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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Anachronistic
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on Nov. 24, 2008 For the Standard Today, November 25 issue The topic assigned to me was "Defeating the Communist insurgency." But I told my audience last Friday, Nov. 21, that talking about "defeating the Communist insurgency" was anachronistic because Communism itself has become anachronistic. My audience was composed of military officers, local government officials, and representatives of various government agencies, taking a five-day seminar on national security at Camp Aguinaldo under the direction of the National Defense College of the Philippines. Our neighbors in East and Southeast Asia had defeated their Communist insurgencies decades ago, by taking draconian measures against their insurgents: Malaysia and Singapore, by using their Internal Security Act (ISA), inherited from the British colonial government, which gave both governments the right to throw in jail, indefinitely and without trial, anyone suspected of being a Communist or a Communist sympathizer; South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand � confrontational states vis-�-vis North Korea and Maoist China - by crushing the Communist movements in their territories during their periods of military rule in the 70s and 80s; Indonesia by a bloodbath against the Parti Komunis Indonesia which had tried to grab power by machine-gunning to death almost the entire military high command in Halim Air Base outside Jakarta in September 1965. Estimates vary from 300,000 to two million on the number of suspected Communists and Communist sympathizers summarily executed by the military in their counter-coup. But to use such draconian measures now against our Communist insurgents would no longer be fashionable and would just make this country an international pariah, and would dry up investments and official development aid.. Even before the first decade of the 21st century, Communism has faded as a global threat, having imploded from the accumulated weight of its own failures. In 1989, millions of East Europeans � Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, etc � literally walked out on their Communist regimes in a spontaneous, leaderless and largely bloodless (except in Romania) civil revolt, People Power in its purest form, that forced their Communist governments to resign. In 1991, a similar civil revolt broke out in Moscow, primed by the glasnost and perestroika reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev and inspired by the defiance of the Eastern Europeans. The 15-state Union of Soviet Socialist Republics collapsed and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was even outlawed, ironically in the very country where the first Communist revolution had triumphed, only to be restored months later. Since 1979, Maoism as the definitive national ideology was slowly and systematically dismantled in China by the pragmatic Deng Xiaoping, who restored capitalism and the profit motive, a counter-revolutionary transformation which propelled China to the status of an economic super-power in less than 30 years. Communism is dead. The only Communists left in Europe are two Filipinos: Jose Ma. Sison and Luis Jalandoni. And even Joma has admitted that the victory of Communism, once considered by its gibbering true believers as inevitable and imminent, would now take "hundreds of years." (See my article 'Hundreds of Years' of Nov. 14, 2006, archived in www.tapatt.org.) But why is there still a Communist insurgency in the Philippines? Largely because of the failure of successive Philippine presidents, from Marcos to Arroyo, to build an export-oriented economy. And also due to the failure of these same presidents to conceptualize and articulate a Better Idea. Communism is an Idea. To defeat it, one must have a Better Idea. In my article Why Are We Poor? of Dec. 14, 2004 and subsequent articles, all archived in www.tapatt.org, I listed down the economic missteps that successive Philippine governments committed in the past fifty years. One. The passage of the Minimum Wage Law in the late 1950s, which discouraged American companies from locating their factories in the Philippines. They located them instead in Taiwan and Hong Kong because wages there were lower (believe it or not) than here and there was no statutory minimum wage. Two. In the 1970s, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong (then a British colony) geared their economies towards the export of manufactured goods. The Philippines did not, content as we were with import substitution. Three. In the 1980s, Malaysia, Thailand and Suharto's Indonesia followed the original Four Asian Tigers above in gearing their economies towards the export of manufactured goods. The Philippines did not. What few export industries Marcos managed to set up were deliberately wrecked by the Communist KMU unions which staged strike after strike against them, until their owners got fed up and moved their factories to other countries. When I started writing a column in 1987, I kept on hammering on the theme of export�oriented industries, but President Aquino and her group of allegedly 50 advisers ignored my counsel. It was President Ramos in 1992 onwards who seriously went into export industries., but by then it was too late: China was emerging as the dominant producer and exporter of manufactured goods. (FVR himself told me that he kept a file of my articles, which was confirmed by an American academic who was researching on the Philippine military.) Four. President Ramos worked at cross purposes with his own export initiative by accepting the advice of Opus Dei