 |
 |
| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Rule of Lawyers
By Antonio C. Abaya Written May 23, 2007 For the Standard Today, May 24 issue Instead of the Rule of Law. As I write this, Comelec has tabulated the results from 69 out of 104 Certificates of Canvass (CoCs) from all parts of the country, plus those from absentee voters abroad. Its winning dozen for the Senate includes eight from GO, two from TU and two independents (8-2-2). Namfrel, which bases its tabulation on electoral returns from the precincts, has tabulated returns from 59 percent of the precincts. Its list of winners is also 8-2-2, with exactly the same names as those in the Comelec count. So we see that Namfrel and Comelec reinforce each other. So far, anyway, as we go into the final days of the tabulation. The nationwide exit poll of Pulse Asia has the winners at 6-4-2. Zubiri (TU) and Recto (TU) are no. 10 and 12, respectively, in the Pulse Asia exit poll, but are no.13 and 14 in the Namfrel and Comelec counts. It is possible that one of them may displace Pimentel from the no. 12 slot in the remaining counts and the final tally could well be 7-3-2. The last nationwide pre-election survey of SWS, conducted May 2 to 4, also showed a 6-4-2 tally, with Zubiri and Recto in the winning circle, and Pimentel and Trillanes outside. The final official Comelec tally would most likely be 7-3-2, in favor of the opposition. Any hope of the administration coalition turning that around to their favor must now be considered forlorn and unattainable except through massive cheating in the remaining 35 CoCs. All eyes are now on Lanao del Sur where the Comelec has declared a failure of elections in 17 towns, and on Maguindanao where a statistically improbable 12-0-0 tally in favor of TU � with the Muslim candidate Jamalul Kiram receiving less votes than candidate Chavit Singson from Northern Luzon - is rightly viewed with much skepticism. Late reports indicate irregularities also in Sulu and Basilan. One teacher claims that no election actually took place in Maguindanao and that he and others were made to fill up ballots with the names of TU candidates even before the polls opened for voting. This recalls another flawed senatorial election, in 1995, also in Maguindanao, where candidate Juan Ponce Enrile, also from Northern Luzon , improbably received more votes than the local Muslim candidate, A.Tillah, which I wrote about in my column in the Philippine Star.. In the even more flawed 2004 presidential elections, the Muslim provinces also figured as the places were the most obvious and massive cheating took place. In his detailed statistical study of the Namfrel and Comelec tabulations, Roberto Verzola extrapolated the incomplete Namfrel counts and compared them with the final Comelec tabulation, region by region. Verzola found discrepancies � between the extrapolated Namfrel and the final official Comelec tallies - totaling 396.85% in Western Mindanao, 310.07% in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARRM), 128.33% in Northern Mindanao, and 62.79% in Central Mindanao , all in favor of President Gloria Arroyo. (See my article Cheating in 2004, June 08, 2005). Other regions showed little or no discrepancies, except in Central Luzon and the Ilocos, where there were discrepancies in favor of FPJ. Surely not by coincidence, the seven provinces mentioned in the now infamous Hello Garci taped conversations between someone who sounded like President Arroyo and someone who sounded like Virgilio Garcillano � Sulu, Basilan, Tawi Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, South Cotabato - are all located in the above four cheating-prone regions. (See my article Heeeeere�s Garci, Nov. 29, 2005). And surely not by coincidence either, the problem provinces so far in this election � Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Basilan � all belong to the regions where the discrepancies in 2004 amounted to 310.07% and 396.85% in the Verzola statistical study. The question has to be asked why our Muslim provinces are so prone to electoral fraud, going all the way back to 1949. The people here are descendants of migrants from what is now Borneo, which is now part of Malaysia and Indonesia . Why are Malaysia and Indonesia able to hold elections, more or less according to international standards, while we are embarrassingly increasingly less able to, despite our American background? . The bigger question has to be asked why our elections are subject to so much anarchy, chaos, cheating, vote-buying, vote-rigging, armed men barging into precincts, ballot-box snatching and switching, fake documents, gratuitous violence, ambuscades, and actual murders of candidates and their supporters (117 dead bodies, this time around), even though we have had by far the longest tutelage in Anglo-Saxon democracy - under the Americans, since 1905 - among the countries in this part