(L to R) 1. Bank armored car: last minute delivery? 2. The Arroyo’s corner 3. Dato surveys his domain
(L to R) 1., 2. Audience in the galleries 3. JDV’s last moments presiding over the session
(L to R) 1. Kampi huddle 2. Admn Reps. talk to reporters 3. JDV perorates from the floor
(L to R) Two scenes from the media frenzy after JDV finished his speech
My coverage of events from the Bastusan Pambansa was in the form of Twittering, you can see them here, and here, and here and here and here.
As I suspected, the announcement from the Palace, that there wouldn’t be fireworks in the House on Monday but instead, hopefully a tidy handover of power on Tuesday, was a ruse. The Palace was hoping that the galleries would be empty, the media absent, and public attention unfocused, so that it could minimize the risks if de Venecia decided to go down fighting.
In his blog, Rep. Ruffy Biazon (who went against his party’s decision to support Nograles) has an interesting account of the maneuvering behind the scenes:
A few days before the session resumed, both sides, the pro- and anti-JDV camps, conducted meetings one after the other. Some congressmen gave commitments early while some attended meetings on both sides. Signatures on manifestos were gathered, and there are even reports of congressmen signing on manifestos from both sides.
Both sides claimed they had the numbers and for a time, it was seen as a bluffing game. But it became clearer after the majority caucus held in Malacanang. It was a make or break caucus for JDV, where he was expecting (probably more accurately, hoping) that the President would step in and advise everyone to uphold the status quo.
According to information I gathered, the President instead tried to craft a set of procedures on how the showdown would happen, which was seen by others as the final nail on the coffin of JDV’s Speakership. On its face, it is a neutral act, but Congressmen saw it as a withdrawal of support from JDV and a blessing to the initiative of her sons to oust the Speaker.
After the adjournment of that caucus, word already spread out among congressmen about the position of the president and as expected, tides began to turn in favor of Cong. Prospero Nograles. The two camps held meetings after the caucus, the JDV camp in Rembrandt Hotel and the Nograles camp in Luk Foo, a Chinese restaturant near Congress.
There, the numbers and warm bodies were finally seen. At around 3:30 PM, thirty minutes before session was to begin, there were 47 congressmen in Rembrandt and 123 in Luk Foo. 121 votes were needed to oust De Venecia.
Jose De Venecia’s fate was sealed.
As it was, since no one really believes the Palace or trusts it, everyone due to show up on Monday showed up on Monday. At first things looked like they were headed for business as usual until Rep. Abraham Mitra of Palawan, soon after the referral of bills, rose and threw down the gauntlet.
He moved that the speakership be declared vacant. Ronaldo Zamora tried to derail the motion by rising on a point of inquiry but fellow minority member Plaza then rose and derailed Zamora’s inquiry. Datumanong, who was presiding, suspended the session. At that point, two hours of furious caucus-holding and negotiations began.
The two hours were spent basically hammering out two issues between the Nograles and the de Venecia camps.
The Nograles, or Palace, camp wanted to deny de Venecia the opportunity to demand nominal voting where each and every congressman would have to rise and put their vote for or against the motion, on the record. Furthermore, the Palace wanted to deny de Venecia the opportunity to make a valedictory speech.
Along the way, de Venecia clung to the hope he could, somehow, preserve his office and at one point, inquired with Rep. Tanada of the Liberal contingent whether, if he came out strongly enough against the President, the Liberals would reconsider their pledge to support the Palace’s candidate. Tanada responded by going out to the lobby and telling media they were foursquare behind Nograles (later on, after de Venecia’s peroration, Rep. Jun Abaya, great grandson of Emilio Aguinaldo and member of the LP, had the decency to try to register his vote on the motion by nodding; but Rep. Fuentebella, presiding at the time, insisted, rightly, that every congressman rise from his chair, go the mike, and state clearly what their vote was; Abaya sheepishly went to the mike and mumbled “Yes”).
At a certain point, about a half hour before he returned to the floor, de Venecia apparently knew his game was up and summoned his wife and son to his office. They returned to the gallery about ten minutes before the soon to be ex-speaker reappeared on the floor -there was an audible gasp from the galleries when he took his place by the rostrum. All the while, Rep. Mitra had hovered by the microphone repeatedly asking that the session be resumed and his motion carried out. The Arroyo brothers at various time surveyed the scene with proprietary interest and from time to time, Mikey Arroyo would disappear.
So when de Venecia returned, the question became, would he be permitted a swan song? Villafuerte and Pabling Garcia’s blustering were foiled by the intervention of Rep. Teodoro Locsin, Jr., Rep. Dilangalen, and the father of Chiz Escudero; in a nuanced and quite interesting ruling from the chair, Rep. Fuentebella said that a congressman has a paramount right to free speech, by means of making a privilege speech, after which the division of the House on the question of Mitra’s motion could then take place.
As for the speech of de Venecia, the various press reports will suffice: see The Speaker speaks — And How; and how De Venecia goes down fighting. See also Nograles is new House Speaker and Gonzalez: ‘He has burned his bridges with the President’.
The great defect of de Venecia as a politician was revealed for all to see, when his often rambling speech kept returning to a complaint that he was speaking off the cuff, because he’d been assured -and believed- that he’d have until Tuesday to state his case to his peers. Obviously the Palace was not inclined either to keep its word or do him any favors, yet the man thought that a pledge was a pledge. In a nutshell, that is the great defect of truly traditional politicians -they believe that there are some lines no one will cross.
To be sure, presidents can’t tolerate disloyal speakers. After Manuel Villar, Jr. transmitted the articles of impeachment against Joseph Estrada to the Senate, the ruling coalition deposed him and elected Rep. Fuentebella speaker instead. This time, de Venecia had to go, and hardly anyone sympathized with him.
Now, he is on probation: opponents of the administration will more likely than not, wait and see if he will fill in the details of the official chicanery he only painted in bold strokes in his valedictory. People inclined to be neutral, will be watching, as well, as INKBLOTS puts it,
As an ordinary citizen, I am more interested with his expose. While it may be too late a hero to expose the Presidency and its allies in its alleged lapses and involvement in various controversies, I realized something good was coming out of it, after all–that is the unveiling of some hidden truths and burning issues that the Filipino nation must face.
What will happen in the coming days is for us to see. As JDV said, it is just the start and the Filipino people would expect more in the coming days. That is for us to hear and see.
After some period of stabilization, we are again riding a political roller-coaster. I just pray that this move to expose the Presidency’s alleged shortcomings would do good for the country. Definitely, this move by JDV will turn tides. I just hope that many Filipinos would become more vigilant of those turncoat politicians who would take advantage of this situation, and that the people behind it would not resort to violence.
Returning to Ruffy Biazon’s blog, he states, clearly enough, I think, what the whole exercise was all about:
I believed that the ouster move was not motivated by a desire for change and reform in the House. It was never a secret that the primary movers of this move were the two sons of the President, who were hurt by the testimony of JDV’s son Joey against their father regarding the ZTE scandal. In the House, congressmen complain about JDV’s tendency to make promises and not make good on them, but there wasn’t any drive to remove him from office because of this. Issues about transparency in the House expenses were raised, but nobody ever really made a move to scrutinize them. During the budget deliberations, where the golden opportunity to ask questions about the House budget is there for everyone to take, no one grabbed it. The Commission on Audit annual report on House expenses is always ready for anyone interested to go over and review.
Some have said that the Speaker was responsible for the plummeting ratings and deplorable image of the House. But the House of Representatives is a collective body. The Speaker is said to be only the First Among Equals. The image of the House is the responsibility not only of the Speaker but by all congressmen as individuals and the entire House as an institution. Even if we have a Speaker with impeccable character, if a majority of congressmen still abuse their power, act arrogantly in their distrcits, involve themselves in questionable deals and transactions and perform their duties poorly, the House will remain a house of ill repute. It can be redeemed through extra spending in publicity and public relations, but those will never reform the House.
I have due respect and admiration for him as a colleague, but Cong. Nograles couldn’t have made it on his own. As the current head of the House contingent on the Commission on Appointments during this Congress, he is often not in the House, understandably because of his duties as head of the contingent. For the past months of the 14th Congress, he was concentrated on his duty instead of campaigning for change and reform in the House. Besides, going for the Speakership involves the mobilizing resources which I don’t think he has on his own. It had to take someone else with more clout and resources to organize and convince the congressmen to support him.
The House of Representatives elected three Speakers last night: Rep. Nograles to represent the castrated Lakas-CMD; and the brothers Dato and Mikey Arroyo through whom all public works flow.
And as I mentioned in my column, yesterday, the signal sent by this move is that Kampi is now the real mover and shaker in the House. It hatched the plot to oust de Venecia, a party man and leader with stature equal to, at least, the President; it sustained that plot and accomplished it; in other words, it is the party that matters, and its gaining the greatest numbers is merely a matter of time. As will be its deposing, in turn, Nograles the moment, say, the President decides that he has become a liability.
For example, the enmity between Nograles, a third termer out of the House by 2010 anyway, and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, is famous. By all accounts, Duterte isn’t going to take Nograles’ election as Speaker sitting down. Who will the President need more, in the coming years, if there are efforts to accomplish Charter Change? After Nograles delivers in the House, the effort will sink or swim depending on how local governments marshal their forces. At which point the President will need Duterte more than she needs Nograles. And his being a member of Lakas-CMD will matter little by that time.
I received this text message, today, which for now will have to be in the caveat emptor, scuttlebutt department:
Per Palace insider, Lakas convention set this week has been deferred to another date. Press con for FVR being arranged. They’ll next try to oust Villar. JPE is coy to be Senate Pres. but Angara agreed. ConAss preferred over PI which can’t change form of govt. Plan is for unicameral with PGMA as PM. JDV chopping is a 3-pronged plan: Revenge related to ZTE, reduce his influence in the House vis-a-vis ConAss, and break the Lakas which is not PGMA but FVR and JDV. Ermita is also in chopping board. Bunye asked to be moved to Monetary Board. Esperon to DND.
There will be easy ways to refute or prove this and previous scuttlebutt, much of which has ended up being verified publicly by the Palace, anyway.The EQualizer, on the other hand, makes some bold predictions.
Mon Casiple, in his blog, offers up this reflection:
We are witness to the final act of GMA’s current crisis of presidential legitimacy. In so doing, he has thrown the gauntlet at GMA’s feet, accusing her of orchestrating his ouster and hinting of stormy days ahead.
GMA has no choice but to pick up this gauntlet — issues are already joined. The fuse was lit by de Venecia and the clock is ticking. If taken to its logical conclusion — and if no major damage control is taken, however remote its possibility — the crisis of legitimacy has entered its final act. Jose de Venecia cannot be permitted to speak of living, breathing demons in the Malacañang closet.
GMA faces the specter of serious political opposition with the present and future JDV revelations. In a situation of negative presidential popularity, this is an explosive situation. The possible scenarios basically are open-ended. They certainly include a shortened GMA term or a possible desperate declaration of an emergency situation.
Malacañang’s political strategists miscalculated on this one. It may cost all of them their heads.
Reactions in the blogosphere can be found in The Philippine Experience, in smoke, and The Warrior Lawyer and Rebelmind. Also, there’s Ideological Soup and Tongue In, Anew.
See also I will BE and Manila Boy and chakringg…=) as well as Let’s go, IN! and Nomadic Thoughts.
And Iloilo City Boy proposes something I’ve pondered upon, too: perhaps the best thing would be to have a permanent, single-term limit for officials, without any possibility of ever returning to the same office.
I don’t really care if JDV spills the beans. I’m glad that he is not the speaker and just the congressman from Pangasinan.
FVR is a wild card. I don’t think he will attempt to resuscitate JDV’s career. He might just support a younger version of JDV. GMA can’t touch FVR anyway. His friends at the CIA are on call if GMA comes too close for comfort.
With the kingpins (Erap, FVR and JDV) out of power, we are entering the era of controlled mayhem. No one among the current generation of politicians can match the organizing power of these three stooges of Philippine politics.
The Philippines is witnessing its destruction & the clueless/helpless Filipinos just watch its country turn into the Zimbabwe of Asia with a Tribal Leader, Gloria Arroyo, at its helm laughing to her hearts’ delight. Indeed, she has become the neo-cannibal leader.
May God help the Philippines.
“Let’s watch how FVR does in the coming days. With the ouster of JDV and by association, he’s next for demolition and will be in the way in the power consolidation of the four Arroyos of the Apocalypse (Mike, Mikee, Dato, Iggy).”
Gawd. These people are not that powerful or smart, excepting the mother. They’re positioning themselves to become the Philippine Romanovs, if you ask me. Not to be looking forward to such a scenario, which would be devastating to our country.
Here’s a list of Gloria’s lapdogs (174), those who wanted real change (35) & those who were smart who did not want to be used by Gloria (16):
http://www.newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4148&Itemid=88889298
The common denominator in the JDV mess is this: BANGAYAN SA COMMISSION.
Take it from Miriam “Brenda” Santiago.
I don’t give a damn to Joe’s ouster, or Nograles’s “anointment.” Weather-weather lang yan, says one of the ousted guys. They’d better burn down the whole House of RepresentaTHIEVES.
But don’t underestimate a seasoned trapo like JdV. He may have the last laugh.
In the early part of the first Godfather movie the feud that was started by the Tataglia family vs. the Corleone family was about sharing of political capital. After the deaths of the first born on both sides and the wounding of Don Vito, the old master decided to sue for peace to stop and look at what had transpired and and consolidate his forces.
In one of the most memorable scenes in the garden the old man told his youngest son Michael and heir apparent that it was Barzini all along. He told his son that the Tataglias had no brains to come up with that plot.
It was Barzini who wanted to become the capo de tuti capi.He wanted to destroy the Corleone family who had cultivated the political influence. He warned Michael that his one of his own man who betray him to Barzini.
Don Vito Corleone it is said was modeled after the life of Salvatore Lucania aka Lucky Luciano who corporatized organized crime and made it a striking model for corporate America.
Poor JDV Jr. and JDV III. They poured the heat on Big Mike and praised GMA. It was her all along. Ever since her stint at the GTEB her closest advisers were former Labor Secretary Abes and her brothers.
The quota brokers and smugglers who operated customs bonded warehouses were her campaign supporters. Noemi Saludo, (mother of Ricardo), Donald Dee and Serge Luis Ortiz her main go to people in the trade. All operators of customs bonded warehouses and quota brokers. It was during her stint at the GTEB that for the first time in certain categories the Philippine government issued more export quotas than were alloted to the country for one year.
One of her brothers is a banker.
Big Mike, Iggy, Mikey are not that bright. Dato is new to the limelight.
Just recently the son of Nograles was appointed to head the PDIC. He was a minor functionary at Land Bank. That is like giving someone a key to the bank.
Everyone who had dealings with her know she converts her power for cash. It was her earnings from the GTEB that set her up for her run in the Senate. It was Joe Con who plucked her from her teaching job and installed her at the GTEB.
Big Mike is a lazy hacendero type person. GMA has more testosterone than him.
Marcos took control of the natural monopolies of the country under his rule. This one is doing it the smart way. Privatization has created billionares almost overnite.
GMA has arranged her ducks all in a row. Her main oppositors in the military are under custody. The one guy that she was afraid off Honasan has already decided that joining up with her is the better part of valor. To prove his loyalty it is said that he got Pulido to file that impeachment case. Both Honasan and Pulido were charged with rebellion apart from the Oakwood event together with Lim for the Feb. 2005 fiasco.
Honasan had used the Pulido office to help out the Oakwood mutineers until they broke ranks amongst themselves with some joining GMA.
The old establishment that evolved with the Marcos dictatorship – Danding, JPE, Razon are now all together again with GMA. One thread that they all share is their close ties with the military. Power, wealth and the military.
FVR is history. Esperon is in charge and together with GMA have consolidated a powerful praetorian guard. The old Cory/FVR tandem is no more.
The GMA government controls three TV stations directly and one indirectly – GMA -7. The Lopez’s are slowly moving into the gun sights of GMA.
mlq3, your blatant treatment of each member of the philippine congress who voted for change in its leadership as mindless robots and automatons, doing the bidding of the “palace”, is unfair and thoroughly partisan. remember, most of these legislators are just like you, with their own sense of right and wrong, convictions, preferences, prejudices, doubts, and freedom to act for what they believe is good for themselves, their people and their country.
three new speakers? if you mean mikey and dato will have the same power and influence as nograles’, not only is that legally impossible, but i doubt nograles and the controlling majority of the house will allow it. of course, i understand that your belief is premised on your theory that congress, as constituted now, is but a “rubber stamp” of, and wholly beholden to, the president – an idea which i reject.
i see in this blog a cacophony of dire predictions on the fate of our country before and after gma’s term ends. there are too many nostradamuses who only see doom and gloom in the horizon. too many pessimists who love conjuring up ghosts and monsters to scare themselves and others gullible enough to be taken in. and worst, they believe their own fantasies as inevitable destiny.
bencard:
surely, you don’t believe that these congressmen acted for the country. they expect to be rewarded “mucho” by the devil herself…and they are robots!
tess, i give them the benefit of the doubt, unless you can prove what you assert. there’s just too much pre-judgment in the air and i don’t buy it no matter how cheap.
The world of neo-liberalism is crumbling and every country is moving to protect itself from the prevailing strong winds very recently caused by the credit crisis in the world’s financial markets.
Australia raised interest rates and the Eurozone will hold interest rates higher to fight inflationary pressures building up.
The repeating crisis of over production and excess capital will have to work itself out once again and states will do what they have to do protect their real economies.
GMA’s government is reaping the benefits of U.S. mercantilist policies. OFW’s and clearly a predominantly subsistence agricultural and fishery based economy is structurally mostly immune to financial crisis. For an import dependent economy the devaluation of the dollar makes imports so much cheaper.
Banks whose balance sheets are mainly collateralized with real property are looking much healthier with the rise in the prices of real estate denominated in pesos.
Asset inflation is making the GMA government look like economic genius’s.
Greenspan did in in late 2001-2002 when he lowered rates to 1% and created the housing bubble and the subsequent credit bubble and currency bubble.
“It has been a decade since the U.S. heavy-handedly told Asia how to retool its economies. It counseled higher interest rates to support currencies, fiscal belt-tightening, more independent central banks, greater corporate responsibility and avoiding bailing out investors.”
“Now, as the U.S. faces its own crisis, it’s doing everything it told Asia not to. That, U.S. officials might say, is the prerogative of the printer of the world’s reserve currency. If only it were that simple. The U.S.’s policies are beginning to complicate life for Asia.”
“A decade ago, Asia sent financial turmoil to the West, slamming markets in New York. Today, the U.S. is returning the favor via what Asians call “American contagion.”
“Take the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts. Along with bailing out investors who bet big on turbocharged securities they barely understood, the Fed is sending a tidal wave of capital Asia’s way. It’s boosting asset values and currencies. The U.S. is effectively devaluing its way to growth, something for which it long chastised Asia.”
William Pesek, Bloomberg
bencard, i don’t jump to conclusions myself. the benefit of the doubt i can’t give them. let’s not forget that these people are politicians FIRST… and you know how politicians are…
here’s more on the NBN/ZTE: http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=2079
I hope he won’t miraculously disappear like Lozada.
bencard, bravo! you gave the order of priorities correctly.
“too many pessimists who love conjuring up ghosts and monsters to scare themselves and others gullible enough to be taken in. and worst, they believe their own fantasies as inevitable destiny.”
Bencard, didn’t I just say I didn’t believe Dato and Mikey were that powerful?
INE:
I doubt ordinary people are truly affected by what happens to Congress. I believe that Filipinos, because they were not properly grounded in democratic principle, are still Monarchists at heart. They care about Presidents, mayors and even Senators. Not Congressmen.
The Sunday golf game had one non-politician guarding each flight as they teed off. Ricky Razon. I guess he offered to show them how to make the “greens” in less strokes. Manolo’s picture of the bank’s armored van could be it.
Ricky, whose 25-year monopoly at the ports are ending in a few years, his buddies and/or dummies Nono and Endika showing who’s boss in Transco’s latest bidding, and while Mikey gets the coveted House Energy committee, and the Mindanao block getting boosted by their new speaker, there’s no stopping the P99 Billion Mindanao power upgrade kicking in this summer.
Don’t look now but even Danding’s BEER company and George Ty’s METROBANK are suddenly into energy! Believe it or not. But what’s there in Mindanao that is so urgent it needs that amount of power? No idea.
But one thing is sure, they won’t want people like IPP-friendly JDV and FVR, much less the Zamora brothers Ronnie, Manny, and Buddy come gatecrashing again in their very private party, do they?
What’s missing is the crystal ball. hehehe
Suppose we SUBSTITUTE some words:
i see in this blog a cacophony of how they glorify the fate of our country before and after gma’s term ends. there are too many glorias who only see boom and bloom in the horizon. too many optimists who love conjuring up gdps, enchanted kingdoms, communists and destabilizers to fool themselves and others gullible enough to be taken in. and worst, they believe their own fantasies as inevitable destiny.
Tongue,
A cut of the 2 billion dollars isn’t exactly worth this much trouble.
TonGuE-tWisTeD:
“there’s no stopping the P99 Billion Mindanao power upgrade kicking in this summer.”
I have an inside info on this thing, from ranking officials of 2 major Agus hydro-electric plants in Lanao.
Truth is, they (Napocor engineers and techies) don’t even see a need for such upgrade (or rehab). So, it comes down to this – “if ain’t broke, why fix it?”
@BrianB: I don’t know about this portrait of the voters as uninformed about the ways of politics. The people know that they did not elect the Speaker-of-the-House, why should they care that much?
They elect mayors and councilors for the basketball courts and trash collection and hopefully a local clinic; they elect congressmen for roads and markets and bigger pork-barrel projects. They elect senators for, what, “the bigger picture”. They elect the President for “big-direction” like relations with USA, OFW opportunities, prioritization of roads-versus-PowerStations, education-budget over the military budget.
And if their congressman, for a vote for Nograles, brings in an extra ten-mil for the province, is that not a bonus in the general scheme of things?
No one cared when Marcos disbanded congress.
Many tried to downplay the possible “bomb” that JDV will detonate against this administration. Actually, they are just trying to calm themselves for they really have no idea what JDV or FVR’s cards against them.
Its too early to say JDV is a goner or even FVR. But one thing comes to mind. Remember Chavit Singson? The anti Erap forces gave him credibility despite being a partner in crime of Estrada. Its undisputable JDV has better credibility than Chavit.
Remember boys, partners in crime is more credible than a stranger.
I just remembered. It’s Western Visayas that needs more power.
hahaha, susunod na rin si Villar.
o e ano ka ngayon? yan ang napala mo sa ginawa mo sa ZTE.
seriously, di pa ba kayo kinikilabutan sa mga nangyayari?
dinukot si Jun Lozada in broad daylight! amfufu.
kulang na lang may i-salvage na vocal govt critic eh.
balatucan, you cannot seriously believe JDV will spill the beans. parang bitukang manok na pinagdikit ang bituka nila ni GMA. damning GMA would also mean he has to damn himself. self-incrimination kumbaga.
you think JDV has that kind of guts to incriminate himself just to pull down arroyo?
stop dreaming. more paramount for JDV than revenge, is saving himself.
we’ll not see (or hear) any new explosive testimony from this guy. panay pa-rinig lang at pa suspense or allusions lang ang maririnig natin dito. aside from that, it’s better that the filipino people concentrate their energies on preparing contingencies for resistance.
i doubt texting and blogging will be here for long once parliament is dissolved (what parliament? the one that’ll be formed once cha-cha push through) and then what? organizing resistance will be back to ground zero.
in this day and age, ilan pa kaya satin ang may transistor radios? or walkie-talkies? hahaha. when the govt swoops down and takes control of telecoms, cell sites, and internet services will all be gone (or in their control)
that’s how easy it is to control information. and how easy it is to prevent organized resistance.
jz food for thought.
now i have an idea who has been plagiarizing my posts. this guy has been doing this using different handle. hindi pueding makipagsabayan, kaya yan, nangongopia na lang. bobo!
Napaka tungo naman nitong mga senador na ito. Nadukutan ng testigo. Hinde man lang nakita ang anino ni Lozada. Iyon si Cayetano hanggan ngawa na lang. Sino pa sisisihin e sila sila rin naman ang incompetent!
Papaano mananalo itong oposisyon, lagi na lang nahuhuling natutulog sa pansitan.
balatucan,
i am surprised and amused by many comments here to the effect that what happened to JDV won’t matter to the oust-gloria movement.
mukhang pareho silang mag-isip ng oposisyon.
yang oposisyon, ilang beses nang na-experience ang ‘pera na naging bato pa!’
kaya siguro mag-solo na lang si JDV, o kaya gumawa ng third force
and we cannot rely on the old “favorite meeting places” like EDSA or plaza miranda, or any of the places rallyists go to today. they’ll be the first places barricaded and stationed with troops and police.
we also cannot rely on the church or any of the prominent oppositionist today to rally us to organize. either they’ll be co-opted, marginalized, or they’ll be captured or worse, dead.
it’ll just be us on our own. lol.
i’ll be laughing my ass off because in gloria’s history, she always seems to have it in for those who collaborates with her. mafiosa talaga si manay. keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
the spectre of ruling by fear is looming.
Allow me to post a link to remind us what this administration has done, still does and would likely still do in the future.
http://pedestrianobserver.blogspot.com/2007/12/perception-war-vs-reality.html
Add the disappearance of Lozada at NAIA to the list. Either he would return and refuse to testify because of his harrowing experience or would disappear forever (hope the latter does not happen though).
This is the purpose of Objective number 5 as stated above.
At the general’s office responsible for this disappearance he should have a sign posted at the door of his office, “Out for Business Trip, Praetorian Guard at Workâ€Â.
UP n student said:
“@qwert and Kabayan: For a clearer understanding of some of the GMA strategies, go read Robert Greene : “The 33 Strategies of Warâ€Â.”
Thank you for the reference, I’ll try to find this book, it should be interesting.
Likewise I would recommend Sun Tzu The Art of War translated by Ralph Sawyer. Perhaps this is what we need to end this travesty in governance.
“If I determine the enemy’s disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. If we are concentrated into a single force while he is fragmented into ten, then we can attack with ten times the strength. Thus we are many and the enemy is few. If we can attack his few with our many, those whom we engage in battle will be severely constrained”
BrianB:
I doubt ordinary people are truly affected by what happens to Congress. I believe that Filipinos, because they were not properly grounded in democratic principle, are still Monarchists at heart. They care about Presidents, mayors and even Senators. Not Congressmen.
^^
precisely.. it is only the educated exposed to western doctrines and ideals who believe and rabidly pursue the ways of democracy.. what we actually have is a facade of democracy under a feudal system.. a half-working democracy imposed upon us by the self-righteous colonial overlords decades ago.. a katutubo wearing an amerikana.. it just does not match..
i dont blame the educated portion of our society here for displaying their love for democracy and its ideals.. its really a romantic thing.. but we have yet to absorb western ideas fully in all of us.. because democracy doesn’t work in this country..
in all actuality the majority of filipinos is a peasant owing to the feudal lords and the feudal lords owing the king or emperor.. in exchange for votes you have to dole out favors or money.. that was how our ancestors did it then.. majority of us is yet to abandon it..
reality check: the philippine is in the medieval ages stupid! democratic principles aren’t due til the next 500 years or until we get 60% of our people educated in the ways of western democracy..
UP n student,Kabayan,
I think GMA is reading ” The Leadership Secrets of Atilla the Hun by Wess Roberts” especially – Booty: Rewarding Your Huns p.76 and the first chapter that deals with corrupting the young(neophyte) by exposing them to luxurious living.
qwert said “:I think GMA is reading †The Leadership Secrets of Atilla the Hun by Wess Roberts†especially – Booty: Rewarding Your Huns p.76 and the first chapter that deals with corrupting the young(neophyte) by exposing them to luxurious living.”
I didn’t know such a book exist, will try it out. In any case the corruption of neophytes will eventually be her undoing. I’ve encountered some of her corrupted lackeys, I assessed that when the shit severely hits the fan, they are the first to fold and do a “balimbing” dance.
I have this experience last Monday in the middle of JDV speech. I tried to call some friends. My cellphone just could’nt connect but there was a signal. Then fertile mind just thought that one thing to prevent an EDSA gathering thru texting is to shut down cell sites. Thats easy because the owners of major telcom companies are closely allied with the administration.
It seems all holes have ready plugs, just in case. Whew!
awaiting moderation?
Hoping for JDV to be a savior is an exercise in futility. You might as well wait for God(ot) to come down.
All his life, JDV stood for shady backroom deals, compromises, distributing the spoils, so-called win-win situations and, when it was necessary, even capitulation.
JDV was also paramount in using Filipino customs and kinship to establish connections, co-opt or compromise people and to broaden his influence (inaanaks, kaibigans, kumpares,etc.) only to achieve his goals and aspirations, not for altruistic or benevolent reasons. He was a “user†of the first caliber.
JDV is a wheeler-dealer, not an innovator or a leader. He is, indeed, the master of compromise. Despite the slaps on his face, he will not lead a mutiny. He doesn’t have the stomach nor the character for it. Unless he really pulls a surprise, it is also doubtful whether he has incriminating evidence against his former benefactor, now his nemesis.
All JDV’s had to say so far amounts to common knowledge and tsismis. Puro accoustics, nothing solid. His appeals to his inaanaks (the Arroyo sons) and so-called good friends (he even calls Ricky Razon his “friend†. . . he… he) are pathetic at best.
If JDV’s opponents are as wily as they are made out to be, they would have figured out a way to neutralize him before taking him out. While he may not have been as effective as they wanted him to be, he wasn’t such a big pain in the ass either. Chances are, JDV doesn’t have any smoking gun. All he has are some blanks and a big mouth.
Having said that, I would love to be proven wrong.
@qwert
i think she’s rather reading the 48 rules of power by Robert Greene in her office, of course Machiavelli is a given..
Law 2 Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies
Law 3 Conceal your Intentions
Law 4 Always Say Less than Necessary
Law 20 Do Not Commit to Anyone
Law 26 Keep Your Hands Clean
Law 31 Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal
Law 35 Master the Art of Timing
Law 40 Despise the Free Lunch
Law 42 Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter
i think you’re all reading too much into this “reading stuff”
i still think GMA is a puppet. power is concentrated elsewhere.
scalia got it coming to him in the previous thread. speculating on an issue he has no personal knowlegde abt.
tingnan ko lng kung ano maisagot nya sa apoy ko.
Jude,
Para kang nagmamadali. Hintayin na lang natin ang susunod na kabanata. Baka may niluluto na si FVR at JDV para kay GMA, ready to be served.
Well, whatever JDV and FVR are cooking up (if anything), they better make sure that it is potent enough to finally do GMA in. Truly, what does not kill GMA makes her stronger. And she is nearly indestructible by now.
“BrianB :
Tongue,
A cut of the 2 billion dollars isn’t exactly worth this much trouble.”
Brian, P600M in kickbacks is no small thing. And this is only for Mindanao. Remember, as of last year, we have an over-capacity of at least 4,000MW = roughly 4 Billion DOLLARS we pay in our monthly power bills in the form of PPA now hidden under “Generation Charge” for ten years more. Then, the German-owned STEAG project was finished late last year, MinCoal added 210MW to the excess. And again, Mincoal will be billing consumers $355M for a plant worth $210M without having to produce power for a hairdryer.
It’s worth all the trouble. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Once I get back my files from my colleague I’ll put a rundown in my blog. It’s amazing, really and this is THE great-great-great grandmother of all scams, even Metrobank can retire it’s banking business and focus on power generation. The projections are very, well, enchanting? The DOE assumes a 14% growth in demand even before a 7.3% GDP growth was “tsamba lang”. Yes, the DOE computes demand growth that’s double the GDP! Thanks to the economists in Liam Tinio’s Wonderland, and the “expert” knowledge of Angie Reyes, the cheaper solution of connecting to the Visayas’ geothermal grid was all disregarded. Well, $70M is cheap but IT’S NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE, isn’t it? And why on earth are we buying, when we are selling at the same effing time?
Imagine, collecting people’s hard-earned money to pay plants that produce nothing! The Chinese, Germans, Koreans, Thais, Malaysians, French and Americans are all salivating for a slice. But then you have to talk to Angie, Ricky, Nono, Mikey, Mike, Endika, Buboy, and the Trapo de Tutti Trapi: Gloria.
I have posted a complete list somewhere, but I can’t locate it.
madonna:
four arroyos of the apocalypse. cute. they may very well be.
but i prefer to use a different analogy. now all i need is a good view of congress.
and my violin. 🙂
as for JDV’s “salvageability”…
doesn’t matter either way. he was (is) the epitome of compromise, honeyed promises, and backroom dealing. i wouldn’t trust a thing uttered by his forked tongue. i go with those who believe Yoda had it coming.
but seriously, this was all a matter of efficiency. with only two years to go, Gloria will need everyone to be on the same page if she intends to carry out whatever plans she has.
The game of musical chairs in Malacanang has started:
1)The ouster of JDV as speaker (AND as Lakas head shortly).
2)The expected appointment of Ermita to Washington as Philippine ambassador.
3)The expected appointment of Ronnie Puno as Executive Secretary,thereby officially making him the most powerful Cabinet member.
4)The expected appointment of Lito Atienza as DILG secretary to give him more political leverage(particularly versus the Drilon wing of the Liberal party).
5)The complete control of the Lower House by the Arroyo clan.
6)The emergence of KAMPI as the dominant political party(and expected demise of Lakas).
7)The appointment of Mrs.Enrile as ambassador to Vatican ( to kowtow to Senator Enrile).
What is the primary motivation for all these political moves???
CHARTER CHANGE!(and shift to Parliamentary system).
The end-result:PRIME MINISTER GMA.
TonGuE-tWisTeD: “Imagine, collecting people’s hard-earned money to pay plants that produce nothing!”
Yeah, those plants don’t produce an extra watt of energy. BUT, they got us into something – very expensive electricity, the highest in Asia. FVR’s enchantment passing to Gloria’s kingdom.
In fact, some of those hydro plants in Mindanao would be rehabilitated (kuno), as they were in recent past – to the utter surprise of Napocor (Transco) engineers who haven’t seen anything wrong with them! Hello Angie?
““Let us call a spade a spade,†said Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Teddy Casiño. “This is not a simple grudge fight among members of the House,†he said in Filipino. “[Malacañang] wants to get away with murder, and to turn the House into its partner in crime.—
Oh so true.
If we go by the above logic not only Malacañang wants to turn the House into a partner in crime, but by General Razon’s admission that Lozada is under their custody after his disappearance, it seems that she wants to officially turn the PNP leadership into a partner in crime as well.