Toots Ople and I arrived at Makati City Hall yesterday late in the afternoon, when news of the Court of Appeals TRO had already broken. So it was pretty jolly in the vicinity except for the area around the old city hall, where the Palace-appointed New Order was supposed to have set up shop, and where many lost-looking military people were standing around scratching their heads and texting.
We alighted in a sidestreet and made our way through the kind of courtyard in front of the new city hall, jostling through boiled peanut vendors fish ball vendors and milling crowds of delegation, some standing, some seated, around a stage, from which was blaring “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo.” A barker was calling the roll of the barangay delegations:
Barker: “East Rembo!”
Left corner: “Hoorah!!”
Barker: “West Rembo!”
Right corner leaps to its feet: “Yippee!”
Barker: “Palanan!”
Sizeable group stands up and roars: “Yihee!”
Barker: “Poblacion!”
A huddled group waves its arms: “Yehey!”
Barker: “Forbes Park!”
-silence, and then giggling from the huddled masses.
Barker: “Tejeros!”
Right corner: “Hoorah-yippee-yahoo-yehey-yihee!”
Hordes of energetic senior citizens circulated, apparently braced to fight for free dentures, movie passes and birthday cakes to the death (democracy hath no fury like a constituent defending his entitlements). Massed lines of traffic aides in yellow were in formation at the entrance, but people were going in and out of the city hall freely.
Inside (and it was my first time to visit the Makati City Hall) the relentlessly-marbled first floor, the windows of various offices were open and there were people patiently sitting waiting for whatever-it-was-they-were-there-for to be attended to. We were directed to the elevators and finally rode one up to the 21st floor, where people milled about or clustered in corners depending on their political affiliations. Various barangay delegations would march in and out to demonstrate their loyalty to the mayor, who was seated in one of the smaller board rooms.
We dutifully shuffled in and said hello to Binay, who was on his cellphone but would cup the receiver to acknowledge his visitors. After a few minutes there was a minor huddle and then Binay disappeared into his office, apparently to take a look at the TRO.
“Si Gloria, si Gloria!” the crowd suddenly murmured. It turned out to be Gloria Diaz.
Newsbreak carries a report on the TRO, and pictures of the celebrations later that evening. Borrowing a phrase you first saw here, folks, Amando Dorinilla says the Palace is engaging in brinkmanship. Ellen Tordesillas thinks the Palace decided to defuse an explosive situation. It could have gone out of control, as a deadline for action today loomed. It could afford to give the opposition a temporary sense of victory -without, however, proving things either way.
Is the Palace merely trying to save face? It remains defiant it seems. Binay’s people expect more attempts through other means (Sandiganbayan or even the Ombudsman) to remove their mayor.
Meanwhile, more moving of the chess pieces by the Queen. A Binay aide told me the most nerve-wracking moments were early in the standoff and yesterday morning. Early on, they were virtually defenseless in city hall; yesterday morning, they were also unsure if people would stand up to a military assault on city hall. Perhaps their opponents sensed, too, that they’d moved too slowly and the besieged mayor had managed to turn public opinion and the political momentum against them.
Overseas, the Guardian reports that even the Bush administration’s admitted, for the first time, that it’s facing a Vietnam-like scenario in Iraq:
The admission from President Bush that the US may have arrived at a turning point in this war – the Tet offensive led to a massive loss of confidence in the American presence in Vietnam – comes during one of the deadliest months for US forces since the invasion.
Yesterday the number of US troops killed since October 1 rose to 73, deepening the sense that America is trapped in an unwinnable situation and further damaging Republican chances in midterm elections that are less than three weeks away.
No surprise then that the Republican Right and its fellow travellers are using the “vote Republican or Dubya will be impeached by Communists!” argument to hold the base together.
In the punditocracy, the Inquirer editorial delves into the pressure being applied by the Palace on the Supreme Court.
Dr. Rene Azurin of One Voice pens a warning to those who’d willfully ignore history.
Max Soliven declares war on Mark Jimenez.
In the blogosphere, people weigh in pro and con regarding Binay. In the good riddance corner are Unsent Postcards and joeydaninja, while in the it’s persecution corner are The Write Stuff, and Mental Pornography and El Bisyador and Manila Boy and My Sanctuary; a Makati City resident, shh…. the mind is talking… says they didn’t notice much (and explains why they like their mayor):
well, bilang isang mamamayan ng dakilang lungsod *ehem* ng Makati, masasabi kong maganda naman ang pamumuno ni Binay… nararamdaman naman namin na bumabalik sa amin ang binabayaran naming buwis… hindi literal na bumalik sa amin ang perang binayad ng mga magulang ko, bagkus, sa mga serbisyo at mga proyekto ni Binay para sa mga taga-Makati (o mga Makakati… ehehe)… kasi hanggang sa pagsilang, unang picture ng baby saka ng nanay pagkapanganak, health service tulad ng Yellow Card at diskwento sa gamot sa mga Senior Citizen at iba pa, hanggang sa mga cakes para sa matatanda, pati sa kabaong ng namatay at bulaklak, sagot ng pamahalaan ng Makati… madami pang mga pa-eklat na proyekto na talagang kapakipakinabang… masasabi kong alam ni Binay ang “kiliti” ng masa… kaya hindi ako magtataka kung patuloy pa rin siyang iboboto ng mga tao dito…
A Texas showdown is what it is, Pala-isip says. An OFW in Hong Kong takes a look at the brouhaha over Binay’s wearing a military jacket, something lilac republic also comments on. Philippine Commentary had lawyer Alan Paguia as a guest blogger and that got reactions, too from Buddy Blogs and Upoytaoism. Also, Confessions from the Edge says the Department of the Interior is courting contempt.
A pox on everyone’s houses, courtesy of Alternation101: he says everybody, without exception, is guilty of something-or-other sooner-or-later. earl_johnm paints his views on Philippine television in equally bold strokes.
Technorati Tags: constitution, media, military, One Voice, people’s initiative, philippines, politics, president, war, Washington DC
Another court loss for Malacañang. Can’t GMA and her people get their acts together? Isn’t she supposed to be surrounded by legal eagles who provide her with astute advice on what is legal or did politics take over legalities? If I were the president, I would lop heads of my staff left and right for causing me continuous embarassment in public. From EO 464 to the PCGG fiasco and now this. With their luck or ineptness, whichever one you pick, I am almost certain they will loss again on the matter of the “People’s Initiative”. But then again, what do you expect of somebody whose election “win” is in doubt? She will always attempt to fortify her position, even crossing into illegal means. I hope she realizes before it’s too late that she is sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.
I am not a big supporter of Binay but in this case, I am for him. Automatic suspension by the office of the president is pure harrasment. Actually, Binay did the right thing. He totally ignored the suspension because the order came from an illegitimate president. If Malacanyang thinks this is the law, then we should suspend or even remove GMA because there are enough evidences to prove she cheated. Binay is duly elected, GMA, I don’t know…
“Binay gets a breather†this administration got one too. but it’s not yet over, mr. binay. not by a long shot. watch your back.
anyway, ano kaya ang mangyayari kung hindi naglabas kaagad ng TRO ang CA ni Arroyo?
I saw Mark Jimenez’ rambling interview with Ricky Carandang which provoked Max Soliven’s call to arms. Besides making bold accusations about the duplicity of Max Soliven and Babes Romualdez (which isn’t really news), Mr. Crespo didn’t enlighten much on the backroom dealings he had been involved with during Erap’s presidency. He only maintains that everybody made a profit out of those deals, ergo no harm done. Perhaps the most insightful line he had from that interview was when he admonished the administration about bigger fishes to fry, such as the Sobrepeñas of CAP, instead of being mixed up in a turf war with gangsters like Binay.
my bet was on the makati community (mostly quite happy with the benefits of living in makati under binay, yellow cards and all) coming to the mayor’s rescue, which could have seriously escalated into an edsa moment.
Even at age 74, Max will win the battle hands down against Mark Jimenez.
Mr Crespo liked to play Tai Pan during his heydays with Erap. The guy would invite Erap’s cronies to his yacht along with Manila socialites to entertain the “crony club”. He would gift the socialites with thousands of pesos just for being there.
One of those ladies who “entertained” was the ex-girlfriend of Max who spilled the beans on Mario Crespo. I have no doubt that that was one of the reasons which sparked the fight between the two – Max & Mario.
Crespo had a habit of “summoning” a tai pan to a business meeting while his guest the impression that the meeting would be one on one only to find that when he got to the venue Crespo had also invited a couple of other big shots. After a while of Crespo’s modus operandi, the tai pans realized that he was doing it impress each one of them, “See how important I am” kind of.
Those businessmen started to resent Crespo’s modus operandi. Max was one of those who realized what the guy was up to early enough and couple that with the girl friend thinggy, bad blood started to flow.
Mark Jimenez cannot battle low key and low profile Alikabok (Babe Romualdez) not only because Babe has virtual free pass to Malacanang but also because he is backed by Uncle Sam’s men in Pinas.
Babe Romualdez is YUCKKKKKKKKKKK!
Chabeli,
“Babe Romualdez is YUCKKKKKKKKKKK! ” Hahahah!
Loren didn’t think so…
The Third Force(Or why the middle class/center remain silent).
