During Martial Law, the abductions, torture and killings were all under Marcos’ central command. Everyone was said to know what the others are doing. Now under Arroyo, the individual death squads operate on their own, with one not privy to the other’s operation. Spare me the bloody detail, Arroyo probably says. Yet it still has her and the National Security Council’s blessings.

It was fortunate for the Erap 5 that deposed president Joseph Estrada issued a statement on Wednesday that scared Malacanang. The five were presented to the media the same day.

The voices of the families of victims of forced disappearance and killings may not be loud enough now to scare Arroyo and her death squads. But I’m still optimistic. Just like in the ouster of the Marcos Dictatorship in 1986 and the Estrada regime in 2001, with the help of the activist groups, then the biggest organized bloc in EDSA, and many of them human rights violations victims themselves, justice will begin to be served when Arroyo’s fascist regime is finally ousted. (Bulatlat.com)

 Save as PDF