Nagkagrabe na ang kamangtas ni Gloria samtang nagkaduol na ang katapusan sa iyang termino. Buhatun gyud nya ang tanang "tricks" arun malikayan ang sobra na nga gapatong-patong nga kaso sa korapsyon og human rights violations sa iyang administration. Isa sa trick nya mao ang iyang pagdagan sa pagkakongresista ug ang latest mao ang pagdeklara ug Martial Law (Proclamation 1959) sa Maguindanao. Base sa sitwasyon ni Gloria sa pagkakaron, dako kaayo ang posibilidad nga kining 1959 testing lang kini sa nationwide implementation sa martial law before sa eleksyon.

Of course, dili muhilum ang katawhan. Ubay-ubay na pud ang nitingog batok niining 1959. Basaha ang mga news links sa ubos:

Militant solons to challenge 1959
Colmenares said that the declaration of martial law was clearly a prelude to a no-election scenario in 2010. “If the presence of armed men is the basis, then the government can claim that the presence of the NPA and MILF and MNLF in other areas would justify the declaration of martial law all over the country,” he said...
Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20091207-240598...

Supreme Court: No basis for martial law
He said it was the search warrants issued by the Kidapawan Regional Trial Court that made possible the police raids on the residences of Ampatuan family members, the suspected perpetrators of the massacre.

“This is far from a picture of a non-performing judicial system,”...
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091206-2403...

Martial Law tied to poll cheating
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Sunday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to take custody of the ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia reportedly confiscated along with a cache of firearms and ammunition by military units that raided the Ampatuan mansions in Maguindanao recently.

He said that one possible reason for the martial law declaration in Maguindanao might be to cover up the massive fraud that marred the 2004 presidential and 2007 senatorial elections in the province...
Read more: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/232828/ml-tied-poll-cheating

Commission on Human Rights sees no legal basis for martial law
The CHR head said that the agency was "preparing to deploy" its Quick Monitoring Teams (QMTs) and Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) to areas where there have been reports of harassment and human rights violations against civilians in police stations or military camps where arrested suspects, such as Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO) members, and civilians may be brought and detained...
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20091206-240495/C...

Ex-SC justice says martial law unconstitutional
Former Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza, a known constitutionalist, said the imposition of martial law in the province lacked two essential elements, invasion and rebellion, which are the conditions set by the Constitution justifying it.
Read more: http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/07/09/martial-law-unconstitutional-says...

SC urged to revoke martial law
“The proclamation of martial law and suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus are not a substitute for the incompetence of the authorities in the immediate arrest and detention of the butchers in the Ampatuan town massacre,”...
Read more: http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/07/09/dilangalen-asks-sc-nullify-martia...

Rebellion charges 'easy way out' for Ampatuans
“Rebellion subsumes all acts like murder. What we see here is that by the declaration of martial law, the cry for justice could be frustrated because if rebellion would be filed against the Ampatuans, and there is no factual basis for saying there is a rebellion, they could easily argue that they are not liable. If they are acquitted of rebellion, the murder charges would also be done away with,”...
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20091207-240680/Re...

"If they can kill lawyers, they can kill practically anybody"-- Atty Connie Brizuela

Kodao Presents "The Philippines Revisited: Measures Measured" a documentation of the 2nd International Fact Finding Mission of Dutch Lawyers in the Philippines last 2008. Related documents can be found here.

"If they can kill lawyers, they can kill practically anybody," was what lawyer Connie Brizuela told members of the Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) mission investigating extra judicial killings of lawyers and judges in the Philippines. Connie also told the mission that she had moved to another island of the Philippines because of the death threats. Connie is one of the more than fifty people who were abducted and killed on Monday 23 November 2009. The group was escorting the wife of a political candidate, planning to run for the office of governor in the May 2010 elections.

The victims of the massacre have been found in a mass grave. Among the victims were two lawyers and twenty-three journalists, professions that are not looked upon favorably in the Philippines.

Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers "demands that there will be an immediate end to the lawlessness in the Philippines and has put this opinion across to the Dutch human rights ambassador, Mr. Hamburger."

To help, you can download this postcard, print and send it to the Dutch human rights ambassador, Mr. Arjan Hamburger.

The Philippines Revisited: Measures Measured, Part 1

The Philippines Revisited: Measures Measured, Part 2