Don’t look away

Life has become disposable in this administration where our own youth have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings before even coming of age. From the death of boys like Kian delos Santos and Carl Angelo Arnaiz, to the House of Representatives’ P1,000 budget proposal for the Commission on Human Rights, topped with the recent abuses of power by the Caloocan police, justice and due process have disappeared in the midst of this social upheaval that has called upon the youth sector to stand against tyranny and authoritarian rule.

The current administration has taken to playing a game of, “How many extrajudicial killings can we get away with?” Unfortunately, the response may at times sound like, “How many innocent deaths do we have to wait for before we take action?”

A crime cannot be diminished by another crime. It only replaces it.

After remembering the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime yesterday on the 45th anniversary of Martial Law, we say firmly, enough is enough. Enough youths have died in the war on drugs and enough rights have been abused under this administration. We can no longer stand idly by as the bedrock of our democracy is being destabilized under a presidency that has abused the trust and dignity of its constituents.

We stood on the right side of history, fighting for good until the last end.

We can no longer look away as youths are killed and their future along with it. As the youth stand against these social injustices, we also stand for our future—the future of this nation. In opposition to extrajudicial killings, we fight for life as we understand that this culling of the poor is not the answer to our problems because a crime cannot be diminished by another crime. It only replaces it.

As we stand in solidarity with the movement for justice, peace, and life, we also acknowledge the bloody stain left on our nation by extrajudicial killings. But we refuse to let this stain become a permanent shadow over our country, and with that, we fight to right the wrongs so we do not feel shame, knowing that we stood on the right side of history, fighting for good until the last end.