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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| SNAFU By Antonio C. Abaya Written March 05, 2006 For the Standard Today, March 07 issue You know what SNAFU means. SITUATION NORMAL, ALL F**KED UP. That, I told the Pasig Rotary Club last March 02, best describes the situation in the Philippines before, during and after Proclamation 1017. The government�s claim is credible, that there is, was and has been a tactical alliance between some disgruntled military officers and the communist movement to join forces in overthrowing President Arroyo, which was programmed to reach climax during the rallies/celebrations of Feb. 24-25, marking the 20th anniversary of EDSA Uno. If even leading communists publicly acknowledge this alliance, in the newspaper friendliest to their cause (See my article �Sleeping with the Communist� March 06), who is anyone to doubt its existence? Maybe Ka Roger didn�t really know anything about it, but that�s because he is holed up in the Bondoc Peninsula or somewhere and is obviously out of the loop. The government�s claim is also credible, that this overthrow attempt was aborted when Brig. Gen. Danny Lim, leader of rebellious Scout Rangers, tried to convince AFP COS Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga to join their planned �withdrawal of support� on Feb. 24, and was instead taken into custody. The plan allegedly had been for Scout Rangers, Marines and PNP Special Forces to join the EDSA rally, unarmed, and trigger other military defections, with the aim of causing the GMA government to collapse. The subsequent flap in Fort Bonifacio on Feb. 26, in which Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, also suspected of involvement in anti-government maneuvers, tried to make a public display on television of his efforts to protest the forced relief of his superior, Marine Commandant Brig. Gen. Renato Miranda, merely reinforced suspicions of a wider conspiracy. The fact that two communist lawyers were among the first to show up in Fort Bonifacio, apparently to try and choreograph an EDSA-type uprising, is consistent with the fact (no longer just a theory) of a tactical alliance between disgruntled military officers and the communist movement. A subsequent story in the March 02 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer reveals that deposed President Joseph Estrada has admitted to Mike Defensor as well as to the Inquirer, that he gave a total of P8 million to soldiers belonging to the Scout Rangers, Marines and Magdalo group, in December last year, not to finance a coup kuno, but to add to the soldiers� Christmas cheer. To me, that looked more like a down payment for services to be rendered in the future, such as on Feb. 24-25. A statement from Joma Sison in Utrecht, dated Feb. 27 but received by Agence France Presse on March 02 and published in the March 03 issue of the Standard Today says �There is no other way to ensure the legal and non-violent ouster of the Arroyo regime� other than to �encourage the military and forces of the reactionary government to side with the people (meaning, the communist movement) and withdraw support from the regime.� But, I told the Pasig Rotarians, the raid on the Daily Tribune was a mistake. Very few people read that newspaper. The sidewalk news vendors in our neighborhood did not even carry it. Apparently there was no demand for it. Now, maybe there will be. Besides, bullying a small critical paper, without doing anything against other, bigger critical papers, shows the limp hand of the government. And arresting Crispin Beltran on the basis of a 25-year old warrant was also a mistake. It and many other examples say a lot about how we Filipinos try to solve our problems, about which I would like to write an entire column in the future. It may be the reason why we are always being snafu-ed by our own selves. Given the widespread unpopularity of President Arroyo, it is unlikely that these initial steps at intimidation will quiet the critics and quell the unrest. On the contrary. We are approaching some key dates which will likely be used by her enemies to press their campaign against her: Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day (June 12), and the State of the Nation address (around July 15). If the violence escalates, despite the chilling effects of the withdrawn 1017, the option left might be, not martial law - which needs congressional approval and is limited to 45 days - but revolutionary government, either by her or by the military or by another group. Situation Normal � All F**ked Up. ***** APOLOGY. I would like to apologize to Bettina, whom I had included in my article �Sleeping with the Communists� (in the Feb. 28-Mar 01 issues of Standard Today), and who felt alluded to and readily identifiable even though I did not attach any family name. It was not my intention to accuse her of being a Communist, which I know she is not, or to even only imply that she was sympathetic to the Communist cause, which I know she is not. As one of very few well-to-do principled mestizas, Bettina participates, in her own little way, in the protest movement out of deep concern and genuine love of country and a desire to be of help in bringing about a better future for our children and grandchildren. Sentiments which I certainly share, but with my own reservations, which she does not share. I now know that her stand is based firmly on moral principles and not on personal �antipathy� nor �hatred� of the President, as I had regrettably written. The title of the article was an unfortunate choice on my part, and so was the use of the word �na�ve�, for which I apologize. I hope that Bettina and her family accept this apology.. For the same reasons and in the same spirit, I would also like to apologize to Josie and Triccie, whom I had also regrettably included in the same article and who felt alluded to and readily identifiable even though I had not attached any family names. I look forward to meeting them soon, as I have with Bettina, to extend this apology in person.***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �SNAFU� Sir ABAYA, Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha! I love that one, SNAFU. I could not agree more of any other true-to- life description. Sounds like a KMU affiliated union though, NAFLU, which I came to know and had a short stint of being a member of back in the Philippines before and during EDSA I. The only thing missing from your photo shot however was the seemingly persistent growth of the peso after the fact. I hope this would go on and continue ignoring the "Normal Situation". Apology accepted, though I'm not Bettina and others. I understand how they felt after reading that, although you didn't say who they are. From my vantage point, you only implied they are clueless and they need to open their eyes, for God's sake! But anyway, that's the same thing as the now famous "I am sorry" and the opposition replied, "She's Guilty". More Power! Ador Ramoso, [email protected] Atlanta, Georgia, March 06, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I look forward to your articles each morning and share them with my officemates. It keeps us very informed of important issues and I am very flattered that I am a recipient of your articles. I do not know how to thank you. I cannot find the words. What can one say to someone so intelligent. I have a question. Where is Secretary Angelo Reyes now? I mean, he used to be in the thick of things and belonged to the President's inner circle. During the last events, he was nowhere. Has he been marginalized and why? Michelle Picart, [email protected] March 06, 2006 MY REPLY. Good question. But I don�t know the answer. He may be sulking because he was eased out of the DILG. Maybe he is planning something. I would not put it past him. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: I've just finished reading your column and could only commiserate with our countrymen who are the unwilling pawns in the never-ending struggle among the many different forces of evil trying to topple one another to get their fingers on the pie of wealth and power! There's a new acronym ---heavier in meaning than SNAFU--- used by the US military,y that's more apropos to the current Philippine situation, and it's called FUBAR: F**ked Up Beyond All Recognition. And considering that it's a recurrence of a similar situation that happened more than 20 years ago, perhaps the more appropriate term to use would be another US military acronym: BOHICA (Bend Over, Here It Comes Again); since the Filipino people are being screwed again! Dang! Rome Farol, [email protected] March 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, You are correct, the raid on the TRIBUNE was a mistake. It should have been the leading broadsheet, which features a number of Leftist columnists who act as the spin doctors of the Communist movement and continue to undermine the government. I wonder when the " Berdugo" will make them disappear without a trace. Ms Cacho Olivares shouldn't be badmouthing GMA now because her circulation has probably quadrupled, which would have never happened even in her wildest dream. I don't know about your apologies to those burgis meztizas, but it's a fact that there are also naive/tangang burgis, altho' they are outnumbered by the sheer numbers of the masang tanga. They think, they will still enjoy their democratic space and privileges under the dictatorship of the proles. Could you please enlighten me on the role of Boy Saycon? How come he wields so much clout together with Peping Cojuangco in playing god? What's his claim to fame? What's his largesse/family fortune at his disposal that he can move a number of supporters ? As for Mrs Cory Aquino, what can I say ? I used to hold her in high esteem, but she is now a national embarassment. Just because she's lost the family fortune to land reform doesn't give her a reason to get unhinged. Auggie Surtida, [email protected] Tigbauan, Iloilo, March 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, Thanks for regularly furnishing me a copy of your well-researched and profound analyses of our current political dynamics. These indeed come so handy in deeply understanding our milieu. Col Daniel Lucero, [email protected] Executive Asst to the Commanding General, Philippine Army March 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, Your initiative and apology are well-appreciated not only by the families concerned but more so shows the good character you carry with you. Breeding, pedigree, candor, strength of character, humility and ability to put closure on any issue. Those are the essence of my long-time friend and reformist (People�s Reform Party days of 1992!). Mabuhay ka at iyong familia. Jun Magsaysay, [email protected] Philippine Senate, March 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Such a show of apology is a true sense of being a gentleman. AL Jose Leonidas, [email protected] Faculty Member, Miriam College March 09, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I believe that there was really connivance to overthrow the Arroyo Govenrmnet. Even media are helping thi, even the side of ABS CBN. They said they have balanced reporting between the Arroyo and the opposition groups marching with some opportunist soldiers and militants who always love shouting on the streets, who never liked any single president at anyl time. If the media is FAIR, WHY DONT THEY ASK THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE BETWEEN THEM WHO ARE FED UP WITH WHAT IS HAPPENNING AND ASK ThIER VIEW ABOUT HOW THE MEDIA IS HANDLING THEIR NEWS. THEY ARE EXAGGERATING SOMETIMES. NOT THE ENTIRE GOVERNMENT ARE RUBBISH. I FEEL MEDIA SOMETIMES IS ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE. WHY NOT TRY TO BE A MEDIATOR OR PEACEMAKER SO THE WORLD WILL HAVE PEACE. Alexander Carranceja, [email protected] Kuwait, March 09, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reactions to �Sleeping with the Communists� (Feb. 26, 2006) Dear ACA, Thank you for sending me this, I really appreciate it. My only comment on this .........This communist group is very few in numbers. If the government is really serious to keep them quiet or eradicate them as threats to the democratic government, they could do this in a "zap"...but why they are not doing this? What are the intelligence division of the AFP doing? They have unlimited budget to gather information to keep them abreast of whatever this group is doing and planning to do. This keeps me wondering...is the government agency in cahoots with them? In order to keep the budget to fill their pocket? Or to have an alibi to issue this "state of emergency"? Guillermo Mateo, [email protected] March 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I truly enjoy reading your articles, most especially the ones about communism (i.e. the Brown Mao series). As an idealistic college student and volunteer (we taught kids in an urban poor community) not too long ago, I, too, found solace in leftist rhetoric whenever I tried to make sense of the rampant injustices I saw in the little world I moved in. Deep inside, however, I also felt that there was something amiss about communism -- for it flew in the face of human nature and the practical realities of daily life. I figured that human evolution has somehow programmed "greed" (or its more recent descendant, the "profit motive") into human nature (They say greed is good? But nature does not even distinguish between good and bad.) to enhance one's chances of survival. Perhaps we are all born capitalists, and communism (and altruism and hedonism and all other -isms) is just something we learn along the way? Because we are "moral" animals, etc. Capitalism in its wildest or purest state (God save us from dog-eats-dog globalization) may be a cruel jungle, but it is perhaps the natural order of things. If so, the whims of the market are too powerful a force of nature for communism to defeat roundly. Tame it, maybe, like what the social democrats and civil society are doing? While I continue to believe in man's innate goodness, the real world I discovered after college turned out to be a harsh (if not deadpan) teacher. I slowly shed off my leftist inclinations, more so after I became an OFW in China several years ago. In Shanghai, almost every young Chinese I know (from the suit monkey types to the xiao-long-bao-hawker kind) are avowed capitalists. They cannot imagine, for the life of them, ever going back to their parents' brush with the Cultural Revolution. This despite their continued allegiance to the communist government. "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" does not really seem that socialist anymore. But it doesn't seem that "capitalist evil", either. Sure, the transition is not without problems and China is always on the brink of social unrest, given the widening gap between the rich and poor. But in general, most Chinese seem to agree that they could work together in promoting prosperity and harmony in society, without necessarily "imposing" communist-style "equality". It is quite an eye-opener, really, and as I watch firsthand how China rides on the wave of capitalism to emerge as the world's next economic superpower, all eyes are on the "other" giant, India. Like the Philippines, India also has a "proud" democratic tradition and a burgeoning communist movement. But it seems that some Indian communists are following the Chinese example and are having a change of heart. Please see below an excerpt from an article that came out in Forbes magazine (ok, consider the source) in October of last year. It quotes the chief minister of West Bengal, which is the heartland of the Indian Communist Party. His pronouncements remind me of Deng's famous line, "we had it all wrong, comrades". Curiously, the paragraphs I've marked in blue below, which contain most of his heretical statements, can be found in the print edition of the magazine but are omitted in the online edition. No erratum was published explaining the omission. Having read this article, do you then think it's possible for some Filipino communists (particularly the younger, presumably more open-minded, ones) to also tone down their hard-line stance and cooperate with more moderate forces for the good of the country? If yes, then "sleeping with the communists" can't be that bad. It might even be a small step towards better things. Like you said, violence is not the answer. Perhaps a "better idea" could win them over? Given their respective countries' similar size and scale, the communists in communist China are showing the communists in democratic India that it is, after all, possible to tame the market beast. Perhaps, the communists in democratic Philippines can also learn something from their communist brothers in communist Vietnam? Maybe I'm being naive, too. But I continue to believe that many communists (except those who espouse violence) have only the best intentions for our countrymen. It's just that we follow different means to attain the same end. In the final analysis, however, I am inclined to think that humankind's eventual redemption can be found neither in the left nor in the right because, as in most things, the "truth" is somewhere in between. Best regards and keep on writing! Ryan Maniago, [email protected] March 07, 2006 ** http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/10/31/8359173/index.htm India on the move (In India) some communists have begun to recognize the absurdity of the party's position. This summer, while the leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) decried the perils of privatization and imperialist domination of the corner grocery, the chief minister of West Bengal--his party's heartland--was touring Southeast Asia to drum up foreign investment. The minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, stopped first in Singapore, where he invited business leaders to invest in Calcutta's river ports and help fund a new airport. "We are not fools to ignore the changes taking place in the world," he assured them. "We have keenly studied China's policies, and we have learned." In Jakarta he met with representatives of Indonesia's largest business conglomerate to finalize a $10 billion investment in his state. "We know that it will take some time to convince people we are serious, but we are sincere in our desire for more foreign direct investment both in industry and infrastructure," Bhattacharjee says, honing his pitch a few weeks later in his Calcutta office. "This is a safe place to do business." Bhattacharjee's party has ruled West Bengal without significant opposition since 1977 and is revered for pushing through bold land reforms that empowered low-income farmers. But over the years the party's dogmatic approach to business drove private industry away. Now Bhattacharjee--a silver-haired playwright with a penchant for traditional white dhoti kurtas and the novels of Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez--is trying to coax the capitalists back. "China has taken the correct stand," he says. "They have learned from the mistakes of the Russians, where we have not. They have seen that socialism can be compatible with markets and that state ownership need not be the only model for development. Now they are an economic power, and they are bargaining from a position of strength." Bhattacharjee--"Buddha," as he is known in the Indian press--argues that investing in a state where communists call the shots makes business sense. "Our involvement with the trade unions is an advantage," he says. "Workers support this government. And we are trying to change their mindset." Investors are beginning to change their mindset, too. Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical is expanding its multibillion-dollar plant in West Bengal. And Frito-Lay recently opened a potato-chip factory. Bhattacharjee has plenty of detractors. In Jharna Pramanik, a settlement of 5,000 families encamped along the railway tracks near Lake Calcutta, residents charge that the Communist Party has sold them out. "How come this government of so-called Marxists is giving away land to rich foreigners but can't manage a few acres to resettle people like us?" demands one squatter, Koshalya Chatterjee. Stilll, Buddha is expected to win reelection next year with little difficulty. Because West Bengal is the party's operational center, a source of both votes and money, some analysts see him as the best hope for reining hardliners resisting reform. "In Delhi, they know they can't afford to overlook the agenda of local leaders in Bengal," says Shekhar Gupta, editor of the Indian Express. Indian politicians often profess affinity for the elephant--huge and plodding, but capable of movements that shake the earth. If Buddha has his way, the tiger--fearless and quick, the mascot of choice in Asia's other economies and all but extinct in India--may soon be making a comeback.***** wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Satur�s Threats Hiding from the law via a sanctuary offered by Congress, Satur Ocampo threatens the government by saying that he may go back to the mountains, back to the NPA. As if on cue, Crispin Beltran and Teddy Casino issued the same threat to authorities. Going back to armed struggle? Did they ever renounce it in the first place? Did amnesty and their entry to the political mainstream result to the abandonment of the Maoist ideology? Satur and his Bayan Muna ideologues, along with its off-springs in Anakpawis and Gabriela, would like us to believe that they are not the communists that we know them to be. Just because they do not brandish firearms now does not mean that they have given up on armed struggle as the primary means to achieve political and societal change. Entering the democratic system is simply just another step towards the CPP's fatalistic obsession with their national democratic revolution. These communist-fronts parading as party-list groups condemn the rebellion charges against them even though they are being given every opportunity to defend themselves by the government. The same could not be said of the communist NPA's kangaroo courts which these honorable advocates of human rights and justice have curiously never found the time nor the passion to condemn or speak against. Bourgeois Rep. Chiz Escudero gave support by saying that EDSA I invited progressives and communists to join the mainstream, and that these recent actions of government will drive them back to go underground once again. Surprising indeed that this sympathy is coming from an icon of the 'naghaharing-uri, panginoong may lupa' class, but not so, after all, when you realize that Sorsogon is really one big safe haven for the NPAs. I sincerely hope that Satur and his comrades will make good on their threat to rejoin the NPAs. But for all the rhetoric and theatrics, I know they are hollow statements because Chairman Sison is not about to allow his stooges to forego of hundreds of millions in pork barrel funds. Isabelo Gatmaitan, [email protected] March 07, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Never Trust a Jesuit There was a story carried by Manila STANDARD TODAY (Feb. 7) about the findings of Fr. Romeo Intengan, S.J. that some left-leaning party list representatives have been funneling their so-called development funds (what we know in ordinary parlance as pork barrel) to outright rebellious causes--to the NDF/NPA, that is. This has been rumored for years. A few weeks ago the military claimed it had evidence but such evidence has yet to be brought out. Alex Magno, UP professor, and all but in name spokesperson of the Arroyo government, wrote of transcripts of conversation about a Right-Left conspiracy in his Philippine Star column. But is it the kind that can that can stand judicial scrutiny, or just guni-guni?. The Jesuit padre has not brought out any evidence except to say that his was the result of a "study" (maybe of the genre of the Spiritual Exercises of the Jesuit founder I�igo Loyola e O�az ne Recalde when he was fired up to burn at the stake the heretics of Europe). Unlike Magno, the Jesuit narrows the "guilt" to just the Leftists. And again unlike Magno who has to worry about his academic standing before a secular collegiate body, Integan can make quasi-papal pronouncements, Nihil Obstat seemingly issued in blanket terms beforehand. Integan has been involved as an agent provocateur in Indonesia decades ago, working it was said, for the ouster of the "left-leaning demagogue" (TIME Magazines's one-liner for the man) Sukarno. His speciality, as bragged about by his fellow Jesuits and their sacristanes, is his great skill at forming agitprop cadres from among students. What is the function of his "study" in the current brouhaha? Never trust a Jesuit. There is some reason to focus now entirely on the communists. The rent-a-crowd mode of creating unrest does not seem to be working, never really did. The modus operandi of the mischief-makers is like that of a hotel thief, just try every doorknob in the hope than one is loose. The middle class seems to be on the wait and see attitude, indifferent or jejune. While many of them appear to be appalled at the incompetence, corruption and now even high-handedness of the Arroyo government, the bottomline is still the same, the lack of a constitutional better alternative. A parliamentary system that will install Jose de Venecia as head of government is nothing but a daytime TV melodrama to be played out by actors and actresses, queers and indeterminate sex creatures on the make, who would have to strip naked if they were to make the next grade. Pimentel, Nemenzo, Boy Morales, et. al. can talk and pose for the media endlessly about leaping into the abyss but they cannot get crowds to act it out for them. Cosipet Cojuangco and his Tonto, Pastor (that is his name, not his title) Saycon, will have to talk even recklessly before a TIME reporter in order for them to get media attention: "Hey, teacher, we just smashed the glass window of the principal's office; please report us to our parents so they can send us to a nice weekend vacation." The case of the Cojuangcos is not difficult for a Filipino to understand. Although the government of Glorietta had bent backwards and bent the law itself to accommodate the Cojuangcos in the case of the massacre of Hacienda Luisita workers they have been miffed by the declaration of this government that the attempts of this stubborn cacique family to circumvent the Land Reform Law will not abide. Hence maka-Diyos Corazon is on the warpath as she had not been for decades. Even attempts by more sober cat�lico hierarchs to cool her down have been unavailing. The military is not only divided but they even lack credible personalities to form a junta, hence their need to get pseudo-leftist phrase spouters from among civilians, even Roman Catholic hierarchs will do. Their slogan of We-Dream-You-Die is indeed dead. Panfilo Lacson's offer to lead a junta does not even stir a faint ripple from his own natural constituency. And a military-communist lasting (not just a photo-op) alliance exists only in the mind of cabal theoretician Walden Bello. Alex Magno's "discoveries" have partly actualized his dreams. Ross Tipon, [email protected] Baguio City, March 07, 2006 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |