Unity is the Only Choice is my column for today. Billy Esposo has a sobering warning about the youth. JB Baylon believes we’re getting better at People Power. Ana Marie Pamintuan discusses the fallout from keeping the President in power. Ellen Tordesillas believes that unity talks are a sign that national healing can begin. Conrado de Quiros joins in the unity efforts (Enteng Romano’s e-mail answers his question about Susan Roces). Rigoberto Tiglao issues a counterblast. Below is the statement of unity born of the Saturday gather at de la Salle Green Hills. Random Thoughts, Cogito Ergo Sam, Bangketa Republique, Love and Light, Tales from Disiniland, La Vida Lawyer and Punzi have echoed the call:
Statement of Unity
Bukluran Para sa Katotohanan
We come from all walks of life, from different political, cultural, and economic persuasions, different points of view. But in diversity, we find a cause for unity. That cause for unity is our common objective to secure the truth.
We all seek the truth. We want the truth to come out. And yet every means for seeking the truth has been frustrated; every avenue for arriving at the truth has been blocked; and every opportunity to find the truth is being closed.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s response to our call for the truth has been to suppress evidence, hide her accomplices, engage in a grand cover-up, sow fear, foment distrust and use every instrument at her disposal to encourage division among our people.
We will not be divided in these critical times.
We say with one voice, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must go. For the good of the country, she must go. For the sake of our nation’s future, she must go. For the preservation of hope as a motive force in our national life, she must go.
We are united by the belief that this crisis must be resolved in a manner that is peaceful and democratic. Without the truth, there cannot be peace; without the truth, there is no genuine democracy. The truth must set our nation free.
Unite for the truth. Demand the truth. Defend the truth.
Kami ay ang Bukluran Para sa Katotohanan.
Action for Economic Reforms
AKBAYAN Citizen’s Action Party
Ateneo Concerned Faculty and Youth
Bangon, Pilipinas
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)
Be Not Afraid
Black & White Movement
Citizens for TRUTH (Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Trust, Hope)
Citizens for Truth, Resignation, Impeachment, or Ouster (C4T)
Coalition for National Solidarity
Counsels for the Defense of Civil Liberties (CODAL)
De La Salle
FPJP Movement
Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC)
Interfaith Movement for Truth, Justice and Genuine Change (IFM)
Kilusan ng Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME)
Laban ng Masa
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
Peoples Assembly for Genuine Alternatives to Social Apathy (PAG-ASA)
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP)
Reporma
Union of Muslims for Morality and Truth (UMMAT)
United Opposition (UNO)
Unity for Truth and Justice
UP AWARE
UP Diliman Student Council (UPD USC)
White Ribbon Movement
Women March
Youth DARE
If you agree with this message, kindly copy it and post it in your blog, or link to it. Please send a message at this crucial time.
Saan ko nga ba nabasa ito?
“The truth had always been far too dangerous for the public to know. The truth didn’t usually set people free, it just got them crazier. Most people just couldn’t handle the truth.”
Magkaganunpaman, lubos akong sumusuporta sa bukluran ng katotohanan!
Kudos for your column today, mlq3…
It was a finely written piece that I hope would make gloria wince [if she still has her conscience intact, e.g.,].
No matter how good we become at people power, if we continue to be as rotten about running our affairs of state, wala pa ring mangyari. Cory Aquino’s incompetent and corrupt administration is the clearest example of wasted opportunities. And so many “street parliamentarians” we then thought were of sterling character, turned out to be as crooked as the administration they replaced. Same was the case with GMA replacing Erap. Frankly, the leadership pool is very shallow. The well-meaning ones are dreamy incompetents, with their heads in the clouds, who have no experience wielding power. And the ones who have had experience and are competent enough, such as those of the Left, the Right and the opportunistic politicians, all have their personal agenda.
Ang malaking kakulangan (kamalian) ng ating sistemang pampamahalaan ay ang patuloy na paggamit at pagsunod sa mga ‘obsolete’ na mga ideya o pamamaraan sa pagharap at pakikipag-ugnayan sa panlabas at panloob na kalakaran ng bansa.
Kung ano ang mga pamamaraan at sistema noong panahon ng rehimeng Marcos ay halos ganoon parin magpahanggang ngayon.
…para bagang nagsagawa ng pagbabago (renovation) sa isang bahay subalit halos ‘pintura’ lang ang binago, lahat nanatili parin sa dating anyo (pintuan,bntana,dingding, atpb. atpb), naglalayon at naghahangad ng pagbabago, ngunit patuloy naman na sunod-sunoran sa mga tunay na balakid o hadlang sa minimithing pagbabago.Mulat sapul ang namamahala sa ating gobyerno ay walang mga b.yag! (GMA-tiyak yun) — sabi pa ng mga Egoy: kailangan ‘grab your nuts’!..malalakas ang loob ipagtanggol ang dayuhang interes ngunit hindi ang interes ng sambayanan (nakararaming Pinoy)…subalit bakit nga naman sila (trapos o anuman) magsisikap na baguhin ang sistema — nakikinabang at masagana naman buhay nila sa ‘status quo’, ang tunay na naapektuhan lamang naman ay ang masa(pangkaraniwang tao),ano ba naman kung tawagin silang mga inutil ng masa–ang mahalaga sa kanila(mga pekeng lider)masagana,maimpluwensiya,at marangya ang kanilang pamumuhay.
…dagdagan pa na marami sa ating mga kapwa Pinoy ang nasa pangangalaga at ‘payroll’ ng mga mahahalagang ahensya ng panlabas o dayuhang interes–na halos nag-ugat na sa ibat-ibang mahahalagang sektor ng ating lipunan(kapwa natin mga Pinoy na lubos na makapangyarihan sa larangang pang-relihiyon,’media’,ekonomiya at politikal man,at gagawin ang lahat mapanatili lamang ang status quo na kanilang pinakikinabangan).
Walang iba kundi kamalayang pagkamakabayan(maka-pilipino,maka-masa)lamang ang magiging tulay at gabay upang wakasan ang sabwatan ng dayuhang interes at ilang mayayamang Pinoy na nagiging sanhi ng patuloy na paghihirap ng nakararami.
Matibay na pundasyon,de-kalidad na nasyunalismo,makabayang propaganda sa buong kapuluan ng bayang hinirang–na susuot at uukit sa kaisipan ng bawat Pilipino ang tunay na magbibigay pag-asa upang makamit ang mailap na minimithing pagbabago!
Amen.
Kudos to manolo. Kudos to unity.
We slowly mature in the process. Even if we have to remove 101 bad eggs through all these and coming years, let us do so. For God and country.
MLQ3, hindi ba sumama yung Aksyon Demokratiko sa Bukluran?
Bravo on your column today, Manolo! Very well said!
nice one manolo.
Manolo,
So much fire in your belly! One cannot dispute the strength of your arguments and the force of your conclusion. One does so at his own peril!
dakila, mlq3!
just one question mlq3, are the members of the the bukluran already in agreement on who or what will take over after she leaves?
i believe GMA would never step down…i guess we have to MAKE her go…again
count me in!
CRY, FREEDOM!
this new found unity must continue after GMA leaves malacañang.
MAY GOD GUIDE US IN THIS ENDEAVOR
kulas, the fight now is for impeachment, if impeachment results in conviction, there is a consensus on the constitutional successor. if impeachment is blocked -the discussions are ongoing and all sides are demonstrating good faith.
Hi MLQ3. For certain, I am for the truth. I fully support this statement of unity. For me, it is important that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should survive a certain form of crucible, like for example an impeachment proceeding, before she could once more retain a moral ground to lead this nation.I have nothing personal against her, but I am sure that only the “truth” could set us free, and the “truth” does not seem to be in her favor.
Paeng, stand by for news on Aksyon… Talks are ongoing.
no one quarrels w/ the words “unity” or “truth”.but everything seems disassociated w/ actions & behaviors of the opposition. sad to say that the opposition sees it’s self as the costodian of the truth. How can the opposition talk about the truth when the very source of this entire scandal is a poluted source of the garce tapes of w/c me may never know who are the evil characters behid it, or also maybe we know who the arrogant characters are, those who have most to gain from this crisis. What unity are we talking about? It’s probably a kind of unity that bring down someone. But it certainly is not a unity that stenghtens it’s flanks and is couragous enought to say NO to all the elements that want to weaken our already inmature democracy.
I was watching the latest salvo of the bearers of the “truth of sorts” lead by tita cory. I asked myself the question why could not they just say it stright forward “the truth is they want PGMA out!!!!!” and not sound so hypocritical and self rightous.
What is happening now is like the elections all over again. Those who lost will never give up. Sad to say “statemanship” has never been part of our culture. It’s always been the winners and the cheated.
The opposition is just dramatizing things so much by mentioning the words “supression of the truth and so forth”
The opposition is really being very arrogant by presenting “sort of facts” or”half truths” and selling it as the entire truth.
It’s strange that we seems to focus always on the individual and totaly egnore the system.
Pls. naman just stop using truth or unity or whatever when i reality everything is just to get reed of an individual, when the company you keep is very questionable.
Just remember your kind of truth also has consequences.
better to work hard and be productive.Politics will not put food in your mouth, hate and desperartion will not make you a better person, lazyness to think really hard and look futher than the tip of your nose will not sharpen your mind.
Kudos to you, mlq3! I always read your columns (well, since I’ve started believing in you…) and I must say, this is the first time I’ve seen you write this fiery!
Count me in!
“The truth will set us free.”
to joey,
i am a professor in a university. please help me explain to my students why I should punish them for cheating in exams when we let a president who cheated in the elections rule over our country. yun lang naman e.
with regards to the “polluted source”, do you really believe that it is possible to splice statements word for word without technology (or even our ears) noticing it? do you really think that the statements uttered in the Garci tapes can be said in a different context other than cheating in elections? do you think somebody can emulate somebody else’s voice and still escape voice print analysis?
what do you think of PCIJ’s authentication of the tapes? how about Randy David’s ethnomethodolgy analysis of the conversation? how about the acts in bad faith of the accused (production of fake conversations, the Chavit X-tapes, the endorsement of a majority congressman of the weak complaint, the striking down of impeachment based on technicalities not principle)? how about the admission of the president that she did talk to a COMELEC official? how about her admission that herhands are not clean? how about the admission (and retraction) of Bunye that it was the president’s voice on the tape? how about the warrantless raid of opposition evidence without any charges?
Sure, there are vested interests in some who want her to be removed from power. a lot of them are more interested in wresting the position, instead of knowing the truth about this matter, but does that mean that we stop fighting for what is right? consider this. if we let GMA stay in power, does it mean that we would let any elected official caught cheating to stay in power as long as he / she says sorry? if we let the impeachment complaint be dismissed, does it mean that we would let impeachment complaints filed ASAP by the party of the accused in order to prevent valid impeachment complaints from being filed?
ano ba ang mas nakakahiya? na papalit palit tayo ng leader (and we remove them because of the belief that they did something gravely wrong), o yung hinahayaan nating may leader na nandaya sa eleksyon na mamuno sa atin?
the economic reforms being implemented by the arroyo government is working very well. but it could shift to a negative direction if people or group of people like you continues barring it by way of political harrassment and making nonsense issues…stop it and support her government programs and you will see our economy growing!