Last week, 45 years since martial law was proclaimed by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, President Duterte declared a National Day of Protest. There were several reactions to this.
There were the usual rallies by militants. They condemned martial law and said “never again” should it rule the land. It was also a message to the Duterte administration.
Priests and nuns also protested the alleged human rights violations carried out in the name of the war against illegal drugs.
On the other hand, there were those who took to the streets to show their support for Mr. Duterte.
Given all these protests, what is next?
This is a relevant question about what is happening to our country. Never before has a president faced so much trouble in his term. There is the communist insurgency, and the independence movement in Mindanao, illegal drugs, corruption, criminality, terrorism.
Santa Banana, in my almost seven decades as a journalist, I have never seen a president facing as many seemingly insurmountable problems. This is why I believe that despite his protestations, President Duterte may eventually declare martial law.
Then again, how can anyone be afraid of martial law when it has been defanged in the 1987 Constitution? There are so many limitations and conditions.
Even the supposed suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, or warrantless arrests, has its limits. The Supreme Court can intervene if anybody questions the proclamation. Just look at what is happening in Mindanao.
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Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano called on the United Nations to give President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs the benefit of the doubt. He assured the international community that the Philippine government remains committed to defend human rights.
It was the height of naivete for Cayetano to say that knowing the Philippines now ranks first in the 2017 Global Impunity Index, amid mounting concerns over drug-related killings.
More than 3,800 Filipinos, mostly from poor communities, have been killed by the police in drug raids. Some say they could be as many as 8,000. I wonder what the UN members must be thinking.
And is he peddling lies, too? Cayetano told the UN that 1.3 million drug users have since surrendered to the government. He made no mention of the fact that we need more rehabilitation facilities. Our jails are much too clogged, and inmates are living in sub-human conditions.
Nobody can question President Duterte’s motives. He believes drugs are a peace-and-order problem. I have been, from the start, in favor of President Duterte’s war against illegal drugs. But he must realize that the problem has deeper roots.
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It’s a tragedy when the elderly are left alone in their homes. This is because their children leave them to fend for themselves. I know so many of them and it’s really a pity.
A mother in her eighties was found dead one night. She had been suffering from some illness and could not move around on her own. Her children left her alone, nonetheless. And then the house burned.
Yet another friend of the family, sick of diabetes, was found dead in her condominium unit. There was nobody around to care for her.
I can cite many other cases.
This is why I think there should be a law that would ensure the elderly are taken care of.
My wife is 85 and I am 90, and we are fortunate that our daughter Nina took us in.
Living alone to some may be ideal and romantic, but it can also be dangerous.
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This incident happened last September 21 during the inauguration of the monument of the late oppositionist Senator Jose Wright Diokno. Members of the diplomatic corps were invited. When they saw members of the “Yellow” movement led by former President Benigno Aquino III, the envoys left, leaving only the Dutch and the Belgian ambassadors to grace the occasion.
Surprisingly, the oppositionists led by Aquino all wore white.
What took the cake was the speech of Vice President Leni Robredo who repeatedly denounced “45 years of brutality.”
Did she mean that the regimes of Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and BS Aquino were marked by brutality as well?