Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David had opted not to attend the Ka Pepe Diokno Human Rights Awards 2019 to personally accept his recognition due to death threats.
In a message read by his brother University of the Philippines sociology professor Randy David, the bishop said that he decided not to come so as not to “unnecessarily endanger the lives” of those who will accompany him to the event at De La Salle University (DLSU) in Taft, Manila.
The bishop has been very vocal in criticizing the antidrug campaign being waged by Duterte administration.
Bishop David said that “well-meaning friends who worry for my personal safety had advised me not to take this threats to my person lightly.”
“So I’m begging off from today’s event. What was paramount is that I did not want to unnecessarily endanger the lives of those who would accompany me to this venue,” Bishop David said.
“I hope you will forgive me for not being able to join you today. For over a week now, my phone has been buzzing with text messages written in screaming and intimidating capital letters telling me that I [would be] next in line for execution,” Bishop David stated in his message.
Another recipient of the award is Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa who was arrested recently by the National Bureau of Investigation due to a cyberlibel case filed by the Department of Justice. She was detained overnight at the agency.
For her part, Vice President Leni Robredo expressed alarm over the reported death threats received by clergymen.
“The culture of impunity is very worrisome. When I was in Cebu, I was able to talk to some of the local officials and even ordinary people there and this is what we talked about—the death threats. So the question is, why did we reach this point?” Robredo said in an ambush interview after the program. She was the keynote speaker at the event.
In her speech, Robredo, the world’s eyes are cast upon the Filipinos and the unfolding developments in the Philippines.
“…As our nation comes to grips with portent foreshadowing that our past trauma has returned: the growing culture of division and polarization among us Filipinos, the dark side of the war on drugs that trample human rights, and threats to press freedom that weaken the Fourth Estate, a critical element in our democracy,” she said referring to the pre-1986 Edsa Revolution.
She also cited the threat to remove scholarships of those students considered as “rebellious.”
“Instead of threats to revoke scholarships for student activists, we should talk about how we can make education more accessible. Because for every child sent to school, we help a family rise out of poverty,” Robredo said.
Meanwhile, senatorial aspirant Chel Diokno also condemned the death threats against Bishop David.
“It’s about time that we stop this kind of tactics. What Bishop David wants is only the betterment of this country and justice,” Diokno said.
Also present at the event were former President Benigno S. Aquino III, DLSU President Bro. Armin A. Luistro, Chancellor Brother Bernie S. Oca, among others.
Earlier, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle wrote to President Duterte to inform him that Bishop David and some priests received death threats from “someone claiming to be working for the President’s family.”
On Sunday night, Mr. Duterte, who attended the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan campaign rally in Cebu City said, “Do not touch the priests, they had nothing to do with politics.”