To paraphrase ninoy’s word againts Marcos, PGMA’s troops has the gall and temerity in the kind of harassment/persecution of Mayor Binay and other enemies. But why does the 3rd force remains silent and unperturbed. Because Mayor Binay is not the issue they are waiting to march again.During Martial Law there are only two forces. One is with Marcos and the anti marcos (mostly politicians). The church, business and the middle class even applauded Marcos at the beginning. Ninoy was incarcerated for 7 years but nobody give a damn. Only after Ninoy’s death did the middle class moved towards the second force(Trapo, left and the like) Marcos was toppled only after the 3rd force joined the 2nd force. The situation now is the same. There must be an issue created? or hastened by the second force that is attractive to the 3rd force. The 3rd force is reluctant to move because there is no issue that will propel them to move. The hello garci tape seems to be orchestrated. Besides the middle class(my opinion) or majority did not really like FPJ to win. They however joined the hello garci protesters because the alleged cheating ran counter to their self righteous values. After this “round 1” in makati,stalemate pa rin. But as in boxing, a stalemate is equivalent to a draw, so the champion(GMA) retains the title. The problem today is that all the names cropping up are the same names we heard for the last 30 years(walang bago). Unlike in 1986 maraming bago, JBinay, J ongpin etc. Mukhang wala ng naiwan. EDSA 2 is just a carryover of EDSA 1 hoping that RP can still be revived. Today’s middle class generation (the 3rd force) just sit still because they no longer want what happened to them in EDSA i and 2. Thay invested the numbers but they never got their expected good governance. Even those coming from their ranks who joined the 2nd force were corrupted when they joined the government. Besides many of them have already left the country. This time around the 3rd force will just watch the ist and 2nd force destroy each other and this country rather than join one of them and most likely still destroy this country. Very cynical?Yesss!!!!!
mlq3 said: “No surprise then that the Republican Right and its fellow travellers are using the “vote Republican or Dubya will be impeached by Communists!†argument to hold the base together.â€Â
Rocco Di Pippo, who wrote the article referred to above, appeals to a lunatic fringe of the Republican party. Although the stupidity and ignorance of many Americans cannot be underestimated, alarmist portents such as those issued by Di Pippo will go unheeded by the mainstream. However, there are other ways to scare up the faithful, as reported in today’s Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901906.html
As has been very effective for the Republicans for the past 25 or so years, raising the specter of the “Big T†is the most effective way to rally the troops. As the Washington Post says:
“Amid predictions that demoralized conservative voters might sit out the election, Bush and other senior Republicans will escalate charges that Democrats will raise taxes, weaken national security and liberalize social policies.â€Â
Nothing scares Americans more than Taxes. Ever since Reagan, Republicans have found that the most expedient way to Americans’ hearts is through their wallets. And it has proven effective through the years, never mind if Republican administrations were responsible record budget-deficits and balance of payment deficits through all these years. It is an indication of how shallow and myopic they think Americans are. And they have been right on the money most of the time.
“This time around the 3rd force will just watch the 1st and 2nd force destroy each other and this country rather than join one of them and most likely still destroy this country. Very cynical?Yesss!!!!!” – Melvinsky
And if i may add, somewhat stupid.
So!!!!What now?For the 2nd Force their continuing quest shall be to recaptire the big chunk of the 3rd Force. Select and present characters that are untainted and marketable. Then the two strategic event they have to makewish are two: First they have to defeat the CHACHA and second capture the numbers necessary to initiate impeachment in the house and second, the numbers necessary to secure conviction. If they can hurdle this in May 2007, tapos na ang boksing! Parallel to this is a continuing prayer that PGMA and her troops will commit a blunder that may bring in enough numbers for EDSA 3A(if they can successfully evade the Garci generals’screen to get thru the ground ), But of course the pre-condition for all this is that there are enough or effective unity can be forged among the 2nd and 3rd forces leaders. This parallel action was tried but it failed. The primary action is more doable. What if the numbers in the 2007 election are not met. Well, talagang 2010 na lang. Easier task because the administration candidate will not be a sitting candidate.
I saw MJ talking to both Ricky and Korina. The persona he has assumed since being released from jail on 27 counts of tax evasion and for running an illegal straw donor campaign scam appears to be a mixture of several distinct personalities:
(1) He could be Sisa in drag as a billionaire ex-con who moves into the Presidential suites of European and American top hotels and gives $500 and $1000 tips;
(2) He could be a repentant former evangelist caught with his pants down in a motel room but now is only concerned for the dear wife and kids;
(3) He could be a former inside player who might just spill the beans at any time on any number of other former inside players, but won’t be cornered by questions about a quid pro quo;
He is one or more or all of the above: that is the effect he wants to achieve, a slightly cracked multiple personality type, but with still a lot of money to be a player again. And threatening everybody with what he supposedly knows or what position he will run for.. He’s a bull in China shop snorting fire and brimstone. Or is it that good ole stuff from Paraguay?…
Now i get it; “the cake” in your column is figurative and literal, and a pun too; you mentioned today that mayors give out birthday cakes to their constituents.
and free dentures.
anna de brux said: “Babe Romualdez is YUCKKKKKKKKKKK! †Hahahah!
Loren didn’t think so…
Loren is an ambitious tart who would like to play with the high rollers. The problem is that she is an impressionable pushover who doesn’t even know how to read the cards. First time around, she mistook a flaming Queen for a King. That ended in a disastrous first marriage. After that, she falls for a smooth-talking Knave who is actually a Svengali who would sell his soul . . . and hers . . . just to acquire ultimate power. After she sees thru Svengali and has a falling out, she carries on with a series of Knaves whom she swoons over because of their proximity to power . . . or because of their saccharine promises to fulfill her dreams of reaching the pinnacle. Power is quite the aphrodisiac.
