Yesterday afternoon I addressed a gathering under the auspices of NIPS on the current political situation. I briefly outlined what’s in my column today, Political leprosy (which makes reference to my March 13, 2006 column, Managing expectations), as well as some points raised the paper of Economist Dr. Michael Alba (which I posted, yesterday, at Inquirer Current) and the argument put forward by yesterday’s Inquirer editorial on the repercussions of the Estrada pardon (widely expected to be formalized on Friday).
My column speaks for itself, but here’s two relevant extracts from the pieces I mentioned. First, from Dr. Alba’s paper:
Is there hope for the future? Recall that, from the inference made by Jones (1997 and 2002) on the very long-run evolution of the world distribution of living standards, the Philippines is right on the demarcation line of countries headed for different futures. If it gets its act together–and this is a big if–the country may yet join the high performers that are tending toward high steady-state levels of output per worker. But to do so, it must exhibit a high growth rate (faster than that of the technological frontier) over a long period of time (as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan have done), by persistently pushing out the steady-state level of output per worker to which it is headed, not so much by achieving a higher saving rate, a lower population growth rate, and a higher quality workforce, although these will help because of synergistic effects, but by significantly improving its total factor productivity. Growth and modern development economics tell us, however, that this is not so easily done, because it involves improving the quality of the country’s social infrastructure by taking on the vestiges of our history and culture that are growth-constraining, such as flawed leadership that values loyalty more than competence, an entrenched political and business oligarchy that unashamedly promotes and jealously protects its narrow self-interests, and an incentive structure that is nepotistic rather than meritocratic and that rewards thievery and corruption more than honest, hard work. In particular, three absolutely essential and indispensable elements for social transformation are: an effective, efficient, and high-quality education system, a vigilant civil society that demands high accountability from the government, and a competent, corruption-intolerant government administration of firm purpose committed to reform and transformation.
And next, from yesterday’s Inquirer editorial:
The lesson Filipinos have learned is that both leaders have more in common with each other and both have more that sets them apart from a public that is as angry at Arroyo’s cash bar as it was over Estrada’s karaoke governance. In other words, after two years of agonizing over who is the lesser evil, the public can breathe easy, seeing how both are two sides of the same debased coin. It is People of the Philippines now versus Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
Returning to Dr. Alba’s economics paper, he pointed out a dilemma facing our OFW remittance-dependent economy. First, as more people work abroad, and send money home, the more foreign currency they send home, the less it’s worth. The result is OFW income is actually declining.
Add to this another problem: the more Filipinos leave home to work abroad, the less they stand to earn, and thus, the less they can send home, and the less what they send home is worth. This is the root cause behind proposals like the proposed November 1 and 2 Remittance boycott. Besides OFW’s, Filipino exporters have also, by all accounts, been ravaged by the depreciation of the dollar.
Add to this a third factor economists like Alba have noticed: the more Filipinos work abroad, the more their remaining dependents at home are likely to give up looking for work, and the more dependent they end up on those abroad. Short-term, this benefits the government, which can (and has, if you refer to Cielito Habito’s presentation a couple of months ago) then write off Filipinos who have given up looking for work, thereby formally (but not really) reducing those officially classified as unemployed.
Put in another factor, which is unreported in the media but common currency among entrepreneurs and other businessmen: the rampant smuggling of goods, which is also hurting Filipino manufacturers and traders. Simply talk to people with businesses that depend on importation or manufacturing, and you will know the concerns are serious, and resentment has begun to run deep. And you will also know who businessmen consider the godfathers and beneficiaries of smuggling.
Add another factor, which is that the upper and middle class in particular, was willing to tolerate many things about the administration, so long as it maintained the appearance of being marginally more virtuous than the Estrada administration. The handing out of cash to congressmen and governors, however, exceeded any doling-out of patronage in the Estrada years and was even more brazen than in the Marcos years. And the President’s attention to detail and workaholic style seems to have been spent more on manipulating the bureaucracy to approve the ZTE and other deals, than on anything particularly productive.
