Brotherly love under the dictatorship

“We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies — it is the first law of nature.” – Voltaire

(September 29, 2006) GOING through an actual political upheaval is a unique experience, though sometimes bloody. The difficulties of democracies going through transitions, especially from an autocratic or despotic rule on the way to a new democratic government, may sometimes take years. But I didn’t expect that such a phase would drag on for several years in the case of our Motherland,  the Philippines.

There is democracy in the Philippines alright since we have been electing presidents every six years (or supposedly after completing their term as president under the Constitution), but the political machineries set in place by two decades of Marcos rule are still being run, where grease money is used with hopes of an easy ride in running for public office.

The Philippines maybe is a basket case (full of bananas) in that the vestiges of dictatorship are all still too present, particularly among the past participants and their cohorts, some of whom remain moneyed and powerful.

These people are just waiting for the right opportunity or the right public officials to peddle their corrupt ways, which by the way, is still rampant in almost all graft-ridden agencies of the government – from the Palace to the legislative and judicial branches, all the way to the provincial, municipal and, believe it or not, barangay levels where the barangay captain and tanod positions are being held by a “chosen few” to capture the budget, while also exploiting what could be nationally-owned lands and resources to fatten their wallets in cahoots with local officials and contractors.

But what I didn’t know and just found out is that the 20 years of martial rule would also divide what was supposed to be my family outside of my blood family. I’m talking about my fraternity, which I joined during my high school days, when martial law was just four years old. Little did I know that as solid as I thought it was during those days, growing up under the dictatorship would bring about different political beliefs in many of us, thus, affecting some of our views later on in life.

Just like many other organizations, perhaps, some of our brothers may have had connections with the Marcoses and probably earned businesses through these, while some fought hard fighting it on the streets of Mendiola during the Second Quarter Storm. I, for one, had become an inactive member because we were busy trying to topple the dictatorship, together with anti-Marcos forces of newly-established organizations that replaced what used to be fledgling fraternities in schools. Being politically active in the 80s paved the way for my becoming a journalist and was kept busy by the numerous political events that prevented me from even saying hello to some of my fraternity brothers then.

While others sought protection elsewhere after the fall of the Marcoses, the “liberators,” hardened by the struggle with some now occupying government posts, continue to promote “democratic ideals” even in our organization that is now trying to regroup, thanks in part to an egroup which now allows anyone from any part of the globe to keep in touch with their members. Fraternities in the Philippines have since become unpopular and faced many roadblocks as far as mustering former members and in recruiting new ones inside universities because of frat wars that have occurred before. It has been made more difficult by hazing reports that sometimes resulted even in deaths of neophytes of some other fraternities.

With the advent of group emails (and now Facebook), however, we are now realizing how polarized some members have become, at least in our very own fraternity, whose members come from different regions and religions. Those who have settled abroad and are raising families who are now citizens of their adopted lands, also have differing views as far as where the country is headed. I guess remitting billions of dollars every year make some feel that they should have a voice on how the country should be governed – strengthened by a law that allows for dual citizenship and absentee voting.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We may have come in different ships, but we are in the same boat now.”

A few of us, especially those now living in foreign countries, may not share other people’s beliefs. But that what makes an organization more dynamic, where diverse minds converge for a universal cause. “Toleration is the best religion,” Victor Hugo added, imploring us to always keep an open mind, telling us to live with others with different opinions. I, myself, was blinded by the early years of Marcos rule. I still clamor for social justice and total freedom from economic bondage our countrymen are still facing. I have chosen to depart the country, but our lofty goals of achieving a better nation will always remain in our hearts, either away from or while in the country. We are, by the way, still Filipinos, if not in our current ways, at least in the food we eat, our culture and language, in the way we treat our families, in paying respect for our elders, and most especially because we belong to the same fraternity.

To my fraternal brothers and sisters, Long live Gamma Epsilon and Gamma Lambda Epsilon Sorority!

