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| A Graceless Exit By Antonio C. Abaya Written Jan. 10, 2006 For the Standard Today, January 12 issue Much has been made of the lifesaver that former President Fidel V. Ramos threw in the direction of President Arroyo last July, when she was drowning in a turbulent sea of troubles and was in real danger of going under. Everyone seems to agree that this lifesaver would have given her a �graceful exit� from her and the country�s predicament. But would it really have done that? Details of this Total Approach, as Ramos liked to call it, appear in my article �FVR�s Solution� (July 31, 2005), written after a one-on-one meeting with him at his invitation two weeks previous. The most important part of this solution was that the constitutional shift to the parliamentary system, after the necessary ministerial transit from a High Commission to a Constituent Assembly, would be ratified in a national plebiscite on February 14, 2006. Two days later, on Feb. 16, all elected national officials � president, vice-president, senators, congressmen � who want to run for seats in parliament would make the supreme sacrifice and resign from their positions, no matter when their current terms of office expire. The campaign period for parliamentary elections would run from Feb. 16 to May 10, and elections would be held on May 12. On June 30, 2006, the winners would be sworn in and, voila, we would have a parliament, President Arroyo would have been saved from the humiliation of being forced out of office, and, presumably Fidel Ramos or Jose de Venecia would be chosen prime minister by a Lakas-dominated parliament. As a further sop, Mrs. Arroyo would likely be prevailed upon to accept the largely ceremonial position of president or virtual (powerless) queen. But things did not turn out the way Ramos wanted. President Arroyo may have initially clutched at Ramos� lifesaver, or she may have given him the impression that she did. But she is nothing if she is not resilient and tough, conciliatory and combative, able to parry, step back, then lunge with spirited counter-attacks. Since his initial 2006 timetable was obviously not going to be met, Ramos was forced to move it to 2007, when midterm elections are scheduled to be held anyway, which somewhat diminished his assiduously self-promoted ability to influence events. But even here, Ramos has run up against the brick wall of Mrs. Arroyo�s obstinacy. She had had the foresight to handpick a Consultative Commission (ConCom) whose mission, it now turns out, is to map out the agenda that she wants the Constituent Assembly (ConAss) to follow as it goes about its business of Charter Change (ChaCha). And part of the recommendations of ConCom to ConAss is to do away with the elections of 2007, thus giving half the senators and all the congressmen three extra years in their positions without having to spend a peso for re-election. Miffed at being outfoxed, Ramos gave Mrs. Arroyo up to December 31 to distance herself from the No-El proposal, to which her people coolly replied that the matter was now with the ConAss. And just in case, the Senate will not play along in a ConAss scenario, Malacanang is preparing a People�s Initiative (which I propose to abbreviate to P-Init) which is bound to raise the temperature of the political pot, perhaps to boiling point. P-Init will be orchestrated by Congressman Ronnie Puno, as new secretary of the DILG, the malevolent organizational whiz kid who engineered Mrs. Arroyo�s controversial victory in 2004 and who, irony of ironies, had also engineered Ramos� own, even more controversial victory in 1992. The bird of prey has come home to roost. And King Kong has met his match, and then some, in Godzilla. About the �graceful exit� that King Kong seemingly provided for Godzilla, in 2006 or 2007, that might not have been so graceful, after all. In the Total Approach of FVR, all elected national officials who wanted to run for seats in parliament would have been required to make the supreme sacrifice of resigning from their current positions by Feb.16 (2006 or 2007). That would include Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia, since both are ambitious to be head of government. And since they are not explicitly forbidden from aspiring for a seat in parliament, President Arroyo and Vice-President Noli de Castro would also be included. So who would be running the government from Feb. 16 to June 30, when the winners of the parliamentary elections are sworn in? The Executive Secretary? But he has no constitutional mandate. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? He is the constitutional next-in-line. But can he cope? Even with an elected government, the Philippines is already a chaotic country. What more, if there were no elected government in place. That would be 132 days without a national civil government, way too long for a quarrelsome people and a disorganized state to remain at rest, especially when a national election is being contested. The Second Law of Thermodynamics will likely catch up with us: Heat will flow from a hot object to cold objects. Politically, it means that a flare-up in one place will likely spread to other, more peaceful places, if there is no effective national government to douse the flames. Fidel Ramos is an engineer by training. Didn�t he see this coming? Or was this part of his game plan? Suppose the Jemaah Islamiyah, or some persons pretending to be JI, were to launch a major terrorist attack in Metro Manila, as they did in December 2002, by detonating bombs in the LRT, will they stop there, knowing that there is no government in place? Suppose the NPA, or some persons pretending to be NPA, were to demolish power transmission pylons of the National Power Corporation and plunge much of Luzon and Metro Manila into darkness�� Suppose Mindanao independence activists, or some persons pretending to be such, were to seize the airports and seaports of the island and proclaim a separate Mindanao state�. Of course, the military and the police would still be around to restore order and assert the authority of the central government. But with the national civil government virtually non-existent while the politicians jockey for and bicker over the seats in parliament, the military and the police become virtually THE central government. Those 132 days are a long time to spend in limbo. Who is to say that no one will take advantage of this nebulous and uncertain period to force Gloria and the other politicians into a graceless exit? Depending on who emerge on top, some may argue that it would not have been such a bad idea, after all. But, of course, for better or for worse, that option is now closed. ***** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Reactions to �A Graceless Exit� Good day, Mr. Abaya! I'm more irritated than amused at FVR's ploys. He failed in his attempt for cha-cha during his term, what makes him think it is going to be easier now? He always says that cha-cha is the solution to our problems. Now he has found another reason - a graceful exit for GMA. This from someone who forced Marcos out by leading a military revolt and was at the forefront in the overthrow of Erap. These two former presidents' exits were far from graceful, what makes FVR think that GMA is convinced and trusts his intentions? HOw can a shift to a parliamentary system solve our problems? The church is still there to fight any population control program, there is still no money in our treasury, wealth will remain controlled by a few, there will still be cheating in our elections, etc. There must be something about power that is so difficult to give up even long after one's term is up. I already find it unethical for past presidents to criticize the incumbent. To demand from GMA to cut her term short "or else...", FVR seems to be addressing a subordinate. It also reveals how much he does not know how much stronger GMA has become (or thinks she has become) after the turbulence of the past year. Why do Cory and FVR think that their solutions to our problems are the right ones? They endorse candidates, propose changes in our political system, organize street rallies against the government believing that they still had the clout they once had. They refuse to retire to the background. I admire GMA for not engaging in a word war with her critics, inlcluding her three predecessors. Cory blamed the failures of her administration to FM, FVR's failures to Cor y, Erap to FVR, yet, I haven't heard Gloria blame them for the shortcomings of her government. She is beaten black and blue, day in, day out but what does she do? She attends Ninoy's anniversaries, visits Erap in jail, cordial with Imelda and sends Ramos abroad for official missions. She even kept Peping and Tingting in her government, something not seen during Cory's vindictive term. I may be in the minority, sir, but I prefer for GMA to stay than all the other alternatives available, FVR included. Jojo Labayen, [email protected] Marikina City, Jan. 14, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The behavior of many of the personalities involved in the current political imbroglio is living proof that a parliamentary system is a failure ab initio, Ross Tipon, [email protected] Baguio City, Jan. 14, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear ACA, Somewhat we are now experiencing we are in a two-level limbo. The first level is that you can't see anything but perhaps you pretend to see anything. Well its like traveling in a fog, you simply see fog. But you see a fog and continue on even if your next step is a damn f----g ravine! The second level limbo is that you can't see anything at all. And you can't even pretend that you can see anything. That is, I can't see anything from the limbo even though I pretend to see anything. Well I just can't see anything. Thus, if I convince myself that I can see something in this limbo but logic will tell me that really there is nothing to see. Am really screwed! What is now at hand is something of a fluke... like EDSA 1. But who can read the signs when one can't see? AL Jose Leonidas, [email protected] (Full time College teacher : To know more about his passion contact: 0917 856 6747) Jan. 14, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I am of the opinion that this proposal discussed below is the best thing to happen in the Philippines if accepted by GMA and the rest of the elected officials for the following reasons: 1. First and foremost, the act of resigning is truly a sacrifice that meant the present crop of politicians still have love of country and honor in their hearts, not just elected for corrupt purposes. 2. That for those who refuse to resign can be separated quickly for they are selfish and corrupt; using their elected positions to enrich themselves, their families and friends at the expense of the common people. 3. The shift to parliamentary form of government, if it happen means the elimination of the Congress and would hasten the enactment of future laws and quick responds to emergency and calamities occurring in the future which happen all the times. 4. Bad administration can be democratically changed easily by way of withdrawing supports of the current government running the country and submitting the issue direct to the people. Those are just few beneficial effects that the country can enjoy. Paul Dalde, [email protected] Houston, Texas, Jan. 15, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The following was emailed to us by Ben Sanchez. Dear Barney, Asking me to comment on Ms. Pati Poblete's excellent and well-written "The Price of Remittances" posed a challenge. "May I have a Pilipino economist's comment on this article, which is all very true?" you asked. The study of poverty, Barney, is reserved for professional sociologists, anthropologists and even social workers. Economists like me seek to devise strategies that will give more employment especially to the less-educated poor among the work force. Our purpose is to give them more money with which they could lift themselves up from the "underclass" sector of the economy, provide education for their children so that they too may lead productive lives and adopt work habits and attitudes that will enable their families to break out of the corrosive "culture of poverty" that holds them down. Remittances are a different thing. In this manner, money is given to the poor but the recipients do not have to work for it. Remittances foster dependency and � as Ms. Poblete's article points out � indolence. What did that old proverb say? It is better to teach a poor man how to fish than, out of Christian charity, provide food for his family. During the eight years I was in government, I was tasked with developing non-traditional exports, that is to say, exports of processed goods outside of the raw products of our forests, farms, fisheries and mines. In my government job, we sought to raise incomes especially of poor families. You can raise family income by increasing wages [if you can] or by providing employment for other family members besides its traditional breadwinner, the father of the brood. Hence, we decided to develop export industries which would employ more womenfolk who, as it turned out, were more industrious and enthusiastic than their menfolk � among the poor, that is. We also chose to develop labor-intensive export-oriented industries to expand employment opportunities. In my first year at the Board of Investments, we developed the handicraft industry. Why? Well, for one thing, the industry makes use of local raw materials mainly. Furthermore, building up this industry fosters countryside development more than say other labor-intensive industry like electronics or garments which are more urban-based. Key to the success of the handicraft industry was its ability to adapt its products from the tourist-oriented baskets, plant holders, wind chimes, placemats, etc. to the specific requirements of Western markets. Thus, the new Gifts, Fashion and Houseware Industry was born with heavy emphasis on a myriad number of new sophisticated finished products like handbags, fashion jewelry, home d�cor and especially Christmas trims. The electronics industry in the country boomed after I personally went to Silicon Valley to invite relative newcomer Intel in 1973 to put up a factory in Manila. In its second year, the firm earned a whooping 125% on its investment which attracted leading multinational electronics firms to establish their plants here. In the decade of the Seventies, exports of electronics, garments and handicrafts rose an average of 35 per cent annually on a compounded rate basis. Non-traditional exports took off on a self-sustaining basis. These exports were doubling every two and a half years during the decade. Exports of electronic components, garments and hand-made products of the former handicraft industry now make up 80% of the Philippines' total exports. Women account for 90% of these industries' workforce. By the end of 1978, It was time for me to exit and apply my skills to develop exports of about 30 developing countries during my 18-year stint with the United Nations. During a farewell dinner given in my honor, a business consultant stood up to offer a toast: "Here's to Governor Sanchez. Accidentally, he brought about the new social phenomenon in Philippine society � called the house-husband." Up to that point, I was unaware that my efforts caused the early retirement of the man of the house � some of them, at least. It surprised me that people who have gainful employment will descend to the status of non-employment which as you know is different from unemployment. One who is unemployed is earnestly looking for a job. So I delved deeper into what people now call the "culture of poverty" to explain why the poor have such low aspiration levels and sometimes take steps that are self-defeating such as what Pati Poblete found out to her surprise. Not being a sociologist, perhaps I can from my own observations only describe the characteristics of this "culture" which is so dramatically different from our own "middle-class" viewpoint. Let me then take it up with you step by step as my ideas are still evolving. The subject of poverty is such a fascinating study that I thank you for asking my opinion on it. Abangan ang susunod na kabanatan. This time, I shall be using not my economic know-how, but my newly acquired skills as an amateur sociologist. I have developed the habit of probing subjects I know little about. Ben Sanchez, [email protected] Jan. 14, 2006 The Price for Remittances By Pati Poblete Dec. 26, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle IF THERE'S ONE THING the holiday season has taught me, it's that Catholic guilt has got nothing on that of a migrant's. For as long as I can remember, my parents � the first to come to America in both their families � constantly reminded me about my poor cousins in the Philippines. When I refused to finish my food, I was told my poor cousins would be so lucky to eat my leftovers. When I complained about my clothes, my dad lectured me about how my poor cousins had to walk the dirt roads of the provinces shirtless and shoeless. And -- my personal favorite -- when I wanted new toys for Christmas, I was told my poor cousins had to drag around empty sardine cans by a string and imagine they were shiny cars. I'd watch my mom fill up huge, empty boxes with cans of Spam, corned beef, Vienna sausages, chocolates, bed sheets, clothes and towels. "These are for your cousins and my brothers and sisters for the new year," she'd say. "We're lucky we're in America so we can help them." As I grew up, I carried the guilt with me, sending $100 here and there in remittances to countless cousins who I had never met or spoken to. I imagined the money going toward clothing those shirtless, shoeless cousins, and providing them with real toys rather than empty sardine cans. My mom would send even more money, even when she faced financial hardships of her own. "No matter how poor we get, they are always poorer," she would say. So when our whole family went to the Philippines in April, I was eager to meet finally the cousins and aunts and uncles who my parents had been helping for so many years. We packed extra clothes so we could give them away, and brought canned foods and candies for our other relatives. When we arrived, my older cousin, Lani, greeted us at the airport, though she almost didn't notice us because she was busy text messaging on her cell phone. She led us to where our other relatives were waiting and proceeded to take pictures with a tiny digital camera that could have passed for a key chain. I spent the week getting to know them and asking them questions. Uncle Edwin, my mom's youngest brother, had stopped working, I was told. With all the money he was getting in remittances from America, he didn't need to work anymore. My mom's eldest sister, Gloria, had stopped working as well, after her daughter went overseas to Hong Kong to work as a maid. What little money her daughter sent was enough to keep her from working, she said. Our eldest cousin, Jerry, had left for Saudi Arabia to work in a factory. His remittances were enough for each of our cousins to buy their own cell phones. Four of my cousins had dropped out of high school. "Why finish school when the money is in America?" they asked. I looked around at the open market space down the road from my grandmother's house and stared at the raw fish covered with flies. Vendors sold flat soft drinks in small plastic bags with makeshift straws placed in them. Yes, it was a poor country and no matter how bad it got in America, I was indeed luckier than my cousins. But sending money so that they could stop working was not helping them, or the Philippines. In 2001, International Monetary Fund figures showed that Filipinos working abroad sent an estimated $6 billion back home, placing them third behind migrants sending remittances to India and Mexico. Last year, that number went up to $8.8 billion. According to a study by the International Monetary Fund, "remittances do not appear to be intended to serve as capital for economic development, but as compensation for poor economic performance." The study also revealed that the money sent from migrants to their families is mostly spent on consumer items, such as clothes and cell phones, rather than business investments. "But they will think we are selfish," my mom said when I urged her to send the money to an organization instead, that would build schools and homes in her hometown. "They won't see that money." She had survivor's guilt, living in a country of prosperity while her family still lived in a developing one. But what good was the money bringing to a country whose communities were filled with unemployed and unproductive citizens because of it? New schools, better roads, sturdier roofs, and an incentive to build their own communities, that's what my poor cousins need. There's no shame -- or guilt -- in that. Pati Poblete is a Chronicle editorial writer. E-mail her at [email protected] wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The following was emailed to us by Bert M. Drona. EDUCATION: Deterioration of the Public School System and consequent "Dumbing of the Filipino Mind" (updated) The causes of the problem in our homeland's educational system are many, most significant being: lack of resources -less available money due to low funding and systemwide corruption, which in turn lead to lack of good books, ineffective teachers, poor facilities (not conducive to learning), inadequate school supplies to facilitate teaching, etc. And add the important fact that an empty stomach in school does not aid learning. Why don't we have enough funding for public schools? There is no honest desire on the part of the government to provide more funding to improve the public school system (PSS). The PSS is not anymore a national priority from the time of the Marcos Dictatorship, whereby the decline and deterioration started. In addition, the Dictatorship needed the military and made sure the military gets more of the budget pie. This practice has continued till today and will in the foreseeable future, with succeeding governments and politicians. And corruption in the PSS continues unchecked and thus makes things worse. Marcos' successors - Aquino, Ramos, Estrada and now Arroyo- brought precipitous decline in the educational quality because of their desire to pay first the added debts they incurred/incur and odious foreign debts -which have compounded each subsequent year- as initially promised to the creditors by the naive and incompetent Cory Aquino in 1986, even if doing so deprives the impoverished populace of social programs, including education, despite her well publicized social concern and religiosity. As to the present goals of the educational system: during the Dictatorship, Marcos followed the dictates and plans of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank/Asian Development Bank (IMF/WB/ADB) as to the direction of our PSS and educational system as a whole; that is, to provide cheap and trained labor to transnationals. Stressing only technical vocations, though practical since they put food on the table, will only lead to the "dumbing" of the new generations of the Filipino mind (even American youth is getting dumb) which in turn will lead to perpetuation of the present socio-economic and political predicaments. But now, the IMF/WB educational plan itself is messed up by the fact that by joining the WTO in 1995, thanks to the then Fidel Ramos/GMA tandem, manufacturing transnationals have shut down and/or moved out of the country to go to China and other lower waged countries (thus perpetuate the downward spiral in world labor wages), such is the logic of business/capitalism of maximizing profits. Therefore we are faced with trained technicians and college graduates, regardless of whether deserving or not, with much less available jobs in their chosen professions or studies. Actually there are few professional/non-professional jobs to begin with even during pre-martial law times, given the absence of significant industrialization. Furthermore, inspite of the fact that ours is considered an agricultural economy with a greater part of the labor force in it, even graduates of agricultural schools do not have much job opportunities since there are only a few companies, e.g. San Miguel, which are into agribusiness. Large landowners, who mostly are not entrepreneurs, do not go into nor want to invest in agribusiness (as in the more risky investments of industrialization) and are actually part of the sociological obstables to economic progress and true national development. Nowadays, mere survival has become the paramount issue for most students, graduates and families -giving credence to Maslow's Hypothesis on the "hierachy of needs" (or simply common sense). Thus the schooled individual, "instructed" and not necessarily "educated", gets/takes a job (better chances if connected), regardless of whether he/she is thus underemployed, grabs any menial job abroad, swallowing all his pride at best and sacrificing his dignity at worst, and leaving the love ones. Not easily appreciated is the consequent deterioration of society. Why do the government and politicians support the export of OFWs? To pay for our odious foreign debt, to not plan for the common good, to have money to steal and to have a safety-relief valve that would delay/prevent a bloody revolution due to rising expectations, the government and politicians have thus encouraged and begged other countries to allow our primary export earner -the OFWs- to come to their countries (based on BSP statistics, foreign -direct plus portfolio investments pale in comparison, so do we need foreign investors who only destroy our patrimony for future generations, thanks to our leadership. Remember that portfolio investments are like cash, foreigners can take it out 24/7. But all this is another topic.) Where poverty and impoverishment are the norm, gambling and alcoholic drinks seem to provide the unfortunate: the source of income they can not earn through productive and creative work; and the escape from realities for the moment. If I remember correctly, while I was at SMC's Corporate Planning Department, my bright economist-colleagues demonstrated this beer sales-financial hard times correlation. As how to change the educational system, I say it is naivete at best, ignorance at worst to even hope for reform. As in other national or local issues in the homeland, the people who wield influence and power, the ruling elite: aristocrats, politicians, native and foreign businessmen and corporations, military, do not care. Only a revolution led by a nationalistic leadership can make needed fundamental changes, including the educational system. Only a nationalist revolution, led by proven nationalists with the support of an informed, nationalistic coalition of the middle class and the impoverished can offer possibilities for such changes and without falling prey to insincere leadership that will rise out of the struggle. Whether the dwindling, educated middle class, which so far has only mimicked the ruling class that it aspires to be part of, can work with the impoverished is the big question. These may all sound rhetorical but that is where a deeper and serious analysis will ultimately lead one to conclude. To not do so, to see only the trees and not the forest, to scratch the itch and not remove the cancer, to treat the symptoms and not the disease, is not to address and uproot the real causes of the people's predicament and thus work correctly for the common good. To still believe and think that working through the present political-economic system to reform itself is to delude ourselves; as our 60 years of so-called independence have given us only a dwindling middle class and further impoverishment. To work within the present political and economic system is like exercising freedom within a cage. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww The following article was emailed to us by the author. An Epistle to the "Nationalists" ON BEING TOO WESTERNIZED By Ross Tipon, [email protected] Jan. 14, 2006 One of the common complaints of the Filipino "nationalist", one of whom I just spammed out of existence a short while ago, is that we are "too westernized. . Are we? We are westernized perhaps in the way that the cargo cultists are "Westernized". If we were truly westernized we would have gotten rid of the Gallilean man-god a long time ago (except at Christmas time where he is replaced by semi-pagan Santa Claus). Our mother country once removed, Spain, harbors more atheists per capita than our immediatemother country, America. Of course, if you look at the better America (roughly the seaboards) that has no use for the god of hinterland-bred William Jennings Bryan, Bush pere and fils, Reagan, indicted-for-crookedness Tom Delay or foot-on-his-mouth Pat Robertson we havean America no different in religiosity from Western Europe. If we were truly westernized then our ship of state would be sailing majestically on the robust winds of the rule of law instead of being marooned among the rotting riggings of the soft states.. We would have no use for the Office of the Ombudsman (rotten as it is) because ordinary prosecutors could prosecute the high and mighty. Thomas Dewey, attorney-general for the state of New York, sent crooks to jail. He did not have a high fallutin title. The present attorney general for this state makes the high and mighty tremble. If we were westernized, the SEC would be sending the stock manipulators to jail instead of attending cocktail parties with them. If we were westernized, why is it that we have ten thousand constitutional tinkerers, twenty thousand ideology spouters, five million maka-Diyos pietyists and not one Bill Gates? If we were Westernized, sales of books would be the multiple of hundred thousand or a million annually instead of a few thousands. What do Filipinos read? What the "nationalists" are trying in their various contortions is to pose as anti-Western like some Latin-American dictators, African thugs like Mugabe and the assortment of Arab power-holders. During the time of Marcos Conrado Quiroz under the direction of his maestro, Adrian Cristobal, wrote a book putatively authored by Marcos "An ideology for Filipinos" where the message drummed with numbing monotony was that Filipinos were too westernized and what was needed a Malakas and a Maganda. As in the corpulent heyday of Mexico's Part�do Revol�cionario Instit�cional the "nationalists" want to be a parasitic state-supported group which spews out anti-Western rhetoric for their places in the feeding trough. There is visual awkwardness in seeing a number of what the late historian William Henry Scott called "Fil-Ams", Filipinos (mostly little educated) who act superficially like Americans, meaning the worst of them. So what? The world of full of nuts. That is not a social or economic problem like the balance-of-payment or the problem that results if we were to turn the economy closed which is the nationalists' dream of their Middle Kingdom set amidst a twenty-first century theme-park.. Ideology, including nationalist ideology, which is what is left of secular ideology and found mostly in the Balkans and in the Andean poor lands, is the exoskeleton of the unformed humanoid. "Under the impact ideology culture retreats", observed Schiller. Sciller would have been my Nobel Laureate but there were no such laureates then. Nobel was not even an embryo, so lacking in soul, according to clerico-fascist Bernas. Quiroz, Buencamino, et. al., quit your ideology project and leave that to brainless creatures like too-late-the-caudillo Fortunato Abat or the not much more endowed perennial opportunist Jose Tan Almonte. Even Honasan knew when to quit and quietly comme il faut. You do not want to be "Westernized", eh, Mister Nationalist? Try the Taliban. And send all your offspring to the madrassas. ***** OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |