THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has come out with the final list of those running for the Senate; 63 names are vying for 12 slots. Pundits predict only the first 20 names extracted from polling syndicates (SWS, Pulse Asia) will have a statistical chance of winning a seat. This could be true as, historically, the dominant names have been those of incumbents running for another term. Added to the mix are popular actors, media personalities, athletes, entertainers and delusional “wannabes” with qualifications alien from those which the position demands.
This spectacle is repeated triennially when we surrender to these persistent suitors our precious collective political hymen on the one day we are seemingly in control; for a perverted guarantee of three years of rape and debauchery. The majority of voters will acquiesce to their entreaties, or sell their voters to the highest bidder. Every election cycle, we sell our souls. Many of these branded names we elect come from political dynasties whose concept of public service is primarily to serve their own. Many of them are crooks, corrupt traditional politicians who have perfected the art of kleptocracy, while sharing from time to time a pittance of their loot with their respective dispersed but pliable constituency. Many of these senators belong to the trash pile, the bottom feeders who during their incumbencies prove themselves to be adept at lining their pockets with the people’s treasure.
Today, assisted in part by pollsters, both legitimate and seedy, and for a fee, avail of Facebook apps to artificially bolster their numbers, they engineer stats projecting their popularity — the basic ingredient the unwary voters often rely on. Social media indeed is a two-edged sword; logistics and funds are still the primary engines. Predictions of so-called political cognoscenti therefore have narrowed down the list to just 15 to 20 names.
I disagree with this mechanics of exclusion. There ought to be a law against this. I say, its high time we really look into these names and decide if they are worthy to represent us in the highest echelon of political leadership; and conversely, if we deserve to be allowed the right and privilege to elevate these people to such positions this coming May elections and beyond, mindful of Thomas Jefferson’s admonition, “The government you elect is the government you deserve.”
Comelec, for whatever decency it still possesses, must attempt to lead this type of endeavor, “leveling the playing field” for all legitimate candidates. I am not suggesting that all the current branded names are on the flip side of the good, the decent and true. We have among them people with track records of excellent public service.
We are imperfect voters, prone to elevate dangerously flawed people to positions of power who lack the requisite modicum of perspicacity on what it takes to be true servants of the people. We are inconsistent and biased voters exposed to the values we grow up with and captives of our culture. We are therefore influenced by opinions of friends, colleagues and those within our milieu. We are susceptible to herd mentality with the tendency to conform to ours peers in a group where we comfortably belong; and therefore adopt “certain behavior on a largely emotional, rather than rational basis.”
Having said this, let me disturb you and take you out of your comfort zone. I start with a counsel from George Orwell (1984) who put it succinctly, “A people that elect corrupt politicians, impostors, thieves, and traitors are not victims, but accomplices.” I will not attempt to present my choices. They shall remain names “en pectore.”
I will instead proffer a “negatives list” culled out from social media — FB, Twitter, blogs and postings. Surfing through the internet, three glaring names emerge: all former senators — Estrada, Revilla and Enrile. These are members of a close fraternity with singular distinction. The three were “…implicated in the PDAF scheme supposedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, who was convicted of plunder in her case with Revilla. She is accused of funneling P10 billion of lawmakers’ funds into bogus nongovernment organizations.” (CNN Philippine staff.) As a disclaimer, these personalities have no personal ties with this columnist, nor have I exchanged recent pleasantries with them. I doubt they know me or read my columns.
Enrile was granted bail in 2015 on “special humanitarian and compelling circumstances.” The same is questionable as bail is not allowed on plunder cases. Enrile’s plunder trial for allegedly receiving P172.8 million in kickbacks from projects funded by his office’s pork barrel at the Sandiganbayan starts this month. He is further charged with 15 counts of graft. A painful twist here is that “…the crucial link to Enrile are two women: his former chief of staff Gigi Reyes and socialite Ruby Tuason. Tuason said she got kickbacks for Enrile from Janet Lim Napoles, and she coursed them through Reyes.” (Rappler, Feb 19, 2019.) Reyes has not been granted bail and is now languishing in jail. Socialite Tuason, a member of one of Manila’s elite families, returned P40 million of her share in the scam and saved her skin by ratting on her accomplices.
Jinggoy Estrada had an unresolved plunder case when he ran and won a Senate seat in 2004. He was let out of jail after posting a P1-million bail for his second plunder and graft charges in September 2017. When he filed his certificate of candidacy in October, last year, Estrada declared with arrogance he was confident his alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam would not affect his chances to win a senatorial seat in the 2019 elections.
Meantime, Bong Revilla was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan on his plunder case but posted bail on 16 other graft cases. But his chief of staff Richard Cambe and Napoles were found guilty over the diversion of Revilla’s discretionary funds. The three were asked by prosecutors to pay government as the three accused were “solidarily and jointly liable to return to the national treasury the amount of P124,500,000,” as civil liability. This is currently being contested while the good ex-senator again filed his certificate of candidacy for his old seat.
Why mention only these three names and not the others? Admittedly, there are rascals among the remaining names. My premise is simple. Why should we return these three ex-senators to the same office they were booted out from and thrown in jail for transgressions arising out of their acts as senators? The argument that they have been proven innocent and therefore not guilty beyond reasonable doubt does not wash. They stand not before the courts of law now but before the judgment of the people — the ultimate arbiter. Their notoriety should not invest them the privilege of another try at public service. There are 60 other senatorial candidates from among whom, if we the voters discern enough, we could find better and suitable senators.
Or, vote them back to office and be complicit. And God help our country!
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s state of health has been a matter of routine concern for Filipinos since he came into office in July 2016, but it took a turn for the worst last week when rumors spread online that he had, in fact, died.
This gave Malacañang a chance to quote Mark Twain and say “rumors of his death were grossly exaggerated”: on Monday, one newspaper front page showed him having breakfast and reading a newspaper with his live-in partner Honeylet Avanceña; on Tuesday, his spokesman Salvador Panelo babbled about his “robust health.” A slight fever last Friday had prevented him from attending a scheduled peace and order summit in Leyte, said Panelo, otherwise he was in the very pink of health.
We have nothing as reliable as a medical bulletin to tell us about DU30’s actual health condition. Usually reliable Palace sources said he was not in Malacañang from Friday to Sunday; on the other hand, our Davao sources, who have access to DU30’s inner circle, said he was not in Davao either. His last public appearance was when he visited Jolo to condole with the families of the victims of the January 26 twin bombings of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral; reports said he had a dizzy spell after that visit, while clasping his breast with his right hand. He finally reappeared on Monday in Davao.
Asking for prayers
DU30 was reported to have asked for prayers. He had not done this before; he had on the other hand attacked the Church with profanities and invectives, and ridiculed Catholics for their hopeless church-going. Some of my friends quickly responded with genuine charity without suspecting DU30 might just be playing with them. They were happy to learn he had not succumbed to any fatal illness.
The most skeptical, however, wondered whether it’s not a DU30 “clone” or “double” that’s been photographed for the consumption of the Filipino public, especially after the Philippine Star on Tuesday carried on its front page a picture of a DU30 look-alike, together with a Kim Jong Un look-alike, feasting on fried chicken at a Jollibee outlet in Hong Kong. The North Korean strongman’s impersonator was identified as Howard, while DU30’s impersonator was identified as “Cresencio Extreme.”
But while DU30’s physical health seems to be holding out, not everything about his government is well. His handling of the twin bombings in Jolo and the bombing of the Zamboanga mosque is all shot; you have to suspend all disbelief to believe what DU30 and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are saying about the so-called “suicide bombing.” An unidentified Indonesian husband and wife were supposed to have been the suicide bombers; this means they carried the bombs that killed 20 others and wounded over a hundred, mostly churchgoers, and were probably blown to bits, beyond recognition.
DU30’s clairvoyance
How in Heaven’s name were the police able to identify them as Indonesians, after their bodies were pulverized, and without any policeman or witness having spoken to them when they were still alive, before the fatal explosions? And how was DU30 able to identify the “suicide bombers” even before the PNP began their half-baked investigation? This seems to suggest some amount of clairvoyance.
In my previous column, I mentioned that one full week after the bombings, the PNP crime laboratory had not been able to come out with a crime report, because they could not decide what explosive material was used by the “suicide bombers.” They also apparently had difficulty gathering DNA samples after the “crime scene” was prematurely and ill-advisedly washed of the blood and body parts of the victims. At this writing, the situation reportedly remains unchanged. There is still no crime lab report.
Indonesians at Crame
On Monday, PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde announced that five Abu Sayyaf members had surrendered to the police in connection with the cathedral bombing. But there has been no explanation of the delayed crime lab report. Nor has there been any intelligent follow-up on the alleged Indonesian suicide bombers. On Monday, a group of Indonesian government men, obviously intelligence personnel, were huddled at Camp Crame with PNP officers. They stayed there for hours. Their presence, however, was not mentioned in Albayalde’s press briefing that afternoon.
Why were they there in the first place? Highly informed PNP sources were inclined to believe the Indonesians were invited by Albayalde to lend a hand to DU30 and the PNP in selling the story to the public about the “Indonesian suicide bombers.” But Albayalde’s people apparently failed to convince the Indonesians to support their proposed script, so there was no mention of the Indonesians coming to Camp Crame that afternoon.
This suspicion may or may not be correct. If correct, DU30 will have to exert great effort to make sure Jakarta does not question his claim, without any concrete proof, that two Indonesian “suicide bombers” carried out the Jolo bombings.
The prospect from Jakarta
More than this, DU30 will have to make sure Indonesia, the biggest Muslim country in the world, does not protest DU30’s deafening silence and inaction on the bombing of the Zamboanga mosque, which killed two Islamic missionaries and wounded five others, one day after the Sulu cathedral was bombed.
Frustrated by DU30’s insouciance, in utter contrast to his ballistic reaction to the Jolo bombings, some moderate Filipino Muslims are asking that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (O1C), the 57-nation “collective voice of the Muslim world,” demand an explanation for DU30’s lukewarm response. They seem inclined to believe that the Zamboanga attack could have been the work of the old Davao Death Squad, whose crimes were exposed in the 2017 Senate hearings by two self-confessed DDS members, Edgar Matobato and Arturo Lascañas. An OIC intervention could seriously disrupt DU30’s last three years in office.
This would be regrettable enough. But what if, despite the Malacañang quack doctor’s professional diagnosis, DU30’s medical condition proves to be no better than that of his politics? DU30’s reported call for a command conference of the military and the police, soon, can only be intended to examine his prospects.
* * *
Even before the official campaign period for the May 13 elections could begin, former presidential spokesman and senatorial candidate Harry Roque Jr. withdrew from the race for reasons of health. For those who never considered Harry a worthy pick, this was a signal service to the voters. Many are hoping most of the 62 remaining senatorial candidates could follow Harry’s lead and relieve them of the burden of rejecting the unfit.
Part 2
LAST week’s column stirred a hornet’s nest of stinging comments from my friends from both sides of the aisle — the Yellow horde and the DDS. The former regards this conspiracy as a veritable manifestation of the dying throes of a strongman feigning to be a strong leader of a weak state. Or as I gather from various blogs in social media “…a leader who equates the use of political will with that of a totalitarian wielding political bully power.” A culmination of the two years of policy bumbling, merely coping with the challenges of the presidency and outright mis-governance lathered with copious amounts of misogynic statements and attacks against the Catholic Church. This is a harsh judgment of DU30’s regime, but not entirely unexpected as the PNoy administration’s skeletons in the closet are now being exposed: the irregular Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) controversy, Dengvaxia deaths due to corruption, pork barrel scam (Napoles) and a host of anomalies, making PNoy and his minions vulnerable to possible jail terms — as his predecessors GMA and Erap went through. We Filipinos have the propensity to jail our presidents; or in a more depraved way, the incoming regime, if in opposition, will exact its pound of flesh. Thus, what GMA did to Erap, and what PNoy did to GMA and what DU30 will do to PNoy — are by far the trend. If the opposition wins after DU30, then he may also see the other side of a jail cell.
