Risa Hontiveros Fired Another Bout Against The Duterte Administration During Her #YouthResist Speech

Last July 18, the #YouthResist rally was held as a response of the young members of the government opposition against President Rodrigo Duterte's SONA or State of the Nation Address to be held on Monday.

In an official statement, known opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros personally thanked the students of St. Scholastica's College in Manila for joining the rally. Hontiveros praised and expressed her gratitude towards the students' "courage" the Roman Catholic school for women showed when they went out of their school and held up placards that were condemning for the current government.

In her statement, Hontiveros claimed that 8,000 to 12,000 people have already been killed by the government. She said this is contrary to the numbers that was released by the government which claimed that only 2,000 were confirmed killed during anti-drug operations.

Hontiveros also boldly claimed that the government does not listen to the poor and are only spreading fake news and are tolerating disinformation.

“That 8,000-12,000 people have been killed by the government’s bloody war on drugs, that this senseless campaign continues despite all the evidence, that murderers are rewarded with reinstatement to their government posts and even promotions; all the senseless death and tragedy is proof that our government does not listen. It does not listen to the poor.”

 She noted that the government is killing both the young and the poor.

“It kills the young and the poor. It does not respect the truth and democracy, it clouds them with fake news and disinformation. This is something we will not stand for.”

She said that the millennials ‘will not be fooled by ‘fake news and information on social media’ and added that ‘social media is the domain of the millennials’

Hontiveros also told her followers on social media that they are going to take back the democracy that the government stole from them.

“We will take back the democracy they are stealing from us. And we know this darkness will pass because you, the young have the light.” 

She also expressed that the "millennials" that people are calling "spoiled, self-centered and so entitled for themselves" are actually the ones showing "courage and patriotism." She also mentioned Shibby De Guzman, a young "kulasa" who led the protest against the Marcos Burial and got harassed online because of that.

“I am particularly proud of my fellow Kulasas, ang mga kagaya ni Shibby De Guzman, who poured to the streets to join the protest actions. This despite the online harrassment and abuse you took for speaking truth to power. For that, my young friends and fellow women, you will always have my respect and admiration.”

 She also reminisced about how she once was a student who was called to rally against Marcos.

“I am reminded of my own youth. I was 15. And I wore the blue and white of this very school when I and my fellow students led a series of protests against the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. That moment began a life of larger social involvement. And I am proud that you many of you have made the same choice here today.”

The senator also urged the other millennials to  "fight for democracy" and stand up against President Duterte's authoritarian rule.

“To borrow a popular phrase from another world, yes, winter is here. The night gathers. But so is our resistance. THE RESISTANCE IS HERE. WE ARE THE RESISTANCE. We will fight. WE WILL FIGHT AND WE WILL WIN because in the words of your generation, you only live once, we only live once. Mabuhay ang kabataan at kababaihan!”

Senator Hontiveros is one of the senators who gave the Duterte a fail grade for her first year as President.

She also criticized the government and labeled that the first year of the Duterte administration is full of ‘misogyny’