Reports

Read Alston’s report:

And a much earlier one by Amnesty International:

Listen to Dr. Martin Bautista or read the transcript: parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Overseas, Tom Friedman cracks a joke.

In the blogosphere, Secret Gospels, Secret Sites on Sylvia Mayuga.

Amok with children

My column for today is Amok with Children. More in my entry last night in the Inquirer Current. See also the entries of John Nery here and here.

Most interesting response to my mind is that of caffeine sparks.

Arab News Newspaper: Command and Control

Command and Control Manuel L. Quezon III

Â

THE DEBATE here and now, is whether besides fighting in the field, the Philippine armed forces should be fighting civilians, too. No one represents the debate on what the armed forces should do, and to what extent it should be held responsible in its duty to fight the New People’s Army, better than Gen. Jovito Palparan. He has been bold and blunt in what he thinks should be done. And that is, to fight the NPA not just in the field, but to attack what he considers its support system, the legal Left. In this view, Palparan isn’t unique. Testifying before the Melo Commission, Gen. Esperon said, “The CPP is the brain; the NPA is the armed group; and the NDF is the shield. The NDF is composed of legal organizations that may have been infiltrated by the CPP and NPA.” But Gen. Esperon, before the same commission, was careful to distinguish military operations, fighting the NPA, from other efforts of a non-military nature, which he said were properly the department of the civilian agencies of the government. So far, so good; the problem is that Palparan made statements that at the very least, suggested he, as a commanding officer, had no problem if soldiers and civilians went beyond fighting the NPA in the field. Back to Gen. Palparan, he’s made some blood-curdling statements as quoted in the Melo report. Just one example: “I cannot order my soldiers to kill, it’s their judgment call, they can do it on their own.” But the problem with such fire-breathing statements, is that they could be construed as an inspiration to portions of the military who might be tempted to use what Mussolini called inexorable force to solve political problems. Inexorable force may be okay for fascists, but it contradicts our democracy’s dedication to human rights. Palparan’s statements have already led his critics to call him “the butcher,” and he has even become the focus of some investigations. The calls for such investigations began even when Palparan was still an officer on active duty. In response to such calls, Gen. Esperon told the Melo Commission, “[he] admitted that the AFP has the power and authority to investigate if any of its officers has violated certain rules and regulations, such investigation may, however, muddle or obstruct any on-going operation. Gen. Esperon added that the AFP has confidence in the duly constituted investigative body.” To his credit, Palparan, according to Esperon, expressed willingness to be investigated, but as the Melo Report noted, the AFP didn’t investigate Palparan because no formal complaint was lodged. So it’s been up to other institutions to do their own investigations. Besides the Melo Commission, official investigations include Task Force Usig, both set up by the president, and the Commission on Human Rights which works independently. Recently, the CHR issued a preliminary report on General Palparan. The report was hailed by the AFP, which said it cleared the controversial general. The CHR, however, denied it cleared Gen. Palparan. A story in the Bohol Chronicle quotes Acting Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chair Dominador Calamba II as saying “that Palparan could not shy away from the fact that killings were rampant anywhere he is assigned. The retired general failed to initiate inquiries on the alleged extra-judicial killings when it should have been his chance to clear his name.” Mallari, a fellow commissioner in the CHR, was tasked with looking into political killings in Central Luzon where Palparan had been assigned as 7th Infantry Division commander. The allegations were that Palparan should be held responsible for the spate of alleged political killings in the region. Mallari, in his report, said Palparan should not be held responsible, because he unearthed no evidence directly linking Palparan to any such killings. But then not even Palparan’s harshest critics ever alleged that he was running around personally liquidating leftists. Rather, the question concerning Gen. Palparan is this: To what extent is he, as an officer, liable, for the conduct of their troops? In other words, should our senior generals be held accountable for violations of human rights? In other words, does command responsibility apply to officers like Palparan? Particularly in the light of his fire-breathing statements? And what should civilians do about it? Our own government launched investigations, as we know. Some are ongoing and some will hopefully lead to prosecutions. The issue gets complicated when foreigners become interested. Complicated, because at times it seems our own government is inconsistent. When a UN special rapporteur came here and did his own investigating, our armed forces complained. When a US Senate Committee conducted a hearing on these accusations, some of our own senators complained. But the UN rapporteur’s activities put pressure on the executive branch to release the Melo Report which it had wanted to withhold from the public. And now, despite threats from senators like Miriam Defensor-Santiago to investigate the USA for human rights violations, the executive has decided to welcome a rapporteur from the US State Department. In other words, there seem to be principles at work here, that are so important they become the business of everyone, and not just the locals, to look into. At the heart of all this are the principles we know as human rights. And also, the idea that command responsibility is not something nations can adopt or ignore, but that all modern militaries are obliged to uphold. AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., when asked if officers should be held accountable for cases involving the military murder of civilians, told the Melo Commission he didn’t believe command responsibility should apply. But on Feb. 4, he changed his mind. Why did he do that? Court cases and presidential directives mandate the principle of command responsibility. To his credit, Gen. Esperon, when it turned out he was wrong, did something about it. Faced by the law and his own opinions on command responsibility, Esperon upheld the principle and not his own opinion. But this only begs an ancient question. Who will guard the guardians, the ancient Romans asked. Every society with a military eventually ends up asking itself the same thing. As well we should. The armed forces are our armed forces: They fight for us, they are paid by us, they are supposed to represent what is best in us. Gen. Esperon is free to have his own opinions, whether on the innocence of his men when it comes to allegations of human rights violations, or his wanting the CPP-NPA declared illegal. I don’t think he should be free to express his opinions. Those are policy statements, and those are for the civilians, not the officers of our AFP, to craft. Â

Â

Nightmare scenario

A call came in from Channel News Asia which wanted my take on the hostage taking in Manila. I referred them to a colleague in Inquirer.net instead. The folks at CNA serve as a kind of guide, to me, as to what Philippine news really matters overseas, and this is the first time they’ve called in a very long time (to my recollection, the last time I heard from them was during the arraignment of the Oakwood mutineers some months ago).

It’s when every parent’s worst nightmare -their children ending up in a danger, in this case, in the hands of a group demanding free education for 145 kids at the Musmos Daycare Center- happens that, however briefly, media’s and the public’s focus telescopes and everyone ends up peering at what is, fundamentally, a family tragedy (multiplied 32 times in this case: and representing, too, the despair, perhaps, of the kids at that daycare center). Media competition is fierce, updates are minute-by-minute. See Inquirer.net’s coverage, that of GMA News.TV (with a cameo appearance by Sen. Bong Revilla) and ABS-CBNNews. The Associated Press and other wire services brought the story to the world’s attention.

The blogosphere here and abroad is abuzz: abroad, Corporate Engagement wonders why the hostage-taker, who’s done this before, isn’t in jail. Interesting observations and discussions in RedBlue Thoughts (who focuses on the hostage taker’s past activism and the symbolism of the current hostage-taking) and in idle eidolon who says its difficult not to take a cynical approach to the whole thing. Perpetual Malcontent finds the whole thing wierd. Tanuki Tales says something I agree with completely: whatever your motives, you don’t mess around with the safety of kids, period.

In the news, ABS-CBNNews reports party list seats allegedly being peddled by the Palace. Danto Remoto sort of, kind of, drops his senate bid. Personally, I’m very happy Dr. Jose Abueva showed up to manifest support for Remoto; Abueva and I have crossed swords in the past, but a few weeks ago when he guested on my show, we made our peace with each other.

News, in quick succession of what will be some controversial candidacies: Gen. Jovito Palparan, as a party list candidate; Virgilio Garcillano and Dato Arroyo also for the lower house.

There’s no need to worry that the boom in LPG for automobile use will affect household consumers. The number of LPG for cars filling stations popping up in Metro Manila is remarkable (I understand in Cebu, they were the first to use it for taxicabs), though a friend says smokers like me should stop smoking on the road as every time he rides an LPG taxi, it reeks of gas fumes and an idiot smoker like me might end up blowing him up due to a carelessly-tossed cigarette butt.

the brewing confrontation between the US Congress and the White House has Slate Magazine saying there’s a 75% chance the US Attorney-Genertal is going to quit. For an analysis of what the confrontation is about, see this article by By Walter Dellinger and Christopher H. Schroeder. Also, Burma has a new capital.

In the punditocracy, my Arab News column for this week is Command and Control (regarding the AFP and issues concerning command responsibility). On a related note, Davao Today provides a thorough report on Philip Alston presenting his report to the UN. The Inquirer editorial looks at the recent goings-on in the Hague, and what they signified.