Carl, if for anything I just love the imagery and metaphors.
with all due respect melvinsky, there is no such thing as a Third Force in today’s politics anymore.
You’re either with Arroyo and the Status Quo (like Capalla, Arguelles and co.), or you’re against it.
bloggers like Sassy claim they are not pro-Arroyo, but her blog serves as a gathering place for all the pro-admin and arroyo defenders out there with their hypocritical and vile comments against those who oppose arroyo.
And her newspaper the manila standard today, just like most arroyo defenders, has only two modes: either they’re defending this illegitimate and corrupt administration, or they are on attack mode vs. the opposition.
edit: with all due respect melvinsky, there is no such thing as a Third Force in RP politics anymore.
why not junk BP 880 (CPR in spirit) kung talagang mahina ang opposition. gawin ni arroyo yung ginawa ni thaksin sa thailand, at payagan ang mga anti-GMA groups na mag-rally.
I keep hearing the pro-arroyos say na dapat lang na pagbawalan na mag-rally ang mga anti-GMA groups sa mediola o makati dahil istorbo lang sila, or they keep telling the opposition, wag na kayong mag rally, mag-trabaho na lang kayo, blah blah blah…
(can you imagine the republicans asking the administration na pagbawalan ang mga anti-war groups na mag-protesta, o magagalit sila sa mga democrats dahil nakapag-rally sila sa kalsada at naka-istorbo ito sa trapiko?)
instead of telling the anti-GMA group to shut up (or make it difficult for them to obtain rally permits), dapat sabihin niyo, bahala kayong mag-rally, wala namang pupunta diyan eh. well, at least that’s what previous RP presidents did, from cory to erap.
mlq3, melvinsky, cvj
re the numbers to impeach and convict,
I.A Campaign to vote out anti-impeachment and vote in pro-impeachment congressmen must hurdle key problems:
How to overide local issues with the national issues (impeachment, Cha-cha over Admin Congressmen’s pork projects)
How to draft alterntive and support opposition candidates (voting out is doable only if there’s somebody to vote in, JdV is unbeaatable, Nograles was unopposed; will the Chueches/Bishops openly support and endorse candidates? Admin can field in bogus/decoy pro-impeachment candidates, sabotaging the movement)
How to outflank the administration as it uses gov’t money and machinery to suppress the opposition on all fronts (political harrassment, killings, vote buying …)
II The Campaign to vote in pro-impeachment Senators is easier because the votes and the issues are national (Escudero, Cayetano are highly rated Senatoriables)
The elections for Congressmen in 2007 is the real challenge to Pro Democratic Institutional/Constitutional Movements to put their ‘money’ and their ‘bets'(Congressmen) where their mouths are.
john marzan. are you any different from connie? the only difference is you’re batting for opposite sides. so what’s the problem with what she’s doing? any stupidity you can accuse her of, she can accuse you back. except she makes a better argument than you and most of the rabid hecklers on the other side of the fence.
john, i think melvinsky is right in identifying a distinct ‘third force’. To my understanding, it’s the same group to whom mlq3 directed his appeal in his ‘The Center Must Hold’ essay last year. In melvinksy’s concise analysis (which i mostly agree with), the pivotal sentence seems to be this:
“Besides the middle class(my opinion) or majority did not really like FPJ to win. They however joined the hello garci protesters because the alleged cheating ran counter to their self righteous values. “
Some, like those who hang around mlq3’s blog, were revolted enough by the cheating and consequently have overcome their misgivings about the opposition to change sides and join the ‘2nd force’. In contrast, a lot of those who congregate in Sassy’s court are either:
– closet Arroyo supporters who approve of what she did but have enough sense of shame to not want to be seen as siding with a cheater; or
– honestly don’t approve of Arroyo’s cheating but [mistakenly] see her as a benign presence compared to the opposition.
I don’t think there are just three forces though. The Erap/FPJ/Binay crowd who make up the majority are a distinct group and operate on their own timetable. I remember JB Baylon’s Malaya column and similar comments by Bernardo F. Ronquillo in Ricky’s blog stating that this group has tuned out largely because of the success of EDSA2 and the failure of EDSA3. The key to the challenge identified by JM above…
“How to overide local issues with the national issues (impeachment, Cha-cha over Admin Congressmen’s pork projects)”
…depends on whether this group sees this as their fight.
For me there is only one force in Philippines Politics. One force using the leverage of all other forces, depending on timing, and mode at any given time and use it to full advantage. The reason why the tug of war is never ending, because the only other part of the same force wants to get in while the other half wants to remain forever. Take a look at all the people contesting the power that be. They may be dressed in sheep clothing, stinking with cheap French whore perfume, but deep inside they all are wolves ready for dinner.
mik, for purposes of analysis can you elaborate who you’re referring to? (i’m hoping it’s not a variation of the ‘pare-pareho lang sila’ mantra which is a call to apathy)
Nothing better than an asshole like Soliven getting into a fight with a shit like Jumenez except a fight between a shit like Soliven and an asshole like Jimenez.
