from Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—At the bishops-businessmen’s conference a few weeks ago, the possibilities of a declaration of emergency rule or an imposition of martial law were among the topics discussed.
In that regard, I am prepared to sadly confirm that our incumbent national leadership would indeed be capable of placing our democracy at great risk in pursuit of its survival.
The past week, our nation found itself deeply mourning the immeasurable loss of our beloved former President Corazon Aquino, who was responsible not only for ousting a dictator but also for restoring our democratic institutions.
As we quietly paid tribute to our one and only charismatic leader at La Salle Green Hills, I was overwhelmingly reminded that each of us has a responsibility to contribute to the defense of our democracy.
Having served as the Philippine envoy to the United States in 2001-2006, I decided that I, too, should contemplate how I could make my own contribution under the present conditions. This humble contribution, intended to guard our democracy, has been fully earned by the Filipino people under President Cory Aquino’s leadership.
I believe our people are fully entitled to know this with certainty if we expect to advance the concept of a proactive citizenship and to encourage vigilance at all times in the protection of our democratic freedom.
The facts as related would also serve to provide a momentary view of that quaggy place to public officials who may in the future be asked to advance a Palace agenda that is contrary to the national interest.
It was in 2005 during the “Hello Garci” controversy that the then Speaker of the House, Jose de Venecia Jr., came to Washington. He indicated that the Palace had empowered him to ask if we could defend for them the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
[When the privilege of the writ is suspended, a person can be arrested and detained without charges.]
Taken aback
Taken aback, I could only ask why. The Speaker responded that it was to be used against certain members of the political opposition.
As I contemplated the circumstance, the question was repeated. I replied in essence that what our people needed was good governance, and not a weakening of our democracy. I added that given our being the first republic in Asia, the scheme could result in our becoming a failed state.
With apologies, I expressed as succinctly as I could that the plan was not defensible, and that we could not defend it.
Late that evening, I dutifully reported what had transpired to Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, who looked favorably on our having taken a clear and firm position.
Emergency rule
Several days after the Speaker’s return to Manila, I received a call from him. He said he was contacting me from the Palace to advise that there had been a change of plan and that the proposal to suspend the writ of habeas corpus was no longer an option.
It was obvious to us that while the specific proposal had come under consideration, there were officials in our government who strongly opposed it.
Some weeks later, the Speaker called me once more from the Palace. He wanted to know if I could source a safe phone. My response was that there was probably no such thing in Washington.
Forceful stand vs media
He then proceeded to ask if we could defend the declaration of emergency rule. To my reactive query on why we were intending to do this, he answered that the government was preparing to take a forceful stand against the intransigent media.
I replied, without hesitation, that such a position against the Fourth Estate would bring upon us the condemnation of the international community. That, I said, was also indefensible, and we could not defend it.
Subsequently, the Philippine press began to publish articles on hypothetical situations fostered by the Palace regarding threats to national security, at the same time providing emergency rule as a constitutional means to address the threats.
With this apparent propaganda, we knew with near certainty that emergency rule would be declared.
US gov’t alerted
The US state department was also alerted by the press reports. When asked by them what we thought, I aired my opinion that there was an increasing probability of emergency rule being declared, that it was not good for the Filipinos and for the Philippines, and that we should discuss strategies on how the plan could be averted.
A review of the weeks prior to and during the declaration of emergency rule will show that the US government sent a procession of government officials to Manila, including Ambassador John Negroponte, who was then director of national intelligence.
The American visitors were to ostensibly share their views with our government about the lack of wisdom of such a declaration.
Emergency rule was nevertheless declared by the Palace on Feb. 24, 2006.
To justify unjustifiable
Since we could not justify what was unjustifiable, the Philippine Embassy in Washington limited itself to reporting factual occurrences in Manila, while expressing hope that the declaration would be lifted at the earliest possible time.
This, I thought, was the best course of action to at least preserve our reputation for credible representation in the United States.
On the sixth day after emergency rule was declared, Assistant Secretary Chris Hill—the US official then tasked to negotiate with North Korea in ending its nuclear program and now the new US ambassador to Iraq—visited the Palace.
By the ninth day, emergency rule had been lifted.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Albert del Rosario was conferred the Order of Sikatuna, with the rank of datu, by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. He received the Edsa II Heroes Award in 2001.
He graduated from New York University with a degree in economics and has held positions in various companies including the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Smart Communications, Metro Pacific Corp., Negros Navigation Co. and Fort Bonifacio Development Corp.
He has also been involved with the Philippine Cancer Society, Management Association of the Philippines and American Chamber of Commerce.)
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