Class and the Politics of Memory in Post-War Asia

Walden Bello

Over the last few decades in Asia, August has been dominated by the anniversary of the tragic nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on the 6th and 9th days of the month. This year, however, being the 70th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War, people have recalled the havoc that war brought to so many in the region and discussed the ways that the protracted, bitter conflict, which arguably began with Japan’s invasion of China in 1937, left its mark not only on the post-war relations between Japan and the different countries in the region but on the relations among social classes within these countries.

Read on…

juan ponce enrile, estelito mendoza, and the supremes

what a show of legal acrobatics and selective justice from the supreme court, no less.  the credit, of course, goes to enrile’s defense counsel na talaga namang matinik at kagilagilalas.  for some history, read Estelito Mendoza: Champion for “the wrong side” by raissa robles (2011), Joker Arroyo et al. versus Estelito Mendoza et al. by belinda olivares-cunanan (2000), and Estelito Mendoza’s defense of Louie Gonzalez by solita monsod (2008).

sabi nga ni raissa robles:

He can make white look black and vice versa. Plus he has a grateful army of former students, colleagues and subordinates scattered far and wide in the Philippine judicial and legal system.

and sabi nga ni associate justice marvic leonen sa kanyang dissenting opinion:

Special privileges may be granted only under clear, transparent, and reasoned circumstances. Otherwise, we accept that there are just some among us who are elite. Otherwise, we concede that there are those among us who are powerful and networked enough to enjoy privileges not shared by all.

(Other accused) … remain in jail because they may not have the resources to launch a full-scale legal offensive marked with the creativity of a well-networked defense counsel. After all, they may have committed acts driven by the twin evils of greed or lust on one hand and poverty on the other hand.

yes, a powerful, creative, and well-networked defense counsel is all it takes to get around the law.  and, but, what does that say about the eight arroyo-appointed supremes who dared preempt the sandiganbayan?  why the sudden inordinate rush to release enrile?  is it possible that enrile and/or mendoza called in favors of one kind or another and there was no saying no?  or were the eight just eager to establish a precedent for the benefit, next, of gloria arroyo?

kaya ko namang lunukin yung old age and ill health as pusong-mamon reasons for moving him (and her) from hospital arrest to house arrest, but to hear that he is raring to go back to work, in fact, is expected back in the senate on monday, if senate clowns are to be believed, is beyond outrageous, it’s unbelievable, as in, wow, is he no longer under arrest?!?  he is presumed innocent, the evidence is weak, blah blah blah, or so argues, nay, rules, estelito mendoza from on high, and that’s all there is to it?

the timing is highly suspicious.  just when marcos’s version of the bangsamoro bill is up for discussion.  except that i remember enrile evincing great interest in the original BBL as a welcome experiment in parliamentary government, or something to that effect.  can it be that he has changed his mind?  OR has he been set free to bring the aquino-iqbal BBL back on track, sorry na lang si bongbong?  is my imagination on over-drive?

and, but, what would it say about a senate that’s eager to welcome enrile back, no questions asked?  do these lawmakers owe enrile and mendoza some favors, too, of one kind or another?  are they testing our limits?

the good news is, justice secretary leila de lima has finally found her voice.

De Lima said the Aug. 18 ruling was not final, as it was “subject to the 15-day rule of filing a motion for reconsideration.”

“The People of the Philippines, through the Ombudsman, can and must file a motion for reconsideration,” De Lima told the Inquirer on Saturday when asked about the state’s legal recourse.

“[T]he decision can only be deemed final and executory if no [motion for reconsideration] is filed within 15 days from receipt [of the ruling] or, if one is filed, upon the denial of the [motion],” she said.

so.  let’s see how enrile and mendoza try to win this one.  think nation, and history, dear supremes.  we are watching, and taking notes for the worldwide web.

butz aquino, my EDSA hero (1939-2015)

 

i knew butz as the BFF of my brother-in-law nick since ateneo days (along with reli german), and i also knew him as a showbiz figure, an actor on stage and in film, and ran into him once in a while when i was writing scripts for june keithley’s sosyal tv talkshow back in 1981.  it was martial law, and he was special, too, for being the bunso brother of the amazing ninoy who spent seven years and seven months in jail, refusing to kowtow ever to the dictator marcos.

those early eighties must have been good times, sort of, for butz and the aquino family — ninoy was finally safe and free in boston, recovering from the heart attacks that forced marcos to let him go into exile in may 1980.  the lull before the storm.

we all know what happened in 1983 when ninoy came home to lead the opposition only to be slayed on the tarmac.  and we all saw how butz rose to the occasion by organizing and leading the august twenty-one movement (ATOM) whose sustained anti-marcos rallies over the next two and a half years enthralled (the yellow-pages confetti in makati always gave me goosebumps!) and emboldened the millions of filipinos who had wept for nation when ninoy died, and who became enamoured of the widow cory.  we all know how that led to the people power ouster of marcos in 1986.

it is good that butz is being remembered now, finally, for the historically critical role he played in EDSA.  in all early accounts of the four days, in the raves across the world, it was cardinal sin who was credited for making the first call over radio veritas that brought the people marching to EDSA in droves to shield the rebels from marcos’s wrath.  in fact, the cardinal only echoed, in two parts (10:40 pm and 12 midnight), butz aquino’s earlier call (10:20 pm), also over veritas.

cory was in cebu.  ATOM’s executive committee decided to await her instructions before making any kind of move.

But Butz was feeling contrary and audacious. Perhaps he was better informed than most, better acquainted with the personalities involved, just because he was Ninoy’s brother. And like the irrepressible Ninoy would have done, Butz seized the day.

Butz disagreed with the majority decision to wait and see rather than go all out in support of Ramos and Enrile. “This is our chance to split the military,” he said. He thought it was “out of character” for Ramos to be “included in a zarzuela to fool the people.” As for Enrile, Butz was willing to take a chance on him: “I don’t know him well but I am convinced that he had nothing to do with the assassination of Ninoy. When it comes to human rights violations, we can’t pinpoint anything on him directly. We also know he’s been powerless for the last several years. It’s General Ver who’s been calling the shots.”

On his own Butz decided to take the daring course of action. He called MP Palma and asked her, “Do you believe in these two guys?” And she said, “I think so. What are your plans?” Butz told her, “I’m going to Camp Aguinaldo and offer our support, whatever support we can give them.”

It was also around 10:00 when Butz got to Camp Aguinaldo and around 10:20 when he made the famous call for people to come to EDSA and shield the rebels from Marcos’s military might.

Butz sought out Enrile. He could feel the tension in the air. The soldiers on the stairway were sweating.  Enrile was “tense, perspiring, perhaps from the heat of his bulletproof vest.” At Butz’s offer of support, Enrile answered, “We need all the support we can get.”

Spying Jun Taña of Radio Veritas on the phone, Butz plugged in and made his call to the people: “I am here in Camp Aguinaldo. I have just spoken to Minister Enrile. He and his men are bracing themselves against an attack. We are here to try and prevent bloodshed. We are going to work for a peaceful solution. … I am calling on all concerned citizens, specially my friends in ATOM, BANDILA, and FSDM to meet me at Isetann in Cubao. There we will decide on the best course of action.”

Butz was on inspired mode that night when he dared advocate a peaceful solution to imminent war between Marcos’s split military. It seemed absurd and foolish, quixotic even, yet it was consistent with the non-violent spirit of Cory’s civil disobedience campaign.

Father Francisco Araneta groaned when he heard Butz Aquino sounding off his call for volunteers to join him in Cubao and from there to march off to support the soldiers at Crame and Aguinaldo. “There goes that fool,” he thought to himself.

ten minutes after butz’s call, marcos went on tv, live, and accused enrile, ramos, and the reformists of a coup aborted.  at 11:30 when that presscon ended, butz made a second call over veritas.

“We are here at Isetann and we will march to Crame and Aguinaldo. Minister Enrile and his men are ready to fight if they are attacked. If they are attacked, we will support them … we will surround the camps and protect them with our bodies. We will do this because Enrile and Ramos wish to follow the will of the people. Anyone who respects the will of the people deserves our help … I call on all our countrymen to join us and increase our number so that we can prevent a bloody confrontation … Only the brave should come!”

as it turned out, it was fortuitous that cory was away.  she had no sympathy for ninoy’s jailer enrile and might have preferred to call coryistas to luneta, there to pray and watch as enrile-led rebels and ver-led loyalists wiped each other out.

and then, again, who knows.   butz might have changed cory’s mind, the promise of non-violence (that ninoy, too, had advocated) may have appealed beyond the desire for revenge.   whatever, butz would have prevailed.  it was destiny.

sona, tsona, torre de manila #takeitdown

i’m deep into a book project — so far, purely a labor of love — and all the political drama is just white noise.  i did stop to listen to the president’s sona but went back to work the moment the testimonials started.  i forgot, though, all about the vice president’s tsona and caught only the tail end when he gave special mention to each of the SAF44, of course, and why not, since nakalimutan sila ng presidente — like nakalimutan niya ang FOI — it was good to be reminded, lalo na’t narinig ko si palace spokesman lacierda sa ANC raving about how this wonderful president has a knack for bouncing back even from the worst falls in trust rating, as in mamasapano times, because, look, his trust ratings are up, people have forgotten mamasapano, yey, mamasapano is no longer an issue, or something to that effect.  excuse me, but many of us have long memories actually.  deep in our psyches, everything is factored in, one way or another, and when we want to remember the details, there’s always the web, thank goodness.

but  yesterday’s oral  arguments sa supreme court on the torre de manila case, i could not resist.  the tweets were interesting so we tuned in and caught the last two and a half hours of associate justice francis jardeleza’s interpellation of DMCI counsel vincent lazatin.  it was all most instructive.  i loved jardeleza’s carefully grounded questions and deliberate pace — he refused to be rushed,  or to be distracted.  he made the point that surely DMCI knew the risks of building such a tower in such a zone of no-high-rises behind the rizal monument.  now i wonder if the perfect unobstructed vista of luneta park and manila bay was the main selling point?

and let’s not forget that juicy tidbit about DMCI seeking “presidential intercession” from malacanang’s Presidential Action Center, and apparently getting it, which emboldened the NHCP, it would seem, to issue its own “permit”.

On October 11, 2012, respondent NHCP received a 1st Indorsement dated September 13, 201219 from the Presidential Action Center, referring to respondent NHCP the request of DMCI Consultant Alfredo A. Andrade seeking presidential intercession to facilitate the processing of their application for a certification. Acting on the communications received on the matter, the NHCP Board of Commissioners discussed the Torre de Manila project during its meeting on October 19, 2012.

Thus, in a letter dated November 6, 201221 addressed to DMCI Consultant Alfredo Andrade, respondent NHCP stated that the project site of the Torre de Manila condominium is “outside the boundaries of the Rizal Park and well to the rear (789 meters, according to Mr. Ancheta) of the Rizal Monument; hence it cannot possibly obstruct the front view of the said National Monument.

oral arguments continue on august 11.  the court has asked dr. serena diokno, chair of the NHCP, to be present, or to send her lawyers.  it should be verrry interesting because diokno dares, all by her lonesome, to disagree with solicitor general florin hilbay — the chief legal counsel and constitutionalist of the government —  who has seen fit to assert that

… the Constitutional mandate to conserve, promote, and popularize the nation’s historical and cultural heritage resources includes, in the case of the Rizal Monument, the preservation of its sightlines.

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TAKE IT DOWN #torredemanila