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Ric Maulion .

THE first darkest hour in recent Philippine history was the declaration of Martial Law by Ferdinand E. Marcos on Sept. 21, 1972. Dictatorship then ruled the country for the next 14 long years! Many of us were witnesses to that national shame.

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Life under that dictatorship? It was ugly. Bodies piled up. Streets were painted red. Nationalists struggled and were beaten up by an Iron Fist. That’s huge.

Our message to post-martial law babies: Never again!

Living under the Marcos martial law carried a prohibitive price: thousands of lives were lost, many still unaccounted for until today. Worst, our economy was badly hit and was in shambles — the next administration, that of Corazon Aquino, inherited billions of pesos in loans that nearly squeezed our economy clean and dry.

Fortunately, democracy was restored through the People Power in Edsa in February 1986, ending our long suffering from that notorious dictatorship. Fine.

Then we made some necessary adjustments, living free again under different administrations. We thought the nightmare was over. But, no, we were thrown back again to the fire of disrepute. The Supreme Court’s 8-6 decision on the quo warranto petition against CJ Maria Lourdes Sereno last week did that. Citizens were again polarized. There are those singing hosannas and alleluias in highest decibels to high heavens.

Lawyer Larry Gadon was the first to file a complaint against Sereno but lack of support in the Senate and the would-be impeachment court prompted Solicitor General Jose Calida to file the quo warranto petition. Why this was done is explainable and a given, and it wasn’t surprising why the appointees of Duterte and and the then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo voted for the granting of Calida’s petition. The numbers game we usually in Congress seems to have found a new home in the SC.

This second dark episode in the country’s history caught everyone by surprise. Democracy suffered a serious blow again at Padre Faura on a Friday, May 11, 2018. It was stabbed right at the back with legalese being used for what was clearly wrong.

Here, we are now back to square one, and we reminisce the voice of the then Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez echoing the words “What is happening to our country, General?”

Leave it to the “experts.” The Supreme Court, the highest judicial body of the land, already handed a decision.  But was it constitutional? I doubt. There are 132 College of Law deans and professors throughout the country that don’t think it was constitutional. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines shares the same position. Down the line are also law students, laymen and ordinary taxpayers speaking their minds on the issue against the army of Duterte trolls and apologists.

Ironically, there are some compromised people in the legal profession who can’t even defend their own Chief Justice! I know one arrogant lawyer, a certified zombie, who invokes technicalities as he bullies people who have dissented. Wow, baga og lips. Maayo ra sa porma.

Afraid of the backlash and public restlessness, the Chief Architect and nemesis of Sereno wasted no time to wash his hands. Yet in an earlier public announcement, he did telegraph a notice that declared Sereno as his enemy who should get out of the SC. His usual “I will resign” line doesn’t work anymore.

What could this bring? With Supreme Court sitting as an electoral tribunal on the case of Bongbong Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo, the sword would likely fall on the latter. What follows will be everyone’s guess.

Some see a full-blown martial law ahead. This one could be unprecedented. When would we ever learn?

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TRAILBLAZER. Established in 1989, Mindanao Gold Star Daily aimed set ablaze a new meaning and flame to the local newspaper industry. Throughout the years it continued its focus and interest in the rural areas and pioneered the growth of community journalism.