End the folly, start the action

What are the endless follies? Consider everything that has happened in Mindanao under Gloria Arroyo. Her “resuscitation” of the MILF; her annual ritualistic threats of “crushing” the Abu Sayyaf serial killers going pfft; the pointless peace talks with the MILF, enabling it to regroup, thereby keeping its Abu Sayyaf comrades alive and kicking repeatedly; the comedy of these talks allowing Malaysian and US interference to stoke further conflict, with the view of dismembering from our Republic our most treasured resource-rich territories; and, not to forget, our continued toleration of US troop presence in the whole of Mindanao. All these occur as we sacrifice hundreds of our soldiers’ lives yearly for a war directed at the wrong enemies, and these even after President Estrada had already clobbered the MILF at Mt. Buldon .

This folly in Mindanao isn’t new. Veteran Mindanao war generals narrate how, even during the time of Marcos, orders would come from Manila to desist from finishing off the rebels whenever they would be close to annihilating Nur Misuari’s forces. Thus, it wasn’t at all surprising that in 2001, when scores of fleeing Abu Sayyaf extremists were surrounded by government troops at the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital compound in Lamitan, Basilan, a reinforcement order by the brigade commander to finish them off was countermanded by higher authorities. Thus, all the cornered rebels managed to escape with their hostages, rendering several hours of heavy fighting, which had killed a number of soldiers, all for naught.

Only when the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) desists from being used as pawns in this game against the surrogates of Malaysia and the US, and once it truly becomes a nationalist army against foreign subversion in all corners of the country, will the follies ever stop.

On the political front, we, too, are witness to this spectacle of a demonstrably corrupt and uncouth lady senator who openly admits to joining her colleague’s election slate only if the real estate trickster can donate oodles of money to her campaign chest. This, after she’s had a field day of berating executive officials who’ve aired costly infomercials using their offices’ budgets. It seems when it comes to her self-serving ends, she would have no qualms in selling her political loyalty to the highest bidder, even from someone whose funds also come from dubious means. So whenever mainstream media regale the public with her lies and manic laughter, they, too, share in this folly.

Speaking of mainstream media, another folly of theirs in being captive to the oligarchs has just been exposed. Reeling from the nitpicking of top mainstream newspapers of her Marie Antoinette dinners in New York and Washington, Gloria has recently ordered her Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera to sue the Inquirer’s owners for P630 million as unpaid lease payments due the government. The accused supposedly leased the huge property from the Ministry of Human Settlements in the time of Imelda Marcos and, after Edsa I, arranged for the extension of the lease for a song with the aid of Joker Arroyo through concocted documents, which someday will also see the light of day. Just like Gloria, these Inquirer oligarchs also live like Marie Antoinettes, using their media clout as a shield for their economic ventures.

Ditto for the other major newspaper’s owner, an erstwhile customs broker’s pal who is now a Metro Manila city mayor. Arguably, scandals in his city government are muted because of some quid pro quo, as evidenced by the deafening silence of media over the fire that gutted his city’s accounting records, which insiders say would expose shenanigans of high city hall officials. Still, the largest con game played on the Filipino people this decade was the power privatization law this politician “shepherded” through Congress, with incentives allegedly provided by key players, including Gloria, to the tune of P10 million per congressman. This, most significantly, has been played down by the Edsa II media because the Epira was one of the centerpieces of their elite conspiracy to loot the people.

The Filipino people and the AFP should thus wake up to the follies and start doing something serious about them. Begin with the refusal to tolerate or humor the politician-fools who perpetrate these follies; start shouting out loud against atrocities which the government politicians permit the secessionist rebels to inflict on our soldiers; condemn the policy of “appeasement” which the US Embassy, through its Trojan Horse the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), imposes on our nation through the treasonous “peace talks” in Kuala Lumpur; curse the business elite and their controlled media for their political-economic leveraging; condemn media stalwarts who prostitute themselves by aligning with the USAid and its other media fronts. Let’s start a passive resistance campaign, a boycott and non-cooperation, with all this foolishness.

Let us likewise support leaders who have stood up to denounce such follies: President Estrada who’s always led the crusade for the final stabilization of Mindanao (which cost him his first presidency); Gen. Danilo Lim who is a prisoner today because of refusing to play along with the follies any longer; and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and the Bagong Katipuneros who’ve exposed the follies in Mindanao, the AFP, and the Arroyo regime without let-up.

Finally, let us devote time to work with truly concerned citizens in circumventing the foolish political system. Find socio-economic groups to work with: The Philippine Virgin Coconut Oil Producers’ Association, to boost awareness for the great economic and health boons in developing coconut products and consumption; former Senator Shahani on local dairy development; former Mayor Jun Simon with the Advocates for Servant Leadership; and many other such activities we will list in our next columns.

(Tune in to 1098AM, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m; Global News Network, Destiny Cable Channel 7, Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on the TVU Internet Channel 61713 with former SBMA Chairman and Administrator Felicito “Tong” Payumo on “SBMA: The True Story;” also visit http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)