The PNP Do not Enforce the Law Against Open Burning Equally

The Philippines is a lawless nation. Sure there are laws in the Philippines but they are followed and enforced at will. Case in point is RA 9003 which prohibits the burning of open waste. The PNP is using this law to prosecute the burning of an effigy during the 2023 SONA protests.  

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1820884/qcpd-goes-after-artist-behind-marcos-effigy-burned-at-sona

Looks like the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) is going hard on “polluters” — or at least the politically active kind.

The resident artist of the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) received a subpoena on Wednesday asking him to appear before the Office of the City Prosecutor to answer a complaint from the QCPD that accused him of causing air pollution.

It was in connection with an effigy created by Max Santiago and set on fire during a Bayan protest action in Quezon City that was directed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 24.

Santiago was the artist behind the papier mache artwork titled “Doble Kara (Two-faced),” which depicted a giant gold coin with a dual image of the president — a visual swipe at the Marcos ill-gotten wealth cases.

The QCPD complaint, initiated by Staff Sgt. Mario Sembrano and Cpl. Paolo Navarro of the Anonas Police Station, alleged that the burning of the effigy during the Bayan rally “lasted for several minutes and greatly contributed to air pollution which grossly negates the government program in ensuring the protection of public health and the environment.”

The officers’ three-page joint affidavit asked that Santiago and three “John Does’’ be penalized for violating the Clean Air Act (Republic Act No. 8749) and Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003).

It further accused Santiago and the unnamed Bayan activists of committing “a deliberate disrespect to the president and to the country” and explained that the QCPD was taking legal action “for them to not be imitated by other demonstrators and other citizens.”

This phrase is key:

“A deliberate disrespect to the president and to the country." 

But wait, what?  These kinds of protests, burning effigies of politicians have been going on for years. Why should a Marcos change anything?

Lawyers have jumped into the fray telling the PNP to cool it and study the intent of the law. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1821160/effigies-as-pollutants-police-told-to-study-law-they-used-to-sue-activists

Effigies have been regular fixtures in protest rallies, including those that activists hold when the highest official of the land, the President, delivers the State of the Nation Address (Sona).

According to Raymond Palatino, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), using effigies during demonstrations is constitutionally protected and part of the right to dissent.

Dr. Maria Ela Atienza, professor of political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, said the burning of effigies has long been part of protests all over the world, and that in the Philippines, “there is freedom to protest based on our laws.”

“Government officials can be criticized and held accountable,” she told INQUIRER.net.

Looking back, former presidents, like Gloria Magacapagal-Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte, had seen how effigies bearing their likeness were set on fire by protesters criticizing government neglect, especially of the poor.

But this year, the burning of the “Doble Kara” effigy of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was met by a complaint, with the police saying that it was in violation of two environmental laws.

Palatino, however, said the law is being “misused.”

“Authorities are misusing the law to criminalize freedom of expression. We will challenge this harassment suit since it could set a dangerous precedent,” he said on Wednesday (Aug. 23).

As alleged by the complainants, the burning of the effigy last July 24 was in violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and RA No. 8749, or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999.

RA No. 9003 prohibits the open space burning of solid waste “defined as all discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous institutional and industrial waste, street sweepings, construction debris, agricultural waste, and other non-hazardous/non-toxic waste.”

But Terry Ridon, a public policy lawyer, said what the law prohibits is the “open burning of solid waste,” and that in any circumstance, “works of art such as effigies cannot be considered solid waste.”

Palatino said “we will challenge this harassment suit since it could set a dangerous precedent,” stressing that “we will not allow the police to dictate what forms of expression can be done in exercising our right to dissent.”

"A dangerous precedent" to "our right to dissent?" Who cares? Dissent never changes anything.

What's most important to note here is that the PNP wants to prosecute the burning of this effigy while people across the nation burn their garbage with impunity. That means this particular protection of the law is 100% politically motivated. 

The fact is the Philippines stinks. Air pollution is a way of life here even way out in the provinces. There is always a tendril of smoke ready to make its way to your nostril from some hidden burn pile. From charcoal pits to burn pits the air in the Philippines is choking and hardly fresh. If only the PNP did their job and enforced the law uniformly this nation might smell a lot fresher.