social injustice in the philippines essay

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The Injustice System

By Miguel Syjuco

• April 26, 2017

MANILA — In one jail here, 91 men share a cell so small they take turns sitting down. It’s dizzyingly hot, and there are only two buckets for personal hygiene. And not one of the detainees has been convicted of a crime.

The 93 men packed into the cell next door are also not guilty — at least not yet. Nobody in this city jail has been tried. Each awaits his time in court. One inmate tells me his case has already stretched nearly five years. Many others have been here several months, since President Rodrigo Duterte began his war on drugs a little less than a year ago. The jails continue to overflow. “For every one person processed out,” an inmate told me, “five new ones arrive.”

All Filipinos know that there’s little justice to be had from our criminal justice system. It is toothless and glacial. And its longtime failure is at the root of broad acceptance of Mr. Duterte’s draconian drug war, which has led to more than 4,000 confirmed deaths , with nearly 3,800 more awaiting investigation. Like most institutions in this country, the systems of law and order are thoroughly dysfunctional. The abuses can only ever be rectified by addressing each in turn. But what if the mechanisms to do that are so broken they’re nearly useless?

According to Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto , the judiciary has a backlog of 600,000 cases, with at least a fifth of all trial courts lacking judges. Each year, overworked prosecutors individually handle some 500 cases, while every public defender is responsible for roughly 5,000 clients. The police are also understaffed by 50,000, and officers are assessed not by the number of successful convictions but on the number of suspects charged by prosecutors, whose cozy relationships with cops make them hesitant to reject cases as lacking merit.

Many accused, after being pressed for bribes and languishing in jail for years, end up simply released after the police do not attend trials to testify, or the prosecution is absent or the evidence proves flimsy. Under Mr. Duterte’s predecessor, roughly one in four cases led to conviction — a pittance, but an improvement from the administration before that. Our criminal justice system has never been able to properly exonerate the innocent and punish the guilty.

No wonder so many voters put their faith in Mr. Duterte’s vow to root out crime in his first six months as president. That promise, however, proved fanciful, and his urgency to deliver led him to him cast human rights and due process as hindrances rather than as safeguards against an exploitative system. Punitive action, now operating extrajudicially, has become subjective and reliant not on the judgment of institutions, with all their checks and balances.

Citizens these days are targeted from drug watchlists compiled by local community officials, whom the president now denounces as largely corrupt and in need of replacement. Those lists, because they are confidential and unverified, have cultivated a sense of impunity that has led to police abuses, vigilante operations and thousands of killings. They’ve also left so many Filipinos vulnerable to less lethal, but more pervasive, victimization.

In slums that I visited across Metro Manila, wives, mothers, sisters and grandparents were eager to tell stories of their relatives, mostly men, who were arrested without warrants or detained without evidence. One woman told me that ever since police operations began in her community, her small children sleep fitfully, easily startled by noises in the street, and the sight of a police car sends them running in fear.

Residents recounted how police will conduct a “sona ,” slang for mass interrogation in communities that often leads to harassment by the authorities. I was told in one slum by the Pasig River that more than 80 men were called out of their homes, lined up and arrested last September. One woman said that a few of those detained ended up dead. Another woman, whose brother was similarly killed, spoke on behalf of her sheepish husband standing behind her. A model citizen in the community, he serves as a volunteer firefighter, heads the local group that organizes an annual religious procession and had just before his arrest passed a police clearance that was required for new employment. To raise his $500 bail, his family sold their shanty, gave up their small business and moved in with his mother.

Such stories are now commonplace. The poor, who’ve always known justice least, now bear injustice most. While Mr. Duterte remains overwhelmingly popular, a recent poll showed that trust in him has risen among the upper classes but has dropped by 11 percentage points among the poorest, resulting in a seven-point drop overall.

In a slum in the north of Manila, residents told me about a dozen men from the same street who were arrested this year after a police raid failed to snag a targeted drug suspect. Women showed me documents issued by the courts or Public Attorney’s Office, bearing labyrinthine legal phrases in English, a language they barely speak. To these citizens, the rotten justice system is the only place to which they can turn.

Human rights lawyers say such systemic injustice can be addressed only by reforming the judiciary, the penal system and the police together. But that network must first be challenged, to prove that its dysfunction results in grave consequences, and the only ones who can legally file cases are the abused parties, most of whom are too poor and too scared to do so.

