‘We Should Legalize Everything’ and other shocking sound bites of 2013

By admin | January 10, 2014

Written for Bulatlat

2013 was a calamitous year for the Philippines – earthquakes, strong typhoons, bus crashes, corruption scandals. The reactions of various newsmakers to these disasters have revealed a lot of things about the fundamental flaws in governance, and in particular the inability of President BS Aquino to govern properly and decisively. Let us review some of these popular sound bites which seemed at first to be irrelevant one-liners. Actually, many of these airtime and print fillers exposed the bankruptcy of the ruling order.

1. We should legalize everything…You have to remember: we have to be very careful because you are a Romualdez and the president is an Aquino. Secretary Mar Roxas reportedly uttered these infamous words during a meeting with Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez a few days after super typhoon Yolanda hit the country.

2. But you did not die, right? BS Aquino’s reply to a businessman who was complaining about the breakdown of law and order in post-Yolanda Tacloban.

3. The issue here is whether the funds were misused or not. I hope the public will listen to our explanation that we did not pocket everything. Senate President Franklin Drilon should have said it in Filipino: Hindi namin binulsa lahat.

4. I can buy you, your friends, and this club! TV host Anne Curtis delivered the secret mantra of politicians and the filthy rich.

5. If I’m the president, I will declare a revolution. I will rebel against my own government. Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s response to the suggestion for him to run for president. He is the same mayor who advised investors to pay NPA revolutionary taxes.

6. Tanda, Sexy, Pogi. Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla.

7. We all here are victims of a flawed system, which is so ingrained and that has been institutionalized. An excerpt from Senator Jinggoy’s privilege speech which exposed the Disbursement Acceleration Program.

8. Oh there you are. Let me take a good look at you. Senator Miriam Santiago’s opening line after seeing alleged pork operator Janet Napoles in a senate hearing.

9. Tell the truth before the senators affected have you assassinated. Senator Miriam’s advice to Napoles.

10. Sinabi ng Senadora na ako ay may asim pa. Nagpapasalamat ako sa kanyang sinabi, pero ikinalulungkot kong sabihin hindi ako naasiman sa kanya. Believe it or not, these words were said in a privilege speech by former Senate President Enrile.

11. Pork Barrel King. The tag given by labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno to BS Aquino.

12. Ang pera kong ginarnish ng BIR ay hindi po nakaw at hindi po PDAF o DAP, ito po ay galing sa lahat ng suntok, bugbog, pawis at dugo na tiniis ko sa boxing. Sarangani legislator and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao hits back at the Bureau of Internal Revenue for freezing some of his bank accounts.

13. Kung ihihiwalay naman yung Maguindanao figures, hindi naman talaga tayo ‘yung lalabas na [most dangerous place for journalists]. Hindi naman ganun kaseryoso o kalala ‘yung problemang ‘yun. Apparently for presidential spokesman (and former activist) Sonny Coloma, the 24 cases of media killings in the past three years are not yet alarming.

14. Bahala na si Lord sa inyo, busy ako. BS Aquino is obviously affected by the dramatic drop in his public trust ratings and he blamed everybody especially critics and fault-finding reporters except himself and his team.

15. It is time to abolish the PDAF. Victory for the people when the president was forced to give up the PDAF. But half the battle is not yet won because the bigger presidential pork is still retained in the budget law.

16. Itong si Anderson Cooper, sabi wala daw government presence sa Tacloban. Mukhang hindi niya alam ang sinasabi niya. Veteran reporter Korina Sanchez criticized a CNN report on the slow delivery of relief in typhoon-hit provinces in Eastern Visayas.

17. Ms Sanchez is welcome to go there (Tacloban) and I would urge her to go there. I don’t know if she has but her husband’s the Interior minister. I’m sure he can arrange a flight. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper replies to Korina.

18. Basta ‘wag lang manghihingi sa amin ang mga tao! Bacoor Representative Lani Mercado-Revilla’s position regarding the proposed abolition of pork barrel.

19. I don’t think that anybody, even the most criminal politician, can be that hard-hearted and close his eyes to this calamity so I can only surmise that they don’t know what to do. Director Peque Gallaga accuses the BS Aquino govenrment of impotence and incompetence.

20. Sana pala hindi na namin kayo tinawagan. Okay po, salamat po, wala po akong nakuha sa inyo. Arnold Clavio’s controversial interview with one of the lawyers of Napoles.

21. Yung composition kanina, nakita natin yung pagdagsa ng mga tae… sorry po… ng mga tao. GMA-7 reporter Jiggy Manicad’s blooper during a live reporting in Ayala.

22. Kilala mo ba ako? Makati Mayor Junjun Binay reportedly asked this question to security guards who stopped his convoy at Dasmarinas Village.

23. I think God was somewhere else when the typhoon hit. Davao Mayor Duterte’s reaction upon seeing the devastation wrought by typhoon Yolanda in Leyte.

24. There is no more Eastern Samar province. Rep. Ben Evardone’s assessment of the typhoon damage in his district.

25. Why should we leave our own home? Nobody will be sent to the Philippines. Sabah is our home. Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram responds to BS Aquino who wants the sultan’s armed followers in Lahad Datu to go home to the Philippines.

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East Timor-Australia Spying Scandal

By admin | December 31, 2013

Written for The Diplomat

It seems Australia likes to spy on its neighbors. After Indonesia, it is East Timor’s turn to criticize Australia for alleged espionage targeting its leaders.

Australia is accused of conducting an operation that targeted East Timor’s Cabinet when the two countries were negotiating a gas treaty in 2004. After learning about the spying, the East Timor government wants to revoke a deal worth billions of dollars that it signed with Australia, claiming that the latter had illegally obtained intelligence to gain advantage during the negotiations. The petition is now lodged at The Hague.

Things became more heated early this month when the Australia Security Intelligence Office raided the Canberra office of the lawyer who is representing East Timor in the case. Australia said it merely acted to defend its national security but East Timor is now demanding the return of the documents seized in the law office.

The spying revelation elicited a strong response from Timorese leaders. Former East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta criticized Australia’s hypocrisy: “Australia likes to lecture Timor-Leste and other countries about transparency and integrity in public life. Well, this has not been a very good example of transparency and honesty.”

“When you try to listen in to phone conversations of the president of Indonesia, a friendly country, or his own wife, or when you spy on a friendly neighbor like Timor-Leste which Australia helped to free in 1999 and which Australia claimed to be a friend, well it really undermines 10 years of our relationship,” Ramos-Horta added, referring to Australia’s spying activities in Indonesia which sparked a separate diplomatic row last month.

It has actually been a very challenging two-month period for Australian diplomats in Southeast Asia: they have either had to explain or deny the various spying allegations involving their government and a number of countries in the region. Aside from Indonesia and East Timor, the Malaysian government also summoned its Australian envoy about the reported intelligence sharing network maintained by the United States in the region, which included the posting of espionage equipment inside the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Apparently, Australia is a major player in this U.S.-led surveillance network, which monitors communication signals in the Asia-Pacific.

East Timor citizens immediately held a peaceful protest outside the Australian Embassy in Dili to condemn Australia’s illegal spying operations. The protesters also identified Australia Aid as an “espionage agent;” its aid work in 2004 was purportedly used as a cover to tap the phones of East Timor leaders.

The issue also highlighted the continuing controversy over Australia’s “occupation” of the Timor Sea.

“Australia has been stealing the oil and gas from the Timor Sea, in an area which belongs to Timor-Leste under international legal principles. Sadly, Australia has shown its manner and its greed to make our small and poor country in this region lose our resources and sovereignty,” said the Movement Against the Occupation of the Timor Sea.

It’s unlikely that Australia will issue a formal apology in relation to the East Timor espionage, in the same way that it refused to express remorse over the leaked surveillance report involving Indonesia. But Australia should rethink its stance, as failure to act on this matter will only antagonize what were once friendly neighbors.

