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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Maoist Sneak Preview By Antonio C. Abaya Written July 17, 2005 For the Manila Standard Today, July 19 issue In what could be either a deliberate or unintended sneak preview of things to come, some 300 �farmers and fishermen� came out of the blue, but apparently with advance notice to media to make the evening TV news, attacked the Department of Agriculture building in Quezon City, overpowered the six security guards, smashed glass doors and windows, ransacked offices and upturned furniture in four floors, and occupied the building for four hours before leaving the premises peacefully. And all for what? To demand the resignation of President Arroyo, criticize her policies that allow the entry of cheaper imported agricultural products that hurt Filipino farmers, and lambaste the new department secretary who was not yet 24 hours in his new job. Just so there is no mistaking where all this is coming from, one of the protesters was photographed on the front page of the Manila Standard Today (July 16) in full color, decked out in his Maoist fatigue cap with a Maoist red star, a fashion statement that would be laughed at in today�s Shanghai or Xiamen or Guangzhou. If this was a deliberate show of force, it means that Joma Sison is sending the message that his Maoist cadres are now in Metro Manila, ready to fulfill their end of the Faustian bargain that they have struck with Jejomar Binay and JV Ejercito and the other trapos of the opposition. The failure of the military and the police to a) prevent the cadres from entering the metro area, and b) to evict them after they brazenly ransacked and occupied a government building for four hours, must put in question the military�s and the police�s ability to maintain public order and safeguard property in a wider scenario of anarchy. If this was an unintended and isolated incident, doubts must still be entertained about the propriety and wisdom of the opposition trapos, as well as the non-trapo oppositionists (like Susan Roces, Eddie Villanueva, Fortunato Abat, Renato de Villa, etc) to enter into an unholy alliance with the communist movement, just because they share the common goal of forcing President Arroyo to resign. Haven�t they heard? He who rides the tiger is bound to be eaten by it. They should talk to Butz Aquino who, in 1986, naively allied his Atom group with Lean Alejandro�s Bayan, and lived to tell the tale. Besides, there is the matter of common sense. In marketing, the most essential part of one�s strategy is known as branding your product, that is, you must establish and trumpet the uniqueness of your product vis-�-vis the other, competing products. Only after you have successfully branded your product can you hope to establish brand loyalty among consumers and thus carve out your share of the market. By foolishly allying themselves with the trapos (whose goal is to re-establish the Erap regime) and the communist movement (whose goal is to set up a Maoist dictatorship of the proletariat, with monopoly of power for the CPP), the non-trapo and non-communist opposition (Roces, Villanueva, Abat, de Villa, etc), whose goal is totally different from those of their bedfellows, are failing to �brand their product� and will thus fail to develop brand loyalty among their intended market. And their intended market must be identified as the middle and upper classes, the business and professional communities, the mainstream and charismatic Churches, civil society, the idealistic elements of the military and the police�..none of whom want to see the revival of an Erap kleptocracy or the establishment of a Maoist dictatorship of the proletariat. Many in this intended market, in fact, would like nothing better than an immediate and total discontinuance of our abominable political culture, whether represented by the trapos of Lakas and Kampi of the drowning Arroyo Government, or by the trapos of the Erap-Binay opposition gleefully salivating at the continuing misfortunes of GMA. It can be argued that there is a potentially huge constituency out there � the hundreds of thousands who spilled out into the streets in 1986 and 2001 � who have chosen to stay home and away in 2005 rather than join the hakot crowds, in Makati or Luneta, because they have nothing but contempt for the trapos of either side. Their attitude can best be summed up by the Shakespearean curse, �A pox on both your houses!� It is this potentially huge constituency that the non-trapo and non-communist oppositors (Roces, Villanueva, Abat, De Villa etc) should have addressed specifically and directly, instead of making common cause with trapos and communists whom they have no genuine loyalty to or more than superficial affinity for.. But they have to publicly define their position in more detail. It is not enough to be anti-Gloria or anti-trapo. In the current stalemate, they have to categorically articulate their alternative program of government and even identify the men and women who share that vision with them. They have to brand their product and show how and why it is superior to the competing products from the trapos of both sides and the communists. Corny as it may sound, this is really a battle for hearts and minds, the hearts and the minds of the hundreds of thousands who made the difference in 1986 and 2001 but who have decided to sit out the current crisis - for the time being, at least � because, after having been disappointed in the past, they see no one among the contending public figures that is the unique someone whom they can believe in and rally around.. The Maoists have given us a sneak preview of what they intend to do. The Erap trapos showed us in Oakwood 2003 what they are capable of. The GMA trapos of Lakas and Kampi have demonstrated in the past months and years the moral bankruptcy of their politics, which they hope to perpetuate under the fake label of constitutional change. This can�t possibly be, oh God, the sum total of our collective political genius. Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Reactions to �Maoist Sneak Preview� It was very scary indeed. Mr. Abaya, to see how easily and very willfully, the security of that building was breeched. I just hope this is not the brand of "new regime" my children will see. Well, not if I can help it. I am sure that there are many, who are capable of leading the nation. But their voices and offerings are quashed by the moneyed politico who can, a) have you killed; b) buy potential candidates off, c) make life miserable for you and your kin. None of this prospects make standing up to be heard a very appealing idea. I think the time for heroism is at hand again. Of course, most heroes are dead. We are getting close to that stage again when you could almost hear our country crying in despair. The doves are crying again in tune to our nation's plight. And it is a sad one at that. It is now only the moneyed who can be heard. What chance of leading do the poor have. None whatsoever! We are definitely not short of talent! Many want to be able to lead our nation out of poverty. However, many who lead are tainted. With scandals, lies, extra marital affairs, moral baggage, etc. Who will be the true white knight of our country? We should be able to see the answer in the mirror. We who allow it to happen, can put a stop to it. We should not tolerate the corruption. We should not tolerate the cheating. We should not tolerate the bribery. The insiders in the halls of power just laugh off any threat because there is always that one who is willing to be bought for a sum. A couple of millions here and there to any account in the country or out, is not a problem. That is the reason why we have obscenely rich officials. Because we tolerate them. We visit our churches but are alien to its teachings from Monday to Saturday. Power emanates from the governed. If we allow the people governing us to get away with it, then they will. We profess a Christian faith but we do not live the tenets of its teachings. It is easier to lay the blame on others for our woes. But we the Filipinos still have the penchant of being on the inside. We still keep the chief of police's calling card in our wallets so we can wave it to the next cop that stops us. We bandy about our connections in government. Shoot, we deserve the government we have. Because we are like them. We do not want to wait in line. We want to be the first. Even the mere tricycle now have that obnoxious siren. Our land is a land of laws. Too bad we do not follow them. Too bad they are not enforced either. Jojo Vicencio, [email protected] July 19, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: A preview of sorts? You are too kind and fearful. Trust the people, they know better than that. These strange bedfellows, sleeping with the enemy, are bound to cannibalize each other. The DA incident is a deja vu of what happened in the 80's in NicarAgdao (Davao City) and Metro Manila, when unbridled violence became the death knell of the Leftists in the urban struggle. Not only did the people rise to defend themselves but the NPA fragmented to near non-existence in the cities. So far, the OUST GLORIA Movement has not reached its critical mass to cause an explosion of a national nuclear scale, let the desperate ones (for power and greed) have their freedom of expression. A preview? No, the last gasps of a dying ideology, Left and Right. Rene Tababa, [email protected] July 19, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Thank you for your latest assessment. I thought of that scene with the farmers and fishermen and also wondered why of all of the sudden they appeared, but never in my mind would associate them with the cadres. Kodus and wait for your next politcal interpretation of the events obtaining in our motherland. Renato Perdon, [email protected] Sydney, Australia, July 19, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Regarding your article on the 300 fishermen who trashed a building and the unholy alliance of the opposition with the communists that included Susan Roces, retired general Abat, brother Villanueva and others. Again these are a group of desperate women and men who want to seize power at all cost. They will cut a deal with the devil and they have no regard if their actions are good or bad for the country. For every step the country takes to move forward the opposition pushes it three steps back. That explains why progress and stability are hard to come by in the Philippines! Dr. Nestor P. Baylan, [email protected] New York City, July 19, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Again, you hit the bull�s eye on this subject. We know what needs to be done...it is the how we shall do it, and the who shall do it that continues to elude us all... Nonoy Yulo, [email protected] July 19, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, My take on the DANR building by some 300 farmer-fisherman is a staged incident. It was done to add more chaos to a society that relies too much on hearsays and gossips and baseless allegations. The oppositionists are the insurrectionists in a strict sense of the word. They will align with the communists or Maoists and even with Zarqawe and the Al-Qaeda movement just to bring Gloria down. But who takes this incident at DANR seriously? Dr. Nestor Baylan, [email protected] New York City, July 19, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I have been deliberately shying away from the newspapers these days -- particularly the columns. I cannot lay claim to representing middle class sentiment, so I suppose it would be safe to say that I am but one among the middle class that fails to be moved by the insistent demands for GMA's resignation. Your "Maoist Sneak Preview" is actually the first column I've read in a while that actually calls on "trapos" and "non-trapos" to consider sobriety in their tactics -- and to face the insanity of their means -- and to point out the fact that all this bedlam isn't actually heading towards any particularly desirable end. Everyone in this circus seems drunk with power. It has been about who has more drawing (or even "hakot") power. It has been about who is calling the shots. There is all this chest-thumping and drum-beating towards no particular goal other than to make a lot of noise. I am just glad that the middle class has opted to keep its' wits about it through all of this. I am glad that the middle class realizes that the Philippines involves 7,000 other islands and not just a strip of highway or an avenue in a commercial district. I am glad that the middle class refuses to be used in allowing this situation to reach critical mass. I am ecstatic that the middle class is THINKING. Below is a letter that I wrote to the Philippine Daily Inquirer a couple of weeks ago when the situation had gone past frightening and reached a point where it was just plain annoying. It has not seen print: I have been gradually (and even reluctantly) disillusioned with the press. Lately, your "Balanced News, Fearless Views" motto has been ringing hollow. It's been all "she's bad, she's bad -- get her out now" for weeks and weeks. Congratulations on achieving your goal: you've riled up the populace and they're now foaming in the mouth. But towards what end? Short on both hindsight and foresight, the solutions being bandied about now are so obviously of the last-minute -"let's-just-wing-it" variety that it presents an even more frightening consequence than the problem at hand. I say short on hindsight because contrary to Mr. Conrado de Quiros' claim that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was "foisted on us against our will", we must remember that we found her to be more desirable than Joseph Ejercito -- that wasn't too long ago. Was there another hero brought forward in that particular exercise? Short on foresight because after weeks of rabble-rousing, no option was being presented, no solution being offered -- no goal towards which the readers could direct their sights. Merely banner-sized noise signifying nothing. It was frightening to watch a very influential paper practically inciting anarchy in the name of "truth". "Truth" has become a very subjective concept. It has become the whore of every zealot's cause-of-the-moment. It has been obscured by anyone's vested interest. It has lost it's power to distinguish between good and evil. Mind you: I did not vote for Gloria. I voted for Roco. But to quote the New York Times' Thomas Friedman (on Al Gore's concession speech) "the rule of law is most reinforced when -- even though it may have been imposed wrongly or with bias -- the recipient of the judgment accepts it, and the system behind it, as final and legitimate. Only in that way -- only when we reaffirm our fidelity to the legal system, even though it rules against us -- can the system endure, improve, and learn from its mistakes." I fear for Susan Roces and the people who are egging her to do a Cory. I fear for the next person who has the misfortune of being raised to the presidency. I fear the next molehill that the powerful press will turn into a mountain. I fear the press. Can you see us from outside our islands? Can you see yourself shaking your head in disgust and saying "Na naman???" Can you picture anyone ever trusting a nation so fickle and self-destructive? Fearless, maybe. But balanced? May B. Zayco, [email protected] July 20, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, This search for a workable solution to alleviate the sad condition of our people seems to have hit a blank wall due to the absence of a real and acceptable leadership. If you have not yet done so, may I request you to go over the alternative offered at http://rpweb.ph/ampoy? When we brought this to the attention of the US Embassy, it was not our intention to leave the Philippines, we just wanted to tell the Americans that we are glad we learned English. Thank you for including me in your mailing list. Tet Gambito, [email protected] Cebu City. July 20, 2005 PS: What's the latest policy direction coming from the Standard owner on what not to write about? MY REPLY: I have been assured I can write with complete freedom from censorship. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Without advocating a Maoist-inspired regime or government, I reiterate my previous prophecy for a major social transformation and acculturation that will drastically change our culture that elect the kind of people in the government that we have. Let the real leaders emerge in a major social upheaval. Nothing (is free) in this world. Everything has a price. Sooner or later the price has to be paid. Jorge Matanguihan, [email protected] July 20, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You wrote: �It is this potentially huge constituency that the non-trapo and non-communist oppositors should have addressed specifically and directly, instead of making common cause with trapos and communists whom they have no genuine loyalty to or more than superficial affinity for. �But they have to publicly define their position in more detail. It is not enough to be anti-Gloria or anti-trapo. In the current stalemate, they have to categorically articulate their alternative program of government and even identify the men and women who share that vision with them. They have to brand their product and show how and why it is superior to the competing products from the trapos of both sides and the communists.� Tony, I think you've got it. I couldn't agree with you more. Peter Capotosto, [email protected] July 20, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hello Mr. Abaya: Just read your article sent by an old friend living in Australia now---Ding Roces. Totally enjoyed reading it as well as a number of others you have written. I am looking for an old friend with an identical name as yours. He is the son of Judge Abaya from Batangas. This Antonio Abaya I am tring to reach was a member of the Philippine Delegation to the 6th World Boy Scout Jamboree held in Moissom, France in 1947. I was also one and the youngest member of the group. Please respond if you are that fellow I am trying to link with. Thanks Alfredo (Fred) Vidal, [email protected] Plantation, Florida, July 20, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Maoists showing protest for importing cheap agricultural product mostly coming from China which is their comrades? Funny! Their comrades sell it cheap so they can sell product cheap also. Alexander Carranceja, [email protected] Kuwait, July 20, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony -- Do these guys get an ideological orgasm by waving a red banner, wearing a Mao suit or adapting a Viet-Cong style logo? Johnny Mercado, [email protected] Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 20, 2005 MY REPLY. I guess they do. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww What is really the role of "media? You said that media was given with an "advance notice "by those who barged in, overpowered the security guards, and destroyed glass panels at the DA Building in QC. Apparently that media did not advise the proper authorities. It would be easy to perceive now that some in media are maybe in cahoots with that group. In the same manner that some in media are maybe in cahoots with the leader of NDF/NPA a very much wanted man. The military should count how many were killed by the NPA's compared with that of Abu Sayaf's. Let see who has done more. Pity the families of the treacherously ambushed military/PNP personnel by the NPA's. I remember the case of the late Ninoy many years ago when he interviewed Kumander Alibbabas [RIP]. In the same week the latter and his group were wiped out. I do not remember who led the military to the lair of Alibabas, but he was a wanted man. If we were shown a Maoist sneak preview then we should be on full alert? See what I mean that most in media I perceive to be the harbinger of doom. These work both ways, one to alert the people and secondly, mostly to excite and sensationalize the news for more people to buy the newspapers. Media as an institution should help the country [they very well know what to do] rather than wag the country's proverbial dirty linen. Mabuhay ang Pinas and PGMA! Roger L. Madrigal, [email protected] July 21, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Never mind the rest, but Mayor Jojo Binay, Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Gen. Rene de Villa know too well the Maoist line. How indeed can they strike an alliance with the CPP, knowing that they'll be shot together with the rest should their naughty plot ever succeed? The extent of human folly never ceases to amaze. GMA is another case in point. Her predecessor has been driven across the Pasig by an angry mob because of jueteng. Yet the first order of business of her Presidency is to consolidate jueteng operation in Central Luzon and Bicol. Truly unbelievable I would say. Gico Dayanghirang, [email protected] Davao City, July 22, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Yes, Lord, is this all our race can come up with? Tom and Ruth de Guzman, [email protected] July 29, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |