Patindihin ang pakikibaka ng Masang Pilipino

INTENSIFY THE STRUGGLES OF THE PROLETARIAT AND PEOPLES



AGAINST IMPERIALISM AND REACTION


By Prof. Jose Maria Sison


Chairperson, International League of Peoples' Struggle


1 May 2010






On this glorious day of the international proletariat, we, the International League of Peoples' Struggle, join the workers and peoples of the world in celebrating their struggles, sacrifices and victories. It is of the greatest importance to raise the banner of proletarian unity and struggle against exploitation and oppression by imperialism and all reaction. Once again, we renew our resolve to dismantle the monopoly capitalist system and replace it with a just, democratic and peaceful new world in which socialism prevails.

Crisis of Global Capitalism Continues to Worsen

The enemies of the working class and the oppressed peoples do not cease to demonstrate their contempt for the masses with their lies and their violence. The mouthpieces of the monopoly bourgeoisie are busy proclaiming the end of the global economic and financial crisis, and celebrating the so-called beginnings of recovery. Not only is this claim of recovery patently false, it actually signals a heightened offensive against the workers and peoples of the world.


Bourgeois economists are prating about rising GDP figures, rallies in the stock market, the “stabilization” of the financial system, increasing bank profits and more business activity. In reality, the so-called recovery is artificial and temporary as it is solely reliant on trillions of dollars handed out by the state to the biggest banks and failing conglomerates as bailout money. This is the largest-ever simultaneous raid of public treasuries by the wealthiest stratum of the capitalist class which uses the money to rake in more profits from speculative investments.


Conditions in the real economy remain grim, especially in terms of rising unemployment and the dismal living conditions of the working masses. Tens of millions have lost their jobs or livelihoods since 2008 when the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s erupted in the heartland of the global capitalist system. Millions more have been kept employed but on a part-time basis, with lower wages and ready to be axed at the bosses’ say so. In the US alone, millions of families are set to lose their homes in the coming year. The monopoly bourgeoisie is seizing on mass unemployment and profound social insecurity to cut costs, take back hard-won workers’ benefits and boost profits.


In the underdeveloped countries, the social consequences have been more devastating to those economies most deeply penetrated by international monopoly capital as foreign investments, credit, so-called aid, export revenues and remittances have fallen along with the economies of the advanced capitalist countries. Chronic economic depression is compounded by the multiple crises generated by the monopoly capitalist system including the food, water and ecological crises.


While the masses face a bleak future, the managers of finance oligarchy responsible for the crisis continue to raise their share of the loot. The top 25 managers of US hedge funds took home a record $25.33 billion in 2009 -- greater than the GDP of about 100 nations combined. They “earned” these obscene sums not from production but from mere speculation, specifically by correctly betting that the US government under Obama would shore up Wall Street at virtually any cost.


Obama certainly did not disappoint his financiers. Not only has he continued to funnel trillions to the finance sector, his administration has also scuttled any attempt to apply restraints on the predatory operations of finance capital, despite calls even from reform-minded bourgeois economists. He is generating the biggest kind of bubble in the form of public debt and is engaged in deficit spending that promotes monopoly profit-taking but not employment and economic recovery.


He has also indulged the military-industrial complex with the biggest war budget in US history since World War II, even adjusted for inflation. The US is building more bases and upgrading its military facilities all over the world to secure its control over strategic resources (such as oil and gas in West and Central Asia, and West and Central Africa); encircle potential rival powers, particularly China and Russia; and attack or intervene in regions where US interests are being challenged (such as in Latin America, Pakistan, Iran, and Korea.). It is also paying out billions to US monopoly firms to supply and service US bases overseas and “reconstruct” the civilian infrastructure destroyed by US invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan.


All this generosity to the most parasitic and brutal fraction of the big bourgeoisie has resulted in the rapid increase in public deficits and debts in all the major economies. The Bank for International Settlements estimates that the debt-to-GDP ratios of the G-7 countries are likely to shoot up to between 150 and 300 percent within the next decade. Hence the executives of the monopoly bourgeoisie are preparing a new assault on the working masses in their own countries and against Third World peoples in order to squeeze out more surplus value.


The Obama administration has for instance frozen discretionary social spending, laid off thousands of teachers and public sector employees, and is getting ready to further whittle down Medicare and Social Security. Leaders of the Group of 20 are now talking about “deficit containment” and “returning to a normal policy stance” even amidst an ocean of unemployed and dispossessed masses. By this they mean withdrawing stimulus measures, imposing fiscal austerity and new taxes in order to raise revenues needed to cover the bailouts handed over to the finance oligarchy. This translates to wholesale job cuts particularly in the public sector, and slashing education, health, housing and other social and welfare programs. This is what all this talk of “recovery” means for the working masses.


The International Monetary Fund is again stepping in to impose devastating austerity measures and wage cuts not just in debt-stricken Third World countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America but now also in Eastern Europe and the less advanced capitalist countries such as Greece. In countries that have managed to steer clear of the IMF by relying on private capital markets, international finance capital still issues decrees through ratings agencies such as Moody’s and Standard and Poor. Countries that refuse to reduce their fiscal deficits through cutbacks in social services, lay-offs and more regressive taxes are punished by poor ratings and higher interest rates.


Even then, there remains the threat of widespread defaults and financial meltdown in the near future. In fact, these are inevitable because the response of the ruling class to the crisis -- intensified exploitation of the working masses, over-accumulation of capital, debt-driven spending, and financialization -- actually aggravates the basic conditions which lead to crises. The expected bursting of the public debt bubble will have far worse consequences than the bursting of previous bubbles.


While continuing to rave about the free market masquerade of monopoly capitalism, the US is now desperately carrying out a protectionist policy and trying to reduce its external deficits through cutting imports and more aggressive export promotion. Obama recently launched the National Export Initiative which aims to double US exports in five years. The US can therefore be expected to become even more aggressive in prying open foreign markets, enforcing its “property rights” overseas while restricting the entry of imports. This is sure to exacerbate trade frictions between the US and its commercial competitors as well as intensify inter-imperialist rivalry for plundering the Third World.


In the face of the economic crisis and challenges to its hegemony, US imperialism is escalating militarism, state terrorism and wars of aggression. The biggest armed conflicts and greatest instability are happening in regions where US intervention is most extensive – West, Central and South Asia, and West and Central Africa. These are also the regions with the greatest concentration of strategic resources, foremost of which is oil, the control of which is an explicit aim of US military policy since the 1950s.


The US occupation of Iraq has entered its seventh year with no end in sight, contrary to Obama’s promise to end US combat mission in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010. The US is ramping up its war in Afghanistan by sending 30,000 additional troops plus tens of thousands of private contractors, using the country as a laboratory for new US weaponry and combat tactics, such as the use of drone attacks. It has entered into a new nuclear agreement with India to support the latter’s military upgrading and keep the Pakistan-China alliance in check.


The US continues to use the US-Zionist alliance to terrorize the entire Middle East and to seize the oil and other natural resources. US support for Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people has resulted in the most atrocious war crimes and human rights violations by Israeli Zionism and in the humanitarian crisis such as that in Gaza.


In Africa, the US has fortified its military presence by creating the African Command or Africom, and has increased arms sales, military aid and training provided to a number of African countries, particularly in the oil- and mineral-rich countries.


The US has also recently sealed a deal to use seven military bases in Colombia for 10 years to use as its staging ground for intervention within the country and expand its “expeditionary warfare capability” throughout the region, particularly against “anti-US governments” identified by the Pentagon such as Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia. In Honduras, the US-inspired coup d'etat that deposed elected President Manuel Zelaya will mark its one-year anniversary on June 28, 2010 as rumours of other possible coups spread in Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela (and possibly in other countries that have rejected the increasingly discredited Washington Consensus). Hugo Chavez, in particular, is the object of vitriolic propaganda in the monopoly capitalist media – which is possibly a precursor to and justification for destabilization or even direct aggression against Venezuela. Even the recent humanitarian disaster in Haiti is used by the US to extend direct military control over the Haitian people and their economy.


In the whole East Asia, the US continues to apply on China a policy of engagement and containment and is increasingly exerting economic and political pressures. It is exerting more of such pressures on Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In the Philippines, the continued presence of US troops and military facilities and the continued supply of military aid underwrite the government’s vicious counter-insurgency program which targets both armed and unarmed civilians alike and props up the corrupt and fascist puppet Arroyo government.


US military aggression and intervention throughout the world is resulting in massive civilian deaths, destruction of vital infrastructure, trampling of national cultures, pillaging of natural resources, massive displacement and other gross human rights violations, spread of hunger and disease.


The Proletariat and Peoples of World Resist


The worsening conditions of global economic and financial crisis and the escalation of imperialist plunder and wars of aggression are inciting the proletariat and peoples of the world to wage various forms of struggle.


Workers of the world are confronted not only by individual capitalist bosses extracting surplus value in particular workplaces. The monopoly bourgeoisie is attacking the working masses by using the entire coercive apparatus of the state in the imperialist countries and in the imperialist-dominated countries. The workers and peoples of the world are aware that they cannot simply bargain for higher wages and benefits. They are desirous of wresting political power from their oppressors and use state power to uphold their rights and interests.


In various countries, large-scale protests mainly against governments’ responses to the crisis are breaking out and catching international attention. Greece was recently rocked and brought to a standstill by strikes and other forms of actions that oppose government plans to cut down on social spending and raise taxes to address foreign debt and mounting deficit. Farmers’ tractors were used to block roads; ferries were left tied up at the ports; hospitals, schools and other public services were shut down; and even news broadcasts were suspended as hundreds of thousands joined militant protests. The workers and people of Greece are saying “no” to government efforts to make them pay for decades of misuse of government funds for political patronage, corruption and consumption through debt financing.


In France, hundreds of thousands also joined protests against the Sarkozy regime’s plan to overhaul the national pension system by cutting pension and raising the retirement age in an attempt to solve the country’s deficit. Organizers of the protests also raised demands for job security, better working conditions and higher wages. In all countries of Europe, especially in Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, Greece and Spain, the level of social discontent and protest is rising because of the increasing rate of unemployment, the erosion of social benefits and the deterioration of living conditions.


In the US, the workers and immigrants undertook strikes and protest rallies. Hundreds of thousands of students and faculty launched protests against cuts in the education budget and increases in tuition. They were expressing outrage at the Obama regime’s policy of bailing out banks and huge corporations and of pouring money into the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to the detriment of education and other social services.


Despite US imperialism’s sabotage attempts, the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and North Korea are vocal in asserting national sovereignty and opposing imperialism’s dictates to their countries and the world. Their popular leaders declare that their countries are waging revolution for socialism. Their governments have been able to cushion the worst effects of the current crisis on the workers and peoples, and have even improved the standard of living in their respective countries. They are now mobilizing workers and peoples to change the socio-economic structures. Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia are active in encouraging their fellow Latin American countries to enhance economic cooperation in that region.


In Iraq and Afghanistan, the armed resistance of the workers and peoples against direct US colonial rule and for national liberation are dealing severe military and political blows on the military might of US imperialism. The imposition by force of US-backed puppet governments in these countries has only intensified the workers and peoples’ anger at US imperialism.


The armed resistance in these countries is encouraging the American workers and peoples’ condemnation of their government’s continuing war of aggression. It is also showing to the workers and peoples of the world that US military might can be resisted and put to shame, and that direct US occupation and colonial rule must be opposed at all costs.


There are proletarian parties in Asia, Latin America and Asia that are waging or are preparing to wage revolutionary armed struggle. The workers and peoples of the Philippines, India, Turkey, Congo, Niger Delta, Peru and Colombia are waging people’s wars for national liberation and democracy. They are persevering in the face of various campaigns of suppression by regimes that are supported by US imperialism under the pretext of the latter’s so-called “global war on terror.” In the Philippines, the revolutionary movement is aiming for a qualitative leap from strategic defensive to strategic stalemate in five years, by taking advantage of the intensifying global and national crises and building on current strengths and experiences.


In India and Nepal, revolutionary armed movements led by proletarian revolutionary parties continue to advance with the support of the workers and peoples in these countries. The revolutionary movement in India is steadily gaining strength, forcing the prime minister to say that “We are losing the war with the Maoists”. After overthrowing the monarchy and achieving great successes in the legal militant struggles and elections, the revolutionary movement in Nepal is now gearing for the seizure of state power to defend national independence and build socialism.


After two decades of blabbering about the “end of history,” the imperialists and their paid propagandists are being put to shame by the perseverance of ordinary workers and people in revolutionary struggle in order to collectively and militantly make history, and to put an end to such a backward and moribund system as imperialism.


All the struggles of the workers and peoples against imperialism and reaction are contributory to the relentless advance towards a new and better world of national independence, democracy, development, social justice and peace. We call on the workers and peoples of the world to intensify their struggles against imperialist plunder and wars of aggression and open the way to socialism!

Left-wing infantile disorder sa hanay ng Anakbayan Adamson

Hindi pa man umaani ng rebolusyunaryong tagumpay ang Anakbayan Adamson, umaasta nang extremista ang mga ito sa pagsasabing kailangang "markahan" bilang "anti-komunista" ang mga tulad kong nagbibigay ng komento o analisis sa tambalang Makabayan at pangkating Villar-Zamora. Moderasyon at hindi extremismo ang sosyalismo. Mukhang nararapat kayong tawaging may left-wing infantile disorder nyan at asta kayong pasistang gaya ni Hitler, hindi ni Lenin o Mao. Hindi pa man nakukupo ang tagumpay, astang pasista na ang mga miyembro ng Anakbayan matapos akong "markahan" bilang "anti-komunista" at bahagi raw ng "reaksyunaryong Cojuangco-Aquino".

Analisahin natin kung may basehan ang taguring "reaksyunaryo" sa hanay ng mga Aquino sampu ng mga naniniwala sa kandidatong ito.

Reaksyunaryo bang matatawag ang administrasyong Aquino lalo na sa pagtrato sa kilusan noong nasasa kapangyarihan pa ang dating Pangulong Cory Aquino? Kung ikukumpara sa administrasyong Ramos, Estrada at Arroyo o yaong post-Marcos regimes, mas kiling sa kilusan ang Cory administration kaysa sa mga sumunod na administrasyon. Ang Aquino administration lamang ang nagpakita ng sinseridad sa pagsusulong ng kapayapaan, nagpalaya sa daan-daang political detainees, kabilang na sina Ka Joma at Ka Satur at naging balancer sa military. Oo, sa mga huling araw nito, nagpakita ito ng kahinaan at naging kasapakat ng Estados Unidos ngunit kung susumahin ang mga naging hakbanging ginawa ng Aquino administration, mas lamang ito at tiyak na positibo pang matatawag kahit papaano kumpara sa mga sumunod na rehimen ng kalaban.

Kung susumahin, mas reaksyunaryo ang dinadalang kandidato ng Anakbayan Adamson bunga ng direktang pakiki-alam at partisipasyon ni Manny Villar sa mga gawaing tiwali ng kanyang mga tauhan sa kanyang mga kumpanyang tulad ng Vistaland at Camella Homes. Hindi ko na iisa-isahin ang kanilang rekord sa pangangamkam ng lupain, ng pagpatay sa mga katutubo at mga ordinaryong magsasakang kinamkaman ng kanilang mga sinasakang lupain sa Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Iloilo at Mindanao para tayuan ng mga sabdibisyon, gayundin ang malakas na linyado at direktang pakikialam ni Ginoong Villar sa manipulasyon ng mga stocks nito sa PSE.

Kung mayroong Luisita si Noynoy, mayroong daan-daang Luisita si Villar. Ilang libong pamilya sa uring magsasaka ang sinira ng mga kumpanya ni Villar na mayroon siyang direktang partisipasyon? Ilang bilyong piso ang ninakaw at kinamkam ni Villar mula sa kaban ng bayan para lamang paboran ng pamahalaan ang paggawa ng mga daan tungo sa kanyang mga sabdibisyon? Ilang bilyong piso rin ang nakuha ng pamilyang Villar bunga ng binangkarote nilang bangko upang makakuha lamang ng mahigit 6 na bilyong pisong ginagamit ngayon sa kanyang pagkampanya?

Ilang beses ring nagpahayag si Villar ng kanyang naising sugpuin ang rebolusyunaryong kilusan at paduguin ito sa sandaling siya'y maging pangulo? Labingisang beses sa samut-saring venues sinabi na ni Villar ang kanyang pagkasuklam sa mga "maka-kaliwa". Ito ba ang kandidatong nararapat alayan ng buhay at panahon? Hindi.

Magkahintulad lamang sina Villar, Aquino, Estrada, Teodoro, Gordon at kung sino-sino pang nangangarap maging pangulo. Sila'y mga kinatawan ng mga naghaharing uring nagnanais na panatiliin ang bangkarote at naghihingalong estado mula sa banta ng rebolusyon mula sa masa.

Sila ang mga mukha ng diumano'y demokratikong pagbabago na isang hungkag na terminong inimbento upang pakalmahin ang nag-uumalab na damdamin at naisin ng masang Pilipino na makapaglunsad ng tunay na rebolusyon.

Sila ang mga pinusisyon ng uring naghahari upang mapanatili ang paniniwala ng mga Pilipino na magkakaroon ng pagbabago sa pamamagitan ng halalan. Ilang beses nang naghalalan sa Pilipinas, nanatili at bagkus, sumama pa ang kalagayan ng bansa.

Sa pagiging asong ulol at pagkatig ng maigi ng Anakbayan Adamson sa pangkating Villar-Zamora, pinapakita lamang ng mga musmos na ito ang kanilang kawalang pagkaintindi sa dinamismo ng pulitika sa ating bansa, gayundin ng kawalang kaalaman sa tunay na sosyalismo.

Kung mayroong dapat markahan ng pagiging anti-komunista, yan ay ang mga miyembro ng Anakbayan Adamson. Sila ang mga di tunay na sosyalista. Sila ang mga batang musmos pa lamang sa kilusan na umaastang may alam sa Komunismo at Sosyalismo gayung sa kanilang kinikilos ay mas maiging markahan silang pasista kaysa sosyalista.

Kung markahan lamang ang pag-uusapan, ngayon pa lamang, kailangang markahang ignoramus sa komunismo at taktikang pang-rebolusyon ang mga ito. Sosyalista bang matatawag ang isang grupong naniniwala pa rin sa halalan? Magbasa pa kayo ng mga akda ni Karl Marx para lumiwanag ang inyong isip na lumabnaw na dahil sa milyong pisong perang ambon sa inyo ng pangkating Villar-Zamora.

Na hindi eleksyon ninuman ang solusyon kundi isang nakapangyayaring rebolusyon.

Sa pagkatig ng maigi sa sinasandalang pader na bilyong pisong kinurakot na pera ng pangkating Villar-Zamora, pinatutunayan lamang ng Anakbayan Adamson ang kanilang lihis at tiwaling paniniwala, hungkag na nga sa kaalamang sosyalismo, kinakakitaan pa ng pagiging sindikato. Astang syndikalismo ang pinapakita ng grupong ito na nararapat lamang markahan bilang mga pekeng sosyalistang walang puwang sa tunay na kilusang rebolusyunaryo.

Markahan at pagiging Komunista o Sosyalista: Birada sa mga Musmos sa Anakbayan Adamson

Nakatanggap ako ng isang reaksyon sa Anakbayan Adamson na matapos sabihing amo ko si Noynoy Aquino at gusto ko lang daw makatanggap ng "mumo" dito, heto at nakikiusap na maging friends kami sa Facebook. Dalawang dila.

Nagalit ang mga Anakbayan Adamson sa komento ko sa mahina at walang kagana-ganang alyansa sa pagitan ng Makabayan at pangkating Villar-Zamora. At kailangan daw akong "markahan" bilang "anti-komunista".

Sino itong Anakbayan Adamson para markahan akong "anti-Komunista"? Sila'y mga batang musmos na walang alam sa kung ano ang maging isang "sosyalista", " komunista" o "anti-komunista". Dahil ba nagkokomento ako ng isang konstruktibong paraan, anti-komunista na ako? Na "nababaliw" na raw ako at hibang tulad ng Akbayan.

May kalayaan ang bawat isa na magbigay ng kuro-kuro sa mga nagaganap sa kilusan at tungkulin ng isang "komunista" o "sosyalista" na magbigay ng kanyang analisis sa mga bagay at payuhan ang mga kapanalig at kasama sa tunay at nararapat na landasing tatahakin tungo sa tagumpay.

Unang una, hindi ko amo ang pangkating Aquino-Cojuangco-Roxas at walang panahong akin silang pinapurihan ng hindi ko rin sila inaatake.

Mukhang mga musmos pa sa kilusan ang Anakbayan Adamson at kailangang parusahan sa kanilang mga sinasabi. Kaya hindi makasulong sulong ang rebolusyon ay dahilan sa mga tulad nitong mga batang "komunista" gaya ng mga miyembro ng Anakbayan Adamson.

Kahit kailan ay hindi ko siniraan sina Ka Satur at Liza Masa, alalaong baga'y kasama sila sa mga senatoriables na sinusuportahan ko. Maski sa blog post ko na inilathala sa Facebook, wala akong sinabing masama sa dalawang kandidato ng Makabayan. Ang sinasabi ko lang, mali ang naging desisyon ng Makabayan na makipag-alyansa sa NP, bunga ng mga bagay na nabanggit ko na.

Kaya kayo nalalagasan ng kakampi maging sa hanay ng masa, wala o kakaunti sa inyo ang nakababatid sa tunay na termino ng "komunista", "sosyalista" at wala rin akong panahong bigyan kayo ng paliwanag dahilan sa tingin ko, mumo lang kayo at walang sapat na katalinuhan upang lubusang maintindihan ang mga bagay-bagay, lalo na ang komunismo.

Nalantad lamang sa biradang ito ng Anakbayan Adamson ang tunay na lagay ng kanilang political work sa mga komyunidad---tunay silang umaaani ng masasakit na salita mula sa masa bunga ng kanilang pagka-tutang pagsandal sa perang ambon ng pangkating Villar-Zamora. Hindi ko lubusang maisip bakit ganun na lamang ang pagsamba ng Anakbayan Adamson kay Villar, na isang dambuhalang kapitalista at mang-aagaw ng mga lupain ng mga magsasaka at ordinaryong manggagawa. At hindi lamang basta-basta kapitalista--isang bilyonaryong gahaman sa kapangyarihan, isang labas ang dilang nag-aasam maging isang pangulo upang makapangamkam pa at maibalik sa kanya ang bilyong pisong ginastos sa kampanya, kabilang na siguro ang milyong pisong ambon para sa postering ng mga miyembro ng Anakbayan Adamson.

Mukhang gusto ng Anakbayan Adamson na magpatuloy ang C-5, ang panggigipit ni Villar-Zamora sa business community sa pamamagitan ng paggamit sa puwesto, maging siguro ang pagpapatag ng mga kabundukan upang patayuan ng mga sabdibisyon at high-rise condo buildings.

O, baka gusto ng mga miyembro ng Anakbayan Adamson na mabigyan sila ng mga maliliit na bahay na itinitinda ng Camella sa masa? O, siguro, napangakuan na ang mga ito ng mga bahay na karamihan ay walang palikuran.

Nabulagan na ba ng milyon-milyong pisong ambon mula sa pangkating Villar-Zamora ang Anakbayan Adamson at gayun na lamang ang silakbo ng kanilang damdamin sa sinumang magbibigay puna sa alyansang ito? O, batid nilang tunay ang aking sinasabi kaya sila parang asong ulol na nagmamarakulyo.

Kailangang magpaliwanag ang mga musmos na ito sa kanilang liderato at alamin kung naging tama o isang seryosong pagkakamali ang kanilang naging komento sa aking sinulat. Kung mabatid nila ang katotohanan, isa lamang ang aking mapapayo sa mga musmos na ito--mag-aral nang mabuti hane para gamay ninyo ang tumpak na kilos sa mga komentong ganito sa hinaharap.

Villar should blame his media handlers if he loses the elections: Better luck next time Manny siguro by 2024

Nacionalista standard bearer Manny Villar is undoubtedly, the most qualified of all presidentiables. He's young. He's intelligent (UP business administration graduate) and really comes from a middle class family. Undeniably, his rise to billionaire status without using his brute strength (like the other Manny) is admirable. His success story is really inspiring.

Now, why is he now slipping--latest Pulse Asia survey shows him at 20% at par with Joseph Estrada, with Aquino at 39%--or about 19 or so percentage points away. Villar was once statistically tied with Aquino. Noynoy has since broken away, far, far away from the billion peso reach of Villar. Why?

First, Aquino did not lie in his campaigns. What he is, that's what the public got. He never lied about his roots, never engaged his enemies to dirty mudslinging and never accused his enemies of being loonies.

Villar did all that. He lied about his roots. What is so wrong with telling people he was once a member of the middle class? That is better than being haciendero. Villar should have at the oneset claimed to have been a member of the middle class, nakuha pa niya ang sympathy votes of the ABC class. Now, because doubts have been raised about his true roots, Villar is now getting the brunt of anger and mistrust from the public.

Villar did not stoop soooo low as to accuse his political enemies of mental diseases or illnesses. In the Philippines, okey lang if you accuse your enemies of graft and corruption but accusing him of being a mental patient? Excuse moi! Okey lang if you accuse somebody who shows like she's a loony, there's basis. Noynoy does not exhibit such. And that, to us voters, is the lowest form of campaigning.

Other than these two, well, his involvement in the bourse scandal is yet another mismanaged thing.

Net---Villar should blame his media handlers for the mess he is in. It's a pity. He spent millions on public relations and billions more on advertising, yet he failed. Oh, by the way, his ads should have been more effective if he chose sana na calibrated response, not yung series upon series of ad placement. Like I wrote over at FV, voters suffered from Villar fatigue and that showed on the surveys.

I don't think Villar will ever recover from this, no. Anyway, there's always a 2016 or even a 2024. By that time, Baby James and his gang of kids in the Villar television ad ay mga voters na. Villar is sure to win by 2024.

Ang pangkating Villar-Zamora at ang Makabayan

Sa mga kasamang naniniwala kay Villar, magandang araw sa inyo.


Yun bang pinagmulan lamang ng isang tao ang basehan ng ating pagsuporta? Na dahil ipinanganak sa Tondo si Villar ay isa nang malaking factor sa pagsuporta sa kanya? Nababasa ko sa Facebook ang inyong mga updates at kitang-kita na ikinakampanya ninyo si Villar at kinakalaban sina Aquino at Roxas na ang basehan lamang ay ang kanilang pagiging anak mayaman o ipinanganak na may gintong kutsara sa bunganga, ika nga. Ito ba talaga ang tunay na damdamin natin, o inililihim lamang natin ang tunay na dahilan ng ating pagsuporta sa partido ni Villar?


Hane, upuan nga natin ito at pag-usapan.


Ilan sa inyo ang hindi galing sa mayamang angkan o sa panggitnang uri? Sige nga, magsitayo ang hindi college student o college graduate sa inyo? Magsitayo ang hindi burgis sa hanay ng mga aktibista.


Bagamat idol ko si Ka Satur Ocampo at iboboto ko siya, hane, sinong magpapatunay sa akin ngayon na hindi siya nakakariwasa? Nakatira sa isang bungalow sa dating JUSMAG si Ka Satur, isang sabdibisyon ng mga nakaka-angat sa lipunan. Nakapag-aral sa mga matitinong unibersidad ang kanyang mga anak. Hane, mahirap ba siya?


Eh, papaano si Lisa Masa na iboboto ko rin, mahirap ba ang kanyang pinanggalingan? Hindi rin. Isa rin siyang burgis na tulad ng karamihan sa mga lider sa kilusan. 


Ang ating batayan ba ng pagsuporta kay Villar ay ang kanyang pinanggalingan o yung kanyang pagpansin sa Makabayan platform? Mukhang yung huli ang punung dahilan bakit tayo sumusuporta kay Villar---dahil naniwala tayo sa pangako ni Ronnie Zamora na kaalyado natin sa Kongreso na mayroon tayong pusisyon sa Villar administration. Ngunit, nakatitiyak ba tayong hindi tayo aahasin o kaya'y gagantsuhin ng tambalang Villar-Zamora?


Batid natin sa likod ng pusturang pang-masa ni Villar at ni Zamora ay ang kanyang track record na anti-mahirap. Sige nga, pakisabi sa akin ngayon ang mga batas na para sa mahirap na ini-akda nina Villar at Zamora? Mabibilang ko sa daliri kung mayroon man. 


Sa tinagal na panahong speaker at senate president si Villar gayundin noong Congressman naman si Zamora, pakisabi nga sa akin kung maraming beses silang umayon sa plataporma ng Makabayan o maski man lamang Bayan Muna? Mulat ba ang kamalayan nina Villar at Zamora sa mga ipinakikibaka nating mga nasasa kilusan?


Nabasa ninyo ba ang naging pahayag ni Villar sa mga opisyales militar na hindi niya pababayaang manalo sina Ocampo at Masa? Narinig at nabalitaan ninyo na ba ang commitment ni Villar sa PMA classes 1977, 1978, 79 at 84 maging sa mga UP brods ng kanyang kapatid na si Jojo Villar na kanyang iniaalis ang suporta sa mga "maka-kaliwa" gaya ng Makabayan? Tiyak kayong sasaksakin sa likod ni Villar kapagka nakapuwesto na ang pangkating Villar-Zamora. Alalahaning may rekord ang mga ito na anti-sosyalista noon pa mang sinisimulan nila ang kanilang karera sa pulitika.


Taktikal ika nga ang alyansa natin kay Villar ngunit ito'y isang maling taktika sa apat (4) na kadahilanan:


1. Una, ito'y alyansang gamitan. Ginagamit ni Villar ang inyong malinis na pangalan upang mapalapit sa masa, samantalang nasisira kayo sa inyong mga hanay at base bunga ng pagkasuklam ng taumbayan sa kanya. Batid nating napakabigat dalhin sa masa si Villar bunga ng mga kasalanan nito sa taumbayan.


2. Nakalutang sa hangin ang alyansa dahil hindi ito naka-angla sa paniniwalang ideolohikal, bagkus, ito'y isang political accommodation lamang. Marubdob ba ang paniniwala ni Villar sa Pambansa Demokratikong pakikibaka? Hindi. Interes lamang ng pangkating Villar-Zamora ang batid at tiyak na ibabandera ng NP sa sandaling makupo nito ang kapangyarihan.


3.  Sa tiyak na pagkatalo ni Villar, mauuwi sa pagbibitak-bitak ang kilusan dahilan sa isa na namang maling taktika/istratehiya. Madadala ang kilusan sa tiyak na hayagang pagkakawatak-watak bunga ng paglusong sa pulitika ng Makabayan at sa mali pang partido nag-alyansa. Apektado ng negatibong publisidad ang sinumang nakadikit ngayon kay Villar. Kitang-kita sa pagbaba ng sarbey ang pagbaba rin sa rankings ng mga kilalang naka-alyansa kay Villar.


Ang nakalulunos isipin ay maiiwanan na naman ang kilusan sa sandaling magkaroon ng isang rebolusyunaryong pamahalaan sa pagputok ng isang civil disobedience campaign kung magkakaroon ng dayaan. 


4. Sa gamitang Villar-Makabayan, talo ang Makabayan dahil unti-unting nalulusaw ang pinagpawisang gawaing organisasyunal ng Makabayan nitong mga nakaraang taon bunga ng umaalingasaw na pangalan at integridad ng dinadalang kandidato.


Kaya naman, sa ganito kaaga, nararapat lamang na itama ng liderato ng kilusan ang pagkakamali, at unti-unting humiwalay sa pangkating Villar-Zamora.  May panahon pa at mayroon ding mga exit o escape routes na maaaring gawing basehan ng Makabayan upang humiwalay kay Villar gaya ng pagputok ng mga negatibong pangangampanya dulot ng pagpapakalat ng black propaganda ng hanay ni Villar.

The Philippines post-election

May 10 is a significant and momentous event for two (2) reasons: one, this election will take place coinciding with the parliamentary elections in England. That will be a very interesting study between elections conducted in a 3rd world country and that of a highly industrialized one. Whatever happens in these two events will give us a glimpse of how democracy works between two (2) differing cultures. 


Gordon Brown's campaign is being attacked right now because of what many people see as "bigotry in the big picture". Brown's bigoted remark is spreading throughout the world and enjoying negative publicity. 

Here in the Philippines, we see political parties slugging it out thru black propaganda. One candidate, Nacionalista party standard bearer Manny Villar and his entire senatorial slate are being villified for unleashing negative campaigning while the Liberal party is now perceived to be on the crest of victory. Elections on both sides of the globe are resorting to age old tactics and getting the same kind of impact on the perception of the electorate. 


And second, this elections will test the mettle of our Nation. Many people are asking--will this lead to violence, as many people think, or will this be a sobering event that will again reinvigorate our democracy for the next six years?

Whoever wins this elections will face daunting challenges. Poverty reduction will not be the core feature of the new administration. The main task will definitely be about democratization of government institutions. It will be about reducing the incidence of graft and corruption and possibly, even correcting the fundamental errors in our concepts of governance and structures. 


There are hard challenges ahead and whoever wins will face extreme and direct confrontation with strong political and economic forces, out to preserve the status quo and will only give the new president an inch towards substantive change. The centuries-old problems will continue and will dampen the spirits of many, but after three years, people will see and feel, the difference. 


The first three years will be violent, especially under an Aquino administration. Anti-Aquino forces will not easily back down, but will muster enough forces to neutralize whatever gains Aquino will accomplish in his first years in office. This early, indications are rife that military groups will directly challenge an Aquino presidency. There will be two (2) areas of concern under an Aquino presidency: first, the legislative challenge and second, the military challenge. 

If Aquino's political party fails to muster a majority in Congress, and both the lower and upper houses are dominated by non-Aquino forces, it will be quite difficult for Aquino to govern. Proposed legislation will face extreme opposition, especially to an Arroyo dominated Congress. 


Those who now oppose the prospect of an Aquino presidency will now work for the election of non-Aquino affiliated Congressmen and Senators whose interests will solely lie on preserving the status quo. The promises of change will fall by the wayside. Priority bills will languish in the aged vaults of the 15th Congress.


Charter change will again be revived even under an Aquino presidency and this will present a very dangerous proposition to the Filipino people. One, this will magnify the social fissures present and second, will be opposed by a Republican-minded citizenry. Likewise, a change in the structure of governance will definitely face stiff opposition from the United States. The US can ill afford to lose a very strategic ally in the Pacific because any change in the democratic model patterned after the States will be interpreted negatively by the former hegemon. 

Hence, it is very important that the people elect the entire Liberal party into power because this will lead to stability for the next six years. The party should dominate both houses of Congress and limit the influence exerted by the Arroyos. 


The Liberals should oppose the election of GMA allies in the non-formal sectors (partylists) and the traditional sectors (district). Likewise, very important that at least eight senatorial candidates under the LP wing win in the forthcoming elections to be able to exert a major influence or voting block in the Senate. Senatorial candidates under the LP wing that are expected to clinch spots include: Drilon, Sergio Osmena, Lacson, Bautista, Acosta, Lim, Guingona, and of course, Biazon. These distinguished candidates should be elected into office to avoid the dangers of another power struggle between Legislative and Executive. 


Now, what if Villar or Erap or Gibo wins this elections?


Under a Villar presidency, coups will surely be a distinct feature because a Villar administration will definitely encounter strong opposition emanating from the AFP and big business. Villar has many enemies in the business sector whose interests will be directly affected by his election to office. This applies even to an Erap presidency. There will be continuous destabilization of government, and this will surely not be a welcome development. 


Under a Gibo Teodoro presidency, the same aristocracy will enjoy continuous power and this will exacerbate age-old social issues. A Gibo presidency is dangerous since this will more likely be a continuation of the discredited anti-poor policies of the Arroyo administration. Poverty will surely increase as well as societal problems. Insurgency will surely worsen and with Gibo's propensity to mismanage, will again rear its ugly head. 

ITs all about trust baby

Only 17 days to go and still a measly 15% of absentee voters were able to vote. Probably the remaining 85% will do so come election time. Or most likely they will not.

A big chunk of the population, according to a recent survey, is still largely undecided on who to vote for as their president. Some do not even want to vote. And this reflects the history of voting in this country--it's always ten to twenty percentum of the population that are unable to cast their votes for numerous reasons.

One, they belonged to the disfranchised. Two, some of these people work during elections and three, they simply don't want to vote.

In this automated elections, expect a bigger disfranchisement of people largely due to technical reasons. One, if some of people vote while their hands are dirty. Two, if they're eating suman or sticky rice while voting and three, there's this technical problem of transmission.

That justifies a parallel manual count.

Moreso, demands for a parallel manual count stems from mistrust. People simply do not trust the judgment and "wisdom" of the Comelec. Comelec simply don't want a parallel manual count--they just want a manual audit. The poll body says they lack the time to prepare and second, why waste billions of pesos spent for the lease of these PCOS machines when people don't trust the results anyway?

That's the thing--nothing will ever be changed in this country simply because we don't trust our fellow Filipinos.

Arlyn dela Cruz: the Look of a Winner

Filipina journalist Arlyn dela Cruz and another colleague Cesar Apolinario won three major awards in the PMPC Star awards for their opus, Puntod, a social commentary of a movie.

This space congratulates the two for a job well done. Dela Cruz and Apolinario belong to a rare breed of journalists who are socially conscious of the events happening in our country.

What is most admirable about these two colleagues of mine--they have an acute sense of reality and to render it in the most artistic way shows a depth which other people lack. Not all journalists have this artistry in them and this is just some of the traits that I, along with millions of others, admire in people like Arlyn and Cesar.

Not only that---despite all odds, both shows an uncompromising attitude about their chosen path. Their fortitude is truly amazing.

By the way, look at my kapatid here. She not only looked a winner--she's as sultry as ever. :-) Paging Willie Revillame. Baka kailangan niyo ng kapalit ni Congrats sa Wowoweee, hehehe. :-)

New faces, fresher changes in governance

What do we expect our president or any other Filipino leader to have? Do we need certified engineers, lawyers, economists and businessmen to govern us?

As a poor man, I dare say that we need more than highly intelligent, qualified and highly educated leaders---we need those whose hearts are in the right place. Yes.

There's talk going around among Filipinos living in poor communities that intelligent people are only good as policy or researchers. They suck as leaders.

Bayani Fernando is one. He goes around town wearing that stupid engineer's hat, telling people that he's an engineer and we need an engineer as Vice president, then, telling everyone that when he's elected to the post, he'll just do nothing. He will just be a bastonero, meaning a morale boaster. Okay, so why are you wearing an engineer's hat?

Fernando's action is simply stupid and idiotic. He should fire his pr firm, for even telling him to wear that. Why?

That hat symbolizes danger. Yep, why wear that hat if you're not in a construction site? Fact is, whenever the masses see that hat, they remember the numerous construction disasters and accidents that people who wore that got. Its like wearing a bullet proof vest inside a church. Or wearing an anti-blast suit inside a mall.

Filipinos are more discerning, and more intelligent now. They simply will not vote for Fernando simply because he's an engineer. The masses saw how cruel and how heartless he was when he was still MMDA chairman.

Yes, the law must be followed. But, implementing the law does not mean harming the rights of those vendors. When he violently seized the goods of vendors and itinerant street sellers, did Fernando implemented the law? Yes, he did. But, Fernando did it in such a way that only a neurotic would do it.

Do we need lawyers to govern us?

We have so many laws that law students are hard pressed reading and memorizing every single bit of them. And to the credit of our legislators, these are very good laws indeed.

Yet, these laws are being used by the very same creators to commit atrocious crimes against the people. Example--the VAT law.

VAT are good tax measures in modern societies. VAT are good if government wants to improve the economy.

VAT sucks in an economy barely surviving or struggling to keep pace with its neighbours. VAT is like a curse when the people do not even have enough to buy food stuffs.

And do we need businessmen to govern us?

We have the likes of Villar who thinks there's nothing wrong with appearing before the bourse and asking for concessions.

We have the likes of Enrile whose Jaka properties are benefitting from his hard work. And we have the likes of those hacienderos who are in power just to frustrate agrarian reform.

What kind of leaders do we need today?

We need young leaders who will focus more on the collective welfare than personal welfare. We need young leaders who are visionaries, more than certified this and that.

We need direction, not dereliction of duties.

We need people whose vision for our country reflects what we, ordinary Filipinos desire for--a country who equalizes opportunities and provides security to all.

Villar broke the highest law like the Arroyos

Manny Villar sees nothing wrong when he presented himself before the PSE board and lobbied for Vistaland. Villar said he broke no law.

The Nacionalista party standard bearer also defended himself by saying that Senators like him are not required to divest their interests in their companies--the law requires that they just have to divulge it.

I am totally disappointed with Villar---he simply does not get it. The issue is not law--its delicadeza.

Villar has committed the very sin, in fact, the original sin of this administration---the Arroyos are fond of telling the people they broke no law while their very act smacks of immorality, nay, gruesome unethical behavior.

Yes, Senators are not supposed to divest, only divulge their interests in their numerous companies. And yes, probably, he broke no law since the PSE, as correctly defended by Vista Land's lawyer Nalen Galang, is a private institution.

Yet, what Villar just did was actually prove the very fears of the people and why most will not vote for him---he has the tendency to use his position to benefit his numerous companies.

This act of Villar sends a very chilling message to big business---what will prevent Villar from appearing once again before the PSE or any business group and ask for concessions? If we elect Villar as president, what will then prevent him from breathing down hard against his rivals in the real estate business? Nothing, you say. That's precisely it.

When his companies bought land with liens or disputes attached to it and allegedly faked those titles, what will then prevent Villar from similarly doing the same things, and in a grandier fashion, as our president? Nothing, you say. Fact is, Villar will even be more fierce.

Even if the law does not bar Villar as a Senator from appearing before any business group, it is incumbent upon Villar, if he's really an honest, sincere and a good man, not to do things which are unethical.

Galang said when Villar appeared before the PSE, he was doing so not as Senate president but as majority stockholder of Vista Land. Crap.

Do you think Vivien Yuchengco or PSE board chairman Lim welcomed Villar as "Citizen Villar" not as "Senate president Villar" when he appeared before them? Surely Galang is not as stupid as many people think she is. That's a very weak alibi, weaker than ARMM governor Zaldy Ampatuan's alibi.

Laws are supposed to reflect our concept of morality but if there is no law that exists that bars someone from acting or doing things, then, the only recourse for someone if the law is silent is simply exercising his own moral conscience.

That appearance before the PSE is a moral judgment, not a legal one.

Hence, it's totally abhorrent for a person with a higher social standing like Villar, indeed, expected of him, to exercise the right moral judgment every single time he's faced with acts which the laws are silent.

Is Villar parroting what Arroyo said when she was asked about her call to the Comelec commissioners? She admitted doing the call but defended herself by saying that there is no law that bars her from doing so. Yes, the laws are silent. But its silence does not mean that you or anyone is entitled to do what many think as immoral or unethical.

When Arroyo defended herself by saying that there is no law that bars her from fraternizing or socializing with ZTE-NBN officials at the height of an ongoing bidding for the contract, does it mean that Arroyo broke no law when she and her husband went to Shenzhen to golf with the ZTE officials? Yes, the Arroyos broke no law except the highest law which the people expected them to follow and that is, the moral law.