Add to this the growing realization on the part of military officers that they have to consider their career prospects in a future administration (a reason, I’ve heard it pointed out, that with the retirement of the previous service commanders, current and next-in-line commanders have quietly but effectively put a stop to tolerating extrajudicial killings and abductions, which seem to have subsided), and the realization among the politicians that the President’s solution to party problems –throwing money at people causing problems– has made politics so expensive and so utterly transactional, that they will have to bear the price of this in campaigns to come -and it makes politics a pretty much losing proposition, financially (even with Political Viagra by way of IRAs).
Put together the infighting in the President’s ruling coalition, with the sustained efforts of the various groups opposed to the administration, with the growing dissatisfaction with the President on the part of sectors formerly content to either turn a blind eye to her shortcomings, or who preferred her government to the prospects of a new one before 2010, and you have an administration running out of wiggle room. Not least because the President can no longer trot out her claim (very Nixon-like) that she represents a “silent majority.” If you noticed, her “silent majroty” has been consistently vocal, until now. Since ZTE began, the top 500 Women of Civil Society, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and so forth have been very, very quiet while the usefulness of organizations such as ULAP has been severely curtailed, because of the payola scandal and clumsy handling by provincial officials (every family dealing with the depreciation of the dollar now has to consider what each congressman’s and governor’s dole out from the President could have done for them, instead, for example). The public hostility to the President over her handling of the Glorietta explosion and the handling by her pet officials hasn’t bolstered the President’s claim to public support, either.
In the same forum, Mon Casiple said that there are several confrontations that will determine whether the President recovers her strength or further dissipates it:
1. Today’s hearing at the Senate, and whether it brings to the fore new revelations (see ZTE inquiry resumes; Cabinet men not going and Joey: FG was coach; Abalos’ captain ball ). I don’t know if I’d be as sanguine as New Philippine Revolution who suggests,
1. After tomorrow’s Senate probe, expect a revival of street protests and rallies. These protests will escalate to heights never before seen in both EDSA 1 and 2. The situation, based on objective analysis of existing conditions, is tantamount to the 1986 scenario. People are raring to protests now and it is just a matter of time. Groups should serve as the trigger.
People are saying that the military should move for the kill first before the people support them. I think this is feasible under present circumstances. A repeat of EDSA 1 is in order. I concur with this observation.
2. The resumption of Congress on November 5, widely expected to be a showdown between the President and the Speaker. Tuesday and Wednesday night, apparently, had meetings of neophyte congressmen at the Palace, which suggests the administration is trying to regain the initiative.
3. The fallout from the Estrada pardon and whether, in the weeks and months to come, a quid pro quo between Arroyo and Estrada becomes obvious as a result, which means a burden for the opposition will now shift to the administration (see the letter of Estrada’s lawyers to the President).
4. The serious resumption of Charter Change will make it clear the President does not intend to step down in 2010.
5. The ability of government to convince the public that it’s solved the cause of the Glorietta explosion.
And, I’d add, the ramifications of a far less cheery citizenry going into the Christmas season, as The Unlawyer points out:
It goes without saying that Philippine retailers were the most adversely affected business sector in the wake of the blast. For example, my company suffered an 11 percent drop in business for this Friday to Sunday weekend period – prime shopping days at that – compared to revenues from previous weekends, although I must say that customer traffic rebounded somewhat on Sunday.
What about in the medium term? The explosion happened during the runup to the 2007 Christmas shopping season, which traditionally starts soon after the All Saints’ Day holidays. Indeed, at least two major Metro Manila malls started their respective pre-Christmas sales promotions on the day of the blast. Philippine consumers will definitely stay away from the malls in the next few days, and if the authorities don’t quickly restore confidence to an apprehensive populace, they may just decide to refrain from shopping for quite a while longer.
Philippine retailers are depending on Christmas season sales for a substantial portion of their 2007 revenues, and it is certainly not an appealing prospect for many of them – of us, I should say – to see our customers frightened so.
Imagine how the retailers will feel as their suddenly-slender margins are further eroded by smuggling.
