Philippine protesters condemn drug war
PHILIPPINES - Thousands of Filipinos took to the streets Saturday to mark the anniversary of the 1986 uprising against Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos amid concerns of an authoritarian relapse under current President Rodrigo Duterte. Crowds gathered on a highway in Manila, the same area that millions flocked to 31 years ago in a peaceful revolt that led to Marcos’ ouster.
The so-called People Power Revolution three decades ago attracted government leaders, church groups and civilians in a series of protests that ended Marcos’ 14-year military rule marred by human rights violations. Saturday’s event was a commemoration and a symbolic protest against Duterte. At another rally a few miles away, pro-Duterte supporters listened to Christian songs and testimonies of former addicts. The protest comes amid a surge in drug-related deaths suspected of being sanctioned by Duterte’s administration, and a day after the arrest of one of the most vocal critics of his anti-drug campaign. Allies of detained Sen. Leila de Lima said her arrest Friday over “trumped up” charges signals the slow demise of democracy, and is meant to silence opposition to the drug war the president has waged since taking office in June. De Lima became the subject of probes launched by Duterte’s political allies after the senator initiated a Senate inquiry into alleged state-sanctioned killings. A Senate committee, led by a Duterte ally, decided in October to drop its inquiry into the extrajudicial killings. Commotion ensued Saturday between pro- and anti-Duterte protesters after Filipino musician Jim Paredes confronted the Duterte supporters who had showed up on the sidelines of the rally. Authorities immediately intervened. Seven men who were part of the Duterte Youth group were berated. Others shooed them away with profanity-laden tirades. Tensions eased when an anti-Duterte supporter handed flowers to the seven men. Simon Valencia, 28, said the flowers were a gesture on his part to support the group’s freedom of expression.
(CNN)