The Long View
Caught in the act
By Manuel L. Quezon III
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:43:00 11/29/2009
THEIR TRACK RECORD AND THE EXTENT OF their preparations for conducting the massacre in the town named after themselves suggest the Ampatuans had the methodology of mass murder down pat and fully expected to make it difficult for anyone to prove they did it. But they weren’t able to tidy up the scene of the crime.
The question I keep asking myself is, why?
The plan may have been ambitious, but there seemed little reason why it shouldn’t go off without a hitch. Since the Mangudadatus hoped a combination of respect for tradition and the presence of media would enable them to formalize their challenge to the Ampatuans, the Ampatuans decided to call their bluff, regardless of the large size of the Mangudadatu convoy. Days in advance, that now-notorious backhoe trundled off to the planned liquidation site, even as the PNP and AFP declined to provide security to the doomed convoy, which proceeded down a highway past checkpoint after checkpoint that failed to notice anything was amiss.
This paper’s very own correspondent, who was supposed to be part of the press contingent covering the Mangudadatus, sensed something was afoot when alerted by the manager of his hotel to the recent departure of motorcycle-riding lookouts. These lookouts would have torn down the highway, past those checkpoints, to inform the killing team the convoy was en route, and quite possibly, to the site where the backhoe was in place in order to dig pits big enough to dispose of both bodies and vehicles. Neither the AFP nor PNP, for obvious reasons if one assumes both services were in the pockets of the Ampatuans, noticed all this activity when throughout the country, the military and police keep an eagle eye on anyone riding around on a motorcycle and regularly harass motorcyclists.
GMANews.tv’s timeline of events says the massacre and the disposal of the bodies took place between 10:30 a.m., the time Genalyn Mangudadatu called her husband to tell him their convoy had been intercepted, and 3 p.m., when Philippine Army units (responding to a call they claim to have gotten at 11 a.m.) arrived on the scene. After being stopped, the convoy was diverted to the scene of the actual killings, a journey of half an hour or 2.5 kilometers from where the convoy was first halted.
Then the massacre took place. The actual murders were estimated to have taken about an hour to carry out (hence the last distress signal was a 12 noon text message sent by journalist Noel Decena to his brother, Joseph, saying their situation was “critical”). The ditches were dug. Whether dead or dying, the members of the ill-fated convoy and others who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time were dumped in. Everything was going to be literally covered up.
Here’s where it gets very curious. The AFP, which had suddenly gotten very energetic after PA units were alerted at 11 a.m., sneaked up to within a kilometer of the mass graves when the killing team apparently got wind of the approaching army units. They had to flee, leaving not only unburied corpses and bullet-ridden vehicles, but also the backhoe that made retrieving the buried bodies and vehicles that much easier and which itself tagged the Ampatuans as the likely perpetrators of the mass murder.
The call made by the doomed wife of Esmael Mangudadatu is generally viewed as the act that ruined the well-laid plans of the Ampatuans. But they would have been blamed by the aggrieved family anyway, and as we now know, the Ampatuans were prepared, in turn, to blame the MILF for the massacre. Had they had enough time to tidy up, as it seems they fully expected they’d be able to do, they would’ve had no problem sticking to their story as the Mangudadatus, the media and everyone else engaged in a protracted search for a convoy that seemingly vanished into thin air; even if the freshly covered pit had been found, it would have taken time to dig up what had been buried.
What ruined things was the appearance of the Philippine Army, not stealthily enough to actually catch anyone in the act (though soldiers later said they heard the backhoe’s engine rumbling and could see smoke belching from it), but preventing the tidying-up operation from being completed. Reporters on the ground haven’t detailed the route taken by the PA units during the four hours it took from initial alert to arrival on the scene (whether it was remarkably fast or remarkably slow) but the end result turned the tables on the Ampatuans, who’d viewed themselves as overlords with the national government thoroughly subordinated to them.
Instead, they’ve had to sacrifice Andal Ampatuan Jr. to the authorities, as the administration plays good cop, bad cop, with Gilbert Teodoro Jr. anointing the Mangudadatus and the President and the interior secretary insisting the only Ampatuan they have a problem with is the one in custody.
The Ampatuans themselves have hunkered down for an extended siege, protected not only by their battalion-strength private army, but their extended political and clan network of supporters and subordinates. New York Times correspondent Carlos Conde says he is developing a story concerning the Mangudadatus, now the anointed of the Frankenstein coalition, and who are preparing to topple the Ampatuans and in the process entrench themselves as the new overlord of their fellow warlords. Where once Esmael Mangudadatu had no children in office unlike Andal Ampatuan Sr., now he is preparing to run one of his sons to replace him, even as he himself seeks the governorship.
It will be a bloody business in Maguindanao come May 2010. Not least because it’s probably sunk in, by now, that the Ampatuans’ power had become so unprecedented as to require elimination: the old balance of power with Manila on top must be restored. Whoever wins – Teodoro’s anointed Mangudadatus or the President’s friends the Ampatuans – the winner is PaLaKa.
The irony of ironies…. a brutal savage of a warlord to be replaced by a much bigger warlord controlling more feudal turf than the Ampatuans that has outlived its wicked purpose. Heaven help us……….
Federalism-pilipinas is dead. The Maguindanao-massacre has opened the eyes of the nation that provincial governors warlords can not be allowed to be as powerful as the Ampatuans. … the old balance of power with Manila on top must be restored.
Who of the current candidates have an understanding of this process?
“the Mangudadatus […] are preparing to topple the Ampatuans and in the process entrench themselves as the new overlord of their fellow warlords. Where once Esmael Mangudadatu had no children in office unlike Andal Ampatuan Sr., now he is preparing to run one of his sons to replace him, even as he himself seeks the governorship.”
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This situation should bring up the issue of dynastic succession. It is high time to put this on the national agenda. The next president should certify as part of his “governance reform” agenda an anti-dynasty bill which outlaws the succession by blood relatives into the same position.
In my opinion, such a practice allows a family to entrench itself within a province through upward promotion while maintaining backward linkage into the old turf. This creates a lack of competition among the power centres and results in poor development as well as the unsavoury displays of power we are witnessing.
This doesn’t mean families cannot field more than one of its own for different position. It is just the handing down of positions once term limits expire or if the person retires or runs for higher office that should be disallowed.
UP n grad on Mon, 30th Nov 2009 5:23 am
Federalism-pilipinas is dead. The Maguindanao-massacre has opened the eyes of the nation that provincial governors warlords can not be allowed to be as powerful as the Ampatuans. … the old balance of power with Manila on top must be restored.
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The balance was tipped in favour of the local execs because the national authorities lacked legitimacy and was thus susceptible to their client’s favours. This bottom up corruption would be weakened once the national leaders gain their office legitimately (no cheating) and maintain their legitimacy while in office (clean governance and a responsible opposition that does not destabilise at every turn).
It would help if he gains broad support from across the country so that no one region or locality would gain bargaining power due to its “bailiwick” status to extract more projects from the national government.
We just have to follow the “rule of law” as this administration likes to say over and over again but somehow cannot do themselves. Take away the guns, dismantle the goon squads (brigades?)
“..departure of motorcycle-riding lookouts. These lookouts would have torn down the highway, past those checkpoints, to inform the killing team the convoy was en route, and quite possibly, to the site where the backhoe was in place in order to dig pits big enough to dispose of both bodies and vehicles.”
— a simple text message or a phone call or a uhf radio would do the trick. it would be faster and without catching much attention from the casual observer.
“Reporters on the ground haven’t detailed the route taken by the PA units during the four hours it took from initial alert to arrival on the scene (whether it was remarkably fast or remarkably slow)…”
-in places like Maguindanao where the situation is critical, for tactical reasons–the fastest way to go from point A to B is not always a straight line.
in places like Maguindanao where the situation is critical, for tactical reasons–the fastest way to go from point A to B is not always a straight line.
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Especially if you’re just a stone’s throw away from point B (backhoe engine can be heard from this distance)….
A big digging with a backhoe alongside it is the new symbol of this administration. The only way they can free themselves from this stigma is for GMA and her evil court to jump into a similar digging and be backhoed themselves.
Can we request that the digging of that spot in Maguindanao? We may still find some ballot boxes which got lost in previous elections. Great help for FPJ’s cost and Koko Pimentel, too. We may find more evidences vs. the “hello garci phonepals” enough grounds to make them join the Ampatuans in prison.
Agree, federalism is DEAD! It will just reactivated clan, tribal, and regional rivalries—Tagalogs vs Ilocanos; Visayas vs Bicolanos, Muslims vs Christians, etc. The Ampatuan massacre is just a drop in the bucket if we proceed with Federalism.
We are already united with one language, national gov’t with three equal branches. Why divide the country again? Who are the wise guys proposing this BS federal gov’t? Let’s list them here and remember them during elections.
Gloria has not only left a legacy of corruption, but also a legacy of drug lords, jueteng lords, smuggling lords and now political warlords.
And each type could grow and metamorphose one into each other like an uncontrollable mutating virus getting more uncontrollable as their strength and power grows.
What a legacy for a President to leave to a nation, to her own people.
It looks really muddled right now, but I still think some good will come out of this monstrosity.
Actually this big digging + backhoe thing is not really a bad idea. Only that, those thrown into the pit and hammered thin by the backhoe were the wrong people and for wrong reasons. Supposed GMA and her evil court were tossed into that pit, include all the other corrupt officials, then include those who lied or kept silent when they should have revealed something, then include those who cheated in the election, include also warlords, druglords, gambling lords, terrorists, gangsters, tax evaders, smugglers, gun dealers, etc. This digging + backhoe idea would have been such a super duper idea. Does anyone think so?
Hustisya,
That would really be HUSTISYA.
I would love to stop this analysis where the politics began. Any government, whether incumbent or apparent, whether good or corrupt, cannot tolerate an ambitious and brutal underling. It shows you GMA’s hubris. She thinks she’s smart enough to play games with people’s capacity for gruesomeness. She’s a woman that’s why she underestimates the chaos that resides in the hearts of men. If the ampatuans get away with their family and hold on power in tact, you bet there are going to be MIMICS of this carnage.
We have some interesting iinks to “the former yardmate/bestfriend†of Gordon “TexKano†Elletson. Gordon Elletson even stated this man Randall Chester Goings was a hero !!! This guy routinely posted on the net as Bubba Goings and Bubbabobbaker and this post will display exactly the kind of persons Gordy Elletson is attracting to CDO.
I wonder if Congressman Rufus Rodriguez knows he has this kind of scum living within a property that he owns. For sure this is not the kind of associations he would want as he is currently seeking re-election in Cagayan de Oro Philippines.
Anyway see below links as they display Gordy Elletsons best friend in regards to his criminal records and desire of bi-sexual women who stand 4′ tall although in his words “the smaller you are the more I will love you†Yikes how disgusting !!!!! But as they say birds of a feather flock together !!!!!!!
http://www.fildate.com/profiles/bubbabobbaker… #
http://vap-ripoff.org/Bubbabobbaker.html
http://sexpatswallofshame.blogspot.com/2009/0…
Anyway, I once again wonder if Congressman Rufus Rodriguez knows the kind of perverted criminals living in his property as in a campaigning period it not to his advantage to have such associations
Gibo is trying a quick fix scheme in Maguindanao. With only 2% in the survey, he can not afford to lose the vote factories set up by GMA in Maguindanao and Arrm. When the massacre “exploded” the genius fixer himself went to Mindanao, to change the name of the vote factory from Ampatuan Vote Factory to Mangadadatu Vote Factory. Different name of this clandestine election operation, but same amo, GMA and now transferred to Mr. Gibo himself.
If I may ask, Mr. Gibo , sir. You have been the secretary of defense for a while. You control the armed forces including those behind the private armies of the Amputuans, what took you so long and why it took this massacre before you can act decisively?
To all of you saying federalism is dead because of political dynasties, I say federalism is the cure for the cancer that is political dynasties. If not for the national government dispensing pork, national taxes, and political patronage to gain bloc bailiwick votes, these families would not have to jockey for muscle to hold the begging cup that tinkles with central government alms.
Let these political families earn their LGU keep from local taxes via local businesses and local tax payers, without so much as a drop from national coffers, and we’ll see how many families would still want to be leaders of these cash-strapped towns and districts.
It’s the same old story, from Quirino cuddling Lacson to GMA cuddling Ampatuan, kill the national government and you’ll kill the warlords.
Stupid typical Filipino impetuous political mentality.
Except no Federal government abolishes the national government.
I didn’t mean kill the national government it its entirety, but to tip some of its power into the federal states, especially in terms of taxation and income generation. Make them more income independent and make the auditing the domain of the locals (with the federal states’ own BIR to enforce collection) to make the locals be more participatory.
While they’re at it they can legalize the one source of money that’s the super fountain of all funds for political dynasties jockeying for local supremacy: jueteng kickbacks. Legalize it, tax it, audit it, give it the to the local governments. As it is jueteng lords pay the protection of police, mayors, and governors who the latter shield the former from prosecution for this illegal activity. Making this legal, sort of like having a Philippine Charity Sweepstakes for every state (lets call it State Charity Jueteng) will immediately kill the corruption at the police and military level (the corruption that incentivized police and soldiers to become Ampatuan assassins).
Take it to the next level we can do the same for drugs. Legalize shabu and marijuana, tax it, audit it, give the funds to the local governments. With the revenues, they can put up proper rehabs and fund youth education. Just the same this will kill corruption at the police and military level who at present are bought by the drug lords.
so you are just advocating enhanced local government which could all be done by the present set up. then why not just give more authority to governors and mayors? give them more authority to have enhanced local taxation, separate provincial tax like separate state, county, city taxes off limits to tongressmen and the president? this would help solve most RP’s problems.
what’s the use then of the additional levels of bureaucrats under federalism? why then do we need to have 13 sets of supreme courts? 13 sets of comelecs? 13 sets of medical, legal and all professional licenses? federalism would increase the much hated bureaucrats 13 times. 13 national guards loyal to their own respective federal leader and yet one mindanao “muslim federal national guard”could not be controlled by AFP?
establishing a territorial and political line between tagalog region, ilocano region, christian region etc. will definitely start and promote regionalism,division and perhaps within 10 years there will only be one standing region–Metro Manila region. RP is balkanized into 13 indpendent states. so ampatuan massacre is drop in the bucket compared to real ethnic cleansing under federalism. hope Filipinos would realize this early on and stop fiddling with that bs federalism.
i think RP has more advanced government than USA, if we filipinos are just good enough to govern our country. we have direct vote ( a tricycle driver has equal vote with the president, a muslim has equal vote with the catholic, one from Jolo has equal vote from one living in White Plains etc) compared to an election by representation in USA. RP has one congress, one supreme court, one BIR, one Professional board for each profession, and most important one AFP compared to 50 US supreme courts, 50 sets of congress (50 sets of tongressmen!)50 national guards with loyalty to governors and not to the US President!Filipinos are more lucky, we have one driver’s license unlike in US, you have to get a new one whenever you transfer from one state to another ( certainly you don’t want to go through that bureaucracy in LTO several times hehehe.
OFF-TOPIC BUT I THINK IS RELEVANT.
Could it be possible, as a political move, GMA will resign before the campaign period to give a semblance of delicadeza and to detract the criticism against her? Any. she is a sure winner in Pampanga.
Then the Cha-cha train will be on track.
It is very hard to to think that there is no “master plan†with what GMA and her allies are doing?
Consider that GMA never pushed to have Noli as candidate. Part of the Plan?
etec, etc? You can extend the scenario. But remember, what is happening today is just a scenario a few months ago, which bright boys here considered as laughable ideas.
GMA is a different animal. When she orchestrated the Hello Garci operation, people espcailly the “move On†crowd should have seen it.
Wala sana silang problema ngayon. Eh pinabayaan nyo, buti nga sa inyo.
GMA na din ako. Rah. rah, rah.
Thats why we musn’t take what these overseas former pinoys are saying seriously, they’re only good at “heckling” from afar.
What happens here doesn’t affect them and there not around for us to smack on the head when we see Gloria become congresswoman, then prime minister, then master of the universe. 🙂 though I doubt she’ll go for the last one…
This frustrates me so much.
In the face of such an atrocity, the chief executive should have suspended the governor, the mayor and even the writ of habeas corpus. Strong and decisive action should have been taken to send an unequivocal message that this is not tolerated, to restore public faith in the national government, or sentiments of safety or common decency which were shattered in the violence. But instead…this!
Malacanang knows that public perception is not what delivers votes. The violence is blatant because corruption has allowed it to be so.
pilipino, rich families conspire to keep us down.
Gloria Arroyo as Congressman of the second district of Pampanga, Hermogenes Esperon as Congressman of the fourth district of Pangasinan. Jocjoc Bolante as governor of the province of Capiz!
Whats going on here? Too much democracy is a bad thing…
pilipino on Tue, 1st Dec 2009 5:37 am
so you are just advocating enhanced local government which could all be done by the present set up.
The present setup has deficiencies. Before I explain why let me describe to you how I view the present setup:
LAWS TO BAN POLITICAL DYNASTIES WON’T PASS BECAUSE THEY ARE A POLITICAL SOLUTION TO A POLITICAL PROBLEM. TO FIX A POLITICAL PROBLEM, ONE MUST FIND THE ROOT ECONOMIC CAUSE. AND TO FIND THE ROOT ECONOMIC CAUSE, ONE MUST LOOK AT THE BARE BONES BUSINESS MODEL.
THE BUSINESS MODEL OF POLITICAL DYNASTIES IS SIMPLE: THEY ARE FINANCED BY JUETENG MONEY. FILIPINOS MAY UNDERESTIMATE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE JUETENG INDUSTRY. UNLESS IT’S LEGALIZED AND AUDITED WE MAY NEVER KNOW, BUT WE CAN GUESS. THE BEST ANECDOTAL ESTIMATE OF THE JUETENG INDUSTRY IS A VERY FAMOUS ONE: CHAVIT SINGSON’S TESTIMONY THAT THE JUETENG KICKBACK GIVEN TO ERAP ESTRADA TO PROTECT THE JUETENG OPERATORS ALL OVER THE ISLANDS IS 5 MILLION PESOS A MONTH, ON TOP OF THE 400 MILLION PESOS IN INSTALLMENTS THAT JUETENG OPERATORS OF PAID TO THE PRESIDENT OVER THE COURSE OF HIS TERM.
YOU CAN NOW PROBABLY GLEAM WHY POLITICAL DYNASTIES JOCKEY FOR POLITICAL POSITION IN EVERY PROVINCE AND CITY IN OUR ISLANDS. FROM THE PRESIDENT DOWN TO THE MAYOR, ANY EXECUTIVE HEAD THAT HAS SOME EXECUTIVE CONTROL OF THE POLICE GETS A BROWN BAG (A BAYONG IS PROBABLY MORE APT) TO STOP ENFORCING GAMBLING LAWS. I PERSONALLY KNOW OF A VICE MAYOR IN LUZON WHO GETS P400,000 A MONTH WHEN HE GOT ELECTED. HE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS, BUT THE JUETENG LORDS IN HIS PROVINCE GIVE IT TO HIM ANYWAY. SORT OF LIKE AN OFFER THAT POLITICIANS REALLY CAN’T REFUSE.
POLITICAL DYNASTIES ARE NOT A SYMPTOM OF FILIPINO SOCIOLOGICAL DEFICIENY. THEY ARE BUT THE EFFECT OF A PHENOMENON THAT IS NOT UNIQUE AT ALL BUT HAS BEEN EXPERIENCED BY OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE PAST. THAT IS, POLITICAL DYNASTIES ARE AN OFFSHOOT OF PROHIBITION. YES, WE ARE IN PROHIBITION ERA IN OUR COUNTRY. PROHIBITION FROM GAMBLING IS OUR GRAVEST PROBLEM JUST AS ALCOHOL PROHIBITION WRECKED AMERICAN POLITICAL LIFE IN THE 1930’S.
YOU MIGHT WONDER WHY THERE ARE POLITICAL DYNASTIES IN THE PHILIPPINES THEN AND NOT IN AMERICA IN THE 1930’S PROHIBITION. HERE’S A SIMPLE FORMULA:
PROHIBITION + POVERTY + WEAK BUREAUCRACY = POLITICAL DYNASTIES
PROHIBITION + INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY + STRONG BUREAUCRACY = MERE CORRUPT POLITICIANS.
AMERICA NEVER DEVELOPED POLITICAL DYNASTIES, PINOY STYLE, BECAUSE THE CHILDREN OF CORRUPT POLITICIANS HAVE MORE ROOM FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY UNDER AN INDUSTRIALIZED ECONOMY. SO ALL THOSE KICKBACKS THAT CHICAGO MAYORS, POLICE CHIEFS, ETC RECEIVED IN THE 1930’S WERE ALL BUT USED UP TO, AND THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE, FINANCE THE IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION OF THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS. THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO “GROOM” THEIR CHILDREN TO BE POLITICIANS THEMSELVES, AS THERE ARE OTHER AVENUES FOR THEIR CHILDREN TO PROSPER, UNIVERSITY EDUCATION BEING THE COMMON ONE. HERE IN OUR POOR POOR COUNTRY, A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU SOCIAL MOBILITY. BEING PROFESSIONAL DOESN’T GUARANTEE YOU SOCIAL MOBILITY. THE ONLY GUARANTEE OF SOCIAL MOBILITY IN OUR COUNTRY IS TO BECOME A BUSINESSMAN. BUT NOT ALL POLITICIANS HAVE NOR CAN THEY TEACH THEIR CHILDREN BUSINESS SKILLS. THE ONLY WAY FOR POLITICIANS TO ENSURE THEIR CHILDREN BECOME RICH IS TO GROOM THEM TO BE POLITICIANS THEMSELVES. AND NOT JUST THE CHILDREN-THE WIFE, THE UNCLE, THE COUSIN, THE GRANDPA, THE KIDS, WHATEVER POSITION THEY CAN FILL FROM GOVERNOR TO MAYOR TO CONGRESSMAN, THEY’LL FILL BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY’LL GET THAT BAYONG OF JUETENG MONEY ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
to be continued…
we both think that the political dynasty is one of the culprits in the philippines. i think the easiest way to remedy this in addition to other culprits such as pork barrel is by concon. we need to make improvements in the present constitution– specifically write them in the constitution before it is approved in a plebiscite. but we don’t need to adopt parliamentary or federalism to attain the changes we want. i still think our presidential system is the best. changing to parliamentary or federalism will even enhance dynasties–federal states will have bigger dynasties and they would be bolder, harder to control and eventually lead to separation from the mother RP.
ramrod, based on what i have experienced, filipinos outside rp are anti gma, anti erap and most important, anti corruption. they are pro ninoy, pro salonga, anti makoy and anti jpe–the architect and enforcer.they are amazed why the locals are still cuddling those corrupt officials.
MLQ, not to detract from the gruesomeness of the crime, but don’t you think that Mangudadatu brought this on himself? It looks like a publicity stunt gone wrong. Many correspondents in the south report that Mangudadatu knew that there would be massive trouble if he filed his COC. That’s why he sent his wife and the other women instead, and had the reporters who were on his payroll to cover it. Unfortunately, the massacre happened. Of course, this practically ensures that he will win as governor. And the wife who perished was I believe not his first wife, but one of the many, so actually expendable. Notice the lack of grief on Mangudadatu’s face.
It looks like members of the “Idiocracy” have fund a home here.
This more a question of how and why monsters were created by the system and structures of Philippine society. From Cory till today.
This is a question that is directed to all. Ever since Cory’s government all Presidents followed the policy prescriptions embodied in the Medium Term Development Plan crafted by the Breton Woods Institutions with the U.P. School of Economics and carried out by NEDA.
Has any Presidentiable candidate come out with his plans (Platforms are goals). Without them there is nothing. Plans are policy prescriptions.
Or will they simply follow the same MTDP like always?
Those policy prescriptions are responsible for bringing the country to where it is today. Just look at the rush of people who want to become political entrepreneurs. The almost complete capture of government by a handful from the private sector is at hand. We now have the specter of a Predator State before our very eyes. From business overlords to warlords.
The new president will face a horrendous fiscal position and the stark fact that the country is now in a debt prison. We will have to continue to borrow simply to feed our people. Very little is left for creating public capital and human capital. The state has been beggared.
Now we know that some parts of this country resemble Somalia for real.
The reason are many but the entire narrative is framed by the failure of the state.
One Francisco Lara, Jr of LSE, another “heckler” from abroad provides a very insightful view of the violence in Muslim Mindanao where
“political authority may enable control over the formal economy, but the bigger prize is the power to monopolize or to extort money from those engaged in the lucrative business of illegal drugs, gambling, kidnap-for-ransom, gun-running, and smuggling, among others.”
He goes on to say,
“(P)olitical legitimacy in Muslim Mindanao has very little to do with protecting people’s rights or providing basic services […] Legitimacy is all about providing protection to your fellow clan members by trumping the firepower of your competitors, leaving people alone, and forgetting about taxes.”
Why weren’t the private armies not disarmed?
“The answer lies in the newfound role of Muslim Mindanao to national political elites. The region is known for a long history of electoral fraud.”
http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7276&Itemid=120
Manolo,
I don’t know, is it the job of the pnp and the afp to provide security to individuals or groups.
For me, even if I enjoyed having soldiers for drivers/bodyguards etc., I think that is not the role of our AFP and the PNP.
What they did wrong was not secure the area and allowed impunity to happen.But, I insist security to candidates even as an afterthought(after what happened should not be an option).I don’t know what the solution is, is it more security guards which is like having more private armies ????
“We now have the specter of a Predator State before our very eyes. From business overlords to warlords.”
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As an agricultural country, we cannot even feed ourselves. We have single handedly caused the international price of rice to increase because we need to import such huge volumes. And because of neglect and lack of funds, the situation will only get worse. Our ASEAN neighbors are only too happy to supply us and profit from our predicament.
Fiscal deficits will haunt us in the coming years. There’ll be hell to pay. The OFW remittances have kept our dire fiscal situation under wraps in the meantime. Should those remittances slow down, there will immediately be dire repercussions.
Our stock market has been animated. But it’s limited to a few politically influential taipans playing Monopoly, while the rest of the poor saps toil on without any real hope of advancement.
Booty capitalists, warlords and political dynasties dominate our society. And they are voracious and heartless. They will always skew the system to their favor, never allowing a level playing field. The myopic greed and extreme selfishness of our elite is what has hindered our advancement as a nation.
Dubai, where more or less 250,000 pinoys are based has decided to delay payment to their debt.
The construction boom might hit the breaks.
Remittances will definitely be affected.
SOP, if I recall correctly you are a baker based in Dubai(?)Please share your thoughts
i meant banker not baker
“pilipino on Wed, 2nd Dec 2009 2:47 am
we both think that the political dynasty is one of the culprits in the philippines. i think the easiest way to remedy this in addition to other culprits such as pork barrel is by concon. we need to make improvements in the present constitution– specifically write them in the constitution before it is approved in a plebiscite.”
Again political solution to a political problem. It could be federalism or a unitary government that can pass the laws needed to legitimize jueteng (I still think federalist has more tools to do this. Our present setup won’t permit it because politicians know legalizing it will kill their cash cow). Either way, if the business model of jueteng is not integrated and absorbed by the national or federal government, it will continue to breed political dynasties. As per Chavit, the going rates per month for jueteng are: P1 million monthly for the regional PNP director; P500,000 for the provincial police chief; P150,000 for the local congressman; and PP7,500 to P30,000 for the municipal police chief, depending on the size of the town.
I say why not just legitimize this? Legalize jueteng and the profits can pay for a decent salary for politicians. That way, we can attract the best of breed of our population to run for office. What’s the difference between jueteng and other games of chance like sweepstakes anyway? Why is one socially accepted and the other scorned, when both are essentially games of chance where numbers are picked out of a pool? We need to legalize jueteng and that is one big step in dismantling political dynasties.
We have to note though that not all regions have a gambling culture. The citizens of Cordillera have been able to fend off intrusions from gambling elements like Casinos. Which is why its better for the nation to federalize so that locals can determine for themselves how to tackle issues like gambling and political dynasties.
“karl garcia on Wed, 2nd Dec 2009 10:20 am
SOP, if I recall correctly you are a baker based in Dubai(?)Please share your thoughts”
That’s not me.
Congressman Rufus Rodriguez is seeking re-election in his district of CDO, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines and a situation has been brought to our attention that we want to inform him of.
Rufus Rodriguez owns a rental property in CDO that he rents out to a American expatriot of questionable agendas, records and past. I highly doubt Mr. Rodriguez knows of the kind of people his house is harboring so have decided to inform both him and the internet community in hopes of enlightening the situation during this campaigning period.
The American national currently residing in the house is one Gordon Elletson who goes by Gordy and posts on many internet forums using the name TexKano. Gordon Elletson is of a deffective mental state and is a admitted child abuser and basher of the Filipino populace. Please see link below of how Gordy Elletson , using his TexKano nic, admitted to hitting Xavier Madlangbayan with a cane and then proceeding to call the boys grandfather, Dr. Severino Madlangbayan, (who is seeking a city council seat in Iligan City) a banana eating monkey. Is this kind of elitest American truly the sort of expatriot that a elected Congressman wants to be connected to? Well Gordon Elletson seems to think the congressman loves him and will washover any mess he gets himself into. I find it hard to believe a elected congressman will forsake his constituents , who elected him, in a effort to protect a abusive foreign national.
The second expatriot, now deceased, is one Randall Chester Goings who goes by Bubba and posted on net under nic Bubbabobbaker. This fellow had a lengthy criminal record which included multiple drug charges. Randall Goings was brought to the Philippines by Gordon Elletson where he lived , together with Gordy, in the proprty owned by Congressman Rufus Rodriguez of CDO, Cagayan de Oro. This property is located on 69 bong bongon street CDO and even before Randall Goings moved to such property he was allready posting perverted things all over the internet. One example of his perversions took place on a internet dating site where he searched for a 4? tall bi-sexual and stated in his ad “the smaller you are the more I will love youâ€. Evan smaller than 4?? Yikes, Was he looking for a dwarf or a underaged girl?
Anyway, I hope this message reaches Congressman Rodriguez and he can see below link for proofs regarding the accutations of the kind of expatriot he is harboring and who states the Congressman is protecting him. I feel the congressman has the right to know the facts in below link.
http://sexpatswallofshame.blogspot.com
Andal Sr just filed his COC for vice-governorship in Maguindanao. The nerve of this old man! Maybe his family’s plan is to secure this slot and kill whoever the governor will be come 2010.
“pilipino on Tue, 1st Dec 2009 5:37 am
establishing a territorial and political line between tagalog region, ilocano region, christian region etc. will definitely start and promote regionalism,division and perhaps within 10 years there will only be one standing region–Metro Manila region. RP is balkanized into 13 indpendent states. so ampatuan massacre is drop in the bucket compared to real ethnic cleansing under federalism.”
I see no evidence of the dominant ethnic groups massacring each other after federalism. The Ampatuan massacre is not ethnic cleansing. It’s a clan war/political war/gang related violence (if you view political dynasties as cosa nostra style “families”).
There was the suggestion that ethnic groups will prosper because of jealousy. One ethnic group will not allow the others to become richer than them, so they’ll strive one-up the other ethnic groups by developing as well. But for our dominant ethnic groups to start murdering each other is not in our traditions.
RAMROD: hindi naman siguro lahat ng former pinoy gone abroad e tulad ng tinuran mo. at hindi ko din ine-ekspek ang ganung komento na manggaling sa iyo, na inaakala kong mas malawak ang kaisipan kesa “nakararami”.
huwag sanang gamitin ang dating brotsa na balot sa dugo ng maduming kaisipan ang siya ding ipampintura sa mga pinoy na nasa ibang bansang nagsakripisyong mahiwalay sa mga mahal sa buhay, na dahil na din sa kakulangan ng disenteng trabaho sa pilipinas, para lang kumita ng kakarampot na salapi para mabuhay ng marangal ang mga naiwang mahal sa buhay sa pilipinas.
ayaw ko sanang isipin na halos, inuulit ko HALOS, lahat ng mga pinoy na nasa ibang bansa ay nakatutok sa mga pangyayari, nangyayari at mangyayari pa sa pilipinas – kesa sa mga kababayan natin nasa pilipinas – ito ay dahil na din, hindi sa dahil ang mga kababayan nating nasa pilipinas walang mga pakialam kung ano na ang nangyayari sa pilipinas, sa abala silang magtrabaho, o maghanap ng trabaho, at kakulangan ng panahon para isipin pa ang mga ganitong problema sa pilipinas dahil ang “wake up” hours nila ay natutuon at nauubos sa mahabang panahong pakikibaka sa trapik sa lansangan papunta sa kanilang mga trabaho, at pabalik sa bahay, na sa pagtataya ko ay humigit kumulang sa 11 at kalahating oras araw araw – kasama na dito ang panahong (8.5 oras)) na pagtatrabaho.
ang suma’t total ay kakulangan ng may kalidad na panahon para sa pamilya – quality of family life suffers – dahil nga sa mga tulog pa sila pag umaalis ng bahay papuntang trabaho, at pag balik naman mula trabaho, ay malalim na sa gabi’t tulog na ulit ang mga kasambahay.
To All GMA Critics:
“President Gloria is the best leader our country has ever had and I thank God that I was born the son of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.†Mikey
cheongsam,
I’m sure it’s plainly obvious murder is not just the concern of the victim’s family. It’s a national and global concern. Mass murder affects all of us. I don’t care if magundadatu cares more about position than his wife or sisters.
This more a question of how and why monsters were created by the system and structures of Philippine society. From Cory till today.
This is a question that is directed to all. Ever since Cory’s government all Presidents followed the policy prescriptions embodied in the Medium Term Development Plan crafted by the Breton Woods Institutions with the U.P. School of Economics and carried out by NEDA.
Has any Presidentiable candidate come out with his plans (Platforms are goals). Without them there is nothing. Plans are policy prescriptions.
Or will they simply follow the same MTDP like always?
Those policy prescriptions are responsible for bringing the country to where it is today. Just look at the rush of people who want to become political entrepreneurs. The almost complete capture of government by a handful from the private sector is at hand. We now have the specter of a Predator State before our very eyes. From business overlords to warlords.
The new president will face a horrendous fiscal position and the stark fact that the country is now in a debt prison. We will have to continue to borrow simply to feed our people. Very little is left for creating public capital and human capital. The state has been beggared.
Now we know that some parts of this country resemble Somalia for real.
The reason are many but the entire narrative is framed by the failure of the state.
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Too dramatic and very good fiction. As always someone has some conspiracy/global economy theory (half assed) without bothering to support them with facts and numbers…precisely the reason why JAG is just an anonymous blogger not a serious economist or columnist or professor…get a day job!
SOP,
sorry, wrong number.
Ramrod, from your name it would imply a wish to have a forceful member. It betrays a low self esteem.
The Philippines is probably the only country still following the dictates of the Washington Consensus. Most of the world started de-linking itself from it some years back. Matuto ka na nang Mandarin.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/globalization/globalization-of-the-economy-2-1/world-bank-2-10.html
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/finance/twninfofinance017.htm
This was over five years ago.
“As governments ponder these alternatives, they would do well to consider the following astonishing fact: Despite the tremendous wave of neoliberal reform that swept over the continent during the last two decades, only three economies in Latin America managed in the 1990s to outdo the performance they had experienced under the inward-looking, populist policies of the past. Chile remains a success, in part because it has taken a cooler attitude towards capital inflows than the others. Uruguay looks shaky and is hardly an inspiring example in any case because its growth rate has been anemic. And Argentina now lies in ruins. Its collapse reminds developing nations in Latin America and elsewhere that they cannot postpone much longer the stark choice they face. Either they will sacrifice sovereignty in a big way, or they will reassert it vigorously. “
Dani Rodrik is professor of international political economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
My name is Bradley Hughes. Someone is using my name to make post on many blogs about Congressman Rodriquez. I have discovered who this person is. Some blogs show an IP address. I compared this with mail I was receiving from one I thought a friend, they matched. What a sad discovery to make. Just Google, “Gordon Elletson, Philippines” or “Bradley Hughes, Philippines” and you will see listed of comments. This started as a disagreement between to friends and has turned to an ugly all out vendetta by one. Many post use my name to make statements about Congressman Rodriquez. Others use the name TexAss, Mike54, Mike, Mike 2x, Jimbo777, the list goes on. All direct the reader to: http://sexpatswallofshame.blogspot.com/2009/0… . The vendetta is against Gordon Elletson and has turned to include Spooks, the Department of Tourism, and others. If someone wants to discredit another that is none of my business until my name starts being used. Getting these post taken down is a real problem and many I cannot.
I will meet with Congressman Rodriqyuez next week. I have already hand delivered by hand a letter to his office. My question is this, what should I do about all these illegal post and the illegal use of my name? I live in the Philippines, the one stealing my name in the USA. What legally can I do? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
Hope you never have your name stolen to make statements about another.
Bradley