LP asking for foreign intervention vs. duterte?

ninez cacho-olivares writes that the liberal party (LP) has sent out an SOS to the US, stepping up calls for foreign intervention, cranking up the campaign to oust president digong and replace him with vp leni.

LP senators are launching a probe on Rody capitalizing on a statement made in his recent state visit to China that the country is separating from the United States.

The probe was called on the pretext of inquiring into the administration’s foreign relations policy but is obviously meant to add more fuel to the raging feud between Washington and Rody.

hmm.  i bet these LP senators were among those whom US asst secretary of state and senior diplomat for asia daniel russel met with when he was here oct 22 to 25.  i also bet that it was duterte who snubbed russel and not, as reported by manila standard, the other way around.  i remember catching duterte in some televised event post-china, and when asked about that impending visit, he shrugged and said that the asst. sec. of state could meet with his counterpart, the secretary of defense, or someone like that.  too bad the prez doesn’t have a working communications dept. otherwise na-straighten out en seguida yang balitang inisnab ni russel si digong.

but to get back to russel and his mission.  surely it was not just to personally air america’s concerns over digong’s pivot-to-china independent-of-america foreign policy and to reaffirm “America’s enduring bond of friendship, respect and shared value with the people of the Philippines,” but also to be assured by defense sec lorenzana that the prez doesn’t mean what he says, lol, or doesn’t know what he’s saying, lol uli.  and surely he was also here to meet with groups like the LP and who knows who-else to get the pulse, and state, of the opposition, kumbaga.

reminds me of pre-EDSA 1986 when US president reagan sent philip habib, the counterpart of russel in those days, to trouble-shoot the major major marcos-aquino conflict.  this was post-snap elections, post-batasan proclamation of marcos as winner, at the height of cory’s crony boycott and civil disobedience campaign.  it was reported that habib met with everybody: marcos, cory, the military, the church, the makati business community, and who knows who else, but both marcos and cory were adamant about standing their ground, no room for compromise, and honasan’s RAM was bent on pushing through with the coup / palace attack set for early sunday 23 feb and marcos and ver were prepared to wipe them out.

at the time, it must be said, america was squarely on marcos’s side on account of the US bases and the reagans being friends of the marcoses, and squarely anti-cory on account of her campaign promise to release all political detainees and, even, to put an end to the US bases.  it also bears pointing out that the only thing habib was sure of when he hurriedly left at noon of 22 feb was that something big and bloody was about to break between the marcos-ver and the enrile-honasan camps.

It would not do for President Reagan’s negotiator to be in Manila if all hell was going to break loose. It might seem as if he were involved, or responsible. [Sterling Seagrave, The Marcos Dynasty]

but as it turned out, honasan called off the coup because ver was on to it pala and was prepared to stop the rebel reformists in their tracks.  defense minister juan ponce enrile, who had been all set to take over as head of a ruling junta, decided to defect instead and with AFP vice-chief of staff and PC-INP chief fidel ramos announced their breakaway in that historic camp aguinaldo presscon just before 7 pm of saturday 22 feb.  the rest is history.

it bears repeating that contrary to popular opinion:

… the Americans were not responsible for EDSA. Ronald Reagan’s trouble-shooter Philip Habib knew that something was brewing but he failed to get a handle on it. The Ramos-Enrile defection caught the Americans napping, People Power knocked them out. It was already day three of EDSA—the battle was practically won—when the Americans intervened in earnest, and only in the matter of Marcos’s escape. Intelligence reports from the CIA may have helped the rebel military during the four days, but if the Americans had completely stayed out of it, EDSA would have happened anyway, and it could have ended more decisively. [EDSA Uno page 11]

america had nothing much to do with EDSA 86.  it was not america that brought people marching to EDSA to shield enrile, ramos, and RAM from marcos’s wrath — it was butz aquino and cardinal sin.  it was not america that compelled cory and enrile to reconcile their differences and join forces against marcos — it was the millions of people who surrounded the camps, cheering for both cory and enrile.  and it certainly was not america that installed cory as president but the sea of people who bravely stood their ground in the face of tanks and cannons and helicopter gunships and howitzers, demanding that marcos resign.

so, really, if the LP and the VP want the president ousted for his anti-america pro-china rhetoric, america is not the one to run to first.  america would happily assist in an ouster, i would think, but only if the opposition has the numbers, which means that the LP and the VP have their work cut out for them, which is to swing to their side duterte supporters who are pro-america and anti-china, and who might therefore be having second thoughts about their president.

if they’re not up to the job, it is perhaps time to turn their attention to other issues and events unfolding that are just as earthshaking, and where they could make a difference, e.g., charter change via con-ass, unless that’s okay with them pala, as with the planned shift to federalism?

Comments

  1. manuelbuencamino

    1. She talks about the LP as if it were still a force to reckon with. The LP is moribund. Just like pwersa ng masa, lakas-nucd, np, ldp and all out of power political parties What was PDP-Laban before du30 ran and won?

    2. Du30 did not snub Russel. Russel did not snub du30. Neither could have done it to the other.
    Russel came here as Asst Sec of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs not as the personal representative of POTUS so he does not have the standing to meet with our president. Buti nga hinarap siya ni Yasay kasi ang ka-level niya dito ay yun Asec for American Affairs sa DFA.

    I recall during Cory’s time, then Def Sec Cheney came here to talk to Cory about the bases. She did not receive him. Instead it was her Sec of defense who received Cheney Nagalit mga kano, halos murahin kami ng mga senador at congressman na Republican pero sagot lang namin sa kanila eh there are protocols, you don’t want our Sec of Defense coming here in his capacity as SecDef and not as a personal representative of our president and demanding that your president receive him, do you?

    So issue lang iyan if he came here as personal rep of POTUS tapos ibinato siya kay Yasay o kung sinong surrogate.

    No way is he parang si Philip Habib who retired as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in 1978 following a heart attack but whom Reagan called out of retirement to do special missions one of which was to see Marcos as his special personal representative.

    3. “so, really, if the LP and the VP want the president ousted for his anti-america pro-china rhetoric, america is not the one to run to first.” Hindi ganyan si Leni. That’s unfair. That’s lending your voice to the loser in 2016 who wants to unseat her. At the very least the attacks on Leni are to destroy her chances of running for president in 2022 should she decide to run against him again

    4. If ever du30 is unseated, it will not be through anybody’s intervention. Du30 will do himself in. His behavior has already gotten FVR to question his mental stability…and FVR was one of those who convinced him to run.

    If you bother to listen to his speeches in full and specially his press conferences as I have you will conclude that the man does not have a full deck Take the time to do it see for yourself if the man is all there.

    5. To be against du30’s policy of subtraction is not to be pro American and anti China. Make friends with both is what he should do.

    It is right to be against du30’s when he said we have the legal right and China has the historical right. UNCLOS debunked China’s claim to historical rights, du30 as president undermines the UNCLOS decision by even bringing it up. That issue of historical rights is dead and was buried by UNCLOS decision and yet du30 exhumes during his state visit to China.

    And then to say to the Chinese who have encroached on our EEZ “we will be dependent on you for all time” …ano yan Pilipino ba siya? All I can say is he can plead insanity for doing that.

    6. And since we are now entertaining absurdities from Ninez Olivares well what are those rallies in front of the US embassy by allies of du30? They remind me of those anti-US rallies organized by Imee Marcos during martial law…kunwari may banggaan pa sa pulis…wala sa script yun sinagasaan ng rallyista kasi yun mga artista sineryoso masyado ang role nila?

    7. Sa akin ang focus ng opposition ko kay du30 ay yung pambababoy niya sa human rights in both salita and gawa. That is totally unacceptable and if he is overthrown or impeached for that and thrown in jail I will cheer wildly.

    Second is the way he curses out and denigrates world leaders from the Pope to the UN to the US the EU and foreign investors Words have consequences Yan pag insulto niya sa kanila, huwag sana, pero kung magkaron ng negative consequence ang tatamaan niyan ay ang taumbayan, hindi siya kasi mayaman na siya. Sana yan kayabangan at kabastusan niya ay hindi mararamdaman sa tiyan ng bayan.

    Pag tinitignan ko si du30 ang pag asa ng masa namimiss ko si erap

    • after reading #1 i wondered if u meant that ninez made it up, but found link to sen bam aquino’s press release “Bam reiterates call for probe on foreign policy direction” backed by drilon, pangilinan, and de lima. teka, bakit wala si risa. https://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2016/1023_aquino1.asp

      2 you’re right, there’s such a thing as protocol, pareho kaming mali ng manila standard, walang isnabang nangyari.

      3 but leni is LP too, and so i figure she is supportive of the LP senators moves. she would need the party kung tatakbo pala siya for prez in 2022.

      4 like you i watch and listen to duterte everytime. hindi naman nakakagulat ang turn-around ni fvr who has always been pro-am.

      5 china is complicated and i know there’s a lot we don’t know, just like in noynoy’s time. at least this time there’s chito sta. romana. i’ll start freaking out only if he gives up the post due to irreconcileable differences.

