Today, the Thai armed forces (or parts of it) have taken over the Thai government. The Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is in New York to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly. The Army Chief, General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, plus other military leaders, had apparently met the King to announce their takeover. Today is declared a holiday in that country.

News roundup regarding the coup: ABS-CBN has the latest summary of events; CNN has some highlights , here, and CNN is accepting email messages from people within Thailand for information. Read the emails here. I am excited by this development, the people sending information to a news network. CNN and BBC are cutoff in the country’s cable systems.

The variety of opinion expressed in the emails are interesting and expected.

A roundup and discussion by commenters at MLQ3’s blog here.

Many are wondering if what is happening in Thailand is possible here in this country. Unfortunately, the conditions in Thailand, though similar, are greatly divergent from ours. For one, the people of Thailand have one leader they revere enough to fall back on – the King (more on this later). We distrust all our leaders that many in the so-called middle class have decided to stick it out with the lesser evil; which has brought us in a circular motion, with no end in sight for the rut we are in. Also, Gloria Arroyo has firm control of the armed forces, and she has enough resources to quash down any attempt by any faction of the military to unseat her.

Let’s hope that the crisis in Thailand will be resolved in a peaceful manner.

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What if the King chose to dissociate himself from the coup? Will soldiers heed the Army Chief or the King? What if the King is held hostage, and made a puppet of the Army?

The armed forces of Thailand should be wise enough to know that suborning the King or undermining His Majesty’s prerogatives will not be be taken lightly by the people. Maybe that’s why the media is suppressed – to prevent the people from injecting themselves in the process. If they do, the coup will not be bloodless anymore. That’s how important the King is to the people.

Makes you wish we have someone like the King of Thailand to rally for.

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Remember Sigaw ng Malacanang’s tacky ads regarding Cha-cha and coups? In effect, they told us that a parliamentary system will end a cycle of coups in the country.

Mr. Lambino is a lawyer. He should know that engaging in does-not-follow fallacies will explode right in their faces. This major lie is exposed by what is happening in Thailand.

So you still believe in Lambino et al? Trying to fool the people, he now is the fool himself.

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Updates:

* The Wikipedia entry for Thailand has already been edited to reflect the current problem in that country. A new Wikipedia entry, 2006 Thailand coup d’état, has been created.

* The Web site of several Thai newspapers, including The Nation, continues to function. It seems there is only partial censorship (or maybe it is really hard to censor the Internet).

To the victims of the World Trade Center Tragedy in New York, 9/11/2001

Requiescat in pace.

Mr. De Venecia and members-of-parliament-in-waiting-who-cannot-wait-to-be-MPs, Mr. Lambino et al in the Sigaw ng Malacanang, Bel Cunanan and members of the Fourth and a Half Estate, passengers of the Chacha Choochoo Train, ladies and gentlemen:

Since the dance craze right now is Chacha in the Choochoo Train, I might as well contribute my one centavo suggestions on what changes to the Charter should be made. Sigaw insists that 6 million Filipinos are for Chacha; I am not in that 6 million (but who knows? If the dead can sign, how much more to use some people’s name?), but I am invoking my right to express my opinion. And since I am not under the Executive Order 464 (or its replacement MO whatever), I will not invoke executive privilege and instead air my sentiments in the Internet.

The Sigaw PI calls for a unicameral parliamentary government. I will diverge a bit from that and instead suggest a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament. We all know why Lambino et al are pushing for a unicameral parliament setup: to remove from the masses the power to elect the leader of this country. In short, to prevent an Estrada-like candidate from being elected the leader of this nation.

Lambino et al are being too bastos. I call for magnanimity. If you don’t like them, give them something so that they will do less damage and at the same time will make them happy. And what makes the masa happy? Why, telenovelas and reality shows! The giant TV stations always harp about the ratings of their offerings. Pinoys are fascinated with showbiz celebrities and the private lives of people with good looks. So, Mr. Lambino, please be magnanimous, be humble, and hear out my suggestion.

