curfew, deja vu!

of course the arroyo government is paranoid. if its military forces were so in control,how could it happen that trillanes and company were able to simply walk out of that makati regional trial court hearingand march all the way to the manila pen without being stopped? indeed there must be more to this than meets the eye, thus the imposition of curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. and the buzz is, it’s the perfect excuse to crack down on tibaks, never mind that they have nothing to do with trillanes et al.

trillanes-lim breakaway, and surrender, live

4:20 p.m. pnp-swat forces surrounding manila peninsula hotel, apparently waiting for orders to move in and arrest senator trillanes and brig. gen. danny lim who are holed up in a second-floor function room with other magdalo soldiers after walking out of makati’s regional trial court at 10:30 or so this morning, and asking for gloria arroyo’s resignation.

4:45 the five-star hotel has not been completely cleared of people – meron pang guests, at marami pang media reporters and photographers. including magdalo lawyer j.v. bautista who is now questioning the legitimacy of the warrants of arrest. and what’s the point daw, talaga namang nakakulong na ang mga rebelde before this action. he says they’re not moving out or giving up. he also named teofisto guingona, dodong nemenzo, and unnamed bishops as supportive but haven’t seen them inside hotel.

4:50 pinky webb nag-uulat from inside hotel. hearing shots. teargas lobbed into first floor. trillanes on cam with ces drilon. trillanes: dito sa ginagawa ng administrasyon na ito, you have to witness the ruthlessness niya, walang pakundangan. ….endangering life of media men… extra-judicial killing. … watch !

i hear that on the march to manila pen trillanes was calling on people to come and stand with them. no people, but a lot of media. these media people, i wonder, the ones who have stayed in the hotel, covering all statements by the rebels and their supporters closely, are they there because they are sympathetic to trillanes et al? sila kaya yung people who will shield the rebels, as in edsa one?

teofisto guingona on cam. hanky to his nose. we are being teargassed. i think call for sobriety a little late.

korina (monitoring situation from studio), quoting guingona: sana kumalma pati ang gobyerno.

5:00. putukan blues. … raining hard outside.

5:07. tank forcing itself into first floor entrance. backs off. abante uli. obviously trying to breakdown door. … army tank/ apc? breaks into manila peninsula.

ces drilon: lalabas na sina senator trillanes and gen. lim to avoid civilian lives being lost.

5:12 guingona, trillanes, lim walking out, but not out of hotel? only to another function room. maybe setting up for a presscon? anc’s tony velasquez and pia hontiveros speculating.

text just came in from my daughter who got it from some news channel : OA ng reaksyon ni GMA! talagang destroy the hotel?

oops i missed that.

bishop labayen (inside hotel with trillanes et al): without justice, there is no peace. justice not administered properly, so no peace in the nation.

trillanes: ako po ay tumayo dito ngayon upang gampanan aking tungkulin… tumayo para sa mga karapatan ng mga naapi. subalit nakita natin kung hanggang saan ang gagawin ng administrasyon… you have been witnesses and victims of the kind of ruthlessness of this adminstration… like soldiers we’re going to face this. … whatever they would want to do with me. … we’re going out for the sake of the safety of everybody.

you’re surrendering?

trillanes: yes, for your sake. we cannot live with our conscience if some of you will be killed in the crossfire. …

danny lim: dissent without action is consent. what we did was in consonance with our solemn constitutional mandate to be the protector of our people…. there’s unfinished business here. …

father robert reyes, appear! and bibeth orteza!

trillanes: dissent without action is consent. one of my main voter base is the afp. im convinced that most of them sympathize with our cause. and thats enough for us for now. eventually it will be their turn, to live up to their mandate as protectors of the people. 5:25 this is not a loss. if somebody lost here its the whole nation. at the end of the day gma will still be there, and you have seen in the past 7 years what that entailed.

bibeth orteza: we were doing something we believed was right. i am very proud of our media… isa akong babaeng me cancer… sana kung kailangan mo mamatay, mamatay ka para sa bayan, wag ka namang mamatay dahil sa sakit. … kaya ako nandito. … hindi matatapos hanggat may ganitong mga taong ganitong katapang. right now im very proud to be filipino… sabi nga ni salud algabre, kung minsan kailangang umatras ka para manalo…

5:35 p.m. walking out of function room, led by trillanes and lim. standing around… a tank and an apc? in the lobby.

5:45. fr. robert reyes: tinanong kung kelan nila gustong lumabas. as soon as possible po.

5:50. bishop labayen’s prayer: …this is of the people, by the people, for the people. we are gathered here for the people to be the center of our attention. but we see that the system has injected in them massive poverty. for this we stand for them and we try to fight for justice, and we know that the forces of this world hate us for this. so we ask you lord to be with us and bless us with justice that we may have peace. we thank you for the gift of life and for the gifts that are still to come, according to your promise. this we ask through christ our lord.

pinky webb: mga taga-media, inaaresto at isinasama kami sa bicutan.

6:00. ces drilon reports, they’re ready to exit and are being asked to by gas-masked soldiers, but teargas fumes still too strong. masangsang pa, maiiyak ka… may 50 pa kami dito. … bigyan kami ng gas masks para makalabas.

j.v. bautista: we’re not going to leave them. …meron daw mga order of arrest. we do not know the nature of that. only courts can issue arrest warrants.

korina: pilit kinokompiska the video of our reporters…

jv: nilalapastangan pati rights of media. overkill. police brutality. state suppression. overreaction. … lumaban po kayo. wag kayo papayag. protektado ang press freedom dito sa ating bansa. sana ang media manindigan rin.

npc’s roy mabasa: nalulungkot kami sa mga nangyayari. ginampanan lang ng media ang tungkulin nila…. walang nilabag. kinokondena namin ito…

trillanes et al have left function room and brought to a holding area. aalamin kung sinong sundalo, sinong civilian, sinong tagasuporta etc.

human rights lawyer marichu lambino phonepatch to korina: harassing of reporters by armed soldiers, hindi ko alam kung bakit tinatrato bilang kriminal. … hindi puwedeng imbitahin pero nakaumang ang mga baril. illegal arrest. wala silang karapatang magconfiscate ng video kung wala silang search warrant. paglabag yan sa batas. nakikita natin kung sinong lumalabag sa batas.

6:20. trillanes being escorted/rushed out of hotel and into waiting pnp bus. arestado. nakaposas. next, vp guingona, nakangiti, then gen. danny lim, nakaposas rin. two more men, unidentified. now fr. robert and bishop labayen making their way slowly, isinasakay rin sa bus, along with some of the technical crew of abs-cbn.

6:37 p.m. two police buses moving out.

the end, and maybe not.

heartthrobs piolo & sam vs. lolit solis

interesting the 12-million peso libel suit that piolo pascual and sam milby filed against lolit solis and her tabloid editor for intimating that they’re gay – said to be the first ever in the history of jurisprudence in the philippines and in the world.

usually kasi, true or not true, guys just shrug it off, hindi na lang pinapatulan, why fuel speculation, such as the biggest buzz of all: that it’s a publicity stunt to get them on the front pages and gossip columns in aid of promoting piolo’s coming concert and sam’s coming album.

sey ng isang gay friend ko in media: take note, for a 12-million peso libel suit, the filing fee is 10 percent, that’s 1.2 million bucks, only 600 kyaw each, which isn’t much, as promotional expenses go, peanuts kumbaga, lalo na for the kapamilya network, IF they’re involved. and, given lolit solis’ (har)batting record, even she could be in on it, har har.

makes sense to me. twould explain the timing, why now lang, e dati na namang tinitira-tira ng bading press si piolo, who has been linked to more guys than gals, or so it seems to me.

