Using the Constitution to extend terms
While Martial Law was signed and declared by then Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos on Sept. 21, 1972 or 42-years ago, however I gathered that it was only on Sept. 23rd when Martial Law was officially declared to the public. I really did not know this because when Martial Law was declared, I was with my brother Archt. Bing Avila in the United States. We were driving towards Washington D.C. when just like in the movies; the radio announcer interrupted the program to announce that Martial Law was declared in the Philippines by then Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.
As we arrived in our motel, we immediately tried calling home, but to no avail because the telephone operator would simply tell us that all communications link to the Philippines has been cut-off. We could only read the newspapers as to what was happening in the Philippines. It was only a week later that we were able to contact my father Atty. Jesus Avila who was in the ticket booth of Oriente Theater telling us how wonderful Martial Law was because criminality went down and the streets were safe because of the curfew that was put in place.
Of course, I thought that perhaps my father who was a staunchly anti-Marcos was probably trying to be polite knowing perhaps that our telephone calls were monitored. Of course when we got back home by December, we were told stories of the early days of Martial Law which sounded good. But then that is history. Pres. Marcos did not turn out to be a benevolent Dictator in the lines of Singapore's Lee Kwan Yew which is why 14 long years, it was only then that the Filipino realized that they were taken for a ride by Pres. Marcos who used the communist threat to extend his term of office.
I guess the same things are happening all over again. That despite his four-year term of office, Pres. Benigno "PNoy" Aquino III is seriously considering to change the constitution in order to extend his term as President. I have always believed that the constitution is a document that gives us Filipinos are basic rights that politicians should never monkey around for their selfish political purposes. And that is exactly what Pres. PNoy and his minions in Congress are trying to do - to come up with a Constituent Assembly (Con-ass) to change the constitution.
In my book, Pres. PNoy Aquino lost his chance to greatness when early during his term, we asked for cha-cha and he steadfastly refused to change or amend the constitution for any reason. Year in and year out, whenever the question of charter changes pops up in a presscon, we always hit a blank wall with the President and his Palace Rasputin's saying no to charter change.
Suddenly Malacañang has made an about face on charter change by arrogantly admitting that this will be for the extension of the term of Pres. Aquino, as if he was God's gift to the Philippines that we would meekly accept this obvious plan to extend his term of office. Yes, we Filipinos embraced Martial Law and succumbed to the Marcos propaganda machinery which included a subservient national media. Marcos controlled all the national newspapers, radio and television networks.
But let me say it here that The Freeman was the only newspaper allowed to write articles even attacking the Marcos dictatorship. But even with that, Pres. Marcos used The Freeman as his excuse to say that there was free speech in this country even under Martial Law. Of course, back then there were no other means of getting dissent out except through the newspapers. So The Freeman took advantage of that, which is probably the reason why Pusyon Bisaya was able to win in the National Assembly.
But then again, Marcos allowed political opposition only to show that democracy was still observed in the Philippines. But the Pusyon Bisaya was there only to shout out their grievances, but their voices were drowned out by that monolith called the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan the political party of the Marcos dictatorship that ruled together with his pals and cronies.
After declaring Martial Law, the Marcos dictatorship threw away the 1935 Constitution and later he hi-jacked the on-going 1971 Constitutional Convention and replaced it with a Marcos style 1973 constitution, which was ratified by the raising of hands by the citizenry inside the military camps. Thus during the EDSA revolt, we threw out the 1973 Marcos constitution because it was a constitution designed to fit for the Marcoses.
With his call for charter changes, Pres. PNoy is following the exact same path of Pres. Marcos in wanting to change the constitution to suit his own selfish political desires. Now should we allow Pres. PNoy and his minions in Congress to change the charter? I dare say no to this scenario because the Constitution should be amended to tune it to the needs of the Filipino people and not to succumb to Pres. PNoy's political agenda.
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