But there were positive remarks too on my conspiracy article. In fact, certain permutations to the conspiracy theory were added, suggesting a wide traction that seem to make the scenarios more believable. For instance, some proffered the idea that all these were tolerated upon his sufferance and mostly emanated from the mind of the political strategist — the Deegong himself — who may have foreseen and even planned this a long time ago. In summary, this is a foreplay to the long-awaited revolutionary government (revgov) that has particularly resonated with his true believers. Accordingly, the Deegong is wise enough to lull the Yellows into a state of confidence, lethargy even. And he will pounce at the time of his choosing.
To fortify the DU30’s authorship of the conspiracy theory, they volunteered the information that long before his ally GMA was installed as speaker in the House of Representatives, the bureaucracy was being reconfigured with retired military men, seconded into the President’s coterie, occupying key positions –“…59 retired military generals, police directors, admirals and colonels (were to date) appointed to the Cabinet and other agencies, including government-owned corporations. Many of them are either from Mindanao or were assigned to Davao City where Mr. Duterte served as mayor for 22 years…” (Inquirer.net, Fe Zamora, Philip Tubeza). But more importantly, key officials, from the AFP chief of staff to area commanders, police generals and regional directors, which matter the most in a junta-led government, were personally hand-picked by DU30. He learned well from his lamented predecessor, President Marcos, whom he professed to admire greatly.
Which brings the conspiracy theory to the part played by the Marcoses. The family has staged a comeback with the help of DU30 but at the same time their impact has been greatly moderated; thus, they must remain the liege lords of the north in obeisance to the DU30 and the Duterte that may come after the Deegong, Sarah. With the Sandiganbayan’s decision finding the matriarch Imelda guilty on seven counts, and the pending P200-billion forfeiture case hanging like Damocles’ sword over them, the Marcoses understand where power lies. For all intents and purposes, only the Marcos name and a whiff of the legend lingers. Bongbong’s move against Leni is going nowhere and even if he wins the protest, it will come too late. And the most capable of the Marcoses after Ferdinand himself, Imee, may just wither in the vine in the Senate — if she makes it. And the brains, the political centurions and structures that were once formidable adjuncts to the family — Danding Cojuangco, Estelito Mendoza, Lucio Tan, Enrile and their ilk — may now be in an advanced state of dementia. And their North is no longer solid as there are now more claimants. There is no longer a “king of the north,” to paraphrase “The Game of Thrones.” Thus, the conspiracy theory with the suspected provenance of the Deegong has more credence. But how will this blow in the international scene? Not much, really.
Our closest ally America, while awaiting the impeachment of a clueless President who is likewise accused of being a stooge or spy of the Russians, is really of no consequence to the realities of the Philippines. We symbolically cut our umbilical cord with mother America when the Deegong did his song and dance number on his pivot to China, but our direct emotional ties with 2 million Filipinos in America are a permanent unbreakable bond. And our substitution for China’s embrace is proving to be awkwardly uncomfortable with the Chinese territorial claims and encroachment into our sovereignty unchecked, and with the Deegong postponing confrontation with the inevitable to the next regime.
Shamelessly we have telegraphed to our neighbors in Asia and to the world that despite our moral victory at the UN arbitral court, China can do whatever it wants. It will spread morsels and scraps our way and we will take them — under the guise of the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program. And we will be thankful. We are in effect already a province of China. So, the conspiracy theory, either way, does not matter to them.
And where will be the adherents of real reform? The believers in a federal-parliamentary government and the liberalization of our economy through constitutional revisions? We’ve been had!
And we are again faced with an election where the name brands, the political dynasts and the discredited politicians freed from their jail terms may again win. And they will once more ride herd over this country and continue sucking the marrows of our countrymen – because the stupid voters will put them in power. And we will celebrate this as the triumph of democracy.
Perhaps the conspiracy theory is just a theory. Perhaps it is a product of the minds of desperate Filipinos who have been waiting for the pagbabago to happen. Perhaps it is a longing for freedom-loving, honest and handworking constituents like many of us to repair to a reverie where we are momentarily made safe. Perhaps, this is just a projection of our fears and hopes. Or perhaps, this is in fact true, ongoing and may soon erupt. Perhaps…!