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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Extra-Judicial Blah
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on July 25, 2007 For the Standard Today, July 26 issue In my earlier article Human Security Suggestions (July 18, 2007), I had made three suggestions. One, that the implementation of the Human Security Act be postponed until a new government is in place, because the incumbent one has become so unpopular and has lost the credibility and the moral ascendancy needed to implement a law that in effect seeks to reduce civil and political rights. Two, that President Arroyo should craft a Better Idea to defeat the Communist movement and the jihadist separatists, instead of fantasizing about turning the Philippines into another Singapore in 20 years Three, that postponing implementation of the law gives time to fine-tune its provisions, to validate its assumptions, and to compare its possibly theoretical implementing rules with the actual practice and experience of other countries. In particular, I cited the provision giving law enforcement agencies all of three days to detain a suspected terrorist before he/she must be charged in court or be released. I cited the fact that the Australian police have 12 days, the British police have 28 days, and the Singaporean police have two years, to detain a suspected terrorist before he/she must be charged in court or be released. (Breaking News: The British government has just announced that it plans to extend the detention period proviso from 28 to 56 days.) Having now read the entire Human Security Act (all six broadsheet pages of solid text) has convinced more than ever that the HSA is seriously flawed and needs to be amended before it is implemented. I do not understand why the comrades are making such a fuss over it. It actually favors them more than it does the law enforcement agencies. If there is anyone who should complain against the HSA, it should be the police and the military. They are being tasked by the law to perform death-defying acts against suspected terrorists, but the law ties one of their hands behind their back, manacles both of their feet, and attaches an explosive belt around their waists, ready to be detonated in case they manage to avoid stepping on any of the land mines planted (by the law) in their paths. I would not be surprised if the police and the military were to openly refuse to implement this law, as it presently stands. Before I go into the nitty-gritty, let me say a few words of caution to Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno who is, I am convinced, sincere in getting to the bottom of the spate of extra-judicial killings. And those few words are: hear all sides, including those that are not played up by and in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, before passing judgment. Here�s why: Much has been made of the fact that aside from 115 or 403 or 863 - depending on who does the counting - �leftist� militants, some 26 or 33 or 46 print and broadcast journalists have been killed since President Arroyo became prsident in 2001. There is a deliberate effort to bunch the two groups together, to give the impression � especially to busybody foreigners who are totally ignorant of the conditions here � that these journalists were killed to silence the opposition to President Arroyo. But please note, Chief Justice Puno, that almost all of these slain journalists practiced their craft in the provinces, not in Metro Manila. The probability is high that they were killed because they crossed some local crime bosses or exposed the shenanigans of local officials involved in illegal logging, illegal drugs trade, prostitution, land grabbing, illegal jueteng,, etc �.not because they opposed or criticized the Arroyo government. Months ago, I wrote that to solve the killing of journalists in the provinces, investigators must collate these journalists� articles or radio comments and see exactly who the objects of their tirades were, just before they were killed. I was/am confident that a pattern would emerge of killings that can be attributed to local crime bosses or local government officials, who are often one and the same persons.. Any cursory examination of Metro Manila�s broadsheets � including this column in this newspaper - would show that opposition to the Arroyo government is alive and well, widespread and largely untouched. The effort, therefore, to bunch the killing of activists and provincial journalists together is deliberate, purposeful and calculated to give the impression that the journalists were killed for their opposition to the national government. Furthermore, Mr. Chief Justice, please note that militants are always referred to by the complicit media as �Leftists,� when the correct label for most of them is really �Communist,� since they advocate the overthrow of the bourgeois government and its replacement with a Communist (specifically Maoist) �dictatorship of the proletariat� that will give the Communist Party (CPP) total and absolute monopoly of power. Why should we fuss over this distinction? Mr. Chief Justice, Bill and Hillary Clinton are leftists, but they are not Communists. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a leftist, but he was not a Communist. Former UK prime minister Tony Blair and his successor Gordon Brown are leftists, but they are not Communists. . In the recent presidential elections in France , the socialist candidate Segolene Royal was/is a leftist, but she was/is not a Communist. Most of the political leaders in Western Europe for the past 70 years or so, especially in the Scandinavian countries, were leftists, but they were not Communists. (This has to do with the split in the international socialist movement (founded by Karl Marx and his followers) in Europe in the 1860s and after, when revolutionary socialists � the antecedents of the Soviet and Maoist communists and their clones - parted ways from the reformist socialists, who became the socialists and social democrats of Western Europe and Scandinavia, and the Labour parties in the Anglo-Saxon countries) On the other hand, people like Joma and Fidel and Luis and Satur and Teddy and Kabel and the others are Communists and do not deny that they are Communists. As Communists, they work for and towards the allegedly inevitable victory of Communism, to achieve which the Communist Party or CPP must wage bloody and violent revolution and must capture and wield total and absolute monopoly of power. By calling them �leftists�, instead of the more accurate label. �Communists,� the complicit media place the comrades on the same ideological plane as the Clintons, Roosevelt, Blair, Brown, Royal and at least three generations of reformist socialists in Western Europe, Scandinavia and the Anglo-Saxon countries. Which is a distortion of reality. Why? Because the Filipino comrades do not want to be associated in the public mind with the excesses and the failures of present and previous Communist regimes, and the complicit Philippine media willingly play along with this charade, some out of pure ignorance, others out a misplaced sympathy for their Cause, given their common hatred of the Arroyo regime. But this is intellectual dishonesty and moral cowardice. Nobody forced them to become Communists. This was/is their free choice. They must learn to live with the negative consequences of that choice, and the complicit media should stop being prostitutes for that Cause. What has this got to do with the extra-judicial killings? In 1991-92, Joma�s CPP, which had split from the Soviet-oriented PKP (Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) in the 1960s, was itself split between Reaffirmists (who reaffirmed their loyalty to Joma Sison and his Maoist strategy) and Rejectionists led by Popoy Lagman (who rejected that strategy and favored an urban, rather than a countryside, insurrection).Both were uncompromisingly Communist. Lagman took with him the Metro Manila and Rizal Province cadres of the CPP, plus the Alex Boncayao Brigade, which had assassinated more than 200 soldiers and policemen in Metro Manila in the 1980s and 1990s, mostly in non-combat situations, e.g while the targets were cleaning their car, or eating in a restaurant, or directing traffic. For his apostasy from the One True Maoist Church , Lagman was assassinated in 2002, . which recalled the assassination of Leon Trotsky in Mexico in 1940, after he had challenged the leadership of Josef Maria Stalin in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . Other prominent Rejectionists were later also assassinated: Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara. Mr. Chief Justice, I do not know for certain who is/are responsible for the extra-judicial killings since 2001, but I would suspect that some (though certainly not all) were the handiwork of Rejectionists exacting revenge on the Reaffirmists for the assassination of their leaders Lagman, Kintanar and Tabara. Notice that most of the victims were members of Reaffirmist organizations loyal to Sison. Notice also that the method of killing � two assassins riding on a motorcycle � was the method perfected by the (now Rejectionist) Alex Boncayao Brigade in the 1980s-90s. One last point, Mr. Chief Justice. Whoever are responsible for these extra-judicial killings deserve the full attention that you are now focusing on them. But please keep an even-handed overview. In the period between 1989 and 1992, the CPP-NPA conducted a massive purge of their ranks, executing hundreds, even thousands, of their own cadres on suspicion that they were deep penetration agents of the military. I recommend for your perusal an article published in the Diliman journal Kasarinlan and written by Walden Bello, formerly an ideologue of the Communist movement who has reinvented himself as a social democrat on the Western European model. Bello conducted a personal investigation into that purge �in order to find some meaning in my 20 years� involvement in the Movement,� and he came to the conclusion that at least 700 comrades were executed by the CPP-NPA in an effort to flush out FIVE (yes, FIVE) suspected deep penetration agents of the military. It was like burning an entire henhouse to have five barbecued chicken. The point, Mr. Chief Justice, is that extra-judicial killings were/are committed by both sides. To focus blame on only one side is to be half-blind. (To be concluded) ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Extra-Judicial Blah� More Reactions to �Human Security Suggestions� More Reactions to �Concerts on DVD� On Miracles On the War against the Communists Manong Tony, Thanks a lot for this very objective and straight forward article. I have read the book �KGB � The Secret Lives of Soviet Secret Agents� by John Barron, and what you have just written is a textbook example of the strategy used by the communists. Has Chief Justice Puno read this? Is the national ID part of the Human Security Act?(No. ACA) I ask this because this was one of the proposals furiously opposed by the communists. They conveniently ignore the fact that in Communist Russia and China , everybody has a nationally recognized ID, and that everyone is subjected to on-the-spot inspections by the police or military. Thanks Bong Alba, (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I agree with you that the public (and government officials) will be better informed about the killings of media people if they know the �who, where, when, how and why� -- the first four facts are immediately known and the �why� maybe deduced from other related facts. News reporters should include in their accounts the controversial issues exposed or espoused by the victims and specify the topics and persons alluded to. To be informative, news reports should be timely, factual and as complete as possible. It is a sad to note that many news reports and commentaries are short on facts but long on emotions. I think that a Human Security Act, either in the present or amended form, should be implemented as soon as possible. Laws should be enacted and implemented if they are for the good of the country regardless of the popularity of the incumbent president or government officials. Nonoy Reyes, (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Excellent article on both the HSA (it tying the hands of the police, etc.) and also on the extrajudicial killing issues and the presentation thereof. I pity the police and government who cannot act to protect the state in the same manner as in other countries. Ruy Moreno , (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, This is a deviation from your usual commentary. Its more of the administration line.I sounded like Norberto Gonzales