Let the shit hit the fan!!!
In DJB’s blog, Alan Paguia gives a legal opinion that that maybe Ermita is now running the country. Could this be why FVR is all of a sudden on TV talking about gving honor to the uniform? An ironic thing for a man who dishonored the unyform for 14 years to say.
melvinsky, cvj (and the others in the forum, of course)
leaving aside the question whether there is such thing as the third force or even fourth, fifth and n-th one in the RP politics, I just don’t get how most people in the Philippines can live with (and not constantly rage against) the administration so heavily tainted by the Hello Garci issue. I certainly don’t believe the whole thing with the tapes looks orchestrated to the general public. It is just something that GMA defenders would casually say without ever proving it. The fact that there still hasn’t been a proper investigation (forget about the aborted impeachment drive/-s) and yet people are pretty much ready to let Gloria do as she likes is a terrible betrayal of all the democratic ideals that once – and not so long ago – seemed to personify the mind and soul of the Filipino. With this kind of apathy taking hold of the nation one has to wonder whether the Filipino is still worth dying for.
cjv, for purpose of brevity, i don’t find any difference of all political colors of all people contesting for power except perhaps the Left, but then again we don’t even know if the left will remain true to its agendas and ideologies once they are in power. At the moment it is the same group of elitists, oligarchs passing the torch to their heirs and somehow some so-called middle forces who were able to sneak in, the likes of Erap, the Defensors, the Miriams, suddenly they themselves turn into the same force. In short, no matter which force gets in, it merged into one, and forget who it was. There all in for the power and wealth, and the privileges and rights above all other forces except one.
When i talked about the 3rd force i am echoing mlq3’s center and the physical reality of the present political equation.At present,in any political arena there are always two opposing forces, those in power(the 1st force) and those who want to capture power(the 2nd force). The bigger constituency, the majority, under a normal political contest is either between these two opposing forces. However when there is a significant moral conflict(the garci cheating controversy) that arise,the greater majority is agitated. If the balance is maintained by unfair methods this moral conflict is heightened. However as long as the division is maintained the status quo wins.
MIK, you exactly defined the sentiment of the center and the reason why they are not moving in favor of anybody. Segurista na sila, but still they are in a delimma. If they do not move they will help maintain the status quo. If they move to replace GMA and company, they fear that they will be replacing her with the same set of elites. No Change.Napaso na sa Edsa 1 and 2. The center is not afraid. They are not apathetic. Before, they said, let us leave it to god’s will(Bahala Na). whoever governed subukan natin(let us try). But after 2 EDSA tries, tama na!It is not apathy. It is not lack of patriotism. It is plain common sense.It pains us more because the people who now opress us used to be our comrades in the trenches. And the oppression gets stronger and more sophisticated. Mas garapal!Mas nakakasuka!Anybody out there who can break this delimma now? Now?NO. But in the near future. Most probably. Remember it took 3 years for the center to kick the Marcos Gang. But, again let us use our common sense. If the 2007 election is around the corner and we can kick the assess of many GMA ass kissers, will not that be enough to douse whatever negative emotions genered since July 2005? Kay Erap nabigla tayo? I have no love for GMA but if the voters will kick her out I prefer for the people to kick her out with finesse. Huag palakol(viking, madugo) dapat samurai (power slash,pino).
On Dr. Azurin’s piece on revolution. Unfortunately or fortunately for us there still has been no revolution in the Philippines. The so called Edsa’a were simply political revolution’s to change the palace guard. The American Revolution, French Revolution and the Russian Revolution were upending of systems and structures. The American Civil War was simply an extension of the American Revolution.
Nothing of the sort has happened yet in the Philippines. Will it happen here? Maybe? Remember that when a systemic change through a revolution happens those that are sitting on the fence most often become collateral damage or statistics of the civilians caught in the crossfire.
The U.S. insitituted a systemic change in Iraq and now the country is undergoing what Condi “mushroom cloud” Rice called the birth pangs of a New Middle East.
She described the instability as a sure sign of the stability that is to come.
Now they are arguing how many people have died so far. 100,000,300,000 or 600,000. The carnage continues. Anyone who loves that sort of carnage can apply for service to the CIA. Iraq is killing zone.
No matter what thank your lucky stars that whatever is left of institution’s are holding. The situtation here has gone past personalities. The country is slowly being balkanized. The roots of these islands, regional tribalism is coming forth. The center is kept in place by support from neo colonial structures supported by foreign borrowings and remittances from labor exports.
When the contradiction reaches the level of extreme political action – war – there will only be two sides and the middle usually will bear the brunt of the casualties.
The work in progress state will have to go through these birth pangs. If it does not destroy the state it will make it stronger. So those who believe to be the silent majority think again there is no silent majority.
