People Power revived: spirit of protest stirs in Philippines following arrest of President Rodrigo Duterte’s most prominent critic
Since Duterte came to power in July last year, more than 6,500 drug suspects have been killed by police and unknown assassins, according to official tallies
Ex-Philippine leader Benigno Aquino joined thousands of people on the streets of Manila Saturday as protests broke out against President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.
Demonstrators amassed near the national police headquarters, with some warning the Duterte crackdown foreshadowed a repeat of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, which was toppled in a bloodless “People Power” revolution 31 years ago.
We are warning our people about the threat of rising fascism
“We are taking the matter seriously. We are warning our people about the threat of rising fascism,” protest leader Bonifacio Ilagan said after leading more than 1,000 protesters at a morning rally.
Ilagan, a playwright who was tortured over two years in a police prison under Marcos’ martial rule in the 1970s, cited the “culture of impunity” arising from Duterte’s crackdown.
Duterte, 71, won the presidential election last year after promising during the campaign to eradicate drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people.
He launched the crackdown after taking office in June and police have reported killing 2,555 drug suspects since then, with about 4,000 other people murdered in unexplained circumstances.