Caloocan Bishop Pablo David and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa were conferred this year’s Ka Pepe Diokno Human Rights Award at a formal awarding held last February 26 at The Verdure, fifth floor of Henry Sy Sr. Hall. The former’s brother, University of the Philippines sociology professor and journalist Randy David, received the award on his behalf due to recent death threats issued against the ordained minister.
“Silence is consent”
Caloocan Bishop Pablo David and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa were conferred this year’s Ka Pepe Diokno Human Rights Award at a formal awarding held last February 26 at The Verdure, fifth floor of Henry Sy Sr. Hall. The former’s brother, University of the Philippines sociology professor and journalist Randy David, received the award on his behalf due to recent death threats issued against the ordained minister.
Ressa began her acceptance speech with the discussion of her corecipient’s conundrum, stating, “What Bishop Ambo is going through is happening to everyone who has raised a voice, everyone who’s perceived to be an enemy, everyone who questions, who demands accountability.”
Talking about “every Filipino who believes in the rule of law,” she recalled her recent arrest last February 13 to illustrate how fear has been a constant factor used to silence people. “I see firsthand how the law is bent to the point that it is broken,” she stated, adding how her fellow reporter Aika Rey was also threatened during the incident.
In spite of what had happened, Ressa stressed that her arrest only made her more resolute in exercising her human rights. She emphasized the need for the Filipino people to start taking action, stating it will become harder for them to exercise their human rights later on. She also critiqued the weaponization of law, arguing that once selective justice and the rule of law is diminished, “then there is no democracy.”
Death threats
“Someone advised me not to return home to Caloocan,” this is what Randy David read aloud from a text message sent to him by his brother, Pablo David, which he translated from Filipino. According to the columnist, the bishop was not able to attend the awarding because he was concerned of the safety of fellow participants and guests to the event. For the past week, he had received death threats which label him as next in line for execution.
“I feel awkward for receiving this award, especially for something that I need to do as a matter of duty,” Bishop Pablo David’s statements began, read to the audience through his brother. He proceeded to commend both Diokno’s legacy as a human rights advocate and Ressa’s courage as a journalist.
Regarding the death threats, he said that the President had been the first to publicly intimidate him. “Bishop David of Caloocan, I know you roam around at night. You must be into drugs. If I catch you even with just one gram of shabu, I will chop off your head,” Duterte allegedly said, according to the bishop’s statement. With that, he was advised to discontinue his normal night routines, which he explained involved praying the Rosary around the San Roque Cathedral.
In addition, Bishop Pablo David recounted how a local police chief offered him protection. Unfortunately, he declined the offer because it was the policeman’s “highest superior (Duterte)” who wanted to “pin him down” as a drug addict.
He believed the reason Duterte is against him is that the former had questioned all the “drug-related killings, illegal arrests, and human rights violations happening in our slum communities.” Nevertheless, he stressed that there is a need to help the marginalized, even in the face of dangers toward his life. As a result, several mission stations were established by the bishop and others in poor urban areas across South Caloocan, Malabon, and Navotas.
The minister ended his statements with a quote from the Mishnah and Koran, citing, “to save one human being is to save all of humanity.”
On compassion and resilience
Vice President Leni Robredo, who served as a guest speaker for the event, commended Bishop Pablo David for his compassion and Ressa’s resilience in her keynote speech.
“Our nation is trying to believe that to be ruthless is to be strong, but Bishop Ambo David has shown us that compassion is one of the greatest strengths we could possess and that empathy embodied by a whole community is what could bring about truth and sustainable change,” she noted.
“This is an era when we seem to be browbeaten until we get tired of resisting, but Maria Ressa’s resilience has become revolutionary. She has left others dumbfounded by holding her head high and smiling in the face of intimidation, and she has inspired the rest of us to hold the line with the power of her soft voice and her razor-sharp eloquence,” Robredo explained.
She also mentioned that the stories and works of the two awardees give people a reason to stand firm on their fight, for human rights is not a hopeless case.
Open forum
Ressa and David entertained audience members after the awarding ceremony with an open forum. The two answered questions from audience members about disinformation in social media, the Duterte administration, and press freedom.
Describing threats on social media as “exponential”, Ressa explained how social media personalities and trolls have been manipulating the public. Nevertheless, she encouraged attendees to remain vigilant against disinformation. “Please do not let the lies silence you,” she stressed.
Albeit, he emphasized that threats to democracy will soon be over, comparing the failing health of Former President Ferdinand Marcos hastening the downfall of his regime to rumors over Duterte’s own health. “The beginning of the end has already started,” he declared.
