Tag Archives: philippine politics

18
Aug

The cost of peace

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milfgametreerevised At the left is a modified version of Bong Montesa‘s “Game Tree” about the TROd Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the Arroyo Administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Click on the image to enlarge.

I felt that Mr. Montesa is either being clever or dishonest with his “GAME TREE” and justifications for his choice of peace, whatever the cost.

game-tree-supreme-court001 Here is Montesa’s original game tree, and compare that with the one I did above. Basically my additions are on the white side. If you notice, all choices lead to war except on HIS choice, which is actually open-ended and subject to speculation. Hence, he is being clever or dishonest.

His choice of the phrase “Game Tree” is appropriate, because for all intents and purposes, his flowchart is propaganda – he is gaming public opinion by saying that all other options will lead to war. Yet notice his choice – it is open-ended. Here, he is being clever by saying that “Hey, I am not sure what would happen after this, so…” Yet, he was certain that the other choices WILL lead to war. Here he is being dishonest. He is certain on certain options, but not on his choice?

He is gaming public opinion by not posting the possible ramifications of the results of a plebiscite, as if he is saying, “Hey, it is possible that peace could be achieved after this!” How I wish he was consistent enough to terminate his game tree by placing the word PEACE after the plebiscite.

Anyway, he is being naive if he thinks things could be that simple. What if the sovereign Filipino people (his phrase) rejects the amendments? Will MILF accept such results? No. (If they reject such results, the MILF is being very Filipino, and that would be a monumental irony, IMO.) And even if the sovereign Filipino people accepts the amendments, there will be groups of people who will oppose it, and they will take up arms.

Reading his blog is like reading someone who loves Pollyanna so much. He keeps on saying that the MoA is just a framework, a roadmap that needs approval of the Filipino people – it is not enforceable even if signed. Mr. Montesa, the MILF says it is a done deal – they mean that it is now in effect. And he keeps on harping on constitutional process even if (1) he says peace talks are unconstitutional; and (2) the MILF does not consider itself under the Philippine Constitution and under the Philippines, period.

Then he posted his First Nation BS, and how I wish he posted his proofs, not what-ifs. The problem with his First Nation is that many will dispute the notion – some will say the lumads comprise the First Nation, etc.

And lastly – he is being pretentious if he thinks the MILF represents the entire people of Mindanao. The fact that there are Mindanaoans who are opposing the MoA AD belies his illusion. He, together with the Arroyo Administration panel, should have first consulted all stakeholders before shoving the country in a corner.  The fact that he called most reactions are emotional speaks of his short-sightedness and tunnel vision. His ignorance of the total picture of the Mindanao situation has actually EXACERBATED the tension instead of easing it.

I am all for peace, but at what cost? The comparison between the MoA AD and Chamberlain’s capitulation at Munich is somewhat apt – we will not have peace and we will have war. That is the cost of peace that Mr. Montesa and the likes want to impose on us.

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I do not profess myself to be an expert on Mindanao, and neither do I claim that I have solutions on the problems of Mindanao. I think I have said it before that the solution lies in the hands of the Mindanaoans themselves. And yes, the solution lies in their hands.

What I will contend is that some group of people are piggy-backing on this issue for their own ends. This is the kind of screwup that pushes Mindanao on the brink of chaos. I don’t blame some people in Mindanao if they wanted to break free.

28
Jul

State of the Kingdom Address (SoKA) 2008

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Our Lord Prime Syncophant, the Right Honorable Lord Chancellor, Our lords and members of the House of Reprehensibles, the Right Honorable MisChief Magistrate:

We are facing the crucial moment in history, wherein Our kingdom’s greatest generation has faced and has hurdled many obstacles. But now We are facing what is probably the greatest challenge Our government has ever faced. The economic crisis that grips the world is probably the worst since ancient times, a roller coaster of high economic growth and increasing number of poor. It is like a tsunami that is threatening to drown this kingdom.

But with Our foresight and wisdom, We have softened the shock of the economic crisis. We have enough funds to sustain Our lavish lifestyle; the royal barn is full of grain, and the royal motorized vehicles will never run out of gasoline. We thank the Heavens for giving Us the guts to institute reforms to weather this crisis. We thank the Parliament, specially the House of Reprehensibles, for its groveling support to Our glorious reign. We thank all the foolish people who continuously support Our royal lifestyle through levies and taxes and their apathy. We don’t care if Our royal reign is disliked, for We know that we get the job done – to sustain and maintain the status quo.

We have not lived with the poor. We do not care about the miserables lives they live. We are mostly concerned with our privileged life and the maintenance of Our glorious reign. It is the prime duty of the House of Miserable Lords to live with the poor, to care for them, of course, with Our royal blessing.

We praise the lowly citizens for their undying loyalty and support to Our glorious reign. While the enemies of Our glorious reign may continue maligning Our royal character, the miserable poor will continue living their miserable lives, paying no heed to Our glorious satisfaction and happiness. They will pay no heed to Our enemies.

We praise the apathetic people who do not care about Our glorious reign. For their apathy has sustained Our glorious reign, through their prompt and complete payment of taxes, while paying no heed to the activities of Our glorious government. They are truly enlightened, who see that Our actions and decisions are not in their purview. They are wise to leave the running of the country to Our royal government.

We have instituted several goals to sustain the status quo. We wanted to make sure the Our glorious reign continues till forever, and for that We have set goals. Most of these goals might have been unpopular, but We remain steadfast in our decision to levy additional taxes. The imposition of the Vulture-like Asinine Tax has been so unpopular, but We remain adamant that this imposition is important to maintain sufficiency of the royal funds to sustain Our glorious reign. Take this tax away, and see the status quo crumble. Lifting this imposition is like abdicating Our royal prerogative.

Leadership requires necessary decision, and We have firmly resolved to maintain this tax.

We have resolved, further, for the betterment of the status quo. We will continue taxing the apathetic people while lifting the tax burden of the poor. This will lead for the poor to live decadent lives, which will lead to a robust population growth. We have made this decision to satisfy the charlatans of the temples.

We will build new roads, new dams, new irrigation systems, nautical highways, village halls, basketball courts; We will improve existing drainages, roads, school buildings. This will keep the members of the House happy and content. This is also Our token of gratitude for the House’s blind loyalty.

We believe that we can do better to improve the status quo. Join Us as We lift this kingdom to Great World Status. We will not let anyone stand in Our way to glory and richness. We will not let anyone’s agenda to derail our plans. We are one kingdom under Our glorious reign.y Lords and

We are forwarding for the Parliament’s perusal Our annual budgetary requirements for the coming year. We expect that this Parliament will comply with Our royal requirements.

Lords and members of the House of Reprehensibles, may Mammon’s blessing rest upon your counsels.

18
Jul

A comment on Arroyo and Roman Catholic Taliban re population control

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Let me allow Owen Meany to express my opinion on the Gloria Arroyo-Roman Catholic Taliban’s stand on family planning:

AND LOOK AT WHAT WE CALL ‘RELIGION’: TURN ON ANY TELEVISION ON ANY SUNDAY MORNING! SEE THE CHOIRS OF THE POOR AND UNEDUCATED – AND THESE TERRIBLE PREACHERS, SELLING OLD JESUS-STORIES LIKE JUNK FOOD. SOON THERE’LL BE AN EVANGELIST IN THE WHITE HOUSE; SOON THERE’LL BE A CARDINAL ON THE SUPREME COURT. ONE DAY THERE WILL COME AN EPIDEMIC – I’LL BET ON SOME HUMDINGER OF A SEXUAL DISEASE. AND WHAT WILL OUR PEERLESS LEADERS, OUR HEADS OF CHURCH AND STATE… WHAT WILL THEY SAY TO US? HOW WILL THEY HELP US? YOU CAN BE SURE THEY WON’T CURE US – BUT HOW WILL THEY COMFORT US? JUST TURN ON THE TV – AND HERE’S WHAT OUR PEERLESS LEADERS, OUR HEADS OF CHURCH AND STATE WILL SAY: THEY’LL SAY, “I TOLD YOU SO!” THEY’LL SAY, “THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR FUCKING AROUND – I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO IT UNTIL YOU GET MARRIED.” DOESN’T ANYONE SEE WHAT THESE SIMPLETONS ARE UP TO? THESE SELF-RIGHTEOUS FANATICS ARE NOT ‘RELIGIOUS’ – THEIR HOMEY WISDOM IS NOT ‘MORALITY.’

THAT IS WHERE THIS COUNTRY IS HEADED – IT IS HEADED TOWARDS OVERSIMPLIFICATION. YOU WANT TO SEE A PRESIDENT OF THE FUTURE? TURN ON ANY TELEVISION ON ANY SUNDAY MORNING – FIND ONE OF THOSE HOLY ROLLERS: THAT’S HIM, THAT’S THE NEW MISTER PRESIDENT! AND DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE FUTURE OF ALL THOSE KIDS WHO ARE GOING TO FALL IN THE CRACKS OF THIS GREAT, BIG, SLOPPY SOCIETY OF OURS? I JUST MET HIM; HE’S A TALL, SKINNY, FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY NAMED ‘DICK.’ HE’S PRETTY SCARY. WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIM IS NOT UNLIKE WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE TV EVANGELIST – OUR FUTURE PRESIDENT. WHAT’S WRONG WITH BOTH OF THEM IS THAT THEY’RE SO SURE THEY’RE RIGHT! THAT’S PRETTY SCARY – THE FUTURE, I THINK, IS PRETTY SCARY.

(Taken from A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.)

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16
Jul

SC strengthens executive privilege

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Those who are expecting this Supreme Court to overturn Neri v. Senate should wake up. It will never happen.

In a 10-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld executive privilege, this time on the issue of JPEPA. This decision (not yet available online) comes right after the same court dismissed the case Suplico v. NEDA.

According to the news report, Chief Justice Reynato Puno dissented once again, citing that the public has the right to know.

So what is next for us? Will comment on this when the decision is online. As for me, JPEPA is a treaty, and all its annexes (except for security-related ones) should be open for scrutiny. So is this regime hiding something, again?

9
Jul

Neri goes to SSS: Heaven help us

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This resignation of SSS President Corazon dela Paz, and the appointment of Romulo Neri as her replacement, gives me the shivers.

The official Fortress line on why she resigned was the usual health reasons, old age, and desire to go back to the private sector – those three, politically-safe reasons for resigning. But this being the Arroyo regime, a resignation is always politically suspect. While she reiterated the reasons for her resignation, dela Paz also cited “confluence of reasons,” which she’d rather keep to herself “at this point.”

Mystery, mystery.

Anyway, the Social Security System is the state-controlled pension fund for private employees. It handles billions of pesos and invests them into several revenue-generating avenues, and pays out retirement pension to its members. It also provides loans to its members.

My problem is Neri’s character. In a PR parlance, he is easy to handle. Remember how he buckled during the NBN-ZTE hearings? He already saw corruption in the eyes, and what did he do?

SSS is a good target for raiding. Remember that during Estrada’s time, Equitable Bank bought the larger PCI Bank with the help of SSS and GSIS funds. And after Estrada’s aborted impeachment trial (no thanks to conspirators), the merged Equitable PCI Bank got into hot water, seeing its stock price dive, making a paper loss to both pension funds. So when Banco de Oro broached the idea of buying EPCIB, some people balked, since both pension funds would have to sell at a price much lower than the price when these funds acquired stakes in EPCIB. And the BDO acquisition was not without controversy, with both fund playing key roles in the deal.

Neri had been director general of the National Economic Development Authority. It is a sensitive and powerful position; the position has the power to doom a big ticket project. As such, it is a prime target of opportunists. On this, Neri had failed. Now, we should expect the same thing to happen when he becomes SSS president.

Ms. dela Paz’s “confluence of reasons” is interesting. I am not ready to buy the health-and-old-age reasons. If it was the case, why did she have to say “confluence of reasons?” Maybe she had enough of Arroyo’s micromanagement skills. And here enters Neri. I will not speculate anymore; I am just afraid that my father’s and my contributions to the fund would be used for nefarious means.

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1
Jul

Gloria’s dilemma

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Typhoon Frank is a PR nightmare for Gloria Arroyo.

She, together with several of her cabinet officers and congressional members went to the United States for a scheduled meeting with US President George W. Bush, plus the usual woo-the-investors and meet-Fiipino-community gabs. Unfortunately, on the eve of her departure, Frank was threatening the country. On the first part of her trip, Frank has already ravaged some parts of the Visayas – Iloilo, for example.

Many people have criticized the regime for the handling of the disaster. Everything went into a mini-frenzy with the MV Princess of the Stars incident, and the outcry over the regime’s action (or inaction) grew. The call for her and her entourage to cut short her trip intensified.

Gloria was in a bind. Should she go home, and see all the goodwill-building meetings go to waste? Or should she stay behind and appear not to care?

Her officials’ handling of the disaster, and their pronouncements, was a disaster in itself.

Just look at Jesus Dureza. He is fast proving to be better than his predecessor Toting Bunye – he can speak/lie with a straight face. The President is very hands-on, he said. Hands-on via teleconference. Yeah, we saw how that went.

That teleconference was another. Desperate to prove that she was doing her job, her publicists opened a teleconference to the media, and it was a disaster. The media had to be shown the door before the fiasco grows.

Here’s what I think. She should hire a good PR agency in the Philippines.

Seriously, she should have went home. GMA cares, remember?

This is a DigitalFilipino.com Club sponsored post.

16
Jun

“The emperor is naked”

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This is a DigitalFilipino.com Club sponsored post. Add your Filipino event.

I think I already have addressed this issue, but it will be good to revisit it now. I had discussed the futility of planning ahead without addressing the problems of the present. Now I want to tackle our propensity for looking for solutions.

Sure, everyone knows our problems, and some people take pleasure in pointing out these problems. Some people take pleasure in pointing out that these people can only point out problems and never propose solutions. There is nothing wrong in pointing out that the emperor has no clothes, and there’s no solution to the problem of the emperor’s delusion that he is wearing the best clothes in the empire. Well, there is, but it is most unpalatable to those people who take pleasure in calling the child a fool. Their solution would be to play along.

And that’s my beef.

It has become our pastime to point out the problems; it has become our pastime to point out that it has become our pastime to point out the problems without offering solutions; it has become our pastime to point out that it has become our pastime to point out the problems without offering solutions and yet offer solutions that really do not address the problems. Yes, it is tiring to read that past sentence, because it is a tiring cycle.

Take for example the Queen of the Enchanted Kingdom. She has been our problem for the past seven years. (Heck, some says she is not the problem, but we’ll leave that for another time.) What are the solutions being offered? Plan ahead. Correct the mistakes by plugging holes. Make sure that it will never happen again.

I have no problems with the offered solutions. It is good to take a long view and plan ahead. Unfortunately, the problem is the present. Most of the solutions being offered do not address the present, as if the present does not affect the future.

For example, most people are looking forward to 2010, and are planning ahead assuming that there will be elections in 2010, totally discounting the possibility that the current problem could derail the 2010 elections.

And forward planning assumes that the TRUE problem is known. The problem is that we can be so blind to the problem. So we think that a child who claims that the emperor is naked is the problem, not the emperor. So we deal with the education system, since it is producing people who see the emperor as naked. The solution stares us in the face, but we refuse to see.

The best way to move forward is to look at short-and long-term problems, and address them accordingly. Look at the real problems, and deal with them.

PS: The solution to the problem of the naked emperor is simple. Depose him, since he’s insane. But that would lead to instability, so the people would play along.

10
Jun

Collective forgetfulness and freedom

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We Filipinos suffer from what I call collective forgetfulness: we tend to easily forget what had happened before. We easily forget those memories that are rather impersonal to us – those events that we have no personal involvement, only a peripheral knowledge of what had happened. We easily forget those events that have no relevance in our lives. This collective forgetfulness is, I think, an extension of our “walang pakialam” attitude, a manifestation of our inherent apathy with regards to our duties as citizens.

If we keep on complaining about this regime moving holidays haphazardly, without any discernible or logical pattern, we only have ourselves to blame. Our Congress – composed of legislators that we have elected, our representatives – passed a law allowing the president to move the holidays.

What are holidays for? The word holiday is a contraction of the words holy and day, giving it a religious significance. Later on, the word holiday also meant a day for celebration or commemoration of certain events; for example, Rizal Day is a holiday commemorating the martyrdom of Jose Rizal. National holidays are instituted to commemorate significant events in history.

Holidays are declared primarily to give citizens a chance to commemorate significant events. In current usage, however, holidays are for days of rest, an excuse to go to the malls or whatever. The commemoration part has lost its significance, no thanks to holiday economics.

They say that you can only appreciate freedom once you lost it. That’s why I think we commemorate Independence Day – to appreciate the fact that we are free, that this freedom came at a cost, and that we must do our duty as citizens to safeguard this freedom. But like the haphazard moving of holidays, we take freedom for granted, like any other things (water, air, electricity). Only when it is gone (or severely threatened) we take action, and by then, it will be too late. Just look where we are now.

Gloria Arroyo came to power in January 2001 via the so-called People Power II. It should be a glorious event (oooppss, sorry), but we don’t even commemorate it. The supposed reason was that the said event was divisive (several months after EDSA Dos, there was a counter-revolt called EDSA Tres); the actual reason was that Arroyo, her husband Mike, and her minions piggy-backed (ooopppss again) on the people power aspect of the event. In short, she hijacked it for her personal gain, and she wanted no one to even think about it. The hallmark of this regime is to bury the truth, as long as this truth will be a threat to her hold to power.

How can we commemorate our Independence Day when this regime had moved the holiday to a day where there were no commemorative events? All events commemorating Independence Day will be held on June 12, a working day. It is as if Gloria Arroyo is telling us that we should work instead of commemorating our Independence Day. She is right. We are not free anyway. We are not free to elect a President. We are not free to make her accountable via impeachment. So what’s there to commemorate?

We are not free because we forget that we are free. We forgot the events of 2004, the actuations of the House of Reprehensibles in 2005, 2006, and 2007. We forgot that there are Oliver Lozanos and Roel Pulidos and Jocjoc Bolantes and Virgilio Garcillanos and Lintang Bedols. We forgot that we have the power to hold the president accountable. We are like slaves to politicians who are in power, when it should be the other way around. We are mired to this mess because we forgot that we have the power to make things happen.

We need to be free. We can start by remembering.

4
Jun

Your taxes are working for you – NOT!

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How to waste Php 2 billion in a month?

Simple. Give alms Php 500 to the poor who are consuming less than 100 kilowatts of electricity. All 14 million of them to be exact.

Kung sino mang opisyal ni Gloria Arroyo ang nakaisip nito, dapat syang bigyan ng award. Kalabasa Award, kung maaari.

Heck, she even argues that this program is funded by the much-reviled VAT. And it “fulfills” the regime’s social justice agenda! Brilliant!

Except the fact that she’s making a fool out of everyone, including the beneficiaries of this one-time doleout. By accepting the doleout, the poor (at least the recipients) acknowledges that this regime is doing something for them, even if the doleout will only cover a month, and is very short term. By allowing this regime to spend the money as if it is one giant donor, the others are giving the regime a free-pass to inefficiently spend our tax money on something that clearly benefits no one in the medium or long term – except her.

I don’t know about you, but this scheme exemplifies her “reform” agenda – alms to the poor, nothing for others, and no substantial changes in the social fabric. It only shows her insincerity.

If she is really serious about helping the poor, she could have spent the money on something more long term. But no. She has other “priorities.”

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There are some political pundits who think that, based on her actions, Gloria Arroyo has thrown in the towel and surrendered to the fact that her term will end June 30, 2010. I disagree. Heck, she remains in a campaign mode, and look at her regime’s previous actions. Why is she doing those things? No, I don’t think she’s thinking of her “legacy” to the country; it is too late for that.

Diversion, yes, but why? To keep herself into power? No, I don’t think so. She has all the pieces in place to guarantee that she lasts until 2010. At the very least. She eyes something else.

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This is a DigitalFilipino.com Club sponsored post. Honda launches VCM 643.

3
Jun

Focus first on quality and reliability

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The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) should focus on the quality and reliability of services that telecommunications companies are providing, before tackling the issue of free text messaging service. The telcos provide several services to their customers (one of them being text messaging), and the Internet is rife with complaints about these services. For example, Smart Communications‘ Smart Bro services was one of the most troublesome service ever, even spawning a Web site containing complaints against the service; someone even called Smart Bro “a scam“. And that is just for Smart’s Smart Bro service. For a representative problem for Globe, here’s a story by Dine Racoma.

Let us tackle free text messaging when we are sure that these companies are delivering reliable services. This is what needs to be attended to.

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As I have said before, this scheme is just a ploy to get the support of the people. It is a bait, and unfortunately, one group took the bait. How can they be so sure that this regime would deliver? It won’t, since it runs counter to its pro-business pronouncements. And by supporting this move, the organization had inadvertently fallen into the trap set by the regime – it is now a “supporter.”

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Related readings:

* Hello GLOBE-Lines went dead! Schedules gone kaput! AGAIN!
* Making SMS Free? Kalokohan!
* Review of Globelines, Smart Bro, Smart 3G, and PLDT MyDSL Internet services
* I hate Globelines broadband
* Problems with Globe 3G/GPRS & MMS