Rights defenders are the people’s friends, Duterte is not
Human rights defenders, including foreigners such as Australian
missionary Patricia Fox, are friends of the Filipino people,
especially the toiling masses of workers and peasants. They
help the people express their aspirations for peace and social
justice and expose their grievances amid the brutality and
cruelty of the Duterte regime. The people warmly welcome them
into their communities, homes and hearts.
In contrast, Duterte the Terrorist is the Filipino people’s
enemy. Their hatred for Duterte is intense for dropping bombs,
murdering people and the wholesale curtailment of people’s
rights. He is despised for his rehabilitation of the Marcoses,
alliance with the Arroyos and other icons of fascism and
corruption and for plundering government coffers together with
his big business and foreign monopoly capitalist friends.
For his brutal and cruel wars of suppression and destruction,
Duterte is considered persona non grata by the people who have
suffered under his ruthless regime. The people demand
retribution. Thus, Duterte morbidly fears the people. Hindi
siya makalabas ng Malacañang na hindi siya balot-ng-bakal.
Takot na takot siya sa mga binomba at ipinapatay niya. He
cannot freely move around the country, especially in the rural
areas and in the urban slums, without being escorted by
battalions of fascist soldiers.