Daily Tribune

OPINION

Clawing out of tomb

The HRW, as may be remembered, fanned the ‘Davao Death Squad’ myth in the global community using the testimonies of self-proclaimed assassins.

Chito Lozada · Apr 10, 2024, 8:21 PM

The bleeding hearts are back in the saddle after a considerable hiatus with the shift in the anti-narcotics policy under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Instead of a commendation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) is again making a lot of noise about a new “war on drugs” that Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte declared.

Sebastian is the son of former President Rodrigo Duterte who was the nemesis of the rights groups only because of his uncontrollable mouth which spewed out rants and curses which was a trait that ironically endeared him to Filipinos.

The elder Duterte is now the target of the International Criminal Court which is an adjunct of pseudo-rights groups like HRW and Amnesty International.

Completing the hypocritical cast are their local affiliates which have strong links to the leftists and the liberal democrats aiming for a resurrection in next year’s elections after their political extinction in the past two national polls.

In a stupid twist, the HRW said the return of the harsh anti-narcotics drive in Davao City should be blamed on PBBM.

The HRW then resorted to its patented analytic leap, saying that local authorities “killed five people in the 24 hours after (Sebastian Duterte) made the declaration and at least seven within a matter of days.”

Without bothering with due process, it concluded that Sebastian’s directive triggered the killings and President Marcos failed to end the violent anti-drug raids that underpinned the “drug war.”

Lately, attacks on the President have intensified which may be attributed to the hypocritical mob seeking a comeback to the political stage in next year’s polls.

The mob is seeking a comeback from the humiliation of a shutout in the senatorial elections in 2019 and a sound drubbing in the presidential race in 2022.

The bleeding hearts return to activity near election periods with their key contribution being the demolition campaign of the opponents of their liberal democrat allies in the guise of rights protection.

As Mr. Marcos picks up recognition for his deft handling of the West Philippine Sea conflict which resulted in an unprecedented alliance for the country, critics of his performance in the domestic field are expected to increase.

The President, thus, should get pointers from the previous administration which was considered weak in its international relations but consistently obtained high public approval from Filipinos due to its uncompromising campaign against the drug menace and the crime wave.

Now a two-pronged offensive has started in which the incumbent President is a mere continuation of his internationally notorious predecessor while he is also painted as having failed to address the gut issues of Filipinos.

Included in the campaign is to portray PBBM as losing his political capital through stage-managed surveys.

The HRW, as may be remembered, fanned the “Davao Death Squad” myth in the global community using the testimonies of self-proclaimed assassins who were the pawns of destabilizer Antonio Trillanes IV.

The same operations, with some adjustments, are now trained on PBBM.

Investigations made on the allegations of the nemesis of Duterte only revealed an elaborate smear campaign which had the goal of bringing him down — which all but failed since most Filipinos know the nature of destabilization plots that have been recycled many times over.