Pres. Arroyo Should Exit Gracefully

The Philippines has once again reached its nadir as a result of itchy but reckless intention to amend the Constitution. This shenanigan is widely believed as a cover of Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s arrogance to prolong her stay in power if not forever.

Twice in the past, in 1986 and 2001, Filipinos upholding the real essence of democracy in deed, went to the streets to peacefully dislodge two unwanted presidents. Both of the deposed presidents left Malacañang in a hurry for fear of their lives. When the angry and suppressed people reached the presidential palace in the first EDSA, they found food, still hot, on the table and traces of speedy evacuation. Erap, a movie actor turned president left the palace via its backdoor ala James Bond traversing the Pasig River in secret.

If surveys are accurate, Pres. Arroyo’s approval rating of an all-time low clearly implies that Filipinos no longer want her services as president and are fed up with her administration marred with scandals of corruption and incompetence.

Mrs. Arroyo is very much aware that after leaving Malacañang she and spouse will be peppered with legal charges. I am sure that she knows the fate of the Perons of Argentina and Benito Mussolini of Italy. After years of abusive regimes, they paid a hefty price. Mrs. Arroyo by all means wants to avoid a tragic end.

The past weeks, the president has been frequently out of the country for “working visits” but wags from the opposition interpret that as a double for her to look for friendly states to welcome her as an asylee after she leaves office or if overthrown.

Lito Banayo, a vocal presidential critic has repeatedly said in his Malaya columns and blog that Mrs. Arroyo does not like to leave Malacañang unless she is forced out. Assuming that Banayo is correct in his assessment, the imagined outcome of that process is bloody. For too long, Filipinos remained silent and patient. Little by little they are enlightened that the quest for a better life and governance is impossible in the Philippines unless they are forcefully demanded.

If Mrs. Arroyo thinks that she is clean and has not done anything grievously wrong as head of state, then she should gracefully exit from power, give others a chance to serve and then she can enjoy the millions she and her family accumulated while in office- - - probably in hell.-30-

Dangerous Times in the Philippines

The perceived insistence of the House of Representatives to convene a Constitutional Assembly to amend the Constitution has drawn thousands of Filipinos in the streets not only in Metro Manila but also in major cities of the archipelago.

The recent rally participated in by members of cause-oriented groups, church and civic organizations serves as a reminder and at the same time a warning to the Arroyo administration that manipulating the Constitution for selfish ends or evil intent is totally unacceptable. Many are not cowed saying that a revolution with a bang could break out if worse comes to worst.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, also a former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces warned that soldiers might join the rally. That was quickly doused by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. saying that the military is apolitical.

There were stories saying that some soldiers from different armed services and presumably clandestine military brotherhoods like Rebulosyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), Philippine Guardians Brotherhood, Inc., (PGBI) and Retired and Active Wildcat Association Inc., (RAWAI) to name some joined the rally in cognito. Whether this is true or not, the military is very much aware of a Constitutional provision which says “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. . . . “(Section 3, Article II; Declaration of Principles and State Policies)

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State.”

That is broad but it can be freely interpreted as “The Armed Forces can intervene to protect the people from abuse and usurpation of power, gang-raping of the Constitution and further debasement or dehumanization of the citizenry.” The military cannot just stand with folded arms when protests turn violent or bloody. It must "intervene" to restore order and civility.

At present, no one can definitely say that the military totally goes with the political flow of events in the country. For sure, it is closely watching the events and what unfolds.

Unlike in 1986, there is no “Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile, Gen. Fidel Ramos and Cardinal Sin” today. However, if the Arroyo administration is determined to pursue the Constitutional Assembly (Con Ass) sans the participation of the Senate to anachronistically amend the fundamental law, the people is also determined to say NO to Con Ass. If Filipinos clog the streets of Manila, loyalties and alignments will eventually shift.

Right now, the influential Catholic Church for the first time since EDSA II has urged the faithful to join rallies and air their protest in a peaceful and nonviolent manner. Businessmen and business organizations are not hiding their strong opposition to the Con Ass. The Catholic Church and the business sector, it is remembered, played gigantic roles in dislodging two unpopular presidents.

