By Alma Anonas-Carpio, for SpyBiz magloid

If one were to look at conspiracy theories, the Ampatuan Massacre - so called because it took place in a town called Ampatuan, not because of the powerful warlord clan that is supected of ordering it - is but the first of a string of innovative destabilization attempts that are designed to help the powers that be hold on to their power.

There are warlords reigning with impunity in the areas outside of Imperial Manila, from the wind-blown northern provinces of Abra, Benguet and Ilocos Sur (one of these warlords of the highlands even blew the whistle on a president he once called friend and calls his successor an ally) all the way to the southern reaches of Muslim Mindanao.

When we review history, there was the First Quarter Storm, which culminated in the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. That was the denoument of years of unrest, which included the Jabidah Massacre on Corregidor island and several protests-turned-riots and the assault on then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile.

In retrospect, this was the build-up that empowered then President Ferdinand Marcos to pass the infamous Presidential Decree 1081 putting all 7,107 islands of the Philippine Archipelago under martial rule. Thus began 20 dark years marked by abductions, disappearances and extrajudicial killings for which justice has yet to be served. The sorriest part of this lesson is that Filipinos gave Marcos this power - with their votes and with their silence in a nation where silence is interpreted as the word "yes."

The Ampatuan Massacre foreshadows a horrendous scenario, especially now that martial law is in effect over all of Maguindanao province. Where the civil unrest of the late 1960s led to the perpetuation of power for Mr. Marcos from 1972 to 1986, the latest brutal bloodletting may just be one of a string of events that could deliver power quite neatly into the hands of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose popularity is at an all-time low and whose integrity as president has come under fire.

The public is outraged over the massacre of 57 people - Muslim and Christian women who were mothers, political supporters of the Magudadatu clan, lawyers, journalists and one victim's unborn baby. The public outcry is more vocal than ever before, thanks to the power of the Internet. Candlelight vigils are now the vogue, the new black, if you will. By Wednesday, there will be a massive protest in Mendiola, that hallowed protest ground right in front of Malacañang Palace.

But even as Filipinos march and protest for justice, for peace and for accountability, they must be vigilant and watchful that the other warlords who enjoy government support and blindness do not replicate the Nov. 23 carnage in their own fiefdoms. There are patterns in history and, as Filipinos participate in the unfolding of their history, they should do what they can to ensure that the pattern of "manufactured unrest" is broken.

The Amptauan Massacre is a gruesome, brutal wake-up call to a people steeped in lassitude and who have, for too long, not taken responsibility for their votes, for their choice of leaders, for their own rights.

We cannot, as a nation, continue this cycle of violence and condemnation. We cannot be a nation that does nothing but condemn injustice and, once we have made our condemnation felt, drop the ball to go back to our lives as if condemnations alone will solve the deep-seated problems that generate unrest. The problems are many - poverty, an oligarchy that believes too much in its own impunity, a society so depressed it cannot look at needs beyond those of the individual and a mentality of shame at being Filipino.

If we Filipinos are to earn the democracy and freedom we crave, we must work hard and work together to solve these problems - not wait for someone else to step up and then hand them our individual power without a peep and leave all the work to them. Like any other job, this job of building a nation must be done daily, by all Filipinos - we are workers for our future and it is the quality of our daily work that will define the tomorrow we will give our children.

In the wake of the Ampatuan killings, we must keep our eyes open for other signs of brewing trouble in the far reaches of the country where warlords rule. We must, in all of our communities, work to ensure that basic services are delivered and that our rights as human beings are respected. We must hold sacred our ballots, for these slips of paper are what give our elected officials the power to use our tax money for national growth - or run off with our taxes and leave us hungry and in a state of self-pity.

It is the power of our ballot that powers the political machinery that in turn empowers leaders who may or may not bankroll and support warlords of varying stripes. The power is ours to hold or give away. Our rights to information, free speech and the freedom to peaceably assemble for the redress of grievances is an extension of the power of the people's will as expressed by the ballots we cast. These are just the beginning, the basic set of tools we are given to create the society we choose.

Now the nation walks a path awash with blood, the result of several elections' worth of poor choices. Now we are uncertain, lost, angry and hungry. Now we must decide, with all the rights we have been granted under the Consitution, whether to wash away the blood once and for all or to let the country bleed to death.