Twenty Years Ago
Analysis and Opinion
By Irineo B. R. Salazar
Twenty Years Ago
20 years ago, Filipinos massed along EDSA again, nearly 15 years after they had gathered on that avenue to oust a dictator. This time it was to oust a populist who later became Mayor of Manila. Erap or Joseph Estrada was Mayor of San Juan for a long time, and had been a hero of Filipino action movies for much longer. The tropes of bakbakan (fighting) movies in the Philippines are not unique to the country. I have seen similar characters on Malaysian TV, with young strong men using silat martial arts to save damsels in distress, mostly in hijab, from villains as ugly as in equivalent Filipino movies. In Indonesia there is the Jago (rooster) as a heroic figure, especially in rural Java. The dark side of the Jago is the Preman or Indonesian gangster, who can also be a political goon, but some were part of the revolution. Old Malay warrior culture is manifested today in various modern forms.
Today began Yesterday
TODAY BEGAN YESTERDAY is a phrase Manolo Quezon often likes to use, and a lot of things floating in the rivers of current events come from the headwaters and even the springs, but let us look back closer to 1998, when Erap won. Nationalistic sentiment was high at the centennial of the Republic. Erap not speaking English well increased his popularity. At the same time, there had been a short-lived and small economic boom around the mid-1990s in the time of President Ramos. Malls had grown larger, the Megamall along EDSA dwarfed SM North, and EDSA had gotten its first flyovers. Lots of people had mobile phones already. If EDSA Uno had been about Radio Veritas calling people to help Ramos and Enrile, with discontent in the military and civil society coming together, EDSA Dos was the people getting mad at the televised Estrada impeachment trial, with a Senator dancing and singing “No No No”, and an envelope with possible evidence deemed “immaterial and irrelevant”. Some months later, there was the backlash known as EDSA Tres against the new President Arroyo.
CNN and other 24 hour news coverage, plus the early Internet, hooked me to what was happening, made it possible for me to get the pulse of the Filipino (to some extent) much more than in 1986, when evening news in Germany showed what had happened in the Philippines during the day. EDSA Dos was organized via cellphone messages. Vicente Rafael’s chapter “The Cellphone and the Crowd” in his book “Motherless Tongues” is about how actual participants felt a sense of togetherness and damayan (mutual consideration) when they stood on the somewhat more modern urban highway. Miguel Syjuco’s novel “Ilustrado”, loosely based on the late 1990s Philippines has a young professor reading text messages to his high society girl fling (both are on cocaine) in a traffic jam on EDSA, with a mix of political and social scandals coming across, a prelude to Philippine social media of today.
Looking back one gets a sense that today’s Philippines, especially Metro Manila, began in those days – heavy urbanization including heaviest traffic, a national village gossiping on social media (or also as Gideon Lasco noted in his recent book “The Philippines in Not a Small Country, in group chats), heavy disruptions of the social fabric manifested by constant crises, heightened tensions due to heavy divides across cultural/political/power+money lines, even changes in sexuality. After all, in the Ilustrado novel “Sadie” the rich girl and Prof. “Miguel” make out heavily in her own car he is driving. The country that is said to have spent three centuries in a Spanish convent and 50 years in Hollywood (old Hollywood even before Doris Day!) had major porn sites among its most visited pages by 2017. Mental health problems including those leading to suicide as well as drug use have heavily increased. The contrasts between very tall buildings and slums, the Skyway and the streets of Quiapo show how especially Metro Manila is a difficult place today, a lot of crime as a result is not really surprising.
Dos versus Tres
What differed between EDSA Uno and EDSA Dos was that the Filipino people were way more divided. There were civic groups and even it seems leftist groups on EDSA Dos, and on the other side those who claim that EDSA Dos was an elite power grab against a legitimately elected People’s President. Manolo Quezon did mention in some articles that there had been some major shifts in social classes that had started way earlier. The old middle class, as he calls them, had been a major force at EDSA. Many had already left for the United States between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s though; 2 million is the estimate I recall. The US eventually limited migration during the 1990s, but migration to other English-speaking countries like Australia and Canada continued. Also, OFWs who had been sent out since Marcos times (POEA was founded in 1975) were instrumental in growing a new middle class.
It would be too simplistic to see the rift between “Dilawan” and “DDS” today as only due to the values and prejudices of old and new middle class clashing. Manolo Quezon also mentioned that EDSA Tres raised the fear of urban insurrection by the poor in many among the old middle class. Strong support for Gloria Arroyo whose economic policies seem to have benefitted the rich and upper middle class more than the poor can be explained that way, also AB class support for Duterte. Some say that many of the moneyed hated the PNoy administration for helping the poor “too much”.
What is also of interest is that many of those who came out of the poverty trap via OFW and BPO money also came to look down upon those left behind, as many of the new middle class supported President Duterte. In such a harsh society, it is no wonder so-called “wokes”, yellow and red, are few.
Hope and Blame
PNoy being made President just after his mother died was probably not just necropolitics. It could also have been a hopeful revival of the spirit of 1986, though it might be that many had not noticed how the Philippines had changed from 1992-2010, just 18 years. Too little time to reflect maybe?
The MRT which had started to run in Estrada’s time and was planned and built in Ramos’s time ran very well at the start but was a mess by the time the PNoy admin inherited it. Poor Secretary Abaya found himself in a situation similar to the gay friends of Christine Dacera when they found her dead, with her mother and the PNP blaming them, as Filipinos very often lack a sense of causality. PAO Persida Acosta blaming Dengvaxia for the deaths of children who were (and sometimes it seems were not even) given the vaccine is a similar lack of logic – and her drama typical for the country.
Somehow I am happy for Filipinos that Pfizer / BioNTechvaccine is now authorized, but if I personally knew Prof. Sahin, the CEO of BioNTech, I might warn him about the Philippines. People can still get sick after the first jab, or may have been infected before, very few get allergies. Imagine if somebody who is important in the Philippines is the oneaffected, or drama is created because of some political motives. Or if side effects (which do happen, the most common side effects are just the immune reaction kicking in for a day) are all over Philippine social media and all call for their Tatay Digong.
What happened to the Beatles in the Philippines of the late 1960s is known, but in the 1990s I knew someone who believed that the Beatles had called Filipinos monkeys. “Firm belief” instead of facts.
History and Experience
EDSA 2/3 in 2001 had GMA ruling until 2010, with the death of Fernando Poe Jr., “Hello Garci”, the two coup attempts of young Sonny Trillanes, the Ampatuan massacre and finally Ondoy inundating Manila as the big events in my memory. After I read about GMA saying she had grown up in the Palace, I did give up on the Philippines for a while, though social media were to bring interest back. Wonder how the readers see the past 20 years. History is composed of many stories. The final result of the last twenty years is of course where the Philippines is NOW, and the causality is multifaceted:
- Walden Bello mentions neoliberalism under Ramos as having been bad for local industries, while Micha mentions local agriculture as having been damaged. Both clearly have a point. Maybe one could look deeper into how mining after the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 damaged watersheds and made life hell for indigenous peoples, but I guess few have done so as the Russian saying “Where there is Gold, there is Blood” is very true. It is a mine field.
- Other economists mention land reform as a failure, small landholdings as inefficient, leading to many selling their land to subdivision developers. Most provinces of the Central Plain north of Manila, the old heartland of rice production, are now part of urban sprawl it seems. The educational system is heavily criticized. Joe sees a lack of problem-solving capability, while others see the neoliberal aspects such as no more history taught in high school today.
- Traditionalists will point to the Great Cultural Divide between those who speak mainly English and those who are more traditional in mindset, though it seems the old middle class which was more Westernized is mostly in Western countries now. Nick Joaquin, Randy David and Manolo Quezon have pointed out that the Philippines has had difficulties dealing with modernity – I suspect that has gotten even worse as the country is now in “post-modernity”.
Is There Hope?
Though the Philippines especially Metro Manila has many aspects of a dystopian science-fiction movie by now, hope springs eternal, as we know it was the last thing that exited Pandora’s box. Maybe looking back at the trajectory of 20 years and imagining how 2041 can be like might help.
Irineo B. R. Salazar
Munich, 14 January 2021
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The Society of Honor by Joe America 
The 23 old people with diseases who died in Norway after a Pfizer Covid vaccine shot happened a day after I wrote this article, and guess who is feasting on that now – Filipino socmed.
13 may have died due to the allergic reaction being too much for them, Norwegian health authorities say, and of course they will together with Pfizer investigate further while being more careful with that group of people.
Needless to say, the dead were all autopsied, not after embalment of course.
And there are no Persidas fainting in Norway. Sure this is not a nice finding, but Pfizer clearly stated at the outset that they would be monitoring for two years.
Up to now transparency has been very high. And Covid is not getting nicer.
Thanks for the nice read, as always, Irineo. Mention of Persida brings back memories…
it’s always enjoyable to read Irineo’s articles, factually written and with passion.
seemingly, in care homes po, in norway and around the world, nearly 400 elderly residents died each week, most are nearing life end (palliative) and with complicated health issues.
because the the deaths, doctors are advise to use their discrepancies and evaluate each older patients whose bodies are maybe too frail to accept the pfizer vaccines, or too weak to withstand the side effects.
it’s maybe hard for doctors to tell elderly patients that they dont qualify for the vaccines them being just too old, too weak, at death’s door na po sila, their prognosis already being poor.
most older people are already depressive, gotta give them hope until their last breath.
Irineo, because you mention the dacera case kahit in passing, I’m going to speak out for women hard done by their gay husbands: there are gay men that are bisexual, married women and have children with them while at the same time cohabiting with male lovers. women, who have no idea their husbands are gay, are in agony and end up in therapy. they can understand their husbands leaving them for another woman, but for a man? hard for the children to understand too.
when people say gay men wont ‘touch’ women is maybe, fallacy. also gay men when drunk and no matter how drunk, kept their hands to themselves and away from women. that may not always be the case. drunk people kasi lose inhibitions. I’m often drunk too and sometimes do things I’m not proud of. once I was fined for trying to drag a boom gate across a bridge. passers by thought it was hilarious and paid my fine.
when people are drunk, they tend to lose inhibitions and commit crime.
Yeah but still wrong to tag exactly those who brought her to the hospital just because they are the first available suspects. As we see the case now with a parallel investigation by NBI is deepening. But the case was messed up from a forensic angle from the start so police credibility is more damaged now than it already was, the best way to truth is not drama and intimidation it is facts.
We can’t blame people for speculating so much on socmed though as the authorities are not trusted. It is like rumors during Martial Law were rife because no one really trusted the state controlled media then.
Whew I even knew of a Pinay with a daughter who left her husband for a lesbian Pinay, this was in an overseas Filipino community. And as for what crimes people can commit under alcohol or more, a lot is possible but one should not support witch hunting and scapegoating, proof is important is my point otherwise it can really go in any direction and create innocent victims, the lack of restraint in the Philippines when it comes to that is a bit shocking.
okay.
But these gays using their “friends” death for PR is also wrong, especially the Tiktok Video which is really obscene.
But then again the Philippines is Absurdistan so what do I really understand.
At some point we have to consider victim blaming as the most valid answer, and not vice versa. Look at the victim first.
Caveat, I have been in a scuffle myself having unknowingly gone to a gay bar/club with straight women (who thought it adventurous), only for the gay male patrons to physically attack the women we were with. My point here, like any group once with power and number, they’ll act like any other groups.
In the case of Ms. Dacera, those gay men were her friends; but Ms. Dacera herself as per CCTV footage was hot to trot that night. Maybe it wasn’t rape or as the Japanese say bukake, but one male dude at a time is enough to create the evidence in question. But the gay part here isn’t really as important as looking at
the victim first to see if any blame is warranted.
But agree with kasambahay that the Filipino gay problem is somewhat at the root of corruption there in the Philippines, like Ancient Greece or the Roman Republic, and why St. Paul so abhorred such practice.
Gay men there have power, period. Money turns straight dudes into gays. That usually turns into self loathing. which leads to what kasambahay described. Pederastry is alive and well in the Philippines. i would even say runs the country (for sure the entertainment industry).
But in the Ms. Dacera incident unimportant is the gay angle, IMHO.
The whole CCTV sequences do raise doubts, plus the gay friends of Ms. Dacera first saying the men in the other room were all old, ugly and gay, later it turned out not to be the case. In fact in one of their interviews it turned out the men in the other room were a totally different group than the original 11. The whole thing is weird and discrepancies between what cops said and evidence found, sloppy police work, makes it all much worse.
This is more about police not having evidence and just claiming stuff, which is why the investigation has moved to NBI which might work more professionally.
True.
And the whole thing about MDMA /ecstasy being also a rich Filipino kids fad there. There’s a reason sex parties serve MDMA. And why psychologists are moving away from MDMA for treatment, favoring true psychedelics like LSD, etc. instead.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/22/18628271/mdma-molly-ecstasy-drug-ptsd-therapy-mental-health
“There’s no question that MDMA is showing therapeutic promise and could potentially help a range of socially debilitating disorders, Heifets allows. But MDMA, an amphetamine derivative, can raise heart rate and blood pressure, which can prove dangerous for people with cardiac and vascular problems. Though ecstasy is almost never pure MDMA, recreational use can cause panic attacks. In rare cases, it can trigger psychosis in susceptible individuals, which is an unnerving experience ravers have shared on Reddit. Such risks, combined with its bad rap as a party drug, may limit its ability to help patients, Heifets cautions.”
So, no … ms. Dacera wasn’t raped, she just went out with a bang. IMHO, Ireneo.
Duterte to Senate: You want Pfizer, I will order them for you.
Oh well.
Thailand closed a deal with Astra Zeneca to be its regional hub.
Let Biotech and Pharmaceuticals be hubbed on Thailand because they are the regional leaders anyways.
They must do it fast or they can do it fast unlike here aside from red tape the decision making is either politicized or dramatized.
http://www.quezon.ph/2001/01/28/between-the-barricades/ – MLQ3s eyewitness account of what is now known as Edsa Dos
And of Edsa Tres: http://www.quezon.ph/2001/05/12/the-may-day-rebellion/
Kung sinugod nila Congress at Senate nung EDSA3 sila na yung orig na Capitol insurrection.
Baka di na napardon si Erap.
Sabihin na nating power grab lahat ng EDSA with Enrile as the common denominator.
Ang tindi naman nya kaya pala atat na ilaunch biography nya to take credit in all of them.
Napardon si Erap ni GMA, si GMA pinardon ni Duterte. I beg your pardon?
In every State of the Nation Address of Noy Noy , GMA was special mention I admit I was irritated but that is much better than a pretence of unity by not blaming past asministrations by Duterte.
People power fatigue? You do that today you will just be accused of inciting insurrection, anarchy and terrorism.
Palparan and company made dissenters diappear one by one, the predecessor of the Anti-Terror law was formulated and its counter balance of the international humanitarian law was more on war crimes making room for”lesser” abuse.
They said the 1987 constitution removed the teeth of Martial Law.
But the anti terror law gave it protheses or false teeth.
The sins of the parents should not be passed on to the children do not apply to the Marcoses!
Remember Davide?
https://opinion.inquirer.net/21463/enrile-and-the-davide-mystique
“But that only brings us to a sobering fact: Filipinos have short memories. Davide in 2001 was the toast of the town, the Inquirer’s Filipino of the Year, and in 2002, a Ramon Magsaysay laureate for government service. In 2003, he was impeached, saved only by the Court citing the one-year constitutional ban on a second impeachment. The real shocker is that those congressmen had the gall to even try. That they got so far shows that the adulation was vulnerable, the popularity precarious, the mystique fragile.”
a lot of great men and women spent time in jail. I was told that courage is not about the absence fear but forging ahead despite the fear.
and though not great, the infamous one in neck brace is so deserving of jail sentence, methink all the greatness her minions speak of pales in comparison to the neck brace, haha.
Karl, there are many valuable takeaways/lessons contained in this article of Judge Pangalangan. Thanks for sharing it.
Welcome.
Spoiler alert.
Irineo, Gian and myself started wotking on the people power series even before 2020 ended.
Edsas 2 and 3 were already tackled in today’s blog article and EDSA 1 will be submitted in a few days and to be published on or before EDSA 1’s 35th anniversary.
Thanks Karl, will be looking forward to that. This article of Irineo’s as well as others is a must read. I hope some educators use this as a reference or reading materials on their classes.
Welcome.
There is no doubt that Estrada is a crook, but so is Arroyo who is, on scale and degree, even worst.
So why was the attempt to oust Estrada successful, whereas Arroyo managed to serve out her two illegitimate terms?
Excellent question. And as jeep said in a comment to previous article, maybe EDSA Dos made Filipinos wary of doing People Power again. Many regretted whom they had put in place by 2004, Hello Garci and all of that.
Arroyo and allies call it : People Power Fatigue.
This malaise which prevents all but the few to walk out in protest, the masses’ attention of the moment is to survive, place rice on the table, and pray the police does not pick on them and decide their fates.
However and in the coming few months, the real breaking point of the masses won’t be just the pandemic but also the slowly sinking economy, with food supply chain breaking down and raising prices of produce.
Our tipping points are addressed by the PTB by giving tips before elections like the ones they give to barbers , waiters and specially parking boys if you do not want your car to be scratched.(or worse)
Arroyo belongs with Marcos and Enrile as master manipulators of our times. Her political survival would attest to that. With Erap, when push came to shove, his allies deserted him one by one. Arroyo surrounded herself with retired generals to shore up her admin. She also got lucky that after Edsa 2 and 3 – people got tired of protests and political instability. It also didn’t help that the strongest opposition at that time was FPJ who may have the best interest at that time, but the optics that FPJ will just be used by his handlers was what many people see. She capitalized on her strengths definitely, to the detriment of the Filipino people.
Also GMA sure knows how to keep her supporters happy or beholden to her. Anyone remember the Code-NGO bonds? I didn’t really know the exact details, but years later it will come out as one of the onerous deals done during the start of GMA’s admin. With that, the civil society that put Erap to task has no choice but to stay quiet.
Having Noli de Castro as VP was also brilliant! Impeachment just became not feasible, since big business would rather prefer her than have de Castro at the helm.
at one stage po, there was talk circulating that gma gave gift bags to senadores et al, each bag contained 5million pesos kuno. payment for them not to impeach her. I recalled an ex priest turned politician, had accepted the gift bag and showed to national t.v. the money therein. sadly, the ex priest did not stay long on the job.
Opo, sobrang dami anomalies during GMA’s time. Di mabilang, pero survivor po talaga. She really had her way with people. Sen Miriam Santiago, who was one of EDSA 3 movers, would later become her BFF and be one of her staunchest defenders as her administration went under siege.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/64597/bulacan-governor-also-wants-palace-to-explain-cash-gifts/story/
Panlilio and Mendioza must have gotten an “explanation”, the issue died down.
What about the other governors?
No strings attached! HAHAHAHA!
https://madyaaspen.blogspot.com/2006/12/gma-gives-p20p50-thousand-cash-gift.html?m=1
“Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez insisted that there were no strings attached in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s cash gifts to governors and town mayors during her visit here in Iloilo City last week.
“There was no political color in it,” said Perez as she confirmed receiving it, too, over last week’s popular public affairs program Reklamo Publiko.
“What’s wrong receiving Christmas gifts from President Arroyo? This is a time for sharing,” she emphasized.”
reminiscence of the trojan horse, it was also a gift – with very dire consequences.
Those Greeks and their gifts.
Greeks have been shipping magnates until recently.
The Arroyo’s pal Razon is a port and casino magnate who was said to be the white knight for Manila water when Duterte made the Ayalas a target of his rants.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/opinion.inquirer.net/127470/friendly-oligarchs-and-the-bully-pulpit/amp
===
Galit daw sa oligarchs si Duterte. Ows!
ay, marami po siyang galit! maraming hindi kasundo. if changing the constitution makes him more affable, he can think again!
Speaking of kagalit.
There is a faction who do not like Sara because she disagrees with them a lot and vice versa.
It is well documented that EDSA 2 had a faction who did not want Gloria to be the successor and some had remorse and even Cory apologized to Erap, but the rest is history in the making.
being mayor, sara is where her father is 20 odd yrs ago. sort of give us idea what sort of president she is likely to be. father knows best talaga, being president is not for women, said that to his daughter’s face too. harap-harapan.
the other faction must be happy.
Moving forward now, it looks like we’re going to have a President Bongbong by 2022. How’s that for a middle finger to all that’s been trumpeted about EDSA?
https://manilastandard.net/mobile/article/344272
Bongbong, Isko strong bets for 2022—surveys
—–
Some strong contenders never became champions.
Some strong bets keep on losing to underdogs or stronger bets
Besides that mad Northern family lusting after the Palace as if it’s their “lost imperial property”, and that matinee mayor shaped to be another messiah, of course this Mainland-made powerbank makes it clear who’s going to run for both president and veep, despite their vehement denials:
Either the opposition needs to name viable candidates, even if they’re would be from the progressives, or next year’s elections will be just a sham, or a beauty pageant for mobsters as someone I know described it best.
If Leni decide to run, let her be the only opposition bet and let the other admin prospects annoint themselves to divide the votes.
There are rumors that Leni would not run for president and concentrate on Cam Sur. ML do you know how true?
@madla
Well, I don’t know about the Davao hubris but a Bongbong-Inday Sara team looks like a sure winner.
Are you rooting for them or just saying that they are unbeatable?
It’s not about admiration but the likelihood, and it’s chilling.
Very chilling.
Scary indeed. Surely helps to have billions of ill-gotten wealth and intelligence funds at disposal. Sad reality.
Sad that money talks loudly.
To add, in a corrupt society like ours, upright public servants are at extreme disadvantage. You not just run against moneyed corrupt opponents but also against rent-seeking oligarchs who just wants status-quo.
Agree.
best endorsement or worst endorsement: what makoy sr said of makoy jr, he has good muscle coordination.
which reminds me of childhood rhyme: good, better, best, may you never rest . . .
Muscle coordination: At first I thoght you werw talking about athleticism until I googled forca Marcos sex tape.
Results turned up for Marcos Sr. Oh never mind.
I just hope Leni would still run for presidency.
The story is that Marcos Sr said Imee is intelligent while Bongbong has good muscle coordination.
Thanks!
I found this.
thanks, guys. you really know how to research. . . . good, better, best, you are never best . . . surprisingly, makoy sr did not update his observation re makoy jr. decades came and went, hanggang good lang pala ang muscles ni junior, never best. ay, father knows best talaga.
always been a wonder to me why makoy sr did not write a lengthy letter to only son and heir makoy jr as sort of last farewell, gaya ng ginawa ni ninoy to son benigno. something for makoy jr to wagayway years later, his father’s full endorsement.
that being missing, uulitin ko uli: good, better, best, you are never best then I’ll raise half a glass of suntory to makoy jr’s pic.
Drink moderation only or else you will hear the picture shout Kampai!
Muscle coordination fails you when inebriated so a frown might look like a smile because as they say smiling takes less effort.
picture paints a thousand words, a thousand lives broken, a thousand days of mourning, he will not be best. not even miriam and infamous her jokes could give him that which he covets the most.
https://upd.edu.ph/statement-of-the-upd-chancellor-on-the-unilateral-termination-of-the-up-dnd-agreement/
The Diliman commune also has its anniversary soon, 50th.
