Thailand: Yingluck and Gender Politics

By admin | June 29, 2011

Yingluck Shinawatra could become Thailand’s first female prime minister if her Pheu Thai Party performs well in next month’s general election.

And her chances certainly seem strong, despite her inexperience, because so many voters are disillusioned with male-dominated Thai politics. Sensing this growing frustration, Yingluck’s handlers have been emphasizing her natural ‘feminine qualities’ to attract more support. She may not be a sure bet yet, but her candidacy has certainly excited many Thais who see her entry into politics as a refreshing development. Some observers have even cited her gender as an advantage that she could use to ‘heal’ the political wounds inflicted by the bloody fighting between the country’s warring political forces.

But Yingluck has a significant liability, too. As the younger sister of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, she’s accused of being a mere proxy of a desperate former head of state seeking a political comeback. It didn’t help that Thaksin casually admitted in a media interview that Yingluck would become her brother’s ‘clone’ after the polls. As a ‘clone’, many fear she might only end up rekindling the animosity of Thaksin haters.

On the other hand, she can’t just simply distance herself from her brother, even if it means confirming the claim of her critics that she’s a mere puppet. Why? Because she needs Thaksin’s billions and most importantly, the support of many of the poor in the countryside who still think that the ousted leader is a caring and compassionate leader.

In short, Yingluck’s link to Thaksin has appeared a mixed blessing for her ambitions to lead the country. But as the election campaign enters its last phase, it is becoming evident that Thaksin is casting a dark and increasingly damaging shadow over Yingluck’s budding political career.

It’s not only her independence that’s being questioned, but also her commitment to promoting women’s rights, democratic reforms, and transparency in governance. After all, transparency would inevitably involve investigating the various alleged crimes committed during the Thaksin years. If she becomes prime minister, would she really allow the revival of corruption and plunder cases against her brother?

In addition, being a woman doesn’t make Yingluck an instant champion of women’s rights, and her victory certainly wouldn’t guarantee a weakening of patriarchal politics in Thailand. Nor does she represent Thailand’s marginalized women seeking political empowerment. Instead, she embodies the conservative political interests of her family.

Of course, if Yingluck succeeds, she could become Southeast Asia’s next great female icon, in the mould of Suu Kyi, Wan Aziah, Megawati, Cory Aquino, and Gloria Arroyo. But if she wants to equal or surpass the legacy of these remarkable female leaders, she must be ready to sacrifice and even betray personal ties and interests for the sake of the greater public good. She must be willing to break tradition by rejecting authoritarianism and its various forms in Thailand.

In the meantime, it’s better that we check our expectations by remembering that her gender isn’t a guarantee that she will pursue meaningful social reform.

Written for The Diplomat

Filipino-Style Divorce, Anyone?

There are only two countries in the world without a divorce law: Malta and the Philippines. Both are Catholic-dominated nations governed by politicians who are afraid to antagonize the bishops who seem to be more popish than the pope in their dogmatic interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. But Malta is expected to finally enact a divorce law after its citizens recently approved the measure through a referendum. What now for the Philippines?

A divorce bill is pending in Congress, but its authors are less worried that Malta would beat the Philippines in legislating divorce than the disturbing fact that Filipino women have few and limited options to get out of failed marriages.

Under Philippines laws, there are only three remedies available to separate couples or terminate a marriage. These are legal separation, declaration of nullity and annulment. Legal separation allows couples to physically separate, but doesn’t allow them to re-marry, while a declaration of nullity makes the children in that marriage illegitimate.

The most popular option therefore used by estranged couples to end a marriage is by invoking Article 36 of the Family Code, which is sometimes referred to as the de facto divorce law in the Philippines. The provision allows a marriage to be voided if one of the parties is proven to be psychologically incapacitated to perform marital obligations. But it requires a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, not to mention lawyer’s fees, which makes it a costly solution.

The proposed divorce law would address the limitations of these existing legal remedies by expanding the grounds of separation. Divorce is granted if these grounds are met: De facto separation from his or her spouse for at least five years at the time of the filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable; Legal separation for at least two years at the time of the filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable; When any of the grounds for legal separation have caused irreparable breakdown of the marriage; When one or both spouses are psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations; and when the spouses suffer from irreconcilable difference that have caused the irreparable breakdown of the marriage.

The five valid grounds listed above are there to discourage and prevent no-fault divorces or Las Vegas-style divorces. The proposed divorce bill also has some interesting provisions that might be unique to the Philippines, like asking couples to seek reconciliation before petitioning for divorce, extending legal and personal assistance to poor couples who want a divorce, and prescribing a six-month period for the courts to settle divorce cases. Divorces obtained by Filipino citizens abroad will be deemed valid as well.

The intended beneficiaries of the bill aren’t rich couples who can afford expensive annulment proceedings, but poor women who are trapped in dead-end marriages. According to government figures, which should be considered conservative, an average of 22 annulment cases are filed everyday all over the country. In 2010, the number of annulment cases was 40 percent higher than 10 years ago.

It’s crucial to note that in 2007, the Office of the Solicitor General reported that 92 percent who filed for annulment petitions were Roman Catholics. As expected, 61 percent of petitioners were females. During the same year, the police said that a woman is battered every one hour and 50 minutes in the Philippines.

Critics of the divorce bill aver that divorce is alien to Philippine culture and that it’s a bad Western legacy. They are wrong, since absolute divorce was popularly practiced among ancestral tribes in the country prior to the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century. Divorce was also available during the American period starting 1917. It was only in 1950, when the new Civil Code took effect, that divorce was disallowed in the country.

Opponents of the bill also argue that passing a divorce law would be unconstitutional since the 1987 Constitution explicitly mentions the need to protect the sanctity of marriage. But the same Constitution is silent on divorce, thereby not prohibiting its legalization.

Divorce wouldn’t necessarily destroy the foundation of the family, as has been shown by Italy and Spain, two predominantly Catholic countries with low rates of divorce. If a couple are happy, they wouldn’t file for divorce anyway. But it’s a reality that many are suffering in abusive and irreparable marriages. Why deny them the chance to regain their liberty and happiness?

The chances of legislating divorce in the Philippines is slim today since Congress has yet to finish deliberations on the equally, if not more controversial, Reproductive Health Bill. But it’s the duty of the government to protect the rights of all its citizens, whether Catholic or not. And this duty should include, among other things, the granting of the right of individuals, especially women, to end a bad marriage and seek a new life.

Written for The Diplomat

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House Bills and Resolutions Reloaded!

By admin | June 22, 2011

The current categorization of Congress bills and resolutions is dull and uninformative. If we want the public to know more about the legislative process, we should review our practice of merely classifying the bills into first reading, second reading, and third reading.

