Business not affected by martial law

It’s normal for people to have mixed reactions regarding the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao, but many feel this should not be cause for undue alarm or even hysterics since the area is just a small part of the entire Philippine archipelago. Indications show the stock market has not been affected too much by Proclamation 1959, with analysts expecting business to be better next year as profits are projected to increase by as much as 20 percent from this year’s registered earnings.

Mindanao-based business groups have expressed support for martial law since this could finally bring peace and order to Maguindanao, which in turn could mean a better business environment for the whole region especially if government “follows through” with its tough decision. Those who agree with GMA’s move point out that martial law, if carried out properly, could maintain order and save outlying areas like Davao, Cotabato, Gensan, etc. from a spillover of the potential violence that could ensue if armed groups sympathetic to the Ampatuans are not contained.

But the concerns of those opposed to the imposition of martial law are understandable. The grisly November 23 massacre has already given a very negative image of the country, and this latest development might lead foreign investors into thinking the whole Philippines has been placed under martial law especially if they are unfamiliar with Maguindanao. A number of foreign chambers of commerce said martial law is “acceptable” if that is what’s needed to clean up the whole Maguindanao “mess” – but they want swift and effective action to prevent a huge damage to the country, and at the same time send a clear message to the international community that this government means business.

Everyone will be watching how this latest controversial move of GMA will play out, but there are indications that government will likely lift martial law even before the joint houses of Congress are able to make a decision whether to revoke or extend the martial law proclamation. Obviously, the Maguindanao situation is serious, but for many ordinary Filipinos, this is an issue that does not necessarily affect them. For one, UAE-based OFWs are beginning to feel the effects of the financial crisis in Dubai as job cuts in several sectors continue.

According to the labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, the crisis could cost the Philippines some $300 million in remittances or almost 50 percent of total annual remittances from Dubai. Anyway you look at it, this is a large amount that could affect the economy in general and the OFW families in particular – a not-so positive development considering that the Christmas holidays are upon us.

It’s been 16 days since the massacre happened, and media should continue to be vigilant and not allow those responsible to literally get away with murder.

But even while media is focused on the Ampatuan massacre and the consequent developments like the discovery of high powered firearms and the imposition of martial law, many who live in Mindanao find it rather ironic that not much attention has been given to the sentiments and opinions of the Maguindanaoans themselves – the stakeholders in this whole issue – as pointed out by reader Ma. Socorro Zenabiel in her email to us.

Those who have been dishing out opinions about the situation in Maguindanao and writing against the imposition of Martial Law are “Luzonians (who) have never lived in Mindanao… and have not lived alongside Muslims. They also do not have the information which PGMA who has grown up in Iligan City – a Muslim-Christian community – has,” she says. She lists down several facts, like the Muslims comprising only a small minority of the population in Mindanao, and that the Christian majority is just as well-armed as the Muslims, the only difference being that the former prefer to see the law at work first before resorting to extralegal measures. 

“A good number of Muslims have joined the Christian communities either to get away from the atrocities committed by their own family/clan members and/or to study in our Christian schools and universities because they know that those that are in their Muslim communities could never offer quality education as those in Christian Mindanao,” she point outs. As for “Imperial Manila,” Ms. Zenabiel says this is an issue that people of Mindanao and even those living in the Visayas feel strongly about.

“With very few exceptions, most of the natives of Mindanao and the Visayas – Cebuanos, Ilonggos, Warays, Lumads, Boholanos, Suriganonons, Leytenos… etc. – have no kind thoughts of the Tagalogs and the people of Luzon in general. We feel your arrogance, your know-it-all attitude, and your haughtiness towards the Visayans and Mindanaoans,” she says, adding that many of them who have lived or are living in Manila share the same sentiment whenever they go home to their native families during vacations.

While she understands the outcry regarding the media people who were included in the massacre, our reader says they were not killed just because they happen to be journalists but because they were in a group that was the enemy to the Ampatuans. “There is a very strong organization that aims to establish a Republic of Mindanao (ROM). If… the armed forces of the Republic of the Philippines is unable to stop the Ampatuans, the soldiers of ROM will settle this problem once and for all,” she warns. “I don’t want to see the Philippines torn apart… during my lifetime, like what happened to India,” she concludes, reiterating that in a situation like this, the opinion of the people of Mindanao should matter most and not those from Luzon or Visayas.

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Emal: [email protected]