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Victory of the New Society

   November 19, 2007  561 Comments on Victory of the New Society

In today’s Inquirer editorial, the paper thinks the government’s trying to politicize the price of gas; this reflects the attitude of people like Norwegian Would who think we’ve moved forward since the days of subsidized oil:

It is now close to a decade since we finally smashed the old illusion that oil price subsidies were pro-poor, perpetuated for a long time by the middle and upper class leaders of so-called ‘people’s organizations.’ Note that at that time nominal prices were below 20 dollars per barrel. Now the high is about five times. But we don’t hear of any outrageous manifestos that the increase is caused by the local ruling class in conspiracy with foreign capitalists, do we?

Despite its moderate optimism, the Inquirer’s Sunday editorial proved prophetic, in a sense, as it warned of the consequences if politicking intruded into the Batasan bombing investigation too early. The news reported Ermita clears Salapuddin on Batasan blast which led to backpedaling on his part, today: Palace executive says he did not clear Salapuddin. But the damage has been done: as Senator Genaro Magsaysay famously said, “less talk, less mistake.” The dangers of higher-ups saying something were obvious to begin with.

Last Thursday I had a chance to run into Rep. Roilo Golez whose observations, however, made sense to me. He said that if assassination was the aim, then the opportunity presents itself in two places: where the target lives, and where the target works (incidentally, on Wahab Akbar, see Torn and Frayed and Sidetrip with Howie Severino).

Add to this, he said, the fact that we don’t have a suicide bomber culture, and that includes killers intent on killing themselves, too. So an assassin would make saving his own hide a high priority. This limits the opportunities, Golez said. Between home and work, the target’s convoy would make assassination difficult. You’d expect home to be well secured. But work -well, in the case of Akbar, the opportunity was there, particularly as he seemed to have suffered from a false sense of security while at the House, leaving by the same entrance like clockwork. An assassin, Golez observed, would run the risk of being gunned down after shooting his target, unless he was capable of making the 300 meter dash to the main entrance before anyone noticed what had happened. This means, if a getaway is important to the assassin, a bomb would be best. The other possibility, that the bombing was undertaken by a rogue element within the military, is a possibility Golez’s very uncomfortable with. No such inhibitions from Inner Sanctum.

Still, Amando Doronila says Blaming Abus was convenient for probers while Uniffors remains puzzled by the use of a bomb to do something small arms fire could have accomplished.

Scriptorium says the bombing raises three questions (read the whole entry, particularly his belief our society isn’t about to fall apart, just yet):

First, how could they think to do it? For while the legislators are not deemed epitomes of integrity–and in recent years, in fact, the Lower House has seemed lower still, a very expensive rubber stamp fit for a Queen–, they are legislators nonetheless, anointed with the ill-used but still real dignity of representing the nation in its districts and sectors; and an attack on them remains, by constitutional fiction, an attack on us. The bombing was therefore not only an attempt at mass murder–or perhaps at simple murder with multiple collateral casualties–but a national lese majeste, an brazen act of political sacrilege that makes us shudder for its confidence and contempt.

This takes us to the 2nd concern: Who then is safe? If our legislators with their security force and phalanxes of bodyguards can be attacked at the very center of their power, then what of us–who, when we ride the trains and enter the malls, have only private guards to keep us unharmed, searching our bags for bombs they would hardly recognize, shielding us more from comfort than from danger? The Glorietta “gas explosion” was bad enough; and even as we continue our daily routines, we know that we’ve gone back to the second lowest step of Maslow’s hierarchy (if, that is, we ever left it, or ever ascended from the first). One can hardly blame the tourists and investors for staying away, for they have a choice. We have none, and must go as before, though perhaps adding a prayer for safety to our morning rituals.

The 3rd concern proceeds from the foregoing: What next? Was this but the first ledge of a descending cascade of violence, unleashed by maybe Maoists, Islamists, Arroyoists, or random thugs? Will our government seize on it as an excuse to formally impose martial law, which it has proven all-too-willing to do for the most intangible reasons? In this light, though the intentions behind the attack are still uncertain, and its economic and social results remain to be seen, the needed policy response is already clear: For the sake of the nation and its people, the violence must be halted now, and its real perpetrators must be identified and prosecuted as soon as possible–but the means used must not, through excess, threaten to destroy the very ideals they seek to protect. More anon, perhaps, when more facts come to light.