of the world. It is humiliating to have foreign observers � especially fellow Asians � point out to us the glaring flaws in our electoral process, as they did during and immediately after the midterm elections, as if we were some newly emergent peanut plantation in Darkest Africa just learning the basics of filling up a ballot. A Malaysian was shocked at the level of cheating and vote-buying , so blatant and open were the illegal activities, even in front of electoral officials and foreign observers. An Indian said that in India they have 400 million voters casting their ballots, yet they can get the results in only12 hours. We count only 43 million ballots, yet it takes us weeks and more than 100 dead bodies to find out who won, amid scores of protests filed by losing candidates that they were victims of cheating, acts of intimidation and outright murder. The pathetic reaction of Malacanang was that the foreigners were not �used� to the way Filipinos conducted elections. The corollary to that is that Filipinos are �used� to it and accept it as normal, that we Filipinos cheat and intimidate and murder each other with glee whenever we hold elections. This is not the response of a government that has any self-respect or any commitment to the Rule of Law, but one that is not capable of enforcing its own laws because its own leaders violate those same laws with impunity, and no one goes to jail for doing so. We have laws against private armies. We have laws against anyone other than the military and the police carrying guns during the electoral campaign. We have laws against vote-buying, yet no less than the Secretary of Justice and the Speaker of the House violate it with impunity. We have laws against electoral fraud. We have laws against faking electoral documents. We have laws against illegal posters and billboards. We have laws against distributing campaign material inside the precincts. We have laws against over-spending in the campaign. We have laws against unauthorized persons taking over voting precincts. We have laws against nuisance candidates. We have laws against multiple registrants and multiple voters. We have laws against military persons being involved in partisan politics. We have laws against candidates talking to COMELEC commissioners. We have laws against everything that only lawyers can possibly think of. Yet when we hold our elections, every single one of those goddam laws is broken and violated, often by the very people elected or appointed to enforce those laws, and no one is ever punished for doing so.. And every election, it seems, the violation of electoral laws becomes more and more widespread, more and more blatant than in the previous election, so that we become even more and more �used� to it, and our leaders are shocked and offended when foreigners call our attention to those blatant violations.. We do not have a Rule of Law here, but a Rule of Lawyers. It is the brilliant lawyers in the service of rich and powerful clients who magically make the illegal legal, the immoral moral, and the unethical ethical, with fancy legal footwork, so that no rich and powerful figure ever goes to jail for violating any law. The Rule of Lawyers was most evident during the presidencies of Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada, and now during the presidency of Gloria Arroyo. The deliberate snuffing of the Hello Garci and Joc Joc Bolante fertilizer scam investigations are recent graphic examples of the Rule of Law being supplanted by the Rule of Lawyers. So also is the glacially slow prosecution of what are actually open-and-shut plunder cases against Gen. Garcia, Gen. Ligot and Col. Rabusa. .. Were we always like this? My elders tell me it was a more ethical and more moral Philippines before the War. But a reader of this column, Bob Manasan in Virginia , quotes Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, who allegedly wrote on July 7, 1569: �The people do not act in concert or obey any ruling body., but each man does whatever he pleases, and takes care only of himself and his slaves. He who owns most slaves, and is the strongest, can obtain anything he pleases. No law binds relative to relative, parents to children, or brother to brother. No one favors another, unless it is for his own interest�. �These people declare war among themselves at the slightest provocation, or with none whatever. All those who have not made a treaty of peace with them, or drawn blood with them, are considered as enemies. Privateering and robbery have a natural attraction for them. Wherever the occasion presents itself, they rob one another, even if they be neighbors or relatives, and when they see or meet one another in the open fields at nightfall, they rob and seize each other�..