Home NATIONWIDE ‘Freedom of expression’ sa PBBM admin, nalalabag ayon sa report; NSC pumalag

‘Freedom of expression’ sa PBBM admin, nalalabag ayon sa report; NSC pumalag

TINAWAG ng National Security Council (NSC) na “one-sided, misleading, at baseless” ang kamakailan lamang na report ng Amnesty International (AI) ukol sa umiiral na pagbabawal sa paghahayag ng opinyon at freedom of expression sa bansa sa ilalim ng administrasyong Marcos.

Sinabi ni NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya na ang report ng AI ay nagbigay lamang ng ‘one-sided portrayal’ at nabigong ikonsidera ang pagsisikap nga administrasyong Marcos na protektahan ang ‘freedom of speech at freedom of the press.’

“The NSC should have been given the opportunity to rebut each of their so-called findings before this was released to the public. This only fuels speculation that the report is more for propaganda purposes to vilify the state rather than an honest assessment,” ang sinabi pa ni Malaya.

Ayon pa kay Malaya, nais nitong makita ang ‘methodology’ na ginamit ng organisasyon sa pagpapalabas ng nasabing findings.

“What due diligence did they undertake to ensure that their respondents are unbiased and have no political agenda against the Marcos administration? Remember, it’s election season. How did AI choose their respondents? The government and the public has the right to know,”ang sinabi pa ni Malaya.

Idinagdag pa ni Malaya na handa ang NSC na makipag-usap sa AI at pag-usapan ang report kung ito ay bukas sa ‘constructive, fair, at balanced engagement.’

Sa kabilang dako, kinastigo naman ni Malaya ang grupo sa padalus-dalos na paghuhusga.

“Freedom of expression in the Philippines is constitutionally-protected and we can see that in the robust and healthy traditional and social media environment where opinions are expressed freely every single day,” ang sinabi pa ni Malaya.

Nilinaw naman ni Malaya ang ilang bahagi ng report gaya ng pagbabahagi ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF- ELCAC) ng maraming post at press statements sa Facebook page kung saan maraming kabataang aktibista ang di umano’y sinisiraan at binabato ng mga maling akusasyon na idinadawit sa armadong grupo.

“What the NTF-ELCAC shares in its Facebook page are testimonies from expert witnesses, some of them former rebels, who speak about their own personal experiences. Most of these were given under oath in Senate hearings or in public fora. These individuals also have freedom of expression which we cannot stifle,” ang sinabi ni Malaya.

Binigyang diin pa rin ni Malaya na ang presensiya ng NTF-ELCAC sa online ay naglalayong ipabatid sa publiko ang tungkol sa tunay na banta na ipinapamalas ng terrorist organizations, salungat sa iginiit ng AI na ang digital tools ay sandata laban sa mga aktibista.

Ukol naman sa Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), sinabi ni Malaya na tila na- overlooked ng report ng AI ang mahalagang papel ng batas sa nakagagambalang terrorist activities .

“AI conveniently overlooked the fact that the Philippines is one of the countries heavily impacted by terrorist activities from the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) to violent extremists in Mindanao. We have the last remaining communist insurgency in the world. In fact, we are still 19th in the Global Terrorism Act. We need an Anti-Terrorism Law,” ang sinabi ni Malaya.

Idinagdag pa nito na ang communication efforts ng NTF-ELCAC ay naglalayon na kontrahin ang disinformation na pinalaganap ng extremist groups.

“Abolishing the NTF-ELCAC would leave vulnerable communities exposed to insurgency threats, hinder the government’s ability to deliver essential services, and render all our efforts to end terrorism from the CPP-NPA-NDF futile,” ang sinabi ni Malaya.

Samantala, hinikayat naman ni Malaya ang grupo na i-adopt ang balanse at mas ‘objective at circumspect view’ ng situwasyon kaysa sa gayahin lamang ang mga linya ng mga detractors ng NTF-ELCAC at kilalanin ang kahalagahan ng pagsalungat sa ‘violent extremism’ habang ginagalang ang ‘freedom of speech at human rights.’ Kris Jose