Press Release
March 6, 2020

Dispatch from Crame No. 731:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on the Filing of Perjury Cases against Human Rights Activists and Defenders

3/6/2020

Sa mata ng batas ni Rodrigo Duterte, isang paglabag ang ipagtanggol ang karapatang pantao kahit ng mga pinakamahihirap nating kabababayan.

In his desperate attempt to silence dissent, he has once again blatantly weaponized the law against those who dare stand up against his atrocious policies. Members of Karapatan, Gabriela, and 63-year-old Sr. Emma Cupin of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines sought the protection of the courts only for the law to turn the tables against them and accuse them of lying in their petition.

Under Duterte's tyrannical manipulations, human rights defenders are treated as criminals by our justice system while violators are given full protection. Binaboy na ng husto ni Duterte at ng kanyang mga alipores ang Rule of Law, mula sa paninira sa mga kritiko, pag-imbento ng mga kaso, pagkanlong sa mga tunay na kriminal, at pagpatay sa sarili nilang mamamayan.

Saan na makakakuha ng proteksyon ang ordinaryong mamamayan kung ang ating batas ang mismong ginagamit na armas upang usigin ang mga nagsusulong ng makabuluhang pagbabago?

Hindi pa man tuluyang nagiging batas ang bagong Anti-Terror Bill, ganito na kagarapal ang paggamit sa batas laban sa mga itinuturing na "kalaban" ng estado. Nakakakilabot isipin kung ano ang kahihinatnan nating lahat kapag ginawa nang lehitimo ang pagsikil sa karapatan ng makapagpahayag at kumilos para sa tama.

As Duterte clings desperately to a crumbling regime, we expect intensified attacks against democratic discourse and legitimate dissent. As it employs the state machinery against dissenters, it will also use the full force of this machinery to pursue its murderous anti-people policies. So now is not the time to stop, rest and be cowed.

I stand with Elisa Tita Lubi, Tinay Palabay, Roneo Clamor, Krista Dalena, Edita Burgos, Jose Mari Callueng, Wilfredo Ruazol, Joan May Salvador, Gertrudes Libang, and Sr. Emma Cupin. I call on my fellow Filipinos to stand up for our human rights defenders. Defend our defenders! Stop Political Persecution! No to Lawfare! ###

(Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 731, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_no._731)

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