Demand a clean and honest midterm elections! Reject the Duterte regime through the ballot!

The Philippine midterm elections candidates are already in full campaign mode, full of gimmicks and all. Underneath all of these antics is what this election means for the Duterte regime on one hand and for the Filipino people on the other. Duterte aims to further consolidate power in the government by filling up the senate with those who echo his politics. For the Filipino people, this midterm elections is an opportunity to register their protest and rejection of Duterte’s policies of worsening poverty and joblessness, endless killings, repression and treason. The Malaya Movement demands that the Duterte government ensures a fair, clean and honest elections. This is an opportunity for the Filipino people to engage in their democratic rights and oppose any of those candidates who uphold anti-people policies such as: TRAIN law, Martial Law in Mindanao, and Oplan Tokhang (the Drug War) which have already resulted in worsening poverty and joblessness, militarization in the countryside causing displacement and destruction, and extrajudicial killings reaching close to 30,000.  The Malaya Movement also condemns the blatant use of government resources to give undue advantage to Duterte’s candidates and the use of repression and intimidation against senatorial candidates who are critical of the regime. This shows Duterte’s desperation. We call on the Commission on Elections to swiftly investigate these cases. We urge the Filipino people to reject the Duterte regime through the ballot by rejecting the candidates who have been silent on Duterte’s atrocities and most especially those candidates who are running on the platform of echoing the traitorous, anti-people, anti-women and anti-poor politics. Let us turn this upcoming midterm election into a mass protest against Duterte’s tyranny. We encourage the Filipino people to vote for candidates who have a pro-people platform and a genuine track record in serving the communities and have already vocalized their opposition to the fascist Duterte administration. Lastly, we should all still be vigilant towards any threats of a “no-election” scenario. We should all be prepared to counter and reject the maneuvers of this regime to further cling to power. We must also take this as a challenge for us to also be creative and insert our people’s platform calling on others to join the Malaya Movement and take a stand against Duterte’s violent fascism:

1. Stop the killings: End Duterte’s “war on drugs” and stop the attacks against activists and human rights defenders
2. Lift martial law in Mindanao immediately
3. No to another dictatorship in the Philippines: stop the abuse of executive power and curtailment of democratic rights and civil liberties
4. End the system of political dynasties and corruption in the Philippines.
5. Stand for genuine democracy. Pursue political, economic, and social reforms that benefit the majority of ordinary Filipinos and promote genuine sustainable development in the Philippines
6. Defend Philippine sovereignty against any foreign domination

Furthermore, take immediate action by joining the National Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in the Philippines in Washington D.C. this April 6-8th hosted by Malaya Movement as we further deepen and broaden the movement for human rights and democracy in the Philippines.