For this day, the anniversary of the EDSA people’s uprising, government beginning at the wee hours of the morning, blocked off all vehicular traffic on EDSA and officially rerouted tens of thousands of motorists to side streets, in order to use EDSA for assemblies led by the President himself on commemorative activities. This afternoon, a mere eight hours after government used the same space and while EDSA is still declared closed to vehicular traffic by government, it is prohibiting marchers of various partylist and people’s organizations from using EDSA to form a narrow parallel “human chain” (parallel to traffic, not across), by blocking them with the use of hundreds of baton-wielding police forces.
This is a form of CONTENT-BASED RESTRICTION frowned upon by the Constitution. “Content-based restriction” means that the speech or form of expression, or exercise of right, is being prohibited notbecause it poses any kind of danger to the public, but because of the substance of the message being conveyed – in other words, because government disagrees with the idea being espoused.
It is quite graphically content-based because the government has already created a temporary one-day-long “freedom space” on EDSA for its own activities by blocking all vehicular traffic, to propagate its own message, yet it would prohibit, or has effectivelly prohibited rallyists from using the same space, simply because the message of the rallyists is not in agreement with own message.
How “content-based” can you get?
In other words — hinahadlangan ng pamahalaan ang pamamahayag hindi dahil sa mapanganib ito o “magulo” ang mga nagtipon (at mapayapa rin naman ang pagkilos nila) , kundi dahil sa hindi sang-ayon ang mga nasa pamahalaan sa ipinapahayag nila. Ito ang ibig sabihin ng content-based restriction at ito ay labag sa saligang batas.
While the aggrieved parties may not be able to get a court order in time, or promptly enough, for the duration of the assembly today, they could try administrative remedies thru the local governments of the contiguous cities – EDSA cuts across at least five cities.
dedicated to the heroes and martyrs born of the Mamasapano battlefield
Julian Makabayan by Lutgardo Labad (translation by blog admin with apologies.) (By this time, readers and viewers might have noticed that the site has a playlist that’s updated daily based on a countdown to events. We’re playing this song, Julian Makabayan by Lutgardo Labad —
dedicated here to all the people’s warriors who watered the Mamasapano battlefield with their blood, many of whom were sons of farmers and workers.)
(The lyricism of the song renders it difficult to translate without committing sacrilege, please accept my apologies)
Isinilang ka sa batis ng karalitaan you were born of the river of hunger and want Pinaghele ka sa awit ng bundok at parang slumbered with the lullaby of the hills and the flatland Duyan mo’y malamig na lupa you were cradled by the cold, dark earth Lupang pugad ng kahirapan you were nestled by the poverty of the dirt
Lumaki ka sa pag-inog ng tagtanim at tag-ani you grew up and rolled with the cycle of sow and reap Inaruga ka ng inang magsasaka you were loved by a mother who worked and tilled Kinalong ka ng amang dugo ang pinunla You were sheltered by a father who bled and seeded Sa dibdib ng lupa Sowed and nurtured the bosom of the earth
O Julian di ka malilimutan Julian, you will never be forgotten Pagkat ika’y anak ng bayan you are our son, the warrior of the motherland Buhay mo’y aming aawitan We sing this ode to your life and times Itatangi hanggang kamatayan We honor you till the end of time
Kalaro mo ang kapwa mo paslit na kasama you frolicked with children like yourself, children of the earth Na sa paglaki’y matutulad sa kanilang ama children who will inherit their parent’s debt Mababaon sa utang will be buried in their parent’s debt Sa panginoong mayayaman to the wealthy lords of the fief
Pilit mong inunawa ang abang kalagayan You struggled to learn why you were born poor Pilit mo itong pinagtiisan You struggled to work and endure Ngunit nang maglaon ikaw na rin ang sumigaw But when your bough broke you fought and screamed Saan nga bang kasukdulan When will too much abuse end Saan nga bang kasukdulan When will too much abuse end
O Julian di ka malilimutan Julian, you will never be forgotten Pagkat ika’y anak ng bayan you are our son, the warrior of the motherland Buhay mo’y aming aawitan We sing this ode to your life and times Itatangi hanggang kamatayan We honor you till the end of time
