In her column at The Manila Times titled
“Gary Alejano at the Cambridge” she eloquently summarized what the Magdalo
representative did in front of her foreign audience of the Cambridge Union.
Alejano who is desperately vying for a
seat in the senate this coming 2019 mid term elections, launched more
destructive statements against President Rodrigo Duterte. Compared to the
statements made by Vice President Leni Robredo, the attacks were intentionally
made for the foreign audience, with the hope that the media mileage it can
create will propel him of replacing the soon to be private citizen, his mistah,
and co-Magdalo Senator Antonio Trillanes.
Magdalo Represetative Gary Alejano (photo credit to owner) |
On the same venue a few weeks back
Senator Manny Pacquiao’s speech gave us inspiration to strive for our dreams,
the Alejano is the complete opposite and more to the point that if only we can
speak for ourselves, just to disapprove all the lies that was propagated at
Cambridge against Duterte and the country.
See below is the full quotation of the
column of Ms. Rachel A.G. Reyes
Gary Alejano at the Cambridge Union
CAMBRIDGE, U.K.: OPPOSITION politician and Magdalo party-list
Rep. Gary Alejano spoke last night at the Cambridge Union. He gave one of the
most powerful indictments of President Duterte’s regime yet, delivered on the
international stage. Last week the Cambridge Union had hosted Manny Pacquiao,
who denied that there had been any extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s
anti-drug war. Alejano was quick to put the record straight.
Founded in 1815, the Cambridge Union
is the world’s oldest debating society and prides itself in promoting free
speech and the art of debate. It hosts Nobel Prize laureates, presidents and
freethinkers. Relatively speaking, Gary Alejano, the 45-year-old congressman
and former naval officer, is little known. But his star is rising fast.
Jailed for seven years for leading
two failed coup attempts in 2003 and 2007 against President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo, Alejano has gone on to become one of the most outspoken critics of
Duterte. In 2017 he attempted to impeach Duterte and, with Magdalo partymate,
Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th, filed a supplemental complaint to the International
Criminal Court in The Hague, charging Duterte with crimes against humanity. Now
running for senator in next year’s elections, Alejano is taking an unequivocal
stand against the killings and China’s encroachments in the West Philippine
Sea.
“The killings continue unabated,” he
said in his 25-minute speech before an audience of Cambridge University
students. Citing police records and calling the killings state-sponsored,
Alejano noted that as of May 2018, 4,279 drug suspects had been killed by the
police. However, according to unofficial estimates, he said, the “total number
of killings is now almost 30,000.” He charged Duterte’s political allies,
including most of Congress, with complicity. “Government officials have the
audacity to twist facts and condone and justify the killings,” he said.
“Investigations were either stalled or whitewashed.”
Aicha Dijkshoorn, a Dutch graduate
student studying neuroscience, had heard reports about extrajudicial killings
through Dutch media. “News on the Philippines is mainly focused on overcrowded
prisons and EJKs and I thought Dutch media was biased.” But Alejano’s talk, she
said, “confirmed the reports.”
“Is the drug war a sham?” pointedly
asked one questioner who referred to the recent illicit entry of billions of
pesos worth of drugs through the Bureau of Customs. “I would have expected the
President to have gotten mad, berserk, over the smuggling of tons of drugs,”
answered Alejano. “Instead, he has been silent. We want to support the
President but he needs to be true to his word.” The glaring irony, he
emphasized, was that the price of drugs was falling due to oversupply.
Alejano’s response to questions from
the floor was spirited and combative. He sharply criticized Duterte’s fiscal
and foreign policies that leaned heavily towards China and Chinese loans. The
Philippines, he said, had become “subservient to China.” Recounting the ongoing
Chinese militarization of the West Philippine Sea, he talked about the plight
of Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal. Chinese naval ships were harassing
the fishermen and their catch was being confiscated. “It feels like Filipinos
are thieves in their own waters,” he said.
“Why is President Duterte accepting
Chinese loans that carry interest far higher than the loans being offered by
Japan?” asked an irate Filipino student. “Because, according to Duterte’s chief
economic advisers,” Alejano said wryly, “the Philippines want to make new
friends.” The Duterte administration, he added, simply did not want to do or
say anything to offend China, even at a cost to the country’s own resources,
sovereignty and “our respect for ourselves.”
“It is as if the Philippine
government has developed Stockholm Syndrome,” he said, referring to that
unfortunate psychological condition that causes hostages to cooperate with
their captors as a survival strategy. “Our policies are in line with China’s
interests.”
“What would you do differently then?”
challenged another student. It was a question Alejano positively relished.
“First, we should use a multilateral approach. We should use our victory in the
international tribunal [on the South China Sea dispute], to forge a consensus
among nations that China does not follow international law.” The ruling should
be used as leverage instead of being squandered was his clear message. Second,
he called for a robust maritime strategy. “Not necessarily confrontational or
leading to conflict,” he said. “We just need to start supporting our own
fishermen.” This statement produced an almost palpable “hear, hear” across the
room.
Someone had to bring up the fact that
the President was still enjoying high poll ratings. It may as well have been
me. What was Alejano’s explanation for this? Fear and fake news, he said.
Duterte had succeeded in sowing fear, he said. “If you are a witness to
killings, or to the rounding up of suspects, [or your name appears on] a narco
list, all of whom are targets of a death squad, do you really think you will
speak up against the President? Or would you rather play safe and say you agree
with the President?
Further, Alejano reasoned, social
media and airwaves are bombarded with news that keep people believing in
Duterte and his administration. “We are against fake news and propaganda
because it manipulates the minds of the people,” he said. “It’s a challenge to
educate the people.” On a night where he truly shone, this answer was possibly
his least convincing.
Alejano is an intelligent, articulate
and passionate orator with a serious and promising political future. Should he
win in next year’s elections, he will maintain the relevance and rigor of the
opposition. But he needs to contend with the President’s popularity and
properly understand the diverse and complex sources of his power.
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Report from Manila Times
1 Comments
Same as NINOY Aquinos black propaganda abroad. Never again
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