Duterte is not the Philippines!

How dare Duterte reject the Rome Statutes and get the Philippines out of the International Criminal Court! He is not the Philippines! Can treaties and ties of the country just be severed at the whim of one man – even if he be the president – especially one whose interest is not of the country but only to save his own skin?

It is always the alibi of despotic leaders that when they are investigated they claim that there is no jurisdiction, or there is abuse of power, or that it is just a political move. There are many reports of blatant abuse of human rights in the country. Let these be investigated. If the present administration has a clean record, as it claims it has, then it should not be afraid of investigations.  By withdrawing the country so suddenly from international commitments because it is falling under investigation is a very cowardly act.

This seems to be the reactions of Duterte to allegations against him and his cohorts. But in the case of the poor, mere allegations are already reasons to kill.  When accusations are pointed at him, first he brings out a barrage of dirty language and random counter accusations, many of which have no basis at all. He just rumbles them out. Then he hits back at his opponents. Accusing them of fabricated cases and using the agencies and resources of the state to put them to jail, to take them out of office, or simply to shame them in public. When the accused are his relatives or friends, he lets the cases sleep and be forgotten. What happened to the 6.4 B drug scam? So much drugs were smuggled and up to now nobody is held accountable. For a few grams of shabu the poor are killed--and not just apprehended and investigated--but for such a big haul, nobody is held accountable! Why? Because those involved are close to him! Now big names of drug lords, even self-confessed ones, are set free. Not enough evidence against them! This is so incongruent! But we must remind ourselves. Congruence and logic are not to be expected from raving people--from ravingly mad people.

So now, just because he will be investigated by the international court, he severs our ties with the international body? He had already used foul language against the international body and its  rapporteurs and investigators. But nobody is threatened by his dirty words in the international community. So now he accuses them of being unfair and of politicking. Fortunately according to international rules, the investigation will go on. And we say he should be investigated. Nobody should stand unaccountable. Nobody has impunity. The investigation may take years. But let it start--and now! Duterte and his cohorts should know that they cannot forever dodge  justice and the truth. In the long run, justice and truth will prevail.

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Walk for life

The WALK FOR LIFE organized last year in February was the first big gathering of faith based groups in the time of Duterte to denounce the extra judicial killings that were happening in the name of War on Drugs. Thousands of people gathered in Luneta from many faith based groups to stand for life. It was not only against the EJKs but against all the other proceedings that see death as the solution for our problems, thus spreading the CULTURE OF DEATH. There was death penalty being dangled as the solution to criminality. There were the brazen words coming from public officials threatening people who oppose the administration’s policies.

This year the WALK FOR LIFE, organized by the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, is slated for February 24 - again in the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta. Everybody is invited to join and show their stand for life. There are more reasons to make this WALK FOR LIFE this year because the list of issues against life has lengthened. Still EJKs are happening in the continuing War on Drugs in spite of the fact that many church groups have undertaken  programs to rehabilitate drug users and it has been proven that this is more effective in   addressing the illegal drugs problem. For more than a year already the War on Drugs has been waged with thousands killed, the vast majority of them poor, and still the drug problem continues.  Don’t they see that this is not the solution? Still the bill on the death penalty is on the floor, being already approved by the Lower House. Still the swearings continue in public speeches. And now there is the added problem of the extended Martial Law in Mindanao while Marawi, though “liberated,” still remains a dangerous place. There is also the push to change the constitutions with provisions to allow the present politicians to stay in power. All these political moves are happening while the ordinary people are being stifled by the burdens that they carry. The workers are still suffering from ENDO. The farmers still do not get to cultivate lands that have been awarded to them. The urban poor are still languishing from the lack of housing. The Lumads in Mindanao are still being bombed from their schools and communities, suspected of being NPAs. The environment is being ravaged by mining and aggressive development projects. The hope for peace has been dashed with the cutting off of peace negotiations with the left and even declaring the NPAs as a terrorist group. Hence several regions of the country are experiencing violence perpetrated both by the military and the NPAs. We truly need peace. We need to stand up for the protection of life.

The WALK FOR LIFE this is year includes a holy mass by the His Eminence Cardinal Tagle. He has instructed all the parishes in the Archdiocese of Manila to join this activity. Simultaneous WALKS FOR LIFE activities will also be done in Tarlac, in San Pablo, Laguna, in Cebu and in Cagayan de Oro with their bishops and archbishops. We should spread the vigilance for life and give many people from different places the chance to stand up for life.

The price for democracy is continuous vigilance because there are always people who are eager to grab power. This grab of power is always at the expense of life. When there is no longer respect for institutions, this is done usually done by trampling on basic human rights, especially the right to life and to a dignified life. Let us join our forces then in our WALK FOR LIFE. Let us stand up and be counted!

