He is at it. Again.

In his latest rant, Bill Esposo fears that Joseph Estrada will stage a comeback in 2010 if and when Erap is acquitted by the Sandiganbayan. And he’s blaming the Genuine Opposition for it!

What goes around comes around.

Esposo is just reaping what he had sown. As part of that group called Council on Philippine Affairs or COPA, had they not conspired with everyone else to unseat Estrada? (Read this post by John Marzan about an article by Ellen Tordesillas.)

If they had followed the rule of law instead of taking the law into their own hands, there will never be an Erap restoration! Ever! And now, rule of law is dead, no thanks to COPA et al.

Anyway, he thinks that Manny Villar is the biggest loser among the 2010 presidentiables. One of Esposo’s reasons:

He allowed his Wednesday Club to divide rather than consolidate under the Opposition. Villar, Joker Arroyo, Ralph Recto and Kiko Pangilinan would have all won had they ran under the GO banner. That would have also made Villar, not Estrada, the big winner in the last elections and would have inhibited others in the Opposition from clamoring for a change in the Senate leadership.

Sinisi pa sya sa katigasan ng ulo ni Joker, Ralph, at Kiko.

I just hope it is not bitterness on the part of Mr. Esposo; afterall, he proposed a third force that is anchored on the Wednesday group, only to see everything falter because Arroyo, Recto, and Pangilinan had other ideas. I myself proposed such a group, but I had since moved on; I had accepted the true issues of the 2007 elections, and discarded the frames that Esposo and the Fortress by the Pasig had thrown at us. It is not a Gloria v. Erap fight. It is People of the Philippines v. Gloria Arroyo! And the Trillanes win is the verdict!

I hope Mr. Esposo can accept the fact that everything that he rues now is due to EDSA 2. That before he points fingers at anyone, he should look at what he did back then.

(And, no, I don’t think there will be an Erap restoration. While the surveys acknowledge that he has a high trust rating as compared to Gloria Arroyo, I don’t believe it will translate into votes come 2010.)

I’ve been thinking about the Joseph Estrada plunder case. Now that the case is submitted for resolution and a 3-month wait (max), it has been a six-year trial. What have we accomplished? What have we gained?

This case is special because of the implications and complications that it may cause. As DJB calls it, it is a political dilemma – to be fair or to be right. Read his post for background.

I think the prosecution’s appeal to history is wrong. History can go both ways; it can go against their way. Besides, there is something wrong with this assertion:

It is a rare occasion, indeed, for the country to have a second chance at attempting a fundamental change in its administration of justice — after the failure to obtain swift and timely justice against the Marcoses and their cronies, many cases against whom are still pending with courts after more than 20 years…
xxx
(Estrada’s acquittal will) sound the final death knell for good governance in our country and irreversibly doom our generation and the succeeding generations to decades of abject poverty caused by the pernicious effects of continuing pervasive corruption.

“Non sequitur” is a Latin phrase that means “it does not follow. In formal logic, this fallacy is committed when the conclusion arrived at is not supported by the given premises.

The prosecutors made two assertions: (1) if Estrada is acquitted, there can no longer be a fundamental change in the administration of justice; and (2) an acquittal will lead to more problems of poverty. Either the prosecutors are prescient, or they are appealing to emotions, not reason. Again, an acquittal does not necessarily mean that the justice system will fail, that poverty will worsen. Also, a conviction does not necessarily mean that good governance is enhanced.

This nation is in a bind, in a dilemma. Whatever course of action we take, we will be suffering from it. Let’s say for example Erap is convicted and his motion for reconsideration is denied. His next course of action is to appeal to the Supreme Court, who in 2001 decided that Joseph Estrada has resigned the presidency. Three of the justices who concurred in that decision are still in the Court, including the current Chief Justice, Reynato Puno (who wrote the decision). The Court should decide on the basis of evidence. An acquittal will put the Supreme Court in a moral quagmire, and throws it back to where it all started, EDSA 2.

An affirmation of the conviction will probably re-open the wounds caused by EDSA 2 (wounds that have not healed), which will probably divide this country (hopefully not).

The major problem is this: can we trust the Supreme Court to reach a fair and right decision? After all, the very same Court has put us in this dilemma in the first place!

Is it going to be fair to Estrada if the Sandiganbayan convicts him, even if reasonable doubt exists, just to pay lip service to history, to good governance? As Patsada Karajaw puts it:

What they are saying is that Erap should be convicted to showcase that our justice system works. In effect, some people want Erap to be the sacrificial lamb. This is not how our justice system should work. The case must be decided on the merits; based on the evidence presented and not because there is a need for us to convict one man to show that our system works. In its zeal to jail corrupt people, our courts must see to it that someones right is not also denied.

And think about the consequences of an acquittal. The political pressure for a conviction is high. And why is that? Ellen Tordesillas answers:

While an acquittal would salve the pain and anger over the unjust ouster of Estrada from the presidency, what would that make of Gloria Arroyo’s six-year presidency? If Estrada did not commit plunder, what then was the rationale for his ouster in 2001?

An acquittal verdict would nullify the basis of the first three years of Arroyo’s presidency, which put her in a position to bastardize the 2004 elections to remain in power.

It seems all our political troubles began on that day in January 2001. And the Sandiganbayan’s decision will not probably end it. Heaven knows how this will end.

And to end this post, let me post John Marzan‘s answer to DJB’s question:

Kung sasagutin yan ng mga edsa dos supporters at veterans na ngayo’y tacit supporters na ng pagnakaw ng election ni Arroyo noong 2004–sasabog ang ulo nila.

Have you heard that stupid sound bite from the liar and eternal disappointment that is Senator Miriam Santiago?

Essentially she called stupid those who refuses to accept pork barrel.

If I were Fred Lim or Ping Lacson, I only have three words for her:

(No, it’s not PI)

G*g* ka rin!

—

Sorry, Uniffors, Gaudencio Rosales is not my cardinal. Filipino Roman Catholics must be thinking hard of professing another faith, or go atheists.

It’s now the third installment for my take on The Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007. Here are the blogs in consideration for this week:

Tingog.com – The Voice of the Filipino: A political blog in the context of someone residing in the Visayas. This blog was a finalist at the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards under the uber heavy Socio-Political Blogs category. Isn’t that enough to label this blog as influential?

SugoiStuff: I met one of their bloggers at iBlog3. As I like Jpop/Jrock/Anime in general, what’s there to dislike about this blog? I just hope it gets updated regularly (as in daily). One of my sources for Jpop/Anime news.

Filipinayzd: It is tough writing in Filipino. I should know; that’s why I rarely blog in Filipino. Reading this blog can be tough and for most times I wince. I really don’t like the current “kung anong bigkas ay siyang baybay” rule. I think it will be a great practice if I read this blog regularly. How’s that for being influential?

Alright. So now, I exercise my right to strike out from my list, so I have eight blogs out of ten:

Week 1:
Fire Eyed Boy
Be Seen | Be Heard
Past Lives
Week 2:
Mobility Philippines
The Patsada Karajaw Nation
Week 3:
Tingog.com – The Voice of the Filipino
SugoiStuff
Filipinayzd

Mam Janette must be pulling her hair for this. Sorry.

If you want your blog to be nominated or if you want to nominate other blogs, please leave the URL on the comments (as long as the blog’s start date is not before August 2006). Remember, I can always strike out blogs in my list to accommodate more influential blogs.

Now that Antonio Trillanes IV has been proclaimed as a Senator of the Republic (I like how that sounds, grand), it is time to assess and think about the phenomenon that is Trillanes.

Mr. Trillanes came into limelight through infamous means. Several members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, led by Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and Navy Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV took over the posh Oakwood Premier in Makati, which is now widely known as Oakwood Mutiny. It failed after 18 hours, all were captured and charged in civil and military courts, and little was done to address the legitimate grievances aired by the Magdalo soldiers. Half of the soldiers were released from prison after most of the leaders apologized. Trillanes was the one of the hardliners.

The Feliciano Commission was formed to investigate the mutiny. Its two major findings: it was a planned action, and the grievances aired were legitimate. It also found that the grievance mechanisms of the AFP to be ineffective.

Two years after Oakwood, a vindication of sorts happened when the AFP General Court Martial found Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia guilty of corruption. His plunder case is currently pending at the Sandiganbayan.

Four years after the Oakwood Mutiny, Trillanes is now a Senator of the Republic, with 11 million Filipinos voting for him. His election raises a lot of questions and criticisms.

One, some quarters condemn the choice by the voters; they say that the vote gives the notion that mutiny is OK, that mutineers are being rewarded instead of punished, that the vote sets a bad precedent and will encourage more military adventurism. The simple answer is this: non sequitur. It does not necessarily follow.

Two, what happens now to his civil and military cases? Anthony Taberna of ABS-CBN made a valid point. In a criminal case, the complainant is the people of the Philippines, as in People of the Philippines versus Antonio Trillanes IV. Isn’t his election a virtual absolution? That the people as complainants dropped the case against him by electing him as a senator? If you believe a person as a criminal, you don’t put him in an elected position. And so, the people dropped its role as complainant and instead acted as the jury.

The military case is complicated at face value, but if you read Article II, Section 3, it is very simple. But Hermogenes Esperon still cannot accept the fact that the people have spoken. He even said this (on the matter of allowing Trillanes to attend Senate sessions):

“There’s no such thing as bail in the military,” Esperon said. “If we disregard the Articles of War, then we might as well forget discipline in the armed forces. Let’s forget that we have an army.”

He really needs some Brain Age training.

Three, shall we just sweep what he did under the rug? Now, I will love and relish saying this. If you are pro-Gloria Arroyo, anti-opposition, pro-status quo, pro-move on, I say this to you: move on. There’s no use dwelling in the past. Ha ha ha! Take that!

Anyway, I myself do not approve of the means that he took to make his point. But I come to think of it, he might have made the right move. Afterall, he went directly to Gloria Arroyo, but nothing came out of it. So the chain of command is unresponsive to change. What if they went to the media, as one broadcaster back then asked the Magdalo people? Here’s what I had posted in my personal blog on that day:

Take what Karen Davila said when she interviewed Lt. Senior Grade Trillanes (the spokesman of the Magdalo). The Magdalo insists on its action because it was the only way. “Bakit di kayo lumapit sa media?” “After your scoop, what would happen to us? Can you protect us? After your scoop, we would be gone, court-martialed, but would there be any positive results?” Ms. Davila failed to counter that. By trying to force her opinion, she only made herself ridiculous.

I guess, there are times when the ends justify the means. If the proper and legal mechanisms were working, the Oakwood Mutiny might have not happened. Alas, like in January of 2001, the rule of law became rule by law.

Anyway, a lot of things have happened that seemed to vindicate Antonio Trillanes IV. His election is just one of them.

His election is a vindication, for the vote validates his advocacies and message.

His election is a sign that the people agree with what he had said before.

His election is a slap to Gloria Arroyo and the AFP’s chain of command.

—

Did you vote for Sonny Trillanes? Why?

As the district schools supervisor, he was in charge of the members of the Board of Election Inspectors in a poor province in Mindanao. Since he is about to retire, he chose not to serve this time; he just supervised the teachers who were members of the Board.

In a certain town, teachers under his supervision alleged that no elections took place. They were forced to fill up the ballots with names of candidates affiliated with the current dispensation. These teachers were courageous enough to get the news out.

With the culture that is pervasive in the province, where going against the elder’s command is almost a crime, these teachers knew their lives are in danger. For that, their courage is admirable. Their courage would probably be just another footnote in the history of that province, but the province is not an ordinary one, so to speak.

The province has been in the media spotlight since the 2004 elections. With the elections director for the province involved in a wiretapping scandal, many doubted whether the results would be credible. With poll watch groups claiming that they were barred from election precints and canvassing centers, the problems were just beginning to mount.

And when the purported results pointed to a sweep by the team affiliated with the current dispensation, everything began to fall apart. The election operators were desperate to prove that nothing irregular happened, and they are even asking BEI members to sign affidavits to prove that no fraud happened. The district supervisor refused to sign. The refusal was to be his death warrant.

Classes in the primary and secondary levels had started. The district supervisor was in a Madrasah (Islamic school) at another province Saturday night, eating his dinner. The light went out, shots were heard, and he was dead.

And that is how justice is served in this country.

Musa Demasidsing is just one statistic for the Commission on Elections, the Philippine National Police, and the Fortress by the Pasig. Nothing would probably come out of his death, like those unsolved murders of yore. His death is probably a simple murder, relegated to the provincial news in a national paper, if not for the circumstance leading to his death.

His death is a warning to those who will testify against poll fraud. The truth shall set you free, hence it must be killed.

His death is a sign of what is wrong with this country. As our concept of civic-consciousness dies because we tend to think by the stomach, this death is just that – a death. We no longer rage at the evil of murder, we no longer rage at poll cheaters, we no longer care at all.

And because of that, his death might be in vain.

“Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
-Dylan Thomas, Do not go gentle into that good night

—

I just find it sad that while googling for his name, I only found two entries: as in Google gave me two entries only:

(In response to Tingog.com’s writing project.)

Article II, Section 3 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states:

Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory.

Based on that provision, the primary duty of a soldier is to protect the people. So every time that a person is forcibly taken by any armed group, when the New People’s Army has overtaken a barrio, when rogue elements of the AFP do their crimes with impunity, the AFP and every soldier fail in their duty.

—

There’s this poem about loyalty that is being bandied by the military:

If you work for a man in Heaven’s name work for him;
speak well of him and stand by the institution he represents.
Remember an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.
If you must growl or condemn and constantly find fault, resign your position,
and when you are on the outside damn to your heart’s content.

But as long as you are a part of the institution, don’t condemn it.
If you do, the first high wind that comes along will blow you away.
And probably, you’ll never know why.

The reason I don’t believe in this poem is that it implies that loyalty trumps accountability.

For this week’s take on The Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007, I have three blogs for consideration.

Mobility Philippines – Found this blog when one of the writers left a comment at my tech blog. This blog concentrates on anything mobile tech, from cellphones to laptops to mobile Internet technologies. Probably the next Engadget Mobile of the Philippines.

The Patsada Karajaw Nation – A blog about politics in the context of the most misunderstood region in the country, Mindanao. I think the fact that Manuel L. Quezon likes this blog is enough testament to the influence and credibility of this blog.

All Star Pinoy Big Brother Fantasy Game (…that’s a mouthful) – I am nominating this because this is a hilarious (and somewhat brilliant) concept. Besides, Benj was forcibly evicted, so that in itself merits a nomination (kidding, Benj).

So to recap, here are the blogs under consideration:

Week 1:
Fire Eyed Boy
Be Seen | Be Heard
Past Lives
Week 2:
Mobility Philippines
The Patsada Karajaw Nation
All Star Pinoy Big Brother Fantasy Game

If you want your blog to be nominated or if you want to nominate other blogs, please leave the URL on the comments (as long as the blog’s start date is not before August 2006).

I can’t pass these up:

* In his usual, brilliant, witty way, Manuel Buencamino describes the intramurals in the House of Reprehensibles as Congwrestlemania 2007. There you have the House Heavyweight Champion, JdeV, being challenged by Paul Garcy with his manager Louis the Vulture. But that would be dull, so let’s make it a Fatal Four-way Intergender Match, with Mary Sue and Charlie Padi as other challengers.

But that would be ho-hum, so let’s make it a Reprehensible Battle Royal Rumble instead, so that every members of the House can participate and get a chance to be House Heavyweight Champion. Leading the pack are Ron Zorroma and Salvi Scuttler. Too bad Manny Pooh-quiao lost; he would have been the best fighter to beat JdeV.

* Inquirer fires Tim Yap! Hurray! Philippine Star hires him. Boo! (Rumor, use salt.)

* The Senate yesterday was reduced to repartee.

Ramon Magsaysay Jr: Our people, well–informed and discerning, decided to send a very strong message to the administration that said, “We have had enough. It is time for serious reforms. We want people who can deliver.” (But Jocjoc delivered!)

Luisa Ejercito: I will now serve as the jail warden and caregiver of my husband until his acquittal… I’m ending with Erap, here I come. (Lagot ka, Erap, he he.)

Alfredo Lim: You better cooperate or evaporate because I’m running after you. I’m coming home Manila. (Yari mga pirated DVDs.)

* Comelec declares a failure of elections in Maguindanao. Recto should have not conceded. Wait, he has not. Zubiri’s hopes are rekindled.