According to Mr. Roxas, “This amount is for something more, perhaps like getting the US Defense and Military establishment to soften resistance to a new strain of Martial Law.” In other words, the Filipino people are being made to pay for mayhem that the U.S.-backed Arroyo regime is planning to inflict on them.
Government credibility is at an all-time low. The Ghosts of Anomalies Past keep catching up with and are magnified by those of Anomalies Present that in turn portend even worse ghosts of Anomalies Yet to Come. Moreover, attempts of officialdom to cover-up the trail of wrongdoing constitute distinct crimes that tear at the foundations of whatever is left of the trappings of institutional, Western-type democracy – the rule of law, public accountability, the right to information, separation of powers and not the least, the illusion of free and fair elections.
As a case in point, take the presidential pardon of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada shortly after being convicted of plunder by the Sandiganbayan. It had nothing to do with clemency or justice as any fair person could easily discern. It was nothing less than a shameless travesty of the rule of law aimed at neutralizing Mr. Estrada, still a popular rallying figure for the unorganized masses seething with anger at the Arroyo administration, and dividing the Opposition together with blunting renewed impeach/oust moves against Mrs. Arroyo.
The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Reynato Puno appears to be one of the few saving graces of the current government leadership. Mr. Puno pursued not only an independent track from both the executive and legislative branches but also initiated measures to uphold and protect human rights, in the process challenging Malacañang’s policies and pronouncements, in order to effect remedies for the latter’s abuses and grave misconduct.
Are we any closer to peace and the resolution of problems that cause so much hardship and misery for our people and impel unceasing protests and intractable rebellion? The saber-rattling and war mongering of Malacañang and the military as well as the police establishments indicate otherwise.
They bury their heads in the sand and persist in the delusion that counter-insurgency campaigns are succeeding, that the government can crush armed opposition in a few years. Yet they ask for more repressive laws, including the restoration of the failed and ineffective Anti-Subversion Law and the repeal of the Anti-Terrorism Law a.k.a. Human Security Act to completely unleash legalized state terrorism upon the people.
The coming year 2008 promises to be even more turbulent than its predecessor. That is because the national leadership – or what tries to pass itself off as one – is by now completely bereft of any shred of moral ascendancy, credibility and ergo popular support. The Arroyo regime will inevitably generate stronger opposition and resistance from the people. It could thus be tempted to resort to ever more repressive measures – up to and including what Senator Roxas anticipates to be a “new strain of martial law.” Business World / Posted by (Bulatlat.com)
*Published in Business World
28-29 December 2007
