Konfrontasi

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Nalito Atienza; Watchful nuns

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“Hello, M’am?”; Romeo Macalintal settles in

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Razon’s bravado; Razon’s pensiveness

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The aggrieved Senate sergeant-at-arms; Razon seeks comfort from the lawyers

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Madrigal schmoozes; Razon betrays lack of confidence

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Lights, camera, action; Mascarinas the admin’s muscle

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Mike Defensor does his job; Bautista the Hutt arrives

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Actor Pen Medina; the admin lineup

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Gloria’s Dragon arrives; Bautista the Hutt in admin huddle

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Hutt ogles Loren; Loren pose part 2

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“We swear to tell lies and only lies, so help us M’am”; La Salle brother

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“Are we still on script?”; Bautista the Hutt naps

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Bautista the Hutt; Gloria’s Dragon huddles with the Hutt

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Mike D’s wife after bringing back the cash; Hutt and Gaite huddle: Mike D. reports to M’am?

The Palace was certainly between a rock and a hard place going into yesterday’s Senate hearing. If it stonewalled, it could deny its critics evidence and at least prevent its factotums from further incriminating the administration. But it would leave the public with no other story but Lozada’s. Or, the Palace could come out swinging in the hope that it would thereby fortify the determination of its allies to stand by the President, and possibly confuse things enough to prevent a total collapse in public confidence.

The Palace decided to come out swinging but got a beating. That’s because it has mastered situations it can totally control, but has never quite figured out how to handle situations where the advantages enjoyed by officials end up stripped away by public interest and some common sense questioning.

A former member of the cabinet, and as shrewd an observer of our politico-human condition as any I’ve ever met, once told me there is a very simple line that separates the haves from the have-nots in Philippine society. That line, he said, is transparent spontaneity.

The middle and upper classes instinctively wall themselves off from the rest of society, and have an innate sense of privacy that is impossible and even unimaginable for the majority of our population. The ordinary Filipino has little to no privacy, knows instantly what the rest of the family is doing, and what the neighbors are up to, from defecating to love making to quarreling and gossiping.

And so, they are keenly aware of anything that smacks of posturing when, for the walled-off minority, what is ingrained in them is a strong and unshakeable belief in certain things being for public consumption while other things are not. And so, when someone displays emotion, runs the whole gamut of emotions from terror to anger, it resonates; when someone confesses to a reality that most everyone is aware of (though posturing politicians pretend ignorance and then shock), it resonates and adds to credibility.

Maintaining a stiff upper lip in the face of pressure is an alien concept except to those who uphold the values of the upper class.

There is another line that separates the haves from the have nots, not in the sense of those who lack and have money but rather, political power (besides the other kinds of power that exist, such as economic power): and it is, having experienced intimidation.

I’m willing to bet that those who remain skeptical of Jun Lozada’s motives and statements have never experienced the full panoply of official and social intimidation that comprises life for most of our countrymen. This is because the skeptics have always been in the position of being immune to intimidation or who blithely take it for granted as a kind of necessity to keep uppity underlings in line. Or who have lived such insulated lives that it frankly amazes them when someone claims they didn’t have options to explore in their self-defense.

In other words, their inability to fully grasp what Lozada’s gone through is a failure of the imagination. Of empathy.

But it is a situation most Filipinos can appreciate, because they have encountered it on some level at some part of their lives. Whether a slum dweller at the mercy of urban gangs, predatory police, bodyguard-protected officials, or Chinese Filipinos subjected to the BIR, PNP indifference to kidnapping and extortion, the middle class person subjected to mulcting cops, bureaucrats on the take, judges for sale, the appreciation of official intimidation is something that crosses ethnic and economic lines.

But it can also be something that varies in degree and method, and so for some, being subjected to the combined squeeze of the executive and legislative branches as described by Lozada -and floundering in it- seems inconceivable and thus, unbelievable. But for the rest, they know first hand how official intimidation takes on many forms, not all of it overt, most of it calculated on the premise that a reminder of the resources officialdom can mobilize in its own interests and defense is enough -and much more than any one person or family can, or should, resist.

We are a story-telling culture, an aural and oral culture, sensitive to the nuances betrayed by one’s conversational style, constantly trying to situate people in our society’s landscape: we look for what a person’s accent betrays in terms of background, what one’s storytelling style tells about them, constantly forming and reforming a mental image of the story being told and whether it makes sense. Gut feel becomes a sort of scientific method. And in a society that profoundly distrusts all institutions, the arena in which contending forces clash, and public opinion is formed, and where the advantages of the powerful are blunted, is an instinctive form of checks-and-balances the public craves.

Even the best-honed script, by its very nature manufactured, can be torn to shred and wily lawyers, for example, foiled in the face of hammering away at testimony yet failing to get a witness to recant or contradict previous testimony. Which is why these hearings tend to take a tremendous amount of time and why appeals to leave things to the courts leaves the public cold.

Oh. And in case you missed it, Unseating of Panlilio as governor starts.

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

279 thoughts on “Konfrontasi

  1. Stealing land is theft. It’s not like they paid the real owners. They paid the officials and they paid lawyers. In the old days, if you are illiterate you do not have rights.

    Whenever I hear some rich guy on TV or on print ask why Filipinos are so tolerant about corruption, I want to tell him, “They tolerated your great grandfather, why shouldn’t they show the same “good faith” with the parvenus?”

    On another but related topic. Filipinos do not have short memories; in fact they remember way, way back.

  2. Geo, i’ve read your other comments. What you say ostensibly, i.e. investigate & prosecute, is contradicted by your stand against the ongoing Senate hearings. That’s why i cannot take your statement at face value.

  3. @ cvj

    and as i said i want ‘elite’ specialists (ie worldclass) and ‘elite’ generalists

    I guess this funny hair splitting i’m doing comes from our lesson yesterday on the meaning of ‘abduction’ and ‘kidnap’…

    Oh well, as they say, semantics killed the cat.

  4. much as i believe Lozada, the senate investigations will lead only to a new legislation or a committee report. nothing more, nothing less.

    there are much more important pending bills, yet its still a wonder why the Senate keeps on investigating it.

    of course certain Senators will not want a prosecution right away, as they have to apply their 2010 make-ups first

  5. MLQIII:

    …i’m working on an article where my assertion is, delicadeza as an effective concept died on a particular day: when emmanuel pelaez said he preferred to lose the nacionalista party nomination rather than do certain things to get delegates’ votes. other politicians of a traditional mold knew what marcos had in him and were trying a last-ditch effort to keep him from the final leg of his path to the presidency. when people heard about pelaez’s self control, it they stampeded to marcos’ side. twenty years later, pelaez was being rushed to the hospital, riddled with bullets, and making that famous complaint, “what is happening to our country?”

    Coming from you, this was quite revelatory though many of us are quite familiar with these details. From a relative I learned that the surviving children of the late Maning Pelaez will be launching a book on his life this summer in the old homeland. I shall try to get more details on this event.

    He continues to be the most loved son of Misamis Oriental, and particularly Cagayan de Oro. And in an odd twist (some may say), the family of Romulo Neri is closely related to Maning’s mother side, both Neri’s from Bohol.

  6. “4)She claimed that there is no evidence to link directly the President.Is she saying that Mike Arroyo is not a direct link to Gloria?Have they finally divorced???–The Equalizer

    Not divorced, Equalizer. The direct links happened nights, it’s dark and it’s private, so Lorelei was unaware, although I would guess she has an idea, heheh.

  7. One solution to this wheezing and carping confusion about elite, elitist is to NAME NAMES!!! And if you can say why — even if it is because they are rich beyond what they can spend in ten lifetimes — the better.

    So both Elpidio Quirino, Ferdinand Marcos, Erap and GMA are, by world-standard, elite. [Less than 1/100 of one percent of the world become government department heads, much less head-of-state.]

    ——–
    Merrian-Webster Dictionary:
    elite : (i) a group of persons who by virtue of position or education exercise much power or influence; ;
    (ii) the best of a class ;
    (iii) the socially superior part of society

  8. Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
    elite : (i) a group of persons who by virtue of position or education exercise much power or influence; [Fr. Bernas is one of the intellectual elites of the country];
    (ii) the best of a class [The Philippines has a vast underground of hackers, and one of its elite is The poster boy of Filipino hackerdom is Onel de Guzman, the 23-year-old Manila resident who unleashed the Love Bug virus which wiped out files and paralyzed Internet access from Pakistan to the Pentagon];
    (iii) the socially superior part of society [Is it not correct to say that MLQ3, grandson to the late President Quezon, is one of the Spanish-speaking elite?]

  9. cvj: One reason to wish to be among the elite 👿 is to …exercise much power or influence and move this dinosaur called the nation towards a certain direction. 🙁

  10. And another reason to work your butt off to be ELITE is from this English clergyman :

    There would be no great men if there were no little ones.
    – George Herbert

    Oooops, not that one. This one:

    Living well is the best revenge.
    – George Herbert

  11. ..i suppose you should add that we also have ‘elite kidnappers’ who are ‘elite wordsmiths’, able to turn the word ‘abduct’ into something all ofws should aspire to experience whenever they come home via naia..

  12. “what’s supposed to replaced informal cultural traditions -that certain things may be legal or illegal but what matters most is that certain acts will subject one to the contempt of one’s peers- is an impersonal law, etc. then it becomes neither a question of taste, taboo nor tradition but simply, a matter of the rule of law.

    but, well… instead of the rule of law we have legalism, which is different.” — mlq3

    Legalism is easy because any moron can take the letter of the law literally, dish it out literally, and apply it literally — which is why fundamentalist religion appeals to losers.

    While it’s easy to do that, actually understanding and adhereing to THE POINT behind the law is the challenge that seems to be beyond basic comprehension for most Pinoys.

    The reality is that the elite are successful because they make up their own rules among themselves and work within that framework they created for themselves. In the same way, jeepneys operate within their own rules framework — the honesty-based payment system and the infuriating chaotic nature around which they pick up and drop off passengers.

    It works both ways. It’s not just the elite. The masses also work by their own rules. So all those who seem to make an issue about “elitism” need to get their perspectives broadened a bit. It’s the SOCIETY in general that is dysfunctional and averse to the implementation of structure and transparency.

    Having said the above though, check out this brilliant piece ‘Englightenment of the Elite’:

    http://www.geocities.com/benign0/3-00_Makati/enlighten1.html

    At the end of the day, those with the most resources at their disposal are in the best position to institute change — if only they weren’t too pre-occupied with broadcasting trash through the Philippine Media and displaying their Attourney-at-Law certificates.

    Then again it is the height of naivite to actually think that appeals to civic duty work on the rich. They are too busy making money just like the rest of us. 😀

  13. Sen. Joker Arroyo said that Jun Lozada appeared to be a credible witness but he needed to present documents.

    Okay, the following have been presented in connection with Jun’s account of the kidnapping:

    1. A handwritten request for protection that Jun said he was forced to write inside the car while under the custody of his kidnappers. Stupid Razon. If Jun really wanted police protection, he would have asked his wife to write a request well ahead of his arrival. In forcing Jun to write a request for protection after he arrived and was already in police custody, Razon created the absurd situation where “protection” was given even before it was requested. Stupid Razon, as in stupid reason.

    2. An affidavit that was drafted by Atty. Bautista on the instructions of Atty. Gaite and which Jun was forced to sign with reservations. The affidavit could not be notarized because the falsifiers could not find a notary public willing to ratify the document in the absence of Jun.

    3. A typewritten request for protection that Col. Mascarinas forced Jun’s sister Carmen to sign. When the media started pointing out the absurdity of the police’s giving “protection” before it was requested, the stupid police forced Carmen to sign an antedated written request.

    kaninong signature ang makikita sa mga documents na ito? kay jose velarde?

  14. The first groups on the street will always be the organized political ideological blocs belonging to the left. They cannot bring out the so called necessary middle forces. There is no economic crisis that will push these groups into the street. The opposition outsiders to state power will do their utmost also to try to get the paid crowds out onto the street. The INC which was the canon fodder for Edsa III is firmly on GMA’s side. The perfect storm preceding Edsa I and in a small way the economic storm brought about by the Asian Crisis in 1997 worked its way into a full blown crisis multiplied by the excesses of the Erap misrule.

    The governments strong peso model is now critical in keeping the domestic middle forces content. Their basket of goods is mostly import dependent. Together with smuggling their standards are being maintained. The one equalizer in past political upheavals was always economic downturns that affected the small middle.

    The economic firewall so to speak vs. economic downturns is still provided by the OFW’s.

    For people to get involved they should join movements. It is only through mass movements that real change can happen. The center will have to be strengthened first.

    The safest bet is still with the left of center groups like Akbayan and the Institute for Popular Democracy and the right of center groups like the B&W Movement and Action for Economic Reforms. They are the closest thing to a Republican centrist party that we have. The left would be the embryo of a Democratic party representing small farmers, farm workers, workers and small business. The FPI, PCCI, MBC and MAP are simply big business. Forget about them.

    Asking the government to clean house is the first and only step to take. It is now a clear gauntlet being thrown down between an obviously corrupt autocratic government and the people. If there is no appreciable mass movement composed of centrists in great numbers the government has a wide open road to do as it pleases until the next time once again.

    For those who are fed up you may join the extreme left and take up the armed struggle. The extreme left has many groups under its wing. Take your pick.

  15. benign0 said : Then again it is the height of naivite to actually think that appeals to civic duty work on the rich. They are too busy making money just like the rest of us. 😀

    I disagree. In fact, it is good law-writing to appeal to the civic duty emotions of the rich. The vehicle is the tax-break. The benefit is to push the rich along to do faster and with more oooomph (i.e.more pesos) what they were thinking of doing anyway. The other benefit is that, at the corporate-level anyway, some of the rich do practice separation of church-and-state. Case in point : what GAWAD KALINGA now faces as “corporate” wants their pesos to go to housing/health-care for the poor, in contrast to some of GK-leadership wanting to spend their time and resources proselytizing the Catholic faith among the poor.

  16. “I disagree. In fact, it is good law-writing to appeal to the civic duty emotions of the rich. The vehicle is the tax-break. The benefit is to push the rich along to do faster and with more oooomph (i.e.more pesos) what they were thinking of doing anyway. The other benefit is that, at the corporate-level anyway, some of the rich do practice separation of church-and-state. Case in point : what GAWAD KALINGA now faces as “corporate” wants their pesos to go to housing/health-care for the poor, in contrast to some of GK-leadership wanting to spend their time and resources proselytizing the Catholic faith among the poor.” – UP n student

    But that’s exactly my point.

    Said civic duty should make ECONOMIC/FINANCIAL SENSE to them. As you said: “the vehicle is the tax-break”. That is still an economic incentive.

  17. Conrado de Quiros said this of Lozada in his INQ7 column today:

    “And all the efforts to rattle him, to confuse him, to confound him led only to his detractors being rattled, confused and confounded. All of which confirmed something the ordinary person has always known but which seems to have been lost on this country’s lawyers: There is only one weapon you can wield to fight off the siege the armies of the night will lay upon you when you take the witness stand, that will leave you standing when the smoke clears, proud and victorious:

    The truth.”

    Childlike simplicity vs the armies of Lawyerspeak.

    Legalese is good at spinning different versions of what is essentially the same story.

    Whereas The Truth only need be repeated — and repeated — in its simplest form to be truly effective.

    That is why my message remains the same year in and year out — annoying to those who simply don’t get the inherent simplicity of The Truth and prefer to immerse themselves in pointless legalese. 🙂

  18. Gloria’s men to Lozada :Let’s Move On! (Catch us If you can )

    “As far as the Palace is concerned, this issue is settled, we can now move on and tackle other issues that really matter to the people,” Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye.

    “Marami pa po tayong puedeng pagka-abalahan,” he added, “kabilang na po rito yung mga programa na pang-edukasyon, kalusugan, yung ating social welfare, yung ating mga imprastraktura na mga dapat nating pondohan…

    “These are the more important and more vital projects that we must be paying attention to,” Bunye said.

    What ordinary folks say:

    -“Uso na ngayon move on”

    -Its like saying “i murdered someone” then say “sorry and lets move on”

    -Because of Gloria’s standard line of “let’s move on,” wala tuloy nare-resolve na issue!

    -That’s Not Right!?!Even elementary or pre-school pupils caught cheating are
    punished !

    -There are rules and laws for infractions like these. May the wheels of justice begin to roll. In the meantime, us “mere mortals” move on and try to eke out a living.

    -“Move on” – I suppose that’s the partyline now. They should hire a popular dancing group to release a novelty song of the same name (in Tagalog of course) if they want maximum saturation from this one.

  19. The Charter Change charge of the Nazguls has begun, the succeeding gambit will soon be revealed. Inquirer.net news “Charter Change Road show begins”

    1. Remove JDV, check

    2. Institute Charter Change, objective ongoing.

    The queen trying to keep herself clean, (the same tactic in keeping herself clean in the JDV ouster, ZTE deal, etc.) Inquirer.net “Palace: Charter change road show an LGU matter”

    —–

    Meanwhile from the Palace balustrade:
    “Local government officials … lend me your ears! …”

    —–

    The battle to defend our freedom (or whatever is left) begins in earnest.

  20. nash, it’s not hairsplitting because, as UPn said (at 4:43am), the “wish to be among the elite 👿 is to …exercise much power or influence and move this dinosaur called the nation towards a certain direction”. The perception that one belongs to the elite serves as justification for all sorts of unfair and unjust social behavior (vs. the masa).

    With elitism, as per UPn’s Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition in ‘iii’ (at 4:34am), comes a sense of entitlement over the rest that the term ‘specialist’ or ‘generalist’ does not necessarily convey. if you’re a ‘specialist’ in one area (or in a few areas), that doesn’t make you one of society’s ‘elite’. One may be an expert doctor, another an engineer, another a caregiver with no one being ‘superior’ to the other.

    Getting rid of the elitist mindset is a necessary step towards reciprocity.

  21. how to kill sense of delicadeza:

    Because of Gloria’s standard line of “let’s move on,” wala tuloy nare-resolve na issue!

  22. “-”Move on” – I suppose that’s the partyline now. They should hire a popular dancing group to release a novelty song of the same name (in Tagalog of course) if they want maximum saturation from this one.”

    Make sure they are good at doing the ocho-ocho. 😀

  23. Other watermarks regarding the Orc army’s march toward a de facto Martial Rule:

    Status Check:

    1. Joe de Venecia would have to go since he is a rival for a Prime Minister position – Check, Objective Achieved

    2. Charter Change must still push through so that term limits would be removed for the future Congressmen (or the future Parliament Members for that matter) and the position of Prime Minister must have unlimited term. – Objective Ongoing

    4.The COMELEC must be controlled and manipulated. – Largely Achieved

    5. Maintain a Praetorian guard among generals in the PNP and Armed Forces – Check, Objective Achieved

    6. Maintain the “Destabilizer” and “Communist” bogey so as to justify crackdowns of legitimate protest including opinions published by legitimate media. – Ongoing Objective

    7. Emasculate the media so that those currently in power can be corrupt and abuse power without chastisement. – Partially Achieved

    9. Make inroads and as far as possible to try to control or at least heavily influence the Judicial Branch of government. – Partially Achieved

    Other Objectives (On Hold):

    3. The position of Prime Minister should be a post that would be chosen by a small group (i.e. Parliament) so that only a few need to be convinced and as a consequence would have lesser bribes to dispose to get favors. – On Hold Till Objective 2 is Achieved

    8.If unable to push through the above agendas effectively, they will fabricate a reason or a scenario to declare Martial Rule, or at least put in the mechanisms for a de facto Martial Law. – On Hold just in case Objective 2 and other measures fail

  24. Asking the government to clean house is the first and only step to take. It is now a clear gauntlet being thrown down between an obviously corrupt autocratic government and the people. If there is no appreciable mass movement composed of centrists in great numbers the government has a wide open road to do as it pleases until the next time once again. – hvrds

    Yup. Although after cleaning house (GMA should be swept out of course), continued vigilance should follow.

    It seems there’s a series of mass protests scheduled. Exchanging ideas here is all well and good, but it’s now time to walk the walk people.

  25. Check out what I wrote about this whole hollow-headed predisposition to “hit the streets” whenever something about the way things are being run doesn’t quite sit well with our little minds:

    http://www.getrealphilippines.com/agr-disagr/18-6-majority.html

    Excerpt:
    “Led by no less than Madame Ex-President, former Time Woman of the Year, and Ms 1986 “Revolution” herself — Ms Corazon Aquino, what may now be billed Edsa IV (or Commonwealth Avenue I, as the case may be), promised to be another spectacle of sorts. This time there was no particular heir-to-the-throne around which the fete was organised. If it succeeded in its bid to amass enough warm bodies in the streets to make a statement, it would have marked a new low in the practice of a concept that Filipinos fancy themselves to have invented back in 1986. If it had failed, it will have further served to highlight the utter ridiculousness of how Filipinos conduct their affairs.

    And failed miserably it did. Bursts of little street protests sporadically erupted in Manila’s streets in the days following the House dismisal of the impeachment bid, but none even remotely approached the kind of numbers these would-be anarchists crowed in the days leading to Tueday. Each were in fact smaller in number than the equally ridiculous street gathering in Makati on 25 July.”

    This was back in September 2005. Same perfect storm, different year, it seems. 😀

  26. ay_naku said:

    “It seems there’s a series of mass protests scheduled. Exchanging ideas here is all well and good, but it’s now time to walk the walk people.”

    ========

    So true ay_naku, as I see it:

    … While the mages in their ivory towers argue the color of the fiery dragon’s breath,

    the dragon destroys the townspeople burning them to death…

    ========

    Even if there be few or even if there be many, it is time walk the walk.

  27. stop it already!!!!

    puro kayo evidences nang evidences!!!!

    putcha, evidence is a mass noun!

    proper usage: feces of evidence, feces of evidence.
    [translation: masyado nang mabaho ang korupsyon, deny pa rin nang deny.]

  28. I have an idea.

    What if we bloggers post the same entries on Friday -“Gloria Resign” together with our fave pictures of Gloria. Let’s all post at the same time, say 10am?

    What do you think?

  29. i think that for any revolution to succeed, we must, to paraphrase rizal, be prepared to raze all traces of the existing system. if there would be regime change, it must be total then.

    and to prevent total breakdown, we must do this in phases. we cannot just replace all our leaders in one day. that would be total anarchy! but replace them all, we must.

    and we must not rest once the regime change has been complete. we must continue to hold those people we put in power accountable. that was the mistake of EDSA I and II. the people went back to their homes once the leaders changed.

    and to truly change the system, we must punish all past and present people (still living) who plundered the country’s treasury. from the biggest to the smallest fish, they must all be apprehended, put in jail, and made examples of. every last one. for if even just one escape, by feigning remorse, that one will one day, undermine this change we’re trying to make (JPE never did change did he? he’s still now, as before, still engaged in corruption) as did all the remnants of marcos’ cronies. most of them escaped unscathed and now continue to wreck havoc in the country.

    if we cannot erase them all from our midst, we’d never have any success at transforming this country of ours into a better country to live in. these corrupt people will always be there keep on corrupting other people, and our system into what it is today.

  30. “if we cannot erase them all from our midst, we’d never have any success at transforming this country of ours into a better country to live in. these corrupt people will always be there keep on corrupting other people, and our system into what it is today.”

    Trouble is Pinoys’ idea of staging a “revolution” is to surround tanks with a bunch of nuns.

    Even in the business of “revolution” Pinoys are hopelessly mediocre. 😀

  31. Mita,

    Let me point out to you why the kidnapping is relevant to the NBN investigation.

    The person kidnapped is a vital witness in the investigation. The purpose of the kidnapping was to force Jun Lozada to sign an affidavit controverting the affidavit that he gave to some friends for safekeeping just in case some bad happened to him. In other words, the objective of the kidnapping was to co-opt Jun.

    The fact that Jun is still alive is beside the point. Maybe they didn’t really intend to kill him. They just wanted the affidavit. They agreed to take Jun to La Salle Greenhills because they thought they have already gotten what they wanted: a signed affidavit. As Stupid Razon said, “Mission accomplished.” The mission was for FG and his gang, not for Jun.

    The kidnapping was a blessing in disguise. It led to Jun’s decision to go to the Senate to tell the truth and highlighted the evil of this government.

    God is good.

  32. Jen said:
    “I have an idea.

    What if we bloggers post the same entries on Friday -”Gloria Resign” together with our fave pictures of Gloria. Let’s all post at the same time, say 10am?

    What do you think?”

    ======

    Do you mean this blogsite, another blogsite, or our respective blogsite Jen?(I think you meant the latter since it involves favorite pictures of the Emperor.) Some people might be out on Friday 10am to you know where. Maybe any hour during Friday would be good enough.

  33. @DevilsAdvc8:

    Hi! What I meant was, what if we post an entry in our respective blogs with one theme or one title “Gloria Resign” on Friday, our day of protest. Let’s see how many of us are out there 🙂 Let’s unite via blogging on Friday. Aside from going to you know where (as Kabayan said) 🙂

  34. how is he vital when he can’t really pin the FG or the president to the NBN deal? his testimony can be called hearsay because he didn’t ACTUALLY talk to the president or the FG about NBN. he even had no official capacity to be involved – he was with the DENR, remember?

    if there’s anyone who can bring real light to this mess, it’s Neri so I still maintain that the kidnapping is just panggulo to bring in the media.

    see, if the focus is on NBN and the systemic corruption…maybe, just maybe all these issues can already be pieced and actions taken. What do we have instead? Again, we have grandstanding at the Senate in preparation for 2010.

    remember, dealing with corruption is what the people are clamoring for – you have expressed your indignance here several times yourself. Don’t be sidetracked.

  35. Joker Arroyo puts Lozada down: He is no Clarissa Ocampo–pdi

    lozada may not be an ocampo, but–thank god!–at least he hasn’t turned into a joker who walked out on a trial due to utter ineptness.

  36. how is he vital when he can’t really pin the FG or the president to the NBN deal? his testimony can be called hearsay because he didn’t ACTUALLY talk to the president or the FG about NBN. he even had no official capacity to be involved – he was with the DENR, remember?

    mita, haste makes waste. masyado kang nagmamadali. let’s get abalos first, pwede?

  37. INE (at 1:09), thanks. That was grating on my ears as well (in the same manner as ‘softwares’ did).

    Jen, that’s a great idea. Count me in.

  38. may reunion naman ng mga communists at leftists sa friday!

    lead by the bishops in cohorts with satur ocampo, et al!

    hahahahahahaha!

  39. yun nga eh…haste makes waste. sidetracking makes waste too.

    i pointed out in an earlier comment (another thread) that with the 3 corroborating witnesses implicating Abalos prosecuting him should be a done deal.

    you put the squeeze on 1 sure bet and what else can happen, diba?

    it’s the running around in circles talking about Lozada’s credibility and the kidnapping and all the other palabok that will stall things. just think, who gains from all the grandstanding – tayo ba? nde naman eh…

  40. Frankly too, it’s in Lozada’s best interest to quit while he’s ahead. Tahimik muna sana sya…tama na ang press con….pahinga muna sya. If he has a lawyer, can’t he see this? It’s not like Lozada is Mr. Clean.

    In the regular Filipino’s book, the worse thing you can do is betray your friends.

    PR can work for or against you….but it WORKS and that’s why it’s a lucrative industry anywhere in the world…

  41. how is he vital when he can’t really pin the FG or the president to the NBN deal?

    Neri can. But he aint talking. And even if compelled, he’ll invoke executive privilege. The man is understandably scared and the administration handled him well, not pushing him to the edge like they did Lozada. They botched Lozada’s handling, putting the fear of God in him, which made him stronger. As in the old Pinoy saying, “Hindi mo na ako kayang takutin. Matagal na akong takot.”

  42. Path to Dictatorship 101

    Explaining strategy 6. The Destabilizer and Communist Bogey

    One of the often used strategy by dictators and would be dictators would be to use objective 6 as now being currently used by the Executive branch which states:

    “6. Maintain the “Destabilizer” and “Communist” bogey so as to justify crackdowns of legitimate protest including opinions published by legitimate media.”

    This has been a common strategy used in many countries including the Philippines. This was well used during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos in order to justify his constant crackdown even against centrists and rightists whom he consider as political enemies.

    This technique was blatantly used by Joseph McCarthy. He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the US federal government and elsewhere. Ultimately, McCarthy’s tactics and his inability to substantiate his claims led to his being discredited and censured by the United States Senate. The term “McCarthyism,” coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy’s practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist pursuits.

    McCarthyism

    McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. This period is also referred to as the Second Red Scare, and coincided with increased fears about communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents. Originally coined to criticize the actions of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, “McCarthyism” later took on a more general meaning, not necessarily referring to the conduct of Joseph McCarthy alone.

    During this time many thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees, and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators, and union activists.

    Currently, this psychology is being promoted in the Philippines as part of Armed Forces and Police indoctrination so as to justify and ease the burden of conscience of the rank and file and junior officer personnel (who are often in the front line of riot police duty) when violently dispersing, hurting, abducting or killing people engaged in peaceful protests irregardless of what political leaning they may have.

    Moreover, a certain kind of “Labeling” is established to give an “us versus them” indoctrination and using terms such as “leftists”, “communists” and such to justify violent and unjust acts. This labeling of supposed enemy forces (as indoctrinated in certain elements of the armed forces and police forces in the Philippines) have expanded from the mere Communist label to the Destabilizer label. The Destabilizer label refers to anyone who criticizes or opposed the policies of the questionably installed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

  43. Open Letter To Gloria Arroyo:After the JUN LOZADA expose

    Dear Mrs.Gloria Arroyo:

    Your great father once said “I have sat at the sumptuous tables of power, but I have not run away with the silverware.”

    Gloria, you have also sat at the sumptuous tables of power BUT you ran away with the china!

    This is the reason why we will not accept another “let’s move on!” plea from you after Jun Lozada’s expose on your husband’s involvement in the mega scandal with China‘s ZTE Corporation.

    We are very tired of your propagandists’ cliches “that we should consider the case closed and focus on the issues that really matter to the people”.

    We have given you the benefit of the doubt many times, one scandal after another since 2001. We always said to ourselves “let’s give Gloria another chance”.We also felt a sense of responsibility AND guilt since we helped install you in power in 2001.

    Not this time. Our cup is filled to the brim.Absolutely to the brim!(In Tagalog, “Umaapaw na!”)

    They always said that that Filipinos are very patient. We have started defining patience as “long ,long suffering under the Pidals ”.

    BUT WE REFUSE TO BE YOUR VICTIMS FOREVER!

    Gloria, the decent thing to do now is follow U.S. Senator Lugar’s famous advice to Marcos in 1986 “to cut and cut clean”.

    I am very sure that deep inside you are still a true patriot. Do the right thing. Resign.This is the best gift you can give our long suffering people .

    History may view your legacy in a more positive light after your resignation. This is exactly what happened to Nixon years after his resignation.

    As you said in your 2007 SONA,”We must wipe out this stain from our democratic record.”Wipe it out now!

    God Bless You!

    The Equalizer

  44. Mita, Lozada is vital because he corroborated a lot of things that JDV3 and Neri have revealed, and a lot more.

    Of course, it’s the corruption that should be at the center, and I still want to show my indignation (not indignance) at it. Far from allowing myself to be sidetracked, I just want to highlight that the kidnapping showed to what extent this admnistration is willing to go to cover up its shenanigans. You’re right, if and when Neri decides to finish his testimony, the story will be complete.

  45. Translation Guide :From GloriaSpeak To English

    1)Let’s Move On: Forget the issue! Catch us if you can!

    2)We Deny :You really didn’t expect us to tell the truth.

    3)The Truth: There are many variants of Truth(our side, their side).There’s no such thing as The Truth.

    4)Con-Con: Well,it’s THE CON GAME;to divert the public from the issue at hand.

    5)Noli De Castro: The Antidote

    6)Impeach Me: One-year immunization.

    7)Where’s the Evidence?: Do you think we are that stupid to leave something incriminating behind?

    8) Junket: Bonding sessions with 32 congressmen.

    9)”Big Boy”: Sorry!That’s not a Direct link to Gloria.

    10)The Pidals:Que Barbaridad!Not the Arroyos .Bueno,The Pidals are the ones who destroyed the much esteemed Macapagal name in history.Understood?

    11) D Defensors: Mike and Tita Miriam ,the defenders of the Faith,legally and extra-legally.

    12)Ronnie Puno:Is there a Doctor in the house?

    13)Mr.Esperon:the uniformed Bodyguard.

    14)Apostol: Madame WETNESS

    15)Raul Gonzales: Kidney and Brain Transplants

    16)Bunye Na,Saludo PA!: SPIN doctors

    17)Abalos: The Ultimate Fall Guy

    18)JDV:There’s a sucker born every minute!

    19)The Masa: Ay Que Horror! After a photo op,”where’s my hand sanitizer?”.

    20)The Filipino People:people with short memory (64kb memories:forgive and forget)

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