Persecution

FIRST it was Sen. Leila de Lima, who re mains incarcerated for her alleged involve ment in the drug trade during her stint as justice secretary. She was followed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, who was removed from her post through the grant of a quo warranto petition on May 11, 2018. Now it is Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. By virtue of Proclamation 572, President Rodrigo Duterte revoked the amnesty granted to him for being void ab initio on the ground that he did not comply with the “minimum requirements to qualify under the amnesty proclamation.”

All the three personalities are critical of President Duterte. While supporters continue to shower the president with accolades for his courage, numerous sectors of society that preferred not to be involved in politics have started to lose their patience on the wanton display of abuse of power and dictatorial tendencies of the president. When he pursued his “War on Drugs,” the killing of alleged drug personalities seems to have become acceptable, and we rarely hear of arrests of the murderers. Vigilantism is on the rise, and the authorities seem not mind. There are only two possibilities: either there is acquiescence to the killings or there could be secret marching orders issued from the top. The killing fields that once were limited to Davao City have expanded to every corner of the archipelago. Much as we condemn criminals engaged in the drug trade, vigilantism has no place in civil society.