Who’s next?

The arrest of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima make me fearful for the Philippines.

These two are not lovable personalities. I would have never voted for Trillanes, and although I admire De Lima, she can be quite tactless. But a lovable personality is not a requirement for public office.

What makes these two different is that they stood up to what they considered an abusive administration. And a senator’s job is to be part of a check-and-balance system. With this administration working to detain them, the two cannot do the job they were elected to do.

But what is actually worse is that the other senators who are not so “matapang” as these two may also be silenced. Who will be jailed next?

The nation needs to realize that the democracy we fought for is under threat. We need to speak out!

JONATHAN FOE,
[email protected]