That is steadily changing. Whistleblowers from among police and vigilantes are speaking out, while lawyers’ groups have been working on cases for victims of abuse or families of those killed. This year, a group of claimants won an injunction from the Supreme Court, which issued a restraining order against police officers alleged to have shot four men execution style. Yet the trial is a long way off, and these plaintiffs, and all others like them, receive no other protection from the government. They live in fear.

If not for concerned lawyers who advocate for them, the journalists who tell their stories and religious groups who offer sanctuary, these citizens, who mostly do not know their rights, would be facing the system entirely on their own. There’s an inspiring irony that the strength and courage most needed to challenge it all comes from the country’s most vulnerable.

These cases, often dismissed by Duterte supporters as isolated incidents or necessary growing pains, are actually vital to the reform this administration seeks. Without them, a public advocate told me, we can neither prove that abuse indeed stems from the system nor pinpoint what needs to be fixed. And given the current government’s efforts to reinstate capital punishment and lower the age of criminal liability to 9 years old, fixing the Philippine justice system is more than ever a matter of life and death.

Despite his violent rhetoric and his coddling of police, the blame is not all Mr. Duterte’s. No one person is culpable, just as no one person can fix it. What is supposed to be a precision instrument for ensuring law and order has become a weapon so blunt that most people can’t trust it. The current embrace of violence, and all the justifications people make for it, are predicated on this. The system is so broken that many Filipinos think it’s just better to purge the dregs of society. It’s a perverse hope — one that if we’re honest we can all understand, but one that if we’re responsible, we must ultimately reject.

Miguel Syjuco ( @MiguelSyjuco ), a contributing opinion writer, is the author of the novel “Ilustrado” and a professor at N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi.

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Philippines

Events of 2022

Pictures and clothes of Lenin Baylon, a 9-year-old boy killed in a “drug war” shooting in 2016, on display at a news conference at the Commission on Human Rights, Quezon City, Philippines, December 5, 2022.

© 2022 REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

The six-year term of President Rodrigo Duterte, which ended on June 30, was defined by the politics of threats and intimidation, thousands of extrajudicial killings of mostly impoverished Filipinos from urban areas, and serious damage to the country’s democratic institutions. Since the inauguration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as president, the human rights situation has hardly changed.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in a September report that assessed the progress of the Philippines-UN Joint Program on Human Rights, which began in June 2021, laid out major human rights problems facing the country. Among these are the continued “harassment, threats, arrests, attacks, red-tagging against civil society actors, as well as the continued drug related killings by police.” The report also noted that “access to justice for victims of human rights violations and abuses remained very limited.”

President Marcos has sought to reassure the international community that he is committed to human rights. His officials, speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council in October, highlighted several steps that they intended to take, while asserting that the human rights situation in the Philippines has improved. Human rights and civil society groups, however, debunked these claims with reports to the council of continuing human rights violations.

“Drug War” Killings

Soon after taking office on June 30, President Marcos stated he would continue the “war against drugs” initiated by his predecessor. While Marcos claimed his administration would do a “ slightly different ” anti-drug campaign by focusing on the rehabilitation of drug users, the unlawful use of force by the police and government agents continued. Monitoring by Dahas , a program run by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines, found that at least 90 people had been killed in what the center termed “drug-related violence” in the period since Marcos’ inauguration and September 30.

The government reported that members of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency killed 6,252 individuals during anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016, to May 31, 2022. After Marcos took office, the government stopped releasing these statistics. The official death toll does not include those killed by unidentified gunmen whom Human Rights Watch and other rights monitors have credible evidence to believe operate in cooperation with local police and officials. The OHCHR calculated in a 2020 report that the death toll was at least 8,663. Domestic human rights groups and the government appointed Philippines Commission on Human Rights state that the real figure of “drug war” killings is possibly triple the number reported in the OHCHR report.

The authorities have seriously investigated very few “drug war” killings. Only a handful of cases—12 out of thousands—are in varying stages of investigation by police or active review by prosecutors. To date, there is only one case, the video-recorded murder of 17-year-old student Kian delos Santos in August 2017, which resulted in the conviction of police officers.