More questions are raised by Postcard Headlines. But Mon Casiple asks the real question on everyone’s mind: are they Coincidences or real political moves? He’s a bit ambiguous on this score:

At the moment, the political situation points to the imperative on the president to make a decisive decision soon on which path she will take to ensure her own survival beyond 2010. The name of the game right now is called “transition management.”

She does not have much time left for her to decide (and make this public) since all the options require long and difficult preparations. All the interested political actors–within and outside her ruling coalition, local as well as foreign–know this. All are exerting pressure to push their own agenda and–the jackpot–to be the one to manage the transition.

Of course, GMA may not really leave the scene–witness her pronouncements on a charter change initiative. There are some in her coalition who wants to use the charter change to extend her term in power (and their own) and they are moving heaven and civil society to make this happen.

However, the chances for this are slim, unless her administration scatters the opposition and unleashes white terror on civil society. The desperate temptation to declare martial law or a state of emergency stem from the reality of a people’s resistance to charter change under GMA’s tutelage.

It is a coincidence that dramatic events such as the Batasan bombing, the Dalaig assassination, or the Glorietta incident occur one after the other in this moment of political conjuncture. Still-unfolding events will show whether these are real coincidences or planned moves in a game of political strategy.

Meanwhile, bureaucratic intramurals: Battle looms over control of Justice.

Overseas, see Malaysia Demos: Sound and Fury, Signifying Little in Asia Sentinel.

My column for today is The future’s bright (and thanks to the San Jose-Recoletos student publications editor-in-chief, who blogs at ~~peAceOuS viCioUs~~ for her kind words). On a Visayas-related note, see Boljoon Dig part 1 and Boljoon Dig part 2, in CAFFiend, on some remarkable archeological diggings there. Interesting entries, on provincial history, in Kanlaon and A Nagueño in the Blogosphere. Interesting notes, too, in The Magnificent Atty. Perez, referring to the Iloilo-Cebu connection.

Elsewhere in the blogosphere, I failed to read Blackshama’s Blog’s reaction to my columns on Marcos. But now that I have, you know, I’m working on a theory. Marcos established a New Society as the dominant discourse: it justified the scrapping of the liberal-democratic order created in 1935; and it was,actually, the justification for Edsa 1 and even Edsa Dos -and explains the refusal of what was once Marcos’ strongest constituency, the middle and upper classes frightened by Communism, to be politically engaged since 2005. Neither Edsa created a New Society, so why bother?

Think of it. Sift through all the reasons people give for not being politically active since 2005 (never mind examples of extreme social alienation, as shown in , or of guilt, as expressed by Hello Tiger Kitty), sift through the things people enumerate as everything wrong with this country (oligarchy, etc.) and then sift through what they want -basically, a Year Zero- and where it might be headed (a swing to the Right, suggests Ren’s Public Notebook) what do you have?

Ang Bagong Lipunan!

Another idea to explore is described in History Unfolding’s entry on Politics and Fourth Turnings:

William Strauss and Neil Howe, who wrote Generations and The Fourth Turning, divided American history into periods of approximately 80 years, called saeculums (Latin for a long human life.) In turn they divided each such period into four “turnings,” a High, an Awakening, an Unraveling and a Crisis. After the civil war crisis, the High lasted approximately from 1867 to 1885, the Awakening from about 1885 to 1905, the Unraveling until 1929 or so, and the crisis through 1945. In our own time the High ran from 1945 to 1965, the Awakening from then until the mid-1980s, the Unraveling from about 1985 until. . .sometime in the last 8 years.

This is a concept that resonates with me, because I approached recent events along similar (though not as intricate) lines in.

The Marocharim Experiment on the sociology of dance moves. It’s sad to note Patsada Karajaw has vanished from the blogosphere.

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Author: Manuel L. Quezon III
Manuel L. Quezon III.

561 thoughts on “Victory of the New Society”

  1. @ronin

    “are they so security conscious that they prefer a pistol which is easily concealed (and disposed of?)? or is it merely economical (i.e. pistols are cheaper)?”

