“Kumpleto ang mga sangkap ng pang-aapi ni Duterte sa maralita. Demolisyon, pagpapalayas, gera at kawalang aksyon sa malalang kawalan ng tirahan, kontraktwalisasyon at kawalang-hanapbuhay sa mga manggagawa, pagtatanggal ng kabuhayan ng mga tsuper, militarisasyon, pang-aagaw ng lupa at pamamaslang sa mga magsasaka at pambansang minorya at pamamaslang sa maralitang lungsod sa ngalan ng gera kontra droga. Kumpleto ang mga dahilan para ipanawagan natin ang pagpapaalis sa kanya sa pwesto,” said Kadamay Spokesperson Cel Cari.
[Duterte’s oppression of the poor is consummate. Demolition, displacement, war and lack of action in the face of grave homelessness, contractualization and joblessness of workers, taking away the livelihood of drivers, militarization, land-grabbing and killings of peasants and national minorities and killing of urban poor in the name of war against drugs. Our reasons to call for Duterte’s removal from office are complete.]
Cari said Duterte’s program are in pursuit of the neoliberal policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization that for decades have imposed by imperialist masters especially the US and facilitated by bureaucrats and Duterte is no different from those before him.
Kadamay Metro Manila criticized the worsening attacks of the Duterte administration against the poor’s right to life and to live decently. They said that the government has been consistent in killing the poor in different forms. Protesters also expressed their frustrations as they blamed Duterte over his failed promises to the poor.
“Noong isang taon, sabi [ni Duterte] palalayasin niya ang US at galit siya sa mga oligarkiya sa bansa, pero ngayon puno ng mga programa niyang tumutugon sa interes ng US at ng mga oligarkiya,” said Barug Katungod Spokesperson Ryan Amper.
[Last year, Duterte said he would kick the US out of the country and he showed anger against oligarchs in the country, but now he has programs that respond to US and oligarchs’ interests full to the brim.]
He referred to the Build, Build, Build program, the destruction and rebuilding of Marawi, tax reform and big mining among a few programs.
“At kung anong nangyari doon sa Marawi na pinagbobomba niya, mga terorista ang kanyang sinasangkalan. Hindi iyan ang dahilan. Ang dahilan, i-demolish ang buong lungsod ng Marawi. Para ipatupad ang neoliberal na programa sa urban renewal para pagkakitaan ng mga dayuhan,” said Kadamay Chair Gloria Arellano.
[What happened to Marawi that he shelled it, he used terrorists as the reason. That is not the reason. The reason is demolish the whole city of Marawi. So that the neoliberal program for urban renewal for profit-making of foreigners can be implemented.]
The group said that demolitions continue under Duterte, citing that they heard not even a single word from the government on the almost two months of ‘homeless camp’ of Floodway residents at the doorsteps of the Palace in Mendiola.
Aside from this, Kadamay Metro Manila pointed out the rising number of killings due to the bloody drug war campaign of the government adds-up to the long list of Duterte’s offenses against the poor.
During the rally, the group burned an 8-foot ‘DuterT-Rex’ effigy in Mendiola made by UGATLahi Artists Collective. The group said the image symbolized Duterte as tyrant and predator of human rights.
Kadamay Metro Manila vowed to stage a series of protests for the removal of President Duterte in office. The group said that they would be joining the rally of Movement Against Tyranny on December 10, in time for the observance of the International Human Rights Day 2017.
