Excerpt from Alfredo R. Roces' column, "Light and Shadow":

There seems to be no getting around the subject of martial law as an imminent possibility, and so we throw in our five centavos worth on this subject. To begin with, if this is supposed to be a remedy we do not think it is a suitable prescription for what currently ails us, no more than assassination is a cure for lousy leadership. We do not think any statesman sincerely concerned about the state of democracy in this country would regard his emergency solution as anything but the desperate and temporary last resort. And so, the question is whether we have resorted to many other alternatives and now have no other choice. For any President of a democratic nation it is tantamount to an admission of failure where other presidents, with less going for them and only one term in office somehow muddled through. As a solution to peace and order problems it has already been applied, if under less official license in various areas from Central Luzon to Mindanao, and the effects are there for anyone to scrutinize.

*The Manila Times, September 15, 1972.

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