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Today the Spratlys, tomorrow Palawan (updated)

February 28, 2008 by mlq3  
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Something interesting happened yesterday. Early in the afternoon, the Palace alerted media, saying it should cover the President’s speech in Mindanao, because she would announce the revocation of Executive Order 464. ANC dutifully started covering the speech.

Then it was interrupted by a live press conference at the Palace (see Jove Francisco’s account).

Speaking to reporters were Secretaries See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Say No Evil, otherwise known as Favila, Ermita, and Mendoza. Favila told a touching tale of a befuddled President who left her (potentially dying) husband so that she could honor a request from Fidel V. Ramos to address the Asian equivalent of the Davos gabfest; she got a call, though, from her husband’s doctors and so, rushed home (the Chinese officials couldn’t speak English, Favila said, most undiplomatically, and so he had to converse with them through sign language). Ermita then did his usual folksy uncle schtick about his (not the President’s, mind you) setting up a committee to review E.O. 464. And Mendoza launched into his usual monologue about how utterly above-board the NBN-ZTE deal was. At a certain point, Palace admits Arroyo said ‘anomalya’ in radio interview: but only after the three cabinet members had their bluff called by reporters.

End result? Even if the President had announced she was revoking E.O. 464, it would have been drowned out by the live Palace press conference; but anyway, she didn’t, and the best anyone’s been able to gather is… She changed her mind.

Why?

Who knows. But let me hazard a guess. I think a power play took place, between the time the media was alerted to expect a presidential announcement, and the unscheduled Palace press conference.

I say this, because by some accounts, it’s happened before. The President’s plans to impose martial law were foiled by a rebellion of sorts on the part of her Secretary of National Defense, Avelino Cruz, Jr., with the tacit approval of the generals, in November, 2005 (See Philippine Commentary for details). In February, 2006, the President, never short of clever lawyers, had decided that if she declared a State of Emergency, she could wield martial law powers without defying the United States. This is why, as many people subsequently noticed, the President’s declaration of a State of Emergency was virtually a word-for-word copy of Marcos’s Proclamation of Martial Law in 1972.

And here enters the cabinet rebellion. Soon after the President made her announcement, some of her cabinet then appeared on TV to state that the proclamation authorized the President to wield considerable extraordinary powers; this was followed by Cruz and others appearing on TV to say that no, the President’s proclamation did not confer on her additional powers; at that instant the attempt to wield extraordinary powers was nipped in the bud.

I’m convinced something similar happened yesterday, but unlike Avelino Cruz, Jr. heading off martial law and then an effort for the President to assert extraordinary powers, this time around, Favila, Ermita, and Mendoza engineered the scuttling of the revocation of E.O. 464.

This is part and parcel of their efforts to counteract the President’s efforts to wriggle her way out of the NBN-ZTE mess by claiming that she knew, all along, that the deal was defective (somehow) and that it took her a long time to scrap the deal because she didn’t want to offend China. Had the President pursued that excuse, it would have left members of her cabinet exposed as liars and accomplices to the wrongdoing the President disowned.

So the President’s story was disowned, regardless of the reversal beggaring disbelief. So the President’s effort to pander to the bishops was scuttled, regardless if by doing so, it weakens the ability of the President’s bishop-allies to help her in the future: these cabinet members aren’t about to take a dive any more than they already have, for a President obviously prepared to feed them to the wolves.

Just a hunch. Meanwhile, enjoy this: Palace story on P.5M given to Lozada now on 3rd version.

My column for today is Today the Spratlys, tomorrow Palawan. I have been following the unfolding diplomatic tack taken by this administration for some time now. For a backgrounder, see my Inquirer Current entry titled “The China Card.” It traces my articles on the subject and other relevant readings about the ongoing positioning among the Great Powers in our region as well as ASEAN, collectively, and its member countries.

At a time of American indifference with regards to Southeast Asia, and uncertainty over American attitudes towards the present government, courting China has become a major diplomatic priority of the Palace: on a commercial basis, this is no different from any other country eager to partake of China’s booming economy. But in terms of security and natural resources, American ambivalence about ASEAN has fostered a sense of regional solidarity among member nations, in the hope that acting as a bloc, it can extract better concessions from China as well as resist Chinese pressure better.

Because of her unique political problems, the President has had no qualms about projecting China as a potential -and at times, actual- replacement for the United States as an ally and source of assistance. But the diplomatic gambit has had domestic repercussions, too: NBN-ZTE.

Lately, however, besides domestic problems, the President’s relying on the China Card has upset ASEAN, too. This was revealed in a Far Eastern Economic Review article, Manila’s Bungle in The South China Sea. In our own media, Ricky Carandang tackled the issue in The Correspondents, in a segment you can watch on YouTube. And the papers have picked it up, for example, Malaya’s Treason in dirty Chinese loans? Under Beijing gun, Gloria commits RP to Spratly deal.

In light of the above, something John Mangun wrote on April 25, 2005 in The Philippines and China: A Bad Match now makes perfect sense:

Malacañang refuses to accept and deal with the fact that China invaded, occupied, and stole Philippine territory in the South China Sea. The Spratleys may be worthless outcroppings or the gateway to boundless treasure. It does not matter. Those atolls and islands are Filipino property as much as the ground on which the President walks each day. China’s conduct and treatment of the Philippines shows their inconsistency and lack of honesty in their conduct of foreign relations.

To view China and Japan similarly in our economic relations is a disaster for the nation. Madame President, listen well: China is a business COMPETITOR; Japan is a buying CUSTOMER. Fifteen years ago, ninety percent of all Christmas ornaments and decorations sold in the United States were imported from the Philippines. Now that ninety percent comes from China. The same trend occurred with Philippine garments and shoes.

According to the FEER report, there are two agreements of significance. The first is “Agreement for Seismic Undertaking for Certain Areas in the South China Sea By and Between China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Philippine National Oil Company” signed on Sept. 1, 2004, and later superseded by a “Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in the Agreement Area in the South China Sea,” signed on March 14, 2005. The agreements were kept hush-hush by the three governments, understandably so in the case of Socialist Vietnam and The People’s Republic of China, but not so in the case of the ostensibly democratic Philippines.

As the FEER report says,

…the details having leaked into research circles, the reasons for wanting to keep it under wraps are apparent: “Some would say it was a sell-out on the part of the Philippines,” says Mark Valencia, an independent expert on the South China Sea. The designated zone, a vast swathe of ocean off Palawan in the southern Philippines, thrusts into the Spratlys and abuts Malampaya, a Philippine producing gas field. About one-sixth of the entire area, closest to the Philippine coastline, is outside the claims by China and Vietnam. Says Mr. Valencia: “Presumably for higher political purposes, the Philippines agreed to these joint surveys that include parts of its legal continental shelf that China and Vietnam don’t even claim.”

Worse, by agreeing to joint surveying, Manila implicitly considers the Chinese and Vietnamese claims to have a legitimate basis, he says. In the case of Beijing, this has serious implications, since the broken, U-shaped line on Chinese maps, claiming almost the entire South China Sea on “historic” grounds, is nonsensical in international law. (Theoretically, Beijing might stake an alternative claim based on an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf from nearby islets that it claims, but they would be restricted by similar claims by rivals.) Manila’s support for the Chinese “historic claim,” however indirect, weakens the positions of fellow Asean members Malaysia and Brunei, whose claimed areas are partly within the Chinese U-shaped line. It is a stunning about-face by Manila, which kicked up an international fuss in 1995 when the Chinese moved onto the submerged Mischief Reef on the same underlying “historic claim” to the area.

The “higher political purpose” euphemistically mentioned suggests purely partisan interests: that of the administration, which has, up to now, never disclosed these agreements. The Palace can always counter that “nobody asked,” and I’m sure this will be a Palace defense in the coming days. It may even claim that the agreement is a state secret, and covered by Executive Privilege.

This must be challenged. Not wanting to tip our government’s hand in negotiating international agreements may be understandable, but once signed, agreements should be subject to official disclosure. Reading old volumes of the Official Gazette, a regular portion was the publication, by direction of the President of the Philippines, of international agreements signed by the Republic. An agreement with economic consequences, and which involves defying an existing ASEAN consensus, certainly requires full disclosure. While MeiZhongTai pointed out in 2005 that an agreement had been signed and that exploration for oil had commenced (briefly noted by Ben Muse also), but never trumpeted, for obvious reasons, by our government although it liked trumpeting virtually every other China-related deal at the time.

The reason of course is that the deal would have negative political repercussions at home, and the government was not about to broadcast to its own people that the Philippines went against an ASEAN consensus.

I can think of many ways the administration will get stuck in another mess of its own making on this one.

Why?

Read Ricky Carandang’s entry, Treason:

Aside from angering our neighbors and potentially undermining regional stability, Arroyo’s action may also be illegal. Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez–who was then acting justice secretary–told former Senator Frank Drilon, who was then allied with the administration, that she believed that the deal violated the constitution, because while it was a deal between the state owned oil firms (PNOC of the Philippines and CNOOC of China) of the two countries, it implicitly gave China access to our oil reserves. Officers of the Foreign Affairs Department were also upset because the deal effectively strengthened China and Vietnam’s claim to the Spratlys.

What would compel Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign a deal that potentially undermines regional stability, possibly grants China parity rights to oil reserves in the Spratlys that we claim to be ours, and likely violates our constitution?

How about $2 billion a year? After the Spratly deal was signed, the Chinese government committed $2 billion in official development assistance a year to the Philippines until 2010, when Arroyo is supposed to step down from office. My sources tell me that the Spratly deal was an explicit precondition to the loans.

A sizable amount to be sure, but for the Arroyo administration the China loans are particularly appealing. Not so much because the interest rates are so low and the repayment terms so lenient, but because Chinese loans do not have the cumbersome requirements that loans from the US, Japan, the EU, and big multilateral lenders have. Requirements for documentation, bidding, transparency and other details that make it very difficult for corrupt public officials to commit graft. In fact, in November of last year, those cumbersome requirements made it impossible for some government officials and private individuals with sticky fingers to avail themselves of the World Bank’s generosity.

It had gotten to the point where a corrupt government could no longer make a dishonest buck. That is until China’s generous offer came along.

My column, of course begins and ends with a jab at the bishops. An account of how the bishops voted: Mindanao bishops ‘saved’ Arroyo. Noteworthy tidbit, concerning another portion of my column, on E.O. 464, is this:

In seeking the abolition of EO 464, Cagayan de Oro Bishop Antonio Ledesma said the bishops also wanted the Palace to waive executive privilege “in the spirit of truth and accountability.”

Although it was not expressly stated, Ledesma said a waiver on executive privilege “is the essence of the recommendation.”

Iniguez, one of Arroyo’s more vocal critics in the CBCP, echoed Ledesma’s position. Thus, the CBCP reached a consensus on asking President Arroyo to revoke EO 464 in order not to stifle congressional investigations on anomalies in government.

But Oliveros said the CBCP stopped short of categorically asking the President to give up executive privilege since this is a right vested to the Office of the President.

“We are not trying to protect the President but the Office she represents,” he said.

***

Update 10:47 PM:

Newsbreak emailed me to point out they’d published a report in 2006, unfortunately, it’s only available online at the Geological Society of the Philippines Yahoo Group.

What is available at Newsbreak’s site is the full text of the Agreement Between the PNOC and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

I’ve been apprised that June 2009 is some sort of deadline for the passage of a law on identifying our territorial baseline, and so agreements like this take on a greater significance. If anyone has information on why this deadline exists, and on what basis, I’d appreciate it

***

On China, additional relevant readings are Parag Khanna’s provocative Waving Goodbye to Hegemony:

Without firing a shot, China is doing on its southern and western peripheries what Europe is achieving to its east and south. Aided by a 35 million-strong ethnic Chinese diaspora well placed around East Asia’s rising economies, a Greater Chinese Co-Prosperity Sphere has emerged. Like Europeans, Asians are insulating themselves from America’s economic uncertainties. Under Japanese sponsorship, they plan to launch their own regional monetary fund, while China has slashed tariffs and increased loans to its Southeast Asian neighbors. Trade within the India-Japan-Australia triangle — of which China sits at the center — has surpassed trade across the Pacific.

At the same time, a set of Asian security and diplomatic institutions is being built from the inside out, resulting in America’s grip on the Pacific Rim being loosened one finger at a time. From Thailand to Indonesia to Korea, no country — friend of America’s or not — wants political tension to upset economic growth. To the Western eye, it is a bizarre phenomenon: small Asian nation-states should be balancing against the rising China, but increasingly they rally toward it out of Asian cultural pride and an understanding of the historical-cultural reality of Chinese dominance. And in the former Soviet Central Asian countries — the so-called Stans — China is the new heavyweight player, its manifest destiny pushing its Han pioneers westward while pulling defunct microstates like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as oil-rich Kazakhstan, into its orbit. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization gathers these Central Asian strongmen together with China and Russia and may eventually become the “NATO of the East.”

(I don’t know if the “rallying to China out of Asian cultural pride” is exactly accurate; at least for ASEAN, since the 1990s there have been efforts at strengthening the regional bloc at the very least, to try to prevent individual member countries being intimidated by China; but American indifference has left the region no alternative but to cozy up to China):

This applies most profoundly in China’s own backyard, Southeast Asia. Some of the most dynamic countries in the region Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are playing the superpower suitor game with admirable savvy. Chinese migrants have long pulled the strings in the region’s economies even while governments sealed defense agreements with the U.S. Today, Malaysia and Thailand still perform joint military exercises with America but also buy weapons from, and have defense treaties with, China, including the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation by which Asian nations have pledged nonaggression against one another. (Indonesia, a crucial American ally during the cold war, has also been forming defense ties with China.) As one senior Malaysian diplomat put it to me, without a hint of jest, “Creating a community is easy among the yellow and the brown but not the white.” Tellingly, it is Vietnam, because of its violent histories with the U.S. and China, which is most eager to accept American defense contracts (and a new Intel microchip plant) to maintain its strategic balance. Vietnam, like most of the second world, doesn’t want to fall into any one superpower’s sphere of influence.

Also, see the entry of Steve Clemmons on Khanna’s article in his blog, The Washington Note: for an American’s view on the Khanna article.

And see Us and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism by Jerry Z. Muller in Foreign Affairs.

Also, while reproduced in one of my responses below, let me add, here, the relevant provision of our Constitution:

Article XII

National Economy and Patrimony

Section 1. The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.

Section 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.

The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

The Congress may, by law, allow small-scale utilization of natural resources by Filipino citizens, as well as cooperative fish farming, with priority to subsistence fishermen and fish- workers in rivers, lakes, bays, and lagoons.

The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country. In such agreements, the State shall promote the development and use of local scientific and technical resources.

And on a final note, more charges, filed against a President who knew her father when he was President: Salonga files plunder case against GMA.

In the blogosphere, an entry related to my previous one, on the Mandate of Heaven: Taoist lessons from Akomismo II. And sad but very, very true reading in Brown SEO.

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Comments

247 Comments on "Today the Spratlys, tomorrow Palawan (updated)"

  1. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:31 am 

    Exactly, the conyos in the executive is selling us out. Treasonous to the core, and they don’t even know it. They think they’re just being apathetic, it’s worse than that. Impunity has become a habit and they now believe it is their royal privilege to do what they want of our patrimony.

  2. Floyd Buenavente on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:58 am 

    What’s happening to this country! My God whats’ really happening to this country!

    “2. Urge the President and all the branches of government to take the lead in combating corruption wherever it is found;”

    Its just like saying:

    “Go ahead Satan clean up the evil around you!”

    Perhaps people who went out of the country were right after all in their decision to go out… AND STAY OUT!

  3. inodoro ni emilie on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:18 am 

    Perhaps people who went out of the country were right after all in their decision to go out… AND STAY OUT!

    wrong floyd, staying out does not solve the problem. booting out the source of the problem is.

  4. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:19 am 

    Manolo,

    I am at a loss of expletives I wish to say. I had already held Gloria’s nationalism suspect when she made our June 12 Independence Day fall under the “Holiday Economics” rule. If she is indeed selling out our territories for a mess of pottage, then my suspicion is confirmed. It’s all money for her, nothing of the values of a true Filipino.

  5. vic on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:20 am 

    The President in Revoking EO 464 will be Feeding a lot of her minions to Exposures and most of them held the Secrets as Bargaining chips. So I doubt it very much, but there is still the Executive Privilege that can be invoked by any Executive Officials and just as effective as the EO.

    The very reason why she can’t led the fight against Corruption as the Bishops want her to do, is her hands tied by the men and women around her who will be the very first people she has to deal with. AS somebody would like to say it, it’s no Brainer..

  6. anthony scalia on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:27 am 

    mlq3,

    re: John Mangun’s piece on China

    i could be mistaken, as i have not been reading his column in Business Mirror regularly , but his last write-ups, he is now singing a different tune on China. too bad his blog isnt updated.

    early this month, he had a write-up about the Philippines having the great opportunity of feeding China’s hunger for minerals

  7. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:30 am 

    In that presscon, Favila: “kung sino man and nagsisinungaling, mamatay na ngayon.” How un-becoming of a minister. What kind of cabinet does she have?

