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.
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 “traposâ€Â
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?
ahaha. i find that lowered expectations always result in high spirits when things don’t turn for the worse 😀
nash, the moment they ceded their national currencies, they ceded their sovereignty. haven’t you been reading hvrds?
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.
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.
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.
For JAMES
Will Gloria’s STANDARD Excuses Still Work ???
Will the standard lines still work???
1)”Where is the evidence?Those are just allegations.â€Â
2)”We should consider the case closed and focus on the issues that really matter to the peopleâ€Â
3)”Tne political noise is only in Imperial Manila.Imperial Manila is not the Philippines!â€Â
4)”This is just the work of a few politicians!â€Â
5)”Pananagutin natin sila. Galit ang tao sa kurakot. Ganon din ako!
6)”Ang aking pamilya ay hindi nagnenegosyo sa pamahalaanâ€Â
7)”Ako ang Pangulo. Wala ng iba!â€Â
8)”Who would invest in the Philippines if people power would happen again? â€Â
9) “I’m like a laser beam!”
10)”The case is closed!Let’s move on!â€Â
Take your pick.
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.
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.
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
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!
Alas ka dora, it’s 4 to 8pm. Assembly time is at 3pm in front of AIM (Neri’s other school).
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 !
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.
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…
tonio,
why so gullible? You think Visayans are morons and unprincipled people to allow such a president to stay where she is?
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 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.
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.
and TheColdKing,
I’ll take your racial slur with tolerance, but this will only last until your apology.
Don’t be a fool.
The Cebuanos will see Ang Suga!(The Light).100% sure.
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.
MLQ3
“Not that We loved The Philippines less, but that We loved China more!”
The Pidals
TheColdKing,
Where is your apology?
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:
http://www.cvjugo.blogspot.com/2007/03/land-reform-inequality-and-economic.html
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.
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.
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.
Kamote, like this:
<blockquote> insert text here </blockquote>
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.
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?
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
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.
jakass, that’s for you above. I mean ask the maids and sikyos of their opinion on politics.
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.
Guys, chaos theory might just play; events may not follow a linear, predictable pattern.
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.
BrianB : most mindanaoans are bisaya
Gloria and the Palace Gang :Pito na ka tuig nakong pag-antus sa inyong dautang pamunoan:sibug ,mga amamaliw! ANG SUGA
“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.
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.
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.
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.
That is the danger of pogroms … stereotyping would eat up both the bad and good
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!
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.’
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.
it seems it was Wu Bangguo and Jose de Venecia who first thought about this joint exploration project.
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.
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.
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.
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.â€Â- anonymous
Enough of the lies, enough of corruption, let the Truth set us free.
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