    A sniper will cost you a bundle.

  4. No idea if this is accurate but I’ll take it and honestly tell you my results, although the Philippines should vary significantly from the US. Here being a libertarian means you are left of center (my own opinion, of course). The basic culture is a pakialamero culture.

  5. I like many of the questions in the test. Everyone should learn from it.

    ex: “Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity.”

    This makes me think that most Filipinos are conservatives.

    And this “What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state.”

    The question above is a little tricky. Some liberal politics actually shield conservatives (a.k.a serial adulterers) from persecution.

    My score:

    Economic Left/Right: -7.75
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.00
    Just like Gandhi. He, I’ve always thought I was located way right from Gandhi.

  6. Brian,

    I too was surprised with my score but as you say there are questions that were a bit tricky as in the taxation thinggy. (Fun test I thought…)

    Mine is:

    Economic Left/Right: -2.50
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.62

    (I guess Dean has all the reason to brand us leftist. Hah!)

  9. Brian,

    Always been a bit hard right in my very young days. But I didn’t think I’d be anywhere near left of center. I thought if at all, I’d be just a lil teeny weeny bit right of center — heh! But perhaps as I was telling cvj, as one gets older (you’re probably very young), one tends to yield more room to reason, hence a tendency for the extreme right to veer a bit to the left.

    Honestly, I think the people and events that have been shaping the last 4 or 5 years, eg., Bush and Cheney plus Rumsfeld and Blair (the hypocrite poodle), Gloria and her Malacanang gang, the war on Iraq, Lebanon, the crisis in Palestine, the Afghanistan problem, the extra-judicial killings in Manila, the Burma question, etc., have all radicalized those who were once anywhere near the right.

  10. I have this theory that it’s gut instincts (sikmura) not educational background or upbringing that makes us left or right. Some people in the right don’t know they are left and vice versa. I think it’ best to think of the left as progressive (i.e. people who think society can be better in the future) in contrast to the backward-thinking right (those who think that society has been perfected (the “Golden Age) a long time ago). In the case of contemporary Philippines, conservatism has both foreign and local sources (Juan’s (one’s) lolo and the kanos). Similarly, progressives think the future is in their children, or, rather, the power to improve society is in them and, of course, the kanos.

    So we get the sub-cultures: left-nationalists, right-nationalists; and their opposites, left-liberals, right-liberals (we take the old Philippine political meaning of liberal here as pro-kano).

  11. Thanks MBW for the link to the test, it’s quite interesting. My scores:

    Economic Left/Right: -2.88
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.49

  13. When i took the test five months ago, my score was:
    -3.25 (economic) and -3.13 (political).

    Last night, when i retook the test, my score was
    -4.25 (economic) and -3.03 (political).

  14. It’s obvious most people here would go for more conservative economic approach especially with regards to taxes, charity giving, corporate responsibility.

  16. mbw,

    Economic Left/Right: -3.38
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian:-1.90
    don’t know how it interprets, all I know, been a member of conservative party for a long, long time, but I still an admirer of Tommy Douglas Socialist programs of Socialized health care and education and social welfare and Liberal Trudeau, “the Government has no business in the country’s bedrooms”. So I think when I see a good program I don’t really care if it’s left or right. And Abortion, we have one on demand now. Marijuana is not legalizes yet, actually by next month it will be back in spotlight as the government is introducing a tough amendments to criminal law, take it or leave it or election…

  18. “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.” Thanksgiving Proclamation by Abraham Proclamation.

    Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks to God at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada.

    Ironically, Marcos proclaimed September 21 as the national thanksgiving day to conceal the repressive character of the New Society.

    For obvious reasons, I prefer to celebrate Thanksgiving day today rather than on Sept.21.

    Here are my five graces for Thanksgiving Day, 2007:

    * I am grateful and give thanks for being alive and in good health this year and for the wonderful recovery of my son from a major health crisis. Thank you God.

    * I am grateful and give thanks for the Filipino people being mature in their Faith in spite of the natural disasters and man-made litany of crisis that regularly afflict our nation. Thank you God.

    * I am grateful for the strong survival instincts of our people in relying on their own skills and depending less on the government. Thank you God.

