will tell you why I have this uncomfortable feeling about the return of the Marcoses.
If you voted for BBM and think this is another one those put-down articles about him (it is not) then don’t read any further--I don’t care.
You could be the NEXT VICTIM of what I’m about to talk about so just go ahead, don’t read this, and just find out the hard way.
The way that Marcos SENIOR kept himself in power so long is by spoiling the military, police and the general law enforcement community—and I mean spoiling them rotten.
On a smaller scale, it’s the same way President Duterte kept them in his pocket. Both of them engendered the culture that the soldier, policeman—anyone in uniform—can do no wrong. Duterte even went as far as assuring “my soldiers” (that’s what he always calls them) that so long as they THINK someone is a “communist” they can feel free to shoot her in the vagina.
You might think that’s a simple directive, it is not. It’s a comprehensive license to unlimited liberty with a woman’s vagina to the point that you can shoot it with a gun. If you’re allowed to do that to a woman’s vagina, you can do practically anything else you fancy. And if your commander-in-chief says he will stand by you even after doing something as dastardly as that, then no Filipina—not your wife, girlfriend, sister, not even your mother—should ever feel safe in this country. And we’re talking here of conditions at present, when there is even NO martial law in place.
All those grisly stories of martial law atrocities—jailings, torturings, killings and disappearances—are stories of police and military abuse. Being only one man, of course, Marcos, Sr. couldn’t have personally participated directly in each of those acts. But all of them having been done under a general policy of protecting his administration from a manufactured communist threat, perpetrated by individuals acting with the tacit tolerance if not approval of a patronizing chain-of-command—the buck stops with the commander-in-chief. It’s the principle of command responsibility. Some people reject that idea, but those same people will be livid if the neighbor’s dog bites their children. Same thing, really.
There is that. But also there is the ingrained culture among us Filipinos (properly speaking, of course, this is universal) that a little power is a dangerous thing. It may just be an imagined power, or more commonly an over-contemplated one, but it soaks into the ranks of the uniformed services.
Since Bongbong Marcos emerged winner in the computerized election returns, I have lost count of friends of mine in the police and military establishment who have chided me, “O, ‘pano ngayon yan, atorni? Happy days are here again! Humanda kayo!”
THAT is the dangerous attitude I’m talking about. It derives from the fact that President Bongbong Marcos staunchly refuses to apologize for martial law. That sends a message to a heavily-armed community, grown weary from tight accountability during all these post-EDSA years, that the shackles of accountability are off. After all, however they comported themselves in dealing with a suppressed populace during the “golden age,” that is supposedly the gold standard of behavior. It’s what brought prosperity, peace and order, community discipline yada yada.
Initially, it will take baby steps, of course, before the police and military fully revitalize their capability to commit atrocity. So, for now, the indiscretions will be “little league.”
I had a taste of this yesterday as I was driving to my office. An LTO officer flagged me down in front of UP, right across Baguio Convention Center. There was no sign of a properly set up checkpoint (and the elections are over) or even a parked LTO vehicle with flashers on—nothing.
He asked for my license and registration, (“O.R./C.R.” that annoying acronym!). I wanted to know what my violation was. He wanted to see my registration papers first so he can determine what my violation is!
I did not want to provoke the fellow so I handed over my registration, OR/CR, proof of insurance (all CURRENT, none of it expired)—the whole enchilada.
Except my driver’s license—I drew a line in the sand with THAT. I was determined to challenge him to place me under arrest. He proceeded to take out his ticketing paraphernalia so I asked, “what exactly is my violation?”
He said my roof was treated with rubberized anti-corrosion coating that happened to be black.
“What’s wrong with that?” I asked.
“It says here on your OR/CR the car color is BLAZE,” he said.
It’s a little darker shade of red, but lighter than maroon. I bought the car in 2007 and never changed its original color. It has never failed any inspection BY THE LTO THEMSELVES for FIFTEEN YEARS!
Anyway, according to this LTO officer (his supervisor can get in touch with me if he wants the name) any color on any part of the car that doesn’t match “BLAZE” is a violation.
First of all, my car is a tall-ish AUV, it’s a Toyota Innova that if you’re on ground level you could barely see the roof’s color. Only birds see it from the air.
Secondly, my car comes with a pair of huge sideview mirrors on either side, both encased in fiberglass housing, and even “huger” front and rear bumpers, both wraparound composite fiberglass ‘faschias’; All around, of course are, four huge radial tires protected by huge rubber mudguards—all FACTORY TRIMS and ALL BLACK.
That’s not reflected in the OR/CR which simply says the car is blaze (red). If you show my car to any kindergarten kid and ask the kid, “What do you see?”
I will bet you my life the kid would say, “It’s a RED CAR!”
But not to this LTO officer. He insists he needs to write me a ticket. So I asked him again, “So ano nga ang violation ko?”
In a gruff tone he said, “Kasasabi ko lang! Wrong color!”
Now, wait a minute—HOW DID HE KNOW THAT? Specifically, how was he able to determine that I was supposedly in “violation” before he saw my registration papers?
You see, this is the reason I flunk many students in Constitutional law—when they cannot instill in their minds that you’ve got to have “probable cause” BEFORE apprehension. You don’t apprehend first AND THEN look for probable cause to justify the apprehension AFTERWARDS.
Looking at my car looming in the horizon, it is absolutely impossible for this LTO officer to have sufficient personal knowledge of any fact sufficient to engender a well-founded belief that a crime is being committed in his presence. He couldn’t have thought, “Aha! Look at this red car,” he wouldn’t even know it is BLAZE, “I bet of all the 64 colors in a typical box of Crayola, there’s a good chance the registered color is NON-RED. I better apprehend him to find out!”
As funny as it is, it is really a serious violation of a very rudimentary constitutional principle. But this LTO officer would have none of it. He was dead set on writing me a ticket. So I decided to just submit to his extremely swollen perception of his authority to cite me for a violation that carries a P3,000 fine, if I’m not mistaken.
“Alright, hijo, just make sure you spell my name right: it’s ATTORNEY Joel Dizon.”
You could have heard a pin drop!
Then after a brief spell, his whole attitude changed. “Ay, sige po, ser, warning na lang muna ngayon!”
So I asked him, “hindi ka ba malalagay sa alanganin nyan?”
He said, no, HE HAS THE DISCRETION TO DETERMINE WHO IS IN VIOLATION AND WHO IS NOT.
The words sent a cold chill down my spine. That is the mind-conditioning that a LITTLE POWER gives.
Then he became more polite, although self-patronizing, giving me the favorite spiel of public officers caught off-guard: he was just doing his duty, he gives the same treatment to everybody. He began to pontificate about his deep personal commitment to service to country and the advancement of the common good, he has to enforce the law on everybody, even to lawyers, otherwise there would be chaos on the streets, yada yada.
I thought to myself, “where have I heard those lines before? ‘pantay-pantay tayong lahat…sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan…”
I just shrugged it off, and as I prepared to drive off I think he was more relieved than I was.
Baby steps.
And indeed a profound warning. At this point, our police and military may not be “1972-vicious”…yet. But keep them marinated in a culture of impunity and they eventually will be…again.
Like I said, if you’re a BBM supporter and hate my writing this, I don’t care. The fellow gave me some slack totally because I happened to be a lawyer. I knew my rights and I could articulate them well. In fact, it's all I do to my students EVEN ON FACEBOOK all year long. But I think about the ordinary person who knows little or nothing of the law. If you get to experience the same flagging down, try saying, “ibinoto ko si BBM!”
I’m really curious if it would have the same effect.*
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