The old UP-DND agreement was unilaterally terminated by Lorenzana.
UP is not even oligarch and got treated like abs-cbn.
methink, there are people in UP that helped destroy ex chief justice sereno’s few missing salns, pandering to duterte et al. they have leverage at kung lalantad man sila, now would be good time. tit for tat.
Pag mainit Deny to death si lolo.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1386001/duterte-not-consulted-on-decision-to-end-up-dnd-accord-says-palace
never too late for consultation, lolo can call lorenzana and sit down with him. speak up man, what’s up with UP? students give you the trots?
https://opinion.inquirer.net/137128/military-tries-agitprop
“The Diliman Commune long ago became the Diliman Cocoon. To be sure, the UP of old has long been on shaky ground, not only due to attrition (the aging, and retiring, of its Commune- and martial law-era faculty) but also to sheer demographic change. The status of UP as an imagined community of academic freedom open to all (except, that is, to “state forces”) by at least a decade ago had become a concept honored more in the breach. The proliferation of informal settler communities around it led faculty and neighbors alike to feel thoroughly bourgeois fear—of pickpockets, abductors and rapists, drug addicts and intruders—leading to checkpoints, identification cards, the creation and closing of gates, and other interventions in the name of order and security that would have been anathema a generation or more ago.
The university has always claimed, and rightly so, to be a microcosm of our broader society, and as that society shifted to the right, so it seemed that the university was headed in the same direction. There was widespread celebration when, at times seemingly to the surprise of those actively campaigning for it, the antiestablishment traditions held out and won. It turns out, there would be a round two, and that is the defense establishment turning back the clock by scrapping its agreement with the university on the intrusion of state forces into campuses.
Conscientious lawyers have pointed out that the 1989 agreement between the University of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense has no escape clause, which means it cannot be unilaterally revoked as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana recently did.”
UP Diliman with its over 600 hectares (Intramuros is about a tenth that size) always was a town within a town, a world of its own. But yes I did hear not too long ago that there is now a wall or a fence separating Balara, for instance.
Military or PNP entering UP does remind many of Martial Law, when many a professor or student was ABCed – Aguinaldo, Bonifacio, Crame were the places they were brought to. Sometimes even transferred without telling their families until they were there to visit. Fort Bonifacio of course doesn’t exist anymore.
Lorenzana is polarizing Philippine society again.
Not yet done, it is PUP’s turn.
Duterte not being consulted is hogwash.
I hate to call him this but Lorenzana is turning into an Enrile wannabe.
The difference is Enrile had his private Arny(of active military men) train in Quezon and Sierra Madre under the noses of Ver and hopefully Lorenzana is not into that even if it is a RAM reboot.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1386348/pup-accord-with-dnd-also-faces-termination
I thought lorenzana would come up with supporting data, monthly tally of how many UP students have actually been found dead in govt encounters or captured in govt operatives. and show evidence students were indeed recruited in UP and not outside UP, when and by whom.
parents did try to claw back sons and daughters from joining such perceived activities, but supreme court ruled their sons and daughters are already of age to live their own lives and decide what is good for them.
Like the Ms. Dacera incident with ecstasy and out weighed male to female ratio,
you also must consider that college students the world over tend to join protests or “movements” precisely because of its aphrodisiac affects, kasambahay.
Thus parents keeping their college age kids in order to not partake is like the Catholic Church saying go with cervical mucus technique instead. Yuck!
Same-same with why Olympic village in any olympic year is a f’ck fest.
My point, is that most of it is just excuse to mate. And that’s really difficult to counter, so DU30 is better off I think hosting raves. Let out some steam.
she was naked and trapped in the bathroom, wanting to get out and banging her fists at the locked door. because questions might be asked at the lobby at the state she was woefully in, her fate was thus decided.
That is your hypothesis, for me the account that she slept in the bathtub because she did not want to vomit in the bed, was still sleeping normally at ten and at around noon she was no longer breathing is just as believable.
There is a picture of her “talking to the toilet” and flashing a V sign timestamped 6:37 or so and the CCTV sequence shows her being carried but still opening the door around 6:33 which match that account.
Plus there is CCTV footage all over the Net which shows one of her roommates opening the door in shock around noon, some minutes later someone comes with a wheelchair and they take her out.
Suspicious though: a sequence around 7 a.m. where one of her roommates is quarreling in the hallway with a probably straight guy (my intuition) from the other room. This is a separate sequence.
There is also a scene around 9 a.m. where one guy leaves the room Ms. Dacera is in fully dressed an with luggage – shown on the ABS-CBN CCTV footage leak but not on the PTV one, why I wonder?
I am cautious not to jump to conclusions. If NBI is working properly they will find the truth or an idea of it, possibly. There is also a sequence shown in more detail of in the wee hours or so where she quarrels with someone in the other room and her roommates bring her back. And there is also the clear footage where those in the other room leave around 7:30 a.m. – all this is indeed weird.
This was the alleged sequence at 6:41 according to some Twitter posters:
Of course the entire footage from 11 p.m. to next day noon is mostly empty hallway, so what is weird is how different parts of the footage leaked out at different times and how different groups of people may have been in possession of it – assuming the hours are all authentic of course. Add to that statements and retractions, some discrepancies and sloppy investigation and one wonders why certain things leaked at certain points. Cui bono, to whose benefit, is the question one may ask. In such a possible crime case, and of course in important historical events. Hopefully NBI is piecing together the timeline and relationships of the people involved. Seems they are checking mobile phone data as well.
Back to the blog article.
“Where there is Gold, there is Blood” is very true. It is a mine field.
We are not yet a failed state like what will happen to Sudan if things would not change.
Africa without the warlords is trying its best to get out if their quicksand.
We will get our of our own tar pit somehow.
No to damn revisionism. Especially the benignzero revisionism.
Report him, he is no more different from MAGA fanatics.
Australia does not deserve this kind of exported garbage.
Do the honors.
Done. More people should be aware that he makes as much garbage as Uson, Banat and TP.
Thanks.
karl,
I just read this. And this subject is at the heart of the UP and AFP stuff you posted on above.
Essentially it’s about freedom of speech.
madlanglupa is of course wrong. Again the only way to protect freedom of speech is to allow all speech, and not play the censor role (whether gov’t censorship or narc’ing on others , etc.)
The ACLU has had it correct , until recently, where they always protected dissenting speech mostly the right to assemble in public. The 1910s ACLU to now has changed. Most don’t understand that Voltaire’s I’LL DIE FOR YOUR RIGHT TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION EVEN IF I DON’T AGREE (sumthing like that… )
for example, the conspiracy theory that these new Corona vaccines are means of mind control, if gov’ts use that conspiracy theory we’ll have less problem with these shortages. every idea is useful, if purposed and re-purposed is the point.
As to “Fake History” above, history’s like religion karl, unless there is solid proof, then its all open to interpretation hence Voltaire again was right, instead of madlanglupa complaining to twitter or to gov’t (when friendly to her point of view that is 😉 ), why
not dissect said ‘Fake History’, or spread countering opinion to balance out said problematic opinion?
Instead the default now is cancel culture. You can’t wish these things away. You have to keep them open and in view. That was always Voltaire’s stance. and the basis of the 1st amendment here,
but its easy to forget.
History is often a big whodunit. You will have different statements and accounts, the equivalent of witness statements in a criminal case, you might have old fotos, footage or videos, the equivalent of the CCTV sequences in the Dacera case, you will have different documents and will have to weigh them based on what POV the ones who wrote them are likely to have taken.
Finally you will have to see how relevant all of it is. Watched this about Rizal’s possible retraction of masonry before his execution by Prof. Chua, he analyzes the different sources and matches their timelines like a detective, including the visitor log of the guards at Fort Santiago, also puts the 1950s POV of Rizal in the context of how the Catholic Church saw him (Chua is Protestant BTW) and gives an idea of how hard it is to find some degree of truth.
Prof. Chua and his mentor, my father, will see Edsa Dos and Tres diametrically opposed, even if there is a core of facts both will HAVE to agree upon as pros.
Chua marched on EDSA 2, my father never recognized GMA as the new President. I for my part shook my head in Germany and thought OK Filipinos I don’t get why you are putting yourselves through all of this, what for?
I prefer to look at the nuanced views like those of MLQ3 who is quite good at dissecting the different social groups in the Philippines, their origins, values, prejudices and interests, because such a dispassionate analysis seems to me closer to the truth than any hero or villain stories. The economic aspect is also very important, which is why I juxtaposed the view that neolib was at fault (Walden Bello and Micha) with the view that certain policies were wrong (that could be a neolib view for all I know). Benignzero is just ranting IMO without putting together much of an argument. The debate in the other post about Masagana 99 (a Marcos program) was way more substantial BTW. Similar debates about what PNoy did well and what not would be just as useful. Finding out who is a hero or a villain is quite boring to me. Of course there are the facts like who stole the most – so far Marcos and Erap. Or the fact that the middle class was in economic trouble from 1983 onwards, something MLQ3 mentions. There are so many facets to people and why they do things.
Also apparently freedom to have spam on private forums yet people still give me captchas to hamper my free speech.
Conspiracies are useful just like how at the start of the pandemic, the “masks aren’t useful” rhetoric didn’t help spread the pandemic even more.
K.
Captchas hamper free speech. 😂🤣😂 Private companies or even public organizations use them to protect against those who would abuse open access. They are like fences with gates. They prevent marauders from roaming freely, I suppose. Yes, there is that restraint on freedom.
Let us not forget the purveyor of fake news.Mocha Uson.
https://r3.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/185560-mocha-uson-posts-news
“In a Senate hearing on fake news, Uson claimed she is a victim of fake news – even though she herself has been accused of spreading disinformation on social media.”
On the other hand it is better to forget this attention w_ore, now she is trying too hard too show that she is not preggers.
https://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/1966/07/16/from-yeh-yeh-to-go-go-july-16-1966/ – Nick Joaquin
..It is a hoary chestnut that we Filipinos ape the appearance but miss the essence of our Western borrowings. Our youngsters, for instance, think that a mop of hair and a guitar suffice to turn them into Beatles—and we deplore the imitation. Yet the qualities that make the Beatles so inescapable a fact of our times are the very qualities that we need to get us moving—like the delight in doing what everybody else is not doing, or the irreverence for mores & manners, or the urge to be singular, spontaneous, original, new, or the courage to be unconventional, unpleasant, outside, not with it. These are the qualities that make the Beatles so attractive to a Westerner, that make them such authentic exemplars of modern nonconformism, of the disillusion with the old rules by which men lived. But we and our mop-haired would-be Beatles have no idea of that spirit of rebellion, of that taste for spontaneity.
Philippine values are held values; the scene at the airport was of a herd driving out the odd, the rum, the singular, the outrageous, the maverick, the new. It was a gesture of the Conformist Community, the Conventional Society.
Culture has been invoked to justify the tar-and-feathers. Those who look down their noses at the Beatles as mere mass cult and noise may do well to ponder if what’s deemed vulgarity by delicate souls may not really be the same kind of vitality yawping from art forms once considered low and vulgar but now revered as high culture—like the English ballad, Italian opera, and Negro jazz.
Anyway, the Beatles’ place in culture, whether pop or snob, is secure. Their two films are already classics; and it’s a very safe bet that some of their “noises”—beat madrigals like “If I Fell” and “Yesterday” and “The Night Before”—will outlive, will outlast any number of symphonies or sonatas or other long-hair stuff being written today that might just as well have been written in some other era. But the Beatles speak the language of now; they’re instant; they affirm. Their yeh yeh is in the spirit of the biblical yeah. At a time when the gravediggers seemed to be taking over the world they burst forth accentuating the affirmative. The people, yes. John Lennon said it in a memorable passage: “The Bomb? Nuclear disarmament? Well, like everybody else I don’t want to end up a festering heap, but I don’t stay up nights worrying. I’m preoccupied with Life, not Death.”