Bills filed on first reading are worthy to mention only if they would disrupt and titillate the political landscape. Identifying the bills which hurdled the second and third reading is proper but the Congress journal doesn’t distinguish the bills with parochial intent from those with national significance. And even bills which reached third reading aren’t sure of being signed into laws since they still need the concurrence of the senate, bicameral committee (the third and most powerful house of congress), and the president of the republic.

So what should we do? Below are some suggestions to make the categories more interesting and precise.

The Priority bills have the support of the Congress leadership. They are usually Ledac bills. If a measure is authored by the Speaker, it’s a bill with Mandate From Heaven. Congress can approve a bill on a single day if it has a certification from the president which makes it a Lightning McQueen bill.

Through the tyranny of numbers, Congress can ignore public opinion and approve controversial measures like the Con-Ass in 2009. They are Shock And Awe bills or from the point of view of the ruling party: What We Are In Power For bills. Unconstitutional measures can be called Infirmary bills because they are legally infirm.

Lolit Solis resolutions are often filed to greet influential church leaders and Filipino global achievers. They are similar to Sunrise/Sunset measures which are automatically filed after a huge national or natural disaster is reported by the media.

It’s a popular practice to revive Zombie or Undead bills which were ignored by the previous Congress. Sometimes, legislators make the mistake of refilling bills which have already been passed into law; hence they are called Second Life bills. Archived bills which are reintroduced should be known as Recycled bills. Amending a law is often done by filing Viagra bills especially if the goal is to enhance or enlarge the scope and functionality of the law. Sex Change bills are possible if the original author wants to change the committee referral of the measure. A bill suffers from an Identity Crisis if its title contradicts its own explanatory note and even the main text of the document.

It’s not wrong to adopt a substitute bill which is often done to consolidate several bills that deal on a single subject; but that substitute or consolidated bill mutates into a Prostituted bill if it contains so many provisions that fundamentally alter its intended objectives.

Most legislators are guilty of proposing resolutions not in aid of legislation but In Aid Of Next Elections. Many local bills are actually Reelection bills. Some legislators are also fond of using the official power of Congress to embarrass and weaken their rivals by filing I Hate My Enemies bills.

To improve their political curriculum vitae, some legislators are unnecessarily bombarding the Bills and Index Service with their Bilbil bills. While many measures are sensible, there are also several Everything I Need To Know, I Learned In Kindergarten bills. Long And Winding Road bills have a very lengthy, sometimes superfluous, introductory notes.

My favorite topics are the Padre Damaso and Hallelujiah bills which seek to propagate the Catholic dogma or direct the attention of Congress to unanswerable philosophical and divine questions like the beginning of life.

Those that require substantial funding from the (eternally) bankrupt local and national governments are Bilmoko bills. Good intentions are not enough since the conservative block often brands a well-meaning measure as unrealistic or impossible to implement which makes it a Man in the Moon bill.

Mona Lisa bills remain trapped at the committee level. They are also Bungalow bills since they don’t reach the Upper House. If archived, they are condemned as Basement bills.

Contractor bills are infrastructure measures that benefit a favored public works agency or a private contractor. Uncle Sam bills pay tribute to our former colonial master while Big Brother China or Bad Bully China bills address our dynamic, often tenuous, relationship with the Asian giant.

Here is my congress page and you are very much welcome to classify the bills/resolutions I authored and co-authored based on the categories I listed above.

Next: Privilege and Non-Privilege speeches

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Southeast Asia’s Last Strongman

By admin | June 14, 2011

Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father and architect of modern Singapore, resigned from the Cabinet a week after the ruling People’s Action Party suffered its worst performance in the polls since 1965. Lee was Prime Minister for 31 years from 1959 to 1990, and continued to lead Singapore as Senior Minister for 14 years and then as Minister Mentor since 2004.

But don’t expect him to retreat from public view since he still has a seat in parliament. He gave up his Cabinet rank, but not necessarily his power to dictate the governmental affairs of Singapore. How could his voice become irrelevant when his son is the prime minister? Remember also the threat he made in 1988 that he would rise from the grave if the next generation of leaders led Singapore in the wrong direction.

While Lee’s resignation won’t necessarily mean an actual diminution of his stature and role inside the PAP, it marks the first time in five decades that he has no official Cabinet position. Lee resigned despite the re-election of PAP because he was blamed by many for the reduced popularity of the ruling party. His strong leadership style may have worked before, but it’s now increasingly being rejected by younger voters and it seems he felt compelled to resign to reverse the declining reputation of the party he founded.

But, as expected, he didn’t step down without making some pointed statements about his enemies. He even chastised the young generation for failing to remember the humble beginnings of Singapore and its transformation into a prosperous global city under his leadership.

Nobody is questioning Lee’s economic stewardship. In fact, even his critics admit that it’s his greatest legacy. But Singapore’s young and educated citizens aren’t happy anymore with the built-in authoritarian features of the political system established by Mr Lee. They want a free press, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly – in short they prefer a real and working democracy. Indeed, some of these democratic rights are absent or lacking in Mr Lee’s political philosophy.

That PAP was ready to sacrifice Lee could be an indication of its recognition of the growing discontent in Singapore, and the PAP might be preparing an overhaul of its image to restore public confidence. Maybe it realized that a different PAP has to emerge soon if it wants to maintain its political dominance. Unfortunately for Lee, he would have had to call the shots from behind the scenes.

But despite his reduced role in Singapore government, he’s still considered a legendary figure in modern Southeast Asia politics. Indeed, he is the last strongman standing among post-war leaders of democratic societies in the region, with his contemporaries either dead or retired. Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines was ousted in 1986, Suharto of Indonesia was forced to resign in 1998, while Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia retired in 2003. Lee, meanwhile, still holds a seat in parliament.

Lee may be 87 years old, but don’t count him out yet. The old man could still reinvent himself – especially if he thinks he will outlive everybody.

Written for The Diplomat

ASEAN Needs Timor-Leste

Should Timor-Leste be admitted as the eleventh member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)?

Member countries Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, and Burma have already expressed approval of Timor-Leste’s decade-long bid to join the regional grouping. Even Indonesia, which occupied the state for a quarter of a century, has agreed to support the membership request of its former colony.

But Singapore, one of the original members of ASEAN, opposes its entry, saying Timor-Leste is ‘not yet ready to absorb the many challenges and complexities of ASEAN membership.’ It’s a polite way of saying that it can’t join ASEAN yet because it’s a poor and fragile state that could affect the stability and security of the regional group.

Yet is this view accurate and fair? Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta thinks not, and has argued openly why his country is more than ready and deserving to join ASEAN.

