"Jun Ban"

It was all over the news yesterday. The Department of Education, headed by Secretary Jesli Lapus, reportedly released a directive banning ZTE scandal whistleblower Jun Lozada and former COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos from conducting symposia or fora on public schools. This directive was issued to "insulate" students from politics.

What?

This move just smacks of the growing desperation of the Arroyo administration to fend off the rising movement to force GMA into leaving (her illegally acquired) office. By this directive, they hoped to stem the tide of student participation in mass actions against them. But this is just like plugging a dam's leak with their finger.

This is also the latest move of an increasingly authoritarian regime pretending to be a democratic one. From the "state of rebellion" to EO 464 and MC 108, from Proclamation 1017 to the curfew imposed during the Manila Pen incident and the "no-fly zone" imposed on Makati last February 29, from the one week "gun ban" imposed last week to this latest DepEd directive, it shows that we are slowly being subjected to an "undeclared Martial Law".

Should we wait any further?