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| Mindanao Independence By Antonio C. Abaya Written August 28, 2005 For the Standard Today, August 30 issue There is never a dull moment in this country. If you think we have gone through the worst after the street demos and the threatened �revolutionary council� of Jejomar Binay and JV Ejercito fizzled out for lack of support from the middle class, think again. There is the unexplained disappearance of Virgilio Garcillano who would have been the most important witness in any investigation of alleged cheating in May 2004, including the impeachment trial of President Arroyo in the Senate, if it ever progresses to that stage. Whichever way you look at it, only President Arroyo would benefit from Garci�s disappearance, and only Philippine government officials, acting in a conspiracy, could have made that disappearance possible. Neither the opposition trapos nor the communist movement nor anyone else could have engineered that escape, nor would any of them have benefited one whit from it. In any crime investigation, motive and capability are the most important elements, and the Arroyo government seems to be the only entity that has both and is therefore the prime suspect. This issue cannot be swept under the rug as it is connected to the impeachment trial in the Senate, which does not look like it is going to materialize. Which in turn is connected to the life-saver thrown by former President Fidel Ramos to GMA, which seems meant to mollify and pacify public anger over the expected collapse of the impeachment process. And this life-saver calls for all elected national officials to resign their positions by February 2006 to give way to constitutional amendments, and new elections under a federal parliamentary system of government, before end of June 2006. It�s the old Roman trick. If the masses are restless because they do not have enough rice and fish to eat (due to the increasing cost of oil), give them the Circus Maximus, with the trapos racing madly in their bulletproof chariots, while gambling lords collect bets on the rigged outcome. And at the same time, feed Garci to the lions. That should keep him quiet forever and everyone else cheering wildly for more. ***** Independence and Federalism. In my article �Abueva�s Can of Worms� (August 09), I warned that the federalism being peddled by former UP President Jose Abueva is going to strengthen the grip of political dynasties on their feudal enclaves in the provinces, and at the same time embolden those who even now are clamoring for the independence of their regions, especially Mindanao, from the rest of the Philippines. I included in that article a letter from Reader Erineo Cabahug, of the Bronx, New York, which did precisely that, argue for the independence of Mindanao. While I did my best to refute his arguments, he has emailed his reply, which I am excerpting below without any comments from me: �Dear Mr. Abaya, Thank you for discussing my letter in your article. Your opinion is respected but I strongly disagree with the paranoia regarding our Muslim brothers. That is the old �divide and rule� mentality fostered by the Spanish and American colonialists and conveniently carried on by the Manila elite. Besides, it is up to the Christians in Mindanao to make that judgment call��� �With a debt burden so ruinous that 90% of government revenue goes to debt servicing, it will only be a matter of time before it self-destructs. With the kind of debt trap that the Philippines is caught in, there will eventually be no funds (left) to feed, educate, or even defend itself. Poverty, mismanagement and internal turmoil will take their toll and the present �soft� state will become a putrid one. History has shown that the Philippines can be counted on to be its own worst enemy. And the laws of nature point to the fact that rotten fruit will fall and disintegrate from their own weight. �In the meantime, the people of Mindanao simply wait and observe. They are discerning enough to know that they cannot hurry nature. They know that time is on their side and, in the end, things will fall into their natural place. I am very confident that Muslims, Christians and Lumads in Mindanao will be able to live in harmony and prosperity in the future��. �The Philippines has had its time. But it has squandered all its opportunities, and it will soon be the time of reckoning. Time and history, and even the Judaeo-Christian God, are not likely to be kind to the Philippines��..� This in turn drew reaction from other readers. Reader Juan Deiparine, of Toril, Davao City, emailed: �Sir: I read your posting on www.tapatt.org on �Federalism No Panacea.� I read Mr. Cabahug�s reply to your article and I must say that he makes a good case for independence. After all, our government and our politicians have shown so little concern or compassion for ordinary citizens. And, I must admit, this includes those from other regions all over the country as well�.. �As Mr. Cabahug points out, love begets love. Phrases like JFK�s �Ask not what your country can do for you�.� make good political slogans, but they do not reflect reality. Even in love and marriage, it is often a two-way relationship, unless one partner were a masochist or an aspiring martyr. �For too long, Filipinos have had to migrate to other countries to improve their standard of living. Perhaps Mr. Cabahug just takes this logic to the extreme when he says that people from Mindanao want to be independent. By becoming independent, everyone in Mindanao instantly migrates from the mess that is the Philippines. �Perhaps this also reflects the feelings of citizens in other regions. After all, surveys indicate that a large percentage of Filipinos would want to migrate abroad. I think the message here is that a nation has to take care of its citizens. It cannot command loyalty or patriotism if it is so indifferent and unresponsive to the people�s needs and aspirations.� And Reader Carl Cid S.M. Inting of Cebu City emailed: �Dear Mr. Abaya, I read �Federalism No Panacea� and the attending reactions from your readers in your website. I would like ..to say something about the letter of Mr. Cabahug. �If Mindanao can repudiate debt by becoming independent, it is an avenue worth exploring. All other regions should encourage Mindanao to break away. Why? Debt is the single biggest drag to our economy. �GMA�s new budget allocates interest payments alone at P1 BILLION a Day! When debt amortization is included, debt servicing shoots up to more than P2 BILLION PER DAY!!! �Those are mind-boggling amounts that are siphoned out of our economy. We sure could build a lot of infrastructure and provide a lot of social services with that kind of money. The other regions should closely be watching Mindanao. �If Mindanao can escape the debt trap through independence, Cebu and the other regions should follow suit. That would mean economic salvation for all of us! Why not make Mindanao the guinea pig for this bold experiment?