“Red-Tagging” and Harassment of Activists

Government and military officials accused civil society groups of being supporters of communist New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents, who have been waging a 53-year armed conflict across the Philippines. Such accusations made without evidence are part of what is commonly known in the Philippines as “red-tagging,” which put the accused at heightened risk of attack by the security forces or unidentified gunmen. The military, police, and other national security forces have actively used social media to convey “red tagging” threats, and in several cases, those red-tagged persons were subsequently killed by unknown gunmen.

The government’s National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which works closely with the military, police, and the president’s office, accused numerous political activists of being members of the Communist Party or the NPA. Among those red-tagged by the task force is former Vice President Leni Robredo , who lost to Marcos in the recent presidential election. The task force has also red-tagged journalists , book publishers , and international nongovernmental groups (NGOs), including Oxfam.

In September, Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, a judge of the Manila Regional Trial Court who had dismissed a case that sought to declare as “terrorist groups” the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, became a target of red-tagging, prompting lawyers’ groups and even the Supreme Court to intervene. The court specifically demanded an explanation from former National Task Force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy why she should not be held in contempt.

Leaders and lawyers of peasant organizations and human rights groups who were red-tagged have been physically harmed  by government security forces and vigilantes; several have been killed . Others were harassed, such as a group of nuns  and peasant women who were charged with aiding “terrorist activities.” In June, Clarita Carlos, the new chairperson of the National Security Council, publicly said that she did not favor red-tagging. Despite this declaration, the practice continued.

Attacks against Journalists

On October 3, unidentified gunmen fatally shot Percival Mabasa, a radio commentator in Las Pinas, a city in Metro Manila. Popularly known on-air and online as Percy Lapid , he was the second journalist killed since President Marcos took office. On September 18, a man stabbed radio broadcaster Renato Blanco to death in Negros Oriental in the central Philippines. Two other journalists were murdered in 2022, according to UNESCO . Federico Gempesaw, a radio commentator, was shot dead on June 29 in Cagayan de Oro City, while Jaynard Angeles, also a radio journalist, was killed on January 12 in Tacurong City, in the southern Philippines.

Apart from these killings, the harassment of journalists also persisted in the past year. In July, the government sought to silence journalists critical of the administration by shutting down websites Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly , two alternative press publications. The National Security Council sought to close these two outlets because of alleged links to communist insurgency, a charge the editors and journalists denied.

During the year, the government used the cyber-libel law several times against  journalists ,  columnists ,  critics of the government , and ordinary  social media users . In August, police arrested activist and former member of parliament Walden Bello after a staff member in the office of Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of the former president, made allegations against him.

The Justice Department’s  Office of Cybercrime  reported that  3,700 cyber-libel cases  were filed as of May 2022. Of that number, 1,317 were filed in court while 1,131 were dismissed. Twelve cases ended in a conviction. Among those who have been convicted of cyber-libel is 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, the CEO of the news website Rappler.

Arbitrary Detention of Leila de Lima

Former Senator Leila de Lima, 62, one of the foremost critics of ex-President Duterte, remained in police detention since her arrest on trumped-up drug charges in 2017. De Lima faces unsubstantiated charges alleging that she received money from drug lords while serving as justice secretary. Her detention continues even though two key witnesses in the  Philippine  government’s case against her have retracted their testimonies. Human Rights Watch believes the Duterte administration was retaliating against her for investigating extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s  anti-drug campaign .

Key International Actors

In September, the UN high commissioner for human rights released a report that highlighted prevailing rights violations and recommended continued monitoring and reporting to the council. Nevertheless, in October, the UN Human Rights Council failed to come up with a resolution to continue the council’s scrutiny of the human rights situation in the Philippines. The UN human rights office , civil society organizations , and families of victims of abuses expressed their dire concerns about the situation in the Philippines.

The United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Australia, and the Netherlands have contributed to the UN-Philippines Joint Program designed to institutionalize human rights reforms in the Philippines.

In June, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested authorization from the court’s judges to resume an investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed in the context of Duterte’s “drug war.” In November 2021, the Philippine government had  requested a deferral  of the ICC’s probe under the principle of complementarity, claiming that it had begun its own investigations into cases of extrajudicial killings attributed to the police during “drug war” operations. The ICC prosecutor’s office determined that the Philippine government failed to demonstrate it was taking steps to investigate several of the killings and hold perpetrators to account; it is now awaiting judicial review of its request to move forward with the investigation.

