AN EMAIL FROM MY FRIEND GLADYS:
Last Wednesday, as Sir Te was explaining the current situation in the country and the unconstitutionality of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Proclamation 1017, he urged us to learn the law in a grander manner – by getting our heads out of just our codals and cases and join the fight against 1017. Two of my classmates and I were passing notes to each other, as we were agitated but at the same time inspired to do our part, hoping to become droplets of hope that will flood the nation to move in the direction of positive change.
Me: Ey guys, serious thought: Hindi ba pwede na lahat ng lawyers and law students against 1017 mag-gather and express their opposition and sentiment that 1017 is unconstitutional? Since lawyers have the credibility in saying that 1017 is unconstitutional, maybe it will be a start for other people to believe as well. Malay mo, yun ang pwede mag-start ng people power.
….
Kim: Ang problema kasi natin ngayon, gaya
Keisie: Pero a lot of people in the Philippines
…
Me: Then let's start with those who do care. Maybe that will make other people care.
The assembly and march of lawyers, law students, and members of law organizations held this morning from IBP to EDSA Shrine proved that when we do start with those who care, we will discover that there are more people concerned that we thought there were. There were dozens of lawyers, including some of our teachers. There were also many law students, who displayed admirable courage as I will narrate later, as well as members of law organizations.
The UP law students met at Malcolm Hall before going to the IBP. When we got ready to leave to go to IBP, my nervousness turned into fear. The leaders of the UP contingent were giving us instructions on how to be inconspicuous as we walk towards IBP, as there might be police waiting outside the IBP building.
This fear only intensified upon arriving in the IBP parking lot, as we were told that we were going to march along EDSA. I was afraid, because we would no longer be within the security of the IBP property, we would actually be marching along EDSA just like the other groups that I saw on TV that were dispersed. No one in our block had ever attended a march/rally like this before, so we were all very nervous. As we were setting our guidelines on what to do of what to do if ever one of us gets separated from the group, or worse, if someone gets tear-gassed, hit with water canons, or struck with truncheons. I was more scared than ever. I also did not want to be shown on TV or interviewed, because as you know, my dad is in the military. I was also worried that if something may happen to me and I might have to call my dad, that there would be complications or controversies regarding him having a daughter in a protest rally.
I don't know the exact reason why I decided to stay and march, as I could have easily gotten back into my car and drove away. It was a mixture of reasons. I said to myself, that this was what I was talking about in my exchange of notes with my classmates- a gathering of people who know the law and can show the people that they know what they're talking about when they say that 1017 is unconstitutional. But more than this, I was made braver by the courage my friends and the rest of the UP student contingent showed. We knew that we were not doing anything against the law, and we wanted to exercise our fundamental right to freedom of _expression and assembly.
We marched from IBP to EDSA Shrine, which was peaceful. We weren't stopped by policemen. We were marching and chanting "1017, IBASURA!" until we came to the entrance of EDSA Shrine. I started to be scared again, as I knew that the lawyers who were with us were now negotiating with the policemen guarding the Shrine, policemen with weapons, at the very least shields and truncheons. It took a few minutes, but surprisingly, we were allowed to enter! After settling in at the Shrine, we started our program. The program consisted merely of speeches by leaders of the IBP, law students and law organizations. But after a few minutes, the police, who were positioned right behind us UP law students, started moving forward towards us, banging their truncheons against their shields to intimidate us. Before I knew it, it was a confrontation- the police and their shields, and the law students on the other side. That was probably one of the scariest moments of my life. My friends, some of whom were girls, we pushed against the shields of the police. There was only one person coming between me and the police. We were saying to each other, stay calm, don't push, let's just stand still so that we will not provoke them. We were saying to the policemen, "Sir! Wag po kayo manulak, estudyante lang po kami, hindi po kami manggugulo!" We were already being pushed, and I knew that this was already bordering on dispersion. If someone from us or the police pushed harder, that would have resulted in the police dispersing us, as we were no match for the strength of the police with their shields. I could not believe that my friends and the other law students with me were actually in the frontlines, and we would be the first ones to fall if the police had decided to push us harder and disperse us.
Fortunately, the police backed off. The people holding the microphone thanked the police for backing down and assured them that we were not there to cause trouble, but only to hold a short program to express our opposition to 1017. As I counted my friends to see if we were complete, I saw that one of my classmates was crying. She was one of those who were directly in front of the police, being pushed by their shields. I was near tears already, all the more when she said as a newscaster interviewed her, "Hindi naman po ako nasaktan. Mabait naman po yung mga pulis." After a few more speeches, we concluded by singing "Bayan Ko." This was when I once again tried to hold back the tears from my eyes. I was awed by the passion and bravery of those with me, as well as those who were not with me, fighting the same fight in different parts of the country.
It was a day that I will remember for the rest of my life. To be there with lawyers who truly cared, in spite of the dangers that will threaten their personal and professional life, restored my faith in the legal profession. To be there with my fellow law students humbled me because realized that I am so blessed to be with these people and that I can learn so much from their passion and love for the country. I felt humbled in the presence of our professors there, because I know that they have taught us well, and because of this, much is expected of us. Ma'am Gwen said to us before the march started when she saw that we were part of the student contingent, "I just wanted to tell you, and please tell your classmates as well, that I am very proud that I had you as my students."
I hope that we continue doing our teachers proud. But more importantly, I hope that we do our country proud, as well as the Filipinos living now and those who went ahead of us. They fought for us to enjoy the rights we have now, they fought so that our Martial law will not rob us of our constitutional freedoms and civil liberties. In this time that we are once again faced with an abusive regime, I hope that we too will do the same for those who will come after us.