� This derogatory statement does not offend my nationalist sensibilities because I know that every nation on earth went through its periods of lawlessness and brigandage, when loyalties were narrow and family- or clan-centered. It took centuries of nation-building before the modern-nation state emerged from its primitive and feudal pasts, and the Rule of Law finally became dominant. What bothers me is that we seem to be retrogressing back to a state similar to what Legazpi described in 1569, a state of lawlessness and narrow loyalties defined by the limits of self, family or clan, and now exemplified by the current proliferation of political dynasties, even after 48 years (1898-1946) of tutelage in Anglo-Saxon republican democracy. We need a restoration of the Rule of Law. But who will restore it, given that our own highest elected leaders prefer to uphold the Rule of Lawyers? ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Rule of Lawyers� More Reactions to �The Trillanes Tsunami� More Reactions to �Young Voices� More Reactions to �Nuclear Kim� Tony Abaya: I am not hopeful that things will change for our country. It has always been a rule of lawyers. Remember the joke: "if you do not know the law, know the judge." Max Fabella, (by email), Florida , May 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Shoot all the lawyers and severely limit the number of new ones? RR, [email protected], May 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: I agree with your conclusion at the end of your article. There are exceptions, but in general, the main problem in the country can be summed up in one phrase - "moral degeneration of a nation." Bert Peronilla (an avid reader), (by email), May 24, 3007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww This is article is a mixed bag. Of problems, theories, historical fact/fiction, partisan analysis et al. What we can't seem to accept despite it being so evident is that Filipinos are an unruly and undisciplined lot. I am hopeful, though, that as the very real economic upturn continues and strongly, the benefits will be felt by the wider population and finally we may see some maturity and pride among our countrymen. Until then, patronage politics and mob thinking, among some, will be part of the game M. Gonzalez (by email), May 24, 2007 (Filipinos are an �unruly and undisciplined lot� because many or most of us see no consequence for breaking the law. The Rule of Law here is very weak. But when they work or live abroad � especially in North America, Australia , Europe, Hong Kong , Singapore � they become law-abiding because they see and know that there is a consequence for breaking the law: they must pay a fine and/or go to jail. The Rule of Law in those places is dominant. Even if the economy here were to improve, as long as the Rule of Law is weak, Filipinos will remain �an unruly and undisciplined lot.� ACA). wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, One question, why not limit the admission of law students to Universities? Too many lawyers, with nothing much to do, spoil the goods. One very effective rule of our election conduct here in the Federal scheme and also the same in the Provincial Election is that in every District or Constituency, the Chief Electoral Officer appoint at his pleasure one Returning Officer in Charge for the Conduct of Election in her/his territory. Any deviation from the rule, that officer has to answer to his Chief, but the Returning Officer is granted all the power by the law to act with all the authority and power of the Chief. So far it is very effective that in my experience during so many elections, I have not heard any incident of cheating or violation of campaign where the Returning officer has to summon the Police for any disturbance. Even in the 70s when we were still in full Manual Mode we can have the results of the voting in the morning after the Election, now with full automation, the results are all done in maximum of three hours after the polls are officially close (have to wait the 5 hours difference in time zone from Atlantic to Pacific). I believe the reason why so many cheating, violence and spending occurred in your elections, is because politics is becoming or always an easy way to amaze (you mean, amass. ACA) so much wealth without any effort or any more investment other than winning. Whereas in our case, most will go on work or start their own business, before even thinking politics because the compensation is not that much in government. Our PM is paid $250 thousands, if he's a lawyer or businessman, as most of them are, they could make ten times or more, so it is more of Public service for the Likes of Paul Martin, Pierre Trudeau, and of course Recognition and Honour. Regards, V.A. Sanoy, (by email), Tornoto, Ont. Canada , May 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: You asked in your column "Rule of Lawyers" why our elections "are subject to so much anarchy, chaos, vote-buying, vote-rigging, armed men barging into precincts, ballot-box snatching and switching, fake documents, xxx" . You also said, in effect, that we have laws and no one bothers to enforce them. Worse, "no less than the Secretary of Justice and the Speaker of the House violate it with impunity." May I add the following questions: Who is responsible and accountable for the prevention and preemption of all these cheating, violence and violations of election laws? Who is responsible for enforcing all election laws in this country? We all know the answer to these questions. It is no one else but Benjie Abalos, the Comelec Chairman (now better known as "Hello Benjie" , the flipside of "Hello Garci"). If the elections are not peaceful, if the elections are marred by rampant cheating and gross incompetence and negligence of Benjie and his people, at many levels, are these not an indictment of the incompetence of Benjie as Comelec Chairman? It is obvious that he failed miserably in the discharge of his duties as head of the Comelec body mandated to enforce all these elections laws. The cheating, violence, incompetence of the Comelec Officers and staff, and violations of election laws all point to Benjie, as the incompetent Chairman. A monumental failure as a public official. What should we do to Benjie for all these incompetence and failures at providing us a credible, peaceful and honest elections? How can we hold him administratively and possibly, criminally liable for his acts and omissionsa nd conflicts of interests (political dynasty, partisan actions) that created this mess. Surely, we cannot go around complaining about the Comelec in generic terms. We must zero in on Benjie as the official accountable and responsible for this mess. We need your help to highlight Benjie's culpability and accountability for this mess as Comelec Chairman. Maybe you can tell us who this Benjie is? Where did he come from? Is he qualified to handle this job? Certainly, the current election mess shows he is incompetent. He stands out as a midget among previous Comelec chairmen like Ramon Felipe, Jr. Christian Monsod, Haydee Yorac, et. al. Suddenly we have Benjie, sort of polluting, this long line of respected Comelec chairmen. And he wants to leave a legacy? A legacy of failures, incompetence, immorality, cheating, violence, violations of electoral laws? Please tell this man to stop insulting the Filipino people. He should resign now to save whatever pleasant legacy he can muster to leave to his family. And leave the Filipino voters in peace. John Salamat, (by email), May 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww It looks like Filipino voters have much to be proud of this time . I don't see any TV comedians , TV talk show hosts, movie idols, sports celebrities in the winning column .What did these hallucinators think they would do in Congress ? Thank the God of your choice that Filipinos, old, young , rich and especially the poor have all finally wizened up . Ricardo Taylor (by email), May 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Seems to me this is what happens in this country... especially with blue chip law firms running the lives of influential personalities. It has happened to me but I hope the Supreme Court sees the truth and be guided by the Holy Spirit. I hope that the Supreme Court's Chief Justice Reynato Puno is a God-centered person and clears his ranks of fixers. I pray too that he sees blue chip law firms as perpetrators of crime committed by rich, influential corporate organizations that trample upon rights of women. We are so behind in the implementation of sexual harassment and anti- discrimination laws. It's about time we put these in place. Have a good day! Mariquit E. Soriano, (by email), May 25, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww In this God forsaken country, there is no accountability. Our laws are biased for the rich and powerful. WE need real power to the people as enshrined in the constitution patterned after the US which actualized the "government by the people and for the people" through their jury system. No one is punished, the poor man gets punished in jail for littering and jaywalking while the rich and powerful can kill at will and stay out of jail and the police headquarters. This country is consigned to self-destruct unless we have a rule of law anchored on a jury system that favors the ordinary people to act as a collegial body to punish the malevolent. Better still we all leave this country for good to the rich with their gold and goons until they all annihilate themselves. We can all return by then. But at this point, this country is a haven and a paradise for the corrupt irresponsible multinational corporation who exploits the poverty and ignorance of the people through deceptive and exploitative promotions like PepsiCo who can not afford to act decently and honourably in responding to their liability. Welcome all transnational mafias to the