One of my drafts from years ago came back to haunt me...
Dearest daughter, what happened in the provinces cannot compare with the brutality that my generation in Manila had witnessed in those trying times.
In Manila, just two days after the late President Arroyo was assassinated, the power of the government shifted to the military and the police to which apologists today still try to justify it as an inevitable consequence of GMA's announcement of Martial Law. Back then, everyone thought prayers can stop history from happening again, but we were wrong. Too wrong. Too optimistic.
Surviving lawmakers like the late Senators Lacson, Arroyo, Revilla trooped to the Senate Building to discuss how to resolve the present crisis. Also, there was an emergency session at the Batasan Pambansa where most of the congressmen really attended. Each forum called for an immediate cessation of military intervention in all matters politcal. Each lambasted at the underhanded way the men in uniform subverted the rule of law for their own selfish interests. Each vowed to take up the cause of EDSA.
While the TV rankled with electrified remarks from the likes of Remulla, Beltran, Pichay, Dilangalen, they did not suspect that the military will take action against them. The military led by turncoat General Aglipay, locked all possible exits of both houses trapping all the existing politicians into one hellhole. Aglipay then gave the command to turn on the several car engines wherein exhaust fumes immediately wafted via the ventilation system into the chambers of Congress and Senate. From the start, senators and congressmen were first fidgeting at the lack of air, then the coughing began, followed by panic. Sheer panic. In live television, the morbid horror of seeing your elected officials being killed one by one by an unknown and unseen force shocked the entire nation. People remembered watching Loi Estrada clawing her nails into the main exit and shouting invectives to the military. Senator Flavier vomited in his seat then collapsed instantly. The male senators like Mar Roxas, Lim and Jinggoy tried using the heavy hardwood tables as battering rams but instead, they accidentally rammed Senator Enrile in the process thus leaving a wet crimson mark on the exit door. Senator Santiago tried pounding the doors but to know avail, her face contorted indicative that the end was near. Some prayed quietly but many wailed and shrieked as they perfectly know the grim consequence of the Nazi gas chambers. After two hours, both chambers were no more. The military then barged inside peppering all bodied found with bullets ensuring no one will walk out alive. This was in full view of national television.
...to be followed
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