That the explicitly murderous rhetoric of, and the culture of impunity bred by Duterte has enabled this atrocity, is a glaring fact of our current life. From injunctions like “… kaunting pagkakamali lang barilin mo na,” to promises that no policemen would ever go to jail, everything that Duterte has been saying and doing has provided the very conditions for these atrocities to emerge and fester.
This does not change the fact that being added to Duterte’s narco list has become like a death sentence: seven of the 24 murdered mayors and vice-mayors had been implicated in the list before they were killed by unknown assailants.
“With the trail of killings, illegal arrest and detention, and other criminal acts committed in the course of the implementation of the local synchronized enhanced management of police operations (SEMPO) in Negros, which were committed under his purview, he is in no way ‘good and honest.’ ”
Ending impunity entails collective action and the resolve to change the oppressive social system that engenders culture of impunity. We’re definitely not there yet but there are efforts to do so. There is no clear timeline as to when this can be achieved as it depends largely on the victory of the people’s movement, not just the journalists and news media organizations acting as a small sector.
This powerful video pays tribute to all Colombian journalists who have been threatened, attacked, or murdered because of their work, highlighting the ongoing search for justice in the cases of Jineth Bedoya, Edison Molina, and Guillermo Cano.
Sa isang sitwasyong patuloy na pinapaslang ang mga peryodista at manggagawa sa midya at kinokompromiso ang kalayaan sa pamamahayag, ano pa ba ang puwedeng gawin ng mga ordinaryong taong katulad natin para mabago ang kasalukuang kalakaran? Malinaw na kailangan ang mahigpit na pakikipagkaisa sa iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan.
“When torturers and human rights violators are rewarded with promotions and acquittals for the crimes they have perpetuated against individuals and communities, this means that the infrastructure of impunity has been so ingrained in the justice system in the country.”
“An order by the [Supreme] Court for the military to produce Jonas was not complied with and to this day, nobody has been cited in contempt.”
Before the incident, the broadcaster had reported receiving multiple death threats, some of which he posted on his Facebook page.
For more than 10 years, the Burgos family has been searching for Jonas Burgos. Bulatlat has chronicled the painstaking journey of fighting for justice.
Just ten months in office and after announcing that “Change is coming!” the Duterte government appears bound to be lumped up with its predecessor administrations and indicted before the international community for continued human rights violations and worsening impunity. Yes, that’s how it looks based on the summary presentation in a media briefing last Thursday…