By Paulo Loreto Lim

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) held a protest yesterday as part of commemorations for the 32nd anniversary of the People Power movement, which ousted former President Ferdinand Marcos.

“We all thought that democracy was given back to the people,” said  NUJP Director Nonoy Espina. “32 years later, our democracy is being taken away.”

He went on to claim the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is silencing the media.

“If they can silence the media, the public will also lose their voice,” Espina added.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Capitol Lagoon played host to another event, hosted by the Negros Occidental chapter of Tindig Pilipinas, a group formed in opposition to the Duterte administration.

According to local Tindig Pilipinas convener, Atty. Andrea Lizares Si, who also chairs the Provincial Council for Women, “We cannot afford to forget how freedom and democracy can be lost.”

Last month, the Negros Occidental chapter of the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, called for the Philippine president’s ouster.

NDF-Negros spokesperson Ka Frank Fernandez claimed the president has “no more legitimacy” and called on religious leaders, particularly the Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the island, to protest the Duterte administration and demand the president be removed from office./PLL, WDJ