line. . The disappearance of my friend son - Jonas Burgos is a pain shared by all Joe Burgos friends in college. Vic del Fierro, (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sir, But according to Wikipedia, Bill Clinton is a rightist not a leftist. Better yet, expound on the difference between the Rightist and the Leftist. Thanks Jun Valenzuela, (by email), July 27, 2007 (The terms �rightist� and �leftists� are derived from practices in European parliaments, where monarchists, conservatives etc sat on the right side of the hall, and republicans, reformers etc sat on the left side of the hall. (In the modern context, �rightists� and �leftists� are relative terms, relative to the position of the speaker or writer. The Wikipedia writer is obviously a leftist, so to him or her, Bill Clinton is a rightist. But to Republicans, Big Business, Christian Fundamentalists and the neo-conservatives in Washington , Clinton is a leftist. (To illustrate better, the widow of Mao-zedong � Jiang Qing and her Gang of Four � were imprisoned by Deng Xiaoping for being �ultra-leftists.� Jiang Qing and her Gang of Four, for their part, condemned Deng Xiaoping as �capitalist roaders� and therefore rightists. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I believe your article on The Human Security Act is heaven-sent as it is like a thunderbolt that ENLIGHTENS to reveal even the ugly truth. Yes, it should reach the attention of SC-CJ Reynato Puno asap and he must reflect on it. While it is not a new revelation, as I�m sure many analysts in and out of government also have it in mind, so far it is you who have come out with an authoritative and logical synthesis that even ignorant, low IQ investigators or news commentators should be able to understand. But I�m afraid it will just be branded as hearsay or, if there�s evidence to back it up, the Commies� lawyers will argue and get away with circumstantial evidence. In such case they still win the propaganda war as they will continue to capitalize on surveys showing that �people doubt the government�s credibility� while the critical thinkers (middle class intelligentsia) remain quiet, playing safe. This should be read by those in government, Advocacy NGOs and society at large to neutralize those who have been misinforming everybody about this very important issue. These people are not after justice. They just want to destroy the present dispensation for them to take over. What have they done to seek justice, for example, for the gruesome murders of Labor leader Orlando Olalia and his poor driver? I was expecting this Crispin Beltran who�s been basking in celebrity status (no thanks to our ignoramuses in media, particularly in the Philippine Daily Inquirer) to go all out for the prosecution of those identified to be behind the heinous crimes. What has he and his party-list cabal done to pursue the case? Nada! Nothing! Let me add, however, and as you too have indicated, that some rogue elements in the military or police ranks may be involved too, though most likely on a lesser scale than what GMA haters want us to believe. Nonetheless it is still despicable and it is imperative that these criminals pronto be brought before the bar of justice. Further, remember that there are still a number of anti-GMA personnel in the armed forces whose simple minds have been poisoned by their �Kuya� and their new senator-poster boy. They can do the hiring of asset/hitmen who will do the bloody job that will put the GMA government in bad light as part of anti-gov�t build-up prior to another possible golpe. They are just waiting in the wings for �projects� or OPs or simply Ops in para-military parlance. The case of Jonas Burgos may fall in this category based on info so far established. This, President Arroyo and the Gen. Esperon must tackle head-on and the perpetrators, �friend� or foe be made accountable! Better yet, Jonas Burgos should be released ALIVE! God bless you. Mang Senyong Ed. J. Tirona, (by email), BF Homes, Paranaque City , July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi, Tony. People really have a tendency to believe in bad news about other people. That's why any criticism against the administration is easily swallowed hook, line and sinker by the general public. I am not saying that none of them are true, but that one should not readily believe in these accusations unless proven by unshakeable facts. I still remember the Plaza Miranda bombing and how many, if not all, of us including the "know it all" Sen. Salonga, easily believed the Manila Chronicle when they pointed to Marcos as the mad bomber. Well it turned out, as Sen. Salonga himself pointed out many years after the incident, that it was the communists who were behind the bombing. That's the power of the press for you. They have the ability to twist the truth, manipulate the facts for whatever agenda suits them. On another matter, do you know or do your readers know, that by sending letters to you, their email address can now be accessed through Google just by typing the full name? Have you tried it? I did and I got shocked. That's because your tapatt.org is linked to Google, I think. Anyway, that won't stop me from writing to you. Cheers! Bobby Tordesillas, (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, You hit it on the head as always, Tony. The killings (of provincial journalists) are much more likely to do with exposure of local officials involved in illegal logging, illegal drugs trade, prostitution, land grabbing, illegal jueteng,, etc �.The cover-up is to simply blame the Arroyo government. R. Stager , (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, You said 'The present prime minister of Australia , John Howard, is a leftist, but he is not a Communist.' He's not a communist, of course. But, I don't believe John Howard of Australia belongs to what you call 'leftists', and I'm sure he would vehemently disagree being tagged as one. It is well known in Australia that Howard is utterly a Conservative politician in word and deed. Howard is the epitome of conservative/right wing politics. Regards, Bert Dellosa, (by email), Australia , July 27, 2007 (I stand corrected. John Howard is a member of the Conservative Party and is therefore not a leftist. Thank you. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, You are quite right in your assessment of HSA. It was passed into law haphazardly and in a hurry to please the Americans and other countries, who care less for the ordinary Filipinos who will suffer injustice and abuse of authority. HSA is not the solution to rebellion and discontent in our country. To really gain peace and order, government and the citizens themselves have to work together solve the basic needs of the people. Government should do its job correctly and the citizens should pay their taxes in support of government honestly. Will these ever happen? Yes if good people stop thinking and pretending that they can't do anything. Media exposes of evil deeds just worsen the situation when no solution is presented and done. Evil prosper when good people refuse to get involved like many of us. Rex Rivera, (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished, unedited) Thanks, Nonoy, for your input. Do agree that these slain reporters had hidden personal agenda and used the media to their advantage? Reporters from tabloids, in my opinion, have low credence. But, tabloids sell. Any reporters from Inquirer, Bulletin or Phil. Star slain? When we were still in Manila , killings in Cavite (Montano vs. Camerino factions), in Ilocos (Marcos cronies vs. anti Marcos), (Crisologos vs. ???), the young Jopson slain by Marcos hired hands, they could run into thousands during Marcos 20 year reign. GMA reign would be boyscount by Marcos standard. The problems of our beloved country will still be there after GMA...political killings, the Abu Sayaf, corruption, abuse of power by the military, over-population, poverty, education, etc. As you have fostered during our training session....focus and increase the Positive Efforts. Ernie Aragon, (by email), July 27, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you Tony for your enlightenment on Extra-Judical Blahs. I probably can be considered one of the busybody foreigners who are totally ignorant of the conditions as I left the Philippines in 1960 and have only been back three times -- once for a teaching stint, once for a funeral, and once to bring a trade mission over. So I am forwarding you the petition I received from Amnesty International on the subject and the letter I signed (prepared by IA) addressed to my US congressman.. I have sent both to all the FilAm orgs and individual FilAms I know in Oregon and elsewhere and hope they will join in the petition and the letters to their US regional representatives. We may be just expat Pinoys but most of the cases we've hearrd about are those perpetrated by people in military vehicles and in military attire who "disappear" people and are followed back to their military base of operation. All we know is that so far no one has been prosecuted. And therein lies the rub. We feel strongly that whoever the assailants are, they must be prosecuted. The killings of school children, church workers, labor leaders, by uniformed assailants cannot be tolerated. And if indeed the US is supplying the military mat�riel the assailants are using towards this end, this has got to stop. And if we can be of help, we are glad to come forward, regardless of whatever the political vanguard in the Philippines think of us. Angie Collas-Dean, (by email), July 27, 2007 (You may have misunderstood my article. I am in favor of an anti-terror law with more teeth than the present Human Security Act. Its proviso for detention of terror suspects, for example, gives the Philippine police only three days, compared to 12 days in Australia, 28 days [soon to be increased to 56 days] in the United Kingdom, and two years [extendable to another two years] in Singapore. This Act is too bakla to have any effect on terrorism. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Communism is idiocy. They want to divide up the property. Suppose they did it -- it requires brains to keep money as well as make it. In a precious little while the money would be back in the former owner's hands and the communist would be poor again. - Mark Twain, a Biography Mark Twain is so right that one would question why he ever took time to debunk the idea; it is obviously a straw man. So taking the above Mark Twain quotation and the capitalist philosophy to their logical conclusion unchecked capitalism would lead to all the wealth in the world being owned and controlled by one person, or one small group of people, or one country. e.g. The United States has accumulated over 50% of the world�s resources with only 6% of the world�s population. So why has the total wealth of the world not ended up in the hands of one person like it does in the game of Monopoly? The answer is because most countries in the world do not allow unbridled capitalism, there are national anti trust laws, anti monopoly laws, fair trading laws, laws controlling the supply of labour, laws establishing working conditions, laws concerning the buying and selling of stocks and shares and laws regarding the foreign exchange of money etc., all of which mitigate against the most extreme cases of massive wealth concentration.. These are anathema to the most greedy as expressed by extreme conservatives and their corporate mass media who scream creeping communism, socialist dictatorship etc. Where capitalism opposes or refuses to abide by international checks and balances through international law and the United Nations etc., there is an inexorable drive towards conflict culminating in boycotts, embargoes, trade sanctions and eventually, (war the terrorism of the rich, and terrorism the war of the poor. Peter Ustinov) CONSERVATIVES under the banner of Freedom and Democracy have a tendency to urge the reduction of checks and balances on the capitalist system and advocate �laissez-faire economics� which in essence is �let big business have a free hand,� and keep government out i.e. democracy. LIBERALS on the other hand tend to favour more checks and balances on the capitalist system in order to prevent what would normally be the natural concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands, and are for a more equitable sharing of communally created wealth as a disincentive for conflict, social disorder, revolution, war and terrorism. The dynamic nature of capitalism cannot be denied with its giant strides in science and mass production methods, the question therefore is, will the system, like a cancer eventually destroy the very body on which it has thrived? Does the system now need a reduction in checks and balances? Or does it need a further �Liberal� dose of anti greed therapy? These questions need to be answered now rather than later because of, dwindling oil reserves, the problem of the distribution of water and global warming which will create millions of people dispossessed by rising seas looking for dry land. Will these questions be addressed by the powerful greedy with the law of the jungle or by negotiation and international law? Doug Adam, (by email), July 27, 2007. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, At last I agree with you. Some killings may have been done by the military, but some also by the communists. I am sick and tired how our media and politicians use the issue for their own selfish motives. They are not helping the country a bit. Best regards, Serafin Dudeo (by email), California , July 30, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I'm no expert on this, but I don't even know if its right to call these people "Communists" I think there has to be a stronger, more derogatory, and even politically accurate word. (Such as? ACA) As I remember, the theory of the "Communists" is that there are several stages of ECONOMIC evolution, ending with Republicanism, then Socialism, and then finally Communism. (It�s feudalism, capitalism, socialism and, finally, Communism. And the evolution is not just in economics, but also in political and social organization. ACA) The rationale behind this is that as societies develop, power is transferred to a broader base, a more educated base that will not accept being "taken advantage of". In a true communist system, everyone would have a certain amount of power, and there wouldn't be someone overly powerful, who could not be easily deposed or replaced. The only POLITICAL system, under which a communist economic system could truly work, would be a democracy that would have to be very high tech. One day, we may even get there. Who knows? Stalin and Mao, tried to shortcut this process, and created violent, suppressive dictatorships, whose PROCLAIMED goal was communism. In fact these governments were not "Communist" at all. The power was not transferred to the people. It was only that the leaders such as Stalin and Mao (and now other warlords in N.Korea, Africa and elsewhere) used the propaganda of "equality" to gain sympathy for their moves. Maybe the term "Communist Dictatorships" is more accurate, or maybe someone has really come up with a term that I just haven't heard? Of course this bastardization of the correct terminology probably mostly the fault of ignorant American politicians and the American war machine, but really, it's about time someone got the terminology right. (The Communists call it a �dictatorship of the proletariat� in which the Communist Party would enjoy total and absolute monopoly of power, as a prelude to the allegedly inevitable victory of Communism. ACA). Peter Capotosto, (by email), July 30, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Yes, true! It's easy for them to blame PGMA for the killings. but they should put magnifying glasses on the local levels. Review the recorded radio and T.V. broadcast as you mentioned. Most of the killed local journalists were vocal about the hocus-pocus on local government officials, businessmen and elite gangs. Some were pro-NPA and were pro-government and some were speaking for the truth. . Yes, fronts were, somewhat, successful in lobbying U.S. congress and other observers about the so-called extra-judiciary killings. Foreign observers don't really know much of our daily strife, so they can easily be deceived by propaganda. It's time to counter that. The Human Security Act is a great thing if crafted real well. Even in Britain and Australia , they're revising some fine details on their anti-terror laws to tougher ones LF, [email protected], July 31, 2007. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I have already finished the draft for the Philippine Grand Jury and Trial Jury Systems and all I am doing now is some polishing of what I thought is needed. I will be sending my work to CJ Puno and then followed up by a formal petition by Vic Del Fierro (the hucos pucos Pepsi 349 victim ), President of the Coalition Consumers Protection and Welfare for the promulgation of the Philippine Jury Systems Rules which I will likewise prepare for Vic. Once the petition is docketed in the SC, the plan is to call other civic organization leaders to file their own joinder petitions. It's not Congress who has the power to promulgate the jury systems. The Supreme Court is. Participation of the people in the jury system is a "practice of law" and only the Supreme Court has that power under the Constitution to regulate such practice, Art.VIII, Section 5(5). Adoption of the Grand Jury and Trial Jury systems is the way to prepare against this so-called "Human Security" business. Part of the Jury Instructions on the HSA is shown below. I have also prepared the Grand Jury Indictment forms (not included in this email). You are right and there are many provisions the police has to fear for, about 26 provisions I have listed below. If the grand jury and trial jury systems is promulgated by the Supreme Court, I doubt if the police or NBI would ever dare to simply put anybody under surveillance. HSA is in fact a menace to them. Marlowe Camello, (by email), Homestead , California , July 27, 2007 ... (There is not enough space for your legal brief. We suggest you provide a URL for it, which we will include in a future issue. ACA)) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �Human Security Suggestions� (July 18, 2007) Dear Mang Tony, Playboy mags at the old Erehwon...woohoo!! hehehe.... Yours, Nono Pilapil, (by email), July 30, 2007 PS: What's with ABS-CBN? Puro negatibo ang balita, wala naman solusyon? May "sell"lusyon meron pa wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, Just got back from overseas. I still have to read your other articles. This one's another hit on the bull's eye. Regards! Raffy Alunan, (by email), July 30, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �Concerts on DVD� (July 24, 2007) Dear Mr. Abaya, You mentioned about Sinatra on DVDs. Is LA is my Lady with Quincy Jones and his Orchestra available ? (I have no idea. You could check with amazon.com. ACA) And about Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, do