besides, it’s not as if the gay rumor has harmed piolo’s career, or sam’s, in any way. if we are to go by their many solo product endorsements and their series of hugely successful “heartthrob” concerts here and abroad, the two hunks have happily been making capital of it and raking in the big bucks. they’re bankable, gay or not, lolit or not.

i think piolo’s the most beautiful hunk alive. i don’t think he’s gay but he could be – interesting ang chemistry nila ni sam on cam – and i don’t mind in the least.

neither do my gay friends. says one: i hope they’re gay! they’re such cuties. we need cute icons in gayland. puro manicurista at peroxide queens ang nag-leader of the pack! adds another: agree! enough of boy abunda. ngek. icon ba ‘yon?

cheche & censorship

what does it say about philippine journalism when one of its top icons, a multi-awarded veteran broadcast journalist, producer, educator, and talkshow host (also maria ressa’s idol) says that art for art’s sake is secondary to the will of the man with the purse, and that artists give up freedom of expression when commissioned to do a work of art.

or something to that effect. cheche lazaro’s scripted wrap-up in the last 15 (10?) seconds of media in focus last thursday was so rushed, i may have heard wrong, i hope i heard wrong, because how could she be so okay about censorship?

says john silva, senior consultant to the national museum:

“The cavalier and contemptible manner by which the National Press Club blithely desecrated a work of art is evidence enough that these so-called journalists haven’t a clue about freedom of expression. In a free society, contending thoughts, contending works of art are allowed and respected despite its inherent inclinations and viewpoints. The National Press Club’s actions has just put their profession to ridicule, painted themselves as cowards, and now insinuates itself as being in-the-pay of the powerful. Fellow journalists who abide in the freedom of expression should call for the immediate dismissal of the club officers.”

says raul pangalanan, dean of the u.p. college of law:

“The National Press Club (NPC) apparently thinks that just because it paid for the mural, it has the power to alter it as it wishes. The NPC must realize that ownership of the thing does not mean ownership of the copyright. Granting that the work was commissioned by the NPC for P910,000 and assuming that there was no other agreement, ownership of the thing itself would belong to the NPC but copyright remains with the artists. The ownership of the NPC is limited to the physical thing, which it may sell like any other property — but only the artists, as copyright owners, have the right to transform their art work. The owner may only keep the work ‘as is.’ Transforming it is an exclusive ‘economic right’ of the artist.

“In addition, the artist has ‘moral rights’ to maintain the integrity of his work and oppose ‘any distortion, mutilation or other modification of … his work … prejudicial to his honor or reputation.’ Indeed, moral rights may not be waived entirely, especially if the effect is ‘to use the name of the author with respect to a work he did not create.’ The NPC may be liable for damages, criminal penalties and fines for the infringement of their intellectual property rights.”

says luis teodoro, former dean of the u.p. college of mass communication:

“The NPC leadership was not being ‘apolitical.’ It was being crudely, brazenly political – first, when it asked press freedom’s worst foe since Ferdinand Marcos to inaugurate the mural, and second, when it censored it. What’s even worse, what the NPC did was not to expunge ‘leftist’ elements from the mural, but to deface it so as to hide the truth.

“Truth-telling is the fundamental value and responsibility of journalism. But here’s the NPC suppressing such truths as that Jonas Burgos was indeed abducted by military agents, and that the anti-terrorism law, deliberately misnamed the Human Security Act, has grim implications for press freedom. These are neither leftist nor rightist claims, but facts – the very stuff of which competent practice and ethical journalism are made. Has the NPC leadership even heard of either? Anyone engaged in the suppression of facts has no business calling himself or herself a journalist, the appropriate word being ‘hack’ – preferably with the words ‘bought and paid for’ attached to it. ‘Quack’ also applies.”

ah, how i wish we had writers like john silva, raul pangalangan, and luis teodoro hosting tv public affairs talkshows, thinkers who as a matter of course go beyond he-said-she-said, truly probe into issues, and dare take a stand, no matter how anti-establishment.

but it ain’t gonna happen. they’re not pretty enough or popular enough, and they are neither hacks nor quacks.