Res Gestae
Breaking down EDSA 1 fanaticism
The PNP is still on full alert status as of this writing. Police personnel are directed to stay on guard in their respective camps and stations to respond for any immediate call for police assistance. This includes the conduct of "head count" in an interval of two hours to ensure that everyone is accounted for. That nobody is waylaid to participate in the alleged conspiracy to overthrow PGMA and her cohorts. That everyone adheres strictly to the chain-of-command. And, that they remain loyal to the duly constituted authorities. However, this must not be wrongfully construed as loyalty check, for the PNP and AFP must remain apolitical amidst the hardest political times.
oo0oo
I was in Manila a day after the country commemorated the 20th EDSA 1. Unsurprisingly, platoon of PNP and AFP personnel were still positioned at key places of convergence such as EDSA ready to disperse cause-oriented and other militant groups who plan to air their grievances and disappointments with PGMA's administration. And, we saw on the television how the police defused "peaceably" with batons and water canons the activist groups who refused to concede to Proclamation 1017. This scenario could not stop me from thinking of history repeating itself.
Verily, PGMA's "State of Emergency" threatens opposition groups that said proclamation would usher this country back to the dark ages of Martial Law. It is perceived that the cancellation of permits to conduct rallies and the arrests of opposition stalwarts herald other human rights violations and are betrayal of the true essence of democracy.
oo0oo
Last Friday (Feb 24), I received a text message from the newly elected secretary of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines - Visayas Regional Board asking my position on PGMA's Proclamation 1017. We have to draft our position paper regarding this current issue not just as students of law but as believers of democracy and beholders of the duly constituted authorities. In my response to her, I said, "It is indeed a right for PGMA to take drastic measures, such as Proclamation 1017, to put an end to the growing EDSA 1 fanaticism that defies the true meaning of People Power."
Many institutions and groups have already given their stance on the issue of legality and propriety of the proclamation. All position papers I have read condemned PGMA for resurrecting Martial Law. Those position papers viewed Proclamation 1017 as chariot of terrors that resemble the horror of Marcos' regime. But, if the terrors of Proclamation 1017 are meant to topple the growing fanaticism of EDSA 1 and to stop the subtle sabotage to the economy by some interest groups driven by their selfish ambitions to overtake the government, then, let Proclamation 1017 defines the perimeters of the responsible exercise of democracy.
oo0oo
Happy Birthday to PO2 Mary Grace Alag of Regional Operations and Plans Division, Camp Delgado.
(Send your comments and suggests to rogatepnp@yahoo.com or text to 09193161190.)