In praise of martial law

Ben Contreras

I GIVE a two-thumbs up to the team of Roads and Traffic Administration personnel, more than 20 of them and a vehicle or two, including one used to carry the load of materials, goods and anything that disturb or hinder the flow of traffic on Capt. Vicente Roa on Saturday. It’s no longer the unthinkable. They just did it and everyone was just caught by surprise. Please, please, don’t make it like “Hapsay Highway” (after one operation, no more).

Our streets are not for any merchandise, not for any reason. Roads should be cleared of anything but for vehicles, and sidewalks for pedestrians, not for vending. It’s not a matter of asking too much; it’s simply a case of doing what is right and legal and what the laws say.

If RTA lacks people to do this everywhere, I believe our volunteer groups, the Cagayan de Oro Campaigners for Road Courtesy and Discipline (CDO-CRCD) and Clean-10 would happily help.

Two committee hearings have already taken place, one under Councilor Zaldy Ocon and another under Councilor Bong Lao, as an off-shoot to the informal meetings with both gentlemen and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board director Alan Guro for possible cooperation in the future. We certainly hope that the meetings were not mere lip-services.

We look forward to another committee hearing under Councilor Romeo Calizo to complete our mission. If nothing positive comes out, then it would be clear why our traffic woes would be with us for a long, long time.

Guro has taken the initiative. The others who won’t take the cue should be ashamed. It is a collective job that requires sincerity from all those concerned.

Let’s not waste more time, gentlemen.

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The Marawi crisis is perhaps a first for many of our soldiers, young and some senior officers, that saw the use of land, sea and air weaponry.

The use of sniper weapon is not new, only made more sophisticated. The number of bombs dropped is unprecedented. The use of aircraft is probably or practically new to our Air Force since we never really had modern aircraft before. Thus, we can’t blame “friendly fire” from happening twice.

It’s not incompetence. It’s probably just lack of experience. Even during the war in Vietnam, friendly fires from US warplanes claimed many American soldiers in the battlefields. The American pilots were supposed to have enough training in flying their warplanes and in the use of modern and sophisticated gadgets.

We can only watch and hope that the crisis would soon be over.

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Martial Law is not evil, per se. It is evil only when the leader uses it for abusive acts. If Marcos abused it, then Marcos was evil. Did Duterte abuse it? He didn’t. One good example that speaks a thousand words is that post showing two photos of martial law, one under Marcos that depicted police beating up civilians and the other under Duterte where civilians were having “selfies” with our soldiers and police.

If martial law is evil, then why is it in the 1987 Constitution? Cory Aquino would have done what Duterte did if the situation warrants it. It’s as simple as that.