Mandela Remembered in Southeast Asia

Written for The Diplomat

Southeast Asian nations joined the world in mourning the death of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero and first black president. Mandela is remembered in the region as a freedom fighter and the most popular endorser of batik, a traditional Indonesian fabric.

Following his release from jail in 1990, Mandela visited Jakarta and received a souvenir batik shirt from then President Suharto. He eventually made the batik shirt his trademark outfit for international gatherings, impressing Indonesian leaders.

“He had the courage to wear batik during a United Nations’ session. Even I might have had doubts wearing a batik shirt and speaking before the audience at a UN meeting,” said former Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla.

Some of Mandela’s batik shirts were designed by Indonesian batik maestro Iwan Tirta. In South Africa, the batik came to be known as the Madiba shirt.

But many Indonesians also acknowledged Mandela’s anti-apartheid struggle and linked it to the anti-colonial legacy of 17th-century Indonesian icon Sheikh Yusuf of Makassar. When Mandela first visited Indonesia, he visited the site of the historic Asia-Africa Conference held in Bandung in 1955, which he said was an important and inspiring event for many oppressed peoples.

Meanwhile, journalist Aboeprijadi Santoso recognized Mandela’s role in raising the prestige of the liberation movement in East Timor. When Mandela met Suharto in November 1997, he insisted on talking with Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao, who was imprisoned for leading the independence struggle against Indonesia.

“Mandela’s intervention and encounter with Xanana became public relation’s greatest victory for the Timorese. The 1997 momentum had, therefore contributed to the changing circumstances and awareness among both the Timorese resistance and in the international community,” wrote Aboeprijadi Santoso.

Fellow Nobel Laureate and Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi praised Mandela for raising the standard of humanity.

“He also made us understand that we can change the world – we can change the world by changing attitudes, by changing perceptions. For this reason I would like to pay him tribute as a great human being who raised the standard of humanity,” Suu Kyi said.

Prior to her election victory in parliament, Suu Kyi was often described as Myanmar’s Mandela. But Suu Kyi has been criticized in recent months regarding her decision to work within the corrupt and military-controlled parliament as well as for her silence on the persecution of the Rohingyas. Mandela’s death has further highlighted the challenges facing Suu Kyi in her bid for the presidency and the reforms she wanted to implement in her country.

In the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino III fondly recalled his conversation with Mandela regarding his mother, Cory Aquino, who is another democracy icon in Southeast Asia:

“On a more personal note, I recall with gratitude and humility the kind words he told me during his visit to the Philippines when I was still a Representative. He told me then, ‘You chose your parents well.’ My mother admired him; like all of us, she would have been deeply saddened by his passing.”

In Malaysia, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad named Mandela as the leader he admired the most. Malaysian politicians also claimed that Mandela, who visited the country three times, was “fascinated” by the country’s multi-racial and multi-religious harmony and that he regarded it “as an example of moderate development.”

In Thailand, where street protests have engulfed the capital in the past three weeks, pacifists are urging political forces to learn from the struggle of Mandela.

“Mandela’s death at this time should serve as a reminder for Thais to wake up and think about the conflicts that caused so much loss in South Africa, and the patience and time it took for Mandela’s peaceful fight to be successful,” said Gen Ekkachai Srivilas of the Office of Peace and Governance at King Prajadhipok’s Institute.

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13 natural and man-made disasters of 2013

By admin | December 28, 2013

Written for Bulatlat

1. Taiwan-Philippines diplomatic row. The crisis was triggered by the tragic killing of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman by members of the Philippine Coast Guard on May 9 in Balintang Channel. Angered by the incident, Taiwan stopped issuing work visas to Filipinos and has conducted military exercises near Philippine waters. The Coast Guard claimed that the shooting was an act of self-defense but there were reports that the shots fired were excessive.

2. Sabah standoff. Armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III occupied parts of Lahad Datu on February 9 and vowed not to leave until Sabah is returned to the Sulu Sultanate. After waiting three weeks for the members of the Royal Sulu Army to voluntarily surrender, the Malaysian military launched a full-scale attack against the group on March 5.

3. Zamboanga siege. An armed faction loyal to Moro National Liberation Front chairman Nur Misuari attacked Zamboanga City affecting hundreds of thousands and paralyzing the city. Violent clashes erupted between the rebels and government soldiers.

4. Flooding in Central Luzon. Typhoon Santi battered the Central Luzon region causing massive floods in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, the country’s rice bowl.

5. Oil spills in Cavite and Cebu. A leak in an underwater pipeline of Petron Corp. poured 500,000 liters of diesel into the waters of Manila Bay affecting four towns in Cavite. Petron is the same company that caused the worst oil spill disaster in the country’s history seven years ago in Guimaras. Meanwhile in Cebu, a sunken ship spilled 120,000 liters of oil into the shorelines of the coastal towns of Talisay, Cordova, and Lapu-Lapu. Aside from affecting more than 300 hectares of mangroves, the oil spill also displaced more than 3,000 fisherfolk and threatened to undermine the tourism business in the area.

6. Tubbataha damaged, not once but twice. On January 17, the USS Guardian minesweeper ran aground on the South Atoll of the Tubbataha Reef, a no-sail zone and UN marine protected habitat in the Sulu Sea. The ship damaged 1,000 square meters of the marine park. “It willfully trespassed. It wasn’t lost. It was the voyage of an intruder,” said Palawan province congressman Antonio Alvarez. Three months after this tragedy, an oversized and quasi-military Chinese fishing vessel also ran aground at the marine park.

7. Central Visayas earthquake. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake killed more than 150 people in Bohol and Cebu on October 15. It destroyed many roads, homes, buildings, and historic churches in Bohol and several markets, malls, and also churches in Cebu.

8. PCOS and 2013 midterm polls. Not surprisingly, hundreds of Precinct Count Optical Scan machines malfunctioned, experienced glitches, and delivered erroneous reports in the 2013 elections. The local IT community is still denied of the right to review the election source code. The reported 60-30-10 voting pattern is believed to be a proof of automated cheating. But the worst disaster is the persistence of local and national dynasties or the continued dominance of oligarchs in the country’s elitist elections.

9. Kristel Tejada of UP Manila. Her suicide exposed the criminal neglect on the part of the government in allocating sufficient funds to the education sector. Policymakers and educators discussed tuition and scholarship reforms but they failed to link the issue with the government thrust of deprioritizing public higher education.

10. 40 families own 75 percent of economy. Early this year, it was reported that a few families dominate the whole economy. It highlighted the disastrous impact of the mainstream economic dogma which redistributed the country’s wealth in favor of the rich. Inequality, not just poverty, is the social ill plaguing society which explains why the government’s overhyped cash transfer program doesn’t work.

11. Sex scandals. From Chito to Wally, sex scandals have gone viral. Unfortunately, these scandals are invoked to justify the imposition of draconian Internet laws. But this issue is also a reminder about how we lost our precious privacy in this age of Internet surveillance.

12. Napoles and Corruption. The Napoles scam sparked a nationwide outrage over pork corruption. It led to the abolition of the legislative pork from the national budget, the filing of plunder cases against lawmakers, and the Supreme Court ruling which declared some aspects of pork as unconstitutional. Equally important is the naming of the presidential pork as a bigger source of corruption in the government. The issue revealed how public funds are systematically plundered by politicians, it unmasked the deceptive posturing of President BS Aquino as an anti-corruption crusader, and the need for a system overhaul in order to fundamentally exorcise the scourge of corruption.

13. Supertyphoon Yolanda. The world’s strongest storm of the year devastated the central part of the Philippines, in particular the Eastern Visayas region. A tsunami-like storm surge instantly killed thousands. But the humanitarian crisis worsened due to slow action of the government, inefficient distribution of relief, and partisan politics. Yolanda exposed the arrogance and incompetence of BS Aquino and Mar Roxas who failed to act quickly and decisively when the storm hit the region.

