On Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte, once again, threatened he would declare martial law over the supposed communist threat.
“I am not scaring you. Do not commit the mistake of staging a rebellion, say that there is fighting in the streets. I will not hesitate to impose martial law all throughout the country and order the arrest of everybody,” he was quoted in a report in the Philippine Star.
This is a threat Duterte has repeated several times since the 2016 elections, whether over the “drug menace,” the threat of Islamic terrorists in the south, or now the communist insurgency.
It is important to note that Duterte had allied himself with the left over the campaign season, calling himself a “leftist,” and constantly mentioning his relationship with his former political science professor and Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison. Sison is currently living in exile in the Netherlands.
His relationship with Sison and other leftist groups, however, has since soured.
Today, Sept. 11, marks the 100th birthday of Marcos, while next Thursday, Sept. 21, marks the 45th anniversary since the declaration of martial law.
Martial law declared on the basis of a communist rebellion allowed Marcos to hold on to power for 20 years.
A member of the House of Representatives pointed out that this latest threat was just recycling late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ justification for declaring martial law in 1972.
“The ISIS threat did not work,” Representative Antonio Tinio was quoted in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “The threat of narcopolitics that he floated did not sell either. Now, he’s recycling the alibi used by his idol Marcos – the communists.”
The Philippines has the longest running communist insurgency in Asia. Another important thing to note is that the Armed Forces of the Philippines themselves estimate that the New People’s Army, the Communist Party’s armed wing, only has about 4,000 members left. This was about the same numbers they had when Marcos declared martial law in 1972, although those numbers swelled after the declaration was implemented.
After fighting broke out in Marawi last May, however, Duterte was able to place the entire island of Mindanao under martial law.
This latest statement contrasts with his statement last July when he said that he was against the idea of declaring martial law nationwide.
“Why do you have to compare me with Marcos? I am not Marcos. I may not be as brilliant as Marcos, but definitely I am more attuned to my values in life,” he said in a press briefing after his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) last July.
He also said, “No nationwide martial law. And because why?” He added, “I will look stupid before the eyes of the public if I do that. And I am not ready to be called stupid.”
