Achieving Happiness

"Pinahahalagahan at binibigyan ng partikular na pansin ang mga aksyong may malaking bisa sa pulitika, kabilang ang pagpaparusa sa pinakamasasahol na pasistang kriminal, mandarambong at manghuhuthot, mga death squad, mga makinarya sa paniktik at mga espesyal na yunit ng AFP-PNP na dumudukot, tumotortyur at namamaslang ng mga aktibista at karaniwang mamamayan, at ang pagbira sa mga pinakatapat na nagtatanggol at nagpapakasangkapan sa paghaharing Arroyo."
–Ang Bayan
Marso 21, 2006

Inaayayahan ang  lahat sa "Hangad ay Kalayaan: gabi ng awit at tula para sa pagpapalaya kay Ka Bel", April 1, 7pm, Freedom Bar. 

                    These are pictures of Cris Hugo, the LFS official and journalism student the Macapagal-Arroyo government killed in cold blood last Monday.

It could have been my picture there, or any other member of LFS, or Anakpawis, or Bayan Muna, or Bayan.

Does the Macapagal-Arroyo government pick and choose its targets, or does it cast a wide net and order the killing of the random national democrat? There is a brutal pattern and logic to all these killings, but I don’t really feel up to analyzing it right now. This murdering government might as well slap a bullseye sticker on the forehead of all national democrats and political activists the same way Hitler made German Jews wear the Star of David on their clothes before he had them herded off like doomed cattle to the gas chambers.

In the national democratic movement’s struggle to bring genuine freedom and democracy to the Philippines, many young Filipinos have been martyred. I count two of them as personal friends- Bambi and Mayang. It still hurts when I think of how they were when they were still alive: young women at the peak of their potential, and they chose to give all their time and energy, skills and talent, their very lives to the cause of the poor and working people.

Bambi was a kooky person. She was the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s campaign officer a few yearsback before she was killed by the military in Zamboanga. She was creative and smart, and funny and thoughtful. I once went mountain climbing with her, and I keep a picture-perfect memory of us laughing even as we huffed and puff up the Batangas mountainside. I remember her wearing that tie-dyed shirt a mutual friend gave her, and she twirled like a model, feigning poses as she wore it. I remember her laugh — more in the order of a guffaw than anything else; and the way she would speak rapidly when she was happy or excited.

  As for Mayang. My friends at the Philippine Collegian had one word for her: diyosa.

Mayang was tall and willowy, and nevermind that she was tomboyish - she still ended up with one of the cutest boys in LFS, Arif. She read voraciously, and she liked graphic  novels. She once lent me a copy of her illustrated Silver Bullet book (the werewolf book by Stephen King), and she was generous with her literature (unlike, well, me. I tend to begrudge my books because I have friends WHO DON"T RETURN BOOKS.Am hinting here. You dinks know who you are!).

When I joined Anakpawis from Bayan Muna in January 2004, I had to write about young Filipinos –coordinators of Anakpawis in Mindoro– who were killed by the military. They were aged 20, 23, 22. Three young men whose worthy lives were cut short by monsters who have the gall to call themselves protectors of the peace, defenders of democracy.

Writing each word was like a stab to the heart. My keyboard was wet with tears while I encoded. Describing where the bullets entered, or lodged, or exited; how the knifeblade cut through skin and flesh; how the wounds looked, why they were mortal, and how swiftly or slowly death came.

Ilang beses ko na ring naisulat, pero uulitin ko pa rin: ang bawat isang aktibista na pinatay ay isang kakilala at kaibigan; pamilya at Kasama. May pagtangis para sa  bawat isang Kasama na pinaslang ng mga pasista, o ginupo ng sakit. Ang lakas ng Kilusan ay nasa tibay ng paninindigan ng bawat isang kasapi, at singbigat ng Bundok Sierra Madre ang buhay ng bawat isa.

Cliche na ang ulitin ang sinabi ni Rizal na ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan. Pero tutoo pa rin.  Mga kabataan ang bagong henerasyon ng mga aktibista — mga pambansa demokrata na magpapatuloy sa simulain ng mga tunay na rebolusyunaryong nanatiling tapat sa simulain at nagmamahal sa sambayanan. Kabataang pumili ng landas ng pakikibaka, at tinalikuran ang mga pansariling ambisyon para yumaman, sumikat, malulong sa luho ng lipunang mabilis na nabubulok.

Sila ring mga Kabataan na pinapatay ngayon ng pamahalaan. Pilit pinapatahimik. Binombomba ng tubig, binabato ng teargas, pinapalo sa katawan at ulo sa rally, kinukulong.

Silang mga Kabataan na dinadakip, sinasaksak ilang beses sa leeg at dibdib, at pagkatapos ay isisilid sa sako, at itatapon na parang basura sa masukal na damuhan. 

Silang mga kabataan na habang naglalakad pauwi mula sa eskwela isang gabi, ay babarilin at iiwanang nagkahandusay at nagdudugo sa malamig na semento.

Death and youth should never meet, but in a society like the Philippines, under a government like Macapagal-Arroyo’s, it doesn’t matter how young you are. Everyone is a target — anyone who speaks out against injustice and bravely denounces the government and the inhumane system it represents is a potential victim of military atrocity; a walking could-be-statistic in the long list of civilians murdered by the government.  These young Filipinos who seek to change society have the greatest right to inherit it– a new country where the words ‘freedom’, ‘democracy’ and ‘justice’ actually mean something.

  These are ink paintings by my Canadian friend Raymond Letourneau. He’s the head of a package delivery service here and his company advertises in the paper I write for.

(I have been so lucky in the friends that I’ve been making here. Who would’ve thought that I’d be friends with a random Canadian who has  always had progressive beliefs?) 

We had tea last night and it was great to talk to someone here about political and economic developments in the world; as well as cultural concepts such as how the economy affects people’s behavioral patterns and the very way they think, feel and conduct themselves in relation to other people.

The last three days have been particularly exhausting and emotionally draining. It’s awful reading the news in the internet — PDI and Manila Times in particular, and read about the continuing spate of political killings. Mura lang ako nang mura habang nagbabasa, and Chi, who sits next to me, keeps telling me to calm down, snap pencils in two or eat a cream danish downstairs.

I told Raymond about how the Philippine government (never do I say ‘my government’) is on a murderous rampage against political activists, particularly the genuinely progressive ones ("The Leftists, you mean," he clarifies. "Yes, yes, the Leftists," I answer wearily).

The government killed a journalism student, an official of the League of Filipino Students, an organization I was in when I was in university, he was walking home from school and they just shot him, his body fell on the cold pavement, maimed by bullets, broken by  brutal force, he was an activist, he was a student, they kill students, they kill activists nevermind if they’re 60, 50, 40 or 20, the government kills and is it any wonder why there are so many of us who believe in fighting back?   

"Where do you get all this anger?!" Raymond asks.

Wouldn’t you be angry too if you’re country was ruled by a dictator who keeps going to mass and says she stands for the best interest and welfare of your people yet there she is abetting the murder of hundreds of human rights activists, political activists, civilians, workers and peasants and their children, one little girl was five, she was only five and her father who miraculously survived was shot 14 times in the chest and all over, 14 times, bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang and how do they justify such viciousness?

"I thought you said you went to Hong Kong for a break? Yet here you are and all stressed out," Raymond looks at me quizzically.

I did leave my country for a while, temporarily, only for the time being, and i will go back soon soon soon, but for now, well, for now,  the distance between Hong Kong and the Philippines might as well be the distance between my index finger and my thumb, the distance can never be long enough to overshadow  and cloud or eclipse awareness, awaress is not something you can run away from, hide from, deny and I carry my country with me wherever I go because I am part of the Movement and the Movement is my country’s hope and I cannot be happy, cannot function, cannot live without hope, hope that the Kilusan gives me and despite all this darkness, despite all this anger, despite all their efforts to kill us, I am still with hope and justice will be a beautiful sunrise that will one day come.

"You should go home. You didn’t even drink your tea."

Raymond gave me these paintings in the hope that they would cheer me up. When he’s at a loss for words, he says "Canadia."

I answered him "Canadia."

THIS BLOG WAS HACKED MARCH 21, 2006 1:30AM!!!

CLICK HERE FOR SOME INFORMATION.

This just in: Luisita labor leader slain in Tarlac
"A labor leader of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita was shot dead inside his own home in Concepcion, Tarlac, early Friday.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) identified the victim as one Tirso Cruz, a director of the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU).