Stop the war on all fronts

(Note: I wrote this in 2007 and it’s still relevant. Maybe, because there’s still conflict in Iraq (not to mention Afghanistan) and we’re still working on our own peaceful negotiations to end insurgencies in the Philippines)

(January 11, 2007) AFTER three weeks on the east coast, traveling from Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, I have learned so many things from this trip that I don’t even know where to begin. Meanwhile, as I struggle with this little dilemma of mine, there are also a lot of issues, both on the U.S. and Philippine fronts, that I think are very important to the Filipino-American community.

At any rate, what I have in mind is to discuss a little bit of this and that before they all become too stale that I might eve forget to talk about them. Our trip to the eastern seaboard to me was discovering America on my own terms. 

When I was young, I used to read about the several states, their industries, their economies and their way of life. But it’s still different to experience the place, the people and to interact with them firsthand in the communities where they live. Except for Maine, all the states we went to are among the original 13 colonies that give you a glimpse of the values and attitude of the people of Europe where they once came from, especially in small towns where homes are historical landmarks or home of authors, some dating back to circa 1600s. 

In Millis, Massachussets where we mostly stayed, wireless internet service was almost non-existent except in a few libraries and at Starbucks. You have to be hooked literally to access the internet.

Thirteen weeks in a place other than California gave me a lot of material to write about, maybe even a book.  But I don’t want to bore you, so I’ll stick to the news that I think will affect most of us Californians. 

On the local front, many immigrants may find it reassuring somewhat that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has filed S. 9, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, as soon as they were back in Capitol. Though details of this bill have yet to be published, even from the senator’s website, this is what he had to say when he introduced the bill: “America needs comprehensive immigration reform.” He said that although he is strongly opposed to illegal immigration, it is “a national security issue of critical importance” and, “We need to know who is in our country and who is crossing our borders.” He added, that “every worker must have legal authorization to work. Reform will allow us to focus our resources on criminals, terrorists, and those who wish to do us harm.”

But what is important is what we have been advocating in that the bill will allow undocumented immigrants currently in this country a pathway to citizenship. Reid said that as long as undocumented immigrants worked hard for several years, learned English, paid their taxes, passed a criminal background check, and paid fines and penalties for being here unlawfully, they can become U.S. citizens. That is of course if the bill is approved, which is expected to face some rough sailings.

And while I was in Boston, there was a story in the Boston Globe about Washington’s idea of recruiting foreigners to serve in the U.S. military and earning U.S.  citizenship – after they have served in Iraq or any other war of course, just like when the U.S. bases where still in the Philippines where recruits of later years were allowed to become citizens after their military service.  The Pentagon said this plan might shore up the number of U.S. soldiers to meet their recruiting goals. 

There is even a proposal from some security analysts of recruiting even illegals to serve in the military and become citizens in the process. And just like what some critics have said, the U.S. would rather have foreigners fight their own war rather than have Americans getting killed. Knowing many of our kababayans who want to leave town and become U.S. citizens someday, I’m looking at a very long line at the U.S. Embassy if this plan is implemented and Filipinos considered for the draft.

Well, we have heard or read President Bush’s address asking for a surge of troops in Iraq. My simple response is, stop the war, bring the troops home. The conflict in Iraq is no longer a terror war which was what the U.S.  soldiers were supposed to be fighting for. At first, I didn’t like the idea of leaving the Iraqis in their present state because of what we did to them, but they have to realize that they have to stop killing each other. I am going to repeat what has been said that getting rid of Saddam Hussein is not the same as the opportunity of seeking revenge. 

The next few days will be interesting to know if the surge in troops will be funded, and if there would be a withdrawal of troops instead. The president’s speech may indeed be the defining moment of his term.  Speaking of war, the Philippine military meanwhile announced that they will defeat the communist insurgents by 2010. A strategic victory, they said, which also falls on the year when President Arroyo leaves office.  