Blogger Scriptorium, unlike Mon Casiple, thinks the odds are still in the President’s favor in terms of staying in power. The blogger starts off with an interesting analysis of the political scene:
The Philippine political system is best understood if we see its major players as estates divided into blocs composed of factions. An estate, following Weber’s usage, is a group distinguished by its specific social functions and conventions (rather than by mere economic standing, as in the case of a class); blocs are subgroups made cohesive by a common ideology, orientation, or interest, and which are the best Philippine equivalents of political parties; and factions are groups usually united by personal antipathy or allegiance. In the Philippines, the estates would be the Thinkers or “lords spiritual” (its Blocs being the Church, the Left, and the urban intelligentsia); the Warriors (i.e., the regular military, the armed Left, and the criminal and private armies); the Commons (the urban middle class, and the rural electorates); and the Magnates or “lords temporal” (i.e., the political elite, big business, and organized crime). There are other estates and other blocs, but they are not as politically significant.
Based on the above, the blogger breaks things down into three main groups:
(1) Since 1986, the successful removal of a sitting President through peaceful mass action has required a coalition composed of at least one bloc from each estate. Hence, the 1986 EDSA revolt was carried out by an alliance of the Church, the non-aligned intelligentsia, the urban middle class, the military, and the Opposition factions of big business and the political elite; and the 2001 EDSA revolt required the same broad alliance, with the addition of the intellectual Left, which directly participated in the protests.
(2) Of these blocs/factions, the most important have been the military, the Church, the urban middle class (as the popular base of the protests), and the opposition faction of the political elite (which provides the leadership). The absence of any one of these blocs/factions, especially the last, renders removal of a President through peaceful mass action unlikely.
(3) A successful removal through peaceful mass action requires a correlation of forces that favors removal; that is, in leadership, will, and political strength, the pro-ouster coalition must have the advantage over the administration. Thus, the 1986 coalition was marshaled against a regime weakened by economic crisis, the President’s wasting illness, and the attacks of the intellectual and armed Left; and the 2001 coalition confronted a President whose main political base was the isolated and untested urban poor, and who had neither the skill nor the machinery to counter-mobilize.
The blogger points out that the Catholic Church lacks a Cardinal Sin, and the political class either a Ninoy Aquino willing to embrace martyrdom, or a Doy Laurel willing to subordinate his ambitions; and because of these, the military is, in a sense, incapable of moving (for the same reason, the German military proved incapable of challenging Hitler; it’s interesting to me that the blogger compares the current AFP mentality to the old Prussian military mentality that equated professionalism with blind subordination to the state). Anyway, the blogger then concludes,
At present, however, the preconditions for successful removal of the President through peaceful mass action simply do not exist, as was amply demonstrated in the almost-successful ouster attempt of 2005.
To begin with, the main social blocs have been isolated, neutralized, or weakened. For one, the urban middle class, especially the all-important 18-35 age range, is sheltered from economic pressure (like that faced by the urban poor) by the existence of outsourcing and emigrant (OFW) employment, which also siphons off discontented urban intellectuals; and it is diverted from politics by the expansion of the emigrant- and outsourcing-driven consumer market. (Some writers, in fact, have noticed the discrepancy between the youth that fueled the First Quarter Storm and the young adults of contemporary Philippines: once, they say, the paradigmatic activity of college and young professionals was public protest against oppression and injustice; but today, one finds the youth in Starbucks and the ever-ubiquitous malls.)
Even if it were politically active, the urban middle class has declined in relative strength with the politicization of the rural electorate, which tends to be less pro-Opposition than the urban sectors. The presence of this new countervailing force allowed GMA to fight the 2005 ouster-movement by counter-mobilizing the provinces, somewhat as the 14th-century Valois mobilized rural France against the Jacquerie; and with the dominance of patrimonial politics in rural Philippines, which, as I explained in another essay, is under Presidential control, she can well use the provinces again to resist urban protest. Another additional factor has been the rise of urban poor as a potential force. Being less inclined to liberal-democratic ideology and oriented to bread-and-butter issues, the urban poor’s very existence as a mobilizable force serves to weaken the claim of the urban middle class to represent the public will. In a word, we are seeing in the Philippines the beginnings of the process that, in Europe, led to the displacement of middle-class Liberal power with the Conservative, Catholic and Socialist movements.
I can’t wait for Part 2 of the blogger’s essay!
See the PNP Presentation 1 and the PNP Presentation 2 on the Glorietta blast. See also the observations of Tongue In, Anew and The Journal of the Jester-in-Exile and Manuel Buencamino in his column and Inner Sanctum in his blog and Jessica Zafra in hers. Some news: PNP probes army official who found plastic bag with RDX and Ayala Land says PNP theory of methane gas blast unlikely. Whatever the case, the Inquirer editorial urges authorities not to rush it.
A very poignant reflection by Luz Rimban on journalists and their having to pry into the sorrows of individuals in times of crisis or disaster. See Rabid Pirate Tanuki on the reactions of an office mate, a survivor of the blast; I feel blest publishes a letter by a bereaved husband (her harrowing account of the husband and his ordeal is in this entry). helen’s site has harrowing rescue photos, and Life No. 2 reflects on how people coped with the tragedy.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, constitution, economy, House of Representatives, impeachment, media, military, philippines, politics, president, Senate, society
Dung it! Aren’t we the world’s official shit capital yet?
“Dung it! Aren’t we the world’s official shit capital yet?”MNYANO
I am now 100% convinced that EDSA 2 was big farce!
Shameless leaders!
We really should establish a Presidential Rogues Gallery:
Ferdinand E.Marcos
Joseph Erap Velarde
Gloria M.A.Pidal
Good evening fellow habitues of mlq3’s blog,
Although I felt sympathy for the victims (and their families) of the Glorietta explosion and I casually included them in my prayer list, I never really understood, no, I had no idea how these people really felt. The shock, the fear brought on by uncertainty, and the unspeakable pain that follows. I have never known what it is like to cry in front of strangers, to kneel and pray so hard and so loud you become a distraction to others around you. I have never known how it feels to offer your own life instead, to “ask for this cup of suffering” instead of giving it to someone so innocent, so precious, so full of love.
I have never felt so connected to the millions who suffered unfathomable grief…as I did the past two days…
Yesterday my son suddenly stiffened and turned black in the lips, his eyes rolled over, and his body seemed to crumble in my arms. At first I thought he choked on the kiddie biscuits he was eating (he’s 1 year and 3 months old) and I frantically forced myself to recall the Heimlech maneuver, I don’t even know if I spelled it right as it was 20 years ago already but I could dislodge anything from his throat. I pleaded with him, pleaded with God, as I held him in my arms in the back of the car while my wife drove to the hospital. The nearest emergency hospital was Unciano, I believe it was a government (semi government) hospital in Mandaluyong, I will never forget the sight, the elevator doesn’t work, there was no aircon, there was no doctor, and the walls and ceiling had plaster falling off, it was under rennovation, they told us. As it became clear that he had a seizure and didn’t choke I just wanted somebody to put in the intravenous medicine to stabilize him. That being done, we went straight to Cardinal Santos, where we are to this day. But relax, after the EEG, supposedly he had to undergo MRI scan but just an hour ago, the doctor came in to bring the good news, he had the seizure for less serious causes and it wasn’t anything serious like epilepsy. I was just glad it was all over. My wife and I are so relieved and grateful, I made a deal with God and he gave me what I asked for, I will honor my part for the rest of my life…
I actually tried to blog last night but I could only manage one comment.
Anyway, I wish all of you and your families, long healthy lives, filled with happiness and fulfillment…
RAMROD:GOD is GREAT!!!!
ram,
I’m sorry to hear what had happened to your son, but I’m so relieve to know that he’s ok. Be rest assured of my prayers for your son and the whole family.
ram,
Is he still confined at the hospital?
MBW, you’re right. From the previous threads, i had an inkling that would be the reaction.
Ram, i’m sorry to hear that, and i’m relieved your son is ok. That also happened to my son when he was about your son’s age but luckily we were at the emergency room already at that time.
“That being done, we went straight to Cardinal Santos, where we are to this day” – ram
ram,
don’t need to answer my question.
Ram,
From a father to another father, here’s hoping and praying for a speedy recovery for your son.
They say it’s easy to sire a son, but it’s much more difficult to be a father.
qwert, actually we can already go home, but this Cardinal Santos feels more like a hotel than a hospital we decided to stay the night and enjoy the rest of it. I’ll deal with the other source of shock – bills, tomorrow morning. 🙂
Quo Vadis Bencard?
Thank you very much, all of you, I couldn’t do anything else last night but read through your threads.
Anyway, I saw it in the news, Erap’s pardon. Somehow I saw that coming…What’s next? A blanket clemency for congress, governors’, and mayors’ league?
Forgive and forget, lets move on…
Good luck, Ramrod!
I understand what you must have gone through. A father or a mother never stops “panicking” for their children… My youngest has just turned 16 and I still panic; last week he complained that he was dizzy, had stomach ache and couldn’t eat prompting Dad to come home early to take him to the doctor who found baby boy had early symptoms of ulcer.
As Enchong said, “They say it’s easy to sire a son, but it’s much more difficult to be a father.”
Manolo, All,
Let’s put it bluntly: this, here, today, is the best of times.
Hi everyone. I am regular visitor
Manolo’s title “The gathering storm ” might be premonitory again as the previous one on bombshell…
Erap pardoned? Well, that’s Gloria “rule of law”..While she’s at it, why not pardon Jaloslos?, pre-empted pardon to Abalos maybe? and reserve the best for last, Herself…
mlq3, i’ve been reading all those prescriptions for good governance that you have reiterated here since the early days of gma administration and long before. it’s fast becoming hackneyed, a monotonous mantra for the theorists and academics. but where did they get us? practically nowhere. in all fairness to gma, the kind of society we now have, the system of choosing our leaders, the practices of government’s agencies and instrumentalities, the behavior of our business leaders, the clergy, and most of all the uncontrolled media, were all in place when she assumed the presidency, in fact since the beginning of the post-war era. changing the whole system is always a quixotic dream, an almost impossible quest.
to win a position of power, most especially the presidency, and to sustain it during his/her term, a politician must be a little bit machiavellian. in philippine politics, good guys usually finish last or end up a loser. i doubt whether a saint could stay holy after entering politics, assuming power, and struggling to retain it. money will always be a prime factor, that’s why marcos and erap concentrated on accumulating it in a magnitude that boggles the mind.
a complete makeover of philippine society in its entirety is the only way to rid the country of all its ills. no single person or entity is to blame.
mbw
Yes. I remember equalizer asked me something about the situation in the barracks and I responded with “its a powder keg, if a junior officer would care to light it, it will explode,” then I went to my meeting in Pasong Tamo and went back to the office where I saw the news on TV. Very strange, as if by premonition…
“What’s next? A blanket clemency for congress, governors’, and mayors’ league? Forgive and forget, lets move on…”
— I fear that it wouldn’t surprise me anymore if it happens. But it will certainly make me more dismayed.
vic, i personally oppose erap’s pardon but you are being ignorant. pardon is part of the “rule of flaw”, not necessarily gma’s own. it’s a presidential, discretionary prerogative. technically, she can pardon all the other convicts you mentioned but why should she?
A sad day for the Justice system in the Philippines.No remorse,noâ€ÂI’m sorryâ€Â,not even one day in jail for the convict!
Iba talaga ang system of justice dito.One for the poor.and one for the Very Powerful!
Jose Velarde and Gloria Pidal,you deserve each other!
We deserve better leaders!
bencard
Hi bencard, are you trying to be funny again or this is a typo?
What’s happening to this country???
Last week was the “Big Fart’ excuse.
Today is the edsa 2 “Big Farce†exposed.
The poor can’t afford good lawyers,have no connections,walang malapitan!They will only get justice in the next life,not in the Philippines.
I am willing to make a bet:after the convicted plunderer,the convicted child rapist(Cong.RJ)will be next to receive presidential pardon.
Bencard, I fully understand what you mean, and having experienced managing people, managing a company, a struggling one at that, at times you have to be Machiavellian, nothing matters except the bottomline, the budget for 13th month pay every end of the year, heck even the budget for paying the monthly salaries, the contractuals, allowances, commissions for the salesmen (so that they will stay), to name a few. I have sold my soul to the devil many times over for my people to survive, for the company to remain open, but that was me. Its difficult really, but I firmly believe there are other ways, at the time I just wasn’t prepared or trained to do a better job. I know I should have considered other options but I didn’t know any, in the end I lost the job…sometimes I look at our presidents and think that they probably were not equiped for it, but these are highly intelligent people, far more intelligent than I will ever be, with vast resources, resources I will never be able to wield, not in my wildest dreams…
Bencard, She won’t because what she is doing at the moment is just setting a precedent, pardoning a convicted president of a Used to be a capital crime, punishable by death and what could be more convenient just in case?
If you abuse a power granted to you by the constitution, such as pardon, which is only to be used in extra-ordinary circumstances (where is it in Erap Case?) then the rule of law has been violated.. that just an opinion from an observer, not necessarilly a lawyer…
Hi everyone. I am a regular visitor of this blog but I never get to comment or share my own views because my reluctance always wins over my willingness to do so. I do not really know why, may be I am enjoying reading your posts/comments too much that I always end up not feeling the need anymore after. Or may be, nag-aalangan lang talaga ako kasi ang gagaling nyo. Hehehe
Anyway, while I do not agree with some of the comments, I always find this blog – and the comments – very informative, insightful, and thought-provoking. My hats off to you MLQ3 and you all guys.
My comment now has been prompted by Ramrod’s story. I am moved by his story and I can relate to him because a loved one of mine, a sister actually, also had gone through a similar ordeal, albeit due to a different cause. And I can almost feel Ramrod’s feelings, the panic, the pain and all, right now. Ram, I am thankful that your son is already out of danger. Thanks God!
I know God has a beautiful message to you through this experience. He always has especially when the going gets really, really tough. Jim Paredes, I recall, has a very very good post – and reflection – about a similar experience in his blog. The only difference is that, he himself was the one who, in his own words, “came face to face with mortality”.
To end, may I just add a part of what I put forward there in Jim’s blog in connection with that post of him? Here:
“One thing I realized about the experience was that I do not have to be the one to be sick or endangered to come face to face with mortality and realize what really matters in life. I realized no matter the distance, the miles that we have already traveled, and all other things that separate or have separated us with our loved ones, we are inevitably connected as our lives, our hearts, and our souls are – forever. Thanks God she is already fine and on the road to recovery. It just amazes me how God teaches us about things. I remember the movie “Evan Almighty”, the lady protagonist came face to face with God who then was ‘disguised’ as a waiter in a restaurant. She was mulling over what has been happening to her family and the quagmire that her family found themselves in. To which God commented: “Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?”
Padagos na magpadangat, yan an tama.
Be well. Great minds, you are all here! Carry on!
Sana “paglaki” ko, magi akong kasing dudunong nyo. :)hehe Kidding..
Erap’s pardon is maybe a calculated move. Aling Gloria needs a safety net like this mukha kasing ang dami na niyang atraso, she’s playing safe…for her future.
The line in the sand has been drawn :
The Gloria/Erap crowd(â€Âlet’s move on!,Catch us if you canâ€Â) versus the People of the Philippines.
God save this county!
…..not only Aling Gloria but Pono, Bunye, Ermita, Evardone, apostol etc. etc… if the hurling wind will ever pin them down they will surely have this option in the future (taking this case of Erap as a precedent) for them to apply and be granted with pardon. What a predictable plot!
From Adel Tamano, spokesman of the Genuine Opposition, about the pardon: “It’s a victory for Erap because he is innocent and also a victory for the President because it sends a signal that she may be sincere in her reconciliation offer. Perhaps reconciliation can happen now and perhaps the opposition will lessen the political noise with regards to Estrada’s condition.”
From Senate President Villar: “The executive clemency extended to former President Joseph Estrada is a great step towards reconciliation, which is vital to our country’s unhindered passage to progress.”
Has the political crisis been just “Edsa Dos” vs. “Edsa Tres” all along? And that a “reconciliation” is all that’s needed? So the wholesale cheating, massive corruption and bribery, blatant lying, illegal measures, and grave abuse of power, all these are just insignificant side issues lang pala?
An excerpt from a letter sent by :
Michael Mandel
Professor of Law
Gail Davidson
Barrister and Solicitor
Co-chairs, Lawyers Against the War
To then former PM Chretien warning him that committing domestic crimes or war crimes in any where is personal and applicable to any country:
Noong kinuha nila ang mga Komunista
Wala akong pakialam,di’ naman ako Komunista, eh
Noong kinuha nila ang mga student activists
Wala din akong pakialam,di’ naman student activist ang anak ko,eh
Noong kinuha nila si Jonas Burgos
Wala rin akong pakialam,di ko naman kamaganak si Jonas!