KMP media officer Carl Ala said two unidentified men wearing balaclavas entered Cruz’s home in Barangay Pantos at 12:30 a.m. and shot the labor leader in front of his own father .

Ala blamed the military for the killing. He said Cruz is the 16th farmer killed since farmers in the sugar estate went on strike in 2004.

He said Cruz and other ULWU officers protested the continued presence of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army inside the hacienda. The 7th ID is headed by Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan."

Kung alam mo ang mga ganitong mga pangyayari,

Kung sa iyo nangyari ang ganitong bagay — pinatay ang iyong asawa, kapatid, kaibigan, kasama;

Kung talagang naniniwala ka sa mga konsepto ng katarungan at demokrasya;

Kung pinanindigan mo na karapatan ng lahat ang mabuhay at magtanggol ng sariling buhay,

HINDI KA BA MAMUMUHI SA GOBYERNONG ITO?!

                    O Bayan ko, tumindig ka at magbalikwas! Hindi tama na dugo ng iyong mga manggagawa at magsasaka ang dumadanak! Mali na ang mga hiyaw at panaghoy na bumabasag sa tahimik ng gabi ay mula sa nagsisikip na dibdib ng mga musmos at ng kanilang mga ina!

The Holocaust took place less than 70 years ago.

Fucking unreal. I was reading a magazine last night and it made my blood run cold at the realization that something that so devastating, so completely against all that is good and pure in humanity took place within the same century I was born in.

When I was a college freshman, I did my main Communications 1 paper on the Holocaust and the impact of the establishment of Israel. It was terrible how six millions Jewish people were killed in various concentration camps, the most notorious being the ones in Auschwitz, Sibibor and Treblinka; and then after Germany fell, the Jewish leaders turned around, joined forces with the US, and went ahead to launch war against Palestine.

I began learning about these things from my father who was a sociology teacher, history buff and political analyst (sure, it was for the department of national defense; but it’s a long story how he ended up there from being a student leader in UST); and all those things were so far removed from my own experience that it all seemed and felt like fiction to me, so deeply shocking and almost unimaginable, the idea of killing people because their religion was different from your. Killing babies by throwing them fromthe third floor and skewering them with a bayonet.

Now, things are more like the movies, and they’re not particarly happy films, either. In the Philippines, the government runs the country like that killer doll Chucky; and it has so many victims. The number continues to mount every day: political activists, progressive members of the clergy, journalists, human rights advocates, civilians.

It’s a horror movie like those made by George Romero. Predictable, but still upsetting.

The Macapagal-Arroyo government is  coming out with a rogues gallery of its enemies. (Make note of the difference: Macapagal-Arroyo’s enemies, and not the Filipino people’s. No one with half a brain believes that when she speaks and acts, she does so for the Filipino people and in defense of their welfare. Strictly speaking, Arroyo’s main objective is to remain in power by hook or by crook, nevermind that she’s so unpopular. What’s her point in staying is waaaaay beyond me. She’s getting uglier and nastier by the minute, and she must be popping Advils by the bucketfuls. Who needs the headaches of being a despised president?! ).

Talk about utilizing the most underhanded means to demonize and crucify your political enemies: declare them immediately guilty and have the AFP and the PNP arrest them on sight. Oh well, we should expect such tricks from Macapagal-Arroyo and her henchmen.

(Pero sandali, they’e guilty of what? Denouncing a president who has continually lied, stolen and cheated? Fighting a government that relentlessly undermines the economic welfare of its constituents, violates laws on political and territorial sovereignty by selling off national assets to foreign monopolies and approving laws such as the Mining Act of 1995? Demanding immediate political reforms and an end to corruption, bureaucrat capitalism, and state fascism? Ngak, guilty nga sina Ka Bel, Ka Satur, et al)

The lawyers of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) headed by reknowed human rights lawyer Romeo capulong have swiftly issued a statement denouncing the said ‘rogues gallery.’

According to the PILC, the said gallery violates the most  fundamental rights, among them the rights against deprivation of life and liberty without due process and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty of the crime charged in a court of law (Article III Sections 1 and 14, respectively, Philippine Constitution; Articles 6, 9, & 14 (a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).

The Opposition and all anti-Arroyo forces should also come out with a gallery of rogues themselves, and the biggest picture would be of Macapagal-Arroyo. Who else is the biggest rogue in the country but the head resident of Malacanang who cheated, lied and stole her way to office; and who is now using increasingly authoritarian and fascistic means to remain in power?

Hollywood churns out so many brainless movies every year, with hackneyed scripts and plots so transparent it’s like watching reruns of Blue’s Clues. Malacanang is doing the same now, operating with a script the Marcos regime used before (along with other dictatorial regimes in other countries) and employing  formulaic devices to heighten the tension and conflict: illegal arrests, a media crackdown, communist witchhunts;  and it seems that Macapagal-Arroyo is enjoying her kontrabida role the the hilt.

Wala na bang subtlety?!

Wala. Hindi na kasi talaga maitatago ang desperasyon ng gobyernong ito.  It has shed all pretenses of being a democracy and believer in civil rights. The yada-yada on tv and the the statements to the international media mean nothing, and fool no one. 

The Philippines is in a state of war, and this is obvious to everyone. Arroyo’s attempts to appear strong, calm and collected convince no one, because even as she speaks, more and more Filipinos become convinced that she has no right to remain in office and that the longer she stays in power, the worse things will get.

Wala bang hanggangan ang gulong ito sa Pilipinas?

Sa ngayon, matagal pa ang lalakbayin bago magkaroon ng tunay at makabuluhang pagbabago. But we’re getting there. Gat Andres Bonifacio made hiscall to arms against Spanish colonialism in 1896. Heck, that’s only a little over a century ago. Now, within the span of two decades, Filipinos ousted two corrupt presidencies and are now demanding the removal of another. The Filipino people have become more politically mature and are now comtemplating replacing the presidential system with a coalition transition government. That’s new, that’s radical.

——————

The following is a statement by the National Council of Arab Americans about last week’s assault in Jericho. The NCA was a principal partner with the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition and other organizations in organizing the September 24, 2005 massive march in Washington against the US war against Iraq.

Israeli repression of the Palestinian people intensifies

"People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people." - from V is for Vendetta.

Ang husay ng timing ng paglabas ng pelikula na ito. Gloria Aroyo should watch this film and cringe.

But she’s so kapal ng mukha that she probably would nod and say, "Tutoo yan. Buti na lang hindi ganyan ang gobyerno ko."

Sabi pa sa pelikula-- The Future is Ours. It’s the underground revolutionary movement in the story who sez this.

Interesting. But a different blog is necessary to explain my views on anarchism.

(A decade ago– whew– I wrote a thesis on the history of the Punk Movement and the commodification of the original concepts and objectives that birthed it.  I had to read biographies of the original Brit Punks like Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols, etc. In the course of my research, I was…enlightened… on the difference between anarchy and anarchism. The last is a system which is actually, well, quite systematic and orderly, and despite the usually understood meaning but in truth it’s a misconception that anarchy means chaos, it’s not actually that. Random acts that actually string together to form an orderly whole. Something like that. yada yada. am so sleepy)

It’s past midnight here in Hong Kong and am looking through different movie trailers. Just finished presswork, and it’s been such an effing insane night.

I’m very sleepy and I can barely keep my eyes open,  so please bear with me if my thoughts come out all skewed and wonky.

1. McDonald’s is selling this horrible plum drink with aloe vera gel cubes. The concoction tastes like tobacco spit diluted with water, then strained through a sock that an NBA player wore for three straight weeks.  I made my officemates taste it as a test of our camaraderie and frienship.

2. I haven’t seen Capote yet, and I so badly want to. I am a fan of both Truman and his former bestfriend Harper Lee. No, it’s not "breakfast at Tiffany’s" that’s my favorite Capote work. It’s, lessee, "A Christmas memory." The novella that starts with the narrator speaking as a child about "fruitcake weather."

(Although I did love the movie they made based on Breakfast. It starred Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. The ending in the film is quite different from the one in the novella, but heck, who wants sad endings?!)

I am so sleepy. Darnnit.

3. Never throw woolen clothes in the washer because they.will.shrink.

4. The Macapagal-Arroyo government is leaning heavily on the PCIJ. Utang na loob, wala na talagang ibang gagawin yang gobyerno na yan kundi sikilin ang karapatan sa pamamahayag!

