OF INTAGRITY

Mark Vincent Eiman

the roots of truth that have been irrigated by blood, nourished by violence, and transformed into a tree of lies and silence is not a simple task, from people walking in unity to people gathering on a battleground, revolting and voicing out one goal: no to redtagging! Everybody tried, but when will they succeed in chopping the source of falsification and threats in our country?

Restoring

The perils that red-tagging poses to Pinoys compels every Filipino activist to continue battling it and let our voices echo in the government. The exertion of this tagging has been prevalent in the Philippines for decades, and as this act continues to paint each activist red, it has become violent and invasive to the lives of Filipinos; killing journalists, farmers, lawyers, writers, leaders of religious organizations, and other individuals that want their voices to be heard by the state and not left muted. Today’s youth will be the ones who will continue fighting to free the voices of Filipinos that have been bottled up. We will be the ones marching in those streets with a placard that speaks for the many, holding it high while hugging one vision and intention. It’ll take courage and grit to be a warrior of these caged-up voices. But what if these young people do not believe they have the freedom to disclose their opinions, express themselves, and pursue their passions?

This is the case for some students here at Alabel National Science High School, where several former campus journalists have stated that they will not pursue careers as journalists in the future due to the negative facets. One of their justification is that it is a dangerous job, despite their only weapons being pens, papers, microphones, and the truth. Journalists face harassment, violence, and threats on a daily basis simply for doing their jobs; some have even been silenced and have carried the voice of truth to their graves.

It exhibits how giving out truthful information to the public can be threatening. However, these types of occupations are not the only victim of this tagging. Unfortunately, farmers are also being tainted red for standing up for their rights. The constant harassment, killings, and imprisonment of farmers have planted fear in them and grew a wave of anger in the public, which became the impetus for their protest, and one message they want to tell the government: “Magsasaka kami, hindi terorista! ” The dedication of journalists and the hard labor of farmers will be futile if we allow the tree of truth to fall prey to lies and fear.