(Part I of II series)
“WHAT presence does is to create the emphatic connection that comes from knowing that a person who has lived a human life is listening with all of themselves, body and mind…That is how you create an ethical connection.” — Sherry Turkle, as quoted by Sarah van Gelder, YES! Magazine, Fall 2016.
“That ethical, emphatic connection suggests that we might make the greatest inroads on racism in our own communities, among our own families and friends…When we do take the time to connect, we weave a fabric of empathy and support. We make our communities more resilient and more centered on the common good. We may even find the courage to finally defeat racism.” — Sarah van Gelder
Even though America has distanced itself from slavery, transitioning to freedom and respect for human rights and civil rights, there remain facets in our lives when we slide back to our prejudices and biases and are unaware of how they affect our behaviors.
Years back, on our way to see a Barbra Streisand’s concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Caucasian co-workers were non-stop in their critiques of folks of color. As we crossed the street, they made fun of what they saw, how folks dressed up, including their hairdos, how they spoke, and were preoccupied with mostly negative observations. They imitated how others spoke and laughed at their impersonations.
Had I applied what I learned about combating racism from interethnic relations training and leadership development courses that I took with other ethnicities, I might have spoken.
It disturbed me that I kept quiet. Had I not, I would have said, “How would you feel if you were at the receiving end of your hypercritical, mocking statements?” I failed, as I did not have the courage of my conviction and by default, I enabled their racism.
Unlike Fr. Ed who talked of biblical figures, Abraham, one of the fathers in the Catholic faith, whom he described as an Iraqi. It piqued my interest that Abraham was an Iraqi so I read James Goodman’s book, “Where is the Lamb,” an “original and urgent encounter with one of the most compelling and resonant stories ever told—God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac…a mere nineteen lines in the book of Genesis’ — [and where the book] rests at the heart of the history, literature, theology, and sacred rituals of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,” as described in the Rutgers University’s website.
Reading about Abraham made me think not to limit myself to just the filter of my Catholic faith and instead to be more inclusive of other religions. Perhaps that is what we need in the 21st century: a diversity of perspectives, a broadening of our own consciousness to include others and empathy to put ourselves in their shoes.
It got me thinking about the Philippines, some 10,000 miles away, a Pacific Ocean distance from where I am.
High hopes for changes across the Pacific Ocean
The recent national election on May 9 installed Rodrigo Duterte as its president of the Philippines, receiving in excess of 16 million votes out of 56 million registered voters, with 71 percent who did not vote for him.
Yet Rappler and “Balitang America” continue to describe him with a mandate, justifying it with an audience survey. Rappler goes so far as reporting that most Filipinos support him.
When the president was installed, high hopes accompanied him as he had a presence of a leader who can do the changes he promised. Militant groups who usually protested outside Congress ended up inside Malacañang in a meeting with Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.
He released political prisoners from jail to participate in the negotiated peace process in Oslo, Norway. He promised them “land and money” and everything he said, as long as he gets a peace agreement by the end of August. In the meantime, a ceasefire was declared by both the government and the left-wing forces.
He stayed lukewarm to a ruling by a permanent arbitration court in The Hague on July 12, 2016, which rejected Beijing’s claims in the West Philippine Sea, aka as the South China Sea, and found “that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the nine-dash line.”
Day ago, the president hinted at defending the sovereign wealth of the Philippines if China becomes more aggressive; weeks earlier, he convened a national security meeting, with former Presidents Arroyo, Estrada, Aquino and Ramos in attendance with Vice President Leni Robredo and his cabinet secretaries.
When Gina Lopez was appointed Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, most applauded when she exercised her agency’s authority in pulling the licenses of mining companies who have resorted to open pit mining practices—dangerous practices of leaching mineral contaminants into nearby rivers, much like in Surigao del Sur.
Wanton killings are disturbing to consciences
While the above-named presidential actions are welcome changes, the actions of the national police, resulting in thousands of wanton killings are disturbing not just to citizens in the Philippines but also, abroad.
At a Senate hearing on August 22, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa testified that the police killed 756 who ‘resisted’ and 1,100 died, but not at the hands of the police in the so-called “drug wars.”
Resisted was not derived by submitting facts or circumstances of shootings, but claims that these victims resisted and therefore were killed by the police. Notice they did not describe the threat to their persons, but simply with cardboard signs, which identify them as drug pushers.
Erwin Rafael, a professor of statistics at the University of the Philippines Diliman, posted a comparison of statistics on Facebook. There were 755 murders in July 2015, and 1,271 in July 2016, since Duterte assumed the presidency. Average murders and homicides per day were formerly at 31 but went up to 48 a day in July 2016. In his footnote, he cited the PNP’s statistics the source for the figures he charted.
