THE ISSUE OF REBELLION? the reason given by Malacañang for imposing martial law in Maguindanao?was meant to favor the Ampatuans who are suspected of masterminding the mass murders in the province.

Under the Constitution, martial law can only be imposed when there is rebellion or insurrection or threats thereof.

Many lawyers impute ill motives to the President for imposing martial law.

Rebellion was never in the minds of the alleged perpetrators and masterminds when they sowed mayhem in Ampatuan town on Nov. 23.

They just wanted to get rid of their political enemy, the Mangudadatus, and the journalists who accompanied them.

Rebellion, a political crime, covers murders, illegal possession of firearms and rape.

Multiple murders, illegal possession of firearms and rape were committed in the Ampatuan town massacre.

The lawyers of the Ampatuans could claim in their defense that the mass murders, possession of unlicensed guns and rapes were committed in pursuit of rebellion.

Persons who commit rebellion, according to lawyers I talked to, could be set free by granting them presidential amnesty.

The Ampatuans could take advantage of this.

* * *

Why would President Gloria want to give amnesty to the Ampatuans for the merciless killing of 57 people, including 30 journalists?

The talk is that she would want to repay the Ampatuans a debt for giving her the numbers by resorting to cheating in the 2007 presidential elections.

The President?s 12-man senatorial slate also made it in the same political exercise.

The words of Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo still rings loud: The President would never abandon the Ampatuans just because they were implicated in the mass murders.

* * *

Many are saying that former Lubao Mayor and ex-Board Member Lilia ?Baby? Pineda will soon be proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as the winner in the Pampanga gubernatorial race in 2007.

Pineda reportedly won over incumbent Gov. Eddie Panlilio in a recount by over 2,000 votes.

In fairness to Panlilio, nobody cheated in 2007 Pampanga polls.

The poll body allegedly made the mistake in the counting.

In the recount, the Comelec counted the votes for ?Nanay Baby? in Pineda?s favor.

The votes for Nanay Baby, as Pineda is known to most Kapampangans, were not counted during the 2007 canvassing.

* * *

I asked Pineda what she would do in the remaining five months of running Pampanga (January to May).

She said that she would focus on health care for her constituents and even those from neighboring provinces.

Even while the recount was ongoing, Pineda has been conducting continuing medical missions, treating the sick by the hundreds.

A surgeon-friend from St. Luke?s Hospital, Dr. Hil Dineros, heads the medical missions.

Doctors operate for free on minor and major cases ranging from cysts cataracts, and cleft palates, to the removal of gall stones.

Local doctors, not to be outdone by their colleagues from Manila, have offered their professional services for free or at minimal cost.

* * *

Why is Jimmy T. Go, a.k.a. Jaime T. Gaisano, who was declared an undesirable alien by no less than the Supreme Court, still in the country?

Go has been issued a warrant of deportation by the Bureau of Immigration but he remains scot-free.

His known addresses are at 8 Cattleya St., Valle Verde, Pasig City; 3 Tabuena St., Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City; and Noah?s Ark Bldg., Escolta, Manila.

Could it be that someone at the immigration bureau is protecting Go?