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.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, books, constitution, economy, Edsa, history, House of Representatives, Marcos, media, military, mindanao, philippines, politics, society
CVJ
Agree with you again on the points you made. Wala naman talaga tayong away eh. It’s just that we have the same end result. Our methods to get to the end result lang nga are quite different.
I think that reality dictates that we accept FOR NOW, the situation wherein the elites will protect their interest. and the middle class have become expedient. That should be the framework to come up with a strategy to fix the problem. Your ideas are good in the theoretical world where everybody will be the goody two shoes you expect them to be. Fact is, they’re not. We have to work with those realities or else we’ll all just opt for suicide out of frustration.
As for the last part, look at what Dr. Martin Bautista did? Di naman siya kilala, middle class din siya, pero he did try. And I know for sure, he will try again. Now that is walking the walk and not just talking the talk.
Tent Tackle
I have also the same idea re GMA’s corrupt regime but how sure are you that these two guys will have the same democratic ideals they ostensibly espouse? They are from a military culture will a mindset that one would think would border on a dictatorship. They are used to getting their way with their underlings. Is that you what you want then?
Getting rid of Gloria and putting a junta is not the solution to the social problems of the country.
Fixing the problem involves dismantling that framework. It is in our interest to establish a different framework based on fair play and genuine democratic values because the Middle Class does not have the resources or numbers to play Machiavellian games.
Bayanihan is not a theoretical concept. If you think it is in our interest to sustain an environment that is hostile to the ‘goody two shoes’ (i.e. decent folks), then i think you should review your kind of ‘realism’.
I agree, which is why i voted for Martin Bautista and will most likely vote for him again. However to boost his chances, his supporters (like you and me) should be seen to be living his values (of justice and fair play) and not tolerating an unjust framework based on expediency.
“I have also the same idea re GMA’s corrupt regime but how sure are you that these two guys will have the same democratic ideals they ostensibly espouse?”
-Between Arroyo’s blatant lies and corruption and Senator Trillanes’ idealism there is no contest on where to side.
“They are from a military culture will a mindset that one would think would border on a dictatorship. They are used to getting their way with their underlings.”
-I don’t think so. He is a duly elected Senator.
“Getting rid of Gloria and putting a junta is not the solution to the social problems of the country.”
-Gloria Aroyyo is the immediate problem. Solution to the social problems of the country can only come AFTER the immediate problem is removed.
Never will we be able to even promulgate solution to the social problems of the country for as long as the immediate problem is well entrenced and is bastardizing and prostituting social institutions with impunity.
Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
* Puno said they even tried to call the act something else as curfew might not have traumatic effect on the people, who could associate it to the curfew imposed during the Martial Law era.
* “Iyong sinabi niyo nga na pag sinabing curfew maaalala martial law talaga. So nag-iisip kami, pwede bang gumamit ng ibang salita? Para hindi naman magkaroon ng traumatic effect sa ating mga kababayan. Eh wala naman talagang maisip. So sabi namin tutal iilang oras iyan… (We could not think of any other name to call it so we decide to stick on curfew anyway it’s only for a few hours).”
* “Technically that is not an arrest(i.e.,mass arrests and handcuffing of journalists covering the Trillanes story). That is a processing,” Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said.
“Oh Mortal Man, is there nothing you cannot be made to believe?Josef Goebbel, Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
Silent Waters, my latest response has gone ‘under moderation’ so i’ve reposted it in my blog:
http://www.cvjugo.blogspot.com/2007/12/phillippine-middle-class-plays.html
CVJ
First things first. AM not sure how to get quotes..maybe you can teach me…
Your first point: I have no quarrel with you on dismantling the framework…but you still need to work within the same framework first to dismantle it!
Your second point: The point I am trying to get at is that not everybody will be like you. I never thought that we should sustain the hostile environment we’re in now.All I am saying is that there are not many goody two shoes in this world who will just follow what YOU want.
Last Point: That’s exactly what I am getting at. Just because you’re middle class doesn’t mean you can’t effect change, even if little by little. You certainly sell yourself short. 🙂 So come home and help out. Don’t stay there and armchair quarterback the whole thing.
But why are you bothered by this? Weren’t you the one who said that American style democracy was not for us Filipinos?
was reading and browsing all the articles that manolo wrote. it’s only now i came to know some revelations of manolo. here are some of my observations.
