law Dean Chel Diokno, former Rep., Gary Alejano, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, and civil society leader Samira Gutoc. As many know, these are the among the most respected members of the opposition.
The charges were filed based on an affidavit by Peter Joemel Advincula, a person of questionable credibility, and the hooded whistleblower in the viral “Bikoy” videos. Earlier, he had accused Duterte’s son Paolo and now Senator Bong Go , for their involvement in drug syndicates. Weeks later, he retracted, and this time, accused VP Robredo and the other 35 co-accused for being part of what he called a “shadow group” that allegedly handles the financial, logistical, security, and accommodation support for a plot against the President.
VP Robredo said she had never met Advincula and that she visited Ateneo to hear mass and not to meet with opposition candidates as claimed by Bikoy. “I will continue to speak, to point out what we consider to be flawed policies or wrong priorities of this administration,” she said in response to what is seen as an attempt to silence the opposition. Senator Hontiveros fears that is another attempt to introduce another distracting narrative.
The personages in the list are those most critical of Duterte’s bloody war against drugs, and his stance regarding China’s presence in the West Philippine Sea.
In addition to statements from groups like the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Karapatan, lawyers’ groups and Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, thousands of supporters have signed online petitions.
Karapatan views the case with alarm as it shows how the Duterte government weaponizes the legal system to harass critics – the same tactics used to persecute Senator De Lima and former Chief Justice Sereno.
Defense Chief Delfin Lorenzana questions Advincula’s reliability as a witness, and notes as well that the military had not detected any ouster plot. Too, that for a destabilization plot to succeed, one would need military support. In this case, as everyone knows, there is no evidence that these two factors exist.
While we watch with vigilance to ensure that justice is served, we should likewise not allow ourselves to be distracted as Risa warned. Every day, we are confronted with new challenges as well that as executive and legislative decisions that may threaten sovereignty, human rights, and our democratic space.
We can’t predict the conclusion of this “tragi-comedy.” However, we pray that in our country where we have safeguards against attempts to muzzle freedom of expression, justice will eventually prevail.