Going beyond mootness

Now that the dictator’s decree is lifted, is it over?  Not by a long shot.

Things are not back to normal—media is still chilled, despite their denials;  censorship by the police will still continue; warrantless arrests and the threat thereof will still continue;  E.O. 464 is still in effect; CPR is still in force.

The Filipino people have said, “Never Again!”  It’s time the Supreme Court says it too.

I urge the Supreme Court not to hide behind the seeming mootness of the petitions challenging 1017 and to decide them on the merits.  Do not dismiss them simply because they are moot—in that way, you will legitimize a dictator.  Instead, use the power of the pen—be once again the “conscience of government”—and say to the dictator and anyone else who would follow after her:  “never again.”

Certainly, the Supreme Court cannot—and must not--turn a blind eye on the assault on truth, the attack on press freedom.  So, hide not behind mootness, rule instead that Proclamation 1017 and General Order No. 5 are patently unconstitutional.  In Salonga v. Cruz Pano and Evelio Javier v. COMELEC, the Supreme Court ruled despite mootness.  

So I say to the Supreme Court:  decide in favor of democracy, not dictatorship.  Say in one voice, with the people, “never again!”  Do not hold your peace, speak out now.