The New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was established in March, 1969, one of the longest, if not the longest-running insurgencies, in the world. The mountains and the geographic make up of the country have helped the NPAs exist this long and because it is difficult to identify the guerrillas who are farmers by day and fighters by night.  Just like in Iraq, I now want the conflict in the Philippines, be it communist or Muslim insurgency, done with. 

The people are tired of war. Though much of the problems that have caused the insurgencies are there – poverty, human rights abuses, cheap labor and other forms of social injustice – it is time that we address the problem the right and humane way. 

Four decades of domestic war is too long. The notion that the NPAs will not stop their protracted war until they have seized power is no longer relevant. If people have jobs, able to feed their families, have homes to live in, a future to look forward to, the insurgency will die a natural death. And let this be a warning: Their will always be an armed struggle if there remains an oppression of economic rights to where the insurgency is mostly rooted from. 

The NPAs have been waging war for so long they will not even entertain peace negotiations if the government demands that they lay down their arms. And if I may add, China and Vietnam, both of which rose after years of communist revolution, are now the fastest growing countries in East Asia.(RFL)

Marooned in paradise that is Hawaii

(August 24, 2006) HONOLULU – For someone who hasn’t been back to the Philippines for a long time, almost 12 years now, Hawaii is almost like home because of the weather (hot and humid though not sticky unlike in Metropolitan Manila), and the water around it.

For a first time visitor like me here in the island of Oahu, Hawaii is truly a paradise, where all you have to think of is having a good time. But be warned, as we’ve always been told, and which I will repeat, Hawaii is very expensive. Not that I’m saying that only those who can afford can come here, as I urge everyone to visit these magnificent islands, the advice is you have to be creative, and at the same time accept your fate sometimes because you will have no other choice but shell out the dough when you are here.  (Warning: Don’t let your kids rule your entire vacation, they want to savor all what Hawaii could offer.  Don’t let them read too many brochures.) 

It’s Wednesday when I was writing this, or a week since our first arrival. We hit the beach the first day we came, and the next, and then went to the International Market, where we bought stuff you could afford and be entertained too by what they sell and by the dancers and the trio of musicians. Here at the market, I bought myself a ukulele. I wanted to buy the one made of koa – a precious type of wood which is highly rated for acoustic guitars, but I had to settle for rosewood, which is mellower than mahogany in terms of sound, and since the finish on the rosewood is better if you also have learning kids.

For provisions, ABC Stores are all around you.  There are 7-11s, but ABC is at every corner, every street here in Waikiki. It also here where I met several Filipinos manning the registers, just like in the hotels where they are employed. There are about 170,000 of our kababayans here, according to local newspapers here in the Aloha State, which was once governed by Ben Cayetano, a Filipino.

For those who have yet to visit Oahu, Waikiki could be compared to Roxas Blvd., sans the bikinis, surf boards, the foul smell of the polluted Manila Bay (that is what I used to remember and hoping it has changed) and the homeless. The sidewalks of Waikiki along Kalakaua and adjacent streets are littered with people the whole day and until late night, with street entertainers and the tourists, who may only be wearing bathing suits by day and or shorts and t-shirts by night. 

Both Costcos east and west of Waikiki are the usual, except for inflated prices, which is normal in the islands, where produce and other goods need to be shipped, and because the lifestyle calls for it.  While the housing market in the mainland may be headed for a not so soft crash landing, a 15% spike in housing prices was reported here in Hawaii just a couple of days ago. Such is life in Hawaii, where mainlanders would rather go to have a taste of tropical paradise, while still enjoying top level of safety and security since you are still in the United States.

Investing in Hawaii thus makes sense if you’d like to buy properties here, just like what my brother did, where the soil is red (described by Dole as decomposed volcanic soil), which is very fertile, with constant weather and with minimal or sometimes nonexistent hurricanes. It has a history of tsunamis, of course, but it is very well prepared for it, just in case.   

