Martial law extended to the end of 2018
THE extension by the Philippine Congress of martial law in the whole island of Mindanao to the end of 2018 is to me a welcome move for all people who want law and order restored in that island. Unfortunately, whatever our opinion is regarding the extension, the fact remains that many parts of that territory have been ruled by warlords who have been tolerated by the various political parties that have been given the power to temporarily rule our republic. Let me just remind some of those who are arguing against extension, about some notorious incidents which have shaken the stability of our democratic government:
First, the “traditional cheating” in the elections in the ARMM. The people who know how elections are conducted in the area categorically state that one should not be surprised that the candidates of the incumbent administration are the candidates that are credited with almost all the votes cast in the region. In fact, a former Comelec commissioner, now deceased, told me in confidence that some of the elections in that area which he investigated occurred a day or two before the actual date designated for the elections. We should not be surprised that even the teachers cooperate in the cheating for fear of being “eliminated.” After all, according to the teachers, elections are only conducted on a specific date, while they have to contend every day with the existing realities when they work in that region.
Because of the tolerance of the “Manila government,” some of the incumbent powers-that-be in the ARMM become intoxicated with their alleged powers that even official government income becomes their personal fund. Look what happened to the wife and sisters of the governor and the journalists who accompanied them… They were massacred. I wonder, when will the victims be given justice and the malefactors punished.
How about the Mamasapano massacre of our Special Action Force who were killed by some of the MILF rebels? What about the other notorious terrorists like the BIFF and others pretending to be “Islamic militants,” etc.? Let us not forget that there is a political party that wants to grab power by using guns and front organizations that have “patriotic pro masa” names. In fact, they are stooges of the Communist Party of the Philippines. The CPP commands the New People’s Army. The CPP-NPA by the way has been declared by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as a terrorist organization. The declaration has long been overdue. Some past Philippine governments have been tolerant of the attacks of the NPAs and even granted them amnesty, to the detriment of peace and order and the unfair treatment of our heroic soldiers and policemen. President DU30 knows where he is coming from because of his being for a long time the city mayor of Davao in Mindanao.
As I see the insurgency problem, the areas of conflict are in the “Moro” areas which the government is trying to solve with a new charter for the Bangsamoro region. After giving all possible autonomous powers as may be sanctioned by our Constitution, we hope that peace will finally be attained. However, this attempt should be the last, and all those who transgress the law should be punished harshly.
The second problem, of course, are the roving CPP-NPA terrorists who are mostly in the north eastern part of Mindanao. Martial law is indeed a very large plus to the policemen and the soldiers who enforce the law and arrest all those involved in terrorist acts. Let’s all pray that 2018 will be the year of peace.