Let us change the Charter and adopt a constitutional monarchy. The monarch, whether king or emperor or prince or whatever we wish to call him, shall be selected from a pool of candidates, preferably twelve, who are to reside in Big Brother’s House for 100 days. Big Brother (I suggest Willie Revillame as Big Brother) shall nominate housemates for eviction, and the people will vote via SMS, and whoever gets the least votes shall be evicted from the house. The survivor shall reign as monarch of this country for as long as he lives, performing nominal duties that the Charter shall designate.

When the elected monarch dies, the parliament shall select another pool of candidates, and the process stated earlier is repeated. The TV station that shall carry the process shall be rotated amongst TV stations, in spirit of fair play.

I also suggest a bicameral parliament. Hear me out, Mr. Lambino, you will see why I suggest a bicameral parliament. Despite having a monarch, the masses will not be content electing a monarch. They will want more celebrities as leaders, and that’s where the bicameral setup begins. The parliament shall be divided into two houses, the Lowest House and the Nowhere House. The members of the Nowhere House shall be elected by the people for a 5-year term, elected at large, subject to reelection and without term limits. The only qualified people to be elected to the Nowhere House shall be movie stars, TV personalities, singers and dancers, announcers, basketball players, members of the Left and progressive groups, and rejects of reality TV shows. Their only duty is to attend the monarch’s court, pass resolutions granting titles of nobility to members of the Lowest House, assenting to the bills passed by the Lowest House, gives speeches condemning everyone, and other ceremonial duties.

The main legislative function shall be under the Lowest House. Upon ratification of the proposed amendments, the members of the House of Reprehensibles shall be automatically members of the Lowest House. The members shall have 5-year terms, elected by districts, without term limits, and campaign funds subsidized by the state.

The Lowest House shall elect amongst themselves the Prime Minister, who shall be the head of Government. He shall act as such unless removed by reason of death, incapacitation, or by a vote of no-confidence by the members of the Lowest House. The Prime Minister shall select the members of the Cabinet from anywhere, but preference should be given to the members of the Lowest House, members of the local fiefdoms, the local warlords and political lords, jueteng operators, from the middle class allied with the current dispensation, loyal military officers, and loyal business leaders.

I hope, Mr. Lambino, that you see the wisdom in these suggestions. They are win-win suggestions that will surely satisfy you and your like, and at the same time will not disenfranchise the masa. Surely, with everyone satisfied and minding their own business, the country will leapfrog into a prosperous, preposterous nation. And the masa will be happy with the monarch and members of the Nowhere House and make them apathetic enough, leaving us with the running of the government. The middle class should not be disgusted by these suggestions, either.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are my humble suggestions, and I am hoping you will adopt them. Thank you.

How the SC Should Decide on PI, IMO

In a comment that I had posted in the Dean’s blog entry, here’s my take on amendment and revision:

I agree with the Dean that in between Con-Ass and PI, the SC will probably side with PI.

Now with regards to amendments and revisions – the US Constitution was amended several times, but there was never a fundamental change in the form of government nor the way the US is governed (except that it safeguarded the rights of its citizens).

The words REVISE and AMEND are synonyms. I like these definitions (taken from Answers.com):

Amend – To prepare a new version of.

Revise – To prepare a new version of.

Those two are based on Answers.com’s take from the thesaurus provided by Houghton Mifflin Company.

The distinction, for me, is this:

If the changes made to the Constitution will greatly affect the way things are done or the country is governed, these are REVISIONS.

If the changes made are corrective in nature, additions to the provisions, and in the whole will not be drastic in nature, these are AMENDMENTS.

And hopefully the SC will see it that way too. The Sigaw PI should never see the light of day. It is never the initiative of the people.

Cayetano v. Arroyo – Proxy Battle for 2007?

In Schumey’s blog post for today, I commented:

Forum shopping! Forum shopping!

But wait! Maybe it was a trap! Maybe the fools called Arroyos fell into a well-conceived trap!

Now Cayetano has two possible fora to present his “evidence”. Strike the Ethics Committee and the entire House of Reprehensibles out. It will just railroad the process as we had seen the Bastusang Pambansa did three times in two years.

Now, about the libel case. I am also pessimistic about it. Remember Jinggoy’s libel case that was slapped by Mike Arroyo? The judge in that case ISSUED A FREAKING WARRANT OF ARREST! Congress is in session, and the judge dared having a senator arrested! For libel! Either that judge is STUPID, or that judge is friendly to Arroyo (that’s saying it nicely, I could have said “paid by Arroyo”).

Now, I will not be surprised if an arrest warrant is also issued against Cayetano. And De Venecia will probably never do a Villar.

The House is probably afraid of 2007. Probably not. They can always do a Garci, comelecAko notwithstanding.

And I will not be surprised if after May 2007, we will see the same idiots in the Bastusang Pambansa.

Strong Republic That Never Was

Today’s Inquirer headline speaks about three murders yesterday. But there’s more to that.

Remember the Strong Republic gimmick? Back when Gloria Arroyo was almost booted out of the Fortress by the Pasig, she tried to show that she had everything in control. Her Propaganda Department led by Herr Toting Bunye even produced a video showing how a wide spectrum of society (from the left to the right to the middle) conspired to overthrow Arroyo. She paraded every supporter that she could get just to show who’s in power.

That Strong Republic was belied by a systemic failure in protecting the citizens of this country. Imagine: “317th activist among 748 civilians killed since 2001 by suspected security forces”, as Inquirer reported. That doesn’t include citizens killed by random acts of violence and crime. You call that a Strong Republic, Herr Bunye? Or maybe it is an undeclared State Policy, Herr Bunye?

At least, Hitler and Goebbels were honest to state their intentions, no? What about your leader, Herr Bunye?

It also shows that Gloria Arroyo, CEO of the Strong Republic, has failed in the fulfillment of her duties. She has failed the stockholders who appointed her – the citizens who voted for her. Or was she elected at all?

If she cannot protect the citizens, she has failed in her duty. She has betrayed the trust of the people. Her minions in the House of Reprehensibles cannot see that.

An Opposition Senate in the Offing – Not?

The reasons for all the efforts to amend/revise the Charter, either via PI or Con-Ass (the era of Macapagal-Arroyo is really into funny acronyms), is to ensure that Arroyo remains in the Fortress until (at least) 2010, if not forever. The current Con-Ass/PI is custom-tailored to (1) ensure that a pro-Gloria proxy will be Prime Minister after her; (2) ensure that her allies in the House of Reprehensibles and in the gullible LGUs remain in the posts; and (3) to prevent an opposition-led Senate.

It is important for her that her allies remain in the House; it is important to prevent an opposition shutout of her candidates in the 2007 senatorial elections. Failure in both cases will ensure that she will be booted out of the Fortress by the Pasig.

In a blog post, John Nery highlighted a Pulse Asia survey on Pinoy’s senatorial preferences. The results had probably scared Arroyo so much. I would have been.

Currently, the following individuals end up within the winning circle of 12 senators: (1) former Senator Legarda (48.6%); (2) Senator Francis N. Pangilinan (39.0%); (3) Senator Panfilo M. Lacson (34.9%); (4) Senator Manuel B. Villar, Jr. (34.2%); (5) Senator Ralph G. Recto (33.1%); (6) former Senator Vicente C. Sotto III (31.0%); (7) Atty. Aquilino Pimentel III (29.9%); (8) Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter S. Cayetano (29.5%); (9) former Senator Greogorio B. Honasan (27.7%); (10) San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito-Estrada (23.8%); (11) Ilocos Norte Representative Imee R. Marcos (23.1%); and (12) former Senator John Henry Osmeña (22.7%).

