Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim was a newly promoted colonel then during the July 2003 Oakwood Mutiny when he led the Magdalo soldiers back to barracks after they were promised by the GMA administration that only the five leaders will face the consequences of their action and the rest of the soldiers will only be admonished under the Articles of War. But to a junior officer then now Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, his continued incarceration proved the broken promises of Oakwood. On November 29, 2007 BGen. Lim testified in a Magdalo hearing before the civilian courts how the Commander-in-chief broke her word to the Magdalo soldiers. That day left yet another mark in history when BGen. Lim marched with the same soldiers he once convinced to return to camp from their mutiny in Oakwood, this time joining them in Manila Peninsula, for the same grievances and even more detestable ills that tolled up since Oakwood.”The government may have crushed the Oakwood mutiny, the Trillanes revolt and another such attempts, but that will not stop the people’s desire for reforms and justice. There will be other “revolts” until one succeeds. Just look at our history…Our history is littered with the bodies of numerous heroes. Maybe history will later list Lim and Trillanes among them. Today, the Arroyo government, the victor, lists them as villains but decades later, with the benefit of hindsight, history will reverse their roles. During the Spanish colonization, the Spaniards looked at the Filipinos who opposed them as “insurrectos” and “bandidos,” but today they are our heroes.” – NEAL D. CRUZ, PDI Columnist
“There is a mutiny in the making not just in the camps but in the hearts of the rest of us. We were beginning to forget what social anger is all about, and what it means to take responsibility for the nation our heroes bequeathed to us. Thursday set us on an new path. We are starting to see what Gen. Lim meant when he said: “Dissent without action is consent.” – PROF. RANDY DAVID
“But I can understand the frustrations of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and his fellow Magdalo officers. Their case has dragged on for more than four years with no end in sight. The saying goes that “justice delayed is justice denied.” So much for the rule of law. Let me try to put things in their proper perspective. What Trillanes did may have been wrong but sometimes it is necessary to create situations that focus attention on continuing cases of grave injustice and a growing culture of impunity. Trillanes was elected senator by a large number of our people. He was not allowed to take his place in the Senate. In securing victory, he did not engage in dagdag-bawas operations. He did not engage in massive vote-buying, using taxpayer money. He did not communicate with election officials on how he was doing at the polls. He did not have movie stars and assorted entertainers working on his behalf. He was under detention in Fort Bonifacio during the campaign period. How many of our “elected” officials can claim victory under similar conditions?” – RAMON FAROLAN, PDI Columnist
“For it is hard to believe that the soldiers barricaded their barracks would not care less about what was going on in Makati last Thursday. If they saw what the rest of the nation saw, and they remained silent, I would consider that meaningful silence. In a time like ours, when images from live media packed more power than the most stirring moments, what might the silence of citizens and soldiers possibly indicate? Are there senses stunned and their will paralyzed? Or are their souls shaken and courage awakened in their hearts? Who knows? Who would know what it means for a soldier or a citizen to see a young senator of the republic filled with idealism, being shackled and handled like a sack of potatoes by his captors as he is led to a waiting police bus? Who would know what it means for any viewer to see an 81-year old prince of the church, hobbled by age, his left hand tied to the right hand of another priest, being led to a waiting police bus after having just said a prayer of hope? Who would know what it means for someone to see a whole line of media people, their hands. I only know that one would need to be blind and insensitive to view those snapshots as achievements of the rule of law. You take a look one look at BGen. Lim and Sen. Trillanes side by side Gen. Esperon and Col.Bacarro – and you can tell at once who among these soldiers have their ideals intact. You take one look at Bishop Julio Labayen and former Vice Pres. Teofisto Guingona side by side Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye – and you know at once who the liars are.” – PROF. RANDY DAVID
“Groups of people resort to armed uprising when all avenues for peaceful reforms have been closed to them. This administration needs many reforms and people have been trying to accomplish them through legal means— through Congress, through the courts, through peaceful marches and demonstrations—but the administration is deaf and refuses to reform…With all the avenues closed, what are we to do? By preventing the people to use peaceful, legal means, the government is actually forcing the people to use violence. By preventing the people to air their grievances through peaceful street marches and demonstrations, it is denying the people an outlet for their resentment and anger. And if it does that, this anger is bound to explode like a volcano.” – NEAL CRUZ, PDI Columnist.
2 comments:
Go!!!Go!!!Go!!!we are praying for the good governance!
The voice of the YOUTH is a voice of TRUTH!!!we will support on you....Youth for Peace and Order Movement (YPOM)...
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