Hoorah to the Filipino medalists at the SEA Games.
Today’s Inquirer editorial ask why the the Palace gates were closed to the Sumilao farmers. As for the farmers themselves, Patricia Evangelista eloquently tackles their plight, while Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ says that the original government order reclassifying the land the farmers claim, from agricultural to industrial, was based on conditions that have been unfulfilled, and left unfulfilled by the new owner of the land, San Miguel Corporation:
What were the terms of the development which were approved for the 144 hectares? I repeat what I enumerated last Monday:
24 hectares would contain a Development Academy of Mindanao consisting of an Institute for Higher Education, Institute for Livelihood Science, Institute for Agri-Business Research, Museum, Library, Cultural Center and Mindanao Sports Development Complex.
67 hectares would contain a Bukidnon Agro-Industrial Park consisting of a processing plant for corn oil, corn starch and various corn products; cassava processing for starch, alcohol and food delicacies; processing plants for fruits and fruit products such as juices; processing plants for vegetables; cold storage and ice plant; cannery system; commercial stores; public market and abattoir.33 hectares for Forest Development including open spaces and parks for recreation, horseback riding and mini animal zoo.
20 hectares for Support Facilities including a 360-room hotel, restaurants, dormitories and housing project.
Instead, says Bernas,
The landowner failed in its commitment to make the development. Instead, the landowner sold the land to San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI).
Under the rules, the successor in interest to the property is bound by the terms of the approved conversion. SMFI plans to put up a piggery with 162 buildings to house 4,400 female pigs and 44,000 piglets and also to put up a slaughterhouse. Compare this SMFI project with the originally approved conversion plan. The former was people’s welfare-oriented; now it is pig-oriented! Did the DAR secretary approve the change in orientation?
What is most painful for the farmers is that they had already won Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) which were registered in the Register of Deeds, only to be revoked to give way to the bogus promise of development.
On the other hand, San Miguel Corporation says it has investments in the land that dwarfs the actual value of the land. See this letter to the editor by Ramon Ang:
We convened a consultation with the farmers themselves, along with the residents and local officials of San Vicente, Sumilao. In fact, several of the farmers who have joined the protest march were in that consultation and assented to these plans. Mapalad leaders Paterno L. Tuminhay and Renato C. Penas were among the barangay kagawad who approved the barangay resolution endorsing the project.
Having secured their approval, we immediately set out to construct the facilities. To date, we have constructed 21 of 40 buildings that will make up the agro-industrial estate.
All told, our total investment in Sumilao will amount to an estimated P2.4 billion, far, far greater than any projected future value for the land itself. It’s an investment that will have near-term benefits for the farmers themselves.
Our plan will provide the residents of Sumilao a sustainable source of employment and income and we’re confident that all our initiatives will have an even greater catalyzing effect on the lives of people in this area.
If you go over the economics paper of Dr. Michael Alba, which I posted in Inquirer Current, he touches on issues raised by Bernas and which can only lead to more Sumilao-type controversies to come. He points out that the conversion of land from agricultural to industrial and other purposes is going on at such a fast clip, that no one can say, with precision, how much land remains classified as agricultural land. At best, he says, what we can have are guesstimates, because the old. more thorough system for making inventories of land, have been dropped.
My column for today is Sobre la Indolencia de Los Españoles, where a Spaniard’s observations on why his government was so fulsome in its praise of the President, leads me to reflecting that there’s not enough “complete staff work” going on in the Spanish side. And that the Spanish have the option of basing their relationship with Filipinos on hazy colonial nostalgia or on a far stronger, because relevant, commitment to the shared values of modernity, democracy, and secularism that have taken root in Spain today for the first time in its history.
I quoted him at length in my column, but a fuller extract is called for, considering how difficult it is to find his book. In his essay, “Inheritance from Spain” in the collection “We Filipinos,” this is what Leon Ma. Guerrero had to say (in the Manila Chronicle in 1953):
[F]or all the superficial disappearance of Spanish culture, the Filipino nation is still Spanish and mind and heart. The great wave of Americanization erased only the Spanish footprint on the surface of the sands, and left untouched a buried treasure… She made our soul after her own image; and the Spaniard can still understand, much more perhaps than the American, the nature of the Filipino, can discern the true character of the race beneath what Benavente called the words with which we lie and thoughts with which we fool ourselves.
The Spanish civil law permits the institution of what is called a universal heir, who must assume not only the credits but also the liabilities of his predecessor in interest. We were the universal heirs of Spain in the Philippines, forced heirs to both the virtues and the vices of the sovereign testatrix.
Thus, while Spain gave us the Catholic religion, setting us apart forever from the rest of Asia with the chrism of salvation, she also bequeathed to us an anticlerical tradition, the unhealed wound of the political conflict with the friars…
Spain, finally, laid down the basis of our democracy with the Christian teaching of the dignity of man, and our equality under God. But she shares with us the habits of hypocrisy, subservience, and civic irresponsibility that are engendered by absolute power.
The Duke of Maura, analyzing the political landscape of Spain in his Grandeza y Decadencia de Espana, points out that Spain’s greatest weakness, which we seem to have inherited, is the atrophy of the civic spirit, the lack of civic responsibility, the habit of submission to absolute and irresponsible power. As a result, the word politics has come to mean, for some the most pleasant and least demanding of professions; for others the most thrilling and expensive of sports; and for very few the art of knowing, evaluating and serving the national interest.
Political power in turn, he says, is interpreted in terms of satisfying vanity and ambition, of indulging covetousness, of being prodigal with the money of others, of expediting vengeance, of amassing a fortune, of rising in society, in short, of glutting every ignoble appetite…
It is not strange, says the Duke, that where the cacique is absolute, and the citizen servile, favoritism and parasitism should reign instead of justice and the right. nor is it strange that in this upside-down selection of our rulers, the worst should always be preferred to the good, with the horrible result that a government of incompetents is placed at the head of a flock of slaves.
Which is Spain, he asks -and we might ask the same question of ourselves- misgoverned or ungovernable? Who is to blame for the national misfortunes: the ruler without a sense of right, or the ruled without a sense of duty? Patience and resignation, he declares, are the virtues of the martyr, and the vices of the citizen. So also did Rizal proclaim that there are no tyrants where there are no slaves…
Our nation learned many things from Spain: a primitive instinct of piety that sustains us in misfortune; a sense of personal dignity, of amor propio that drives us to do things which are sometimes comic and sometimes tragic; an avid and restless amorousness which contrives to combine the idolatry of woman with a selfish and boastful carnality; an understanding of death, death as the final sanction of life, the ultimate test to be met with the reckless elegance of the torero standing on tiptoe above the horns of the bull.
Indeed, we shall not find Spain’s legacy to the Filipinos in masonry or literature or in the ceremonial compliments of chiefs of state and their ambassadors. We must look for it in the heart, the secret heart, of the nation: in the servant’s sense of honor, in the dancehall girl going on her knees in the crowded aisle to kiss the feet of the Nazarene and pray for better trade, in the venal politician dreaming of a seat in the Senate as Sancho Panza dreamed of the governorship of Barataria, and in the honest public servant who like Don Quixote, sees a princess in every maid.
See also Manila Bay Watch on this score. In his blog, Mon Casiple looks at talk that one reason the President had a large entourage during her Spanish visit, was that she used the time to plot strategy. Three options could have been debated during that time, he says:
There were speculations that plans had been hatched for a possible charter change initiative next year or, at the least, for a decisive oust-Speaker de Venecia strategy. An interesting speculative counterpoint was for the mapping out of a GMA political retreat.
Casiple has been harping on his view that the President’s problem is that her wiggle room is narrowing; he says she now has only a few months, at most, to fully explore, and pursue, some of her options, particularly if the include staying on in office past the expiration of her current term. He believes that one option that’s firmly closed off, is a Constitutional Convention, so this leaves a people’s initiative redux or a constituent assembly, but both options spectacularly failed in the past. The clincher, Casiple thinks, is emergency rule, but the armed forces remains a big question mark in this regard.
So Casiple concludes,
The options for the president is narrowing. Compromise with the broad political opposition is almost gone and her maintaining the option for term extension is riling all presidentiables–whether from the opposition or from her own coalition.
In a situation where the transition to a lameduck presidency has already begun, there is growing pressure for her to resign in order to normalize the political situation–in time for the 2010 presidential elections. Resignation, in this case, is the price she may have to pay to ensure her survival in the post-2010 period. If she choose to stick it out, the only option left for her is to throw caution to the wind and go all out for term extension. Otherwise, she may be helplessly caught in a maelstrom of conspiracies as all the other political forces fight for the high ground towards succession.
(update: any doubt constitutional amendments are back in play? See Charter change revived in House; deliberations set)
It’s significant that late last month, a new voice added to the existing calls for resignation. See Scriptorium, which reproduces Ang Kapatiran’s statement. But the last word will go to the irrepressible Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr.:
Locsin, a member of the majority coalition, said Arroyo is a lot clever than her political rivals as she has survived every single attempt to oust her.
“She is a good economist and sly politician, 10 times smarter than all her enemies combined which isn’t saying much because they are retarded,” he said.
In light of the above, there’s this piece by Vicente Romano III, a co-convenor of the Black & White Movement:
A People on Standby
As soon as the Manila Pen siege was over, there was a flurry of pronouncements from just about every political group as well as personalities from both sides of the political divide. Invariably, the statements depicted Trillanes and Lim as misguided, military adventurists, rebels, criminals, or arrogant fools for repeating the same mistakes in Oakwood and in 2006. At best, some would say they sympathized with Trillanes’ and Lim’s cause, but did not agree with their methods.