In February, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the Philippine government’s abuses and urging the European Commission to set “clear, public, time-bound benchmarks” for the Philippines to comply with its human rights obligations under the EU’s GSP+ scheme, which is a condition for the country to keep its unilateral trade benefits. In March, EU officials visited the Philippines and urged “tangible and measurable progress” in that regard. Bilateral human rights discussions were again held in October. 

The Philippines remains the biggest recipient of US foreign military assistance in the Asia-Pacific region, receiving a total of US$1.14 billion since 2015. In September, it was reported that the US government would be reprogramming $130 million in military aid it held back from Egypt and for new climate initiatives for Pacific Island nations, including the Philippines. US legislators have been calling for improved human rights compliance by Manila, particularly in the case of detained former Senator Leila de Lima . 

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A Philippine Human Rights NGO providing Psychosocial Services and Rehabilitation to Internally Displaced Persons and Survivors of Torture and Organized Violence.

Social Justice for All: Poverty, broken families and children in conflict with the law

Posted in Features and Articles

Manila is a fast growing, intense metropolis where the poor, and especially the children of the poor, are made to fend for themselves in fierce competition for resources. While the ideology of family is strong, families are also under enormous pressure.

Many families manage despite these pressures, but children are often at the losing end. Children face enormous challenges of poverty, including being subjected to brutal forms of policing and disciplining while they labour to survive. While there are protective measures put in place, not least emanating from The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children, their effects are often limited and sometimes counter-productive. 

Michael is a 14-year-old boy from an urban poor community in one of the cities in Metro Manila. Two years ago, he was taken to the city's government-managed Children in Conflict with the Law Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines by a police patrol looking for suspects of petty crimes in an area where Michael had found sanctuary for the night. In line with the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, Michael could not be put in jail along with adults. He was subsequently taken to the youth center where he was assaulted by his peers and badly treated by the guardian. While shocking, the violence was not new to Michael, as violence has always been a part of his life. 

When he was twelve years old Michael ran away from home to escape the violence from his stepfather, who saw Michael as yet another mouth to feed. He lived on the streets, became part of a gang and became involved in petty crime and gang wars. Violence was instilled in him at a very young age at home, and it continued once he was on the streets. Even at the center, where he was supposed to have been safe, violence found him.

The case of Michael mirrors many poor children in blighted urban poor areas in the Philippines. Violence is intimately connected to intergenerational poverty in families with few skills and development opportunities. This makes for strong links between poverty, disregard for children's social and economic rights, and violence such as child abuse and torture; most of the children whoa re tortured or ill-treated by the police are street children or children from broken families. Most of the crimes they commit are petty crimes or 'need' crimes such as theft, in other words, to cover their basic needs when their families cannot. Capital crimes (e.g. rape and murder) committed by children often happen through peer pressure, when they end up in gangs or are used as drug dealers.

In Michael's case, we see how issues of development, human rights and violence are intimately entangled in poor, urban neighbourhoods. Hence, rather than focusing in one or the other, there is a need to address the problems as one structure and target authorities, families and neigbourhoods with rehabilitative psycho-social interventions, service delivery (for instance job training and education) and legal approaches and avenues to address systemic abuse.

Position Paper: Social Justice for All,  Linking human rights, development and violence in the city; contributing to safer cities ( 2017) Dignity - Danish Institute Against Torture

Downloadable Full Copy Available in Publication Section

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Three Major Types of Social Injustice in The Philippines

• Categories: Discrimination Racial Discrimination Social Injustice

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Published: Apr 5, 2023

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Essay on Social Injustice

Students are often asked to write an essay on Social Injustice in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Social Injustice

What is social injustice.

Social injustice happens when people are treated unfairly because of reasons like their race, gender, or wealth. It’s like a game where the rules are not the same for everyone, making it harder for some to succeed.

Effects of Social Injustice

This unfairness can lead to people not having the same chances in life. For example, some might not get a good education or job opportunities just because of where they come from. It’s like being in a race where some start way behind the starting line.

Combating Social Injustice

To fight social injustice, it’s important to understand and speak up about these unfair situations. Everyone deserves a fair chance, and by working together, we can make the world more equal for all.

250 Words Essay on Social Injustice

Social injustice happens when people are treated unfairly because of their race, gender, age, or how much money they have. Imagine if your friend got a bigger piece of cake just because they have blue shoes and you don’t. It wouldn’t feel fair, right? That’s how social injustice works but on a much bigger scale.

Examples in Everyday Life

You might see social injustice at school if a student is bullied for being different. In the bigger world, some people might not get good jobs or houses because of where they come from or the color of their skin. It’s like being picked last in a game, not because you’re not good, but because people have made up their mind about you without knowing you.

Why It’s a Problem

Social injustice hurts everyone. It makes people who are treated unfairly feel sad and alone. It also stops them from living their best life. For example, if someone is not given a chance to go to a good school or get a good job, it’s a waste of their talents.

What Can We Do?

Everyone can help fight social injustice. It starts with treating everyone the same, no matter what they look like or where they come from. If you see someone being treated unfairly, stand up for them. Remember, making a big change starts with small steps.

By understanding social injustice and acting to stop it, we can all help make the world a fairer place for everyone.

500 Words Essay on Social Injustice

Social injustice is unfairness that exists in a society. It can be caused by many things, including prejudice, discrimination, and poverty. Social injustice can take many forms, including unequal opportunities, discrimination, and lack of access to resources.

Forms of Social Injustice

There are many forms of social injustice. These include:

Discrimination: This can be based on things like race, gender, religion, or disability. It can mean being denied opportunities that others have or being treated unfairly. Poverty: This is a lack of basic resources, such as food, water, and shelter. It can be caused by many things, including discrimination, lack of opportunity, and war. Inequality: This is when some people have more power, wealth, or resources than others. It can be caused by things like discrimination, poverty, and unequal access to education and healthcare.

Causes of Social Injustice

There are many causes of social injustice, including:

Prejudice: This is a negative opinion about a person or group of people that is not based on facts. It can lead to discrimination and other forms of social injustice. Stereotypes: These are oversimplified beliefs about a person or group of people. They can be harmful because they can lead to prejudice and discrimination. Institutionalized Racism: This is a system of laws, policies, and practices that gives advantages to one group of people over another. It can lead to discrimination and other forms of social injustice.

Social injustice can have a devastating impact on individuals and communities. It can lead to:

Poverty: This is a lack of basic resources, such as food, water, and shelter. It can be caused by many things, including discrimination, lack of opportunity, and war. Health Problems: Social injustice can lead to health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. This is because people who are discriminated against often have less access to healthcare, healthy food, and safe housing. Mental Health Problems: Social injustice can also lead to mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Crime: Social injustice can also lead to crime, as people who are discriminated against often have fewer opportunities to earn a living legally.

What Can Be Done About Social Injustice?

There are many things that can be done to address social injustice, including:

Education: This can help people to understand the causes and effects of social injustice and to challenge their own prejudices and stereotypes. Advocacy: This involves speaking out against social injustice and demanding change. It can be done through protests, petitions, and letters to elected officials. Policy Change: This involves changing laws and policies that are unfair or discriminatory. It can be done through legislation or through lawsuits. Community Organizing: It is a powerful way to address social injustice. By working together, people can build power and make change.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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The Tragic Path of the Trail of Tears: a Timeline of Injustice and Suffering

This essay is about the Trail of Tears, a tragic event in the 1830s where Native American tribes, particularly the Cherokee, were forcibly relocated from their ancestral lands. The essay details the origins of the Trail of Tears, starting with the Indian Removal Act of 1830 signed by President Andrew Jackson, and the subsequent resistance by the Cherokee Nation through legal means. Despite a Supreme Court ruling in their favor, the forced relocation proceeded, resulting in immense suffering and death. The essay highlights the harsh conditions of the march, the significant loss of life, and the long-term impact on Native American communities. It underscores the importance of remembering and acknowledging this dark chapter in American history.

How it works

The Trail of Tears epitomizes one of the bleakest episodes in American history, characterized by the coerced displacement and anguish of Native American tribes. This sorrowful saga transpired over numerous years during the 1830s, fundamentally altering the destinies of multitudes and reshaping the terrain of the United States.

The inception of the Trail of Tears can be delineated to the nascent 19th century when the U.S. government commenced a vigorous campaign of Indian expulsion. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson sanctioned the Indian Removal Act into law, granting the federal apparatus the authority to negotiate treaties facilitating the relocation of Native American tribes from their ancestral territories in the southeastern United States to regions west of the Mississippi River.

