THE Isis attacks in Marawi City as part of plans to build an Islamic Caliphate in Mindanao tend to convince us about the need for President Rodrigo Duterte to impose martial law. But scalawags in uniform make me wary.
Despite the president’s remark about possible harsh implementation of martial law, we are initially seeing efforts to fulfil the requirements of the Constitution. An activist during the Marcos years, Atty. Rex Fernandez likewise pointed out that civil rights and the freedom of the press exist in Digong’s version of martial law.
In a statement, the Kilusang Pagbabago has expressed support for martial law in Mindanao “to preserve the Philippine Republic from extremism. We need to protect our country from becoming another Syria and Iraq.”
Kilusang Pagbabago, nevertheless, showed its support is not blind fanaticism. A movement focused on the call for change, KP calls on the Duterte administration “to address the root causes of conflict in Mindanao including historical injustice, impoverishment, inequality, and widespread corruption.”
Still, I respect the opinion of friends like Jesse Bacon who opined that the reaction of President Duterte is “overkill.” Digong must also ask why the AFP’s intelligence networks failed to apprise the team that tried to arrest Isis leader Isnilon Hapilon early this week of the Maute strength.
Unlike the mature stance of KP members, there are pro-Duterte netizens who in their naivete would argue that those who have nothing wrong to hide need not fear martial law.
We all know that scalawags in the PNP hampered Digong’s war on drugs and made even PNP Chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa cry.
As for the military, I have written in previous columns about a former military official who is messing up our country’s rice importation program. Despite the stench, he continues to create problems like the suspicious delay in the issuance of import permits for the 2016 MAV program.
The AFP where he came from is obviously still unreformed.
Scalawags in uniform will make a mess of martial law. Digong must keep a tight leash on the AFP to succeed.
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One online idiot amused me recently. The dork refused to believe that President Duterte declared martial law because the source posted in Maghisgot Kitag Politika, Bay was Rappler. I asked him to monitor the news and, for his benefit, copy-pasted a link to an Aljazeera video. He, however, went ballistic about alleged fake news. The late Miriam Defensor-Santiago was right. Stupid is forever.
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Meanwhile, Mensa is challenging us to take an IQ test and find out if we are geniuses. The Mensa qualifying test in Cebu will happen 9am-4pm on June 3, 2017 at the Castle Peak Hotel.
Asking around who had taken and passed this test, I learned that Mayor Tommy Osmeña’s son Miguel passed Mensa when he was 17 years old a decade ago. Perhaps, the young man should step out of the shadows and start making a name for himself. @anol_cebu in Twitter