PANGILINAN: MARTIAL LAW AGAINST FILIPINO SPIRIT OF FREEDOM

MANILA - Survey showing that almost 3 in 4 Filipinos disagree with the need for martial law shows that the spirit of freedom is thriving, said Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Thursday.

According to a survey conducted by Pulse Asia, 74% of Filipinos view martial law as unnecessary in resolving the problems of the country -- a sentiment shared across all geographic areas, socio-economic classes, and age groupings.

"Filipinos live and breathe freedom. It is in our DNA. Ipinaglaban natin ito sa mga dayuhang mananakop at sa mga kapwa Pilipinong mapagsamantala. At bagama't hindi pa rin natin nakakamit ang kalayaan mula sa kahirapan, kakulangan ng kita at pagkakataong umangat ang pamumuhay, ipinagdiriwang natin ang kalayaang patuloy nating bakahin ito para maabot ang ating potensyal bilang mga indibidwal at bilang isang bansa. Pinatutunayan ng survey na Ito na hindi natin nakalimutan bilang mga Pilipino kung paano pinatay ng diktadurya ang diwa ng kalayaan," Pangilinan said.

The survey was conducted from December 6-11, 2016 using face-to-face interviews. In the weeks leading up to the survey, the Supreme Court voted in favor of the subsequent burial of the late deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

"Democracy is never easy. But it's what makes freedom possible. It ensures that we have a say in how our government perform its sacred duty to fulfill all our rights as people and citizens so that we may achieve our fullest potential as individuals and as a nation. We already experienced what it's like to be stripped of our freedom 30 years ago. We must relentlessly defend our democracy for that to never happen again," Pangilinan said.

"We share the sentiment of US President Barack Obama in his farewell address yesterday that there are many threats to our democracy, and how we deal with them would determine 'our ability to teach our kids, create good jobs, protect our homeland. That it would determine our future,'" he said.

Pangilinan, along with the Liberal Party, openly stood against the burial of the dictator at the heroes' cemetery after the Supreme Court denied petitions questioning said burial.