So what the heck is everyone waiting for?! Why allow this corrupt and illegitimate admnistration — this illegitimate president– to continue in power?!

When you start attacking the freedom of the press, you’re really desperate. This means that you literally want to stop the voice of criticism and dissent. Sino pa ba ang pinaka-mabilis na makakapag-hatid ng balita tungkol sa mga pagkilos ng mamamayan laban sa bulok na gobyerno kundi ang media? Sino pa ba ang maglalantad sa mga katiwalian sa pamahalaan kundi ang mga preyodista, brodkaster, reporter at photo-journalists?

5. Papatalsikin na si Thaksin.

Up until three weeks ago, the guy was still confident that his presidency was still on solid ground. Now he’s starting to send feelers that he just might step down. Again, corruption ang dahilan. He sells off major shares in a telecoms firm to the Americans. Malakas ang clamor against privatization and liberalization in Thailand (because the Thais are feeling the disastrous impact of these policies on their economy and livelihood); tapos add the worsening political repression to the mix and voila! Instant formula for an oust-a-president-campaign.

zzzzzzzzzz

—-

March 17, a day later, and am wide awake. I stand corrected (okay, so am not actually standing. I sit corrected) that Thaksin sold his company to the Singaporeans. Boy, the people who read this blog are keen!!! Makes me want to be more careful, hehehe.

Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo quit because he was pressured by Malacanang. Aminin ba naman niya in a Supreme Court hearing on PP1017 thatthe implementation of the said proclamation was irregular.

Despite Malacanang and DOJ secretary Siraulo Gonzales that Benipayo resigned because the guy was exhausted, it’s patently obvious that Benipayo was forced to quit because of his booboo of an admission.

How does one defend the indefensible? Like trying to walk completely upright a perpendicular mountainside.

At least Benipayo, in the most quiet of nights, can tell himself that he did not completely lie during that SC hearing.

Forcing oneself to continually lie and defend an admnistration utterly lacking in credibility and moral ascendancy must wreak so much damage on the soul. Talk about committing iredeemable sins. 

Imagine having to lie for a living!

Which is what the likes of Raul Gonzales and Eduardo Ermita are doing. Demented minds really do flourish in the government. Or twisted souls. How does one continue to insist on defending an admnistration that almost everyone wants removed from power? How does one justify all the hours spend concocting lies and excuses to justify  putting up razor-wire fences around the democratic space?

There are reports that the AFP are set to raid the offices of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). What does this aim to achieve?

The Macapagal-Arroyo admnistration like any other fascist dictatorship views wide-awake media as a dangerous threat, and the NUJP as well as other self-respecting, rational-thinking  members of the media know better than to clam up and allow this government to impose more restrictions, violate more civil and democratic rights and arrest anyone and everyone who dares question the administration.

In the meantime, Raul Gonzales’ department of injustice has come up with supposed witnesses to negotiations between the six progressive party-list lawmakers and military groups as well as with the NPA.

Huh?!!! It’s like a chapter right of Alice Through the Looking-Glass, only not amusing like the Walrus and the Carpenter and those poor, stupid oysters.

I worked five years with Crispin Beltran and also with Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza, and never in my experience were there meetings on overthrowing the government via coup de etats or military-led uprisings. To be truthful, and speaking as an insider, the legislators mostly expressed frustration with their work inside congress, and how much more they could do if only the other lawmakers would pay more attention to genuine social issues and their impact on their respective constituencies instead of merely obeying Malacanang and letting themselves be wooed by Speaker Jose de Venecia.

It’s pathetic how desperate Raul Gonzales has become in his attempt to pin down the six legislators of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela Women’s Party. Even if he planted bugs and microphones in the congressional offices of these lawmakers, what would they have heard would be the frustrated wailing of the young staffers, frustrated over the idiocy of certain congressmen and women (there was one who insisted on referring to the deadly H51 virus as ‘bird’s flu’ and she expressed  concern not for the potential threat against public health and safety BUT FOR THE CHICKEN AND GEESE INDUSTRY.)

————————————————————————————————————————-
“War is the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions, when they have developed to a certain stage between classes, nations, states or political grous, and it has existed ever since the emergence of private property and of classes.

War is the continuation of politics. In this sense, war is politics and war itself is a political action; since ancient times there has never been a war that did not have a political character.

But war has its own particular characteristics and in this sense it cannot be equated with politics in general.When politics developes to a certain stage beyond which it cannot proceed by the usual means, war breaks out to sweep the obstacles from the way…When the obstacle is removed and our political aim attained, the war will stop. But if the obstacle is not completely swept awat, the war will have to continue till the aim is fully accomplished…It can therefore be said that politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed. ”

This is Mao on war and politics.

We are at war every day.
To deny this is to either fall victim, or to be an apologist or a denial king/queen.
Do not delude yourself and believe that it’s possible to sit on the fence and be safe there.
Acknowledge the existence of war and the necessity for it - defend yourself, your rights, and all that you love and care for.
The enemy exists, and it will show neither kindness nor compassion as it itself is determined to protect itself, its own interests and its stranglehold on the world’s wealth.

—–

FACTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ILLEGAL ARREST

AND DETENTION OF PARTY-LIST REP. CRISPIN BELTRAN [1]

Honorable Crispin Beltran is a duly elected Partylist member of Congress belonging to Anakpawis who is now serving his second term in office.  At 10:10 a.m. on 25 February 2006 he was arrested in Del Monte City, Bulacan by a team of PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives led by a certain Major Rino Corpus.  The arrest of Congressman Beltran was made without a warrant of arrest in violation of his rights under the Bill of Rights, and while Congress was in regular session which was also in violation of his privilege from arrest under Section 10, Article VII of the Constitution.  The arresting operatives of the CIDG did not inform him of their authority or of the cause or basis of the arrest, which is again a violation of Section 8, Rule 113 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.

In the CIDG Headquarters in Camp Crame where he was brought after he was arrested, Congressman Beltran’s lawyers asked for the basis of his arrest.  The members of the arresting team showed his lawyers a photocopy of an alleged warrant of arrest dated October 7, 1985 (or almost 21 years ago) issued by RTC Branch 84, Quezon City Judge Edgardo Tutaan in Criminal Case No. Q- 21905.  Congressman Beltran’s lawyers informed the arresting officers that this case had already been dismissed in 1988 and promised to present the order of dismissal on February 27, 2006.  The lawyers questioned the legality of the arrest and demanded the immediate release of Congressman Beltran.  The CIDG operatives refused to release him, insisting that only PNP Director General Arturo Lomibao could order such release.  From 11:00 a.m. until around 4:00 p.m. of February 25, 2006 Congressman Beltran, his lawyers and his wife and children pleaded in vain with his captors to allow him to see or talk to General Lomibao by phone.  This was refused on the flimsy excuse that the latter was busy.  At around 5:00 pm. of February 25, Congressman Beltran’s lawyers wrote General Lomibao a letter, in which the lawyers narrated the circumstances of the illegal arrest, invoked Congressman Beltran’s constitutional rights, demanded his immediate release and gave notice that failure to do so would render Lomibao and the “other officers and public officials who ordered or sanctioned his (Beltran’s) arrest and detention criminally, civilly and administratively liable.”

The reason for the unreasonable behavior and illegal acts of Lomibao and company in refusing to release and maliciously prolonging the arbitrary detention of Congressman Beltran would later be revealed when his captors and custodians informed him that he would be subjected to an inquest proceeding that night of February 25 for the newly- concocted offence of inciting to sedition.  His lawyers vigorously objected to the inquest proceeding and further detention of the congressman, invoking his constitutional privilege of immunity from arrest for alleged crimes punishable by not more than six years of imprisonment (Section II, Article VI, 1989 Constitution).  The defense lawyers argued that inciting to sedition which was the “new” crime imputed to Congressman Beltran was punishable by the maximum period of prision correcional or not more than six years under Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code and, therefore, covered by parliamentary immunity.  The inquest prosecutors from the City Prosecutor’s Office of Quezon City, obviously acting under orders from their superiors and in collusion with the PNP, rejected the defense of parliamentary immunity and proceeded with the inquest proceedings which lasted until 2:00 a.m. of February 26, which was a Sunday.

Congressman Beltran’s lawyers waited until Monday, February 27 hoping that the court of law could be the last recourse, to invoke parliamentary immunity, the right to bail or a habeas corpus petition.  After the inquest proceeding, inquest prosecutor Ben dela Cruz resolved to file the case, subject to the approval of his superiors (either City Prosecutor Claro Arellano or First Assistant City Prosecutor Maynard Bautista) and recommended bail of P12,000.  In the early morning of February 27, Congressman Beltran’s lawyers went to the Docket Sections of the Quezon City Court and learned that the case had not been filed yet.  Proceeding to the City Prosecutors Office in the same building, the defense lawyers found out from the case folder of the City Prosecutor (which they were allowed to read but not to copy) that Inquest Prosecutor dela Cruz reversed himself, amended his first resolution and recommended in the amended resolution the dismissal of the case, subject to the approval First Assistant Prosecutor Maynard Bautista or City Prosecutor Claro Arellano and any assistant prosecutor authorized by the latter.  The defense lawyers waited for both prosecutors the whole morning of February 27.   City Prosecutor Arellano was supposedly in the Department of Justice and could not be reached.  Assistant City Prosecutor Bautista reported for work briefly but left abruptly supposedly for health reasons.  Later, in the morning, the defense lawyers were told by a staff member of Arellano that the case had been referred to Prosecutor Mercedes Penamora.  The latter, however, told the defense lawyers that she could not act on their request that the amended resolution of dela Cruz be immediately acted upon without express authority from Arellano.

It is clear that there is deliberate machination and malicious delay on the inciting to sedition case against Cong. Beltran committed by prosecutors Arellano, Bautista and Penamora.  These three public prosecutors were evidently acting on orders of their superiors and in concert with the PNP officers involved in the illegal arrest and political persecution of Congressman Beltran.  The reason for this deliberate machination and malicious delay would later be revealed when at midday of February 27, Congressman Beltran informed his lawyers that he was brought to the CIDG Headquarters without being told the reason.  In fact, he was told by his custodians initially that he would be brought to the PNP Hospital. And said he has not been feeling well ever since he was arrested, he reluctantly went with his custodians, not suspecting that he would be brought to the CIDG Headquarters to be subjected to another inquest proceeding, this time for the alleged offense of rebellion.

The defense lawyers rushed to the CIDG Headquarters to question the actions of the PNP and the Department of Justice.  They placed on record their position that the intended inquest proceeding was a sham, farcical, scripted and a mockery of our system of justice.  After raising the question of independence and impartiality of the panel of prosecutors, Cong. Beltran and his lawyers asked to be excused.  The panel of prosecutors and the PNP custodians physically prevented Cong. Beltran and his lawyers from leaving, using the row of tables in the conference room and the human phalanx of uniformed policemen and women to block their exit.

We respectfully submit that the foregoing narration of the relevant background and antecedent facts of this case indubitably prove the following:

1.1       there was a deliberate scheme to arrest Congressman Beltran without a warrant of arrest and to file criminal charges and detain him indefinitely

1.2       the deliberate machination and malicious delay in resolving the request for immediate release contained in Annex “2” and in resolving the inciting to sedition case were purposely intended to await the hasty filing and questionable conduct of inquest proceeding for rebellion

1.3       this is a serious case of malicious persecution of Congressman Beltran on account   of his political beliefs and activities.

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The best thing about the worsening political crisis in the Philippines is that everyone is expressing their opinions loudly and without restraint. Hala, sige mag-debate tayong lahat hanggang mamaos o mapudpod ang mga daliri kaka-type sa keyboard.

Pro-Gloria, anti-Gloria, anti-Gloria pero anti-Left,  pro-Gloria at anti-Left, pro-Left, Leftists, mga nalilito, mga nagagalit, mga gusto nang sumuko, mga walang pakialam at gusto na lang mag-shopping, mga gigil na at gustong pumatay, mga taong may mga opinyon na dapat patayin, etc etc, etc.

Minsan talagang bastusan na ang tunggalian ng ideya. This is both upsetting and amusing at the same time, nevermind if you’re the one na nababastos o nambabastos. Always remember, stick and stones will break your bones, but words will only sting for like 15 minutes and at nighttimes when you’re alone in bed and pondering what the hell is wrong with other people.

I remember getting into arguments with relatives, specifically, my mom’s sisters. My aunts are a pretty opinionated bunch, and they’re not at all political. They raise orchids and cacti. They watch The Buzz and S Files. They exchange recipes for leche flan and binagoongan at dinendeng. They watch the news, sure; but mostly they just shrug over the reports and say the Philippines is  going straight to hell in a handbasket.

One day though, one of their nieces, meaning me, said that the country would not be making the trip  if only Filipinos would only care to do something about it.  I said that all the complaining and the whining will get no one anywhere.

Ayan na. Sermon kaliwa’t-kanan na. May mga opinyon pala tungkol sa lipunan ang mga tiya ko!

So there they sat, chattering like tiririt on a electricity line, saying all the things they though wrong about the Philippines. The high electricity rates, the taxes that end up in the pockets of politicians, the poor health services, the lack of credibility of local government officials,  the corruption and on and on.

I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They didn’t seem to require answers or explanations as to why the Philippines had all these problems. They only had this to say: "Gobyerno kasi."

Gobyerno kasi.

The government has never been an inspiration to the people. It has done very little to prove that it is worthy of the people’s support and the hard currency of their respect.  This goes for the incumbent administration and its immediate predecessors.

Where has all the money gone?! Billions of taxes collected, and yet millions of Filipinos live in shanties that even rats would shun raising their babies in. Children die of tuberculosis, we have no genuine steel, rubber and chemical industries to speak of, a kilo of beef costs P150 and workers in the NCR earn P280 a day for eight days of backbreaking work. Some 2,000 Filipinos leave the country daily to become maids, caregivers, bus and truck drivers even in war-torn countries like Iraq.

And the government is the main institution to blame for all this.

Kaya nga hinirang na gobyerno dahil inatas dun ang kapangyarihan na gamitin ang mga buwis at mga batas para sa kabutihan ng mamamayan. Ang problema, kinukurakot ang pera, at ginagamit ang batas na parang batuta pamalo sa mga naglalakas loob magsalita laban sa pagnanakaw at pagpapabaya ng gobyerno.

Everyone knows the problems this country suffers. What divides us is how we view the problems, from whose vantage point and what we think the solutions are.

What to do, what to do, and how to go about doing it.

It would be so cool if we could ask everyone, and I mean EVERYONE what they really want and need.

Pag tinanong ang mga magsasaka, anong sasabihin nila?

Pag tinanong ang mga manggagawa, anong sasabihin nila?
Pag tinanong ang kabataang estudyante, ang mga maralitang lungsod, ang mga kawani ng pamahalaan, ang mga guro, ang mga indigenous people, ang mga mangingisda, ano kaya ang mga hihingin nila at sasabihing kailangan nila para mabuhay nang marangal at umulad?

Tapos, tanungin din natin ang mga negosyante. Sige, pati na rin yung mga malalaking kapitalista na may mga kasosyong dayuhan.Isama na rin ang mga landlords at real-estate developers.

Even the military would cast their opinion. All soldiers, including the CAFGU. Then, all the members of the NPA and the MILF.

Ano kaya ang mga sasabihin nila at sasabihing kailangan nila?

At dahil naniniwala naman daw ang lahat ng konsepto ng demokrasya, we will tabulate ALL the opinions, all the answers. Ang mga pinakamaraming sagot, yun ang gagawing batayan ng pagbabago ng lipunan. Yun ang gagamiting panukat sa mga plano para sa ekonomya at sa pulitika.

Wouldn’t that be waaaaay cool?

—–

My boss, David- that’s his name, David, keeps hanging around us while we’re working. He picks up the knick-knacks in our work stations, making comments here and there about a book, a newspaper, a framed photograph.

"Work, work, work!" He says, and all of us turn to him and scowl.

"We’re already working. Please go away because you’re distracting us," I say.

He just laughs, and continues his tour. He tests the different chairs, complains about the hardness of some, the lack of cushiness. He mock-punches Chi,our reporter whose station is next to  mine. Chi yowls. "You just broke my shoulder!"
The boss just shrugs. Nooneenooneeno, as the Red Typewriter in Sesame Street sez.

Someone else makes a comment that we’re not getting paid enough. This is what finally makes David go back to his office in the other building, way up on the 22nd floor.

—-

Why the sunflowers?
They’re my favorite flowers.