OPINION
Tinig Migrante
By E. Maestro
It has been 33 years since the
EDSA uprising when the Filipino
people ousted the tyrant and dicta-
tor Marcos from Malacañang. In the
Philippines, people from all walks of
life, young people and those who
marched those streets 33 years ago,
gathered in their numbers with their
banners at the EDSA shrine in Manila
to declare in one loud voice: “Tayo
ang EDSA, tayo ang pag-asa. Tayo
ang EDSA, labanan ang diktadura.”
We are EDSA, we are the hope. We
are EDSA, fight the dictatorship.
Like many human rights ac-
tivists and other Filipinos from vari-
ous sectors of society, EDSA and
the events leading up to that fateful
day in February and its aftermath,
remains a vivid lived experience, not
a magazine article, a video clip or
a chapter in a book. I am sure that
there are many Filipinos here in Can-
ada and abroad who remember the
ouster of the dictator Marcos – they
may not have been in the streets or in
the aftermath of this upheaval – but
they would remember and know the
elation and confidence of the power
of the people of having overthrown a
despot.
Then and now, the system-
atic campaign to silence dissenters
including human rights defenders,
lawyers, social and political activ-
Sounding...
DOH Philippine Integrated Disease
Surveillance and Response (PIDSR)
report showing that, out of almost
22,000 cases of clinical measles-ru-
bella reported between January and
December 2018, there were 5,120
confirmed measles cases. Among
these cases, about 200 deaths were
reported, among which 59 were con-
firmed dead because of measles.
This reflects a staggering 547 per-
cent increase in cases compared to
the previous year (791 cases and 17
deaths in 2017). Of note, 70 percent
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY February 16 - 28, 2019
EDSA, Maria Ressa, Gabriela
and Being Filipino
ists, critics, journalists and media
people, through state violence,
trumped up charges and human
rights violations stares us in the face.
It is already an international concern.
The case of Maria Ressa of Rappler
only made more visible the pattern
of demonization, harassment, red-
tagging which has also unleashed a
pack of foul-mouthed online citizens
and trolls whose actions and words
would put our elders to shame. The
vitriolic diatribes are not only “below
the belt” but also offensive, hateful,
and can only lead to intense hatred
and blind, senseless violence. In
other places, such actions would be
considered hate crimes, but then we
are talking about the Philippines, not
Canada. If you don’t believe me, read
the online posts of Duterte support-
ers calling for attacks against Maria
Ressa and the Rappler staff, threats
to hang and lynch and even rape Ma-
ria Ressa. https://www.rappler.com/
nation/224115-duterte-supporters-
call-for-attacks-newsroom-journal-
ists-february-2019
These are calls to commit
crimes in the vilest language and if
we as ordinary people, as overseas
Filipinos, think that this is nothing to
be concerned about, then we have
lost our soul, our dignity. As human
beings. As Filipinos. This kind of evil
behavior is now the new normal, as citizens and trolls ape the highest of-
ficial in Malacanang.
The right to dissent is a crime
in the Philippines. The right to speak
and write the truth, to work for the in-
digenous peoples, workers and peas-
ants, the right to use the basic hu-
man rights as enshrined in the many
international conventions, even the
Philippine Constitution threaten the
existing order.
Let us not forget that the his-
tory of the Filipino people is the his-
tory of ordinary men and women
who fought for rights, justice, and
for national sovereignty against lo-
cal and foreign oppression. At differ-
ent periods in our history, these men
and women were demonized, hunted
down, arrested, exiled and executed.
They were called derogatory names
like filibusters, insurrecto, rebelde,
subversibo, communists, ladron,
bandido, by governments and rul-
ing classes who were threatened and
scared of them. And yet, years and
many decades later, these very same
men and women are hailed as heroes
and they are the ones who tell us, our
young people, that we come from a
long line of courageous and freedom
loving men and women.
With International Women’s
Day coming up, many Filipinos think
of Gabriela Silang, the General who
led and fought alongside her army
of cases and 88 percent of deaths
due to measles had not been vac-
cinated. All regions in the country
have been affected by this crisis. Let
me repeat it, all regions are affected.
Read that as “no one is safe, don’t
feel complacent!”
PPS and PIDSP remind their
members to ensure up-to-date im-
munization of their patients as part of
the primary responsibility. In particu-
lar response to the current measles
outbreak, PPS and PIDSP also now
recommend pediatricians to admin- ister the first dose of measles vac-
cine to infants starting at the age of
six months instead of the usual nine
months as recommended in the
country’s Childhood Immunization
Schedule.
“We should prevent vaccine
hesitancy from undermining the de-
cades of progress that we have al-
ready achieved in systematically re-
ducing vaccine-preventable deaths
and eliminating numerous fatal and
debilitating diseases in our country,”
Book now and fly any time between April 06 to June 19, 2019
Round Trip Vancouver - Manila from $677.00 CAD
Limited time promotion, prices are subject availability & can change without any notice!
BONUS! On request we will included on the price AD & D Insurance or one free box
1 Night Coastal Cruise + 1 Night Seattle
May 03, 04, 10 and June 02, 2019 ( Princess & Holland America )
From $238.00 CAD /person + Taxes & Fees $168.00 CAD /person
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As Travel Insurance Brokers w e offer Trip Cancellation & Interruption ,
Visitors Visa, Super Visa and Canada/World Medical Plans
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------
All your travel are protected by our Consumer Protection BC License 54565
Join Amigos Travel Team & become a Certified Travel Consultant!
Office: 604-630-8138
www.AmigosTravel.ca Email: [email protected]
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and
colleagues at the Black Friday
Protest for Press Freedom, January
19 at the Scout Circle in Quezon
City | Photo by Lito Ocampo
against the Spanish soldiers. When
she was arrested, the Spaniards sen-
tenced her and her men to die by
hanging. And if that was not enough,
the Spaniards hanged her last to
force on her the agony of seeing each
of her men die before her eyes.
Gabriela Silang surely has in-
spired Filipino women down the
generations to fight tyranny, in what-
ever form, in whatever way. And Ma-
ria Ressa who wields her pen as her
weapon to fight tyranny would make
Gabriela proud.
Therefore, to remember EDSA
is also to remember our people’s his-
tory when the Filipino people used
their power, the power of the people,
to fight against tyranny. To remember
is also to take action against tyranny
wherever we are!
Dr. Salvacion Gatchalian said.
The PPS, established in 1947,
is the oldest medical society of phy-
sicians caring for newborns, infants,
children, and adolescents in the Phil-
ippines. PIDSP is one of the 11 pedi-
atric subspecialty societies under its
umbrella. At present, PPS counts a
total of 6,500 members nationwide.
And to us, that is a small number
compared to the needs of our young
population. (Reprinted from mb.com.
ph)