Given the survey’s margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, the following probable senatorial candidates also have a statistical chance of winning: (1) Tarlac Representative Benigno C. Aquino III (21.8%); (2) Senator Luisa P. Estrada (21.7%); (3) Senator Joker P. Arroyo (21.0%); (4) Senator Edgardo J. Angara (20.9%); (5) House Minority Floor Leader Francis G. Escudero (20.2%); (6) former Senator Francisco S. Tatad (18.9%); (7) Presidential Chief of Staff Michael T. Defensor (18.7%); and (8) Muntinlupa Representative Rozzano Rufino B. Biazon (18.5%).

No wonder Gloria and her henchmen wanted the Senate abolished so badly.

Yeah, I know, these issues are stale already, but I have time only now to comment on them:

• A friend from Tacloban sent me a text message one day, asking to check if the news that there was a leak in the Nursing board exams was true. He sounded sad; afterall, he passed the exams, and is in the top twenty.

  A lot of people wanted a lot of different things to happen – invalidate part of or the entire exams, retake, rolling of heads – to the point that the real issue was buried. My personal take on the issue is simple – no retake. Retaking is punishing the innocent, which is unjust. The best course of action is to find out who leaked what to whom, and heads of those found guilty should roll.

  And ironic that a person accused of lying acts on the issue – no retake. No recount, too.

• The House of Reprehensibles – a conglomeration of Gloria Arroyo’s defenders – finally got served by the way the Fortress by the Pasig treats a co-equal branch. Their own investigation was snubbed the Fortress’ own people. Imagine, their benefactor snubbing them! Serves them right!

  The Senate should feel smug and tell those fools at the Bastusang Pambansa: told you so.

• The Legion that is Sigaw ni Gloria at mga Kampon has finally cast the die, filed their container van-full of questionable signatures at the questionable Commission on Selection, er, Elections. The opponents of the stupid Cha-cha called for the junking of the obviously-fake initiative. Comelec is taking its sweet time on the issue.

  Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House recently announced that he was two signatures shy, and based on his view on the matter, Congress will be convened as a Constituent Assembly real soon. Arroyo and her minions are really hell-bent on changing the form of government.

  Some people had already commented on this, and I agree. The game plan, really, is to throw away the 2007 elections. In the ideal world, both houses of Congress will turn opposition, and that will be detrimental to Arroyo’s stay at the Fortress. So to prevent that eventuality, the elections should be scrapped, and the only way to do that is to tinker with the Constitution.

  The scary thought is that what if the moves to alter the Charter fail? The elections will push through, and that will be checkmate. But knowing Arroyo’s ability to foresee everything, I think she will not hesitate to do a Garci, again.

  And the fact that the PNP’s war against jueteng is taking the backseat (as speculated by John Nery, Arroyo is prepared for any eventuality. Even satisfying the jueteng lords is not out of her playbook. She will really do everything to save her stay at the Fortress.

• So, impeachment is dead. While One Voice and other orgs are busy stopping the Chacha Choochoo Train, I hope some groups will stand up and start the grueling campaign to have the people (or their proxy) at my Wall of Shame defeated in next year’s elections. Also, to ensure that the elections is clean. Namfrel, sadly, is in tatters, its reputation damaged (beyond repair, if you ask me, unless it makes amends). Who will guard the elections?
• The Guimaras oil spill only shows how poor we are in the enforcement of laws and safety standards. While there is a law disallowing the use of single-hulled vessels in transporting oil, here we have a single-hulled vessel hired by Petron (ironically, the government has a minority stake in the oil company) to transport oil.

  After the cleanup (which should be jointly funded by the owner of the vessel and Petron), criminal liabilities should be acted upon, those guilty should be punished according to law, and single-hulled oil carriers should be banned forever. But knowing the way law works here (and having a senile and insane Secretary of inJustice), these are just dreams.