If prolonged deafening protests threaten the security of the State, weaken further the already-weak economy and blot further the image of the country abroad, I believe that the military will prove itself to be the protector of the people and the State. Twenty three years ago, millions of ordinary and unarmed people shielded the military from a possible annihilation from the hands of a dictator. The Armed Forces have not forgotten that heroism and goodwill from the entity they ought to protect.

In the event of a military coup, this time, there are no US Bases in the Philippines and a Ronald Reagan, a friend of the president. There is Pres. Barack Obama who in the past “was too busy to meet with Pres. Arroyo”. The US, for sure, through the Alston Report is aware of the poor human rights record of the country and stories of shameless graft and corruption from top to bottom. In case the president is deposed, we do not expect a US helicopter to land atop Malacanang to save her from the Filipino wrath.

Assuming that a military coup is staged, how long will the country be under a military junta or dictatorship? Will the military still be willing to transfer the power to civilian authorities when in the past, under civilian rule, graft and corruption flourished from all sides? Although they had the opportunity to keep power after EDSA I and II, the military was not interested to take care of the country - - - but for the third time?

I hope that the Arroyo government is enlightened to do the right thing by not insisting to amend the Constitution for the people have spoken a clear and loud NO to Con Ass. Vox populi suprema lex. Let us have elections next year as scheduled and may Mrs. Arroyo heed the call for her to retire . . .

. . . and face a barrage of possible legal actions due to her negligience and excesses if sin is too strong a word!-30-

Castellano en Filipinas

La presidenta Gloria Arroyo ha sido una de los ganadores del Premio Internacional Don Quijote de la Mancha en España por la introduccion por la vuelta de la enseñanza de la lengua española aqui en Filipinas.

No recuerdo nada en el pasado o al presente que hay intenciones concretos presidenciales o del congreso para introducir otra vez Castellano en este pais como idioma diariamente, del govierno, negocio o de correspondencia. La constitucion de 1987 dice que Filipino (de facto Tagalog) y Ingles son los idiomas formales. Ademas; despues de 22 años desde se quitaron Castellano en los colegios y universidades; al presente, ¿quienes saben enseñar la idioma de Cervantes en este pais, la colonia anterior de España? No tengo los numeros factuales pero yo pienso que en la casi 100 miliones de filipinos, sea bien si hay 500 o menos que pueden hablar, escribir y leer Castellano o lo mismo numero que tienen interes aprenderlo.

Muchas veces en el pasado, la embajada de España ha manifestado un deseo ayudar el govierno filipino por la volver de su idioma madre en las islas. Vamos a ver como se ayudanos.

Tal vez, en dias que vienen o despues de recibir el premio, la presidenta Arroyo va a firmar o introducir pasos para que en el futuro mas proximo, los filipinos se pudiesen apreciar o condenar los contibuciones de España en Filipinas despues de leer su historia pasada que es en Castellano.-30-

Philippine Dictatorship, A Possible Repeat

In 1970, in what was known as one of the dirtiest and most violent elections in Philippine history, Ferdinand Marcos was the first president re-elected but barred by the then Constitution to run for another term. Despite his 1965 battle cry, “This Nation Can Be Great Again”, graft and corruption mushroomed in the Marcos government while it was exacerbated by the alarming decline of the economy. These prompted Manila students to stage rampant rallies and protests often raucous and sometimes violent at Mendiola Bridge, a stone-throw away from the Presidential Palace and at Liwasang Bonifacio; not far from the Manila City Hall.

Voices of dissent in 1970 led by student activists, otherwise known as the “First Quarter Storm” sparked the eruption of massive protests against the Marcos regime. This era of political turbulence gave Mr. Marcos reasons to declare Martial Law in 1972 to “save the Republic and to build a New Society”.

The incident of the MV Karagatan fortified Mr. Marcos’ belief that the Philippines was in danger of Communist takeover although it is silly to believe that communist insurgents had the capability to defeat the Philippine Armed Forces. There were also bombings in Manila thoroughfares which the administration put the blame on Communists until one soldier in uniform from one of the armed services was caught detonating explosives. The icing of the cake was the foiled assassination of the Secretary of the National Defense which Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile after the Marcos downfall admitted that the attempt on his life was scripted by Malacañang.

During those times, furthermore, a lot of activists and intelligentsia disappeared, tortured and summarily executed by the military. By mere suspicion and without due process, Senators included, anyone could go to jail without much ado. This is happening again with the exception of Senators.

In February 1986 at the height of the People Power Revolution, I heard former Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, father of Pres. Arroyo, interviewed by Noli de Castro, now the Vice-President; pleading the nation that all parties concerned should cede their activities for the sake of the republic.

If the former president were alive today, he would have a change of heart urging Filipinos to be vigilant for dark clouds of possible political unrest hover and refuse to leave.

Manila papers these days say a lot about political parties, maneuvers, merges, trash talks and possible protagonists for the coming presidential elections.

Will there be one as such?

My personal understanding, based from what is cooking in the political wok, there will be no presidential elections in May 2010 because the incumbent refuses to leave office. Of course this is not explicitly expressed but sometimes, the truth can be found “in-between the lines”.

Marcos wanted to be a dictator for life. That is the reason why he manipulated the system in order to implement the so-called Marcos Constitution in 1973.

What is unfolding is a clear affirmation of the adage that history repeats itself.

It chills us to the spine to read that a Malacañang hand or its minions are perceived to be behind the push in amending the Constitution less than a year before elections. The Marcos Constitution through its notorious Amendment No. 6 gave Marcos a blanket authority to rule like Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Hitler combined under Martial Law and after its lifting. If they are successful in changing the Constitution, Mrs. Arroyo’s tenure is prolonged or be entitled to hold another powerful office such as Prime Minister. In this scenario, she will have all the leverage and time to plan what is next in her quest to stay in power longer if not forever.

The Jesuit Joaquin Bernas, dean emeritus of the Ateneo Law School warned “that it was a ‘fatal mistake’ on the part of the House of Representatives if it continued to push for Charter amendments without the Senate.” Last Tuesday, House Resolution 1109, calling for constituent assembly was passed without a Senate approval. Bernas could have prophetically said that “If ever the justices of the Supreme Court intended to operate in the gang rape of Constitution, the alternative might be another People Power like the 1986.”

Since then, various civic and even religious groups vowed to go to the streets for a gigantic protest opposing any Charter change and the possibility of another dictatorship.

Depending on the outcome of these protests, Mrs. Arroyo could result to a Marcosian tactic by sending saboteurs to sow chaos, violence if not anarchy within the ranks and files of the protesters and thereby gaining a hand in justifying the declaration of state of emergency as a prelude to the declaration of another Martial Law in the name of national security.

Who could stop her in saying that "because of Communist, terrorist threats and lawless elements", she has to parry these with a military rule? It does not matter if no one believes so.

The pivotal call of Jaime Cardinal Sin in urging the people to go to the streets to protect Sec. Enrile and Gen. Ramos paved the way to the famous EDSA Revolution in 1986. Today, there is no reason to believe that the Catholic Church plays a major political role as in toppling a regime. If and when there is another “EDSA”, I fear that it would be bloody and violent. Filipinos have a long history of possessing unbelievable capacity of endurance and patience. They suffered for 300 years under Spain. The Philippines was devastated during the Japanese Occupation and World War II. The country was raped and debased during Martial Law and during this administration, Filipinos have suffered a lot because of graft and corruption, apathy, self-interest and incompetence. In each of these epochs, when the blood boils in the vein, Filipinos always showed their determination and gallantry to be freed from the shackles of abuse and debasement without counting the cost.

What happened during the Marcos years whether we believe it or not are recycled or cloned right before our eyes. With lessons from history, things are done these days in a more subtle way. Yet, through all these years, we did not become dumber but wiser in loving this nation, its people and hope for the future.

George Bernard Shaw once said “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”

Indeed we did not learn anything from our history because we allowed things of the recent past to happen again. Hopefully, Filipinos have now learned their lesson the hard way.

While the “dark clouds” refuse to clear the sky, Juan must reinforce his "bahay kubo"; prepares for the worst but hopes for the best and constantly prays for God’s help and mercy that the Philippines will be truly called “a home sweet home” for Filipinos at home and in diaspora when the sun shines brightly again after the tempest.

Dum vita est spes est --- while there's life, there's hope. -30-