How could they not flop in a land which only wants not to be disturbed, not to change, not to be shocked? Having made a career of outrageousness, they have taken for granted that any audience that asks for them is asking to be outraged. If they made a mistake in Manila, the mistake is flattering to us: they assumed we were in the same league. But they were Batman in Thebes.
Having said that, one feels free to feel outraged at whoever organized their show in Manila, the staging of which belonged to the primitive days of vaudeville. Outrageousness is not the same as stupidity. And stupid is too mild a word for backward incompetence. Even in Thebes..
“How could they not flop in a land which only wants not to be disturbed, not to change, not to be shocked?”
Amazing how true this still is.
I am still not used to your short comments but they are golden nuggets.
There was someone who commented as Francis with a different avatar, but I doubt it was you.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2019/11/16/opinion/columnists/bayan-vs-the-elite/656252/
“This shouldn’t be construed as a clear-cut dichotomy. That the elites are all bad and the bayan are always correct. And that there are complications or in between. But even in recent history, the struggle between EDSA Dos (2) or EDSA Tres (3), or even how intellectuals, who by education had become elites albeit not in a financial sense, but in culture and consciousness, sneeringly call Duterte voters “bobotante.” Irineo Salazar also shows the complication when the elite infiltrates the bayan through rhetoric for their own gain (so it doesn’t mean that if one speaks like bayan, they are bayan).
The goal, according to Salazar, is to build the “talastasang bayan,” or national discourse, where people talk about things that have “saysay” to them, but this can only be done if we use the same language and concepts. This is why to reach the bayan, we should develop Filipino as an intellectual language and the language of government and economy since this, by default and historical processes, is the language that most Filipinos understand, while also developing local languages.
And hopefully, in time, we will reduce the gap and just maybe, bridge the gap between the elite and the bayan to form a truly united Filipino nation, isang sambayanang Pilipino.”
Xiao and myself had a conversation about this in 2019, which is why he quoted me. What I meant was that some who talk and act like the people – like Dutz – are not necessarily acting in people’s interests. They may even be culturally from the people like Pacquiao but that doesn’t make them better, I would rather trust woke people from the elites than the likes of Pacquiao. I later told Xiao the divide nowadays is not that simple anymore, seems there are many crossovers. Rich people who speak Filipino but are matapobre like Cynthia Villar. Socially conscious Ingleseros like Romano Cortes Jorge.
The Salazar meant in the second para quoted is my father. Where I do agree is that is has become hard to reach the people with concepts like “rule of law”, “human rights” and “democracy” nowadays. This is where I add the analysis of Manolo Quezon that the old and new middle classes were educated differently and for the DDS crowd from the new middle class the concepts mean little.
@Irineo
A change in language is not going to breach the socio-economic divide. That can only be done by decisive political action and shift in policy orientation.
Cynthia Villar epitomizes a savage insecure elite always on guard for possible upturning. She knows they’ve built their castles on shaky grounds.
This is short but a real gem.
I forgot the link. Maybe Karl knows. There was a new yorker piece I read that essentially says that as diversity starts to invade the elite places like boardrooms and country clubs, there has been rising insecurity among WASPs. This has created an elite that is less for social justice because it is no longer an abstract concern. It is essentially at their doorsteps.
The 2nd World War and Martial Law have essentially created the perpetual savage insecure elite.
A few thoughts on this.
How can we reduce the insecurity?
How can we mend the broken social contract between the various classes and actors in our society?
(My implicit assumption here is that no revolution both from the Left or the Right happens. If I have to bet on it the revolution from the Right is more probable and probably would succeed, albeit temporarily)
What is the societal flyball governor present here that regulates the societal pressures that may cause implosion or explosion? Are we fucking that part of our society up? If that is the case do we expect chaos in a few months? years?
The divide is no longer just about money, social justice, or any injustice, but back to that ever permanent self-interest.
The temporary glue has always been the enemy of my enemy is whatever.
That enemy may not necessarily be a person.
in this modern times po, very rich and insecure people hire consultants, lawyers, publicists, life coaches, etc, to make them on top of the game. have influential friends too and with the right connections to who’s who in society, hard for them to make wrong move. and if they do make wrong move, their plethora of workers smooth things out for them.
one time greek tycoon aristotle onassis was said to be very insecure man, of low birth and not highly educated but his mega wealth opened doors for him, had army of troubleshooters: accountants, bankers, lawyers, etc. and to give himself more status, was rumored to bed only top women among them eva peron, the famed opera singer maria callas was his mistress, then got the highest scoop by marrying john f kennedy’s widow, jackie kennedy.
I watched his bio story when I was a kid. Will search for it again.
Off-topic. Fyi. https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/01/29/2073759/dbp-lends-p417-billion-local-shipbuilder
Megawide Builders builds for the Navy/Marines.
Many thanks Joe. I am glad that we are starting to realize our potential.
we have just gotta be careful, our not so friendly neighbor china has turned rouge and will now fire (as in burn into kindling? or fire as in torpedo?) on any maritime vessels in west phil sea now supposedly territory of china. unless our vessels go under chinese flag instead of our own flag, we are likely to see action.
Yes, it seems flash points exist in India, Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. Australia is boiling but not a flash condition, I think.
If Oz has not yet reached boiling point at least it is in a heated argument in twitter.
https://amp.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3112880/australias-twitter-row-china-no-surprise-who-west-sides
Yes, but it’s not over territories, so less chance of someone shooting.
less chance of someone shooting, with china? expect the worst and it could well get worst. we’re in the firing line, china kasi is already ensconced in our eez, exclusive economic zone. as well, vietnamese, taiwanese, etc are also there, fishing. if china fires on them, there could well be oil spill kilometers long and causing environmental damage where fishes are killed and fishing ground compromised. oil spill might even be washed on our shores and boracay could well be polluted, then tourism suffers.
if ships are torpedoed and sunk, dead sailors o fishermen could well be washed to our shores and since dead fishermen dont carry documents with them, our country will have logistic nightmare ID-ing them, contacting neighboring countries to help ID the dead sailors for repatriation.
and if ligaw na chinese missiles hit puerto princessa, other cities and towns, there will be casualties and buildings will be damage.
who will pay for the clean up of oil spills, the internment of dead sailors in our mortuaries until their IDs are ascertained, the rebuilding of our cities and towns hit by ligaw na chinese missiles?
teddy locsin sent protest letter kuno. weakly worded, I presume. dapat sinabi po ni teddy na in case of the above mentioned eventualities, our country will be expecting compensation.
at sana po, senate president sotto will invite the chinese ambassor to the senate upang magpaliwanag ng husto what the new maritime law is really about. at the moment parang blind men and the elephant lang kasi tayo, each of us assuming what the chinese law entails and like the blind men, none of us could be right.
ano ba ito? chinese research ship off catanduanes refused phil coast guard from entering their ship because of pandemic kuno. por bida, our coast guards have ppes and don on safety gears as most coast guards do when boarding foreign ships at time of pandemic.
refused us entry in our own territory? pcg have good reason to enter foreign ships and check for contrabands like cigarettes, tainted pork lalo nang there is outbreak of asf in our country, illegal covid vaccines, as well as illegal drugs, etc, being dumped and sold in our markets. the check for contraband takes less than 2hrs to 4hrs in most cases.
and seen those two big whitish globes on the chinese ship? those are very high tech radars, methink. a chinese research ship carrying very high tech radars and yet their radars cannot tell the difference between good weather and bad weather? namasilong lang daw kuno yong chinese ship, took shelter because of bad weather when locals said there was good weather at the time. nahuli kasi, kaya blame the weather.
methink, chinese radars jammed our ‘eyes and ears’ yata but not uncle sam’s eyes and ears, and we got alerted of the chinese’s presence.
in the end, our pcg ended up checking documents na lang and not hidden and illegal cargoes, the proceeds are maybe used by the chinese to fund their own research.
Yes, a bit of a weak show there, bowing to the masters in our territory.
@giancarlo
This could provide some answers:
https://evonomics.com/why-does-inequality-produce-high-crime-and-low-trust/
Petty the precarious elite committing white collar crimes.
Thanks for the clarification.
I think there is a limitation to the (westernized) elite vs. (anti-western) bayan model.
“Bayan” is not homogenous. My first hypothesis is that the “anti-western” part of our society can be split into the new middle classes (who weren’t socialized with liberal democratic values, as pointed out by MLQ III) and the masa (“masses”) proper. I think this is a very neglected distinction because the new middle classes like portraying themselves as the “true” spokespersons of the masa, or even the masses themselves.
It is important to be aware that the new middle classes are not the same as the masses.
I believe that the new middle classes are the most “ideological” and “hardline” DDS while the masses are the more “pragmatic” and “fairweather” DDS.
For instance, it is a DDS from the new middle class who will have the time and luxury to be seriously invested in “anti-Dilawan” conspiracy theories on social media. It is a new middle class DDS who will take sincere joy in Duterte disciplining the unruly (poor, drug addicts) and the dangerous (activists) on the streets. It is from this new middle class that form the ranks of the blogger-propagandists.
Meanwhile, the masses’ support of DDS strike me as a mixture of genuine belief (like the new middle class) in Duterte—and (different from the new middle class) resigned desperation. It is often the poor DDS who say: “Maawa po kayo Presidente. Naghihingi po kami ng tulong.” Have mercy on us, we are asking for your help.
In a way, you can extend this split between “hardline” rich DDS and “fairweather/soft” poor DDS to describe the split between the commitment of the new middle classes/pro-reactionary petit burgis and the commitment of the masses to reactionary values in general.
Look at the recent survey of presidentiables. BBM (a standard-bearer for Filipino reactionary politics) has his highest numbers among the ABC, not the D or E.
Look at past surveys. Leni has the highest numbers among the less educated and rural populations.
Look at the January assault on Capitol Hill. Lots of poor white Americans in opioid-ridden communities struck hard by de-industrialization voted for Trump—out of hopelessness, out of resigned desperation. But who was present at Capitol Hill? Who could afford all the tacti-cool gear? Realtors. CEOs. Lawyers. Businessmen.
Trump’s highest base of support is not the working class, but petit burgis (middle class) that became middle class without college education. The car dealers and whatnot.
Fascism is led by the reactionary segments of the middle class.
For liberal values to succeed, the masses must be split from the reactionary middle class.
For liberal values in the Philippines to succeed—those advocating for such must embrace populism.
And I believe that only economic populism paired with liberal democracy (a Filipino “New Deal”) can triumph over Duterte’s stingy “penal populism.” @Micha is giving the right prescription.
Only an economic populism that believes in giving generous aid to the struggling ordinary Filipino, to the small business in the red—can triumph over a sadistic penal populism that generates popularity through “tough-on-crime” action that disproportionately victimizes the poor.
That’s the chink in the armor Duterte’s populism. I remember from a talk I attended when I was taking up political science in my undergraduate years that Duterte’s populism was really more aesthetic than substantial. In Latin America, populism really meant populism: populism really meant the government giving generously to the people. Curiously, Duterte’s “populism” involved no generous welfare for the people—just bullets for drug addicts.
This has continued even up to the pandemic. We have the Duterte admin not passing ARISE (strongly supported by the VP) which would have given hundreds of billions *each* for workers and for MSMEs alone. We have a NEDA Acting Secretary dismissing the need for additional stimulus since anyway, consumer confidence is low and people can’t go to the malls.
I think Filipinos should be strongly reminded of just how hollow the “populism” of Duterte really is. That the little they got (if they got anything at all) was undeserved—they deserved far, far, far more from their government. And they should reminded exactly of how much they should have got.
Pierce that chink in the armor, and maybe 2022 will mean a return to a hopeful liberal democratic vision.
A “Filipino New Deal.”
Micha, et al.
I just watched the Netflix film adaptation of The White Tiger, and this quote made me think a lot about the Philippines and Filipinos in general.
I thought the film could’ve been about the Philippines and it would’ve been precise.
It reminded me a bit of the Filipino movie Live Show, in its subversiveness (a notion that escapes plenty Filipinos minds apparently). One of many pirate DVDs I bought whilst there. But bar none the best Filipino film I ‘ve ever seen.
I ‘m reading Steven Nadler’s “Think Least of Death”, so the notion of freedom, a free man, tied to White Tiger beautifully. I hope more Filipinos watch White Tiger.
@lcplx
Will put it on queue, seems interesting. India, like the Philippines, is full of human tragedy and drama. Wonder how Modi handled those striking farmers.
An aside, I was thinking you might have been one of those Visigoths who stormed Miss Nancy’s office at the capitol, no?
Hahaha! I wondered, too!!
Nah, that whole thing seemed counter productive. But I did read somewhere that the My Pillow guy was buying tickets for folks. Had I gotten that info … maybe. LOL!
But seriously, I’m more focused on homelessness and the whole EDD fiasco here in CA than some DC symbolic crap. Though remember the folks that stormed police stations during the summer, did stay to loot and burn, while the folks that stormed the US capitol just left when asked nicely. Two different crowds.
I think more similar to John Hannocks (and Sam Adams) Tea Party, meaning staged and just for show, than the actual impassioned violence wrought upon police stations back in the summer. That was real violence. US capitol just symbolic, thus response afterwards overkill, by not having a proper inaugeration , they won. But then again My Pillow guy is gonna be cancelled so , libs win too.
Re homelessness and EDD both related in that incentives is to bring money in full circle, both inside scams. Separate scams though, EDD is one time but no doubt stems from said agency; whilst homelessness is policy type scam in which incentivises local gov’ts to set up “housing” the homeless programs which really just returns the money back to state coffers (ie. individual madarins departments, much like the prison scam). imean fix the homeless problem by building $500,000 dollar houses???!!!
That red bag in White Tiger also echoed CA’s “democracy”. But that’s difference here its a lot more complex (corruption is) things are hidden, India (i’ve never been) and the Philippines its blatant. That’s White Tiger. But the deeper aspect of it is Think Least of Death, ie. Spinoza’s
“In the Ethics, Spinoza presents his vision of the ideal human being, the “free person” who, motivated by reason, lives a life of joy devoted to what is most important—improving oneself and others. Untroubled by passions such as hate, greed, and envy, free people treat others with benevolence, justice, and charity. Focusing on the rewards of goodness, they enjoy the pleasures of this world, but in moderation. “The free person thinks least of all of death,” Spinoza writes, “and his wisdom is a meditation not on death but on life.”
An unmatched introduction to Spinoza’s moral philosophy, Think Least of Death shows how his ideas still provide valuable insights about how to live today.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691183848/think-least-of-death
It’s a good movie, abundant sub-plots to ponder on.
Did you like that quote where Balram says,
In India there’s only two ways a poor man can escape, crime or politics. LOL!
True. And that’s an indictment of the system.
And those who resist the reform (if not the abolition) of this unjust system, in India or in the Philippines, are complicit in this cruelty against the poor
‘cuz in the Philippines … it’s just crime and entertainment. LOL!
I forgot to say, both crime and entertainment in the Philippines have to bow down to politics , thus not really a means to get out. Entertainment is screwed two ways, literally thru pederasty (ie. sodomy), and figuratively.
Micha, do you think a storming the Capitol (or Malacanang) scenario ever happen in the Philippines? I mean, w/ powerful individuals and their protectors still inside. Because White Tiger was pretty clear about what the servants must do to their masters.
Mendiola Bridge just outside the palace gate used to be the favorite staging ground of protests.
https://xiaochua.net/2021/01/26/my-edsa-dos-and-tres-diaries/
“..I, with the whole nation, watched the senators voted. The opening of the Second Envelope would determine if the account was really the president’s. I thought that the senator-judges would like to know the truth just like how eager the Filipino people is to know the truth. At last, we would know…
But eleven senator-judges voted not to open the envelope. Those who would like to open the envelope were outnumbered, na “onse” ang bayan! At that moment, I began cursing the eleven with all my heart! Those bastards… “mga p*t*ng in* nila!” The president might have betrayed the public trust…in secret, but these eleven have betrayed the public trust in [front of] our very eyes! What a shame. I lost my trust with the senate as an impeachment court because the eleven voted for partisanship, not for the truth. I really cursed them, I really hated them!
Because of his “yes to open” vote, Sen. Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel resigned as Senate President. The senators who voted with him cried. I cried with them. It was the death of truth and justice in this country.
As the senator-judges who voted “no to open” celebrated, Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta even danced awfully in the halls of the senate. What would his brother Ninoy Aquino say if he was alive today. The people were so furious! They lost hope in the impeachment trial. They would be so happy to bring the trial…to the streets!
As early as 11:00 pm that same night, two hours after the senate’s decision, many people were already in the streets and had a noise barrage simultaneously in Metro Manila. I was still watching TV then. I could hardly sleep. I was so concerned.
This is revolution!!!..”
This is revolution!!!
Oh Kristo, it was a coup, a power grab against a sitting (albeit corrupt) President.
Nothing noteworthy changed after Gloria took the oath in Ortigas. Yes, the actions of JOE’S COHORTS were revolting but there really was no credible or effective underlying ideological shift in the system of governance for it to be called a revolution.
We’re having our 2nd one here! LOL!
Romney wants to vote for it, I doubt the other Republican senators are as eager. But the US Senate must fully explain how indicting Trump during this go round will legally prevent him from running in 2024. I think you have to convict him in real court and actually send him to prison for the duration of 2024.
2024 looms hard over the GOP’s head,
The number of black rappers Trump pardoned; plus Israel’s final Peace in the Middle East with the Gulf states now fully recognizing it, plus the fact that the central American caravan is literally held up in Guatemala instead of Tijuana. That s the black, Hispanic and Jewish vote.
The purpose of the 2nd impeachment needs to be clarified. Can Trump run again in 2024??? If Sen. Romney gets his way?
Those bastards… “mga p*t*ng in* nila!” 😉
Trumpism is essentially animated racism. MAGA is actually MAWA – Make America White Again.
To the extent that that will find an audience among the disenfranchised white Americans, Trump will continue to milk it and get the donations flowing. But as a person, Trump is done, finished, kaput, finito. He’ll be facing bankruptcies, lawsuits left and right, no bank is ever going to lend to his businesses anymore, he’s been stripped of his megaphone, and his enemies are ready to pounce.
As a human being, he’s just a disgusting narcissistic psychopath that needs an asylum..
Whether you’re correct in the racism/racist tendencies of the MAGA/MAWA movement , Micha , is beside the point.
MAGA grew, hence why the GOP was taken a back. It grew its Jewish, black and Hispanic supporters, I think from reasons i’ve outlined above, but hard to say that Balram (loving to be a servant) thing is going on also. That psychoanalysis I can see applying to blacks and Hispanics,
but not the Jewish growth re MAGA, they own the law firms and finance companies, and Hollywood, though the Bible (Torah) is all about the White Tiger character arc, Micha.
My point was that under Trump , Jewish, black and Hispanic votes (albeit mostly males) grew to pro Trump. Thus the necessity (Dems and Romney) for this 2nd amendment even though Trump’s already out of office.
ie., to ensure he doesn’t return, but my point in my original comment, that is not also sure there’s no caveat that a President who’s been impeach cannot run again for a separate term.
p.s. —– The Trumps did something past administrations never bothered doing listened to Oman, & i’ve been on record here as saying Oman (because of their more quietist Islam though still conservative, ie. Filipinos get to go to church there… plenty of Filipino servants working for the US embassy there by the way, as well as out in the general population).
https://jiss.org.il/en/krasna-israel-and-the-gulf-states-some-things-change-some-stay-the-same/
Oman: What Role for the Middleman?
Oman is a unique country within the Middle East. While a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), it has for many years based its foreign policy on neutrality and on offering its good offices as a mediator. It has reportedly tried to mediate in the Qatari and Yemeni crises; in the past it held secret (unsuccessful) talks during the Iran-Iraq War and after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and has negotiated the release of hostages. This is partly based on religious principles (Oman pursues a quietist form of Islam known as Ibadism), as well as on its long history as a neutral trading entrepot on the far margin on the Arab World.10 In addition, “[t]he Omanis sit between Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. If the sultan or his successor cannot maintain the balance among these countries, Oman may well get sucked into conflicts its leadership has sought to avoid”.11
Oman has been a quiet but consistent opponent of Saudi hegemonic behavior in the Gulf, including opening its ports to Qatar after the imposition of the Saudi-led embargo on it. Oman has not participated in the Saudi-led interventions in Bahrain in 2011 nor in Yemen since 2015, and has not been involved in the war in Syria. It has good relations with Iran, and was the key intermediary in facilitating the Iranian contacts with the U.S. that developed into the JCPOA in 2015, including hosting secret U.S.-Iranian talks in 2013. It is worth noting that Oman, which has only small reserves of oil and gas, is in a tenuous economic position: Major credit agencies have downgraded Omani debt over the last year. It has however, benefitted substantially from the embargo on Qatar, becoming a shipping, logistics and air hub for the encircled peninsular emirate; It is also planning a gas pipeline to receive Iranian gas.12
Israeli ties with Oman are not new: security ties began in the 1970’s, when Israel, with Britain and the Shah of Iran, is reported to have helped Sultan Qaboos defeat the rebellion in the Dhofar. Oman supported the 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, and, unlike almost all the Arab states, did not break its diplomatic ties with Egypt after the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace Treaty. Covert contacts are reported to have been maintained by Mossad since the mid-1980s.13 After the Madrid Conference of 1991 and the Oslo Accords of 1994, bilateral relations with Israel improved further, with Oman’s participating in the multilateral working group on water and the environment (including hosting a meeting of the group in Muscat in April 1994), and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin visiting Oman in December 1994. In January 1996, Israel and Oman signed an agreement to open trade missions in Muscat and Tel Aviv, and in April 1996, Prime Minister Shimon Peres visited Oman (and Qatar).
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/28/how-the-gulf-states-got-in-bed-with-israel-and-forgot-about-the-palestinian-cause-netanyahu-oman-chad-uae-saudi-arabia-mohammed-bin-salman-qatar-bahrain/
they didn’t forget the Palestinian cause they’ve been wanting to forget, it was Trump that have them a respectable means out of the Palestinian cause. Peace in the Middle East was achieved. Under Trump. hence the Jewish vote, public or close.
p.p.s. ______ Ivanka is Jewish. for all intents and purposes, Micha! This is Trump’s ‘one form or another’.
Mexico will be willing to fund wall after the Capitol incident to keep the Americans out.
(Read that somewhere after thr incident)
karl, as evidenced by that Guatemala central american caravan; Mexico is the wall— keeps Americans from going to Mexico, keeps central americans from moving to the US.
Mexicans it seems don’t really come here any more, makes sense NAFTA’s caught up, more economic opportunities in Mexico. So long as borders are secure, karl, don’t really matter who’s not getting into whos country.
Everyone just stay put.
for sure they’re making the walls higher here. LOL!
ooooops. 2nd impeachment, not 2nd amendment. Freudian slip 😉 !
The Media just doesn’t get it.
Thus this notion that MAGA is white, did you know the leader of the Proud Boys is black, Micha? of course the Proud Boys ‘ notoriety was from the last debate, wherein Trump asked which group, and moderator blurted out off top of his head i’m sure, one. Proud Boys. no research. Three Percenters would’ve been a better choice, but that’s no actual group; same-same with, like saying Hells Angels without the club house.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Tarrio (Proud Boys leader)
A convoluted alliance of crazies.