In summary, the biggest disaster of the year is the government of BS Aquino as proven by the president’s mishandling of crisis situations, his stubborn defense of pork politics, his support for extractive activities which contributed to the further degradation of the environment, his inaction over continuing human rights abuses inflicted against activists and journalists, and his shameful lack of leadership when Yolanda hit the country. Filipinos deserve a better government.

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Manny Pacquiao as Legislator

By admin | December 26, 2013

Written for The Diplomat

For his fans around the world, he is the greatest boxing champion of our time. For fellow Filipinos, he is the humble hero of the masses and pride of the Philippines. But for Sarangani residents in the southern region of Mindanao island, Manny Pacquiao is more than an athlete and living icon: he has been their representative in the Philippine House of Representatives since 2010.

Pacquiao is in the news again after winning the WBO international welterweight title, when he beat Mexican-American Brandon Rios in Macau last Sunday. It was a convincing comeback fight for Pacquiao whose last victory was more than two years ago. Through this win, Pacquiao effectively dismissed all talks of retirement.

In no uncertain terms, Pacquiao said he will continue to fight. In other words, he is still ready to rumble in the boxing arena while performing his duties as legislator in the parliamentary arena. As a boxer, Pacquiao’s legendary skills are known throughout the world and constantly analyzed. But as a legislator, it seems few are commenting about his performance in Congress.

So, is boxer Pacquiao doing well as Congressman Pacquiao?

Pacquiao is now serving his second term as representative of the lone district of Sarangani, a poor province located in the country’s tuna capital. During his first term, he was vice chairperson of three committees for the majority, namely: Millennium Development Goals, Poverty Alleviation, and Youth and Sports Development.

His most important bill seeks the creation of a Philippine Boxing Commission, which would oversee the granting of incentives and financial support to boxing champions. It didn’t pass the legislative chamber but he refiled it this year.

His first speech was surprisingly not about boxing, but rather focused on human and sex trafficking in Mindanao. He asked the government to combat this evil which victimizes the poor including his constituents. It became his principal advocacy, which actually helped in ensuring continued budgetary support for anti-trafficking initiatives. His role was in fact recognized in amending the country’s anti-trafficking law.

Pacquiao further endeared himself to low-income workers when he actively supported a bill that would raise the country’s minimum wage by 125 pesos.

But it was Pacquiao’s opposition to the controversial Reproductive Health bill which probably defined his first term in Congress. He rose several times on the plenary floor either to register and explain his dissenting vote or to debate the sponsor of the measure. His arguments against the bill were compelling and reflected the main points of the Catholic Church, which rejected the bill as anti-family and anti-life. During the debates, however, he was made to like a neophyte, hastily thrown into the ring by the pro-life camp to go up against veteran parliamentarians.

Pacquiao’s political acumen has grown considerably over the years. He suffered a humiliating loss during his first candidacy in 2007 but he quickly recovered from that debacle and won with a wide margin in 2010 and early this year. His local party, which he founded, has achieved significant election victories. His wife is now vice governor of Sarangani.

Like many traditional politicians in the Philippines, Pacquiao has changed party affiliations several times. He still belongs to the majority coalition although he bolted from the ruling Liberal Party last year.

Perhaps because of his numerous commitments as an actor and professional boxing athlete, Pacquiao has not been dutifully attending Congress sessions. Still, many Filipinos have overlooked this fault since they understand that Pacquiao needed to train well and bring glory to the country. In fact, absenteeism is a broader problem for Congress.

As a district representative, Pacquiao was able to provide numerous services to his constituents through his pork barrel allocation. He has endorsed the construction of classrooms, multipurpose buildings, and water supply systems aside from distributing scholarships and livelihood assistance to agrarian villages.

Pacquiao is currently the richest and best known congressman of the Philippines. He is also the most effective morale booster of an institution that has been severely criticized in the past few months because of a corruption scandal involving numerous politicians. But Pacquiao is also an important and unifying leader on the national stage with the ability to inspire. In fact, his recent victory has already uplifted the spirits of thousands of typhoon victims in the Visayas.

Pacquiao’s boxing days are numbered but his political career is just beginning. He is worshipped as a boxer; as a politician-boxer, he evokes both praise and criticism. He is a clean and much admired politician, even if some of his political choices are incompatible with his image as a change advocate. There seems little doubt that he will become a senator in 2016.

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Eight Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Bonifacio and the Katipunan

By admin | December 24, 2013

Written for Bulatlat

1. The decision to adopt the acronym KKK was a radical act. The letter K was not part of the Tagalog alphabet during the time of Rizal and Bonifacio. Since Filipinos at that time were using the Spanish writing system, the letter K was represented by letter C. The Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan should have been spelled as Cataastaasan Cagalang-galang na Catipunan or CCC. There were many katipunan groups during the last decade of Spanish rule in the Philippines but what distinguished Bonifacio’s Katipunan was its adoption of the letter K on its name and even on its flags. While Filipino intellectuals were debating the merits of devising a new orthography, Bonifacio already recognized the political value of using the K symbol to propagate the creation of a new government and a new society. Thus, the KKK.

2. Which is correct: Cry of Pugadlawin or Cry of Balintawak? Did it take place on August 23 or 26? Historians are still debating whether it happened in Pugadlawin, Caloocan, Bahay Toro or Balintawak; and there is still no consensus on the exact date of the ‘cry’. But historian Teodoro Agoncillo used his considerable influence to force the government to proclaim that the historic event took place somewhere in Pugadlawin on August 23. What is certain is that a Katipunan gathering took place in the northern suburb of Manila on August 1896 which signaled the start of the armed revolution against Spanish rule. But the first declaration of independence was made by Bonifacio and comrades in Pamitinan cave in Montalban a year earlier.

3. Are these lines familiar to you?

Si Andres Bonifacio, atapang a tao.
A putol a paa, di dadapa
a putol a tenga, di bibingi
a putol a kamay, di papasma
a putol a ulo, di tatakbo
a putol a buho, di kakalbo
a putol a sinturon, di huhubo
a putol a itak, di iiyak
a putol a buhay, di mamamatay

This Putol-Putol poem is purportedly a retelling of how Bonifacio was murdered by Aguinaldo’s troops led by Lazaro Macapagal, the grandfather of Gloria Arroyo. The supremo and his brother were reportedly hacked to death by fellow Katipuneros who used bayonets and bolos.

During the 1935 presidential election, Manuel Quezon accused his rival Aguinaldo of ordering the execution of Bonifacio. So powerful was the propaganda that Aguinaldo even lost in Kawit, Cavite.

On March 22, 1948, Aguinaldo issued a handwritten note admitting that he was responsible for the killing of Bonifacio.

4. This is how Bonifacio and Katipunan prepared to invade the city from the suburbs and mountains: From the vantage point of his rebel base in Montalban, Bonifacio directed his troops to attack Manila from several key locations. From the east, the San Mateo and Marikina forces would attempt to shut down El Deposito in San Juan, which, at that time, controlled Manila’s water supply. From the north, Caloocan and Tondo forces would attack Binondo churches, hospitals, and the telegraph and railway lines. From the south east, Taguig, and Pateros forces would cross the Pasig River, establish a base in the hills of Hagdang Bato (Mandaluyong) and Guadalupe (Makati), and proceed to attack Pandacan and Sta. Ana. From the central suburb, Sampaloc forces would attack Sta Mesa and Quiapo. From the south, Cavite forces led by Aguinaldo would attack Ermita, Luneta, and finally Intramuros. The plan succeeded in overwhelming the Spanish forces but the Cavite contingent failed to show up during the planned uprising.

In the second phase of the revolution, Bonifacio’s idea of establishing a mountain rebel lair was successfully realized in Biak na Bato.

