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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Erap�s Response By Antonio C. Abaya Written Nov. 06 2005 For the Standard Today, November 08 issue The letter, dated September 27, was in response to my column of September 25 titled �The US Loves Erap?� But it had been sent by messenger � Erap apparently does not use email � to the offices of the Standard Today, which I visit only once a month, and which means that I did not get to read it until October 27, one day before I left for a holiday in Bangkok. Hence this very late acknowledgement. The letter, apparently written by someone else, takes issue mainly with my contention that Erap is favored by the neo-conservative cabal in Washington DC to replace the out-of-favor President Arroyo because of the �total war� that he waged against Muslim separatists in Mindanao when he was in power. However, that initial assessment may have to be revised in view of the recent espionage scandal that seems to connect him (and Sen. Panfilo Lacson) to the theft of documents from both the FBI database and the White House office of Vice-President and neo-con high priest Dick Cheney. But that�s another story. In the interest of fair play, Erap�s letter follows in full, without any comment from me. Dear Mr. Abaya. Your column in today�s issue of the Manila Standard Today (�The US Loves Erap�) mentioned several items which I felt needed an appropriate response, if only in the interest of fairness especially as you openly denigrated one of the most difficult decisions I had to make as president of our republic. I am not interested in the opinions of this unnamed US policy-maker who just so happens to applaud the all-out war my administration declared against Muslim secessionists in Mindanao. This was not decided on to curry favor with the US government. Rather, I believed this to be a necessary if painful step to bring an end to the destruction and chaos wrought by the MILF and to ensure that genuine peace will finally reign in Mindanao. Although I found your prose quite colorful (I believe you called me a �criminally inclined ignoramus,� whatever that is) it is quite sad that your opinions though perhaps well-meaning are apparently falling on deaf ears. As I understand it, name-calling is only resorted to when all other efforts to destroy a person have failed. Thus far, most surveys show a significant number of Filipinos still trust yours truly. You will understand, of course, if I put greater importance on the people�s sentiments rather than on your opinion of my intellectual skills and moral aptitude. What I would object to most strongly is your statement claiming that the country would be doomed to permanent immorality and corruption if it was I who were installed following the departure of Mrs Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. I have never pretended to be a saint or a genius, nor have I ever misled the Filipino people in the course of my over thirty years as a public servant. The only immoral and corrupt people I know of are the ones who hold power in the country now: the kind who refuse to vacate their posts despite the patent illegitimacy of their rule, and who frown on citizens expressing their disgust and dissatisfaction with a regime that has never had any moral authority to govern in the first place. Now that, Mr. Abaya, is immorality and corruption of the highest order. Write about that, and perhaps your erudite views would find a greater audience amongst our people. Thank you very much for this opportunity to air my side. Very truly yours. (Sgd) Joseph Ejercito Estrada ***** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Erap�s Response� Sir: Obviously, Erap still doesn't get it. This �criminally inclined ignoramus� insists on fooling the people. Due to his modest intellectual prowess, he could have argued that he was only the piano player in the whorehouse and didn't know what was going on. But, no, he goes on his high-horse and tries to pontificate about his legal and moral ascendancy, despite overwhelming evidence that he committed a series of criminal and immoral acts. First of all, there was his involvement in "jueteng". There were cancelled checks to prove the pay-offs (isn't that proof enough that he is criminally inclined? And an ignoramus to boot? Didn't he know that cancelled checks can easily be traced?). Secondly, there was the BW stock scandal which almost wiped out the credibility of our local stock market. The damage to our economy was enormous. But that didn't matter, as long as Erap and his buddies cleaned up. To this day, Dante Ang, BW's front man, is a fugitive from the law, living it up in Australia with an investor's visa that shields him from extradition. As they say about Garci, flight is an admission of guilt. Then, there was the immoral and criminal Equitable-PCI Bank merger, where government funds were used to allow a crony to buy a bigger bank which could not otherwise be absorbed. Erap allegedly received a commission of one billion pesos for "facilitating" that merger, but that is again, another story. The mere fact that government-run pension funds were obligated to shell out billions of pesos (and incur huge losses, to the detriment of retirees and pension-holders), is a criminal and immoral act in itself. Erap pounces on the immorality and criminality of the present administration, as if that cancels out his own criminal and immoral record. That's the old yarn about the pot calling the kettle black. There is no doubt that the present administration is as morally bankrupt as Erap's. But that is another story, whose ending is still unfolding. And that does not diminish Erap's own culpabilities. However, I must sadly admit that in this country, where neglect of education for so many years has resulted in the proliferation of the species known as the "criminally inclined ignoramus", Erap's snake-oil spiel will sell. Erap clings to his popularity as if it were the ultimate vindication of his innocence. More than anything, it only vindicates the old saw that "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king". Erap's argument is similar to that of Alberto Fujimori of Peru who, despite having been caught red-handed in various anomalies, still insists on his innocence and points to his high popularity ratings as proof. The differences are that Fujimori's anomalies were not as high-profile as Erap's, that Fujimori actually did a lot of public works projects that helped the country's poor and that Fujimori broke the back of the Maoist Shining Path movement. Erap doesn't have many accomplishments to point to. All this reliance upon popularity, in a country where ignoramuses proliferate, makes me inclined to agree with Fidel Ramos. We need to change the system. Juan Deiparine, [email protected] Toril, Davao City, November 08, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya : You were really extremely charitable when you wrote "apparently written by someone else". I do not mean to be uncharitable but, despite his interrupted secondary education in your alma mater, I seriously doubt if the former President understood even half of what was in that letter to you. Most cordial regards. Tony Elica�o, [email protected] November 08, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr Abaya, I�ve been reading your columns and have also watched you a few times on TV talk shows. You're a major thinker compared to all the Standard columnists combined. What I can't understand is why Standard gives you the least prominence in the lay-out. Worse, sometimes your columns are not included in the line up for the web. Anyway, I salute you for your independence and integrity. Wishing you the best. Rock Drilon, [email protected] November 08, 2005 MY REPLY. Thank you for your kind words. Actually I get top billing on Thursdays. But �bottom� billing on Tuesdays. It doesn�t bruise my ego. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I read with much interest "Erap's response to my Sept. 25 column" that you featured in the Nov. 8 issue of the Manila Standard. Since the former president brought up the issue of immorality and corruption, which is the perennial bane of Philippine politics, I thought of sharing with you the following link to an article which I find to be replete with truth and wisdom. I believe what the author wrote can be aptly applied to the Philippine situation. http://www.tfp.org/TFPForum/PCO/when_society_is_corrupt.htm Very truly yours, Dr. Jose Maria P. Alcasid, [email protected] November 08, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Rape Case: US Court Martial is RP Better Move At the risk of sounding like a broken record... The better tactic would be to require that the 5 accused face U.S. military court martial held in the Philippines. This can be done and there's nothing in military law that forbids court martials to be held outside the U.S. so, if the Americans say it can't be done, then they are lying - they can hold a court martial on one of their ships stationed somewhere in the South but on Philippine territorial waters if they so wish. All they need to do is to get one of their judge advocates to come to the Philippines. If found guilty, the servicemen could serve their sentence in US military prisons (which can be very, very tough on their inmates). This is a realistic way for both nations to come to a win-win situation, sort of a show or sign of good faith from both parties, so that the victim that is, if she was truly raped, would obtain justice. It must be said that the Philippines signed a very lopsided agreement. I do hope the nation�s leaders will have the balls today to tell the U.S. so without necessarily ruffling Washington feathers. (Politics is politics!) Anna de Brux, [email protected] Belgium, November 08, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww An elucidation on this scandal would be handy. The scandal hasn't reached us who are abroad. Rumor had it that the US disliked Erap from the beginning because he was one of the senators who signed against the continuation of US bases in the Phil. Why, despite the discontinued lease agreement, is another base being built in Mindanao? Also, I didn't get your piece on The US Loves Erap? Would love to read it. Please send? Angie Collas Dean, [email protected] Portland, Oregon, November 08, 2005 MY REPLY. Surely you all have read or heard of the espionage scandal involving Leandro Aragoncillo and Michael Rey Aquino in Washington-New York. If not, read my articles �The FBI Squeeze� and �The FBI Plot Thickens,� archived in www.tapatt.org. �The US Loves Erap?� can also be accessed in that website. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I have often wondered why politicians, specially in our country, can speak so loftily, even in the face of plunder charges. Perhaps, one should no longer wonder because that is how things are and will be, if we don�t move aggressively enough to institute changes. Cesar Sarino, [email protected] November 08, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear ACA, Long confinement must have impaired ex-President Estrada's memory. Will some one please help him bring back the memories of his own stewardship for he can only see the present immorality and corruption in government and lost track of his Erap may think that a significant number of Filipinos still find him trustworthy. Why not if those surveyed were his loyalists, just as there are Marcos, Cory, Ramos and Gloria loyalists. The point is, if he is so consumed by the thought that the people trust him still and he commands the loyalty of the vast number of the poor and downtrodden how come just a handful of his followers show up every time his sons, Jinggoy and JV, and supporters call people to the streets? Not even in Binay's little republic could they command a decent number of people to show up. No, sir, Erap's people may still like him, perhaps may have forgiven him for his mistakes, but they may not have forgotten the hedonistic, the corrupt and abusive conduct that sustained his leadership. Does it surprise anyone why Erap cannot seem to displace a highly unpopular President in spite of his claims he is the most favored one? Erap is unacceptable to the people who are struggling to bring back morality in government including the one we now have. Those people include his own. They are the people who make the difference. Erap better not forget that. Thanks, ACA., for getting that off my chest. Cesar M. de los Reyes, [email protected] November 09, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you, Mr. Abaya, for taking the trouble of sharing your pieces with me. I am sharing this with Mr. Gilbert Lozada, a friend in UP days and still a friend. Cesar Torres, [email protected] November 09, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Pardon this light side comment, but I just love this guy Erap! I love to knock his head off and replace it with a macapuno nut. We can also try to replace his heart with something like what Forrest Gump has and maybe he will develop compassion for our countrymen whom he consistently duped since he became a movie personality, a mayor and president. It will be a good help if he keeps himself scarce. I commiserate with him when he made, in between gulps of Johnny Walker Blue, his "one of the most difficult decisions as president of the republic". He has his touch of Roman history, too, a la Nero, while Rome was burning. It is just too bad that we cannot flush him down the drain nor ignore him. He just stinks. Anyway, thank you for helping a lot of us keep our heads above water. Dodi Canete, [email protected] Davao City, November 09, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I do not see any truth in Erap�s letter. Erap must understand that the voice of ignorant people is NOT the voice of God. Nonoy Ramos, [email protected] Pennsylvania, November 09, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Thank you for your speedy and favorable response. I checked out your website and I find it very interesting. A quick scouring of your articles lead me to believe that you might interested in reading the works of Plinio Correa de Oliveira, especially his masterpiece �Revolution and Counter-Revolution.� You can access an on-line copy here: http://tfp.org/what_we_think/rcronline.html Your article on communists and leftists is echoed by this manifesto written by the same author and published in the Wall Street Journal in 1990. http://tfp.org/what_we_think/communism_on_the_threshold_of_the_3rd_mil.html http://tfp.org/what_we_think/has_communism_died/has_communism_died.htm I started my own blog months ago but haven't been able to update it since I began putting up a local, lay, civic, cultural and Catholic organization similar to the American TFP (the organization that published the article I sent you). At any rate, here's my blog site: http://philippinecrusader.blogspot.com/ Dr. Jose Maria Alcasid, [email protected] November 10, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you.....that was really entertaining. Impy Pilapil, [email protected] November 10, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hay nako Erap, manahimik ka na sana. Kumita ka na sa eksena mo. We have more than enough crooks and liars in this country to contend with now. We don't need you back in the roster. Regards, Gico Dayanghirang, [email protected] Davao City, November 11, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww TONY on TV (7) Dear Mr. Abaya, Thanks for the notice. Will certainly watch. I hope the point about credibility of the leadership can be expressed strongly. The conspiracy to cover up the truth about the elections has not only reduced the President�s credibility; it has also rendered her legitimacy more dubious. Without credibility and legitimacy our counter-terrorism efforts operate with a firm foundation. Gerry Bulatao, [email protected] November 10, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Good luck Tony. You should be able to easily handle your co-panelists. Roilo �Roy� Golez, [email protected] House of Representatives November 10, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you Mr. Abaya. I don't miss watching you on TV . Lea D. Hermosilla , [email protected] HR Director, Mehitabel Inc. Tac-an Road, Talamban Cebu City, November 10, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I hope we can text you our comments.. ang hirap mag send the comments through 2366... Anyway, I'm already excited to be awed by your intellectual acumen. God Bless! Vonne Villanueva, [email protected] November 10, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Not so fond of the military, but the one in the line up, Aguirre is a respectable soldier. Did not experience much field assignments but was valedictorian in his class (61) at the PMA. He's a Ramos guy. Good luck! Will watch you. Rock Drilon, [email protected] November 10, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |