Moral code

“Ang pagkakaiba, ikaw tapat sa idolo mo kaming mga pinatay at papatayin mo ay tapat sa isang prinsipyo. Hindi ka sundalo. Isa kang aso Tahol, Goyo, tahol!” – Manuel Bernal [Arthur Acuña] in Jerrold Tarog’s Goyong: Ang Batang Heneral (2018)

WATCHING the movies Goyo and Heneral Luna never fails to entertain me as well as reminds me that no single person can turn this country around, make it the best democratic republic and an economic tiger in Southeast Asia. Well, our Republic sure used to be. It was not called Pearl of the Orient seas for nothing.

On Sunday, we mixed up our movie marathon by watching Goyo first before watching Heneral Luna. We thought it interesting to treat the former as a prequel to the latter, although the releases in the cinemas were the opposite.

A few minutes into the movie, we see the youngest general of the revolution, Gregorio del Pilar (Paulo Avelino), lead the torture of Col. Manuel Bernal (Arthur Acuña). Bernal had been a loyal aide-de-camp to Lt. Gen. Antonio Luna. The hunt was in high gear for the officers who were seen as loyal to Luna.

The hunt was ordered by the revolutionary government of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. By the way, he, along with ilustrado Felipe Buencamino, were implicated in the assassination of Luna.

When Goyo asked Bernal about the whereabouts of his compatriots (meaning, those who served under Luna), he shot back at the young general asking if Goyo will do everything the President tells him to do. He then differentiates himself from the likes of Goyo.

“Ang pagkakaiba, ikaw tapat sa idolo mo kaming mga pinatay at papatayin mo ay tapat sa isang prinsipyo. Hindi ka sundalo. Isa kang aso Tahol, Goyo, tahol.” These may not be the exact words that Bernal said as the disclaimer at the start of the movie declares but the words sure do make sense.

Soldiers ought to be bound by a moral code and not blind adherence to a human leader. The reason behind this, I think, is that humans are fallible. Whereas, principles, on their own, are incorruptible just like the words in the Philippine Military Academy’s coat of arms: courage, integrity, and loyalty. The loyalty part is clear to me that it means loyalty to the Republic and not to whoever is sitting as President.

As Joven Hernándo (Arron Villaflor) correctly pointed out in the movie: What is a hero’s true worth? Why do we always look up and glorify without question?

Also, Apolinari Mabini (Epy Quizon) summarized the movie by saying that the Philippine revolution failed because it was badly led.

Turning back to Heneral Luna, played by John Arcilla, the movie also offered gems that could very well have been said in these times.

When he blurted out in frustration against Aguinaldo’s (Mon Confiado) indecisiveness after a cabinet meeting that no one is above all, not even the President, it reminded me of how things are at the present cabinet of this administration.

Every single one of them seems to be at the beck and call of the President. They have forgotten that they serve the Republic. Yes, they have been appointed by the President but not as his unthinking lackeys.

At the height of his frustration, Luna told off the Aguinaldo’s cabinet that the real bigger enemy of the Republic was not the foreign invaders but the Filipinos themselves. As a once-popular song goes: When will we ever learn. Pfft.

Switching scripts

“You can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” — Bob Marley, Get up, Stand up

THEY are back! After the troll brigade’s deafening silence since the 2019 novel coronavirus hit the country, they have been unleashed to social media platforms again. The gap can only be surmised that it took their handlers a long time to gather their wit’s after #oustduterte trended on Twitter Philippines for at least three consecutive days.

They are in panic mode. The mindless horde of selfish individuals is back, indeed. They’d rather an epidemic spread in the country than question the lackadaisical approach of this administration.

The first script that hit social media platforms was a call for compassion, humanity, and not to discriminate against the Chinese people who are in the country. For context, this was when countries, including ground zero Wuhan in China, were busy banning arrivals into their respective ports of entry.

While in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte took his sweet time. He did not even face his constituents, choosing Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go to face the people instead. Go said the President will be meeting with health officials and specialists this week — at least a fortnight since our health department declared that there is a foreigner who tested positive to nCov.

Here is one of the first tweets and Facebook posts that were flagged by many of the country’s mature netizens as duplicates or copy-paste posts:

“Hey, I was walking on the street to find a public vehicle when a Chinese man approached me na parang hiyang-hiya. Pansin kong iniiwasan din siya ng mga tao. Masyado pa siyang mailap tas di makatingin sa’kin, tinanong ko na kasi parang di niya talaga kaya magsalita. ‘yes? you speak Bisaya, Tagalog or English?’ tas parang nabuhayan siya na may kumausap sa kanya pero ramdam mo yung paglayo niya ng kusa. ‘ not sick… not sick..’ nagpapanik pa siya ng kunti tapos sabi niya. ‘ first time here… the driver angry… drop me here and said… I can walk the Poblacion area…. I just wanna know the direction?’ parang naiiyak pa siya, it’s not his efforts in speaking to be understood that broke my heart but knowing the fact that the driver lied to him. Kung lalakarin mo kasi yung lugar na binanggit niya mula dun sa kinaroroonan namin is aabutin ka ng ilang oras. I mean I know na may iba satin na galit sa kanila dahil nga sa virus na yan but being this rude and cruel. It’s breaking me. You can’t be mean to someone just because of their race.”