He points, for example, to the UNDP Human Development Report 2011, which placed Timor-Leste in the medium human development category. In fact, it ranked higher than Cambodia, Laos and Burma in the overall measure of human development. Ramos-Horta added that his country has no foreign debt, and indeed has the highest surplus in the world, in percentage terms, of over 280 percent of GDP.

Ramos-Horta claimed too that unlike its neighbours in the region, Timor-Leste doesn’t have ethnic or religious conflicts, organized crime and armed insurgency. It also has a multi-party democracy, with nine parties in the national parliament in stark contrast with the situation in many ASEAN countries, where there’s no genuine opposition.

Ramos-Horta also cites the report of the London-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which rated Timor-Leste as the best performer in Asia in terms of accountability and transparency in the management of petroleum resources.

The Timor-Leste president admits that his country is poor, but he notes that it was still able to hand out cash support to victims of natural disasters in Indonesia, Burma, China, the Madeira Islands (Portugal), Haiti, Brazil and Australia that totalled close to $5 million over the past three years. (This fact may well have been raised by Ramos-Horta as reassurance that his country won’t be begging for aid from its neighbours if it becomes an ASEAN member).

Since gaining independence in 2002, Timor-Leste has made enormous progress, despite its non-inclusion in ASEAN.

Today, it wants to join ASEAN and asks for a five to 10-year transition period to catch up to more advanced ASEAN members. But if we are to believe the statements made by Ramos-Horta, it seems it’s the ASEAN countries that in many ways need to catch up with the human development performance of Timor-Leste.

In fact, maybe it would be wise for Timor-Leste to rethink its ASEAN application and ask itself if membership of the group would be really beneficial to its own long-term interests. Does it really want to join a group that is becoming increasingly irrelevant and ineffective in resolving the many disputes involving its members?

ASEAN should be the one aggressively pursuing membership and integration for Timor-Leste, because if the tiny state realizes it doesn’t need ASEAN to survive, it could always turn to its more powerful friends like China, New Zealand, and Australia.

Rejecting or further delaying the membership bid of Timor-Leste would be a dangerous mistake for ASEAN to make.

Written for The Diplomat

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Mono Towns

By admin | June 12, 2011

Polomolok in South Cotabato is a mono town: Its main economic activity is the agricultural production inside the vast Dole plantation. Its present and future are dictated by the rise and decline of Dole’s fortunes. The residents there and nearby rural communities like Tupi have become dependent on Dole either by working in the fields and processing plants or by establishing business and farming deals with the multinational firm. Small income opportunities are also generated through surplus economic activities (sari-sari store, carenderia, public transport).

Polomolok seems to thrive as a viable farming town because of Dole. But what if Dole decides one day to transfer its operations somewhere else? What will happen to Polomolok’s papaya and pineapple farmers? How will Polomolok survive after decades of supplying the needs of a single company?

There should be more studies on the situation of mono cities and former mono cities in the Philippines. I am particularly interested to learn more about the evolution of mono cities and its impact on the lives of ordinary people. How do they react if their town’s economic profile or potential has been permanently altered?

Military camps

For example, Subic and Clark were American military bases for almost a century before they were converted into special economic zones in the 1990s. What happened to the towns that served the needs of US personnel inside the bases? When the Americans left, the fall of the entertainment and hospitality industries in Angeles, Pampanga and Olongapo, Zambales was expected but the social impact was greater. Until the 1980s, the presence of the bases was considered as permanent by everybody in Angeles, Mabalacat, Dau, Olongapo, and Subic. The bases affected how residents planned their lives and how policymakers drafted development programs. Then, the bases were suddenly removed.

Aside from the world-class airport in Clark and freeport in Subic, the Americans also left behind an undisclosed amount of toxic wastes, Amerisian children, and HIV. How did the people in the towns near Subic and Clark adjust to the new geo-economic realities?

Today, Subic and Clark are still considered super mini cities because of their excellent infrastructure and strategic locations. Meanwhile, Olongapo and Angeles – the towns which benefited and suffered the most during and after the American colonial and neocolonial times – are also performing well but like before, they still play a secondary role compared to the more prominent Subic and Clark centers.

Relocation centers

Relocation sites are also mono towns. Most of the time, these are farming communities outside the Metropolis where land value is lower and more importantly, are found outside the gaze of tourists, credit rating analysts, investors, and national politicians.

Relocating a squatter community is a violent act. First, an entire village of informal settlers is destroyed. Second, they are transferred to a remote community with little livelihood opportunities. And third, the economic potential of the relocation site is downgraded. From a farming estate, the relocation area is instantly converted into a housing center of the former urban poor. Sapang Palay, Bagong Barrio, Pangarap Village, Erap City, Southville are examples of these former farming villages turned relocation sites. Cavite, which used to be an agricultural province with productive fishing and farming villages, is now the most populous province in the country after the Marcos government designated it as the main relocation site outside Manila. The present government’s resettlement areas are now found in Laguna, Bulacan, and Rizal.

How did farmers and their families respond to the abrupt and forced transformation of their agricultural land? Did they react violently when strangers from the city ‘invaded’ their land? When the old and new settlers interact, which culture or value system became dominant?

A relocation site suffers from the stigma of being a colony of city rejects. It’s treated by everybody – from government officials, respectable civic leaders, and corporate sponsors – as a miserable and hopeless community which requires constant charity from the rich and surveillance from state forces.

But as a mono town, a relocation site isn’t permanent since the government or big property speculators can always reclaim it. Residents of an old relocation site in Dasmarinas, Cavite are in danger of being evicted again because SM wants to build a mall in their area. Lupang Pangako settlers near Litex and Payatas will have to be relocated again because their land is the chosen site for the proposed National Government Center. Ownership of Pangarap Village in Caloocan, a housing village of Malacanang employees during the Marcos time, is being contested today by the Araneta clan.

Enclaves

Are mono towns beneficial to the public? Do they uplift the living conditions of the communities they serve? Let’s discuss the social impact of establishing industrial estates and school centers.

Rosario, Cavite has become a mono town ever since an export processing zone started operating there. Its fishing port is still open but the export zone provides the core economic opportunity for the residents. If not hired as workers, Rosario residents cater to the daily needs of the export zone laborers. Inside the export enclave is a well-planned grid of factories and assembly line production units but outside the complex is a vast ghetto-like, working-class community. Rosario has been turned into a giant boarding house for overworked and underpaid workers. The local government of Rosario has no jurisdiction over the export zone and the tax benefits derived from the operations of the export zone are minimal.

The most famous school center in the country is the university belt area in Morayta, Recto, and Mendiola. The old schools are in Taft and Intramuros while the new schools are found in Makati, Alabang and Sta. Rosa in Laguna. Major university towns exist in Baguio, Tuguegarao, Davao, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.

When a university town is established, the most visible and immediate effect is the rise of various school-related businesses like restaurants, dormitories, gaming shops and bookstores that sell school supplies. The U-belt is not just the site of popular UAAP schools; it’s also famous for its fake diplomas, recycled thesis papers, and very ancient textbook materials. The L-belt in Quezon City (Ateneo, Miriam, UP Diliman), where the biggest concentration of scholars with rebellious and reformist causes is located, led to the transformation of the nearby Philcoa and Teachers’ Villages into the country’s NGO center. Today, university towns also attract call center companies which are always on the lookout for skilled, English-proficient, and healthy young workers.

Rezoning

Some mono towns are able to retain its identity even after their economic fundamentals have changed. Marikina is still known as a shoe country despite the death of the local shoe industry. Its shoe museum is a reminder that it was once a famous exporter of durable and world-class quality shoes. Is the tsinelas industry in Liliw, Laguna still thriving?

The San Lazaro and Sta Mesa horse racetracks in Manila have been demolished already but many people still remember them. What happened to the horses, racetrack workers, and the underground gambling business that flourished before the transfer of the horse tournament in Carmona?

Is the oil depot in Pandacan still operating? Are there still salt-making plants in Las Pinas? Paranaque, then and now, is a bird sanctuary but soon the ‘big birds’ will have to move to Clark airport. Is the ban on tuna fishing in General Santos still in effect? Camanava’s manufacturing belt has been defeated by Calabarzon’s industrial estates but at least it’s still functioning, though it already lost its preferential status. The Cojuangcos couldn’t make up their minds on whether to classify Hacienda Luisita as a sugar plantation, industrial estate, agribusiness center, or gateway to SCTEX.

Muntinlupa’s original ‘loob’ is the National Bilibid Prison; then it became a key manufacturing hub in the Metro. Its subsequent attraction is the Ayala-Alabang gated community.

Camarines Sur is now Camsur which wants to shed its image as a dirt poor province. It somehow worked because it became the country’s top tourist destination in 2009 through its watersports facilities and Caramoan.

The country has numerous tourism mono towns – these are exotic places which are dependent on tourism revenues. Example: Boracay, Panglao, Puerto Princesa, Siargao, Pagudpud, Dakak, Mactan, Malapascua, Coron, Samal. Sustaining a tourism mono town is a challenge for local executives who must strive to balance the preservation of the town’s natural beauty and the temptation to earn more dollar receipts. Baguio and Puerto Galera have miserably failed on this tough balancing act. Manila Bay was once famous for its beaches in Pasay and Tanza but who would dare swim on its waters now?

Mono country

Negros has two provinces but it’s just a very big sugar plantation. For more than a century, the sakadas planted sugar but only the hacenderos became rich. If it decides to diversify its agricultural economy, would it mean the liberation of its farmers?

Tondo has been the home of the poor for centuries and it continued to shelter the dispossessed even after the world-famous Smokey Mountain was cosmetically enhanced. Meanwhile, the nouveau poor reside in Payatas.

Mindanao, the country’s Land of Promise and the former ancestral domain of the Moros, is stereotyped as a violent and mystical island. But the government insists it’s only ARMM which should be categorized as a failed sub-state. Nevertheless, everybody suffers from the little and big wars in Mindanao. If peace is finally attained, would the people easily believe it?

How should the Philippines improve its global image? Economists insist it’s no longer an agricultural nation but a service sector economy. Indeed, it ‘services’ the housekeeping needs of rich nations. It’s an outsourcing mecca and at the same time a sub-contracting state. It’s the home of youtube stars (Charice, Arnel, dancing prisoners) and boxing champions. It’s the global source of raw materials from abaca, coconut, to black coral reefs. It’s the only nation without a divorce law. It was once called by an American commentator as a nation of 40 million cowards and one son of a bitch (Marcos). Are we still a nation of cowards who wouldn’t stand-up against a Porsche-riding hacendero president?

There is some hope. We only need to remember our glorious and heroic past. We should accept some tips from the brave Middle East protesters. The communist insurgency in the countryside, probably the world’s longest, should make us realize that the poor folks in the real farmvilles are ready and willing to embrace a new tomorrow.

Related articles:

Loob-Labas
The new U-belt
Fake capital
Vortex of evil

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Reorient the SK

By admin | June 8, 2011

I was interviewed by Manila Bulletin a few months ago about the Sangguniang Kabataan….

1. I learned that you are siding with the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation in this issue and is against its abolition. Please explain your position/stand on this issue and why you are supporting them.

The support is incidental. Our group recognizes the weaknesses of the SK system which is the reason why we filed House Bill 1963.

But the proposed abolition is somewhat an exaggeration. After 30 years of political innovation, is abolishing the SK the only option that the government can think of?

The reasons put forward by the SK abolitionists are legitimate but not substantial enough to convince me that it is the best solution to address the problems besetting the youth institution.

2. DILG Sec. Robredo and former Sen. Pimentel, among others are accusing the SK of being a breeding ground for corruption and for failing to be functional and effective in the delivery of public service while PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa says it only encourages political dynasties. Do you think that to a certain extent these allegations are true? Why or why not?

These accusations are not without basis. Indeed, there is corruption in the bureaucracy from the national to the local levels. Unfortunately, even some SK leaders are involved. Political dynasties are also extending their nefarious sphere of influence down to the SK level. (Trapo for adults and Bimbo for young politicians – Batang Itinulak ng Magulang sa Pulitika). The idealism of the youth is wasted when SK leaders mutate into young trapo monsters.

These negative features of the SK reflect the bankrupt character of Philippine politics. We have been bad role models for SK leaders. Instead of teaching them the principles of good governance, we have only exposed them to the worst features of politics. The weaknesses of SK point to the failure of the government to empower young people since the institution which is supposed to harness the leadership potential of the youth had been corrupted over the decades. It is shameful that dynasties are even using the SK to strengthen their monopolistic control of local political power.

If the SK is ineffective, it means we didn’t guide them correctly. We didn’t introduce creative types of projects and other services which the SK can implement in the grassroots.

If corruption is present in the SK level, other LGUs are implicated as well. SK officials can’t access local funds without the approval of barangay officials. Why single out the SK as a breeding ground for corruption?

If corruption, ineffectiveness, and promotion of political dynasties are cited as the reasons to abolish the SK, there are equally deserving government agencies, both local and national, which should be abolished as well.

3. Is the alternative option of having a youth representative in the barangay council a feasible idea? Are you and your group willing to settle for this option? Why or why not?

It is a non-solution. It doesn’t solve anything. The single youth representative, who is now not accountable to a youth council, can be more easily seduced by corruption practices because he/she is now alone; and most likely he/she could still belong to a dynasty.

Since the youth representative will be voted at large by barangay residents, we will force that kid to adopt the campaign tactics of adults in order to garner enough votes to win in the election.

Having a youth council is better than electing a single representative because programs, decisions, and ideas are collectively decided in a council.

At present, the SK is composed of a chairperson and 7 kagawads. The kagawads do not receive any payment from the government yet they are mandated by law to serve the community for three years. We have more than 300,000 volunteers through the SK system. The government wants to eliminate this unique institution which encourages youth participation and volunteerism in community affairs.

4. What do you think is the real problem in the SK system? What should the government do to solve it?
5. How can SK officials help in nation building?

The problem is the system itself. We cannot successfully reform the SK if the political system remains corrupt and elitist. The youth draws inspiration from the actions and behavior of adults. Whether it’s SK or single youth representative, it will continue to be ineffective as long as the current disappointing system is in place.

Maybe we should transform SK into an activist institution. Encourage SK leaders to be anti-corruption advocates. Inspire them to expose the wrongdoings in government agencies.

6. In the past, what do you think are the significant contributions of SK to most communities?

Providing opportunities for young people, in-school and out-of-school youth, to participate in the governance process. It gave young people the chance to articulate their ideas and sentiments in barangay councils and LGU councils. It allowed youth leaders to form a municipal, city and provincial networks.

7. What is your group doing to prevent it from being enacted?

Will push for reforms. Will convince lawmakers to rethink the abolition proposal and encourage them to draft a measure that will strengthen or reform the SK. I am even open to the idea of forming a new youth formation in barangays. A new youth body with a different orientation. A stronger and more responsive body that will harness youth idealism

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ASEAN and Human Rights Hypocrisy

By admin | May 29, 2011

Burma’s bid to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014 was politely dismissed when the bloc concluded its latest summit in Indonesia without a clear commitment on the matter. Instead of receiving support for its bid, Burma was advised by fellow ASEAN members to build better infrastructure first if it really wants to lead the group in the future.

But the unstated reason for the quiet rejection of the country’s aspiration is the apparent failure of the ruling junta to improve its poor human rights record. In the eyes of ASEAN, and the rest of the world, Burma’s new government has been unable to hasten the democratization process because of its lack of sincerity and the fact that there is no definite and lasting initiative to promote political reconciliation with dissident parties.

ASEAN also bowed to pressure from Western governments and advocacy groups, which warned about the incompatibility of the regional group’s democracy drive on the one hand, and Burma’s atrocious human rights record on the other. They correctly pointed out that ASEAN would become a laughingstock within the international community if it allows Burma to lead the group in 2014 or 2015.

Indeed, Burma’s government is guilty of spectacular crimes against its people and has committed some of the worst human rights violations in the modern era. Democracy is almost nonexistent in the country, despite the earlier pledge of the junta leadership to promote civil liberties after the holding of elections last year and the revival of the parliament last January. The media, meanwhile, is still tightly controlled, while political parties still need to undergo a strict and unreasonable registration process. In addition, critics are still handed insanely long-term jail sentences and there are about 20,000 political prisoners in Burma.

The decision to deny the country a chance to lead ASEAN is laudable, and must be sustained until we see substantial political reforms in the country. But the political will to uphold human rights must be applied in other countries in the region where gross human rights offenses are also being perpetuated by the state.

Burma isn’t the only nation in ASEAN whose government is accused of undermining the democratic rights of the people. There are equally notorious bullies in the region that must be named as enemies of freedom and human rights.

In fact, Burma’s confidence in asking for the ASEAN chairmanship could have stemmed from the knowledge that its pretentious neighbouring states also have democratic deficiencies. If Burma were asked to explain the continued detention of pro-democracy leaders, it could always retort by inquiring about the documented torture of suspects in Indonesia, the legal persecution of opposition leaders in Malaysia, the use of cluster munitions by Thailand in its border war against Cambodia, the continuing lack of media freedom in Vietnam and Cambodia, the absence of a genuine multiparty political system in Singapore and the rise of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

The truth is that ASEAN member countries and Burma critics like the United States have lost the moral ascendancy to preach respect for human rights.

It’s not wrong to regard Burma as the epitome of an evil regime in Southeast Asia, but this view shouldn’t prevent us from exposing and resisting the varying shades of authoritarianism in the region that are anathema to the building of a genuine democracy.

Written for The Diplomat

Sarawak, Singapore Poll Lessons

It was the ruling coalitions that dominated the Sarawak state elections in Malaysia last month and the Singapore general elections last week, but the opposition parties also scored some important victories as well.

The Barisan Nasional coalition secured 55 out of the 71 seats in the Sarawak state assembly, which allowed Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, who has led Sarawak since 1981, to retain his position. The coalition garnered 372,000 votes, while the opposition parties received only 300,000 votes. Meanwhile, Singapore’s People’s Action Party won 81 out of the 87 seats in the parliament and received 60 percent of the popular votes.

In other countries, these figures would have been immediately interpreted as an overwhelming vote of confidence for the winning party, but it seems it isn’t the case in Singapore and Sarawak. It isn’t enough for the dominant party to grab the majority of seats in parliament since the opposition can always claim a moral victory even if it only won a few seats. In other words, the administration’s victory in the polls doesn’t automatically translate into complete political hegemony.

This political paradox becomes less confusing if we take note that the BN has been in power since 1957, while the PAP has never lost an election since 1959. In the case of the PAP, it has been successful in preventing the opposition from clinching even a single seat in parliament.

The BN isn’t used to the Democratic Action Party winning 12 out of the 15 seats it contested in the Sarawak elections. On the other hand, the PAP, for the first time, has lost an important Group Representation Constituency to the opposition. The legendary political invincibility of the mighty BN and PAP has been shattered in the polls.

We should also add that they were ‘humbled’ several times during the campaign period. Sarawak’s Taib, who is the longest-serving minister in Malaysia, was accused of crony capitalism by his enemies. Meanwhile, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong issued an apology in behalf of the ruling party for the rising difficulties encountered by Singaporeans. Five years ago, it would have been unthinkable that a PAP leader would apologize for the shortcomings of the Singaporean government.

Despite their minor victories in the polls, the opposition parties in Singapore and Sarawak could use their limited power to expand influence inside the government and broaden their constituencies. The instant boost in their credibility could motivate them to be more aggressive in engaging the dominant parties. They seem to be more ready now to play a bigger and critical role in politics.

Another important point that political observers like us have learned from the recent elections in Singapore and Sarawak has been to be more cautious in measuring the strength of a party based merely on their performance on the internet. The low ratings of the ruling parties in social media didn’t reflect the actual votes on election day. It’s a reminder that the internet can reflect the sentiments of people in a given moment, but not necessarily their voting preference.

Written for The Diplomat

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SK at pagbabago sa lipunan

By admin | May 27, 2011

Bahagi ito ng leadership module na inihanda ng Kabataan Partylist para sa mga bagong miyembro ng Sangguniang Kabataan.

Malaki ang papel ng kabataan sa pagbabago sa lipunan. Sa katunayan, tampok ang naging ambag ng kabataan sa pagtatayo ng ating Republika. Si Rizal ay 25 taong gulang lamang nang isinulat niya ang Noli Me Tangere; si Bonifacio, 28, nang itinatag niya ang Katipunan; si Jacinto, 20, nang maging ‘utak’ ng Rebolusyon.

Maraming kabataan at estudyante ang nagbuwis ng buhay para sa kalayaan ng bansa, mula sa paglaban sa pananakop ng mga dayuhan hanggang sa paghamon sa Batas Militar. Ang kinikilala nating mga beterano ng World War II ngayon ay mga teenager lamang noong 1940s. Karamihan sa mga martir ng pakikibaka laban sa diktaturyang Marcos ay mga mag-aaral.

Mahalaga din ang pagkilos ng kabataan noong Edsa 1986. Sinundan ito ng sama-samang pagbabasura sa US Bases Treaty noong 1991. Tumindig laban sa korupsyon ang maraming kabataan noong Edsa 2001.

Nitong nakaraang dekada ay naging saksi tayo sa mga mapanlikhang pagkilos ng mga estudyante’t kabataan. Ginamit ang texting noong People Power, naging tanyag ang ‘Hello Garci’ ringtone noong 2005, at naging daluyan ang cyberspace upang ipalaganap ang kritikal na boses ng kabataan sa iba’t ibang isyung panlipunan.

Napatunayan na natin ang mabisang pagkilos ng kabataan upang baguhin ang kasaysayan. Nananatiling buhay ang aral na ito sa kasalukuyan. Kailangan ang talino, lakas, giting, at kasanayan ng kabataan sa pag-unlad ng komunidad. Kailangan ang aktibong pakikilahok ng kabataan sa pagpapanday ng isang mas maaliwalas na kinabukasan. Upang maisakatuparan ito, mahalagang batid ng kabataan ang kanyang tungkulin bilang isang makabayang mamamayan ng lipunan na may malasakit sa kapwa. Kasama dito ang kanyang dakilang misyon na maging kritiko ng mali sa lipunan at ahente ng tunay na pagbabago.

Ano ang lugar ng Sangguniang Kabataan sa mga usaping ito?

Inaamin natin na itinatag ang SK upang ilayo ang kabataan sa radikalismo. At para sa ilan na kaaway ng reporma, ito pa rin ang kanilang motibo sa pagsusulong ng mga gawain ng SK. Totoong may kontradiksiyon ang paglalagay ng SK bilang ekstensiyon ng pamahalaan. Likas sa kabataan ang maging mapanuri’t mapanghamon sa sistema tulad ng itinuturo ng kasaysayan kung kaya’t tama ang pagtingin na tila isang anomalya na ang kabataan ay nasa loob ng isang konserbatibong burukrasya.

Bukod sa nalilimita ang pananaw ng ilang SK kung ano ang pwedeng maging ambag ng kabataan sa pagbabago sa lipunan, may panganib na sila’y ‘lamunin’ ng sistemang tradisyunal. Sa halip na magpalaganap ng bagong perspektiba sa pulitika, baka sila ang mabiktima ng bulok na pulitika.

Kung may bantang lubhang pahinain ang kritikal na kaisipan at pagkilos ng kabataan, dapat na bang buwagin ang SK?

Nasa panig ang Kabataan Partylist na makakatulong sa SK kung babaguhin ang oryentasyon nito mula sa pagiging pandayan lamang ng mga susunod na pulitiko tungo sa pagsusulong ng mga makabuluhang reporma sa lipunan. Sila ay maaaring magsilbing mata at tainga ng bayan sa mga nagaganap na katiwalian sa lokal at pambansang pamahalaan. Nasa bentahe ng SK kung bibitbitin at ipagpapatuloy nito ang prinsipyadong uri ng paglilingkod sa bayan.

Kasama sila sa panawagan para sa tunay na pagbabago sa sistemang pulitikal sa bansa. Kaisa sila ng mas malawak na kabataang Pilipino na ang hangarin ay isang malinis na pamahalaan, mapayapang komunidad, at maunlad na bayan.

Bawat henerasyon ay may kongkretong ambag sa kasaysayan. Ang hamon sa bagong SK ay maging sandigan ng mamamayan, lalo na ng mahihirap, sa pakikibaka para sa isang bagong Pilipinas.

Sulong SK! Sulong kabataan!

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War, Elections, and Sexuality

By admin | May 15, 2011

War, elections, and teenage sexuality are the top media stories of the first quarter of the year, at least as far as Southeast Asia is concerned.

The border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand has grabbed global attention because of intensified fighting between the two sides’ troops since February. The recent skirmishes have already resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries while also forcing the evacuation of thousands of civilians living near the border.

The stability of the region is at stake if this little war between two formerly friendly neighbours explodes into a full-blown confrontation. It could even ignite numerous other border disputes in the region that remain unsettled to this day. The big loser here, of course, is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which proved to be extremely ineffective in resolving what was supposed to be just a minor border spat.

Perhaps ASEAN leaders failed to see the need to intervene in the Thailand-Cambodia row since their leaders were too focused on winning their respective local elections. Singapore, for instance, will go to the polls this weekend while a state election in Sarawak, Malaysia was held last month. Vietnam’s Communist Party elected its new Central Committee last January, while Laos elected new members of parliament last week. Meanwhile, newly-elected members of Burma’s parliament began work at the start of the year. Thailand’s Prime Minister, on the other hand, has agreed to dissolve his parliament so that elections can take place in July.

Malaysia’s ruling party dominated the Sarawak polls, but its comfortable lead in past elections was substantially reduced and its diminished numbers could hurt its chances in the next national elections.

Singapore’s ruling party, the People’s Action Party (PAP), is also encountering a similar problem as it struggles to retain its dominance in the coming general elections. For the first time since capturing state power in 1959, the PAP isn’t certain of achieving a landslide victory in the polls as it finds itself alienated from the young electorate. Furthermore, opposition parties seem more successful in articulating the problems faced by Singaporeans today.

Wars and elections have clearly loomed large in the past four months in the region, but Southeast Asians were also entertained, distracted, and scandalized by stories of sexuality. For example, in Thailand, the annual Songkran Water Festival was overshadowed by news about three topless teenagers dancing on top of a car in Bangkok. The incident generated an intense debate on what constitutes Thai culture and morality.

