Pinoy protesters in HK slam Duterte’s alleged tyranny, war on drugs


Filipino activist groups in Hong Kong on Thursday took to the streets ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte's meeting with the Filipino community in the Chinese special administrative region.
Members of the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP) and the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) held up banners slamming Duterte’s alleged tyrannical leadership and the deaths being linked to his controversial war on drugs.
The groups also scored his alleged failure to fulfill his campaign promises and called for the resumption of peace talks between the government and communist rebels that had been scuttled in November last year.
A report by GMA News' Jam Sisante-Cayco on Balitanghali said the rallyists were joined by Lee Cheuk-yan, a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, who said Duterte is not welcomed in Hong Kong.
Speaking to fellow protesters, Bayan Hong Kong chairperson Eman Villanueva claimed that the “economic and social condition in the Philippines is worsening” under Duterte.
“His popularity cannot cover the fact that there are thousands of protesting, who are fighting his tyranny and dictatorship,” he said.
Duterte has bristled at criticisms of his anti-illegal drugs policy in which thousands have been killed since he took power on June 30, 2016.
His outbursts were aimed at the United States, the United Nations, the European Union, the Commission on Human Rights, human rights groups and other international institutions that disagree with his heavy-handed approach to curb the illegal drug menace.
The President repeatedly said he had no intentions of becoming a dictator. He even dared the military to arrest or shoot him should he perpetuate himself in power.
Duterte arrived in Hong Kong late Tuesday following his attendance at the Boao Forum for Asia and bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the southern province of Hainan.
He is set to address some 2,500 Filipino workers on Thursday before leaving for Davao City.
The President is expected to arrive in the country early Friday morning. —Virgil Lopez/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more