I did not realize then that a few hours earlier, starting at midnight, the Metrocom, CIS, and other AFP units had already picked up (and were still picking up) thousands of persons to include senators and congressmen, local officials, student activists, progressive-minded school authorities and faculty members, Church personalities who were sympathetic to the poor, liberal-minded media people and just about anybody who had a mind of his own or whose face was not particularly attractive to the martial law authorities.
I rushed to my parent’s residence at UPH-1 in Paranaque to compare notes and observations. By noontime rumors were in the air on mass arrests and certain liquidation jobs by the AFP. Again I got in touch with July and received information that there were a lot of Marines in HPN although there were no unusual activities. In late afternoon I decided to go to HPN in civilian clothes to get first-hand information from July in his N-8 office. I found out nothing unusual in headquarters.
There were unconfirmed reports on wholesale arrests and raids in private homes. So I decided to stay for a while in HPN to wait for developments. My gut feeling was that it was safer for me to stay in HPN for the time being than face the risk of arrest in the house by a raiding team from another service or command. At this uncertain stage the possibility of my being picked up was high because of my \controversial writings and public speaking. There was reason to suppose that if the AFP were to be purged, I would be among the first to get the axe.
I finally left HPN at about 2000 and proceeded cautiously to San Antonio Village to fetch the family for temporary stay at UPH-1 for the next 3-4 days. I had to sleep in a different house separate from the family. Such was my life as a senior officer in the AFP during the first week of martial rule.
After receiving reports on arrest of many friends in the mass media and academic community, it was hard for me to believe that the regime would leave me untouched. In fact, many relative and friends thought that I was already inside a stockade.