Barbed wires and container vans blocked access to Malacañang, and only essential staff were allowed in. Military camps were sealed off and checkpoints appeared around the capital. In the countryside this is a weird panoramic tribute the glory day that was Edsa 1.
“Retake Mendiola!” the phrase that scared the soul out of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her advisers that forced her to deck her last card: Presidential Proclamation 1017 declaring a state of National Emergency. However, it seems futile that her lone card be revealed on “The Day” when Filipinos dispelled the apathy and indifference that have gripped the country (Edsa 1 and 2). It only provides how heedless her Harvard mind is to show the people her last card: a Joker.
Having been able to dig the pages of history, the 24th of February is braced as a day when unity backlashed tyranny. GMA commanded the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to maintain law and order throughout the Philippines prevent or suppress all forms of lawless violence as well as any act of insurrection or rebellion and to enforce obedience to all the laws and to all decrees, orders and regulations.
This would be the 2nd time that she will be exercising such extraordinary presidential powers at her disposal. It will be recalled that on May 1, 2001, Arroyo through General Order No.1 declared a state of rebellion and directed the AFP to suppress ant to quell the rebellion by thousands of supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada who stormed Malacanang after the former chief executives arrest for plunder charges.
In the case of two Edsa People Power uprisings, Filipinos had done the same completely and resplendently. Through People Power, Filipinos are making A moral judgment and meting out a political sentence. At Edsa, Filipinos held the power of the people in their hands. With that awesome power, they rejected the leaders who robbed them, betrayed them, tortured and killed those who would not be enslaved and a traitor to his high office and country. Unfortunately, as the case of the two Edsa revolts, it shows that Filipinos find it a lot easier to unite in fighting against a common threat rather than fighting for a common good.
PP 1017 is doing just like that. It does get something right in its “ whereas-as” that effect to oust Arroyo comes from the Left and Right. Thus, it comes from the Center as well which completes the full political spectrum and which represents the entire country.
But anyhow, the joke was on her. Making herself a laughing stock, as the Supreme Court had decided void are some parts of her hasty joke. Among the acted-parts deemed unconstitutional were the warrant-less arrests of administration critics like Randolf David and the raid on the Daily Tribune newspaper. She is merely describing the existing situation rather than invoking the use of extraordinary powers. The 1987 Constitution states that congressional approval is need before the President can exercise emergency powers, including arresting people without a warrant and indefinitely detaining them. The declaration was actually more of a warning to her opponents and their supporters and a demonstration that she is in command.
Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, in his concurring opinion, perhaps expressed ii best and did so in behalf of concerned citizens who have been expressing similar views when he wrote: “ Some of those who drafted PP 1017 may be testing the outer limits of presidential prerogatives and the perseverance of this Court in safeguarding the people’s constitutionally enshrined liberty. They are playing with fire, and unless prudently restrained, they may one day wittingly or unwittingly burn down the country.”
And yes, her hocus-pocus joke was bogus in the end.
The keys were hard against my fingers. My eyes were heavy, and my sight blurred like reflections on water. The coffee wasn’t as powerful as my impending slumber. No more life could be squeezed from my tired soul after a bruising day. The lakes of my brain vanished into deserts of nothingness. My bony elbows were the softest of all pillows. …Snore...
From a mist, I found myself on a soaring citadel. Down the urban horizon, people swarmed the ground with repartee placards, echoed with disparate songs, and roared with averring grievances. I scan the place and saw on the other side barbed wires and container vans block access to a magnanimous abode. As I gaze at it, the 20-peso bill struck me. Ah, it was Malacañang.
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