New impeach rap filed vs Arroyo:
A three-page complaint accusing Arroyo of betrayal of public trust was lodged by lawyer Roberto Pulido before the office of House Secretary General Roberto Nazareno at 5 p.m., said Representative Joel Villanueva of the Citizens Battle Against Corruption party-list.
Laguna Representative Edgar San Luis, an administration ally, endorsed the complaint that accuses Arroyo of inaction despite being informed by a Cabinet official of alleged bribery attempts in the scandal-tainted national broadband network (NBN) deal, said Villanueva.
Pulido earlier filed a complaint against House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. before the House ethics committee, accusing him of using his office to help his businessman-son corner the NBN project.
San Luis meanwhile is a member of a faction of the administration Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino led by Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte, who is accused of plotting the ouster of De Venecia.
The President issued a helpful statement from India:
Arroyo also admitted for the first time that former socioeconomics secretary Romulo Neri had informed her of the alleged bribery attempt of erstwhile elections chief Benjamin Abalos Sr.
“Yeah, I can confirm that,” said Arroyo.
Perfectly orchestrated and timed!
Technorati Tags: constitution, House of Representatives, impeachment, philippines, politics, president, Senate
“Here’s a trivia. Karah is a frustrated Economist, Lawyer and Doctor. She took up and finished cosmetology though.â€Â-bibeth
Hmmmm…Is that the one where you put make up on dead people? – ramrod
Well, you too could avail of her make-up services. You can post your reservations now. You’ll be dying to see what she can do.
Beth Why I gave you the link to this website. Truth to tell, you’re too restless and wandering. 🙁
Karah
Your too serious sometimes. just hoped to see you lighten up a little bit here in the blogs.
Anyway somebody is interested in your make-up services, he is just dying to get in line.
Anyway, what are all of you doing pecking at the pc on a perfectly beautiful Saturday night? Don’t you have somewhere hot to go to?
frombelow,
I agree with you. The middle class is a very powerful change agent, thats why I’m happy with the rise of the OFWs, BPOs, and SMEs – this will result to an increase in the middle class.
re: imperial manila. don’t forget that because of migration, since the end of ww2 a large percentage, even possibly a majority of those living here are non-tagalogs. it is a melting pot.
note as well, that more people live in urban areas now, than in rural areas, overall percentage wise if im not mistaken. while each city is unique it will lead to more city-like behavior, more city-like thinking: the gulf in political attitudes between manila and other urban centers will therefore shrink.
this is where elections serve a useful gage of where public opinion lies: this is a true national sample and this is why senatorial elections are attractive to many -it is the closest thing to a presidential election in an off-year.
while the last 4 slots in every senate election have been questioned, most people agree the top 8 are as close to an authentic expression of opinion as we can get. and you can break it down province by province, and even taking into consideration favorite son/daughter variables affecting candidates, an overall picture emerges.
that picture was on the whole, anti-administration.
Well, just got home. A little dose of blog and PC pecking is good for your health.
But Karah has sevre eyebugs from too much blogging, she wont come out fot the meantime.
“most people agree the top 8 are as close to an authentic expression of opinion as we can get. and you can break it down province by province, and even taking into consideration favorite son/daughter variables affecting candidates, an overall picture emerges.”-mlq3
Aha! So the top 8 senators are basically the winnable candidates in a 2010 presidential elections? We must therefore include them in our list for dissection/study.
mlq,
I don’t believe the Senatorial race or any elections thereof is the peoples’ authentic expression of opinion.
candidats rarrely win because people believe in their capability. Gimmicks and endorsements play key roles.
Making buzz in the news also boost your chances. Take for example Cayetano and Escudero and Trillanes. These 3 won by sheer numbers of appearance on TV and radio.
every senator is a potential president, that’s one reason we have a specifically nationally-elected senate. the potential of some, however, is reduced by things like health, age, etc. some people are meant to go only as high as the senate: an example was lorenzo tanada who was a senator for thirty years.
Running for the Senate is a good diving board for those who have presidential ambitions. It is a litmus test on their popularity across the country.
Those senators who are eyeing the presidency is not yet going to make any moves as of now. They want to make their moves at the last moment so people can still vividly remember and hopefully get their attention and votes.
bibith, that’s a question on the level of how do i know i exist? what is democracy? relatively free elections are a perfectable but always imperfect instrument and no better way has been found for enabling people to have some sort of say in how their leaders are chosen and will run a country.
just a note. trillanes was in detention during the campaign. he never matched the advertising and exposure of other candidates who had much much more but still lost.
Sandy
Trying to remedy your eyebag problem with a cucumber is not going to be effective. Just eat the cucumber.
Try to spend more time blogging late at night. Hopefully another eyebag will cancel the existing eyebag out.
mlq3
its bibeth sir.
Anyway elections in our country is beginning to look more and more like more of a battle of popularity, rather than battle of wits and programs.
Very few candidates present their programs and instead concentrate on throwing mud at their opponents or riding on popular issues. Its sad to say many people are mezmerized by such display of “courage”.
By the way trillanes was not a humble and beliguered candidate he seemed to be. That was just his portrayal of himself. His family is a supplier in the AFP. You may want to rethink your belief that Trillanes was a “poor” and helpless candidate.
