The 1986 People Power is most memorable for us in Malaya, whose owners, Jose Burgos Sr and his son, Joe Burgos, Jr.,editors and columnists were imprisoned three years earlier when their other newspaper, WE Forum, which was padlocked, ran the Marcos fake medals story.
I was home resting the day then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and Philippine Constaburary Chief Fidel Ramos launched their “People’s revolution” having come from a gruelling and emotion-laden coverage of the funeral of former Antique Governor Evelio Javier. I had to cut short my rest and cover what turned out to be one of the Filipinos’ greatest moments.
Here’s Chuchay’s Edsa1 recollection:
“EDSA, from my perspective as then editor-in-chief of the “Mosquito Press” pioneer Ang Pahayagang Malaya of Joe Burgos Jr., broke in the early afternoon of Feb. 22, 1986 when I received a phone call from Malaya’s Malacanang reporter, Butch Fernandez, who said he had heard the distinct “ting-ting-ting” of the teletype machine that receives wire-agency news feed at the Palace press room, indicating an urgent, big development.
“The news bulletin mentioned uniformed men on helicopters having landed at the Quezon Memorial Circle, which it turned out were the “Cagayan 100” meant to augment troops loyal to Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, who was breaking away from Mr. Marcos.
“Indeed, the other reporter who was inside the Palace press room at the time and read the wire bulletin was veteran defense reporter Alex Allan, then with the Philippines Daily Express. His instincts told him the troop movements were related to some upheaval in the military, and he alerted Butch about this.
“I alerted Joe about the wire news bulletin, and he replied, “That must be it. That must be related to the big developments that we should be tracking.” He explained that his sources had hinted a few days ago that something was afoot, without going into specifics.
“Butch said the Palace reporters were told there might be a press briefing, but no further details were given. Joe instructed him to stay put. Meanwhile, Joe made some calls. Soon after, our young defense reporter, Vittorio “Vot” Vitug, called to alert us that something was, indeed, going on at Aguinaldo and Crame.
“Soon events quickly unfolded, as most EDSA readers must now be familiar with. Later in the afternoon of Feb. 22, Joe received a call (he said it was from Louie Beltran of the Philippine Daily Inquirer), who asked if he had heard about a report that the forces of Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Fabian Ver had orders to arrest dozens of opposition leaders, as well as journalists in the Mosquito or Alternative Press, and haul them off to some detention facility on an island. The two friends counseled each other to take precautions and stay in touch.
“Now, that was hard at the time because we only had land lines—no texting, no tweeting, no mobile phones. In Malaya’s case, we were lucky that Joe had the foresight to request a private company for a demo of handheld radio units, which we had used for the coverage of the snap elections. The units were still with us, and Joe instructed me to “disengage in 10 minutes” from the West Avenue offices of Malaya, and take a composite team that, he said, can run a remote newsroom—in case, he said, “this place is raided and we are arrested.” His only marching order: Keep publishing as long as you still can, so people will know what’s really going on.
“He and his wife, Malaya’s real “commander in chief” Edita (Note: Edith would later become the face of the Mater Dolorosa of the disappeared, as she leads a lonely war, as a widow, to find her son Jonas, abducted by the military), had very quickly made preparations to make sure the printing presses that had so bravely printed Malaya during the dictatorship would continue to do so in this still unfolding crisis. Advance payments were made, and a system for securing materials—and people—quickly put in place.
“Joe and Edith were so organized that part of the contingency was that if for some reason a printer was raided, threatened, or could not print, some others would take up that printer’s share of copies to be printed. This was crucial because at the time, we were printing about half a million copies in all, spread across three daily editions.
“Thus it was that soon after issuing his marching orders, Joe bundled us off in one of the company vans, to a safehouse several kilometers away. With me were our news editor Yvonne Chua, Sports subeditor Noli Cortez, editorial-production coordinator Tess Molina and a few others—two encoders, two layout artists, a proofreader, a photographer, among them.
“From the safehouse Yvonne and I and our team would produce half of the issue for the next day, transcribing quickly the historic Enrile-Ramos press conference on their “breakaway,” among other articles. The paste-up pages were picked up by drivers and messengers working round the clock, to be reunited with those produced from “Base” (the Malaya office on West Avenue), and then all ending up with the printers.
“We kept in touch with Base via our handheld radio. Remaining on West Avenue were Joe, managing editor Noel Albano, Joy de los Reyes (the current editor in chief of the paper), among others. At one point, we were instructed to hurriedly return to Base on the third day when a premature report of Marcos fleeing the Palace broke out. Of course, we just as hurriedly unpacked our gear and set up again at the safehouse on hearing later that the dictator was still at Malacanang.
“To be sure, our four-day experience at EDSA was just the culmination of several exciting and dangerous years in the Mosquito Press. I still recall what Cory Aquino had said in June 2003 in a tribute to Joe Burgos (then stricken with cancer). She had thought, in the first dark months of martial law, that no one remained outside Marcos’ prison who could help his victims—especially when her husband Ninoy and Jose “Pepe” Diokno were taken by the military from Fort Bonifacio and kept incommunicado in what she later learned was Laur, Nueva Ecija.
“But then, she added, “one day there came Joe Burgos.”