This policy stemmed from a covetous ambition to avail land for white settlers and the burgeoning cotton economy, emblematic of the prevailing ethos of Manifest Destiny and racial preeminence.

The Cherokee Nation, among the most adversely impacted tribes, initially endeavored to oppose expulsion through legal recourse. They brought their case before the U.S. Supreme Court, culminating in the landmark 1832 ruling Worcester v. Georgia. The Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee, acknowledging their sovereignty and affirming that Georgia’s statutes held no sway within Cherokee domains. Nevertheless, President Jackson notoriously disregarded the verdict, purportedly declaring, “John Marshall has rendered his verdict; now let him compel its execution.” This overt contempt for judicial authority set the stage for the tragic sequence of events that ensued.

In 1835, a minority faction of Cherokee leaders affixed their signatures to the Treaty of New Echota, consenting to relinquish all Cherokee territory east of the Mississippi River in exchange for land in present-day Oklahoma and monetary recompense. Despite the repudiation of the treaty by the majority of the Cherokee Nation and its lack of endorsement by their governing body, the U.S. government invoked it as legal pretext for expulsion. By 1838, the forced relocation commenced in earnest under the supervision of General Winfield Scott and the U.S. Army.

The odyssey, christened the Trail of Tears, was punctuated by immense suffering and mortality. Over 16,000 Cherokee were compelled to march westward, confronting harsh conditions, maladies, and inadequate provisions. The route spanned over a thousand miles, traversing contemporary states such as Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. Thousands perished en route, succumbing to famine, exposure, and malaise. It is estimated that approximately 4,000 Cherokee perished during the enforced march, constituting a catastrophic loss for the tribe.

The Cherokee were not the solitary tribe affected by the policy of Indian expulsion. The Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations also encountered analogous fates. The journey of each tribe westward was fraught with adversity, and collectively, these coerced relocations precipitated the displacement and demise of tens of thousands of Native Americans. A common thread binding these tragedies was the flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and humanity of Native peoples, driven by an unrelenting pursuit of land and economic gain by the U.S. government.

The legacy of the Trail of Tears serves as a haunting admonition of the injustices inflicted upon Native American communities. It stands as a stark exemplification of the deleterious impact of U.S. expansionist policies and the systemic racism that underpinned them. The coerced relocations not only engendered immense immediate suffering but also engendered enduring ramifications for the social, cultural, and economic fabric of Native American tribes. The forfeiture of ancestral lands, the disruption of traditional lifeways, and the psychological trauma endured during this epoch have left indelible scars that continue to afflict Native American communities to the present day.

In contemporary times, there exists a burgeoning acknowledgment of the imperative to commemorate and glean lessons from this dolorous chapter in American annals. Endeavors to memorialize the Trail of Tears, such as the designation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, aspire to enlighten the public and extol the fortitude of the Native American tribes who withstood this tribulation. By apprehending the historical context and human toll of the Trail of Tears, we may cultivate a deeper comprehension of the profound injustices confronting Native American communities and the enduring exigency of their quest for acknowledgment, entitlements, and rectitude.

The Trail of Tears endures as a potent symbol of the repercussions of unchecked dominion and prejudice. As we reflect upon this dolorous epoch, it is incumbent upon us to recollect the resilience and fortitude of those who withstood it and to pledge to a future where the entitlements and integrity of all peoples are cherished and safeguarded. By confronting the past forthrightly and candidly, we may endeavor to forge a more equitable and inclusive society.

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Marcos says NTF-ELCAC ‘not the only solution’

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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

FRONTRUNNER. Former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr speaks in front of a crowd in Mandaluyong City on February 13, 2022.

Rob Reyes/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr is clear on his all-out support for the notorious National Task Force to End Local Armed Communist Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), but said in a presidential “debate” it’s not the only solution.

“ Ipagpatuloy ang NTF-ELCAC ngunit huwag tayong aasa na ‘yan lang ang sosolusyon sa problema natin at marami pang social problems na kelangan tugunan ,” said Marcos during the debate on Tuesday, February 15, organized by the SMNI network, which is owned by doomsday preacher Pastor Apollo Quiboloy who is wanted in the United States for sex trafficking of children.