Later on during over the weekend, another version of the copy-paste posts that drew laughter because it is becoming apparent that these 200 or so accounts have been using the very same script. If you don’t believe me, you can always Google these “scripts” to find out for yourselves.

“I’m sad. We have Chinese neighbors sa condo, and just now may nakasabay kaming lalaki (Chinese) with 2 kids. Sila dapat ‘yong nauna dun sa elevator. But when he saw us (Filipinos) behind him, umatras siya with his kids at nagpahuli. Hindi sila sumabay. I heard the kids asked their dad why, but he just shushed them. Kasakit man sa heart. Let’s pray for each other’s good health, regardless of race. This is not a time to blame and discriminate. P.S. Nobody knows the feels more than those who saw the sadness in the man’s eyes. Yes, don’t forget PRECAUTIONS. But don’t be so overwhelmed by that and set aside COMPASSION. HUMANITY, as you say.”

The script quoted above got me thinking: How gigantic could this condominium be to have 200 tenants saying they encountered this “Chinese” neighbor right before they rode the building’s elevator?

First, the call for the government to ban arrivals, specifically those coming from ground zero of the outbreak, is not a racist move. As we have seen from other countries, they didn’t see it as a diplomatic slight. This is because their governments know they are accountable first to their constituents and the international community, second.

Like, did this President mince words against an American ambassador before? Now, that was an outrage.

By Sunday, however, another script circulated. This time it was more subtle than the first two scripts. The trolls’ handlers now switched their tact to “better late than never” approach. This was because earlier that day, Duterte had already ordered a “temporary” ban on arrivals coming from China and its territories — at least a week since Wuhan locked down. By this time, a cruiser ship full of Chinese tourists had docked on our shores and a plane-full of Chinese had landed in Davao City.

For me, the “better late than never” excuse is only good news when you mean a menstruation period. To a woman, it means she isn’t having an unplanned pregnancy — pardon the pun.

Second, most of the countries that have declared having visitors who have contracted the virus are members of the so-called G8. These are first world countries — meaning, unlike ours, their governments have not slashed the budgets for public health spending.

I have only two words for whoever is behind these scripts to hide the incompetence of this administration — amateur hour. You can’t expect people to believe you when you’ve used this approach in 2016. Pfft.

Inclusive relief, please

OUR family, having been survivors of a devastating calamity, has seen both the best and the worst in people after a seemingly hopeless aftermath.

We saw neighbors, who have lost almost everything to the great deluge in 2011, still managed to distribute to the neighborhood whatever they had left. I remember a neighbor who gave away his bread and rice cake (puto) instead of selling them as he normally did before the flood. Some neighbors opened their doors to people whose houses were swept away by the rampaging floodwaters.

However, there is also a dark side to the altruistic nature of man after a calamity — greed. Yes, we all needed relief aid at that time still others were not content with what was given to them voluntarily.

We saw neighbors looting a UN relief truck on its way to the relief distribution center in Consolacion Elementary School. They couldn’t wait in line and so they hijacked the relief truck while in transit. We saw people hoarding relief goods and then opening up instant sari-sari stores months after “Sendong.”

The Sendong experience both humbled and opened my eyes to certain realities. No matter how many times you tell people not to panic, they will. No matter how many times you tell people to fall in line for the relief goods, some of them will not.

That’s why I understand the government’s drive to organize relief distributions. It ensures that all survivors get their share of the donations. This is to avoid pandemonium in relief distribution centers or in the calamity-stricken areas.

Our barangay chairman then, the late Cesar Pagapulaan Sr., ordered that all donations be centralized in our barangay hall for proper distribution. He is, after all, the village chief and would know who needed the donations most.

I understood that order. However, despite that order, he did not physically deter anyone from giving directly to the survivors. I guess he understood that some people are wary of how the government distributes relief goods (e.g politically motivated lists).

Although he didn’t make one except for the official list of our barangay’s residents, he knew somewhere above his station some people are riding the relief operations with their own political agenda in mind.

This is the reason why I was perplexed with the latest order of the martial law administrator issued on All Souls’ Day in the aftermath of the series of earthquakes that rocked North Cotabato, Davao del Sur, and other neighboring towns.

“The (checkpoints) shall control and screen the ingress and egress of the people in the evacuation center that only legitimate and authorized relief workers are granted access to evacuation centers and receive relief goods and supplies for distributions for the evacuees,” reads part of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Apparently, according to Lorenzana, there is such a thing as illegitimate and unauthorized relief operations after calamities occur in the country. If so, the martial law administrator didn’t elaborate on why this is so.

First, people will help people. You don’t need a license or authorization to help people. That puto vendor who distributed his wares free of charge after Sendong didn’t have to go to the city hall to ask for permission to do so.

I can’t believe the audacity of this administration to refuse getting “upstaged” by private citizens who want to help. Relief is a relief. It should not have any political color — be it yellow, red, green, brown, or blue.

Lorenzana goes on to say that Cotabato province has welcomed the putting up of checkpoints, or should I say relief clearinghouses, to “avoid duplication or concentrations of the distribution of relief goods.”

As documented by reporters on the ground, most of the quake survivors have resorted to begging for relief along the national highway. So, I don’t understand the duplication Lorenzana is trying to avoid when most of the survivors have not received relief goods yet.

Everybody’s help is needed, sir. A “legitimate” and “authorized” relief operations sound so exclusive. The quake survivors need inclusive relief right now. Now is not the time to be insecure about the people’s capacity to help.

Also, the last time I checked calamities, whether under the preparedness aspect or relief operations, are under the purview of the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, respectively. So, why the order, Mr. Defense Secretary? Pfft.

Keep off the youth

I WAS looking at my notes for a second part on “brainwashing” when this press release came in my e-mail inbox. It may have started in a Manila-located state university — the Polytechnic University of the Philippines — but make no mistake, this witch hunt of this administration against the youth sets a dangerous precedent.

Here in Northern Mindanao, police regional director Brig. Gen. Rafael Santiago is quick to dance to the tune despite his hefty disposition. He has ordered his officers to spy on schools to supposedly keep the “recruiters” of the Maoist New People’s Army at bay.

Let me remind the President that it would do him well if he keeps off the future of this Republic. This is the last sector in the society he should be constricting and repressing because as our contemporary history teaches us, this kind of witch hunt doesn’t sit well with critical thinking and enlightened youth.

Let me remind him further that I agree to a line in his most recent coherent and sane speech, that “we are our worst enemy.” I suggest he take a look at a mirror because he has become the biggest enemy to himself and to this Republic.

Here’s the full text of the press release from Shara Mae Landicho and Sean Thakur. Please do read on.

“Student activists of Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (Spark) denounced the mandatory drug testing held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). They say that drug tests placed hundreds of students in the crosshairs of the state-sponsored death squads.

“They cautioned policymakers and implementors that they may be held accountable for excesses and atrocities committed during and after the tests.

“The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday reported that they administered eight hundred drug tests to out of the more than thirty-five thousand students of the state university in its Sta. Mesa campus.

“The group claimed that the exercise was ‘a major cause of worry for the youth are equally placed in peril between the law enforcers and peddlers of illegal substances considering the larger context where the Duterte administration has been waging an unsuccessful and bloody war on drugs since ascending to power in 2016.

“Spark warned that student bodies across the country will not hesitate to hold the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), PUP president Emmanuel de Guzman and the PNP accountable ‘if even a single drop of blood of a PUP student is spilled’ in police operations following the tests.

“‘The government must immediately cease promoting a discriminatory, stigmatizing and skewed approach to solving the drug problem. This, on top of their bloodied credentials and their present fixation, to intrude in campus affairs,’ said Spark spokesperson, Shara Mae Landicho.

“Landicho averred that drug tests are not in line with the supposed objective of drug prevention but the promotion of a healthy lifestyle but the persecution of its victims.

“PNP reports that they have tallied six thousand six hundred sixty drug-related deaths from July 2016 to June 2019 or eighteen deaths a month. In December last year, Commission on Human Rights chairperson Chito Gascon estimates that the death toll could be as high as twenty-seven thousand.

“For Sean Thakur, chairperson of the University Student Council of the University of the Philippines Diliman, ‘Three years has passed since Oplan Tokhang was unleashed and no less than the president has already admitted that their approach has failed to curb the drug menace and now they seek to spread the bloody frenzy within academic institutions.

“He adds that enforced through the Ched Memorandum 18, the mandatory drug testing in universities ‘only legitimizes such police operations in campuses and threaten institutions that should always exhibit academic freedom.’

“The activists insist that for as long as the conditions of poverty, inequality and corruption among law enforcers persists, illegal drugs will be an enticing option economically and psychologically.

“Policymakers and the police are looking in the opposite direction. They shall find more success if they genuinely address social, structural injustices and quit being utak-pulbura (having a violent mindset), he adds.

“The group called likewise called on the parents of PUP students to add their voices to the opposition to the mandatory drug tests policy.”

Neither here nor there

“A miss by an inch is a miss by a mile.” — Scottish Proverbs Collected and Arranged by Andrew Henderson, 1832, p.103

A CITY councilor here is suggesting that the surge in suicides in the city can be attributed to the decrease in religiosity in young people. He proposes that religious sessions should be made available for children as young as three years up to seven years old.

For religious people, this suggestion would sound feasible. However, to the critically minded, this suggestion is neither here nor there.

Has this councilor made a thorough study into the suicides in the city that he could pinpoint religiosity or the lack of it as the main reason why young people have been offing themselves lately?

In the study of C.S. Clarke, F.J. Bannon, and A. Denihan titled “Suicide and religiosity — Masaryk’s theory revisited,” it is argued that the lack of religiosity does not push an individual to commit suicide.

“The relationship between suicide rates and the religious climate of a community is a matter of controversy. Rising suicide rates have been attributed in part to a decline in religious observance, but contradictory evidence has been adduced,” the study reads in part.

Another study by the Department of Mental Health and the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland points out that religious people are even more susceptible to commit suicide against non-religious people.

By using data from a nationwide psychological autopsy study of all suicides in Finland in a year, authors H. Sorri, M Henriksson, and J Lönnqvist found out that a history of psychiatric inpatient treatment and psychotic and depressive disorders diagnosed in psychiatric care were more common among the religious people than among the nonreligious.

“The burden of major mental disorders have been heavier among religious than nonreligious victims,” the study concluded.

The notion that the suicides in the city lacked or were devoid of respect and fear of god is ignorant and unfair. It is unfair to the parents who have just lost their loved ones. This notion subtly points out that parents of suicides are “bad parents.” It is ignorant in the sense that it does not address suicides as a mental health issue.

Here in the Philippines, having a mental disorder still holds a stigma — a stigma of shame and embarrassment. We should be addressing a mental health issue with science and not public delusions of a transcendent being up in the heavens.

The Philippine Psychiatric Association estimated that one in five Filipinos has mental disorders. With that many people with mental disorders, I think now is the most opportune time to have a public discussion on mental health without the fear of being stigmatized.

In a CNN Philippines report, Dr. Gia Sison, national adviser of the Youth for Mental Health Coalition, said: “No one will never know if a person will be committing suicide or not, but there are warning signs.”

According to the Department of Health, symptoms of depressive disorder are excessive guilt or feelings of worthlessness; diminished ability to concentrate, or indecisiveness; significant weight loss or weight gain; lack of sleep or oversleeping; fatigue or loss of energy; psychomotor agitation and slowness; and recurring thoughts of death or suicide.

We ought to be mindful of our youth who have been stressed by a society that has been so polarized and alienating that they feel helpless. We should remind our young ones that they can talk about depression and that it is nothing to be ashamed of.

To my young readers who feel they cannot talk to their parents please save these numbers: (02) 804-HOPE (4673) and 0917 558 HOPE (4673). There are people behind these phone lines 24 hours, seven days a week.

Don’t be ashamed to call. Don’t be afraid to seek help.

Honesty, that lonely word

“Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue.” — Billy Joel, Honesty from the album 52nd Street

MANY raised their eyebrows a week ago when presidential daughter and Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio told reporters that honesty is not an election issue.

Her attempt to downplay the lies of one of her Hugpong Pagbabago senatorial candidates boomeranged in the most spectacular way. She unwittingly declared that her party’s senatorial slate could not be trusted. So, in another attempt, she doubled down and blurted that all politicians, not just her slate, are liars.

If you come to think of it, there’s a tinge of truth to what she said. As George Carlin once said in one of his gigs: “You cannot introduce honesty in politics. Otherwise, the entire system would collapse.”

Had she provided the context on why she thinks all politicians are liars, I think people would understand her statement. Politicians have their own agenda and they would fight tooth and nail to advance it even if it takes a little lying to undermine their political foes’ agenda.

However, we need not worry about the “Inday Sara Show.” On Sunday, she told reporters that her mom, Elizabeth Zimmerman, reminded her that she may be the President’s daughter but that she is also hers. Her mom reprimanded her for “bullying” the opposition candidates and that she should be kind first and foremost.

“Sinabi nya na I should always be kind first before anything else. So, mag-pack up na po Inday Sara show. Wala na po sya. Sarado na po,” Philstar Global quoted her as saying.

So, that’s that. But a lie is still a lie, no matter the magnitude. Don’t take my word for it. It is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. “The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption,” Sec. 27, Art. II, 1987 Constitution.

It is mentioned again in Section 1, Article XI of our Constitution: “Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.”

No matter how the presidential daughter spins it now, the word is out that she has little, to no, regard for honesty in public service. As the party’s campaign manager, Sara Duterte-Carpio has her work cut out for her. It would be interesting to see how she is going to wiggle her way out of this one as campaign sorties progress.

Yes, she has declared that she will heed her mom’s advice and will stop bullying opposition candidates. However, she forgot to explicitly mention that she will stop lying for her senatorial candidates.

So, honesty, in her vocabulary, is still a lonely word.

Asserting our rights

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1776 US Declaration of Independence

THE Universal Declaration of Human Rights is as relevant and important today as it was when it was adopted by 48 countries, the Philippines included, 70 years ago yesterday.

Human rights watchdog Karapatan has documented that from May 23, 2017, to November this year, there were 88 victims of political killings, 128 cases of frustrated killings, and 186 victims of illegal arrests and detention in Mindanao alone.

On Sunday, a group of farmers and indigenous people from Bukidnon, numbering to about 2,000, were held up by the armed police at Patpat, Malaybalay in Bukidnon. The contingent was on its way to the city to commemorate the 70th Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Not to be deterred, the contingent staged a picket rally where they were held, and the police released them 30 minutes after.

One of the delegates observed that as soon as they were returning to their buses, the police officers started dismantling their supposed checkpoint.

“Clearly, the holding point was set up waiting only for the delegates,” reports one of the delegates.

The United Nations’ Human Rights Commission, through its special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, has warned that the ongoing militarization of Mindanao will have a massive and potentially irreversible impact on the human rights of its tribal communities.

“We urge the Philippines to observe its obligations under international law to protect the human rights of indigenous peoples, including in the context of armed conflict. The authorities must ensure that all human rights abuses are halted and that there are justice and accountability for past attacks,” Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, reported to the UN’s human rights high commissioner last year.

The figures are alarming in that since last year, there have been 2,500 lumad people displaced, and the number is rising. With yet another extension of martial rule across the island, these figures will most definitely rise some more.

The UDHR is not just some mundane covenant of 48 countries. It is a document that encapsulates the age-old question, What makes one human? We must continue to assert this declaration as this administration continues to trample the very essence of what makes us humans.

Just as libertarians before us fought tooth and nail to assert their rights for a morally upright society, it is incumbent on us to take the cudgels once again during these dark days of our country.

Simply appalling

“The masses are not bound to society by their shared values but by coercion at the hands of those in power.” – Margaret L. Andersen, on conflict theory, Sociology: The Essentials, p21

IT is quite appalling to see how we, as a people, have come to be this way. A polarized nation with nothing but prejudice and vindictive pride.

As a friend and colleague Inday Espina-Varona puts it, it seems that the sycophants of both polarizing ends appear to be coming from the same sewage. It is overwhelming that I cannot help but feel helpless and useless at the same time.

While our economy is in the rut, physical violence runs rampant in many parts of the island. I feel like this administration is hell-bent on killing its constituents, directly and indirectly. What’s worse is that some people who I used to consider as people of conscience, some are even outright religious, are the ones in the front seat applauding the demagoguery. Well, at least that is how it appears in the echo chambers of various online social media networks.

A case in point is the latest rant by the president against the church on Sunday. Manila Bulletin quoted the president as saying: “There’s a developing story in Itogon, 43 persons… Nag collapse yung church… Alam niyo, kung pinalitan ninyo ‘yung pari diyan, hindi magbagsak ‘yung simbahan diyan. Bobo ‘yung mga pari.”

Let me point out why I know the president is misinformed about what happened in Itogon and you can also do this too with a simple Google search and searching for subsequent corroborating articles on the Internet.

First, it was not a church. It was a bunkhouse of miners. Second, the priests have nothing to do with the landslide. It is the mining operation in the area of Benguet Corp. for the last hundred years. Third, a church might have been one of the structures that were destroyed by the landslide but it wasn’t a Roman Catholic church.

In a report by Micaella Ilao of ABS-CBN, Itogon mayor Victorio Palangdan said the landslide destroyed the bunkhouses of Benguet Corp. which were being used by the miners. “We know for a fact that this area is dangerous because there is a big tunnel mined by Benguet Corporation a hundred years ago,” the report goes on in quoting the town mayor. This news report is corroborated by other news organization who covered the story.

We have heard a lot of ad hominems, nonsequiturs, and outright lies from the president but this one, at least for now, is by far the most calloused one yet.

However, this administration’s army of trolls was quick to deflect the instantaneous avalanche of hate comments against the president. They point out that if the “delawans” are capitalizing this latest foot-in-mouth for the president’s supposed ouster, then who would replace him? They then push to further deflect by pointing out that the vice president should not be one of the choices because she is incompetent. At least, that’s what the president told them.

It is tiring to see that some friends and even close relatives (read: the first degree of affinity and consanguinity) post religious passages on social media yet defend all the insensitive crap the president has been spouting at a heartbeat. Be that as it may, however, I will still continue unmasking the truth behind this administration. Just as I’ve have done with the previous administrations, without fear or favor. I believe I owe it to the readers to know the truth.

I believe this is the second prong of the two-pronged approach against disinformation. One is to debunk while at the same time continue with the truth-telling in all of our reportage. How do we do this, you ask? It is only through multi-sourcing that we get the facts straight.

No matter what I feel about this administration is not important because it is not about me. It is about informing the public so they, in turn, can make intelligent decisions. Especially so, that next month will be the start of yet another circus show for the acquisition of power and avarice.

Lesser of two weevils

I HAVE always believed that the phrase “clowns in politics” was just a metaphor. But that changed a week ago. There are actual clowns in politics. Mind you, these clowns aren’t funny. Well, there never has been a funny clown. At least, that’s how popular culture has depicted these creatures of the circus. They try to be funny but almost always fall flat on the ground. In movies, they are either depressed, hysterical, degenerate, or murderous.

We witnessed the President’s misogynist take, yet again, on why Davao City is currently the rape capital of the country. I’ll let the advocates at #BabaeAko take that one. In their latest statement on the incident, they have made it clear that rape is neither about physical appearance nor love. It is about power. It is about imposing your will on another human being.

As the title above suggests, I’ll be talking about the lesser evil last week.

In his attempt to show Filipinos that the weevil-infested imported rice is safe for eating, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol actually ate bukbok rice. To complete the meal, he also ate the imported galunggong (round scad) that were allegedly laced with formaldehyde, more popularly known as formalin.

Piñol has been pushing for the importation of rice and galunggong in his attempt to smother the rising inflation currently gripping the nation. A solution that is as ridiculous as it sounds. The Philippines has been an agricultural country and plus, it’s an archipelago. This means that the country should not be facing rice and fish crises considering we have one of the most fertile soils in Southeast Asia and has one of the longest coastlines in the world.

Many advocacy groups have called for his resignation for his bumbling mistakes. Piñol retorted with the now template reply of the clowns of this administration: “These canards are gross attempts to discredit the Duterte administration.” Canard means an unfounded rumor or a concocted story.

Well, newsflash, Mr. Secretary, the people do not need to “discredit” this administration since it has been doing a banged up job by itself. The government has more than enough expertise and resources to address the failing economy. Importing rice and galunggong only cements the export-oriented and import-dependent character of this government’s overall economic policy.

However, the government can always look into its capabilities rather than look far to solve these problems.

The government owns and runs the world-renown Philippine Rice Research Institute, for crying out loud. Just this August, the institute has developed healthier forms of rice and rice-based products to help address malnutrition in the country. Even here in Cagayan de Oro, foreigners have alleviated poverty in their respective countries by studying at the Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute based at Xavier University’s Manresa Campus in Upper Carmen. If other nations have improved their agriculture-based economies by schooling here, why can’t we apply these teachings to our own leaders?

