Communism was not a threat to this country. It had ceased to be so a long time ago. The activists were not a threat to the country. They had ceased to be so a long time ago. They were not a threat to the country, but they were a threat to Arroyo. That was what turned the activists into communists in the first place, by the same definition Ferdinand Marcos used to define communist, which was anyone who was against him. By launching her splendid little war, Arroyo served notice that she was going to use armed force against those who opposed her.
You know how cynical that war was from the fact that Arroyo vowed to defeat the communists in two years’ time and they are still around, stronger than when she left them. That wasn’t just the product of ineptitude, that was the product of cynicism. Arroyo’s war wasn’t aimed at the communists, it was aimed at the Filipino people. What it sought to push back was not rebellion, it was dissent. What it sought to push back was not uncommon lawlessness, it was common decency.
It did not end the reign of anarchy, it began the culture of impunity. Under cover of war, Arroyo and her chief executioner unleashed murder without compunction, without pity, without fear of retribution. Why should the Ampatuans have shrunk from contemplating the crime of the century? They had role models for it, they had examples for it, they had precedents to suggest they could get away even with that.
Well, Arroyo has been arrested and will soon face trial. And Palparan is running for his life. Suddenly the untouchable have become very touchable.
Suddenly impunity has become very puny."
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