“The multi-awarded police reporter of the Manila Times chain had founded in April 1977 the WE for the Young Filipino (WE Forum) to test the waters as the first non-crony-owned publication. It didn’t take long before WE Forum would become a very popular trailblazer, so alarming the minions of the dictator that it was raided and shuttered on Dec. 7, 1982. Joe, his father and two brothers, and several columnists and writers were hauled off to prison. They were released two weeks after only because of a massive international outcry.
“Just a little over a month later, with a sedition case and threat of re-arrest hanging over his head—and over the advice of his lawyers (among them were Joker Arroyo, Jojo Binay and Bobby Tanada)—Joe put out Malaya, WE Forum’s Filipino “twin”— but this time as an English-language weekly.
“Joe’s Malaya would have its shining moment on Aug. 21, 1983, and the days soon after, because it published many events and pronouncements that Joe’s colleagues and friends in the so-called crony press were restricted from using—though not for lack of trying.
“The years 1983, 1984 and 1985 would see Malaya—and later WE Forum, which won its case in the Supreme Court in December 1984—mirroring the historic unfolding of a protest movement that was politically diverse but eventually united in a common effort to end a dictatorship and restore democracy.
“EDSA, to my mind, is not just four days in February. It was the logical culmination of years of anger and despair, of struggle and even of constant disagreement among allies, of battles won and lost along with fortunes, and of an abiding faith of a people in a Supreme Being who walked with them in their road to Calvary, and faith as well in a democracy that they knew was theirs if they but won it back.
“Now, 25 years later, I’d choose not to join the EDSA-bashing of some who say it accomplished nothing because many people are still poor, that many in government and the military are corrupt, that political leaders and institutions and groups are still so fractious. I’d rather choose to consider where we might be, if EDSA didn’t happen. Who knows, maybe we’d be envying the events in Egypt and copying from the democracy playbook of other nations.
“Of course, some over-reaction, in the post-Marcos era, did not help our cause—and I’ve always maintained we should be fair in citing Marcos’s clear accomplishments where they mattered, i.e., in his vision and commitment to craft a road map in energy self-reliance at a time when we were almost exclusively hostage to the vagaries of the global oil market.
“In the past quarter of a century, much of the world has changed as well, and to me it doesn’t matter anymore if the West opts to ignore the Filipinos’ example as democracy movements subsequently took root in so many other places on the planet, and people asserted their sovereignty and self-determination. How many of those liberation movements were truly inspired by EDSA? We will never really know, and it really doesn’t matter now.
“At the end of the day, we simply rejoice in their newfound freedom, and pray they be spared from much of the mistakes we made along the way, from Day One after liberation. This week, we pray for a peaceful, rational transition in several places marked by upheavals, even as we keep trying to make it all right for our nation, 25 long years later. “
Excellent article, Ellen.
For my part, am neither an Edsa 1 basher nor sympathiser. It happened, it’s part of Philippine history just as Marcos rule is.
Thing to do is to learn from history and to try one’s best to ensure that the mistakes of the past don’t happen again. In that sense or in those terms, RP has a long way to go but I don’t despair. It will happen. Took many countries in Europe centuries to get to where they are at including millions and millions of lives lost. 😉
There will always be bashers of all sorts, against Spanish rule, against US rule, against Marcos rule, against every rule but heck, that’s what makes democracy exciting.
As for me, I am very concerned with the present because it is a step towards the future. Bungle it and the future will look and be bleak.
Meanwhile for those with fond memories of Edsa 1 culminating in the toppling of President Marcos, I say, look at the present and to the future while glancing at the past — move on with resolve so that things change for the better.
Thanks, Anna.
Nice blog post. Very nice indeed. It brings back memories. Yes, it is the culmination of events that led to the toppling of the Marcos regime. It was an exciting and dangerous times to live in. Thanks Ellen….
Whoever we are today is a combination of what we went through. Kaya nga tayo “halo-halo”. Let us not dwell on the past. Let us just concentrate on improving the days ahead. But it is always noble to thank the people who sacrificed a lot for us to restore our democracy.
I feel bad for Edith Burgos whose son disappeared and has not been found as of yet.
To think that now we can read our news through the internet and influence others by the social media. We’ve gone a long way. All the unrest in the Middle East are fuelled by the youth who want democracy, freedom (economic as well)and want to see the end of dictatoship in any shape or form. They seem to be succeeding because the dictators are finally leaving. Libya’s dictator is not leaving without a fight though.
Ellen, I still remember the fiery comments from Malaya columnists like the hard hitting guy with the pipe(forgot his name) and in fact I wrote some letters to the editor on some gov’t irregularities going on then. It is therefore unfair for some to say that there was no press freedom during the Marcos regime.
It’s a bit ironic. One of the reasons why we all drove to EDSA and be human shield is the corruption. 25 years later, interestingly, leading to EDSA celebration, corruption relentlessly hugs the headline. I could understand people’s frustration. What’s supposed to be history is not. The magnitude and the breath of corruption blinds the people that people power was not really a failure. There have been significant changes since then. The media alone has proven itself to be the true pillars of democracy now. While it was more like a dark age of media during Marcos, it’s clear and bright now. Obviously, 25 years is not enough make the transformation. Really, more work has to be done.
I agree that the contribution of EDSA was democracy and press freedom. Other than that , I cannot see any difference, pre and post Marcos era. Of course ,hindsight is 20/ 20. Now, you still have corruption, poverty, poor health care, lack of education, massive population. At present , you have a weak , undecisive and passive president , P Noy, one who even at the beginning , do not want to be a president ( meron ba namang nag -iisip pa at hihingi ng sign bago tumakbo for presidency ). If all these problems are still present now, sometimes I wonder if we are better off kung si Marcos pa rin ang presidente. ALL PRESIDENTS that this country had, are evil but , in my opinion, Marcos is the lesser evil. Seeing BongBong in TV, I have no doubts he is / he will aim for the presidency. Compare to Pnoy, mas smart si Bongbong ( unfortunately ). And for heaven`s sake that I cannot understand, how in the world did the Marcoses made a comeback considering naging presidente si Cory and PNoy???? But again , it boils down to that both Cory and Noynoy are weak, talagang mahina , not president material ( look at Arroyo- – alpha female – pagtulungan man ninyo sya pa rin ang masusunod ) but then again , destiny states that Noynoy is not meant to be a president.
Edsa-1, Edsa-2, Noon-sa panahon ng diktador, FM=kurapsyon; kailan lamang, almost 9-years ni GMA=kurapsyon, idinamay pa yata ang mga PMAyers na mga iilan-o bilang na mga heneral, at isa ay bumaril sa sarili, dahil sa kurapsyon; Sana ngayon naman sa panahon ni Pangulong PNOY,linisin na o mawala na ang kurapsyon, alang-alang sa susunod na lahi ng Pilipinas. Ang mga nangyayari ngayon sa Senado, inbistigasyon sa kurapsyon ng AFP nina Hen.Ligot,at Hen.Garcia, at iba pa,at COA, ay mga patotoo ng paglilinis, kung mabibigyan ng na-uukol na hustisya sa mga “plunders” o magnanakaw sa kaban ng Bayaan. Sana may patutungguhang-parusa ang mga sangkot, at hindi matulad sa NBN-ZTE, JocJoc Bolate, Hello-Garci, Mayuga Report na pawang mga ningas kugon, walang nangyari. Huwag sayangin ang salapi at oras ng Bayan na ginagamit ng mga Senador,sa pag-babago at paglilinis ng mga bulok na sistema sa AFP, iba pa.
Walang pagbabago ang bansa kung di muna magbabago ang mga mamamayan.Sa gobyerno na lang at sa Military nag-uunahan silang mangurakot ng mga milyones para i secured na financially ang buhay nila, mga anak at pati na apo,kasama pa ang bayaw. Saan ka ba naman nakakita ng walang trabaho na may deposit ng mahigit 300M pesos ala namang negosyo.Walang nagbago. Noon si Marcos lang ang nangungurakot, ngayon pati yata low level gov’t. employee at nangungurakot na rin.
Mga Senador at Kongressman ,the same pareho pa ring mga Family name. Nawala lang sila ng binuwag ni Marcos ang upper and lower house kaya malaki ang na save ng Pinas sa mga daang-daan milyon pork barrel at mahaba ang naipatayo niyang concretong kalsada. May mga free-Fab school building pa.
di bale ng nakaipon si Imelda ng mahigit 3,000 pirasong sapatos dahil asawa siya ng presidente at sa Marikina lang galing.Ngayon pati asawa ng mga general ay naka coach at kung ano ang kulay ng bag ay iyun din ang kulay ng sapatos na galing ng Europe.Nag-uunahan silang bumili ng bahay sa US.
Iyan ang “Democracy” para lang sa kanila iyan dahil sila lang ang libre.Walang democracy sa mahihirap at Zero balance ang stomach.
Masaming sakit ang nauso,Stomach ache,headache and other ache, in short Ribbonitist.
Siguro karamihan ng tao ng umalis si Marcos paniniwala nila, YEEHEY!!!! aasenso na tayo. Aasenso ba sila kung di sila kikilos at maghanap buhay para sa kabuhayan nila.Kung magbilang lang sila ng butiki sa kisami ay walang mahuhulog na grasya. Maghintay sila ng susunod na election para magkapera sila sa mga kandidato.
Hindi gugustuhin ng mga Pulitiko iyan na aasenso ang mga botante kasi pang remati nila ang mga bayarang botante. Kung may kaya ka ba sa buhay, ipagbibili mo ba ang boto mo? Syempre hindi baka masampal mo pa ang kandidato na mangahas na bumili ng iyung boto.
Ang nagawang kasalanan lang ng mga mahihirap ay hindi sila pumili ng bayaw na General sa AFP.
May kasabihan nga
Kung ipinanganak kang mahirap ang iyung magulang, iyun ang iyung kamalasan.
Kung nag asawa ka at mahirap ang iyung magiging biyenan, iyun ay katangahan.
When Strongman Macoy died, there were actually thousands of anti-Marcos throughout the Ilocos Region, especially in his hometown Batac. It was a very peaceful anti-Marcos demonstration. Inaantay pala nila si Apo…wink!
25 February 2011
Unang-una gustong batiin ang lahat ng mga Pilipino na mabuhay ang diwa ng EDSA 1.