– no wonder manolo didn’t get the mestizo traits of the quezons, it’s because he’s adopted.
– he used to be a drug addict and i hope he has already shaken off that bad habit of his in the past
– it’s now i realized that he admires trillanes so much, it’s because he’s gay and likes boys (i really admired him for having the guts to admit that he’s gay and i don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay per se)
by the way, to all those pro-trillanes and pro-magdalo, try checking this link out. you would see that there are a lot of praises to what tonio panot did at manila pen,
http://gmapinoytv.igma.tv/sidetrip/blog/index.php?/archives/302-Why-use-the-Magdalo-name.html
Abe, very well said.
Dinky Soliman nicely summed up the action of Trillanes: “It’s a desperate move from someone so frustrated. The insults we get from the government every day are just too much.â€Â
In my opinion, a blend of socialism and democracy is what would be ideal for us. I never said I want a dictatorship. What I meant is people should be more disciplined and responsible in order for American style democracy to work here. Our free for all culture with no sense of responsibilities is what causes us to have these problems. Two different things, man.
Siguro the best way to say it is: With freedom and democracy comes great responsibilities. Yung second part ang wala pa sa ating Pinoy.
Silent Waters, more specifically, with freedom and democracy comes the responsibility to respect each other’s electoral choices. Iyun ang wala sa elite at middle class na Pinoy.
cvj
It’s the whole package man, hindi lang respect ang pinag uusapan. Masyado kasing narrow yung definition mo. It certainly includes what you said but more. Why do you keep
saying letting the masa off ? Kasama lahat sa pagiging responsable…elitista, middle class at masa.
check the blog below
My sentiment exactly…
http://philippinecomedian.com/
Silent Waters, i’m a member of the Middle Class so i know first hand what our faults are. I cannot speak about the masa except as an external observer. It is more useful for us who belong to the Middle Class to examine our faults and try to learn from them.
Instead, what i see is the elite and middle class blaming ‘democracy’ when in fact they have not allowed it to be practiced in a fair manner. Binabale-wala lang nila ang pandaraya ni Gloria Arroyo.
so does that mean then that the masa is also not to blame partly for the country’s situation? I really don’t have an issue with you regarding the elites and the middle class. They have their share of the blame. What I do not agree is that for you, the masa is blameless. They ARE also part of the problem, don’t you think? They don’t care to be responsible for their votes, for being disciplined, for thinking of the country’s welfare, etc. We just keep thinking that if these elites and middle class will just change their ways, tapos na. Ang punto ko, lahat dapat maging responsable.
hello,
nakikidalaw lang for the first time in weeks.
Reading nov 29 comments onwards,
I was expecting more from jaxius;with his knowledge of civillian-military mindset difference…..
Weather what happened was an investment; as Bernas says in his column; or just one to laugh about while drinking with buddies sometime in the future…
We live,we learn.
until next time
advance happy holidays
Manolo:your silence is deafening! why pls?
ohh just love to read Mita’s comments again and I agree with waht she said ………….
“Instead, what i see is the elite and middle class blaming ‘democracy’ when in fact they have not allowed it to be practiced in a fair manner. Binabale-wala lang nila ang pandaraya ni Gloria Arroyo. cvj”
——————————————————-
Coming from you, cvj and revisiting all yoour comments and behavior and this blog….. I can just……. HA HA HA HA HA HA…………..
dude you are just soooooooooooooo inconsistent and soooooooooo unbelievable…………
Oh well you re in Singapore.
“Manolo:your silence is deafening! why pls?”
Yet it says a lot.
“Weather what happened was an investment; as Bernas says in his column; or just one to laugh about while drinking with buddies sometime in the future…
We live,we learn.”
Im wondering as to when is that future be . The time to live and learn is NOW!
my suggestions:
Mr.Esperon:Assign a set of MPS to guard the MPS that guard Senator Trillanes.
Sergio Apostol:Don’t use a tank next time to serve a warrant of arrest.use a Trojan horse with gloria inside for great photo-ops!
Ronnie Puno:find better words to describe “curfew†and “mass arrest of media†para hindi matakot ang tao.check Goebbel’s books for reference.
Senator Trillanes:every good leader has a purification process.Ninoy:8 years;Mandela:26 years!
No, i don’t think the masa are blameless. Madami sa kanila nagpaloko kay Erap back in 1998. Ang problema, nakisakay naman ang elite businessmen natin, especially ang mga Tsinoy businessmen dahil sigurista sila. Ang middle-class naman, focused on superficial issues like Erap’s carabao-english and his mistresses. They did not drive home the point that Erap was really just another traditional politician from the elite.
Anyway, the fact that the masa has their share of faults does not erase the fact that the middle class has turned away from values of respect for the electoral process and fair play. That’s the urgent issue. The middle class has to regain its soul by ousting Arroyo. Then we spring clean the elite. Then the masa will see that we are serious. Only then, can we be in a position to lecture them about ‘discipline’ and ‘thinking of the country’s welfare’. Reciprocity based on shared principles is the foundation for peace.
CVJ
If you then believe this to be the case, I still challenge you to pack up your bags and come home to lecture us middle class on the values you believe we should have in order to jumpstart the process. It’s still easy to talk the talk. Now Walk the walk.
Also, interesting choice of words you use…spring clean the elites…is that code for executing them? Ano ba kasi gusto mo? redistribution of wealth? If that’s the case, then you do espouse communists ideals. and if this is true, this is then so different from what you wanted in the first place, American style democracy….so alin ba?
Fairness is always in the eyes of the beholder you know? Sure, we have standards of fairness…pero there’s always a fine line somewhere. So who becomes the judge then? YOU?
“Marami rito kasi, because they so hate GMA, they’d be willing to sell their own souls to do the devil just to take her out. Is that what it has come down to then?silent waters”silent water
very strong words.silent water to deep yata your accusation.Relax lang.
“silent waters, in new york criminal courts (a place, i would say, is no less civilized or democratic than pinas), accused felons are handcuffed and shackled when appearing before the courts. that is s.o.p. and not without good reasons.”
“old Geezer”Assign a set of MPs to guard the MPs that guard the MPs that guard the MPs that guard Senator Trillanes(ad infinitum.. .ok na kaya?).
* Ronnie Puno,Interior and Local Government Secretary, said they even tried to call the act something else as curfew might not have traumatic effect on the people, who could associate it to the curfew imposed during the Martial Law era.
* “Iyong sinabi niyo nga na pag sinabing curfew maaalala martial law talaga. So nag-iisip kami, pwede bang gumamit ng ibang salita? Para hindi naman magkaroon ng traumatic effect sa ating mga kababayan. Eh wala naman talagang maisip. So sabi namin tutal iilang oras iyan… (We could not think of any other name to call it so we decide to stick on curfew anyway it’s only for a few hours).”
* “Technically that is not an arrest(i.e.,mass arrests and handcuffing of journalists covering the Trillanes story). That is a processing,” Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said.
“Oh Mortal Man, is there nothing you cannot be made to believe?Josef Goebbel, Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
Posted by Equalizer at Saturday, December 01, 2007 0 comments
Equalizer
Just trying to be extreme to make a point…baka magising…
SW:ah,ok
Equalizer
ISn’t it you have your own blog? Can you share them with me again?
just press my name and I’ll be there.
You still have a full month left to finish up your 2007 New Year’s Resolutions. Stop slacking.
Some suggested ones:
Gloria Pidal: “I will not only be cute and short.I will be honest”
Sergio Apostol(presidential legal counsel): I will believe,really believe, that “No man (OR woman) is above the LAW!”
Secretary Bunye: “I promise to check my nose if it continues to GROW (like Pinnochio) every time I say ‘let’s move on!’ after a a BIG scandal”
Mr.Esperon “I will assign a set of MPs to guard the MPs who guard Senator Trillanes!”
Lady Miriam: “I will not insult again the 1.3 billion Chinese.(My mother -in-law is also Chinese!)”
Iggy Arroyo(Pidal Junior): “I will stick to my domestic problems first before I open my mouth and talk nonsensically about the latest political headlines.”
Mike (PIDAL Senior) :”I will buck off from government deals!”
Ronnie Puno:I will memorize this “Oh Mortal Man, is there nothing you cannot be made to believe?Josef Goebbel, Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
Senator Trillanes: “I will accept the purification process.I will be patient as a young leader(Mandela
stayed in prison for 26 years!). ”
Senator Mar Roxas: “I will get married before I officially declare my candidacy (for extra media mileage versus Manny Villar)!”
Senator Joker Arroyo: “I will be true to my slogan’Kung Bad Ka Lagot Ka’ BUT not with GlOria!”
Senator Manny Villar “I will be the leader of the (loyal) OPPOSiTION to GMA!”
ALL Credible 2010 Presidentiables :”If elected,I will NOT grant presidential pardon to my predecessor!”
erap:”I will be ‘machonurin’ to gloria”
Fvr:”I will be the Senior mentor to gloria”
cory:”I will continue to pray for all ”
The Average Pinoy ” We will survive!”
for more entertainment…
please visit inquirer dot net’s Makati Standoff Special Report. in the Interactive tab, there are…
3D Walkthroughs of The Peninsula’s drivethrough…
search for the empty plastic water bottle and banana peel in one of the three walkthroughs…
a hug and a kiss from gloria await lucky searchers…
equalizer, i’ve been sick since nov. 19. was in hospital 22nd to 26th and have only begun normal activities today.
di ko talaga maiwasan ang wrong spelling ko ..”weather” ginawang panahon..sory whether dapat.
rego
i also agree that the time to live and learn is now,I have not just articulated it that way.
jaxius,
naalala ko lang ng pagdalaw ko sa blog mo you suggested a good reading”man on horseback” and so I read it.
Even if that book is decades old and the author claiming that it should not be treated like a bible of sorts its “memes” still hold.
Mahirap talaga idefine ang role of the military in politics.
I don’t want to go as far as Thailand,Burma and Pakistan,just zoom in to our dear Philippines.
Besides my back office job,that is the other thing I am doing,is as I have mentioned b4 is assisting my dad in the sdc.Ang tagal ng sweldo nakapag temp job na ako hindi pa din dumadating.maramdaman ko lang resign ulit ako sa call center.
Get Well soon mlq3….
Why is everyone ignoring Magdalo_Defector?
BrianB
sorry but who’s the magdalo defector?
Wishing you quick recovery, Mlq3!
taking the cue from The Equalizer…
More suggested resolutions…
Bedol: “I will come out of hiding.â€Â
Neri: “I will bring out what I’m hiding†(or “I will come out of the closet where I’m hiding.â€Â).
Raul Gonzalez/Mercy Gutierrez: “I will finally bring to court the cases (inimical to gloria) I’m still hiding.â€Â
Truth-seekers in public office: “We will no longer be forever hiding.â€Â
Corrupt in government: “I will disclose the wealth I am hiding.â€Â
2010 Presidentiable (addendum): “I will reveal the agenda I (or my followers) could be hiding.â€Â
Military top brass: “We will bring forth all those who we are hiding.â€Â
PNP/Military: “We will temporarily forget about the slippery Faeldon who’s in hiding.â€Â
Gen. Razon on the Wigged Magdalo member (standing behind Gen. Lim): “I will expose the shiny bald head he’s hiding.â€Â
BOTO mo rin lang pala ang ipinagmamalaki mong tulong na kaya mong gawin para sa bansa marami ka pang ek-ek na sinasabi on how to fix the problem and make the system works. kung ano-anong paninisi pa sa mga elitesta at middle class. as if, bobong bomoto ang ibang taong salungat sa mga sinasabi mo. akala ko kung ano ng sakripisyo ang kaya mong gawin. di mo nga makayang iwan ang maganda mong trabaho para ipaglaban ang Masang sinasabi nyong masyadong kinakawawa ng mga elitista at middle class. as if talagang ramdam na ramdam nyo ang paghihirap ng mga eto.
maybe you meant “THEY†and not “WEâ€Â.
grd
Dahan dahan lang… di nga niya ako sinasagot sa challenge ko…baka naman kasi may pinapakain na pamilya sa Maynila…
grd
May running assumption kasi si CVJ sa mga masa….mga bobo ang tingin niya sa mga ito. Sa pananaw niya, Mga elitista at middle class lang ang kayang magpaikot sa utak ng masa. Sa dami nang nakita kong mga so called aktibista tulad ni Crispin Beltran at Lagman na kunwaring makamasa eh sa totoo lang may mga malalaking negosyo pinatatakbo (KMU at BMP), eh di ko alam kung sino tuloy ang mas malaking kapitalista.
Di niyo ba alam na may mga subsidiary na negosyo yang mga iyan, in fact, nag-eexport sila ng banana sa Japan at may printing press din. Haay…and they attack the capitalist for taking advantage kuno…eh sila rin naman.
silent, sabi ko naman kay cvj if he can walk the talk, i will be his disciple. yan ang challenge ko sa kanya.
silent waters, i don’t think we are on the same page with respect to pgma’s status as president. we have debated this point quite extensively in this blog and i’m not about to reopen that can of worms. i maintain, though, that gma is a “de jure” president, recognized as such by the judiciary and legislative bodies of the land as well as ALL the sovereign nations of the world. just because the likes of cvj and devilsadvoc8, among a relatively few others who just couldn’t accept defeat, question her “legitimacy” doesn’t limit her official status to “de facto”. you are right, however, that even as a de facto president, one is entitled to all the powers, privileges and immunities of the office.
devils, there is no “war” between gma and the “people”. there is war being waged against the government that she represents by the npa’s, abu sayaff and other terrorist and criminal groups, milf, leftist/commies ideologues, and and assorted haters and malcontents wanting to have their own anointed ones in the palace. these are the “people” at war with gma, a tiny fraction of the entire populace. and we know who is winning that war.
Bencard
The reason she’s de facto as of now is because there is a lot of question regarding her legitimacy. She is still the sitting president so ergo, she’s the de facto president.
I generally agree with present situation. I personally do not like her as it seems like she has lost any moral standing with me but as she is the de facto president, then all rights, privileges and powers extended to the Presidency by extension is given to her.
As I said in the previous comments, my problem with the GMA haters is that they will accept ANY alternative, just so they can boot her out. That, I will never understand. Funny thing is, they want rule of law but because she supposedly doesn’t the rule of law, then they might as well not follow also. Di ko tuloy ma follow ang logic nila….
I do respect other people’s opinions but it seems that some of them are so rabid anti GMA that any opinion that follows a sense of fairness for the administration turns them into anti-whoever is giving that opinion at the moment.
It’s really so weird for them to think that the government doesn’t have a right to protect itself. Where did that come from? Because their hero is Trillanes, he is supposedly allowed to do ANYTHING he wants, even if its criminal, just because he is on THEIR SIDE of the FENCE. My God, eh di ganun din pala sila. They keep saying GMA will do anything to perpetuate herself in power…let’s turn it the other way around then,…Trillanes will do ANYTHING to grab power…asus….
They argue that democracy is not the problem, the elitists and middle class are the problem….parang walang kinalaman yung 80-90% of the population of the Philippines sa problema ng Pilipinas. In one respect, tama si Col. Lim…Dissent without action is consent…eh anong ginagawa ng masa? Kung talagang wala nang pag asa itong administration, bakit walang ginagawa ang masa. Just by sheer numbers, they could easily topple the regime if they want to. If they believe the soldiers are really on their side, why don’t they do it? Sa konti ng elitista and middle class, once they see the masses staring in their faces, do you think papalag pa sila? ANg nakakatakot, baka matulad din sa French revolution, pinatay rin nila ang sarili nilang kapwa rebolusyonaryo.
Di ko rin maintindihan..gusto nila i spring cleaning ang mga elitista and i-reeducate ang mga middle class….di ba shades of communism iyan? Ginawa iyan ni Mao Tse Tung nung early to late 60s yun. They want democracy and yet they want communism too? Don’t you think that’s an interesting combination?
No wonder we’re all f**ked up, we don’t even know what we want.
let’s get rid of magdalo defector please…his words have no place anywhere.
some of you mentioned war. if it’s a war then it’s a civil war…which is what has been happening in Mindanao all these hundreds of years but is so far from us, we ordinary citizens in Luzon have never felt it.
if things get any worse, we are headed for what will technically be a civil war. if so, starting today, can we please separate the rebels from the “opposition”. there is a distinction, just as “terrorist” has a different meaning.
Trillanes is a rebel and not the opposition. AS a former soldier, his crime (YES, Crime) of rebellion is even compounded if memory serves me right.
As for the opposition, if they will support him after this fiasco and call him one of their own, they will lose a lot of the little credibility they have as an effective opposition.
ANC news people keep saying this incident was indicative of Trillanes’ “frustration” – GOSH, can you imagine what we all would do if we let our frustrations in life get the better of us?
Most of the country is moving forward, preparing for 2010 even (Hello, Mar Roxas!) so yes, there’s life after GMA and 2010.