(We will continue NTF-ELCAC but let’s not put all our hopes that it will solve all our problems because there are a lot of social problems that need to be addressed.)

One of those, said Marcos, was distribution of wealth. But he was not able to expound how he will do this outside of the NTF-ELCAC, when the national task force was created precisely for this holistic approach.

The so-called whole of nation approach, the central idea behind President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70 which created the NTF-ELCAC, mandates the task force to “deliver basic services and social development packages, facilitating societal inclusivity and ensuring active participation of all sectors of society in the pursuit of the country’s peace agenda.”

The national task force includes the social welfare department and even the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to handle these social packages.

The problem that arose for the NTF-ELCAC is the lack of transparency in auditing the funds that are coursed through member agencies. Some are not able to spend the money, like the police, and TESDA was flagged for improper allotment.

Slammed for arbitrary red-tagging of activists and community organizers, NTF-ELCAC is most felt for its legal and publicity offensives against progressive personalities. Marcos said he will still pursue peace talks, but he will just as fervently oppose the ideology that he says fuels violence.

Marcos backs NTF-ELCAC as Ilocos folks bear brunt of red-tagging

Peasant groups in his home turf Ilocos Norte have been feeling the brunt of red-tagging in recent years. The localized peace talks that Marcos says he will continue have targeted community leaders in Ilocos and subjected them to harassment.

“Fascists never learn,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of progressive rights group Karapatan, itself a victim of red-tagging.

“His fake and empty words on the resumption of peace talks is betrayed exactly by his pledge to continue the militarist efforts of this disgusting task force if he becomes elected,” Palabay said in a statement on Wednesday, February 16.

Marcos said he still treats the CPP-NPA-NDF as enemies, citing the recent death of football player Keith Absalon which the NPA took accountability for saying he was not the target.

“ Wala na tayong maaaring sabihin kundi tratuhin sila ng kalaban dahil kinalalaban tayo, kaya kailangan natin ipagtanggol ang ating sarili, ” said Marcos.

(There’s nothing else we can say but to treat them as enemies because they are fighting us, and as such we need to defend ourselves.)

‘Armed struggle roots from injustice’

During the debate, presidential candidate and Partido Lakas ng Masa bet Leody de Guzman reiterated that armed struggle was a result of injustice.

“ Kailangan talaga nating magkaroon ng isang matinong pag-uusap para mangyari ang peace talk at matigil na itong digmaan sa ating sariling bansa sa pagitan ng kapwa Pilipino. Pero i-recognize natin na may rebolusyon dito sa ating bansa, may mga pag-aalsa. At ‘yong mga pag-aalsang ‘yan ay resulta ng inhustisya sa ating bansa ,” the labor leader said.

(We need to have genuine communication to facilitate peace talks and end this war in our country among our fellow countrymen. But we need to recognize that we have a revolution in our country, there are uprisings. These uprisings are the result of injustice in our country.)

De Guzman also mentioned that land reform, unemployment, and poor social services, among others, also caused the insurgency.

“‘ Yong hindi pagpapatupad ng mga kabuhayan para sa ating mga mamamayan. May mga kahilingan ‘yong ating mga mamamayan nang pagkakaroon ng reporma sa lupa at iyan ay napagkasunduan na pero hindi natutupad, ay dapat nating itupad ‘yan. ‘Yong social services sa ating mga mamamayan, ‘yong kalayaan, ‘yong demokrasya, eh wala ,” the presidential candidate said.

(The failure to provide jobs for the people. Our people have demands for land reform. Though land reform was already agreed upon, it never happened. Social services, freedom, and democracy – they were all gone.)

The labor leader first mentioned his plan to solve the rebellion during the presidential forum of Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas early this month. De Guzman then said that if he becomes president, he will meet the demands of the rebels on land reform and injustice to solve the decades-long insurgency.

De Guzman, during the SMNI debate, also mentioned that he would abolish the NTF-ELCAC. The labor leader also said he would revoke the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States if he becomes the commander-in-chief.

Quiboloy’s SMNI fuels disinformation, online attacks on gov’t critics

SMNI, also a platform for the red-tagging officials of NTF ELCAC, devoted a segment to talking about counterinsurgency efforts but did not at all discuss the dangers of red-tagging, nor the anti-terror law. – Rappler.com

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