Kenney’s Sona-ta to Gloria

Government-funded TV, radio and print ads are all singing paeans to Gloria’s coming Sona. That’s because out of her desperation from the devastating -38 she got from the latest SWS survey, Gloria is paying through her nose to find winsome praise for her bleak performance. What the survey has christened as the most unacceptable president in Philippine history has, however, one admirer that should come as a surprise to some. Speaking at the Supreme Court last Wednesday, US Amb. Kenney said, “I think the President has made a lot of economic reforms and the Philippine economy has been doing well. I’m hoping she’ll tell us more that she’s continuing on that important point of her program.”

Kenney is, in effect, asking for: more of Gloria’s eVAT, 75% of which goes to the payment of foreign debt and its domestic counterparts; more hocus-pocus on the energy front for further privatization and plunder by US and other companies; and more subservience to the Joint Foreign Chambers led by (who else, but) the American Chamber of Commerce. Truth to tell, American and British companies have been the most profitable in the past eight years of Gloria Arroyo’s reign. The biggest IPP, Mirant, siphoned off billions in PPAs before selling all its assets to its Japanese surrogates last year. Royal-Dutch Shell, meanwhile, continues to extract the highest prices in the world for its Malampaya natural gas by pegging it to oil prices, which are artificially high due to US manipulation of its “futures” stocks.

The IMF-WB, with its coterie of Western banks, continues to rake in interest payments from Philippine debts, with the automatic appropriations law on debt payment taking over 70 percent of the national budget. These highlight the crushing exploitation that multiplies the Philippines' extreme poverty and hunger as reported in surveys. Kenney also praised Gloria’s “progress (in) the peace process…” a.k.a. “the dismemberment of Mindanao.” If there are still patriots amongst the military who are true to their vow to defend the integrity of the Philippines, they should not take this statement sitting down, and learn that therein lurks the true enemy of the Republic -- its pretenses of respect for sovereignty cast aside in support of the most unpopular Gloria.

Clearly, Mindanao is being “Balkanized” as we wrote in our “Kosovo in Mindanao” piece. The Republic of the Philippines is very rich with the resources of its major island groups, of which one of the richest is Mindanao, where food and fuel resources have huge potential for development. Gloria’s concession of “ancestral domains” grants undue rights to the MILF. The truth is, the whole of the Philippines is the “ancestral domain” of all Filipinos regardless of religion or color. But by this “ancestral domain” ploy, Gloria has begun the process of this country’s dismemberment. Who’s behind Gloria and the MILF in this? You can bet that from the effusive statements of the ambassador of the world’s most divisive superpower, the US of A will waste no time to strike oil deals with the MILF in these so-called “ancestral domains.”

While cheap politicians in the pockets of the US, like Frank Drilon and others in Congress and the Senate, lambast projects funded by China, or joint ventures of Asean partners like Vietnam in the case of the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking, all are quiet about the annual multi-billion dollar looting the US, British and European firms are committing against us. This country’s political class is traditionally a “servant leadership” to the Western neo-colonial powers since the defeat of Filipino revolutionary forces in the Fil-American War; but after these eight years of blatant foreign exploitation through Gloria and with the US’ decline, should an uprising begin anew?

The American proconsul is so cocky and cocksure that she reveals the ugly side of US diplomacy, which has Gloria Arroyo’s mole all over it. Ambassador Kenney is bestowing the blessings of her office upon Gloria’s policies that are nothing but obeisance to US-British diktats. The Philippine intelligentsia and media, if they have any sense of duty to keep their constituents well informed, should draw attention to Amb. Kenney’s remarks that mock the Filipino people who have spoken loud and clear of their rejection of Gloria and her economic policies that have made the people suffer so much. But maybe Kenney really has an audience of only one -- Gloria, to remind her to toe the US line if she wants to finish her term.

The US strategic mission, with the Western oligarchy behind it, is to maintain the world hegemony that has slipped from its grip since the end of the Second World War, when Third World countries began to shed off the shackles of colonialism. To recover lost ground, the Western oligarchy installed George W. Bush by cheating the 2000 election; and triggering the War on Terror with its 9/11 “inside job” of controlled demolition to down three World Trade towers, while using two airplane crashes as cover, to justify attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan. All these in the interest of the ruling class in the West to prevent its own total collapse as the dot.com and subprime financial debacles have shown. They have used war and now, oil -- manipulated to unjustified price heights, then tapering off to save Wall Street.

Last week, a Reuters report explained that oil prices have fallen further to $124.30/barrel because “the US Energy Information Administration released a report showing a surprisingly large increase in domestic gasoline stockpiles last week, accompanied by weak implied demand…” But Bush, in his March 2007 State of the Union speech, initiated the doubling of the US strategic oil stockpile from 750 million to 1.5 billion barrels. There should be no surprise in “discovering” the increase in US domestic stockpiles then! It’s all just manipulation by the most vile and vicious power in the world today. Our mission as a sovereign nation caring for its own people is to rise and stand against this manipulation to exercise sovereignty for our prosperity.

While the active citizens of this country do not cease in its struggle, we are waiting for patriotic soldiers to help their country ala Hugo Chavez. The whole nation must move as the South American peoples have, from Argentina to Uruguay and Nicaragua, and now the bishop-led Paraguay all turning against U.S. oppression. It’s time to end the imperialism’s sonatas and sing our nationalist march! (Tune to 1098AM, Mon. to Fri. 8:30 to9am; Destiny Cable, Chanel 3, Tuesdays 8:45-8:30pm; or blog http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com ) ###