In Malaysia, alleged sex videos of opposition personalities were exposed, but it’s been news of a government boot camp for suspected gay youth that’s really bothered many people. The boot camp was readied in the state of Terengganu for 66 male secondary students who supposedly showed ‘some feminine characteristics,’ in order ‘to correct their behaviour.’ Many were shocked with this proposed treatment, but were in the end relieved to learn from authorities that the camp isn’t intended just for effeminate youths.

In the Philippines, a popular TV host was accused of child abuse when a child contestant in a variety programme was forced to perform a sexy dance number. The show was eventually suspended as local TV networks reviewed their rules and standards governing child performers.

Let’s hope that the rest of the year will prove more positive for everyone in this region.

Written for The Diplomat

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Malaysia: Najib’s email gift

By admin | May 8, 2011

All Malaysians aged 18 and above will receive a 1Malaysia email account. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Najib Razak last week, when he stated he wanted ‘direct and secure communication between citizens and the government.’

The concept of a ‘Malaysian’ email was actually first floated last June, when the government unveiled its seven-point Economic Transformation Programme. Through their 1Malaysia email, citizens can access government e-services with a single sign-on user ID. Government notices over things such as income tax assessments, driving license renewals and rent reminders, as well as Employee Provident Fund statements and notices of summons, will be sent by email.

The government has already tapped Tricubes Berhad, a Malaysian IT company, to develop the software and hardware components of the email project. Tricubes, for its part, recently disclosed that it will collaborate with Microsoft in designing the software technology and other computing infrastructure needed by the project.

The project is expected to cost around RM50 million ($16 million). Tricubes said that it had already secured initial financing through a combination of internally generated funds and borrowings. While the email service is free, Tricubes hopes to generate revenues from value-added services such as bill and notice delivery, job boards, online registration to government agencies that currently use e-forms, advertising, and an online marketplace.

Malaysian netizens who oppose the project questioned the financial viability of Tricubes, which was reportedly almost delisted from the Bursa Malaysia stock market for its weak finances. They also find the price tag of the project prohibitive considering that free email services are already available on the internet.

If 1Malaysia had been conceived and implemented more than a decade ago, it would have been warmly received by the online public and it would definitely have improved how the government interacts with its citizens. But with the rise of free email services offering unlimited and secure storage of data over the past decade, who would need a 1Malaysia email today?

Privacy concerns were also raised since each email account contains personal details of the citizen. Many doubt if Tricubes can provide a secure communication platform that citizens can use to communicate with the government. They also doubt if the state can resist the temptation of monitoring the email conversations of its citizens.

Since subscription to 1Malaysia email is voluntary, there should be some incentives and add-on services that would inspire netizens to use the email. The idea of assigning a single user ID to each citizen in order to access all government e-services seems promising, but unfortunately, this isn’t part of the free services package to be offered by Tricubes.

The opposition to the 1Malaysia email initiative unsettled Najib so much that he was forced to send a Tweet assuring his constituents that no public money would be spent on the project. The government and Tricubes have until July to iron out any problems, with the service set to be rolled out then.

written for The Diplomat

Singapore: PAP Manifesto Falls Short?

Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) issued a manifesto containing its election agenda on April 17 but it seems many voters—at least in cyberspace—aren’t impressed with it.

Released less than three weeks before the upcoming general elections on May 7, the manifesto mentions the PAP’s vision of a ‘vibrant and inclusive society with opportunities for a better life for each and every citizen’ in Singapore.

To achieve this vision, the PAP vowed to do the following: 1) Create opportunities for higher incomes for all; 2) Improve the lives of lower-income Singaporeans; 3) Bring out the best in every child; 4) Develop a vibrant city and an endearing home; 5) Help seniors stay active, healthy and engaged; and 6) Involve all Singaporeans in shaping the future.

Who would argue with this beautiful vision guaranteeing the right of young and old citizens to share in the progress of Singapore?

Singaporeans who’ve criticized the manifesto have complained that it doesn’t include new solutions or ideas. They’ve said that the proposed programs have been tried before but didn’t make any difference at all in improving the quality of life in Singapore. They reminded PAP leaders that while government ministers are receiving some of the highest salaries in the world, income inequality in Singapore has increased. They cited as well the rising cost of schooling, health care and housing as among the bad legacies of the PAP.

PAP is the current ruling party in Singapore, and has been in power for more than five decades already.

Furthermore, critics noted that the publication of the party’s manifesto was late, since the opposition Workers’ Party (WP) had already discussed and distributed its election agenda a week earlier. Some election observers who compared the programs of the PAP and WP picked the opposition agenda as more appealing and substantive. In fact, the PAP document consists of only 25 pages while the WP manifesto is composed of 63 pages with detailed recommendations in 15 different policy areas.

Some voters also slammed the PAP manifesto for being too vague. Nigel Tan, the chief editor of The Satay Club, an online political portal, is disappointed that the manifesto contains only a ‘series of vague promises with neither details of specific policies nor information on how the various stated aims were going to be implemented.’

Through the manifesto, the PAP hoped to convince more voters, in particular first-time voters, to choose its brand of leadership. But in fact, that it was forced to release a manifesto in reaction to the opposition platform may be indicative of its desperation to reverse its declining popularity and reach out to alienated segments of the population.

So did the manifesto improve the PAP’s electoral chances? If online reactions are the gauge, then it seems the party still has some serious work to do in the next few days if it wants to secure another landslide victory in the coming polls.

written for The Diplomat

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Power dynamics in the Philippine Islands

By admin | May 3, 2011

The current supremo in the Philippine Islands is President Noynoy Aquino who prefers to be called Pnoy. Despite the complaint of some individuals, both credible and discredited, about the perceived vacuum of leadership in the new administration, Pnoy is still considered the overall kingpin in this “sand-and-coconut-tree country.”

Behind Pnoy are gruesome, backbiting factions which are constantly striving for dominance in the Malacanang snake-pit. The Balay and Samar groups are the two infamous factions but they also have to deal with the mafia in the Taliban Liberal Party composed of self-righteous traditional politicians, unremoulded arrogant members of (un)civil society, racketeering social democrats and phony progressives. But the Times Street inner circle dominated by the Kamag-anak Inc., Classmates Inc., and the three sisters seems to be more influential than the other power factions.

Pnoy’s mandate remains effective as long as there are sizeable adherents of the legal fiction of democracy and sovereign will of the people. In other words, Pnoy’s rule is legitimized by propagating the idea that representative democracy is the only acceptable and feasible system of determining the country’s political leadership.

But we are aware of the inherent flaws of this system. Georges Sorel wrote that “Government by the mass of the citizens has never yet been anything but a fiction: yet this fiction was the last word of democratic science. No attempt has ever been made to justify this singular paradox by which the vote of a chaotic majority is supposed to produce what Rousseau calls the ‘general will’ which is infallible.”

