10/3/2018 Maglana: Martial law and historical injustice - SUNSTAR

Maglana: Martial law and historical

injustice


MAGS Z. MAGLANA

March 23, 2018

IT BOGGLES the mind: this tendency of the Duterte administration to wax eloquently about historical injustices against the

Bangsamoro, indigenous peoples, and Mindanao in general without referencing horrific experiences during the time of

Marcos’s martial law and not recognizing the risks of a repeat performance under the current one put in effect by

Proclamation 216.

Aside from notoriously known violations like the 1974 Taqbil Masjid massacre in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat and the 1971

Manili massacre in Carmen, North Cotabato, there were many lesser known crimes against civilians like the 1978 incident

in Buluan where soldiers shot at 15 farmers.

Even more transgressions were likely committed against indigenous peoples who are at the frontline of defending forests

and mineral lands from intrusions, except these were not documented and widely disseminated.

Although steps have been taken like documentation by the Commission on Human Rights of the Palimbang massacre and

compensation under the Human Rights Victims Claims Board (HRVCB), government actions from the time of President

Cory Aquino onwards have not been adequate.

From the lens of transitional justice-dealing with the past, developments in Philippine society post-Marcos dictatorship

indicate that we have not been able to satisfactorily deal with martial law.

We see manifestations of what lawyer Ruben Carranza of the International Center for Transitional Justice described as

efforts to cultivate “a version of Marcos that depicts his dictatorship as necessary, its repression justified, its corruption no

worse than that of other politicians and his legacy as far better than that of the presidents that followed.”

That we observe these in the work of people who, in all likelihood, have been directly mobilized by the Marcos network is

not surprising. But hearing pronouncements and actions from President Rodrigo Duterte, himself, endorsing this white-

washed version of Marcos and the Marcos years is disappointing.

Many supporters of President Duterte, who are earnest in their hopes for redress of historical injustice, have been duped

into uncritical acceptance of Marcos presence and influence among the bloc of Duterte supporters.

Key to this is the ongoing systematic and insidious scheme to reduce Philippine society into only two camps: supporters of

Duterte and those against him. This binary thinking has paved the way for wholesale political rehabilitation not only of

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10/3/2018 Maglana: Martial law and historical injustice - SUNSTAR

Marcos, but also of disgraced leaders Erap Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and their enablers.

The two-camps and destabilization by anti-Duterte forces storyline is being used to justify the country’s withdrawal from

the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a reaction to the ICC's preliminary examination of allegations

of human rights violations under Pres. Duterte. For good measure, the narratives of anti-meddling from foreigners—a

perversion of nationalism in this case—and alleged poor performance of the ICC have also been introduced.

The tragedy is that international courts like the ICC are one of a few critical mechanisms to ensure that justice is accorded

to those victimized by massive violations under repressive regimes when it is not possible under domestic formal justice

settings.

Lessons from history bear out that authoritarian control over governments is absolute to the point that redress might not

be had even when dictators are no longer in power.

In such cases, lawyer Carlos Castresana Fernandez, Public Prosecutor of the Spanish Supreme Court and member of the

Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, recommends applying the principle of complementarity and trying out

alternative domestic jurisdictions, universal jurisdiction, hybrid mechanisms, and international justice mechanisms.

It is ironic that an administration ushered into power by tapping into legitimate grievances and thirst for justice would strip

Filipinos one of the options for obtaining justice.

But it is not at all surprising. History is also replete with accounts of tyrants who tried to put themselves beyond the reach

of law.

As was the experience of Castresana in Guatemala in the first decade of the 2000s, those who seek justice can look to help

from international quarters. Even those who seemed “untouchable” at one point can be subjected to effective criminal

investigations.

Guatemalans finally saw those responsible for high levels of violence, criminality, a collapsed security and justice system,

poverty, deep-seated corruption, and indigenous exclusion brought to justice. A former president and many top-level

ministers, judges, police and military officials, and business people were held accountable.

Tyrants may manage to constrain the hand of the law for a time. But there is no staying the long arm and firm hand of

justice.

Email feedback to magszmaglana@gmail.com

historical injustices ICC CHR Indigenous Peoples Martial law Duterte administration justice Bangsamoro

HRVCB

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