As for fisheries, we have the most professional personnel most of whom are experts in aquatic resources management. Did you know that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has more boats than the Coast Guard? Why can’t these boats be used for, I don’t know, the people?

Plus, Mr. Secretary, for all this administration’s bravado, it has been undermining itself.

Lately, the Duterte administration has slashed the health budget by P31 billion, agriculture by P3.6 billion, labor and employment by P5.3 billion. Wait, aren’t these departments responsible in addressing most of the President’s campaign promises? He promised affordable health care, poverty alleviation, and ending labor-only contracting. How can these departments do that when their budgets have been compromised?

In contrast, this administration has increased its budget for representation and entertainment spending from P2.9 billion to P20.03 billion. Therein lies the crux of what this administration is all about. Beyond its smokes and mirrors, it only just wants to entertain.

But we aren’t entertained. We are reeling because of the decisions of these clowns in government.

Galunggong crisis

THIS is definitely one for the books. An archipelagic country importing galunggong (round scad) from other countries that are landlocked. That’s not even the clincher. The clincher is that these fishes would most probably be harvested from the disputed West Philippine Sea.

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol issued a certificate, allowing the importation of (up to) 17,000 metric tons of galunggong with a five percent tariff on its price tag.

He allowed the importation as a buffer in preparation for the closing of the fishing season here which starts on November and will end March, next year.

The importation would start next month and would end up to the last day of December or until the Department of Agriculture revokes it, the certification reads in part.

Although it did not specify from what country the fishes would be imported from, the imported galunggong would most likely come from China and Vietnam. At least that’s where we last imported fishes from in 2016, according to the records of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Why would we source the fishes from China or Vietnam when their coastlines are far shorter than ours. The Philippines has the fifth-longest coastlines in the world at 36,289 kilometers. The People’s Republic of China and Vietnam have 14,500 kilometers and 3,260 kilometers of coastlines, respectively.

If we base the fish resource per square kilometers, there is a great chance that we’d be importing galunggong from within our exclusive economic zone.

Look, I understand that there is a need to close the fishing season. Having worked with the Fisheries Resource Management Project in the early 2000s, I know the municipal waters in the country are facing the depletion of stocks. But back then, the project aimed to reverse the trend of resource depletion in municipal waters and improve the income of coastal communities by promoting alternative livelihoods.

This is because a large number of Filipinos depend on coastal fisheries for their livelihood. According to the World Atlas online, about 40 to 60 percent of the total fish catch of the country is contributed by the coastal fishing communities.

We found out, however, that the marginalized fisherfolk in the country hardly has any dent in the fish stocks of the municipal waters. It is the commercial fishing boats plying in these municipal waters that harvest fishes with impunity. This, despite the ban of commercial fishing boats in municipal waters under the Fisheries Code of the Philippines of 1998 (RA 8550).

So just maybe, we shouldn’t be rash in punishing our fisherfolk by closing the fishing season on our waters but by implementing RA 8550 to the letter.

Whatever happened to the frigates and destroyers this administration has been boasting about on social media? Let those ships patrol our waters and apprehend commercial fishing boats encroaching into the municipal waters.

Well, that is unless all those boats are like most of the President’s speeches that are full of hyperbole. Pfft.

Justice for Butch Rosales

"If you should go skating on the thin ice of modern life. Dragging behind you, the silent reproach of a million tear-stained eyes." ― Pink Floyd, The thin ice

AS if the spate of extrajudicial killings wasn’t real enough for us here at Crow’s Nest, the culture of impunity victimized one of its long-time residents.

Last Wednesday, a gunman shot Butch Rosales several times to his head. Butch was riding a multicab on his way to Mandaue, Punta Engaño in Lapu-Lapu City. Butch was sitting at the front passenger seat while the gunman sat at the back with the rest of the passengers. Butch died on the spot on broad daylight. He was 45 years old.

He died a volunteer of Rise Up for Life and for Rights. Rise Up is a network of volunteers and rights defenders committed to working in the defense of life and protection of human rights against drug-related extrajudicial killings and violations under the Rodrigo Duterte government.

Before he became a volunteer for victims of Duterte’s war against drugs, he used to be the development worker of the community extension program of Visayas Community Medical Center in Cebu City. VCMC is a member-organization of the church-run non-government organization called the Consortium of Christian Organizations for Rural and Urban Development where I used to work as its information management officer.

Whenever there was consortium-wide gathering, which usually takes at least a week, Butch would opt to stay at Crow’s Nest rather than in the dormitory beside our office in Barra, Opol.

I knew him to be an efficient yet “cool” community organizer. Butch used to quote Pink Floyd songs to point out social injustices.

He used to cook at Crow’s Nest. Butch was an excellent cook. He talked to my children while they were preparing the ingredients, where the stories always had morals in them. He wasn’t religious but he was a morally upright person.

In one of the posts on social media about his killing, someone commented that his being an activist and human rights advocate has been maliciously played up so that people could then attribute the killing to the Duterte administration.

I say all extrajudicial killings, be it by rogue men in uniform or vigilantes, should rightfully be attributed to this administration.

This administration breathes and breeds the culture of impunity since day one. Hell, the President started his call for impunity even when he was still campaigning for the presidential seat.

We have been witness to a lot of killings across the country. Most of its victims can be categorized in one word: poor. As long as this administration let those in power, its oligarchs, and cronies, get away with its culture of impunity against the poor and disadvantaged, this administration is accountable.

