MANILA, Philippines - Chito Samontina, one of Davao’s top video bloggers, has recently released a video answering a trending topic on social media these days, #NasaanAngPangulo.
In his short video clip uploaded on his Facebook page, Samontina came to President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense after the latter was criticized for declaring martial law in the entire island of Mindanao. On Tuesday, May 23, Duterte made the declaration through Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella following the clash between government troops and Maute group in Marawi City.
A Mindanaoan himself, Samontina believes that there is nothing to be afraid of with the imposition of martial law in the island.
“So if others would say “no to martial law in Mindanao”, what we Mindanaoans really hear is: LET THERE BE NO PEACE IN MINDANAO!” If you are not a terrorist, why would you object to this? Why would you be afraid? Are we afraid? No, we are not. We feel safe. We feel secured because we trust our government and that is just how it should be.”
Aside from answering the question “where was the president?”, he also added that Duterte had to declare martial because he cannot afford to let terrorism take over Mindanao.
“Okay, so where was the president? He was at work in Russia and had to cut his visit so he could give priority to his people. He declared martial law because he cannot afford terrorism to rule over Mindanao. Perhaps the real questions isn’t really “where the president was?” but “where are we?”. Instead of uniting ourselves we divide ourselves by prioritizing our personal interests, expressing our different political views. Worse, rejoicing when our nation is suffering. Are we terrorists, brainwashing people’s minds to be scared? If we are not united, we are gonna fall as a nation.”
As of this writing, Samontina’s video has been viewed over 8.5 million times and shared more than 486,000 times.
Watch full video here:
While the imposition of martial law on Mindanao was said to “suppress lawless violence and rebellion and for public safety”, many of the President’s critiques raised concerns of potential human rights violations under his administration. Other groups also claimed that the declaration will only aggravate insecurity in Marawi City.
"Martial Law will inevitably result in intensified military operations, including aerial strikes, which can kill and affect hundreds of civilians, and to an open season for extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, torture and other forms of rights violations," rights group Karapatan said.
--Mini, The Summit Express
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| PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook/Chito Samontina |
In his short video clip uploaded on his Facebook page, Samontina came to President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense after the latter was criticized for declaring martial law in the entire island of Mindanao. On Tuesday, May 23, Duterte made the declaration through Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella following the clash between government troops and Maute group in Marawi City.
A Mindanaoan himself, Samontina believes that there is nothing to be afraid of with the imposition of martial law in the island.
“So if others would say “no to martial law in Mindanao”, what we Mindanaoans really hear is: LET THERE BE NO PEACE IN MINDANAO!” If you are not a terrorist, why would you object to this? Why would you be afraid? Are we afraid? No, we are not. We feel safe. We feel secured because we trust our government and that is just how it should be.”
Aside from answering the question “where was the president?”, he also added that Duterte had to declare martial because he cannot afford to let terrorism take over Mindanao.
“Okay, so where was the president? He was at work in Russia and had to cut his visit so he could give priority to his people. He declared martial law because he cannot afford terrorism to rule over Mindanao. Perhaps the real questions isn’t really “where the president was?” but “where are we?”. Instead of uniting ourselves we divide ourselves by prioritizing our personal interests, expressing our different political views. Worse, rejoicing when our nation is suffering. Are we terrorists, brainwashing people’s minds to be scared? If we are not united, we are gonna fall as a nation.”
As of this writing, Samontina’s video has been viewed over 8.5 million times and shared more than 486,000 times.
Watch full video here:
#MindanaOne, I Pledge To Cooperate
WHERE ARE WE?
Posted by Chito Samontina on Wednesday, May 24, 2017
While the imposition of martial law on Mindanao was said to “suppress lawless violence and rebellion and for public safety”, many of the President’s critiques raised concerns of potential human rights violations under his administration. Other groups also claimed that the declaration will only aggravate insecurity in Marawi City.
"Martial Law will inevitably result in intensified military operations, including aerial strikes, which can kill and affect hundreds of civilians, and to an open season for extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, torture and other forms of rights violations," rights group Karapatan said.
--Mini, The Summit Express
