Remembering Philippine Martial Law

September 21th marks the 37th anniversary of Martial Law which placed the Philippines under dictatorship rule for 20 years. My friend Tony posted on his blog a 10 year old article from Inquirer on Liliosa Hilao, the first woman detained and murdered under the Ferdinand Marcos regime. No matter what your political affiliation is, “aktibista ka man o hindi” this should be a grim reminder of our dark past that should never happen again. A teachable moment to the next generation of Filipinos to demand or choose a government that will value self-sacrifice, human dignity, justice and respect for a creator.

Liliosa Hilao — tortured, raped, murdered
By Christine Herrera
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Sept. 19, 1998

THE FIRST woman and first detainee murdered during martial law inspired the filing of the class suit against the estate of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Liliosa Hilao, then 23, was also gang-raped. Robert Swift, lead counsel of the 9,539 class suit members, described Liliosa his opening statement before the jury at the United States District Court in Hawaii as a “student leader about to graduate college summa cum laude” when she was arrested.

“Liliosa was beaten in her home. She was taken to a military compound, and she died three days later,” Swift told the US jury. “During interrogation, muriatic acid was poured down her throat and burned her throat and lungs.”

The case Hilao versus Estate of Ferdinand Marcos was made to represent the victims of torture, disappearances and summary execution in the human rights litigation.
Her violent death may have saved the lives of her sister Marie, then 20 and her husband Romeo Enriquez, 23; another sister Josefina, then 16; brother Winfred, 26, and his wife, Violeta, 23. Her sisters and brother recalled at the approach of the 26th anniversary of the Marcos proclamation of martial law on Sept.21 that the military would stop their torture wins in the end tactics each time they would be reminded of Liliosa’s death.
The Hilaos never had the chance to grieve for their Liliosa. Truckloads of military men kept vigil during her wake and burial hoping to arrest other so-called “subversives” who might come to condole with her family.

Liliosa’s death was allegedly used by Marcos as a “sample” for other political prisoners to scare them into squealing on their comrades and avail of the amnesty for their release from prison.
The amnesty was rejected outright by the Hilao family. Liliosa’s death also inspired the creation of the Task Force Detainees in 1974. Liliosa was tagged a “subversive” by the Marcos regime because as editor of the campus paper at the Pamantasan ng Maynila, she was critical of martial law.

As a sign of protest, the graduating class of the Pamantasan wore black arm bands and left a vacant, symbolic seat for their absent classmate. At around 11 a.m. of April 4, 1973, seven months after martial law was imposed, intelligence agents from the Constabulary Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) raided the Hilao residence in Project 2, Quezon City.

Marie, now 46, recalled that she was with her bedridden mother and three male friends when the armed men stormed their house.

She said the raiding team, led by Lt. Arthur Castillo, ransacked their house looking for subversive documents. Castillo remains in active service.
The armed men were looking for Winfred, whom the military tagged as a communist.

Marie, who was then an urban poor organizer and now secretary general of the Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (Selda), said the raiding team slapped, kicked and interrogated her to force her to snitch on her brother and Jose Ma. Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Her three friends suffered the same treatment.

Her mother pleaded to stop hurting her daughter and the three young men. She was in a plaster cast due to a hip-bone fracture.

Marie said the raiding team even ate the lunch she prepared for her mother and other members of the family, leaving them nothing to eat.

Shortly after lunch, one of the three men left; another guarded her friends and the other guarded her in the kitchen. But her guard dozed off giving Marie a chance to escape. She scaled the high wall at the back of her house to inform her ”comrades” of the raid and ask them to warn her sisters and brother in school not to return home.

The warning never got to Liliosa and Josefina, who was in high school. Both were already on their way home when the couriers reached their respective schools.

Josefina got home first and was tortured. Her ears were clamped damaging her sense of hearing. Her sight was also damaged from being slapped around several times.

When Liliosa came, she was immediately brought to one room. The raiders raped her; one of them was playing Russian roulette on her. She was injected with ”truth serum” to talk.

