Apologies (on Empire Strikes Back)

Apologies for my readers who may have been expecting the third installment of the “Empire Strikes Back: Signs of Creeping Martial Law” article. Due to certain political commitments which I have to attend to, I may not be able to finish the article anymore. Moreover, the facts that I have intended to use for the third installment is no longer that fresh in the minds of contemporary Filipinos.

The third installment would have elaborated on the EO454 and how placing the NTC under the DOTC strengthens immeasurably Malacañang’s control on media. I would have added here recent accusations of Malacañang and ISAFP against broadcast journalist and TV anchor Julius Babao, which stated that he had been involved in the release of a terrorist by the name of Tyrone del Rosario Santos, a.k.a. Dawud Santos. Is this a ploy of Malacañang to provoke media into doing something, or maybe just simply to put media in a bad light?

Another topic which would have been raised by the third article is the sustainability of Arroyo’s tactic in curtailing civil and political rights. Was it mere bluff or was it really the real thing? We would had have to account recent toning down of Malacañang’s policy and the declining sensationalism of several issues hurled against her. Is Malacañang toning down because criticisms are weakening, or it just found a good excuse for its incapability to sustain its policies? These issues would be covered by other articles which I would later post.

It is with apologies again that I say that I will no longer provide the third installment for the aforementioned article. Anyway, I would still be discussing the points that would have been raised by the installment in other articles. Thank you for your understanding.

Empire Strikes Back: Signs of Creeping Martial Law

(2nd of 3 parts)



After the battlefield was prepared, the next phase in any war involves preparing the mechanism that makes it possible to stage offensives. Arroyo, in her war for political survival, believes that her battle had already reached this stage. Her desperation to stay in power now compels her to use anything and anyone to strike at her opponents, even at the expense of being more controversial and unpopular.

Empire Strikes Back: Signs of Creeping Martial Law

(1st of 3 parts)

Blaise Pascal once stated, “Law, without force, is impotent.” Arroyo may have misunderstood Pascal when she used law, and now force, to conceal and ultimately protect her from her impotence against the tide of questions on her legitimacy. In an effort to thwart the upsurge of protests and mass actions, Arroyo does a repeat of what had happened weeks before the dark days of Marcos dictatorship.

Economic Terror: E-VAT and the Looming Consumer Crisis

Together with the political crisis that grips the presidency of Gloria Arroyo comes another crisis brutal in its scope and consequence. With a vote of 15-0, the Supreme Court (SC) finally decided that the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) Law is constitutional. While hopes of the administration for greater revenues are high after a legal success, the Filipino public in turn succumbs in fear of astronomical prices.

Changing Gears: Issues on Charter Change and Structural Reforms

When former President Corazon Aquino and Senate President Franklin Drilon called for her resignation, former President Fidel Ramos came up precisely what President Arroyo needed at her moment of political crisis – an alternative. The alternative would be to call for a Charter Change that would inevitably cut her term short. Grudgingly, Arroyo seemed to swallow the proposal – hook, line and sinker.

Whether the public should subscribe to the Ramos alternative – federalism, parliamentarism, unicameralism – or not, depends not only on how efficient the government will become under such a system, but also on how effective it will be in upholding democratic ideals. It is thus an imperative for us to know the features of such a government.