    Being the shrewd bee that she is, don’t you think they were just playing good guy, bad guy? Sure, lifting EO464 would expose the cabinet men, but the trail will lead eventually lead to her bedroom. I don’t hink all the president’s men are as malleable as Neri.

    If she outplayed the China card, then nobody could save her if the U.S. and Japan decide to oust her, with the help of FVR and the generals. FVR is known to have ties with some U.S. group wanting to maintain the old international economic order. He is the only one who went after Lucio Tan. Some conspiracy theory, no? Masyadong malalim ang laro.

  8. hawaiianguy on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:31 am 

    mlq3,

    Hope your title in this thread is not a typo error. Aren’t you thinking of “Philippines” instead of “Palawan”?

  9. Jon Mariano on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:32 am 

    How much did the Russians sell Alaska to the USA for? Our Spratly Islands might turn out to be the same and we’ll have another laughing matter; something other nations will use to laugh at us.

  10. Bencard on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:32 am 

    how an agreement for exploration of territorial waters to find oil amount to giving up sovereignty beats me. there’s a whole lot of things to know before anyone should make such an outlandish exaggeration. what if it’s an american oil corporation that’s the other party to the agreement. would anyone raise a stink?

    not able to do it by itself, the philippines has been looking for foreign investment to develop local oil resources since time immemorial. this is how the malampaya deposits were discovered.

    the general principle is that any contract that violates the law, the constitution or public policy is void. not even a vast conspiracy of every single official of the executive branch, i think, would have the power to “give up” philippine sovereignty. i think macasaet and carandang are just being alarmist and partisan.

  11. anthony scalia on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:38 am 

    Perhaps people who went out of the country were right after all in their decision to go out… AND STAY OUT!

    ***sigh***

    kung pwede nga lang bang sabihin din sa kanilang ‘DON’T COME BACK’! pero inherent in the right to travel is the right to return

    kung sabagay, nafi-filter din kung sino talaga ang may malasakit sa bayan. at least OFWs are expected to return.

    yung mga naiwan dito ay working, to borrow i.n.e.’s words of wisdom, to boot out the source of the problem.

    para naman kasing pwedeng i-boot out from a remote place. ano yan, ‘offshore booting out’?

  12. The Equalizer on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:39 am 

    THE EQ POLLS:What People Are Telling Us!

    1)80% of EQ readers who have participated in the poll think that Jun Lozada is a “very credible witness”(base: 146)

    2)63% of EQ readers who participated in the poll think that Gloria Arroyo’s legacy is a
    “disaster”(base:201)

    3)74% of EQ readers who have participated so far that there is a “simmering outrage”( poll base:105).

    4)60% of EQ readers who have participated so far think we may have reached the “tipping point” in this political crisis(poll base:80).

    5)69% of EQ readers who have participated so far in the poll think that the role of Ex-Comelec Chairman Abalos was that of a “big-time broker” in the ZTE deal(base: 136)

    6)72% of EQ readers who have participated in the poll think that Gloria Arroyo should resign in the face of the ZTE mega scandal(base:136)

    7)93% of EQ readers who have participated in the poll are against CHA-CHA (base:92)

    8)EQ Readers are divided on whether Noli De Castro should succeed GMA if and when she resigns:

    YES:27%
    NO:26%
    “It’s like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea”:37%

    base:(104)

    9)75% of EQ readers think that Gloria should go exile together with Mike Arroyo (base:97).

    10)81% of EQ readers who participated in the poll think that Gloria will not peacefully leave Malacanang in 2010 (base:117)

    11)”Pagkaraan ng pitong taon ramdam nila ang pag asenso!” Sabi ng mga TV ads ng GMA administration ay ramdam na ramdam daw ang pag-asenso ng ating mga kababayan. Agree or disagree? Kayo – ramdam ba ninyo ang pag-asenso?

    OO naman! :6%
    Ano ‘yun?:13%
    Pwede ‘yan sa joke of the day!:77%

    Base:(139)

  13. istambay_sakalye on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:42 am 

    yeah. i saw that episode on abs-cbn’s correspondence on the spratly’s with the arroyo government signing a joint agreement with china and other se asian countries.
    agreement that allows china to explore spratly’s for oil. then out of the blue china’s economic relationship with the philippines started to flourish in terms of loans and other economic agreements.
    gma is selling us out to china and it took a “probinsyanong intsik” to blow the whistle on gma’s shenanigans! what an irony!

  14. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:47 am 

    hawaiian, no, just palawan, that’s the area immediately affected at least based on reports.

    bencard, the main issues are rp deciding to break the asean consensus it helped build; proceeding with an agreement that strengthens the china claim and weakens the rp claim; trying to keep the agreement secret or at the very least, not releasing it as should be the case; so what could be an innocuous and far-sighted agreement now bears the burden of proof as far as government having to justify it at this late date.

    it’s fair to assume that the administration did not want the agreement revealed and that it took no steps to reveal it, unlike practically every other agreement that the government has trumpeted to the public. you have to ask why.

    also, for reference:

    Article XII
    National Economy and Patrimony

    Section 1. The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.

    Section 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens. Such agreements may be for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable for not more than twenty-five years, and under such terms and conditions as may be provided by law. In cases of water rights for irrigation, water supply fisheries, or industrial uses other than the development of water power, beneficial use may be the measure and limit of the grant.

    The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

    The Congress may, by law, allow small-scale utilization of natural resources by Filipino citizens, as well as cooperative fish farming, with priority to subsistence fishermen and fish- workers in rivers, lakes, bays, and lagoons.

    The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum, and other mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country. In such agreements, the State shall promote the development and use of local scientific and technical resources.

    as i said in my entry, it makes sense for the president to keep our country’s cards close to her chest during the negotiations for any agreement. having concluded one, however, it is democratic practice to publish these agreements as it’s part of the accountability processso the public knows what the president’s real foreign policy is.

  15. Jon Mariano on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:47 am 

    Bencard, have you been to the Spratly Islands? Have you seen the structures built in there? Also, are you familiar with the China-Japan problem regarding deep sea oil exploration? If you do, then you shouldn’t just wave or dismiss this “problem” away.

  16. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:47 am 

    I agree with Bencard. The Chinese do not want territory; they are only after the money. They are all businessmen. I’m sure their ambitions are limited to increasing the wealth of their people. Who wants the Spratlys anyway? So what if it’s right in the middle of the ASEAN? Amd a good vantage point for delivering nucear warheads via submarine to US bases in the middle East. Besides, the Chinese have proven to be trustworthy in the past with regards to the Spratlys.

  17. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:49 am 

    It’s also stupid to mention once again, Bencard, that the Chinese want ALL of the islands in that area. We are only claiming a few and those are the ones within 50km of Palawan. So, sleep well.

  18. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:54 am 

    MLQ3: “as i said in my entry, it makes sense for the president to keep our country’s cards close to her chest during the negotiations for any agreement.”

    Manolo, are you putting your trust on our president’s abilities as a schemer and negotiator. I wouldn’t even touch the problem with a hundred-foot pole. Status quo at the Spratlys is the best option. If the Chinese are willing to give up our claim and sign up for it, even better. What Gloria is doing is open things up for the Chinese and maybe weaken our claim in the future. This is international stuff, people. If the US can invade Iraq, and they have a Congress, imagine what the Chinese can do. We are safe teaming up with other ASEAN nation, all of very modest ambitions, and with no history of warfare against one another. You’re right about that one.

  19. Mita on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:57 am 

    what foreign power wants us? for all the weatlth we have, underground and under the seas, we’re so messed up, no one would want the responsibility of RULING over us.

    divvy up the islands, baka tanggihan pa at may mga tao. they’re only interested in the uninhabited islands?!

    excuse me today. for some strange reason, i woke up finding only humor in the country’s situation…it’s so absurd with the drama and all the intrigues, it’s turning to a comedy.

  20. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:00 am 

    Never trust China

  21. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:01 am 

    brian, i’m saying that a president conducts foreign policy, and that in the negotiations of foreign agreements, at times a certain amount of secrecy is justified. the check and balance on that, is that we ought to assume that upon their being signed, even if they do not require senate ratification (the ultimate check and balance on treaties, e.g. jpepa), they should be published and not witheld from the public.

    this is at the heart of the problem -the lack of disclosure. it makes no sense, precisely because every other deal has been given wide publicity. this only strengthens the suspicion that the president knew the agreement would raise a ruckus and there are times when a ruckus is justified.

    we expect presidents to outline their foreign policy when they campaign for office and every year in the state of the nation address, because the conduct of foreign policy is the president’s prerogative but its aims and the means used must receive public support -in a democracy, at least.

  22. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:03 am 

    Besides that, Manolo. Should she make negotiations at all? That’s my point. I will not even touch the subject one bit. Just protect our territory, don’t deal with China on Spratly, whatever the offer is.

  23. anthony scalia on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:03 am 

    Bencard,

    they will use anything, as in anything, to induce/incite people power, like what is being done in the present Senate hearings on the NBN-ZTE deal

    any prosecution of the culprits can be initiated now, as enough evidence is available. yet how come the prosecution has yet to begin? (even without 1 second of Senate hearings, a prosecution of the culprits will prosper)

    the reason – walang media mileage, walang chance for people power outside the Senate hearings

    to those objecting to letting China explore for oil – as if naman our country can finance exploration. PNOC/Petron’s funds are tied to explorations of oil/other energy sources here.

  24. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:06 am 

    Scalia, forget oil. Sa oligarchs lang naman mapupunta ang profit.

  25. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:08 am 

    Mita “what foreign power wants us? for all the weatlth we have, underground and under the seas, we’re so messed up, no one would want the responsibility of RULING over us.”

    Yes, I’ve heard of a similar spin. RP does not need a standing army to guard against foreign invasion. We are so messed up internally, foreigners will just wait for us to implode.

  26. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:09 am 

    anthony, aren’t you keeping track of the blizzard of charges? and the lack of swiftness on the part of the doj and the ombudsman?

    and the distinctions between what is at stake in criminal trials and how there is a separate sphere for political crimes? and the need for oversight?

  27. Bencard on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:14 am 

    mlq3, how does the “spratly deal” strengthen china’s claim and weaken philippines’ claim to spratleys? isn’t entering into such a contract necessarily implies china’s recognition of philippines’ claim of title?

    btw, as i stated, the constitutional provisions you cited preclude cessions of sovereignty as raised by carandang and macasaet. there’s no need to unduly alarm people who are not in a position to understand the principles and issues involved.

  28. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:18 am 

    bencard, read the links. that’s why they’re there. do your part, please.

  29. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:19 am 

    Bencard, principles! Legality has no bearing here. China do not even educate diplomats. Geez! Remember when Ramos and his generals played chicken with the Chinese about these islands. Nakaktakot. That was the time when Saving Private Ryan was showing in the movies. Imagine my fear of being recruited in case the situation suddenly deteriorated.

    We should know by now that our government is weak and officials are corruptible. I’d rather not deal with the Chinese ever re Spratlys.

  30. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:21 am 

    Not recruited but conscripted.

  31. Floyd Buenavente on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:33 am 

    inodoro ni emilie & anthony scalia: There is nothing wrong in going out and staying out that is what the former revolutionaries did and even Rizal did it himself when he was fighting against the spaniards. (He went back and what happened? He was killed right?)

    Just a hint – Watch the movie “City of God” by directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. You’ll get my drift.

    By the way you cannot help a person if it doesn’t want to help itself same goes with a country whose form of religion, beliefs and government is backward.

    Lets be realistic here we can’t afford to have a revolution and a genuine one because we don’t want to loose the grace of the rich people around us. Even Cory is still haunted by Hacienda Luisita and now she’s calling for another revolution after her family killed a number of farmers?

    Education is the solution but how can you educate when the system that you want to help is even the one who’s killing you?

    Filipinos don’t want a revolution, all it wants is the gratitude of the rich. So there.

  32. Jeg on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:36 am 

    During Ramos’s time, Chinese structures built on the part of the Spratleys we claim were destroyed by the Philippine navy. Literally blown up. Ramos wouldnt stand for it. This was reported to me by someone from Almonte’s NSC right after the navy did it.

  33. james on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:38 am 

    almost swallowed my tonsils laughing at j madrigal. The supposedely smoking gun(the only paper trail) against FG went kaput!

    this exemplifies the desperate attempt of the anti-GMA and opposition to splurge on every opportunity that they can take hold of using everything under the sun except reason.

  34. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:39 am 

    I tried replying at Inquirer Current but I don’t see it getting in the comments section. This is a repost:

    This president is very dangerous Manolo, if she really thinks this way. Imagine a minor player like us in world politics dealing “cards” like a pro. As a small country, we defend ourselves by having sincere needs and wants. This is our protection against ambitious countries. If you are correct and GMA is trying to act like one of the big boys then we are in trouble.

    Let us simply protect what we have, including our portion of the Spratlys. Wealth and progress will come from our own abilities to cope with the changing times. Who cares about AID. Only the corrupt benefit from AID. If they give, they give; if they don’t, forget it.

    This is not to stay, presidents shouldn’t engage in geopolitics. She should be limited with prudence, however. Territory is important, and since the beginning our main concern and claim on the Spratlys has always been its propinquity to Palawan.

  35. manuelbuencamino on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:46 am 

    Bencard,

    Pwede yun contract between our gov’t and a private oil company kasi ang message nun ay the land is ours and we can contract it out to any private company. The private company recognizes our claim.

    That is different from signing a treaty with another country over mutual exploration of a piece of land that they claim belongs to them and we claim belongs to us. A deal like that implies mutual recognition of claims.

    So the China claim is strengthened because we recognized it instead of rejecting it. And our claim is weakened for the same reason – we recognized someone else’s claim to our territory.

    Sovereignty and ownership of the territory is in dispute so, if we recognize a competing claim, our claim is weakened and the other sode’s claim is strengthened.

    Here is a simple illustration:

    Two children fighting over a toy

    One Kid: Akin yan

    Second kid: Akin yan

    Both kids: o sige share natin

    So who is the sole owner of the toy now?

    If you were a judge and you were asked to decide who owned the toy after the two kids decided to share the toy, how will you decide ownership?

  36. Bencard on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:48 am 

    mlq3, i read your pdi article, macasaet’s malaya article link & carandang’s “treason”, but none of them addresses my observation that by entering into a contract with the philippines, china necessarily confirms our claim of ownership of those specified portions. if so, it is a victory for the philippines. our government’s sole duty is to protect our nation’s interest. the other claimants (vietnam. taiwan and malaysia) can take care of theirs.

    this is a common practice in multi-party litigations. each co-plaintiff or co-defendant may settle his/her part of claim or defense with an opposing party. i don’t think there’s anything illegal or unfair with that arrangement.

  37. mindanaoan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:58 am 

    are the other asean members objecting to that agreement? vietnam joined in. china has approached malaysia and brunei for similar agreements, according to the cited article. it’s just an oil exploration agreement. Today the Spratlys, tomorrow Palawan seems to be a stretch.

  38. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:58 am 

    Plaintiff? Where are they going to complain, the UN?

  39. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:59 am 

    mindanaoan, Manolo’s point is that she made the deal in secret. My point is that even if she didn’t the Philippines shouldn’t have.

  40. Bencard on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 12:05 pm 

    buencamino, first, who says it is a treaty? don’t you know there is a complex process in negotiating and consummating a treaty, not the least of which is approval by the legislature? second, in a contract, each party recognizes the other’s capacity, i.e., ownership of the subject matter. are you saying that while we have to recognize china’s claim, they don’t have to recognize ours? try not to lecture me on legal principles, will you?

  41. anthony scalia on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 12:13 pm 

    mlq3,

    “anthony, aren’t you keeping track of the blizzard of charges? and the lack of swiftness on the part of the doj and the ombudsman?”

    i am. i think the only complaint (as a result of the Lozada episode) filed in the ombudsman thus far was by Sen. Salonga. i don’t know of any complaint filed with the fiscal’s office.

    who could be the initiators of these ‘blizzards of charges’? have they been filed with the ombudsman and the fiscal’s office?

    i don’t know if there is such a crime as an attempted bribe. Neri still recommended approval of the project independent of the 200-M offer.

    is the mere offer, even if unaccepted, a crime already?

    the ombudsman on its own can investigate. but it can also act on any person’s complaint

    the ombudsman can investigate even the President. gloria is immune from suits, not from investigation.

    “and the distinctions between what is at stake in criminal trials and how there is a separate sphere for political crimes? and the need for oversight?”

    that confirms the open secret that the only reason for the Senate circus is to induce people power

    oversight? two observations: (1) those honorable senators already have more than enough material needed to enact new or amendatory legislation. (2) the project was cancelled, so no public funds were disbursed

  42. Jeg on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 12:28 pm 

    anthony, to help you keep track of the ‘blizzard of charges’, I found this site. You can check for yourself if the DOJ and Ombudsman are acting on the charges in a reasonably timely manner.

  43. mindanaoan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 12:29 pm 

    the title sounds like our sovereignty is at stake. i will not go as far as bencard’s outlandish exaggeration but you have to believe conspiracy theories to connect that agreement with our sovereignty.

  44. manuelbuencamino on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 12:38 pm 

    Bencard,

    buencamino, first, who says it is a treaty? don’t you know there is a complex process in negotiating and consummating a treaty, not the least of which is approval by the legislature? second, in a contract, each party recognizes the other’s capacity, i.e., ownership of the subject matter. are you saying that while we have to recognize china’s claim, they don’t have to recognize ours? try not to lecture me on legal principles, will you?

    FIRST, if it is executive agreement, an moa or mou, it is worse. That means your president singlehandedly committed the Philippines to recognizing China’s claim to the Spratleys without the consent of Congress. Can you see the constitutional problem you just created for your president?

    Maybe we should check to see if she made a similar deal with Malaysis over Sabah. If you will recall the farthest Fidel Ramos ever went on the Sabah issue was to announce he was going to put it on the backburner. You know there is a world of difference between FVR’s and your president’s position.

    SECOND, our claim is we are the SOLE OWNERS AND SOVEREIGNS of that disputed territory. That’s why we cannot enter into a contract with a party that has a rival claim. We cannot enter into a mutual recognition arrangement without sacrificing our claim to SOLE OWNERSHIP AND SOVEREIGNTY!

    Which part of SOLE OWNERSHIP AND SOVEREIGNTY do you not understand?

  45. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 12:38 pm 

    An economist argues for keeping corrupt leaders, specifically, centralized corruption.

    wwwdotamericandotcom /archive/2008/january-february-magazine-contents/graft-paper

    Makes one think a monarchist government is best for the Philippines.

  46. Bencard on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 12:52 pm 

    buencamino, it’s my business to understand the concepts of “sole ownership” and “sovereignty”. what about you? being able to write those words doesn’t necessarily connote technical understanding of those terms. i don’t think debating the matter would benefit either one of us. sorry, buddy.

  47. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 1:02 pm 

    Bencard is weaseling out but not without first making an appeal to his own authority.

  48. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 1:02 pm 

    Here’s a possible play:

    Feb 27: Queen takes bishops.
    Feb 29: Pawns rebel.
    Mar 1: Knights join Pawns.
    Mar 2: Queen sacrifices King.
    Mar 3: Queen checkmates Tower(State).

  49. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 1:21 pm 

    jakcast,

    People throw away the chessboard.

  50. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 1:27 pm 

    Yes, BrianB. I’ve probably been reading Ludlum too much.

  51. mindanaoan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 1:30 pm 

    1: QxB P-KN7!
    2: K-K2 N-R6!
    3: Q-N4 P-N8 (Q)
    4: QxQ NxQ = draw

  52. manuelbuencamino on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 1:31 pm 

    cvj,

    “Bencard is weaseling out but not without first making an appeal to his own authority.”

    well said.

    bencard,

    “buencamino, it’s my business to understand the concepts of “sole ownership” and “sovereignty”. what about you?”

    I am a diplomat. It is my business to understand matters involving national territory and sovereignty because that is my business.

    So I am telling you that recognizing another country’s claim to territory we say we is ours weakens our claim and strengthens theirs!

    So once again I ask you: which part of SOLE OWNERSHIP AND SOVEREIGNTY did you not understand?

  53. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 2:06 pm 

    Foot in the Door

    Once the salesman puts his foot in the door, the homeowner has already conceded territory and would likely allow an annoying salesman in.

    In pre-WW2 Europe, Germany puts a foot in the door of Czechoslovakia … then came Britain’s policy of appeasement… then Poland, France etc.

    Present day China puts the foot in the Spratlys door, then…

    Other Factors: Philippine administration laid the groundwork for an initial 1 million hectares of Philippine agricultural land for lease to a Chinese firm under vague terms with a promise of another million to follow. Right now, unconfirmed reports say that thousands of hectares have already been transferred for lease. Whose guarding them?

    Backtrack: Pre-WW2 Philippines, Japanese were leased large tracts of land which later became military intelligence outpost and Japanese Imperial army sanctuary.

    Present Day: ZTE-NBN Broadband deal … Possibility: Program backdoor created to override passwords and monitor movements in government and Philippine military deployments.

    Current China Strategic Advantage: Philippine greedy group that can be manipulated and would concede a lot just for money. Surplus massive dollars can be used to properly position for possible future inroads. They sell their birthright for a mess of pottage.

    Lesson: Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them.

  54. Floyd Buenavente on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 3:51 pm 

    http://warden.donutbai.com/suspended.page/?p=1701

    I always see this upon logging on your site Sir Manolo.

    it takes 5-8 refresh clicks before ever getting to your site.

  55. Kamote on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 3:54 pm 

    Mita :

    what foreign power wants us? for all the weatlth we have, underground and under the seas, we’re so messed up, no one would want the responsibility of RULING over us.

    Geographically speaking We are in the middle of all the south east asia. I mean we are the gateways to our friendly neighbors. We are also a buffer to and from the pacific. We are the most strategically located country there is in terms of our asian neighbors. And I am getting redundant.

    divvy up the islands, baka tanggihan pa at may mga tao. they’re only interested in the uninhabited islands?!

    We had been ruled by the spaniards for 333 years, the americans for decades, the japanese for 4 years or so. We are one of the most invaded country in the world. I doubt if no one wants our resources and location.

    excuse me today. for some strange reason, i woke up finding only humor in the country’s situation…it’s so absurd with the drama and all the intrigues, it’s turning to a comedy.

    Excuse me today for not laughing about the so called comedy. This is my country you are laughing at. I have stakes in the matter on how my government should behave. And selling any piece of shit land my country have to foreign power is a treason in my book.

    Our ancestors were killed in action while battling the spaniards, participated and got killed in Filipino – American War, shed blood with the white big brother in bataan death march. Its our duty to protect and improve what ever we inherited from them.

    As President Quezon once said ” I’d rather have the Philippines run by monkeys than have it run like heaven by the americans” or something to that effect.

  56. magdiwang on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:00 pm 

    kabayan, China currently has one trillion dollars to invest worldwide. Many countries including the US and Western Europe are enticing them to invest in their own economies. So your argument is hollow. Investment by the US and Japan in the Philippines runs billions of dollar s more than chinnese investments, so Im not sure where are you are coming from. We are now part of a globalized economy. We should welcome foreign investments as long it is done fairly and equitably.

  57. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:23 pm 

    magdiwang,

    Study your strategy, the US are inviting China and so does Europe but no one conceded territory or allowed a million hectares of their land to be open for lease. There is no argument here, just a clear and present danger.

  58. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:24 pm 

    We should follow China’s example on what they did to develop, which was to tackle inequality first and implement a program of domestic investment. The opening up of their market only happened later. Their economy did not take-off because of globalization. On the contrary, the foreign investments started coming in only when it was clear to the foreign investors that China’s economy had potential. Timing and sequencing is important.

  59. tonio on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:25 pm 

    hmmm… last time I checked pride was one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

    while I am opposed to a foreign power subjugating this land as with every Filipino who comments on this blog (last time I looked those yo-yos who want us turned into an American state don’t comment here, I think), it would be more useful for people to check in their bravado and their testosterone at the door. It’s your country, fine, but its ours too, and no amount of chest-thumping and quoting mlq3’s grandfather is going to change that.

    Manolo has yet again revealed another sin in the encyclopedic litany of misdeeds that has marked every year that “evil bitch” is sitting in the Presidential palace. yet another hole to be plugged by the her dutiful minions.

    the question is, what’s to be done about it then?

  60. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:27 pm 

    Kamote,

    Conceding territory and leasing out 1 million hectares or 10% of our total agricultural land is no laughing matter.

  61. Mita on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:32 pm 

    one word: SABAH

  62. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:33 pm 

    Kamote,

    I wonder when other people will realize that there other things at stake here more than money.

  63. Madonna on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:37 pm 

    Folks, it’s obvious Ate Glo has not read or taken to heart the Constitution of the Philippines. She is so hung bent on her economist credentials as if that alone makes her infallible. I remember at a forum when she was senator and I was a student, she suddenly made a remark (with her trademark scolding style) that the university was losing because Econ 11 was no longer taught as General Education subject, meaning a subject that should be taken up by every student no matter what their major of study was.

    It stuck to mind that this person was one of those who thinks she is a haciendera of the old days and drove the impression on me as someone who doesn’t know her place and actually thinks that she personally owns the land where her two feet stand on, much like her actions in the ZTE deal and it’s interesting connection to deals that concern our sovereignty rights over the Spratlys.

    Lol, how that perception was proven true when during her rise to the Presidency, even national holidays (Independence Day, National Heroes Day, etc.) were all sacrificed under the altar of holiday economics. She is prepared at every turn to bastardize and abuse the values that he hold dear as a nation. She has a one-track mind and her grasp of national patrimony and democracy is highly suspect.

    If she had but half a brain it would have settled on her that the average Pinoy doesn’t go gallivanting in Boracay or Subic during a stretch of a 3 or four day weekend. The average Pinoy stays at home with his or her family and considers the time as a respite from spending precious money that go to fares, lunches, etc when going to work. So shucks, she’s even a very, very stupid economist in my book.

  64. nash on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:37 pm 

    tapos biro biro natin noon na bobo si Erap…:D

    e itong si GMA na pasang awa sa UP Phd niya at bestrpen kuno ni Uncle Bill sa Georgetown eh unaware sa mga agreements natin with the ASEAN.

    ..yan, yan ang sinasabing matalinon economista…pwe…

  65. sparks on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:38 pm 

    China has enough mouths to feed and enough problems of its own to lay siege on any country. I don’t think Manolo literally meant they’ll make any imperial encroachments. China doesn’t need to.

    The issue with the Spratlys is an excellent opportunity for our country to take advantage of a rising China. Its investments and ODA can potentially contribute immensely to our infrastructure development.

    But China also maintains a policy not to intervene in other countries’ domestic politics. Unlike Europeans who get on their moral high-horse and put economic sanctions on those whom they deem “evil” (i.e. North Korea, Cuba etc.), the Chinese just want to continue weaving their webs of influence and opportunities.

    It is probably not a coincidence that “opportunity” and “challenge” are the same word in Mandarin. Looking at history, both Japan and South Korea developed under the ambit (protection?) of imperial United States during the Cold War. That was a chance we Filipinos were too…how do I say this diplomatically…stupid to take advantage of.

    So now we get a second chance. It really is not the time to play nationalist and chauvinist.

    But of course, everything boils down to our leadership. And obviously, we don’t have any.

    More here.

  66. Madonna on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:41 pm 

    “he hold dear” — > we hold dear

  67. ricelander on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:46 pm 

    Bencard, come on respond to MB and show us how good a lawyer you are!

  68. DevilsAdvc8 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:54 pm 

    i don’t know what the fuss is all about. we’re going to be swallowed by the Greater Asian Sphere of Economic Union (GASEU) sooner anyway. that’s the way of social evolution. EU is leading the way, and the US is stumbling towards NAFTA. the world has always been going in the direction of hegemony. it’s just the way evolution works! and it’s in the bible too!

    maybe hegemony is all for the better. the world should unite to concentrate all resources in space colonization. that’s the only way humankind will survive.

    again, social evolution. from solitary cavemen to band of hunters to warrior villages then pioneer towns. came next were cities and then confederates, and nations. nation blocs soon followed, and then the U.N.

    spurring social evolution is mankind’s hard-wired need for exploration. that’s how we spread across the globe and that’s how we’ll spread across the universe.

    today the spratlys tomorrow palawan?

    sovereignty is dead.

  69. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:58 pm 

    How about this variation:

    1. Queen takes black Bishops.
    2. Pawns rebel.
    3. White Bishops join Pawns.
    4. Queen sacrifices Pawns.
    5. Knights takes Tower.
    6. Pawns lose.

  70. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 4:59 pm 

    No one should confuse inviting investments with conceding territory.

  71. Jeg on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:00 pm 

    Bencard, come on respond to MB and show us how good a lawyer you are!

    Si Manoy pa. Sasagot yan. Kaya lang ibang timezone sya, ricelander, e.

  72. Que Sera Sera Philippines on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:01 pm 

    One wonders why young JDV wants the Senate to finish off the NBN-ZTE investigations now…Could it have something to do with the dots now being connected to Spartleys, North Rail and JDV the elder?

  73. Blackshama on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:01 pm 

    The Chinese idea is that if they have historical rights to a territory then that piece of real estate belongs to them.

    So why not we just cede Greenhills, Sta Mesa Heights including Banawe street and of course Binondo? Residents of these districts should rejoice. China won’t impose its system on them. Most like they would be made into SARs!

    They won’t worry about elections either and all sorts of scandals like Hello Garci and Abalos’ alleged complicity. Everyone kowtows to Beijing. What Beijing says goes (unless the President of Taiwan Province makes noise!)

  74. Jeg on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:01 pm 

    Devils, youre always full of sunshine and joy. :-D

  75. Mita on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:04 pm 

    strains of John Lennon singing “Imagine” playing softly in the background….

  76. nash on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:08 pm 

    @blackshama

    you can twist that and say mongolia has historical rights to most of northern china

    :D

  77. nash on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:13 pm 

    @devilsavc8

    the eu is a free-trade area that also allows for borderless travel within the eurozone (yehey nga pala to that) but at the same time, the national borders still stand ie. rock of gibraltar (still a sore point b/w espana and britain) and also last year switzerland mistakenly ‘invaded’ leichtenstein…

    so far, no one has ceded sovereignty to anyone…

  78. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:19 pm 

    Geo-political threat real. Patient, these guys are. Pride regained after 1000 years. Not only economic, but Middle Kingdom syndrome.

  79. nash on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:20 pm 

    @blackshama

    PS…ay ang bobo ko…ang buong Tsekwa pala ay nasakop ng Mongol Empire, so hindi lang northern china, pati na rin yung bilihan natin nga fake goods sa south ay historically mongolia rin….

  80. Que Sera Sera Philippines on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:22 pm 

    When GMA is gone, we can just tell the Chinese that she was an illigitimate President so whatever was signed re Spratleys exploration is null and void!

  81. Que Sera Sera Philippines on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:23 pm 

    Illegitimate

  82. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:35 pm 

    This is 1986:

    1. King and Queen holds Tower for 170 moons.
    2. Knights rebel.
    3. Bishop calls Pawns.
    4. Knights, Bishops, Pawns fight King
    5. King does not sacrifice Pawns; leaves Tower
    6. New Queen from nobility

  83. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:40 pm 

    When any Queen or King sacrifices the Pawns, just throw away the chessboard, they won’t recognize the chess rules anymore. Beware of sacrificing Pawns.

  84. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:41 pm 

    And this is 2001:

    1. King Pawn tried for gold from Chinese gambling.
    2. Some Pawns rebel.
    3. Bishop calls larger group of Pawns.
    4. More Pawns rebel.
    5. Knights annoint new Queen.

  85. Ric on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:44 pm 

    DevilsAdvc8: So what if hegemony is the way of social evolution? Does that make it right? Do you agree with it? Maybe a “world nation” is the solution to humanity’s problems, but I’ll be part of no nation where one group of humans (whether a religious, racial, geographical, or other group) has any more power than other groups.

    In any case, it’s a moot point, since you’re WRONG that hegemony is the natural direction of social evolution. Countries joining economic unions doesn’t mean they’re giving up their national sovereignty or merging with the other members. Just look at any world map – there are more nations now than at any point in history. In recent times, nations are separating, not merging (see East Timor, Kosovo, and maybe Kurdistan, in the future). So there goes your argument.

    As for this issue: The ZTE deal was bad enough when it was only local. Now that apparently our government’s even sold us out to foreigners, I’m really pissed. How low can our administration go?

    Anyone here considered the possibility that the influential Chinese-Filipino minority is involved in this? I’ll probably be called a bigot for even asking that. So I say now: before you heap your self-righteous criticism on me, know that I myself am a Chinese-Filipino. But I know where my true allegiance lies.

  86. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 5:55 pm 

    Ric :

    Anyone here considered the possibility that the influential Chinese-Filipino minority is involved in this? I’ll probably be called a bigot for even asking that. So I say now: before you heap your self-righteous criticism on me, know that I myself am a Chinese-Filipino. But I know where my true allegiance lies.

    The Chinese-Filipino taipans and their field of influence was in the diagram of Neri which he gave to Lito Banayo. The relation of Spratly issue and these Oligarchs has yet to be established. To compound the problem of investigation, stocks and other paper trail can easily be hidden through China government itself (as with the ZTE bribe). This has also happened among Hongkong big business in collusion with the Chinese government. The truth hopefully could be dug out but considering the wealth reserves of these taipans, investigations will be difficult at best.

  87. alas ka dora on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:05 pm 

    earlier, MLQ3’s website was suspended. would anyone know what happened.

  88. frombelow on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:15 pm 

    Bishop checks king
    Queen takes bishop
    Knight threatens queen
    Queen sacrifices rook
    Knight takes rook
    Knight takes knight
    Pawn advances
    Queen blocks pawn
    Three pawns sacrificed
    Rook captures queen
    King resigns ( actual game between two of the greatest chessmasters of all time)

  89. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:22 pm 

    Anyone here considered the possibility that the influential Chinese-Filipino minority is involved in this? – Ric

    I don’t think we should confuse racial and/or ethnic affiliations with national allegiances. So for the above, i would stress on the “influential” rather than “Chinese-Filipino” aspect. All things being equal, an oligarch is more likely to sell out our country than a non-oligarch. That has been the pattern in Philippine history.

  90. The Equalizer on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:23 pm 

    “The well-adjusted make poor prophets. On the other hand, those who are at war with the present have an eye for the seeds of change and the potentialities for small beginnings.”Eric Hoffer

    I am currently reading The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer. It was written more than fifty years ago. But it is still very relevant. Eric writes from real-world experience, not from the confines of ivory-towers.

    Hoffer revels in pointing out seemingly paradoxical situations and attitudes, such as “Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems almost within reach. A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed.”

    His incisive comments cut to the nerve of his subject, treating in one stroke mass movements of every variety: “It is futile to judge the viability of a new movement by the truth of its doctrine and the feasibility of its promises. What has to be judged is its corporate organization for quick and total absorption of the frustrated.”

    I needed to read Hoffer to understand the current Philippine situation.

    We are witnessing the blooming of a leaderless but vibrant mass movement in Search of Truth and Accountability. This movement is growing by the day and has a momentum of its own. All sectors of society appear to be involved.

    The movement is not only confined to Greater Manila as claimed by government propagandists. Even the Global Pinoys abroad are in this movement!

    What a dramatic reversal of people’s attitudes in such a short span of time—from almost complete apathy last year to total involvement of the citizenry now.

    The following is a short sample of the many aphorisms that can be found in Hoffer’s book. Because he believed in the virtue of brevity in the art of writing, nearly every sentence he wrote can stand alone as an individual idea, complete in itself. I selected the ones that have relevance to the current Philippine situation:

    On An Evil Government: “The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the people it acts upon. No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion- it is an evil government.”

    On Evil: “Whoever originated the cliche that money is the root of all evil knew hardly anything about the nature of evil and very little about human beings.”

    On Absolute Power:”Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep.”

    On Freedom:”Freedom means freedom from forces and circumstances which would turn man into a thing, which would impose on man the passivity and predictability of matter. By this test, absolute power is the manifestation most inimical to human uniqueness. Absolute power wants to turn people into malleable clay.”

    On the Unpleasant Truth:”To most of us nothing is so invisible as an unpleasant truth. Though it is held before our eyes, pushed under our noses, rammed down our throats- we know it not.”

    Why People Unite:

    “The aspiration toward freedom is the most essentially human of all human manifestations.”

    “It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of dogs.”

    “What are we when we are alone? Some, when they are alone, cease to exist.”

    “It is not actual suffering but a taste of better things which excites people to revolt.”

    “To be fully alive is to feel that everything is possible.”

    On Leaderless Movements: “The ability to get along without an exceptional leader is the mark of social vigor.”

  91. tonio on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:23 pm 

    alas:

    it could just be that this website has used up its bandwidth quota. no worries. yet.

  92. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:24 pm 

    alas ka dora (at 6:05pm), the efforts to hack manolo and ellen are already underway.

  93. alas ka dora on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:25 pm 

    okey, thanks for info, tonio.

  94. tonio on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:25 pm 

    Que sera:

    as manong Ben has repeatedly mentioned, contracts entered into that violate the rights of one of the parties are void to begin with. or something like that.

  95. tonio on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:29 pm 

    cvj:

    have any proof that a DOS (denial of service) attack is being perpetrated on Manolo’s blog?

  96. Madonna on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:36 pm 

    Just an observation on Pinoy Chinese in general. In fairness, most of them are very patriotic and Lozada’s case is an example. I have known quite a few who would rather stick it out in the Philippines and build their lives here and make a success of themselves, rather than pack their bags to migrate at the first hint of trouble or political turmoil.

  97. Tambay on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:43 pm 

    @ CVJ

    I do agree with you about tackling inequality first…it’s the method you’ve been proposing that worries me….

    @ Blackshama

    Not all Chinese Filipinos are unpatriotic with respect to the Philippines, in the same way that not all Filipinos are patriotic (eg the traitors during the Jap occupation.) Raising bogeyman does not help.

    SIno ba ang may kasalanan kung bakit may invasion ng mga Mainlanders sa Pilipinas…ang mga CHinese Filipinos? HIndi. It’s the people manning the ports of entry whose at fault for letting these people overstay. (am not talking about the legit mainlanders.)

  98. Tambay on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:44 pm 

    CVJ

    Paranoid niyo naman. Around 11-2 pm mayroon talagang pagbagalng service. I was trying to use BPI Express Online and lagi ring busy….

  99. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:46 pm 

    Hi Equalizer,

    That’s an excellent book “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer”

    Should get one myself.

  100. alas ka dora on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 6:50 pm 

    what time is the interfaith rally in makati. my family members are joining me, except for my hubby who is a gov’t employee.

    Erap is joining the rally. i will bring a placard that will boooo!!! him out

  101. james on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:00 pm 

    imperial manila is not the philippines…these are the noisy few

    from its all politics

    It is quite clear that the “NBN-ZTE Deal” is a dead
    matter. Jun Lozada is merely being used as a political
    pawn by the opposition in its desperate attempts to
    steal power from the current administration. I come
    from the Visayas and very few people here care about
    political issues concerning the nation and yet I still
    feel the weak yet resonating effects of evil plots and
    acts of destabilization carried out by a few
    opposition Senators, Congressmen, radical priests and
    nuns, oppositionist businessmen and the media in Metro
    Manila.

    Cory Aquino has turned desperate and has nothing to
    do but call for the resignation of almost all the
    presidents that succeed her. She has lost her identity
    as she allows herself to be ingeniously manipulated by
    extreme oppositionists.

    The church should also refrain from joining and
    partaking in deliberate acts of politics. Bishops,
    priests, and nuns should remain NEUTRAL and reflect on
    their true purpose as the guardians of the people’s
    FAITH and MORALITY not as tools for political
    maneuverings headed by jejune oppositionist “trapos”
    seated in the Legislative Department.

    The media are also to be considered as the merchants
    of chaos in the country. The media’s abuse of their
    right to published, aired and televised expression has
    gone too far and that it is quite obvious that THE
    LEADING TELEVISION NETWORK AND NEWSPAPER HAVE BECOME
    ONE-SIDED PROTEGES OF THE OPPOSITION who have
    confidingly upheld Lozada’s fake credibility to a
    point of worship and idolatry. Jun Lozada and that
    Madriaga coot have trifled with the sanctity of
    speaking under oath with their deceitful statements
    that tell of nothing but twisted versions of the truth
    as they are controlled as puppets by still anonymous
    handlers
    I call for Charter Change towards a Parliamentary form
    of government wherein the Senate and Congress (the
    main beneficiaries of wealth through corruption) shall
    be dissolved and the opposition shall lose its power..

    Jun Lozada is a fool for having caused division and
    disunity in our country but I assure you who read my
    comment that we who live in the Visayas strongly
    support the president and her administration. Almost
    all of us here in the Visayas and a great percentage
    of the country support the president and we rebuke
    Lozada’s lies and false allegations.
    The media may exaggerate and falsely implicate that
    majority of the country distrust PGMA but it is all
    but a gargantuan lie for the facts point out that only
    Metro Manila is squabbling about these political
    issues.

    We have had enough of Metro Manila’s monopoly
    of political opinion and demonstration. They think
    they own the country! What about the greater majority
    of the country who think contrary to you who lurk in
    Metro Manila?

  102. DevilsAdvc8 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:16 pm 

    Devils, youre always full of sunshine and joy. :-D

    ahaha. i find that lowered expectations always result in high spirits when things don’t turn for the worse :D

    the eu is a free-trade area that also allows for borderless travel within the eurozone (yehey nga pala to that) but at the same time, the national borders still stand … so far, no one has ceded sovereignty to anyone…

    nash, the moment they ceded their national currencies, they ceded their sovereignty. haven’t you been reading hvrds?

    So what if hegemony is the way of social evolution? Does that make it right? Do you agree with it? Maybe a “world nation” is the solution to humanity’s problems, but I’ll be part of no nation where one group of humans (whether a religious, racial, geographical, or other group) has any more power than other groups.

    ric, here’s my take on hegemony:

    The power of hegemony, is that achieved by a benevolent group, humankind can actually achieve peace and end all hunger and death. The craziness of it is that though humans are more or less rational, we are also more or less ruled by our passions. In the right hands, it is deliverance, and in the wrong ones – well, I believe in hell, right?

    The paradox, and what really annoys, is that passion cannot be separated from the rational. And the greatest of men aiming to do good better be passionate at what they do, or we are more than lost to the megalomaniacs of this world.

    The final solution is for everyone to step into the shoes of those they hate most. For liberals to think like fascists, for secularists to entertain religion, for atheists to believe in God, vice-versa.

    and then everyone would see that we’re not that much different from each other. that what makes us tick is also what makes our adversaries tick. and that in the end, they are not our adversaries at all.

    as for secession of small nations, yes gerrymandering is all the hype. only that once that small country secedes, it falls all over itself in trying to join the unions and power blocs. so who controls the power? hvrds has the answer.

  103. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:35 pm 

    The Equalizer,

    Hoffer has it in reverse. Prophets are maladjusted precisely because they know something is wrong the future, therefore, looks bleak to them. On that note, I feel like Ezekiel at the moment.

  104. tonio on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:39 pm 

    hmmm… there you go. if there’s something this movement lacks, it’s reach. be they indoctrinated, bought out, or true believers, there are people out there that believe the Administration is doing well.

  105. The Equalizer on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:52 pm 

    For JAMES

    Will Gloria’s STANDARD Excuses Still Work ???

    Will the standard lines still work???

    1)”Where is the evidence?Those are just allegations.”

    2)”We should consider the case closed and focus on the issues that really matter to the people”

    3)”Tne political noise is only in Imperial Manila.Imperial Manila is not the Philippines!”

    4)”This is just the work of a few politicians!”

    5)”Pananagutin natin sila. Galit ang tao sa kurakot. Ganon din ako!

    6)”Ang aking pamilya ay hindi nagnenegosyo sa pamahalaan”

    7)”Ako ang Pangulo. Wala ng iba!”

    8)”Who would invest in the Philippines if people power would happen again? ”

    9) “I’m like a laser beam!”

    10)”The case is closed!Let’s move on!”

    Take your pick.

  106. TheColdKing on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:55 pm 

    ALL TRAITORS TO THE RACE AND THE HOMELAND SHOULD BE EXECUTED THROUGH EXTREME TORTURE IMMEDIATELY! KAYA NAGKAGANITO NA ANG ATING BAYAN AT BANSA, DAHIL SA MGA WALANG KWENTANG DUGONG ASO NA IYAN, DAPAT KATAYIN NA SILA KAAGAD. KUNG ANG MGA TUNAY NA ASO AY PUMUPUNTANG LANGIT KAPAG NAMATAY, SILA NAMAN MGA DUGONG ASO, LALO NA YUNG MGA KAPAMPANGAN, MAGSAMA-SAMA NA SILA NG MGA AMO NILANG MGA KANO AT BEHO SA IMPYERNO.

  107. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:57 pm 

    have any proof that a DOS (denial of service) attack is being perpetrated on Manolo’s blog? – tonio

    Not Denial of service, but someone tried to hijack the website and redirect it to this page:

    warden.donutbai.com/suspended.page/

    I have the screenshot.

  108. mindanaoan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:57 pm 

    tonio, plus:
    1. those who believe EDSA’s are not acceptable as a solution.
    2. those who don’t like the opposition
    3. those who don’t like the leftists
    4. those who believe politicians are all the same
    5. those who are not convinced, and want legal proof

  109. TheColdKing on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 7:58 pm 

    ALL TRAITORS TO THE RACE AND THE HOMELAND SHOULD BE EXECUTED THROUGH BEING TORTURED TO DEATH, IMMEDIATELY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! KAYA NAGKALECHE-LECHE NA ANG BAYAN AT BANSA NATIN DAHIL SA MGA TAONG-DUGONG-ASO NA IYAN! KUNG TOTOO NGA ANG KASABIHAN NA LAHAT NG TUNAY NA ASO AY PUMUPUNTANG LANGIT, SILA NAMANG MGA ASAL-KAPAMPANGAN AY DIRETSO DAPAT SA IMPYERNO KUNG SAAN MAGSAMA-SAMA NA SILA NG MGA AMO NILANG KANO AT BEHO!

  110. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:05 pm 

    Alas ka dora, it’s 4 to 8pm. Assembly time is at 3pm in front of AIM (Neri’s other school).

  111. TheColdKing on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:07 pm 

    MAMATAY NA KAYONG MGA TRAYDOR SA LAHI AT SA LUPA, MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS PARA LANG SA MGA TUNAY NA PILIPINO, HINDI PARA SA MGA DEMONYONG DAYUHAN KAGAYA NG MGA KANO AT BEHO !

  112. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:10 pm 

    James,

    Visayans are secure of their age as a people and race. We are older than the people from Luzon and we act like it, tolerant but with the capacity to be annoyed now and then when the blow hard from Luzon cross the line. I believe we are a more democratic people than other Filipinos. Case n point is my province, which successfully “booted” out the oligarchs.

    We see, hear, and feel as other people and a liar and a cheater to other people are also a liar and a cheater to us.

  113. TheColdKing on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:10 pm 

    MGA BISAYA , SANAY NA BA KAYO SA PAGIGING ALIPIN AT ALILA KAYA WALA JA KAYONG PAKIALAM KUNG PATULOY KAYONG INAAPI NG OLIGARKIYANG PIDAL AT ANG MGA DAYUHANG KANO AT BEHO?! SABAGAY, HALOS KARAMIHAN NG MGA KATULONGGOY SA PILIPINAS, MGA BISAYA NAMAN…

  114. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:12 pm 

    tonio,

    why so gullible? You think Visayans are morons and unprincipled people to allow such a president to stay where she is?

  115. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:14 pm 

    I do agree with you about tackling inequality first…it’s the method you’ve been proposing that worries me…. – Tambay

    Which method? This is what i proposed (as mentioned in my blog and comments elsewhere):

    http://www.cvjugo.blogspot.com/2007/03/wealth-redistribution-suggestion.html

    i’m hoping that the next leader of the country (whether he/she be democratically elected as i would prefer, or a dictator), would summon the 300 wealthiest families of the Philippines to Malacanang and ask each of them for a workable plan to redistribute a portion of their wealth to the poor (e.g. as seed money for livelihood programs). This plan, once agreed upon, should be closely monitored by the grassroots organizations for faithfulness of implementation and quality of execution. Within the ranks elite, they should also agree to police their ranks of would be cronies.

    I also endorsed Abe Margallo’s Bayanihan Pact approach which is more comprehensive in terms of vision. You can read more about it in his blog.

  116. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:15 pm 

    TheColdKing,

    My impression is that there are more warlords and tyrants in Luzon than in Visayas. When I first came here in manila I was actually surprised at how afraid the “maiitim” are to the “mapuputi.” In my province, the mapuputis like me are a docile lot. Here they are mayabang. This forum is a free forum and Manolo does not check our IDs. That James guy is probably no busy and most definitely, in my opinion, an agent of the Palace.

  117. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:17 pm 

    and TheColdKing,

    I’ll take your racial slur with tolerance, but this will only last until your apology.

    Don’t be a fool.

  118. The Equalizer on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:23 pm 

    The Cebuanos will see Ang Suga!(The Light).100% sure.

  119. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:23 pm 

    CVJ,

    I think we should confiscate all land purchased before the Spanish turnover to the Americans, and all those given by the Spaniards (mga pamana nang Kastila), then we should make them pay rent from that time of turnover to the present.

  120. The Equalizer on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:27 pm 

    MLQ3

    “Not that We loved The Philippines less, but that We loved China more!”

    The Pidals

  121. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:27 pm 

    TheColdKing,

    Where is your apology?

  122. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:35 pm 

    Brianb, how to go about that without us turning into another Zimbabwe is the sticking point. However, your proposal makes sense from the point of view of accelerating economic growth. When it comes to economic growth, land inequality matters more than income inequality according to a study by Western economists Rodrik and Alesina:

    Alesina and Rodrik found a significant negative effect of the Gini coefficient of the distribution of income on the growth rate. But they also found that this effect becomes insignificant when the Gini coefficient of the distribution of land ownership is also included as an explanatory variable. In other words, inequality in the ownership of land not only is more important for explaining growth than inequality in the distribution of income, it also turns the distribution income into an inconsequential factor. This finding has been corroborated by Deininger and Squire**”

    http://www.cvjugo.blogspot.com/2007/03/land-reform-inequality-and-economic.html

  123. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:41 pm 

    The problem is that lawyers have sold out their own class and are happy to settle for scraps from the oligarchy. This could be done peacefully with the help of the lawyers.

  124. Kamote on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:42 pm 

    Hmm I was quoting mita and my reaction in below her’s. I should learn how to use the quote tag better =)) paano ba mag quote?

    I also noticed manolo’s blog is conking out kanina. Probably to the surge of traffic. DDoS attack? Kay yuga natin tanong.

  125. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:43 pm 

    Brianb, i think we should see through those who are trying to instigate regional and/or ethnic animosities. They are just trying to distract from the main issue which is Gloria Arroyo and her Oligarchs.

  126. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:45 pm 

    Kamote, like this:

    <blockquote> insert text here </blockquote>

  127. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:49 pm 

    When I see someone’s crap in a public commode, I don’t just drop the lid, I flush it….

    I just don’t get it. People are afraid of Mindanaoans but are not afraid of the Bisayas, perhaps the largest Philippine sub-group. The Philippine Army is also full of Bisayas and much of the police force. We practically dominate in the security industry. Yes, there are a lot of Bisaya domestics, but from relatives I take it this is because Bisayas are more reliable. They are also more responsible. I will not even trust a maid from Luzon or Mindanao and neither will people in Manila. I base this merely from anecdotal evidence, but I’m sure because it is racially sensitive no real study has been done on the subject.

  128. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:50 pm 

    If Mr. James represent the feelings of most in the Visayas, then we better take note. I’ve read Gov. Keon of Ilocos Norte say they will have their own upheaval. Another province in Mindanao announced the same sentiments.

    Balkanization in the making?

  129. alas ka dora on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:55 pm 

    kung talagang ayaw ni Gloria ng katiwalian at gusto nyang parusahan kahit sino man na sangkot dito, dapat hindi sya magalit kay Lozada dahil kung hindi kay Lozada walang mabubunyag na katiwalian wala ring mapaparusahan. Kudos to Lozada for his courage

  130. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:55 pm 

    That’s bullshit. Just because the Garcia’s are head honchos in Cebu does not mean Cebu likes Gloria. I was in Cebu in 2005 when the Cebu government hosed protesters against Gloria. People, listen to me. We don’t know who James is, and you know who I am. Unless you’ve forgotten the Dalisay episode and will have to post my complete name again.

    Geez, kung may katulong kayong Bisaya or may sikyu na bisaya kayo sa office nyo, tanungin nyo. This is not the time to be shy.

  131. BrianB on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 8:56 pm 

    jakass, that’s for you above. I mean ask the maids and sikyos of their opinion on politics.

  132. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:04 pm 

    Jakcast, i think that ‘Balkanization’ bromide can be safely laid to rest after the results of the May 2007 Senatorial elections. It’s clear from the results of that exercise that opposition to Arroyo is nationwide even in Maguindanao as revealed by Musa Dimasidsing’s sacrifice.

  133. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:10 pm 

    Guys, chaos theory might just play; events may not follow a linear, predictable pattern.

  134. cvj on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:27 pm 

    Jakcast, you’re right. We should not discount the oligarchs and local warlords fanning regional animosities just to hold on to power. Gloria Arroyo will surely try to do a Milosevic. I’m banking on what Brianb said that people are not that gullible.

  135. mindanaoan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:40 pm 

    BrianB : most mindanaoans are bisaya

  136. The Equalizer on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:42 pm 

    Gloria and the Palace Gang :P ito na ka tuig nakong pag-antus sa inyong dautang pamunoan:sibug ,mga amamaliw! ANG SUGA

  137. The Equalizer on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 9:52 pm 

    “There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come:Victor Hugo

    The Filipino People are crying “BRING FORTH THE TRUTH”! (ILABAS ANG KATOTOHANAN!)

    We want to know the truth behind all the cover-ups in the seven long years of Gloria Pidal’s rule!

    How could so many scandals of an elected (?) president and her cadre remain unexplained, unchallenged, and unpunished? When? Probably never.

    We’re not talking mistakes, here. We’re not talking poor judgment or failed policies. We’re not talking politics as usual, with its underhanded array of pork and perks. But we are talking about very serious violations of the public trust, and very possibly the law, perpetrated by the elected (?) leader of this nation and her handlers.

    Even more amazingly, we are talking about the shameful reality that not a single one of these offenses has been investigated by a truly independent, non-political, neutral commission, armed with subpoena powers and adequate funding, and answerable ONLY to the people of Philippines. Not a single one.

  138. jakcast on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:34 pm 

    Precisely my point, CVJ. If the inevitable is a check mate, we must consider how to avoid or at least minimize collateral damage and unintended consequences. As I said earlier, there are still unresolved issues and scores to be settled from the 1986 and 2001 upheavals. There should be some science in war.

  139. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:36 pm 

    anthony, my understanding, and the lawyers can correct me if i’m wrong, but this is the advice i got when i accepted a job at the palace, is as follows:

    1. offering a bribe is a crime. accepting a bribe is another crime.
    2. failure to report a bribe attempt to your superiors is a crime.
    3. failure of your superior to take action upon being informed of a bribe attempt is a crime.

    outside of the provisions of the law, there is the political nature of any such attempt. a project tainted by allegations of corruption is political dynamite and the only way to defuse it is to immediately halt it. restart the process to remove all room for doubt. if possible, restart the process in a manner that eliminates the one who tried to influence the process so they can’t taint the process the next time around.

    and again, we disagree on the purpose of legislative inquiry. oversight involves not just legislators but the public, it’s a means to accord a peek into the way things work for the public, who should take stock of the officials involved. if the legislature is abusive, the people can punish the legislator in the next election. if the officials being investigated are at fault, it can and should lead to criminal prosecution but it can and must also lead to political repercussions.

  140. hvrds on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:53 pm 

    Easy oil versus tough oil. Japans drive to get the oil of Manchuria. The Japanese rapidly industrializing at the turn of the century had to get into the colonization game as the Europeans had already gotten control of the choice sources of oil.

    Fast forward to this century. China is rapidly industrializing and they are in desperate need of access to oil. The struggle to control what is left of oil reserves is the defining issue of the 21st century. The nationalization of most of what is left is the struggle which the West will have to adjust to. The empire has succeeded in splitting up Iraq. They have Kurdistan (Northern Iraq). They have having probelms with Shia held areas of occupied former Iraq. (Allied with Iran.) The Turks have been allowed to invade parts of Kurds to get rid of the commies (PKK)They want to turn Kurdistan as a base vs Iran. There are issues between the Kurds and Iran.

    The Empire needs to stabilize Afghanistan as this will be the route of Central Asia’ oil and gas through to Pakistan.

    The competition of the rest of the oil is between the West and Russia/China. India is caught in between and Brazil is already self sufficient.

    Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei are firmly with the Western including Japan)powers through their jv’s.

    We have limited reserves in our territory.

    A Queen can do as she pleases. The royal families of the M.E. do as they please. One of the largest anomalies of the so called free market for oil are the secret contracts between autocratic governments and the integrated oil companies. Exxon-Mobile is a prime example of a compnay that is racking up huge profits breaking all records in a time of increasing crude oil prices.

    Big Mike and GMA see themselves as autocratic leaders. The basic foundation of markets and politics is the issue of transparency. Information – Knowledge – Awareness and Understanding.

    The relative truth that the spot markets of oil gives us on a daily basis is that oil reserves could be Peaking. REPLACING PHYSICAL DEMAND WITH NEW RESERVES AND THE LAG TIME IT WILL TAKE TO BRING ANY NEW RESERVES ON LINE. IT IS COSTING MORE TO GET AT WHAT IS LEFT. TOUGH OIL ERA.

    FOR WEAK STATES INVADING THEM IS OUT OF THE QUESTION. YOU SIMPLY BUY THE RIGHT PEOPLE.

    BIG MIKE AND GMA WOULD LIKE TO MOVE IN THE CIRCLES OF THE SULTAN OF BRUNEI AND PRINCE AL WALID OF SAUDI ARABIA.

    THAT IS WHAT A FEUDAL SYSTEM IS ALL ABOUT. IT IS THE CULTURE STUPID! EVEN MAGNO AGREES. WE ARE A RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY – MINERAL, OIL AND HUMAN EXPORTS. SUBSIDIZING HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FOR EXPORTS IS STRATEGIC GOVERNMENT EXPORT POLICY.

    Case in point; Enrile was able to get a timber license for some of the most sensitve ecological areas in the country thorugh Mike Defensor. Global warming global swarming. Kaunti na land ang naiwan, puputulin pa.

    It is the culture stupid! The culture of our present day hacendera.

  141. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:55 pm 

    That is the danger of pogroms … stereotyping would eat up both the bad and good

  142. Kabayan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 10:59 pm 

    Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Resign Blogswarm, (make sure its the complete name and tag it in your blog) for tomorrow Feb 29, 2008 AND an invitation to join the late afternoon anti-corruption rally at Makati, see you there!

  143. supremo on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:05 pm 

    BrianB,

    ‘Besides, the Chinese have proven to be trustworthy in the past with regards to the Spratlys.’

    ‘1)Indonesia’s ownership of the gas-rich Natuna Island group was undisputed until China released an official map indicating that the Natunas were in Chinese-claimed waters.
    2)The Philippines’ Malampaya and Camago natural gas and condensate fields are in Chinese-claimed waters.
    Many of Malaysia’s natural gas fields located offshore Sarawak also fall under the Chinese claim.
    3)Vietnam and China have overlapping claims to undeveloped blocks off the Vietnamese coast. A block referred to by the Chinese as Wan’ Bei-21 (WAB-21) west of the Spratly Islands is claimed by the Vietnamese in their blocks 133, 134, and 135. In addition, Vietnam’s Dai Hung (Big Bear) oil field is at the boundary of waters claimed by the Chinese.
    4)Maritime boundaries in the gas-rich Gulf of Thailand portion of the South China Sea have not been clearly defined. Several companies have been signed exploration agreements but have been unable to drill in a disputed zone between Cambodia and Thailand.’

  144. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:08 pm 

    jakcast, duterte snubbed the president for the second time again. and cruelly, too, saying he had a check up or something in manila.

    ilocos sur didn’t secede when marcos fell. i wonder if it would secede on behalf of a macapagal.

  145. mindanaoan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:10 pm 

    it seems it was Wu Bangguo and Jose de Venecia who first thought about this joint exploration project.

  146. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:16 pm 

    floyd, i have no idea why, thanks for telling me. ellen t. texted me today saying abe olandres (our technical guy and webhost) had a staffer report that our blogs suffered extremely heavy spam attacks today.

  147. mlq3 on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:17 pm 

    senyor citizen:

    Thank you for your very kind comment. I appreciate your generosity of spirit very, very much.

    I do agree that it’s a time when everyone should speak out, and most especially people who have reservations and questions that need to be addressed. It may be that these sober questions and genuine concerns will help temper everyone’s passions, so we can all take stock and recognize that all our futures are at stake.

    I do hope you will let me know what you feel, as things progress.

  148. supremo on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:21 pm 

    mindanaoan,
    ‘the title sounds like our sovereignty is at stake. i will not go as far as bencard’s outlandish exaggeration but you have to believe conspiracy theories to connect that agreement with our sovereignty.’

    There will be blood if war breaks out over the Spratlys. I hope the first blood to flow is yours.

  149. ace on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:38 pm 

    I have written an article that I think is pertinent today.

    The Truth Will Set Us Free

    When God created man, He did not endow him with the gift or ability to know the future since it will be useless if he does not know the Truth at the present. What He did was to give man the Truth , to know it, to live it and to tell it and the future will take care of itself, no need to know it in advance. Man fell because he chose to disregard the Truth and everything changed ever since. It is the same Truth that has been disregarded before that will set us free now. The Good Book tells us:

    “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”.
    (Matt 6:34 ASV)

    I would like to share this story about the importance of knowing the Truth and how it can set us free:

    “One day, a man found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
    All his life, the changeling eagle, thinking it was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked, cackled and flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.
    Years passed and the changeling eagle grew old. One day, he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky, hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
    “What a beautiful bird!” said the changeling eagle to his neighbor.”What is it?”
    “That’s an eagle – the chief of the birds”, the neighbor clucked, “but don’t give it a second thought, you could never be like him, come let’s go find us some worms and insects.”
    So the changeling eagle never gave it another thought and it died thinking it was a prairie chicken.”

    What a tragedy, had he just known the truth, he would have been freed by it, he would have been the bird his Creator designed him to be.

    Our country is like this eagle, designed by its Creator to soar high with graceful majesty in the cloudless sky if only the truth is known to it, if only as a people we decide to do what is right.
    Doing what is right does not have a consequence only reward.
    We should teach our children to know the truth and to do what is right so that they will not be hostaged by the unknown called tomorrow. No better and appropriate time to teach them than now and no better method than by example.

    “We do not inherit this country from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”- anonymous

    Enough of the lies, enough of corruption, let the Truth set us free.

  150. mindanaoan on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:40 pm 

    supremo,
    if war breaks out over the Spratlys, it’s so unlikely it will be because of that joint exploration agreement. in fact, one article even said it contributed to the de-escalation of tension over that territory. what i dont like about the topic is that, like some other things, it’s brought up as ammunition against arroyo, but you have to split hairs to find the connection

  151. Nick on Thu, 28th Feb 2008 11:48 pm 

    TheColdKing, what’s with the racial slur ’round here? stick to the issue. I’ve been reading the comments, I rarely comment myself, but wow, what a bigot and narrow-minded person you project yourself to be. I’ve always hated individuals who tend to generalize and discriminate an entire culture for the sake of pushing their agenda or their opinion.

    Obviously, once you graduate kindergarten, you may need to take up a class in tolerance and reality.

    I’m half Bisayan and damn proud. Read the Blog Tingog.com and you will realize the extent of my passion and pride to be Bisayan and Filipino. There’s no loyalty to Arroyo, only to honest officials who don’t corrupt the system.

    Damn, I’ve never been so pissed! I won’t comment anymore, everyone else has already rebuked your comments here.

    Back to the issue. Spratlys, NBN, and corruption that leads to the top.

  152. nash on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:07 am 

    TAPOS na ang BOXING!

    According the GMA, she has GOD’s blessing!

    “And if there is one thing the President says she does when she is at her lowest point, it is to turn to Jesus Christ and his mother Mary.

    “It is Jesus or Mama Mary, that is why I always hold the Rosary,” said the President as she faces mounting calls for her resignation.

    “I pray that the Lord enlighten them,” she said, referring to those who are urging her to give up the presidency.”

  153. Mita on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:11 am 

    Bisayans. They are the nicest, kindest people in the country. No hang-ups, no fear, no garbage…

    The Chinese are the hardest-working people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. They are serious about their work but know how to have a good time, at the proper time. The Chinese have a history and culture unequalled in Asia and the world. These rascist comments have to stop, you are showing your own ignorance.

    As for so many here with their unending quest to regain the glory that WAS, people power pa rin. Good luck. I hope you realize how lucky we are to be in this country, with all we’ve got.

    This is for the young people here…I hope you realize your country is not duping you to join the military and go off to war somewhere you’ve never even heard of….only for some of you to come back broken and everything in your lives following suit. I hope you realize how lucky you are that you can speak your minds without fear of your blogs being shut down and the author imprisoned.

    I hope you realize that with all the problems we could have, recession, AIDS epidemic, armed conflicts, starvation or even bird flu, our problem is minute in comparison….AND FIXABLE, if only we would grow up!

    The problem with us is CULTURAL. We nurtured a generation of spineless, wimpy, asinine whiners and takers who think themselves smart!

  154. jakcast on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:27 am 

    My take: FVR will again play a bigger role in keeping (or dropping GMA)in power.

    End-Game of the Generals:
    Generals Esperon and Razon were both PSG during his term and extremely loyal (“Iba and may pinagsamahan.”) Secretaries Ermita (also FVR’s civil relations chief), Ebdane, Mendoza, have their military connections.

    In this country, Colonels are not expected to switch sides. “We’re almost there” Kami naman. That’s why only majors and lieautenants rebel. Not a coup d’etat

    Oligarchs – Aboitiz, Alcantara, Razon, were all part at one time or another of FVR’s “Team Philippines.”

    Enlightened Elite – FVR and Cory still talk to each other. Besides public enemy no. 1 of both – the Marcoses -are allied with GMA

    Local Governments – Ronaldo Puno is the master of the game in grassroots operations. With FVR when Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said the 1992 elections were stolen from her.

    I pity VP Noli if he is co-opted to lead. Extensive concessions will be extracted.

    The Filipinos do not have a culture of violence, even in our revolutions. But with the lucky bee’s stubborness, I’m a little worried that blood might spill this time.

  155. joker on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 1:18 am 

    MB,

    tameme si bencard sa yo! Hanep! Ang dada niya! Akala niya magaling siyang abogago! Yan pala, kaharap niya diplomat! Pre, bow ako sa yo!

    More power to you!

  156. jakcast on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 1:27 am 

    This is my ideal end-game:
    1. Queen takes black Bishops.
    2. Pawns rebel.
    3. White Bishops join Pawns.
    4. All Bishops and Pawns rebel.
    5. Queen leaves Tower.
    6. Knights annoint new King Pawn.
    7. Annointed King Pawn accepts. Promises to serve 24 moons and proposes new code. Becomes hero and patriot.
    8. All Pawns win.

  157. istambay_sakalye on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 1:34 am 

    “Jun Lozada is a fool for having caused division and
    disunity in our country but I assure you who read my
    comment that we who live in the Visayas strongly
    support the president and her administration. Almost
    all of us here in the Visayas and a great percentage
    of the country support the president and we rebuke
    Lozada’s lies and false allegations.”- james.

    i doubt your above claim! i live in visayas my whole life and i know a lot of people who hate the arroyos and their cronies. i can even tell you that we in the visayas are very embarassed to have the defensor(e)and gonzalez spewing stupdity and non-sense! we in the visayas are outraged that a lot of the crooked individuals in the arroyo government are from the visayas! joc-joc bolante is from visayas, iggi arroyo is from visayas. the arroyo clan are from the visayas. jose pidal is buried in molo cemetery who is a great grandfather of the arroyo clan in molo, iloilo city where the original arroyos still live. i personally know some of them cause i went to school with an arroyo. james, if you’re gonna make a claim do it for yourself. don’t include the entire visayas cause i can tell you that you’re claim is plain and simple wrong and an embarassment to a fellow visayan like me!

  158. istambay_sakalye on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 1:47 am 

    also, don’t forget that the lopezes(abs-cbn) are also from the visayas and manny villar has ties to…you get it the visayas. that is why never lay a claim that the entire visayan region is pro gma. it might be more appropriate to say that the majority of the visayans are embarrased of the arroyos!

  159. hvrds on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 2:09 am 

    It is a feudal social format. Hence the cultural attitudes of Neustra Senora de Lubao ahora La Reyna de Las Islas Filipinas y su Esposo Gordo Miguel.

    Our presumptive Queen and her Court have had a falling out with her First Minister JDV over the tribute to be paid by a foreign state for the privilege of access to the country.

    Our Council of Elders (the Senate is supposed to be that)naturally want to be a party to that and also some of them are pretenders to the Throne.

    The Prince’s of the Church are undergoing their version of the protest reformation period. A vocal minority is rocking the status quo.

    La Reyna is know explaining to one and all that she rules not with the peoples consent but with the consent of God.

  160. hvrds on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 2:48 am 

    For representative democracy to be truly democratic it must be broad based and not centralized at the top.

    But to be broad based that means a broad base of the population must be vested in the state. That means at a minimum the broad masses must have access to the means of production within the countries boundaries to produce wealth for themselves.

    Take the present GDP growth. Two things stand out. If I made Php 10k last year in nominal everyday terms just like every other year and disinflation occurs I will have stronger purchasing power. The real growth rate goes up. Nominal terms -inflation = real growth rate. It will have a compounding effect on the growth rate.

    However the people who depend on a dollar based income the reverse is true. They are feeling the inflationary effects of dollar devaluation.

    On the other hand rising fuel and food prices are working to drive prices higher and going forward there is a real threat of inflation coming from the supply side.

    So what is the presumptive Queen to do? What is the BSP to do when it has lost its ability to act independently of the U.S. dollar. To keep the prices of oil, pan de sal and rice cheap, you need a strong peso. That means you will have to forget employment prospects for domestic production for the domestic market and simply target a strong peso to keep food prices within reason.

    That means the domestic economy will further contract. There will be rising unemployment and rising inflation. BSP will then raise interest rates to try to keep the peso steady.

    Australia has already raised their overnite rates higher. to crush inflation. The drought has seriously affected wheat prices. There is going to be a lot of interesting things happening in the world and the Philippines could be going through a Copernican moment.

  161. jakcast on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 2:58 am 

    To hvrds & co: I admire your analyses. But there are games of state that fall under “real politik.” i.e. the end justifies the means. Any leader worth his salt must have read Machiavelli’s The Prince. I taught world history, political science, politcal geography in UP so I know what I’m talking about.

  162. supremo on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:03 am 

    mlq3,

    Q:
    ‘I’ve been apprised that June 2009 is some sort of deadline for the passage of a law on identifying our territorial baseline, and so agreements like this take on a greater significance. If anyone has information on why this deadline exists, and on what basis, I’d appreciate it’

    A:
    ‘The UN has set 2009 as a deadline for early signatories of UNCLOS (this includes many developing States). Under Article 76 of UNCLOS, submissions must be backed up by rigorous scientific data defining the outer limits of the continental shelf. States must collect and interpret large volumes of geophysical data describing the shape of the continental margin, measuring sediment thickness and locating the “foot of slope” of the continental shelf. They are deploying techniques ranging from seismic surveying to the analysis of bore hole data.’

    www continentalshelf org

  163. supremo on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:13 am 

    mlq3,

    On continental shelf mapping.
    I know the Philippines is late on this project. I read a few years back that the Philippines bought 2 ships from Spain to do the mapping. Google this for what has been done so far in the HOR.

    ‘Committee studies bill defining country’s archipelagic baselines’

  164. noid on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:15 am 

    Kita-kita tayo sa Makati. Nararamdaman kong ito na ang simula. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

  165. UP n student on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:15 am 

    to jakcast with your ideal end-game:

    4. All Bishops and Pawns rebel.
    5. :evil: Queen leaves Tower. :razz:
    6. Knights annoint new King Pawn.
    7. Annointed King Pawn accepts. Promises to serve 24 moons . Becomes hero :lol: and patriot :roll: .

    Damn!!! How come the pawns don’t get to anoint??? :cry:

  166. jakcast on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:20 am 

    To: UP n student

    Like what I just said. That is real politik! Anyway, that is just a scenario. Please smile.

  167. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:27 am 

    istambay, “i can even tell you that we in the visayas are very embarassed to have the defensor(e)and gonzalez spewing stupdity and non-sense! we in the visayas are outraged that a lot of the crooked individuals in the arroyo government are from the visayas! joc-joc bolante is from visayas, iggi arroyo is from visayas. the arroyo clan are from the visayas.”

    I agree. Just visit Ellenville, and one will have a sense of Visayan (Ilonggo) rage.

    Same thing with Cebuanos, Bicolanos, Mindanaoans. Doesn’t mean that if some of them are pro-Arroyo, majority or the entire region where they come from are also like that.

  168. Kamote on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:42 am 

    mlq3 :

    jakcast, duterte snubbed the president for the second time again. and cruelly, too, saying he had a check up or something in manila.

    ilocos sur didn’t secede when marcos fell. i wonder if it would secede on behalf of a macapagal.

    Maybe the reason why ilocos didnt secede was because Marcos was flown out to hawaii and not paoay ilocos norte?

  169. ay_naku on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 4:21 am 

    Something we can pass around:

    Why you should consider going (to the Ayala rally)

    WHAT: “Manindigan para sa Katotohanan, Katarungan at Pagbabago” Inter-faith Rally
    WHEN: Friday, February 29, 2008 5pm-8pm
    WHERE: Ayala cor. Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

    As someone was overheard saying, “I am attending [the protest rally] because I support the community’s call for truth and accountability. I am coming not for Joey de Venecia or Jun Lozada but for myself. I am coming not because the Opposition is better than the Administration but because I deserve better services from both, period.”

    Let’s try to answer the question, “Why should I go?”

    I’m going to the rally because I am sick and tired of being constantly lied to by the government. As observed by civil society leaders, a vicious pattern is becoming evident. First, a brazen act. Then blatant and shameless lies to cover up a criminal act. The Arroyo administration has had a long history of dishonesty, deceit and lying. Its leaders are caught in a tangled web of deception. They can’t even lie well, their outrageous lies often contradict each other and their statements constantly change. Masyado ng tinatanga ang tao. At hindi ako tanga, at ayokong patuloy na magpatanga. I want to express my outrage at the Arroyo regime’s blatant disregard for the truth.

    I’m going to the rally because I am sick and tired of graft and corruption, and I believe that the Arroyo administration is massively corrupt. The scandalous Diosdado Macapagal Highway (dubbed “the most expensive road in the world”), the P728-M Jocjoc Bolante Fertilizer Scam (funds meant for the farmers were diverted to GMA’s electoral campaign), the outrageously-overpriced North and South Rail projects, the COMELEC MegaPacific computer deal, the Jose Pidal controversy, and of course the shocking ZTE-NBN fiasco. The unveiling of more and more of these cases is an insult to the populace who witness the heights of injustice and disservice to them. Corruption in public service is anti-poor. The public money that goes to private pockets could have otherwise been used to fund education, provide basic nutrition, construct schoolbuildings, buy textbooks, build hospitals. They could have upgraded the salaries and built homes for our soldiers, policemen, teachers, and government employees. Just one example, the $130-B kickback from the ZTE deal is already more than five times the entire annual budget of the Philippine General Hospital. And that kickback would have gone only to a handful of people, imagine that.

    I’m going to the rally because I am sick and tired of the Arroyo administration’s various attempts to cover-up massive anomalies. Instead of trying to uncover the truth about these anomalous projects, the Arroyo regime has instead tried to cover them up and sweep them under the rug. Invoking EO 464 (most parts of which have already been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court) to prevent testimonies, refusing to provide documents that could help shed light on matters, even abducting witnesses! As they say, actions speak louder than words. And their actions indicate that they don’t want the truth uncovered. Their actions indicate that they are not interested in fighting corruption. Is this because in most instances, the trail of corruption leads right to Malacanang? They want us to see no evil and hear no evil, even if there are already piles of credible evidence pointing against them. Again, I am not stupid. I can use my best judgment to come up with informed analysis.

    I’m going to the rally because I am sick and tired of massive electoral cheating, and I still want to express my indignation at the wholesale cheating in the 2004 elections as exposed by the “Hello Garci” tapes. Stealing the vote is a humongous subversion of our democratic process. And since they were able to get away unpunished for it, they were emboldened to cheat again in the 2007 senatorial elections, most notably in Maguindanao, again with COMELEC’s help, this time through election supervisor Lintang Bedol. School supervisor Musa Dimasidsing, who exposed some of the electoral fraud and was willing to testify, was gunned down in cold blood. Again, they were able to get away with their crimes. Bedol is still scott-free (as is Garci), and the one who benefited from the massive cheating is now in the Senate (guess who?), in the same way that the one who benefited from the 2004 electoral cheating is still in Malacanang (no need to guess who.)

    I’m going to the rally because I am sick and tired of the pervading culture of impunity. The Arroyo administration is using all mean fair and foul –mostly foul– to evade accountability. They have resorted to bribing congressmen to thwart impeachment efforts (confirmed by at least two congressmen), and bribing governors to have continued local government support, as revealed by Gov. Ed Panlilio, who was offered P500,000 which he returned. And the bribery happening right in Malacanang! Indeed, the administration and its allies seem to have a penchant for trying to buy off people. Abalos tried to offer P200M to NEDA Sec. Neri to approve the ZTE deal, and Deputy Executive Secretary Gaite gave P500,000 to Jun Lozada, which was also returned.

    I’m going to the rally because I am sick and tired of the Arroyo administration’s suppression of legitimate dissent. I am expressing outrage at the hideous extra-judicial killings and disappearances (where is Jonas Burgos?), which even the United Nations largely attributed to be the handiwork of the military. I am protesting state coercion and intimidation, unleashed by government in the forms of Proclamation 1017 (which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court), Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR), and other violations of our freedom of speech and assembly. Why, they even arrested people (Dinky Soliman etc) for wearing a “Patalsikin na, Now Na” shirt! I am condemning attempts to suppress press freedom with illegal arrests of the media (during the Manila Pen incident) and the warrantless raid on the newspaper Daily Tribune.

    I’m going to the rally because I am sick and tired of the Arroyo administration’s continued destruction of our institutions. Randy David sums it best: “The damage to government institutions has been the most extensive. Far from being a neutral arbiter of disputes and a source of normative stability, the justice system has become a weapon to intimidate those who stand up to power. Far from being a pillar of public security, the military and the police have become the private army of a gangster regime. Instead of serving as an objective referee in electoral contests, the Commission on Elections has become a haven for fixers who deliver fictitious votes to the moneyed and the powerful. The erosion of these institutions, no doubt, has been going on for a long time. But their destruction in the last seven years under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s presidency has been the most comprehensive since 1986. In self-defense, we must keep the pressure on the Arroyo regime until it releases its grip on our government. At the same time, we must continue to admonish the custodians of our Constitution to do their work faithfully and urgently, and thus spare the rest of the country from the continuing nightmare of a destructive presidency.”

    I’m going to the rally because I believe that this is not just about the economy, as the Arroyo administration likes to use in its defense, but about rightful governance. What use is a high growth rate if these ephemeral gains have not translated into a better life for most Filipinos? In fact, based on SWS surveys, hunger levels have reached new record-highs under the Arroyo regime, meaning more people are now experiencing involuntary hunger. Sabi nga ni Fr. Jose Echano sa kanyang Mass for Truth homily, “Ang sinasabi natin ay walang tunay na kaunlaran kung walang katotohanan. Ang ating bansa ay di makakamove-on kung nababalot ng kasinungalingan at kaplastikan. Mas mabuti pang gobyerno na may mababang pag-unlad subalit ang nakikinabang ay ang mga mahihirap, pero isang gobyernong na totoo naman keysa isang gobyerno na may mataas na pag-unlad kuno subalit ang nakikinabang naman ay ang mga makapangyarihan at mayayaman, pero isang gobyernong sinungaling naman.”

    Finally, I’m going to the rally because I believe that I can make a difference, however small this may be. I strongly believe in the sovereign right that rests on the people to change a morally-bankrupt regime. Sounds like People Power? Yes, but a new brand of People Power, one that is refined by experience and reflection on past errors. After all, what will happen to this world if at the first or second failure, we stop trying and give up? A People Power that isn’t dependent on some unblemished knight in shining armor that will solve our problems for us, but rather one that is truly people-led and people-centric, requiring our continued active participation and sustained vigilance. We CAN replace a misrule of lying, stealing, cheating, and murder with a rule of truth, honesty, integrity and respect for life. But we have to take the first step, we have to participate, we have to stand up and be counted. As John F Kennedy once said, “All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.”

  170. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 4:38 am 

    kamote,

    Duterte and his supporters are bragging about a Mindanao Republic. Between an Ilokandia nation and a Mindanao country, the latter may be a more viable option. Especially so if Duterte can forge an alliance with the MILF, a bitter enemy. I have yet to hear Reuben Canoy with his Mindanao Republic, as he did in 1987, teaming up with Nur Misuari.

    btw, in that 1987 proposal for a Mindanao Republic, Palawan was an integral province.

    That brings me to a question for MLQ3. How come we don’t hear a Muslim voice in the Spratly issue with the Chinese?

    Maybe Mindanaoan can give an answer?

    Spratly is part of Palawan (which the Sulu Sultanate claims as a territory), the other parts are claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam and Malaysia.

  171. mindanaoan on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 5:46 am 

    spratly is not part of minsupala. at least, the milf patch does not include it

  172. hvrds on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 6:00 am 

    If anyone would wish to read books on political economy the economist Robert Heilbroner suggests three; Adams Smith and the Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Karl Marx on Das Kapital and Machiavelli ’s The Prince.

    Just google him and read read read. His synthesis is simple. Both Marx and Smiths genuis lies not in any ideology but in their seeing through to the human condition.

    Smith at the cusp of the industrial revolution and Marx on its actual workings and its fatal flaw.

    What would Marx say about the means of production to reach outer space?

  173. hvrds on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 6:19 am 

    The more people on the streets tomorrow the more the likelihood the gatekeepers of the truth around La Reyna might move to make deals with the opposition for the future security.

    Erap can fund the people from Manila (Lim), San Juan and Makati (Binay) to fill up the place. The left will be there in full force. Cory’s group will be the smallest.

    This is a political rally to send a message. They need to project mass numbers for the domestic and world media.

    Everything now is about projection of perceptions. The parliament of the streets has opened up its sessions.

  174. ramrod on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 6:41 am 

    “oversight? two observations: (1) those honorable senators already have more than enough material needed to enact new or amendatory legislation. (2) the project was cancelled, so no public funds were disbursed” – anthony scalia

    Attempted(?) Frustrated , Consumated

  175. ramrod on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 6:50 am 

    “Finally, I’m going to the rally because I believe that I can make a difference, however small this may be.” – ay naku

    Good for you, one man, one vote, the majority of one…The people are outraged, from the business community to the lowly street vendors, except for a cynical oblivious few whose degree of influence is obliously is non-existent. An isolated, anti-socal bunch of passionless, leisure time commentators, a marked contrast for us who are daily encountering corruption and are tired of it.
    I really hope we see some resolutions to these issues and finally come up with an even playing field for our local as well as foreign businessmen.

  176. ramrod on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 6:57 am 

    For those who say they are in the business sector here and are still oblivious to the realities on the ground.
    Please look at the importation manifests, compare the LC values to the volumes, if you’re keen enough you’ll see “undervalued” cases that go even below half the actual, that is if you know the actual values, some don’t even appear as importations…Corruption has grown unbelievably haywire, its like they’re having a party of some sorts. Companies whose business policies do not allow such practices are having a hard time competing in the local market…
    Do your homework…research actual figures, actual documents, don’t rely on published articles only…

  177. nash on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 7:36 am 

    Is it just me or does someone else notice that Mike Defensor is everywhere? I wonder why he loves GMA (and vice-versa) so much….

    “Michael Defensor, a former chief of staff of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, played a key role in the $329-million broadband deal with China’s ZTE Corp. besides giving Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. P50,000 to allegedly keep him from testifying on the anomalous contract in the Senate.Senate witness Dante Madriaga disclosed Thursday that Defensor took part in discussions on the National Broadband Network (NBN) deal purportedly to look after the First Couple’s financial interest.”

  178. james on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 7:45 am 

    brianb

    sorry I don’t talk trash like you do…

    from philstar
    LOOK WHO ARE GATHERING TODAY IN MAKATI, ERAP WHO HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF PLUNDER, LAWYERS WHO ARE RE�LLY LIARS, BINAY WHO IS NOTED FOR GHOST PAYROLL, BISHOPS & NUNS WHO SOW HATRED & CHAOS, MAKATI BUSINESSMEN WHO CHEAT ON THEIR TAXES, THE ATHEIST LEFT AND OTHER POLITICAL CLOWNS. IS THIS AN INTERFAITH RALLY? OR AN INTER-SATANIC CULT RITUAL?????

    What would you expect of Lozada, an unfaithful husband who cheated his wife for quite sometime having borne 4 kids with another woman. If he lied to his wife then, he could also be lying today but what is sad is that the priest, bros., nuns, bishops, Cory and the opposition believe on his credibility.

  179. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 7:50 am 

    mindanaoan:

    “spratly is not part of minsupala.” so what does “pala” in that word mean?

  180. james on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 7:53 am 

    and cold king…

  181. isatambay_sakalya on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:04 am 

    james Says:

    February 29th, 2008 at 7:45 am
    brianb

    sorry I don’t talk trash like you do…

    from philstar
    LOOK WHO ARE GATHERING TODAY IN MAKATI, ERAP WHO HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF PLUNDER, LAWYERS WHO ARE RE�LLY LIARS, BINAY WHO IS NOTED FOR GHOST PAYROLL, BISHOPS & NUNS WHO SOW HATRED & CHAOS, MAKATI BUSINESSMEN WHO CHEAT ON THEIR TAXES, THE ATHEIST LEFT AND OTHER POLITICAL CLOWNS. IS THIS AN INTERFAITH RALLY? OR AN INTER-SATANIC CULT RITUAL?????

    What would you expect of Lozada, an unfaithful husband who cheated his wife for quite sometime having borne 4 kids with another woman. If he lied to his wife then, he could also be lying today but what is sad is that the priest, bros., nuns, bishops, Cory and the opposition believe on his credibility.

    -then what do call your above post? pile of stinking sh*t?
    get real and be a man!

  182. isatambay_sakalye on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:06 am 

    pardon my foul language, but at times you to call spade a spade!

  183. Kabayan on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:07 am 

    hawaiianguy,

    Minsupala means Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan

  184. isatambay_sakalye on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:07 am 

    -”you have to call a spade, spade”.

  185. benign0 on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:11 am 

    “Just an observation on Pinoy Chinese in general. In fairness, most of them are very patriotic and Lozada’s case is an example.” — Madonna

    I dare extend this to the possibility that Pinoy Chinese are far more patriotic than islander Pinoys. The Philippines have been good to them for the most part. They’ve prospered despite being treated like 3rd Class citizens.

    They’ve got more to lose if the Philippines implodes than any of these cretins dancing the ocho-ocho in the streets of Manila. Pinoy Chinese being immigrants have already lost a country but built a new one for themselves in this group of islands named after an obscure Spanish king.

    Compare that to islander Pinoys who’s ancestors’ only challenge in life was waiting for the proverbial guava to fall into their gaping maws. They’ve obviously passed that ethic down to their descendants (as can be plainly seen today).

  186. Metrocom ini on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:27 am 

    The bishops are just another political party. The make the same promises as the others do. What makes them more dangerous is that they hide behind the one whose reference is always done with a capital letter. The one whose name you can’t use in vain.

    Thank goodness we can tell the difference between the true words from those of the bishops.

  187. Aames on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:29 am 

    I refuse to join a rally with the ex-convict Estrada.

  188. Silent Waters on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:31 am 

    @ ramrod

    In the Chinoy communnity, there was always scuttlebutt that during the time of Marcos, at least alam mo isa lang ang kumukurakot. Nowadays daw, even the janitor in these corruption ridden government offices do petty corruption. (Of course this is taking it to the extreme but I think you get my drift.) I even have a personal experience with private companies where the purchasers are also corrupt.

    So I really just wonder….

  189. Kabayan on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:44 am 

    Aames Says:

    I refuse to join a rally with the ex-convict Estrada.

    Don’t worry, rally attendees don’t recognize him either. We will be there for a purpose, not to pander to Erap who simply insisted (pinagpilitan) himself to be part of it, but we’re there to denounce the corruption and abuse of this evil government system.

    In not so many words, even Chief Justice Puno agree with the protest action.

  190. Kabayan on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:48 am 

    For those who wish to see a different angle to the Feb. 25 Redemptorist church rally check out “Unseen and Unsung Heroes, the Eye of the People” at bayanikabayan.blogspot.com/ the blogpost dated Feb 26, 2008.

  191. cvj on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 9:34 am 

    To hvrds & co: I admire your analyses. But there are games of state that fall under “real politik.” i.e. the end justifies the means. Any leader worth his salt must have read Machiavelli’s The Prince. I taught world history, political science, politcal geography in UP so I know what I’m talking about. – jakcast

    It is par for course for politicians to play Machiavelli but it is foolish for the people to play along.

    BTW Manolo, you’re being hacked again.

  192. Manila Bay Watch on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 9:41 am 

    Quezon’s blog is all blue and looking wan… Ellen’s blog is completely skewered too.

  193. tonio on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 9:48 am 

    mlq3:

    sir, did someone kill your template? what’s going on?

    BrianB:

    hey dude, i’m just saying the other parts of this country should step up. Let’s hear the voices of dissent from that part of the Philippines. I’ve heard so many arguments that “Imperial Manila is not the Philippines” yadda yadda yadda… then let the rest of the Philippines speak up!

  194. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 9:59 am 

    tonio,

    I also noticed it more than 3 hours ago. mlq3’s blog is hacked?

  195. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:08 am 

    Kabayan,

    Thanks for the info. I know that.

    MLQ3,

    FEER says China has “historical claim” over Spratly. That’s correct, but such claim wouldn’t stand up again current international laws, the law of the sea (UNCLOS) being one of them, to which the Philippines is a signatory (I stand to be corrected if this is wrong). Thus, there may be no need for the law you mentioned.(“I’ve been apprised that June 2009 is some sort of deadline for the passage of a law on identifying our territorial baseline, and so agreements like this take on a greater significance.”)

    My little understanding of UNCLOS is that Philippine waters, esp. for outlying islands like Palawan, cover as far as 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the shore, except for those border isles like Sibutu (Tawi-Tawi) where this won’t apply. China can explore in those waters beyond the 370-km limit of Palawan, and need not worry bullying a small country. But RP should not allow itself to be trampled upon, unless it has no concept of sovereignty whatsoever.

    Back to that claim. It remains where it has left, into the dustbin of history. Otherwise the whole of Southeast Asia can also be claimed by China being part of “nanyang” (southern ocean), island communities where it traded and even exacted tributes in the past. But those were the years of “kopong-kopong” (very ancient).

    According to some sources, even Sri Paduka Batara, ancestor of the Sulu sultan, was paying tribute to the Ming Emperor during the 15th century. He and his retinues visited the emperor in 1417 and died there of illness. Today, his tomb lies in Shantung province, and guarded by his now Chinese descendants. The loss to Tausug becomes the Chinese gain. Anyway, three of Sri Batara’s many apos visited Sulu in 2005, accompanied by Teresita Ang See of Kaisa, after 600 years.

    The “nanyang” concept must be so deeply ingrained among traditionally minded mainland Chinese, many of whom still consider the entire Spratly islands as their traditional fishing grounds. That’s why we often hear of “illegal” Chinese poachers being caught in the Kalayaan area (now a province or barangay of Palawan?) by Philippine authorities.

  196. mlq3 on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:17 am 

    good grief. what happened to my blog?

  197. BrianB on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:23 am 

    Manolo,

    Bad choice of color. We’d all get eye trouble reading your blog. If this is a hack it’s more effective than the past hacks.

  198. BrianB on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:24 am 

    Thought so. He he those Palace agents are getting good.

  199. BrianB on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:28 am 

    About Spratlys. I just don’t want the Philippines to get in the position wherein we will have to defend territory with blood. The Chinese have great killer instincts, unlike us Pinoys. Imagine if all that is standing between them and our claims to the Spratlys is a few vocal people. I’m talking assassinations here.

  200. supremo on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:32 am 

    mlq3,

    The next time you make a design change please let us know. The colors was just terrible. As BrianB said ‘We’d all get eye trouble reading your blog’.

    Backup you files mlq3.

  201. mlq3 on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:33 am 

    something wierd going on. a few minutes ago, the page design was different. now its different again. i informed abe and i hope he’s trying to fix it, whatever caused it.

  202. tonio on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:36 am 

    sir, have your people back up your SQL database. it should be on the server. it’s where all the posts are.

  203. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:37 am 

    Sorry, got mixed up there. Kalayaan is a 5th class town in the island province of Palawan. It has a population of at least 230 persons (2000 census), mostly migratory pinoy fishermen and soldiers.

  204. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:39 am 

    Wow, mlq3’s blog just returned to normal!

  205. supremo on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:41 am 

    mlq3,

    You might miss my post a while back about the June 2009 deadline. It’s all here www continentalshelf org

    I hope you can get back at those hackers.

  206. cvj on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:44 am 

    Geopolitical rivalry between the US and China, together with our local leaders’ push for Federalization are forces that are pushing for the break-up of the Philippine State. As i mentioned in this blog post…

    http://www.cvjugo.blogspot.com/2007/09/american-protectorate.html

    …i fear that Mindanao will become an American Protectorate while Luzon and Visayas will be subject to Finlandization. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s policies is leading us down this road.

  207. mlq3 on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:45 am 

    tonio, tnx. abe’s fixing it. a glitch, he says, with updating wordpress.

  208. tonio on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:02 am 

    mlq3:

    ah, ok. so that’s what a wordpress update looks like. glad everything’s, back to normal. :)

  209. joker on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:11 am 

    Bencard,

    Pakisagot mo naman yung patutsada sa yo ni manuel buencamino. Kung nagbulag-bulagan ka, eto ang sagot ni mb sa yo:

    “buencamino, it’s my business to understand the concepts of “sole ownership” and “sovereignty”. what about you?”

    I am a diplomat. It is my business to understand matters involving national territory and sovereignty because that is my business.

    So I am telling you that recognizing another country’s claim to territory we say we is ours weakens our claim and strengthens theirs!

    So once again I ask you: which part of SOLE OWNERSHIP AND SOVEREIGNTY did you not understand?”

    Hanep sagot ni mb!

    O, bencard, magaling na abogado, ano nga ba ang hindi mo maintindihan sa SOLE OWNERSHIP at SOVEREIGNTY? Pakisagot lang!

  210. james on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:14 am 

    from MST

    SENATOR Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday accused Senator Panfilo Lacson and whistleblower Rodolfo Lozada of engineering the ongoing exposé of high-level corruption in the national broadband network deal as a way of undermining the government.

    “I believe this whole thing is a ‘planned affair,’ contrived by Senator Lacson and Lozada to make it appear that it was government that made Lozada leave for Hong Kong to elude the Senate hearing, but it was in fact Senator Lacson and Lozada who planned it,” Enrile told Standard Today.

    —EDITORAL -A PIT bull will viciously and with single-minded determination attack until it locks its jaws on and sinks its fangs into its intended target. There is nothing subtle about such an attack. There are no niceties, no Articles of War. Brain power never comes into play in what is essentially an assault built on hatred and blind rage.

    The pit bull is a vicious and nasty creature that has been banned from many countries. It’s a shame there is no similar ban on mindless attack dogs in the Senate. We could all do with a little more thinking, civility and decency even in the halls of the Senate.

  211. mindanaoan on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:17 am 

    the deadline is about extending the exclusive economic zone. is our claim to the kalayaan based on the eez? anybody, please enlighten us on the status of the joint exploration project, as well as our own effort to map our continental shelf. maybe the joint project will be to our own benefit after all (with regards to this deadline), because the data we get will be on our continental shelf, not chinas’s or vietnam’s!

  212. mindanaoan on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:24 am 

    joker: in your opinion which claim did we strengthen, china’s or vietnam’s?

  213. watchful eye on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:24 am 

    CBCP has “urged the President . . . to take the lead in combating corruption” as the country “face today a crisis of truth and the pervading cancer of corruption.”

    Isn’t CBCP in effect proposing to place an accused child molester in charge of the parish youth choir . . . with instruction though “to moderate his sex compulsion”?

  214. cvj on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:33 am 

    That’s a very fitting analogy Watchful Eye. If the La Salle Brothers went through the same thought process as the CBCP, they would have allowed Lozada’s kidnappers to hold on to him with the instruction to “drive safely”.

  215. hawaiianguy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:34 am 

    cvj,
    (re ur post of 2/29 10:44 am)

    Your concept of American protectorate is not new. USA’s interest in Mindanao had begun much earlier, way back in 1903 when the Moro Province was created there.

    The first serious effort to make Mindanao part of the US was in 1910, when the US planters in Mindanao (thru the Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce) passed a resolution that “the Congress of the United States be requested to enact such laws and regulations as will effect a permanent separation as early as possible of the southern islands, including Mindanao, Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, with all the smaller islands adjacent thereto, from the rest of the Philippine Archipelago.”

    In 1926, a bill was passed in the US Congress (thanks to NY Cong. Robert Bacon) to separate Mindanao from the Philippines and make it a permanent territory of the United States, in collaboration with some Moro elite (“amigos”) who despised the Filipino rulers. Also see MLQ3’s blog entry (http://www.quezon.ph/?page_id=1516). It is essentially a repeat of the 1910 Resolution of the Zamboanga Chamber of Commerce.

    That was the culmination of a failed attempt to separate Mindanao from the Philippines, from a series of tug-of-wars between Filipinists and Americans who regarded the Moros as their wards. Among these Filipinists is mlq3’s grandfather, Manuel L. Quezon, who played a big role in keeping Mindanao for the Filipinos.

    In retrospect, had the Bacon bill succeeded Mindanao would have been the 50th state of USA and not Hawaii, where the movement for statehood began much later. Hawaii became a state only in 1959.

  216. The Equalizer on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:44 am 

    GLORIA: POLITICS WITHOUT PRINCIPLE

    You have been in power as President for seven years
    Prior to EDSA 2,you have held other high government positions
    You have been in the public spotlight for almost all of your adult years.

    You have spent millions of pesos
    From private and government funds
    To create a “movie star” image to get votes and gain office.

    That image has been superficial
    No substance,no meaning
    That’s why the people do not trust you at all.

    Your speech writers are an excellent bunch
    Their lofty words ,however,are followed by your feeble actions
    That’s why your speeches are not credible at all.

    Your basic problem is obvious to all
    Except to you and your Palace gang
    You have tried to build an image,that’s all.

    No Principle
    No True North
    Nothing people can depend on.

    According to Mahatma Gandhi
    One of the seven deadly sins is Politics without Principle.
    You have been guilty of this deadly sin.

    Your value system has been distorted.
    You will do almost anything for your political objectives
    Your value system is no different from common criminals.

    Moses told the Pharaoh
    “We are to be governed by God’s law, not by you.”
    We cannot be governed by a person unless that person embodies the law!

    Natural laws and principles govern – that’s the Constitution
    Even the top people must bow to the principle
    No one,not even you,is above it!

  217. jakcast on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:15 pm 

    I feel the outrage. But I have to say that Mr. Brian’s arguments be given some thought. That is, if we even want have a semblance of participative democracy as opposed to mob rule.

    Sure, Mania is the capital and center of power. But Manila is not the Philippines. Unless civil society in Manila could convince the people in the countryside that the PGMA has to go, that the only way is people power, then so be it.

    But there are other actors in politics, not only civil society in the capital. That’s what democracy is all about.

    Sometimes its not a matter of right or wrong. It’s the perception.

    N.B I was born, raised, educated in Manila

  218. tommy on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:23 pm 

    Even if 1 million people are rallying in the streets the military will not intervene. That’s how it should be! It would be great if the GMA resigns on the strength of 1 million protesters against her even without military withdrawal of support! A truly civilian people power should welcome a Noli Presidency! Am I dreaming?

  219. magdiwang on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:28 pm 

    I wonder how some people feel regarding the posturings of big name politicians in grabbing the limelight in today’s interfaith rally. They know fully well that if they suceed in ousting GMA, the people who truly work hard for it will again be elbowed and pushed in the sidelines. How about the red banner crowds who have consistently provided the warm bodies in these demonstrations? Will they be again outmaneuvered by the traditional politicians just like the two previous people power revolutions. Hmmmmm….this will be interesting to see since no leader has emerge to lead. A good recipe of political instability. Sad indeed.

  220. mindanaoan on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:50 pm 

    you see guys, there’s a danger that this method of changing leaders will become institutionalized. it’s like a reset button. it’s handy in a pc, but dangerous in a 90 million-user computer. why all this energy to topple gma, and no effort to think of a better system? most of those rallying on the streets are angry and just want to get what they want. never mind if we are looking at the possibility of chaos afterward. anybody hazard a guess what happens if a mob topples gma?

  221. UP n student on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 12:57 pm 

    In retrospect, had the Bacon bill succeeded Mindanao would have been the 50th state of USA and not Hawaii, where the movement for statehood began much later. Hawaii became a state only in 1959.
    – hawaiianguy

    Or Mindanao would be like Puerto Rico — a commonwealth. [Note: Puerto Rico is governed by Puerto Ricans, with the additional "feature" that Puerto Rico citizens are US citizens.]

  222. watchful eye on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 1:05 pm 

    anybody hazard a guess what happens if a mob topples gma? – mindanaoan

    a mob toppling gma can be made to mean “constructive resignation,” that’s one not as hazardous a guesswork maybe

  223. Aames on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 1:18 pm 

    If Arroyo resigns, what do we do with de Castro?

  224. benign0 on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 2:07 pm 

    Everyone’s crowing about not trusting our institutions to do the right thing but we’d just as soon place the entire future of the nation on the ebbs and flows of a mob of hakots.

    Priceless.

  225. benign0 on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 2:17 pm 

    We were here just a shot time ago. July of 2005 to be exact. I wrote at the time:

    “Yes, the President is answerable to the people. But she is entitled to be answerable via the proper channels. Why do we rely on the media to do our “investigations” for us? Why do we rely on citizens’ groups to do our “prosecution”? Investigating is the job of the police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Why can’t Filipinos demand that the police and justices do their job? So much outrage has been dished out in the last couple of weeks. Yet in the last five decades, our own law enforcement agencies and judiciary have consistently done shoddy jobs. Why aren’t we just as outraged when the police, the NBI, and the judiciary don’t do their job? We should demand that they step up to the challenge of overseeing this whole thing. We should focus our vigilance on institutions — ensure that institutions do their job properly.”

    Furthermore…

    “A society that once elected a famous philanderer, drunkard, and under-educated man to the presidency now lashes out against a president “who has lost the moral ground to govern”. Indeed. An irony wasted on a people with utterly weak faculties to fathom irony.”

    See the full article here:
    http://www.getrealphilippines.com/agr-disagr/18-4-calls.html

    Same characters. Different time.

    Same activities. Same country. Same moronic thinking applied.

    Priceless.

  226. UP n student on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 2:52 pm 

    Aames and others: GMA should be a student of history. Not only does she know Erap’s strategic mistake of abandoning Malacanang; GMA also knows how the Beijing politburo – Tianamen Square — answered the question of what to do against a citizenry march.

  227. jakcast on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:37 pm 

    Today’ game:
    Start of play:
    1. Anti-Queen Pawns gather in Piazzi Benigni (in the city-state led by an enemy of the Queen).
    2. Called by inter-sect Bishops, Black and White Pawns, former courtiers of greed (trapos)
    3. Former Queen will speak
    4. Merchant guilds still divided
    5. Labor Pawns number
    6. Young Pawns number
    7. Military knights still with the Queen (at this stage)
    8. . .

  228. Nick on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 3:48 pm 

    I think I’m cross eyed. Oh glorious MLQ3 BLOG… what happened?

  229. cvj on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 4:02 pm 

    Jakcast, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re already under ‘Mob rule’ at least since 2004, many say even earlier.

  230. cvj on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 4:04 pm 

    hawaiianguy, thanks for the background info, much appreciated!

  231. grd on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:19 pm 

    That’s a very fitting analogy Watchful Eye. If the La Salle Brothers went through the same thought process as the CBCP, they would have allowed Lozada’s kidnappers to hold on to him with the instruction to “drive safely”… cvj

    cvj, these kidnappers of mr. lozada, are you referring to mascarinas & his men? were they included in the kidnapping case filed by mr. lozada in the doj?

  232. grd on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 8:40 pm 

    …i fear that Mindanao will become an American Protectorate while Luzon and Visayas will be subject to Finlandization. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s policies is leading us down this road…

    cvj, you’re paranoid on a lot of things. take your medicine religiously and you’ll be fine.

  233. TheColdKing on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:32 pm 

    HEY BENIGNO , WHY DON’T YOU JUST SHUT UP AND FUCK OFF EH? THE PEOPLE WHO WENT TO EDSA ARE TRUE PATRIOTS, YOU AND YOUR CROWD ARE THE REAL HAKOT !

  234. TheColdKing on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 10:40 pm 

    SIGE NA NGA, MAG-APOLOGIZE NA AKO SA MGA TAGA-BISAYA, HINDI NIYO NAMAN ATA KASALANAN NGA KUNG BAKIT HINAYAAN AT PINAYAGAN NIYONG MANAKAW NI GMA ANG HALALAN, NA-POSSESS LANG SIGURO KAYO NG MGA DEMONYO. MAS MAY KASALANAN ANG MGA TAGA-KAPAMPANGAN, SA KANILA GALING AT LUMAKI ANG MGA PIDAL !

  235. Pochero on Fri, 29th Feb 2008 11:01 pm 

    If what you say is true that GMA is at odds with her top lieutenants, would it be to our benefit to deepen this conflict? How can we drive a wedge between them? In this case, CBCP’s joint statement may be right on the money to exhort GMA to “see the light” and in the process, increase disharmony within the administration ranks. If this continues, something’s got to give (we hope).

  236. hawaiianguy on Sat, 1st Mar 2008 2:14 am 

    UPnS, “Or Mindanao would be like Puerto Rico — a commonwealth. [Note: Puerto Rico is governed by Puerto Ricans, with the additional “feature” that Puerto Rico citizens are US citizens.]”

    That’s very unlikely as a scenario if Mindanao was chunked off from the Philippine Islands. For one, American officials believed that the Moros were “savages.” They were incapable of governing their own, and respected no laws except force. Thus, they preferred a direct rule over them, ironically with many Moro elites acquiescing as “wards” of the nation (meaning, like the American Indians of the wild west, they needed “protection”).

    cvj, welcome.

  237. UP n student on Sat, 1st Mar 2008 2:30 am 

    Hawaiianguy: Moros — minority in Mindanao. Didn’t somebody mention Bisayans?

    ———-
    but not to focus on the wrong island or the wrong century.

    CIA playbook, in today’s times, would prefer Palawan (and only Palawan) to Mindanao. Palawan as US protectorate can much more easily be developed, first into a next-Guam (and soon after, towards Macao-equivalent if not Hongkong-status). Entire Palawan easier to electrify – easier to develop — than the entire Mindanao. As Guam-type (Guam citizens are US citizens) Palawan-us-protectorate has attractive potential.

  238. hawaiianguy on Sat, 1st Mar 2008 2:55 am 

    UPnS, Palawan as protectorate? Nah! The GIs didn’t like it. I saw an old doc (in the 1930s) where local officials wrote a petition offering Palawan for naval and coaling stations (and more) instead of Mindanao. No American bit it.

    Today, no Palaweno in his right mind would do it again. Never! Palawan even opted out to become part of the Moro autonomous govt.

    Moros a minority in Mindanao? At that time, they were, but only in some provinces in the north and west (Bisayans and tribal groups were the majority group there).

  239. UP n student on Sat, 1st Mar 2008 5:27 am 

    hawaiianguy: In the stratosphere of speculations about Palawan as protectorate, no sweat tagging your speculations as better than mine.

  240. hawaiianguy on Sat, 1st Mar 2008 7:19 am 

    UPnS, yeah. Mine could not be any better than anyone else’s. But for the whole Philippines, baka pwde pa. Kung document ang pag uusapan, marami na yung nagpetition mula noon hanggang ngaun. Kaya lang, ayaw naman ng USA. :smile:

  241. Bert on Sun, 2nd Mar 2008 2:14 am 

    “An irony wasted on a people with utterly weak faculties to fathom irony.””–at 2:17pm

    At times, the moron and the smart are on the same level, at times the smart is even at a lower level, being not only weak in faculties to fathom irony but also weak in sight to see that the proper channel is a one way street, and that the institutions are prostitutes.

    “Why can’t Filipinos demand that the police and justices (instead of condemning the PRESIDENT, inclosed parenthesis mine)do their job?”

    See?

  242. Andres on Fri, 7th Mar 2008 9:52 am 

    This is Treason committed by the Arroyo regime! The agreement with the Chinese Oil firm strengthens the claim of China over Spratley islands.

    It is virtually allowing the Chinese to exploit the oil reserves and other natural resources over and under the islands!

  243. aurora on Fri, 7th Mar 2008 2:41 pm 

    “I’ve been apprised that June 2009 is some sort of deadline for the passage of a law on identifying our territorial baseline, and so agreements like this take on a greater significance. If anyone has information on why this deadline exists, and on what basis, I’d appreciate it”

    Dear Mr. Manolo,

    2009 is the deadline for signatory states to UNCLOS to submit their delineation of the 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and not the deadline to pass a law on identifying our baselines. UNCLOS does not require us to submit or register or legislate our baselines. However, we are required – if it is our interest to keep our 200-nm EEZ (and I think should be our interest) – to delineate the said EEZ. Delineating our EEZ would require a set of base points and baselines that are/would be recognized by UNCLOS. UNCLOS came into force in 1982, and the baselines/points that we are using (based on the 1898 Treaty of Paris – Sen. Tolentino worked on RA 3046 in 1961, which was amended in 1968 (RA 5446)) need to redefined with respect to the Convention. The base points and baselines are important because they are our basis for demarcating our territorial sea, EEZ, continental shelf and others. And it is more important for us (than any other country) because the Philippines is one of the few “archipelagic states” under UNCLOS. Sen. Tolentino, who was our UNCLOS delegate, worked really hard on having the archipelagic doctrine recognized, which is a major contribution to one of the most binding international agreements that any international organization has ever produced. Archipelagic states enjoy special privileges for their strategic geographical features/properties. We have to do everything to secure this special position…and everything starts with the baselines. During the 13th Congress, Rep. Antonio Cuenco of Cebu filed House Bill No. 1202, seeking to define the country’s archipelagic base points. This bill has been revised and is now HB No. 3216. It passed second reading last week or two weeks ago.

  244. Kabayan on Sun, 9th Mar 2008 7:53 am 

    test

  245. Gerald F. Misa on Sun, 16th Mar 2008 6:17 pm 

    The luminary from Cagayan de Oro, Senator Aquilino Pimentel, has long batted for federalism as a solution to the so-called Mindanao problem, but his plan was relegated to the backseat.

    While he wants the region of Mindanao to remain intact, which idea is shared by all other like-minded individuals, I strongly propose secession from the Republic of the Philippines and the partition of the island into two sectors. The Moors should have their own republic, or whatever they call their country and it will be made up of the Islamic-influenced provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. The Christians and the native peoples will make up the republic comprising the predominantly Christian provinces and areas. A demarcation line must be drawn between the two sectors defining their borders and a wall must be constructed to forever separate the Moors and the non-Moors, who can never co-exist in this part of the world. The Christians and Moslems in Singapore can co-exist and there is no question about it but the Christians and the Moors in Mindanao, which Moors are totally different from the Malay Moslems and Moslems in the First World countries, cannot co-exist. That is a fact only the ignoramuses cannot accept. If the Albanian, Russian, or Chinese Moslems are different, the so-called Mindanao-based Moors are much more different, and if you let these groups live together, the latter, who have a predilection to murder anyone they consider not one of their kind, will exterminate the former. With their bizarre culture as a basis, a wall similar to the Great Wall of China must be erected to separate the two nations and prevent those people who, since childhood, have been taught to despite, hate, and eliminate the “infidels” in Mindanao – the Christians and non-Islamic influenced natives.

    The Moors living in Christian-occupied areas must be uprooted and shipped back to their homeland, Bangsamoro, or Republic of Moorland or Republic of the Moors, or whatever they choose to call their nation. All vestiges of Moorish influence in Christian areas must be removed and anything related to the Moorish people must be exterminated. Similarly, the Christians living in the Moro-controlled areas must move to the Christian republic and those Christians who refuse to leave the Moorish areas must not be forced. Those with Christian-Moro blood must decide between joining the Christian Republic in the North and fighting on the side of the Moorish Republic in the South. Those who choose to be on the side of the Moors should forever be prevented from entering and seeking refuge in the Christian-controlled areas. The construction of a wall, which will later become a classic symbol of separation between the two groups, will serve this purpose. Sea borders must be tightly guarded to prevent or stop any future Moorish intrusions or aggressions.

    Us here; them there.

    The Christians and the non-Christian natives and other ethnic groups must not have any dealings with them at all and must not meddle in the Moorish affairs.

    The Moors must be left to their own fate. Let them stand on their own! Let the Moors have their own homeland. After all, this is what they have always longed for. Give them what they want and let them alone.

    Since they have their Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, and the Abu Sayyaf, as well as other minor groups, they can work for their independence. I see no intelligent reason why that Republic of the Philippines, an overseas territory of the United States of America, cannot and will not grant them what they have been fighting for. After all, the separation of those Moors is the beginning of peace and stability in Christian-controlled or influenced-areas.

    The non-Moorish and, therefore, Christian-controlled portion of Mindanao must not be called “Republic of Mindanao”, for such name is not and will never be imposing. The term “Mindanao” connotes a negative meaning bordering or associated with banditry, kidnapping, or terrorism perpetrated by those infamous rebel organizations in the southern areas. I cannot imagine calling a citizen in the region “Mindanaon”; such nationality can only elicit complete shock, blank stares or even taunting from other nations. If I were to decide, I would call it “The Republic of Landwig” and the citizens would be called “Landwigians”.

    The Republic of Landwig must not establish diplomatic ties with that Republic of the Philippines as such move will only be seen as recognition of the culture of neglect the Philippines has long nurtured and promoted in the region.

  246. The Urban Moccasin on Mon, 17th Mar 2008 6:14 pm 

    ColdKing:

    Your remarks only confirm the naked truth that the Filipinos are the world’s worst racists. And since it is national knowledge that the Tagalog-speaking inhabitants of this impoverished country, the Philippines, are the only Filipinos and since we Cebuano-speaking peoples are not one of your kind, then it is but correct to state that we, Cebuano language-speaking peoples are not Filipinos but subjects of that imperial Philippines. Branded us second class citizens, we have every right to fight for our independence and eventually secede from your beloved Philippines of which I am not proud. If you have an innate dislike for the people of the Cebuano-speaking areas of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar Region, Camiguin, Negros Oriental, and Mindanao, then your Filipino common sense dictates that you should not venture outside the imperial metropolitan area or the greater Tagalog-speaking region and visit Cebu province. It is safe to say you do not even wish to come into contact with someone of Visayan descent. Miss Pilita Corales is of Visayan extraction. Will you also taunt her? You need to be re-educated Mr. ColdKing. I pity you because your god created you. You are his worst creation! I would love to see the Visayan provinces secede from that Philippine Republic and when the war of independence is declared, I would look forward to seeing you in the battlefront along with your infamous Tagalog-speaking Filipino soldiers and your allies.

    The Urban Moccasin

  247. UP n student on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 7:02 pm 

    disregard this entry

    paragraph here to put in blockquote

    this is blockquoted text
    alphabet
    soup
    (and don’t forget to close your tags)

    and you will get this

    this is blockquoted text
    alphabet
    soup
    (and don’t forget to close your tags)

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