Return of Balangiga Bell, malabo pa rin

Sa araw na ito, habang nakikipag-landian si Ate Glo sa mga maimpluwensyang Amerikano sa New York, USA, kasa-kasama ang kanyang kaklase sa Georgetown University na si President Clinton sa isang pagtitipong Clinton Global Initiatives, walang kaalam-alam ito na dito sa Pilipinas ginugunita ang 106th anniversary ng Balangiga Encounter, isang ala-alang mapait, mapang-api at madugong karanasan ng Pilipinas sa kamay ng Estados Unidos, lalong-lalo na ang mga ninakaw na mga Kampana sa simbahan ng Balangiga. (photo: Pres Arroyo watches former US President Bill Clinton speak during the third annual Clinton Global Initiative at the Sheraton Hotel in New York city. - Photo By AP / http://www.philstar.com/)
Sa araw na ito naganap ang isang makasaysayan at kauna-unahang matagumpay na enkwentro ng pakikidigmang guerilla ng mga Pilipino laban sa mananakop at sopistikadong armas pandigma ng mga mananakop na Amerikano. Ang nasabing inkwentro ay sa pagitan ng 9th US Infantry Regimen at ang revolutionary command officer na si Brig. General Vicente Lucban, itinalagang political at military Governor ni President Aguinaldo sa probinsya ng Samar.

May 48 na sundalong Amerikano ang napatay, 22 ang sugatan at ilang daang rebolusyunaryong mandirigmang Pilipino ang nagbuwis ng buhay sa labanan. Naganap ang makasaysayang inkwentro noong Setyembre 28, 1901 sa bayan ng Balangiga, Samar. (photo: http://www.bakbakan.com/images/slukban.gif)

Kaya lang, nakakalungkot isipin na ni-isa mang mataas na opisyal ng gubyerno ay tila nakalimot na sa nakaraan, wala mang nakaalala (government agencies), nagkaroon man lang ng isang parandam na aktibidad, naibroadcast man lang, kahit paano'y nai-lobby man lang at nai-follow-up man lang ni Ate Glo sa kaeskwelang si Presidentent Clinton o sa US Congress man lang sa kung paano makakatulong ito para maisayli ang tatlong Kampana ng Balangiga.

Sa katanungang marerecover pa ba ng Pilipinas ang tatlong mga ninakaw na KAMPANA sa Balangiga? Sa klase at katangiang BURIKAK ng mga umuukupa sa Malakanyang, umasa ka pa, malabo!

Sa totoo lang, kung usapin ng inspirasyon ng mga Pilipino sa kasaysayan, ito na ang tamang panahon, ang dapat ginugunita at pinaprioridad ng gubyerno, ang pagpapalaganap ng kagitingan at kabayanihan ng mga Pilipino at hindi ang karaniwang mga talunang labanan kontra dayuhan (Fall of Bataan, Fall of Tirad Pass at iba pa). Ang insidente ng Balangiga ay tanda lamang na likas na rebolusyunaryo ang ating mga ninuno, isa rin itong ambag sa estratehiya at taktika ng pakikidigma para sa kalayaan at soberanya ng mga Pilipino sa mundo, partikular na katangiang rebolusyunaryo ng mga Waray-Waray. "Dahil sa kaganapan ng Balangiga (pagsasauli ng 3 Kampana), ipinapalagay ng ilang mga makabayang Pilipino na ang digmaang sa pagitan ng Estados Unidos at Pilipinas ay sa totoo lang ay hindi pa ganap na natatapos." (photo: General Jake "Howling" Smith and his staff inspecting the ruins of Balangiga in October 1901, a few weeks after the retaliation by Captain Bookmiller and his troops.http://www.bibingka.com/phg/balangiga/default.htm)

Dahil sa tindi ng pagkatalo’t kahihiyan, ipinag-utus ni Gen. Jacob Smith na linisin ang probinsya ng Samar (sunugin ang Samar) sa mga "insurektos, terorista at sa mga bandido." Bilang ganting salakay, halos pinulbos ng mga sundalong Amerikano ang "bainte porsiento (20%) ng populasyon" ng Balangiga, karatig bayan at buong isla ng Samar. Bata, matanda at babae ang minasaker, ni-rape at sinusog, ginawang abo ang mga ari-arian ng ating mga kababayan at ang pinakamasaklap, bilang “war booty o trophy,” ninakaw ng mga tropang Amerikano ang tatlong Kampana at ilang cultural artifacts ng simbahan ng Balangiga.

Ang tatlong Kampana na may markings na 1853, 1889 at 1896 emblems ay pag-aari ng Franciscan Order. Ninakaw din ng mga Amerikano ang English made na cannon na may emblems na 1557. (photo:http://www.philnews.com/2005/da.html)

Hindi nalalayo sa kaso’t kinahinatnan ng Iraq at Vietnam ang ginawang kalupitan, pagnanakaw ng US sa Pilipinas.
(photo: A late 19th century photograph of Filipino rebels, known as the Katipuneros. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/...)
Bahagi lamang ng isang malawakang pakikibaka, ng national liberation movement ng mga Pilipino laban sa mananakop at kalupitan ng Imperyalistang Estados Unidos ang insidente ng Balangiga. Ayon kay Prof. Roland Simbulan, the “U.S. government must officially apologize for atrocities in Philippine- American War.”

Kung may buto sa gulugud ang ating mga namumuno, maaring suportahan nito ang inisyatiba o pagkakaroon ng class suit (tulad ng milyong European JEWs na pinatay ng bansang Germany) laban sa bansang Amerika at pagbayaran ito ang DAMYOS pinsala sa mga Pilipino.

May mahigit 300,000 civilian mga Pilipino ang walang awang pinagpapatay ng mga tropang Amerikano sa kampanyang anti-insureksyon at terorismo laban sa bagong katatag na Republika ng Pilipinas. Ginamit ang mga sopistikado, hindi makatao at barbarong paraang mga torture (water cure) at interrogation, gayun din ang pamamaraang “search and destroy operation,” hamletting at brutal na reconcentration (taktikang militar na ginamit sa kampanyang paglipol sa American Indians) laban sa mga kababayang nating mga Pilipino.

Ang lahat ng mga pangyayari at kaganapan ng panloloob ng mga Amerika sa Pilipinas ay pawang nasa mga American libraries, dokumentado, at nasa mga History Books at ang malungkot, imbis na taguriang mga rebolusyunaryo at kabayanihan ng mga Pilipino, binansagang mga insurekstos at terorista ang mga ito. Lumalabas sa kasaysayan na ang ginamit na “Philippine Insureksyon” ng mga Amerikano ay malinaw na isang PAG-AALSA, isang makatwiran pakikibaka laban sa mga MANANAKOP na Amerikano, laban sa panloloob at pwersahang pag-ookupa ng isang makapangyarihang bansa sa isang bago at soberanyang bansa Pilipinas.