There is a persistent myth that Bonifacio didn’t win a single battle as leader of the Katipunan. But the Nagsabado sa Pasig event (which is still being commemorated up to this day) involving 2,000 Katipuneros who attacked a Spanish cuartel, proves that there were numerous local battles that Bonifacio and Katipunan spearheaded that eventually led to the military defeat of the Spaniards.

5. The Katipunero in front of Vinzons Hall in UP Diliman is not Bonifacio. The UP Oblation is inspired by Bonifacio’s sacrifice for the nation. Gregoria de Jesus, Bonifacio’s widow, was guest of honor during the unveiling of the Oblation monument. Bonifacio was depicted at Monumento (Caloocan) and Liwasang Bonifacio (Lawton) as a fighter who carried a revolver and bolo. Meanwhile, Plaza Bonifacio in Pasig (erected in 1931), is the only Bonifacio marker which honored him as a triumphant revolutionary general riding a horse.

6. Bonifacio was an actor. He was a member of the Samahang Dramatista ng Tundó. He helped establish El Teatro Porvenir. As an artist, he knew how to effectively communicate with and use the language of the masses. Not surprisingly, his poems (Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa, Katapusang Hibik) are rated as among the best in Tagalog literature. Aside from being well-read, Bonifacio had deep knowledge of local narratives like Bernardo Carpio and Florante at Laura, both of which have subversive undertones.

7. It is not only Rizal who is considered the ‘pride of the Malay race’. Tan Malaka, one of Indonesia’s national heroes and founding leaders, recognized the heroism of both Rizal and Bonifacio. He specifically cited the revolutionary legacy of Bonifacio and his influence in sparking the anti-colonial movements across Southeast Asia. Professor Ramon Guillermo translated this quote from Tan Malaka: “Si Bonifacio ang pinakauna, hindi lamang sa Pilipinas, kundi sa buong Indonesia, oo, sa buong Asia na nanggaling sa, at edukado bilang, proletaryado, na nag-organisa ng mga proletaryo.”

8. Was Bonifacio the country’s first president? Some historians believe that the Katipunan had become a de facto open government after August 1896. John Taylor, custodian of the Philippine Insurgent Records, described Bonifacio’s supreme council as the ‘insurgent government of the Philippines.’ An article in the 1897 issue of La Illustracion Espanola y Americana referred to Bonifacio as Presidente de la Republika Tagala.

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Thailand’s Provocative Protesters

By admin | December 9, 2013

Written for The Diplomat

News of Thai protesters occupying several government buildings in Bangkok reminded many of similar provocative rallies which shook the nation’s capital in 2008 and 2010. Indeed, one way to analyze how the current crisis will unfold is to review how various political forces reacted in the past.

In 2008 the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) or Yellow Shirts conducted daring street actions for several months to force the removal of the elected government, whom they accused of being a proxy of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was removed in a coup in 2006 but his party has remained victorious in the polls.

PAD adopted the color yellow as its protest color in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the most revered figure in Thailand.

PAD was able to occupy Government House in August. Protests continued until September when the group was able to disrupt railway operations and flights at Phuket International Airport. PAD upped the ante in November when they were able to surround the parliament building. They also paralyzed air travel in the country by occupying Bangkok’s two major airports. PAD withdrew from the airports after eight days when the country’s top court ordered the dissolution of the ruling party, which forced the prime minister to step down. Further, the court disqualified allies of Thaksin from running for public office again.

The victory of PAD led to the rise of the Red Shirts, who adopted the color red just to differentiate themselves from the Yellow Shirts. The Red Shirts were neither leftists nor anti-royalists, but many of them were supporters of Thaksin. They were vigorously opposed to the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva whom they denounced as illegitimate.

The Red Shirts adopted the tactics of their yellow counterparts in order to undermine the administration. They often mobilized in the streets in 2009 to call for a new round of elections. They even stormed the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But it was only in early 2010 that they were able to occupy various parts of Bangkok.

Next, the Red Shirts established protest camps in the city as they pushed for the resignation of Abhisit. After two months of protesting in the streets, they were forced to disperse when soldiers were deployed to disband the protest camps. Violence escalated on May 19 during the final assault operation of the military which led to intense street battles, riots and looting. The retreating protesters also burned several buildings in the city, including the country’s biggest shopping center, the stock exchange, two TV stations and several banks. Scores were killed and more than 400 were injured during the clashes.

Abhisit and some military officials were subsequently charged with murder for ordering the protest crackdown.

Abhisit’s party lost in the parliamentary elections and he was replaced by Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of Thaksin.

Since her first day in office, Yingluck has been ridiculed by her political enemies of being a mere puppet of her fugitive brother, who is in exile after a local court found him guilty of plunder two years ago.

She recently supported an Amnesty Bill, which critics believe would “whitewash” the crimes of her brother. The senate rejected the measure but it didn’t stop opposition forces from mounting large rallies in the capital last month.

Last week, more than 100,000 protesters stormed the streets of Bangkok calling for the ouster of Yingluck and the end of Thaksin rule in the country. Meanwhile, the Red Shirts also mobilized to show support for the embattled leader.

The ongoing protests highlight not just the deep political divisions in Thai society but also the unresolved issues that haunted the country when Thaksin was ousted from power. But while politicians vie for dominance, it is ordinary Thais who get hurt or killed in the street battles organized by the warring factions of the elite.

Indonesia Strike for Pay Hike; Thai Protest vs. Amnesty Bill

Written for The Diplomat

More than 100,000 workers have joined a nationwide two-day strike to press for higher wages in Indonesia. Meanwhile, approval of the controversial Amnesty Bill in Thailand’s parliament has sparked a series of protests throughout the country.

The October 31 strike in Indonesia was preceded by several weeks of labor actions, factory shutdowns, and union agitation in the country’s industrial centers. The strike gathered thousands of workers in the streets which disrupted production in some cities.

Aimed at pressuring the government to raise the minimum wage by 50 percent, the strike was partially successful since it only yielded a 9 percent wage increase for Jakarta workers. Earlier this year, the local government raised the minimum wage by 44 percent.

The Joint Labor Secretariat cited the income gap between workers and business owners in justifying the demand for a salary increase: “Even in our workplaces, although there is a mountain of profit for the business owners, there is not even a drop for us, except cheap wages, just enough to keep us alive for work the next day.”

But aside from the pay hike demand, the striking workers are also petitioning for universal healthcare, the abolition of outsourcing or contract employment system especially in state-owned enterprises, and passage of a law to protect domestic workers.

The last demand is also being lobbied by human rights groups which have decried the exploitation of domestic workers. There is no law in Indonesia which guarantees the basic rights of domestic workers, such as receiving minimum wage or a weekly day off.

The strike was generally peaceful although it once again confirmed that labor unrest is rising in the country.

While Indonesian workers were asserting their economic demands on November 1, their Thai neighbors on the other hand were decrying the passage of the Amnesty Bill which would give blanket amnesty to those who committed political offenses since the 2006 coup.

After a 19-hour debate and despite the walk-out staged by the opposition, the parliament was able to approve the bill last Friday. The senate will tackle the measure in the next few days.

The bill is supposed to promote reconciliation in the country but opposition emerged after it was reported that the amended version of the measure would benefit corrupt politicians and human rights violators.

In particular, the opposition said the bill will “whitewash” the crimes of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who fled the country after being found guilty of plunder by a local court.

Thaksin was deposed by a coup in 2006. His younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, is Thailand’s prime minister today. According to Thaksin’s critics, the bill will allow the former leader to return to the country and recover his wealth which was sequestered by the government.

Interestingly, the Amnesty Bill is also being rejected by the allies of the government, namely the Red Shirts. The group feels “betrayed” since the bill will also grant amnesty to former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (now leader of the Democrat opposition party) who is accused of ordering the bloody crackdown of anti-government protests in 2010. Almost a hundred Red Shirt members died during the violent dispersal in 2010.

In other words, the bill is being criticized by both the opposition groups and government supporters.

A protest, which attracted 10,000 people, was quickly organized while parliament was debating the measure. Thailand is bracing for bigger protests and intense political conflicts in the coming days as more groups continue to express opposition to the bill.

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Daang Matuwid at Mabuting Pamamahala

By admin | December 6, 2013

Talumpating binigkas sa Escaler Auditorium, Ateneo de Manila, Nobyembre 29, 2013

Ang unang slogan ni Noynoy Aquino noong 2009 ay ‘Hindi ako Magnanakaw’. Star-studded pa ang ginawang music video na nilahukan ng maraming artista na may hawak na sulo. Patutsada ito sa pamahalaan ni Gloria Arroyo na kumaharap ng maraming kaso at iskandalo ng korupsiyon. Pagpapakilala rin ito ng magiging pangunahing mensahe at kampanya na bibitbitin ni Noynoy at ng Liberal Party sa nalalapit na halalan.

Subalit medyo hindi ito nag-click sa masa; marahil ayaw ng marami sa panibagong pangako. Mas sikat noon ang mga advertisement ni Manny Villar; yung ‘si Villar ang tunay na mahirap, si Villar ang tunay na may malasakit at ipinanganak sa dagat ng basura’. Para kay Villar, ang kalaban ay kahirapan.

Marahil bilang tugon, naglabas ng bagong slogan ang kampo ni Noynoy: ‘Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap’. Inugnay ang pagnanakaw ng pera ng bayan sa kahirapan sa bansa. Naging malakas na panawagan ito noong buong panahon ng kampanya.

Si Villar ang malakas na kandidato na humamon o pumantay sa popularidad ni Noynoy sa simula ng kampanya. Si Villar din ang target ng slogang ‘Daang Matuwid’. Kung maalala ninyo ang ang mga ad ni Noynoy, may pinapasaringan siyang lider na gumagawa ng liko-liko na daan imbes na tuwid na daan. Tinutukoy niya ang alegasyon na naglagay ng double insertion si Villar sa budget ng C-5 at Daang Hari na tumutumbok sa mga pag-aaring subdivision ng pamilya Villar.

Binabanggit ko ito upang bigyang diin na ang mga slogan ng mabuting pamamahala ay hindi dapat ituring na pangkalahatan o abstract. Lagi at lagi ay may tinutugunan itong partikular na layuning pulitikal. Hindi lamang bunsod ng mabuting kalooban ang pinapakalat na mensahe ng ating mga lider kundi may malaking kinalaman din ang pagsusulong ng mga pulitikal na interes.

Ngayon kapag naririnig o nababasa natin ang Daang Matuwid ay tinuturing na itong krusada o direktiba ng pamahalaan at nakalimutan na ang mga sirkumstansiya kung paano at bakit ito ang napiling panawagan.

Gayunpaman, kahit simplistiko, epektibo ang ‘Daang Matuwid’ upang tukuyin ang mali sa ating pamamahala. Hindi ba’t kadalasan ang mga kaso ng korupsiyon ay may kinalaman sa mga kalsada. Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, SCTEX, mga gawang kalyeng sinisira upang lagyan ng semento o aspatlo, mga tulay na walang hanggan.

Paborito ng mga pulitiko ang paggawa ng kalsada. Visible ang proyekto at malaki ang kickback. Substandard kasi ang materyal na ginamit. Hindi nakapagtataka ang daming luxurious road, o lukso ng lukso.

May pulitika, at hindi lang ekonomiya, ang paggawa ng kalye. Bakit ang road network ay nakakonsentra sa Mega Manila? Bakit bansot ang sistemang transportasyon o walang railway o masiglang shipping transport industry?

Ang mga akademiko ay may mga kumplikadong kategorya kung paano binibigyang kahulugan ang mabuting pamamahala subalit para sa maraming tao, ang mabuting pamamahala ay nakikita sa kanilang dinadaanan araw-araw. Kaya malaki ang galit ng mga botante sa mga epal billboard, naglabas pa ng editorial ang Inquirer nang binuksan muli ang Avenida noong 2010, nagdiwang ang mga motorista nang sinara ang ilang u-turn slots ng MMDA, at higit sa lahat nang pinagbawal ang wang-wang sa kalye. Hindi ba’t pinupuri ng marami ang mga advisory ng pamahalaan kung nasaan ang trapik habang kasabay na binabatikos din ang mabigat na trapiko sa siyudad.

Literal ang pag-intindi ng marami sa diskurso ng ‘Daang Matuwid’. At nagalak ang marami. Subalit hindi nagtagal ay unti-unting nahubaran ang limitasyon ng diskursong ito; o kung paano ito pinapatupad ng pamahalaan.

Ang pulitikang hinamon ng ‘Daang Matuwid’ ay nagpatuloy sa administrasyon ni Pnoy. Nanatili ang modus operandi ng mga pork barrel operators. Nawala ang wangwang sa kalye subalit ang bakas ng bulok na pulitika at pamumulitika ay namamayagpag pa rin.

Nilapat ang slogang ‘Daang Matuwid’ sa ibang aspeto ng pamamahala at kahit mabuti ang hangarin, napatunayan nating hindi ito naging sapat upang baguhin ang mga pundamental na mali sa sistema.

Para sa mga sektor na binubulok ng korupsiyon, ang ‘Daang Matuwid’ ay tila naging kakatwa, motherhood na pahayag, at walang pinag-iba sa pulisiya ng mga nagdaang administrasyon.

Aaminin natin na may inobasyon ang kasalukuyang pamahalaan. Ito ay ang agresibo nitong paggamit ng lenggwahe ng IT at social media upang ibandila ang retorika ng transparency at bukas na pamamahala. Lahat ng pahayag, online agad. May tweet, may FB, may infographics ang mga isyung tinitindigan ng Palasyo. Bumabaha ng impormasyon, at ayon sa pamahalaan, ito ang susi sa mabuting pamamahala. Hindi ba’t nang sinisi ni Pnoy ang Tacloban LGU, ang naging batayan niya ay ang diumanong maagang abiso ng pambansang pamahalaan hinggil sa pagdating ng bagyong Yolanda?

Nasa panahon tayo ngayon na mabilis na nagiging mainstream ang paggamit ng social media tools sa lipunan. Alam ito ng pamahalaan kung kaya’t napakarami nitong communication and messaging experts. Subalit ang transparency at good governance ay hindi pwedeng ikahon sa paggawa ng website o pagdigitize ng mga dokumento.

Maniniwala ba tayo kung sasabihin ng pamahalaan noong 1950s at 1960s na sila ay bukas at tapat kasi lahat ng programa nito ay inuulat ng publikong TV, radyo, at dyaryo? Ganyan din ang magiging pagtingin ng mga Pilipino sa hinaharap kung tatanggapin natin ang argumento na transparent ang pamahalaan kasi may magandang disenyo ang website, interactive, at gumagamit ng maraming apps at social media tools?

Paano kung ang impormasyon, imbes na makapagbigay linaw, ay nakakadagdag sa kalituhan? Paano kung sadyang nagbubuhos ng sobrang impormasyon upang mabaling ang atensiyon? Pakikitirin ba natin ang interaksyon ng mamamayan at namumuno sa mga virtual na pamamaraan?

Hindi pa natatapos ang trahedyang Yolanda subalit marami na tayong aral na mapupulot mula dito. Basahin ninyo na lang si Yeb Sano kung ano ang epekto ng climate change sa mga maliliit na bansa tulad ng Pilipinas; si Peque Gallaga kung paano nagkulang ang pamahalaan ni Pnoy; at si Korina Sanchez kung paano nanatili ang government presence pagkatapos ng kalamidad.

Para sa akin, pinakita ni Yolanda ang maraming kahinaan ng sistema ng ating pamamahala: Bakit naging mabagal ang mobilisasyon ng rekurso ng pamahalaan? Dahil maraming kagamitan ay dito sa Mega Manila nakakonsentra. Dahil ang mga transportasyon ay pag-aari ng pribadong sektor. Dahil may bahid pulitika.

Bakit sa Maynila dinadala ang mga biktima, hindi sa Cebu? Dahil di pantay ang pag-unlad ng mga rehiyon. Ang mahirap dumadagsa sa Maynila dahil andito ang mga oportunidad. Sa isang iglap, nahubaran ang kakitiran ng mga programang tulad ng ‘Balik Probinsiya’.

Bago ang Yolanda, pinaniniwalaang pamantayan ng mabuting pamamahala ang trust ratings. Agad-agad naglaho ang bisa nito. At ang naging sukatan na ng marami ay kung paano umaksiyon o di-umaksiyon ang pamahalaan ni Pnoy.

Bago ang Yolanda, binabandila ang pagiging ‘rising tiger’ ng Pilipinas. Totoo naman ang impormasyon, mataas ang GDP, maraming investment, at bawat kanto ng Edsa ay may tinatayong condominium. Subalit ibang imahen ang ating nakita sa Samar at Leyte. Ganito pala sa ating bansa, may ‘kongkretong’ pag-unlad sa mga lungsod subalit nanatiling atrasado ang ating mga isla sa probinsiya.

Tama, mahalaga ang impormasyon sa pagsusulong ng pagbabago sa pamamahala. Subalit ang impormasyon hindi yan basta-basta sumusulpot. Pinoproseso, hinuhulma, pinapakete, bago ibigay sa madla. Lahat naman ng PDAF documents online, pero ang anomalya mahirap tukuyin. Kinakailangan pa ng mga whistleblower.

Ang tungkulin natin ay maging handa dito sa nagaganap na information warfare. Maging mapanuring citizen at netizen. Higit pa dito, ipaglaban ang transparency at bukas na pamamahala na hinuhubog dapat ng ating sama-samang pagkilos. Ibig sabihin, dapat People Power ang pamamaraan ng pagtutulak ng tamang pamamahala. Biguin ang pamumuno ng mga dinastiya, tapusin ang pamamayagpag ng elitistang demokrasya sa bansa, at ipaglaban ang isang tunay na makabuluhang pagbabago.

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Philippine Scholars Summit

By admin | December 2, 2013

Talumpating binigkas sa UST, Oktubre 24, 2013

Mahigit 20 milyon ang mag-aaral sa Pilipinas, mula kinder hanggang post-grad. Subalit hindi lahat nakakatapos ng pag-aaral. Mataas ang drop-out rate mula elementary hanggang kolehiyo. Sa kolehiyo, hindi lalagpas sa kalahating milyon ang nakakatapos taun-taon samantalang 4 milyon ang enrolment kada semestre. Sana ang grupong ito ay maging bahagi ng statistika ng mga mag-aaral na magtatapos sa kolehiyo.

Sa ating kasaysayan spesyal ang sektor ng edukasyon. Spesyal dahil hindi lahat nakakamit ito. Sa mahabang panahon, at kahit sa kasalukuyan, ang mataas na kalidad na edukasyon ay pribilehiyong pinagkakaloob sa mga pinagpalang indibidwal. Kapag sinasabing pulitikal ang edukasyon, tinutukoy nito ang makauring distribusyon ng karunungan sa lipunan. Gamit ang iba’t ibang arbitraryong pamantayan, dinidikta ng naghaharing kaayusan kung sinu-sino, saan, at kailan pag-aaralin ang mamamayan.

Noong mga huling dekada ng pananakop ng mga Kastila, anak ng mga ilustrado ang nagkaroon ng access sa edukayon. Mula sa hanay nito ay umusbong ang mga prominenteng propagandista na nanguna sa laban para sa reporma hanggang sa kalayaan ng ating bansa.

Masasabi natin na ang nakaraang siglo ay isang mahabang panahon ng paggigiit ng mamamayan upang kilalanin ng estado ang karapatan sa edukasyon. Tayo ay nagkaisip sa panahong mayroon nang unibersal na pagkilala na karapatan ang edukasyon. Dapat hindi natin makalimutan ang matagal at nagpapatuloy na laban upang ipagtanggol ang ating karapatan sa edukasyon. Sa ating Konstitusyon, 1987 lang tinukoy na dapat compulsory ang elementary at libre ang hayskul.

Sa totoo lang walang libreng edukasyon. Kahit libre ang tuition, kailangang kumain ng estudyante. Kailangan niyang bumili ng uniform o school supply. Kailangan ng pamasahe at paminsan-minsang paglalaro ng DOTA. Alam ito ng estado kaya naglalaan ito ng mga programa upang makapagbigay ng tulong pinansiyal sa mga piling kabataan. Nagtutukoy ito ng mga mag-aaral na maaaring idebelop bilang mga susunod na kawani at lider ng burukrasya.

Kilala natin ang Pensionados, mga Pilipinong pinag-aral ng pamahalaan sa Estados Unidos. Ngayon wala ng Pensionados subalit mayroon pa ring mga iskolar ang pamahalaan.

Habang bumulusok ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa bansa, naapektuhan din ang scholarship program ng pamahalaan. Pinakamainam na halimbawa ay ang scholarship o student assistance na binibigay sa pamamagitan ng pork barrel o PDAF. Ayon sa ilang mambabatas, kapag tinanggal daw ang PDAF ay hindi na makakapag-aral ang maraming kabataan. Paano daw ang mga scholar? Paano daw ang mahihirap?

Ang panawagan natin ay hindi naman sunugin ang pera kundi ilipat sa mga ahensiyang may tuwirang kinalaman sa pagbibigay ng serbisyo sa mamamayan. Bakit kailangang pumila sa opisina ni congressman o senador?

Sa totoo lang ang PDAF ay patunay na di pantay, di maayos, at di sistematiko ang distribusyon ng pera sa bansa. Hindi demokratiko ang pagbibigay ng tulong at serbisyo sa mamamayan. Kung may efficient na mekanismo ng pagkakaloob ng mga subsidyo sa tao, hindi na sana kailangan ng PDAF.

Ang PDAF ay isa pang patunay na may malaking mali sa ating scholarship program. Una, nakabatay ito sa political patronage. Scholar ka kapag kakampi ng pulitiko. Paano naman yung ibang matalino subalit mahirap, at higit sa lahat, walang koneksiyon sa pulitiko? Pangalawa, ginawang tingi-tingi ang pondo sa scholarship. Kadalasan ang binibigay sa bata ay mumo o barya na kasya lamang para sa ilang bahagdan ng tuition. Sa ibang bansa ang scholar ay nakakatanggap ng kumpletong tulong, kasama ang living allowance, may stipend pa. Pangatlo, napakaraming scholarship programs ng maraming ahensiya at kahit sa mga LGUs subalit walang koordinasyon ang mga ito; at higit sa lahat, walang malawakang pagbibigay ng impormasyon sa publiko kung paano maging kwalipikado dito.

Panahon na upang i-overhaul ang scholarship program sa bansa. Sa minimum, dapat alisin ang malaking impluwensiya ng pamumulitika sa distribusyon ng scholarship. Kahit saan at kahit kailan may bahid ng pulitika ang edukasyon subalit hindi makatwiran ang pagpapatuloy ng isang sistema na legal ang tuwirang pakikialam ng pulitiko kung sino ang dapat bigyan ng scholarship sa bansa. Isa pa, nagagamit ang pag-aaral ng kabataan upang nakawin o kamkamin ang pera ng bayan. Hindi ito katanggap-tanggap.

