Politics or revolution?

The crisis conditions of the country continue to worsen by the day despite sanguine assurances from the Arroyo regime. The imploding Philippine economy, now fast-tracked by the global financial crash, belies all of the government’s rosy claims. Just to cite a few instances: Intel has closed its plant and is slashing 1,800 jobs; and up to 150,000 OFWs are expected to return jobless within the year.

Yet, the Arroyo regime has presented no plan at all to help the country survive this collapse. Even its much ballyhooed P100-billion pump-priming fund is now being thumbed down by Arroyo’s private sector partners.

All factions within the traditional political elite, meanwhile, are focused on the 2010 elections. Politicians raise one circus after another, conducting investigations that never change anything nor result in any reforms that address fundamental issues. At the same time, the SWS engages in its usual game of “trending” for the likes of Noli, Villar, Danding Trojan Horses Loren and Chiz, etc., by framing survey questions to attain the desired results for these candidates who are most compliant to the (US and corporatocracy) Establishment’s wishes.

Because of these endless political games, many more nitty-gritty concerns escape attention. The middle class is now on the verge of extinction as the economy contracts and professional jobs diminish. Small and medium businesses fold up while Big Business continues to jack up prices. LPG prices skyrocket in the face of continued declines in oil prices, as electricity and water costs go up despite the regulatory agencies making statements to the contrary. Worse, food prices are on the rise, in spite of declining transport costs of agricultural products. All these sure signs of market manipulation are happening in an otherwise diseased economy. What’s more: New excises taxes are to be imposed on “sin” products, without regard for declining sales which will surely entail retrenchments.

Worst of all, Malacañang is even fortifying its cheating machinery while the economy goes to rot. Esperon, who helped cheat in 2004 and was the target of several military protests, is now Presidential Management Staff chief. And while the Remonde-Dureza shuffle is inconsequential because both are so, what’s really significant is the assignment of the “Hello Garci” tape source, the commanding officer of Doble who leaked the tape, Admiral Tirso Danga, to the National Printing Office which is the official printer of election ballots, election returns and certificates of canvass--a pivotal position for manipulating election and referendum votes, indeed.

With Comelec Chairman Melo refusing to clean up the voters’ list and two ex-military generals involved in cheating installed in critical positions, it is clear that any electoral exercise will be meaningless. We must call everyone’s attention to the fact that ex-commodore Danga is not simply a Gloria Arroyo enforcer; he is apparently, over and above all, a controlled agent of foreign elements embedded in our government and, previously, in our AFP, to operate in behalf of foreign interests. This is the only logical conclusion from the fact that Danga almost got Gloria kicked out of Malacañang yet has been repeatedly promoted and now gets a most critical post. Remember, the enemy is really bigger than Gloria alone.

Given the viruses implanted in our election infrastructure, can we still invest our confidence in the 2010 elections or any other voting exercise such as a referendum? It is clear that elections under the present dispensation are intended only to perpetuate the myth of democracy, laced as it is with prevailing neo-colonial conditions, while old and new puppets are installed into national office as programmed, to continue instituting policies of exploitation and oppression. All decent Filipinos imbued with integrity should henceforth expose and reject this fraud being foisted on the nation.

As it was in the past, the country is faced again with the problem of how to achieve regime change under these circumstances. Although a coup d’etat by anti-Gloria forces has gained the favor of almost 50 percent of Filipinos in surveys last year, AFP reformists have never really warmed up to it just yet. All that have been initiated were military protests at Oakwood and by Gen. Danny Lim in February 2006, both refusing to use armed might against the corrupt defenders of this regime. Apparently, both actions got disapproving signals from the US Embassy which was then the crucial element in the hesitation of other soldiers, who would otherwise have wanted to join. Let’s face it: the US likes a corrupt and helpless puppet, and none can be better than Gloria at that.

Floating Chief Justice Puno’s balloon, ostensibly triggered by an “impeachment move,” is one of the ways some parties seeking regime change have opted for, which this columnist detected right off as part of a PR or “media build-up.” The notion that the office of the Chief Justice enjoys respect, especially for his public disdain for politicians, buttresses the stature of the head of the Supreme Court. But this is only because the CJ is perceived to be in the line of succession and is thus conceivable in a “transition” government. Moreover, this is perfect for those who are seeking to cultivate a puppet leader since the CJ, with no power base or political savvy, makes for a perfect wimp.