Jarius Bondoc rather gleefully notes the handicaps of the opposition campaign but does note that the administration slate is headed for disarray, too, once the local races start and Lakas-CMD and Kampi start cannibalizing each other in earnest. Amusing tidbits on the campaign courtesy of Efren Danao. Marichu Villanueva takes a look at the political rehabilitation of the Senate.

Amando Doronila says the government has a problem on its hands with the Asian Development Bank and its skeptical attitude towards government’s claims of achievements. For the Palace’s rebuttal, refer to Rick Saludo.  Speaking of Saludo, his pointing to typhoons as the cause of the hunger problem leads to a lighter, but pointed look, at “hunger as a lifestyle choice,” courtesy of Manuel Buencamino. The best passage:

Your secretary’s words must have inspired street urchins not to wait for the “ideal job to fall on their lap” for they ignored the political noise and took advantage of the strong peso, the stable political situation, and the investor-friendly climate to go into the sampaguita business.

Their profits will be reinvested in the stock market and soon, as a pundit said, they will be trading in their paper boats for yachts.

You can tell the whole world, “We have no child labor. We are a nation of child entrepreneurs.”

And you can add that investor confidence, as shown by the great number of street-urchin entrepreneurs, disproves the perception that your regime is the most corrupt in Asia.

Overseas, the People’s Daily Online looks at a survey detailing the consumer choices of Chinese aged 17 to 26 (who have no memory of either Mao’s rule or the Tiananmen Square massacre). Tulsathit Taptim pens an allegorical debate between democracy and corruption.

In the blogosphere, History Unfolding has a must-read entry on America, the confrontation over war aims between the White House and the House of Representatives, what American attitudes are towards war and why the war in Iraq has lost popular support. The latest showdown is in the US Senate, which has also held a vote to put forward a timeline for an Iraq pullout. Details in The Washington Note.

Here’s an interesting thing: a father and a daughter who both blog. The father, blogs at www.soriano-ph.com and pens a clear, concise, list of criteria he intends to follow in deciding whether or not to vote for certain candidates. He brings a lawyer’s precision to defining the issues he considers important, and ends his entry with the possibility he might not end up voting at all. His daughter, in crazy4this girl, suggests that to fight injustice, one must be willing to commit suicide.

Technorati Tags: elections, ideas, journalism, media, Middle East, military, philippines, politics, president, Senate, society, Thailand

Contenders remain unchanged

The latest SWS Survey on the senate race is out. The Inquirer says 7 fighting for last 4 slots in Magic 12. Mahar Mangahas says the main contenders (14 candidates) have remained unchanged over the past month. It’s also noteworthy that the number of undecided has shrunk, not by much, but in a statistically significant sense (from 14% to 10% give or take 3%).

Incidentally, An OFW Living in Hong Kong wonders if Alan Peter Cayetano will be disqualified, see a related Manila Times story. Latest update: the nuisance Cayetano’s been disqualified. And so has Danton Remoto, but not Victor Wood.

In response to the survey, the Palace says they’re not playing the surveys game (instead, as Alex Magno takes the lead in pointing out, salvation lies in statistics: he says 9 out of 10 Filipinos of working age are employed).

Local candidates start filing their candidacies. Patricio Diaz looks at scuttlebutt that Lakas-CMD is building an alliance with the opposition (which, incidentally, now has a blog of its own). But what of the what After All calls the “battle royale” between the Speaker and mayor Benjie Lim?

The Asian Development Bank says growth has some ways to go before making a serious dent on unemployment.

Teddy Casiño wrangles with fellow Leftists. On a lighter note, Carlos Celdran wrangles with the Left.

The Greeks like it (the film, 300). The Pope wants it back (Hell) on the agenda.

In the blogosphere, nina bumanglag and exaggerated anecdotes react to the SWS-Inquirer survey.

Also, the survey on hunger continues to trigger reactions(my thoughts exactly said the President has called three emergency cabinet meetings): Blackshama discusses food security and the reactions of organized religion to hunger; Peryodistang Pinay says it’s a matter of misplaced priorities, and says over-priced lampposts are a good example of what she means. village idiot savant noticed something I’ve noticed, too: people seem smaller these days. Uniffors describes a recent round-table discussion held by the President.