“This election had more voters than ever before: Two-thirds of eligible Americans turned out to vote in 2020, with nearly 160 million voters casting ballots — 22 million more than in 2016, and the highest proportion of Americans exercising their right to vote since 1900. At the time of publication, Biden has received over 79.3 million votes, while Trump has gotten nearly 73.5 million. While a motivated Democratic Party expected to see a huge surge in votes, what was perhaps most surprising was the additional 10.1 million people who voted for Trump this year than in 2016.”
2016 was 63 million
2020 was 73 million for Trump
sure more whites voted for Trump, but what was surprising was more
Latinx (mostly in Florida and Texas)
more blackx (though slight, but still a gain nonetheless )
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-men-drifted-democrats-toward-trump-record-numbers-polls-show-n1246447
I’m looking for stats for Filipinox
but none , safe to say though that since a big chunk of them are GOP already, then Filipinox vote would also reflect the same growth 2016 vs. 2020, ie. based on the growth with Latinx and blackx vote for Trump.
Jewx support is still I think the most significant, because you’re saying Micha that Trump is done, but the ROI from Israel’s recognition from the Gulf States will pay back in 2024, i’m sure a lot of money will flow.
for me personally I’m just happy with the turn out, 2/3 is pretty healthy as democracies go, Micha. All Americans should be proud of this.
p.s. _________________ Feety cent is also pro-Trump, Micha. If the Dems slip in 2024 and don’t show up again like 2016, like they showed up in 2020 en masse, then Trump actually still strong still. Keep an eye on Jewx support.
Thus MAGA is not a white thang. Is my point.
Mr. Apprentice lost by 7 million votes. No need to keep on beating that dead horse.
Trump backers are in a reality warp where the facts contradict their beliefs so new truths and conspiracies are invented to give them a comfortable place to sleep. The Russians are inventive as well, so there is that shading injected into a snarling social media discourse. Truly, lunacy has been popularized and even elected to the legislature. Only the sane can see, and it’s good to find you in that group.
Micha,
I’m not saying Trump won here; I’m merely saying you are wrong if you think MAGA is white nationalism.
Sure the Christians/Catholics got their 3 conservative justices;
Jews got their Israeli deal;
Whites got their wall (or at least the fact that the Central American caravan now stops all the way in Guatemala, instead of TJ);
Latinx’es got basically the samething re wall, plus what the Christian/Catholics got;
blacks got prison reform, or the start of it. Biden may well continue it, just like he’s continuing Made in America manufacturing and opposition to China (crossed fingers).
Thus MAGA as you can see is a bit more complex. and not just White Nationalism.
Joe’s correct Biden won. And no conspiracy theories from me there, because as i’ve said can’t mess with votes in the US because its county by county.
remember, Trump’s “Russia collusion” 2016??? I said then, and I’ll say now, unless Russia or the Dems can go county by county to do switcheroos , its impossible!!!
You have a bunch of retirees as volunteers willing to look at each ballot by hand w/ two person integrity (meaning one Dem , one GOP). And that’s county by county, so I said then
Russian collusion was impossible in 2016; just as in 2020 the Dems stealing votes is impossible. Precisely because of too many old folks willing to look at each ballots by hand. You can’t mess with that process, Micha.
The quote is from the reprinted diary of someone who was a young student back then, what he saw and felt at that time. Don’t expect too much.
At the same time, it is an interesting window into those days.
“But wait a minute—aren’t New Agers meant to be peace-loving hippies? The views that Angeli has expressed in interviews incorporate wide-ranging conspiracy theories: elites or “the cabal” are using black magic; they’re trying to establish a one world government called the New World Order; Operation Mockingbird infiltrated the media; we’re all debt slaves to banking cartels; children are being trafficked by a Satan-worshipping cabal; true scientific progress of free infinite energy and more is being kept from us; there are deep underground bases used by the cabal for nefarious purposes.
Through his actions storming the Capitol building, he’s clearly a supporter of Donald Trump. Further, given the picture of him standing with a “Q Sent Me” sign at the many protests he’s attended, he’s deeply involved with the QAnon conspiracy theory. His car is covered with slogans including “Q is real,” “save the children,” and “children’s lives matter,” referencing the child sex trafficking ring rumors of QAnon.
He claims that he can see higher frequencies using his third eye, therefore he knows what these elite pedophiles are doing. Identifying himself as a “digital soldier” in a spiritual war, he sees himself as fighting evil on the side of Donald Trump. The sign he carried at the climate protest declared “this is Ragnarok” referring to the Norse mythology, in which Ragnarök is the battle at the end of the world. His worldview is apocalyptic as well as conspiratorial. “
https://religiondispatches.org/q-shamans-new-age-radical-right-blend-hints-at-the-blurring-of-seemingly-disparate-categories/
Susannah Crockford is an anthropologist specializing in religion, ecology, and political economy. She is a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University, Belgium. Her first monograph, Ripples of the Universe: Spirituality in Sedona, Arizona, will be released in May 2021 from the Class 200 list of the University of Chicago Press. On Twitter: @SusCrockford
___________________________________________________________
Micha,
The article above is probably one of the better reads on this subject. MAGA is very modern, and a movement directly dependent on current trends; to dismiss it as just old school white supremacy nationalism is a mistake.
And efforts to exorcise Trump forever, ie. cancel him, have to be informed by thoughts insights similar to the above article.
America unhinged.
I am all for exorcizing that orange haired wacko.
“i.e. cancel him”
I heard Senate-removal of Trump will be DOA. Also, no participation of Supreme Court – Trump no longer a seating president.
Micha, you and many have always seen MAGA as white nationalism in America;
since 2016 I’ve been saying its more similar to Bernie movement; than not.
AOC tweet yesterday re Gamestop shorting is related. MAGA is like Gamestop shorting.
The reasons for doing so are two-fold: making some quick money and sticking it to the elites. Ben Patte, a 16-year-old high school student in Wisconsin who’s made $750 from GameStop stock, told The New York Times: ‘It’s a good opportunity to make money and stick it to the hedge funds. By buying GameStop, it’s kind of like beating them at their own game.’
BBC analyst Neil Wilson noted: ‘Among the many aspects of this story that are strange, what is so unusual is the peculiar vigilante morality of the traders pumping the stock… it’s a generational fight, redistributive and all about robbing the rich to give to the millennial poor.’
My point here, all still related to White Tiger. Kill the Master theme.
I am all for galvanizing a populist movement but please don’t let it be led by that right wing serial arsonist and psychopath.
Although cult of personality is good; Reddit imho just proved not really necessary. But the Gamestop play is like a trick play in football, only once in awhile, because hedge funds, private equities, etc. etc. will now factor in said plays in their matrices.
Am just here making an analogy connecting MAGA with the Gamestop short, ie. just like Gamestop wasn’t just white; neither is MAGA. but lots of individuals and smaller groups, and cross pollination going on as that article on the Qanon shaman suggests.
AOC was live tonite podcasting her panel of speakers talking about Gamestop incident. And the Reddit guy got it right lots of individuals just acting on their own best interest. is all. although Gamestop is owned by bigger fish, and no doubt they had their hand in creating memes that
created said scenario, but it all boiled down to a bunch of individuals moving $500 to $1,000 bucks around. AOC per the podcast also mentioned that the bulk of the reps who got elected in 2018 from Dems to GOP from libs to conservatives, the connecting thread was that they pretty much raised their own
funds for their campaigns similarly, thru folks just pitching in $500 here and there. no need for big money, and lobbyists.
For me, this is a far truer democracy than one we had say 10 years before. So again, I am a happy camper, Micha.
One good thing that could come out of that GameStop episode is it exposed the parasitic nature of hedge funds in a heavily financialized economy.
“..26 April, 2001, 2:00 AM
I was so shocked to see that countless Pro-Erap were a EDSA Shrine this night. The tides had turned, just three months had passed after the people massed out in that place to oust Erap, people are there again, this time, the other Filipinos. This reflects how divided this country is.
Erap has divided this country.
“Poor People Power” they called their rally. Net 25 and DZEC Radio Agila becomes their voice. For obviously, their commentators were echoing the Pro-Erap’s “Pro God, Pro Constitution” dictum.
At the EDSA Shrine, it is EDSA Tres. And their shout, “Sigaw ng Mahihirap…IBALIK SI ERAP!”
27 April, 2001, night
After [name withheld] and I had a dinner at McDo earlier tonight, I went home and proceeded to Tito Wally’s house to watch TV with Tito Kok-Chin. My two uncles were Iglesia ni Cristo, who had always supported Erap ever since, as the members of that church practices block voting every elections.
They were tuned in to Net 25. I was unaware of the fact that it is actually owned by the Iglesia ni Cristo, as I was told tonight. The Net 25 footage tonight are showing EDSA Tres at its height! I won’t give numbers ‘coz the information I get varies depending on who is getting the ‘numbers. But EDSA is filled with people from the People Power Monument at White Plains to SM Megamall! It is a long stretch, maybe millions of people are there. Far more in numbers than in EDSA Dos.
This makes me sad. This is a visible testament of how divided the nation is. Why should it come to this? A class war between the poor and the elite. I think it’s unfair to strip off the credibility of their grievances by calling the poor at EDSA dirty and stinky, or by calling them ignorant. I believe, in my own opinion that they are fighting for a corrupt president, but we should not take for granted their grievances. They still believe that Erap is their savior, that he could do no wrong, that he is suffering injustice inside a cell in Camp Crame. These are legitimate grievances of the poor and we should not resolve this by mere name calling.
Some leaders of the opposition spoke this night at the EDSA rally. The speech I most hate was the one by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. The devout Catholic repeatedly said Gloria “Tarantada” in front of a church! Did her mind already left her? This is [why] the Cardinal and the Catholic Church think that the Pro-Eraps are desecrating the EDSA Shrine. Beside the fact that it was filled with garbage and stench left by rallyists, they also damaged the fiber glass roof of the Shrine. Where is their leader? Still the public do not know who the Pro-Eraps are following, JV Ejercito? Ronald Lumbao? Sino ba talaga, kuya?
Live coverage of the rally by commercial TV stations are rare! That’s why the Pro-Eraps are furious with the media. Beautiful lady reporters were pushed and shoved as they reported live from EDSA Shrine. Would the leaders pacify the crowd? But where is the leader?
But the division of the nation is more reflected by the division of my own family in the Erap issue. I despise some candidates for senator of the Pwersa ng Masa especially Enrile, Honasan, Santiago and Lacson, but [name withheld] loves them! I believe that Erap deserves jail before conviction, to him, this is injustice.
Erap not only divided his nation, but he also divided the families..”
“..1 May, 2001, 8:00 AM
Inudyukan!!!
At about six this morning, I was awakened by my mom. She delivered the news that made my eyes open wide! The Pro-Eraps are storming the very gates of Malacañang!
Hearing that, it made me stand from my bed. I transferred to the main room where my dad was also watching TV. And it’s true!
I just wondered what happened to the Anti-Erap forces who were at vigil since last night at Mendiola in support of the president. Gloria even visited them last night. Maybe they hid somewhere, for surely the hundreds of them will be overpowered by the thousand Pro-Eraps who came. I’m so happy that they didn’t have a clash!
My mom said that they destroyed and got through the barricades at Mendiola at about 3:30 AM shouting “Erap pa rin!”, “Gloria baba!” and “EDSA Tres!” Spotted was Jude Estrada, son of Erap, as among the rallyists who went to Mendiola.
Earlier this morning, as soon as the Pro-Eraps were making trouble at Mendiola, Erap and Jinggoy were flown from the Veteran’s Hospital to a specially made cell at Fort Sto. Domingo, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The bungalow type cell is secured with three fences and a guardhouse. It’s air-conditioned and is furnished with brand new appliances and furniture. Pretty good for a detainee!
The Pro-Eraps are already knocking at Gloria’s door! They were already having a vigil in front of Gate 7 when the policemen and the fire trucks came to disperse the angry mob..”
https://opinion.inquirer.net/137288/the-praetorian-temptation/
“..But if the military, institutionally, has weaned itself from its former bad habit of engaging in coup-hatching, or being too welcoming of being courted to be the deciding factor in administration-toppling in the streets, it is still the military—one designed, from the start, to be as interested, or even more interested, in fighting domestic insurgency as it is in confronting external challenges to our borders. When, in 2005-2006, the Catholic Church, weakly led, lacked the nerve to categorically deprive then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the mandate of heaven, the military stayed in its barracks; but it embraced (and was thus kept busy by) going after radicals. Similarly, behind the scenes it stayed in the barracks despite every effort by the current President to entice it to embrace martial law, or revolutionary government, or being dragged into the so-called war on drugs.
But after being sickened by the sight of radical leaders it helped capture being released from jail, and others welcomed into the Cabinet, and thus seeing the gains of the past quarter century in fighting insurgency essentially evaporate, the military was not, and is not, shy about making up for lost time and lost ground by going after radicals. Similarly, for all the talk of a junta in fact, if not in name due to the proliferation of ex-generals in civilian posts, the reality is starker: Former top brass, it turns out, adjust incredibly easily to civilian life, or get hopelessly neutralized by the civilian system (or lack of it). The result is that The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates we will achieve 60-percent vaccination level only by the end of 2023..”
Some relevant dates from GMA’s term:
– July 27, 2003 – Oakwood mutiny
– May 2004 – elections
– June 27, 2005 – Hello Garci
– two impeachment attempts in 2005-2006
– early 2006 – state of emergency and arrests
– 2007 – midterms, Trillanes becomes Senator
– November 27, 2007 – Manila Peninsula siege
– May 2009 – Kinatay movie wins prizes in Cannes
– Sept. 2009 – Ondoy
– Nov. 2009 – Ampatuan massacre
Pacquiao’s boxing heyday, Viva Hotbabes and Wowowee stampede as well..
http://www.quezon.ph/2007/01/22/the-explainer-edsa-dos-in-retrospect/
..The reality is, there were two Edsas during Edsa Dos.
The first was the Edsa Dos of popular memory; the Edsa Dos that viewed itself as a yellow brick road leading straight back to the original Edsa People Power of 1986. As in 86, the initial inclination of the public was to pursue the democratic process: in 1986 it was a snap election. In 2000 to 2001, it was through the impeachment trial, where television enabled the population to act as jurors while the senate obsessed over its privileges as senator-judges.
The second was the Edsa Dos of the pros, the same pros who’ve reduced Edsa Dos to an unattractive sample of currency. The Edsa Dos which only came to light in subsequent interviews, and most notably in Amando Doronila’s book, “The Fall of Joseph Estrada.”
This Edsa Dos had many faces, all working behind the scenes. There was Chavit Singson who wanted revenge for being stripped of his rackets and the target of an assassination plot. There was Civil Society, disillusioned with Estrada; there were the politicians still smarting from their defeat in 1998, and big business in a panic over the midnight cabinet.
We all remember that some national leaders had drawn a line in the sand as early as October, 2000. Teofisto Guingona, Jr. had pointed an accusing finger in a speech; Chavit Singson had spilled the beans; Cardinal Sin had announced Estrada had lost the moral right to lead; by November, civil society and Cory Aquino had called for Estrada to resign. But still, and we often forget this, even as the second part of Edsa Dos had already formed its ranks, the first Edsa Dos was still nowhere to be found. Opinion polls at the time said, the people wanted to wait and see, watch and learn, witness the impeachment.
It was the second envelope that made Edsa Dos an Edsa. Just as the computer tabulators had walked out of the Comelec counting in 1986, so did the impeachment team walk of the Senate when senators voted to suppress the evidence. Enough was enough. And the public had had enough of a senate which blundered its way into infamy, led by Kit Tatad, who made the motion to take a vote on the opening of that envelope.
Tatad even wrote a book, “A Nation on Fire,” to justify that historic vote; and this is how he described his colleague, Tessie Aquino Oreta: ”She did not know how to respond to the crowd,” Tatad wrote. “In the end she decided to turn away with a gentle waving of the hand and swaying of the hips.” Thus did Tatad’s try to whitewash did the most notorious little dance since Hitler’s hop of joy over the fall of France. Is it any surprise these two have never recovered politically since?
And it wasn’t surprising, either, that the public got fed up when the allies of President Estrada thought they’d won the numbers game –but had forgotten that beside each senator-judge, in a sense, were tens of thousands of viewers and listeners also serving as jurors in Estrada’s trial.
But that was the first Edsa Dos, the people who spontaneously went to the Edsa Shrine, and went back, and back, for three days.
The other Edsa Dos, the political players, viewed things from a more strategic point of view.
The President’s husband, Atty. Miguel Arroyo, talking to the late Nick Joaquin in an interview published on March 5, 2001, said there were three plans afoot.
Plan A was General Renato de Villa’s. It focused on the Chief of Staff, Angelo Reyes, and the Service Commanders to withdraw support De Villa warned that if an untimely move against the government was made, the military would automatically defend it.
Then there was what Atty. Arroyo called Plan B, hatched by Luis “Chavit” Singson, Estrada’s nemesis. Plan B involving elements of the military striking the first blow. Entire classes of of alumni of the Philippine Military Academy would withdraw support. Class ’71, then ’72, and so on.
And it seems, there was Plan C, put together by what the President’s husband called “our group.” Explainee, can you read Atty. Arroyo’s words?..
jose velarde is to erap po, jose pidal is to arroyo, both labyrinthine money trails. as well, the ombudsman of arroyo’s regime, davenadera, was also arroyo’s buddy and kumare. so any complaints vs arroyo rarely got to see the light of day, barely investigated too.
arroyo ensured the catholic church’s loyalty, buying pajeros and suvs to catholic bishops on their birthdays. nothing wrong with giving expensive gifts kaya taos pusong tinanggap.
arroyo made midnight appointment in renato corona as chief justice of the supreme court; corona was later removed from office via impeachment.
as for the military, they have their own kabalbagan and did not really want attention to themselves. angelo reyes? solve problems with open checkbook, and supposedly soldiers were sated and got all they need; all they want, to the apparent ratio of one for a soldier, seven for angelo reyes. and those retiring expected very hefty pabaon.
ay, sorry po, about duterte po ito, getting his covid injection sa posterior (buttocks) kuno. aba pareho sila with those with syphilis po, sa posterior din po ang injection nila. reason? for the syphilitic ay anatomical po, closer to reproductive organ.
preferably sa upper arm, o sa deltoid isasaksak yang covid vaccine, reason? anatomical po, closer to the lungs, covid kasi is respiratory.
the disparity? my friends sabi na baka variant daw kasi si duterte; upside down, his lungs nasa posterior at hindi nasa anterior o closer to the head.
ay, naku, gagayahin daw ni duterte yong mga babies na nasa posterior ang bakuna. so far as I know, babies usually get their injections sa hita, o thighs. marami kasing saplot paitaas kaya sa hita na lang, for convenience.
for adults, normally it’s better sa upper arm po ang bakuna so you can easily check and see if the site is infected. it’s hard to check and see the buttocks kasi, you have to twist and turn and there’s so much clothes to remove. and if indeed infected and dressing is needed, duterte would have to drop his trousers each time for treatment and dressing change.
kbahay, I did ask a doctor when the IM-injection goes to the arm and when to the buttocks. The answer: small volume to the arm; larger volume to the butts.
so far as I know po, covid vaccine is not large volume and comes in 2 doses. or he would have to drop his pants again for the 2nd dose.
these days po, for larger volume, it may have to go IV, intravenous via drip. bolus po will at doctor’s discretion.
Same doctor said vaccines are not introduced thru IV. Reason: fast reaction thru IV, (vaccine), is not desirable. Hence slower absorption thru IM is used.
still on covid: next time I see roque, I’ll try to ask him if he’ll drop his pants too, for his covid shot. be one with his boss, same maybe with bong go, bato and the military: that they’ll all drop their pants and receive their covid shots at the rear, just so their boss and their master giver of manna wont be feeling alone and lonely. that they’re with him come hell and highwater, all for one, one for all. bayanihan and brotherhood of the dropped pants, haha.
attention! eyes right! ready, set, go!
cheers, sonny.
Kbahay, that’s the sad part about the unknown/ignorance – ipagmamatigas mo ang hindi alam, in other words all bets are off. Hope & Pray God’s on your side.
An Al Jazeera documentary on the BPO business from 2013:
(certainly one major factor in the last 20 years)
in White Tiger, Balram looks at the BPO industry in Bangalore and decides to open a taxi company. LOL! kinda how Levi’s jeans got started.
Help wanted: Filipino industry-targeting specialists?
PiE, big eyeopener video! If only visionaries from our education-sector would listen and see these horizons for the country!
Re Revillame this happened yesterday..
willie revillame knowing full well the custom ought to give out announcement via texts, t.v. radios, etc that on this pandemic year 2021, he and his reps wont be around to give handouts on his birthday. I think, that would be courtesy on his part. stay home, stay safe, and no mass gathering.
sometimes, I think, people are not taking covid seriously. even contact tracing boss, mayor magalong of bagyo, failed to social distance and wear mask, both he and his wife yata, when they both attended a very crowded and recent birthday bash of a celeb in bagyo.
methink, filipinos cannot take correction. do or die talaga. caught on act disobeying covid safety procedures he’s supposed to implement, mayor magalong of bagyo resigned irrevocably kaagad. thus denying bagyo his covid expertise, or mayhap, punishing bagyo for calling him out.
a more prudent man would have timeout, or go of leave, then maybe accept his punishment and pay fine. then go on with the job only this time, humbled, wiser and promising he wont do the same mistake again: contrite.
magalong can always turn new leaf but prefers to go on his own accord, on his own term. his pride got him. too important to make mistake. too big to be chastised.
Revillame always was more than an asshole, though the obscenity of those who are partying during a crisis is similar to the infamous “We are the World” parties with BBM while the economy was down and Negros etc were starving.
The sad reality of Ayuda ni Willy at hustisya ni Tulfo.
Chinese dredging and hill flattening with the consent of LGUs and DENR( not official of course) has been goin on for years, nothing can be done with the hill or hills that disapeared but will no one be held accountable?
At least the dredgers are now being stopped but the damage has been done.
This Tweet by Manolo Quezon:
Raya is a DISNEY movie, so the possible ideology in it is even more worrying.
We too have dragons in Filipino mythology probably imported from India.
Manolo usually has good instincts. This is the trailer:
Today (Feb. 2) is the anniversary ratification of the 1987 Constitution.
It is worth, I think, reflecting on what our nation stands for, as embodied in the 1987 Constitution via Article 2—or the “Declaration of Principles and State Policies”:
ARTICLE II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES
PRINCIPLES
Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.
Section 3. Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory.
Section 4. The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people. The Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service.
Section 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.
Section 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.
STATE POLICIES
Section 7. The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination.
Section 8. The Philippines, consistent with the national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory.
Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.
Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.
Section 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights.
Section 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.
Section 13. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.
Section 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.
Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.
Section 16. The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.
Section 17. The State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development.
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.
Section 19. The State shall develop a self-reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.
Section 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector, encourages private enterprise, and provides incentives to needed investments.
Section 21. The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform.
Section 22. The State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the framework of national unity and development.
Section 23. The State shall encourage non-governmental, community-based, or sectoral organizations that promote the welfare of the nation.
Section 24. The State recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building.
Section 25. The State shall ensure the autonomy of local governments.
