‘Never stop defending freedom’ Noy warns Filipinos on spectre of martial law

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino yesterday appealed to Filipinos to defend their freedom and democracy and remain vigilant as he warned the horrors of martial law could happen again.

In his last Independence Day speech before stepping down on June 30, Aquino underscored the achievements made by his administration in transforming the country from being the “sick man of Asia,” to “Asia’s darling” under a democratic rule that honors due process, law and human rights.

Aquino said such progress came without disregard for the rule of law.

“Let us remember that just a generation ago, the Philippine government itself was the one suppressing the freedom of our fellow Filipinos. A fellow Filipino deprived us of our freedoms. It means that if we are not vigilant, this can happen again,” Aquino said.

Part of Aquino’s speech was a video presentation about how his father and namesake and the entire family suffered during the martial law years. His father was assassinated in 1983 at the airport that now bears his name, three years before the popular revolt that toppled the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Aquino hosted the traditional vin ‘d honneur attended by diplomats, top government officials and business executives.

“Allow me to propose a toast. To the Filipino people: may we never lose our patience with the ways of democracy, and may we never take it for granted or be passive in its defense,” he said.

Aquino said Filipinos should treasure the country’s 118 years of independence and guard against attempts to revive authoritarianism.

He called on Filipinos to fight attempts to take away their freedoms as he prepared to hand over power to president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who has vowed to kill thousands of criminals.

“To our hard-won Filipino freedom, earned by the blood and sacrifice of martyrs, nurtured by the vigilance of an empowered people, may it never again be challenged, diminished, or negated,” he said.

Duterte won last month’s elections in a landslide largely on a pledge to suppress what he said was rampant crime, and has since vowed to award large bounties to police as well as civilians who kill drug dealers.

Aquino had warned last month during the election campaign that Duterte, the then frontrunner in the race to replace him as leader, had dangerous similarities with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Duterte has promised to end crime within six months of his presidency by ordering security forces to kill suspected criminals, then pardon himself if he is found guilty of mass murder.

Duterte, who takes office on June 30, has been accused of running vigilante squads that have killed more than 1,000 suspected criminals in Davao City where he has been the long-time mayor.

At times, he has boasted about his involvement – but on other occasions, he denied any links to the vigilantes.

Duterte has also warned that as president he will shut down Congress and establish a revolutionary government if lawmakers do not support his policies.

Duterte remains hugely popular despite his comments about extrajudicial killings, calling bishops “sons of whores” and publicly cracking a joke about a murdered rape victim.

His latest controversial comment saying journalists were “not exempted from assassination” raised concerns, although he later clarified that he does “not condone nor tolerate killing of journalists, regardless of the motive of the killers, or the reason for their killing.”

Duterte has also said he would allow the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, despite strong opposition from some quarters.

Marcos’ son and namesake said on Saturday his father’s body, which remains in a glass coffin in a mausoleum in Batac, Ilocos Norte, would be transferred to the heroes’ cemetery possibly in September.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who ran and lost the vice presidency in the May 9 election, said he and Duterte discussed the burial plans and the possibility of a Cabinet position for him in the new administration at a meeting in Davao City over the weekend.

“Now that we’re entering a new chapter in our history, let us not forget that freedom must be guarded and nurtured. We must strive to achieve and fight for all the things that matter,” Aquino said.

“All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” he said, using a quote usually attributed to British statesman Edmund Burke.

For his part, Papal Nuncio Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto – the dean of the diplomatic corps – thanked Aquino “for the interest and appreciation you have shown for the work of the ambassadors and their collaborators in carrying out their mission.”

“We are also grateful for the competent and prompt assistance provided during state visits and other events by the Office of the President of the Republic and the different departments, especially the Department of Foreign Affairs,” Pinto said.

Pinto specifically mentioned former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario and his successor Jose Rene Almendras.

“This is a fitting occasion to renew the friendship of our respective governments and international organizations with you, Mr. President, and with the Filipino people whose hospitality and kindness make our work enjoyable and productive,” he said.

“Environment and energy, human development and poverty reduction, foreign relations and cooperation, good governance and global solidarity are the principal themes which you have proposed as the objectives of your government’s undertaking in these last few months.”