    * I am grateful for all the country’s heroes who unselfishly gave up their lives for our country and continue to serve as our inspiration in this dark moment of our history. Thank you God.

    * I am grateful and give thanks for the honor and privilege of having all of you to write and share this message with on Thanksgiving, 2007. Thank you God.

    I wish you all a happy and grateful day.

  22. same to you vic, mlq3, rego, dodong, mbw, shamn of m, cvj, and all who others who comment and visit this blog. may we all have more to thank for wherever we are. ditto to all our countrymen in and outside the philippines whatever their station in life, political or religious persuasion. happy thanksgiving!

  25. “A Cabu cinema owner has made a political stand by hanging a nativity mural using the faces of the current and former presidents in place of Mary and Joseph.

    The giant tarpaulin features President Gloria Arroyo and former president Joseph Estrada as Joseph.”

    Completely in poor taste.An insult to religion.

  26. My scores

    The Political Compass
    Economic Left/Right: -9.88
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.05

    …not that i accept their categories…

  27. Hi Manoy Bencard,

    Happy Turkey Day to you and your family!

    Yes, despite everything, let’s hope that more blessings will come our way, especially to our countrymen who are less fortunate.

  28. Thank you sa mga bumati at Happy thanks giving din sa inyong lahat.

    I acutally need some help about Tablet PC. My neice is asking me replace her laptop with Tablet PC. Eh ngayon ko lang narinig eto eh. Gusto ko sanang isama sa pamimili bukas so I been googling for 2 hours now. Pero nalilito ako eh. Ano ba ang applications ng tablet PC. Bakt hindi sya naka core duo prcessors. Yung nagusto ko ko HP tablet PC naka AMD centurion. Ibig nag sabihin nito eh mabagal eto?

    Need to decide before 5 am ( 5 pm sa Pinas)

  29. BTW ano ba ang apllications ng tablet PC. pareho lang ba ng ordinary laptop at pwede ka lang mag sulat sa screen.

  30. Mr. Quezon:

    I’m kind of flattered that you linked an entry of mine here. Perhaps the next recourse would be for all the bloggers of the Philippines to film themselves doing the “Papaya” by a multi-party webcam conference. That will be one for the records.

    Marocharim

  31. Rego, I think you’re right with what you think of the tablet PC. Meron lang siyang sariling Operating System (Windows for tablet) but all applications should be the same (again with exception to those who are programmed for tablet PC). Instead of mouse, you use a “pen”.

    Personally, I think it’s overrated! Napakamahal na notebook kung ang habol mo lang eh makasulat sa PC.

    Enjoy your shopping….

    http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/evaluation/about.mspx

  33. I am making a list( checking it twice) called “Qualities We Don’t Want in the Next President”, based on lessons learned from the Marcos and Gloria administrations.

    The first undesirable attribute is to have a meddling spouse like Imelda or Mike. We do not elect a co-president in the person of a presidential spouse. The beauty of Cory’s presidency is that she did not have a meddling First Gentleman( although some would argue there was the “Kamaganak Inc.” during Cory‘s time). Ideally, we need to elect someone who would push his spouse under a bus if she screwed up the unelected “First Lady” position.

    The 2nd quality to avoid is :Extreme Reliance on Image Makeover/Personality Projection rather than on a Platform of Government. The classic case is Gloria. Her political operators have been repackaging Gloria so many times since her campaign for the Vice Presidency to appeal to the masa (Gloria Labandera, Nora Aunor look-alike, Mother of Strong Republic, etc). All form, no substance.100% showbiz.

    The third undesirable attribute is to have a personal record of dishonesty. Norman Mailer aptly said, “Democracy, more than any other political system, depends on a modicum of honesty.” Who can forget Gloria’s “I will not run” promise or the infamous “Hello Garci” conversations? How about Marcos’ fake war medals?

    The 4th quality to avoid is to have a president who relies on master political operators cum spin doctors to manipulate electoral campaigns. What do Marcos, Ramos, Erap and Gloria have in common? Ronnie Puno.

    The 5th and probably most undesirable attribute is to have a President who will not hesitate to expand the powers of the Presidency beyond the constitutional limits. History may ultimately hold Gloria in the greatest contempt for expanding the powers of the presidency (like a Marcos’ cheap copycat). Her EO No.464 is a deliberate derogation of the legislative power to investigate. The extra-judicial killings remain unabated under her administration.

  34. Equalizer, that is a very good list for starters and it is imperative that these lessons are learned. I will add that tortures must stop absolutely, condemned in the strongest possible terms, and alleged perpetrators made to answer by all means. Take the case of that Davao farmer, suspected of being a communist rebel, the 2nd released under force of the writ of Amparo. According to the account while he was in detention, he was hogtied, beaten, forced to eat his feces. Part of the torture, his face wrapped with cellophane sprinkled with pepper. If we consider our system a democracy, everyone must condemn in the strongest terms this kind of outrage, and authorities must urgently investigate and bring to swift justice all guilty parties. We are not seeing this at this point. If everyone, specially the authorities, turn blind eyes and deaf ears on these sort of things then what does civilized society mean.

  35. “If everyone, specially the authorities, turn blind eyes and deaf ears on these sort of things then what does civilized society mean.willy”

    jonas burgos: 208 days missing!

  38. Equalizer,

    I’ll settle for what I’ve said before: Just give me someone with INTEGRITY and I won’t mind if he/she has a load of other faults.

  40. “I’ll settle for what I’ve said before: Just give me someone with INTEGRITY and I won’t mind if he/she has a load of other faults.Shaman of malilipot”

    I listed about 7 possible “presidentiables” in my 2nd poll in my blog.check if you would vote for any of them.

  41. Manila Bay Watch, I took the test you suggested and will write about it some other time:

    Economic Left/Right: -8.00
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.69

  42. Imagine,if the presidential polls were held today,who would you vote for?(vote in the NEW poll on my blog)

    (Brief Profiles from their official resumes;in alphabethical order)

    Vice President Noli De Castro:He is a “Working Vice President” , working on various tasks as: 1.) Alternate Chairman of the National Anti-Poverty Commission; 2.) Presidential Adviser for Overseas Filipino Workers; 3.) Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC)

    Senator Jinggoy Estrada : the eldest son of former President Joseph Estrada and Luisa Pimentel-Ejercito Estrada, it is not surprising that like his parents, the Filipino masses have a special place in his heart .

    Senator Dick Gordon: best known for overcoming great odds in the Philippines. In the 2004 national elections when he ran as senator of the Philippines, he received the fifth highest number of votes from the electorate even without sectoral and religious command vote support.

    Senator Ping Lacson:Filipinos came to know him for his sterling and “no nonsense” leadership as Chief of the Philippine National Police.

    Senator Loren Legarda:She is the only woman in history who has topped the Senate race twice, once in 1998 with over 15 million votes and in 2007 with over 18 million votes.

    Senator Mar Roxas: the son of the illustrious Senator Gerry Roxas, and the grandson of the venerable President Manuel Roxas whose public service careers have greatly benefited the country.He is the new President of the Liberal Party.

    Senate President Manny Villar : the first post-war public official who became both Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President.He is the President of the Nacionalista Party.

  44. Since 1927, TIME Magazine has chosen a man, woman, or idea that “for better or worse, has most influenced events in the preceding year.”

    Following the tradition of TIME magazine,who in your humble opinion, deserves to be the “Pinoy of the Year ” honor for 2007(the Pinoy who for better or worse,has influenced events in the Philippines in 2007)? Vote in the new poll in my blog.

    In alphabetical order:

    * President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

    * Ex President Joseph Estrada

    * Manny Pacquiao

    * Gov.”Amang” Ed Panlilio

    * Lea Salonga

    * The Filipino Soldier

    * Senator Antonio Trillanes

    * Overseas Filipino Worker(OFW)

    * Joey De Venecia

    * You(yes ,You and me,the ordinary Pinoy!)

  49. The Equalizer said:
    ‘Interesting initial results of the poll on presidentiables 2010’

    I’m quoting Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi during a press conference announcing his retirement.

    “I do think that it is time for Mississippi to let a new person, a younger person, take over”

  50. “I do think that it is time for Mississippi to let a new person, a younger person, take over”supremo

    Young,inspiring and honest.

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