May scholarship dahil mataas ang ating pagpapahalaga sa edukasyon. Kinikilala natin na marami ang may talino, kasanayan, at determinasyon subalit walang sapat na yaman upang makapag-aral. Sa lipunang hindi pantay, hindi sapat ang sipag at tiyaga. Kailangan talagang makialam ang estado sa pamamagitan ng affirmative action upang makatulong sa inaapi. Ang scholarship ay binibigay dahil tinuturing nating public good ang edukasyon. Ibig sabihin, lahat nakikinabang kapag may pinag-aralan ang mamamayan. Ayon sa NSO noong 2006, aabot sa 65% ang mahirap sa mga hindi nakatuntong sa paaralan; 44% sa nakatapos sa elementary; 23% sa hayskul; at 2.3% lamang sa kolehiyo. Malinaw na may korelasyon ang pag-aaral at kahirapan. Isang mabisang sandata ang edukasyon upang labanan ang kahirapan.

Subalit mayroon pa ring mga Kristel Tejada na dahil sa sobrang kahirapan ay hindi nakamit ang pangarap na makatapos ng pag-aaral.

Ang edukasyon ay kinikilalang karapatan. Subalit para sa pamahalaan, hanggang basic education lang ang pwedeng ilibre. Ang kolehiyo daw ay pribilehiyo. Ayon sa kanila, indibidwal lang daw ang nakikinabang sa kolehiyo at hindi ang komunidad. Mas makatwiran daw kung ibubuhos ang ating suporta sa basic education. Wala akong pagtutol sa huling punto. Subalit may habol ako sa argumento na minimal lang ang ambag ng kolehiyo sa komunidad. Tayong lahat panalo kung pinag-aaral ang maraming kabataan sa kolehiyo. Aangat ang komunidad kung may kolehiyo na nagbibigay ng mas mataas na karunungan at kasanayan sa kabataan.

Marahil ang pagtingin na hindi nalulubos ang investment sa kolehiyo ay dahil sa pag-alis ng mga bagong graduate papuntang ibang bansa. Sa isang banda, dapat hikayatin ang mga iskolar na manatili sa bansa at mag-ambag sa pag-unlad ng mga komunidad. Subalit dapat tiyakin na may sapat ding oportunidad at karagdagang edukasyon para sa ating mga graduate.

May tatlong papel na pwedeng gampanan ang ating mga scholar:

Bilang scholar, bilang akademiko, pilosopo, siyentista. Magpakadalubhasa at mag-ambag ng dagdag karunungan. Magturo, magresearch, magpublish, magpatent.

Bilang scholar, leader. Public intellectual. Philosopher king. Tagapayo sa mga lider, consultant sa mga pampublikong proyekto. Kritiko ng mga pulisiya. Naghahain ng mga kongkretong ideya. Namumuno sa mga laban. Lumalahok sa halalan.

Bilang iskolar ng bayan, ng masa at mahirap. Nakikipamuhay sa batayang masa. Inaalam ang kalagayan at kasaysayan ng ating mga kababayan. Nagbibigay opinyon sa ikabubuti ng interes ng nakakarami at hindi lamang ng malalaking korporasyon. Inilalaan ang talino at pangalan upang ipagtanggol ang kapakanan ng ordinaryong mamamayan.

Sobra-sobra ang ating mga suliranin na dapat bigyan ng atensiyon. Hindi tayo mauubusan ng pagkakaabalahan. Ang kailangan natin ay mga scholar na buong panahong nagbibigay prayoridad sa mga isyung panlipunan.

Halimbawa: Distaster preparation, climate change, corruption, inequality, poverty, food security.

Walang ibang panahon upang kumilos kundi ngayon. Isipin natin kung ano ang ating ipapamana sa susunod na henerasyon.

Nakakalungkot at may kabataang nanalo sa kompetisyon subalit nakaw pala ang kanyang akda. May mga batang chief of staff ang ilang mambabatas subalit kasabwat pala sa nakawan. Matuto tayo sa aral ni Emilio Jacinto, ang batang ‘utak ng katipunan’:

“Ang buhay na hindi ginugugol sa isang malaki at banal na kadahilanan ay kahoy na walang lilim, kundi damong makamandag.

“Huwag mong sayangin ang panahon; ang yamang nawala’y mangyayaring magbalik; ngunit panahong nagdaan ay di na muli pang magdadaan.

Buhayin ang mapanlabang diwa ni Jacinto, Bonifacio, at iba pang bayani ng ating lahi.

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The Meaning of Yolanda

By admin | December 1, 2013

Written for Bulatlat

If there is a bigger calamity than super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), it must be the Philippine government which has been notoriously inept in the wake of the devastation wrought by the storm in the Visayas. But aside from deficiency in leadership, the slow response of the government also reflected the tragic state of the country’s political institutions and economy.

Yolanda actually exposed the vulnerabilities of an underdeveloped Philippine economy. Despite high GDP numbers in the past decade, Asia’s ‘rising tiger’ has remained an agrarian archipelago plagued by poverty, hunger, and extreme deprivation. The so-called phenomenal progress that the Philippines has attained was instantly invalidated by the wasteland villages in Samar and Leyte. If wealth is truly spreading in the islands as claimed by the government, it clearly has not yet reached the backward regions of the country, in particular the Pacific eastern corridor from Cagayan to Mindanao.

Then and now, economic development has been concentrated in ‘imperial Manila’. Public spending and investments are narrowly restricted in the premier urban region where politicians and their families live. It’s one of the dark legacies of the Spanish colonial era when the very few elite families in old Manila (Intramuros) were usurping the resources of the rural islands. The result of this inequitable distribution of wealth is the shameful disparity of living between Mega Manila and the vast countryside, which includes Eastern Visayas.

It took some time to begin the clearing operations in modern Tacloban because most of the country’s heavy equipment, transportation facilities, and rescue logistics are found in the National Capital Region. Indeed, there are trucks and other industrial equipment in Samar and Leyte but these are owned by private mining, energy and logging companies. Power and communication lines are also owned by private corporations. The government does not even have an alternate infrastructure to restore electricity and telecommunication services in the typhoon-affected towns. In addition, the transport sector is dominated by corporate interest. It’s truly pathetic to see the government begging for the goodwill of airlines, shipping firms, and bus owners in order to transport typhoon victims and relief goods.

Decades of intense privatization and the commercialization of utility industries have rendered the government inutile in times of crisis. For several days, there was zero government. Big Business groups have taken over some of the core functions of the state like guaranteeing the flow of information signals. What happened in Tacloban was a defacto government shutdown. The Ground Zero in Tacloban is a grim reminder that the blind worshiping of the dogmatic doctrine of privatization (and the supreme evil that goes by the name of neoliberalism) will lead to the rise of a failed state.

Exacerbating the problem is rampant corruption in the bureaucracy. The Malacanang largesse that comes in trickles is often hoarded by greedy and violent dynasties. Each year, legislators are given pork funds intended to develop the local infrastructure. Meanwhile, provinces and municipalities have a share in the Internal Revenue Allotment. What happened to these funds? Were they really utilized for real projects with real beneficiaries? Or were they redirected to private pockets through institutionalized looting?

There were too many casualties which could have been avoided if there were efficient disaster preparation drills and quick disaster response programs that should have been spearheaded by the national and local governments. There are laws that are supposed to mandate the mainstreaming of policies to address the harsh impact of climate change. There are environment laws that seek to reverse the degradation of our natural habitats. But it seems many of our officials did not appreciate the value of implementing these life saving laws and policies. Hopefully, our other leaders will take heed of these post-Yolanda lessons.

But Yolanda did not only give us the opportunity to find fault in our elected officials. More importantly, it allowed us to finally recognize the real state of affairs. For example, the high trust ratings which President BS Aquino often bragged about did not translate into genuine and equitable growth. It’s a useful indicator but it can never replace good governance and political will. Further, it’s time to rethink economic policies that would mean more withdrawal of the state from providing essential services to its citizens. The widespread looting in the typhoon-ravaged provinces should be seen as the natural consequence in a society where pecuniary individualism is glorified while the spirit of collectivism (bayanihan) is rejected and even demonized as an outmoded concept.

