Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed the province of Maguindanao under Martial Law by issuing Presidential Decree 1959. Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, flanked by police and military generals, and Press Secretary George Remonde, had to repeatedly explain to the gathered mediamen that there was existing rebellion in that province that justified this martial or military rule, though it was not of the shooting kind of rebellion, but rather, of the disobedience to lawful authorities kind, whatever that meant. Known to have come out from the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, that is, immersed in government corporate lawyering, Devanadera appeared tongue twisted to explain what is rebellion and what constituted this crime.
It was just a few days before that the entire nation and the international community was shocked to learn of the daylight massacre in Maguindanao of over 60 unarmed civilians, including women, 2 lawyers and 30 journalists alleged committed by the political warlord clan of Ampatuan, which is closely allied with Macapagal Arroyo. The strong clamor for quick and decisive justice was banging at the doors of Malacanang and the immediate arrest of alleged mastermind Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. looked headed in the right direction. Still, many voiced that the government was not doing enough. Then, suddenly, Friday evening ( December 4 ) and early Saturday morning, it leaked out that Martial Law was declared in Maguindanao.
That this martial law was declared eleven days after the massacre, and after the arrest of Andal Ampatuan Jr. makes it anti-climactic, to say the least, and outright unnecessary. It was thus easily met with suspicion, maybe a prelude to whitewash the murder cases, as Senator Rodolfo ' Pong ' Biazon warned appearing on TV.
Earlier, ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, brother of Andal Jr., himself appealed on TV and radio to the President asking that their side be heard. It was the same Governor who handed his brother to the arresting authorities to show cooperation with the government. Then almost immediately after this appeal, govt. forces were shown on TV taking over and blocking entry into the provincial capitol and other local offices, including practically confining the Ampatuans inside their Mansion compound as army troops round the clock manned the entrance gates. And days later, weapons cache supposedly of the Ampatuans were confiscated by the police and military.
Yet, generals of the police and military would support Secretary Devanadera that the provincial offices were all closed to confirm the existence of rebellion, that is, in the form of open disobedience and transfer of allegiance from lawful government authorities. How all these happenings could be mixed up and interpreted as rebellion is certainly a mystery that only Malacanang and its atom-splitting lawyers could divine. But that is something they are well known for, and nobody was really surprised by PD 1959.
Which leaves everybody, looking again at the Supreme Court and the Congress to place everything in right order and reason, if not that, then, just to make things not overly distressful or overly insulting to people's intelligence. So that, yes, after so many tries and failures, these two separate branches of government have another opportunity to convince the Filipino people that the thing we call as Constitution, is not only partially true depending on who is in Malacanang, but is really what it is claimed to be, the supreme law of the land.
In making such a bold and daring proclamation of martial law, the government may have sought to appear decisive and uncompromising in its position to go after the perpetrators of that dastardly and savage crime. However, in this present political climate of distrust and constant maneuvering, in large part due to the administration's questionable motives in many a number of controversial moves and decisions, there was an immediate backlash from many sectors assailing the Martial law declaration.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has therefore achieved to add yet another point of similarity with the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. In the same manner, it was then Information Secretary Francisco Tatad that read on TV and informed the nation of the declaration of P.D. 1081 placing the entire Philippines under Martial Law, thus unleashing the military and police on the helpless Filipinos to start years of Marcos rule. This time, 37 years later, it it Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita reading a similar piece of paper on TV to immortalize his place in Philippine history alongside that of Kit Tatad.
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