RINJ Foundation Urgent warning to Women of the Philippines
Manila, September 3, 2016, 12:00 noon
Warning to the Women of the Philippines
Serious risk to all women in the Philippines exists today & in days ahead.
Recently elected President R, Duterte said he would avoid declaring martial law then later in the face of criticism by politicians around the world and civil rights activists who opposed his extra-legal killings of drug users, threatened that he would declare martial law if the criticisms did not stop.
Duterte just did declare a form of martial law an hour ago.
He calls it something else.
The reason he uses: Fourteen people were killed in his former constituency of Davao City where his daughter is incumbent Mayor of Davao City. Sixty persons were injured by explosions yet explained. One of the nurses at the hospital says the injuries include shrapnel.
The latest suspicion among locals is that the explosions were done by people protesting the closing of the “Night Market” in Davao City.
At noon today local time the Davao City mayor said, ‘the Night Market is back on tonight’.
The “State of Lawless Violence” now in force gives police and military similar authority to “Martial Law” but officials have said they will not be taking over civilians’ government jobs.
Duterte on CNN Philippines said that he believes that the explosions in Davao where his daughter is Mayor were indeed acts of terrorism done by Abu Sayaff as a distraction. Recently Abu Sayaff have been killing many Philippine soldiers in clashes within Mindanao. He went on to say that the nation-wide declaration of quasi-martial law was on account of “extra legal drug killings and Abu Sayaff.”
“The military and the police will run the country in accordance with my specifications,” says President Duterte who in the last two months has ordered the extra legal killings of over 2000 citizens he suspects are drug users. He has said that if civil rights activists continued to harass him with criticism in the press he will declare martial law.
Meanwhile the Supreme Court of The Philippines is hearing cases of rape and violence by police against women during previous states of martial law.
One extra legal authority given police and military is random search and seizure without warrants wherever they want.
They are supposed to be looking for weapons sellers, drug dealers and locals on the lamb. Safety levels for women are 0 under some circumstances.
What you need to be afraid of are Barangay Tanod, local police and PNP (Philippine national police) plus military and maybe security guards.
If you are one of the 105 million Filipino here you are not likely to ever meet a terrorist in your life unless you have one in your family already. The Abu Sayaff are boy scouts and about the size of a boy scout troop compared to ISIS and are very young, child soldiers (half) and yes, reckless so very dangerous. But your police, unleashed, are dangerous to you.
Be careful, women. In the past we know that women are especially at risk when police are given unlimited powers in the Philippines. “Cops” may declare you a risk, bring you to the police station and rape you, torture you and imprison you under trumped up charges or worse.
- Be wary,
- don’t travel alone at any time,
- and keep your behaviour above reproach.
- Stay away from alcohol, bad driving, drugs & bad people.
- Do nothing to bring you in contact with the criminal justice system.
One Filipino RINJ medical worker says, “There are very few groups of people who compare in corruptness to law enforcement in the Philippines.”
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