Subalit, ang aking katanungan naman ay bakit ang mga sundalo lang at kapulisan lamang and dapat pagtuusan ng pansin ukol sa pabahay? bakit hindi kasama ang ibang mga empleyado at trabahador ng gobyerno? mga sundalo at kapulisan ba lamang ang mga nangangailangan ng pabahay? marami sa ating mga “civil servants” ay walang mga sariling bahay. Ito ba ay dahil sa naka-tuon lamang sa mga kasundaluhan at kapulisan ang imbestigasyon ukol sa korapsyon?
Pano naman ang ibang nag-sisilbi para sa bayan, katulad ng mga may mababang posisyon sa pamahalaan. Sana naman, huwag namang kalimutan ang iba-pang mga mabababang trabahador ng pamahalaan, sana po ako ay nagkakamali sa aking haka-haka. Ito ay dahil sa ang mga nababasa ko sa pahayagan at naririnig sa telebisyo at radyo ay naka-tuon na lamang sa pabahay ng mga kasundaluhan at kapulisan, pano naman ang mga sibilyan na nag papakahirap din na naglilingkod kay Juan de la Cruz, sila po ba ay kasama rin sa pabahay, sana nga po mali ang aking haka-haka.
Ito pa ay alinsunod sa sinabi ni Pnoy ukol sa pabahay ng mga kasundaluhan at kapulisan ngayong anibersaryo ng EDSA 1.
Maraming Salamat po at Mabuhay ang Diwa ng EDSA 1.
prans
Noong panahon ni Marcos, ang isyu laban sa kanya ay corruption, media killing, salvaging, mataas na bilihin (remember Tita Cory’s galunggong spiel?), nepotism, political dynasty, political killings, ellection cheating, private armies. Ang tanong, wala na bang nangyayari ang mga nabanggit na isyu laban kay Marcos sa panahon ngayon?
let there be no misunderstanding. marcos was a dictator who amassed wealth at the expense of his countrymen. according to transparency intl 2004, his wealth was worth 5 to 10 billion us dollars, him being only second to suharto of indonesia who amassed 15-35 billion dollars.. it is a blessing that today newspapers can write whatever they please and just for that edsa 1 is worth remembering.
For a split of a second, the picture of Mrs Cory Aquino in the Philippine Star when she was brought to power on 24 Februay 1986, conjured to me, an image of the crowning of a medieval king, or for that matter, the medieval queen, in the presence of the highly decorative but extremely useful princes of the Church.
For a split of a second, the picture of Mrs Cory Aquino in the Philippine Star when she was brought to power on 24 Februay 1986, conjured to me, an image of the crowning of a medieval king, or for that matter, the medieval queen, in the presence of the highly decorative but extremely useful princes of the Church.
No pun intended…With this EDSA stuff going now; I’m just remembering the downfall of Marcos as a prelude to the evil bitch Gloria’s reign of power.
I will only celebrate EDSA revolution when I see Gloria and her minions in jail. (Suicide is accepted. as a last resort for them. But please don’t you ever bury them as a hero just like that disgraced General you-know-who. 😛
I just watched a talk show where one of the guests said “instead of a team effort to improve the country, our civil servants made it a team effort to corrupt our country”! How true it is!
Bansot did not attend the Edsa 1 celebration. She probably thinks that the only celebration worth attending is that of the Edsa 2 where she connived with the left and the right to oust Erap.
Or she is very busy finding counsels for the Malditas coz she knows that if the Ombudsgirl is impeached, her firewall from all the crimes she did will collapse!
The Philippine Senate will have the final say against Malditas. How many pro-GMA senators will save her fat ass? There are four Liberal Party members in the upper chamber. I think the magic number is 16 votes for conviction.
Diego, nanganganib nga ang 16 votes kasi wala si Lacson. These are the allies of the putot: Angara, Santiago,Lapid, Recto (although now kay Pnoy na siya kuno), Lapid ,Revilla and Zubiri, We also do not know if the trio (Enrile, Honasan and Vic Sotto) will vote for or against the impeachment. In the lower house, duda rin ako coz marami dyan ang mukhang pera. Kapag pinakilos ni putot (silently) yung distribution ng “brown bag” niya, those with dubious allegiances will fall for the trap. Specially those who somehow particpated in the illegal activities of putot. Marami pa rin sila dyan!
Maraming instant LP sa mababang kongreso. Kaya dito bubuhos ang maraming pera ni Pidal para isalba si Malditas. Di ba si Speaker Belmonte ay dating maka-GMA. Hudasan ang laro dito.
Sinabi mo pa Diego! Happy days are here again para sa mga buwaya. Lots and lots of “brown bags” ordered.
Tignan mo nga kung gaano kasisiba ang mga yan, si Singson na convicted sa drugs, mukhang ayaw pang mag-resign. Gusto pa yatang antayin ang paglabas niya sa kulungan at makabalik. Sabagay, maraming mga kriminal dyan, Bingbong Crisologo(who by the way is still closely related to the Singsons) is one ang yet nandyan pa naman sa “justice” committee. What a mockery!
