“…Heavily armed groups in the province of Maguindanao have established positions to resist government troops, thereby depriving the Executive of its powers and prerogatives to enforce the laws of the land and to maintain public order and safety.”

That was how President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in Proclamation No. 1959, described the so-called rebellion in the South to justify her declaration of martial law in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City.

The same proclamation also cited Republic Act 6968 which defines rebellion as that “committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the Government for the purpose of … depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogatives.” Rebellion is a constitutional requirement for the declaration of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.

Indeed, government troops that raided the lair of the Ampatuans recovered high-power firearms and ammunitions, as well as military trucks, armored tanks and police cars. But the Ampatuans never intended to use their firepower against the government but against their perceived enemy, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Ampatuans blamed the MILF for the ambush of Saudi Ampatuan, the eldest son of Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan patriarch. The elder Ampatuan also survived several assassination attempts since 2001. In 2006, he was ambushed and survived in Shariff Aguak town after a roadside bomb was detonated near the politician’s convoy and authorities blamed the attack on the MILF.

Clearly, there is no rebellion in Mindanao but simply political warlordism. Rebellion aims overthrow the government while political warlordism wants the status quo preserved by using government resources to maintain a politician’s control over a defined turf. The suspects in the Ampatuan massacre are not enemies of the State. They are allies of the President, and will continue to be such. As what Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo puts it, “it doesn’t mean that we [Malacañang] are no longer friends with them if they are guilty.”

On the other hand, the Ampatuans are not “depriving the Executive of its powers and prerogatives to enforce the laws of the land and to maintain public order and safety” but they are the ones doing the hard work for the President, even to the extent of cheating in the elections to keep her in Malacañang. And for giving her a wide margin in the 2004 elections, the President tolerated the Ampatuans, allowing them to arm themselves to the hilt.

By nurturing the warlordism of the Ampatuans, the President is equally guilty of their crimes, especially the massacre of 57 innocent lives, plus a couple of unborn as a two of the 21 women killed were found pregnant. As the cliché goes, “Anyone who witnesses any crime and does nothing about it is an accomplice.”

Interior Secretary Rolando Puno even admitted that the police knew all along that the Ampatuans were hoarding arms and ammunitions. Why didn’t the police confiscate those arms and file charges of illegal possession of firearms against them? Those firearms, marked “DND” for Department of National Defense, were clearly not licensed as they were sold illegally to the Ampatuans.

Proclamation No. 1959 says “the condition of peace and order in the province of Maguindanao has deteriorated to the extent that the local judicial system and other government mechanisms in the province are not functioning, thus endangering public safety.” Who would dare cross the Ampatuans, given their firepower and the blessing that Malacañang gave to their illegal activities and their atrocities?

The declaration of martial law in the South is not primarily aimed at getting those who are behind the massacre but to divert attention away from the damning truth that the government and its law enforcement arms have failed to prevent the Ampatuans from sowing terror and commit massive human rights violations in Maguindanao and in other areas of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Likewise, the declaration of martial law is only intended to cover up the inability of the police in the gathering, preserving, and evaluating evidences and in the arresting and detaining the perpetrators.

Redefining rebellion just to justify the declaration of martial law will never solve the crisis created by the Ampatuans. What the government needs now is to redefine law enforcement and political will, and exercise extraordinary level of transparency and accountability in prosecuting the suspects in this heinous crime so justice is served to the fullest to the 57 victims of the Ampatuan massacre.

3 Responses to “Rebellion vs warlordism”

• 1
  Dr. Antonio Gestosani
  December 10th, 2009 03:08

  PRIVATE ARMIES WENT WILD!
  A time bomb just waiting to explode and it did – big time! 57 innocent men, women and children were slaughtered like pigs by Ampatuans and his private army. MANGA ANIMAL GUID!
  Since 2003, extrajudicial killings in the Philippines were condemned by the Human Rights Organization around the world.
  On July 16 and 17, 2007, a National Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial Killings was held at Manila Hotel attended by 3 branches of the government. Whatever was discussed and concluded during that meeting was inutile at the most because the bomb did explode and it was in Maguindanao.
  This is typical of Philippine government inaction.
  Typical of the leaders full of rhetoric and no action.
  Typical of your corrupt politicians and won’t consider resignation.
  Typical of the Philippine justice system where you get by with murder and won.
  And only in the Philippines where culture of impunity is the norm.
  Something has to be done or you’re bound to doom.
• 2
  Zack Gallaza
  December 14th, 2009 07:37

  Sabi ni North Cotabato Vice-governor Manny Piñol nabalitaan niyang tinatakot ng mga Ampatuan si Gloria Arroyo na kakanta tungkol sa dayaan noong 2004 eleksyun kung ilalaglag siya.
  “Ang sabi ng ibang mga miyembro ng Ampatuan clan, kung bibitawan sila ni Pangulong Arroyo, sasabihin din nila ang lahat.”sabi ni Piñol..
  May umuugong na balita na bina-blackmail ng mga Ampatuan si Arroyo. Hawak pa rin daw nila ang orihinal na dokumento noong 2004 eleksyun.”
• 3
  Christel Mondejar
  December 29th, 2009 19:58

  This cliche angers me. “Anyone who witnesses any crime and does nothing about it is an accomplice.” I understand how the people of Maguindanao is very much afraid of the Ampatuans. They are the local terrorists of Maguindanao. The people have so much fear that they themselves cannot rebel against this evil clan. It has to take lives, and some form of political intervention and justice to gain resolution. Let’s focus back on our city. Our beloved Iloilo. Our beloved Ilonggos. Who are the local terrorists amongst us??? Etik Espinosa is one of them. He has been terrorizing the poor people of Ajuy for decades. He murdered the beloved Vice-Mayor Ramon Rojas. Finally, everyone knows how rotten this Etik Espinosa is. But back to this cliche that angers me: “Anyone who witnesses any crime and does nothing about it is an accomplice.” Our fear has lessened because we stand by the Truth. But without money and a stable life to fall back on, the poor people of Ajuy cannot rebel against him. Etik Espinosa can easily be put in jail if these people are not so passive: those that are in the seats of Justice, his ignorant friends and families, and all those that protect him. How can you all sleep? Shame on you and the smirks of your faces. I will always pray for justice and for a better year to come.

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