No surprise there
It surprises no one that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has started to eat away at the funds supposedly alloted for the victims of the Marcos dictatorship and for the agrarian reform program.
After all, what else can one expect from a government that cheated, lied and stole itself to power? A government that allows — even justifies in indirect but insidious ways the massacre of civilians, political activists, human rights advocates and journalists?
The original amount was pegged at P10 B, but now it’s come out at senate-led investigations that there’s already P2 B missing.
Even as KARAPATAN, SELDA and other organizations fighting for justice and indemnifaction of the Marcos victims continue to press the government into finalizing, passing and implementing a law that will finally release the funds into the hands of the victims and funnel what will be left of it into agriculture, it can only be an act of prudence to point out and accept that the chances of this law coming to pass under Macapagal-Arroyo are only two: slim and none.
Human rights and justice are anathema to this administration, so hell-bent is it on crushing political dissent and opposition, and protecting its turf and illegal, immoral claim to office. Despite widespread protests, it has (1) legalized the establishment of a national ID system; (2) pushed for an anti-terrorism bill; (3) started the process of amending the 1987 Constitution with the clear motive of perpetuating itself in power and removing all obstacles in its way such as possible opposition from the Supreme Court and Congress.
Human rights is the last thing on the mind of this government and its executive. It even promotes killers to higher ranks! That, and welcome rapists in uniform, and let said rapists hide in the US embassy offices.
Human rights? US military forces are on a rampage in the regions, blatantly joining in operations with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against civilians they tag as terrorists or terrorist supporters. Scores of Muslim Filipinos are in various jails in Basilan, Zamboanga and Metro Manila serving time for supposedly being members or suporters of the Abu Sayyaf, Jemaiah Islamiyah, or The Osama Bin Laden No.1 Fans Club Forever. Most of these Filipinos have not been formally charged, or given legal assistance, or given the chance to explain themselves in the proper legal venue.
In the meantime, Balance Piston 2006 - like previous mutual training exercises between the US and the Philippines - is nothing but a ruse to cover up the real intent behind the deployment of US military forces: to protect US investments in Mindanao; to re-enforce US military supremacy in Asia; and to wipe out all political and revolutionary forces that stand against US imperialism and its globalization agenda.
So many problems, yet the immdiate solution remains starkly solitary: remove the US-Macapagal-Arroyo regime and appoint a transition council that will pave the way to the creation, hopefully,of a new system of government which will not take human rights — as well as civil and democratic rights - so lightly.
Charter Change is not the solution, and neither is transforming congress into parliament. How can these provide solutions to the continuously worsening economic and political turmoil in the country , when the very same faces, interests and ruling factions will also be the ones to take charge in the supposedly new-type of government?
According to the position paper of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) on charter change, shifting to a parliamentary form does not address the issue of who really wields political power in this country.
Bayan cites a study by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) showing that in 2004, two-thirds of the members of Congress come from political families or clans. The study goes on to show that Congress remains a “fortress of privilege” with the average net worth of a congressman being P21.9 million and a senator P59.3 million. A quarter of all senators have a net worth of P100 million.
"Shifting to a parliamentary form of government will not prevent the same multi-millionaires from entering the corridors of power nor will it check the already endemic problem of corruption because those in power continue to amass wealth and privilege," the BAYAN paper goes on to state.
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7:19pm Presswork is nearly over! Am so freakin’ relieved!
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I worked in Congress for five years, and apart from the great honor I felt bestowed upon me by the Kilusan for letting me work closely with the likes of Crispin Beltran, Satur Ocampo etc, I can say that the best thing that I can say about the entire experience is that it confirmed my most fears and beliefs about Philippine mainstream, traditional politics.
When pundits and political commentators refer to Congress as a massive crocodile pit, they’re being kind to congressmen and mean to crocodiles.
I am certain that there’s more than a handful of politicians who have it sincerely in their hearts and minds the intent to do good and to serve their constituencies - but holy heck, it’s very difficult (a feat akin to Sisyphus pushing his fabled, cursed rock up the incline) to push a genuinely pro-poor and pro-people, patriotic agenda because representatives are forced (and eventually, they become part of the rotten system if they haven’t been doing so from the beginning) to toe the Majority’s line (and the Majority line,for the most part is 99% anti-poor. After-all, they support the corrupt executive).
Would it benefit the Filipino people if Congress was abolished?
Or a better question - have the Filipino people benefitted from the laws passed by Congress? The EVAT, the lateral attrition law, the EPIRA?
