LOOPING in my mind right now is the question: what is happening to our country?–Doctor Lorraine Marie T. Badoy.
I was deeply saddened- and I remain the same- as I watched the travesty that unfolded before my eyes in yesterday’s congressional hearing of SMNI’s franchise.
Clearly, it wasn’t an honest inquiry into SMNI’s franchise but a setup where a decision to revoke had seemingly already been reached long before we set foot in Congress and it was by way of silencing us- a very public stoning of ordinary citizens by some of the country’s most powerful where a most convoluted and untrue narrative was being forced down our throats.
However, side by side with this question is my unshakable belief in every human’s personal sovereignty and also our sovereignty as a people. So even as we ask that question so too, must we provide the answers.
This is the way we earn our right to stand as sovereign men and women of the global community.
The question: what is happening to our country now?
Our democratic right to free expression- the right above all rights- is being trampled on by government and our freedom of the press where government is being held accountable to the people, is being demolished right before our very eyes.
What then must we do about it?
We must fight for our democratic right to freely express ourselves.
We must also staunchly fight for our right to press freedom.
The right of media practitioners to freely inform the public about burning issues of the day and the right of our people to be informed are bedrocks of a vibrant democracy because we are able to hold the powerful accountable to us, the people they are supposed to serve.
A free press is the bedrock upon which we ensure the protection of all other human rights.
A free press means a free country.
And so today, I am joining Ka Eric in a hunger strike to protest yesterday’s travesty that was a direct offshoot of the infiltration of the CPP-NPA-NDF inside Congress and to also hold those in power accountable to the Filipino people.
Ang totoong pwersa ng Bayan ay ang taongbayan. Kaya’t kami ni Eric- sampu ng SMNI- ay nagpapasalamat sa tiwalang binibigay ninyo sa amin.
Wala kaming pinaghuhugutan dito kundi ang balón na hindi masasaid na pagmamahal sa Bayan.
Tapusin na natin ang salot na CPP-NPA-NDF at siguraduhing ang mga iluluklok natin sa pwesto ay karapat-dapat sa malaking tiwalang binibigay natin at may tunay na pagmamahal sa Bayan.
Magtulungan tayo.
