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The Manila government was politically rocked by the reaction of rival political groups, including political scientists, human rights advocates, civil libertarians, law experts and church people. Lawmakers and politicians identified with rival political parties likewise crossed party lines to ensure the public that the proposed revival of the Anti-Subversion Law would be killed on the day the bill for its resurrection is filed.
The government's staunch ally in the Philippine Senate, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, questioned the constitutional legitimacy of the proposed revival of the anti-communism law, adding the Supreme Court was most likely to declare it unconstitutional because of its limiting effect on the freedoms of speech and of assembly.
Activist lawmaker Satur Ocampo of the Bayan Muna, or People First Party, said the proposal to revive the Anti-Subversion Law was a throwback to martial law that would worsen the state of human rights in the country. Attorney Edre Olalia of the International Association of People's Lawyers said it was a Jurassic legal step backward.
The Anti-Subversion Law was enacted in 1957 and was repealed in 1992. Arroyo said the revived measure would be used as a weapon to stop "ideological nonsense" and "criminal acts once and for all," and end the 38-year-old communist insurgency so that the country could move on.
Political analysts in the Philippines agreed that Arroyo was inviting a major political disaster. They asserted that the law would not stop the insurgents from advocating armed struggle as a primary means of eliminating an oppressive system and an oppressive state.
Philippine Daily Inquirer resident political analyst Amando Doronilla argued that the 1957 Anti-Subversion Law failed to crush the homegrown revolutionary movement. He said the government had run out of weapons to end the world's longest-running communist insurgency.
Opposition Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., a veteran of martial law, and Fernando Hicap, national chairperson of the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, both envisioned the revival of the anti-communism law as a daring step aimed at saving the Arroyo regime from downfall and rallying the fragmented military establishment in support of the Manila government under the pretext of eradicating communism.
Pimentel said Arroyo's aim in reviving the law was to consolidate her authoritarian power. He said the law, once revived, could mean a thousand torments for every man or woman who disagreed with Arroyo, as it could be used against critics and the general political opposition.
Dismissing the proposal as "insane, incorrigible and horrible," Hicap said the revival of the Anti-Subversion Law was part of the game plan for the survival of the present occupant of Malacañang Palace. The activist leader said Arroyo was endorsing this shotgun piece of legislation to justify extrajudicial killings and massive persecution of political foes and critics exposing her crimes against the Filipino people, and against those championing the cause of truth and justice in the country.
Hicap opined: "President Arroyo and the members of her terrorist council in Malacañang are really bloodthirsty political animals. Not contented with the 887 victims of extrajudicial killings and 187 victims of forced disappearances, they want more people to be summarily killed and jailed in the name of political survival."
The Pamalakaya leader also said the proposal to revive the Anti-Subversion law is an indication that the Arroyo government will no longer pursue peace talks with the communist-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines and will push the militarist approach as orchestrated by the national security syndicate headed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez.
Pamalakaya said the idea of reviving the Anti-Subversion Law was the brainchild of Arroyo, Ermita and Gonzalez in consultation with Washington D.C. He said that Rep. Jose Solis was merely playing a bit role in this agenda by filing a bill in the House of Representatives that seeks to restore the U.S.-backed Marcos-era law.
The strong current of criticism, outrage and anger displayed over the proposed revival of the law prompted Arroyo to take one step backward, denying that the measure had the backing of her administration. However, the president's military allies are working double time to convince lawmakers and the general public to support the measure, which has been condemned by rightists, leftists, activists and even reactionaries.
The opponents of the revived Anti-Subversion Law have won the first round. But Arroyo, the National Security Council and their followers in the military and Congress will surely initiate a second round in early 2008. The Filipino people must continue their vigilance and fight this draconian measure till Arroyo stops thinking like a Jurassic political warlord.
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(Gerry Albert Corpuz is a correspondent of Bulatlat.com, an alternative Philippine online news site. He is also the head of the information department of Pamalakaya, a national federation of small fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines. His website is www.gerryalbertcorpuz.motime.com, and he can be contacted at themanager98@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Gerry Albert Corpuz.)
