Dispatch from Crame No. 851:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on "Oplan Kalinga"

7/17/2020

Oplan Tokhang COVID-19 edition ito, hindi Oplan Kalinga. Where is the "kalinga" when all it does is heighten the fear that ordinary people feel everyday in this pandemic and use it as an excuse to strengthen a tyrant's hold to power.

Hindi na nga makahinga ang tao sa araw-araw na pangamba na baka mga mahal naman nila sa buhay ang magkasakit, o kaya ay wala nang makain bukas-makalawa, dadagdagan pa ng bangungot na bigla na lang dadamputin ng pulis dahil natsismis na may COVID. Tambak ng pangamba na lang ba ang kayang ibigay ng gobyerno sa ating mga kabababayan?

Aminin natin: our state security forces haven't exactly been making people feel secured even way before this pandemic started, sa dami ng patayan at pag-arestong walang pakundangan. And with the implementation of the Anti-Terror law in the horizon, our fear that our rights will be further trampled upon and set aside with unabashed impunity is not unfounded.

Duterte's obsession with handling every problem as a peace and order issue has led us into this precarious situation. We have a public health crisis that is being treated like a police or a military operation. Hindi naman krimen ang magka- COVID ah. Sakit ito na dapat inagapan na nung una pa lang ng pagsara ng ating mga paliparan, paggawa ng mass testing at contact tracing kasabay ng maayos at sinserong datos.

This latest "pakulo" is another indication of the failure of the Duterte government to resolve the crisis. The autocrat and fascist that he is, Duterte is intensifying the wars that he launched against his own people using another "Oplan", which is clearly violative of the constitutional guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Kaya hindi ito parang "paid-for vacation" na sinasabi ni Sec. Roque. We can wake up one day to headlines like, "suspected COVID patient, nanlaban, patay!" or "Resisting quarantine, patay!". Walang puwang ang kamay na bakal kahit sa gitna ng pandemya. Ang kailangan ng ating mga komunidad ngayon ay mga health workers na may kakayahang magsagawa ng mass testing at contact tracing.

There should be no lockdown on people's rights. Walang kompromiso dun. Paikot-ikot na lang tayo, hindi na tayo naka-ahon sa kumunoy na ginawa ni Duterte. Sana kapag naubos na ang mga pausong oplan at mga termino sa diksyunaryo na iniimbento ng gobyerno ni Duterte, maubos na rin ang mga araw ng pahirap at palpak na rehimeng ito. ###

(Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 852, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_851)