Didn’t Belmonte try to block the impeachment somehow? He said, the house should wait until the Malditas files her motion for reconsideration. But the pressure must be so much on him coz he finally reversed his decision and finally blessed the impeachment process to commence in the lower house. I believe that the midget still has the power in the house to swing voters by paying the tongressmen money for their votes. What for has she positioned herself in there for? She bought her votes to win the tongressman seat and she is there to keep reminding her allies that she still has the money to pay them for their votes. But let us see if these tongressmen wont bite the bait. It remains to be seen.
25 years na rin pala namatay si Evelio,,ang bilis nga ng panahon…
…ipinakita ang picture ng isang kalapati na dumapo sa ulo ni Pnoy…akala seguro landing field…
Ellen,
Can’t believe this… Aquino awarding Legion of Honour to Billy Esposo (and the late Teddy Benigno, may he rest in peace but he was one of the most bigoted journalists I knew 🙂 Oh well, never mind. But Billy Esposo? Holy shit! The fat man is going places! http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=661029&publicationSubCategoryId=63
Hi Anna, another prestigious award wasted! Galing niya sumipsip sa taas. 🙂
Btw, what’s Teddy B’s connection to mother Cory? I’m out of the loop here, if there was any?
Hi Chi! I don’t think they’re related. Esposo was a good journalist alright in the marketing sense of the word. He worked hard to put the Aquinos in a good light and would write anything to make this Aquino here look good and seem good and all the jazz… But deserving of the Legion of Honour? Nahhhh! 😀 😀 😀
Teddy Benigno spoke French fluently (studied political science in the Political Science Institute in Paris).
Before he became a member of Cory Aquino’s govt, he only spoke French to those who could speak French and was affable, insisting that he be called Teddy by everyone (and almost anyone) very accessible, etc., but when he became minister, he changed tack — he refused to speak French and said that from then on he must be called Mr Secretary…and would kiss the ground Cory Aquino and Cardinal Sin walked on 😀 😀 😀 Oh well, he’s now gone. That’s ok.
Last time I talked to him was a year before he died. By then of course, he was no longer a member of cabinet so he reverted to speaking in French to me 😀 😀 😀
We were I think a more disciplined people during Marcos time but went hayward (parang mga baca na nakawala sa coral) after and mostly during Arroyo’s time…walang ginagalang na batas..sino ang maysala ang mga tao o ang mga nagpapalakad ng gobierno? is this progress? but we should not dismay as may bukas pa..a quarter of a century after the Edsa Revolution and we should move forward with determination to do good…narinig ko ang speech ni Pnoy and indeed he still has a lot to do…but if we rally behind him we will be able to change the country for the better…magsamasama tayo..mag tulungan tayo..
To the all the journalists who made EDSA possible, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Aw, ganun pala sya, Anna! The time I discovered reading him puro Pakyaw lang ang topic nya so I lost interest agad. 🙂
Jug, ja ja ja !
Chi, same here… 🙂
Will somebody please give Marcos JR a history lesson!
Bongbong must be smoking something of the cannabis variety or out of his mind like his mother. He should first look at history before mouthing anything so stupid! Marcos actually drove the country to the ground and during the pre Marcos era we were ahead of Singapore! Marcos type distatorship/cronyism and supposed massive infrastructure build up was just a window dressing and a means of looting the government legally an so many people were hoodwinked.
———————–
FACT: THE year Ferdinand Marcos was elected president of the Philippines was also the year neighboring country Singapore became an independent country. This was 1965.
When Marcos took over Malacañang, the exchange rate was P2 for one US dollar. The Philippines in the 1960s, it has often been said, was next only to Japan as the most progressive country in Asia.
That was the time when the Korean peninsula lay in ruins after a devastating civil war. Malaysia and Indonesia were infant nations only then emerging from European colonial rule. And Singapore, as its eventual leader Lee Kwan Yew likes to point out, was a tiny, backwater fishing village with no natural resources, barely functioning social institutions and a volatile ethnic mix.
Marcos’ son and namesake, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., let loose with the observation that had his father not been driven out of power and his plans for the country thus scuttled, the Philippines would have become “another Singapore” by now. The senator uttered the statement with a straight face, so we can presume that he was serious.
The statement can be interpreted in two ways: One, Marcos Jr. has no idea that before his father ran the country to the ground, the Philippines was, in fact, ahead of Singapore. Two, he meant exactly what he said: Marcos did have plans to turn the country into “another Singapore”—the tiny, backwater fishing village of long ago—hence the Philippines’ tailspin from Asian powerhouse to Asian basket case in two decades of Marcos-style “benevolent dictatorship.”
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20110225-322250/Potemkin-democracy
In fact, Arroyo learned a lot from Marcos!
Now, if anybody will ask me if “sincerity” or the assurance that the guy will not steal from us is enough quality for a leader, YES, for the moment, a big YES! for heavens sake lets get a moratorium from all these supposed brilliant, over qualified, overly competent Arroyos, Villars, Reyes, etc…and get our house in order first. Lets fix our finances, budgets, before deciding to spend more. Enough of this bogus “roadmaps” that Arroyo and her minions keep chanting about – they were just a legal means of looting the country!
Forget 1965…
Why don’t these holier than thou Inquirer writers just bloody shut up and stop digging holes.
I would listen to them if they had an iota of moral right but they lost that the minute they all murdered democracy in support of Cardinal Sin, Cory Aquino and their minions who were hell bent on violating the Constitution during the time of Erap.
These opinion writers from the Inquirer, and that includes Fat Billy Esposo (who’s jumped ship and transfered to Philstar) were among the first shitheads to scream their idiotic heads off egging Arroyo and her husband to violate the Constitution and topple the duly elected president of the Republic with utter disregard for the impeachment trial that was going on then.
They were complicit in putting Arroyo in power and that’s a major reason why Pinas is in deep shit.
And today, they are still hell bent on shitting society about. The trouble with these Inquirer columnists is they truly believe that they alone possess the wisdom and the morality to know what is right.
Before they do that, they should all examine their conscience and ask themselves: should they have tampered with the Rule of Law?
There were very few writers at that time who were genuinely for upholding the rule of law, the first one was Ellen Tordesillas and the second was Herman Tiu-Laurel. They fought tooth and nail so that the rule of law would prevail.
Those in the Inquirer fought tooth and nail to shit on the Constitution. As far as I’m concerned, they can do all they want if they had not been so shitty themselves and not allowed for anarchy to reign supreme during those terse moments!
They could all very well damn go to hell as far as I’m concerned.
indeed Arroyo learned a lot from the mistakes of Marcos…for one she controlled the military better than Marcos..she knows that money is the way to their hearts…she catered to their needs..promotion and money…corruption was the way…putot and baluktot…
#43 Anna. There were very few writers at that time who were genuinely for upholding the rule of law, the first one was Ellen Tordesillas and the second was Herman Tiu-Laurel. They fought tooth and nail so that the rule of law would prevail.
Got to agree with you 101%! Can’t add more, putol lagi ang konek ko. 🙂
awayan ng mga coñio
karamihan ng mga kabataan, coñio-coñiohan lang 🙁
#44Rose
Si Apo Makoy ay nawalan ng pagkontrol sa AFP, simula nang isulong niya at magkaroon ng pag-aaral ang kasundaluhan sa Filipino Ideology, na, anti-imperialist at non-communist – ito ay nagbunga ng isang pag-aalsa laban mismo sa pamahalaan ni Marcos…
Anna,
When trying to understand the present and charting the future it is important to have historical perspective, there is a need to establish parallelisms, patterns, and vital insights to avoid making the same mistakes or reinventing the wheel.
The media, to include the Inquirer, normally responds to the needs of the times, in the context of the current situation. Erap was by no means a Lee Juan Yew, in the course of less that two years, he attempted to muzzle the media, he practically sabotaged the economy (look into BW Resources), condoned money laundering, accepted, not just tolerated jueteng money, and did a list of other actions we do not expect from a president who is of sound mind. True, if he was allowed to continue we will be in the kangkungan. Cardinal Sin, Cory, and a host of other individuals and groups just responded to the pressing need of the time.
Unfortunately it was a gamble, as everytime we take the law in our hands or crossing the line – it can either go two ways, it this case, it went south with Gloria at the helm. It was probably compounded by Gloria’s machinations with the military, as it would require the ace of all aces in any coup – the support of the military.
No doubt about it, Erap had to be stopped, but could we have done it through peaceful dialogue? Could we have improved the situation if we just made Erap understand the situation, its consequences, and would he have listened and changed accordingly? Or were there any other options other than trampling the constitution?
Years after, Trillanes led the Oakwood mutiny, which was also a blatant violation of the constitution, add the standoffs and withdrawal of support. Of course, its okay because it was against Arroyo, but think again, we’re doing it again, trampling the constitution with the best of intentions.
Perhaps until we learn to play fair, we the people and our leaders, it will be a vicious cycle that never ends, and we wonder why we are not going anywhere?
We have to learn to live by the rules, no matter how good our intentions are, maybe then we’ll establish predictability and subsequent stability.
I don’t blame any one of the major players of all the EDSA, they had the guts, the commitment, and the will to actually do something. Whether it was right or wrong, it was better than just whining, then again if we don’t learn from the past, we’re bound to repeat our mistakes.
———————————–
But the man who did turn Singapore into an economic powerhouse, Lee Kuan Yew, didn’t exactly have a flattering opinion of the Filipino dictator.
In his memoir published in 2000, Lee recalled how he once told former US Vice President Walter Mondale that Marcos “might have started off as a hero but ended up a crook.” Lee also dismissed Marcos as a “self-indulgent ageing ruler who allowed his wife and cronies to clean out the country through ingenious monopolies and put the government heavily in debt.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Marcos and his alleged ambition to become the Philippines’ economic miracle worker.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/columns/columns/view/20110224-322012/The-delusional-Bongbong-Marcos
Have we ever had a leader with so much passion for the country?
———————–
Singapore declared independence from Britain unilaterally in August 1963, before joining the Federation of Malaysia in September along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore. Unfortunately Singapore was forced to leave the Malaysian federation two years after heated ideological conflict between Singapore’s PAP government and the federal government in Kuala Lumpur. Singapore officially gained sovereignty on 9 August 1965, which became our National Day. Yusof bin Ishak was sworn in as President, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of the Republic of Singapore.
