Silencing dissent
“People can smell an authoritarian shift a mile away, and it stinks worse than the Pasig River on a hot day.
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“People can smell an authoritarian shift a mile away, and it stinks worse than the Pasig River on a hot day.
Well, well, well. What do we have here? A government suddenly allergic to accountability, swatting away questions like on a mosquito-infested evening in Manila.
First, they hauled in bloggers to a tri-committee hearing, looking very much like they were laying the groundwork for a crackdown on online dissent. And now, the President’s executive order muzzling government officials on certain topics, namely, the brewing controversy around the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte. You can almost hear the collective gasp of democracy gasping for air.
A quick refresher. The Senate, despite its many flaws,remains one of the last places where government officials can be publicly grilled, shamed, or — if we’re lucky — held accountable.
But apparently, that’s a little too inconvenient for some people in power. Enter Executive Order 464, a golden ticket for officials to zip their lips and conveniently dodge Senate summons like an unfaithful husband ignoring his wife’s calls.
Of course, the official excuse is “executive privilege.” What an elegant way to say, “We’d rather not answer your annoying little questions.” Executive privilege is supposed to protect sensitive national security matters, not shield officials from awkward conversations about their involvement — or lack thereof — in the Duterte arrest fiasco. But hey, when has the law ever stood in the way of a government official’s creative interpretation of it?
Now, we’re left to wonder — is this just the beginning? The free press is already side-eyeing the administration, waiting to see if it’ll be next in line for a government-issued gag order.
After all, history has taught us that censorship, much like a bad haircut, often starts small before it gets completely out of hand. First, you trim a few bloggers, then you snip away at government transparency, and before you know it, the press is wearing a wig made of fear and self-censorship.
The public isn’t stupid. People can smell an authoritarian shift a mile away, and it stinks worse than the Pasig River on a hot day. Filipinos are already wary of how this could snowball into something more sinister.
If officials can dodge Senate hearings today, what’s stopping them from dodging investigative journalists tomorrow? And what comes after that? Social media regulations? An online speech police? A total news blackout?
Lest we forget, the last time a Philippine administration got too cozy about silencing dissent, it didn’t end well — think late-night raids, forced closures of news outlets, and the occasional journalist “disappearing.” Of course, those in power will say, “Don’t be dramatic! We’re just maintaining order!” But we’ve seen this script before, and we know how it ends.
The real question is: will the public push back before it’s too late? The bloggers have already been dragged in, the Senate has been ghosted, and the press is standing on shaky ground. If people don’t make noise now, they may wake up one day and find that they no longer have the right to do so. And by then, all they’ll have left is the sound of silence — and the distant hum of an executive order sealing the fate of free speech.
In the meantime, let’s all enjoy this ride down memory lane—because apparently, history is repeating itself, and it forgot to ask if we wanted a sequel.
Email:mannyangeles27@gmail.com.
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