Liliosa and Josefina were separately brought to Camp Crame at around 12 midnight for “tactical interrogation.” The travel time from their house to Camp Crame was only 15 minutes because of the curfew. But Liliosa reached Camp Crame at 2 a.m. and no one could tell where she had been and what happened to her during the two hour interval.

When Liliosa was finally brought to her cell, Josefina saw her. She hardly recognized her sister because her face was swollen and disfigured,her body was bruised black and blue.

Josefina was not given a chance to get near her elder sister and that was the last time she saw Liliosa alive. Two days later, Liliosa was murdered.

Apparently alarmed by the first murder of a detainee inside a military compound, the military immediately released Josefina from prison. The military made it appear that Liliosa committed suicide. The police crime laboratory medico legal report was silent about Liliosa having been gang-raped.

The Hilao children went underground. But Marie, her husband Romeo, Josefina, Winfred and his wife, Violeta were rearrested on Oct. 7, 1974 and brought to Camp Olivas in Angeles, Pampanga.

They were not allowed to eat for nine days. They were again tortured and interrogated as to the whereabouts of Joma Sison.
“Nothing could make us talk and if you kill anyone of us, you have to kill us all because if you spare someone, then he or she will be witness to other murders just like what you did to our sister, Liliosa,” Marie recalled telling their interrogators.

At the mention of Liliosa’s name, the water cure and electric shock would be withdrawn

“You owe us because of the murder of our sister Liliosa and you would pay for that crime,” the Hilaos repeatedly told their tormentors. The political prisoners,were all transferred to Bicutan stockade.

Marie bore a child while in detention. The child was named Liza Liliosa Enriquez, in honor of her sister. Liza Liliosa had to bear the heat inside the cell. The child was only allowed to be brought outside for sunlight for 10 minutes everyday. Mother and child were finally released on Oct. 8, 1975.

Swift presented documents in court that showed Marcos was directly responsible for the torture and the human rights violations of political prisoners.
The US court found Marcos liable for torture and human rights violations of political prisoners and awarded the victims $2.5 billion.

But the money is not a priority to the Hilao family. Prosecuting the Marcoses is. “That’s the only time we can seek justice for Liliosa,” said Marie.

[Notice: All rights belong to the Philippine Daily Inquirer and to the author of this quoted article.]

On Automated Election

In his column, There’s The Rub, Conrado de Quiros on 09/21/09 wrote, So far the criticisms of Smartmatic by the candidates have centered on the physical or visible part—the length of the electoral forms, the distribution of the right forms to the right place, the ability of the machines to transmit accurately the results of the voting. The real nightmare in fact is the software, which is proprietary, or the workings of which are known only to Smartmatic. As the IT people have shown, it’s the easiest thing in the world to imbed errant commands in the software that function like malware. These can be imbedded variously in the BIOS, the motherboard, the operating system, the flash card, or all of the above. Commands that will tick off votes for one candidate to another, which will make Garci look like a veritable saint.

I thought that Mr. James Jimenez, Spokesman for Comelec did an excellent presentation at the De La Salle University de las Alas Auditorium on the upcoming election automation last 09/18/09. My conclusion was if all is done on the up and up, we couldn’t ask for anything more regarding vote count efficiency.

But, as Mr. Quiros pointed out, there is the possibility that the software known only to Smartmatic could already contain imbedded malicious commands that will tick of votes from one candidate to another. He suggests switching to an open, transparent, inexpensive and automated electoral count like the Open Electoral System, though the Supreme Court had already ruled in favor of Smartmatic. Otherwise, Mr. Quiros predicted that the next president will be Secretary Gilbert Teodoro of the Ruling Party.

I do not know whether there is still time to make a switch or if this is the advisable thing to do or of not, but I know this: Should there be a significant difference between what the surveys will show a week or so before election day and the official final vote count, all hell will break loose in Pinoyland. Chaos will warrant declaration of martial law - which means GMA wins. UNLESS.

Unless, the electoral process will require the Final Election Returns Report to be submitted by the National Board of Canvassers to Congress be accompanied by an Audited Final Election Returns issued by an independent CPA firm or an election watchdog such as NAMFREL which states that the FERR by the NBC presents fairly the results of the just concluded national elections. For example, such audit will require manual count of ballots fed into the Smartmatic leased Precinct Count Optical Scan machine in say, 5% or about 4,000 clustered precincts chosen in random .

On Reproductive Health Bill

On 09/16/09, Manila Standard Today reported that Senator Benigno Aquino III said he would not give up his support for the use of artificial contraceptives to curb population growth even at the risk of incurring the ire of the Catholic Church.

Aquino said Catholic bishops should wake up to the reality that something must be done to arrest the rapid growth of the country’s population, which now stands at 95 million or almost double the 50 million in 1986. “There is really a problem. And I hope that the Church will see that I have the reasonableness of my position on the issue.

He further said that it is the responsibility of the State to remind the citizens of their duty to take care of the needs of their children, including their education. It is wrong for couples to have more children than their income could afford.

On 09/19/09, GMANews.TV reported that several Catholic Church leaders urged the son of former President Corazon Aquino to reconsider his stance on the controversial legislation.

He might be able to get the support of the bishops if he will oppose the passage of the RH bill, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Collin Bagaforo said in an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Earlier, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said that he is now considering whether Aquino should be included in the Church’s list of politicians who should not be voted.

GMANews.TV also reported that Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. might be "very afraid" of the Church but he has no plans of withdrawing his support on some provisions of the Reproductive Health bill.

Teodoro said he is against abortion but he is also against the enforced belief that contraception is bad. “ Contraception, under the Church doctrine, is wrong but it should not be the policy of the State to adopt the view of any particular religion. The state should be non-religious, non sectarian. It should give opportunities to all based on what they personally believe.”

I am glad to realize that these two standard bearers have their own convictions on this matter of uncontrolled population growth here in our country. The Media should ask Senator Villar as to his position on the Reproductive Health Bill. I think former President Estrada will eventually drop out of the presidential race. But even if he does not, I don’t think his view on any ethical issue would carry any weight due to lack of moral credibility on his part.

Is the Catholic Church Slowly Destroying the Philippines?

The following is PhilNews.com's current editorial printed in its entirety. I thought this is so important that I would just have you read it for yourself without any comment from yours truly. However, I would like your reaction, please:

Last Wednesday (9/17/2009) Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo issued a veiled warning to presidential candidate Sen. Noynoy Aquino indicating that the senator's support of the Reproductive Health Bill which he co-authored in the Philippine Senate could be detrimental to his presidential aspirations. Aquino, who currently leads the pack of presidential contenders is a strong supporter of sensible population control for his overpopulated Philippines.

Bishop Bagaforo, who goes bike touring around parts of the country decked-out in designer eyewear is emblematic of the Bishops, Archbishops, and much of the Philippine Catholic Church hierarchy who seem totally disconnected with the present plight of the nation. These old men of the cloth live lives of relative luxury. They have their assistants and secretaries, eat at least three good meals a day, and regularly hobnob with the rich and powerful. They have as much in common with their poorer parishioners as say a resident of exclusive Forbes Park has with the scavengers and garbage collectors of Smokey Mountain.

The Philippines today is struggling to move forward, but for every step forward it takes—be it in improved farming methods, or conserving its natural resources, or controlling and recycling waste—it is pushed two or three steps backwards by the ever increasing demands of its exploding population. Many Westerners who arrive in Manila are immediately struck by the mass of humanity that they see in the streets. And the worst part is government statistics show that the segments that are increasing the fastest are the poorest segments of Philippine society.

China which has a strict one-child policy in most of its provinces, and until recently an avowed atheistic country, is prospering and may soon eclipse the United States and Europe as the wealthiest and most advanced country in the world. The Philippines on the other hand a deeply religious country, practicing all sorts of esoteric rituals is stuck in a rut and is falling further and further behind even its Asian neighbors.

Another question many are asking is: if the Catholic Church is going after Noynoy Aquino for his support of the Reproductive Health Bill, why has it remained silent about former president—and possible presidential candidate—Joseph Estrada's philandering ways and his many women? Aren't those acts also a blatant violation of one of the Ten Commandments? Does this double standard exist because the Church privately condones such acts for the high and mighty be they inside or outside the Church?