I correlated his figures with the New York Times, Reuters and Time Magazine, which reported killings at more than 1,900 on August 23, 2016, an average of 36 a day. The figures ranged from 1,800 to nearly 2,000, depending on the newspaper or magazine you read.
Culture of impunity, branding it “Sutokil”
“It’s not about you, me or the President. Everything is bigger than us. That’s why I turned emotional … Your patriotic spirit will really be ignited when you read his speech,” claimed Presidential Spokesperson Martin Andanar.
Indeed, my patriotic spirit is being lit by these wanton killings! After all, there is a 68 percent spike in killings from a year ago — in just 30 days since Duterte was installed, after being a local mayor for seven terms, more than 22 years. Perhaps he needs to be more conscious that he has changed roles and he is no longer the mayor nor the sheriff of Davao, a province, but now of an entire nation.
When we visited Davao 10 years ago, we were struck by our hosts cautioning us not to speak loudly and to wait until we were inside his car to share our observations. He silently whispered that Duterte’s spies were all around and our casual remarks could get us killed.
As our hosts explained, a surge of varying emotions came upon me, much like the days of martial law when civil liberties were suspended.
We were told to order “Sutokil,” at an eating place. It felt strange to hear “Shoot to kill,” yet locals conjured this term to perhaps describe what the fish would go through, as they are cooked into three entrees: Sugba (grilled fish), Tula (fish soup) and Kilawin (raw fish tossed with vinegar, tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices).
That locals traded their consciences for a false sense of security, justifying what they would encounter daily, as necessary: bodies which are charred and grilled at casual random fires in homes and buildings, akin to sugba or grilled fish.
Or seeing bodies swimming in blood, like tula or fish soup, wantonly killed by vigilantes or death squads.
Or suspects’ reputations tainted by associating their names with known drug lords, much like “kilawin” mixed in with peppers resulting in pungent smells about their lives, using a matrix or arrows on a poster.
Of late, Duterte used a matrix poster to link Sen. Leila de Lima as close to a drug runner and at the top of the chain, in the matrix, included two Baraan brothers. Matrix or diagrams in a poster are normally allowed in a courtroom, to show correlation, after a foundational offer of other evidence, as introduced. Without foundational proof, the matrix chart is “basura,” as Senator Leila de Lima noted.
Two members of the Baraan family, one is undersecretary and another is a dean affiliated with academia, were conveniently mentioned as part of the drug pushing network, but with no evidence or proof offered. Many voices in the background shouted promises of obtained affidavits but not much else.
Names of folks were read loudly over national broadcast television news, including de Lima’s personal reputation which was skewered over the glares of television cameras and tried by publicity.
We have never witnessed such despicable conduct from any former male presidents accusing a female senator of her “sexcapades, ” linking her to drug pushing, humiliating her and threatening her (“tapos ka na) that this will be her end and then taunting her with song verses, “Killing Me Softly.”
But why? When she simply asked for a Senate hearing on these wanton killings? How unfortunate that this president, once a prosecutor, forgot his legal training in criminal procedure, criminal law and ethics to insist that his police forces adhere to the rule of law and give them continuous training on how to do proper investigations and collection of evidence so the police can win their drug enforcement cases. After all, during his installation and inauguration, he promised to follow the rule of law, which is now being set aside.
This new president said repeatedly that change is coming. By his persona, he is showing us that he is fearless and that he has the courage of his convictions to rid the Philippines of its drug problems. On ABS-CBN News, he boasted that over 600,000 have surrendered as drug users, but was silent on the number of wanton killings.
Would you be able to have fun in the Philippines, knowing that casual killings occur on the average with 48 per day killed?
“That because we are the victims, we can go ahead and kill them,” Duterte said.
Who, in their right mind, as president, would even think this is acceptable conduct from a public figure and a public official, who was sworn to uphold the Philippine Constitution and took his oath with his right hand on the Bible?
The president even gave his go ahead to kill up to 1,000 and that he is not bothered a bit “as we are the victims,” as if to convey that these casualties will have to be accepted as a consequence of his adaptive leadership style in solving the drug problem. He even said, “I do not care about due process for criminals.”
But wait, isn’t the Philippine government guided by a constitution which presumes anyone is innocent until proven guilty?
Has this president suspended habeas corpus in his mind and now, his subconscious is acting up to give him his wrong-headed thinking that all suspected drug pushers are criminals?
But, even those who are not drug pushing were reportedly killed that alarming stories have appeared in Time Magazine, the New York Times, Reuters and even Business Insider, as of this writing on August 26.
The president’s response: “United Nations, come here and solve the problem.” While another is: “United States, your police keeps killing Black people. Why criticize me?”
Will the rest of the Philippines follow the examples of Davao, trading in their consciences for thousands killed, to emerge safer?
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 9 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in pursuit of her love for arts.