The desire to transcend this selfie attitude was echoed in the popular appeal directed at netizens to stop posting narcissist photos and statements in the social networks. The appeal was made out of respect for the dead and typhoon survivors in the Visayas. But the situation in the country and even in the storm-battered provinces was neither satisfactory nor humane even prior to the arrival of Yolanda. Storm or no storm, many of our people are condemned to subsistence living which makes some aspects of our tech-driven and information-crazy kind of living quite cruel and insensitive.

That being said, Yolanda is a catastrophic event but it can also lead to a cleansing process. After the search and rescue, we aggressively recover and rehabilitate our communities. We should focus on the renewables and allow ‘green living’ a chance to alter our lifestyles. We can draft a more progressive land zoning policy. We can integrate the principles of good governance in everyday politics. We can rebuild a more democratic society. In other words, Yolanda is forcing us to view politics and change from a new and hopefully more radical perspective.

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Arroyo, Aquino and the Left

By admin | November 27, 2013

Written for Bulatlat

1. Did the Left support Gloria Arroyo in 2001 and 2004? The Left was part of Edsa Dos uprising and support for Arroyo was incidental since she was at that time the Vice President who stood to benefit from Estrada’s ouster. In 2004, the Left didn’t openly endorse any presidential candidate.

It’s inaccurate to describe the Left as an ally of Arroyo. Even immediately after Edsa Dos, the Left continued to criticize the anti-poor and anti-people policies of the government. The Left viciously opposed Arroyo’s neoliberal economics (privatization, EPIRA), puppetry to the US government (Balikatan, War on Terror), and ruthless militarization in the countryside (Oplan Bantay Laya). In other words, the Left was already shouting anti-Arroyo slogans in public forums and in the streets even before it was not yet fashionable to heckle the former president.

So when the Arroyo counterinsurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya went into full swing, the Left became its main target. Most, if not all, of the 1,206 victims of extrajudicial killings, 206 victims of enforced disappearances, and 2,059 cases of illegal arrests and detention during the nine-year rule of Arroyo were suspected members and supporters of the legal and underground Left. Why would Arroyo kill her allies, if indeed the Left supported her?

The real allies of Arroyo are the stalwarts of the Liberal Party, which include President Noynoy Aquino who was appointed Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2004.

2. Why is the Left opposing the programs of President Noynoy Aquino? The same reason why we refused to support the token reforms implemented by Arroyo during the early years of her presidency. The Left can never support a government which protects the interest of Big Business, the landlord class, and US imperialism at the expense of the working poor and the masses. Further, it’s impossible to declare absolute support for a government which has merely rehashed and expanded the deceptive programs (cash transfer, CARPER) of the Arroyo regime.

The fact that the Left continued to be a critic of Aquino even after the party of Senator Manny Villar has decided to join the administration lineup in the recent elections is a clear testament of the independence and consistency of the Left in upholding its avowed advocacies. It further proves that the Left can support a candidacy or a campaign in the mainstream political arena without compromising its principles.

But again, it’s quite wrong to argue that the Left is mindlessly opposing everything that Aquino is proposing or implementing. For example, the leftist bloc in Congress supported the impeachment cases against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and Chief Justice Renato Corona. We also voted in favor of the Reproductive Health bill.

3. Did the Left, in particular its pork barrel access, trigger the military unrest in the past decade? This is a simplistic and misleading assertion. It’s actually the first time that the Left is tagged as the culprit for provoking the rebellion in the military hierarchy. For the longest time, we were told and we knew for a fact that junior officers broke protocol because they were outraged by the corruption in the bureaucracy and election fraud masterminded by the Commander-in-Chief no less. Some of the restive members of the military even joined leftist forces in calling for the removal of Arroyo in Malacanang.

But it is true that the military top brass has strongly expressed objection to the implementation of public projects endorsed by the Left. However, what it triggered was not uprising in the barracks but terror in the countryside. What we measure every now and then is not our growing electoral base but the number of our comrades who have been disappeared or murdered. Lest we forget, it was leftist leaders and not opposition politicians who bore the blunt of Arroyo’s brutal machinations to remain in power.

I cannot really fathom the relevance of linking the pork barrel allocation of the Left and military unrest. There seemed to be no unusual activities in the military in 2010 and 2011 even though the Left was finally able to endorse public projects during this period.

4. Has the Left become irrelevant in the past three years? Is it in the wrong side of history? These are old accusations. Since the Marcos era, the Left was supposed to be a dying or dead movement. Remarkably, it has ‘died a thousand deaths.’ Despite the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the factions, and the failure to topple Arroyo, the Left has survived.

Politicians (like Enrile) always prefer to be close on the good side of history; but the Left is different. It is a social movement that seeks to create history. What its members aspire is not an appointment in bonus-giving agencies in the bureaucracy but the chance to restructure the social order. It is always ready to review its tactics. Two decades ago, it would be quite unthinkable for the Left to consider participation in electoral politics or even support direct legislation through a people’s initiative.

Those accusing the Left of irrelevance are not innocent bystanders of politics but ideological partisans of the ruling administration. The Left has representatives in Congress, its electoral base is growing, it has a nationwide organized constituency, it has sympathizers, supporters, and varying political influence in all sectors and in almost all islands of the country. How can the tangible and intangible strengths of this movement quickly vanish in the past three years? Everyone can criticize the political decisions of the Left but to declare it irrelevant is to reveal a rabid and perverted kind of devotion to the landlord president.

5. Did the Left reach a political dead end after the defeat of its senatorial candidates? A long, long time ago an academic made an infamous declaration that history has come to an end. He has since then revised his judgment.

In its long history, the Left achieved great political victories courtesy of the mass movement. What must be emphasized is that after deciding to field candidates in elections only 12 years ago, the Left has already garnered amazing electoral successes. Through its accumulated electoral experience and once the people’s movement gains more strength, it can perform better in the next elections. Or maybe not. Regardless of the results, the struggle must continue. Politics is after all more than just electoral or parliamentary politics.

There were many candidates from various political forces and different ‘shades of red’ who lost in the recent elections but curiously their defeat was not derided as a political dead end. Maybe because it would be too disrespectful to make that claim. Fortunately, the loss of Kapatiran candidates was not described by our mainstream pundits as a political dead end for the Christian cause. Looking back, it was a relief not to read any commentary which judged the loss of Winnie Monsod in the 2001 elections as the end of the road for the academe-corporate media agenda.

Let us be honest here. The Left is harshly and unfairly vilified because it has adamantly refused to “make peace with the new order” represented by the haciendero Aquino. In the eyes of the yellow ideologues, the Left is more than a nuisance; it is a threat and alternative that must be defeated and discredited. Hence, the vitriolic ranting of even the most sober analysts of the respectable members of the media.

6. How has the pork barrel issue altered the political landscape? It proved that corruption has persisted despite the two (or three) Edsa uprisings. It unmasked the populist posturing of Aquino who vowed in 2010 to finally end the scourge of corruption in the country. More importantly, it rendered visible the seething disgust felt by the masses against the corrupt system.

The issue highlighted that corruption is endemic in the system. For many activists, it validated the leftist agenda on why corruption or more precisely, bureaucrat capitalism is an evil in society that must be rooted out through a revolution.

The pork barrel is not an issue which is being exploited by the Left to attack Aquino or to seek a new ‘purpose in life’. On the contrary, it affirms that the Left has been correct all this time in calling for an overhaul of the system. The same system which has nothing original to offer anymore except to rebrand dynasties and revive failed programs.

All major political forces have agreed to finally abolish the pork barrel. But it is the Left, the national democratic Left, which has the most subversive solution on how best to transform the government of the rich into a genuine government of the people. And perhaps this is the reason why those who benefit from this unjust social order are aggressively trying to undermine and undercut the appeal of the radical Left.

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