Section 26. The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.
Section 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.
Section 28. Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.
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I would argue that this is just as important as the Bill of Rights (Article II). If the Bill of Rights are concerned with our inalienable rights as individual citizens—Article III is concerned meanwhile with the collective aspirations of our nation.
Never learned about this until law school.
My social studies class in high school—hell, my NSTP class in undergrad—would be well served by just meaningfully reflecting on Article III and Article II of the Constitution.
Addendum:
*Bill of Rights is Article III
Thanks. For comparison, the German 1949 Basic Law https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/ where Section I are Basic Rights and Section II defines the state, Article 20 (1-3) in particular:
..(1) The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state.
(2) All state authority is derived from the people. It shall be exercised by the people through elections and other votes and through specific legislative, executive and judicial bodies.
(3) The legislature shall be bound by the constitutional order, the executive and the judiciary by law and justice..
The major differences I see now:
A) the Philippine Constitution has the state first, that is consciously or not more Asian, while the German Constitution has individual rights first which is Western
B) the German Constitution is more like mathematical axioms or computer code with very rigorous definitions (probably that is why I can relate to it better) while the Philippine Constitution Article II (especially the political dynasty part) sounds like good intentions
In fact a major aspect of the Constitution not implemented would im Germany lead to calls to make sure there is no “lawless space”. Very Kantian, categorical imperative mindset. I am more used to that by now, mahihirapan na ako sa weder-weder.
But then again, might be important to reflect on the intentions of the 1987 Constitution and how well they are fulfilled today. Another contrast: in Germany Constitution was part of Social Science in Grade 12 for a quarter or so. Free booklet included.
Well, if as Justice Leonen said today “ang batas ay prutas” then the fruits of the 1987 Constitution are not yet fully ripe. A lot of the Article II stuff still sounds more like a mission statement than actually fully lived state practice.
Striving to make their realization more perfect is the work of a generation.
Making it fully accepted by the people is yet another job, not necessarily helped by Filipino intellectuals like the one here who says the 1987 Constitution was “imposed” with rather disingenuous arguments. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324968979_Constitutional_Deconsecration_Enforcing_an_Imposed_Constitution_in_Duterte's_Philippines
These are Gatmaytan’s highly disingenuous arguments with respect to the 1935 Constitution, implying that the widely accepted 1987 Constitution was in the same spirit:
..The real reason for Filipino’s lack of fealty towards the rule of law is the absence of a “constitutional moment.” The Constitution was presented as a finished product with local participation to ensure the acquiescence of local elites, with fundamental questions of constitutional choice safely remaining in foreign hands and not entailing any meaningful or substantive decision-making power. An imposed constitution, the Author concludes, is instantly diminished because the colony did not share the values that helped shape the Constitution..
Come to think of it, Gatmaytan ignores the role of Recto (not the street with the fake diplomas, the nationalist Recto) and other Filipino nationalists in the 1935 Constitution. And what are the real values of Filipinos insinuates, is it tokhang?
Unlike most modern states, Britain does not have a codified constitution but an unwritten one formed of Acts of Parliament, court judgments and conventions. Professor Robert Blackburn explains this system, including Magna Carta’s place within it, and asks whether the UK should now have a written constitution.
For most people, especially abroad, the United Kingdom does not have a constitution at all in the sense most commonly used around the world – a document of fundamental importance setting out the structure of government and its relationship with its citizens. All modern states, saving only the UK, New Zealand and Israel, have adopted a documentary constitution of this kind, the first and most complete model being that of the United States of America in 1788. However, in Britain we certainly say that we have a constitution, but it is one that exists in an abstract sense, comprising a host of diverse laws, practices and conventions that have evolved over a long period of time. The key landmark is the Bill of Rights (1689), which established the supremacy of Parliament over the Crown following the forcible replacement of King James II (r. 1685–88) by William III (r. 1689–1702) and Mary (r. 1689–94) in the Glorious Revolution (1688).
From a comparative perspective, we have what is known as an ‘unwritten constitution’, although some prefer to describe it as ‘uncodified’ on the basis that many of our laws of a constitutional nature are in fact written down in Acts of Parliament or law reports of court judgments. This aspect of the British constitution, its unwritten nature, is its most distinguishing characteristic.
https colon two hash marks http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles one hash mark britains-unwritten-constitution
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Francis, Ireneo, et al.
I was just thinking that reads a little to0 much like a cut/paste of the American Constitution, and given what we know of Philippine society and mores, i’ve always thought maybe Filipinos are better off with a monarchy whose (main) religious institution answer to the king/queen.
I’ve been watching the Crown (just S1 and S2) and Victoria (w/ Jenna Coleman, she’s such a hottie), and i’ve always enjoyed how the Prime Minister always keeps the monarch abreast, even though she (or he) is simply in power symbolically. keeping formalities is fun.
The coronation ceremony ties in the Anglican church perfectly, and to think that this church only came about because some other king from some other time just wanted a son, thus married different women, only to result in Queen Elizabeth played twice by Cate Blanchett. who was instrumental in further neutering the Catholic church (that front and Battle of Lepanto front, the church was made less relevant).
Thus, maybe Sections 1 and 6 are things that cannot in fact be cut and pasted from the US; because Filipinos didn’t have a King George and folks like John Hannock who preferred to re-sell Dutch tea; and because there’s no direct connection of Spinoza to Locke to American forefathers.
if anything DU30 nullifies Section 1; and priests driving around their progenies in Vatican bought Pajeros all over small town Philippines makes a mockery of Section 6. So
why not consolidate and copy the UK instead??? this way the next DU30 becomes symbol in name only and all these priests pay their taxes one way or another, maybe stopping priests from making more babies in the Philippines. Consolidation is the name of the game here.
also Francis , you might find these items good for out-of-the-box type thinking,
https://karakuri.gr.jp/en/making/ <<< it reads to me like what your e doing is similar re constitution.
Also read this: https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/pugliese_nastassja_201612_phd.pdf
essentially, in Spinoza's Ethics he outlined two types of imagination, active and passive. Passive is good; Active is great… as in
“Good artists borrow, great artists steal.”
“The quote in this form was a favorite of Steve Jobs but he but he was probably (mis)quoting Pablo Picasso who said “Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal” – who in turn might be rephrasing Igor Stravinsky, but both sayings may well originate in T. S. Eliot’s dictum: “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.” – The origins of this quote itself is an example of great artists stealing.”
De facto what is happening now is what happened in Europe when absolutist Kings noticed they couldn’t deal with the challenges of a more complex world from the 16th century onwards and delegated stuff to ministers.
Dutz sleeps most of the time except on Monday and the IATF are his ministers.
The second development hasn’t quite happened yet: different groups of people finding a way to reconcile different interests via a Parliament. Parliaments used to be merely advisory in nature and were banned to the outskirts – thus the Reichstag is at the western end of Unter den Linden, the former royal boulevard of Berlin, and the Maximilianeum is even on the other side of Munich’s Isar river, at the end of the royal boulevard leading to the royal residence of Bavaria.
Parliaments wrested power from Kings eventually, very late in Germany – 1919.
The HOR in the Philippines is a very elite matter still, as rich families control the towns where most Representatives come from. Without a strong middle class base that pushes the Representatives to really represent them, that won’t change.
https://www.chanrobles.com/1899constitutionofthephilippines.htm#.YBnmMWu1LW1
We, the Representatives of the Filipino people, lawfully covened, in order to establish justice, provide for common defense, promote the general welfare, and insure the benefits of liberty, imploring the aid of the Sovereign Legislator of the Universe for the attainment of these ends, have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the following..
(1899 Constitution – note it isn’t We the People – revealing nuance!)
Another interesting document is the first Swiss constitution of 1291, a very simple social contract between basically three tribes in three valleys:
https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/federal-council/history-of-the-federal-council/federal-charter-of-1291.html
“For the common good and proper establishment of peace, the following rules are agreed :
In view of the troubled circumstances of this time, the people and communities of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden promise to assist each other by every means possible against one and all who may inflict on them violence or injustice within their valleys and without.
Each community shall help the other with every counsel and favour and at its own expense in the event of any assault on persons or goods within and without the valleys and to this end have sworn a solemn oath to uphold this agreement in confirmation and renewal of a more ancient accord.
Every man shall continue to serve his overlord to the best of his abilities.
The office of judge may not be obtained for any price and may only be exercised by those who are natives or resident with us.
Any dispute amongst the Confederates shall be settled by the most prudent amongst us, whose decision shall be defended by all.
Those who commit murder shall themselves be put to death. A murderer who flees may never return. Those who protect him shall themselves be banished from the valley until they are recalled by the Confederates.
Those who maliciously injure others by fire shall lose their rights as fellow countrymen, and anyone who protects and defends such an evil-doer shall be held liable for the damage done.
Any man who robs a Confederate or injures him in any way shall be held liable to the extent of his property in the valleys.
The property of debtors or sureties may only be seized with the permission of a judge
Every man shall obey his judge and must if need be indicate the judge in the valley before whom he must appear.
Any man who rebels against a verdict and thereby injures a Confederate shall be compelled by all other Confederates to make good the damage done.
War or discord amongst the Confederates shall be settled by an arbiter and if any party fails to accept the decision or fails to make good the damage, the Confederates are bound to defend the other party.
These rules for the common good shall endure forever.
Done with the seals of the three aforementioned communities and valleys at the beginning of August 1291.”
https://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/the-defiant-era-january-30-2010 – by MLQ3 re the FQS 50 years ago: (excerpt)
..Reading eyewitness accounts of great events also points to the depressing reality that some things never change. The reactionaries remain so; the reformists stuck, too, in a rut of self-doubt; and the radicals in a time warp. And, indirectly, Lacaba’s book raises a question no one has ever been able to answer in a satisfactory manner. Did the agitation of idealistic and romantic youth in the late-Sixties and early-Seventies make dictatorship more appealing? For the shameful fact is that martial law was greeted with relief by a majority of Filipinos, at least from the upper and middle classes, who rejoiced in the curfew, in the cutting of hippie hair, not to mention the padlocking of Congress and suppression of liberties. For, if so, the Filipino may be innately reactionary – with all that such a conclusion shockingly implies.
Recalling that eventful first quarter of 1970, Dan Mariano writes, “Although the country had more roads, bridges, dams and irrigation systems than ever before, the economy had begun to nose-dive. The peso underwent a 100 percent devaluation, with the exchange rate going from P2.00 to P4.00, then P8.00. The prices of basic commodities rose out of the reach of the working population, whose wages were not allowed to keep up with inflation.”
By April that year, a general strike was held protesting against increases in oil prices and transportation costs. The next year saw the Diliman Commune, the revolt by University of the Philippines students in February. But the sign of those times was not the Diliman Commune itself, which continues to throb gloriously in the memories of FQS veterans, but a parallel effort overlooked because it’s inconvenient. As students barricaded the campus and broadcast a recording of the President’s postcoital croonings to Dovie Beams, some residents in the area banded together and hunted down the radical students in the defense of order and their property rights.
And it was Ferdinand Marcos, the last product of the American educational system, but a mutant one in that his political maturity took place during the confused, corrupt and corrupting circumstances of the Japanese Occupation, who gambled on form trumping substance. So long as the trappings of legitimacy were maintained, the upper and middle class would embrace his “Revolution from the Center” and tolerate, if not actually accept with enthusiasm, his “New Society.”
The Plaza Miranda bombing took place on August 21, 1971. Two days after, 20 people were arrested as Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus. Martial law followed a year and a month later, restoring order on the surface but fueling the already underground radical movement that Jopson himself would at last join and sacrifice his life for. Yet, when revolution finally came, it wasn’t what the young radicals dreamed of in 1970. It was an entirely different creature, what came to be known as People Power in 1986, and Velvet Revolutions elsewhere since.