Ilan sa mga dokumento na maaring makatulong sa kung paano ilarawan ang panloloob at pananakop na tinaguriang “unang Vietnam” ng bansang tinatawag na nagpapalaganap raw ng “demokrasya sa Asia,” ang Imperyalistang Amerika. (wikang english nga lang)

Deaths and Atrocities
(photo:upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/...)
There are atrocities in any war. However, in the Philippine- American War, brutality reached a level unprecedented in American history. Americans fighting in the Philippines treated their enemy with none of the civility that generally characterized wars against European opponents. They viewed the Filipinos as savages. Most of the high command had spent their careers fighting “injuns” on the American frontier, and quickly adopted even harsher methods in the islands. As one Kansas veteran claimed, "the country won't be pacified until the niggers are killed off like the Indians." “Nigger” and “gugu” were common racial slurs applied to the Filipinos. As the war intensified, killing the wounded, mutilating the dead, torture, and execution spread through the islands.
(photo: Brigadier General Jacob Smith with Major General Adna Chaffee, Tacloban, Leyte, 1902 / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_H._Smith)
I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me...Kill everyone over the age of ten, and make the island "a howling wilderness." --General Jacob Smith, Samar Campaign

Military Deaths

"I never saw such execution in my life, and hope never to see such sights as met me on all sides as our little corps passed over the field, dressing wounded. Legs and arms nearly demolished; total decapitation; horrible wounds in chests and abdomens, showing the determination of our soldiers to kill every native in sight. The Filipinos did stand their ground heroically, contesting every inch, but proved themselves unable to stand the deadly fire of our well-trained and eager boys in blue. I counted seventy-nine dead natives in one small field, and learn that on the other side of the river their bodies were stacked up for breastworks."
--F. A. Blake, of California, in charge of the Red Cross

Filipino soldiers were not the only ones to bear the brunt of American brutality. Approximately 300,000 Filipino civilians were also killed in the conflict; estimates range as high as several million. Many died from starvation and disease caused by the war, but in many cases American soldiers were more directly responsible. Rape, looting, and murder often followed the capture of towns.

"The soldiers made short work of the whole thing. They looted every house, and found almost everything, from a pair of wooden shoes up to a piano, and they carried everything off or destroyed it. Talk of the natives plundering the towns: I don't think they are in it with the Fiftieth Iowa." --Guy Williams of the Iowa Regiment

Filipino villages were usually the only available targets for frustrated American troops, and burning villages was commonplace, both as reprisal for attacks and to deprive guerrillas of supplies and shelter. American ingenuity was responsible for the creation of a new weapon for this purpose--a steam fire-fighting engine converted to spray highly flammable petroleum on the villages. When Americans fell into an ambush, nearby barrios were ordered burned. If an American was found murdered in one of the towns, that town was burned.

"When you can realize four hundred or five hundred persons living within the confines of five or six blocks, and then an order calling out all of the women and children, and then setting fire to houses and shooting down any niggers attempting to escape from the flames, you have an idea of Filipino warfare." --Sergeant Will A. Rule, Co. H, Colorado Volunteers

Especially in the later stages of the war, civilians were often massacred regardless of sex or age. Suspected Filipinos were often executed without trial or evidence--Funston once bragged to reporters that he had personally hanged 35 civilians presumed to be insurrectos. In the early stages of the war commanders tried to prevent this, but as the conflict dragged on and the Filipinos were viewed with increasing hatred, such acts became increasingly common. When General Adna Chaffee took command in July of 1901, he deemed such total warfare necessary. The “kill and burn” policy on the island of Samar was responsible for countless civilian deaths. In summer of 1901, junior officers’ reprisal acts enraged the “pacified” islands of Bohol, Cebu, and Marinduque and spurred them to new rebellion. The United States had seen war before, but it was this kind of cruelty that set the Philippines conflict apart. A nation based on the concepts of democracy and freedom soon fell into the same category with the Spanish in Cuba and the British in South Africa.
"I am not afraid, and am always ready to do my duty, but I would like some one to tell me what we are fighting for."
--Arthur H. Vickers, Sergeant in the First Nebraska Regiment
Prisoners

"Company I had taken a few prisoners, and stopped. The colonel ordered them up in to line time after time, and finally sent Captain Bishop back to start them. There occurred the hardest sight I ever saw. They had four prisoners, and didn't know what to do with them. They asked Captain Bishop what to do, and he said: 'You know the orders,' and four natives fell dead." --Charles Bremer, of Minneapolis, Kansas, describing the fight at Caloocan

When the war began and both sides were still fighting a conventional war, treatment of prisoners was fairly humane. However, as the war wore on and changed in character, Americans adopted crueler methods. Filipino prisoners became rarer and rarer. Filipinos who tried to surrender were often gunned down, just as if they had continued to fight.

"I don't know how many men, women, and children the Tennessee boys did kill. They would not take any prisoners. One company of the Tennessee boys was sent to headquarters with thirty prisoners, and got there with about a hundred chickens and no prisoners."
--Leonard F. Adams, of Ozark, in the Washington Regiment

Those captured were often no more fortunate. Prisoner of war status was often withheld from Filipinos because of General Order 100. This order was created during the Civil War and allowed for the execution of enemies employing guerrilla tactics, such as dressing as civilians and returning home between battles. Those who were taken lived in constant danger of execution; either on a whim, or as retaliation for an attack on Americans. One example was the execution of 24 Filipino P.O.W.’s by Colonel Funston, after American Lieutenant Kohler was led into a Filipino trap and hacked to death by bolomen.

In contrast, Filipinos kept American prisoners in relative comfort. They were fed well and often offered commissions into the Filipino army; three accepted. In 1899, Aguinaldo invited four independent journalists to inspect the prisoner’s accommodations. They found that the captives were “treated more like guests that prisoners." Aguinaldo released some prisoners in order to spread the word of their kind treatment under the Filipinos. After Aguinaldo was captured, the Filipinos rarely took prisoners; mostly because they never had the opportunity. However, Filipino treatment of prisoners became much harsher in the later stages of the war, especially in Batangas. Filipino General Malvar had to issue a proclamation providing for swift punishment of any Batangueño soldiers violating laws of warfare, in response to Filipinos shooting surrendering Americans and mistreating prisoners.
"We bombarded a place called Malabon, and then we went in and killed every native we met, men, women, and children. It was a dreadful sight the killing of those poor creatures. The natives captured some of the Americans and literally hacked them to pieces, so we got orders to spare no one."
--Anthony Michea, of the Third Artillery

Torture: Water Cure
"When I give a man to Sergeant Edwards, I want information. I do not know how he gets it; but he gets it anyway" --Lieutenant Arnold of the Fourth Cavalry
(Photo: Water torture in use in the Philipine-American War and Vietnam War / www.geocities.com/.../NewPhotos/WaterTorture.jpg)

The water cure was the favored method for extracting information from Filipino prisoners. The Filipino was held down and a funnel used to force water into their mouth. The prisoner was made to swallow water until their stomach was distended and near bursting. Then the Americans would pump the water back out. If the prisoner still wouldn’t talk, the process was repeated, sometimes as many as a dozen times. In a crueler version of the water cure, Americans simply poured water continuously over the prisoner's head. The prisoner couldn’t breath without inhaling water, and they would slowly drown as their lungs filled up. The water torture rarely failed; even the most patriotic Filipino couldn’t hold out for long. While most American commanders denied that the "so called water cure" was ever used, reports of it from Filipino prisoners and mentions in soldiers' letters and journals make it seem certain.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/9782/atrocities.htm

Doy Cinco / IPD
September 28, 2007

Senator “Brenda” Santiago, sinumpong muli

Ayaw na natin patulan ang ganitong klaseng level na diskurso, kaya lang iniisip ding baka may kakaunting katwiran ang senadora, "ang pinakamatalino raw, ang may bode-bodegang diploma," ang english carabao at "positive na may sayad" sa senado. Ang puntong panlalait sa China na binawi rin kaagad (flip plof) at ang kawalang katuturan raw at pagsasayang lamang ng panahon ng Senado sa ZTE broadband scam. (photo: aboutmyrecovery.com/.../2006/12/images.jp)
Korek at kabisadong-kabisado ni Brenda ang isyu kaya't ng sabihin nitong “resulta lamang ng double cross syndrome” o normal lamang na away ito ng sistema, meaning parang agawan ng mga buwitre sa isang tipak na karne ng baboy, meaning kickback sa pagitan ng mga paksyon ng Malakanyang, ng mga tiwaling pamunuan ng gubyerno't kasama ang pamilyang Arroyo, parang bumilib na rin ako kay Brenda.

Ang kulang sa sinabi ni Brenda ay siya mismo't mga kachokaran, mga kauri n'ya rin ang salarin, ang elitistang klase ng pulitika, ang oligarkiya, ang factionalismo, ang sistemang padrino, casique't oligarkiya at sa kabuuan, ang kabulukan ng sistema ng pulitikang umiiral sa bansa, na siyang ugat na pinanggagalingan ng malawakang RENT SEEKING (transaksyong kurakot o laway lang ang puhunan at pangungupit sa kaban ng bayan) at katiwalian sa gubyerno.

Ito'y parang canal na pinagbubuhatan ng lamok, na habang nariyan ang pusali ay mananatili ang lamok o ang KABULUKAN NG SISTEMA ng pulitika, mananatili ang kabulukan at pangungurakot sa gubyerno. Ito ang mga kadahilanan kung bakit “walang buto sa gulugud o very WEAK ang STATE.” (photo: dusteye.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/photo-cor...)
Ang hindi sinasabi ng senadorang si Brenda ay sadyang na- institusyalisa na ang pangungulimbat sa loob ng burukrasya. Parang napaka-IMPUSIBLENG hindi ka maputikan o maulingan sa isang sitemang balon ng kababuyan at katiwalian. "Take it or leave it" ika nga. Kung ika'y "kontra agos, isang matino, malinis at straight sa trabaho, ikaw pa ang palalabasing masama, demonyo, kontrabida't walang pakisama sa nakararami." Ang katawa-tawa, "everybody happy at huwag pahuhuli ang cardinal rule." Kung 'di ka ayon sa kalakaran, ikaw ang lalabas na tanga at gago.

Ang malungkot, tulad ng maraming Brenda na pulitiko, "hinahangaan, ibinoboto, ginagawang ninong at ninang sa binyag at kasalan, iniimbitahang magsalita sa graduation rites ng mga paaralan at resource person sa mga pagtitipon at mga parangal. Ang mga pulitikong ito ay kadalasa'y aktibo sa mga civic action at kawanggawa, pinakamalaking magbigay ng donasyon sa simbahan, abuloy sa patay, at higit sa lahat, tinutularan at ginagawang modelo."

Sa huling tala ng Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) sa 180 bansang kasama sa survey, mula sa 121st, bumagsak ang ranking ng Pilipinas sa 131st sa kasalukuyang taon. Lahat ng mga bansang nataguriang "WEAK ESTADO, walang matatag na partido politikal, talamak ang casique't oligarkiya ay mga nasa bandang puwitan ng ranking. Hindi nalalayo ang ranking ng Pilipinas sa bansang Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Iraq at Sudan kung saan matatagpuan ang Darfur."
(Photo: World map of the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, which measures "the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians". High numbers (blue) indicate relatively less corruption, whereas lower numbers (red) indicate relatively more corruption / upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/87/...)

Lubhang napakahalaga ang senate investigation sa ZTE broadband scam, sapagkat sa tagal na panahon talamak itong nangyayari sa gubyerno, panahon na ring kahit paano't maawat ito ng kahit kaunti ng Senado, ang nalalabing matatag na institusyon ng bansa. Kaya lang, posibleng mauwi nga sa wala at magsayang lamang ng panahon ang isinasagawang hearing ng senado kung mananahimik ang mamamayan. Ang ikinababahala, habang lumalaon, tila hanggang kay Abalos na lamang ang punu't dulo ng iskandalo. Unti-unting lumiliwanag na nagkakaroon na ng gapangan, nagtatakipan at nagsasabwatang ang marami, sa panig ng mga tauhan ng Malakanyang at ilan sa mga senador na i-damage control, proteksyunan ang pangulo at kanyang pamilya at all cost.

Ang pinaggigitgitang “in aid of legislation” ay malamang na mauwi sa walang katuturan at ang pinakamalungkot at malapit sa katotohanang “in aid of political visibility para sa 2010 presidential election ang kalabasan.” Ang tanong ng marami, may maipapakulong na kayang “big fish na malapit sa Malakanyang” ang inbistigasyon ?

Kaya lang, sa ipinakitang asal at ikinilos ni Brenda, hindi lang astang RACIST at sobrang hangin, masyadong napaghahalatang tutang-tuta siya ng Malakanyang at kung pupwede lamang halikan ang tumbong ni Ate Glo, gagawin nito maisalba lamang ang pangulo. Tulad ng maraming sirkero, balimbing at oportunistang pulitiko, kung ating babalikan ang kasaysayan, mula kay Tita Cory hanggang kay Pres Erap Estrada, humalik sa tumbong si Brenda.

Sadyang nang-agaw na lamang eksena si Brenda ng ipagwagwagan nito ang China na isang bansang may matagal ng sibilisasyon sa silangan at nag-imbento ng kurakot. Nang matunugan nitong hopeless ng maisasalba si Abalos, imbis na si Abalos ang pag-usapan, dinavert ni Brenda sa China ang isyu't usapin. Bagamat ito'y kumambyo at nagsorry, kulang-kulang din ang laman at sustansya ang birada nito sa China.

Bagamat tamang sabihing sakim at TUSO ang bansang China, sana man lang itinaas nito ang ante laban sa mga "Intsik," muling nanawagang "iboykot ang produkto ng China, iboykot ang kumpanya ng China, sawatain ang pagbaha ng smuggled na gulay, damit, sapatos, appliances at DVD mula sa China at iboykot ang Beijing Olympic" dahil sa paglabag sa karapatang pantao, ang pagsuporta't pagtulong nito sa mga bansang awtokratiko't diktador at ang talamak na polusyon sa kalunsuran. (photo: http://www.ibgintl.com/image/delegates.gif)

Sa totoo lang, hindi lamang China ang gumagawa at nagpauso ng pangungurakot at panunuhol sa mundo, maging ang mga malalaking kumpanyang multinasyunal at TransNational Corporations/companies (TNC) sa Amerika at Europa ay ganun din at mas matindi pa kaysa China. Sapagkat hindi lamang nanunuhol at nang-uuto ang MNCs at TNCs, nananabotahe, pinapahina ang mga estado at higit sa lahat pumapatay pa ng sangkatauhan.

Para sa kaalaman ni Brenda, likas na sa isang bansang KAPITALISTA ang panunuhol at pambabraso. Lahat ng paraan ay gagawin (sakupin at okupahan ang Iraq at Afghanistan dahil sa langis) tumubo't kumita lamang ng limpak-limpak na salapi ang mga dambuhalang KUMPANYA.

Doy Cinco / IPD
September 27, 2007

Pardoning Erap, Neglecting EDSA 2

By: Gladstone A. Cuarteros
Political Reform team / IPD
September 27, 2007

In September 12, 2007 the Sandiganbayan convicted former President Joseph 'Erap' Ejercito Estrada of plunder and sentenced him to forty years imprisonment and ordered the forfeiture in favor of the government the almost one billion pesos worth of bank deposits and assets. The verdict is the culmination of more than six years of court proceedings that started after Estrada was ousted as a result of the EDSA People Power II in January 2001. (photo: Jailed former Philippine president ... www.taipeitimes.com
Estrada was formally charged with four violations of plunder but it was in two offenses that evidence showed his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Specifically he was convicted of plunder for taking P189.7 million in commissions from the purchase of Belle Corp. shares by the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System, and P545 million in payoffs from jueteng lords. He was cleared though of diverting tobacco excise taxes for personal use and maintaining a bank account under a false name - Jose Velarde. Another case of perjury for allegedly misdeclaring his Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL) was dismissed.
(photo:members.aol.com/ernestojlaput/edsa2.jpg)
Yet after the verdict was read and Estrada was flown back to his Tanay resthouse the atmosphere lacked the jubilation that usually comes with big victories. It is without the celebrations, fun fare and most of all sense of fulfillment displayed at EDSA 2. Key personalities of EDSA 2 have either became less interested with the outcome of these cases or have expressed tacit support and sympathy to Estrada. And on the part of the beneficiary of EDSA 2 – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo herself she was more concern on potential political backlash of the guilty verdict. Just two weeks into the decision of the Sandiganbayan, she is now seriously considering giving Estrada an absolute pardon. An offer that will exonerate Estrada of any accountability and will allow him to keep his supposedly forfeited bank accounts and assets.

I beg to disagree with some journalist who contend that the question of pardon rest solely with GMA and Estrada. That it is their prerogative, whether GMA offers either a conditional or absolute pardon and whether Erap will accept the offer in return. Such position will inappropriately reduce the plunder charges as personal fight between the two presidents. And what does it imply? That in 2001 GMA and her allies then, many of whom have already deserted her, have conspired to oust Erap and grab power for themselves? If that is so, then Erap is justified in claiming that the Special Division of the Sandiganbayan that tried his cases was created only to convict him.

Secondly leaving to GMA and Estrada the question of giving pardon to the latter in effect removes completely the people from the picture. As if the multitudes who trooped to EDSA spending days and nights on the streets did not happen. How about them who have made political judgement on Estrada at that time?

It is just unfortunate that the morals and ethics in governance have deteriorated after EDSA 2 . Two important principles emphasized the people power. To the dismay of the large section of EDSA 2 forces, GMA did not live up to the ideals they fought for in January 2001. As a consequences her supporters from the middle class and professionals felt betrayed. That instead of lessening graft and corruption in government what transpired was a series of corruption scandals, turning the present administration to be more corrupt than the one it replaced. Among the most phenomenally notorious corruption cases are the Macapagal Boulevard, NAIA Terminal 3, Jose Pidal, North Rail Project, Hello Garci and now the ZTE-NBN contract. It comes no surprise that Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos and his friend First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is now at the center of the ZTE-NBN scandal. At a time when Abalos should have been busy working for a clean, honest and credible May 2007 elections being the head of Comelec, he even had time brokering the ZTE-NBN contract.

With seeming impunity and brazen abuses of the administration the national significance of Erap conviction have been lessened. The people are becoming insensitive to daily news of corruptionas it became too rampant for them to fathom. 'What is new' is the common reply. They rather focused themselves in their own more important struggle for daily survival. As GMA continues more people believe that she and her husband Mike Arroyo are involved in corrupt practices. Even worse compared to Estrada. Figures from two recent of SWS surveys conducted just before the promulgation by the Sandiganbayan is n evidence to this. First, in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces, 72% of those surveyed agree to the statement that 'under the current administration corruption increased'. Those who believe GMA and Mike Arroy are involved in corruption is a whopping 77% and 71% respectively, while only 31% believe Estrada was involved in corruption. The second survey was released on the day of the promulgation where a majority of the people nationwide expected an acquittal of Estrada. This sentiment is strongest in Mindanao (63%), balance Luzon (57%) and Metro Manila (56%). Why have we come into this? It is a question that GMA and her allies should answer more than anyone else.

Indeed much have changed since Estrada left Malacanang in 2001. Politicians and groups who played key roles in EDSA 2 have already either distanced themselves from the GMA administration or have altogether joined the opposition. For example Sen. Manny Villar who have was instrumental in impeaching Estrada in 2000 is now a collaborating politically with Estrada. In fact Estrada's support allowed Villar to retain the Presidency of the Senate. Estrada's son Sen Jinggoy Estrada is also Villar's Senate President Pre-Tempore and if reports are true, will be Villar's running-mate come 2010. Other politicians are equally interested for Estrada's endorsement in the next election. Though is yet to declare his intentions but increasingly Sen. Mar Roxas is seen courting the support of the former President. His frequent visit to Estrada in Tanay, the most recent was few days after the Sandigabayan verdict, says it all.
Responses from civil society groups after the verdict are equally less encouraging. It has been a near-amenic response, so to speak. PlunderWatch, a group in the radical left which was among the complainants in the plunder case said days ahead of the promulgation that they are no longer interested if Estrada is found guilty or not. A the more recent grouping of leftist and progressives - Laban ng Masa (LnM) smacked on the 'hypocrisy of the GMA regime' and instead argued that 'GMA and her cohorts of plunderers and murderers' be brought to justice. Although on the whole Laban ng Masa attacked the bankruptcy of the current system dominated by the economic elites and traditional politicians, they ended up sounding pro-Estrada. LnM then called for the prosecution of people involved in the Hello Garci scandal, Jose Pidal, JocJoc Bolante's fertilizer scam and the ZTE-NBN. The Black and White Movement (BnW) is formation of professionals and middle forces organized after Hello Garci scandal. Some of their members are former supporters of GMA. In their statement BnW respected and welcomed the ruling of Sandiganbayan. Though a little bit subdued it lamented on the failure of GMA in pursuing cases against Nani Perez, Jose Pidal, Jocjoc Bolante and the stonewalling of the administration through E.O 464 and Memorandum Order 108.

While civil society groups and politicians are justified in either abandoning or distancing themselves from GMA administration as it turned out to be worse than Erap's, but their near-anemic response to the guilty verdict diminishes the value of exacting accountability from Estrada. And consequently they are aiding GMA into pardoning Estrada and totally neglecting EDSA 2.
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"Economic Brief: The Economic Factors Behind the Myanmar Protests"

Dahil sa katangian ng liderato at katagalang sa pwesto (Military Junta) sa gubyerno, humantong ang hangganan, na-weakened at namis-managed ang ekonomiya ng Myanmar. Tulad ng Pilipinas, pawang military establishment na lamang ang inatupag ng gubyernong Junta at hindi ang mga batayang serbisyo para sa mamamayan, hindi malayong magcolapse ang ekonomya't gubyerno ng Myanmar.
- Doy / IPD
http://www.pinr.com/index.php
27 September 2007
The first sign of the current protests currently underway in Myanmar occurred in a rare display of public outrage over the economic conditions within the country in February 2007. A small group calling themselves the Myanmar Development Committee called on the military rulers to address consumer prices, lack of health care, education and the poor electricity infrastructure. Normally unseen in Myanmar, the protest was quickly broken up after only 30 minutes of activity. Likely in response to the protests, the ruling military junta appointed Brigadier-General Than Han of the Myanmar police to the responsibility of handling civil unrest in Rangoon.

On August 15, 2007, the government made significant cuts to national fuel subsidies, which had an immediate effect of increasing the price of diesel fuel by a reported 100 percent, causing a five-fold increase in the price of compressed natural gas, and placing additional inflationary pressure on an economy already facing estimated inflation levels of 17.7 percent in 2005 and 21.4 percent in 2006.

Once again, similar to the event in February, people took to the street in a rare display of public anger. The current demonstrations have drawn a significant number of Buddhist monks into the streets and have led to national curfews. Violence finally broke out on September 26 as security forces and protesters clashed.

The end of fuel subsidies were likely part of a larger package of reforms that the junta has been planning in order to, among other things, reduce the pressure of global fuel prices in a country that is dependent on diesel imports for its entire economy. Myanmar has an insignificant domestic refinery capacity and a chronic need for foreign currency. The latest Indian proposal intended to regain access to the Shwe gas fields has reportedly included diesel fuel exports, while a deal with Petronas of Malaysia is seeking similar arrangements. [See: "Pipeline Politics: India and Myanmar"]
(photo: www.dd-rd.ca/.../humphrey/burma-detailed-map.jpg)
The International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.) and World Bank made recommendations along the lines of the subsidy cut as part of a larger package of reforms as recently as last year; critically citing the trend toward extraordinarily high deficit budget deficits carried by the junta. The construction of a new capital, Naypyidaw, and the proposed construction of an information technology capital, Yadanabon, along with significant pay raises for civil servants and the military have placed serious pressure on government reserves. The government typically addresses such deficits by printing more money, producing the significant inflationary pressures seen today.

The involvement of private interests should not be overlooked. Leading businessman Tay Za and his holding company Htoo Trading Company may be set to profit from the privatization of the fuel distribution system within the country. In order for the move to be successful, the thriving black market in fuel needs to be eradicated, thus the necessary removal of fuel subsidies and the subsequent rise in prices throughout the country. While power plays between junta leaders and private businessmen have been cited before as causal factors in economic policy changes, the international pattern of subsidy reduction in the face of rising global oil prices suggests that this was not the underlying motive in the move. However, it would be a fairly typical move for the junta to select reforms beneficial to its business partners rather than to the national interest.

The junta has successfully melded the Myanmar economy into one that is dependent and focused on the export of its resources. Arguably, it appears that the junta has little economic planning experience and its priorities lie in the promotion of military power. However, it has produced a situation in which little value is added to any resources, whether it is copper, timber, or energy, producing an economy dependent on imports and exposed to the volatility of resource prices. It has managed resource rents and foreign investment poorly; planned hydroelectric projects will likely be forced to export electricity due to the inability of domestic infrastructure to handle the increased load.

Similarly, the information technology project of Yadanabon, likely a response to a similar project in Malaysia, is typical of the economic oddity that the junta often embarks on with little thought to planning. Communication infrastructure within the country is archaic and will not support the proposed project. Likewise, the jatropha (physic nut tree) plantations currently being planted across the country, another junta project, will not result in any significant economic development. The fuel requires significant infrastructure to turn into bio-diesel, which likely means it will be exported in its raw form to neighboring countries while the land under plantation could arguably be better utilized to feed the population. Regardless, the aging diesel engines that are in use throughout Myanmar will not be able to burn the resulting fuel stock effectively even if the domestic infrastructure were available.

One of the factors that may exacerbate the situation is the state of Myanmar's banking sector. The junta has announced a restriction on withdrawals from banks, raising echoes of the banking crisis of 2003. These restrictions are typical for unstable times, but due to the shaky status of the private banks especially, it is likely to cause even further economic hardship for the people of Myanmar. Monks may represent the spiritual backbone of the protests, but it is the general populace who has been successfully cowed by the junta into an attitude of self-preservation, which will ultimately have to be driven to demand change.

The military has made a supreme effort to remove itself from contact with the population: barracks and bases are situated away from towns, and the new capital is a study in strategic withdrawal to the hinterland. It is the populace who has the most to lose from rampant inflation and evaporating savings, but faces an incredibly resilient and increasingly isolated military that has kept a stranglehold on power since 1962.

The last major uprising in Myanmar occurred in 1988. The underlying cause of the revolt was economic and resulted in violent repression by the military. The outcome of the current protest could be similar. Regardless, due to the decades of military involvement in the economy, dependency on resource exports and a high rate of corruption that pervades the country, the necessary economic improvements will not come easily. Even with peaceful political change, without significant international oversight, the overwhelming precedence of military intervention and control in the country will likely return Myanmar to state-sponsored economic mismanagement.

The Power and Interest News Report (PINR) is an independent organization that utilizes open source intelligence to provide conflict analysis services in the context of international relations. PINR approaches a subject based upon the powers and interests involved, leaving the moral judgments to the reader. This report may not be reproduced, reprinted or broadcast without the written permission of enquiries@pinr.com. PINR reprints do not qualify under Fair-Use Statute Section 107 of the Copyright Act. All comments should be directed to comments@pinr.com.

Yangon bloggers outsmart Myanmar censors

Totoo na ata ang kutob ng marami na ang BLOGS at internet, maliban sa broadcast at print media (TV-radio, dyaryo) ang siya na ngayo'y kasunod o dili kaya'y hahalili na sa pagpapalaganap ng "katotohanan," pagbibigay ng mabilisang inpormasyon sa mundo at higit sa lahat sa pagsusulong ng demokrasya at kalayaan. (100,000 mobilization photo;www.abcnews.go.com)
Pero, bago ang lahat, mukhang pinahahanga tayo sa kagitingan ng mga Monk at relihiyong Budhismo. Sila ang mga skin head, nakayapak, mga naka-kulay orange magdamit, madalas nasa mga monesteryo't templo, naglalakad at namamalimos sa lansangan at ngayo'y nasa forefront ng labanan sa Burma. Kulang-kulang dalawang Linggo na ang kilos protesta, umaani ng malaking suporta hindi lamang sa mamamayang Myanmar, maging sa buong mundo at mukhang lumalaki't lumalawak.

Mula pa lamang nuong panahon ng Vietnam War, sa Vietnam, sa Cambodia, Thailand at Laos, ang Budhismo ay kinakitaan na ng halos kakambal na pagiging critical at rebolusyunaryo. Hindi Ko malilimutan ang isang lumabas sa isang magazine na nagsusunog o ang nagpapakamatay sa sarili bilang protesta o pahayag sa pagmamalupit ng mga dayuhang mananakop. Bukud sa hindi nito matanggap ang kaaba-abang kalagayan ng kanilang kababayan, ang karalitaan, ang panloloob ng dayuhang Imperyalistang Amerikano, hindi nila masikmura ang katiwalian at pangungurakot ng kanilang mga kababayang pulitiko. (photo sa baba; img.dailymail.co.uk/.../monksEPA2409_468x351.jpg)
Sa Pilipinas, ano ba ang pinapapel ng Simbahan, ng Iglesia ni Kristo, Jesus is Lord Movement, grupong Protestante, Katolisismo at ng CBCP? Ang usaping moralidad o pagtatanggol ng kalayaan at demokrasya o ang bulsa, ang proyekto at donasyon mula sa PAGCOR at gambling Lord ?
Pangalawang tanong, nasaan na ang mga abanteng destakamentong tinatawag na ang Kilusang Kaliwa?
Kung maisusustina at maibabagsak ang diktadurya, ang military Junta sa Burma at hindi naman siguro CIA-Bush back instigated ang pakikibaka, aba'y baka magkalasan na sa pagiging Kristiano't Katoliko at mag-apply na ang ilang Pinoy sa Budhismo bilang religion?

- doy cinco / IPD
Yangon bloggers outsmart Myanmar censors
by Shino Yuasa
Tue Sep 25, 5:33 AM ET
BANGKOK (AFP) - Savvy young bloggers in Myanmar are breaking through the military junta's tight Internet controls to post photos and videos of swelling anti-government protests, experts said Tuesday. (Photo:Blogger at work / blogs.bootsnall.com/eafarer/wp-content/uploa..)

The government blocks almost every website that carries news or information about the Southeast Asian country, and even bars access to web-based email.
But an army of young techies in Yangon works around the clock to circumvent the censors, posting pictures and videos on blogs almost as soon as the protests happen.
Many of these images have been picked up by mainstream news organisations, because bloggers have managed to capture images that no one else can get.

When Myanmar's detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi stepped outside her home in Yangon to greet marching monks and supporters on Saturday, the only pictures of the landmark moment were posted on blogs.

Mizzima News, an India-based news group run by exiled dissidents, picked up one of the photos of Aung San Suu Kyi and said more than 50,000 people accessed their website that day.
"People were saying they wanted to see more pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi," said Sein Win, Mizzima's managing editor.

These bloggers are mainly young university students in Yangon who have made it their mission to post messages and pictures since the anti-junta rallies broke out there on August 19, he said.
"We have many volunteers in Yangon. They are mostly university students and they keep sending us messages, pictures and video clips about the demonstrations," said Sein Win.

Messages on blogs have applauded Buddhist monks, who have led the protest movement. The movement has grown into the biggest challenge to the junta since a 1988 uprising that was crushed by the military, killing at least 3,000.

"Many people were thanking monks for their courage, and were rallying support behind monks," Sein Win said from Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai.

"The censorship is very tough, but many people want the world to know what is happening in Burma," he said.
The California-based Mandalay Gazette also said young people in Yangon were supplying pictures on the protests.
"It's encouraging to see messages of support coming as far as from Russia, and some messages said monks were correcting the junta's 'wrongdoing,'" said a US-based editor, who declined to be named.

A Thai-based Burmese reporter from the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based broadcaster, said it had received video clips and photos from "many volunteers" in Yangon since the protests began last month.

"The quality of pictures from Yangon is very good. Many young people were helping us, and the junta cannot control our freedom of information," said the reporter, who operates anonymously for safety reasons.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders has called Myanmar a "paradise for censors" and listed the military-ruled nation as one of the world's most restrictive for press freedoms.
Since the protests, the regime has cut off the mobile phones of prominent pro-democracy supporters and of some journalists representing foreign media.
State media on Tuesday accused the foreign press of stirring unrest.
No foreign journalist has obtained a visa to enter Myanmar, under military since 1962, since the start of the anti-junta rallies, rights groups said.

Leftists Should Take Care Of Peace And True Democracy

Dito sa ating bansa, ang hirap pagharapin sa usaping pangkapayapaan ang dalawang pampulitikang pwersang ito (Government of the Republic of the Philippines-GRP at CPP-NPA/ Maoist). May pagdududa, walang tiwala sa isa't-isa, paranoid, parehong mapusok, 'di bumibitaw sa anti-insurgency at armed struggle frame na pananaw at higit sa lahat sa paningin ng marami, parehong nanggogoyo at undemocratic. - Doy Cinco / IPD

By Hasan Tarique Chowdhury
22 September, 2007
Countercurrents.org
After a decade long bloodbath Nepali people had started hoping, a genuine hope for peace and for meaningful democracy. It was not only good news for Nepalese but also for the peace loving people of neighbouring country. (Map of Nepal)

As we all know that Nepali King Gyanendra was forced to surrender his powers in April 2006 after the Maoists and other Communist and democratic forces joined forces with a coalition of seven political parties in a sustained campaign of street protests against his direct rule. Afterwards an interim government was formed accommodating the Maoist in the cabinet, fixed a roadmap to general election and constitutional reform to abolish monarchy had been adopted unanimously. Suddenly, on 18th September the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) quitted the interim government demanding the immediate abolition of the monarchy ahead of constituent assembly elections due to be held in November. (photo: Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) www.globalsecurity.org/.../images/upf-pic1.jpg)
International Herald Tribune reported on 20th September that Nepal's former communist rebels refused to rejoin the coalition government despite efforts by the ruling parties, which is going to deepening the Himalayan nation's political crisis.

Prime Minister Girjia Prasad Koirala called an emergency meeting of leaders of the ruling alliance and the former rebels, who just walked out of the government on 18th September after it failed to meet several of their demands, in an attempt to overcome the crisis.

Despite the demand from the Nepalese Prime Minister that his initiative to overcome the crisis was sincere enough, but still there is a doubt. As Mr. Koirala had taken a firm line in refusing to bow to the Maoists' demand that King Gyanendra be stripped of his title and the monarchy abolished. That’s why one of the Maoists in the interim cabinet, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, blamed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala for the breakdown in talks. Also Iswor Pokhrel, of the United Marxist Leninist Communist Party of Nepal, another major partner in the coalition said the prime minister asked Prachanda, the head of the CPN (Maoist), to reverse the decision to withdraw from the government. Prachanda said he would discuss the matter with his party colleagues and reply later. However, according to reports of many Nepalese news media, primarily the negotiation process has not yet been succeeded.

Previous political history of Nepal clearly indicates that this failure of the political process will again invite conflicting consequences in Nepal. Although the former Maoist minister Mr Mahara ruled out any return to armed conflict and said that they will focus on peaceful protests to meet their demands. Nevertheless, the Maoists warned they would begin street protests, organize a general strike and boycott an upcoming election for a Constituent Assembly that will decide the country's future political system and rewrite its Constitution. Therefore, it is quite normal that the ordinary people of Nepal are seriously worried after the Maoist withdrawal from the cabinet as because the previous nightmare is still alive in their mind. Leading Nepalese newspaper Katmandu Post signaled on 20th September that there is a high probability of Army deployment countrywide if the Maoist does not change their mind.

Therefore, the present political scenario clearly indicates further havoc in this impoverished country. That will definitely devastate the national economy, foreign trade, especially tourism industry of Nepal. Moreover, it will also negatively influence the business with its neighboring countries. If the peace initiative fails, innocent people of Nepal will pay the ultimate cost for democracy. Because gun is always not the answer. Necessarily, this will not strengthen the support base for the CPN (Maoist). The current action taken by CPN (Maoist) has been criticized by some Nepalese analyst as ‘anxiety disorder’. According to them ‘they have lost the self-confidence to face the general public, mainly due to their past activities’.

For this reason it is the high time for the Nepali Maoists to win over the peoples mind and prove themselves as true peace lover and to achieve their ultimate goal in a democratic manner.Because the there are conspiracies from imperialist forces to portray the leftists of Nepal as undemocratic.
(Hasan Tarique Chowdhury: Secretary, Bangladesh Peace Council. Email: htarique@gmail.com]

STATEMENT ON THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARTIAL LAW

Ngayon, ang larawan, alaala, mga pangitain at anino ng martial law ay nananatili't nakakubabaw sa country. "Halos walang pagbabago." Sa pamamagitan ng calibrated pre-empted response (CPR) ng kasalukuyang rehimen, nagpapatuloy ang panunupil, ang paghihigpit at kawalan ng kalayaan sa pamamahayag at asembleya. (photo:ttp://www.geocities.com/ CollegePark/Pool/1644/martiallaw.jpg)
Kontrolado't nanatiling malakas ang impluwensya ng mga may tendensiyang pasistang Generals sa AFP at Malakanyang. Atat na atat nilang ibalik mule ang martial law at anti-subversion law, sa akalang siyang susi sa pagpapahina ng rebelyon at insureksyon sa bansa.

Tulad nuong martial law, walang humpay ang paglabag sa karapatang pantao, political killings at mga nawawala (missing). Kamukha rin nuon, talamak ang pangungurakot at katiwalian sa gubyerno. Kung may conjugal dictatorship noon, may "conjugal" regime na umiiral din ngayon. Sa nakalipas na tatlong dekada (35 years), ano ang bago?