Fellow Tribune columnist Ding Lichauco proposes a formula to open up nationalist political opportunities by bringing Puno, Lim and Erap together in one transition government. To some, like the Makati businessmen, it is a masterstroke of a formula. It appeases the US and the corporatocracy’s eagerness to topple the current regime while providing that popular flavor to a supposed turnover. But for many others, who view this just as another excuse for compromise, they ask: Haven’t we had enough of this already? So if such kind of politics-as-usual has failed time and again to bring about the reforms we need, isn’t The Last Revolution the only thing in order?

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Our struggle for meaning

I have been to many funeral wakes in my 57 years of life. I’ve seen simple ones inside squatter homes to grand ones of business tycoons and that of a former president. The latter, though well-publicized, still didn’t even have a tenth of the many flowers which Doña Mary had at the Pinaglabanan Church . Her floral offerings were so plentiful that President Estrada had to appeal to other flower-givers to instead re-channel the money to several of Doña Mary and the family’s favorite charities, like the Damas Filipinas orphanage and the Erap Para sa Mahirap Foundation. It is indeed a testament to President Estrada and his mother’s significance to this nation that such an outpouring was demonstrated.
For Erap, the passing of his mother was a real existential shock, even though it had been expected for some time. Yet it comes after a series of other sad separations from long-time associates and friends, including his beloved stalwart Rolly Ramirez whom he entrusted with the building of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP). Rolly, who passed away last December from a cerebral tumor, was quickly taken in few weeks’ time—from his diagnosis to the surgery which he never woke up from. Months earlier, another trusted confidant, Ping Fernandez, also had a sudden death. Ping was a key Estrada political ally who helped wrest City Hall from Gloria Arroyo’s Lito Atienza.
During the past few days I was with Pres. Estrada in his moments of reflection, he was never short of recollections about his mother, including the barrels of “puñeta” he got as a child for being naughty. There in his home, a favorite portrait of the Ejercito clan, also published in Doña Mary’s coffee table book of Filipino recipes, offered a peek at the Erap the public has gotten to know: with a chinned up, cocky face that made him an absolute stand-out in contrast to the stoic faces of his siblings. His reputation as the “black sheep” was already cemented early on; but such was only because he favored the underdog, especially when he took food from his family’s cupboards to give to his poor playmates in the neighborhood.
On the last evening of the wake, it seemed that almost all of those who have grievously wronged Pres. Estrada came to express their sympathies. Never one to be ungracious and improper, Erap welcomed all of them with open arms. What was surprising, though, in the case of Chavit Singson, was that he made an earlier afternoon visit when few were still around, perhaps to probe if there were perils to his visiting later in the night. And while some loyal Estrada followers didn’t savor the idea of Chavit setting foot, Erap nonetheless didn’t display any incivility and even allowed the cameras to take pictures despite the political capital Chavit was obviously angling for. As a gregarious fellow, Erap rarely shows anger; but cry like a child he does when the time for goodbyes come.
The day after Doña Mary’s burial, I received a call from Pres. Erap on his confusion about Atty. Alan Paguia’s take on his eligibility to run in 2010, which was again misrepresented by the anti-Estrada media. Since I had a Saturday evening radio program with Alan, it was fairly easy to clear the air at once.
This shows that we have to be extra careful when it comes to media reports on Estrada’s eligibility, as there are plenty of vested interests against his possible candidacy who have launched a campaign to confuse the public about it. It started with Jovito Salonga’s well-funded book, to compilations of other writers’ old columns and comments on Estrada’s impeachment which are full of holes, all in support of the Malacañang line.
Atty. Paguia himself was also subjected to a similar media manipulation just the day before, when he was featured with pro-Puno supporters in a Kapihan but was disallowed from airing his anti-Puno views to give a false impression of where he actually stands.
Now it is clear the so-called Puno impeachment move is but a trigger for a communication plan to boost Puno’s chances for a political role in the coming months--maybe even as transition leader in a regime change against Gloria. I have nothing against this if it’s just for a transition period to clean up the Comelec and the judiciary, and pave the way for clean elections, as well as, the release of idealistic soldiers now languishing in jail for standing up to truth and justice. But in the long run, Puno just won’t do as he has no political base nor visionary programs to speak of, and thus, cannot introduce progressive changes to this country. Furthermore, he is not the principled man his supporters, like the drifting Nilo Tayag, make him out to be. After all, the ponente of the totally illegal “constructive resignation” theory can never be a principled person--not now, and not in a million years!
In one moment of angst, Pres. Estrada wondered why the sad parting of his mother and several friends had happened in such quick succession. I thought that perhaps he can find meaning behind such loss by pondering on why he had become special to these people to start with, and to the millions of Filipinos who continue to believe in him--or to those who sacrificed and died in Edsa III. Despite not having Doña Mary to hold on to now, I’m sure Erap will still hear the whispers of his mother wafting in his soul, like the whispers of our Inang Bayan, which led him back to the Barasoain Church in the not-so-distant past.
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Change before 2010 imperative

