Global Justice Now condemns the arrest of Philippines ex-VP candidate, Walden Bello, and calls for his immediate release

Date: 8 August 2022
Campaigns: General

Walden Bello, the world-renowned author, economic justice activist, former University of the Philippines professor and former member of the Philippines House of Representatives for the Akbayan Party (Citizens Action Party), was arrested in the Philippines on Monday 8 August on charges of ‘cyber libel’.  The charges were filed by a former aide of incumbent vice president Sara Duterte. Libel is a criminal offence in the Philippines, rather than a civil offence, and the recently-introduced crime of cyber libel is punishable by up to eight years in prison.

The case against 76-year-old Bello was filed in the local court in Davao City where the Duterte political clan has been in power for more than three decades. Bello ran for vice president in the May 2022 election with Partido Lakas ng Masa (Party of the Labouring Masses), a democratic socialist party, and publicly criticised Sara Duterte for not attending televised vice-presidential debates.

Bello also raised the draconian anti-drug policy of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Sara Duterte’s father, during the campaign. A UN report has condemned the policy as leading to “widespread and systematic” extrajudicial killings of likely tens of thousands of people.

Bello’s arrest is a clear act of political persecution meant to sow fear amongst all those who might speak out against the vice president and the current government. The Philippines government is weaponising the new cyber libel law to harass political opposition in the country. This latest case is similar to the ongoing high-profile cyber libel charge against the CEO of Rappler and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa. What is at stake in both cases are the most fundamental democratic rights – freedom of expression and the right to criticise politicians.

We stand in solidarity with Walden Bello, and Maria Ressa, and call for these vindictive charges to be dropped.

NOTES

Walden Bello is a Right Livelihood (Alternative Nobel prize) awardee and also a recipient of the International Sociological Association’s Most Distinguished Sociologist Award.

This statement has been endorsed by the European ATTAC Network.