Ang Dahilan 23 A Quarter Pounder Salad

22 | FEATURE Ang Dahilan

NI PATRICK PANAMBO DEBUHO NG PAHINA NI CHRISTIAN REGANIT

Hanggang saan ka kayang protektahan ng batas?

Panahon pa lang na walang kalayaan ang bansang Pilipinas, alam ng kasaysayan kung paano ipinagtanggol ng mga Pilipino ang Pilipinas. Ngayong mas pinaiiral ng mga Pilipino ang kamalayan at demokrasya, humahakbang bang paurong ang mga Pilipino upang magtangka ng kasamaan sa bansa? Terorista, ika nga nila.

Matatandaang ika-3 ng Hulyo 2020 nang lagdaan upang maging batas ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang Anti-terrorism Law sa gitna ng pagsugpo sa pandemya na nilalabanan hanggang ngayon. Ang hakbang na ito ay umani ng samot-saring reaksyon dahil sa mga nilalaman nito. Sa katunayan, umabot ng 37 grupo ang naghain ng petisyon upang maibasura ang nasabing batas.

Ang Anti-terror Law ay nahahati sa 56 na seksyon na tumatalakay sa iba’t ibang tunguhin. At higit pa sa 23 rito ay nagkaroon ng diskusyon at pagpasa ng mga memento dahil sa nilalabag nito ang ilang karapatan ng sibilyan. Ngunit alin nga ba sa mga ito ang dapat huwag ipagwalang bahala?

Ang Kapangyarihan ni Juan

Sa isang pabirong post sa isang social media ni Juan, nalagay sa panganib ang kanyang pangalan. Dahil nagpakalat siya ng isang haka-haka na magkakaroon ng kaguluhan. Sa mata ng batas, isa na siyang terorista ayon sa AntiTerrorism Law. Ito ay nakapaloob sa napakalawak na depinisyon at walang nakalagay na tiyak na krimen tulad ng pagpatay, paghihimagsik, at iba pa. Matatagpuan ito sa loob ng ika4 na seksyon, at ika-5 hanggang 14. Kamakailan nga ay inilahad ng korte suprema na ‘di naalinsunod sa saligang batas ang ika-4 na seksyon dahil nga sa ‘di tiyak nitong kahulugan.

Sa kabilang banda, ang pagbibigay ng opinyon, legal na protesta, pagsasagawa ng adbokasiya at karapatang pantao, at mga katulad nito ay hindi dapat magtatatak sa iyo bilang terorista. Taliwas ito sa nangyayaring malawakang red-tagging o ang pagaakusa sa mga indibidwal o grupo na kasapi umano ng isang teroristang grupo.

Makikita rito kung gaano kalakas ang kapangyarihan ng isang Juan. Kung kaya’t dapat mong gamitin ang iyong kalayaan at tinig sa kapakanan ng bansa. Hindi rin natin masisisi ang kilos na ginagawa ng nasa itaas dahil sino ba naman ang maghahangad ng kapahamakan sa bansa? Sana ganoon nga.

Ang Kahihinatnan ni Juan

Nang dahil sa post ni Juan, ang Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) ay kaya siyang patawan bilang terorista kahit pa walang dumaan na paglilitis. Mayroon ding kakayahan ang AntiMoney Laundering Council (AMLC) na ipatigil ang kanyang mga pag-aari.

Ayon pa sa seksyon 29, si Juan ay kayang arestuhin nang walang kaso at warrant at idetine hanggang 24 araw. Sa ilalim ng seksyong ito, kahit pa maghain ng writ of habeas corpus o ang kasulatan ng utos ng hukuman ang suspek na magbibigay kalayaan sana sa kanya hanggat ‘di legal na dapat siyang ikulong, ay hindi ito mapapayagan ayon sa konteksto ng bahaging ito.

Ang seksyon na ito ang isa sa dapat pangambahan ng lahat sapagkat maaari itong gamitin laban sa mga kritiko ng gobyerno at abusuhin. Ngunit hindi ito nasama sa mga labag sa konstitusyon na ibinigay ng korte suprema kundi ang ika-25 seksyon na kung saan may kakayahan ang itinalagang ATC na humingi ng pagpapatibay na isang terorista ang suspek tulad ni Juan. Sino si Juan?

Ang lahat ay apektado. Pilipino ka man o banyaga, may pagkakilanlan tulad ng artista o may tungkulin sa gobyerno at iba pa. Si Juan ay pwedeng pangkaraniwang tao, isang influencer, at sino-sino pa. Ngunit ang pangamba ng karamihan, ang gamitin ito sa mga progresibong grupo, mga kritiko ng gobyerno, mga nakikilahok sa protesta, at mga tulad nito.

Patunay rito ang kaunaunahang kaso sa ilalim ng batas na ito. Dalawang magsasakang ayta o ita ang hinuli dahil lumabag umano ito sa Anti-terrorism law noong Agosto, 2020, partikular ang ika-4 na seksyon nito. Sila ay nakulong sa tagal na halos isang taon hanggang sa walang naipakitang sapat na ebidensya.

Sa tagal ng oras na nasayang sa buhay ng dalawang magsasaka, sila ay biktima ng napakalawak o walang tiyak na depinisyon ng pagiging terorista.

Makikitang hindi lang si Juan na nagpost ng isang haka-haka ang apektado sa lawak ng saklaw ng batas na ito. Maaring ikaw naman ang sunod, sinasadya man o hindi.

