THAT’S what former Senate president Jovito Salonga fears.
Here’s an excerpt from the Philippine Daily Inquirer story:
MANILA, Philippines–President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision to call out the military to help police disband private armies, man 24-hour checkpoints and stop political killings has prompted ex-Senate President Jovito Salonga to warn that the May 14 elections could turn out to be as “violent and fraudulent” as the Marcos-era polls.
In an open letter sent Tuesday to the President through Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Salonga called on Ms Arroyo to ensure the peace and the credibility of the midterm elections so as not to worsen current problems, including the continuing killings.
Salonga said Ms Arroyo’s order for more checkpoints nationwide was “what [the dictator Ferdinand] Marcos also ordered in the 1969 elections, described by Newsweek (Nov. 24, 1969) and Time (Feb. 16, 1970) as the dirtiest, most violent and most corrupt in modern Filipino history.”
May 4th, 2007 at 11:44 am
What is happening today is uncomparable to the Marcos’s dictatorship…it is worst.
May 3rd, 2007 at 10:51 am
Salonga is right. It’s so obvious! Ever since that Hello Garci scandal, GMA has done nothing but to curtail the rights of the ordinary people in order for her to be able to stay in power. Rights which are guaranteed by the constitution. GMA continues to trample these rights!
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:43 am
I think that the President, who also has in mind the national security and who is privy to intelligence data, should not let her guard down in these times when the election fever is heating up, and in this world situation where terroristic activities exist. If we always prevent the military from doing their jobs by throwing raw charges at them or cast doubts on their motives, then, whom can we turn to?
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:56 pm
The fact that former Senate President Jovito Salonga has expressed his thoughts of equating GMA to FM is itself a proof that his opinion is not right.
During Marcos time, one cannot simply express his thoughts which are adversarial to the dictator without fear. Now, anybody can just speak anything without fear however the opinions are unfounded or basically lies.
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:33 pm
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