The President’s fury at inept underlings made the evening news and was blogged extensively (one of the first to do so was Ang sa Wari Ko; while A Filipina Mom Blogger used it as a take off point for a discussion on stress management).
But it was Palace reporter Jove Francisco who put the exhibition of presidential temper in its proper context:
She’s naturally stern and “mataray” and I believe she’s been using this trait so that she’ll get things running and will make her officials more responsible and quick moving. Sabi nga nung sassy reporter di ba, being mataray isn’t really a bad thing.
But seeing her actions this noon.
The outburst?
The overflow of emotions?
I couldn’t help but compare it with past incidents.
Before, her taray ways surfaced for a reason, for an aim.
Today?
What happened, sadly, showed that she wasn’t able to control her emotions.
Sure, the outburst was borne out of frustration because of the inefficiency of her staff. (Pareho lang kapag pinapagalitan ang mga opisyales niya nuon di ba?)
BUT, it can’t be denied that this time, she looked like she was whining.
She knew that the media was there to see and cover the whole thing, but she continued with the histrionics. The drama escalated, it didn’t taper down.
She didn’t appear like she was in control.
I can even dare say that she appeared like she’s gone ROCK BOTTOM. (Just look at her resigned but angry look when she finally emerged to deliver her statement.)
And that is quite telling.
I agree with him. A president with a temper is nothing new, and it could even be argued that Filipino-style management seems to require a volcanic fury to get underlings to get things done. In itself, it is neither unpresidential or unseemly. She’s displayed her temper before. But what was different was that the President displayed a different kind of anger altogether.
Tempers are flaring. See The Geisha Diaries, and in Dumaguete, see village idiot savant. Though mercifully, the initial heat has given way to more sober reflection (see Techniquement, c’est art who responds to a previous entry of his).
One blogger, the cat is out, simply puts forward her grim personal experience in the past:
years back – as i kid i had witnessed and live through the horror of war in mindanao. i have been a refugee in my own country. not everyone is lucky enough to live through it . but there will always be the scar: physical and emotional that will keep on reminding me/us..of the pain we have suffered.
mindanao – the land of promise..or should i say broken promises..we are the bread basket of the phillipines, yet our people are hungry.. we are the only contiguous island the philippines has.. yet within, we are so divided in hearts and minds..year after year of conlficts have only produced military generals but not concrete resolutions to peace and development. not even a signed moa can end this violence i tell you..
i did not know how the war started back then…i do not know how it will end.
Today’s Inquirer editorial looks at the recent conduct of MILF troops and raises a question: if the violence in Mindanao was perpetrated by rogue or lost commands of the MILF, how, then, can it be deemed capable of administering the proposed BJE?
The editorial also points to this press statement by the MILF, while over at The PCIJ blog, Soliman Santos suggests the further radicalization of Moros if hostilities continue. He points to this commentary (“Reality Check” by Ibrahim Canana) that appeared on the MILF website (incidentally also validating my opinion concerning the importance of signing the agreement in the presence of representatives of foreign powers, including the OIC representative): it is a concise and lucid articulation of the Moro interpretation of their history and of the MILF position vis a vis the Philippine state. And it is uncompromising in its conclusion:
The political opposition to the MOA-AD that spurred the nationwide reaction against the MILF and the Bangsamoro people has dangerously transformed a peace process that is supposed to bring reconciliation to two peoples at war with each other into a grim scenario that allows no space for the Moros to have a breathing spell.
Through the MNLF, the Moros asked for a meaningful political autonomy in 1976. Instead they were granted a fake one by the GRP under the Marcos regime using the 1976 Tripoli Agreement which allowed constitutional processes to shortchange the Moros. In 1996, the Moros again under the MNLF demanded for meaningful political autonomy; and again what they were given in the so-called MNLF-GRP Final Peace Agreement (FPA) was the ARMM, which was created before the FPA and whose autonomy was clipped by the Philippine constitution. Inevitably, the ARMM ended up reduced to merely being an extension of the Office of the Philippine President. Later, it was even taken out of MNLF hands and became a political prize awarded to the Moro warlord most loyal and subservient to the sitting regime.
Now, under the MILF, the Moros want to recover whatever little is left of their ancestral domain and be given the chance to govern themselves as a sub-state entity within the larger Philippine nation-state. Peace on the basis of justice is about to be achieved under this formula. But even this does not sit well with the Filipino elite, the politicians, the Church and the Filipino colons in Mindanao. They have sabotaged the efforts of their own government. All, including those who claimed to be sympathetic to the plight of the Bangsamoro people like Senator Aquilino ‘Nene’ Pimentel, Jr., have ganged up against the Bangsamoro people to prevent them from even reclaiming areas which they now actually occupy and where they are the majority. The result: back to square one. Mindanao again is on the edge of an all-out war.The selfishness of the Filipino ruling elite in general and the Filipino politicians in particular is dumbfounding. Their lack of sense of justice is appalling. They and their drumbeaters in the Philippine media can lie through their teeth and still have a nice sleep at night. Imagine telling the public the fantastic spin that Malaysia is arming the MILF and the Americans are behind the Moros’ desire to be an “independent Islamic State”. Why, they can’t even make sense of their allegations and lies! You can never find any mention of an “independent Islamic state” in the MOA-AD even if the pages were turned upside down. To even say that the Americans are behind the attempt by the MILF to create a “Bangsamoro Islamic State” is absurd. What fantasy! What ignorance! Hollywood hogwash has taken grip of the Filipino mind that it no longer knows what is real and what is imaginary. No wonder why the Philippine nation-state is moribund.
No wonder why tens of thousands of Filipinos are leaving this country for good. Now I can better appreciate the context of what Ustadz Salamat Hashim, the late MILF Amir, said when he stated that we should not believe the Filipino unbelievers even when they say that the crow is black!
What needs to be stated here for the record is that we Moros are not inclined to abandon our homeland to these vultures. We will fight for it as our ancestors fought for it. The mestizo leftovers of the Spaniards such as the likes of Teddy Locsin and Lobregat, and Filipino colons in Mindanao like Piñol as well as their capitalist patrons ensconced in Makati can go hang themselves from nearest lamp post for all we care. The Moros will fight. MILF Base Commander Ustadz Amirul Ombra Cato will not be alone. A war in Mindanao will drag down this pathetic, artificial country and its government to perdition. Perhaps this time we will no longer settle for a sub-state or a federative arrangement with the Filipinos. It’s useless anyway because they would never grant it. They would always insist this is ‘secession’ even if we do not have the intention to secede. So let’s give them a dose of their own medicine. Let’s aim for independence this time. For real. Like what the Algerians did when their clamor for autonomous rule was repeatedly and violently denied by the French colons. Given the Filipinos’ hostile attitude to anything Moro and Muslim, there is no other option left. This is now the reality facing us.
The mention of Algeria is signficant. It had been considered an integral part of France; de Gaulle, faced with a nationalist uprising, decided to abandon the French settlers and recognize Algeria’s independence; at one point, the French armed forces tried to mount a coup against de Gaulle. Yet independence hasn’t prevented the rise of Islamic extremism in Algeria. The problem is Arroyo is no de Gaulle.
The frustration of the writer quoted above with suggestions the Americans are in league with the MILF (or that the MILF is being armed by the Malaysians, when obviously political and even financial support is plenty of help and there are many AFP members willing to sell arms to the MILF anyway) isn’t about to change the mind of say, Tony Abaya (who says it boils down to the MILF being, in American eyes, more dependable than Christian leaders) or blogger Philippine Politics 04.
And the thing is, if one presents a narrative, even a counter-narrative, it will never end (if Moros can assert they achieved a “higher plane” of political existence with the sultanates, then by any measure a republic trumps any hereditary principality in terms of political evolution) and be trumped, always by what wars always end up being about: real estate.
In his column today, Manuel Buencamino points to the problem on focusing too much on the past as a justification for the present:
Why did the Arroyo administration agree to the MILF’s self-serving historical timeline?
Islam is no more indigenous than Christianity. The Spaniards were not our first colonizers. Luwaran, the MILF web site, does not deny that Moros are products of an earlier colonization:
“Ameen [secretary general of the MILF Central Committee] recalled that the history of the Moros and IPs [indigenous peoples] is one and inseparable, but noted that the former were always the ‘bigger brother’ while the latter [was] the ‘younger brother.’ ” Moros “have developed a higher plane of political existence” than lumads because they converted to Islam and adopted the sultanate system.
In that same Sona, Gloria Arroyo lamented that although Mindanao was a food basket, “it has some of the highest hunger in our nation.” For this sad state of affairs, she blamed “the endless Mindanao conflict.” Her solution to ending the endless conflict was to capitulate to the MILF.
Arroyo knows the BJE does not fit into the 1987 Constitution, so she asked Congress “to act on the legislative and political reforms that will lead to a just and lasting peace during our term of office.”
Unfortunately, a “just and lasting peace” through a refitting of the BJE into our Constitution won’t be possible during or after her term of office.
There will be conflicts between the lumads and the MILF, between Christians and the MILF, between Manila and the MILF over jurisdiction, ownership of lands, mineral rights, natural resources and a host of other irritants that come from drawing lines on a map without regard for its inhabitants.
There will be power struggles among self-appointed Moro leaders – the Maranao-dominated MILF, the Tausog-dominated MNLF and the traditional politicians of Mindanao – over control of the BJE.
“Better talk than fight, if nothing of sovereign value is anyway lost,” counseled Gloria Arroyo in her Sona.
Unfortunately, talking nonsense will lead to loss not only of sovereign value but also, and more important, of property. And for that, most people will fight to the death.
For the Christian (Ilonggo) side, HabagatCentral Republic offers up a personal reflection buttressing Buencamino’s insight:
There were cases of outright land grabbing from the ancestral domains of the Moros and Lumads who were then ignorant about the Western concept of “private property” as the lands were considered “communal” and for all people to share. Land grabbing that lead to land conflicts. Land conflicts that lead to bloodshed, my grandfather himself was a victim of this trechery.
I have relatives in Mindanao who have hated the Moros. They are backward, backstabbers and barbarian. Di daw dapat sila pagkakatiwalaan. Di ko rin sila masisisi. They’ve seen their love ones slaughtered by the Moro raids of the towns especially during the 1970’s. The very foundation of Ilaga, a vigilante group composed of mostly Kristyanos and some Lumads, was borne out of reaction against the Moros. They sow terrorism in the hearts of the Moros as they kill them with reported cannibal activities. As a reaction, the Moros established their own vigilante group known as the Blackshirts/Barracudas. So the question, is terrorism a Moro problem?
MNLF/MILF & AFP has instigated a somewhat revolutionary violence. The former is for the seperation of the Mindanao that they claim is rightfully theirs, and I understand them. They weren’t subjugated by the Spaniards and was never converted to Christianity as what they define as “Filipino.” They are fiercely independent and will fight for what is right. The latter on the other hand defends the Philippines and its sovereignity. Their causes are noble yet the effects to ordinary civilians were catastrophic. Casualties have reached over a hundred thousand for years of war with each other in Mindanao. No matter how noble their causes are, it is still somewhat politically-culturaly motivated. In the end, the civilians still suffer.
In my opinion, I would still uphold MILF as a revolutionary movement still. Abu Sayyaff on the other hand is just pure banditry using Islam as an excuse to their savagery. The latter in my belief is the salot. The former on the other hand has still a handful of options to sit and talk what is necessary. For the betterment of their own peoples.
Ewan ko lang pero parang hindi ko maiwasan na ibuntong ang sisi sa Pamahalaang Arroyo sa mga pangyayaring ito ngayon na muling gumigimbala sa kapayapaan ng Mindanao at Pilipinas. I went there several years ago and I was seeing optimism that finally, Mindanao can move on towards peace and progress. That the government is seating alongside with the rebels. But because of the sudden declaration of the signing of the Memo of Agreement for the Bangsamoro Judirical Entity, Mindanao was thrown into state of panic, may it be the Kristyanos, the Moros and even the Lumads.
I’ve restrained myself from looking into other blogs of the Kristyanos and even of the Moros… Its really frustrating. Parang sumulpot muli ang inate hatred towards each other. I got frustrated with this notion but I couldn’t blame them why. I understand them. But is violence or war really the solution to ever-lasting peace in this island or in this country? Care to look at Palestine perhaps? You may have crushed the rebels but you haven’t ceased yet the root of struggle. Hanggang dahon at sanga lang… pero yung ugat di pa napapatay. Purging Moro ideals to the point of genocide is of murder, that is outright savagery! So what do we do then? How can we help to stop the vicious cycle.
I was thinking then that this animosity of ours will be brought towards the end of human civilization.
Ano kaya ang tamang solusyon sa Mindanao/Bangsamoro Problem? Ridu rin ba kaya o ubusan ng lahi?
As far as making sense of events, As blogger smoke asks what many are asking: was the President even thinking?
The thing is this – the President’s men (and therefore the President herself) dangled the idea of the BJE in front of the bandits and sold themselves on the idea that it would work. This played them right into the bandit’s hands: by putting all their eggs in the BJE basket, the President’s men gave the bandits the opportunity to set up an ultimatum – give us the BJE or we start shooting again.
When the BJE was scuttled the bandits got their casus belli. Now admittedly its a flimsy rationale for the resumption of hostilities, but it is just solid enough to rile up the cannon-fodder and convince them that they’ve been shafted and therefore need to avenge their slighted pride. It’s Moro psychology 101, if anyone had bothered to check.
And that’s the point: the Commander-in-Chief is supposed to be able to take in the whole picture; to understand how various factors all contribute to the outcome. In this case, because the President’s men were allowed – perhaps even encouraged – to formulate a do-or-die solution, it is clear that there were critical factors that were ignored, not the least of which is the very well known tendency of Moros to exaggerate insults to their pride.
In hostage negotiation, one of the most basic lessons is to never say no to the hostage taker. But then again, this also covers situations where saying ‘yes’ sets you up to say ‘no’ later. Let me clarify: by saying yes to the idea of a BJE, the President’s men were committing to an outcome that was not in their control. It was stupid for them to imagine that the BJE would slip through unnoticed. More to the point, the President’s men simply failed to anticipate a negative outcome, i.e., the BJE would be challenged and stopped. So, by saying yes, to the BJE, they were blindly rushing into a future where – when the Supreme Court invalidates the MOA for instance – they would have no choice but to say no to the BJE. And there you go, they said NO to the hostage taker.
This turn of events led the hostage taker – the bandits – to now feel backed into a corner. The only way out of that corner would have been a MOA for the BJE. But with no MOA forthcoming, and the additional insult of the ARMM elections being conducted, the bandits embraced the belief that there would be no other solution than to come out with their guns blazing. No solutions. War.
But using Occam’s razon, blogger Tongue In, Anew returns to the blogosphere and puts forward this thought-provoking analysis of the situation: it was all, and remains, simple, really. According to the blogger (who, while anonymous, has had very interesting entries in the past, suggesting an individual who is plugged-in), it’s all a charade:
Assperon’s appointment to the Peace portfolio was suspect way back… Not to mention the Ass was then joiningGen. Boogie Mendoza, a former Razon protege, and an “acclaimed anti-terrorist expert”…
On the other side of the fence, a separatist front of freedom fighters on Mondays, Abu Sayyaf kidnappers on Tuesdays, Jemaah Islamiya trainees on Wednesdays, lost command on Thursdays, devout Muslims on Fridays, and plain farmers and merchants on weekends. Overseen by their provisions suppliers from Malaysia.
Now what do we have? A highly volatile cocktail made up of an administration struggling for perpetual survival, high-profile GWOT freaks looking for an opportunity to expand their military control and a wayward army of bandits all of them intelligent enough to know that peace was doomed in the first place but insist that they might just be able to pull it through.
No, Gloria didn’t plan to dismember the country via the MOA-AD, she knows it’s unconstitutional, luckily, the legit opposition saw through her, she even had to use her allies to petition for a TRO which her SC appointees readily obliged to. She was expecting widespread retaliation but the MILF hierarchy surprisingly held back, her emergency rule cannot be imposed! No martial law, no chacha either. Doom! The Ass’ loyal generals immediately had to scramble for the “Lost Commanders” Kato and Bravo who have been burning villages left and right in the past yet no sincere effort to bring them to justice was ever taken (You now have an idea why Kabalu insists these commanders were not ordered by MILF to do so). They needed them to jump start this stage of the war to put Plan B into action. Funny but Eid Kabalu hasn’t announced an all-out offensive yet. Nor has Puno and Teodoro. Who wants to really finish the war after all? Even Misuari’s MNLF are now wearing their old uniforms to defend their own territory. Against whom? The gov’t? MILF? Or the Lost Command?
Gloria’s “Defend every inch of the territory” spiel was predictably looking for just the right moment to be announced so she blew her top after finding out her staff had not even prepared the teleprompter.
This view puts forward the possibility that the administration wanted to maneuver the country into a situation permitting a state of emergency, while others in the military hierarchy quite possibly, refrained from cooperating fully, and the MILF command declined to do the government any favors. Offering a reward, accompanied by statements that only individuals, and not the entire MILF movement, will be deemed outlaws, provides an opening for tensions to subside. And all the while, the jitters continue. Blogging from Iligan City, preMEDitated recounted, yesterday:
Panic struck the city center earlier this night. People flocked to the City Hall for protection by military forces stationed there. Text messages soon followed warning of imminent MILF attacks.
Much of the rest of the populace is now in anticipatory mood.
General Luna of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has issued his statement for the populace to remain calm and to trust in them. He has also appealed to the citizens not to forward these messages as they only bring more harm than good.PS I just heard this piece of news. It seems that this incident was sparked by a drunk who shouted,”M-I*.”
*A word used around here for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) terrorists.
See also My Life, also writing on Tuesday:
Early tonight many people got panic because of that rumors that there were sightings of MILF in Iligan City. My family and neighbors freak out because they said that MILF are already in the near barangay Abuno and a lot of jeepneys from the City went back when they reached Tubod Bridge, going to south because they said that MILF is on the way. Many people were on the city streets because they wanted to evacuate. And this is confirm as a false alarm by our city mayor Lawrence Lluch Cruz, that is was just the soldiers that was seen and they thought that they are MILF. He said that there are many soldiers around the city that some mistaken them as MILF already maybe its because of the happenings in Lanao del Norte. He just stated on a news break at ABS – CBN that Iligan City is still safe from MILF and asking those who left their homes to go back already. I hope all this conflict will stop soon.
From Dipolog City, jOnAviE’s Site writes (today),
M.I.L.F or Moro Islamic Liberation Front is on war against Arm Forces of Philippines..As a girl who lives Mindanao (a place where there are many Muslim, but I am not one of them) it’s usual to hear news that Mindanao was that, was this, but you know August 2008 War was the only war that makes my province Zamboanga del Norte and my City, Dipolog to be afraid… Afraid because the whole Mindanao was really involve, the MILF want all the regions in Mindanao to be included in MOA or ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) to expand their teritory… Everybody was really panicking.. Even in my city, we receive Bomb Treats and War Rumors, and what did we did..? We packed up our things then really really get ready for what would happen. Last night we sleep at 1 a.m. because of it..
Returning to Tongue in Anew’s suggestion that the Palace was operating on simple assumptions -that it’s hands would be tied by predictable behavior on the part of the opposition and the MILF, which didn’t pan out as the former was caught napping and the latter more subtle and cunning than expected.
So it strikes me as possible there was a clumsy effort to promote war jitters to try to get the country to rally around the President: because it explains why the Palace proved so tolerant of the demagoguery of Pinol, etc. who, considering the administration’s intolerance for dissent, could easily have been slapped down, taken aside, or simply bribed to pipe down at a delicate time when the administration was claiming to be seriously behind the RP-MILF agreement.
What complicates the situation is that the public, unaware of the plots-within-plots on both sides, or the factions that exist within the ranks of the leadership of both sides, or that the leaders either do not believe their own propaganda, or worse, believe it- has its passions inflamed by the increasingly martial rhetoric of leaders who know the game of posturing quite well and who can therefore discount it.
Certainly this seems too quick a surrender: MOA deal off, SolGen tells high tribunal.
And it may be that this time, the MILF leadership, beholden to Malaysia, etc., is being more responsible and trying to defuse the situation while saber-rattling, than the government: we forget that the MILF command had a choice to fully endorse the attacks but it did not, equivocating its official response might have been (but even equivocation is understandable in terms of the factional dynamics of any revolutionary organization). And other groups are trying to restore the momentum to reestablish at least the semblance of a brittle peace.
At the heart of these efforts are three simple ideas:
1. That if one side will insist that it is negotiating sincerely for peace, there must be a corresponding assumption the other side is also negotiating sincerely. That furthermore, national interests aside, it is in the regional interest of foreign countries to help foster peace in Mindanao.
2. That all lose when fighting resumes and all sides gain so long as discussions are ongoing, which provides a venue for differences to be threshed out, compromises arrived at, and a consensus reached.
3. That both sides have extremists who not only do not represent the majority view, but who have also figured out how their constituencies can be agitated by withholding information and an overall lack of confidence in the authorities.
As Earthly Explorations puts it (who is not for a separate Moro homeland),
The government is trying to make it appear as it was the Moro rebels fault that they hit the first strike but if you hear other sources especially the locals they were just protecting their properties. Who was taking what from whom? Or someone is maneuvering into something to make it appear as a religious war diverting the people’s attention?
Mon Casiple warned of the administration “playing the emergency card”:
The scenario is one where a justification for a state of emergency happens. Violent incidents increasingly happen and spread. The AFP is increasingly forced to defend towns and villages. The MILF, in turn, increasingly turn to its own offensives in order to defend Moro communities. In no time at all, we are into a deepened conflict until the military is convinced to agree to a declaration of a state of emergency.
For a national state of emergency to happen, there has to be demonstrated to exist a credible threat to the national seat of power in the National Capital Region, a nationwide state of war or terror, or attacks on national political leaders. The level of the resurgent conflict in Mindanao — even if it spreads to other areas in Mindanao — cannot yet justify this drastic option.
However, the next days or weeks bear watching because of the political scenario of charter change that requires neutralizing the opposition and terrorizing the people. With the recent show of widespread opposition to Malacañang’s charter change plans, only the emergency card is left to play.
Let us hope that desperate people do not cross the line of sanity.
Beyond hoping, this is a time to add your voice, not in endorsement of one particular proposal or another, but to voices opposed to conflict. Charo Logarta, a military wife, puts it this way:
Whatever it is, there’s gotta be a better option to this. The majority must be allowed peace and harmony. We have to end decades of strife and conflict. We, the majority, deserve better. Military wives and kids do not have to endure loss. Soldiers don’t have to die for causes that don’t even matter to many average Filipinos who simply want a better life.
Just think how optimistic most people were in Mindanao a year ago. And how, now, plans involving Mindanao are all on hold. See Stacy Nelson.
dOdOng,
‘As a matter of fact, they do..’
They did not grow in size with respect to the size of the Muslim population is my point. You’re the one who started this ‘MILF grew in size’ so stick to it. And if numbers don’t mean anything then why did you say that the ‘MILF grew size’.
In the preceding thread, a commenter mentioned that has it been FPJ who is president now, the country will not have these hostilities in Mindanao as “Muslims do listen to da King.”
However, Panday’s kumpadre ex-president Joseph Estrada ordered full military action against the MILF and Philippine troops overran two MILF camps including the big one, Camp Abubakr.
Erap is again calling for an all-out war. Today, he assumed the presidency of the Partido Masang Pilipino hoping for a political comeback or at least, be a big factor in the next presidential elections.
Erap could well be the Last Action Hero or Da King Maker.
“And if numbers don’t mean anything then why did you say that the ‘MILF grew size.”
Because in the ground, the military estimate its enemies strength and commit a greater force.
I said it doesn’t mean anything because at the end of the show of force, MILF was able to win the GRP to initialed its own MOA-AD.
Ahead of the survey results, most Filipinos want tougher action against the MILF. There’s goes the MOA-AD. Expect a re-calibration of the positions of the presidential wannabees: people want to see a tougher stance.
So people maybe listening to Erap’s call.
dOdOng,
Then why did the MILF allow itself to grow in size(which I think is false as a percentage of Muslim population) if it will have it’s way anyway?
psi, there’s nothing wrong with the government exploring every avenue of peace to save lives. the “hawks” maybe having their day because of the evident insincerity and perfidy of the rebels, and the validation of what most suspect – the separatists desire to have their cake and eat it too.
as to erap’s rather simplistic solution, he was treating the problem like one of his b-action movies. at the time of his presidency, up until the recent rampages in kolambugan, etc., i don’t believe the filipino nation was ready for a decisive “all-out war” that would have left not a vestige of armed resistance in the area, let alone a much-dreaded “ethnic cleansing”.
Actually, they did not expect GRP to give them what they wanted and in fact the Malaysian observers pulled out because of no GRP solution in sight. Ibrahim Canana as posted by MLQ above articulated that it will continue to fight for its homeland as its ancestors did. Hence, number is irrelevant as long as there is one single Muslim who wanted his homeland. Either you recognize co-existence and provide his homeland under MOA-AD or you just kill him and his families – a military solution that have been proven wrong.
it’s just you talking dodong. the milf is close to being tagged as bandits now. commander bravo and kato exposed the weakness of the milf leadership. if they cannot control their own people now without the official signing of MO-AD, how much more if they got the deal signed and approved by the people. they would start grabbing people’s lands and shoot those who will oppose them. but now that their true colors were exposed, they will find it hard to get that chance again. they simply blew it.
with regard to your belief that the SC tro is useless and Manila is powerless, well, you are so wrong abut it. the SC will declare the deal as unconstitutional and the GRP will comply as they already indicated. and contrary to what you’ve earlier wrote in another thread that the military will not defend those areas that are being attacked by the milf, you were proven wrong once again.
Good point of Bencard on ethnic cleansing. GRP has a lot to lose when both sides start ethnic cleansing.
“if they cannot control their own people now without the official signing of MO-AD”
It is calibrated. Given the MILF position, I will deny atrocities while support ground operations.
The weakling rather is of the government who cannot do anything with MILF and thrown into a weak position of name calling bandits and nothing beyond that, like sending force to seach and destroy the bandits in the MILF zone. So weak it can only entice with the candy of 5 million.
grd,
In the previous thread, you mentioned about the possibile revival of the ‘Ilagas’, the Christian militia group. I remember that in the same peiod, the Muslims responded with the ‘Blackshirts’ (?).
I could easily Google this, but my question to you as a long-time resident of Mindanao ( particularly Davao?), is there a connection between the MILF and the Blackshirts?
Salamat in advance.
dodong,
What is this? (I could have use wtf? in capital letters). Thought you said you were proud of being a poor boy in Mindanao, challenged, did your best, working-student, rose up, migrated to the U.S., rose to your present position, etc.
Now, you’re sounding what is termed in this blog as ‘victimology’.
“with regard to your belief that the SC tro is useless and Manila is powerless, well, you are so wrong abut it”
I repeat again, SC tro is useless and Manila powerless. In fact, ex senator Maceda, Binay and Pimentel decried that some “commitments” of the MOA-AD are already operative despite the SC tro.
“you’re sounding what is termed in this blog as ‘victimology’”
you are entitled to your opinion but i also recognize the inherent right of my muslim friends to co-exist.
Except probably for some of Pampagueno’s comments, did you see, hear, or read anyhting we said against your Muslim friends, and we referred to as brothers?
Common, you have to admit that Filipinos know its not the Muslim people that the is problem, its the MILF.
mga klasmeyt, tinakot niyo naman si pampangueno…
hindi niya yata alam na ang colonel in chief ng norwegian guards ay isang penguin, si nils olav II, who was recently knighted
…hmmm, maybe nils is homo too and should have been a dame…how unprofessional naman for the Norwegian Armed Forces to have a mascot.
I wonder who the MILF’s mascot should be?
I just came back from a vacation marred by violence in Mindanao. In fact, I was pretty close to those encounters initiated by that guy Commander Bravo, whose men went on a rampage killing Christians (together with soldiers), torching their houses, shooting their farm animals and livestocks, and looting stores owned by those poor Christians who have nothing to do whatsoever with the so-called Mindanao problem mentioned by Ibrahim Canana.
The resort to lawlessness was no doubt prompted by the SC TRO, while Bravo and his likes try to apply pressure to the govt to give in and sign the MOA. This is my reading of the recent violence.
For those who are unfamiliar with this Mindanao trouble, it was the same Bravo who inflamed the Mindanao war in 2000, 2001 and 2003 that led to massive destruction there and loss of lives for both Muslims and Christians. While I sympathize with the Moros for their right to self-rule and claim to their ancestral land, I don’t think people will go with them if they use violent means to get what they want.
I believe talking is still the best option rather than shooting each other, as Bravo and his command propose. Forcing the issue of independence will only invite more violence, which Mr. Canana may probably realize. But I agree with him, dealing with the govt run by weak officials (or by those who claim to power is suspect) is gonna be a big problem not only now but also in the future.
This is a reality check that cool heads must always take rather than allow guns do the talking.
‘I wonder who the MILF’s mascot should be?’
Something short with a mole on the face.
psi,
not a longtime resident of mindanao. yes, i live in davao but it was peace time already when i moved there. my recolection about ilagas and blackshirts/baraccuda tales from old folks is that these militias were formed by warring muslim and christian politcians and logging companies to counter each other.
i don’t think the black shirts/baraccudas (even led by gov ali dimaporo) has connection with the milf. they could have joined the mnlf later on when the fighting errupted between the govt and mnlf..
so the military weakened from year 2000 to 2008?
oh yeah, i believe them.
I agree with grd … That commander bravo and kato exposed the weakness of the milf leadership…. …. cannot control their own people…. and kato’s version of throwing a tantrum is village-burning, geography-cleansing, and murdering a two-year old girl to demonstrate their macho.
to d0d0ng: how would justify the murder of the two-year-old girl? because she was standing on ancestral domain?
The anger of President Arroyo is understandable. Her billions of special funds that would fund her extended term ambitions is now going to the drain. She ordered several army divisions from Luzon flown into Mindanao as she has to deal with massive refugee problems.
In Estrada’s all out war in April 2000, the gov’t spent 1.8 billion in 3 months in direct cost, not including humanitarian cost, infrastructure and economic losses with 2 million people displaced.
It was estimated that 270 billions had been spent for the last 27 years in Mindanao conflict. That cost would spike with renewed hostilities in the south.
“how would justify the murder of the two-year-old girl? because she was standing on ancestral domain?”
in the same way, atomic bombs are unjustifiable to kill millions…. but that is the way of conflict…. there is no difference if you one child or millions of japanese becomes collateral damage.
d0d0ng: are you saying that the killing of the 2-year old is justifiable? Do you applaud the MILF commander responsible?
dOdOng,
‘there is no difference if you one child or millions of japanese becomes collateral damage’
The pilot of the Enola Gay dropped the the bomb on the enemy’s territory. The MILF goon killed an innocent unarmed child. Do you understand the difference?
“are you saying that the killing of the 2-year old is justifiable? Do you applaud the MILF commander responsible?”
“The pilot of the Enola Gay dropped the the bomb on the enemy’s territory. The MILF goon killed an innocent unarmed child. ”
In war, the process varies but the aim is one and the same and deliver the message – we are ready to kill (innocent child or not) and be killed. War is always the last resort but it is a drawing board for peace.
MILF has the momentum. It initiated a mini-war with its 2 commanders to provoke military response that will inflict larger disaster and draw international response which will can exert pressure on SC and Senators in comatose. So far, Manila is doing selective bomb droppings, hardly the MILF wanted but still enough just as Central government is going to bleed economically.
Jove Francisco ended his piece with
“Lastly, we are not being arrogant and we are not saying we have all the right to cover everything and anything under the sun, but what happened inside the halls of the NEB, happened right before our eyes and we can’t just close our eyes and pretend it didn’t happen.
Because it did.”
I wanted to tell him “True, but do you have to report it? You don’t have to pretend it didn’t happen. But must you report it? Upload it to Youtube? You yourself admitted that you dont ‘have all the right to cover everything and anything under the sun..’ .”
Sabi nga ni Erap “Kayo nga ang mag-presidente”
(Why do I keep forgetting that:
a. there’s no such thing as a “detached-observer-journalist”
b. a journalist is more of a person who has to say something than a person who has something to say
c. the constitutional freedom of expression is the most cherished right of Pinoys, and the heck with self-restraint (especially if the topic is the most ‘popular’ president of all time) )
Manolo,
with all due respect…
sorry to say… the content of all the links added in your recent blog is lacking substance. it doesn’t show passion, no opinion of solution but an opinion to create more division among our people. It is no longer educational.
The lack of civic duty and social responsibility in blogging will result to hatred and personal attack.
Professional Political blogging is neither an anti Gloria or Pro Gloria. The hope to educate and inspire thinking people to get involved in the events taking place around us is the most important.
Informing hungry people about Gloria’s temper on TV or other types of media will not result to peace…but actually adding more miseries to the very poor.
The risk of continued “rocking the boat” to sink to the bottom is now obvious.
The MILF is plain and simple a rebel group. Islam is never a factor. What they’re doing is a disgrace to Islam.
Tama si Erap – all out war na dapat. Too bad gloria didnt follow through what Erap was working on
Maybe we are witnessing one unfortunate consequence of a sacred book that is available only in Arabic. Non-arabic readers are at the mercy of those who claim to read Arabic. No can can test the teaching and/or interpretation of those who can read in Arabic.
There should be a translation of the Koran into the native dialects of Muslim Pinoys.
Jove’s Francisco is just an ordinary reporter. Nothing extraordinary… tsimis lang ang alam..
Ordinary to me is lacking experience due to immaturity of knowing what’s quality reporting.
I admire him for making me react to his blog but that’s all there is to it. It’s not educational to many especially the youth. Raise the bar for god sake and be a role model in your profession.
leytenian,
it seems you’re singing a different tune now……….
On reality check issue:
Clearly, most of Moro ancestral domain can no longer be restored. What forms of compensation can be offered instead of land? Compensation does not necessarily mean cash.
When do people recognize that violence is not accomplishing their goals? How can the government, Moros, and Christians in Mindanao be persuaded to do the right thing and fundamentally alter the narrative of Mindanao and of Moros in the Philippines?
What is at stake is not short-term interests, but the future of Moro and Christian children and the international reputation of Philippine government and society.
Solution: create a new generation with as little bias as possible. If this effort succeeds, the Moros will no longer feel like “strangers in their own homeland.” A transformed, stable, and prosperous Mindanao for all groups living in it can become reality.
Long term strategic solution has been implemented. Let’s be positive here.
Peace education to be included in public school curriculum: THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2008 | EDUCATION
http://www.gov.ph/news/?i=21625
The USAID basic education objective is focused on Mindanao, specifically the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and neighboring conflict affected areas where educational quality is
exceptionally poor. It aims to improve access to quality education and provide livelihood skills for out-ofschool
youth by establishing community learning centers with flexible learning options.
http://www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2006/ane/pdf/ph492-011.pdf
Dodong,
Recognition of co-existence does not necessarily mean allowing the institutionalization of a class division.
If you were able to watch Manolo’s episode last week; much of his Muslim audience wanted to institutionalize a class division.
leyteniean:
“Manolo,
with all due respect…
sorry to say… the content of all the links added in your recent blog is lacking substance. it doesn’t show passion, no opinion of solution but an opinion to create more division among our people. It is no longer educational. ”
Instead of lecturing us what an educational, “professional politcal blog” should be, why not make one yourself and educate us with these revolutionary ideas you think you can share?
Eureka, “creating a new generation with little bias” is the novel solution! So while a kid gets peace-educated, we should also brainwash him to pay no attention to his father who happens to be Eid Kabalu, or Ombra Kato, or any one among their thousands of followers, right?
That would be a good entry for your first blog post.
anthony,
I agree, Islam is never a factor. But the opposite is what their propaganda declares. If they (MILF) really read their Koran, why then would they kill women and children including those of their own, not to forget even animals and trees! And I’ve heard it a million times – Koran is a religion of peace. Sure. But I don’t even know if there’s a Christian equivalent for “jihad”.
tongue,
sorry tongue, I value education more than anything. the youth is the hope of our country. it’s their foundation…
for me blogging… I don’t need to. The long term solution has been implemented.
here’s the positive side of mindanao. the ripple effect of these investments will connect to my comment: “compensation does not necessarily mean cash..”
add the peace education for the youth and USaids but actually there’s more project for mindanao that most people are not aware.
here’s a positive news…
“MINDANAO investment generation kicked off strongly this year on a total of P3.1 billion worth of Board of Investment (BOI)-registered investments recorded for the first quarter, surpassing the P747-million mark during the same period last year. ”
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2008/07/24/bus/mindanao.1st.quarter.investments.reach.p3.1.b.html
for short term solution, the real men in this blog already have shared their solutions. some say, kill them all… some say… bomb the caves, some say… set up a US military base, some say, all out war….
for me…. i will leave it up to our MACHO military men …. let’s see if they are capable of implementing and negotiating peace… what’s their use anyway?
the plush toy is the inquirer mascot, goyito, the carabao.
Leytenian,
maybe you are confusing passion with some other word, because
they do show passion.
so that peace education foundation is in florida,huh.
have you attended in any symposia or work shops?
so foreign assistance has been growing.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/un/pko/symposium0803/zainudin-malang.pdf.
“There is now a growing recognition especially from the international community,
of the important role that CSOs play in societal reconstruction.â€Â
JICA, for instance, have directly engaged the Bangsamoro Development Agency which was established
by agreement by both the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front. They have also directly funded Moro NGOs. Previously, funding and assistance to communities
passed through institutions where Moros did not have an effective voice. Other agencies have also
followed suit. CIDA and USAID, have also undertaken a pro-active hiring of technocrats and
professionals from the Moro communities to occupy key responsible positions in their programs. Even
Asia Foundation, whose country chief is one of the presenters in the earlier sessions have adopted such
an approach.
The second positive development I have noticed is that those who are active in providing peace and
development aid are increasingly recognizing the fact that their economic interventions cannot be
divorced from the larger peace process. For instance, there was a concerted effort among all the aid
agencies last year to exert firm pressure on the government not to launch an all-out military offensive in
the areas where they have projects, in recognition of the fact that no peace and development assistance
can possibly succeed where there is widespread fighting. The peace process in Mindanao has a history
of 3 decades. That period was marked by frustration and false expectations. It is only recently when the
international community has taken a more direct and active participation that the peace process has
achieved substantial gains towards a sustainable resolution of the conflict. I am pleased to mention here
that Japan is one of those countries that have made substantial contributions to the peace process in
Mindanao. Let us hope the international community not only sustain but intensify its contribution to the
peace process.
for any civil war talk let me interest you with a six to seven year column of my dad:
Civil war talk
Plaridel C. Garcia
We are already a nation at war in a world at war. Since the end of the Cold War ten years ago, the world had more than 100 wars mostly intrastate. We have 3 of them, pre-dating even WWII and promising to last forever There is no active communist insurgency in the world except the Philippines and Nepal. There is hardly any Islamic separatist insurgency in the world aside from the Philippines except Indian Kashmir.
Communist insurgency did not die here as a piece dividend of the fall of Soviet Russia and the modernization of China. Ideological revisions and organizational defections even resorted in effective ambuscades of government troops by the NPA in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Its front organizations became even more effective with the democratic space that include more than equal time and space in the media and open parliamentary options. They extort for support and that is “revolutionary taxationâ€Â. The New Peoples Army roam the mountains and reportedly even Cavite and that is not “militarizationâ€Â. We are talking peace with them in a foreign country when it is not interrupted by assassinations of political leaders and charges of government violators of the peace talk terms. Jose Maria Sison spoke of protracted struggle even for a hundred years.
Mindanao separatist movements were older by centuries under Spain and America. It was energized by the Jabidah massacre, the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, the incorrigible excesses of Muslim and Christian leaders, and the protracted poverty. The military and the police may have their contributions to the crisis but they are the ones getting massacred by the dozens together with the innocent civilians. We managed to talk peace with the MNLF and failed with Misuari. We waged a “total war†with the MILF and overrun their “camps†but the armed formations are still talking peace when not interrupted by war incidents. In the family tree are the Abu Sayaf and Pentagon Kidnap Gangs that are on active notice by the world especially by the US/Bush administration.
Perhaps because we could not effectively agree on what to do with our armed conflicts and the rest of our “permanent wars†that we seem to be romancing a civil war. No less than the President said that at EDSA 2 the “tailspin towards civil war was avertedâ€Â. A tailspin is the rapid descent of an airplane nose down with tail in a spiral. At so-called EDSA 3, the “state of rebellion†is said to be by the “unwashedâ€Â. It was then a tailspin with the nose covered. The poor don’t a civil war make. Poverty was an essential condition but not sufficient. Neither is national disunity, disunities if you please. An effective division of the house, a civil war make. As Huntington said about revolutions, our problem is not an imminent civil war, but the capacity to wage one. The three most notable examples of a civil war may convince us that we do not belong to the league.
The American civil war was “the last war of gentlemenâ€Â. Ironically it was characterized by civility in its political leaders and sense of honor in its military.
The English civil war was between the monarchists and the parliamentarians. The cavalry of Cromwell praised the Lord and passed the ammunition. The cavaliers of Charles I praised the king and made passes on ladies of the court.
The Spanish civil war was between the Republicans and the Nationalists. The former included socialists, communists, Basque regionalists and anarchists. The latter included conservative Catholics and fascist Falangistas. The military was divided and General Franco won.
If we are not united behind our government in resolving our raging wars, those making war against it are not united either. That is why the outcome are not decisive either way. Too many fences make too many fence-sitters and too many walls provide targets to piss against.
Civil war soon or in the near future? Tell it to the Marines with a mouth shut wide!
Lastly a recent reasearch on the Lumads:
(unedited so ipra was mispelled as ipira)
Lumads in the ARMM/Expanded ARRM: The ancestors of the domain
Amidst the political noise and whispers on the so-called Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between GRP and MILF, a silence on the plight of the Lumads is deafening.
But there are Lumads in ARRM, particularly Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan, that is home to three related etnic groups, namely the Teduray, the Dulangan Manobo, and the Lambangian Manobo. Given the possible expansion of the ARRM territory as rumored in the said MOA, there are also the Subanen in the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Higaunon on Iligan, Blaan and Tboli in the Cotabato area, and other tribes in Palawan.
For the uninitiated, “Lumad†is the Cebuano word for native or indigenous. Its equivalent in Tagalog is ‘Katutuboâ€Â. As such, they are the grand ancestors of the national domain.
The non-Muslim communities, at least representatives from 15 out of 18 major tribes in Mindanao, started using Lumad in 1986, as “their self-ascribed collective name as an integral part of their assertion of their right to self-determination’. (Rodil)
The history of their marginalization by colonial policy and later by government-sponsored resettlement or immigration in Mindanao was the same story among the minority groups in the rest of the Philippines where minority groups existed. (Horaldo) The great difference with other minority groups was that the Lumads were peace-loving people and did not resort to arms and violence in response to violence imposed on them.
Fast forward. From a history of marginalization ostensibly to hasten the assimilation or amalgamation of the non-Christians into the mainstream Filipino (which happen to be Christian) community, “special provinces†were formed rather than institutions to recognize the distinct cultural identity. In 1987, however, the Commission of National Integration (CNI) and the non-Christian groups were formally called National Cultural Minorities..
The operative term in government policy was national integration and continued to be so until 1971 for the Moros (through the Tripoli agreement) and 1987 for the Indigenous Peoples (IP) through the 1987 Constitution.
The 1987 Constitution seeks to recognize, promote, and protect the four basic rights of the IP, namely: Cultural integrity, self-governance and empowerment, social justice and human rights, and right to ancestral domain.
The enabling laws that embody government policies on IP and the Moro peoples respectively are: Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPIRA) in 1987 and RA 9054, the amended version of RA 6734 (ARMM organic law), as revised in 2001 as a result of the final agreement between GRP and MNLF in September 1996. Both laws set a definite direction towards self-determination, even if limited, or autonomy under the sovereignty of the state and with the integrity of the national territory.
With IPIRA, native title is recognized and the IP can now have their communal ancestral domains and lands titled. The good news is that after 10 years of implementation, the National Commission on IP has issued certificates of ancestral domain titles (CADT) and ancestral land titles (CALT) comprising 1,641,601 hectares benefiting 330,795 individuals. The Lumads are the ancestors of the national domain indeed.
But not in the ARMM. For the Moro peoples, already two of the three agenda of the peace process have been realized and the third agenda – the ancestral domain – is rumored to have been settled in the said MOA that is said to contain “the four strands of concept, territory, resources, and governance. For the IP, the case of the Teduray and the two Manobo tribes in the ARMM is very unusual and unfortunate.There is no law in the country, least of all in the ARMM (IPIRA being inoperative in the Muslim autonomous region) they can use to pursue their ancestral domain.
Likewise in the expanded ARRM. As said earlier, there are the Subanens in the Zambo peninsula; the Higaunan in Iligan; the Manobo, Blaan, and Tboli in the Cotabato area; and other tribes in Palawan.
And there is no clue that the ARRM intends to pass an organic law for the ancestral domain of the Lumads. Conflict is therefore inevitable.
In modern conflicts, Sir Rupert Smith in his book “The Utility of Force†a celebrated work in Europe in 2006, has this to say: “The unspoken but essential assumption on which democracy rests is that the minority trusts the majority not to take unreasonable advantage of their position. In many of the areas in which our modern conflicts have erupted, either the majority genuinely did not respect the rights of the minority, or else the minority perceived itself to be unfairly dealt with.â€Â
This is a message not only to the national Christian majority but also to the Muslim majority in the ARMM, because democracy is the rule of a majority that is concerned with the minority indeed.
Tounge (at 9:05 am), ‘crusade’?
Karl (at 10:45 am), i see that you and your Dad have similar writing styles. He raises a good point about muddled civil war as compared to the examples he shares of the US, UK and Spanish civil wars.
Can you ask him then if we’re more related to what’s been happening in Somalia where the State disintegrated and various warlords took over?
The most serious of Civil Wars occurred all over Europe during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries that eventually metamorphosed into two world wars in the last century.
Even before the defeat of the British by the colonists in the U.S., the French had suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of the British.
Putting a democratic slant on evolving tribes in the Philippines context would be a stretch since as the word implies tribes implies communal central governance around a chief or Datu.
Even the word citizen which came from the word city would be an alien construct with tribes.
Europe and other countries had hundreds of years of evolving feudal communities that had already forms of representative governments.
The tribes in Las Isla Filipinas are far removed from that stage.
More than even sociologists you would need anthropological experts for these kind of problems.
One country with part of the country integrated with the outside world, one part still in primitive agricultural conditions and the other part in primitive tribal conditions. socially.
Now try putting in national policies to fit all three….
i tried finding photos of the goyito plushie on google. wala. 🙂
Anthony, I first heard it on the radio, then it was reported on tv but only after the tv reporters reported about the milf statement of the president. I guess it is not fair to question why jove had to air it. Unang una, ang may final say kung ano ang eere at hindi ay ang producers niya sa TV. Lets say, if he didn’t advise that story to us, malamang mapapagalitan siya o ma-reprimand ng mga boss. The next day, the papers came up with stories about the incident. I saw his actual tv report. It was, in a word, fair. He just used the outburst issue near the end of the report for added context. Nasa youtube din ang report kasama ang mga report ng dos, nadia’s I think. Also that of gma7. Interestingly they all didn’t use the outburst as the main story. And with all due respects Anthony, duon sa kwestyon na “did he have to report it?”, ang sagot ay yes. I saw the actual report on TEN over at TV5. And based on the incidents concerning the president BEFORE the outburst, the public needs to know what is happening to the president, especially if it concerns her state of mind and state of health. Ilang araw wala sa mata ng tao si Gloria bago ang outburst na iyan, we must remember that.
Now about the comment na tsismis lang ang alam ni jove. I am his former producer over at ABC5 (i’m now working for another network). That’s a sweeping statement that is totally false. We’ve (kami na nasa singko nuon at mga nanunuod na lang nayon sa singko) seen him work since the time of FVR and he never filed a “rumor†story. Nuong panahon ni Erap, siya ang nag expose ng supposed link ng kamag anak ni Erap sa book scam, among other expose stories about that admin. Sa present administration, he served as our insider in the palace, mula sa pag take over nila Gloria kapalit ni Erap, hanggang nuong Gloriagate kunsaan saksi siya duon sa mga CD ni Bunye at mga tumamang kudeta sa Pangulo. Wala pa naman siyang binalita na di supported by facts and video. Ako na magsasabi na di lulusot na umere yan sa programa ko nuon kung di suportado ng facts. Karamihan nasasaksihan talaga nila ng team niya sa palasyo. Di ko mawari kung saan nakuha ni Leytenian ang impression niya, pero sana nanunuod siya ng reports bago siya gumawa ng ganiyang nakakasirang komento.
Sus, ganyan naman talaga eh, laging shoot the messenger. Tatawa tawa lang ang palasyo na may sumisira sa mga palace reporters na laging nakakasaksi sa mga kabulustagang ginagawa nila. Pwede ba, old style na iyan, bistado na! Yan din naman ginagawa pag sinisira ang ibang institusyon. Para ang bumango ay ang nakaupo. Magagawa na nila lahat gusto nila. Style nyo bulok!
anthony scalia,
Jove’s piece on Gloria ! It made me laugh. Ot’s called infotainment and there’s nothing wrong with covering what is called the lighter side.
Besides it adds a another dimension to Gloria’s image. Now we know she’s not only a troll, she’s also a bitchy troll.
Anthony,
If I were Jove I would have titled the segment on Gloria’s tantrum – “Tempest in the chamberpot”
Amthony,
And was it not fun to watch her eunuchs scrambling around the chamberpot looking for her prompter?
the ‘issue’ on whether or not it was appropriate to report PGMA blowing her top off is in itself a not-so-big issue..
the bigger issue is that there is an audience who finds it worth their time to listen/watch a report like that..
too bad that the people, and the reporter, is trying to get it isolated from the context of the Lanao raid..
Wow, if pampangueno is the Professional Regulatory Commission,
Leytenian is now the MTRCB “…..It’s not educational to many especially the youth.” Naks.
Si Anthony Scalia naman is lost… “But must you report it? Upload it to Youtube?”….Duh, youtube is a FREE video sharing site, no one is forcing you to go there. Turn off your computer.
cheers
By Jove! Leytenian, you’ve touched some raw nerves there.
Anyway, to Anthony and Liam: almost all journalists are looking to scoop unguarded moments like those. The most rabid, the Americans, where serious monments could be truened into a Comedy Central: Bush-capades, the open microphones, etc.