#RizalDay: Remembering the martyrdom

Wazzup Pilipinas!

On this day in 1896, national hero Jose Rizal was executed in Bagumbayan, Manila. Every December 30, the nation remembers Rizal's martyrdom which ignited the Philippine revolution against Spain.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines leads the commemoration of the 124th death anniversary of Jose Rizal in Luneta, Manila.

President Rodrigo Duterte is represented by Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana.

The more appropriate honor that mayor Isko Moreno could have given Rizal is when he speaks against the lies and hypocrisy of the government he serves. There is dissonance when he strikes against non-FDA approved products in Binondo then keeps quiet about the use of illegal vaccines in AFP.

In commemoration of Rizal Day, let’s remember some of Pepe’s famous sayings. 

"Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest."

Police Brutality is not an isolated case.

Winston Ragos was killed by policemen who thought he was going to pull out a gun. 

A group of policemen ambushed army intel officers and tampered the crime scene.

Fabel Pineda was raped and killed by policemen when she filed a complaint against them. 

Kidnap-Slay case was done by policemen. The victim was beheaded.

Mother and son Gregorio were shot pointblank with two bullets each by policeman Jonel Nuezca who has previous dismissed homicide cases.

Duterte repeated said that he would protect the policemen and would assume the responsibility to their misdeeds.

"Filipinos don't realize that victory is the child of struggle, that joy blossoms from suffering, & redemption is a product of sacrifice."

Duterte's failed promises are numerous to mention. He also allows the rampant red-tagging of progressive groups critical of the government.

"There are useless officials, evil, if you like, but there are also good ones, and these are not able to accomplish anything because they encounter an inert mass..." 

Here are some of the most shameless factotums who red-tag people carelessly. A thread

1. Red Tagger Parlade often makes baseless accusations. In 2018, he accused the opposition of conspiring with the Communists to oust Duterte. He even made allegations that student organizations were being exploited by the Communists. 

Parlade is pushing for social media regulation but he can't substantiate the basis of doing so. He thinks it is a gray area in the Anti-Terrow Law that needs to be included in the IRR.

He was was booed out of the NUPL Philippines forum which he crashed in because organizers and attendees had enough of his lies. 

2. Red Tagger Lorraine Badoy maligns anyone who is against her.

She is a rabid. She carelessly red-tags any critics of Duterte and defends Mocha Uson. 

She red-tags even journalists thus putting their lives at risk. She has used her post to continue red-tagging even the Makabayan Bloc.

3. Red Tagger Cardema wanted to be a partylist representative so he could bring his red-tagging agenda in Congress. He was disqualified so now his wife replaces him. 

Cardema made it very clear that the plan was to make Ducielle Cardema withdraw before the election to pave the way of a possible substitution. She was a last minute choice to be 1st nominee. The 5th nominee is also a relative. 

Cardema red-tags legitimate youth and partylist groups but can’t present any evidence to support his claims. 

“Our liberty will not be secured at the sword's point... We must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it...tyranny will crumble like a house of cards, and liberty will shine out like the first dawn." 

The fabricated cases against Leila De Lima stemmed from being a strong critic of Duterte. 

When De Lima launched a senate inquiry about the Davao Death Squad & she expressed her strong opposition to the Drug War, she became the primary target of Duterte.

Part of Duterte's efforts to silence her was the House of Representatives hearings that crucified her as an immoral and corrupt DOJ secretary. 

The primary witnesses against her are CONVICTED CRIMINALS and yet the government & Duterte’s allies found them to be more credible. What a joke! 

The PNP even barred anyone from visiting de Lima citing the pandemic but they were allowed to do mañanita for Sinas. 

AMLC & PDEA cleared de Lima because they didn’t find any evidence linking her to the drug trade in Bilibid. 

The cruelest treatment to the Reina Mae Nasino, mother and her baby River who was separated from her, thus causing the baby's death, was on full display during the wake and burial of the child. 

There seems to be a pattern because another peasant leader, Amanda Echanis with her child, is jailed for the same charges. 

Let’s discuss food security, Duterte promised to dismantle the cartel of illegal rice smugglers via Rice Tariffication Law but it has negative effects to the farmers. 

As a consequence, the price of locally produced rice significantly drops.

Duterte promised land reforms by providing support to the beneficiaries. This admin is the slowest in the implementation of land reforms.

Duterte promised to return the coco levy fund to farmers. But Duterte vetoed the bill that was meant to do just that.

"The youth is the hope of our future." 

There’s no such thing as Bobotante but disillusioned due to failure to deliver campaign promises. There must be higher level of discourse such as debates to discuss policies not a grand circus. 

It is not enough to just vote on #Halalan2022 but we must guard our vote and report incidents of election frauds/election related violations to COMELEC & other election watchdogs 

In 2019, PPCRV launched a voter’s education online course to help eligible voters assess/evaluate candidates better. 

Each vote makes a difference in every election. We must treat our vote that we are voting not just for ourselves but for our country and countrymen. 

On this day, we celebrate a national holiday dedicated to the anniversary of Jose Rizal’s martyrdom.

May we never forget his works and sacrifices that sparked a revolution leading to the freedom and democracy of the nation. 

May his ideals and patriotism inspire us to help our country usher in a better, fair, and inclusive future. 

"To live is to be among men, and to be among men is to struggle, a struggle not only with them but with oneself; with their passions, but also with one's own."

"I die without seeing dawn's light shining on my country... You, who will see it, welcome it for me...don't forget those who fell during the nighttime."

~Jose Rizal speaking through "Elias" in Noli Me Tángere

Credits to Tea Sommelier for cover photo and most worded entries

CTTO to the rest of the illustrations