On Monday afternoon, 14 December 2009, I along with three other STRAP members went to the House of Representatives (see pic above). The Lower House was in joint session with the Senate that day to deliberate on the President's Martial Law declaration in Maguindanao following the now infamous massacre there orchestrated by the powerful Ampatuan clan, said to be very close to the President. The Maguindanao massacre where almost 60 people were murdered in broad daylight including women, journalists and innocent passerby, is now being touted as the defining moment of the morally bankrupt rule of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). It trumps the other scandals that rocked her administration including the corruption allegations regarding the building of the Macapagal highway , named after her father, the Hello Garci scandal , the ZTE scandal and so many others. While we have rallied against GMA, it was not because of her that we were in Congress last Monday. We were there to have a brief a...