Total War

The headline-driven nature of the administration was demonstrated yet again over the weekend. On Saturday, the President basically slammed her fist on the table and said, “we will crush you!” Followed by a kind of rhetorical party rally on Sunday: total war! Down to the diplomats. The President’s phrase, after all, is that Total War on the Left is the “glue that binds.”

And thus the week begins with a kind of grim, “we who are about to die, salute you” gladiatorial profession of faith. There’s also the carrot: we’ll trim down the army when the enemy’s been wiped out, they say -but when will that really happen? After all, there’s disagreement over the timetable.

One comment I overheard over the weekend struck me: “What does this headline tell people? That the Philippines is what, in the league of Nepal and one African country in having the only Communist insurgency left in the world! It paints the country as backward and dangerous.” But really, as the Inquirer editorial explains it, what’s worrisome about the Total War policy is that it represents a victory for the forces of reaction. Since the 1990s, the country has asked the Left to come down from the hills, and contend in the free market of ideas. Now that they have, and demonstrated they have a constituency, the response of the government is to end the debate, round up those who came down from the hills, and then go after those remaining in the hills. This is the kind of policy that neither achieves a tactical or moral victory. Randy David explains why the policy is wrong, and what a real policy achieving peace should be.

The incoming Senate President, Sen. Manuel Villar, continues to receive premature kisses from the Palace and even the House of Representatives (which expresses hopes he can help salvage the Constituent Assembly scheme), while some of his legislative proposals, such as the compulsory registration of SIM cards, get more attention because of his heightened prominence. Billy Esposo, though, thinks Villar (if not out of principle, than pragmatic politics) will resist the temptation to be a Palace lackey.

Impeachment, Round Two, begins today.

The Manila Times has a feature on how call centers are running out of qualified people to hire.

And a curious, and rather incomprehensible, archeological story.

Overseas, the Age of Australia’s editorial focuses on anti-terror legislation and fears of their consequences. Michael Kinsley takes apart CIA propaganda aimed at kids and makes essentially similar points to the Aussie editorial.

Minxin Pei in the Korea Herald says Western assumptions that economic development will foster democratization in China may be false; and that the Communist Party of China may be headed for a crisis.

In the punditocracy, today being Rizal’s birth anniversary, my  column today is an old chestnut, Adolf Rizal. Apparently Adrian Cristobal also tackled the same topic, though he makes a mistake in linking the Gadhi prime ministers to Mahatma Gandhi: Indira, Rajeev, etc. Gandhi were all part of the Nehru dynasty, being the daughter and grandson, respectively, of India’s first prime minister (Philippine Commentary waxes more scholarly on the hero; Pinoy BioTech Blogger offers a reflection, too).

Bong Austero of open letter fame, makes the transition from blogger to mainstream media opinion columnist in the Manila Standard-Today (see his remarks on his shift in his blog). What I presume is his inaugural column explains why legislating a wage increase is madness.

Melinda de Jesus on the Thai monarch’s reputation as a leader in rural development; Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ explains why education as a Constitutionally-mandated budget priority is important.

Gail Ilagan dissects what the testimony of the accused in the Subic rape case really means to say about Asian women.

Sunny Rasheed Lucman Pacasum appeals to his fellow Muslim Filipinos to vote incompetents out of office. His pointing out the list of distinguished Muslim senators does bring up a disturbing question: why could such individuals make it to the Senate in the past, and Muslim candidates do so poorly recently? After all, up to the 1980s, there were Muslim senators.

In the blogosphere, Leon Kilat recounts a freaky UFO-like event in Cebu City.

Uniffors has been exposing the manner in which some Philippine ambassadors don’t show the flag and worse, pocket expenses meant to show the flag (“showing the flag” refers to events like receptions on Independence Day, etc.). It reveals some additional information on some particularly notorious ambassadors.

Achieving Happiness connects Montaigne to Marx and explains her views on armed revolution. Mongster’s Nest points to the dangers to radicals of the newly-minted extermination policy, but also that the situation may be conducive to revolution. Challenge and Movements also opines that the President’s decision to make the announcement in Isabela province was meant to reassure beleaguered plantation owners.

Measly Meanderings has the latest update on the Sigaw ng Bayan online buzz.

Another Hundred Years Hence advocates a strategic approach to historic preservation.

Morofilm starts a blog on an ongoing film project of his.

Ricky Carandang makes a rare reappearance in the blogosphere.

And it’s about time someone said this, not necessary about Ilonggos but our country in general: send a Philippine team to the next World Cup!

