Category: rodrigo duterte

duterte shaking the tree — prelude to martial law and federalism?

Walden Bello
NO DOG IN THIS FIGHT
Since people have been pressing me for an opinion, I am briefly breaking my abstinence from Zuckerberg’s virtual evil empire, to say that while I find some of President Duterte’s policies murderous and reprehensible, when it comes to the conflict between God and Duterte, I ain’t got no dog in this fight, as someone famously said.  [93 likes, loves, haha. 4 shares]

Joel David Finally, a sensible position. I’d actually uphold a militant atheist call, but PRRD’s recent outburst isn’t really atheist, only militant in an awful manner.

exactly my sentiments.  it’s an argument that no one can win anyway, not duterte, not the church, not civil society.  duterte only has the upper hand because he’s president and also because all creation myths naman — such as adam and eve and snake in a paradise with a tree of good and evil — are the stuff of fairy tales and meant to be taken with a grain of salt.

JORGE ARAGO:  Those guys from the highlands say that long, long ago the gods came down to earth and found it a bore with no people around. So they scooped up some clay and moulded two figures, then plucked feathers off a chicken and tickled one clay figure until it laughed – that was the man. Of course the myth doesn’t say if the gods laughed with or after the woman and maintains a plucky silence about the chicken. [Pro Bernal Anti Bio. ABS-CBN publishing inc. (2017) page 35]

besides, the big bang and evolution make more sense to me now that i’m lightyears away from convent school.  but, yes, just the same, we humans like to do creation myths.  read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Creation_myth and other sources.

i actually have no problem with the adam-eve-serpent story that i grew up with, may pagka-cinematic pa nga, contodo plot beginning, middle, and ending.  but the bible is not clear about what life was like in paradise in the beginning, before the temptation — were adam and eve already having sex?  and all was good?  but no kids maybe?  or did the sex come after eve, and then adam, succumbed to temptation, and it’s been downhill since?

“Who is this stupid God? Estupido talaga itong p***** i** kung ganun. You created some—something perfect and then you think of an event that would tempt and destroy the quality of your work,” he said in a speech in Davao City during the opening of the 2018 National ICT Summit.

Duterte found fault in the creation story in the Bible which said that the snake tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, then she in turn gave it to Adam. “So kinain ni Adam. Then malice was born,” he said.

… “So tayo ngayon, all of us are born with an original sin. Ang original sin—ah sin—ano man ‘yan? Was it the first kiss? O… What was the sin? Bakit original? Nasa womb ka pa, may kasalanan ka na,” he said.

the president asks, too, why god had to create eve.

… “Nandiyan na si Adam. Okay na sana ‘yun. Sabi ni God—God found that Adam will be lonely. So he took one of his ribs, bone, and created the woman. Na-l***** na. [laughter] ‘Di kung si Adam lang, mag-dumugan na tayo lahat ng lalaki dito. Okay na ‘yun. Okay lang,” he said.

believe it or not, he speaks from experience.

… ‘yung dalawang brother-in-law ko bakla. Ako noong sa high school pa hindi ko alam kung maglalaki ako, ‘pag magbabae. Eh parang gusto kong maging lalaki, gusto kong maging babae.  Kaya lang sa Philippine Women’s mas maganda talaga ang mga babae, marami doon eh. Kaya ako na-tempt… [17 dec 2017]

but to ask why god had to create woman pa, to scoff at the idea of man being lonely without woman — it is absurd, coming from one who will talk about women and sex every chance he gets, asking for a public kiss here and there, bragging about his many women, even raving about that little blue pill for sex-obsesssed old men, as though it were all some measure of macho cool.

“Sinasadya ko ‘yan eh [I’m intentionally doing it]. You know why? This country is in a doldrums. I’m shaking the tree para mabuhay lahat para makita ko [to wake everyone up so I can see],” Duterte said before an assembly of barangay captains in Zamboanga del Sur.

“Pati ‘yung mga salita ko bastos. I’m trying to go to the boundaries of hanggang saan [Even my words are rude. I’m trying to go the boundaries of how far I can go],” he added.

so.  the kabastusan on all levels is deliberate, to shake us out of the “doldrums”, and also, to test our limits.

