Not sitting this out
IN THE morning after the declaration of martial law, two columns of a fully-armed composite team of police and army soldiers were on either side of the highway going to Cagayan de Oro.
There were already several vehicles ahead and by the time the smiling policeman asked me to lower my windows to look at what’s inside of my messy car which doubles as my living quarters in transit, I found myself hastily putting on my seatbelt and smiling politely back at the policeman. Such a commonplace incident that is not new to Mindanao.
It was not the first time I happen to pass through a checkpoint. A fortnight ago, in my daily commute to and from Iligan, before the siege of Marawi actually took place, there were two armed personal carriers also on either side of the road with a phalanx of battle-ready soldiers also menacingly manning a checkpoint, that caused me to wonder if martial law was already decl ar ed.
But here it is, starting in the late evening of May 23, with Congress’ concurrence for a supposed trial period of two months in the whole island of Mindanao. And if the generals like their new roles as “administrators,” the state of warrantless arrests and restriction of movement among other suspended taken-for-granted rights of people would stretch on indefinitely to supposedly curb terrorism for every one’s protection.
An indication that martial law was here were the confident grin of the policeman and the hawkish stare of the fully-armed soldiers in that early morning drive the morning after martial law was declared.
I breezed through that checkpoint and had a quick feeling of gratitude for being let through; for the hard work that the policemen and soldiers were doing; and that the momentary hassle was for our collective safety.
And then I realized that nothing else brought home the point that martial law was indeed here than my subjective response to such vulgar display of state power.
The declaration of martial law is really less about the exhibitionist flaunting of the monopoly of violence of the state but more about the kind of economy of beliefs and emotions such display breeds among the general populace.
We can already see indications of this mindset among the kneejerk reactions of citizens caught between the manufactured bogey of terrorism now wreaking havoc all over the world and a paternal and benevolent State offering protection in exchange for their freedom.
Many are now marshaled to the side of the gallant protector in the person of a brave president given the natural social inertia after the siege of Marawi.
The soundbyte from Duterte in Russia on his way back, like a superhero, saying that he is on his way to save the day, just the Filipino wait, is exactly what a benevolent but firm leader would say in such times of distress.
The Duterte administration had all the military arsenal and logistical support to quell what they call as violent extremism if they so wish without resorting to the declaration of martial law.
A state of lawless violence declared many months ago is actually still in effect. But it is the blanket social license that a declaration of martial law, given the deep historical social meanings of the term, that Duterte and his generals want.
This penchant for taking shortcuts to achieve certain state objectives was already in full display in his brutal war against drugs.
He found it too cumbersome to go through constitutional processes in arresting and charging drug suspects that a de facto order to eliminate thousands in the police’s narco list has left a bloody carnage of thousands on our streets.
He is now taking the same approach to resolve the Mindanao problem so to speak, through the same iron hand tactics.
But first, a mindset of a populace under siege must be created to facilitate what is sure to be a violent melee of state-sponsored violence against not just extremists but also valid movements of liberation that have taken root in many of Mindanao’s Moro, indigenous, and peasant communities.
That is the ultimate objective of the declaration of martial law. All these are dire indications of a 180 degree turn to the once promising peace agenda of this government to resolve the root causes of armed conflict including violent extremism.
These troubling events sound out a clear clarion call for another generation of Filipinos to stand up once again and bravely confront anew the spectre of dictatorship especially among peace advocates who wish to see the day when a just and lasting peace will finally be achieved in Mindanao.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that our aspirations for peace will not happen under Duterte’s watch. As a good friend of mine remarked, “let’s not sit this one out.”