Sandiganbayan “kangaroo court” Judge Diosdado Peralta (named after Diosdado Macapagal, by Peralta’s own claim) joins his Sandiganbayan “kangaroo” colleague Teresita de Castro in the Supreme Court (SC). Indeed, the rewards for “convicting” President Estrada have been delivered by Gloria Arroyo after the very long zarzuela of the Judicial and Bar Council’s (JBC) screening and short-listing of candidates, and making a show of taking out Gloria’s Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera from the running. None of that hypocritical show can now change the public impression that the JBC is un-objective in its processes and that Gloria Arroyo has again used SC appointments as a payback to those who serve her whims. Coming on the heels of the DoJ-PDEA tussle, this appointment removes any lingering doubts that Arroyo’s justice system is corrupt through and through.

At the same time, the headlines of Edsa I and II newspapers, led by the Inquirer, on the alleged impeachment threat against Chief Justice (CJ) Reynato Puno are going on their fourth day. This came as a big surprise because it’s a clear case of making a mountain out of a molehill, considering the reason cited in this alleged campaign against him, i.e. an electoral protest of one politician against another. The only thing that makes this “news” seem credible is that Malacañang is said to be behind this campaign to remove Puno, who is claimed by certain quarters as one of the last remaining stumbling blocks against Cha-cha via Con-ass. The constitutional question of whether both chambers of the House should “vote as one” or separately will be brought up to the SC, for sure; but there’s another angle being missed, and it’s bad news for Gloria.

It’s been known to astute analysts of the political scene that CJ Puno is touted as one of the leading choices for “transition leader” in a post-Gloria scenario. Speculation has been rife since last year that segments of the US political Establishment had been priming for regime change due to Gloria’s corruption and double-dealing in the diplomatic and economic fronts. The first reflection of such “displeasure” was in the Hyatt 10 rebellion, where a dozen or so of Gloria’s loyal minions suddenly turned against her, as if on cue. This Hyatt 10 group in 2006 was then led by the US ’ chief auditor here, SGV’s Cesar Purisima. Later in 2008, the Heritage Foundation’s Manila pointman, Joe de Venecia, started acting up against Gloria, which finally led to the largest Gloria scandal so far: the ZTE-NBN cum Abalos election payola scam. That led to the Jun Lozada exposes, which harkens back to the noise generated a few years ago by (Ret.) Gen. Victor Corpuz, whose background has US links all over it.

Throughout the past two years, whenever talks of regime change flourished, the name of CJ Puno was often floated in many circles, including those identified with some bishops. Of course, other candidates for this so-called “transition” included Noli de Castro and, for a time, Frank Drilon and Manny Villar, when they were still Senate presidents in the line of succession. Yet none was as “pristine,” image-wise, in a milieu where politicians are all perceived to be tainted. Hence, the SC chief continued to be held with special esteem, as believed by some sectors. And now that the “crucify Puno” campaign has been deflected by a “Puno calls for moral force” drive, this looks more and more like an organized “communications plan” to prepare Puno for a higher post in days to come.