you have the Miles Davis version titled: Sketches of Spain, produced by the legendary Gil Evans? (No, I don�t. ACA) Auggie Surtida, (by email), Tigbauan, Iloilo , Aug. 05, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sorry for the delayed response on this one, and thank you very much for deviating from your truthful comments on the sad events in the Philippiness and the entire world. I have lots of classical music on DVD (unpirated copies) and somehow, Mozart has remained as my favorite. It is sad that he died young. Music is my soothing blanket and painting is my anti-stress refuge. Pura Flor Istleta, (by email), Aug. 05, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww On Miracles Dear Mr. Abaya, Miracles are not suspension or contradictions of natural physical laws. Miracles are the result of the operation of higher spiritual laws. That the bumble bee can fly is a defiance of physical laws. Why light flies straight but and bends when it nears a heavy gravitation field is another defiance of physical law, but this is a scientific fact according to Einstein. There are many things that can be explained neither by physical laws nor by logic Mental laws allow us to envision or imagine several options, multi possibilities, contradictory theories. But we are getting out of the subject. (�Higher spiritual laws� are not something that everyone agrees on. But bumble bees being able to fly is not a defiance of physical laws; it can be explained by the same laws in physics that explain how hummingbirds and even the mammoth pterodactyls fly/flew. That light bends is not a defiance of physical laws either. It is a natural phenomenon that happens every second of every day. Just because �many things cannot be explained by physical laws or by logic� NOW, does not mean they cannot be explained by physical laws or logic 20, 50, 100 years from now. Who in the world could explain radioactivity and nuclear energy in 1880? As far as I�m concerned, there is no need to invent �higher spiritual laws.� ACA) One amazing thing I note, however, is that we are able to see several options in solving a problem, i.e., our national problems of a country rich with natural resources and intellect but clothed in rags, discuss the problem without end, cursing the situation, hearing those who have solutions (Gokongwei on enterpreneurship, Mohammed Yunus on microlending, Lionel Tierra on the Filipino Global Furnd financing the education of Filpinos from would be employees to enterpreneurs.) but never ever giving a chance for the plan to work. (Crab mentality). (You are immodestly putting yourself on the same level as John Gokongwei and Mohammed Yunis even though you have not achieved what they have achieved. This is the opposite of Crab Mentality, and I leave it to you what to call it. ACA) Do you observe, we Filipinos only want quick solutions. We never are able to plan and work out truly long term solutions. (Ningas cogon) You wanted a solution that will reform and transform our country from a third world country to at least a small economic tiger. Your journalistic efforts would be in vain if no one even took it to heart to implement your good suggestions. Instead of discussing the viability of the comprehensive plan I offered, we got replies like, "it won't fly" without giving reasons to back it up, "Gokongwei, no way" without giving evidence of why his advocacy for enterpreneurship won't work, and a total lack of response to Mohammed Yunus' Grameen Bank. Bakit? Bakit? Bakit? I would like my proposal to be shot down with real antiaircraft shells and not war words alone. Another response I got was from you. You have no time. I would expect you to at least recommend on who can be Vice-Chairman of the Board of Stewards of the Fipino Global Fund. I am recommending former President Fidel Ramos to replace F. Sionil Jose. I also could recommend Johnny Mercado to replace you. But these are peripherals. The important thing to consider is the offered solution. Let's work it out or blast it out of the sky but please, give reasons, if you must. Your forum is one of its kind. It enables us to pool our various views and comments. Hopefully it will result in solutions. Let us concentrate on only one problem first. Poverty. Let us not merely discuss. We must get our people out of the mat of poverty. And this takes long planning and hard survival mode work. Filipinos can do it as OFWs abroad. Why can't we do it at home? Bakit? Bakit? Bakit? (Nobody is stopping you from doing what you say should be done. Why don�t you go ahead and just do it. Why do you listen to what the naysayers say? Was Gokongwei or Yunis discouraged by what other people may have said about their plans? Of course not. Then why should you? (If Frank Sionil Jose and Tony Abaya do not want, for whatever reason, to join you in your project, why should that discourage you, if you really think you have discovered the Silver Bullet of Development? If Fidel Ramos and/or Juan Mercado agree to join you, bully for you! If they also decline your offer, what are you going to do? Since this is your idea and your project, why don�t you do it yourself, why do you have to depend on other people to do it for you? Bakit? Bakit? Bakit? (As I wrote earlier, you should start your own website to sell your idea, and see for yourself how many viewers will agree with you. This is the last time that it will be mentioned in this column and website. ACA) Lionel Tierra , (by email), Sacramento , CA , Aug. 04, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Further to writer Ramon Golpeo's comments to ACA's statement who said: "Since, as you say, God cannot contradict himself, then why does/did he perform miracles, each of which., if true, contradicts laws in physics, or chemistry or astronomy, or medical science, of which he is the presumed or claimed author?", I think God performed miracles to show that He is the immortal God and only He can do what ordinary mortals cannot. Cesar M. de los Reyes, (by email), Aug. 05, 2007 (That, of course, is a matter of opinion � or faith �not fact. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ra We, 88 million Filipinos, will never have lasting peace and progress in our country with two de facto governments, one under the Philippine government and the other under the 7,100 to 13,500 communist insurgents who rule by the use of arms over the helpless people in their controlled barangay. Unless we declare an honest-to-goodness total war against the communist insurgents, they will never abandon their armed struggle and Marxist beliefs. They will keep on destroying many lives and resources and continue frustrating our hope for a better Philippines . To win the war against the communists the following solutions are suggested: The first is political solution. We must rectify the blunders of our past presidents, senators and congressmen. Former President Corazon Aquino blundered when she unconditionally released from prison Jose Maria Sison and his comrades shortly after the Filipino people propelled her to power in 1986. Instead of languishing in jail, they are now comfortably enjoying in Utrecht , Holland from where they are directing the communist insurgents� operations in the Philippines . With strong diplomatic representation and political will, they can be extradited or forced to come back to the Philippines and returned to prison. Our government can get all the help from the international community because they are terrorists. President Aquino should help correct her blunder by telling them to surrender to the Philippine government because they have been destroying our country for almost 39 years. Her blunder was followed by another blunder when former President Fidel Ramos repealed the 1957 Anti-Subversion Law on September 22, 1992. Like the Internal Security Act of Malaysia, Singapore , and the USA that legally equips them to effectively fight the communists, the Anti-Subversion Law should have been strengthened instead of repealed. President Ramos should help rectify his blunder by initiating the restoration of the Anti-Subversion Law. The communists never had it so good. If you see the smiling faces of known communist leaders who are now the honorable party-list congressmen, it is mainly because of the above-mentioned blunders of Presidents Aquino and Ramos, and our senators and congressmen. Unless they correct their blunders, they will be remembered for betraying the Filipino people by helping the enemies of the state. If confirmed that some party-list congressmen channel part of taxpayers� money to the communist insurgents, then they should not only be expelled from congress but also sued for treason. Let us call on our top executive, legislative, and judicial leaders to investigate this. As taxpayers and the collective bosses of our leaders, we should have fired many senators, congressmen, and government officials long time ago not only for failure to solve the insurgency problem but also for helping the communist insurgents. We should demand that they now rectify their blunders and solve the communist insurgency problem because it is their job, not the sole responsibility of the AFP. Everyday a thousand faxed letters, a thousand mailed letters, a thousand telephone calls, a thousand text messages, and a thousand e-mails to each congressman, each senator, each justice, each department head, each top executive of the country will push them into action. If they will refuse to do their job, then let us stop paying our taxes. Why should we if indeed some of our taxes go the enemy? Unless they abandon their armed struggle, unless they stop revolutionary taxation, and unless they abandon their plan to take over the government, we do not want the communists in congress or in the government. The second is social solution. Each sector of society must cleanse itself of communists and communist supporters and sympathizers. This is the responsibility of the leaders of media, churches, schools, organizations, and other sectors of society. For example, Catholic and Protestant leaders should reprimand, and if necessary expel, religious leaders who are communists, communist supporters and sympathizers. They should all be reminded that Christianity and Marxism are irreconcilable because Marxists do not believe that there is God; and that communists kill, extort, and destroy, which are all against the Christian teachings. There should be an open debate in schools, media, organizations, and other sectors of society how the Philippines is being adversely affected by the communist insurgency, and what the country�s future will be with the protracted war against the communists. The ills of communism should be bared for all to see. The communists, and communist sympathizers and supporters should be forewarned that they will never like it under the communist rule. The proof is, no Filipinos want to live in North Korea , but thousands queue daily to get visas to the United States of America . If and when they succeed in taking over the government, it is expected that the communists will kill each other in their competition for leadership and control, including some na�ve politicians, media people, and religious leaders who helped them. Let us remind the communist insurgents to learn lessons from the experiences of others as well as their own, and convince them to finally abandon communism. Mainland China has now embraced free enterprise. The USSR collapsed and no longer exists. Cambodia is now rebuilding itself from the devastation of the communist regime. Communism killed 35 to 45 million in the Soviet Union, 34 to 62.5 million in Communist China, and about 3.4 million in Cambodia or one-third of its population. If in the past Filipino ideologues killed their fellow ideologues and buried them in mass graves scattered in the different parts of the country, there is no assurance that one day they will not be killed by someone from their own group. The media have been reporting on extrajudicial killings allegedly done by the AFP. No one wants to touch the subject of extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the communist insurgents. The fact is, there will always be extrajudicial killings if the communist insurgents do not abandon their armed struggle because the other sectors of society, especially the AFP and the PNP, are forced to defend the Filipino people and themselves. Along the way, some people get hurt and killed. Extrajudicial killings will be minimized, if not totally eliminated, if there are no communists in the country. If soldiers are forced to kill the communist insurgents, it is for self-defense and self-preservation. They kill before they get killed by the communists. The human rights advocates should now realize that the problem