Noong binomba nila ang Ayala Mall,
Wala rin akong pakialam,wala sa pamilya ko ang nasugatan naman,eh
Noong nagkipag-deal sila kay Erap
Wala ring akong pakialam,dahil ok naman si Erap sa akin
Isang araw,noong kinuha nila ako
Wala akong masabe,kasi Ako rin ay may sala!
Dahil hindi ako nakialam at di ako nasabi
“Lahat at may karapatan na maging Malaya!â€Â
“The presidential pardon for Erap has finally given legitimacy to the arroyo administration.Cong Nograles”.
Straight from the horse’s mouth!
May nagpagamit,may gumamit!
There is a sucker born everyday!
Great words from Mandel, Vic but I doubt that Michael Mandel’s words will have any buyer in the Philippines.
Rule of law in the Philippines is a terminology that has no real meaning for many in the highest echelons, and especially not for Gloria.
Those words were similar to Robin Cook, the first British MP to resign when Tony Blair seconded Bush in the twins’ invasion of Iraq.
“technically, she can pardon all the other convicts you mentioned but why should she?”
I think the better question, Bencard, is, why Erap?
Kaya ako, I never trusted the opposition. See, see! Ang mahalaga lang sa mga taong ito ay ang kanilang sariling interes. They are just making a big, pathetic fool out of us all!
Has Mayor Binay issued a statement already? And Pimentel? Escudero? and Cayetano? All of these oftentimes refer to as “pillars” of the opposition or “true blue” oppositionists?
Can’t wait what he/they has/have to say…
It may sound very very cynical – and my apologies for this – but more often than not already, I harbor this feeling that all of these “gunggungs” are just one and the same. Tsk tsk tsk
Kawawang Pinas!
mbw, vic, equalizer, et al
I feel that there is no other logical sequence to these unacceptable but seemingly inevitable series of events but the coming “out” of congressmen, governors, mayors, probably barangay captains. They will open up to sins of indiscretions of their own, mediated and rebuked (exorcised on TV) by the bishops and Mike Velarde, emceed by Puno – a mass “executive clemency,” with “heal our land” songs and and speeches, tears, cheers, of attaining “reconciliation” at last! GMA cries “to a new beginning!” and embraces Erap…unless someone makes contra…
It was nice blogging with you guys, I love you all. Now, I must tend to this restless mini me who can’t sleep because of his 2 days pondo.
Be well…be militant…rock on!
Hahaha! Nice one, Ramrod. But the really funny (or tragic) part is, that scenario is actually quite possible in present-day Philippines…
Ramrod: Take care!Your story inspires us particularly your Gratitude to God!
God bless your son and your family!
Hmmm, Ramrod, Gloria is perfectly capable of pushing the envelop: “GMA cries “to a new beginning!†and embraces Erap.”
To be continued…
Thank God ,Tita Cory didn’t pardon Marcos after Edsa 1.We still have EDSA 1 as that one glorious moment in our history.
EDSA 2 was a farce.
“Now, I must tend to this restless mini me who can’t sleep because of his 2 days pondo”. ramrod
Better do, ram before it will form into methane gas and could be another puzzle for all to figure out..nice one though…hehe..have a good one!!
MLQ3,
The link to the sharp analysis from the really interesting post of the blogger named Scriptorium does not appear in this blog entry.
Can I request for it? 😀 I’d like to read his/her other posts. Thanks! 🙂
Ramrod, I’m relieved your son is now doing well.
ramrod, thanks. it is one of those unintended irony. it was actually a typo, as you said, but quite apt, isn’t it? (lol). hope your son is feeling better.
shaman, i really don’t know why erap. i guess it was kind of like paying a ransom when your most beloved son’s life is at stake. whatever pgma’s real reason is, we probably will never know. it’s in her conscience and she will live and die with it. as i commented a few posts ago, one of her biggest failure is the inability to win over her enemies’ supporters to her side, or at least cooperate with her. maybe, just maybe, this will do the trick, for the general good. in such a case, the end justifies the means, i think.
Karlo,
Here’s the link: http://marcusapollo.wordpress.com/