Barely a day had passed of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the popular movement that overthrew the Marcos dictatorship on February 24, 1985, when President Gloria Arroyo, with the support of the army, decreed National Emergency State in an attempt to neutralize the entire opposition, both political, as expressed in Parliament and on the streets, and military, resumed by communist group “People’s Army” after a considerable time of inactivity.

Barely a day had passed of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the popular movement that overthrew the Marcos dictatorship on February 24, 1985, when President Gloria Arroyo, with the support of the army, decreed National Emergency State in an attempt to neutralize the entire opposition, both political, as expressed in Parliament and on the streets, and military, resumed by communist group “People’s Army” after a considerable time of inactivity.

The moment was handpicked since all progressive forces were engaged in the demonstrations in commemoration of the end of the dictatorship, making them easy to identify and detain. Many parliamentarians, unionists, and opposition activists were seized without charges and at least one newspaper was occupied by the police. Later, the government issued “General Order nr 5” to restore “peace and order” which, as in the old Marcos days, was once again interpreted by the army and police as a ban on demonstrations, even the peaceful ones.

Democratic organizations in the Philippines are appealing to peer organizations around the world to convince their respective governments not to recognize President Arroyo’s measures and to pressure the Filipino government to reinstitute democratic order.