The crowd has voted

When Pagcor officials visited President Duterte to give P5 bilion for a socio-civic fund recently there was a pile of documents on a table by his side. This is the list of government officials, politicians, including judges suspected to be either drug users, drug lords or protectors of drug lords. It was massive list. As he said, had we not caught it on time we would have been a narco-state impossible to stop.  No government before Duterte was willing to take it on.

Unless we win the war against drugs it would endanger the lives of our families and our children. Indeed our politics is so permeated with drug money given to their chosen candidates to win elections. We are all in this, not just politicians. The problem of drugs needs the help of all who care for our country.

Protest rallies against Duterte are being held to stop the chosen President to lead the war against drugs, crime  and corruption. In the last few days, the answer was clear from the number who joined anti-Duterte crowds.

The recent one organized by the Opposition was pathetic with a few thousands attending. The pictures tell it all. It was nothing compared to more than a million Filipinos who attended Duterte’s miting de avance and the many Dutertista who continue to defend him. They wanted change that would arrest the evils which plague the country. They will not have it any other way. There are attempts to stop his program of government. Those wanting to stop his reforms are threatening to kill him to stop him from succeeding. That is where we are now. While Duterte goes on with the job he was voted for, the Opposition wants him stopped. But the people were for him and his reforms and showed it by the numbers who gave him an overwhelming mandate in the last elections. 

If the intent of the Opposition rallies was to overcome the mandate they are mistaken. His support from the people has been steadfast. Indeed, most Filipinos are more afraid that the threat to kill him might just succeed and stop his program of reform.

The “violation of human rights’ is the chosen imperialistic tool to bring him down. As Duterte said, commenting on the numbers of of extrajudicial killing: they were already killing each other to eliminate squealers. Even the police were targets of attack to continue the status quo. And what did the Aquino government do about it? Nothing. I think most Filipinos understood the threat and listened to Duterte’s plea again and again.

An added difficulty was the confusion in Church teaching. Pope Francis issued a statement in a video in an anti-death penalty congress in Norway declaring that the “thou shalt not kill” is absolute and applies both to the innocent and to the guilty.

Another Church teaching allows capital punishment when it is the only way to defend the innocent “effectively” against an aggressor.

“If it can be justified, it’s not murder – it’s justifiable homicide, or manslaughter, or an act of combat, or self-defense, or capital punishment, or euthanasia, etc. Now, if you are asking if homicide can ever be justified, the answer is obviously yes.” The attacks against Duterte’s war on drugs are based on the premise that no killing is ever justified. This is not true. There are instances when it is justified and the Catholic Church names two: in war and self-defense. Recent church authorities statements have muddled the picture of the stand taken by Pope John Paul.

Another Church teaching allows capital punishment when it is the only way to defend the innocent “effectively” against an aggressor.

“If it can be justified, it’s not murder – it’s justifiable homicide, or manslaughter, or an act of combat, or self-defense, or capital punishment, or euthanasia, etc. Now, if you are asking if homicide can ever be justified, the answer is obviously yes.”

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Everyday I receive press releases from The Human Rights Watch blaming Duterte but nothing on wars in the Middle East that killed thousands.

I think the context of human rights being applied here is not human right as human right but as a tool to remove Duterte because he has a mind of his own.

I wonder if they would say the same when they are or their loved ones are threatened with death and harm? And what about bloody take-overs the US has perpetrated against entire countries, the Philippines among them?

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The people power in Luneta today proves that anti Duterte groups do not have the sympathy needed to dislodge the Duterte presidency. People power Filipinos have long deserted the Aquinos and their followers.

They elected Duterte for a new era in the Philippines. “All Duterte needs to do is lead his people wisely and for his people to apply an intelligent mind over the next six years to holding him accountable to his duty to serve”  a post in FB said.

 To accusations that Duterte exaggerates the number of drug addicts in the drug industry, PDEA’s Villanueva said “he didn’t care if President Duterte “overestimates” the number of drug users. It has made Filipinos aware of the problem.

Indeed the statistics stated that 75 percent of serious crimes in the Philippines are drug-related.

“Police and senior officials have used the claim to justify tough measures against drug users and pushers, and say those measures have been vindicated by a drop in crime since the anti-drug campaign began,” adds the report.

The faulty figures have other implications. It gives an idea of how many government officials must be watched to eradicate drug demand in the Philippines.

That also means a long watch-list of drug suspects, hundreds of whom have been shot dead either in police operations or by unknown gunmen.

That is the background of Duterte’s drug policy. In September, Duterte said the number of “addicts” would rise to four million by the end of the month if it is not tackled seriously. In a recent interview he said he will extend his drug war for another six months - to June 2017.