I can welcome any move for regime change so long as we, the people, are not fooled again into accepting another puppet of foreign powers and the corporatocracy, which will lead to further exploitation of our country. I welcome any such moves only because these can open up opportunities for genuine Filipino nationalist leadership, as personified by Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Gen. Miranda et al. Similarly, a change in the Comelec should also be expected as the nation will certainly clamor for a clean-up in that body. But will it happen under normal circumstances?

It is very clear from the latest public statements of Gloria-appointed Comelec Chairman Jose Melo that he is not interested in clean elections at all. For one thing, he commented that he has no more time to clean up the voters’ lists even when by all accounts, these are still padded by at least 30 percent more imaginary voters. For another, Melo had been a legal adviser to Abalos during the ZTE hearings before he was appointed by Gloria to the Comelec. So these and other reasons should convince everyone that we won’t have credible elections come 2010. Then, as if these were not enough, Cha-cha is also rearing its ugly head in Congress and the ascension of Gen. Delfin Bangit to the AFP top post is being readied to pave the way for full control in 2010, just as it was in 2004.

As these events unfolded, another economic tsunami has just arrived with export processing zones and large companies instituting shorter work weeks, retrenchments, or layoffs. Up to now, no clear innovations on economic policy are forthcoming from the Arroyo regime. What we have, instead, is a stupefaction among the leadership, as reflected in the administration congressional leaders’ demand for the opposition to come up with solutions.

Change in economic management is thus a pressing call. While some opposition figures still have no program of action to offer, the PMP has laid out the “Program for a Viable Philippines” years ago, which was recently echoed by Gen. Lim in his Manila Pen anniversary statement, and regularly presented in our columns and TV programs, which have additionally prescribed “import substitution” pump-priming measures.

Change before 2010 is imperative if the economy is to survive; and all the signs are there that it is forthcoming.

(Tune in to 1098AM: Saturday, 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.—“May Pag-asa” with Alan Paguia, Jun Simon, and Ka Mentong Laurel / Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. / Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Destiny Cable, Channel 3, Tuesday, 8:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., featuring: “OFW Responses to the 2009 Global Crisis;” and visit http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)

No solution without revolution

How many years have we, the people, been raising our voices and the alarms against the growing illegal drugs scourge? Yet, not only has there been no solution; after two decades, the cancer has grown to immense proportions. Former QC Mayor Jun Simon, over our new Saturday 10 to 11 p.m. radio program with Atty. Alan Paguia, explained that even during his time as mayor, the total number of drug users in the Philippines was already six-and-a-half million. If only a tenth of that consisted of regular users, then total revenues could have run to over P300 billion or $6 billion a year. Even though that’s just a small fraction of the world’s estimated $500-billion drugs trade, it’s still a huge sum for this country which has a national budget of only a little more than $14 billion.

The Philippines has been through four leaderships since 1986. All, except President Estrada’s, have had full terms of six years or more to have made a dent in the fight against illegal drugs. But all have failed. Even as all levels of government, especially local government units, have been called to take action, we still had that infamous “drugs tiangge” in Pasig two years ago, in which the result is still indeterminate as the mayor responsible for it still managed to pass his mantle to his son. In Pasay , on the streets where I grew up, there are also such similar drugs tiangge that abound today. And even in some deeply religious Muslim towns in Mindanao , the illegal drugs scourge proliferates. Alas, all government actions against drug proliferation seem to be a lot of lip service only.

Indeed, the Arroyo regime, like any administration formed under the present corrupt, economically-subservient and mendicant, neo-colonial system cannot go beyond lip service on this national scourge. This is because the international drugs trade is essential both as a geopolitical weapon and as an exploitative tool of the speculative world financial system. We’ve cited some cases before: from the 18th Century Opium War of the Brits, to the US ’ “Iran Contra” deals under Reagan, to the CIA’s backing of the Kosovo Liberation Army, and more recently, the US ’ full support for Afghan warlords in fighting the Taliban.