MLQ3 It can be asserted that the Senate is where some of the Philippine Presidents came from. I don’t know the ratio how many Philippine Presidents since the time of Aguinaldo became Senators before becoming the CEO of the land. Did some research. Here are my findings:
Emilio Aguinaldo – didn’t become a Senator
Manuel L. Quezon – was a Senator, in fact became the Senate President
Sergio Osmena – didn’t become a Senator but became the Speaker of the Lower House
Jose P. Laurel – was a Senator
Manuel Roxas – was a Senator, in fact became the Senate President as well
Elpidio Quirino – was a Senator, became the Senate President “pro tempore”
Ramon Magsaysay – didn’t become a Senator but became a Congressman
Ferdinand Marcos – became a Senator
Corazon Aquino – did not become a Senator
Fidel Ramos – did not become a Senator
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – became a Senator
What we have here is 8 out of 14 (approximately 57%). (Manolo, please check my facts if I didn’t get anything wrong). Whether the next President would come from the Senate remains to be seen. We don’t know what will transpire from today until the next Elections in 2010.
The problem with nationally-elected Senators is that they don’t have a particular constituency to be answerable to. Yes, they are answerable to the Filipino people but how?
karah,
There are also many popular figures not in any government posts who are vary capable to run for president. Its anybody’s game in 2010.
Well, it seems nobody’s replying anymore.
Maybe its time we call it a day and tuck ourselves in a cozy bed.
As for Karah, she invited me in here, and she is now dozing off and sleeping comfortably.
bibith, apologies for misspelling your name.
I voted for Trillanes, and interviewed him:
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/311571
karah, the senate was established in 1916, elected by districts, and abolished in 1935 and restored in 1941, elected nationally:
Emilio Aguinaldo – didn’t become a Senator
Manuel L. Quezon – was a Senator, in fact became the Senate President
Sergio Osmena – was the Speaker of the Lower House and Senate President pro tempore
Jose P. Laurel – was a Senator
Manuel Roxas – was Speaker of the House and then also Senate President as well
Elpidio Quirino – was a Senator, became the Senate President “pro temporeâ€Â
Ramon Magsaysay – congressman, cabinet member, then president
Carlos P. Garcia: was a senator
Diosdado Macapagal ran for senator but lost
Ferdinand Marcos – became a Senate President
Corazon Aquino – did not hold any political office prior to becoming president
Fidel Ramos – was a constabulary officer prior to entering politics after becoming a cabinet member.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – became a Senator
Governorships is also a way: Quezon, Osmena, Roxas, Garcia had all been governors. Aguinaldo and Estrada had been mayors. Quezon, Osmena, Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Macapagal had all been congresssmen/assemblymen. Roxas, Quirino, Laurel, Magsaysay, Garcia, Ramos, Arroyo, all served in cabinets. Aguinaldo, Roxas, Ramos achieved general rank; Quezon and Marcos reached junior officer rank as did Magsaysay; Garcia was a guerrilla leader. All except Aguinaldo, Magsaysay, Aquino, Ramos and Arroyo were lawyers.
karah: I think you forgot to mention pres. diosdado macapagal who did not become a senator but had been a congressman for a number of consecutive terms. he was also the vice president (from the opposing party) in the garcia presidency. fwiw, i regret to this day voting against him (for marcos) in 1967. not that it would have mattered, but i truly admired the man’s honesty and humility. he had been a bright light in congress.
Bencard, I’m not sure if my memory serves me right, Macapagal run for Vice President under the Liberal banner of Sergio Osmena Sr. and then successfully run against Garcia to become the President. I did vote for him against Marcos, because I could at that time foreseen Marcos being an Aristocrat and although very intelligent, at that time after Magsaysay, I don’t have much confidence with very intelligent politicians, academicians maybe and scientists certainly. Well, I only experienced the first 2 years of his Martial Law rule..
Mlq3,Ramrod,Karah, and everyone via Ellen Tordesillas blog
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=1709#comment-385723
Following Ramrod’s posting of the Cavaliers’ letter of 2006, here’s another good read (Joint statement by the 28 incarcerated officers):
Never in the history of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has one man and his criminal gang brought so much shame to our beloved organization. Allegations that this man and a few criminal elements among the ranks of the AFP have allowed themselves to be used to subvert the Constitution and destroy the very essence of democracy have become our collective shame.
Nay, it is our collective shame that we failed to STOP them. The thought of this failure reaffirms our resolve to bring them to justice. That is our covenant with the people and our sworn duty to the Constitution.
We have been repeatedly called by Mr. Esperon as “political destabilizers†in almost every forum that affords him opportunity. We pose these questions to you Mr. Esperon:
Who cried unabashedly in front of national viewers when his mentor announced that she will not covet the presidency again?
“Who stands accused of cheating in the elections in 2004? Who stands accused of lying? Who stands accused of stealing votes? Who was mentioned in the Garci tapes? Who debased the Armed Forces of the Philippines by being party to cheating, stealing and lying? Who hides behind EO 464 when given the opportunity to let the truth out?â€Â
“Who vigorously opposes the Mayuga report from being published? Who hides behind that little skirt to save his ass? Who invokes the words `state secret’ like a criminal who invokes the Fifth Amendment when caught? And since when has a criminal act become a state secret?†Pray tell, Mr. Esperon.
Patriotism is not our monopoly, Mr. Esperon.
No! In fact, the mere mention of this word brings out inadequacies in us. However, our definition of patriotism does not include involving ourselves in the criminal act of subverting the will of the people. Neither does it include closing our eyes while the crime is being committed.
Incarceration is a very small price to pay for that definition.
There are “more good men outsideâ€Â, you said. We agree, Mr. Esperon. Our sympathies go to those men who are placed in an unenviable position to clean up the mess that you made. Our sympathies go to those good men who try to rebuild the institution which you had destroyed. Our sympathies go to those good men who are left to pick up the pieces after being victims of a crime themselves.
Allow us to refresh your memory to recount events, Mr. Esperon. During the height of the fighting in Central Mindanao, a Marine general offered his own blood so than an enemy may live. Another marine general took it upon himself to lobby for a humane treatment for Nur Misuari whom we all had the opportunity to cross swords. Do we need to tell you who Nur Misuari is, Mr. Esperon?
Those, Mr. Esperon are acts of honorable men. Those acts distinguish men of courage. Those acts remind us that the AFP is an institution, upholds human dignity of life.
Yes Mr. Esperon, you may succeed in destroying our physical being but never shall you have the satisfaction of destroying our will and spirit, as well. NEVER!
We have not given up on you, Mr. Esperon. There might still be some good left in you. You will be leaving the service in a few months time. Please do the nation and your family a favor. Tell the truth. You might still earn our salute. Every Navy man worth is salt knows why we call you “Misterâ€Â…We lost that on you,â€Â
“I dont like Noli. But I DONT LIKE GMA MORE.”
Ladies and gents, the choice is not GMA or Noli. The choice is between law and lawlessness.
karah, fromb,
VP Noli has come to represent the constitutional regime change option.
Main issue against a Noli presidency is uncertainty. Two mitigating factors: one is constitutionality, his assumption into office if GMA is impeached, resigns or goes on leave is solidly constitutional. Second is the ‘sovereign will of the people’ factor via his mandate as VP.
A three year Noli presidency could be the providential transition period that could restore our national political leadership back to constitutionality and legitimacy.
Isn’t the resolution of the legitimacy issue at the top priority? Without first resolving the national leadership’s legitimacy issue, we cannot make any further steps towards any kind of reform.
Let’s analyze the proposition that a Noli presidency could lead us back to the constitution. Upon Noli being sworn into office, a crucial element of legitimacy is immediately effected. A three year transition to normalcy could commence with a significant level of political stability than if GMA stays.
Supposing we get a consensus about the urgency of going for the Noli-constitutional regime change option, the next question is how to push for it in a way consistent with the constitution.
bencard, vic,
dm ran with jose yulo in 1957. yulo lost but dm won as the first opposition vp elected. dm ran for president in 61 and won with pelaez. he ran for reelection in 65 with gerry roxas but both lost to fm and fernando lopez.
details in http://www.pangulo.ph
mwb, thanks for your effort in posting the accused magdalo rebels’ statement. frankly, it earns no sympathy nor respect for their “cause” from me. i see it as a tragic failure of discipline – the lifeblood of any military organization. it is a glaring example of how politicized our military has become; a precipitous slide since the magsaysay presidency.
to one whose father lost his life resisting the japs; whose only paternal uncle died with his boots on (or whatever was left of them) on the road to capas after fighting a heroic battle in bataan; whose cousin died in action in korea a year after graduating from pma; whose young brother in law (also a pma grad) is currently serving in mindanao; this rebellious adventurism for political ends is not easy to swallow.
these alleged traitors are the ones who stand accused in a court of law. by their own words, they have decided to put the law into their own hands and failed. they express no remorse for their unlawful act, vowing to continue defying their superiors and meting out their brand of “justice” on the latter.
since when does donating blood an exceptionally noble act. i give blood to red cross almost every year and i don’t make a big deal out of it. neither do i consider it important who uses it, friend or foe, male or female, young or old, black, brown, red, yellow or white. leniency for misuari? what can i say? maybe a medal of honor?
how does one destroy an institution if not by overthrowing it? what does a “destroyed” institution look like if it still exists?
no one should close his eyes when a crime is being committed. neither should he shoot to kill the suspect. he should report it to proper authorities and testify against the culprit. failure to report a crime is obstruction of justice, which is a crime in itself.
“Manolo And Karah,
It was actually a very enteresting exchange. So why cut it? Its even very relevant to the thread because thi sthread its all about impeachment of the president. So maybe we can enumerat here all the sins and †not only impeachable sins of Gloria that we know or perceived to be.” -rego
agree with you rego. the exchange of views was getting interesting by the time. i dunno why it was cut
harry c
thanks manolo, got confused between Osmena and Roxas. just testing my memory after losing most of it from some unexplained health issue that was resolved and treated successfully but until now my neu can’t explained the cause. my suspicion is starvation of good cholesterol (DHL) after going on massive statin therapy. Emmanuel Pelaez din’t even ring a bell.
Bencard I did not intend to complete the Political Career of each of the Past Philippine Presidents. The issue was the SENATE and so I discriminately researched on who among Past/Present Presidents became a Senator.
