“Worse, when the Constitution is invoked to justify outrages against freedom, truth and justice, when democracy is destroyed under the pretext of saving it, law is not
only denied – it is perverted.”
---Sen. Jose W. Diokno, letter from his prison cell in 1972
When martial rule was imposed by Ferdinand E. Marcos in September 1972, the dictator’s storm troopers systematically and arbitrarily arrested and detained thousands of Filipinos.
Among those arrested and detained were opposition senators Jose “Pepe” W. Diokno and Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. The two arch critics of Marcos were brought to a military camp in Laur, Nueva Ecija, blindfolded and stripped of their belongings including their wristwatches and detained incommunicado in said camp for more than two years.
After his release from prison, Ka Pepe, as he was fondly called by friends, founded the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) in October 1974 to fight a repressive regime, using law as a weapon for justice and human rights.
I was privileged to join FLAG during the darkest years of the Marcos dictatorship, upon invitation of Meinrado “Menmen” Paredes, himself a detainee in Cebu when martial law was imposed.
We defended pro bono human rights cases, sometimes going to Samar and Leyte to interview and defend detainees; we represented clients suspected of being communist rebels; we defended students who were expelled from schools because of their involvement in mass actions demanding for academic and social reforms.
I remember vividly when, sometime in 1983 after a whole day court hearing involving a detainee in Tacloban City, Menmen Paredes and I had to catch the last flight to Manila to attend a Supreme Court hearing the following day, in a case involving
students who were expelled from the Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT).
My passion for the underdog inspired me to face the legal luminaries at that time who represented the school, former vice president Emmanuel N. Pelaez and Marcelo B. Fernan, who later became chief justice of the Supreme Court.
FLAG, together with the Movement for the Advancement of Brotherhood, Integrity, Nationalism and Independence (MABINI) spark-plugged by human rights lawyers Rene Saguisag and Jejomar Binay, bore the brunt of the legal struggle to defend hundreds of
martial law detainees all over the country.
It was Ka Pepe, who with his genuine love for the law, his passion for human rights and his intense nationalism, drew and galvanized hundreds of Filipino lawyers who risked their lives and joined FLAG to fight Marcos in the legal arena.
FLAG lawyers wept with millions of oppressed Filipinos at the catafalque carrying the remains of Philippine democracy.
FLAG paid a high price for the defense of human rights during the reign of terror imposed by Mr. Marcos. At least 12 of its members from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were brutally murdered by the dictator’s military and para-military units.
The history of FLAG is also the history of the people’s struggle for human rights, national sovereignty and real independence from all forms of imperialism. It continues to fight for human dignity as it strongly advocates for the abolition of the death penalty and the removal of the continued presence of US troops in the country, in clear violation of the Constitution.
It is a painful irony that one of our comrades in the arduous struggle for human rights during martial law, Jejomar Binay, who was once a poor, cause-oriented lawyer has now become a super-rich, cash-oriented politician.
As FLAG commemorates its 40th founding anniversary tomorrow, Oct. 23, it renews its commitment to the defense of human rights and the rule of law to achieve a just and humane society.--Democrito C. Barcenas
Higher airport fees
One of the things that allow us, laypersons, to know what is currently happening to our country and to the world are newspapers. Thus, we always hope that what we read in newspapers are facts and are properly researched materials.
Anyway, it is quite disturbing to read about the additional fees that the Mactan airport will be collecting from travelers. After the hard work we pour on our jobs, we can no longer reward ourselves by traveling to other countries because of the high fees.
We thus see the stark contrast between Philippine airports and those of other countries like Singapore. For starters, they don’t impose high fees for travelers.
Here, you have the travel tax plus you have the terminal fee.
Meanwhile, a relative of my husband is supposed to travel to Singapore to look for a job. I just can’t seem to understand why the government would not allow him to travel to earn better.
My hubby did make sure his cousin would get complete documents so that, upon departure, whatever immigration would ask he would be able to present. Guess what? He still was not allowed to leave.
Not only did the official not consider the documents, he didn’t even look at them closely. That’s what we taxpayers are paying for: corrupt government officials who go on a power trip.
So do you still wonder why so many people hate the government?
And to think these corrupt government officials can easily leave the country when they are found stealing people’s money. This is not to mention rich and prominent criminals who can easily evade the law by also going abroad.
Now where is justice in all that?--Jessica Collamat