The blood of Butch and the thousand others are on Duterte’s hands. Justice for Butch Rosales and all victims of Duterte’s war against the poor!

PNoy’s ‘hol-DAP’

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." - proverb

LATE last month, the Office of the Ombudsman finally ordered the indictment of former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III and ex-Budget Secretary Florencio Abad when both encroached Congress’ power of the purse by redefining savings to fund programs, activities, and projects under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales granted the appeal of Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate to review her decision last March 3 that cleared Aquino of liability for implementing the dubious economic stimulus package. The Supreme Court, by the way, had already ruled it as unconstitutional, still, the dynamic duo continued to implement it just the same.

All of these started four years ago. In the spirit of public service and providing context, allow me to give the backstory of Aquino’s economic stimulus package.

On July 1, 2014, the Supreme Court—voting 13-1-0—declared the National Budget Circular 541 and other related issuance related to DAP unconstitutional.

The High Tribunal ruled that “the following acts and practices under the DAP, National Budget Circular No. 541 and related executive issuance unconstitutional for being in violation of Section 25(5), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers, namely:

1. a) The withdrawal of unobligated allotments from the implementing agencies, and the declaration of the withdrawn unobligated allotments and unreleased appropriations as savings prior to the end of the fiscal year and without complying with the statutory definition of savings contained in the General Appropriations Acts;
2. b) The cross-border transfers of the savings of the Executive to augment the appropriations of other offices outside the Executive; and
3. c) The funding of projects, activities, and programs that were not covered by any appropriation in the General Appropriations Act.”

The Supreme Court also declared as “void the use of unprogrammed funds despite the absence of a certification by the National Treasurer that the revenue collections exceeded the revenue targets for non-compliance with the conditions provided in the relevant General Appropriations Act.”

Then Palace spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr. defended Aquino’s budget impoundment facility by saying that it was implemented “in good faith and due diligence, in accordance with existing laws and pertinent auditing rules and procedures.”

“Good faith,” in contract law, is a general presumption that the parties to a contract will deal with each other honestly, fairly, and in good faith, so as not to destroy the right of the other party or parties to receive the benefits of the contract.

So, can this reason of “good faith” possibly exonerate Aquino and Abad this time around? I highly doubt this reason will still hold water again.

In March 2009, then-Senator Aquino filed Senate Bill No. 3121 also known as The Budget Impoundment Control Act to limit the president’s power to impound funds appropriated by Congress. Aquino then argued that this practice had removed from Congress the control over the public purse. Aquino was then part of the political opposition to then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Of recent times, however, this presidential prerogative has been misused and abused and has emasculated Congress’ authority to check the President’s discretionary power to spend public funds. In effect, the President seems to have a vast and unbridled control over the national budget,” Aquino wrote in the bill’s explanatory note.

Aquino ended the bill’s explanatory note by saying the bill would increase Congress’ oversight and clip then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s influence over specific appropriations in the General Appropriations Act.

Aquino argued then that “as the ‘power of the sword’ belongs to the President, ‘the power of the purse’ resides in Congress.”

So, how could Aquino invoke “good faith” in implementing the DAP when he himself knew that such impounding mechanisms were prone to abuse, and had even proposed legislation against such a practice five years prior to the DAP?

But then again, I cannot help but be teary-eyed of the thought that no matter how effed up our country was before, at least it had a clear delineation of the three co-equal branches of government -- executive, legislative, and the judiciary. The Supreme Court did its mandate as the check and balance of the executive branch.

Sadly, those lines have become blurry now.

Pleasing personality

“We just say something as if it really makes sense. Like ‘legally drunk,’ leave the guy alone officer, he’s legally drunk.” – George Carlin, Jamming in New York

LET us discuss the recent ordinance our city council unanimously voted on which has sent lawyers reeling in laughter for its vagueness and subjectivity.

Yes, I’m referring to City Ordinance 2018-18 authored by Councilor Edna Dahino.

For those who have been hiding under a rock, it is an ordinance that authorizes social workers and police to accost adults who are with a minor or minors if these adults exude a “reasonable genuine suspicion” that they are trafficking the children they’re accompanying.

Dahino’s “reasonable genuine suspicion” reminds me of other phrases we have been using but haven’t exactly realized that these sound ludicrous, vague, and does not really define anything.

Worse, we haven’t really examined these phrases at all. We just use them to mean something when it does not.

When you define an act, you determine the essential quality, determine the nature of, or show the form or outline of the act.

It’s like when the police recently announced that this Holy Week they will be on “triple alert.” To me, it sounded ludicrous. Alert is a condition of heightened watchfulness and prepared for any eventuality. There are no levels of alertness. If you are not alert, you are lethargic. You cannot be twice as an alert — why will the officers give their personnel five cups of coffee every hour or a dose of amphetamine for them to be “triple alert?”

Then there’s the cliché “with pleasing personality.” You see it every time there is a job opening at any mall, store, private offices. It is usually one of the requirements when you apply for a job. The sexist part of it is that it seems to be applicable only to the female applicants. It makes you think, to whom should they exude this “pleasing personality,” the employers?

If this ridiculous job requirement is to be believed, then how come I barely see any salesgirl with a “pleasing personality.” We shop at Gaisano Mall, and my ex-girlfriend and I only see scowling sales representatives all the time — if they are not scowling, they are sporting that nonchalant-slightly bored-slightly annoyed look.