The freeway (H1) going to Hanauma Bay, east of Waikiki, is spectacular, more so past the national preserve, which I will present in my photos later. The waters are crystal clear, the surroundings pristine and very clean, unlike when I used to sail our fishing boat off the coast of Manila, where our FUSO 4DR5 diesel engine (used by minibuses) could only muster a few prawns and squids as there were more plastic bags floating (that reportedly suffocate dolphins) and other debris from Pasig River and other tributaries that feed the bay with human and industrial wastes. 

I really envy places such as this where even millions of people who swim in its oceans, eat by the shore, lay barely clothed by the beach couldn’t spoil its beauty and even preserve them for the generations to enjoy. I just wish that the next generation would be able to see a cleaner Manila Bay, where the suns sets in a much more spectacular setting than here in Waikiki. 

What makes you feel good though is the thought that we also have world class beaches in Boracay, Cebu, Palawan and Mindoro. I guess you just have to make travel plans away from Manila if you’re looking for some tan and naked torsos too. (As I’ve mentioned in my last week’s column, security at the Ontario International Airport was tight, but not stressful as I guess it would’ve been if we flew via LAX. Please take out all your belongings if you have carry-on bags for a quicker way of going through X-ray screening. We did not experience any delays, nor hassles. My suggestion, follow the advise and use regional or alternative airports other than LAX. Mahalo.(RFL)

Aid vs. sovereignty

(January 4, 2007) IN MY last column, I said the U.S. showed us who’s the boss and recent developments tell us how this is done and why we had to follow.  Washington said they didn’t force the Arroyo administration although President Gloria Arroyo said she was “pressured” to hand over Lance Cpl.  Daniel Smith to U.S. custody pending appeal of his rape case.

I also said in my last piece that the country was about to lose part of the $114 million military package, aside from the cancellation of the US-RP joint military exercises, if Smith was not handed over. That is a lot of money, but beside that, the Arroyo administration could not afford a strain in the US-RP relations. It is not going to be her who will make this happen at a time when there are Muslim terrorists in southern Philippines, although I believe that this is more of an economic problem and can be resolved domestically without outside help, and when U.S. budgetary resources, including financial aid, are stretched to the maximum because of the war in the Gulf region.

It is unfortunate that some of our kababayans would agree to the manner in which the Arroyo administration bowed down to the demand of the United States. But I am most appalled at the way the president used that it was in the “best interest of the Filipino people.” Wait, wasn’t it that an American military personnel was found guilty of raping a Filipino woman? I cannot emphasize anymore that not only is Arroyo a woman president, the Filipino nation must learn how to stand up on its own two feet. So what if we lost U.S. aid? So what if the military exercises were cancelled?  

I’ve always been a proponent of the Confucius philosophy of teaching someone to fish instead of giving him the fish. The Philippines, being an agricultural country, awash with natural resources and with a very fertile soil, must be able to feed itself. The waters around us is filled with all the marine life that can feed the entire 80 million Filipinos, which brings to mind the irony of holding military exercises when we cannot even go after illegal poachers that are stealing our fishes and other marine life.

All the financial aids we have received must have been enough to run the engines of the economy. If Malaysia, Indonesia and now even the communist Vietnam, are marching towards progress twice or even thrice the rate of that of the Philippines, then we shouldn’t be dragging our feet and just watch them leave us behind. Instead of building a strong military, we should be acquiring technology and equipment to improve our manufacturing sector. 

We should be building fishing boats with the latest in catching gear, a more advanced canning industry and establishment of fish markets that can compete with Japan’s, where tunas are sold in thousands of dollars, where every ounce of fish meat is sought by the highest of bidders. We can do the same in the Philippines, given the same type of technology in refrigeration, fish wharfs and ports.  Heck, bangus is even better if it comes from Taiwan, where they are better cultured and raised in controlled environments. Mas malalaki daw at mas mataba. 

Actually, the real reason is that Taiwan did the marketing. We failed to use our friendly alliance with the Americans to harness our milkfish industry so that we could’ve captured the bangus-loving folks all over the world, including even the Chinese. Doesn’t that even bother you?

