Plan B

My Arab News column for this week is Are Filipinos Ready to Cha-Cha Just to Get Rid of President Arroyo?

Neal Cruz broke in his column today what’s been the scuttlebutt for some time: Senator Miriam Defensor. Together with Newsstand’s survey of interesting, emerging political developments, one can see the shift in strategy that’s taking place.

The “people’s initative” has been put on the back burner, and the President’s decided to pursue a Constituetnt Assembly once more.

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

20 thoughts on “Plan B

  1. excellent arab news column po. and nice analysis of the situation.

    “At present, much as it dislikes losing the vote for president and it distrusts a parliamentary setup, the public might be willing to trade national elections for a new system, gambling on a slim chance that by so doing, Mrs. Arroyo will leave office sooner rather than later. A possibility, incidentally, her own allies have been privately selling to the public, while publicly denying it. The result, of course, won’t be better governance, but an end to what all political observers admit is an impasse between the administration and its critics.”

    i have a question po— how can we build a better system of govenment through a dangerous compromise like this? i personally want a new system but not at the expense of the right to national elections. i want better and equal opportunities for everyone. how can we build a nation like that?

  2. MLQ3,

    Pretty comprehensive analysis of the current political impasse in “Are Filipinos Ready to Cha-Cha Just to Get Rid of President Arroyo?”.

    Kudos!

  3. MBuencamino,

    You gotta be kidding! That big-time sabungero is going to be the BIR chief? Ohmigosh!

  4. Anna,

    I think MB is just being sarcastic. Everybody knows naman what kind of person Brenda’s husband is.

  5. Well, that was what Neal Cruz implied in his column.

    I think a sabungero going the BIR and his wife to the Supreme Court is in the realm of the probable.

    After all, she did appoint Abalos, Barcelona and Garci to the Comelec, Puno to DILG, Raul Gonzalez to DOJ, Norberto Gonzalez to national security, Reyes to DENR, Abcede and Sabio to PCGG, Esperon to head the army, Mayuga to head the navy, Defensor as chief of Staff, and Ermita as executive secretary.

    And, don’t forget, she hand-picked Noli de Castro and Lito Lapid to run on her ticket.

    A sabungero and a lunatic in her government? I’d say par for the course.

  6. Dios mio!

    MBuencamino, I am beginning to re-think what an erstwhile cyberfriend used to promote: “A Country of My Own”! or the partitioning of Pinas into several mini-republics just so my own province doesn’t get into the hands of this lunar-cockfighting pair… Bad enough that you have a punggok and a giant piggy pendejo in Malacanang, now we have another sticky fingering pair in perspective in very important places in government. Ugh!

    Bless Neal Cruz but hope his prediction doesn’t come true.

  7. MLQ3,

    I’ve just read your column for tomorrow, 18 May “Tar Baby” http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=2&story_id=76152&col=111

    The three last lines in your last paragraph left me flabbergasted: “Will that Dagupan Express remove the stones and dirt, the cracked and uneatable grains, from National Food Authority rice at P15 to P20 a kilo? What’s cheap shouldn’t necessarily be of inferior quality. And at P5.50 to P6.50 a pack, instant noodles are more affordable and cleaner than what the government can provide.”

    You can’t be serious!

    Good heavens! How much is the minimum wage in the Philippines or income that would enable people to be able to afford these basic staple food products? If the minimum wage is 5,000 pesos monthly or say 200 pesos daily, how can a family with only one breadwinner satisfy its required nuorishment for the day?

    When people can no longer afford even the basic staple food, you have a recipe for a social upheaval. No wonder, petty crimes abound. A hungry stomach knows no reason and recognizes no law.

    For info, and I don’t wish in any manner to gloat about this – first class Thai rice in Brussels or in Paris costs 1 Euro PER KILO and this is imported rice. If you translate that into pesos, that’s roughly 65 pesos or just about three times than your Dagupan rice but we are talking here of purchase price of first class imported Thai rice, a rather unusual commodity in a country that does not produce rice.

    A second rate type of rice closer to what you described costs about HALF a Euro or a few pesos more than the Dagupan rice you mentioned but again, this is in a country that doesn’t produce rice at all (or at least, not yet!).

    In other words, what is this government doing? Where is all the money going? The government boasts of increased income tax revenue, so what is happening to that money? What use is the NFA if it can’t even meet the substandard needs of the poor folks?

  8. Every move has a countermeasure. The net result of the impasse is status quo which is to the benefit of the sitting president until 2010.

    Ate Glue, the economic guru is effectively ruling by division.

  9. We should be used to Miriam’s politics by now..she is not just a political butterfly…if there is such a thing as a political mosquito she is it.

    BIR,The SC….are blood sucked out from her current host.

    Until a mosquito is not full she continues to suck from other hosts till death.

  10. After reading the Arab news column

    Miriam is not even just a mosquito

    she is a mutant who mutated from one group mlq3 mentioned to the first group of people mlq3 mentioned.

  11. To Gil,
    Anna was also being sarcastic in comment 4.

    Boy, that was the first time I used sarcastic as a compliment.

    let me rephrase that….

    Anna’s comment number 4 was tongue in cheek.

  12. Only seen and heard Miriam, maybe twice, during the senate hearing some years ago, and I was laughing at her “forced” accent in her spoken english. She may have obtained her education in english speaking country, but until now still can’t figured out which one. She’s funny indeed. She’s very intellegent lady, but like many, for the wrong reasons. Well, up to now my accent still Ilongo..

  13. ” After all, she did appoint Abalos, Barcelona and Garci to the Comelec, Puno to DILG, Raul Gonzalez to DOJ, Norberto Gonzalez to national security, Reyes to DENR, Abcede and Sabio to PCGG, Esperon to head the army, Mayuga to head the navy, Defensor as chief of Staff, and Ermita as executive secretary.

    And, don’t forget, she hand-picked Noli de Castro and Lito Lapid to run on her ticket. ”

    >>>> And dont forget too that you have, Escudero and his sons of political dynasty gang, Zamora, Imee Marcos, Erap, Jinggoy, Peping Cojuangco Guingon, Lacson Drilon , Pimentel, the coup happy PMAers etc etc… on the other side….

    Hay naku hanggang ngayon you are still not getting it don’t you???

    A sabungero and a lunatic in her government? I’d say par for the course.

  14. I congratulate the peaceful and rational anti-Arroyo groups for creating rational blogs that continue to stand for the democratic principles in our native land. I do read those nice blogs. But I’m quite surprised to the so-called ‘Luli Internet Brigade’ for verbally attacking the Black and White Movement as an eccentric group. The Brigade has also been vocal in attacking a certain Rummel Pinera for his advocacy called ‘political abrogationism’. They called him an ‘eccentric’ promoting his new cause all over the internet. I did research about political abrogationism in the net and this is what I’ve found out about the cause:

    Political abrogationism is a socio-political advocacy which originated from the Philippines. The cause advocates the abolition of all dictatorships, monarchial reigns and despotic regimes all over the world by using peaceful and legal methods. It also preaches that every country, every social organization and every culture in the world should embrace real democracy through peaceful and lawful means.
    Origin
    The movement was originated by Rummel Pinera – a human rights advocate and a pro-democracy campaigner. He preaches that the use of peaceful and legal means is the “correct, good and proper methodology” of trying to attain the objectives and ideals of political abrogationism. Political abrogationism supports the creation of a democratic global system that will help implement environmental laws, check the abuses of extreme industrialism, balance international trading, safeguard international laws and guarantee the safeguarding of human rights in every part of this world. He started writing ‘letters-to-the-editors’ about political abrogationism from year 1993 up to year 2000. But the movement that was organized to attain the ideals of political abrogationism seems to have started only in year 2003. The “League of Political Abrogationers”, the main organization promoting political abrogationism, has been operating a web page for political abrogationism since year 2003. The League of Political Abrogationers is currently involved in a peaceful campaign to impeach Mrs. Glo Arroyo from the Philippine presidency.

    Rummel Pinera, born November 17, 1968, is probably the main exponent, pioneer and developer of political abrogationism.
    Pinera majored in marketing at the Mary of Perpetual Help University in Laguna, Philippines. He has long been a peaceful and legal campaigner for human-rights and democracy. During his college years, Pinera joined in the peaceful and legal struggle to expel the U.S. military bases from the Philippines. At age 17, he participated in the First People Power Revolution in the Philippines. Such a revolution was peaceful and lawful. He also participated in many peaceful and legal rallies in the Philippines that supported Gorbachev’s pro-democracy policies and called for the peaceful democratization of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Afghanistan during the late 1980s.
    During the 1990s Pinera has supported the peaceful, legal and global campaigns to democratize Burma, Cambodia, some parts of Latin America, some parts of Africa, and some parts of Eastern Europe. From 1993 through 1997 he wrote letters to the editors of Time, Newsweek and other international publications about the cause called political abrogationism. Also at that time, he propagated political abrogationism by writing letters to the editors, via both standard postal and e-mail methods, to various newspapers, political groups and political magazines all over the world.
    Rummel Pinera has participated in the two peaceful and lawful “people power revolutions” in the Philippines. He has developed a philosophy called harmonicalism and an economic program called publickerianism. He got married in April, 1998. His wife is Maribel Pinera. The couple has one daughter. Their daughter’s name is Beatrice Pinera.
    Rummel Pinera’s first book about political abrogationism was published in December, 2003. Rummel Pinera established the League of Political Abrogationers in the Philippines in May, 2003. He is the current chairman of such a group. He wrote several books about political abrogationism, publickerianism and harmonicalism from year 2003 up to year 2005. He claims that he has invented some new methods of playing golf and pool. He also claims that he has invented some new board games. Political abrogationism is the advocacy of peaceful and legal abolition of all dictatorships, monarchial reigns and despotic regimes all over the world. Political abrogationism also advocates the peaceful and legal democratization of every country, every social organization and every human culture in this world. Rummel Pinera is involved right now in a peaceful campaign to impeach Mrs. Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo from the Philippine presidency.

    Reference: “A View On The Current Peaceful And Legal Civil Disobedience Campaign Against The Arroyo Regime In The Philippines” by Boyy Piodos. Copyright year- 2006.

    I do find Mr. Rummel Pinera as a rational person. It seems that it is the Luli Internet Brigade which is acting irrationally against such person.

  15. Danny,

    Funny! Following a tip from a friend in Tokyo, I first broached the idea of the “Luli Macapagal Internet Brigade” right here in MLQ3’s blog a few months ago because I was convinced that she had indeed galvanized brigades to search the internet, lurk in cyber forums to defend her unglorious self-styled president of a mom (that’s fine, it’s part and parcel of her territory as one might say).

    Well, someone picked it up right here in MLQ3’s, used the name without even saying “thank you” or acknowledging that the name/term came from someone else – but doesn’t matter, at least they’ve now decided to go frontal rather than just lurk… heheh! Luli Macapagal has become a verirable “fair game”.

    So, here’s to a fair game! Let the games begin…

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