is communist insurgency. It is unfair and inhuman for the communist insurgents to impose their will upon us who do not share their political beliefs. Composed of a small minority or 0.01% of the Philippine population, they should follow the desire of the majority that does not want communism in our country. The Filipino nation cannot, and should not, remain a hostage by the communist insurgents many of whom do not understand what they are fighting for, except that they prefer carrying arms to honestly earning a living. Let us always be reminded of the following facts: The communist insurgents are godless, hence, they have no qualms in killing fellow Filipinos or extorting money from them; their ultimate goal is to take over the government; they will never voluntarily give up the armed struggle; they will never stop collecting revolutionary taxes from the people; and peace talks with them are useless. The third is economic solution. We must convince our communist brothers and sisters who have gone astray to stop imposing their will on us because they are destroying our country economically. If there are no communists in the Philippines we can decrease the value added tax (VAT) from 12% to less than 10% because there will be more economic opportunities and businesses in the countryside, thus broadening the tax base in the whole country. Just recently the CPP-NPA-NDF threatened to destroy the cell sites of Globe Telecom in 12 municipalities of Western Visayas if it refused to pay the communists P100 million revolutionary tax. They made good their threat by bombing the Globe Telecom�s cell site in Tubungan, Iloilo. Aside from the loss of lives, the communist insurgents have burned or destroyed trucks, equipment, machinery, factories and other vital resources because the people refused to pay revolutionary taxes. If there are no investments in the communist-infested areas, it is because investors avoid revolutionary taxes and because they are afraid of getting hurt or killed by the communists. If the communist insurgents really love the Philippines , they will abandon their Marxist beliefs, so that our country can move up from the bottom rung of the world economic ladder. The fourth is historical solution. Let us convince the communist insurgents to abandon their Marxist beliefs and their ultimate objective to take over the government so that they will be able to redeem themselves. In terms of loss of human lives, resources, and economic opportunities, the CPP-NPA-NDF insurgents have now become the most destructive group in the Philippines . They have long surpassed the record of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Unless they abandon the Marxist ideology and make amends to the Filipino people, it will be inevitably written in history, that the CPP-NPA-NDF insurgents are the worst group of Filipinos. They are the curse and the leech of the Filipino nation. And the future Filipino generations will never forgive them. The fifth is spiritual solution. It is a sin to kill. It is also a sin to extort money and goods from the people. The communist insurgents cannot make Karl Marx or their political beliefs a lame excuse for killing or extorting. They must stop playing god or judge, or act like a summary court because they have no moral ascendancy to do so. Marxism can never provide the answer to the meaning of life. In fact, if the communist insurgents are true Marxists, life ends upon death because Marxists do not believe that there is life after death. Their short-lived life on this earth killing, extorting, and imposing their will on others is not only destructive but also meaningless. Along this vein, winning the war against the communist insurgents does not necessarily need the use of force. Asking them to put meaning in their life, through the power of persuasion, reason and prayer, can possibly lead them to surrender to the government authorities. We Christians believe that there is life after death, that God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins and to save us from eternal damnation in hell. In the eyes of God, we are all sinners. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is by God�s grace that we are saved and it is by faith that we will have eternal life. Notwithstanding their sins against God and their crimes against their fellow Filipinos, our CPP-NPA-NDF brothers and sisters, too, can have eternal life. We find the meaning of life by following Christ�s teachings, and serving God for His glory and honor. If following the teachings of Karl Marx means killing fellow Filipinos, following the teachings of Jesus Christ means loving them. Let us, therefore, invite our communist brothers and sisters to turn to God so that they, too, will find meaning in their life and have eternal life. The solution to the communist insurgency without using force is, therefore, convincing the CPP-NPA-NDF members that there is God, that there is life after death, that they do not have to kill fellow Filipinos to achieve their goal in life. Let us pray for the day when our communist brothers and sisters will become Christians. Many of them who did earlier are among the happiest people on earth. In an article The God Debate of Newsweek Magazine�s April 9, 2007 issue, Rick Warren, author of the bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life, said the following to atheist Sam Harris: �I believe in both faith and reason. The more we learn about God, the more we understand how magnificent this universe is. There is no contradiction to it. When I look at history, I would disagree with Sam: Christianity has done far more good than bad. Altruism comes out of knowing there is more than this life, that there is a sovereign God, that I am not God. We�re both betting. He�s betting his life that he�s right. I�m betting my life that Jesus was not a liar. When we die, if he�s right, I�ve lost nothing. If I�m right, he�s lost everything. I�m not willing to make that gamble.� Let me end by praying: Dear Lord God, open the eyes, hearts and minds of our CPP-NPA-NDF brothers and sisters so that they, too, will believe in you as their God, so that they will put an end to the killings of their fellowmen, so that there will be healing, peace, and progress in our land. Amen. Col. Hector Tarrazona, (Ret), PMA �68, (by email), July 02, 2007 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |