TACLOBAN City is so sacred a bailiwick to the Marcos administration that they cannot countenance the holding of a Digong Duterte-sponsored Maisug rally in the city, more so at the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR) Plaza. Can you imagine if the former president, Rodrigo Duterte, will again throw fiery vitriol at the sitting president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., right at the plaza named after his grandmother, in the city of his mother, the former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos?
And so, Romualdez loyalists in the city mobilized trucks and vehicles to park at the plaza, and city police were in full force to “monitor” if there were attendees to the May 25 mass rally. There was none because the place had been co-opted by the parked dump trucks and the organizers had to cancel the event, just like in Bulacan a few weeks ago. They found a convenient excuse for the cancellation in the expected arrival of tropical storm “Aghon” in Leyte, although it only swiped Northern Samar and proceeded to pound the Bicol region and Quezon province.
‘Bongbong Marcos should learn from the mistakes of his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, whose strong-arm policy against dissent in the early weeks of 1970s led to a full conflagration…’
Still, this episode of dissent, peaceful assembly, and seeking redress for grievances – all guaranteed in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution – continues as the former president wrote an open letter to the people of Tacloban and Leyte. He said the cancellation of the Maisug rally highlighted the administration’s policy of stifling peaceful dissent. He added this was not the first time the government tried to stop similar rallies. They succeeded in Bulacan, but failed to do so in Davao City, Cebu City, Tagum, Davao del Norte and Dumaguete City.
He talked about efforts to amend the Constitution. “Worse, the success of the plot to amend the Constitution to lift the term limits of the one sitting in Malacañang will ensure not only the perpetuation of the power of one family but the rape of democracy that this administration has unleashed on the nation,” he said.
Duterte emphasized the need for free expression, particularly in light of the country’s perceived lack of transparency, accountability, peace, and security.
The administration’s response to the continuing rift between the Duterte and Marcos camps is being exacerbated by this pattern of intolerance – even harassment – against legal activities critical of the government.
In his time, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte himself was intolerant of valid criticisms, and was even very vocal against some journalists and commentators who see things and concerning issues in his administration that needed to be addressed. Now that he is an ordinary citizen and without power, and that his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte is slowly being eased out of the circle of power, it is but natural for the former president to say what he is saying today.
Bongbong Marcos should learn from the mistakes of his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, whose strong-arm policy against dissent in the early weeks of 1970s led to a full conflagration that divided the nation and opened the door to an authoritarian rule.