Video of LKY Harry Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) Crying on National Television After Singapore was Forced to Leave Malaysia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ND3U_9HgQ&feature=player_embedded#at=28
#48 Juggernaut: “I don’t blame any one of the major players of all the EDSA, they had the guts, the commitment, and the will to actually do something. Whether it was right or wrong, it was better than just whining, then again if we don’t learn from the past, we’re bound to repeat our mistakes.”
Ang EDSA 1, ay isang aral sa kasaysayan, ang EDSA 2 ay muling-aral sa kasaysayan, ang EDSA 3 ay muli’t-muling-aral sa kasaysayan… Sana wala nang EDSA? At muling i-balik ang ngalan nito na Highway 54.
Sana tinanong muna nina Tita Cory at Cardinal Sin sa kani-kanilang konsensya, bago sila manawagan ng people power,maging ito’y sa nakaraang EDSA1 at EDSA2, na, tulad nito: (1) Kapag ba inuntog ko nang ubod-lakas ang aking ulo sa matigas na konkretong pader, masasaktan kaya ako? (2) Ang sarili ko ba ay para sa aking pamilya o para sa Bansa?
I agree with Anna’s observations here.
The press might be more free than that in Marcos’ martial law. But it is alarming to have the current president exhorting advertisers to boycott the media that disagrees with him. Noynoy is not a dictator but it looks like he wants very much to be one.
Please stop comparing Lee Kwan Yew to Marcos and Erap. It’s disgusting and an insult to LKY and the people of Singapore. 🙁
Truth of the matter is both Edsa I & II are failures with respect to changing our government and institutions.
I need not enumerate all the sins of Marcos, the same reasons use to justify these “revolutions” and compare it to what the present score is, apple-to-apple.
Plunder? Election cheating? Human Rights? Poverty? Military abuse? Joblessness? Social services? Prices? Education? Whathaveyou?
To this day, we still blame Makoy for the failure of four other leaders after him, no, make that five.
Fact remains, after 25 years, we have gone from bad to worse.
We keep blaming Marcos for our debts and poverty but presidents after him added more to the debt and did not do anything to eliminate poverty. Instead of adding to the infrastrustures Marcos did, the local government made the maintenance of these projects a source of “budget” to put in their pockets.
Even LKY knew what the problems were, the ambitious wife, hungry generals (Ver etc) and the cronies. What was different with putot? The same, but instead of wife, it was the husband.
Even in the freedom of the press, yes, now journalists are freer to write but they are paid to write ONLY the GOOD things on a rotten leader for a handsome fee! There are just a few crdible ones, Ellen is one of them.
The church, with the late Cardinal Sin (name was so apt for what he did) dipped its fingers too much in politics. Akala ko ba eh separate ang church from politics? Not during Sin’s time. When I saw na ginawan siya ng rebulto sa Luneta, napailing na lang ako, He was no hero. He was a politician only!
Lahat nagkamali, tama na sisihan. What Pnoy should do is to start repairing the country. It is not so easy as corruption is now in all levels of the government. It is so difficult to instill values now. Bumawi na lang tayo sa mga kabataan. There should be classes to teach kids to be patriotic and nationalistic. There should be more schools offering entrepreneural classes. Tongue, teach some of these classes, will you? Volunteer work lang. We have so many good manangers. If only each of them will give at least an hour of two of their expertice to the youth as resource speakers etc…we will see a better crop of citizens.
Manila is cleaning the Pasig River, employ all those who live by the river. Pay them money to buy their food only on a daily basis, even if it is below the minimum, maybe this is not lawful, but it is a better alternative than just laying there the whole day doing nothing and expect the government to turn their lives around.
The squatters living in empty lots can be stoppped if landowners are just as responsible as the squatters. No one will squat on a land that is fenced and secured. The moment one settler squats, the landowner should immediately stop the migration of the others.
Most of these lands are owned by the government anyway rich people. These owners have the capability to stop the squatters from settling.
Napuna ba ninyo na Edsa 1 lang ang sine-celebrate? Hindi and Edsa 2. Kaya siguro hindi na dumating si putot. Gumawa na lang siya ng sarili niyang celebration kasama niya si Davide, Asspweron at ng mga corrupt generals niya, yung dalawang horsies niya, isang baboy, Nani Perez, Mike Defensor (tutal palagi naman niyang kasama ngayon) and the other “boyz”. Heh,heh,heh…masaya ang celebration!
Ops kasama si Chavit Singson para mas masaya pa! Now Chvit wants to take the place of his son in Congress. Wow naman! Dadami pa ang hoodlum sa tongress. Magkikita na naman sila ni putot. Dagdag boto rin yan para kay putot.
Agree with you PSB.
People MUST move on with resolve to change things for the better instead of using an event in history for useless rhetorics and political self-agrandisement.
Agree with you on this point, Jug: “We have to learn to live by the rules, no matter how good our intentions are, maybe then we’ll establish predictability and subsequent stability.”
Absolutely! And you understand why I get all riled up when I read holier than thou, hypocritical, self serving statements and declarations and what have you by shitty opinion writers about Edsa here, Edsa there… particularly when we all know that they all twisted, broke, and played the goddamn unfairly to accomodate a part of the Philippine society’s hatred for a duly elected president of the republic, thus violating the Constitution for which the country is now paying.
