Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) personnel repaint portions of the Lagusnilad underpass after a youth group vandalized its walls. (Image courtesy of Manila Public Information Office)
MANILA – A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Wednesday slammed the vandalism by a youth group responsible for defacing the walls of the Lagusnilad underpass in Manila in protest of the prevailing Martial Law in Mindanao.
ACT-CIS Rep. Niña Taduran said vandalism is still a crime and perpetrators deserve to be punished regardless of the reason of the group Panday Sining, the cultural arm of Anakbayan.
Taduran argued that while she supports freedom of expression and free discourse regarding critical issues, these actions should be carried out within the bounds of the law.
“Kaya nga mayroon tayong mga batas para maging maayos ang ating pamumuhay at hindi tayo mauwi sa anarkiya (That’s why laws exist to ensure that our lives would be better and prevent anarchy),” Taduran said.
“If they claim that they merely wanted to attract attention to their cause of opposing martial law in Mindanao, they could have done that without committing vandalism,” Taduran added.
The lawmaker suggested that the group could just perform, either through singing, dancing or poetry, to express their cause and attract attention.
The group made a public apology for the inconvenience, saying the “purpose of our protest art isn’t to spite the citizens of Manila but to sound the alarm of the public against these injustices.” (PNA)