But why did they have to wait until the standoff was over before they spoke their minds? Simple. They weren’t really sure about how the incident would turn out and they didn’t want to be caught with their feet in their mouths just in case Trillanes et al prevailed.
This is the same reason why no politician of significant stature came out during the siege. Most of them were probably somewhere in Makati, on standby, monitoring how things would develop. And if it looked like regime change was imminent, they were ready to make a grand appearance, abandoning all current loyalties, reminiscent of EDSA 2.
Even more worrisome, at least to the administration, was the non-appearance of military top brass during the critical, early hours of the standoff. The most natural thing for the administration to do in order to show that it was still in control of the chain of command was to arrange for some star-studded generals to declare their unequivocal loyalty. Esperon was in Mindanao. But where were the service commanders? They, too, were on standby, caught by surprise, unsure if Lim and Trillanes had the numbers. They did not declare loyalty for either side, not wanting to be caught on the wrong side when the dust settled.
There was one text message I received from an unknown number that I found rather amusing, “Panawagan ni Trillanes na mag-aklas, dinedma! Sawa na sa gulo ang ating bayan, tama na! Magkaisa na lang sa pagsulong ng bayan.”
I think that declaration was way off the mark. How do you explain the spontaneous show of support from office workers cheering and waving, motorists honking their horns in support as Trillanes and company were marching towards Manila Pen? How do you explain the surveys showing the people outraged at the impunity and brazenness of corruption by this regime?
I get these opinions all the time — text messages, email, or even chance encounters in public places from people I don’t know, “You’re doing the right thing. Don’t give up. Keep the faith!” At times, I’m tempted to ask them, “What about you? What do you plan to do about it?” I don’t bother, because I have an inkling of what they will say, “I’m sorry, but I’m busy… busy trying to earn a living, or trying to make ends meet.”
Was Trillanes misguided? Maybe. But not in the usual sense.
I think he read the people’s mood correctly. They are outraged. They want regime change. But they’re not willing to take an active role in effecting change. They just want to be saved from this wretched regime!
I believe Trillanes was misguided, maybe even betrayed, by people who committed to give their support but did not deliver.
CHED Chairman Romulo Neri, could have been an interested party. It was rumored that he was supposed to join the group at Manila Pen to finally reveal what most people already know anyway — that after he told GMA about the bribe offer by Abalos, she asked him to ignore it and gave specific instructions for him to work on getting the ZTE project approved by the NEDA Board in time for her China trip, which was only 2 days away.
In past interviews, Neri has refused to reveal what he knows, fearing that his revelations might trigger an EDSA-like uprising. He reportedly finds the idea of regime change with the same old, recycled politicians taking over, revolting (pun intended). However, rumors abound that privately, he has intimated to being open to a post-GMA scenario that would include his reform agenda.
I do not know whether Neri has explicitly communicated these ideas to the Magdalo, but let us suppose that he did. These revelations and ideas by an official of this administration probably emboldened them to plot the Manila Pen siege. Now, the Magdalo had a just cause around which to rally the people.
Days after the standoff, there were news reports that there was possibly some unit commanders who were poised to leave their barracks to join Trillanes and Lim. They were perhaps waiting for Neri’s defection as their signal to move. Instead, they saw Argee Guevarra and JV Bautista beside Trillanes at the Pen. To the military, these are the poster boys of communism. Seeing them would have planted seeds of doubt in their rightist hearts. “Are we risking everything, just to turn it over to commies?” they probably asked. The man in the wig was the clincher, turning the whole exercise into a farce.
And so, they all decided to stand by. But they waited too long. Esperon would later report, “the other group was “pre-empted”, whatever that means. The rest of the story you already know.
Trillanes apologists will claim, “the end justifies the means” regarding his latest caper. I do not buy that. But I do believe that this administration has shut off every legitimate venue for redress.
What do you do when the major mode of making a President accountable — impeachment, is bastardized by a rubber-stamp Congress? Where do you go when an unimpeachable witness like Fr. Ed Panlilio testifies that bribery of the highest order may have occurred at the Palace involving scandalous amounts given to political allies? Certainly not to a Department of Justice headed by a GMA stooge.
When you have an administration that selectively applies the rule of law and methodically perverts it for self-preservation, you will, for the same reason always have people who will resort to extra-constitutional means to seek justice.
Personally, I think what Trillanes did at Manila Pen is not much different from what Ramos did at EDSA 1 or Angie Reyes did at EDSA 2. If EDSA 1 and 2 failed, Ramos and Reyes would have been labeled no differently from Trillanes and Lim — misguided, misadventurists, rebels, or even fools.
What a difference success makes! Even heels (remember Chavit Singson in EDSA 2?) can become heroes. Failure does the exact opposite: would-be heroes are called fools.
Digressing a bit, I heard that Manila Pen is planning to sue for damages the rebel group. Nevertheless, the hotel is willing to give a 20% discount considering the participation of senior citizens like Guingona, Dodong Nemenzo, and Bishop Labayen. It would be truly comical, were it not tragic and pathetic, to see octogenarians leading the fight against moral bankruptcy in government.
Where are the youth in all of this?
Most of them are on standby, waiting for their work visas from various embassies. This is proof of the depth of hopelessness when the aspirations of our youth are reduced to wanting to leave the country at the earliest opportunity.
Well… I think I will just join the rest of our people on standby and wait for this regime to crumble from its own weight of greed and corruption. Already, there are cracks in the alliance in Congress, they’re all fighting over the spoils. With Puno now ascendant at the Palace, the other officials will necessarily be diminished, if not completely defrocked. That spells trouble.
Greed and addiction to power will propel them to overstay beyond 2010. Already, charter change is back at the top of the agenda in Congress. I think the administration is already crafting a martial law template that will be declared at the flimsiest excuse. The unconstitutional 5-hour curfew was merely a trial balloon.
And then it will happen. It will reach a breaking point that will lead to a popular uprising. Such has been the cycle we go through in our modern history.
A new order will be established. History will be rewritten, and it will give a kinder account of the Manila Pen siege. It is merely a pre-cursor of things to come. Trillanes and company are not fools after all.
For now, all we can do is pray that God hasten the cycle of change. God bless our country.
This is Enteng Romano on standby.
Overseas, Taking on Thailand’s myths makes for fascinating reading:
Andrew Walker, an anthropologist with The Australian National University, writes that “there is little the rural electorate can do to shake off this persistent [negative] image.” He argues, however, that rural Thais vote for leaders according to a set of localized values. Vote-buying, which certainly takes place, should be put into the “broader context of the array of material assistance that is expected of political representatives and other well-resourced people seeking to demonstrate their social standing,” he writes.
Far from being a uniform group of mindless drones, rural voters engage with various competing local figures in a range of political contests, and choose the leaders that most reflect their values. Among other things, Walker writes, these values include choosing leaders that are considered local; that bring home financial gains to local communities; and prove competent at running an administration.
Moreover, rural voters often think on a level that is different from the love-hate, all-or-nothing relationship Bangkok had with Thaksin, according to Somchai Phatharathananunth from Mahasarakham University in northeastern Thailand. He cites the reluctance of farmers to join anti-Thaksin movements led by NGOs even though they had worked together for years.
“From the NGO perspective, farmers refused to join the anti-Thaksin protest because they were unable to look beyond the short-term material benefits of the populist policies,” Somchai wrote, adding that the aid workers then tried to supply the farmers with “correct information” so they could understand “the long-term damage of Thaksin’s policies.”
“Such a view implied that there could only be one political line taken towards Thaksin, and to be politically correct farmers had to adopt that line,” Somchai writes. “Such a thing was not going to happen because it ran counter to many farmers’ way of thinking. Farmers do not adopt totalistic views towards things or persons; they deal with them in a pragmatic way. They judged Thaksin on an issue-by-issue basis. As a result, whether Thaksin was good or bad depended on the issue at hand.”
And indeed, though opposing Thaksin on certain issues, many rural voters still saw him deliver them real benefits, much more so than any Thai government had done in the past. Thaksin quickly turned his campaign promises into reality, cementing and expanding the political support he formed when he convinced regional “old-school” northeastern politicians to join his Thai Rak Thai party.
“While the policies were severely criticized as a new form of vote-buying by many NGO leaders and academics in Bangkok, farmers viewed the policies as the distribution of resources to the countryside that helped farmers to address their needs,” Somchai writes. “They insisted that the rural poor were as entitled to access the government budget as were the urban rich.”
Intel, Lies, and Videotape on the American blogosphere debating the CIA destroying evidence of high-profile interrogations.
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Hubris gave rise to the Greek Goddess “Nemesis”
She will always make her appearance at the right time and place.
Trillanes obviously has a lot of learning to do. Maybe this will teach him a little humility and make him more grounded in issues other than himself.
Hubris gave rise to the Pinoy Goddess “SiMisisâ€Â.
She will always make her appearance at the wrong time and place.
hvrds obviously has a lot of learning to do. Maybe this will teach him a little humility and make him more grounded in issues other than himself.
Romano said: “I think that declaration was way off the mark. How do you explain the spontaneous show of support from office workers cheering and waving, motorists honking their horns in support as Trillanes and company were marching towards Manila Pen? How do you explain the surveys showing the people outraged at the impunity and brazenness of corruption by this regime?”
benign0 say: Sure, sure. Question is, why does this “outrage” never manifest itself come election time? Why are the same bozos elected into office? Why do hollow-heads continue to chant the slogans and dance to the tunes concocted by these supposedly “corrupt” politicians?
Romano said: “At times, I’m tempted to ask them, “What about you? What do you plan to do about it?†I don’t bother, because I have an inkling of what they will say, “I’m sorry, but I’m busy… busy trying to earn a living, or trying to make ends meet.†”
benign0 say: Dude, why does a society ALWAYS have to live off heroism and exceptional acts of “courage” and often “martyrdom”? That people want to simply get on with the business of living is THE WHOLE POINT of being a nation. Some bozos make it sound like “simply” earning a living is something that should be frowned upon — that people who just want to QUIETLY ACHIEVE are some sort of traitor to the cause of whatever “revolution” we imagine ourselves to be brewing.
Romano said: “What do you do when the major mode of making a President accountable – impeachment, is bastardized by a rubber-stamp Congress?”
benign0 say: Who ELECTED the members of this “rubber-stamp Congress” in the first place. A bunch of morons if I recall right…
Romano said: “What a difference success makes! Even heels (remember Chavit Singson in EDSA 2?) can become heroes. Failure does the exact opposite: would-be heroes are called fools.”
benign0 say: This part Romano got right. At the end of the day, the WINNERS get to write history and the LOSERS go down as mere pathetic chumps — nothing more than footnotes in what already is a mediocre history. Problem is, Pinoys relate best with losers…
Romano said: “Well… I think I will just join the rest of our people on standby and wait for this regime to crumble from its own weight of greed and corruption.”
benign0 say: OR, you can just get on with it and leave the politics to the politicians. Korea, Taiwan, and Japan have prospered mightily under corrupt regimes in their own times. The Pinoy Chinese community have gone from 3rd-class refugee/citizens to captains of industry all under the same regime as indigenous Pinoys did. When will Pinoys stop using POLITICS as an excuse for our pathetic failure to prosper collectively?
Romano said: “Well… I think I will just join the rest of our people on standby and wait for this regime to crumble from its own weight of greed and corruption.”
benign0 say: Don’t hold your breath. Even Mrs Edsa Revolution herself, Time-Woman-of-the-Year-1986, Cory Aquino fell flat on her royal face when she linked arms once too many (and most likely one last time) on the streets of Quezon City back in 2005. Pinoys are leaving in droves as you said. It certainly beats dancing the ocho-ocho on Edsa only to find out you wasted a decade of your life for those RESULTS promised in those streets. Ask Jim Paredes… 😉
Romano said: “For now, all we can do is pray that God hasten the cycle of change. God bless our country”
benign0 say: Well now, a lot of good THAT belief system did us.
– 😀
benign0, my only question is, have you been paying attention to korean, taiwanese and japanese politics and the issues taking center stage in those countries?
i think inday espina-varona has a very good answer to romano’s above question. here’s an article she posted on her newly created blog.
Yeah, benign0, it’s easy to say stuff like that without wondering when the next meal will be and posting it on the internet where you know those “morons” cannot stop you. Try saying that to the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who can barely manage to survive straight to their face. Don’t be surprised is some of those “morons” actually comprehend and start lunging at you.
You want these “morons” and “bozos” to start acting? Then why are you looking for them in the internet when you call them “morons”?
In the end all you’re really saying is that Pinoys suck. Look at how productive that is.
Hex~
grd, could you provide the link to her blog? I can’t find it.
I think her views are an accurate description of how young people think, or at least, as I’ve come to understand their thinking, too:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=101724
Our politics sucks, yes. Yet the economy is growing, partly due to government policies but mainly because Filipinos are learning that their success is independent of the crooks and fools who walk the corridors of power.
I suggest our young people take a look at their payslip to find out how much is confiscated from them by a govt run by crooks and fools who walk the corridors of power. Then take a look at the blight that they will inherit from their elders; a blight that couldve been avoided had the pesos confiscated from them been put to its proper use instead of fattening the children and coffers of the same crooks and fools who walk the corridors of power.
(Corridors of power. Pfsh. Is there a living room of power? How about a patio of power? Perhaps a walk-in closet of power?)
jeg, but we have to start by recognizing how people think, where they’re coming from, and they might have answers we got wrong.
manolo, here’s inday-varona’s blogsite. so far she’s posted 4 well written entries. maybe you can encourage her to write more.
http://rpscarredcat.blogspot.com/
manolo, my post is still awaiting moderation. i’ve just given the link to inday’s blog.
jeg, but we have to start by recognizing how people think, where they’re coming from, and they might have answers we got wrong.
Youre right. Im stumped. The only answer I can come up with to the question where that sort of thinking is coming from is despair, and that doesnt seem right. Yes, I have to place more faith on our young people. What else have we got?
Sing-along time…
Young man, control in your hand
Slam your fist on the table
And make your demand
Take a stand
Fan a fire for the flame of the youth
Got the freedom to choose
You better make the right move
Young man, the power’s in your hand
Slam your fist on the table and make your demand
You better make the right move
Youth is the engine of the world
Youth is the engine of the world
—from Youth by Matisyahu
mlq3, the bishop you mentioned in your column, is it Archbishop Talamayan?
x, how did you guess?
wow…it’s surprising that the young thinks like I do about the mess we’re in…always thought I was born old and now I’m old, I discover the young think like I do…COOL.
jeg, i think part of it is a variation on the eternal generation gap. but with this difference. when politically-engaged people say things, they have a very clear meaning (or should) what they mean when they refer to freedom, democracy, etc. they also assume that when they advocate something, those who agree or who are opposed know where they’re coming from. i call it a common political vocabulary.
but i saw during the cha-cha debate that the politically engaged are assuming things that are no longer the case. something happened in the 80s to 00’s, and i think it was a deterioration in transmitting knowledge and definitions particularly in terms of government. in a catholic college where i spent 2 out of the 3 hours i was given giving the students a crash course in the constitution, the basics of government, checks-and-balances because only from there could i go on to my advocacy, one professor i overheard said to his fellow teachers, “you know, maybe we should have taught these kids about the constitution.”
a civic sense presupposes not only knowledge of civics but of the importance of civics -people don’t naturally grow up caring about democracy, etc. they have to be taught their rights and yes, obligations, because this is what makes government everybody’s business. without that, well then of course people tune out and resent anyone encouraging them to tune in. on whichever side.
“people don’t naturally grow up caring about democracy, etc. they have to be taught their rights and yes, obligations, because this is what makes government everybody’s business” -mlq3
I agree MLQ3 and I hope that our young people will not just use T.V.(the more popular stations) as the basis of their observations and conclusions regarding the ills of our country because if it is so then we are losing our young people by default.
The Spaniards, British and most Europeans were once (still some) “class societies†where people were classified by their blood lineage and by their titles and titles could be earned by paying homage to the Kings (what we call in modern days, kiss ass, or in Pinoy Term Pakisama).
And the British and Spanish have long made it just some kind of ceremonial in their cases, but for some of their former colonies and territories, it is still practiced some for reason of political advantage and recognition.
Canada, although a former British Colony Recognized this folly long, long ago, that in l919, an MP named Nickel put forward a resolution asking the Crown of England, to refuse peerage (or title, like Lord Conrad Black of Cross Harbour) to any of her Canadian Subject or Later Citizen, as it against the democratic principle which the government of the new country was based.
That’s the reason why every Canadian who accepts the peerage or reward of title, like Conferred Ms Arroyo by the King of Spain, from the Queen, must Renounced his or her Canadian Citizenship.
It is always nice to cherish our history, but we know which part of our history not worth repeating and those should be left behind in the dustbins and deleted and we also know the part that should be restored…
mlq3, Bishop Talamayan is actually a relative, and i am well aware how proud he is of our heritage. just like you i am very fond of the man, but am disgusted by his politics.
I thought Benign0’s Pinoy bashing is getting stale.
MLQ3, may I be so bold to ask what happened to those Postcards sent out around 2 weeks ago? Were they “returned to sender”, just like the ’07 impeachment complaint?
Hex~
I’m one of those kids who worked in a call center, and i can tell you, payslip has nothing to do with that grin. most of my co-workers are unhappy about Gloria as well. but they just grumble, let out their anger with a few curses, and crunch back down to work again. is that apathy? no. just a pervading sense of powerlessness.
we know well how much govt takes from our salaries. in fact, we know that so well bec that is the largest deduction in our pay. (and unlike businessmen who can “decide” how much their taxes should be, employees like us can’t) in fact, that’s cooler talk when we receive our payslips. we curse how large that deduction is and ask where it all goes. excepting some like myself, those kids she mentioned have one thing in common: the ability to get angry, but the inability to express that anger.
it’s not despair. despair presupposes that you still care abt this country, only that you see no hope in the future. this kind of attitude can only be explained by one thing: the youth have given up on their country. how else can you explain the army of nursing students in this country?
and unlike the past generation where the aim was just to be an OFW, today’s generation aims at leaving the country never to return. we see a generation with emigration as their dreams.
take it from me. the only sibling left in the family still here. my graduating class are also leaving one by one, and their options doesn’t include returning here.
listen now or regret later. my barren Philippines is coming true as I speak.
It is better to be pro-something than anti-something…..
oh, jon. it’ll never get stale for him. 😀
i think they went straight to the shredder.
so what happened to this generation? and whose fault was it?
[quote]It is better to be pro-something than anti-something…..[/quote]
It depends on what that “something” is. It’s better to be anti-corruption than pro-corruption :))
Hex~
Of the Sumilao Farmers,
What I don’t understand is why no one covered the march from beginning to end. The story might have made it to CNN and that might have got the farmers somewhere. Damned journalists.
B: it was covered step by step in the papers and online. i wouldnt be surprsied if howie severino or probe will end up with docu, too,
“so what happened to this generation? and whose fault was it?”
School curricula should teach the Bill of Rights. Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Bill of Rights… Internet.
“B: it was covered step by step in the papers and online. i wouldnt be surprsied if howie severino or probe will end up with docu, too,”
Hm, never heard of them until they got to Manila, and Google only yielded pages covering their entry in Manila.
It’s like Luisita all over again. Law is on the side of the weak but the side of the strong still wins. GIvernment always calls for respect for the “process,” but obviously the process has been hijacked.
pinoy bashing or the real reason why corruption in the country have flourished?
Brian, you shouldn’t be surprised. now you know why Danding won that case agst the govt. Mon Casiple is right when he talked of deals bet this govt and Cojuangco.
as it is, the constitution is only taught in college. and i dnt even know what happened to the bill of rights. even college grads are clueless abt the local govt code. a piece of legislation that is groundbreaking for the kind of society we have. feudal in nature. most don’t even realize that the hierarchy of accountability runs from the lowest brgy captain up to the president. in fact, most don’t even realize that for their lousy cities, they should blame their mayors before they blame the president. a maypr can be more powerful than the president depending on how you view it.
I’m telling you guys, Cory started all this agrarian injustices. She created the precedence and now every land owner thinks the law is something the marketing departments made up.
The middle class should stop looking at these farmers as “the others.” We are all under the mercy of the elite. These farmers are suffering because their interests are in direct opposition to the interests of the rich. Now imagine if you interests are situated in a collision course with the interest of the rich?
not every family brian. some families submitted to land reform, like ours. and while i’m not too keen on luisita, i think in the heirarchy of offenses, theyre getting a raw deal, because at least they proposed stock sharing, this is very different from hortensia starke and the others who opposed land reform, period, tooth and nail and the families in the visayas that opposed and continue to oppose, any kind of land reform at all, which makes stock sharing seem enlightened in comparison. but indeed, the cojuangcos as presidential in laws ought to have born a higher duty in mind.
it wasn’t in the frontpages. but if im correct, Solita Monsod was the first opinion writer in PDI to write abt this in her column. when the farmers were just getting ready to march out. then Neal Cruz, Pat Evangelista, and the latest, Justice Cruz (and of, course Manolo, here online) i think even Armando Doronilla mentioned this in passing.
Inquirer.net carried the news right from the start. it wouldn’t normally be noticed bec it’s not in the Breaking News section or in the Front Pages.
you should damn the press not for non-coverage but for irresponsible emphasis on news items. there are some more pressing issues than others, some needing more follow-through, and some which clearly wastes airtime (depending on your values). can you remember a year-end episode of either Imbestigador or XXX reviewing their “exposes” in retrospect? for all Mike Enriquez’s posturing na “hindi namin kayo tatantanan!” the show in all likelihood, never followed-through one case. i’ve had this sneaking suspicion for a long time that the networks are just milking these shows for all its blackmailing worth. it’s a tool of power that can be used to reward deal-makers and punish small fishes. i can be wrong of course. but until the networks prove their worth, im free to hold this low opinion of them 😀
School curricula should teach the Bill of Rights. Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Bill of Rights… Internet.
BrianB, Yes the Bill of Rights!!I believe the Philippines Bills of Rights is parts and parcel of the Philippines Constitution or a Separate Statutes, am not too sure. We do have the Bill of Rights of l960, quite similar to our Charter of Rights and Freedom, Constitution Act of l982, but not Good enough, because that was just a Statute, not a Constitution and a law is made to be broken, while a constitution can’t be infringed and any Law enacted that violates the spirit of the Charter has no Force at All if and when declared so by Courts.
So to start, is the Bill of Rights a Statute or an ammendment to the constitution? Get to look at this>>and thanks for the bringing out the issue. To add, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms is now the foundation of every law, Criminal and Civil that is enacted here…
The Bill of Rights is actualy Article III of the 1987 Constitution.
Thanks ace… that’s about the equivalent of our whole constitution. The only difference is that the bill of rights guarantees the rights still subject to the “lawful order of the courts” which could be again subjective, while our charter limits are subject to the laws that will be passed subject to the challenge against the provisions of the charter. and if that limits as enacted by the Parliament into law and confirmed by courts upon challenged as justified and reasonable, only then that it will stand and be declared constitutional…
Now the question, how about the old laws already in the book? well they will be brought up to challenge against the Charter as cases go before the courts. if they are constitutional, they will remain in the books, if they are not, they will be without force and it will be up to the parliaments to repeal, amend or revise and usually the courts will add their inputs. and most laws and bylaws that are obsolete will just die their natural deaths…
Talking about the Constitution, take note of this Inquirer report:
“Proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution have been revived at the House of Representatives as one opposition lawmaker warned of a “more deadly political war†among various sectors if this would be done through a people’s initiative.” – Inquirer report as of 06:28pm (Mla time) 12/10/2007
right manolo. i share your view and optimism about our youth and the future. now, if only the older generation will care to listen and understand how young people think…
devils is an exception, he has gotten old fast and able to catch-up on 40 and up folks’ mindset re “the country is on the road to hell and the only solution is replacing the driver.â€Â
thanks in no small part to Ramos’ supporters during his regime’s end, we now have a people’s initiative used as a tool by those in power, and not legitimately by the people themselves.
Jon Mariano, my “Pinoy bashing” does indeed leave a bad taste in people it is most RELEVANT to. 😉 It may be “stale” but that doesn’t necessarily make it relevant.
mlq3, enlighten me then. Let’s say I’m not across SPECIFIC issues in those countries. Their prosperity in the face of whatever issues they sustain cannot be denied.
Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel.
(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited.
(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him.
(4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this section as well as compensation to the rehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices, and their families.
Now, pray tell why so many individuals under investigation for serious offenses will execute an affidavit conffessing to the offense without the plea bargain of co-operating with the state prosecutors to go after the minds behind the conspiracy or brains behind the crimes? Were their above rights not violated and if they were, had the relief for such violations were properly accessed?
Those rights looks so sacred in paper, but what are they worth in real world? If I may have the right to ask?
Sorry, I meant to say “It may be “stale†but that doesn’t necessarily make it IRrelevant.” 😛
I think he read the people’s mood correctly. They are outraged. They want regime change. But they’re not willing to take an active role in effecting change. They just want to be saved from this wretched regime!
Correct. But they do not want stupid leaders too. A young lady blogged about the stupidity of some press people asking the commander what’s the next move to make Trillanes and his group surrender while the TV network showed the soldiers’ movements outside the hotel.
Naisip ba yan ng mga matatanda nating columnists at bloggers?
If you take a look at Japan’s industrial model, probably best characterised by the symbiotic relationship of its keiretsus and the state (through MITI and the Ministry of Finance) then you can clearly see “corruption” on a massive scale. Certain companies are given preferential treatment and financing by government. This is the model copied by South Korea, so they have their chaebols. To an extent, even Malaysia has followed this path.
Now the crucial difference in their corruption and ours is that they had a strategic plan, to harness their country’s material capabilities and have the state broker national development.
Corruption and corrupt leaders exist in both prosperous societies such as the US and Japan and in wretched societies such as ours. But the DIFFERENCE lies in the way people live with such corruption as the esteemed Ben Kritz writes here:
http://www.getrealphilippines.com/agr-disagr/delaney.html
– 😉
Our brand of corruption is more like Africa’s. Rent-seeking of the lowest sort. We can’t even get our corrupt acts organised! Pati rent-seeking sa gobyerno kanya-kanya. Matira ang matibay.
One can argue that South Korea and Japan are old nations, so they don’t have problems grafting their development project onto a solid national identity. Culturally they are also imbued with Confucian ethic as well as patriarchy. Malaysia is probably closer to us culturally, but even with their Chinese and Indian minorities the question of “national identity” was somehow subsumed by other priorities.
this reminds me that if i wanted to engage in skeet shooting i’d buy a shotgun and go where they have clay pigeons.
Hi Manolo, Thanks for the mention.
Have just read your article in your Inquirer column. You put things diplomatically but the rebuke is there as when you wrote, “… the problem here seems to be a Spain that cannot make up its mind, if the basis of warm ties between Spaniards and Filipinos is to be a colonial era both countries are glad to have put behind them, or ties of a shared commitment to modernity, democracy and secularism.”
I wonder what the Spanish embassy reaction would be to your strong criticism (never mind the deceiful Filipino): “It is an indolent Spanish government, and a deceitful Filipino, that prefers the hazy security of nostalgia to the exciting prospects of a modern, democratic and discerning partnership.”
RP Ambassador to Madrid, Mr Bernardo said, “The Medalla de Oro may also be compared to the US Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award. The decoration is awarded to an individual who performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States.”
Manolo is right to call this ambassador ignorant. What’s surprising is that no one in govt corrected his stupid comment comparing the university gold medal to the US Congressional Gold Medal. Ambassador Kenney must be laughing her socks off after reading Bernardo’s bullshit.