Philippines , where you belonged. Vic del Fierro, Jr., (by email), May 25, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony: The problem with rampant cheating in the elections started with the assumption of office of this People's Power government. After the People's Power revolt that toppled the regime of Marcos, there was a persistent clamor to have the votes recounted so that we will know who really won the 1986 elections, but Pres. Aquino refused to have the ballots recounted. (Not true. I vividly recall the 1949 elections when the �birds and the bees and dead people� voted in Lanao. Electoral fraud in the Muslim provinces goes back more than 50 years. Corazon Aquino rose to power through a revolutionary process. Did Lenin or George Washington or Fidel Castro count their votes before they assumed power? ACA) Before the People'a Power government regime, it took the COMELEC only 10 days to finish all the counting of votes throughout the country. In every election since the coming of power of this People's Power government, it takes the COMELEC more than 100 days to finish all the counting of the election returns. During the Macapagal Administration, it took the COMELEC less than 20 days to finish all the counting of the election returns. During this time, election returns had to be counted manually since computer were not available. (You are back to your old habit of making allegations without citing the basis for your statements. You should let people know where you got these very precise details that you claim about the elections of decades ago, so your statements can be verified. Otherwise your claims are not credible. ACA) The computerization of the COMELEC occurred during the People's Power government, but still with computers left and right, the COMELEC could not finish the counting of the election returns until the lapse of more than 100 days. You do not need to be an election expert to point out the massive cheating that is being engineered by the People's Power government during every election. (The Comelec began using computers during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. Obviously you have forgotten that after the snap elections of February 1986, the Comelec�s computer programmers walked out in PICC in protest against the fraudulent data that they were being made to input into their tabulations. ACA) Finally this People's Power government has given in to the widespread clamor of a clean and honest elections. In fact the impeachment case against Pres. Arroyo had to do with her cheating the elections. Ramon A. del Gallego, (by email), May 25, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Lawyers are no different from chimney-sweepers. They don't object to or resent dirty work. That is their trade. Without lawyers, who will circumvent the law and get a away with it? Dr. Nestor P. Baylan, (by email), New York City , May 25, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, You are the chosen one Tony, I think. I would say also that there are good lawyers. So those examples you mention belong to "rule of lawless lawyers". Yung mga maliit lang na tao ang ginagago nila. I hope I would not die without bringing with me one bad egg. Maybe I would agree now that we need a revolutionary government without these goddamn bad leaders. Your article said "We have laws against vote-buying, yet no less than the Secretary of Justice and the Speaker of the House violate it with impunity." You are very correct. These two persons are always talking rule of law but they break the laws. NASUSUKA AKO SA MGA TAONG GANITO. ANG KALULUWA NILA AY SA MGA DEMONYO. THEY DELIBERATELY CONFUSE PEOPLE. Abuse of authority, if I would have been a superhero, I would not want to see this kind of person in any public service. Ernie Dellosa, (by email), May 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thank you for sending this article. But your article missed the point - laws are passed not to serve a noble cause, i.e. create a just or fair system. Instead, laws serve the "legal system", i.e. the courts and their minions (politicians, lawyers, and judges), and the system's true master and creator, i.e. the wealthy. Ask yourself: who made these laws and are empowered to enforce them? It is the "rule of lawyers" because it was meant to be that way from the beginning. Dani Paredes, (by email) Toronto , Canada , May 29, 2007 (That�s warmed-over Marxism that has as much relevance today as the hammer and sickle in the Information Age. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �The Trillanes Tsunami� Dear Mr. Abaya, Hope you can bear with this very late reaction. I agree that Trillanes is young, idealistic and can be a good leader. But a senate seat!!!! We really sunk so low. He is just another accused individual who will use the Senate as a shield to escape prosecution. He did have a beef against corruption in the military but Gringo used that already as an excuse for his coups before (and he eventually won a Senate seat due to those coup). What did he do during his Senate stint? Expect Trillannes to be same. Why? Because he is ill prepared for a law-making job, much like the pretenders before him. We still have Bong, Jinggoy and Lito in the Senate. Now another wasted seat. And were not yet talking about Alan the dynastic man. Regards and more power sa inyo. Marvin Valido, (by email), May 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Walang utak kailangan: eto na dapat ang huling halalan sa Senadong binoto nang buong bayan. Id est: No brainer to conclude this immediate past election should be the last for Senators elected nationally. We copied the U.S. democratic order and introduce disorder by requiring Senators to be elected nationally. It has now become so expensive to run for national political office, the senatorial candidate has to be a billionaire, and if successful, the Senator has to become a multibillionaire to stay in office. Senatus et corruptus ad absurdum. One can imagine how much the serious candidates for the 2010 Presidential elections will have to spend to have any chance of winning. To raise 3-5 billion pesos, each one will have to hock his body and soul to the political donors, and in the process sell the country down the river. Is therefore the parliamentary system the answer? If the country switches to the parliamentary form without any infrastructure changes, the result will be chaos first and then (the sordid) business as usual. Let us explain. A federated country has a central government and semi-autonomous states that provide public services most of which is now performed by the central government in this country. The Philippines has 81 provinces and 118 chartered cities, only a few of which can survive on its own, without financial and other assistance from the central government. (But, Joe, why are you mixing parliamentary with federal? Not all countries are parliamentary AND federal. Some countries are parliamentary and unitary, e.g. Japan , Israel , the Netherlands . Other countries are presidential and federal, e.g. US, Mexico , Brazil . ACA) As an example of a working federal government, our neighbor Malaysia is a good example. It has 13 semi-autonomous states, each of which raises the majority of its revenue. Each state has a civil service system that provides the public services for its citizens, from education to police and fire protection to road building to business regulation etc. Interesting sidelights: Malaysia has no elected mayors running its cities and towns. Public services are provided by a cadre of professionally trained and supervised District Officers. (I tell my Malaysian friends our mayors are more interesting than their boring district officers. "Why?" they ask. Because many of our mayors are lords - gambling lords, drug lords, gun lords et al). Another sidelight: Malaysia has no pork barrel per politician although the latter can influence the projects in his/her bailiwick. There are two powerful organizations that provide order and progress in each Malaysian state, the Civil Service organization above, and the State Assembly. Each assemblyman is elected locally, as is each member of the central Parliament. To my Malaysian friends: "Our system replaces the mayor every three years, so if he doesn't do a good job, we vote him out. You are stuck with your District Officer." They tell me, "Not at all. Both the Civil Service and the elected State Assembly have one ultimate boss, the Chief State Minister (equivalent of our Provincial Governor). If your District Officer is (rarely) incompetent or undesirable, there are influential citizens who can talk to the Chief Minister. If the accusation is justified, he will be summarily assigned to the ulu (gubat, jungle)." The Philippines has 17 regions, a good place to start in terms of federal re-organization. But this means sending 81 provinces, governors, vice governors, mayors, vice mayors, thousands of councilors to the dustbin. Sounds good, right? Less overhead, less bureaucracy? Managinip ka na lang, Juan de la Cruz. Once the local officials realize this threat on their future, they will block all moves to parliamentarism. If we persist anyway with 81 provinces, the latter will continue to depend on the central government, and it will be business as usual. That is, the Prime Minister will be as powerful as the current President because the latter will continue be the ultimate source of the financial viability of the province. Extend that situation and in the long run, what becomes of the PM, the source of monetary support? Give up? The PM becomes a Dictator. Remember: the PM has no term of office and she/he can go on and on and... The British would say, our country is muddling through. I say we are struggling through, with our 4-5% GDP growth these days. If we were capable of implementing good political reforms (we are inept at this), what kind of growth would we be capable of? We can double our current rate, easy. Jose M. Faustino, (by email), May 28, 2007 Asian Institute of Management wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I voted for Trillanes. We went to the same College of Public Administration , now National College of Public Administration and Governance at UP Diliman. Nothing beats the truth! Regards, Dr. Dennis Acop, USMA �83, (by email), May 28, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Bravo, Tony! Have sent this on to several friends and colleagues in New York City . Best, Alexandra York, (by email), May 30, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Election sucks and the Senate is a thriving family business. Why crow about the victory of (GA)GO over (TU)TA. All of those who won belong to the same ilk: ambitious turncoats, people who get away with murder, a do-nothing motor mouth who wants to join an inept sister, a trying-hard son who won under the shadow of an illustrious hero, two bad jokes for bicolanos, a deep-throat who sides with the highest bidder from the province of Ilustrados, a media-created monster who weeps crocodile tears, a good looking, guntoting coup plotter using money from a deprived, ousted Panggulo, a real state developer who married for money and wants to be the next president badly. Woe to Filipinos who still believe that they can bring salvation to the nation. Expect more useless investigations, grandstanding, mudslinging, etc. What particular legislation uplifting the condition of the country could they possibly produce in the next three years? Felix Zamar, (by email), May 30, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I ran as an independent candidate for councilor in Davao City and had Trillanes as number 1 in the senatorial line up of my sample ballot to show my dislike of Gloria Arroyo and as a protest against an immoral and illegitimate president. Narciso Ner, (by email), Davao City , May 30, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Trillanes is winning because of Erap. They said that Lacson brought Bayan Muna to the heavens of Tanay. Erap released 40 million to Bayan Muna with a deal to carry Trillanes from the votes of the Left. so the seats of Trillanes, Honasan and Lacson are smeared with blood from our soldiers who died fighting against Joma's ambition. We saw this, for example, in Cagayan during the campaign period. During meetings, Oscar Cruz, Atty Belmonte, the CPP/NPA/NDF, and the Genuine Opposition went hand in hand to ensure success. They are building a general coalition to rule the government through the slogan "Oust Gloria." In the case of Trillanes, "Gloria resign!". As in Nepal , the Left would prevail during elections, then they will assassinate people like Trillanes and company. Rich Philippines manipulated by fool people Eduardo Davalan, (by email), June 01, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reaction to �Young Voices� (May 01, 2007) Dear Mr. Abaya, First of all, I'm sorry for writing to you this late. Thank you very much for writing about me and my speech in your column. I'm glad that, unlike some Filipinos, you still believe that the Philippines will become a better country someday. I do, too, and I hope that our generation will make that dream come true. Mikaela Fudolig, (by email), May 29, 2007 P.S. I'm going to teach in UP this June while taking my masters degree. I hope I'll be a good teacher. :) (Of course, you will be!. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reaction to �Nuclear Kim� (Oct. 12, 2006) Dear Tony, I came across this article of yours in the Manila Standard Today of October 12, 2006. I am interested in the 'strange' relationship that existed between Diana and North Korea and I wonder if you ever did make available on the net, the article you originally did in 1987 for the now defunct Business Day? If so I would be interested to see it. If you have this, and/or any other information on this incongruous relationship, I would appreciate your directions. I mean, why does a blonde blue eyed British girl of royal descent appear on DPRK stamps, an oriental nation under siege by the most of the other nations of the world including Britain ? I know you referred in your article to the commercial 'hard currency' angle, and that probably is a factor, but my intuition tells me there is another dimension to this story, and a much more interesting one. Thank you for your attention and assistance, Ben Douglas, (by email), Australia , May 10, 2007 . PS. Have included an excerpt from your article and a picture of a set of the DPRK stamps. Excerpt from your article................. And speaking of weird, one of the very first columns I wrote (in 1987, for the now defunct Business Day) was titled �Princess Di�s Weirdo Admirers.� I will have it loaded on www.tapatt.org one of these days. It had to do with a news story in the now defunct Far Eastern Economic Review that the Democratic People�s Republic of Korea (the official name of North Korea), the most Stalinist country after the death of Stalin, had just issued a set of commemorative stamps honoring� don�t laugh at me, Argentina�Britain�s Princess Diana. And the Review printed all five stamps in the set. There is Diana as a beaming pre-teen adolescent. A radiant young woman. A lovely wife in a wedding portrait with Prince Charles. A proud mother holding Bonnie Prince William (or was it Harry?) in his royal baptismal robe. And, finally, a royal portrait of the entire royal family: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Crown Prince Charles, Princess Diana, with Bonnie Prince William (or was it Harry?) in his royal bassinet. Lovely! Apparently the North Koreans, jealously proud of their disdain towards the rest of the world, are not above cadging a few dollars here and there from little old ladies in tennis shoes who collect Princess Di memorabilia. Weird. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, If you are interested, here is some feedback on the issue of North Korean stamps (Diana). This discussion all started when I circulated that excerpt of yours from the Manila Standard Today on this subject. It seems that this subject does have the interest of some scholars. Regards, Ben Douglas, (by email), Australia , May 26, 2007 ----- Original Message ----- From: Peter Beck To: 'jrpking' ; 'Stephen Epstein' ; 'Tim Beal' Cc: [email protected] ; [email protected] Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 2:48 PM Subject: RE: Nth. Korean Postage Stamps Gentlemen, Sorry for jumping into this so late, but I have had too many distractions of late to fully enjoy the hobby of kings. I don't have the full story, but for much of the 1980s, North Korea sub-contracted its stamp production to a European company, and they produced whatever they thought would sell on the international stamp market, hence, the incongruous stamp themes. Ross, do keep us posted on your article! I have just started writing a monthly column for one of the weeklies here, and I will have at least one devoted to my thoughts on North Korean stamps! I will be sure to send it. Sincerely, Peter Peter M. Beck Director, Northeast Asia, International Crisis Group King's Garden Officetel #3, Suite 802, Naesu-dong, Jongro-ku, Seoul 110-872 South Korea Crisis Group: "Working to Prevent Conflict Worldwide" www.crisisgroup.org -----Original Message----- From: jrpking [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 10:10 AM To: Stephen Epstein; Tim Beal Cc: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: Nth. Korean Postage Stamps Hi everybody: NK has issued stamps about all kinds of whacko things, all of them aimed at the "topical" collectors. So: Stefi Graf, Mercedes-Benz, the German figure skater (DeWitt?) come to mind (German collectors); the British Royal family (there are other Diana stamps besides these), the Penny Black (stamps on stamps is a popular collecting theme, and NK seems to have targeted British collectors for a while); World Cup stamps; the Royal Wedding; etc. As mercenary stamp-issuing nations go, NK is not the most promiscuous, but it is up there in the top tier nonetheless in terms of the sheer number of different issues put out in a year -- more than half of those have tended to go straight to stamp dealers, and are unlikely ever to see use in NK domestic mail (although I am the proud owner of a genuinely postally used envelope with the Diana stamps on them...). What I wish I knew was how much, in dollar terms, the postage stamp trade is worth to NK -- or at least, what it used to be worth, as stamp collecting is no longer the way to the minds and hearts (and pocket books) of little boys. They probably got a small attack submarine or two out of it all, who knows. But they're still cranking out junk stamps. Their _domestic_ stamps on revolutionary and communist themes can actually be quite attractive at times, and postage stamp design gets a proud place in the annual Misul yon'gam albums -- they seem to take it seriously as a branch of art. NK also published a really interesting stamp collecting journal for some years targeted at the key markets in Europe . Defunct now. Probably more than you wanted to know. I have a paper all outlined and ready to go called "Monuments Writ Small: The Politics of North Korean Philatelic Imagery" complete with all the requisite bibliography (images, too -- the whole thing would make a great coffee table book if ever published) if anybody is really that interested! Cheers, Ross Ross King, Associate Professor of Korean, University of British Columbia, Canada and Dean, Korean Language Village, Concordia Language Villages OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |