N.B. – A campus journalist asked four questions on the prospects of the re-imposition of Martial Law under the Duterte administration and the role of the media. These are my short answers.

Knowng that some of the cabinet members in the Duterte administration were eyeing constitutional dictatorship and the suspension of thw writ of habeas corpus, will Martial law be possible at this time?

Anything is possible, including the declaration of Martial Law, as may be gleaned from a previous policy pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte himself when he threatened to impose it (i.e., during the time when he and the Supreme Court Chief Justice engaged in a “word war”).

How important is press freedom today knowing that it was suppressed by Martial Law?

Freedom of the press is the hallmark of a supposedly democratic state, so the absence of it would put into question the existence of democracy in a country.

What should be the measures done for the social media that continually promotes historical revisionism on Martial Law?

The answer to misinformation via social media is the promotion of media literacy so that online users can be able to discern the truth from propaganda and outright lies.

How important was campus press or mosquito press during the Marcos regime especially when most big media companies were given censorship at that time?

Various references point to the pivotal role of the alternative media in shaping public opinion during Martial Law. The crony press at that time cannot be relied upon to report the truth as only a sanitized version of it is being disseminated to the audiences. Because of the so-called alternative media/xerox journalism/mosquito press (which includes selected campus publications), somehow the relevant information, especially those critical of the conjugal dictatorship, got disseminated, limited audience notwithstanding.