AS SEEN ON TV
Martial Law the third
Senator Rodolfo Biazon brings up an interesting point on the underlying reasons for President Gloria Arroyo to declare Martial Law in Maguindanao supposedly to quell what she perceives as a looming rebellion of Ampatuan supporters. Biazon says this could ultimately result in the filing of rebellion charges against the Ampatuan family. A charge of rebellion may absolve the Ampatuans from their accountability for the deaths of 57 people in the Maguindanao Massacre.
Biazon notes that the Ampatuans, suspect in the mass killings are supposed to be facing murder charges which if sentenced, would make them rot in jail. Rebellion is only punishable by a maximum of six years in prison, a slap on the wrist really. After all it was Malacañang that said the Ampatuans are a close ally of the administration.
How sure are we that such closeness would not stand in the way of justice?
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The Maguindanao problem is all about failure of local government and a breakdown of law enforcement. Under normal circumstances, it could be addressed with the relief of local officials and policemen while the freshly installed and fortified military (presumably fully loyal to the constitution replacing the pro-Ampatuan troops) in the province should be enough to fight lawlessness.
Declaring Martial Law in Maguindanao may bear more problems than solutions to the discord there. Collateral damage is a valid concern when declaring Martial Law because with an iron hand comes human rights abuses.
Residents of affected areas in Maguindanao are already fleeing their homes to avoid getting caught in the crossfire should there be clashes between government troops and armed supporters of the Ampatuan family, who are also being hunted down by the military.
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The declaration of Martial Law may also result in a possible spillover of conflict in neighboring areas in Mindanao. The Ampatuan family owns residences and other property in Davao City, and supporters or sympathizers in Sultan Kudarat or Cotabato City. These areas have tensed up since Martial Law was declared. Any possible clashes between armed groups and the military may incur more civilian deaths in Maguindanao’s fringes.
Even business in supposed safer areas in Mindanao may also be affected by recent developments in Maguindanao. All these add to collateral damage brought about by government’s extreme response to local lawlessness.
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Martial Law is supposed to be a good thing. In all simplicity it is designed to resolve conflict. Martial Law is a set of rules to be observed by the military as it takes control of civilian government to ease lawlessness or conflict. In the Philippines however, Martial Law is looked to with dread. Filipinos are allergic to Martial Law because throughout history, it was only used by past presidents for their own abusive purposes.
The Philippines has had three Martial Law experiences to date. The Laurel and the Marcos Martial Law had scarred the Filipino psyche in various degrees.
On September 22, 1944 Former Philippine president Jose P. Laurel, head of the puppet government under Japan declared Martial Law to reinforce the subsequent declaration of a state of war between the Philippines and the United States and the United Kingdom. Laurel intended to suppress civilian unrest toward the end of World War 2 with Martial Law.
On September 21, 1972 Former President Ferdinand Marcos declared a Martial Law to repress civil strife and manage threats of communism support in the countryside. The second Martial Law in the Philippines lasted 9 years leaving a trail of human rights abuses by the military government under the Marcos dictatorship.
Through these traumatic years, Filipinos have become jaded by Martial Law. “Never again”, we said on EDSA, “should the country be under Martial Law”.
In fact the Late President Cory Aquino tried everything in her power to “disable” the Martial Law mechanism in the country. While Mrs. Aquino’s administration survived 9 coup attempts, never in her wildest dream was declaring Martial Law an option even in the face of rebellion which calls for the declaration of Martial Law.
That’s because presidents should realize to save for last, the power to declare Martial Law… which this administration has recklessly trivialized.