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

40 thoughts on “Total War

  1. MLQ3,

    As usual, Ina Alleco of “Achieving Happiness” is quite touching in her latest blog.

    However, I disagree with her when she says, “The NPA is a source of hope for many in the countryside who have suffered the cruelty and exploitation of landowners, their hired men, and the AFP all their lives. This is why the NPA continues to exist and to flourish. Because the NPA and the CPP-NDF give alternatives to the current set-up of inhumanity and injustice in the Philippines.”

    The NPA may be a source of hope for those who have suffered injustice but it is false hope that they offer, nothing more, nothing less. Realistically, the NPA is found in the extreme fringes of society and as such cannot give or provide alternatives to the current injustice. The alternatives she speaks of are hazy although I see one as clear as daylight: the NPA provides an avenue for vengeance, perhaps with a cause or not but there it is, it is not an alternative. In the context of what she rights, alternatives should mean for the better but I don’t see that as things stand today. In the scheme of things today, the NPA’s alternatives are much the same as those offered by Gmoria Macapagal, her minions and her army – SAME DIFFERENCE!

    The CPP-NDF’s cannot provide the alternatives either because they “spew” rhetorics which are unrealistic – they as non-credible as the people in the government today.

  2. I forgot to greet all the daddies yesterday.Belated Happy father’s day to you!

    That total war approach will blow back on their faces like the thing erap tried in Mindanao!

    at lastly,

    I agree with you Anna!

  3. The NPA insurgency was in Infancy when I left the country some 30 plus years ago. First, it was an idealistic rebellion, believing that the masses will go along considering at that time it still had the support of Socialist USSR and China and a few other Leftist Governments of the time.. But the U.S. seeing its interests in the Far East threatened, Prop up the Marcos Regime and give it all kind of Military aid to hold the Progress of the insurgency. Now the NPA is considered by Most as just plain banditry. It is just of movement for those who have no place more to go, no alternative, in fact some are now in the movement just to survive. Ironic indeed, getting hunted by the well-equipped, much superior forces just to survive. Until the economic condition improve and the youth of today have hope for the future, every child born today have one of few choices. Up in the mountains, or in the armed forces, become a politician, get a good education and get the hell out of the country. Not much of a choice, but a scorch earth campaign that has been attempted many times before will come up with the same results as before.

  4. send a Philippine team to the next World Cup!

    Ummm.. To do what? 😀 We’ve been sending teams to the SEA Games, the Tiger Cup, etc, where we are routinely thrashed by teams like Vietnam and Cambodia, not to mention Thailand, Malaysia, and even tiny Singapore. The World Cup isnt even broadcast live on free TV here like it is in the rest of the planet. We have to make the Pinoys care first.

  5. Karl,

    Your Dad should write a white paper about this mad, all out war “strategy” with the left of Gloria’s. He’s one of the few military men in Pinas who qualify as strategic thinkers.

    Gloria should read about how the communists were defeated in Malaya (ex-Malaysia). She might find a few tips that are worth using today.

    She’s absolutely mad! For more than 30 years, the British Army tried violence for violence and brutality for brutality against the Northern Irish and they failed. UK is only beginning to see the light of day today.

    In the context of an “all out war” with the Reds, the AFP is adopting the same no win-win situation. Absolutely, utterly mad!

  6. On the SIM card registration by the service provider. I believe the two biggest providers in the country can afford to have every user of cell phone and every cell phone registered as to avoid its being used unauthorized by any other, thereby detering any one from stealing or snatching. This was done in here from day one and so far I have not heard a single incident where someone get hurt for his or her cell phone. Or better still if the provider can do away with removable SIM card and have one that are digitally installed and registered automatically, like most of what we have here, which when lost, can be disabled by the provider, rendering the phone useless.

  7. DND Chief Avelino Cruz seems to have more things between his ears than Raul Gonzalez.

    According to an Inquirer report, Cruz said that, aside from military hardware, the military’s share of the one billion pesos would also be spent for humanitarian projects.

    “Part of the one billion will be spent on CMO [Civil Military Operations], basic services, potable water, and school buildings,” he said. “This is good. There will be a total government approach to defeat the insurgency.”

    Reacting to Gonzalez’ statement on civilian casualties, Cruz said, “We need to have discipline to avoid collateral damage.”

    Well that’s more like it…

    Go after the hooligans but NPA sympathizing folks who are not taking up arms must be lured back to the “fold” (ugh, what fold, never mind!)