Going back to Dahino’s ordinance, like, did you know that this ordinance was shelved at least twice? When this ordinance came to my attention, I did not know why the councilors voted to defer it back to the drawing board twice. At least, now we know why.

A little birdie told me that Dahino was on a verge of throwing a fit if her pet ordinance would be deferred for the third time. Well, methinks that should not be the primary reason to approve an ordinance.

Even the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office is in a conundrum on how to implement it, exactly. For the sake of argument, what would they do to the person they hold for exuding a “reasonable genuine suspicion” of being a child trafficker? Will they institute “enhanced interrogation techniques,” which is legalese for torture?

I have observed that people use extra words in phrases to sound important when it is not.

It is not bad to be passionate about fighting criminality, especially this despicable crime of trafficking children. However, when you are crafting laws, you should be precise, logical or at least sensible.

I remember during my Task Force Macajalar days, lawyer Manuel Ravanera gave us, paralegals, a crash course on laws. He said in crafting a law, it should be objective so it will not be open to a deluge of interpretations, and it should be logical and sensible, like, you do not need to craft a law governing gravity because with or without that written law, gravity will still exist.

Why am I so up in arms about this ordinance, you ask?

Well, I’m bald and I sport a full beard. I hit the genetic jackpot of being a “suspicious-looking character.” I worry about stereotyping.

I hope this vague ordinance gets vetoed or at the least sent back to the drawing board again.

Don’t worry, councilor, third or fourth time is a charm.

Just thank the lord

“People, get ready. There’s a train a-coming. You don’t need no ticket. You just get on board.” –Curtis Mayfield, People get ready

I STILL can’t get the grip of how the number of “ingrates” in this country has grown in just two short years.

Imagine the gall of these fault-finders. Can’t they see that Digong Dada is hard at work? Can’t they see that now, because of the 16 million “enlightened” citizens, we are better off, as a country and as individuals?

Don’t you believe me? Let me enumerate at least three things this administration has been “astonishingly good” at the past two years.

This regime has been busy unclogging our swamped out court dockets. It has been busy helping the judicial branch. The Philippine National Police puts the number of drug personalities killed in legitimate operations at 3,451 as of July 26 last year.

This figure, the police say emphatically, does not include the vigilante killings. Other human rights advocacy groups have their own number of drug suspects killed but what do they know, right? It’s not like they can actually count how many people have been killed simply because they didn’t kill them. So, I’m sticking with the PNP figures. Now, that is reliable data.

Imagine how liberating this 3,451 deaths to the lower courts are? Judges can now schedule more important cases. They don’t have to settle cases regarding drug use. Kudos!

On another front, didn’t the President promise a train system for Mindanao? Well, he did one “better”. He gave us the Train (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) for the entire archipelago to “enjoy”.

Look, with this Train, the government does not only make your take-home pay tax-free, it also helps you watch your blood sugar. It doesn’t matter if it’s your only source of energy because you don’t have a regular income on account of having absolutely no job security being contractual, this regime will tax your sugar anyway.

Under this Train, drinks containing high-fructose corn syrup are levied at P12 per liter while excise rate on drinks containing caloric or non-caloric sweetener is P6 per liter.

Isn’t that great? With or without you meaning to shape up, this government will do it for you by raising the tax on sugar. The same thing could be said for the sugar barons, but to hell with them. This regime doesn’t care for them. Digong Dada has said over and over again that he hates oligarchs and the elite.

This Train simplifies the estate and donor’s tax, increases the excise tax on petroleum products, as well as with automobiles, and expands the value-added tax. Let’s see the oligarchs and elite claw their way out of that! Woot woot!

Don’t you believe me? You can check it out for yourself at http://www.dof.gov.ph/taxreform/. There, you could see that I used the same exact words they used.

This regime’s propaganda team (read: PCOO) even touted it as the “best Christmas gift to Filipinos ever.” Now, these people wouldn’t lie to our face, would they? What with their stellar embodiment of the truth.

Okay, that may be taking it too far. There have been instances where this team of intellectuals and pundits have spun the President’s pronouncements in the past. But hey, they do it so we, the people, could understand what Digong Dada is actually saying. They are looking out for us, that way.

Speaking of propaganda, if it hadn’t been for PCOO assistant secretary Margaux Uson’s booboo on the location of Mt. Mayon, our visual artists would not have been able to flex their creativity with photo editing software that much. See? The faux pas ushered in a massive interest where the friggin’ volcano really is from this generation of entitled half-wits and meme-dependent truth-seekers.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque eloquently argued this point by saying last Sunday: “Kung walang fake news, hindi natin malalaman ano ang true news. Let there be a free marketplace of ideas.”

I didn’t know that Roque is heavily into dialectics. Like, how would you know white if you haven’t seen black? How would you thresh out the truth if you haven’t heard the lies surrounding that truth? This argument makes perfect sense. Sieg Heil!

The killings, the Train, and this regime’s propaganda team are all for the “benefit” of every freedom-loving Filipino to enjoy.

Going back to my opening quote from Curtis Mayfield’s “People get ready, I suggest we stop our whining and just enjoy this regime’s Train ride to, err, somewhere. Let’s forget about critical thinking and what it’s for. Hell, let’s just give up thinking altogether and just thank the “lord.” Pfft.