Kabataan Partylist - Talisay Chapter

𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗔 𝗗𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗘'𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗘: 𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗚𝗔𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚

Sara Duterte redtags the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the transport sector, and calls the drivers' efforts to amplify their plight a "painful interference" in a statement addressing ACT's call for class suspension in support of the transport strike.

In her acts of redtagging and gaslighting, Duterte has further shown where her true intentions lie. It can be seen that the call has been receiving positive reception from the masses, because the people recognize that the commercialization-masked-as-modernization program is anti-poor and detrimental to public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers. The strike is not the "painful interference" that Duterte has described, but the efforts of marginalized PUV drivers to amplify their calls.

The masses will not be divided by such a statement. The people want development, but development should not leave anyone behind. Kabataan Partylist Talisay stands in solidarity with the drivers sector, as the issue also affects both commuters and drivers. Instead of pitting two struggles against each other and wasting the people's money on Mandatory ROTC and Charter Change, the state must heed the grievances of both the education and transport sector and provide humane and sustainable solutions, especially regarding the rising prices of oil and basic necessities, the fare hike, and the lack of mass-oriented public transportation.

𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐘 𝟔!
𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒!

Five years ago, on March 3, 2018, six youth activists, including Myles Albasin from Cebu, were unjustly arrested by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Negros Oriental. Yesterday marked the fifth year since the Mabinay 6 were arrested after being accused of being armed fighters and being involved in an armed encounter with the army. They were charged with illegal possession of fi****ms and explosives. However, after testing negative in a paraffin test (a forensics technique that is used to test whether one has been in possession or use of fi****ms), this affirms that the fi****ms were planted and the charges were false. In fact, eight months after their arrest, on November 6, 2018, their lawyer, Atty. Ben Ramos, was shot dead.

A fact worth noting is that this case is not an isolated case. Human rights activists being arrested by state agents for made-up charges and their harassment of human rights advocates are a common practice of the repressive state to try to silence free speech. The youth of Cebu continue to experience different forms of harassment from the state, going as far as trying to turn their families against them. A similar case was the recent abduction of Cebuano development workers, Dyan Gumanao and Armand Dayoha, in broad daylight.

Kabataan Partylist Talisay condemns the worsening crackdown against free speech and human rights advocacy. The regimes of Marcos Sr., Duterte, and Marcos Jr. are no different from each other, and the common denominator is the blatant suppression of the freedom of speech and freedom to work for genuine development. Considering the state’s repressive nature, the militant youth expect that this will not be the last string of attacks of harassment and red-tagging from them. However, the youth will not be silenced.

Amid such a political climate, we urge the youth to join in the calls to and to stop the attacks against those who serve the underserved masses and those fighting for human rights. In such economic conditions, it is only right and not a crime to join the mass movement to address issues, especially the rising prices of oil and basic necessities, the desperate attempt of the state to push for mandatory ROTC, the push for jeepney phaseout, and the continuous red-tagging of human rights activists.