    Educate ém guys in the boondocks, feed them, clothe them, care for them and they will go back to the “fold”. Gloria can kill all she wants but at the end of the day, she will have gained nothing but more communists and more potential NPA recruits if she doesn’t do it right!

  8. Sunny Pacasum’s article is a timely reminder to our people of the power of the vote. ” There’s only one way to put a politician out conventionally – and that is to vote him out.” Mabuhay ka, Sunny!

  9. MLQ3,
    I think that Fr. Bernas’ point today was in fact that the Constitution doesn’t literally mean THE highest priority, nor does it tie the Congress’ hands in meeting other national priorities that may in fact require priority over education, e.g. food, shelter, clothing, survival against physical attacks. He mentions the verbosity of the 1987 Charter, I think with heart-felt chagrin. In places, the 1987 IS a bunch of fiddlesticks. Btw, the small 0.3 credit unit allocation to something called “Values Education” in the Basic Education Curriculum, results in a one hour per week class for high school students and 2 hours per week for seniors. This seemingly miniscule item, if abolished, would pay for all the missing classrooms! It should be abolished because when I read the BEC specs on PELC, I see a perfect example of a culpable, written violation of the nonestablishment clause.

  10. Yes, we should have a Philippine team in the World Cup. The basketball scene here in the country, i think is hopeless.

  11. True!

    Pinoys would be good at football (soccer). Height ain’t that important in football – look at the Koreans, they managed to draw the all-foreign French team (half African, half “Arabic”, ok, ok, not quite half-half but…!)

    Just make sure the Filipino team will be as mean as em Koreans coz Koreans can be really rough!

    You need to practice now to qualify for the next regional elimination round series – target: 2014 World Cup…

    Like in submarine warfare you need at least 10 years to train your men in order to develop a semblanced of culture.

  12. I think this communist bogey and all those bombings are intended to drown out the coming impeachment complaint. They’re just creating an issue and fueling with it with talks of all out war and billion peso budgets. Bullshit. Let’s leave center stage for the impeachment. We may not win but we can sure enjoy watching that Goblin Queen with bags under her eyes again.

    Funny how this administration always copies Bush. Recently Bush asked for a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. Today the ANC crawler said Arroyo’s lawyer Macalintal was telling gays to amend the party list laws.

    And that reptile Norberto Gonzalez was on ANC asking why communists are in the government. Too bad Ces Drilon didn’t ask him what a Socialist like him was doing in a capitalist government. Isn’t a Socilaist, the political party type like Gonzalez and not the ones with a conscience who are really for social justice, just a shade lighter than red?

  13. Scorched earth policy of the US did not work in Vietnam, Russia didn’t fair better in Afghanistan. The administration should learn from these mistakes. Socioeconomic and judicial reforms are what we need to lure these rebels back to the fold of the law. War is a contest of hearts and minds. But with the administrations policies now, they are the ones pushing these people to join the rebels.

  14. I’m all for promoting soccer as a national sport over here. I think it will give a boost to the nationalist agenda of decolonization. While helping us move away from the USA, it will also help us integrate with the rest of the world.

  15. MB,

    I agree with you! Gloria and her butler, have perfected the art of dissimulation as well as the doctrine of Goebbels.

    For once, I must agree with Joma Sison when he says that Gloria and her henchmen are training their guns back at him and using the communist bogey because Gloria wants to cloud the real issues hounding her, i.e., cha-cha, impeachment, extra-judicial killings, etc.

  16. Anna,
    I was making a list of the things the Goblin and her Goebblins have been creating to drown out the impeachment thing
    1. clamor for people’s initiative growing
    2, supported by self-serving people’ initiative survey
    3. and FVR’s support
    completes first news cycle that segues to
    4. bombings
    5, declaration of all -out war
    6. announcement of P1 billion war budget
    second news cycle to segue to
    7. well timed state visit to Spain and Vatican . she will be out of the country when impeachment is filed and so she can avoid having to comment on it plus she can can claim she was not around to influence congress. While she is gone there will
    probably be news of arrests of bombers, some communists and some rightists.

    Remember June 26 is the impeachment filing date.Let’s see what bombshell they will drop to steal the headlines when the impeachment is filed.

    Let’s create our own headlines. I suggest you contact your friends in Spain and Rome and tell them to welcome her with placards that say “Pangit!” I’m convinced the word captures everything about her. No need for patalsikin signs, Pangit says it all. It would make such lovely front page photos here

  17. MB,

    That’s a comprehensive and good list.

    Re: friends in Vatican and Spain

    Primo, ain’t got many friends in those two very southern countries; secundo, I noticed that Pinoys in Italy are not that brave when it comes to butting heads with authority; guess they’ve been Italianized, i.e., RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY – you may stab him in the back but you shouldn’t do it in the front.
    Tertio, if Gloria and her gremlins, er her goeblins come up north my way, I promise you, I am prepared to build a hakot crowd personally to greet her with a welcome placard “PANGIT”!

  18. By the way folks, I am almost absolutely certain that one of the guys who’s gonna make a lot of dagdag in his profit, which he will share eventually with a cousin, thus increasing his company’s financial turnover is Gloria’s first degree cousin in law named Butch Tuason (ex-husband of Julio Iglesias’ first wife’s sister, Isabel Preysler), and the owner through dummies of ARMSCOR & SQUIB BINGHAM on Edsa.

    Carlos ‘Butch’ Tuason produces and the last few years, has managed to sell guns WHOLESALE (without real bidding) to the PNP.

    A few months after Arroyo toppled Estrada, Butch was sureptitiously awarded a huge contract to provide the PNP (I think to the PNP under Lastimoso then) with guns to a tune of several tens of millions of pesos after he had lost in similar bids before the arrival of first degree cousin Mike Jose Pidal Tuason Arroyo in Malacanang.

    Now, when the media speak of all out corruption in the making for the all out war of Gloria, the guns that the PNP will be procuring, without real bidding, one becomes highly suspicious – what with gun supplier cousin Butch around…

    I am prepared to eat my slippers if it can be proven that cousin Mike has no say in sudden turn of company fortune of cousin Butch’s.

  19. this all out war is just a diversion for the coming impeachment, to scare the next people power organizers and participants and finally to position the well trained soldiers from mindanao around metro manila…..you know just in case there is another bloody confrontation in mendiola

  20. Anna,

    Speaking of my dad.Some snitch in the AFP told him that I posted his articles.

    I deleted them at my father’s request….But he allowed me to post future articles basta magsabi lang daw ako.

    And Anna, I think he is writing about the present situation about this all out wars.It is still in yellow pad…

    Before I forget Anna, our blogging friend Beatrix; is asking help in promoting her blog.

    Friends,
    please visit: beatrixpg.blogspot.com

    It is a good site!

  21. Anna, MB, I think Neal Cruz is right on the money when he says it is an excuse to give the cops and military a billion pesos as a kind of bribe for the impeachment season. But it can’t be called a diversion as such, because the FATE of the impeachment ought to lie entirely in Congress and the processes by which people normally address their representatives. If the numbers just aren’t there, it would have little to do with this.

    The communist insurgency was there before Gloria, and I would be glad if it disappeared with her. But that is not likely. The cruelest thing is that the P1B is not enough, and I wonder about the P75 billion in poverty alleviation she promised to North JuetengLand, which of course the newspapers downplayed in order to create a sense of “total war”.

    I think it’s not total enough in the sense that this IS all a lot of hot air, another smokescreen to perturb the general atmosphere as we go into impeachment season.

    I bet it fails in 2006, but that in 2007, she will be impeached by a newly elected Congress. That’s what it’s gonna take.

    Unless of course we are ready to head off into the hills before Joma can’t make it to the bathroom on time any more. Btw, I heard he IS a Dutch citizen, and that’s why he is so cocky. Any word on that Anna, MB?

  22. karl,

    re personal infos, when i read that post, i thought of warning you not to be too open, do not under-estimate the other side’s capacity to do anybody great harm, though, i second anna’s suggestion for a white paper (or blogspot anticipating a long-run total war)

  23. The journey of a thousand miles… To have a competitive Philippine football team, take that first step: Buy your child a football and play with him or her. It’s really a beautiful game. Do that and we may someday hope to beat Thailand.

    And DJB’s suggestion of doing away with PELC will also buy a lot of footballs.

  24. Thanks Juan Makabayan!

    Re:soccer.

    Kids getting into football early…

    When I was a kid a lot of parents already had this on mind but unfortunately when the time comes for them to join the RP team ayaw na nila ng football.
    Again sustaining the love for the game is the trick.

  25. Butch Tuason ui indeed very to close to his first cousin Mike. Squires Bingham has been with the Tuason famiily for decades. Armscor was established during the Marcos years. One of its original owners was Andres Soriano. Armscor was really meant to supply hardware to the military and the police although as Anna mentioned dapat through competitive bidding naman.

