Pimentel: ‘1017’ still being felt

Although President Arroyo has lifted Proclamation 1017, its effects are still being felt, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said yesterday.

Speaking at the weekly Fernandina Media Forum in AA Cebu BBQ in Greenhills, San Juan, Pimentel said: "I think that 1017 really freezes the right of people to really exercise freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is really important. Authoritarian rulers, when they begin their mission to exterminate freedom, they begin with the media."

Pimentel, who fought against the Marcos dictatorship, said when President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, the freedom of the press was the first casualty.

"Therefore, 1017, while it has been supposedly lifted, the effect is still here," he said.

Pimentel said like freedom of the press, the freedom to assemble peaceably to petition the government for redress of grievances is enshrined in the constitution as part of citizens’ right to freedom of speech.

"When people in the US were resisting the draft (recruiting men into the military) during the Vietnam War, there were people arrested who were against it," he noted.

"But they were acquitted by the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court said it is just an expression. It is part of the freedom of expression that people express their feelings in a peaceful manner, even if these statements agitate others who may not agree. That is the function of free speech."

Pimentel said speech is not free unless there is an opponent, meaning there is something in the freedom of expression that will contradict positions, which makes freedom of speech really free.

"I support the concern of media in this respect," he said.

"While we still can, we must speak out. If there is a restriction on the freedom of speech, speak out. If there are restrictions on demonstrations, demonstrate. That’s the way to do it. But do it peacefully."

However, Pimentel strongly denied he is a destabilizer as claimed by the Arroyo administration.

"I deny that absolutely," he said. "I do not like coup d’états. I do not like juntas. I do not like that because I think that in all honesty they will cause more problems for us."

Pimentel demanded an apology from Malacañang for portraying him as a coup plotter in a documentary video meant to explain the issuance of Presidential Proclamation 1017.

"I would like to point out that the message of this disk ‘Paglaban sa Kataksilan 1017’ is none other than to picture me as a person who is plotting the overthrow of the Arroyo government or as being engaged in treason because that is the meaning of the word kataksilan," he said in a privileged speech.

Pimentel was outraged over his inclusion in the documentary produced by the administration to show evidence of an alleged plot to oust the President last month.

Though not identified by name in the documentary as among the coup plotters, Pimentel was shown sitting at the foot of the Ninoy Aquino Monument at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati, laughing with some companions.

The shot was taken during the rally staged by various groups last Feb. 24 to call for the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo.

Pimentel pointed out that he has never attended any of the rallies of the United Opposition.

"There is nothing in the law on treason which covers any of the activities that I have done in my life, not only now as a senator but even before when fighting the Marcos government," Pimentel said.

"I am not giving aid and comfort to the enemy, I am calling for the removal of Mrs. Arroyo through peaceful means but that is not treason."

Pimentel said that apologies must be issued to him by all the parties involved in the manufacture and distribution of the documentary, including the Office of the President, military officials, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye and Government Media Group head Cerge Remonde.

Pimentel said that he is leaving the door open for legal action against the individuals and groups involved in the documentary.

He also pointed out he is not interested in supporting any juntas, noting that when Daw Aung San Su Kyi, a leading opposition leader in Myanmar, was arrested, the military junta promised that an election would be held within six months.

"Well, 15 years later, the military junta is still there," he said. "Su Kyi is still under house arrest."

Pimentel said a military junta is a far worse solution than the cure to the country’s problems.

"I still call for Gloria’s (Arroyo) resignation, but I want to do it peacefully in accordance with the Constitution," he said.

"The call ‘Gloria resign’ is not destabilization. That is peaceful and constitutional. I want a new mandate that would be made by a new leader in a peaceful electoral manner."

Pimentel said this could be done within 45 days.

"If they do it today, by July we could have a new President," he said. "The obligation of the acting President is just to supervise the elections within 45 days."

When Mrs. Arroyo steps down, Pimentel said the chairman and commissioners of the Commission on Elections should not only resign, but also be jailed for the alleged irregularities they committed.

The public and not Comelec must ensure clean elections, he added. — With Marvin Sy