Today, I also add the case of Jackie Selebi, who was Interpol president from 2004 to 2008. Interpol is the UN transnational agency charged with coordinating international crimes, among which is the international drugs trade. Last year, Selebi, a South African police bigwig, was forced to resign his post due to charges of links to illegal drugs criminals. While certain elements of Interpol have long been accused of being involved in many illegal drug activities, using the UN mantle as cover, this recent charge against Selebi shows just how high up and complex the problem goes.

Another important factor to this global menace is the intricate link between illegal drug money laundering to the international financial and banking system, the bond of which is so strong that many reputable global banks run the risk of folding without such dirty money as their bread-and-butter. For instance, one of the world’s most reputable banks, HSBC or the Hongkong Shanghai Bank, was known as the “opium bank” as it was used by the Brits for its opium trade in China .

Illegal drugs are, thus, no different from other commodities of dubious value that the western global financial mafia has used to siphon off money from the real productive sector of the economy. Whether it’s the subprime mortgage collapse last year, or the multi-billion dot.com crash in 2000, or the “junk bonds” of the 1980s, or illegal drugs, these are all commodities that yield a thousand times more profits against their production cost and/or real value. Production cost of “ecstasy,” for example, is only six percent of its street price. Subprime mortgages or junk bonds follow the same formula: They all suck resources away from the real economy, leaving it dried and shriveled.

But then, what makes the global and local illegal drugs trade next to impossible to defeat are: 1) its billions in corruption money found too irresistible by bribe-taking officials; 2) such money easily determining election outcomes in almost all electoral democracies; 3) the means with which it can buy enforcers to liquidate those who cannot be bought; and 4) its being an adjunct to covert geopolitical operations in surrogate or proxy wars against national authorities or similar operations of rival powers.

If at all, only a few can resist the enticements of drug dealers or geopolitical powers. Those who do are the few whose dedication to higher principles of morality, patriotism or nationalism border on the religious or revolutionary.

Thus, any serious call for action against the illegal drugs scourge must also call for a drastic change in the country’s leadership. It should become one that is nationalist and anti-colonial in character; protective of the national welfare and its values; and dedicated to real economic development (versus exploitative and speculative economics). Since this would be a total reversal of the status quo, it could only come through a revolution, which can be a peaceful one, achieved through clean elections, like those happening in South America . What’s therefore needed is a revolutionary ideology, the kind espoused by detained Gen. Danilo Lim, who called for nationalist reforms in our country in his November 29, 2008 statement, as well as, in revolutionary actions a la Oakwood, the February 2006 and Manila Pen protests, and now, in Maj. Marcelino’s stand.

The PDEA vs. Raul Gonzalez fight is only another straw on the camel’s back, along with Cha-cha. These must all lead to “The Last Revolution” now or in 2010; without which there’s no solution.

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Dope Republic

The current imbroglio over the Alabang Boys and illegal drugs subculture among the rich and (in)famous amuses me quite a bit. Why is there so much ado over this when the illegal drug scourge has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past two decades since Edsa I’s so-called “revolution” liberalized virtually everything--from the unfettered trade of goods and human cargo, down to the exchange of cultural values, regardless of their negative impact? Though many issues can be leveled against the Marcos regime, toleration of the illegal drugs trade isn’t one of them. He, in fact, carried out a well-publicized execution of a drug pusher by the name of Lim Seng. His nemeses from Edsa I and II should then be asked: Why did the illegal drug scourge escalate after their so-called revolutions?

In the 20 years since the fall of Marcos and the takeover by “civil society” of the reigns of government, the Philippines has become an internationally-acknowledged transshipment point for the global drugs trade. Larry Chin of Center for Research on Globalization writes in his six-part series on The US and the Philippines: Post 9/11 Imperatives: “The Philippines is a major transit route for heroin from the Golden Triangle to markets in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. The Philippines exports locally produced marijuana and hashish to East Asia, the US and other Western markets, according to the CIA World Fact Book. The country serves as a transit point for heroin and crystal methamphetamine, or ‘Shabu,’ most of which is sourced from China, passes through the Philippines into Guam, Australia and rest of Southeast Asia.”

He continues: “The US State Department's 1999 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report identifies the Philippines as a ‘country of concern’ because of its rising crime, pervasive corruption, strict bank secrecy laws and lack of legislation against money laundering. The drug trade accounts for some 8 percent of the nation's gross national product.”

Was this part of the promise of Edsa I, a “revolution” so enthusiastically supported by the US? Liberalization of trade, international travel and financial transactions under the Edsa I regime apparently facilitated the turn of the Philippines into a “narco state” or what I call a Dope Republic (with a double entendre I will explain later). Was this facilitation an accident? Or was it by design? History offers us many specific instances to learn from.

Wherever Britain and the US set its foothold, the illegal drugs scourge begins to grow, and there is no way for this scourge to enter a country unless its borders, trade, travel and finance are liberalized. The most recent case in point is Afghanistan. When the Taliban was running that country in 2000 poppy production dropped by 60 percent as reported by the UN. As soon as the US “War on Terror” brought its troops to that country, poppy production increased drastically over the years. Afghanistan is now reportedly supplying 90 percent of the world’s opium production today. Flashback to the decade before is the example of Kosovo, where the CIA-sponsored Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) traded drugs to fund Yugoslavia’s destabilization. Now, the KLA leader is president of the independent Kosovo.

In the 1960s, it was Latin American that was afflicted by the scourge of illegal drugs as spread by US subversion. One of the celebrated cases involved drugs found in the US company Chiquita Banana’s ships plying the Columbia fruit trade. Of course, another one is the notorious “Iran Contra” drugs-for-arms deals under Reagan, with Col. Oliver North, where the US traded drugs to buy and supply arms to the Contras fighting Nicaragua’s leftist rebels. Farther back in history, one also finds the British Opium Trade that brought China to its knees. The opium trade also victimized the Philippines as the British had agents selling in the Philippines, among whom is a certain Barreto family, now British immigrants and citizens.

In 2001, a report came out on the seizure of 39.8 kilos of shabu from a FedEx shipment from Hong Kong to the Philippines on September 11 by the Bureau of Customs. A similar case occurred in July 30, 2002. While we can’t say that there was a corporate involvement in these instances, it is very clear that the liberal entry of goods via various means has abetted the expansion of illegal trade supplies in and outside the Philippines. Although countries like Malaysia, Singapore and China certainly get equally large shipments of goods through FedEx, UPI and other courier services, we can safely say that their customs, anti-smuggling and anti-drugs services are certainly not as porous as ours. Aggravating all this is the essentially corrupt government and Philippine National Police (PNP).

Invariably, the PNP, since its Edsa I beginnings down to the purported Edsa II “anti-jueteng” revolution, has lived on the expansion of illegal jueteng under its nose. Archbishop Oscar Cruz has stated that this illegal numbers game had doubled since Gloria’s coup in 2001. Clearly, after each such revolution, the country gets poorer and poorer, compelling the keepers of law and order to rely more and more on corruption money for survival. Imagine that 60 percent of cops are now squatters! Are we such dopes that we as a nation have not realized this?

The Alabang Boys’ case has pushed the corruption of the Arroyo regime to media’s forefront; while our AFP young officers have done well with Maj. Marcelino, following the proud tradition of the Magdalos (Bagong Katipuneros). But I am afraid that everybody might have still missed the larger picture. Like the decaying economy, the illegal drugs scourge comes with the neo-colonial, corrupt institutions (from the “hoodlums in uniform” to the “hoodlums in robes” as Erap called), and a globalized socio-political-economic system led necessarily by a corrupt bureaucrat-capitalist leadership.

We need a revolution to cut off the cancer of illegal drugs in our society. And to achieve it, we need leaders of integrity and honor, and of dedication to the national welfare and goals proven by demonstrated self-sacrifice. That’s why I am rooting for those who have paid the price of incarceration for standing against the corrupt regime, - the tried and tested triumvirate of Pres. Estrada, Gen. Danilo Lim and Sen. Antonio Trillanes to take charge. (Tune in to 1098AM, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.; Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Destiny Cable, Channel 3, Tuesday, 8:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., featuring :“Integrated Coconut Processing Centers for National Recovery;” also visit http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)