“There would be a time to speak, and I will, maybe in the coming days. For now, I will just keep my silence for I want to see how the nation reacts. Kumbaga, I’m shaking the tree. If you’d notice me every now and then, either national or local, ginugulo ko talaga ‘yung puno (I’m really shaking the tree).”   

hmm, shaking the tree  — i.e., arousing to action or reaction, disturbing — but to what end?  to get us so angry that we take to the streets?  to  provoke us into actions that he can pronounce illegal, subversive?  to encourage a climate of violence and instability so he can declare martial law?

nade-deja-vu ako.  alam naman natin na the president is desperate for a shift to federalism — i’m not sure why — and the people are not.  so it’s like he could be taking a page from the marcos playbook —  declare martial law and THEN have the new charter ratified by citizens’ assemblies somehow, anyhow — kaya lang this time there is no threat from the communists to justify it, even now that the peace talks are off-again.  in fact, it’s mostly police operations that are freaking us out.  and the traffic, of course.  and rising prices.  and the falling peso.  and china.

the drama king, as calixto chikiamco now calls the prez, would need to come up with a major major event signalling a major major threat,  better than the alleged-and-denied ambush of defense minister enrile’s convoy in 1972.

and then, again, he might surprise us yet.  what if he’s being singularly offensive pala because he really does want us to oust him as in EDSA, pagod na pagod na kasi siya, ang hirap pala maging presidente, si leni na lang.  omg.  let us pray.

independence day blues in the time of duterte (kris rises and falls, yet again)

One hundred and twenty years ago, our ancestors raised the Philippine flag from a balcony in Kawit, Cavite to signify the beginning of our journey as a free nation. Hijacked by the United States of America right at the start, and interrupted by Japan during World War II, the quest for an independent Filipino nation has been an arduous process. It tested our fortitude and persistence as a people. It brought out the best, but also the worst in us.

read the rest of randy david’s The challenge of nationhood in our time.  what he says about our postwar leaders continues to apply to our leaders until today.

… if the revolutionary struggle had been painful and costly, the aftermath was perhaps even more so. The moral and political choices that had to be made under conditions of formal self-rule were less clear. In the immediate postwar years, our leaders found it hard to resist the easy path offered by those who sought to control the nation’s future. Political opportunism grew in the fertile ground of the popular thought that the country had suffered enough and badly needed relief.

… In the process, perhaps without realizing it, we gave up the opportunity to rebuild our people’s inner strength, tap their skills and talents, and create the basic foundation for a strong nation. The examples of Japan, South Korea and Vietnam demonstrate the truism that the rebuilding of a country destroyed by war begins with the rekindling of the people’s energy and belief in themselves.

… The quality of leadership, both at the national and local levels, has undoubtedly been at the core of this national inability to rebound from misery and soar into greatness. Lacking in vision and selflessness, our leaders have done well for themselves, using political power to bolster their own selfish interests.

But they have left the rest of the nation behind…

“they” are all of the elite, all of the oligarchy — pro- and anti-duterte, pro- and anti-marcos, pro-and anti-aquino, pro- and anti-america, pro- and anti-china — and their media arms and other enablers.  they are all complicit in the sad and worsening state of nation.

this was driven home hard by the kris aquino episode vs. mocha uson who dared liken duterte’s pucker-up kiss-muna moment in south korea to ninoy aquino being kissed by lady admirers moments before he deplaned and was assassinated in august 1983.  read rosario a. garcellano’s Kissing pictures:

But can parallel behavior be actually observed in the pictures of the President kissing a member of his audience and of Ninoy Aquino being kissed by admirers? I think not, if only in the fundamental terms of one being the kisser and the other the kissee. One solicited the occasion for the contact (to entertain and amuse, and also as part of “the culture of Filipinos,” according to his explainers); the other submitted to the act, with an awkward grin.

Kris Aquino was well within her rights to take loud umbrage, even if, as Uson claimed, “this is not about you.”

indeed.  that was uson at her most malicious and unthinking worst yet.  i was immensely pleased for ninoy when kris rose to the occasion, challenging uson to a debate, or sampalan and sabunutan, one-on-one, what fun!  alas, uson copped out, LOL, what a loser.

and then there’s kris, who pala, while making hamon uson to a real catfight, reached out to bong go, no less, na kaibigan pala niya.

krisaquino I took the courage to reach out to PRRD’s SA Bong Go (sorry sa initial post, nag auto correct to Gong-although cute yung Bong Gong)… thank you commissioner Aimee Neri for helping me reach him via text. I have known & liked him for 8 years. In this instance I am Ninoy’s daughter- he believed in the power of true & honest communication… SA Bong, thank you for your reply. Thank you for taking my feelings as a daughter into consideration & showing me EMPATHY. I am most grateful for a man as powerful as you are now for texting & vibering me the words “we are sorry for the incident.” You have my sincere gratitude.  We all have 1 goal, a nation we can be proud of, and the best possible prosperous lives for all Filipinos. I love our country as much as our president does. I pray for #PEACE & mutual respect for all of us. God bless you.

ito naman ang pinost ni bong go na pinost ni kris sa kanyang instagram.

Christopher Bong Go  Kanina po, dahil ipinag-utos ni Presidente Duterte sa akin, I relayed a sincere apology to Kris.  We apologized because nasaktan siya and we wish to reiterate that sincere apology once again.  Sabi nga ng pangulo, “respetuhin dapat natin ang patay.” Iyong po ang pinanggagalingan ng apology namin.

Nirerespeto din namin ang opinyon ng mga supporters ng pangulo na nasasaktan din sa patuloy na pagbatikos sa kanya sa kabila ng lahat ng nagawa niya para sa ating bayan.”

(huh? so kung buhay si ninoy, okay lang?)  at kinausap din daw ni bong go si uson.

Christopher Bong Go Nag-usap kami ni Mocha at nagkasundo na tapusin na ang isyung ito. We all agreed to put this issue to rest out of respect to all our fellow Filipinos. I believe that politics should not divide us. Magtulungan na lang tayo kaysa mag-away away, para sa ikabubuti ng bayan.

at heto uli si kris, grateful for the “olive branch” from the powerful bong go upon the orders of the most powerful man…

krisaquino  Alam kong damned if you, damned if you don’t ako… but i was brought up to recognize an “olive branch” when it is being offered. Alam ko yung mga natitirang LP will bash me & the DDS will never like me. Alam ko rin na sasabihan akong bakit ako nagpapauto. Pero ito ang pananaw ko- the most powerful man, President Duterte affirmed my pain. When all his supporters have called me the most hateful names- th man who doesn’t say SORRY- inutusan ang kanyang pinaka pinagkakatiwalaan na mag relay ng SINCERE apology sa kin. Anak akong nakipaglaban na bigyan ng respeto ang magulang kong patay na. Sa puso ko, naramdaman ko na yun. So #carebears na po sa lahat ng babatikusin alo. In my critics words- this “media whore” “bitch” and “kulang sa pansin” BINIGYAN ng panahon at importansya ng pangulo ng ating bansa. Pasensya na kung #BRAT ang tingin ninyo pero this was a #WIN for the memory of the 2 people i love-unfortunately for the HATERS i am here to stay.

needless to say, what a waste.  kris was in a position to demand, at the very least, that uson be fired and replaced with someone bright, smart, and competent.  then we could stop wasting time arguing over the false comparisons and flippantly facetious questions that uson specializes in to distract from her daddy digong’s every perversion.

but the real question is: why did kris fold so quickly?  basta na lang tumiklop, invoking nation yet, as does bong gong.  i was still wondering about that when i saw this on facebook.

Angelo Suarez

Pantabla kay Kris Aquino, ang alas ng mga maka-Duterte ay Hacienda Luisita.

Ang Central Azucarera de Tarlac sa loob ng Hacienda Luisita ay pag-aari ng mga Lorenzo, pamilya ng mga landlord na kakutsaba ng mga Cojuangco-Aquino sa panglalandgrab.

Sino ang abogado ng mga Lorenzo sa pangangamkam nito ng lupa sa pamamagitan ng Lapanday Foods Corporation sa Tagum?

Sino ang abogado ng mga Lorenzong nagbantang babarilin ang mga magsasakang papasok sa lupang dapat naman ay sa kanila?

Si Manases Carpio, asawa ni Sara Duterte.

connect the dots.  they who have left the nation behind, they are all in this together.  let us keep that in mind as we navigate the muddy waters of our national life and pursue our struggle for independence.

*

independence day blues (in the time of gloria)
the real rigodon 
june 12, what’s to celebrate (in the time of pNoy)
Is the Philippines a lost cause? by john nery
Nothing to celebrate? by rina jimenez-david
Independence Day? End of the Republic by jarius bondoc

All mine to give: property rights

Amelia HC Ylagan

Last week, Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio reiterated with even more indignant passion that the Philippine government should not give up rights in the West Philippine Sea as defined by the July 2016 ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidating China’s “historical” claims over resources in its so-called “nine-dash line” that encroached on the Philippine waters (GMA News May 25, 2018). He warned that non-action by the Philippine government against China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea could be seen as the country giving up its rights. “Inaction is a waiver.” he said (Ibid.).

President Rodrigo Duterte, in pursuing friendlier relations with Beijing, has temporarily set aside the ruling to avoid confrontation with the Asian power (Ibid.). “Duterte earlier stressed the need to “remain meek and humble” to receive the “mercy” of the likes of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also said Xi vowed to protect him from any plan to remove him from office,” Rappler said. (rappler.com May 25, 2018). Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano announced that “it is no longer the Philippines’ strategy to always file diplomatic protests against China, as the DFA did under (his predecessor) Albert Del Rosario” (Ibid.).

No diplomatic protest when Chinese bombers recently landed on the South China Sea’s Paracel Islands (claimed by Vietnam) even when nearly all of the Philippines “falls within the radius of the bombers,” said the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (Ibid.). What’s new? China has constructed more than 1,600 structures in the disputed South China Sea, and nearly half (800 of these) are in waters belonging to the Philippines (Reuters May 24, 2018).