Doy Cinco / IPD
September 20, 2007

Posted by: "AFAD" afad@surfshop.net.ph
Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:26 am (PST)
NEVER AGAIN!
A Statement for the 35 th Anniversary of Martial Law)
September 21, 2007
(photo;www.geocities.com/.../Pool/1644/martiallaw.jpg)
Today, members of Claimants 1081, who are victims of the dark years of the tyrannical and rapacious Marcos regime, commemorate the 35 th anniversary of the imposition of Proclamation 1081 – the infamous Martial law of the Philippines. On this day, Claimants 1081 will light candles before the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes), wherein names of victims of those years of terror and those who fearlessly confronted the regime by their struggle are engraved. These names of heroes and martyrs that symbolize sacrifices and martyrdom convey a message loud and clear: *NEVER AGAIN*! May these lighted candles illumine our path in realizing this message in its most concrete sense.

On this day, nightmares of martial law came back to our minds in kaleidoscopic vividness – the dissolution of the Congress, the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the curtailment of freedom of expression through complete control of the mass media, the suspension of many basic human rights, among others, the right to assembly – all in the name of maintaining law and order throughout the Philippines, preventing or suppressing all forms of lawless violence as well as any act of insurrection or rebellion and enforcing obedience to all the laws, decrees, orders and regulations promulgated by the infamous dictator upon his direction.

Innumerable Filipinos have been victimized by torture, extra- judicial execution, enforced disappearances, the names of some are engraved in the Monument of Heroes. However, many of them are victims whose names may not have been written in the Wall of Remembrance, yet these nameless and faceless martyrs and heroes of the struggle shall forever be remembered. While we forget not their martyrdom and heroism, we must always remind ourselves that the struggle for justice, redress, reparation and the recuperation of their historical memory continues. The signs of the times that speak of the continuing human rights violations, especially manifested by recent cases of extra-judicial killings and disappearances are themselves a constant reminder that the struggle is far from over.

The youth of today may not have personally witnessed the Martial Law and its horrible consequences on the Filipino people. They do not have the first hand experience, yet as citizens, they need to understand our past in order to be part of the present, to learn from the lessons of history and move on to the future. They may not have personally experienced the horrors of Martial law, but if they thoroughly study the country's situation, we are in no better position than those years of Martial law because many of the Marcos regime's manifestations of tyranny we still continue to witness during our present times – the violations of both civil and political rights and the economic and social rights. One difference in the situation, however, is that the people are not as united as before in the common struggle against the dictatorship, a serious matter worth reflecting-on.
As justice remains a hollow byword for the victims of martial law and as more people are being victimized by the supposedly democratic administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, indeed, we have to seriously think and act together as a people in our struggle for justice and against impunity. (photo:blogs.amnestyusa.org/.../stop_torture.jpg)

We call on the Philippine Government to immediately:

1. Sign and ratify the United Nations Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance
2. Enact the anti-enforced disappearance bill into law!
3. Enact the human rights compensation bill into law
NEVER AGAIN!
Signed and authenticated by:
MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO, Secretary-General Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
ROLAN ABIOG, Secretary-General Claimants 1081

ZTE Broadband TRAGEDY

Nakakalungkot isiping nalagay na naman sa isang malaking trahedya ang country, isang bansang dumaranas ng walang humpay na katiwalian sa paggugubyerno. Unfortunately, si Jose Pidal na naman, ang mister ni mam GMA. Tulad ng inaasahan, total denial ang mga galamay, walang babaligtad at walang tutuga. (First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo leads a ceremonial tee-off in 2005. Looking on are Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos (right) and sportsman Tommy Manotoc / photo:http://www.philstar.com/)
Maaaring maihalintulad sa isang bagyong may signal no. 4, isang lindol na intensity 9, may kasabay na tsunaming mas malakas pa sa Azeh, Indonesia at isang big bang ng bulkang Pinatubo ang tumamang krisis pampulitika sa bansa. Mas matindi pa ang tama’t epekto nito kung ikukumpara sa hello garci controversy may dalawang taon ang nakalipas at Erap guilty verdick ng Sandiganbayan, nung nakaraang Linggo. (" IT'S BIG MIKE" on ABZTEFG / photo: UNMASKED. Speaker Jose de Venecia’s son Joey points a finger as he demonstrates how First Gentleman Juan Miguel Arroyo told him to ‘back off’ the broadband network project/ http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2007-09-19)
Explosibo ang mega exposay NA "BACK OFF" ni Joey de Venecia III, ang paboritong anak ni Speaker Joe de Venecia, na kinasasangkutan ni Jose Pidal Mike Arroyo, ang unang ginoo at tanging esposo ni Ate Glo? Kung hindi mapanghahawakang, sa tindi ng political impak, pusibleng mapaaga ang alsa balutan ni Ate Glo sa Malakanyang. Hindi malayong mailalagay muli sa depensibang posisyon si Ate Glo’t mga galamay nito sa pulitika. Ang na depused na political survival nung nakalipas na dalawang taon ay posibleng muling manumbalik.

Dahil sa pagsisiwalat ng katotohanan, inaasahang magkokontra-atake ang pamilyang Arroyo, ang Malakanyang at mga kasabwat nito sa Tongreso, wawaratin (demolition job) ang personalidad at kredibilidad ni Joey de Venecia III. Palalabasing SANTO si Jose Pidal at satanas si Joey, kesyo dating adik, bangag, durugista, lasenggo, baliw, chikboy, macho, rapist, basagulero, killer, weteng lord, gambling lord, FRATMAN at kung anu-anupang lumang tugtuging at bellow the belt na paninirang personal. Ang masaklap pa nito, baka iugnay pa si Joey de Venecia III sa grupong Abu Sayaff, kay Bin Laden, sa mga Komunista-CPP/NPA, sa grupong Magdalo, sa nakakulong na dating presidenteng si Erap at paratangang destabilizer o may planong tumakbo sa 2010? Ang tanong, may maniwala pa kaya?

Ano ang posibleng inplikasyon ng trahedya?
Dahil sa takot ng mga mamumuhunan, unang nag-react sa tragic incidence ang Philippine Stock Market at kung dati’y silyado’t may firewall at ‘di tinatablan ng dilubyong politikal, ngayo’y mukhang damay at malaki ang ibinaba ng Stock sa index.

Kung dati-rati’y astig ang pangulo na ‘di siputin ng kanyang mga galamay ang Senate Hearing at ipamukha ang EO 464, aba’y biglang nagflip-plop at bumigay na agad at nag-utus na daluhan na ng mga involved na puno ng mga ahensya ang Senate ZTE scam hearing.

Posibleng tuminti ang restiveness sa hanay ng militar lalo na ang mga junior officers, ang grupong Magdalo at ilang matataas na puno’t retiradong mga Generals. Muling igigiit ni Capt Faeldon at Senator Trillanes na sila’y tama’t may moral ascendancy ng sabihin nitong “magnanakaw at kurakot ang rehimen Arroyo.”

Muling mag-aalburuto ang CBCP, ang simbahan at middle class, partikular ang grupong Black and White na wala nga talagang kapagka-pag-asang tumino pa ang gubyernong Arroyo, sobra na ang abuso’t dapat ng ngang tanggalin sa pwesto. Pag-ibayuhin kaya nito ang "Oust GMA campaign" sa lansangan?

