Ampatuans released by DOJ

Two of the Ampatuans, among them, ARMM governor Zaldy Ampatuan has just been cleared by the Department of Justice of all murder charges. Justice secretary Agra told journalists that he approved the petition for review of the Ampatuans after closely studying the pieces of evidence that were presented. Agra believes that Zaldy and Datu Mamasapano are not involved in the grisly massacre of 59 civilians last November 23 in Datu Sharif Aguak in Maguindanao. 


I don't know with you, but remember that this site wrote about the plan to exonerate the Ampatuans from this a few weeks ago. Sources told me that the palace intends to release Zaldy Ampatuan after a series of violent incidents rocked the province. It seems that the Ampatuans are still needed by the military to maintain the peace, so to speak, in the province. 


We all know that the Ampatuans served as counter-force or some say, counter-balance against lawless and insurgent elements in the province. Some of the military believes that Zaldy can still weave his so-called "magic" to put a stop to the violence breaking out almost everyday in Maguindanao.


The only worry some people have would actually be this---with two Ampatuans in the lam, how would this affect the status of the multiple murder cases filed against the other Ampatuans? Martial law was declared in Maguindanao specifically to allow an independent and impartial probe of the massacre. Now with two Ampatuans freed, surely, doubts will be raised. 


Some of the main witnesses to the crime were either killed or silenced. Groups are quite anxious and equally afraid that the Ampatuan clan will exert their influence upon witnesses and their families. 


This is beginning to be messy. Too messy for our comfort. Vigilance is the key.

Ermita admitted no actual rebellion in Maguindanao prior to Martial Law

So, now, Ka Dante, Executive secretary Eduardo Ermita admitted that Mrs. Arroyo proclaimed martial law in Maguindanao even without the existence of actual rebellion. That's comforting. At least after almost a week, someone inside the Iron curtains had the gall to admit that they fumbled and committed a great fax pas. Or maybe, just maybe, his conscience was pricked. Or maybe his wife already told him of a brewing rebellion that will break out anytime now and she wants him to pack his bags and leave for Batangas.

I have one message to Ermita and his rambunctuous bunch of idiots there picking their noses while eating pork and some even sipping wine while I write this---it is tooo damn late for them to repent and ask for mercy.

They initiated a very serious thing that surely will develop into more complications, particularly in Mindanao. One complication---it just proved that ARMM is a damning failure.

It just negated the very idea of ARMM as a fitting and comfortable compromise between Imperial Manila and those who aspire for a truly autonomous Bangsamoro land.

It lay bare the nefarious plan of government to give Bangsamoros temporary respite for war, cooing them to acquiesce, while slowly stabbing them in the back with their plan to elect Muslim puppets in the ARMM.

The Ampatuan family is one such puppet. And with an Adiong there assuming the ARMM governorship post, the puppet show continues. ARMM was made a tool by the Philippine government to perpetuate the continued enslavement of the Bangsamoro.

The Bangsamoros will never be free if they allow themselves to be fooled once more by offers of an improved version of ARMM.

ARMM is a puppet show. ARMM is an elaborate sing-and-dance routine aimed at lulling the true Bangsamoros to sleep; an entertaining charade meant to soften the Bangsamoro's desire for true freedom!

The discovery of huge caches of arms and ammos only show you, Bangsamoro, that this government intends to perpetuate civil war among your ranks, to break your hold over your lands, to break your ties, and dominate you by force!

Autonomy is not the answer to the Bangsamoro Problem. Fact is, autonomy worsens the wounds of the Bangsamoro, inflicted by centuries of enslavement by those who salivate in their riches and wealth.

Autonomy is the anesthesia that your slave masters slowly inoculated into the very heart of Bangsamoro land to make you forget the true path towards freedom!

Be free, fellow Bangsamoros! You have only your chains to break!

Federalism is also not the answer. Federalism will only perpetuate the rule of the traditional Muslim politicians, whose desire is to enslave their fellow Muslims in their anti-Islamic philosophy of moderation. Moderation allows enslavement not just of the body but of the mind, and eventually, the Spirit.

Freedom means breaking the hold of these self-proclaimed Muslim royalties and their armies and obliterate them from the face of the earth! There is no other Monarch nor royal One, than Allah SWT!

Break the chains that bind you from the Sinsuats, the Ampatuans, the Adiongs, the Mangundadatus, the Datumanongs, the Dilangalens, the Tans and all others who claim ascendancy due to their so-called "blue blood". Their veins are not colored blue. Their blood is as red as ours!

These puppets foster pseudo-Islam in their territories, enriching themselves with your wealth and allowing you to wallow in extreme poverty while they fatten their bank accounts and their families with their puppet fees.

These families are scourges, they are the scurvies that worsen the wounds of slavery. They are collaborators. They want you to drop your arms and abandon the True Banner of Islam. And why do they want that?

These collaborators and those who want to enslave you want you to forget those vast oil fields just lying underneath the vast Sulu sea. They want you to forever struggle and fight this self-perpetuating cycle of war for you to abandon your rich lands, for you to forget that they're exploiting your ore-rich mountains and rivers full of gold. They want war in your land so that they can exploit your women and take them to foreign lands as prostitutes and slaves. They want your men to forever be slaves to the lands which your ancestors gave as inheritance.

The only way out of this misery is struggle towards the complete liberation of these Bangsamoro lands from tyrannical hold. Revive the spirit of your ancestors which lie dormant in each of your breasts. Ask Allah SWT for mercy and Allah will give you freedom!

Enough of accommodation and of trying to be Filipinos. You are not Filipinos. You are Bangsamoros! Be proud of your heritage. Be proud of your lineage. Be proud of your History. Be extremely proud of your future!

Peace! Peace without the sacrifices of the Brave and the Pious is nothing. Peace is the reward of the Brave, the crown of the True Patriot and the trophy of the conqueror.

Be worthy of it.

Crisis convergence

As I wrote in previous entries, June and July are critical months for the Filipino people. One, food prices are expected to rise further, due to food and oil price speculations in both the global and local markets. Two, despite the expected decrease in electricity rates, water rates are sure to rise due to the falling peso ranged against the green buck. Three, these months are campaign periods for the ARMM elections. With the number of candidates for the ARMM gubernatorial posts and the resumption of armed hostilities against the ASG and criminal elements in Sulu, things could turn really ugly. Lastly, Congress will re-open the ZTE probe and other controversies which definitely would again heat up the political scene.

What is more challenging is the way the local economy has been "fucked up", as described by Economic adviser and Governor Joey Salceda. Recently, in a news report, he bewailed the rising numbers of poor people, estimated to be around 4 million to date, which could be extremely difficult to manage. Cash subsidies could provide some relief but this cannot ultimately solve the crisis. And despite early opposition to government's plan to subsidize some food costs, this could be a feasible solution, given that the real issue behind all of these is the decreasing purchasing power of Filipinos.

Malacanang should pursue Salceda's Noah's Ark plan to at least address the rising economic concerns of the poor. Eliminating VAT is not the answer, since big firms and wealthy individuals are also expected to gain from this instead of the poor. There should be a mechanism to give back VAT to those critical sectors of the economy. Short of subsidies, government should strictly enforce socialized services within a period of six months at the least, to enable poor families to at least weather the socio-economic storm.

Likewise, Malacanan should suspend the ARMM elections to save money and prevent a possible escalation of hostilities in Mindanao. I am glad that Gloria decided to resume peace negotiations with the MILF with some solutions on the thorny issue of ancestral domain. That is the way to go.

By the way, I'm extremely glad that the US will build a US$ 3 million port in Sulu. Kenney is right. That will surely provide enough jobs for the Tausugs there and deter them from doing criminal and stupid things like kidnappings.

ARMM elections and Ces Kidnapping

There's a new TV commercial out there called "Bagong Simula". It's a collaborative work done by various artists and bands. See it and you'll probably appreciate it. Or, maybe not.

While ANC was airing this material, Gloria Labandera was busy trying to launder the dirty image of her political party. She's out there in Davao convening her allies and anointing Zaldy Ampatuan, the LAKAS-KAMPI bet for the ARMM elections. At the pulpit, she lambasted the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and ordered the forces of evil to annihilate their fellow devils. So, this war in Sulu will just be between the forces of Shaitan ranged against the forces of Beelshebub. Lovely.

Informants told the NewPhilRevolution that Ces was released at that time to coincide with Gloria's foray in Mindanao. Notice how things developed truly fast after the kidnappers decided to pass on the deadline?

Did they paid money (probably not 15M as reported) upon strict orders from Malacanan since the president is arriving in Mindanao? Was that the reason for those two duffel bags which were handed by an attorney to an unnamed ASG member?

Do you notice the uncanny connection between the kidnapping and the ARMM elections? Is this what an ABS-CBN reporter referred to when she said that one of the reasons for Ces kidnapping is this ARMM elections?

Was Ces kidnapping a ploy by local politicians to get that presidential blessing? Or was it a fund-raising activity? Was it to highlight the plight of Suluanons before the global stage? Was the "betrayal" that Ces was referring to initiated by combined elements of the military and local politicians and used as bait to pressure Gloria to annoint the vice governor as ARMM candidate?

Going back...I don't see this ARMM elections as bagong simula for the peoples of Mindanao. Admit it..it's a fucked up place.