ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW
IN THE PHILIPPINES
We smelled it before we saw it.
The rotting stench of corruption
Tased our nostrils
When President Rodrigo Duterte,
Newly installed in 2016,
Granted burial to Ferdinand Marcos,
Long dead in overthrown disgrace,
at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Manila.
Marcos’ last wish outweighed his legacy
of violence, loss, grief, poverty, injury, and dispossession,
Marcos, who ruled as a dictator
devastated the economy of his country
while amassing great personal wealth;
dealt brutally with challengers
leaving more than 3000 people killed,
34,000 raped and tortured
70,000 imprisoned.
We sniffed the air tainted by ambition, and heartlessness
As Duterte, who came to office as the candidate of the people,
Warrior against drugs,
Beholden to none of the old oligarchs,
Exhaled his hero worship into the atmosphere
And walked in Marcos’ footsteps.,
Ending his term with the handoff to the
Despot Dream Team Dynasty:
Son of Marcos; Daughter of Duterte,
In power.
Today’s in-no-way-golden 50th anniversary
Intersects with
The International Day of the Disappeared,
When the names of those abducted and erased
By oppressive regimes seeking total control of opposition
Are invoked and said out loud,
And their living present courageous spirits speak
Through our voices,
Mabuhay! Long live!
Padayon! Onward!
And the sweet scent of freedom,
The brilliant aroma of justice,
Overtakes us,
Even before we can see it
Come to power.
Rev. Mary Susan Gast, August 30, 2022
FROM THE BOOK OF PSALMS
[The just Ruler]
Rescues the needy when they cry out,
Liberates the poor and those who have no helper.
With compassion, restores the lives of the weak and the needy,
Delivers their lives from oppression and violence,
Deems their blood too precious to be shed.
Psalms 72: 12-14
