I have maintained the belief that in this age of digital media, social media, content creation, and misinformation (and disinformation), a formal declaration of Martial Law such as made in 1972 is no longer needed. Today, blanket bans of websites or even cutting off Internet service – all in the name of national security and people's safety – is enough. The recent, sudden bans of Reddit and Discord is just the beginning. So are the reported plans to restrict access to Meta (Facebook, Messenger and Instagram) and requiring people to register via their National IDs. (Given the persistent problems we are having with our National ID system, I believe such a plan would be a logistical nightmare both for Meta and government agencies.)
Every move to restrict people’s rights is, ironically, engendered in the belief that they are implemented to protect our rights and liberties.
When former President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. declared Martial Law in 1972, he used the excuse of the growing threat from Communists and private armed groups.
History, however, has told us that all cataclysmic events that result in drastic changes were often planned in advance, or had already been smoldering in the hearts of a frustrated populace.
All that it needs is a convenient event that will provide the perfect excuse.
In 1972, that excuse was the fake ambush on then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, committed right on the eve of the declaration of Martial Law.
In 2026, that excuse was the spike in school shooting incidents in Visayas and Mindanao.
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My boss, Mr. Ray Junia, had always believed that another Martial Law is imminent, a desperate move by an increasingly unpopular President facing the wrath of an angry nation.
What “imminent”? We’re already living in one.
Let me repeat it: no formal declaration is needed.
Over the years, our leaders have learned how deeply unpopular the term Martial Law has been and have reinvented the restrictions on our liberties through other terms: “state of national emergency,” “security measures,” and so on.
Of course, the big difference now is that the public now sees through the BS.
And if these kooks in our government think that banning social media sites outright will cool down the flames, they seem to have forgotten that old adage (who said it, John F. Kennedy?): “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolutions inevitable.”
#OpinYon #WeTakeAStand