You are right though in saying that some Past/Presdent Presidents became Vice-Presidents before they catapulted themselves into the Presidency.
There are really no guarantees how things would unfold. There were good Politicians who became bad. On the other hand, there were shady Politicians who changed hard and eventually did something good for the nation. Just like life, no amount of analysis could predict how a PERSON would behave once HE/SHE becomes the PRESIDENT. Marcos was a good President in the beginning. Now who would have thought he would become the longest serving President in Philippines History and even became a DICTATOR.
MLQ3 I do respect the exercise of your “constitutional right” to choose who you will vote. The only thing I like about Trillanes might be his physical appearance but that’s it. Here are my reasons why I dislike him:
Were you able to verify and even research that Trillanes’ family was an AFP supplier and the alleged one of the favorite “overpricing supplier” of the AFP? I wonder why this issue didn’t come out. In trying to understand a person, we must always look at his background.
Being a mere Lieutenant, why is that he has Pajero and Nissan Patrol at his disposal. He might reason out that his parents are rich but isn’t that doubtful is a sense that he’s a Military Officer and not a Private Citizen?
Trillanes was a La Sallian before he went to the Academy. Come to think of it, this guy does not belong (not anywhere near the marginalized sector) to the so-called “oppressed.” Why is he being portrayed like a victim – that he has no money for elections, that he does not have any resources for the elections, that we has the underdog. It’s like MEDIA portrayed him to be the “knight in shining armor” for Philippine Politics.
If we’re talking about PRINCIPLES, then I would go for the FACTION of GAMBALA and co. Why? Gambala came from the squatters-area (of which he is not ashamed of). Became the Valedictorian of this Class at the PMA. Although he had the option of join the more prestigious Air Force and Navy, he chose to be in the Army. With this alone, we can say who has pure intentions and how has ulterior motives. By the way, the 100 Million that “alleged” Erap gave to Trillanes for the Oakwood Mutiny, where is it now? Why was this not investigated?
Karah, as i recall there were people who anticipated that Marcos would become a dictator, Ninoy Aquino among others. It’s just that not enough in the public were listening and/or even if they heard the message, did not find enough compelling reasons to act until it was too late (by 14 years). They thought by giving up their freedoms, they would achieve prosperity.
I agree with you that no amount of analysis could predict how a person would act when he/she becomes president. That’s why an active public sphere is needed to constantly discipline whoever is in office. The problem is, we have a mindset that our duty in choosing our leaders ends with elections and/or people power events. We need to take that requirement into account when discussing a Noli presidency.
Bencard Un-Constitutional and Extra-Constitutional Methods would really raise eyebrows no matter it became successful or not. As in the case of the EDSA, those were EXTRA-CONSTITUTIONAL METHODS (beyond what is provided for in a constitution) but were in the end UPHELD by the COURTS (the Supreme Court for that matter). Success means a withdrawal of support or overtake could be LEGAL taking into consideration the anarchy that would happen if warring camps would collide head-on.
I know where you’re coming from based on your familial history – your Father, your Uncle, your Cousin, and you Brother-in-Law all died for the country in different historical events. These were honorable men who followed orders and who laid down their lives for freedom. We salute these people.
Re: REBEL SOLDIERS. It’s a good thing I did not become a MAN. If was male, I would have entered the PMA and became a soldier. If I was the Field Commander at the time the Magdalo Group tookover the Oakwood Suites (together with it the whole Glorietta Mall and surroundings Commercial and Business Areas), I would have APPROVED A SIEGE – force for force. What happened became an AWFUL PREDECENT. Yes, they crushed it but what would prevent the next generation to state such an act and in the end would be accorded DUE PROCESS? The Gov’t should have taken this situation with an IRON HAND – kill them all. I bet nobody and I mean nobody would DARE stage another COUP, another MUTINY, another REBELLION even again from the ranks of the AFP, even the PNP.
What’s more damning is that one of the leaders of this reprehensible deviation from the Constitution and the Rule of Law was elected a Senator. How would a person who is fond of BREAKING THE RULE OF LAW would be in the HALLS where they MAKE THE LAW (that he broke in the first place, quite an irony I should say). I don’t understand why the Gov’t went soft on them. In other countries, they would have met a fate of a FIRING SQUAD (no questions asked).
cvj Marcos did great things (as well as really GREAT AWFUL THINGS) for the Philippines and this is a historical fact. At that time, either Sen. Ninoy was a lone voice in the forest or others just didn’t think that Marcos would eventually become a dictator (knowing how much support Macos has from Congress due to concessions).
REGRET is always in the end. In my own opinion, Marcos was a good leader but it was IMELDA who dragged him down. In every man’s success, is a woman behind him. In every man’s blunder, is a woman behind him as well. Only if the “GIVING UP OF FREEDOMS” at that time lead into what Malaysia and Singapore have become, the Philippines would have been an ECONOMIC POWER OF ASIA until today. But then again, it’s not good to dwell on spilled milk.
Public Accountability, Honesty, Transparency, and Good Governance should always be demanded of the Public Officials. For many Filipinos, their duty BEGINS and ENDS in the Elections – NOT SO. It BEGINS in the ELECTIONS and it becomes a CONTINUUM and ENDS the next Election then the cycle comes back again.
Karah, what’s the use if Marcos did ‘great things’ (i’m interested in what you think these are) if, as you say, he did really great awful things? As for Imelda, she has her faults, but she’s a red herring. Marcos stands or falls on his own. Yes, regret is always the end but fortunately today, we have the benefit of hindsight. Unfortunately, the Upper and middle classes today are making the same mistakes that their fathers/mothers committed in 1972.
In the case of Singapore, as i told Ramrod before, their model is not applicable to us because Lee Kuan Yew did not have to contend with an oligarchy. In the case of Malaysia, although Mahathir was a strong leader, i’m not exactly sure if you can classify that as a dictatorship. Maybe you can consider it as a sort of dictatorship of the majority since they’ve always had the UMNO (i.e. the Malay dominated party) in power. However, in both cases, it was not ‘giving up freedoms’ per se that caused both countries to prosper. Rather, it was the pursuit of sound policies.
cvj Marcos is not a good person through and through as well as Marcos is not bad through and through. I think this is very clear. Let us not make it EITHER or because that we would lose the point of it all. The Marcos years brought about rapid Infrastructure from North to South (a feat that no Philippine President after Marcos was able to accomplish). It is very relevant to note that MANY OF THE LAWS THAT MARCOS wrote are still in force and in effect until today. His strong ties with the USA, made him build more schools and hospitals than all the the preceding Presidents (ALL COMBINED). Although at the latter of his Presidency (when he was already sickly and mostly his lieutenants that’s running the country), before that the STRONG ECONOMY of the Philippines is hard to dispel.
The Philippine Heart Center, The Philippine Children’s Medical Center, The National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and The Lung Center of the Philippines? Who pushed for these specialty hospitals that up to now help thousands, if not helped hundreds of thousands of Filipinos until today. How about CCP?
The UPPER CLASS (the elite) and the MIDDLE CLASS does not commit the same mistakes. It’s just that the UPPER CLASS would always look after their own INTERESTS – Business, Landholdings, what have you. The middle class has always been known to move at the homestretch but you can’t expect them to be politically active all the time.
I did not mean to say a CARBON COPY of that Singapore Phenomenon and the Malaysia Phenomenon. So, do you mean to say that during the MARCOS REGIME, there weren’t no SOUND POLICIES? So why then most of the (thousands) of Proclamations, Executive Orders, and Decrees are still being used by the Philippines? Tell me.
I think the question is not that the Singapore and Malaysia model is not applicable or not, it’s the question of, what if MARCOS did good and didn’t plunder the Nation? What I mean is, emulate those aspects that is applicable and innovate other models that’s good for the country.
karah:
ouch! so what is it you like about the physical appearance of trillanes, huh?
harry c
I have an impression that he’s a manly guy – the way he speaks, the way he acts.
“re: imperial manila. don’t forget that because of migration, since the end of ww2 a large percentage, even possibly a majority of those living here are non-tagalogs. it is a melting pot.”
“note as well, that more people live in urban areas now, than in rural areas, overall percentage wise if im not mistaken. while each city is unique it will lead to more city-like behavior, more city-like thinking: the gulf in political attitudes between manila and other urban centers will therefore shrink.”
Re: domestic migration and the line between rural and urban areas. To properly appreciate the economic conditions of the country as a whole, a system of measuring value added per hectare is one way of measuring where most people in the country are living off from. The Philippines is far from being an urbanized society. The majority 70%+ of the population still live off the land and the seas.
For example over 50% of the labor value (GNI/GNP) added on the national economy comes from the NCR, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon. The NCR contributes approximately 35% with a population of 15% of the total. Now to get the population or labor value added per hectare if there are accurate figures for the land area of what comprises the NCR one would see the difference between the NCR and Southern Tagalog with a much lower population and lower labor value added and a larger land area.
To give everyone an extreme example is the city state of Singapore. Pop. 4M + Land Area:
total: 692.7 sq km
water: 10 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km
to the Philippines with Pop. 85M + Land Area:
total: 300,000 sq km
water: 1,830 sq km
land: 298,170 sq km
GNI/GNP of Singapore is more or less equal to the entire Philippines
The size alone of Metro Manila is equal to Singapore.
636 sq. KM. Less than 1 % of the total land area with almost 35% of the domestic economy and apporximately 15% of total population. (Production and consumption.)
Karah, we are of the same understanding that Marcos is not all good or all bad, but isn’t that a motherhood statement applicable to most of us? What matters is that as a leader, he wasted his opportunity as President, especially given all the talents that he had. Given his length of stay in office, it is just to be expected for him to have made all those laws
and built all those infrastructure from the people’s money. What is inexcusable (of him or any other leader) is his using a portion of those funds to enrich himself and his cronies. His contemporaries transformed their respective countries into newly industrializing economies while his rule resulted in economic collapse and left us with an enormous foreign debt. Blaming it on his lieutenants, or poor health (or Imelda) is not acceptable because it was Marcos himself who engineered his own prolonged stay in office via Martial Law.
The habit of looking only after their own interests is precisely one of those repeated mistakes by the Upper Class that i am pointing to. To the extent that their fortunes and position in life are protected, they do not care what happens to the rest of us Filipinos. As for the Middle Class, why shouldn’t we expect them to be politically engaged? Don’t they realize that our political leaders need to be constantly disciplined?
As i mentioned above, Marcos’ may have had some sound policies on paper but in the end, he was not able to implement them to benefit the Filipino people. For one thing, he had the most far reaching energy self-sufficiency policy, but we ended up with white elephants like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which has never been used and which we are still paying for. Another promising policy he had was the 11 major industries initiative which also came to nothing because of cronyism. Most damning of all is that he declared Martial Law on the promise of a ‘revolution from above’, to get rid of the oligarchs. He ended up enabling his own set of oligarchs. All those thousands of Proclamations, EO’s and Decrees do not compensate for his failure to deliver given the time he had.
I agree with you that we should emulate those aspects from the past (even during Marcos’ time) as well as other countries (including Singapore and Malaysia) that have worked. Where i disagree with you is on whether ‘giving up our freedoms’ is one of those aspects that we should emulate.
The Ca t Republic Act 6713 (An Act Establishing a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, to Uphold the Time-Honored Principle of Public Service Being a Public Trust, Granting Incentives and Rewards for Exemplary Service, Enumerating Prohibited Acts and Transactions and Providing Penalties for Violations thereof and for Other Purposes).
Section 3. Definition of Terms:
PUBLIC OFFICIALS – includes elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent of termporary, whehter in the career or non-carrer service, INCLUDING MILITARY and POLICE PERSONNEL, whether or not they receive compensation, regardless of amount.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST – arises when a public official or employee is a member of a board, an officer (TREASURER), or a substantial stockholder of a private corporation or owner or has substantial interest in a business, and the interest of such corporation or business, or his rights or duties therein, may be opposed to our affected by the faithful performance of official duty.
Section 4. Norms of Conduct of Public Officials and Employees.
SIMPLE LIVING – Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or estentatious display of wealth in any form.
I don’t know why these things did not surface before the elections.
cvj Exactly, the very reason for my statement was to point out the fact that although a lot of people are mad at Marcos, let’s not demonize him. We can only dissect his actions inasmuch as we are critiques but let’s not play God on judging him like we know him personally. I just want to be as objective as I can given the “sentiments that comes into play” when the name Marcos crops up.
True, his was on the whole, a WASTED PRESIDENCY. Let’s just give credit where credit is due. Let us not always focus on the “personality” involved rather on the other realm, what he has done during his term. So tell me, after Marcos, who among the succeeding Presidents put real focus on INFRASTUCTURE and HEALTH as much as Marcos did?
Precisely, the Marcos CRONIES are partly to blame on a larger scale because whether we like it or not, Marcos listens to some of his Cronies and take their suggestions seriously (that is, how to amass more money). Marcos is not the SOLE PERSON to BLAME but a multitude of other personalities (others even became herous during EDSA 1). As I’ve said, let’s not dwell on spilled milk because we cannot change time, we cannot undo time. What we should focus on is how the lessons of the past could be applied for the betterment of the future.
Who does not have as SELF-INTEREST their primary objective in life? This is what the UPPER CLASS has been doing time and again, generation after generation. We are after all a democratic country, not even in Communist countries, the higher echelos of the Party are considered the UPPER CLASS in a democratic country. The job of the government is to foster an environment wherein there are more opportunities for the poor and the middles classes to uplift their lives. Just like in Western countries (first world, that is), the UPPER CLASS look after its own interests but the Government makes it a point that those below the food chain are given all the necessary tools to improve their standard of living (a case which we do not have in the Philippines).
Based on my inferences, it’s not that easy to be politically active. People also have their own personal lives to live, their own work to attend to, their own families to feed, their own leisure to have. I would want to see a middle class that’s more socially and politically active but it’s their choice not ours to make.
We should treat POLICIES per se. The sphere of IMPLEMENTATION is another matter. The Philippines has some of the best laws in the world yet the problem would always lie in the IMPLEMENTATION – this is true not only during the time of Marcos but up until today. You can say that the “implementation” is a conditio sine qua non with reference to Policy but I’ll be interested to know what POLICY that a Philippine President (after Marcos) pushed forward that actually saw the LIGHT OF DAY in terms of implementaion without stumbling blocks? Have any ideas?
Talking about NUCLEAR, you may call it an advocacy but, a Nuclear Philippines would solve our woes. The problem is not only about TECHNOLOGY but the TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW. These types of industry needs decades and decades of hardwork. Those thousands of EO’s Proclamations, and Decrees are still useful today so don’t blame these policies because of its Author.
Honestly, I can give up certain freedoms for the sake of stability and prosperity. I agree on curfews. I agree on a National ID System. I agree on certain limitations to Media. I agree strict implemenation of laws. Even these FREEDOMS are not absolute – they are limited as far as these freedoms does not infringe on other freedoms.
karah, In hindsight Marcos was both Good and Bad. And your analysis of his regime is right on the money, except of course that I won’t him let get off even for one serious sin unbecoming a Top Leader of the Land. If you take a look at other country, specifically the U.S., Nixon was also a Good President, before watergate blew up in his face. He opened the U.S. to China and thereby precipitate the fall of the “cruel” regime of that era and open China and the Chinese to the economic growth we are witnessing now. He also brought the boys home from Vietnam, ending one of the Black Dots of U.S. history. But now, most will remember him for that singular sin that he committed. And Marcos had a lot.
In my book, all the presidents we ever had, and yes even GMA now have their good and bad sides. And no matter what anyone says, these individuals are geniuses, if we base the achievement of this title on very measurable terms “achievement.” Until anyone of us can claim the presidency, we can’t say otherwise as no one can argue with success.
Each one of them has stamped their legacy in the country’s history and deserve a certain degree of respect as this is probably one of the most difficult country to run. If we continue on this myopic view that GMA is the root of all evil we will miss seeing the big picture as she is not. The person occupying the highest position in the land is not the most powerful person in the land – he/she is just a pawn in the greater scheme of things. There are hidden hands whose influence, both subtle and overt affects the formation of policy and the implimentation thereof. Their power is measurable in the billions. Regimes rise and fall to serve the interest of these powerful neooverlords. As someone once said “follow the money.”
Karah,
Although I agree with you on most issues, I really think you’re a bit unfair on Trillanes. Don’t get me wrong I don’t particularly like the guy, and at times he doesn’t think before he speaks but unless you actually talk to the person, get to know him up front like MLQ3 did, its too early to make judgements. The fact that he comes from La Salle or from a well to do family does not make him one of the bad guys and integrity is not a monopoly of the poor. The pajeros? Who knows, they could have bought them on wholesale? But then again I might be wrong, personally there’s something about him that makes me uneasy, maybe envy, he’s the type that always gets the girls. “GRRRRRRRR!”
Ram I merely pointed out some “allegations” that should be looked into. Talking with the guy does not make him clean either. A mere face to face is yes, a good start in knowing how a person behaves and acts but it’s not a gauge of knowing who the person really is.
I really don’t care whether he’s from La Salle of he came from a well to do family or what not. What’s alarming with me is that he portrays himself as a simple guy who is a victim in all of these. We are talking here of background and comparing the background of GAMBALA vs. TRILLANES in terms of “princple and integrity,” I’d choose the former anytime.
Even buying Pajero in wholesale is not cheap. 😀 The time he opens his mouth, he stutters. I even like to see the showdown that Migz Zubiri promised if he and Trillanes see in the Senate.
If you said: “grrrrrrrr.” I say: “arrfffff.”
Karah, i’m glad you agree with me that his was a wasted Presidency. No one is arguing that Marcos was the sole person to blame but, after all, he took it upon himself to be dictator. The importance of evaluating and judging him (and others around him) is precisely because we need to derive lessons from the past so the it can be, as you say, “applied for the betterment of the future“. Unfortunately, God does not directly participate in his discussions so, for now, we have to do the judging ourselves.
While everyone is entitled to a certain amount of self-interest, everyone also has a responsibility towards his fellowmen. Try to google ‘Social Capital’ to see why everyone pursuing his/her own self-interest, especially when it comes to the commons is not good for society. The Filipino Upper Class has pursued its self-interests at the expense of the rest of the Filipino people. As you already pointed out, blame for the debacle during the Marcos era does not go to Marcos alone but also to his Cronies (who are members of the upper class). Even today, you can see the members of the Upper Class conspiring with government officials for example, on the National Broadband Network. That loan from China would have eventually been paid for by the Filipino taxpayer.
On the level of motherhood, no one can argue against the mission of government being to provide an environment for the poor and middle class to “uplift their lives“. However, in practice, this often meant clearing away the obstacles for such advancement. In our neighboring countries for example (e.g. Japan, Korea and Taiwan), their respective governments had to implement land reform to address the issue of inequality. By contrast, our government is content to rely on trickle down policies.
I don’t agree with considering policies separate from its implementation. Any President (or leader) is judged by effectiveness in delivering on policies, not in policy-making alone or implementation alone.
I’m ok for you to give up your freedoms as long as it’s only your own freedoms that you are giving up, not anyone else’s.
[b][i]”REBEL SOLDIERS. It’s a good thing I did not become a MAN. If was male, I would have entered the PMA and became a soldier. If I was the Field Commander at the time the Magdalo Group tookover the Oakwood Suites (together with it the whole Glorietta Mall and surroundings Commercial and Business Areas), I would have APPROVED A SIEGE – force for force. What happened became an AWFUL PREDECENT. Yes, they crushed it but what would prevent the next generation to state such an act and in the end would be accorded DUE PROCESS? The Gov’t should have taken this situation with an IRON HAND – kill them all. I bet nobody and I mean nobody would DARE stage another COUP, another MUTINY, another REBELLION even again from the ranks of the AFP, even the PNP.
What’s more damning is that one of the leaders of this reprehensible deviation from the Constitution and the Rule of Law was elected a Senator. How would a person who is fond of BREAKING THE RULE OF LAW would be in the HALLS where they MAKE THE LAW (that he broke in the first place, quite an irony I should say). I don’t understand why the Gov’t went soft on them. In other countries, they would have met a fate of a FIRING SQUAD (no questions asked).” [/b][/i]
karah… you’re so brutal! hahahahahahaha
“Re: REBEL SOLDIERS. It’s a good thing I did not become a MAN. If was male, I would have entered the PMA and became a soldier. If I was the Field Commander at the time the Magdalo Group tookover the Oakwood Suites (together with it the whole Glorietta Mall and surroundings Commercial and Business Areas), I would have APPROVED A SIEGE – force for force. What happened became an AWFUL PREDECENT. Yes, they crushed it but what would prevent the next generation to state such an act and in the end would be accorded DUE PROCESS? The Gov’t should have taken this situation with an IRON HAND – kill them all. I bet nobody and I mean nobody would DARE stage another COUP, another MUTINY, another REBELLION even again from the ranks of the AFP, even the PNP.” – Karah
I agree. This was a mistake, perhaps. But if you ever had the (mis)fortune of joining the ranks of the long gray line you will look at it differently, that I’m willing to bet GMA’s life on. As I said before, the lowly foot soldier still cooks his own food on stones and firewood, consisting of a nutritious delicacy of rice and dried fish, and, if their lucky – they have sardines. They go about the barracks and do their patrolling (both combat and recon) in tattered boots and uniforms. During one of their patrols they encounter enemy fire, they should not be afraid because they have their gear on but no, bullets shatter through their kevlar headgears as if they were wearing bandanas “haaay!” and when they return fire they can’t, their WWII M1 garands and sophisticated M16s don’t fire (now as a firing enthusiast I know firsthand this is very frustrating), not to mention their vaunted secret weapon of mass destruction – the mortars behave like large metal iron pipes no different from the plumbing at home. To top that off, they call for air support but they don’t get any because there was nobody to sign the papers to authorize it, probably somewhere playing golf. Now you tell me, if you were the platoon leader of these men, won’t you think of bringing a tank to the capital and blasting the house of the logistics officer to kingdom come? The Oakwood mutiny was a mistake in my book, it was too amateurish, these guys actually thought they could come together and address their grievances to the government, they were too naive perhaps. I belong to the capitalist side of the fence now and I don’t have to give a rat’s ass what happens around here just as long as I make money. I’m probably crazy, why care at all?
Here’s one thing I promise you. If ever in your capacity you are able to convince the powers that be to look into this logistics issue, benefits and compensation issue, family support, and healthcare of these soldiers and do something satisfactory about it – I will treat you to any hotel restaurant of your choice every month for the rest of my life even risking my life that I will be shot by my wife for doing so.
karah :
“I have an impression that he’s a manly guy – the way he speaks, the way he acts.”
Hmmmmm…I thought you only like Noli, never thought you also have a crush on Trillanes :-O
cvj Who said that Marcos was not a “wasted Presidency” anyway? So are you convinced that it was only SOLELY on Marcos’ decision that he became President and there was not external influence? (significant or insignificant it may be). Tell me. JUDGING the ACTIONS of Marcos, yes, NOT JUDGING HIM AS A PERSON per se. These are two very different things. Whether or not God is involved, he’s the only one to JUDGE A PERSON’S HEART, not us, never us because we are mere mortals like Marcos.
Let us analyze and dissect the ACTIONS and not the PERSON. Though it’s hard separate the ACTOR from the ACTION but I know you’re smart enough to understand what I’m talking and what I’m driving at.
No need to explore the IDEA on whether a person is entitled or not to self-interest. The point of the matter is, PEOPLE (no matter how good or bad a person is) HAVE THEIR OWN SELF-INTERESTS to FORWARD and in those terms, we can only speak for ourselves and not for others (not unless we know them personally and confided in us his/her true motives and agenda). Most of the time, the SELF-INTEREST is about MONEY, about POWER, about INFLUENCE and ramified into other areas of interest.
So, how do you propose we go about with the UPPER CLASS always pursuing their SELF-INTEREST. Can you do something about it? Can we do something about it? These are the more practical questions at hand. Although I am disgusted in all these things, I try and do my best to be a law-abiding citizen – diligently paying my share of the tax, making sure not to violate even simple rules, just being the best that I can be because I am limited to myself and my circle of influence.
Well, who else would have the RESOURCES (money) to embark on these Projects but the UPPER CLASS. The very reason that only 5% of the population controls 70%-80% of the wealth in the Philippines. How are the cases going by the way with reference to the ZTE-NBN deal?
What happened to LAND REFORM? What happened to AGRARIAN REFORM? Can you cite any past President that was successful in this regard? What needs to be done is to IMPLEMENT THE RULES, plain and simple. But why this simple thing is not done? It’s again because if VESTED INTERESTS in Haciendas, in Government Lots, in LGU (province, city, municipalty) Lots, and so on and so forth. How do we remedy the “self-interest” factor, I don’t know myself.
It’s like a CONTRACT. There’s a CONTRACT (the idea of policies), the PERFECTED CONTRACT (the existence of implementable policies) and the CONSUMMATED CONTRACT (the implementation of the policies. It’s a continuum but each entity would have it’s own intricacies and details that could be discussed separately. On the whole though, all of these are interconnected.
And who told you that I said it’s okay to give up the freedom of others. Mind you, I was referring to myself alone. To quote myself “Honestly, I can give up certain freedoms for the sake of stability and prosperity.” I think I said “I” referring to the first persone alone.