Speaking of La Presidente, Philippine Commentary, it seems to me, has made his peace (grudgingly) with the President because he believes there’s bigger fish to fry and everyone should lend a hand in giving her a backbone:

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is no Marcos because she doesn’t have the balls that Marcos had. She may have flirted with the idea of declaring martial law last year but apparently had enough sense to take the contrary advice of the former US Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte after he dropped by all of a sudden in November 2005 (as revealed by resigned Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz). As long as the Senate and Supreme Court are there to keep her excesses in check, it’s really her capitulationist tendencies and overeagerness to give ransom to terrorists from time to time that we really have to worry about.

An attitude he seems to share with the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila. Speaking of the President, katataspulong takes a look at Diosdado Macapagal and says the President learned from her father’s bitter experience with Marcos, and has decided, no more Mr. Nice Guy. The Bunker Chronicles says GMA7 and the Inquirer have become biased in favor of the president. (In defense of the paper, the headline for the day, March 26, was the indictment of the administration by the tribunal in the Hague, and the same banner was carried on the website).

Davao Diaries on being strip-searched when visiting a jailed colleague.

The Purple Phoenix does not like Michael Defensor, to put it mildly.

The Quackroom recounts running into the nation campaign as it descends on Naga City. Davao Today points to a YouTube video showing how some soldiers are campaigning in urban areas (Philippine Star reports soldiers intend to stay where they are). Also writing from the same city, A Nagueño in the Blogosphere reacts to my column yesterday, and points to another hundred years hence and his attempt to reconceptualize the democratic process.

Bayanihan Blog Network points to You had me at hello! a blog by a call center worker. ExpectoRants takes the new Pasig River ferry.

Overseas, In Asia (the Asia Foundation blog)  discusses the wait Cambodians have for justice in the case of Khmer Rouge killers.

Technorati Tags: elections, media, military, philippines, politics, president, Senate, surveys

The Long View: Diminished leaders

THE LONG VIEW
Diminished leaders 

 

By Manuel L. Quezon III
Inquirer
First Posted 01:49am (Mla time) 03/26/2007

 

MANILA, Philippines – In his autobiography, Diosdado Macapagal wrote, “The greatness of a ruler lies in his ability to exercise restraint in the use of tremendous power. The essence of a democrat consists of the patience to secure his wishes through the complex machinery of the system of checks and balances which is the indispensable life-blood of the democratic system, and not through the expediency of crushing all opposition. The essential trait of a democracy is not power but responsibility, not authority but duty.”

It would be easy to say that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as chief executive, has not lived up to the standard of leadership set by her father. But Sen. Joker Arroyo, for one, says she has. He has pointed out (to defend, of course, his decision to run under GMA’s Team Unity) that much as he had been a pain in the neck when it came to her executive issuances, the President never used her position to put pressure on him; and, anyway, what she has done, he essentially has agreed with—that is, to make life difficult for those clamoring for people power and for the fall of her presidency; or for those who support ideologies traditionally opposed to anything and everything our Fifth Republic stands for.

As far as that goes, it’s a fair statement. The President, by instinct, belongs to the old political culture that keeps its hands off its enemies who also hold office. Meting out reward and punishment was— is—straightforward, involving the pork barrel. Any harassment would strictly be small potatoes—say, arresting someone for crossing the street, without detaining him for very long, but never really letting a case reach the point of being filed.

In contrast, the Estrada era began with the disappearance of the man said to have video-taped Erap gambling, and ended with the disappearance of a political public relations fixer at odds with him. Not to mention the use of the BIR against his enemies and advertising boycotts.

In contrast, President Arroyo, even when business was being critical of her, never hit the businessmen where they’d hurt: their pocketbooks; and except for the Left, she has avoided many opportunities to hit her enemies really hard.

She has had no compunctions, of course, about using the police and armed forces against the poor, the obscure, or those who don’t belong to her social and political circles. But then, again, it can be argued that few presidents have ever had such scruples. What sets her administration apart is that it lacks two fundamental things that a president needs to get away with such acts: a large mandate; and the ability to present herself as the personification of the country’s destiny.

During a break at Media Nation 4.1, someone (a partisan of the President) observed that the presidency as an institution is much diminished, meaning, that our historical expectations of the presidency, as well as our traditional assumptions of the President’s influence, no longer apply. To me, that view suggested something notable—sad, but perhaps quite true: the era of the great leader is past, and it might be unrealistic for us—that is, we, the people—to expect greatness in our leaders. To that extent, the President was on to something when she said, at the beginning of her presidency, that she aspired to being a “good,” never mind “great,” President.

