Group urges DOJ to drop sedition raps vs Robredo, et al

MANILA, Philippines — Human rights alliance Karapatan has urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to junk the sedition case filed against Vice President Leni Robredo and several opposition lawmakers and Church leaders, saying the complaint is yet another attempt by the Duterte administration to silence its critics.

Cristina Palabay, the group’s secretary general, said the case merely showed how the government “weaponizes the legal system” to go after those who opposed it.

She said this was akin to the tactics used to put Sen. Leila de Lima in jail for her alleged involvement in the drug trade and to oust Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

“This recent move initiated by the Duterte regime, alongside the countless human rights violations it has committed against Filipino people … shows us how Duterte and his associates are willing to persecute their critics just to have full control over the country,” Palabay said in a statement on Monday.