Senator Risa Hontiveros accused Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte of using the same tactic used by late President Ferdinand Marcos after the latter indicted her for “abetting rebellion”.
“This is the same tactic used by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos against democracy defenders like Soc Rodrigo, Lorenzo Tanada and Ka Pepe Diokno,” the senator said in a statement.
“Even then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo resorted to this when she accused journalist Tina Panganiban Perez of abetting a rebellion when the latter was simply fulfilling her duty as a member of a free press,” added Hontiveros.
Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte recently went to the social networking site, Facebook wherein she accused Hontiveros of “abetting rebellion”.
This was after Hontiveros said in a statement that the crisis in Marawi City brought by Maute Group doesn’t fall either in rebellion or invasion.
“[P]aki explain sakoa ni.. kay murag na siya spokesperson sa mga terrorista.. and why is nobody doing anything about this???” she said.
Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, said.
“Ang Maute group ay hindi mga rebelde. Sila ay mga terorista. Ang mga rebelde gaya ng CPP-NPA, MNLF at MILF ay kausap na ng pamahalaan sa peace process. Ang Maute ay hindi. Wala silang karapatan umupo sa lamesa ng kapayapaan. The essence of rebellion is ideological. Terrorism is pure terror,” the senator said.
“In my long years as a member of the government panel for the peace process, the principle has always been to set a very high bar for characterizing a given incident as rebellion because history has demonstrated repeatedly how governments use the label of rebellion to justify the abuse of state power to silence dissent,” she added.
Risa Hontiveros also noted that she was disappointed by the statement of the incumbent Davao mayor whom she considered as “friendly acquaintance”.
“The Mayor and I have been friendly acquaintances for some years, and I respect her as a fellow woman leader,” Risa Hontiveros said according to GMA Network.
