Today is the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which marked the beginning of World War II in the Pacific Theater. American news outlets say it happened on Dec.7, but since the Philippines is ahead in time, it happened here on Dec.8, the Day of the Immaculate Conception. The American Naval base in Sangley Point, Cavite was also bombed by Japanese Zeros that flew from their fields in Formosa (Taiwan). What I figured out was, those planes passed through Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Station, but they only bombed Sangley Point.
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Last Saturday, Dec. 5 Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared Martial Law in Maguindanao. The next day as if on cue, the press had a field day when the headlines screamed “Martial Law” as if the President has plunged the nation back to Sept. 21, 1971 when then Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos plunged the entire nation under his authoritarian rule even if the country was not under any form of rebellion.
I can’t say much about those days when Martial Law was declared by Marcos, not because I wasn’t yet born, but rather because I was in New York City on our way to Washington D.C. when the news of the declaration was reported on the radio. In hindsight, we already know that Pres. Marcos declared Martial Law in order to perpetuate himself in power, especially that in those days, he was supported by the United States. Back then, pundits called Marcos a son-of-a-bitch, but America considered him “Our son-of-a-bitch” which is why Martial Law lasted so long.
However, the Martial Law that Pres. Arroyo declared last Saturday was entirely different. First, it was limited to the Province of Maguindanao; secondly, it follows the Martial Law provisions ordained under the Cory Constitution, that the period is limited to 60 days that this is done in order to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.
What the nation witnessed last Nov. 22 during the Maguindanao massacre was lawlessness beyond comprehension, where Datu Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. allegedly ordered the massacre of some 60 people belonging to the Mangudadatu family, including some 30 members of the media in full sight or support of the members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who should have been protecting those people.
Right after the discovery of the gruesome massacre, immediately the opposition’s spin doctors and their common friends from the leftist organizations went into overdrive demanding immediate action to solve the Maguindanao massacre. A week later, rallies were still being held protesting the government’s inaction on this incident. These people wanted the Ampatuans immediately brought to jail even if the prosecutors still did not have enough evidence to haul him to court. What would have happened if the prosecutors would be left with no choice but to release anyone whom they arrested for lack of evidence? That would have created a larger howl!
A week ago at the height of a protest march in Mendiola, Press Secretary Cerge M. Remonde went to join that rally to sympathize for their cause. After all, Cerge was once the national President of the Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas. He was jeered and booed instead by the rallyists and thrown empty plastic cups because they were not satisfied with the way the investigation was being conducted!
But now that Martial Law has been declared in Maguindanao, the very same groups are now protesting that this is an “overkill!” Political opportunists like Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III immediately announced that they would challenge this proclamation by the President, not realizing that if the President succeeds in disarming those well-entrenched and well-armed warlords in Maguindanao, Aquino’s popularity might just slip away.
The media is no help either. They still harbor paranoia from the old Martial Law days when the press was curtailed and there was no freedom of expression. Strange, but the media is still free to roam and report in Maguindanao (those who still has the guts to cover Maguindanao after the killing of 30 of our own). Majority of Filipinos seem to agree that Martial Law was the option of the last resort in order to disarm those warlords. Indeed, the presence of the military sent them digging away their cache of arms and many have already been recovered by the military. I fully support this call to Martial Law. The time has come to court martial the AFP officers involved in selling these high-powered firearms and ammo to the Ampatuans, who obviously got those arms from their friends in the military.