The person who made this observation made another one in a different forum we both attended: In many ways, because of the trauma of the martial law years, our present system is designed to prevent an overly strong leader from emerging. In the process, this guarantees that practically no president will be able to lead effectively.

The traditional strengths of the presidency haven’t been there for some time: a majority and not plurality mandate, and a party machinery solid enough to last at least as long as an administration’s term. The last time a president achieved an unquestionable majority was in 1965; the last real landslide was in 1969. Since then, the best percentage a post-Edsa president has managed was 39.6 percent (Estrada in 1998). But this only put him on a par with the most underwhelming presidency of the Third Republic, that of Carlos P. Garcia, lone plurality president of his time, who obtained 41.3 percent (over time, it’s the percentage, not the number of votes that matters, since our population is always increasing).

As for party machinery, the one Ramos built didn’t survive his presidency, and neither did Estrada’s coalition; the current one is devouring its own children in the Lakas-Kampi conflict.

In retrospect, it’s even more understandable now why the President was so insistent on a million-vote margin of victory instead of, simply, a victory. Since 2001, she had realized how wide the gulf between the mythic place of the presidency and its diminished reality has become. It is a lesson those jockeying to succeed her may be coming to realize, now. Try as anyone might, on both sides of the aisle, public participation in our politics may have already peaked.

In the Senate race, fellow Inquirer Current blogger John Nery points out something interesting. A survey score in the low to mid 30s got Honasan in the 13th place in 2004; today, rating lower, the mid to high 20s, it’s enough to put Honasan in 11th place. A candidate can therefore do more, with less; but the relevant fact here is that this means all the candidates will have to do more with less—public support, that is.

Diminished expectations, diminishing returns: the fight can only get more vicious as fewer people get involved and—whichever side they may be swayed to—get smaller in number but more crucial.

Debased and degenerate? As far as describing the system, the President was correct; but so far, so have been the solutions—except the tried and tested and true way of elections.

Diminished leaders

My column for today is Diminished leaders. In Inquirer Current, my entry for today is on our national characteristics.

Some good reads: Amando Doronila on how the opposition needs to adopt human rights as a campaign issue: a related opinion is that of Rasheed Abou-Alsamh (Bong Austero’s latest suggests to me that increasing petty and other criminality is another campaign issue). John Nery on understanding surveys (related news: Rep. Nograles wants surveys regulated; see the Philippine Star for more). Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ gives a lawyer’s views on amnesties and libel.

On a positive note: the Inquirer editorial praises Tessie Aquino-Oreta. Solita Monsod praises the Department of Agrarian Reform.

The latest self-rating survey has Philippine Commentary up in arms over the indolence of the Filipino. Placeholder presents a bar graph of public borrowings covering post-1986 administrations.

Big Mango responds to a recent column I wrote; Achieving Happiness remarks on appearing on my show.

Technorati Tags: elections, human rights, media, military, philippines, politics, president, society, surveys

Absolute veto

The President signed the national budget yesterday, and the Star and Inquirer both point out that the budget’s bloated the pork barrel despite almost daily examples of how its been misused (the Budget Secretary says the money will come from funds meant for the retirement pay of government workers). The President breezily noted that she’d vetoed many items in it:

The President said she had vetoed many items in the budget, but “they’re all very technical in nature, so one of this days I suppose Nonoy Andaya will explain what the vetoes are.”

Now any president has the power to veto legislation, including particular items in the budget, such as, say, the pork barrel. But that power isn’t absolute. A presidential veto always risks the possibility Congress will vote to override the veto, and perhaps that explains why the President decided to sit on the budget -it’s too late for the 13th Congress to override any veto now. Which is where Congress may have wanted things to be, too. But perhaps those who know the ins and outs of official budgeting can tell me, where then do the funds otherwise earmarked for items that were vetoed, go?

The President’s response to self-rating poverty surveys (which indicates fewer people feel hungry in Metro Manila these days) naturally makes it to the papers, too.

In the blogosphere, caffeine sparks points to a chart that suggests the Philippines isn’t on the investment map. It’s quite shocking, really.

In Inquirer Current, John Nery dissects the recent senatorial surveys (see the nifty graphic he put up here). For my entry today, I ended up trying to graph the survey data John presented:

Basically, the graph helps us see whose trajectory is on the upswing, and who is on a downturn. Just for fun, I tried to illustrate the spread (plus or minus three percent for the rankings of the top five):

Which show’s Loren’s hefty lead, and how the rest of the top rankers are neck-and-neck. Each candidate’s color-coded, and the three lines for each color reflect he maximum, the reported score, and the possible minimum, for each.

In the punditocracy, Amando Doronila says the government has a diplomatic headache on its hands with the news on political killings.

In the blogosphere, Dissections interviews Dr. Martin Bautista, Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidate, of whom Now What, Cat? speaks highly. AlterNation 101 also speaks glowingly of Ang Kapatiran. Speaking of elections, The Purple Phoenix says cheating occurs in on line and text voting.

Patsada Karajaw lists 11 dodgy party list parties, and that doesn’t even include the one General Palparan wants to run under. More news on the party lists.

The Bunker Chronicles criticizes the President’s statement on hunger; An OFW Living in Hong Kong discusses why the pork barrel should be eliminated.

Marvelous diatribe against Lee Kwan Yew in Singapore Election Watch.

Very true observation on aging by Ronnel Lim.

And all along I thought I was the only one saying this of the movie “300″ aside from the Iranians: but I’m a Baby says it all and my reactions to the movie were exactly the same! It’s a neoconservative propaganda film.

On another cultural note, Soho the Dog is irked over finding out the heirs of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff are poised to extend their copyright over the composer’s works by rearranging the pieces, thus guaranteeing their family close to two centuries of royalties. Stylus Magazine has two interesting articles: U2 vs. REM and Depeche Mode vs. The Cure.

Generation gap

My column for today is Generation gap, and here are some links that are related. There’s a nice overview of our population history and current demographics  in Wikipedia, and an overview of our latest census and where our population is headed in the government census website, and a commentary by Romulo Virola on how our population is actually aging.

In the news today, the military establishment is happy over the Commission on Human Rights declaring it is unable to link Gen. Palparan directly to political killings. The Left of course immediately denounced the findings, a knee-jerk reaction that doesn’t help clarify the issues. The CHR said they cannot pin any murders directly on Palparan; as one observer told me recently, that does not settle the question of Palparan’s command responsibility. Now since no one has ever actually accused Palparan of personally putting a gun to the head of rebels or their suspected sympathizers, obviously then, the CHR is stating what everyone’s assumed all along. And again, this does not settle the question of command responsibility. In a sort-of-related note, a show trial begins in the Hague.

The Executive Secretary says opposition to political dynasties is merely opinion, in the absence of a law. Chief Justice wants judicial rules tightened in the wake of accusations that electoral protests are decided by means of bribes.  Hows this for an irony: congressmen want lifestyle checks for judges. In a related story, pork barrel spending to the tune of 200,000 peso per PC alleged.

A sobering finding: 2 out of 3 high school graduates unfit for college. On a related note, how some college students voted in mock elections.

Local political races heat up, with the biggest news being the failure of efforts to prevent a challenge by Benjie Lim to Speaker Jose de Venecia (although ex PNP chief Lomibao has been prevailed upon not to make things worse). Melandrew Velasco, who I gather is a booster for Lim, emailed me a kind of press release that makes for interesting reading:

Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim formally informed FVR and JDV last March 19 at the RPDEV Makati office witnessed by Lakas gubernaturial hopeful Vice Gov. Oscar Lambino…negotiations between the two camps failed when a full slate was unveiled by JDV last Sunday through his friend and die-hard supporter MacArthur Samson who presented former Mayor and Immigration Commissioner Al Fernandez, businesswoman Belen Fernandez and eight other councilors. It was meant to be a show of force against Benjie Lim who was being convinced to stay put as city mayor having one more term left.

…Thanks for the three-hour dinner with PGMA two nights ago in the Palace which virtually appeased the sulking Art [Lomibao] who will soon get a plum post as Cabinet Secretary either at DPWH or DOTC (should Secretary Larry Mendoza agree to go to DILG). Should that happen, at least three former Chiefs of the national police would occupy three major departments showing more or less GMA’s dependence on the police and military in her six-year old administration.

Back to JDV, his forthcoming fight in the twilight of his political career promises to be a battle royale… [Lim] has the strategic edge down to the grassroots levels in Dagupan City, and in the towns of Manaoag, San Jacinto, Mangaldan and San Fabian. In contrast, JDV has no loyal leaders and followers except to depend on the barangay officials. .. Speaking of Pangasinan, former Executive Secretary Oscar M. Orbos, an ally of Mayor Lim, is set to stage a comeback as governor.

Iloilo City Boy has the latest on provincial politics and the opposition’s problems there.

In the punditocracy, the Inquirer editorial points out the difference between a person’s right to sue in defense of their reputation, and political harassment. The Business Mirror editorial has this to say about the President’s reputation as an economic reformer:

Of course, it was the President herself who turned her back on the fiscal rationalization bill that should have reformed the grant of fiscal incentives in the Philippines. Each year, the country loses P300 billion in forgone revenues, but Malacañang has simply lost its resolve to plug the huge hole that’s draining government coffers.

The list of policy flip-flops is endless and we fear that we might yet wake up one day realizing that the policy reforms achieved after the 1986 Edsa Revolution are gone. The irony is that we are losing these gains under a president who claims to idolize Margaret Thatcher.

John Mangun on the other hand, gives three cheers for the country. In his column, Alex Magno gives the usual talking points and provides a useful guide as to what various outcomes for the senate race might mean. Billy Esposo explains why the military’s counterinsurgency strategy is counterproductive. G. Eugene Martin, who recently testified before a US Senate committee, suggests what might lead to continued American interest in political killings -or not.

Overseas, an interesting commentary on the brewing constitutional crisis in the USA (President Bush has decided to resist congressional subpoenas Arroyo-style).

In the blogosphere, there’s a must-read, by way of personal testimony in Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas, who recounts his experiences with radical causes, their attitudes towards legal and underground political action, and his own views on why political killings are wrong and must be condemned. ExpectoRants offers up some thoughts on the Left vs. Right dynamic;

Oh, and let’s revisit something written by President Macapagal.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, elections, human rights, media, military, philippines, politics, president, Senate, society

Don’t bother to think

My Inquirer Current entry today in a sense, takes off from my Arab News column for this week, Blunders Allied With Crimes. An article in Slate today tackles how the United States tackled the Philippines and you can contrast this with an article in The Objective Standard as to why the United States is bogged down in Iraq, with no successful end game in sight. The analogy here is that neither America nor the AFP are countering insurgencies here at home or Iraq as they did at the turn of the 20th Century: and thus both are failing to meet their objectives.

Using force isn’t necessarily proof of either will, or genuine strength. It can be a sign of weakness or, something just as bad, a kind of selective blindness.

Take the President’s response to the latest survey on self-rated poverty. The President suggests people should take a second look at how their prioritize their spending, but at the same time, the government announces more casinos. And along the way, contradicts the very things that enabled the economic statistics in which she takes pride: had people not been smoking as much, or sending it out zillions of text messages, her raising taxes (not a reform, as she claims, but the logical question of her over-spending) would not have been able to compensated for what came before. Her laying it on thick on Tony Lopez also belies her claim to not being obsessed with politics, when as any president does, so does her cabinet: and what are Raul Gonzales (whose job is the Justice Department) and Ricardo Saludo (whose job is to be Secretary to the Cabinet) doing but politicking?

But of course it all makes perfect sense if you don’t deviate, one bit, from Palace-supplied talking points. It depends on a literal reading of the laws and an unsophisticated attitude towards the exercise of power. But we all know what is legal isn’t necessarily right, and what is possible isn’t necessarily what should be done. See the account in Newsbreak of where the culpability of the executive department lies. In cops misrepresenting themselves. In delays that are in themselves, violations of justice. the point is not that people have no right to sue, they do -but should they be suing all the people who get sued, and on the grounds used to justify the suits, and should the manner in which cases are filed and the police enforce warrants and so forth, be accepted without any questions? I think not, and that’s the whole point.

there’s an interesting editorial from Business Mirror, on the chance the President might veto portions of the national budget, which has been waiting for the President’s signature since February 22, but which will only be signed today (after the campaign has started, which meant the campaign began with budgetary breathing room for the Palace).

A whole slew of commentaries on corruption: overall, from Marvin Tort;  from Jarius Bondoc, referring to school teachers; Bong Austero on mulcting cops.

Technorati Tags: ideas, philippines, politics, president, society

Next Page »