� Mindanao independence, as a cause, has been around for decades. But in the past it was the lost cause of rogue military officers and unemployed lawyers. Now it gains currency and respectability with the na�ve and ill-advised campaign, by Abueva and Jose de Venecia, for federalism. And it gains and will gain momentum from the spectacle of the center collapsing and unable to hold. Weakened by scandal after scandal, burdened by a humongous debt that eats up 90% of its revenues, helpless to mitigate the effects of escalating oil prices on the broad mass, morally and financially bankrupt, the center � represented by the Arroyo Government � does not have the moral, financial, political, economic or military clout to keep the periphery from spinning away if they so desire. As far as I can tell, Readers Cabahug, Deiparine and Inting are private citizens, intelligent reasonable and well-educated. They are not politicians trying to grab media attention or rabble-rousers with a chip on their shoulders. Their opinions are sober and deserve a sober response, which I will essay in a future column. ***** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org. |
| OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Mindanao Independence� Dear Mr. Abaya, Thank you for including my letter in your column. Just for the record, I am not in favor of independence. My reaction was one of frustration with our government, which has failed us all...not only those from Mindanao. My suggestion about watching Mindanao's bold experiment on debt repudiation was a tongue-in-cheek attempt to inject satire into the sad plight of our country. Making absurd suggestions will hopefully wake people into seeing the preposterous situation we are in. Carl Cid S.M. Inting, [email protected] Cebu City, August 26, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Excellent!. This "forum" can start the website-email inputs from honest intelligent and educated citizens with Tapatt as the coordinating body. Let us get more feedback from younger Filipinos who will really inherit the Philippines and should be concerned with her survival. Tony Joaquin, [email protected] Daly City, California, August 31, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You wrote: There is never a dull moment in this country. If you think we have gone through the worst after the street demos and the threatened �revolutionary council� of Jejomar Binay and JV Ejercito fizzled out for lack of support from the middle class, think again. There is the unexplained disappearance of Virgilio Garcillano who would have been the most important witness in any investigation of alleged cheating in May 2004, including the impeachment trial of President Arroyo in the Senate, if it ever progresses to that stage. Whichever way you look at it, only President Arroyo would benefit from Garci�s disappearance, and only Philippine government officials, acting in a conspiracy, could have made that disappearance possible. I agree :-) too bad that little or no notice is given to the wholesale corruption of government. All this lying, maneuvering, use of public resources, funds and personnel just to protect PGMA's interest. We should make sure that not only PGMA answers for this but also all the people officials and rank-and-file personnel who conspired to dupe the people using our tax money. She has permanently damaged the bureaucracy. The effect will remain even long after she departs from government since the people in the bureaucracy have tasted blood so to speak. They now know that they can get away with it unless we hold them accountable as well. We Filipino's should make our decisions based on principles we all want to live by. Otherwise, we are doomed to chaos forever. Neither the opposition trapos nor the communist movement nor anyone else could have engineered that escape, nor would any of them have benefited one whit from it. In any crime investigation, motive and capability are the most important elements, and the Arroyo government seems to be the only entity that has both and is therefore the prime suspect. It's amazing why up to now no cases have been filed against Garcilliano by anyone? People of much lesser and insignificant offences have been harassed and taken to task by this government. Romeo G. David, [email protected] August 31, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Your phrase "I warned that the federalism being peddled by former UP President Jose Abueva is going to strengthen the grip of political dynasties on their feudal enclaves in the provinces" is just what is happening in Cebu. Our three congressmen Martinez, Yapha and Kintanar cannot win as Cebu provincial governor because of the Garcias' political savvy and strength, so they want to be governor in their own districts. They want SUGBUAK, coined from Sugbu (Cebu) and bu-ak (to break). I don't remember if you've covered this SUGBUAK in your past articles. You might want to write about it. A lot of sectors in Cebu are opposing this movement because it will just drain our prosperous provincial coffers. Even the people in these congressmen's districts are not against Sugbuak. "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" Rosanna Arcenas, [email protected] Cebu City, August 31, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Greetings! I always look forward to receiving your emails and I can not afford missing them. In the past I always forwarded all your emails to my friend Rosanna, until she decided to write you and have her name included in your mailing list. Now she forwards your emails to me because I don't receive anymore from you. Perhaps my name has "again" escaped from your mailing list. Is it okay to ask you to include me in your mailing list again? . Thank you very much and more power to you! Lea Hermosilla, [email protected] Cebu City, August 31, 2005 MY REPLY. Thank you for your loyalty. I hope everything has been straightened out. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I am from Misamis Oriental and I am definitely in favor for the independence of Mindanao. The Mindanao Independence Movement is an age-old movement. I was seven years old and I could very well remember repeatedly listening to Mr. Ruben Canoy on his rational call for it. The arguments presented by Mr. Cabahug are well-founded and I wish Mindanao will finally find its own destiny, not because of the present socio-political and economic ills of the Philippines but more because Mindanao has long deserved it's own place independent of the rest of the country. With such scenario, I am optimistic that Mindanao will radically grow and curing some of the ailments of the "sick man" of Asia, which is the Philippines. The Philippines had been ill-managed for ages by either inept or corrupt politicans outside of Mindanao. The disproportionate allocation of funds for infrastructure projects has been an apparent disadvantage for Mindanao. No amount of local government code nor devolution of powers had noticeably rectified such situation. I have traveled quite extensively around the world and a lot of people still have this misconception of Philippines plagued with wars caused by insurgents in Mindanao. Consequently, the image of Philippines has been affected. Why not separate Mindanao from the rest of the Philippines so that its image will be enhanced and preserved and so that Mindanao will solve its own problem on one hand, and find its economic destiny on the other? Even people of Manila have this understandably and historically superior attitude towards people from the South. Why not just separate the island completely? If it is such a baggage, why not unload that baggage? Why worry about solving the ancient problem of the far flung Mindanao when you can have its own people solve it? After all, the very concept of sustainable development empowers people to be actively involved in the process. Why not extend the concept of devolution by completely spinning it off to a new republic, finding its new life and economic future in the world? Why not indeed? Just a thought. Norman Tilos, [email protected] August 31, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Federalism can work with one very radical approach at the onset. Include in the charter change that only legitimate income tax payers are the only ones allowed to vote. Politicians can't fool this people. Tax payers can monitor the performance of the local officials as they would be held accountable where their taxes are being spent. Local officials would likewise can no longer use the jobless, squatters to their advantage during election time as most taxpayers can't be bought. Taxes can now be spent accordingly to the good of the province and to municipalities. Bombing Moll, [email protected] September 01, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
| Dear Mr. Abaya, I am from Mindanao. I follow with great interest your discussions for an independent Mindanao. While Mr. Cabahug�s arguments seem plausible and worth pondering, I wonder if we the people of Mindanao can be united and capable enough to pursue this idea of breaking away from imperial Manila. Nur Misuari pushed for secession but was tempered to autonomous governance. The MILF continues the fight for secession or independence but their concept would seem to cater only to the Muslim populace. Yet ironically, Mindanao is dominated by Christians. Problems arise if we allow the minority to be lording over the majority. Reuben Canoy once undertook the idea of Mindanao statehood but it fizzled out even before it could take off. If autonomy is a step towards independence, it is one step forward and two steps backwards! Autonomy, for the last 15 years since the signing of the peace agreement, is a relative failure. For so long, we still cannot get the people of Mindanao united. In fact, no other territory in the Philippines is so troublesome, violent-prone, and fractious as Mindanao. There is still war going on. Division hurts deep, economically and culturally. Mindanao has been one milking cow for so long by the national government. What it got back is a pittance. Except perhaps for the big cities of Davao, Gensan, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro, most LGUs are so helplessly dependent on IRA. Personally, it sounds so absurd, ridiculous and silly if traveling now to Manila or Baguio (where half of my family roots come from) would require a passport and visa. My hometown is one of those provinces reeling under a high level of poverty. If independence means we have to fend for ourselves (cutting off IRA funds from the national coffers), goodness me, the poverty level of my province will rival those of African cities, even probably worse. Somewhere along, we need to ask ourselves where we will source funds to run an independent state and feed our people. If independence means that Mindanao will be unshackled from the chains of our national debt, that�s fine but it looks good only in theory. I observed that Mindanao has been a recipient of sizable developmental aids from foreign donors. And yet sadly, we remain in the doldrums of economic desolation. Lack of sustainability? On the other hand, imperial Manila will never allow independence of Mindanao if it will result in carrying a heavier load of the national debt and a decreased tax base. (On hindsight, the big chunk of corruption is happening in the national level anyway. Sooner or later, it will be crushed under the weight of bad governance). Mr. Inting poses this challenge: make Mindanao an experimental guinea pig for independence. Again, good theory, good aim perhaps but not necessarily a good target. The people of Mindanao, Christians and Muslims, would need to go the extra mile and work harder under one common agenda, politically and economically. Then maybe, and this is a big maybe, we could opt for independence. Diversity does not necessarily, as most say, result in unity and vice-versa. Muslims cannot accept that Christians eat lechon during fiestas and other important occasions. Their culture and faith says it is strictly forbidden (haram). On the other hand, Christians, if only for their faith as well, frown on Muslim husbands having four legal wives and calling this practice adulterous. How can we really reconcile both practices? For the moment, independence is just a rainbow in the sky, so wondrous to behold yet seemingly unreachable as yet. Federalism? It�s just another fashionable word flaunted by de Venecia and Abueva. In the meantime, can anyone else present a better idea? Finite minds we have. Boy S. Gonzalo, [email protected] Isabela City, Basilan, September 29, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |