Life
By Carlos Isagani Zarate
Inquirer

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"I'M RUNNING THROUGH A GAMUT OF EMOTIONS." This was how Ateneo de Davao University Prof. Luz Ilagan described her feelings at a press conference last week, as she denounced the "malicious and ridiculous" inclusion of her name in a rebellion complaint filed by police authorities at the Department of Justice.

No stranger to draconian rule-a family member was imprisoned during the Marcos regime-Ilagan has all the reasons to be apprehensive, angry - and yes - even defiant. "It's dèjá vu. We are going through repression all over again. But we have to fight for our rights."

Luz is the widow of the late Davao legal luminary Laurente Ilagan, who was jailed in 1985, together with two other Davao lawyers-Marcos Risonar and Antonio Arellano - by force of the dreaded Preventive Detention Action (PDA) which allowed warrantless arrests.

The case of the three Davao lawyers is now enshrined in Philippine jurisprudence as the "Ilagan Doctrine" (Ilagan vs. Enrile, 139 SCRA 349).
The soft-spoken current national chair of the Gabriela Women's Party-List (her partymate, Rep. Liza Maza, is among the "housemates" currently under protective custody of the House of Representatives), Ilagan was a former Davao City councilor. She was among the first appointees of the Aquino administration following the 1986 People Power Revolution.

While she was in Davao City for the International Women's Day last March 8, the police Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management in Manila included her in a charge sheet for rebellion. Also in the charge sheet were Davao-based militant leaders Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador, Ariel Casilao of Bayan, Editha Duterte of the urban poor group Kadamay, Omar Bantayan of Kilusang Mayo Uno, Jeppie Ramada of Bayan Muna, Antonio Flores of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Cora Espinosa of Samakana and Lorie Ann Cascaro of Anakbayan youth sector.

The charge sheet is based on the joint affidavit of PNP intelligence operatives Franco S. Duca and Rex Rodriguez and on photos showing the march-rally led by Ilagan and her group during the Feb. 24 commemoration of Edsa I.

"It is not only baseless but, more importantly, it is ridiculous," said lawyer Angela Librado-Trinidad, chair of the city council's committee on women and children.

Here are the "ridiculous" allegations, that the police authorities claim constitute rebellion: "(M)ass action rally particularly at the freedom park ... said personalities were involved in the aggressive actions to destabilized (sic) the Philippine government .... (they) started to march from freedom park passing along the main streets and ... at centennial park ... they shouted their politically inclined beliefs to establish a transitional council to replaced (sic) the Arroyo Regime and to OUST PGMA and all other related issues to opposed (sic) the government interest... strongly call for the immediate resignation of PGMA."

"The charge sheet is not only baseless but it is also unbelievable. It cannot even approach the definition of rebellion as defined in the Revised Penal Code," commented Caesar Europa, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Davao City Chapter. "At least the Marcos dictatorship (was) predictable" and had no pretenses about employing dictatorial measures, he added.

"This administration is more dangerous because it is doble cara (two-faced), pretending to be democratic but employing draconian measures to silence its critics," Ilagan said.

Of the "Davao 8," only Antonio Flores of KMP had faced similar charges in the past. Flores, a militant peasant leader, was charged in 2001 and imprisoned for more than a year for the crime of rebellion and illegal possession of firearms. He was later acquitted on both charges.

"If fighting for the rights of the peasants and calling for the ouster of a fake president are an act of rebellion, then so be it. I will not be cowed by this latest trumped-up charge against us," Flores said.

Given the state of paranoia currently bedeviling the Arroyo administration, it would not be surprising if in the coming days more ridiculous charges are leveled against those perceived as "destabilizers and enemies of the state."

The administration could become more brazen in filing these charges as it continues to conduct a massive witch-hunt of its perceived enemies-in the political opposition, and even in the press. In Cagayan de Oro, for example, our chair in the Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), Fred Gapuz, reportedly has been included in the military's "order of battle" for his being a critic of the Arroyo administration. Last Friday's arrest of former Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman is another indication of this trend. So under the beleaguered Arroyo administration, walking along a major Metro Manila thoroughfare, while wearing a black T-shirt with a provocative slogan, is already a crime!

Indeed, even with its so-called lifting, Proclamation 1017 remains the real "residual threat" to our constitutionally guaranteed rights.

The continued crackdown on the political opposition and the critical press is a clear indicator that the Arroyo administration will employ all measures, legal or otherwise, to ensure its survival.

"These trumped-up charges against me and my colleagues are part of life," Ilagan said as she vowed that oppression and injustice "will not deter us, life goes on."

Incidentally, when her husband was arrested in 1985, "life" was taken to mean "Larry Ilagan Forever." This time around, "life" may as well mean "Luz Ilagan Forever" and "Laban is Forever."

Comments at kar_laws@yahoo.com or karlos_z23@hotmail.com

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