Subi, Mischief (within Philippine EEZ) and Fiery Cross reefs all have Chinese military infrastructure built between 2014 to 2017 — including emplacements for missiles, 3-km runways, extensive storage facilities, and a range of installations that can track satellites, foreign military activity and communications. The facilities each hold a regiment — between 1,500 to 2,400 troops, the wire agency reported (Ibid.).

“Stop calling it the ‘disputed’ West Philippine Sea,” Justice Carpio insists — the “dispute” has been settled (Rappler, March 5, 2018). “It’s like you have a land, you own it, somebody builds a house there and claims that he owns it also. So you go to court and finally the court says you own the land. Unfortunately the guy who built the house doesn’t want to leave. So the question of ownership is finished; it’s terminated already. You own it, because the court said you own it. It’s now a question of compliance — how to get him out of that lot. That is the situation in the West Philippine Sea,” Justice Carpio said (Ibid.).

But perhaps Justice Carpio is steeped too much in the rule of law to consider that a strong-man leader can be so sure, in his fashion, that his country is his to give away.

In early March President Duterte said joint exploration with China may be likened to co-ownership of the “disputed area.”

Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, echoed Justice Carpio’s opinion, saying that “In so far as territory is concerned, in so far as the exclusive economic zone and our natural resources are concerned, the constitution mandates that the benefits of our marine resources, our marine wealth up to the exclusive economic zone is reserved exclusively for Filipinos…The state cannot just share them, cannot admit any kind of co-ownership arrangement or anything similar to that for these resources” (ABS-CBN News March 2, 2018).

Former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay said Duterte’s statement may be considered an impeachable offense.

“A clear example of culpable violation of the Constitution [and] betrayal of public trust. The West Phil[ippine] Sea is exclusively ours. He’s giving it away,” Hilbay said (Ibid.). Hilbay and Justice Carpio were part of the delegation that brought China before an international tribunal to assert the Philippine’s claims in the West Philippine Sea (Ibid.).

And just as reports of Chinese long-range H-6K bombers landing for the first time and conducting exercises on Woody Island rattled his people but did not shake him, President Duterte’s strong persona weighed on a similar but “simple” case of how he protects property rights in his country.

Upon orders of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 7 dated Sept. 16, 2010, the 300 families who illegally lived on a lot on Legaspi St. corner Real St. in Intramuros were given final notice to self-demolish, and the private property returned to owner LG Mathieson Development. Enter Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, former (ousted) President, populist “bad boy” leader closely aligned with Duterte: “Don’t worry, even if the court threatened me with contempt by its owner, I will not let your shanties demolished until we find a suitable resettlement for you,” Estrada said to the squatters (Manila Standard May 24, 2018). The mayor cited President Duterte’s instruction to all concerned government agencies: “No relocation, no demolition” (Ibid.).

Mayor Estrada said the Intramuros Administration has a budget of more than P410 million for the resettlement program of informal settlers living inside the historical site (Ibid.). Then why aren’t they moving on the generously promised relocation? Because there is no place to send the informal settlers to! Estrada said reclaiming 148 hectares from Manila Bay will surely expand Manila’s present land area of 42.88 square kilometers, where virtually every square inch is already occupied, mostly by informal settlers.

But is not the reclamation of Manila Bay earmarked for humongous recreation/gaming centers — one is four times the size of the Makati central business district, according to columnist Vic Agustin.

Chinese investors have reportedly met with President Duterte for operating these, and even the dredging and land-filling works are by China Harbor Engineering co., the same one that did the reclamation of 214 hectares off Davao (Ibid.)

Colliers International, a real estate company active in the Philippine property market, noted that property sales to Chinese nationals have risen in 2017 and continuing through this year, due to the influx of Philippine Online Gaming Operators (POGO) which sustained the office market and consequently impacted residential sales as POGOs often supply housing for their staff (Colliers Quarterly Q1 2018 10 May 2018). Foreigners are allowed to own condominium units in the Philippines, under certain limitations of the Constitution.

And his people’s minds loop back to the unfathomable question of why he seems so set on giving to China what his people already own by the painstaking efforts within the law, of the truly patriotic men and women of past political administrations. It is a greedy usurpation of the people’s basic right to property, along with the right to life and liberty, in the Constitutional Bill of Rights.

*

[emphasis mine]

Did President Duterte lie to the people of Tondo?

Rachel AG Reyes

ON June 30, 2016, just before 9p.m., Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Tondo to dine with some of the poorest families in the country. It was his inauguration night and rather than attend some lavish ball to celebrate his victory, Duterte chose to eat rice in the slums.

Read on…