Villar is hiding behind the technicalities of the law. What he fails to say is simply, he lacks the moral acuity expected of leaders like him. And that's the danger. If we elect Villar, we are electing an Arroyo clone.

Why vote for Noynoy Aquino?

I met Noynoy Aquino for the first time last November 2008, in one of Mar Roxas' events. It was in Balai ni Mar. He came with only one bodyguard and appeared like a professor to me, not a distinguished senator.

What endeared him to me was his humility. He never bragged about his wealth, nor his pedigree nor his superiority to me. I am, but, a humble and poor man. He asked me for a light and I gave it to him and that started a conversation. Though I like to tell you what we talked about, I figured that it will not be fair to him.

Anyway, I was one of those who was shocked when he decided to run for president. When I saw him, I did not imagine that he's "presidential material". There was no glow around him, nothing extraordinary. Unlike, say, Erap and FVR and Cory--they have this "air" around them that suggests that they are not your usual or ordinary people. As they say, those who became or will become presidents usually has this "glow". I never saw that with Noynoy.

What I noticed was his sincerity and humility, traits that every single Aquino possesses. I met his mother and his sister in so many occasions and was struck me was their humility. I was not fortunate enough to meet his father, Ninoy, but shed a bucketful of tears when the dictator's henchmen shot him at the airport tarmac.

I was also one of those who went to Club Filipino and heard him tell the world that he was running for the presidency. I told some of my friends over at Mar's camp that probably, Mar's decision to back out was a wrong move, because, I think that Mar deserved to be the Liberal's standard bearer because he wants to be president while Noynoy was not that convincing, at first.

Then it hit me--what if Noynoy's decision to run was what God really intended? I reminded myself of the Biblical story of David, of how a poor and unknown shepherd became God's anointed one. David never aspired to become King but God anointed him. He never intended to become a warrior of God, but the Almighty put the fear of God in his heart and he vanquished God's enemies through the might of his slingshot.

What prompted Noynoy to seek the highest post of the land? Is it because he want nothing more than glory? No, probably not. Is it because he wanted to save his family's ailing businesses? Obviously not. The Aquino's wealth will probably last a lifetime, even beyond Baby James' life time.

Is Noynoy seeking vainglory? No. And then it hit me again.

When this country was reeling from the distresses caused by a strongman's vanity, one lowly citizen stood up and said " Tama na, Sobra na" and it was his mother, Cory.

When people were being killed left and right, his father, Noynoy, stood up and said " Enough!".

Now, we are in the same depressing situation and its now the son's turn.

How many Aquinos do we need for us to change the lot of this country? One, two, or three? How much more sacrifice will this family do to us before we even realize that it is simply not just them who'll do the talking and walking--more importantly, it must be US.

God gives glory to those who seek not its beauty. And this, probably, is why we now see the only son of Ninoy and Cory giving his entire life, his entire future, so that others may be free.

Yet, I ask--how many more Noynoys do we need for us to finally liberate ourselves from the shackles of ignorance and poverty? Is it right for us to demand more from this family who has been giving us their entire selves for the last four decades?

This probably explains why many Filipinos prefer Noynoy than Villar. Villar desired the presidency, Noynoy does not. Villar prepared for years for this campaign for the top post, Noynoy did not.

And like what God and History always tell us---those whose fate are not congruent with God's, the Almighty will frustrate them.

By the way, the next survey will shock us---former president Joseph Estrada has overtaken Villar and is now statistically tied with Noynoy. What a shocker indeed!

Do we still hope for the best?

There are so many things happening in our country today that I am inclined to just go to the beach and probably get a job there as a life saver. Sometimes you feel hopeless.

I had this discussion with a colleague and we talked about the things happening in our country today. I felt exasperated. I felt that probably it's better to live in another country than waste my talents here.

One reason why we are still like this is the fact that the 0lder generation has betrayed us. Look at the present crop of leaders. They have been at it for decades but do you feel any change in our present situation? None. Nothing has changed for the last two decades, simply because most of our leaders took care of their pockets instead of taking care of their fellow Filipinos first.

And really, we should blame ourselves. We elect the same old faces. We always think of them as superior over us when they are just simpletons pretending to be more intelligent and more deserving to be leaders than us.

Since my teens, I have always longed for change. I was born poor yet I struggled against it by sheer hard work and patience.

I met thousands along the road and half if not seventy percent of them think the same thing--all want change.

In my journey, I thought that ideology will probably solve our problems. I was wrong. Ideology has nothing to do with fighting poverty. It just worsens the situation.

I met people who masquerade as nationalists when all they were were wolves in sheep's clothing. Those whose hearts are in the wrong place are like stars in the night skies.

And, realizing this, I sometimes remind myself of the story of the two angels who visited Sodom and Gomorrah before God destroyed them. Someone asked God what will make Him stay his hand and the Almighty responded if there are at least ten good and honorable people living in there, God will surely not destroy these towns. And as we know, God did, indeed destroyed these towns because there was no single man or woman who truly love his fellow man.

If we all would realize one thing and one thing alone that the secret to eternal life is love, then, probably, all of us, and that includes the greedy will not think of harming another one.

I challenge Agra to wear black today

I challenge Justice secretary Alberto Agra to wear black today, even just to prove that he has no dandruff. If he wears his favorite color, which is orange, then, so be it. At least that's the color of the shirt he will be wearing once the term of this administration ends by June.

Agra should be ashamed for what he did, and to think that he was once a law professor of the Ateneo.

How could alibi be used to fully extinguish culpability for a crime? Alibi is a very weak defense tactic. In People vs. Mosquerra (G.R. No. 129209, August 9, 2001), the Supreme Court ruled that:

Accused defense of [sic] alibi is not worthy of belief. It has been repeatedly ruled that alibi is a weak defense as it is easy to concoct and fabricate. It become weaker in the face of the positive identification of the accused by an eye witnesses [sic] with no improper motive to falsely testify. More, it is not sufficient for the accused to alleged [sic] that he was away from the scene of the crime at the time of its commission. He must also present a clear and convincing proof that it is physically impossible for him to be at the locus criminis while the crime is in progress. That physical impossibility is not present in this case. The records show that Jimmy Mosquerra's residence is about one and a half (1½) kilometers away from the crime scene. . . . Its distance could be negotiated in just a few minutes only, especially, when one uses a motor vehicle which is of common use for travel today.

Nothing is more settled in criminal law jurisprudence than that denial and alibi cannot prevail over the positive and categorical testimony of the witness. Denial is an intrinsically weak defense which must be buttressed with strong evidence of non-culpability to merit credibility. Alibi is an inherently weak defense, which is viewed with suspicion and received with caution because it can easily be fabricated.For alibi to prosper, appellant must prove not only that he was at some other place when the crime was committed but that it was physically impossible for him to be at the locus criminis at the time of its commission.

Agra, as both Solicitor General and DOJ secretary at the same time, should probably know this--that alibi is not an affirmative defense.

What is most surprising is this---former Justice secretary Raul Gonzales was even the one who provided ARMM governor Zaldy Ampatuan his alibi by saying that the accused was inside Malacanang palace while the crime was being committed in Datu Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao.

In a conspiracy, the conspirators can actually be in some other place while a crime is being committed. For example, in this case, there is a higher probability that the masterminds of the crime were simply not there when the crime was committed. Conspiracy, in Philippine jurisprudence, is defined as an act committed by a band who, conspiring together, committed a crime. According to court records, Ampatuan is one of the conspirators. And being accused of such, the only possible and strongest reason for his acquittal is simply an affirmative defense, meaning, it should be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Ampatuan was never even there or he did not even know the plan of his other relatives against their political enemy.

I doubt it if Zaldy did not even know the plan to cause harm against the Mangundadatus. As a government official, it is the responsibility of the person who heard or know of some conspiracy to report such to the authorities. Zaldy should have been at least held liable for not acting on an information which he probably knew or received prior to the commission of the crime. And since this will still be heard before a court of law, at least Agra should have given the victims of the crime some latitude knowing that the crime was committed by a group of people, not by one individual.







In People vs. Bulasag (GR. no. 172869, 28 July 2008), it is ruled that:

Gilbert Remulla visits Andal Ampatuan Senior to get endorsement

Though Cynthia Villar denies ever visiting Andal Ampatuan Senior to get his so-called "blessing" for her husband Nacionalista standard bearer Manny Villar, a member of Villar's party was confirmed to have visited the warlord of Maguindanao.


And he is no other than Gilbert Remulla, the one with the infomercial lambasting trapos and encouraging us to vote for New Politics. To think that Remulla lied in his infomercial for reportedly telling us not to vote for trapos when he, himself, wanted to get the blessing of not just a trapo, but a warlord.


Remulla visited Andal senior for half an hour to get himself listed in the ones to be endorsed by one of the alleged masterminds behind the gruesome Maguindanao massacre. Here is the report of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, today, of Remulla's visit:

Remulla visited Andal Sr.

But another military officer, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter, said NP senatorial candidate Gilbert Remulla visited Andal Sr. a month ago.

“He was here for less than an hour,” the military officer said.

The officer said several Maguindanao town mayors also visited Andal Sr. to discuss the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial candidates they would campaign for in their respective towns.

“They (mayors) consulted the old man,” the source said.

Villar, Roxas, Bongbong

“I saw their line-up—Villar for president, Mar Roxas for vice president and their senatorial candidates included Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Revilla, Gilbert Remulla, Bongbong Marcos and Miriam Defensor-Santiago,” the source said.

Cynthia was indeed in Davao on April 9. She met with Quiboloy.

She arrived in the morning on a commercial flight. Immediately upon arrival at the Davao International Airport, she boarded a helicopter and went to North Cotabato with Kidapawan City mayoral candidate Francis Palmones.

At around 1 p.m., she returned to Davao City and met with Quiboloy. She took the 4:50 p.m. flight back to Manila on that same day.

So much for a lying senatorial bet. If Remulla lied today, he will definitely lie tomorrow.

Atty. Adel Tamano---elect as our Muslim representative to Senate

Last night's HARAPAN was revelatory--it convinced me that Atty. Adel Tamano, a Muslim brother, deserves at least a seat in the new Senate. I would even be glad if two Muslims, Tamano and Yasmin Lao win and serve as Senators. They deserve it especially Lao who sacrificed her entire career and life uplifting the lives of fellow Muslims in Mindanao. Lao reminds me of another equally deserving Muslimah---Amina Rasul--who is now actively involved in bringing peace and stability in Mindanao. Rasul, who is a Harvard graduate, deserves to be Senator, much the same way as Adel and Yao.

Opps...my readers will be puzzled. Before, I wrote negative articles about Tamano and here I am urging my colleagues to at least consider him.


There is one factor that convinced me---when Tamano told the crowd that he is a Muslim and it is time to elect a Muslim representative in Congress. I was waiting for him to do just that and when he did, that sealed the deal for me. 

Tamano is a brilliant lawyer. He's a young and dashing debonaire of a lawyer. He fought for the rights of fellow Muslims, especially those accused unjustly for crimes they did not commit. Like Lao and Rasul, they represent the new generation of Muslim leaders ready to sacrifice their lives and their futures for the sake of the Muslim community.


At last, Tamano recognized that he has to own that category of being the only Muslim candidate worthy of being elected to the Senate. Tamano has clearly recognized that he needs the support of his fellow Muslims, not the support of a discredited beauty consultant. 


The only thing left to do is for Tamano to deepen his iman--and only God knows that. Tamano must go the rounds of mosques here in Manila and in Mindanao. May the One True God guide him towards a deeper involvement in the Ummah. 

The meaning of a failed elections

Jose Camano, who migrated to the States after being disbarred by the Supreme Court due to an ethical (moral some would say) issue (extortion case with his partner the present MMDA chairman), says that what the hell are we talking about? The 1987 Constitution, says Camano is clear---there will be no vacancy in the post of the president simply because she is still the Chief Executive until June 30. So, why are sectors and quarters all thinking about filling a "vacancy" when there is none?


Camano is right--Mrs. Arroyo will still be president until June 30. The question that everybody is finding or looking for a solution is simply this--who will be her successor come June 30. 


If, say, this election fail, and God knows I don't want it to fail, how then will we resolve the issue of succession? If the automated elections prolong the count, especially if it conducts a parallel count, and Comelec fails to transmit the results of the elections prior to the opening of Congress, who will then be proclaimed as president? That is the issue, Mr. Camano. 


The concern for the period of May 10 to May 20 is legitimate since Mrs. Arroyo is in the running as Congresswoman of Pampanga. If she is running AND manning the fort as well, how will the results of the elections in Pampanga be as clean and of the highest integrity? Anyway, that's beside the point. Some say that will be the trigger that will surely launch a coup against her. That period, some analysts think, is the period where executive power is at its weakest and most vulnerable. For security analysts, who clearly understand the dynamics of politics, that is the supposed "clink" in the armor of invinsibility of Mrs. Arroyo. 


Let me explain to former Atty. Camano, who is now hiding in the States after that extortion case he committed here in the Philippines, that this period is critical to the survival of democracy in the Philippines for 4 simple reasons:


1. This is the period of counting, the most important leg of the elections. If the results are questionable due to tampering (either automated or manual), that will trigger massive public reaction, even outrage. That is a security issue.


2. If, during the period of counting, a massive rally erupts and certain sectors question the preliminary results of the count, that is also a potential, if not, a serious security issue. 


3. One of the possible scenarios being discussed wildly in certain rounds is the possibility of Mrs. Arroyo and her gang activating her "close associates" in the military for a possible takeover of government. This is where I take the PMA Class 1978 to task---they told me that they will not Mrs. Arroyo to be the "caretaker" of the government, while waiting for the final results. IT will be better, says one of the members of PMA Class 1978, to just allow her to just "fade away" to exile or retirement. Meaning, they will not even allow her to even serve as Congresswoman should she win this coming elections. 


4. This is when the supposed "vacuum" exists, when there is a failure to proclaim a winner. Remember that the elections is not just about voting and counting the results, no. The conclusion of any elections is the proclamation of the winner. If this elections will not lead to a favorable interpretation of the results from all groups, then, that will justify a takeover. 


All sectors whom I talked with says that this elections is the final one. This is the last straw, so to speak. This is the last democratic option left available before anyone decides to move against Gloria. If this election still fails to proclaim a legitimate successor, then, anything is entirely possible. 


So, Mr. Camano, this is not as simple as one accepting a client then going to the other side to accept an offer for a huge sum of money. No Joe, this cannot be remedied by extortion. And this is even not interpreting any Constitutional provision which is entirely silent on the matter. This is about anticipating possible dire consequences, which, unfortunately, your mind cannot grasp. This is not about law. This is about power, and the struggle of groups in our society.