economists Jess Estanislao and Bernie Vilegas, who pushed for an accelerated embrace of free trade and globalization, even ahead of fully developed South Korea and Taiwan. The resultant flood of imports drowned local producers, causing them to stop or reduce operations, forcing millions of Filipino workers to look for work overseas. Five. In the 1990s, the Philippines failed to ride the tourism boom, just as we had failed to ride the export boom earlier. In 1991, Indonesia and the Philippines had exactly the same number of tourist arrivals :one million. In 2007, Indonesia had six million; we managed only three million. (Malaysia had 16 million, Thailand 13 million). Six. The Philippines failed to manage its population growth. In the 1970s, Thailand and the Philippines had the same population size, 45 million. Because it had an active and successful population management program, Thailand's population grew to only 65 million in 2007, while the Philippines', which did not have one, grew to 89 million. By any yardstick, it is easier to feed, clothe, house, educate and provide jobs for 65 million people than for 89 million. Prosperity is about jobs. Let us not even talk about South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore because they are so far ahead of us, having embarked on the export of manufactured goods as far back as the 1970s. In 2006, South Korea's exports totaled $326 billion, Taiwan's $216 billion, Singapore's $283.7 billion. Let's talk of Malaysia, whose exports in 2006 totaled $158.7 billion, compared to the Philippines' $47.2 billion, or a difference of $111.5 billion. If we follow the rule of thumb that one billion dollars worth of exports create 100,000 manufacturing jobs, we can conclude that our failure in exports cost us about 11 million foregone jobs. And consider also that in 2007, Malaysia attracted 16 million tourists, compared to our three million, or a difference of 13 million. If we follow the rule of thumb that one million tourists create 100,000 tourism-related jobs, we can conclude that our failure in tourism cost us another 1.3 million foregone jobs. So our combined failures in exports and tourism cost us 12.3 million foregone jobs, one and a half times the number of Filipinos forced to work overseas because they could not find jobs here. It is the difference between prosperity and poverty and explains why a Communist insurgency continues to fester here, long after Communism became anachronistic. (To be concluded) ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.com and in acabaya.blogspot.com. To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to "Anachronistic" 'Is it now a Depression?' Mike Arroyo's Mid-flight Diarrhea' Tony, For as long as government avoids instilling a culture of excellence and stewardship, it will never defeat any antithetical idea. Through the years, and mainly because of society's negligence, thugs and morons have managed to grab the reins of power paving the way for tyrannical rule. We've gone full circle to the days just before Marcos declared martial law that assured his so-called constitutional authoritarian rule for another 14 years! As we used to say before, Marcos was the best recruiter for the CPP-NPA-NDF. Today, some 40 years hence, armed rebellions are very much alive and well. The government makes it very easy for citizens to rebel. The topic should have been "Defeating Bad Governance and Poor Citizenship." Best, Raffy Alunan, (by email), Nov. 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, That topic has been beaten to death; it is moot and academic. Only those who insist in their heads about something else continue to have the need to "revisit" a "dead issue". What remains is for the Philippine Government to DO everything that should have been done since 1986. J. M. Nepomuceno, (by email), Nov. 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sir I read your article on "Anachronistic," and beg to disagree of a "Communist" insurgency. I will not say Communist insurgents, but more of insurgents against graft and corruption! Is defeating graft and corruption anachronistic? Juan Manuel C. del Prado, (by email), San Pedro, Laguna, Nov. 25, 2008 (You never heard of the New People's Army, founded by Bernabe Buscayno, alias Kumander Dante, in 1969, as the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), founded by Joma Sison? Their expressed goal is to establish a Maoist dictatorship of the proletariat in the Philippines, with monopoly of power for the CPP. You don't think that's anachronistic? ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww True. Instead of exporting goods, the Philippines is exporting its people: the OFWs. Time for Filipinos to build up industries at home sweet home by families that work together, stay together in the pursuit of happiness on this earthly paradise. Am waiting for your continuation. FVR started on the right track. Thanks. Lourdes Ceballos, (by email), Nov. 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww As I have responded to an article of Ms. Doyo in Inquirer about "hungry Filipinos", the failure of the government to provide jobs to the people also contributes to higher population growth rate that even the Reproductive Health Bill will not be that effective (I think) if there will still be no job for the unemployed, I 'm talking of a stable job and not merely temporary jobs like street sweeper or oysters. It is not only my theory but if we are to interpret the NSO figures, poorer families are bigger and usually the husband is unemployed so he can not buy food for his family. People like to joke about it that the only diversion that they have is sex. From the middle income group, or at least from the couples with stable and permanent job up to highest income class, usually have smaller families. There may be several factors why that is so, like that aside from a stable job, people also learn from work informally about responsible parenthood or maybe people are so preoccupied with work that they don't have that so much intimate time, they have to schedule or plan for it, whatever. Lack of jobs also contribute to insurgency whether it is the NPA or the Abu Sayyaf. If jobs were available for those people before they joined the insurgents, there will be no window of recruitment. Communism is gone, KMU is now in oblivion as the workers whom they victimize loathe the organization. Edelberto Anit, (by email), Nov. 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you for a well organized chronology of the events that describe how communism has died in other countries and why it continues to fester in the Philippines. The issue of exports , as far as i can recall way back to my younger years, has been discussed and debated on but the so-called conservatives, nationalists, agriculture-bounded minds, had always the upper hand because it was easier to win hearts by false patriotic oratory rather than factual and visionary ideas. So long as corruption dictates the political and business agenda, we will always see wrong or short-sighted ideas and projects because the end of each politician is merely to see his personally treasury grow - for himself and his next generation alone. Victor Manalac, (by email), Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww My dear Tony, Your column is simply brilliant!!! I'd vote for you for president anytime... George Sison, (by email), Nov. 26, 2008 (Thank you, George. Now I know I have at least 12 votes. Tony) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, Totally agree with you. First, a predominantly hawkish approach to an insurgency problem is bound to alienate further more people who already have legitimate reasons to oppose government. Second, even if other departments have not had the political will or sincerity to help end the insurgency problem, this does not mean that security forces must go at it alone. Third, there is no more effective and efficient way to end any insurgency than to effectively address its root causes, not its symptoms. Finally, the government's shortcomings themselves have fed not only the communist insurgency but the other insurgencies as well in this country of ours until this very day. It is frustrating ... We attend all these first world - inspired national security and command and general staff sessions but are unable to put what we learn into actual practice ... The gap between theory and practice / reality in this country is so huge it becomes very frustrating because the inability to practice what is learned or the propensity to continue to practice what is improper despite having learned the proper makes everything an exercise in futility! We keep fooling ourselves! Regards, Col Dennis Acop (Ret), (by email),Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Wow, Mr.Tony... Communism will be dead in this country eventually as their ideologies have been proven to be failures with the examples of China, Hungary, North Korea and other countries. Also, one thing to take note is the low level of nationalism among Pinoys... For us to enjoy economic progress, there is a need for the industries to have a strong market, starting here in the Philippines. Problem is that the Philippines pa is the market of the foreign companies... A perfect example is soap.. The leading brands such as Palmolive and Safeguard, to my disbelief, is made in Thailand or Indonesia. Imagine, para sabon lang, outsourced pa and yet we already have national brands... This maybe trivial but my point is, we can build progress in this country by having a strong sense of nationalism, especially the consumers.. Also, a change in the leadership is also a step. The country will continually divide because of their foolishness and the stupid prayers of Dureza. Alam mo na hinde sincere ang prayer ni sipsip eh... Mike Delgado, (by email), Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr. Abaya, It is rudimentary that a nation must first be self-sufficient in food before it can embark on an industrial economy. This means the country does not pay for the food for the subsistence of its population. All its revenues can then be invested in export activities to augment the other necessities of life. Industrialization requires, among others, a partnership of the mining and processing sectors to produce the materials needed by light and heavy industries as against the assembly industries established and encouraged by the government from the 1980s to the present. This means that we must process our own mineral ores into usable raw materials by manufacturers. Iron ore into the various steel grades and forms, copper ore into classes used by industries, Logs into finished products, etc. etc. Processing products out of imported steel sheets is not manufacturing and it should have been used as a come-on for investments in the raw material processing industries. Corollary to this partnership, is our ability to train and retain, obviously, for our national needs, the technicians required by industries such as metallurgists, chemists, specialty engineers, etc. Then as you postulate, there should be in-depth provisions in our laws to sustain the entry of foreign investments who would invest in the industries we seek to establish. There are more to this, and the issue of industrialization is a complex one. I am just mentioning a few requisites. Edmundo Ledesma, (by email), Cainta, Rizal, Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sir, Your article shows why the left and the right in the Philippines need to stop aping the discourse in the U.S., Europe, or even China and develop a political-economic ideology that is unique and appropriate to Filipinos. That is what the East Asian Tigers did. Our political-economic ideology should take into account our history, culture, and values of bayani, bayanihan, bayan. Gawad Kalinga provides such a value-based, grounds up, and community-based approach. Filipino intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and politicians should build on this. In other words, they need to upscale it to the national level. We need to understand what community development is and look at the economy as an instrument of national development and not only for the benefit of a few vested interests and families. Hecky Villanueva, (by email), Tucson, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I read your articles re above subject of which my friend Mar Tecson forwarded to me. As I come across your name I was thinking if you are the Abayas from Ilocos Sur, who graduated from Ilocos Sur High School in Vigan way way back and also an acquaintance /a friend of Manny Siggaoat; a former retired Gen, PMA. I remembered that Manny Siggaoat a close associate when we were still working in Bacnotan Cement Industires, Inc. and few years way way back was supposed to have lunch and would introduced you to me but it didn't happen, If you are the one then congratulation for a good write up and all your published articles. If not then thank you for the opportunity of reading the good stuff. I've been away from PI for more than 30 years and I'm permanently residing here in US. Mar Tecsonwho sent me your article is also a friend/associate when we were still working in Bacnotan Cement.Thank you for the opportunity, Ben A. Gines, (by email), Nov. 26, 2008 (Sorry, we are not from Ilocos Sur. My father was from Pagsanjan, Laguna. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thanks for the article...Well written...Good critical thought... Harry Tambuatco, (by email), Nov. 26, 2008 Destiny Cable wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, As a college freshman in New York, in the late 40s, I was impressed with the ideal of Marxism and Communism - a "heaven on earth. " I totally sympathized with the student radicals, being an idealist myself and wanting a better world for mankind. After joining the real worker's world of reality later, after graduation, I look back on my freshman years when I was "enlightened." It was a spiritual liberation, synonymous to a religious experience, featuring a "pie in the sky. " I had occasion to visit "Communist" countries in the '60s and found their so called "dictatorship of the Proletariat" to be nothing more than a dictatorship of a band of extremists oppressing their own people by forcing their own idiosyncrasies down their throat. We should all be on guard for the fundamentalists, regardless of what brand of religion they preach. R. Stager , (by email), Quezon City, Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Good article! One poor excuse why we are not as affected by the downturn of the U.S. market is that we have minuscule exports. Consuelo de bobo. Rudy Villarica, (by email), Quezon City, Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, this an excellent synthesis explaining the plights of the Philippines and why a communist party can still survive today in my country of heart! I would have added a weak national sense and purpose and corruption (not as such - it is present everywhere at some degree, even in my own country- but in the sense that contrary to countries like Thailand, the money of corruption is not being reinvested in the country or at least not for productive purpose). In my opinion both aspects are linked (flight of capital). Overseas Filipino workers are doing a kind of rebalancing act for their country and families, at great human and social cost (this without denying the many other positive effects of emigration; it is the scale and conditions under which this is taking place that is questionable and worrisome; it also increases greatly the vulnerability of the country as the present crisis will probably show). Regards from Fribourg Paul Obrist, (by email), Fribourg, Switzerland, Nov. 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, You are completely right. As a former sideline Tourist Consultant in Europe, I fully agree with you. In the seventies and beginning eighties, the Philippines became interesting to tourists. Despite martial law, it was safe and it was worth the costs, even flights have been much more expensive than now. Sure, a lot of tourists came to Manila for rather sexual expectations but the same happened to Thailand. Sexuality is human and normal, it just has to be controlled and regulated. Or is anyone thinking this is not existing anymore in the Philippines? Only, now it is more secret and therefore out of control. Then, the Philippines is now a very expensive destination with many prices not much lower or even higher than in high earning industrialized countries. And there is also the quality of goods and services by far higher. Another problem is the senseless pushing the Peso up against the Dollar, just for showing how good is the government managing the economy. Compare prices when the rate was 55 and when it was 41 to the Dollar. The prices in Pesos, even on Dollar-imported goods, increased extremely instead of going down. And the remittances of overseas workers became worth less and less while the government, again for showing super economic success, used the cheap Dollars to prematurely repay foreign loans. Only, not to lessen the burden, but to get more credits instead. Comparing prices and purchasing power, the Peso should be about 69 or more to the Dollar. This would allow millions of families to spend more out of remittances, it would make the Philippines interesting to investors and especially to tourists, considered killings, cheating, overpricing and criminality in general would go down and make the Philippines more safe for investors and tourists. Why I, for instance, should not wonder if I pay in the sea surrounded Philippines the same or more for a kilo raw fish than in expensive Europe for a kilo fish fillet, even it comes from fishing places thousands of kilometers away. And that is only one example where nobody can explain such prices in a country where expenses and salaries are so much lower. The only imaginable reason is extreme profit. But this is not something to boost an economy, together with the unreal manner of the government to rely on remittances for boosting its foreign reserves. Even now, the CB intervenes to hold the Peso high and sells cheap Dollars. It is easy because Dollars are replaced by new remittances which then are worth less Pesos while Peso prices still increase, near Christmas already normal, up to 2..300 percent increase, all only for profit since Filipinos are blindly spending their extra pay, their bonuses and cash gifts. And then some super economists expect that exactly at such times foreign tourists would come and spend their vacation in the Philippines. Another problem are the high fees for visa extension if a tourist wants to stay longer. As example the really expensive and high earning Switzerland. There, a Filipino with permanent residency pays about 3,000 Pesos for five years extension, while in the Philippines a tourist pays about the same for a two months extension, including the forced express lane and the application fee. In many developed countries, one can stay up to two months while the Philippines starts with 21 days. How can it attract tourists to stay longer and to spend more money in the Philippines? Regards and write more. Kurt Setschen, (by email), Switzerland/Tagbiliran City, Nov. 28, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Another gem of an article. Personally, I guess the reason why the Philippines is lagging behind in the world of economics was largely due to the following reasons: � Insincere leadership, corrupt practices, and lack of foresight of its political and business leaders; � Immaturity and crab mentality of its people; � Arm-twisting tactics, opportunistic attitude of the world political and business giants. Tony, keep up the good work and keep on writing. Arcy F. Sibal, (by email), Sta. Maria, Bulacan, Nov. 28, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww A very good article, Mr. Abaya, as always. If I may add a little something to the article, the failure of the military to crush Communism here is because war means money to suppliers of the military. The US economy runs on war, however, they create war overseas so as not to place their voters in jeopardy. Here, we don't have that luxury. Erap crushed Camp Abubakar in Mindanao, and with it, the flow of money to the suppliers of military hardware. What will become of the war business when there is peace? No surprise that the military launched a coup to get rid of "corrupt" Erap and continue with the war in Mindanao. Robbie Tan, (by email), Nov. 28, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Shall We Call It a Depression Now? by: Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog, Dec. 05, 2008 Economic Adviser to President-elect Barack Obama Former US Secretary of Labor Lazaro Lopez and Ivellise Bell stand in line at the employment help center "Workforce One" in Miami, Florida. Across the nation, employers have cut more than 1.2 million jobs over the last three months. Today's employment report, showing that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, 320,000 in October, and 403,000 in September - for a total of over 1.2 million over the last three months - begs the question of whether the meltdown we're experiencing should be called a Depression. We are falling off a cliff. To put these numbers into some perspective, the November losses alone are the worst in 34 years. A significant percentage of Americans are now jobless or underemployed - far higher than the official rate of 6.7 percent. Simply in order to keep up with population growth, employment needs to increase by 125,000 jobs per month. Note also that the length of the typical workweek dropped to 33.5 hours. That's the shortest number of hours since the Department of Labor began keeping records on hours worked, back in 1964. A significant number of people are working part-time who'd rather be working full time. Coupled with those who are too discouraged even to look for work, I'd estimate that the percentage of Americans who need work right now is approaching 11 percent of the workforce. And that percent is likely to raise. When FDR took office in 1933, one out of four American workers was jobless. We're not there yet, but we're trending in that direction. Consumers will tighten their belts even further. Even if they have a full-time job, they're witnessing these job losses or hourly declines all around them and wondering if their job could be next on the chopping block. Their indebtedness is still high, by historic standards. And many are worried as well about their mortgage payments. So consumer spending is also falling off a cliff. Two things are needed: First, the massive Treasury bailout of the financial industry must be redirected toward Main Street - loans to small businesses, distressed homeowners, and individuals who are still good credit risks. Second, a stimulus package must be enacted right away. It needs to be more than $600 billion - which is 4 percent of the national product. It should be focused on job creation in the United States - infrastructure projects as well as services. Construction jobs are critical but so are elder care, hospital, child care, welfare, and countless other services that are getting clobbered. Service businesses accounted for two-thirds of the job cuts in November, meaning that the weakness in labor markets has shifted from the goods-producing sector of the economy to the far larger services sector. ***** wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mike Arroyo's Mid-flight Diarrhea Here's Columnist Lito Banayo's theory: Which brings me to how a friend of mine suspected the diarrhea drama in the skies above the Pacific as a Ludlumesque caper. Here are his "facts": "In every presidential trip, whether foreign or local, there is always a doctor on board. In Erap's case, it was the late Dr. Larry Jhocson. I don't know what witch doctor accompanies the couple (tu eres muy salvaje, tu!), but certainly there is one. Surely that doctor knows the symptoms of diarrhea. Why even a comadrona would know that you don't check the heart, you check the toilet. "The chartered PAL plane (courtesy of Dr. Lucio or the taxpayers?) was four hours away from LAX (Los Angeles Airport) when the plane was ordered to land in Japan. (The plane landed in Osaka between 11 and midnight, Manila time, about seven hours after it left NAIA. PAL's intrepid pilots fly Manila to California direct in 11 hours.) PAL executives say it took them two hours to backtrack to Osaka, whose Kansai airport is half-an-hour away from a hospital. Could not the doctor on board have kept a diarrhea patient stable enough for another two hours, and landed at LAX, thereby, not disrupting GMA's flight schedule?" my friend asked. "Or was it a case of the presidential party being alerted by phone that someone among them was going to be picked up by FBI authorities upon landing at LAX, for money laundering activities? Remember that in the wake of Lehman, Merrill Lynch, AIG and so many other Wall Street corpses, the federal anti-money laundering task forces may have found the smoking gun documents about the financial capers of someone in the presidential party," he suspects. "That would have been a terrible embarrassment, and because no one else in the party aboard PAL Flight No. 001 was important enough to merit a reason to retreat and fly back except either the president or her husband, the latter had to feign illness." (Talagang parang Robert Ludlum novel, salvaje tu eres.) I asked, "Would he do this for Rey David, or Vivian Yuchengco or Winston de Cebu, or whoever else have been rumoured to have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in wrongly-placed investments in those 'noble' houses of finance? "My friend shot back quickly through the net � "But whose millions did they invest?" and continues with his fantastic, imagined novelette: "How come his doctors, including Juliet Cervantes' escort, Jose Ledesma, who is not a doctor, were ready to fly as soon as possible, and Ramon Ang was so quick on the draw in the wee hours with a San Miguel plane to fly the doctors, including Mike Arroyo's yaya, Juris Soliman, to Japan? "They took off at about 2 a.m., landed in Osaka at about 6 a.m., got Mike out of the hospital because he was in no danger at all, and could easily fly another four hours without any mortal danger. Why, they landed in Manila at about 2 or 3 pm the same day, which means that the fetching party just had three hours in Osaka, enough time to have breakfast with Mike, and bundle him off back to Kansai airport, right?" "If he was really sick, why not a night more in Osaka for observation? Why the immediate flight home? Huwag mong sabihing nagtitipid sila. (Oo nga naman, pwede rin ngang nagpa-diagnose muna sa heh, heh, heh � Osaka Iridology Clinic.) And then, he continues, "pagpasok sa St. Luke's, labas kaagad. Diarrhea lang daw." "Hindi ba parang komedya, moro-moro lang lahat?" "And then he segues once more to his money-laundering hypothesis. Like I said, he has read everything from Ludlum to Trevanian to Grisham to Sheldon during the martial law years and beyond��.." wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Subject: Lito Banayo's column Whatever the truth, Lito's version and mine have similarities. My version is GMA and husband are granted U.S. visa on a visit-to-visit basis. GMA, husband and their children are reportedly barred to enter the U.S. by virtue of the U.N. Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Bush administration' s "No Safe Haven" policy to deny kleptocrats to enjoy the fruits of corruption. The family's last visit when the policy was specially lifted was when Ambassador. Kenney thought the MOA on Ancestral Domain would push through and the U.S. could negotiate a base agreement with the Bangsa Moro. GMA was finally able to make official visit and met with President. Bush. But after the MOA-AD fell thru, the situation reverted to what I said in my Nov. 28 email to Speaker Nograles, that GMA's U.S. visit was only allowed for a head of state attending U.N.-related conferences or meetings, which I quote: "It is out of protocol Mrs. Arroyo is allowed to come to the U.S. but not her husband. There is a report Atty. Arroyo's emergency landing in Japan happened when the presidential party learned his request for U.S. visa wasn't granted and he really needed one for a stopover in Los Angeles." I'd agree with Lito's version that Mike Arroyo might suffer what happened to Jocjoc Bolante and be detained. Frank Wenceslao President, Philippine Anticorruption Movement USA, Inc. http://www.pamusaco rp.org Phone: 562-864-7737 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. |