It is high time we stop begging for aid, especially when such assistance has conditions attached to it that we sometimes forget that we are a sovereign nation. We have been subservient to many occupiers, who have denied us our right to exist peacefully and freely. We should exploit our very own resources, but we should not rape our ourselves.(RFL)

Crucial time for immigrants – both legal and illegals

(Note: Today, January 21, 2011, Yahoo! News reported that several states are considering introducing legislation similar to Arizona's immigration law that allows local police authorities to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants, which  U.S. federal judge said was illegal. Below is an article I wrote on March 23, 2006, when the immigration issue was one of the most talked after President George W. Bush proposed a sweeping immigration reform that would allow for illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship.) 

STARTING Monday, March 27, 2006, the Senate is expected to debate and eventually vote on what might be the most controversial immigration reform bill since the 1986 amnesty that allowed illegal aliens in the U.S. become permanent residents. With both pros and cons battling it out, this week will be a telling event if the Senate chooses to make undocumented immigrants stay here and become legal residents or define them as criminals just like what House members in December of 2005 in their own version.

The action by the House of Representatives is the most severe legislation yet in as far as treatment of both illegals and those “harboring” them is concerned. The bill crafted by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis, will classify the estimated 12 million undocumented aliens as “criminals,” and would also penalize those hiring them or those extending services to them – a measure described as “inhumane” by the Catholic Church which has vowed to defy it if it becomes law.  In the Senate, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa, in his sponsored bill, went Bush’s way of strengthening border control but at the same time paving the way to make undocumented workers legalized thru a guest worker program good for six years. It also includes a way for earned adjustment that would allow illegal aliens to become permanent residents provided they depart the United States before they can become green card holders.

A decent proposal but still shy of the other bill by offered by (the late) Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Ma and Sen. John McCain (R-Az), which will allow illegals to become permanent residents and may even become citizens without going back to their home countries. A third measure, this one by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tx) and Sen.  Jon Kyle (R-Az), is harsher in that it provides for the construction of a border fence from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and denying automatic citizenship to babies born in the U.S. by nonresidents. One more bill, this time by Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist, also calls for reinforcing border control but doesn’t allow for any relief for illegal aliens.

Many Republicans are against earned adjustment for illegal aliens. They term this as amnesty – “plain and simple.” They say any measure that allows for anyone who has violated the law and may become legal, gets pardoned, is an amnesty.  What’s encouraging however is that Pres. Bush is in favor a guest worker program because he understands that many companies are run by workers whose jobs Americans don’t want to do for themselves. Making them go home will also result in disruption of business which America cannot afford at a time when some businesses are already sending jobs abroad for cheaper labor and compete globally.

It is no secret that many of our kababayans are praying for a comprehensive immigration reform that would allow illegals become legal. We recite the same prayer too.  Along with all other immigrants, we believe that our kababayans are hard workers, intelligent and possess many talents whose economic contributions to our adopted country are enormous. They are not criminals, and those who hire them never intended to violate the law just because no Americans would want to work for them.

While most of the pending bills differ from each other, almost all provide for increasing the number of work visas, which only means that the U.S. needs more workers even if anti-immigrant forces claim that such program impacts salaries, health care and education. Perhaps they should be reminded that health care and education are paid for by taxes – both by these individuals who work here and by the companies that hire them, legally or not. 

We would also like to pacify those in the legal pipeline, who are concerned that such measure would clog the already backlogged immigration quotas, that they should not worry as their jobs are secured because those who are already here perform the jobs that they are “overqualified to do.” And just like you and me, these people work to earn a living, to feed their families. They’re not here to become criminals as some of our congressmen think they have become.(Rhony Laigo)

Does freedom mean leaving the Philippines?

(Note: I first wrote this on June 2, 2006, but for some reason, this article seems to be relevant every single year. You be the judge...)
 
In 2005, when I wrote something about our “Independence Day,” I began with a stanza of a song that I learned from the streets during the martial law days entitled, “Huwad Na Kalayaan.” That paragraph asked if there really was freedom in our country when it continues to suffer from economic hardship, where the people, especially the peasants, are at the mercy of what each day brings to them.

Another year has passed. But instead of reaching the goal of escaping from the bondage of poverty, our nation seems to be going further south. Not to mention that the country continues to deal with corruption that saw charges being filed against some of its leaders, and the unending threats of a coup.

The past year also highlighted the mass exodus of our highly-skilled workers and professionals, including nurses and doctors, and when we learned that the latter were also regressing – for the lack of a better word – to become nurses by undergoing another round of medical studies (say, what?) that will enable them to work in the U.S. We all know that Uncle Sam is the number one destination for nurses, but doesn’t readily accept doctors from abroad unless they undergo a series of residency medical studies, or meet a certain criteria, such as working in remote areas where doctors are scarce. So, Filipino doctors do what to many was unthinkable.

Speaking of doctors, the latest survey said they are the number one breadwinners in the U.S., with salaries as much as $181,000 per year or about $15,000 a month. Compare that to about $300 to $800 wage of government doctors in the Philippines, and perhaps double or even triple that amount for doctors in private hospitals. What lures them to become nurses and work in the U.S.? Well, nurses here earn from $6,000 to as much as $10,000 a month. They may have taken an oath to serve the sick and injured, but charity begins at home – not in their homeland but in their own being. They didn’t become doctors to suffer the same fate as the rest of the other Filipino professionals now face.

While the nurses’ salary may not buy them maid service like what they might enjoy in the Philippines, the environment alone forces them to leave for the U.S. Even my colleagues who were supposed to be having a fun time working in the media (journalists enjoy or used to enjoy what the privileged people are accorded with), they also try to use all the means to go and work abroad, and even stay there permanently if allowed (and this author is one of the many who have left the country...for good).

Can we blame them (us)? Or, those who are on the forefront who are supposed to be the vanguard of truth behind the political, social and economic issues? Those who talk directly to the sources who know what’s the real score, what the economic indices portray, and what these same sources are about to launch in the case of destabilizing the government? Sometimes, they know too much that they end up not in a different country, but six feet under the ground as journalists are being gunned down for speaking or writing too much so politicians can maintain status quo – where the wealth of the nation is in the control of chosen few.  

For someone who saw the transition from a dictatorship and the post Marcos period, many, myself included, had hoped that civil liberties will be restored in the Philippines. Newspapers sprouted, radio columnists grew in number and were bolder, and radio stations expanded and established more stations, hence, more journalists were born overnight.

Then came the reality of a transitory government. There have been more political upheavals that followed suit coupled by natural calamities that at first excited most of us in the media. But then covering news became a difficult chore, even for the objective reporters who had to bear endless events of reporting on people’s suffering. It was news all right, but most of the time at the expense of the poor, the hungry and the uneducated.  Freedom is won, I once read...it’s taken, not to be given on a silver platter. 

The “bloodless uprising” of the 1986 EDSA seemed unbelievable at that time as the Marcos period was characterized as a fascist regime, where summary executions were abound, and detention of political enemies were the order of the day. But I have seen more people getting killed in a single event like in the Honasan-led coup in 1987. Many civilians were shot to death because they were snooping (uzi-sero) to find out what the commotion was all about.

And while we try to celebrate the “spirit of EDSA” every February, albeit in dwindling numbers with some of the role players perennially absent, more EDSAs had come and went. Which EDSA would be historical will only be known in the years to come. Hopefully, that year will not be too far away. Not during the time when most of our nurses, doctors, highly-skilled workers and professionals have already gone.(RFL)

Congressman Tañada and RP’s new breed of leaders

(Note: In November 2010, Deputy House Speaker Erin Tañada visited 11 Filipinos who were supposed to work for Aramark, a Fortune 500 company, but who became victims of human trafficking. He has since delivered a privilege speech in Congress, which has put the human trafficking issue among the most important in Philippine politics).
(July 14, 2006) HIS NAME is as old as Philippine politics.  Thanks to the Grand Old Man, the late Senator Lorenzo Tañada. But Quezon Province Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, son of former Sen.  Wigberto Tañada, is not the traditional politician that has characterized many of our leaders who, despite their age or their political callousness and sometimes their lack of sensibilities, still want to cling to power. 

