Korina Sanchez. Image: Instagram/@korina
After the Philippines celebrated its 122nd Independence Day on Friday, June 12, broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez reflected on freedom and “dictatorial terror” in the country.
“There is today a different kind of oppression. There is today a more covert and sinister way of censorship,” she said on Instagram yesterday, June 13.
“It is the kind of dictatorial terror that is [unspoken], an undeclared martial rule that most of us may be too distracted to identify or acknowledge.”
“Huwag lang sana natin papabayaan ang kalayaan na pinaglaban at pinaglaanan ng napakaraming buhay sa ating kasaysayan,” she urged. “Nasa sa atin na kung magpapagapos tayo ulit.”
(I hope we do not neglect the freedom that was fought for and the many lives sacrificed in our history. It is up to us if we will be bound again.)
Sanchez’s home network, ABS-CBN, shut down last May after its franchise was not renewed this year despite pending bills in Congress. The last time ABS-CBN was shut down was in 1972, when President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law.
The TV host’s statement also comes after protests on Independence Day against the anti-terror bill, which has concerned critics for its potential to be used as a tool for the government to punish dissent. JB
RELATED STORIES:
LOOK: Janine Gutierrez attends Independence Day ‘Grand Mañanita’ protest at UP Diliman
Dingdong Dantes calls for amendment of anti-terror bill to protect freedom of speech