  26. “When national debts have once been accumulated to a certain degree, there is scarce, I believe, a single instance of their having been fairly and completely paid. The liberation of public revenue, if it has ever been brought about at all, has always been brought about by bankruptcy; sometimes by an avowed one, but always by a real one, though frequently by a pretended payment (in a depreciated currency)….. When it becomes necessary for a state to declare itself bankrupt, in the same manner as when it becomes necessary for an individual to do so, a fair, open, and avowed bankruptcy is always the measure which is both least dishonourable to the debtor, and at least hurtful to the creditor”
    Adam Smith (Canaan 2000, Book V, Chapter III,pp.466 and 468)

    Keeping the Indio Dumb and Dumberer.

    Last year the budget expenditures of government were as follows.

    For every peso of the budget-
    Php 0 .33 went for debt service (interest only excluding principal payments.)
    0.32 went for salaries
    0.17 went for LGU
    0.10 went for maintenance and supplies
    0.08 went for capital expenditures.

    The government did not collect enough revenues to balance the budget. The government had to borrow to cover a budget deficit. The government also had to borrow again to pay off principal. If not the government would have only Php .010 to Php0.20 to fund itself. Please note that to meet payments the govrnment delayed a lot of expenditures to hit their target budget deficits. The fiscal crisis is not over. Debt service and principal repayments remian a priority. The increased tax take is simply there to cover the budget shortfall wherein expenditures are already programmed. Please note that this does not include the contingent debts of the government. The country is clearly already in a debt trap. Please do not let them use the words pump priming when there is obviously nothing to pump prime. (Still trying to think of how one pump primes the carabao)

    The government educational system is already in a crisis. The source of the earmaked funds (the pork) is from that Php0.08.

    For this year the share of capital expenditures could possibly reach Php 0.10. Relative inflation could easily wipe out those gains.

    Please note that this is all happening in a world of benign interest rates. That is now changing and governments debt service costs are going up. Government will have to continue borrowing to pay renew principal payments. However interest rates are going up again.

    The budget has been programmed already. Hence you have the 1-100 ratio of students to classrooms.

    Look at the standards of the past when government was continually saddled with debt service payments and was forced to sacrifice funds for education.

    Though not the primordial foundation of human capital, it is a necessary component of developing human capital which is the primordial source of economic development.

    I believe Father Bernas and the Justices of the SC should have their heads examined when they believe that canceling out the automatice appropriations act could cause more harm than good.

    Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela have implcitly declared sovereign bankruptcy close to half a dozen times in the past. Argentina just did it again in 2001. They shaved almost $70B off their debt load. They are back in the financial markets borrowing again at close to the same rates the Philippines borrows.

    The United States Constitution had included a provision for standardizing bankruptcy laws across the colonies. Towns then were allowed to declare bankruptcy. It is called Chapter 9.

    Here in the Philippines infrastructure, education, health and social welfare is almost disappearing. If corporations like Mirant, Enron, Bayantel, Negros Navigation, Chrysler and many others are allowed debt restructuring why can’t the Philippines unlilaterally do the same.

    It is either Bernas and the Justices are ignorant of the realities or they are dumb and dumberer and they would like to keep the Indios the same way.

    I believe it is time the Philippines did it’s own debt restructuring.

    The debt problem is not going away. Inflating the debt will not make it go away. It is going to get worse. Running a budget deficit of 2-3% is not bad in normal times. So taxation is really not that big a problem. Every student of economics 101 will tell you also that depending on foreign investments is worse as this is a bigger obligation drawn against domestic GDP than interest payments. Depending on it for the past 50 years has seen the cost of the peso deteriorate from $0.50 to a measly $0.02.

    Judging from most comments one reads I believe most of the people do not know the depth and the gravity of the problem.

    There are no painless solutions left.

  27. Hi Dean,

    Nope! I’m POSITIVE – Joma IS NOT a Dutch citizen! Otherwise, the Dutch authorities wouldn’t be expelling him from the Netherlands. That was what the Luxembourg hearing was all about. The Dutch do not even recognize him as a political refugee following the US-EU terrorist tag and wanted to expel him. But Joma went to the European Human Rights Court to get a “restraining order”.

    He backed up his claim that he would be abused, tortured, etc with U.S. Judge Real’s penned decision confirming that he was a human rights victim and risks to be one again if he were deported to Manila so, he won a reprieve – a restraining order.

    Up to Gloria, if she really wants Joma to press for his expulsion by signing an extradition treaty with the Netherlands, which I’m mighty sure Gloria does not wish to do for obvious reasons: to be able to show bravado before an unsuspecting nation and gain enormous media mileage! She is aware she’s just barking mad when she says she’s filing murder charges against Sison! No way, the charge will fluorish neither in RP or in the Netherlands without an extradition treaty. The Netherlands won’t even look at the charge sheets against your Joma!

  28. MB,

    Talagang BIDDING dapat!

    Philippine government procurement laws stipulate bidding – there’s no turning about it.

    However, the laws have a provision for Self-Reliance which allows negotiated contracts on the condition that the Philippines stand to benefit from the contracts, i.e., BOT (Build Operate Transfer) or BOO (Build Operate Own), etc. In as much as Butch Tuason’s Armscor will never ever do a BOT with the government (and why should they?), there can be no such thing as a negotiated contract benefiting the government if you don’t kknow what the other competitors have to offer.

    Also, why should government manufacture its weapons – manufacturing is not their forté! FVR tried to manufacture, produce comsys with his ill-fated AFP-Vetronix corporation (financed by AFP RSBS money) and failed miserably because the AFP leadership thru General Ramiscal milked it like there was no tomorrow).

  29. Butch Tuason, moreover is a bona-fide US citizen, born in the US and because he is an ALIEN, by law he IS NOT ALLOWED to own the majority of shares in a company which is DEFENCE related.

    Anyway, easy, his kids who are all adults now, save for the youngest one (a girl) with his 4th ‘de facto’ wife hold the shares for him…

  30. Karl,

    Sayang…

    I’ve seen quite a number of theses produced by military officers who were candidates for MNSA (after your Dad’s batch) at the NDCP (have helped a few of the candidates myself), I still have to be wowed (as with some friends here) by the strategic thinking professed in some of the theses.

    Vic Corpuz’ “The Invisible Army” thesis was by far the only one that was greatly strategic.

  31. And Karl, you are right: Armscor was never owned by Andres Soriano. Butch tuason patterned it after one of the largest defence companies in South Africa – he was the titular agent of ARMSCOR South Africa and that’s how he got AMRSCOR in the Philippines.

  32. hvrds,

    Re: “I believe it is time the Philippines did it’s own debt restructuring. ”

    You need a bona-fide economist to do that.

  33. MLQ3,

    I just read that the AFP would cut its force by half after they “crush the Reds” in order to save on costs so they can buy modern warfare equipment.

    Granted, you are no longer facing internal threats, I still don’t know how cutting the force by half could save the AFP enough money to buy modern warfare equipment but let’s say, it’s feasible… One of the dilemmas and the hitches is the nation’s topography and its enormous population count.

    Cutting down your armed forces size to 51 or 52 thousand officers and men does not seem a wise strategy at all to me.

    It is highly impractical for a nation with such a topography and a land terrain compounded by your inevitable natural calamitis such as the Philippines have now to have a much smaller army than it has now.

    In spite of these misgivings, realistically, you need three essential factors to make force cutting viable:

    1. professionalism in the army (no ifs, no buts)
    2. economic sustainability based on a regular economic growth
    3. absence of real external threat

    When those three elements exist, you can opt for a cut in your military forces. In order for those three to be met, you need to have developed a strong culture of professional militarism beforehand which calls for modernization en totto of the culture, away from the rag-tag army for a good many years before you can begin to cut your troop count.

    Needless to say, when you cut your force in half to build a PROFESSIONAL armed forces, say, down to 51,000 officers and men, you must RADICALLY increase their pay as well commensurate to a professional army man’s pay.

    This was what I was saying in another post, our military men, jsut like Gloria, are very reactive in their thinking which is well and good but hardly strategic! Incredibly narrow-minded!

  34. I hardly think that buying pirated DVDs in Patpong is reason enough to recall the Philippine ambassador in Thailand as Uniffors calls for on his blog. Give me a break! Doesn’t he have anything better to write about?

  35. Hvrds,

    “When national debts have once been accumulated to a certain degree, there is scarce, I believe, a single instance of their having been fairly and completely paid.”

    According to some analysts, we have actually paid three times the original amount of what we have borrowed. Freedom from Debt Coalition and La Rouche Mov’t Phil. push for repeal of the auto-aprop for the interest payment and abrogation of loans corruptly transacted, and even outright debt payment moratorium. I recommend Advocacy International for its work on the debt issue.

    “The fiscal crisis is not over”, …. GMA ‘solved’ the fiscal crisis of the national gov’t by passing it on to families/households via the E-RVAT so that families in fiscal crisis now severely lack for food and school …

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