The boy who cries wolf!

Many of us are familiar with the story of a shepherd boy who got bored being all alone in the fields taking care of his sheep. One day a bright idea popped up how to get people to come to him. He ran around at the edge of the town crying: “Wolf! Wolf!” Immediately people came to him wanting to help, only to find out there was no wolf. The boy was pleased to suddenly have a big company. He gave excuses how the wolf ran away.  Another day he again cried out louder: “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!” Again the good people rushed out to be of help. Again they found out that there was no wolf. Again excuses from the boy. A third time, the boy did the same and again the people came, to their dismay. One day, a wolf did really appear. The boy was frantic. He cried his heart out; “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!” Nobody came. The boy stood helpless as the wolf ravaged his flock.

The lesson is: one cannot always fool the people. People are wise. Excuses will not always stand. When the real need comes, nobody will believe anymore, to the great misfortune of the one whose speech cannot be trusted.

Transfer this to our political scene. Can we still believe the President who says that he will not extend his term? That he will resign if federalism is enacted? That he has no intention to declare a revolutionary government? That he will not be a dictator?

He said on the months before the 2016 elections that he would not run for president, that he had no intention to be one. But all the while this was all part of the script for his candidacy for the presidency. He had boldly declared during the presidential debates that if he does not solve the traffic of Manila in three months he would resign. It is now more than one year and the traffic has gone worse. He pledged to return the coconut lobby money to the farmers if he becomes president. Up to now the coconut farmers have yet to get the benefits from the money taken from them more than 40 years ago. Several times he said that ENDO is wrong and he would take it out. He is already more than a year in office and the workers suffer still ENDO and there is no positive sign that it will be taken away. We can go on and on… from the peace talks, to ending to the drug problem, to the sending out of the Americans, to the ending of the Balikatan, etc. So much bold talk, but they are all bubbles! He proves himself to be a very TRAPO politician, shamelessly promising what he cannot, or does not want, to deliver once he is in position of power.

So can we still believe him that he has no further intention in the presidency than to serve the people, that he will step down, that he will resign? He is the boy who cries “wolf!” His excuses are running out. The people are getting restless. Their situation has not changed in spite of the “high ratings” and “high” GDP. Unless this government shows concrete results that the poor and ordinary people can feel, and not just bold words and intimidations, the people will not long be fooled. Change is not coming! Filipinos too are intelligent. We may be long suffering, pero may hangganan din!

Why? Why? Why?

THERE is a lot of talk among government politicians ( i.e., politicians aligning themselves with the government) about federalism. They are even go so bold as to rush the change of the constitution in a month or two. Why is there no talk at all about political dynasties? Why?  It is still debatable whether federalism is good for us or not, whether it can bring about progress or failure to our country. Even our former chief justices have different views on it. And these are brilliant legal minds. But it is a no-brainer to see that federalism with political dynasty is a sure formula for failure. It will surely divide our country. Federalism will surely lead to feudalism and our country will be turned into fiefdoms by various political families.

The abolition of political dynasties has been a mandate of our 1987 constitution but it has never been a reality for us. It has never been acted upon and legislated by our lawmakers. Why? Because more than 80% of our congress people belong to political dynasties. And political dynasties belong to the elite. This is why our congress people are elitists. They represent the elite. Not even! They represent their own families! This is why in congress the congress men and women do not represent the people in the true sense of the word. They are not really elected by the people. They are put in congress because of fraud, bullying, deceit and political machinations. And there their families remain. Even our presidents of the republic, both of the present and of the past, belong to political dynasties.

The phenomenon will continue to happen with federalism, unless a clear prohibition is given by the constitution – not one to be acted upon by congress, which again they will never do – that there be no political dynasties and it is clearly stated what political dynasty means. But why, with all the commotion and propaganda on federalism, political dynasties are not mentioned? Why? Clearly because they want to wed the two – for their own sakes! Each then will have their own turfs. Each will be entrenched there, without any external control and even threat from outside their “states”. We will have a chop-chop country, if ever there will still be one country!

Before clamoring for federalism, we should first shout: “Away with political dynasties!” We can discuss about federalism, if there are no political dynasties.  Federalism then may still be defensible. But with political dynasties, federalism will be a sure failure.

A good gauge if our present political leaders are really concerned for the good of the country is their action to take away political dynasties, because corruption and poor governance are rooted in political dynasties. This will spell the end of our democracy. But as we see now, this is not how our current leaders act. Federalism is shouted in the air as the system that will bring progress to the country without even a whimper about political dynasties. They have their own family agendas. Can we trust them?