Never again to Martial Law!

Today is the 43 rd anniversary of the imposition of Martial Law in this country. If any of the late President Ferdinand Marcos' deeds during the 21 years he has held our people captive under his administration is to be remembered most, it is his declaration of Martial Law when he and his cohorts kept all of us virtually captive under an undeclared, but what was in reality a dictatorship. So today, as we remember that terrible moment in 1972 when we woke up to find ourselves no longer living in a democracy, we have to pray and resolve that “Never Again” shall we allow ourselves to succumb to such a rule.

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Of course we also remember how we gained the admiration of the entire world when our own people, no armies, no organizations, decided by their own selves that enough was enough, and staged the unbelievable peaceful revolt now known in history as the EDSA Revolution. By massing along EDSA, and braving the tanks and forces of the Marcos administration, they managed to drive the dictator away, with not a single drop of blood shed. It will be our eternal pride and honor that, after EDSA, several other countries took their cue from us, and also managed to free themselves in the same manner.

By some strange coincidence, the Holy Father, now Pope Francis, is visiting the Americas, and is now in Cuba where he will meet with the people and talk with its officials both in the Church and government, in the same month that Martial Law was declared in our country. And we recall, that it was only when the late beloved Pontiff, now saint John Paul II was coming to the Philippines, that Marcos was shamed into lifting his own evil scheme. It was his visit that freed us from Martial Law. Who knows what benefits Pope Paul will also bring to Cuba?

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Pope Francis is proceeding next to the United States where grand receptions have also been prepared for him. However, the media there seem to focus on threats to his security, something which this brave and holy person seems to ignore. Filipinos who are now American citizens, and even those who are only on visits there are excited over the possibility of seeing him and the government is also honoring him by holding some of his activities in such historic places as Philadelphia, with addresses before the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. We who have hosted him and care for him should pray for his safety wherever he is.

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Meanwhile, the political frenzy continues to build up with the Liberal Party now exulting because of advanced reports that the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Station, or SWS, shows that their bet, Mar Roxas has now overtaken the once leader, Vice President Jejomar Binay. It seems Grace Poe is still ahead, but for Mar followers, this is already a most encouraging development. From all indications, this is going to be a most exciting election, especially at the presidential level.

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As for the vice presidency, since there are no clear bets yet for most of the parties, and only Poe has one, who happens to be Senator Chiz Escudero, who, most people think, could be a millstone around her neck. So many unpalatable stories have come out about Escudero, aside from his being called the “Svengali” of Grace Poe. And, as somebody I met yesterday said, Escudero could be banking on the possibility that Grace will be disqualified by the Supreme Court – granted that they both win – and will be the shoo-in for her positions. Clever, no?

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Also, in another gathering recently, somebody posed the question: What about the husband and children of Grace Poe? Are they Americans or Filipino citizens? Seems nobody has gone that far in vetting the presidential candidate. Oh, there will be a lot of revelations yet, not only about Grace, but also about any other bet. As for VP Binay, what more do we not know about him, from all the exposés already made? In the meantime the believers in Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte have not given up. Despite his firm (?) declaration that he is already retiring, they have not lost hope, and continue to work on him to run. Well, let us see if they can convince him. Me, my only worry is that if there are too many candidates, the earliest bird of them all may get the worm. Even if some people I have met cross themselves and mutter “Anybody but Binay”.

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Another bit of good news to buoy us up: The Philippines has gone up by 17 ranks in the latest World Intellectual Property Index. Where it was at 141 in 2014, it is now at 83. Let's not begrudge President Aquino for being credited with that because of his “credit prudent management” and “efforts at reforms”. Time to stop bashing him, he is not a candidate, anyway.*

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