Alam ng kasaysayan na ipinagtanggol ng mga Pilipino ang kalayaan ng bansa laban sa mga dayuhan. Ngunit, mayroon bang malalim na dahilan ang namumuno ngayon upang ipasa ang nasabing batas gayong wala namang mananakop sa panahon ngayon? Kailan naging paurong ang hakbang kung nagiging matalino ang mga Pilipino?

Ginawa ang batas para protektahan ang nasasakupan nito. Ang pag-abuso at pagpili ng pinoprotektahan nito ang siyang nagiging dahilan kung bakit ito nagiging mapang-abuso.

A QUARTER POUNDER

Salad BY NEIL ANDREW FORMALEJO

GRAPHICS BY BRANDON DELOS SANTOS PAGE DESIGN BY DARWIN ESCARO

Did you know that you can wash the gluten out of flour until what remains is that precious hunk of protein and voila; sprinkle some spices, fry, cook, simmer in vegetable broth and you now have meatless meat. Instead of your regular sugary smoothie with all those disgusting animal dairy products, why not go for a blend of kale, spinach, any non-dairy milk (Oat milk, Soy Milk or Almond Milk), and a dash of the holy grail of superfood, chia seeds. As was the claim, it is healthier and more free of toxins.

Why not switch to tofu instead of consuming those disease-full hunk of swine or those cancer-causing artificially manufactured poultry? So you decided to quench your sweeth tooth. Is your cookie worth the trouble of using those forcefully plucked coagulants from the uterus of chickens who probably have already suffered from their not-so-good living condition? Well you can use flaxseed instead; a more merciful and friendly alternative while doing the same job.

Sounds familiar? You might have already read this kind of ostracization in an article or was posted by one of your social media friends. It even has a name; VEGANISM. According to the Cambridge dictionary, it is the practice of not using any animal products like not eating meat, fish or cheese and not using eggs, or leather. those believers of this practice force their belief upon other people.You may see vlogs, journals on the internet or influencers demonizing those people who have not yet converted to veganism.

Go meat-free, it’s healthy! Be green and abstain from animal products! Choose sustainable consumption! And many more of those pesky slogans. Your choice is judged.

They go as far as being Karens/ rude customers in restaurants with no vegan alternatives in their menu. They go nauseous by the smell of their barbecuing neighbor and so they call the cops. Are you as they always said, so blind as to not bat an eye about the animal abuse in the meat industry? How about the concern of being unhealthy by consuming those chemically-modified meat or if not, their flesh so riddled with toxic viruses and bacteria?

Some of their concerns is actually legit; like for example the existence of toxins to some of the meat products as they may contain a hefty amount of preservatives or chemicals that could harm you over time. We can’t also dismiss the fact that some industry practices inhuman treatment of animals. There are also threats of disease such as recently, the country is ravaged by Swine

Fever wherein thousands of pigs were burned and killed in fear that they are contaminated. Then as you dig deeper, you find out that the dairy industry is somewhat non-sustainable because to mass produce all their products, they need thousands of hectares of land for the grazing of cows. Plus, they consume massive metric tons of water in growing those grasses from thousands of acres. Most importantly, meat, especially pork, may contain unhealthy amounts of fat. According to the World Health Organization, the leading cause of death around the world is heart disease wherein one of the main contributors are obesity siphoned from this animal fats. You could say that their calls are somewhat reasonable. Very convincing in making you switch. However, just because these problems exist doesn’t mean that we have to completely erase meat consumption from society. Others have said that this argument of veganism is preposterous because humans have been eating meat for thousands of years. It is a part of our diet as we are omnivores by nature.

Besides, because of the fact that there are essential nutrients that you can only get from meat, veganism is not for everyone. For example, vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that synthesizes the metabolism of the different cells in our body. It is only available from meat, fish, eggs, poultry and dairy products. Lack of this vitamin could cause folate deficiency anemia. Deficiency of vitamin B12 has also been identified in some under-nourished people. Vegetarian and vegan diets could cause these types of malnourishment problems. What you thought was good and healthy could actually cause more harm than good in others.

Judging and demonizing consumers won’t even solve the concern such as harming the environment, harming the people with their products or maltreatment of the animals. Consumers are not the major cause of it. In fact, by acting like this, you are just shifting the blame and only letting those actual perpetrators be scot-free. Industries and exploitative corporations are the one we should blame. They are the ones producing a destructive system, not only to the environment but also to the people.

This is the peak of capitalism–to diverge the issue and escape accountability; these corporations would even blind you with their “green substitutes”. You would be surprised if you look closely. Some products that are vegan with meat-free labels can actually contain animal products. It’s just hidden.

Ever wonder about those number coded ingredients? E120 for example is a code for red food colorant, derived from a crushed cochineal beetle. Some foods even contain harmful substances, only their nature is disguised by this code. E285 is actually being used as a food preservative. Guess what this mysterious substance is? Borax. It is by the way also used as a laundry detergent booster or a household cleaner. This can be anywhere. Veganism won’t make this all go away.

So you see, this problem is etched deep into the established greed and corruption in our society. Vilifying a fellow consumer for their choice further distances you from the big picture. At the end of the day, you all have the right to choose. It’s your life and so live it the way you want. Do whatever works for you. Here are two cents worth pondering; having a choice is good but ramming down someone’s throat with your belief is a different story.