Manifestation of Senator Risa Hontiveros on Senate Resolution No. 517
March 6, 2023
MANIFESTATION OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 517
Mr. President, I wish to associate myself with both resolutions and ask that I be allowed to make a manifestation on Senate resolution no. 517.
Ako po ay sumasang-ayon sa panawagan na kundinahin ang walang-habas na pamamaslang kay Governor Roel Degamo. Kanina ay ako ay naghain ng Senate Resolution no. 518, which calls for an investigation, in aid of legislation, on that brazen killing of Governor Roel and the spate of killings on elected public officials.
It is my belief that, given the frequency of attacks on public officials, it is imperative that we look into the causes and drivers of these incidents so that we can institute the necessary measures - whether policy pa po yan, o legal, o law enforcement - para subukang maiwasan ang ganitong mga pangyayari.
Halimbawa po, hindi ko po maiwasang isipin na ang pagpatay kay Gov. Degamo ay may kinalaman sa desisyon ng COMELEC na siya ay iluklok bilang Gobernador ng Negros Oriental, matapos idiskwalipika ang boto ng isang nuisance candidate. Does it not cause us to reflect on whether or not this violence was preventable had the nuisance candidate been declared a nuisance earlier on, and the first-proclaimed Governor allowed to occupy the gubernatorial post?
Hindi ko din po maiwasan na tanungin sa aking sarili kung bakit nakasuot ng pixelized fatigues ang mga bumaril kay Gov. Roel. Naalala ko tuloy ang hearing ng Committee on Public Order ni Senator Bato last Congress tungkol sa vigilante killings sa Negros, na ang isang lumitaw din ay naka military outfit ang mga pumatay.
While I support, in broad strokes, the call to investigate the killing, sa aking pong palagay, it is important to also look at the other institutions and how they may - whether deliberately or not - have contributed to the violence visited upon public officials. Halimbawa, when we hear "election-related violence" we usually think of acts of violence in the lead-up to or immediately after an electoral contest. Paano kung matagal na ang eleksyon pero ang ugat ng karahasan ay election pa din? What is our framework for that?
Ako po ay lubos na nakikiramay sa pamilya ni Gov. Degamo, lalo na ang kanyang maybahay na si Mayor Janice. We honor his memory, and the memory of the other elected public officials who have fallen -- including Cagayan Vice Mayor Rommel Almeda of Datu Montawal, Maguindanao del Sur, former Vice Mayor Danilo Amat of Quezon, Quezon Province, former Vice Mayor Romeo Sulit of Lobo, Batangas, and former Mayor Rosita Furigay of Lamitan City, Basilan.
Ngunit mauulit po ang ganitong pamamaslang kung hindi natin tukuyin ang puno't dulo ng problema. Salamat po.