It is high time that Filipinos told their bishops and archbishops to simply concentrate on performing their Confirmations and singing their Gregorian chants and leave politics to those who are actually answerable to their constituents and not to God. Otherwise, the Philippines might soon follow in the footsteps of the United States where a recent American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), showed a significant increase in the number of people who said they do not belong to any organized religion at all.

2010: Martial Law, Pt 3

GMANews.TV on 09/16/09 reported that . . . . .

. . . . . A House panel approved in principle a bill proposing that the Senate's most senior member take over as acting president in case there is a failure of elections in 2010.

The House committee on Revision of Laws, chaired by Isabela Representative Giorgidi Aggabao, adopted in principle House Bill 3194 filed by Nueva Ecija Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson.

The bill provides for the manner in which an acting president will be selected in case the president, vice president, Senate president, and speaker of the House "fail to qualify or is unable to qualify or is unable to assume and discharge the functions of the Office of the President."

The bill however is yet to have a counterpart in the Senate.

Magandang development ito para sa akin. Ibig sabihin mayroong mga congresista who are paying attention to the warning issued by former President Ramos. Kailangan na maging vigilant ang taong bayan. Otherwise, kapag napatunayan na hindi sila kikilos one way or the other mas lalong magiging pursigido ang mga may masamang pinaplano.

. . . . . Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes on Wednesday warned of nationwide power interruptions next year – a problem that could affect the conduct of the 2010 automated elections.

Reyes said Visayas and Mindanao have been suffering from rotating brownouts while Luzon would enter a "critical period" by next year.

"We are already experiencing brownouts in the Visayas since last year and we are already experiencing some brownouts in Mindanao and by 2010 we might be experiencing brownouts in Luzon," Reyes said.

Sa tingin ko, ito ay trial balloon. Kailangang mapulsuhan kung ano ang magiging reaction ng taong bayan kapag nagkabulgaran na na nagkaroon ng malawakang dayaan sa bilangan, automated man o manual. Kaya, kailangan ang mga demonstrations ngayon pa lamang na hindi papayag ang bayan na magkaroon na naman ng dayaan. Sa pamamagitan ng Friendster, Facebook o YouTube, maaaring maipakita na nagmamasid ang taong bayan.

. . . . . Senator Loren Legarda, another presidential aspirant, said the opposition should not be complacent with Teodoro’s lackluster performance in surveys, adding that the administration’s “cheating machinery" could play a big role in next year’s polls.

. . . . . Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday said he would soon vacate his post now that the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD has selected him as its standard bearer for next year's national elections.

But Teodoro said he would have to talk to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo first to ensure an "orderly transition" for the Defense department.

Ang pinakamalungkot na mangyayari sa ating bayan sa susunod na election ay ang magpagamit ang ating mga sundalo at kapulisan sa dayaan. Kinakailangan ang consistent public appeal sa military establishment na nakasalalay sa kanilang mga kamay ang kinabukasan ng ating mga anak at apo, humanly speaking.

2010: Martial Law, Pt 2

Manila Standard Today, 9/15/09 reported that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday doubted the constitutionality of a proposed legislation that would lay down the rules on presidential succession in case the 2010 elections, the first fully-automated polls in Philippine history, should fail.

The measure would authorize 12 senators with terms extending to 2011 to elect a new Senate president within their ranks to assume the role of interim president of the Republic if no new president is proclaimed on or before June 30, 2010 due to the breakdown of the electoral process.

The proposal, as suggested by some legal luminaries, was to fill a leadership vacuum that could trigger constitutional crisis and political turmoil in the country. The potential problem partly stems from the fact that Enrile’s term as Senate President would end on June 30, 2010 although he is running for reelection.

Because of Enrile’s doubts, Senator Loren Legarda withheld filing the bill that would lay down the procedures by which the 12 non-reelectionists would elect the Senate president from among themselves before Congress adjourns in June.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives should decide on such succession scheme, Senator Francis Escudero, chairman of the committee on constitutional amendments, said.

The question remains: What can and should our lawmakers do to prevent chaos in May 2010 should the Comelec be prevented from proclaiming winners due to breakdown of the electoral process?

2010: Martial Law, Pt 1

Those contemplating Palace coups or No-elections scenarios in 2010 to preserve the status quo (prolonging GMA's term) are hereby forewarned that these and other variations thereof will surely fail because, among others, the PMA Class of 1978, including its adopted members, does not command the loyalty of the vast majority of our uniformed services. Former President Ramos (Inquirer Northern Luzon 9/14/09).

The military and the police might end up taking temporary control of the country if there would be a total failure of elections in 2010 resulting in a power vacuum. If there would be total failure of elections next year, there would be no civilian authority come 06/30/10 - when the term of PGMA is supposed to end - because there would be no President, no Vice President and no Senate President or Speaker. Senate President Enrile (Philippine Daily Inquirer 9/15/09)

Everything points to a chaotic May 2010 elections. I don't want to seem like some kind of prophet of doom, but the chaotic voting day scenario could lead to a failure of elections. What this can lead to is anybody's guess. Former Speaker De Venecia (Daily Tribune 9/15/09)

A storm is coming. We, the people, must act now and act decisively if this coming storm is to be weakened. First, we must make sure that Comelec installs a manual vote-counting back-up mechanism. Second, the 12 sitting senators in May 2010 must be given the authority to elect a Senate President who will assume the duties and responsibilities of Acting President until such time as election winners are declared by Congress. And third, as a precaution, the 12 sitting senators must also elect a Senate-President-In-Waiting who will immediately assume the powers of the Office of the President in case something happens to the Acting President.

In the meantime, We, the people, must continually appeal to our Armed Forces to remain steadfast in protecting our Constitution. Let us remind our soldiers that the only way how our Nation can weather this storm, and to avoid massive loss of lives, is for us to remain a Nation ruled by laws and not by men.

Trapo: Ibasura Na, Pt.3

Sa pagwawakas natin sa seryeng ito, isipin pa rin natin ang mga turo ni Cristo patungkol sa pag-discern ng character ng tao: Kung ano ang nasasa puso iyon ang lalabas sa bibig at Sa pamamagitan ng bunga makikilala ang puno.

It will be back to broadcast journalism for VP Noli De Castro. I expect him to endorse Senator Aquino. Other than being a good communicator, wala na akong masabing iba pang qualities o abilities ni De Castro para siya maging karapat-dapat na presidente. Walang bunga ang kanyang anim na taong pagka-VP. Ang punong hindi nagbubunga ay pinuputol.

Senator Escudero said "no way" to a possible VP run with Senator Villar. Ang sabi niya masyadong strong ang mga evidences laban kay Villar regarding the C5 controversy. And yet open siya to run with Erap. May wisdom o discernment ba ang ganitong magsalita? He is a man in a hurry. I don't think he is the kind of transformational leader that our country desperately needs.

Senator Legarda was the woman in a hurry the last time around. May paiyak-iyak pa daw siya during the Estrada impeachment hearings tapos tatakbo kasama ang best friend ng gusto niyang patalsikin sa puwesto. A beautiful trapo is trapo pa rin.

Kay Chairman Fernando, bilib ako sa transformation na nangyari sa Marikina when he was the mayor, sa traffic reduction and control na ginawa niya sa Metro Manila, at sa demolition ng mga squatter shanties sa paligid-ligid ng ating metropolis. Proven na that he has the political will to do the right thing. He consistently demonstrates good qualities and abilities befitting a transformational leader. Unfortunately for him, the machinery that the officials of Lakas-Kampi-CMD is so boastful about won't be there for him when it becomes more obvious that Senator Aquino is the people's choice.

Sec. Teodoro is simply ambitious and it seems that Bro. Eddie is not paying enough attention as to how the Lord is guiding His people in this country toward national transformation.

Where there is smoke, there is fire. I don't think the C5 controversy will ever go away before election day. Choosing Senator Estrada as running mate won't help Senator Villar at all.

I seriously doubt Senator Villar or be it Sec. Teodoro or Chairman Fernando stand a chance. Naniniwala ako na malaki ang pagtanaw ng utang na loob ng Mamamayang Pilipino kay Ninoy at Cory Aquino, and rightly so. This is not to say that it does not matter kung sino ang tumakbo among their four children. It could only be Noynoy.

Its magic, as in Sleepless in Seattle. You just know it.

SWS Survey Says...

This just in:

50% prefer Noynoy in vote-rich Luzon areas: SWS survey

By Ricky Carandang, ANC and Isagani de Castro Jr., abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak |

09/13/2009

Manila - One out of every two voters in vote-rich areas of Luzon would have chosen Sen. Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III if presidential elections were held in early September 2009, according to a Special Survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) obtained by ANC and abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.

Aquino was preferred by 50% of 1,200 respondents from a pre-selected list of five names that also included ertswhile survey leaders Sen. Manuel "Manny" Villar Jr., former President Joseph Estrada, Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero and Vice President Noli de Castro.

Villar, Estrada, and Escudero were statistically tied with 14%, 13%, and 12%, respectively. De Castro was preferred by 7% of respondents.

Ang mga sinali sa survey na ito ay ang NCR, Pangasinan, Region III at Region IV-A. Sometime ago, I predicted that Aquino will get close to 50% sa survey as soon as he announces his entry into the presidential race. Kahit sabihin pa natin na Luzon lang ang coverage ng survey na ito, sa palagay ko indicator na ito ng political sentiment ng mga Filipino nationwide.

Fourth prediction ko na ito na nagkatotoo na. I am beginning to scare myself. But like I've said before, I am not a prophet o may active dead zone o psychic. Binabasa ko lang ang buga ng political wind dito sa ating bayan.

Huwag sana magkamali magpa-draft si Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto sa Ruling Party as VP candidate. Matatalo siya. Kung may name recognition at fan base siya, lalo na si Kris Aquino at Korina Sanchez. At lalo na pag nagkampanya pa si Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan for the Aquino-Roxas ticket ng Liberal Party.

Trapo: Ibasura Na, Pt.2

Sa ating pagpapatuloy, isaisip pa rin natin ang tinuro sa atin ng Lord with regards to discerning character: Kung ano ang nasasa puso iyon ang lalabas sa bibig at Sa pamamagitan ng bunga makikilala ang puno.

Ang tanong ay ito: Sino sa mga tumatakbong pagka-presidente ang may character, may mabubuting katangian at abilidad?

Una, let us first consider Erap. Common knowledge - si Erap ay lumaking siga-siga. Siya ay kinilalang maton. Kicked out sa Ateneo. Galing sa mayamang pamilya. Adored movie superstar. Babaerong maraming mistresses. Naging mayor, senador, vice-president, president. Kicked-out sa Malacanang ng People Power. Convicted plunderer. Tumanggap ng presidential pardon. Still popular enough to be recognized as a legitimate contender.

Para sa akin, Erap is the symbol of what is wrong with our country. He has no character but the Filipino people knew that, still he became president. This tells me that for the Filipino character does not matter. They engage in romanticism. They believe in magic. That was then. How about now?

This is what Erap said to Agence France-Presse shortly after Senator Aquino's declaration to run for president: Let us let the people decide, not the elites and the bourgeois.

Interesting choice of words. Matagal ko nang hindi naririnig ang salitang bourgeois dito sa ating bayan mula pa nang bumagsak ang economiya ng Soviet Union at ito ay nagkawatak-watak. Is this because ang resulta ng analysis ng mga political advisers ni Erap ay mananalo lamang siya if he can turn this election into a class struggle - - the rich against the poor, the wage-earners against the capitalists?

A powerful man without character is a danger to anyone. A charismatic powerful man without character is a danger to the entire country. Napatunayan na yan.

Former President Estrada will sooner or later realize that he has no chance of winning. He will eventually withdraw in favor of Senator Aquino in order to save face.