Proudhon was even more critical of universal suffrage: “How could universal suffrage reveal the thought, the real thought, of the people, when the people is divided by inequality of fortunes into classes subordinate one to the other and voting either through servility or through hate; when this same people, held in restraint by authority, is incapable notwithstanding its sovereignty of expressing its ideas on anything; and when the exercise of its rights is limited to choosing, every three or four years, its chiefs and its impostors?”

A tiny clique of powerful and rich individuals is able to legalize its oppressive rule by manipulating the ballots. Then it hides the imperfections of the system to make the people believe in a sham democracy. It finally proclaims itself as the undisputed leader and representative of the sovereign people.

But the tiny clique is aware of the unstable and weak basis of its power which is why it’s always ruthless against the restive classes, dissident groups, and political forces which represent the ordinary masses.

It must be emphasized that the victorious tiny clique does not enjoy a complete hegemony since there are always contending forces which threaten or undermine its dominance. Concretely, Pnoy is the president of the Republic but his absolute reign does not reach the whole archipelago. For example, there may be 7,107 islands that compose the Philippines but many of the islands are already privately owned. In Marinduque, three small islands there are owned by a politician. Turtle Island in Tawi-Tawi was already sold to the governor. Obviously, Pnoy is not the effective ruler of these private islands and other remote territories which are still part of the Philippine state.

Like his predecessors, Pnoy is merely a figurehead who extends his clout through media magic and brutal display of violence by the armed forces.

So if the successful tiny clique currently headed by Pnoy does not have a monopoly of power, who or what are the other power blocs in the country?

Topping the list is Uncle Sam. The Philippine state which evolved in the past century is a subservient state of US imperialism which makes the latter the major, if not the strongest and also the most vicious power holder in the country. The Philippines is actually a remote satellite of the US empire while Pnoy is America’s ‘son of a bitch’ in this part of the world.

It’s an open secret that Filipino politicians who covet the presidency must first seek the support of the US if they want to prevail at the polls. No important foreign policy decision is made without consulting the US masters. Promoting American geopolitical objectives is equated with pursuing the national interest. US intervention in our domestic affairs is so widespread, extensive, and sophisticated – think of Balikatan, Meiring, Subic-Clark, Agile, USAID, Peace Corps, CIA, World Bank, and dancing ambassadors.

Business tycoons wield considerable power too. They use their wealth and prestige to corrupt the bureaucracy. They buy politicians, bribe local officials, hire soldiers, and steal money from the poor to advance their business interests. Protecting their profit margin is considered a government mandate since it is said to be good for the economy even if it leads to the destruction of the environment, violation of labor rights, and displacement of villages. Laws can be either enacted or revoked to accommodate the needs of Big Business.

They are even exempted from the obligation to respect and abide to Philippine laws and traditions; and they receive generous tax discounts (think of export processing enclaves, outsourcing hubs, agribusiness plantations). They subscribe to the mantra that everything and everyone has a price tag; and this greedy, unchristian accumulation of material wealth is praised in the ‘porno-financial’ reports of the media. They are fondly referred to as CEO philanthropists, visionaries, and global leaders but the truth is, many of them are just big time crooks, tax evaders, cronies, and dummies. Of course there is only one Big Boss in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, there are various ‘dark lords’ and other shady characters which are lording it over in the islands – they are the landlords, warlords, jueteng lords, gambling lords, drug lords, and ‘praise the lords.’ All of these underworld creatures have political clout in their respective territories. They enforce their own laws in their feudal kingdoms. They only recognize the authority of the central government when they seek some favors from it.

Pnoy’s family is the super landlord of Luzon but the other smaller islands are also infested with equally notorious landlords. Land ownership is the source of their brutal power in the countryside which explains their stubborn resistance to land reform programs.

The biggest landlord in a town is often the reigning warlord. The warlord has a private army which, in some places, is bigger and better equipped than the local military force. The warlord belongs to a clan which fields candidates in elections. The Ampatuans are the most hated warlords today but the clans which opposed their despotic rule are also warlords.

It’s only the state which has the legal right to build its own army but the existence of private armies created and maintained by local politicians across the country is a direct affront to the supposed absolute authority of Imperial Manila.

The private army of a politician in power is usually augmented by deploying the local police and military under his personal command. This expanded army guarantees the continued reign of the politician patron by terrorizing the local opposition and disobedient residents.

Goons-for-hire also proliferate to protect the operations of drug and gun smugglers, human traffickers, and pirates. They belong to the network of international criminal syndicates which exploit the weak governance in the Philippines to expand their underground modus operandi.

The country’s long coastline (second longest in the world) is ideal for these criminal activities. It is in the coastal areas where Philippine sovereignty is often violated by visiting nuclear warships, foreign fishing vessels, toxic waste delivery ships, pirate boats, and kidnap-for-ransom groups.

Criminal gangs use their dirty money to silence the media, distract the police and buy political support. Drug lords and jueteng lords, for instance, are among the biggest financiers during elections. No less than former President Joseph Estrada was ousted from power after he was accused of receiving jueteng protection money.

But the most serious challenge to the leadership of the puppet president of the Republic comes from rebel groups and revolutionary movements. Naïve political commenters and other apologists of the status quo often criticize rebel groups as nuisance elements but they fail to recognize the success of these groups in establishing a separate government within the territory of the Philippine state.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has several camps which operate as mini government centers delivering frontline services to its constituents. Estrada’s total war campaign in 2000 was able to destroy Camp Abubakar but it proved that the MILF was already exercising jurisdiction in many parts of the Moro land.

Red power also exists in many areas in the countryside, as reported by the Communist Party. The Reds further claimed that they have already achieved belligerency status by waging a protracted people’s war for several decades. The military, of course, disproved the claim but was forced to admit that Red Fighters are indeed present in many provinces of the country. It is safe to assume, however, that the communist insurgency was able to thrive for more than four decades because of its ability to control, dominate or influence several towns and municipalities in the Philippine countryside.

It is impossible for Pnoy to dominate the whole archipelago. Foreign powers are always meddling, power factions are ‘draining the executive power’, warlords remain untouchables, criminal gangs are getting bolder, and rebels continue to present an alternative political order.

Pnoy may be an owner of a second hand Porsche, the VIP occupant of Malacanang, the owner of a house in Times Street, a minority shareholder in Hacienda Luisita, and he may even flaunt his title as president of the Republic and most illustrious bachelor of high society; but it doesn’t mean he has a monopoly of political power in the archipelago. His presidency is undermined from the very start because of the semi-feudal and semi-colonial character of the Philippine state; and it is further diminished by his weak leadership and lack of vision. An emperor sits on the throne, but the emperor is naked.

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