Walang dudang damay ang Speaker Joe de Venecia sa exposay ng kanyang paboritong anak na si Joey. Maaring ikudeta ng mga sagadsaring galamay ng Malakanyang ang speakership ni Joe de Vanecia. Kung sa bagay, dahil sa kanyang pagsisiwalat, nakabawi't nailagay sa pedestal ng katinuan sa pulitika ang angkan ng mga De Venecia. Inaasahan mabubulabog at posibleng humantong sa muling re-allignment ng pwersa sa kakalog-kalog na ruling party sa Kongreso’t Senado, ang Lakas-CMD at ang Kampi. Isa lang ang sigaw ng mga ‘to, “bakit hindi kami naambunan?”

Pagkakataon na rin ito sa panig ng oposisyon na muling buhayin ang impeachment proceeding sa Kongreso at makakuha ng sapat na bilang at suporta sa ilang makokonsiensia at matatauhang nasa ruling party, ang Lakas-CMD.

May implikasyon din sa foreign policy ang naganap na trahedya. Muling ipagsisigawan ng mga natalong bidder, ang Amsterdam Holding Inc (Netherland) at isa pang kumpanyang pag-aari ng US na MAPIAhan, totoong walang transparency (business transaction) at bad governance sa ilalim ng rehimeng Arroyo. Kung matatandaan, mismo ang US Ambasador na si Kristie Kenney ay nagkaroon ng reservation (selos) sa nangyaring pakikipag-ututang dila ng gubyernong Arroyo sa bansang China. Dahil sa panibagong anomalya ng ZTE contract, makumbinsing ilaglag na kaya nito ang pekeng pangulong nakalukluk sa Malakanyang?

Kaya lang, simple lang naman ang posibleng reaksyon ng palasyo, “inyo na ang Pilipinas, amin na ang China.” Ang isang tanong, ano ang gagawin ng KILUSANG PROGRESIBO?

Doy Cinco / IPD
September 19, 2007

Barangay Election, binababoy ng Kongreso

Bakit gustong ma-ipatigil ng mga pulitiko, ng traditional politicians (TRAPO) at ng Kongreso/Tongreso ang barangay at SK election? Dahil ba sa Charter Change at plebisitong nakaumang na bago at para sa 2010 o dahil ba sa gustong maniguro itong hawak ule nito sa leeg ang Barangay para sa pansariling kapakinabangan sa 2010 election? (photo: joeyreyna.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/electio...)
Ayon sa House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reform, ang pagpapatigil ng Barangay at SK election na naka-iskedyul na sa susunod na buwan ay mairere-set sa 2009. Para kay Cong Teddy Locsin na nagpaplano ring tumakbo sa Senado sa 2010, "nirekomenda raw ito ng 10 kataong komite na ilipat sa ikalawang Lunes ng Mayo 2009 ang nasabing election dahil daw sa katatapos lamang ng May midterm election."

Kasabwat ang pamunuan ng Federation ng mga Barangay at National Youth Commission (NYC), pinalalabas na ang nalalapit na October 2007 Barangay at SK election bukud sa "magastos at walang katuturan, sasayangin lamang daw ule nito ang bilyong pisong pondo, magiging magulo't madugo, marumi't dayaan lamang ang nasabing ehersisyong politikal" katulad ng mga nagdaang election.

Dahil sa pagsasayang daw ito ng panahon, para sa Tongreso, sana maidivert na lamang daw ang pondo sa ibang mga importanteng adhikain? Parang kulang na lang sabihing "buwagin na ang barangay at SK!" Ang tanong, sino ba ang nagwawaldas, walang silbe at inutil na institusyong dapat ng buwagin ng mga Pilipino, 'di ba ang TONGRESO?

Sa balaking ipatigil ang election sa nalalapit na buwan ng Oktubre, 2007, nagkaroon ba ng demokratikong consultation ang Federation ng mga Barangay at NYC? Ang duda ng mamamayan, nabahiran kulay pulitika, nakubabawan at nawalan na ng kredibilidad ang dalawang organisasyong ito kasama ang Sigaw ng Bayan, Kongreso at Malakanyang ng garapalang isinulong nito ang Cha Cha at pagpapapirma para sa People Initiative noong 2006.

Dagdag pa, para sa mga pulitiko, "ang Barangay Election after election (May Midterm Election) ay isang useless exercise, pero quidaw ka, ang Barangay election bago ang national election sa 2010 ay isang kritikal at mapagpasya (saan, sa pambabraso, pamimili't panunuhol at panloloko sa barangay?)."

Ang pagpapatigil ng election ng barangay ay "para sa interest ng mga baboy sa Kongreso at hindi sa interest ng sambayanang Pilipino." Ikinatatakot ng mga pulitiko na wrong timing, bukud sa mga sunud-sunud na iskandalo tulad ng ZTE broadband contract, muling pagbubukas ng "hello garci dag-dag bawas controbersy," baka muling maulit ang 2007 midterm election kung saan nasawata ng mga barangay ang ipinagmamalaking "local machinery" ng Malakanyang. Sariwa pa sa ala-ala ng lahat ang makasaysayang pagbabalikwas ng mga barangay sa manok ng administrasyon Team Unity senatoriable candidate (8-2-2 pavor sa opposition) na nilampaso ng oposisyon sa katatapos na May midterm election.

Isang pagyurak at pambababoy ang pagpapatigil ng barangay at SK election. Bukud sa walang respeto sa batas ang mga MAMBABATAS sa Tongreso, inaalisan at pinagkakaitan ng Constitutionally mandated na karapatan ang mga Pilipino na demokratikong maghalal muli at magpalit ng pamunuan nasubukan ng inutil at na pamunuang barangay at SK.

Sa mahigit dalawang dekadang (20 years) batas ng Local Government Code (LGC), nakakalungkot sabihing hindi pa rin lubusang naging epektibo ang atin mga lokal na gubyerno, partikular ang mga barangay. Nagpatuloy ang pamamalimos ng pondo at proyekto mula sa mga pork barrel, palaasa at nakasandal sa nakatataas na pulitiko. Kaya't imbis na PALAKASIN, tinitiguk at gusto pa atang buwagin ng Kongreso ang naghihingalong na ngang mga Barangay at SK.

Dinisenyo't layon ng LGC na idemokratisa ang lokal na paggugubyerno, meaning maging isang “autonomous, self-reliance at empowered.” Bunsod ito ng halos apat na dekadang napariwara at namanipula ng diktadurang Marcos ang mga barangay. Kaya't sa ikalawang pagpopospone ng barangay at SK election, parang GINAGAGO, niyuyurakan at tinatarantado ng Kongreso at Malakanyang ang barangay.

Sa totoo lang, nasa barangay mas maisasakatuparan ang isang inaasam-asam na demokratikong paggugubyerno na halos napatunayan na't papruwebahan na ng kasaysayan bago pa dumating ang mga kolonyalista.

Ang gubyernong BARANGAY, kasunod ang pamilyang Pinoy ang basic political unit ng gubyerno. Yapak ito sa komunidad at mamamayan. Dito nagsisimula ang araw-araw na buhay at mga pangyayari sa pulitika ng isang bansa at higit sa lahat, dito mas naisasapraktika ang partisipasyon ng mamamayan, ng civil society, ng simbahan, NGO at people's organization.

Nasa barangay mas may kakayahang masawata ang kriminalidad bukud pa sa sinasabing "dito lamang mas may kakayahang matatapatan ang TRAPO politics, ang oligarkiya at casique politics, guns, gold and goons at kasal, binyag at libing." Ang barangay ang barometro at salamin ng demokrasya. Kung baga, ang katatagan ng estado ay nakasalalay sa barangay. Kung may paralisis at mahina ang institusyon sa barangay, walang dudang inutil na rin at mahina ang Estado.

Doy Cinco / IPD
September 18, 2007