PROTESTING KILLINGS BEYOND SOCIAL MEDIA Why UP student commutes wearing ‘Lahat Tayo Posibleng Drug P

A 19-year-old sociology student of the University of the Philippines-Diliman has drawn the attention of commuters on Wednesday when she walked around with a cardboard sign with the words, "LAHAT TAYO POSIBLENG DRUG PUSHER."

Adrienne Onday wore the handmade sign on her way to De La Salle University (DLSU) in Taft Avenue, Manila where she was asked to talk on student activism.

Onday posted about her experience on Facebook and attracted over 2,000 shares and over 5,000 reactions.

Onday's sign is a play of words based on the gruesome labels placed on the bodies of recent victims of suspected vigilante killings such as "Drug Pusher Ako, Wag Tularan."

In an interview with GMA News Online on Thursday, Onday said the idea about the sign came from her friend, DLSU biology professor Hope Swann.

"I asked if I could do it, too, and she said yes and that I should encourage more people," Onday said.

"I wore the sign as a protest against the extrajudicial and summary killings that have been rampant these past few days."

Several people spoke online against Onday's "stunt" in the comments section of her FB post, but offline, she said the response has been more positive.

"Actually ngayon lang nagsilabasan yung mga pro-whatever-is-happening. Ngayon lang yata umabot," she said.

"It's frustrating but the number of people who are supportive far outweigh those who are not, I think. I even got a guy near my house to exclaim that I was right."

'Less positive' reactions

Meanwhile, Onday said among the "less positive" reactions to her action was the incident where the lady guard at the LRT-1 train station asked her to remove the sign before entering the platform.

"I appealed, trying to get excused by saying it was a project, but she made me take it off and I did, because I knew we could both get in trouble if one of us didn't back down."

Onday clarified that she is not part of any activist groups. She believes that membership in these more vocal groups is not a requirement to show one's concern on issues affecting the country.

Even though she knew she would be facing risks and opposition, she felt that she had to take action outside of social media.

Even her mother did not want her to do what she did.

"I can't stop though she has ordered me to. It's my responsibility to do something somehow," Onday stated.

Onday said she also feared being "cornered and harassed" for the sign, which she wore to UP Diliman on Thursday.

She even garnered online comments such as "papansin" and "pa-viral" but Onday said, "I will never stop expressing my views and speaking out about it, though. Not until this gets sorted out." — VVP/JST, GMA

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