“MY ORDERS are sa pulis pati military, pati mga barangay, na pagka ginulo at nagkaroon ng okasyon na lumaban at ang buhay ninyo ay nalagay sa alanganin, shoot them dead! Tingnan natin. Patay. Eh kaysa manggulo kayo diyan, eh ilibing ko na kayo.”
So enjoined President Duterte the police and the military to shoot – dead! – those deemed – by his regime – as troublesome violators of the enhanced community quarantine. This, in some late night televised rambling on April 1 – the timing could not have been more perfect: April Fool’s Day.
No direct reference to but the President’s kill order was a characteristic knee-jerk reaction, in this wise, to the hunger demonstration of residents of a Quezon City barangay who claimed they have yet to receive even but a single pack of relief goods from the government since the start of the ECQ some three weeks ago.
Instead of heeding to their call for food, the Quezon City government dismissively red-tagged the demonstrators as having been instigated by the left-leaning urban poor group Kadamay.
Seeing red – as always – fueled further Duterte’s rage: “I will order you detained at bibitawan ko kayo pagkatapos na wala na itong Covid…‘Pag kayo ang na-detain, bahala kayo sa pagkain ninyo.”
So, what is left for the poor to do?
Die of hunger. Die of Covid-19.
Or, the President’s option: Die by Duterte’s order.
Whichever, die. Unserved, rather served with the highest prejudice.