Being a Tañada, however, carries a tradition that is known for nationalism, patriotism and subservience to the interest of the poor, the peasants and the workers whose struggles span years of feudalism in the countryside and low-paying jobs in the factories.  And although a first-termer, Erin has shown that he now bears the torch of continuing the fight to help these marginalized folks who comprise Philippines’ majority.

Early this week, the congressman from Quezon Province’s 4^th District, met with the Filipino-American media at the Philippine Consulate. He discussed, among others, the issues of charter change, and the possibility of losing the right to vote for registered Filipino-Americans and overseas Filipino workers once the form of government in the country changes from a presidential to a parliamentary system. Personally, I am not in favor of us voting in RP elections because of my philosophy (actually Confucius’) of teaching the people how to fish for themselves. For me, Filipinos should govern themselves.

According to Cong. Tañada, since the Absentee Voting Law allows only for the election of presidents, vice presidents, senators and party-list members, a parliamentary system would make this provision moot and academic. So all that effort, including a Senate hearing conducted by Sen. Edgardo Angara and his committee members at the Philippine Consulate a few years ago, will turn into a complete waste if and when the system of government becomes unicameral. 

I’m all for that, but surely not for the “leaders” who attended and testified at the hearing, and who want to participate in Philippine electoral exercises. By the way, here in the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles, whose jurisdiction includes that of Texas, New Mexico, the whole of Southland and lower Nevada – home to about a million Filipinos – only about 300 voted in the last presidential elections, who incidentally are supposed to go home to the Philippines after that exercise because of an affidavit they had to sign requiring them to do so. 

Blame Rep. Teddy “Boy” Locsin, who put in that provision because, he said, if you are going to vote for someone, you have to make sure that someone would work for you, meaning you have to become a responsible citizen, and not just a person from outside looking in and meddling in local affairs.  

During our “Kapihan,” Tañada reported on the state of the country, where political activists and journalists are being executed, while those responsible for the killings remain scot-free. He said he believes rightwing elements of the military are the ones perpetrating these crimes, a valid reason since no police nor any military intelligence have been able to make any arrest. 

Meanwhile, he also lamented the fact that after a trip to The Netherlands to meet with Jose Ma.  Sison and after convincing the National Democratic Front leaders to forego demanding removal of their “terrorist” tag, the peace talks again were stalled because the House leadership wants a ceasefire first before any negotiations can take place. And so, the communist insurgency drags on. Oh, before I forget, the speaker of the House is Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia, one of RP’s trapos (traditional politician).

Speaking of trapos, Tañada and his contemporaries may be looking at 2010, when the next presidential elections are held, that is of course, if the system remains the same. The Liberal Party, to which he belongs, is looking at Senator Mar Roxas (dubbed as Mr. Palengke who makes sure that commodities are priced right and in proper weights) as its presidential standard bearer, with the possibility of either Cong.  Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino or Sen. Kiko Pangilinan (majority leader) as vice president (Update: the other way around happened of course and Aquino is elected president). All young and vibrant, who are proponents of reforms as in Moving Ahead with Reforms. (One thing that bugs me though, is the thought of having colleague Korina Sanchez as First Lady and Second Lady? Noynoy, help me out, please!)

Since the dismantling of the dictatorship, or so they say, the country has had a housewife, a military man, an actor, and now an economist (who could’ve been another actor if not for alleged poll cheating).  All administrations failed miserably, except perhaps for Mr. Fidel Ramos who led the Philippines in a positive growth despite an Asian contagion that plagued Asia’s tigers in the 90s. Which brings to mind Tañada’s argument, that it’s not a question of a government system, it’s a question of leadership and who can best steer the country to greater heights.(RFL)