      6 i know you don’t like the tibaks but… kunwari lang yung me banggaan, puro artista lang? i think manila’s finest needs seminars on maximum tolerance when it comes to protest rallies. di bale sana kung shabu lords at pushers ang sagasaan,

      7 bakit hindi yang isyung human rights violations ang tutukan ng LP senators? send out their well-paid researchers to get the facts and numbers. … and yes words have consequences but there are words and there are words. he may be foul mouthed but i’ll take the honesty, the candor, rather than lies and propaganda couched in refined talk.

      but i do wish he had a competent comms sec and news desk.

    • on EDSA: yes, it seems he was sure he could talk enrile out of it. maybe he was just too sick and drugged to think straight.

      on US obliging digong: oo nabasa ko rin yan. i doubt hillary would. parang hindi nila kayang ipaubaya sa china this part of the globe.

  2. manuelbuencamino

    1. Recall that the story first came out from du30/bato/ surrogates when they claimed drug lords had bounties on them. Palaki ng palaki yun bounty sa tuwing kwento umabot ng ilang bilyon bago naging CIA na ang gusto pumatay sa kanya…Ninez picked that up and ran with it along with the pro du30s, the fanatics, and the haters

    Naman, nothing works better at keeping the base united than a threat to its beloved leader…

    2. Leni is LP. Leni’s position on human rights, due process, democracy is similar to the position of LP senators But has the LP issued a party position on it? Is the LP evil? More evil than NP, Lakas NUCD, Bayan, PDP-Laban?
    Does Leni support the Senate inquiry on EJKs? Of course she does, who, in their right mind would not support such an inquiry? And she supports human rights, due process, rule of law not because she follows a party line but because of who she is.

    To run in 2022 she would need much more than the LP. She would need all those who voted du30 Leni, Grace Leni, Mar Leni, Jojo Leni, and Miriam Leni as well.

    3. It’s not about pro/anti-Am and pro/anti China. FVR told du30 there are other things to attend to besides drugs, making enemies out of your friends, and his public behavior. When he mentioned that du30 had to demonstrate mental stability I think it is because he is hoping the man would take his medication regularly otherwise his mental instability becomes noticeable.

    4, Chito could be his saving grace. But Chito himself is confused. Wala daw direction ang China policy. Du30 went there unprepared and a few other things that I cannot repeat publicly.Anyway I am hoping Chito will be able to put some order and sanity into that situation. He is most qualified and a good man.

    5. HIndi lahat mga artista. Mga extra lang yun karamihan. Hindi nila alam ang buong storya ng sine kaya nga nagkasagasaan at kuyugan ng pulis van.

    Pero katataka bakit hindi nagwawala yun mga direktor sa nangyari, kung bakit dun pa rin sila embassy nakatutok at hindi sa Crame o sa Mendiola the usual venue pag naagrabyado sila at may nasaktan sa mga rally nila. Parang ngang Imee rallies nung martial law o company union strikes ang rally nila.

    Mas nagulat pa ako na controlado ang reaksyon ng mga direktor nung binalewala lang ni bato at ni digong ang sagasaan…imagine if that happened under GMA or PNoy and they dismissed the incident just like that…tignan natin kung hindi yung buong propaganda machine ng kaliwa ay umandar ng todo todo…pero ngayon muted….kung sabagay may peace talks….may concessions…may cabinet posts pa…so ano ba yun may masagasaan na iilan-ilan…pasalamat nga sila na buhay pa sila, diba?

    Pero nagulat ako na ok lang sa iyo na sagasaan ang mga lords at pushers di ko alam na pro salvage ka na pala

    6 Paano naging honesty and candor eh yun mga drug stats niya ay gawa-gawa lang niya? Ginawan na ng research yan ng PCIJ at iba pa….pati yata foreign media pinag add na yun mga drug stats mula sa iba-ibang ahensiya at hindi aabot ang totals dun sa kanyang honest stats expressed with candor….sa madaling salita ang magnitude ng drug problem ay nasa utak lang niya and just because he speaks honestly and with candor about what he imagines does not make it true….

    idagdag mo pa sa honesty and candor yun lahat ng mga salita na I will kill you, barilin ninyo meron akong pre-signed pardons, may rewards dun sa mga pumapatay “in the line of duty”, and I’m sure narinig mo din yun speech kung saan sinabi niya na pabiro kuno, “paglumaban patayin ninyo, pag sumuko patayin na rin ninyo”

    &. Why would you wish he had a competent comms and news desk?

    Gustong gusto nga ng mga tao ang style niya. Bentang benta ang mga speech niya lalo na sa mga OFW. Magaling siya, the best when it comes to connecting with his audience. Why would you want a filter between him and the people?

    He does not need a spin machine. He needs to take his meds regularly.