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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Human Security Suggestions
By Antonio C. Abaya Written July 18, 2007 For the Standard Today, July 19 issue Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno is to be commended for his efforts to get to the bottom of the so-called extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances. He called a two-day summit the other day in direct response to the recently promulgated Human Security Act. The summit was called in part to solicit suggestions on how to deal with the problem. I am still looking into the HSA, so the following comments are preliminary. But this early it can be stated that the biggest infirmity of the HSA is that it is be implemented by President Arroyo and her lieutenants, principally Executive Secretary Edgardo Ermita, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, AFP Chief-of-Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon. (The newly appointed Defense Secretary, Gilberto Teodoro, has not yet assumed office and must be considered an unknown quantity at this point.) President Arroyo and her lieutenants have become so unpopular and have lost so much of their credibility that they no longer have the moral ascendancy to implement a law that impinges on the public�s political rights, no matter how necessary that may be to meet a very real terrorist threat. An unpopular government cannot effectively implement the HSA. It will just create more conflict, more rancor and more enemies for itself. President Arroyo and her government have long passed the point of no return. It is no longer possible to recover lost ground, lost credibility, lost moral ascendancy. So my First Suggestion regarding the HSA is to put it on hold and to delay its implementation until a new government takes over, in 2010 or earlier. This gives more time to fine-tune its provisions, to validate its assumptions, and to compare its possibly theoretical implementing rules with the actual experience of other countries. But there is no question that there is a need for an anti-terrorism law, because the threat is very real and is not the product of someone�s imagination. The threat comes mainly from two sources: One. Radical Islamic jihadists who, at the very least, want a separate homeland for the Bangsa Moro, and at the very most want that homeland to be part of a pan-Islamic state that will embrace all of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and parts of southern Thailand and southern Philippines, and which will be under Sharia Law, as called for by the Jamaah Islamiya (JI). Two. .The Communist movement, represented by Joma Sison�s Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), its military army, the New People�s Army (NPA), and its political arm, the National Democratic Front (NDF). The CPP/NPA/NDF want to establish a Maoist dictatorship of the proletariat in which the CPP will enjoy monopoly of power, with total control of the economy, media, the school system, the judicial system, religion, commercial and industrial activities, banking and finance, the military etc., as exemplified by their role model, the People�s Republic of China under Mao Zedong. The advocacy of JI for a pan-Islamic state is of recent vintage, part of the upsurge in Islamic militancy dramatized by 9/11 But radical Islam, as a political movement, emerged with the birth of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the 1920s. However, the anger that radical Islam feeds on goes back to the Crusades of the 11th century when Christian Crusaders, largely from France and Germany , massacred 60,000 Muslim survivors � men, women and children - in their siege of Jerusalem . Osama bin Laden was cultivating a long seething resentment in the collective memory of Muslims when he declared war on �the Crusaders and the Zionists� years before 9/11. Zionists, of course, referring to the state of Israel which �the Crusaders� (now represented by the Americans and the British) foisted in 1948 on land occupied by the Palestinians for centuries. The �national democratic revolution� which the CPP/NPA/NDF have been waging against the bourgeois state dates back to 1965, but the communist movement has been at it since the peasant revolt. of the Hukbalahap or Huks in the 1940s, under the ideological leadership of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP). The Huks were defeated by Ramon Magsaysay and the AFP in the 1950s, and the PKP folded its revolutionary tent in the 1970s Joma Sison, who was a member of the PKP politburo, split from the Soviet-oriented PKP and formed his Maoist CPP to continue the Communist struggle to bring about the allegedly inevitable victory of Communism. It is to meet this twin threat � from the JI and the CPP � that the Arroyo government has sought the passage and implementation of the HSA. President Arroyo and her lieutenants have vowed to defeat the CPP/NPA/NDF in two, three, six or ten years, depending on who is the doing the vowing. But my sense is that the Arroyo government is not capable of defeating the CPP/NPA/NDF in two, three, six or ten years, because it does not have a Better Idea to defeat it with. Claiming that she can make the Philippines a First World country in 20 years, as she has preposterously claimed twice and will supposedly claim again in her coming State-of-the-Nation address on July 23, does not constitute a Better Idea. It is at best only a Pie-in-the-Sky, like the Marxist-Leninist claim of the inevitable victory of Communism, both appealing mainly to the ignorant and the na�ve.. Joma Sison has admitted in recent months that �the inevitable victory of Communism� will take �hundreds of years.� (See my article Hundreds of Years, Nov. 14, 2006). This is as good an admission as any from Joma that the Communist vision of the Perfect Society has failed and has been rendered unattainable, as anyone who has been reading the newspapers or watching the TV news since 1989 has long concluded. (This was the thrust of my booklet, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Communism, first published in 1985, four years before the implosion of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, six years before the meltdown of the Soviet Union.) What continue to motivate the Philippine Communist movement, as well as the unhappiness of the non-ideological middle class, are perceptions of poor governance, which include electoral fraud, unbridled corruption, mass poverty, poor education and public health services, joblessness, inadequate low cost housing, political dynasties, a corrupt judicial system (which Chief Justice Puno should personally look into since this is his turf). My Second Suggestion is for President Arroyo to craft a Better Idea that directly addresses these concerns, rather than fantasize about making the Philippines a First World country in 20 years. The passage of the HSA into law drew hardly a ripple from the Muslim community even though it affects the conduct of the anti-terrorism campaign in their territory. Or perhaps the ambush of Marines in Basilan last week, which killed 14 Marines � 10 of whom were beheaded and mutilated � was their response to the HSA, than which no number of verbose �summits� could have been more eloquent and to the point. The noisiest response to the HSA comes, not surprisingly, from the Communist movement and its liberal allies from the non-ideological middle class, both of whom are driven by a virulent animosity towards President Arroyo and her government. One of the sore points that these liberal and communist critics raise is the concern that the HSA gives the military and the police the right to hold suspected terrorists in detention for a maximum of three days. Yes, three days, after which they must be released or charged in court. Anyone who has followed the investigations related to the recent bombing attempts in London and Glasgow , and the related arrest in Brisbane ( Australia ) may have noted by now that the Australian police can hold suspected terrorists for a maximum of twelve days, and that the British police can detain such suspects for a maximum of 28 days. In Singapore, under the Internal Security Act (inherited from the British colonial government), the police can detain suspected �subversives� (which now includes both Communists and jihadists) a maximum of two years, extendable for another two years, before they must be charged in court or released. The last Communist �subversive� detained under the ISA was released in 1998, after he stewed in prison for 22 years. Compared to the Australian, the British and the Singaporean (nee British) anti-terrorism laws, the Philippine Human Security Act proviso of a three-day maximum detention is a mild slap on the wrist, a leisurely stroll in the park. My Third Suggestion, therefore, is for a diligent examination of the anti-terrorism laws in other countries, both as to their provisos as well as to their effectiveness. (To be continued) ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Human Security Suggestions� More Reactions to �Guilty or Not Guilty?� More Reactions to �Onward, Christian Soldiers!� More Reactions to �Moro-moro in Maguindanao� Re Myanmar �s Aung San Suu Kyi Recommendation Dear ACA, This letter has nothing to do with the article above but it has something to do with Erehwon. When I was a teen-ager I heard about Erehwon bookstore. I am not sure if it was near Solidaridad of Sionil Jose. Reading Erehwon, I can jumble it to be Here Now. (Or Nowhere. ACA) I wonder if I can find a picture of the said book store. What is the address of Erehwon back then? Thank you. AL Jose Leonidas, (by email), July20, 2007 (Erehwon opened for business in 1962, Solidaridad several years later. The original Erehwon was located at 569 Padre Faura St . , Ermita, Manila . Eventually, we had two branches in the Makati Commercial Center , one in Greenhills, and one on Katipunan Road in Loyola Heights . We ceased operations in 1988, or 26 years after we opened. There must be pictures of the Erehwon shops, but I don�t know where they are. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I cannot but agree to the suspension of implementation of the HSA until GMA retires in 2010. The abuse of this new sword of Democles threaten the head of everyone ( as you said somebody with sheer stetch of lengthy argument of the breed of unethiucal unprincipled wicked lawyers that we have around) can invoke the dragon of the HSA.) I think its rushed passage was the result of the 14 marines beheading. No more no less. The CPP/NPA can be defanged through genuine agrarian reforms similar to what my uncle did in the 50s. Give them no reason to fight the government. As for the MILF- JI, I don't buy this threat. It�s there because of the strange business collusion of the military and MILF commands. The Iraq war will soon end but not the war in Mindanao . It has been there since the Vietnam war and even during the Korean war. It�s pure and simple thriving business with lousy hand-me-down arms , as depicted vividly in the footage of the ambush. The corruption in the military means losing lives. of our pawn soldiers. The best human security act is to remove the unmitigated corruption in society that feeds on discontent and frustration (and even despair in our homeland) But Justice Puno is aptly right. It�s time to unsheathe the sword of lady justice since the" rights of the righteous are being trampled upon by the rights of the wicked." By the way that describes the 16 years saga of our quest for justice in Pepsi (see www.pepsi349.com). Vic del Fierro, Jr., (by email), July 20, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You wrote --"What continue to motivate the Philippine Communist movement, as well as the unhappiness of the non-ideological middle class, are PERCEPTIONS of poor governance, which include electoral fraud, unbridled corruption, mass poverty, poor education and public health services, joblessness, inadequate low cost housing, political dynasties, a corrupt judicial system.... " No wonder the Philippine Communist movement is alive after all these years ( since 1940- you say)!! Obviously there are enough motivations for anybody (including the Communists movement ) to carry on the fight! Plaridel Joaquin Alexander Po, (by email), July 21, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi, Tony. You made mention again of GMA's goal of a first world after twenty years and you said it was not possible to attain. And yet, I was thinking about it. How come our neighboring countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, which were poor countries during the late 1960's and early 1970's and yet have become prosperous economies by the 1990's and that is roughly a twenty year period? (I�ve written about it several times already. So, once more, with feeling: South Korea , Taiwan , Hong Kong and Singapore geared their economies to the export of manufactured goods in the 70s and 80s; the Philippines did not. In the 1980s, Malaysia , Thailand and Sukarno�s Indonesia followed the lead of the Four Original Tigers. The Philippines did not. There�s a penalty for not choosing the right strategy. ACA) So, I went on to research the historical growth of per capita income and I discovered that these economies had been able to experience growth rates in gnp per capita income of close to average of 10% or higher for a 40 year period. Below are some figures I got from [Speech (5) on Royal Address debate in Parliament of Malaysia 21.3.07] In 1967, Taiwan �s gnp per capita was US$250 and South Korea �s gnp per capita was US$160. In 1967, Singapore �s per capita GNP was US$600 while Hong Kong US$620. In 38 years from 1967, Singapore and and Hong Kong have shot to register a 2005 per capita income of US$26,836 and US$25,493 respectively, South Korea to US$16,308 and Taiwan US$15,203 In the past four decades, South Korea�s per capita income multiplied about a hundred-fold, Taiwan by some 60-fold, Singapore by 45-fold and Hong Kong by some 40-fold. I was able to confirm that the above figures for Taiwan and Singapore are generally accurate through another article World Affairs, Fall, 2002 by Samuel C.Y. Ku who on the other hand got his figures from World Bank, Far Eastern Economic Review, ADB yearbook and so on. So, hey, achieving an average of 10% for a twenty year period is attainable.(But only if you choose the right economic strategy. Wishful thinking alone � below - is not going to do it. ACA) Besides, as I mentioned to you before, whatever a man conceives and truly believes, a man can achieve through a positive mental attitude. If every Filipino worker and every Filipino company believe they can be able to increase their income by at least 20 percent every year, and work hard, make the necessary sacrifices such as delayed gratification, avoid watching too much tv and politicking, have faith in themselves, their capabilities and the power of prayer and have a focused, determined and positive mental attitude, then the whole nation can grow by leaps and bounds. Look at Manny Pacquiao. From a simple carpenter, he became a multi-millionaire through hard training, prayer and a very positive mental attitude. If he can do it, the others can do it too. Every one has been given a talent by God. He just have to discover it and work hard, pray hard, persevere, and have a positive mental attitude. And he will succeed. In like manner, every nation has been given their own natural resources and manpower skills. They just have to be harnessed to the fullest and the nation will become great. Cheers! (Robust economic growth is achieved by adopting correct economic strategies, not by your Pollyanna wishful thinking �through a positive mental attitude.� All the economic tigers of East Asia � South Korea , Taiwan , Hong Kong , Singapore , Malaysia , Thailand , Suharto�s Indonesia , China Vietnam � geared their economies towards the export of manufactured goods. The Philippines did not follow this tack until 1992 under Fidel Ramos. But by that time, the global marketplace had become over-crowded and competitive. This economic strategy, pursued over at least 20 years, catapulted South Korea , Taiwan , Singapore and Hong Kong to First World status. See my articles �Why Are We Poor� (Dec. 14, 2004) and �Losing the Export Battles� (April 19, 2002), both archived in www.tapatt.org. ACA) Bobby Tordesillas, (by email), July 21, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sir, where can I buy a copy of your booklet, 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Communism'? If it is not available locally, I think it would be better to just upload it on your website. Thanks Jun Valenzuela, (by email), July 22, 2007 (A Funny Thing has been out of print for 20 years. But I have a few copies left. If you will give me your mailing address, I will send you a copy. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I just read your good Human Security Suggestions column but was startled because I had literally just yesterday re-read your original "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Communism" which I re-found, slipped and "lost" between two books, and which you of course mention in that column. It�s still right on target - other than for the fact that the Soviet Union collapsed much faster than you had anticipated. David Szanton, (by email), Berkeley , California , July 22, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr. Abaya, Great article with one flaw. Your conclusion, "President Arroyo and her lieutenants have become so unpopular and have lost so much of their credibility that they no longer have the moral ascendancy to implement a law that impinges on the public�s political rights, no matter how necessary that may be to meet a very real terrorist threat." Because of this you are saying, wait until Arroyo's term ends before implementing solution to the problem of insurgency. Although not an apologist of the Arroyo administration, your article sounds like this administration has caused the unrest in this country. May I remind you that the problem with the CCP and the Moro seperatists has been the problem of all administrations. (I never wrote that the Arroyo government caused this unrest. I wrote that her government is so unpopular it cannot successfully implement a law that seeks to reduce civil and political rights. Please reread. ACA.) To put a hold on the Human Security Act "until better days" will not only embolden those who wants to get rid of the form of government we now have but will give the insurgents the time that they need to increase their fold and their weaponry. Fitz Acuna, (by email), Keller , Texas , July 24, 2007 (I suggest you read the law first � all six broadsheet-pages of solid text � before you jump to conclusions. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: The evil of terrorism has spread worldwide and no country is safe from it. Many countries have legislated into law to counter this modern "plague". To wait until President Arroyo left office to pass the Human Security Act, because she is unpopular, is preposterous and stupid. (The law has been passed and promulgated . I was only suggesting a delay in implementation because of serious flaws in it that could make it boomerang on the government. I suggest you read the law first before you call anyone stupid. It is �only� six broadsheet-pages long. ACA) Who are we to justify the possible deaths of hundreds or thousands of Filipinos at the hands of the terrorists while waiting for the president to leave office? An anti-terrorsit law is long past due. You are correct though in suggesting to adopt those legal and effective ways to combat terrorism but we must act fast. Legislate now, then improve later! Martin Celemin, (by email), Las Vegas , Nevada , July 25, 2007 Native of Misamis Occidental wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sunday, July 29, 2007 NOTE VERBALE By Jaime N. Soriano A definitional critic of the antiterror law Republic Act 9372 entitled �An Act to Secure the State and Our People from Terrorism� took effect on July 15, 2007. It is government�s statutory response to the global fight against terrorism. The law is also known as the Human Security Act of 2007. As defined, the crime of terrorism, or conspiracy to commit terrorism, takes place when (1) any person or group of persons sows and creates a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace, (2) for the purpose of coercing government to give in to an unlawful demand, and (3) through the commission of the following felonies already punishable under the country�s penal statutes, namely: (a) piracy, (b) rebellion or insurrection, (c) coup d�etat, (d) murder, (e) kidnapping, (f) crimes involving destruction, (g) arson, (h) hijacking, (i) highway robbery, (j) unlawful dealing and use of hazardous and nuclear wastes, (k) unlawful dealing of atomic energy materials or facilities, and (l) illegal possession and disposition of firearms, ammunitions and explosives. The law also provides that upon application of the Department of Justice, a Regional Trial Court, after hearing, may declare a group or association of persons as a terrorist or outlawed organization if it is organized for the purpose of committing terrorism or actually commit such acts as defined. It is obvious that to establish a conviction for terrorism, a person or group of persons who carried out or planned the attack must openly press an illegitimate demand from the government. From this view, those behind the September 11, 2001, attack of the World Trade Center in New York City, or those who perpetrated the December 30, 2000, Rizal Day Bombings or the October 1, 2005, Bali suicide bombings in Indonesia could escape conviction under the law if prosecuted in Philippine courts because there were actually no demands raised to the government when they carried out their despicable acts. In fact, most terrorist plots are normally undertaken without warning, without the usual �do this or that or else.� It seems that it would even be difficult under the law for Philippine courts to declare as a terrorist organization publicly known terrorist networks like al-Qaeda unless its leaders openly make or express an unlawful demand from the government. But if a group of Filipino reformists take up arms against the government through rebellion or a military coup to pursue a government take-over, they would easily fall within the purview of a terrorist tag. The same is true for a disgruntled hostage taker who vents his ire on the government. But what if the demand is legitimate like to get rid of corruption in the bureaucracy? Or what if the Abu Sayyaf commits kidnapping and seeks ransom from the victims� families and not from the government? While there is no doubt that the group could be convicted of existing crimes like rebellion or coup d�etat or kidnapping, there is no certainty that a prosecution for terrorism would succeed if the requisite �unlawful demand from the government� is not present. Ironically, the real terrorists which the law seeks to punish have a legal justification for not falling within the penal definition of terrorism but persons or group of persons who should only be punished as ordinary criminals could easily be prosecuted as terrorists under the law. The other focal issue in this definition is what constitutes widespread or extraordinary fear and panic? Does it include a local situation hugging national attention? It appears that this is really a matter which jurisprudence has to define in future prosecutions. In the meantime, the law provides a penalty of half a million pesos each day of detention against the state for every unproven charge of terrorism and, after the arraignment of the accused, prosecution for terrorism bars another prosecution for the particular offense committed in violation of the penal code. Real terrorists then who should have been punished for committing ordinary crimes may remain scot-free under the anti-terror law. Worst, they could be handsomely rewarded for committing the act. Is the Human Security Act then a good law, a farce or a tragedy? (www.soriano-ph.com.) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �Guilty or Not Guilty?� (July 21, 2007) Tony, Based on what we have witnessed on the televised impeachment proceedings, information we have filtered from media, some personal knowledge that later on have been published and the antics of defense lawyers leaning more on sarcasm than cold facts and logic, am afraid the verdict will (should) be: GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS. But the big question is will the Sandiganbayan have the guts to promulgate such a decision? Or will they try to please everybody by taking the middle road and come out with a �1 out of 3 guilty verdict.� leading to a mere slap on the wrist? Deep in his heart Erap must know that he is guilty as charged and can now only regret following the advice of some vested interests who managed to convince him to fight it out against what he may have originally considered which is self exile (probably in Las Vegas). We should now understand the reason for the relentless attempts to put down this government through contrived as well as real issues, both blown out of proportion, to achieve maximum destabilizing impact. Whatever the verdict, I don�t think and it should not lead to serious disruption of the operations of this government. No one is indispensable -much less Erap. Our collective goal is to conform with the values of a civilized society - the option for good over evil - lest we all perish. Vamos a ver. Mang Senyong Ed J. Tirona, (by email), BF Homes, Paranaque , July 22, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: This is Subas Herrero. Perhaps since I subscribed only last July 20 or 21, I never got the Guilty or Not Guilty column or the Moro-moro in Maguindanao column. Could you have it sent to me? Thanks! Subas Herrero, (by email), July 23, 2007 (The articles can be accessed at acabaya.blogspot.coom or www.tapatt.org. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww To Mr. Tony Abaya, My husband and I are avid readers of intelligent discourse in print. Hence, when my husband's cousin, Rico, forwarded us your articles entitled " Guilty or Not"(Erap) and on Celibacy, I decided to write to you so that we can read your articles via email. Incidentally, my husband is Tito Galang, born in 1936, to doctors, lived in Catalu�a and P. Campa Sts. in Sampaloc...Tito G. and Rico Rojas, his cousin, say you were neighbors. I hope you still remember them...When I was in college (60-70's), my sisters and I used to frequent Erehwon Bookshop and Solidaridad too. We terribly missed those two stores.... Please tell me how we can subscribe to your articles? Is it for free? I subscribe to many articles/newsletters for free, just visited their website and I clicked the free newsletter subscription icon. Thank you very much for writing and educating intelligently our people on relevant matters. Please guest on talk shows more often..... More Power to You! Mrs. Evelina. Galang & Tito, (by email), July 19, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I am an avid admirer of yours. I think your articles are a true reflection of what is happening to the Philippines today. My family and I have migrated to the US and we have lost touch with our beloved country. I would appreciate it very much if you can include me to your mailing list. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Levy Santos , (by email), July 17, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww On �The Better Side of the Philippines � Dear Tony: �The Better Side of the Philippines " first appeared maybe four or five years ago. The recycling of this article just goes to show how bankrupt this country is for good news. In the meantime, since then, we've had Joc-Joc's fertilizer scam, Garci's "Hello Dolly", PIATCO, Subic 's unabated fuel and car smuggling, Maguindanao's Senator-elect, etc. Mariano Javier, (by email), July 24, 3007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �Onward, Christian Soldiers� (July 11, 2007) Dear Mr. Abaya, True, God is omnipotent and can make the second coming of Christ in Manhattan or Cubao, as some would have it. However, God cannot contradict himself, so whatever he first said as to his son's second coming, if we believe the Bible to be his words, has to happen, i.e., in Jerusalem. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Those who interpet the bible have their say but they can not change Jerusalem as the place. Lionel Tierra, (by email) Sacramento , California , July 25, 2007 (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? ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reading your articles is quite informative. You are knowledgeable. Please don't stop sending me information. Josefina Morgan, (by email), July 25, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, After I read your exceptionally perceptive column "Onward Christian Soldiers," I knelt down, raised my hands towards heaven, and I murmurred to myself "Thank God I am an Atheist!" Praise da Lawd! Carlos Esteban, Jr (by email), July 25, 2007. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww On the Korean Crusaders in Afghanistan Oh, all these arrogant people! Why can't they just live and let live? Di ba kanya-kanya 'yan? Why do they have to cross oceans, travel great distances and get in harm's way to convert other people to their religion? Why do they have to force their beliefs on others? For example, if they don't want to use condoms or contraceptives or get divorced, why do they fight tooth and nail to prevent other people from doing so? Nobody's forcing them to use those things. Now these Korean Christians knew what they were in for. I mean they could have easily sneaked into Israel , get caught and thrown in jail to rot there forever for proselytizing, but that's all. But their brave pastor who would stay safely back at home in Korea have a grander idea. They could go to heaven, if they were shot, beheaded or crucified like those Southern Baptist Crusaders in Iraq who I believe were shot to death. Isn't that what Christianity is all about, going to heaven? So there martyrdom and heaven on a silver platter. So why are they crying and pleading for their lives and bothering everybody else? I say trade the damn effing arrogant pastor for these poor ignorant kids. Louie Fernandez, (by email), New Jersey , July 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reaction to �Moro-moro in Maguindanao� (June 29, 2007) Dear Sir, This is a reaction to your articles regarding how we conduct elections. I apologize for it being late as I was posted in Tawi-Tawi for a year and internet access there is very limited. As a Philippine Marine officer stationed there and in other ARMM areas in the past, I observed that the culture of cheating in elections is the norm. People readily accept the fact and incumbent local officials even talk about their "winning strategies" with us military men, as openly/casually as the haircut they just had. Unfortunately, with the AFP's policy on the military's "insulated" involvement in the elections, we could not do anything about election anomalies, except only on matters involving imminent armed threat to the electoral process. This is why in whatever elected position, it is very, very difficult to unseat an incumbent candidate in these areas. The only way for a new candidate to have a winning chance, is to wait for the incumbent to finish his/her term and run against other neophyte candidates. But then again, the wife, husband, children (kamaganak inc.) will be made to run in order to succeed the incumbent. Having performed election duties in Matanog, Maguindanao in 2001-02, I am not surprised that Enrile and Singson who are candidates from north Luzon could gather more votes than the local candidate. Depending on the political affiliation during election time, the local executive official supports the national candidate of choice and dictates who should win, up to the extent of how many number of votes should be the winning margin. Nowhere else that medieval political exercise is practiced more than in the ARMM. The provinces, municipalities and barangays are feudal units. The feudal lord with the most power and influence dictates and rules over lesser rivals/adversaries. The electoral exercise doesn't really matter because the outcome is already predetermined (actual ballot-casting or not). The COMELEC proclamation is merely a formality to legitimize that power and to specify on whose pocket the monthly internal revenue allotment (IRA) will land. The election system in areas outside ARMM does not differ much. The only difference in Luzon, Visayas and non-ARMM Mindanao is that they have more hypocrites who publicly denounce cheating yet have dirty tricks up their own sleeves. Being the cynic that I am, I believe a candidate who wins an election in this country and manages to hold on to the position really deserves to stay in office (dirty tricks notwithstanding). If a candidate can not safeguard his/her votes and loses the election as a result, then he/she has no aptitude to hold office in this nation of scalawags and corrupt government officials. The only thing more pathetic than a sore loser is a losing candidate who claims he/she was cheated... he/she is so stupid as to have allowed him/herself to be cheated. Lt. Col Joseph FS Cuison PN(M) (by email), July 25, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww On Myanmar �s Aung San Suu Kyi Hi Tony --- Thanks for elucidating on the reasons the West doesn't do something about helping liberate Burma . I do realize its being on China 's border makes it very useful to that communist country. However I'm wondering if you mistakenly used the wrong tense when you wrote that Aung San Suu Kyi "is married to a Briton." Her husband died of cancer some years ago, and she never had the chance to see him. The junta indicated it would allow her to go to England to be with him at his deathbed, but she chose not to go because she knew very well they would never allow her back into the country. They didn't even allow her to speak to him by phone --- they've long denied her the privilege of making/taking calls to the outside world. And I don't think she's seen her two sons by him for a long time. I believe though that she has been able to listen to BBC World Service radio, which is what keeps her in touch with the outside world. In her biography it's mentioned that when ASSK married in the UK , she told that British scholar that if ever she had to choose between him and her country, she would have to choose the latter, and he agreed. Such courage and fortitude is indeed rare in today's world. Isabel Escoda, (by e-mail), Hong Kong , July 24, 2007 (Thank you for the correction. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Recommendation Dear Mr. Abaya, I wish you could reach a wider audience so that more Filipinos will be stimulated to think about the ideas you bring up in your pieces. So many of our people are uncritical of the society we live in and participate in. Someone in your email list sent this comment: ".I have come to the conclusion that there are a substantial number of people out there who are fed up with these crooks in our government. I would think all it needs is a catalyst to bring together enough of sane minds to achieve a critical mass that can bring about a meaningful change." I am a chemist by training and I know "critical mass" is important in initiating certain reactions. The same can be said in initiating social change. Another of your readers said: ". we really do not have an informed and interested citizenry." He then says that he will involve himself in "citizenship education" which is really what you are doing, to a certain extent. The Black and White Movement is engaged in raising citizens' awareness of what is going on in our government. But if I may so, it erred when it became partisan, and took a position against specific political personalities and/or groups. This resulted in a "they and us" mode of thinking. A recent article on Mohandas Gandhi said that he did not consider Muslims or other non-Hindu groups as the enemy, not even the British; his fight was for righteousness, not sectoral interests. I hope you will consider taking the leadership in consolidating enough Filipinos genuinely interested in rooting out the culture of corruption in our country to a critical mass that can effect a sustainable change. Thank you. Remedios F. Marmole�o, (by email), July 19, 2007 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |