The way the Arroyo administration is stretching the meaning of “rebellion” is utterly absurd. If this is allowed, we’re making possible a bizarre scenario where the Arroyo administration may connive with its many warlord allies across the country to stage any “massing of arms” in order to justify a nationwide declaration of martial law as they near the day they are booted out of office in the 2010 elections. A few days ago, the Defense Secretary came up with an odd press release revealing something we’ve known all along anyway–that there are private armies all over the country. Suddenly, the government claims Ampatuan supporters have arrived in Manila. Then arms and a grenade are discovered near the NBI in Manila. They’re clearly beginning to sow the seeds of justifying a nationwide declaration. All they need is to stage another shocking performance.

Malacanang spin doctors have framed almost brilliantly, that it’s either you’re for martial law in Maguindanao, or you’re against justice for the election-related massacre. It’s a false dichotomy that, unfortunately, some people fall for and buy. Martial law is not the way to achieve the justice and accountability we’re all demanding for. Solutions are available without declaring martial law. There’s nothing that government can do during martial law that they cannot do under a “state of emergency” or even under normal circumstances. Even the army claimed martial law was unnecessary a few days before they made a sudden turnaround in its favor. Government can simply revoke the executive order that gave legal existence to the private armies and begin the process of dismantling them. The administration can withdraw all government-supplied arms from them. The government can prosecute the Ampatuans through civil courts outside Maguindanao. For the longest time, the government has been waging war against real and legitimate rebels and insurgents like the New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front without martial law. Suddenly they need martial law to dismantle a private army that has been pro-administration all along, and was created and armed by the government itself? Preposterous!

There are those who are in favor of martial law who swipe at critics as having only mere speculations. Wow! Where have they been for the past nine years? What kind of voluntary amnesia can some people have to be ignorant and naive of the pattern of the Arroyo administration’s actions? Arroyo’s 2004 presidential bid and the electoral fraud of the same year was a speculation, charter change was a speculation, Arroyo’s congressional bid was a speculation. They turned out to have been proven true because they are based on real patterns of actions that this leadership has been employing for the past nine years. They are based on motivations we’ve known since the day Arroyo broke her promise and refused to step down from office in 2004.

It is imperative for all concerned Filipinos to reject the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao. Complacency will only embolden the Arroyo administration to use it whenever it sees the need to prolong its hold on power. We should demand genuine justice for the victims of the Ampatuan massacre. We should likewise demand that Congress revoke the declaration of martial law.