Unlike the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, “the term of office of elective local officials†under the 1987 Constitution is now fixed, and it “shall be three years.†(Sec. 8, Article X)
Although Sec. 3. Art. X provides that: “The Congress shall enact a local government code which shall provide for … effective mechanisms of recall … and removal … of local officialsâ€Â; it is clear that, other than “recall†or “removal,†no law can shorten the constitutional 3-year term of elective local officials.
Sec. 4 of the same Article provides that: “The President of the Philippines shall exercise general supervision over local governments.â€Â
But does the executive power to “exercise general supervision over local governments†authorize the President to issue a “preventive suspension†order that effectively SHORTENS the tenure of a local official the qualified electors of a constituency willed to serve them for three years?
If guilty, the local official concerned is removed. Well and good.
But what if the local official the constituency elected for three years is found innocent?
“Preventive suspension,†in this case, unjustly deprived the constituency of the service of a local official it elected (under the majoritarian popular sovereignty rule) to serve for three full years–no more, no less (the legal meaning of the words “term†or “tenure,†notwithstanding).
I think the law should leave the matter concerning “preventive suspension†of elective local officials (if ever this is a justifiable recourse, other than “recall”) solely to the judiciary, not to the Executive not even to the Ombudsman.
cvj,mik, i just use the 3 forces model for strategic analysis purposes. Those in power(1st force), those out of power but interested to capture power(2nd) and the general indifferent but later agitated popolation(3rd) for general classification. I avoided the use of center because i will be forced to use the terms left(has cold war connotation) the right (conservatives, status quo?,etc) which under today’s situation,i find it difficult to define. Erap and company i think is of the right and the NPA is of the left and they may join as one group. Agreeably, within the classified forces they are of different shades too. But to go back to MIK’s post that the 1st and 2nd are of the same color(the elites) that just alternate power between them. Togo beyond this, why are our elites(most of the elites belong also to the middle class) cannot transcend themselves and work to expand the pie instead of nibbling at it jus after theywin an election or capture power.This is the stretegic delimma confronting the middle class because the answer can be found among their ranks but to the middle class’ expasperation they(percieved leaders) copped out once they are in power. Why cannot they found a lee kuan yew or a mahathir among them?
The Center, The Middle Forces, The Silent Majority . . . whatever . . . the fact remains that, since EDSA and EDSA II, people have been dismayed by the drastic transformation that overcomes former oppositionists when they are in power. Cupidity, arrogance, incompetence and the urge to make hay while the opportunity exists become the norm. People who once gave the impression of being altruistic and visionary succumb to narrow selfish interests and to myopic, ad-hoc objectives. Instead of growing the economic pie and creating extensive opportunities, all administrations after Marcos only created their own oligarchies and kept the pie to themselves. This kind of exclusive spoils mentality has impeded widely-spread progress and created fractious political crab mentality. This observation is not based on whimsy. The experience from several years and several administrations has been a lesson on diminishing expectations.
I think melvinsky, mik and other posters express their frustration about our dearth of leadership with far-reaching vision, determination and competence. I believe that profound disappointment is shared by a very large number of Filipinos. This has led to widespread cynicism and deep suspicion of anyone involved with politics. Unfortunately, there is nothing and no one in the present cast of characters on both sides of the fence that can dispel this skepticism and scorn for politicians and leaders.
The challenge will be in recapturing the imagination of a demoralized citizenry. It will take more than mere rhetoric to do that. It may, as hvrds points out, have to go through some torturous birth pangs.
Melvinsky, cvj, mik,
The EDSA uprisings made us aware of the potential force of a ‘People Power Movement’ that could lead to a popular uprising and to a full-blown revolution. The so-called ‘silent majority’, perhaps, is a potential 3rd force, but un-moved or immobilized, its potential is unrealized, hence, it has been conspicuous more in its absence than in it being a force to reckon with.
Who are the ‘silent majority’? Citizens not actively involved in partisan politics.
How to ‘consciencitize’ and mobilize the ‘silent majority’ to ‘kinetisize’ its potential as a ‘3rd’ force is the problem of ‘agitateurs’ for change, or in the situation at hand, to oust GMA and try her in court.
With regards to ‘strategic analysis’, my analysis is that the Filipinos’ emotionalism, personalism and fatalism is antithesis to analysis that risks paralysis. FPJ was the kind of leader who could gather the critical mass, the masa actually. One Voice appeals to a small ‘thinking’ section of the silent majority.
Hopefully, somehow a charismatic leader or a credible movement rises up to take the lead and ‘lead as one’ with the people.
you reacting to the comment here?
http://www.quezon.ph/?p=1075#comment-177230
I don’t claim to be something I’m not. I’m anti-Arroyo and I support the groups opposing her.
But here’s the funny part, if you ask most Arroyo defenders naman, they all tell you they’re not pro-Arroyo. LOL.
whether you belong to a) or b), these are the kinds of attitudes that has allowed and helped arroyo get away with stealing the vote and everything else so far.
if you’re referring to sassy, bong austero, micketymoc or juned as part of the “third force” that the anti-GMA groups need to court in order to kick out arroyo, good luck na lang. Hell will freeze over first before these self-proclaimed “hindi kami maka-arroyo” types will finally do the right thing and demand GMA’s ouster.
if they’re the so-called “third force”, god help us all.
actually, there are only two sides to the arroyo issue: the majority that believes arroyo stole the elections and should go, and the minority elites who support the status quo. they make of for their lack of numbers by having the military, police, gov’t media and resources on their side. and since edsa tres, they’ve learned how to control crowds. see belarus using similar tactics.
http://www.politicaljunkie.blogspot.com/2006/03/robert-mayer-what-to-expect-in-belarus.html
This is the kind of attitude that permitted arroyo to steal the elections and abuse her power. kung ganyan ba ang mga attitude ng mga closet arroyo defenders, eh di wag na lang mag-election.
Paul Berman on apologists.
http://www.democratiya.com/interview.asp?issueid=5
Of course, Arroyo is not as bad as Hitler or Stalin. GMA falls somewhere between Marcos and Estrada. But she has her own apologists too. just replace “defeating Bush” with “defeating the anti-Arroyo groups.”
jm said: “FPJ was the kind of leader who could gather the critical mass, the masa actually.”
Although it may no longer be relevant since the man is dead, for the sake of accuracy it must be pointed out that gathering the masses to a rally or some political circus isn’t the same as galvanizing the masses for an undertaking. The first one only requires the magnet of celebrity while the second one requires vision and leadership. To be objective, FPJ had plenty of the first but none of the second. The man was a reluctant candidate to start with, and it showed during the course of the campaign through the erratic and often unenthusiastic manner he conducted it. He obviously did it only to act as proxy for a dear friend, Erap. That is the tragedy of our political situation, and most people know it. There’s no vision to speak of, just a battle between personalities.
Why do people always bad mouth EDSA 1? Sino ang nasunog sa EDSA 1? Didn’t EDSA 1 restore our civil liberties? Despite seven coup attempts our civil liberties were never suspended.
EDSA2 can be bad mouthed but not EDSA1. It is one of the great fallacies of our time to place the 2 EDSAs on equal footing. They are not and never will be.
“if you’re referring to sassy, bong austero, micketymoc or juned as part of the “third force†that the anti-GMA groups need to court in order to kick out arroyo, good luck na lang. Hell will freeze over first before these self-proclaimed “hindi kami maka-arroyo†types will finally do the right thing and demand GMA’s ouster.” – John Marzan
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Ano ba talaga ang focus or goal natin???? I thought the objective of this forum is to expose all the minuses of Gloria and gather enough people / number to eventually outs her from malacanang. But then we keep on alienating a lot of people by pushing them to the other side even when they inisist that they are not…..
we keep proclaiming our abhorence to Glorias divide and rule strategy. but then we are the ones who are building legs to such strategy by insisting on labeling people as anti and pro gloria. gloria can “divide and rule” but its for the people to allow themselves to be divided.
sometimes we really have to pause for a while and reflect what we are doing……
Unfortunately or fortunately for us there still has been no revolution in the Philippines. The so called Edsa’a were simply political revolution’s to change the palace guard.
hvrds, I submit that Marcos’s New Society was such a revolution. It seeked to (in paper at least) remove the shackles of colonialism by kicking out the oligarchs, democratizing land ownership by confiscating haciendero land and giving them to the farmers, and nationalized key industries. His seizing of power was his way of rebooting the Philippines. Martial Law was not the New Society. The New Society was the goal. It was never achieved, as we all know, because avarice took over. (I remember Teddy Benigno once wrote that had Marcos married an Ilokana, things might have been a lot different.)
EDSA 1 was a counter-revolution to bring back the ‘Old Society’.
Carl,
I think you are right on the money with the assessment of FPJ’s leadership abilities and his lack of vision. Given the present situation though, when it is clear there needs to be some sort of a middle ground found for coming together of the “critical mass” (or masa, really) and the “small thinking section of the silent majority” – to borrow melvinsky’s phrase – how do you actually facilitate it? Don’t tell me it is impossible. You’d be guilty of the same apathetic malaise that is often derided here. Besides, history shows us such momentum can arise. I don’t mean EDSA 1 right now, because the military rebellion played a crucial part there, but there was a time in Poland in the 70s and 80s for example when a small group of intellectuals joined forcese together with the brave individuals in the Catholic church and with the trade unionists to pressure the communist government in Warsaw at the time for introducing some changes and to protect the dissent in general. It took some time, but in the end this underground movement gained the upper hand and the dictatorship fell. Could it be a model for the Philippines? I think so as long as the above mentioned elements are galvanized by the vision of returning full democracy to the Philippines which unfortunately doesn’t seem to be a priority for most Filipinos these days.
i don’t know if a revolution should be judged by its failures instead of what made it possible. for example, the french revolution being followed by an empire does not mean the revolution didn’t rebel against autocracy or that liberty, equality and fraternity didn’t inspire the toppling of the bourbons. the failure of the french revolution didn’t mean that republicanism should be discredited because the french ended up with an empire.
the rebooting was not marcos’s new society, because that assumes marcos was not only motivated by something larger than his ambitions, but that what destroyed the justifications for martial law could have prospered.
the rebooting was edsa in 1986. that was the resetting of the societal clock. it was rebooting to where the country should have been in 1973, had marcos’s ambitions not interfered.
the problem was that what might have taken a natural course -a series of incremental changes beginning with a change in administration in 1973, possibly followed by changes in administration in 1977, 1981 and 1985 -that”s four possible presidencies in the space of the never-ending Marcos years- changes that did not happen and when it did finally happen, in 1986, the country ended up four generations behind and having lost its historical opportunity to industrialize in the late 1970s.
this was a regular and healthy feature of the past: generational shifts in 1907 (from the senior revolutionary generation to those who only came of age at the end of that era); a more incremental rise of a new generation in the 20s and 30s and more clearly so, in 1945; a clear divide between the prewar leadership and the guerrilla generation in 1945-1953; and then the challenge raised by the generation born after independence when they reached college age in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
marcos belonged to the generation born around 1917; in 1973, gerry roxas’s generation, born in the 1920s, was due to assume power; in 1977, ninoy’s (and estrada’s) generation, born in the 1930s, was due to take over; in 1981, the generation born in the 1940s (to which GMA belongs) and in 1985, the generation born in the 50’s.
but instead, look at the way things were held back: in 1986, cory aquino (born in the 30s), in 1992, ramos (born in the 20s), in 1998, estrada (born in the 30s): all of them in power twenty, thirty years behind schedule and twenty and thirty years past their prime and possibly, their most idealistic. as was, sadly, a very large portion of those who came to power in those decades.
the generation born in the 60s should have been coming into its own a decade ago; and the martial law baby generation coming into power now, but the leaders today are the leaders who should have been leading twenty years ago, which is another reason there’s such a wide gulf between the leadership and the public.
this is the thing about marcos people refuse to see. he literally left the country retarded. he was like a paralyzing stroke that means we are hobbling along like people relearning how to walk, talk, and eat and not soil ourselves.
I think so as long as the above mentioned elements are galvanized by the vision of returning full democracy to the Philippines which unfortunately doesn’t seem to be a priority for most Filipinos these days.
I think youre right. With majority living below the poverty line, democracy and its concomitant political rights, are just not high on their priority list. For some reason I suspect politicians want it that way. Im reminded of manuelbuencamino’s comment about his talk with a politician who sees people depending on him for jobs as a sign of their ‘love’ for him. They want these people poor and dependent.
Excellent insights, mlq3. Especially about the holding back of the generations. Reminds me of how old the leaders of the Philippine Revolution against Spain were and how remarkable that was.
this is the thing about marcos people refuse to see. he literally left the country retarded.
This ties in with my previous comment on politicians wanting a dependent electorate. Marcos saw that and proceeded to ‘hold their hand’ and make decisions for them. Like children. I suspect that Marcos, like GMA, saw himself as some kind of messiah; that he alone could save the country.
As for his motives at first, we can only guess, but what he was brilliant at was looking at the Philippines and knowing what made it tick. That’s how he was able to hang on to power for so long. GMA is still learning that lesson and is blundering along.
Jeg,
you are absolutely right. Political rights definitely take a backseat to the econimical well-being even if there is hardly any to speak of for the wide masses.
mlq,
very illuminating historical excurse inddeed. And I dare to say the holding back of generations is bound to continue as long as the status quo lovers keep the power. Their thinking probably goes something like this: It’s those dangerous idealist young minds that one has to fear. Let them grow older and weary and then perhaps let them taste the power and get corrupted by it. Di ba?
Back to you, Jeg,
don’t you actually think that GMA has that babysitting attitude towards the population as well? All those “GMA cares” signs and posters dotting the countryside in the Philippines tend to make the uneducated believe they live and breath only thanks to Inang Glo.
john,
listen to other writers. not because we criticize the opposition, we are pro arroyo. Unlike you who became anti-arroyo because you are pro-erap.
i am against the practise of politicians using people as shield in an instant people power. i did not even refute the claims that there are no ghost employees in cities or municipalities governed by pro-GMA executives.
why criticise people who congregate in sassy’s blog. why do you have to bring it up here?
they do not bother people coming to mlq3’s blog. i read every comments written here and I learn something.
the irony of politics has always been, that it requires ambition but ambition, like power, when overabundant becomes self-defeating.
that is why politics more often than not, is designed to keep the politicians queued: for power, position, etc. with the electorate or some similar process moving them along. keep one stuck, the qeue gets stuck, and a vicious cycle ensues.
one politician stays too long, it reduces the incentive for others to move along, as they will want a chance to be compensated for the delay. and this is true even when all those involved believe they’re motivated not by self-interest, but public service.
which is why every now and then butchery gets involved. either butchery or the threat of being butchered.