We stand as one

I think that this is one time that every citizen of this country stand up and have his/her say on the raging matter of GMA's proclamation 1017. Are you for it --- or are you against it?

This writer stands with the bulk of the media and other concerned citizens who are fervently against 1017 since it may curtail and impinge on the people's constitutional right to freedom of speech, of expression, and of the press….

1017 was designed to deal with a "state of emergency".

The question is - does this proclamation not exacerbate or worsen the so-called emergency? Consider this: the calling out of the armed forces to suppress "lawless violence", etc. is virtually a bugle call for our armed forces to make a sweep of populations, to ferret out even the most harmless suspicious actions. How many abuses do you think 1017 will cause before all of this is over?

It is clear that the main purpose of 1017 is to scare the enemies of GMA. To this we counter --- go after those guilty of sedition and other criminal acts. We have functioning courts. We have a functioning prosecution body. We have the police. So why resort to a Marcosian ploy to deal with the enemies of the administration? Do we have to scare the rest of the country? It is easy to imagine the by-products of 1017. Already affected is the newspaper Tribune in Manila which was visited by the members of the PNP. PNP Chief Lomibao denies interfering with the contents of the publication but with the police poking their noses and their guns all over the place can you imagine the effect. This morning over the radio, we hear that the Iloilo newspaper, Panay News, is in some trouble. I don't know the details.

The way the military makes announcements over the media, one could sense by their body language, tone of voice, the flash of their eyes a sense of power. While we are assured that there is no martial law in the offing, there are lots of eager-beaver military men who will violate the civil and constitutional right of citizens.

It is rather ironic but officials, when they take their oath of office, affirm their allegiance to the constitution. Ideally, the military should be the guardian of our constitutional rights. But the signal generated by 1017 points to the opposite direction. The ball now is in the Supreme Court which has announced that it will not issue a restraining order against public official involved in implementing 1017 and Gen. Order no. 5.

But wait! In today's papers (March 2) GMA promises to lift 1017 as soon as possible (ASAP). Has 1017 already achieved the scare GMA hoped would make her enemies hide in their holes. I suspect that the chief reason is that there has been tremendous resistance and repugnance toward 1017. Some even call 1017 worse than that proclaimed by Marcos. I wouldn't know about that but as far as I can see the results are the same, if smaller in scale. I also suspect that GMA is not so sure that the Supreme Court will not strike down 1017 as unconstitutional. It's not how you describe 1017, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, by golly it, it's a duck.

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INDIA DIARY. After breakfast wherein some Indian dishes were served, we commenced our touristic tour, my tongue still smarting from the Indian condiments. Maybe 20 years ago I would be equal to the "hot" Indian cuisine, but time strips us of our resistance". We went to the old portion of Delhi,, where we viewed the old twisting streets, full of hawkers. This was the Delhi of the old Mogul emperors, before the British finally took over the governance of India. Before that India was a hodge-podge of princely states. There was really no India, as we know it now.

The British, installed in power, sought to create a new Delhi. We stood, transfixed by the magnificence of the India Gate, a memorial to the war dead (I don't know if its for the British dead or Indian dead or both). We stood on the broadest avenue in all Delhi call Raj-path. The Parliament House was pointed out to us, a huge circular building. Then, as if a prize for one's patience we were confronted by the Presidential Palace, a huge structures that dwarfs Malacañang. You can not however enter the grounds of the palace. You have to be content with gazing through the bars, imagining how the president eats, sleeps, talks inside this fairy-tale residence. The president however has no real power. But to live in that palace maybe an adequate recompense.

Maybe, before I end this portion of the reportage I should say something about our guide. There are guides and guides, of all shapes and sizes. Anyway, our Delhi guide was named Harry. I later came to know that Harry was a Sikh which surprised me because Sikhs are supposed to grow a hefty beard not to speak of wearing turbans. Every Sikh is also supposed, to be armed with a dagger. Harry had none of those, although the guy could be hiding a knife somewhere.

Sikhs in Delhi are mainly taxi drivers and they're supposed to drive like mad. You tip the guide at the end of the day. If you're a member of a big group the tip is not so big since there are lots of you. In our case we were only two Fe and I. I hope the tip I gave was enough.*

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