NON-MARTIAL LAW

By Reymundo Salao
Askal Projection

The first time I saw the unjust violence of the Martial Law days via footages taken during mass demonstrations during those times was when I was still just a kid. But I was not so concerned about it. Of course, I was then too young to comprehend the degree of serious impact it ever had. Not until when I was in High School when I got to see what already has become a part of history. I was then already old enough to imagine the horror of such an era. Whenever I see those scenes of police brutality, it’s like taking a surreal peek in such a distant past. It’s like taking a peek at the dark ages, in a time when standards were harsh, when injustice and barbarism was rampant. But fast-forward now, on this day and age, when I take a look at the recent mass demonstrations in Manila calling for changes for the betterment of the government, that gap between the now and then has changed. It’s as if the degree of barbarism of the now has become worse than what was back then in the past. No, history has not repeated itself. Because things have jumped from bad to worse.

We have the alleged redirection of agricultural funds, GSIS funds, and other countless complicated issues of corruption. Gloria has bickered on her usual rhetoric of lambasting her critics to stop wasting time on what she considers as destabilization and that they “get back to work” but what they seem to be doing is indeed their WORK; that is, to work for a better nation, and working for a better nation is to probe for the truth, seek out corruption and extinguishing it, in order to safeguard and restore the integrity of this nation. Gloria and her minions, so it seems in the other hand, is working so hard in order cover up the truth. What with the killing of the impeachment process, and recently with the childish tantrums of Bunye in the Congressional inquiry on the budget (where he walked out when Roilo Golez was questioning him about the Garci issue).

And of course, we now have the (CPR) Calibrated Pre-Emptive Response Policy of the PNP against the strengthening mass demonstrations in Manila, which is actually very reminiscent of the Marcos era, as the PNP are given license to be as barbaric as to stop the demonstrators before they could even crowd up a gathering. It’s like picking a fight with the masses before they could even rise up to voice out their opinions. With the existence of this CPR policy, it is evident that democracy in this country is dying and is quickly turning into a state of fascism, wherein the citizens are not allowed to speak up and question authority, wherein the citizens are not allowed to ask questions. We are not allowed to ask the President about Garci, we are not allowed to ask when Bunye is asking for that 852 million budget for whatever bullcrap on-paper excuse for documentation’s sake, we are not allowed to ask if Winston Garcia’s filthy rich lifestyle is somehow connected with his talon-like hold on the GSIS. I have long been patient with Gloria. Many of us have long been patient with Gloria, calmly just having that persevering trust that she could pull off her promises, promising what great improvements she beautifully enumerates in her many flowery speeches. But we’re just too tired of waiting. And the more that we seem to surrender our trust, the worse the situation becomes. If only fascism was used to serve the glory of the motherland, maybe I personally wouldn’t mind; but with fascism serving corruption and greed, now that’s one sensible thing to rally against.

Gloria doesn’t need to declare Martial Law. She has the greatest weapon; deceit and secrecy. Maybe she learned it from the American government; the kind of rule that pretends that there is nothing wrong from its upper layer, but dig in, and you will find all the stench and irregularities. It seems that the capitalists and the rich, powerful citizens are given protection and consideration, because as theyre the only ones who can really afford to overthrow the administration. And the poor are ignored like dispensable humans, because they can do nothing against a strong and twisted republic. Why declare Martial Law, when the PNP can exercise barbarism in the streets via the CPR? Why declare Martial Law when you can pay off a number of officials and influential individuals that can firewall you against being ousted? Why declare Martial Law when the refunneling of funds can be done with ease? Why declare Martial Law when you have George Bush as your ally? Gloria is happy where she is as long as you don’t care. And she knows that a whole lot of you don’t care.