Jug, of course Arroyo made gains: it was during her time when the export of cheap Filipino labour became the order of the day; human chattel sold off at low premium on the open slave conditions market and without whose foreign currency contributions, this country would be dead in the gutter.
and played the goddamn rules
The road to hell is paved with good intentions!
Jug, I’m not the type to look back and play the blame game except when some frigging do-gooders in our society, particularly those who wield enormous influence go on a self-serving rhetorics.
But can’t let this pass: “No doubt about it, Erap had to be stopped, but could we have done it through peaceful dialogue? Could we have improved the situation if we just made Erap understand the situation, its consequences, and would he have listened and changed accordingly? Or were there any other options other than trampling the constitution?
Trampling the constitution is absolutely NOT a option, by way of mob rule, particularly at the time when Constitutional measures were being upheld, i.e., impeachment trial, to ensure that rule of law would prevail.
As I’ve said in the other thread, you cannot right a wrong by doing another wrong — there will be a whole lot to pay, and that’s exactly what we are facing today: the judiciary is in shit, the military is in shit, open slave labour skies, triple-digit corruption if not more, etc etc etc etc.
Anyway, inasmuch as this is about Edsa 1, allow me to repeat my thoughts:
PSB, Must say that a statue of Cardinal Sin has been erected is simply diabolical! The Philippines could do without remembering how foolish, arrogant and Machiavelic he was!
Would rather they erected a statue of Piggy Arroyo so we could all throw shit at it.
And agree with Tongue completely here: “Truth of the matter is both Edsa I & II are failures with respect to changing our government and institutions.”
Sige Tongue, would be good if you could draft a matrix — comparing apple to apple.
“To this day, we still blame Makoy for the failure of four other leaders after him, no, make that five.
Fact remains, after 25 years, we have gone from bad to worse.”
So, let hope and pray that they stop blaming Marcos and JUST DO their BEST to uplift the lives of kawawang Filipinos.
ano kaya kung pagagawan natin ng revolto ang familia Arroyo sa Candaba swamps..and call the “land of the swines”..palapit na ang Lent…sana sa Good Friday magpapako na si putot sa cruz like what they do in Pampanga during Lent..
After 25 years, if the civil society did not install Gloria Arroyo baka hindi nababoy ng husto ang Pinas. In fact, si Gloria pa ang ating minamanmanan hangga ngayon, sobrang bwisit ang katiting na babae na yan.
Tapusin na sana ni Pnoy ang blame game, panay ganyan nakakasawa. Obama learned his lesson early and stopped blaming da Dubya for the current US situation. Ngayon, he focuses on his agenda and doing much better than when he was bashing his predecessor.
I meant stop blaming Marcos, si Gloria na lang ang pagtulungan nila ni Erap! 🙂
And also, dapat hindi patulan ni Pnoy si Bong2 kasi presidente sya, nagiging newsworthy tuloy yung isa. Let Mislang do the talking, hahaha!
“To this day, we still blame Makoy for the failure of four other leaders after him”
…and for good reason! The politization of the military can be traced to how he influenced the values formation hereof. How the military viewed itself from “defender of the constitution” to “defender of the people from themselves.” His was a mind set that the Filipino do not know better, and that someone has to defend them from their own weaknesses, that if left to their own resources, they would make the worst decisions – justifying the despotic rule of “the wise.”
Martial Law had a profound and long term impact on our officer corps, starting with the class of ’71 (Gringo’s), when young, impressionable minds were warped after torturing students, media personnel, lawyers, doctors, and even seniors suspected of being threats to the state.
Even now, their influence can still be seen and felt, as it is widely known in the military circles that the Oakwood incident is the handiwork of our favorite EDSA 1 hero.
Gloria Arroyo came into power precisely on the same terms, some politicians, the military, and some influential individuals still subscribed to the belief that someone must protect the people from themselves, that if left to decide on their own they would choose the wrong leader for the wrong reasons, Fernando Poe was the worst possible scenario. So manipulation of the election results was justified, “to protect the people from themselves.”
The ingenious, systimatized, even legalized (via manipulation of the laws) looting by cronies and family members can be traced to Marcos. He wrote practically wrote a “How to Loot the Government for Idiots” book and its sequel “Misdirection for Idiots” or how to make the people believe you’re doing one thing while actually doing another.
Our subsequent leaders inherited the “culture of entitlement” from who else? Time and time again, we see leaders (not just the president) who upon taking up the position seem to justify committing crimes by virtue of such position. They lie, cheat, steal, kill, with impunity, as if the said positions make them above the law.
Human behaviour normally follow specific templates given the right circumstances, and we have a perfectly established set, it will take a tremendous strength of character and values to avoid falling into the same pattern under conducive environments.
Marcos was wrong, the Filipino people, if left to themselves, does have the capacity and capability to make good decisions that will benefit the whole, and he learned it the hard way.
Personally I view all the EDSAs as successes when viewed from a “Management by Objectives” point of view. Each one succeeded in achieving its objective – to remove the standing president. The planning, leading, organizing, and control of manpower, logistics, communication, mobility, and timing were by no means, no easy feat. Couple that with a superb understanding of organizational behaviour and group dynamics, notice how otherwise opposing groups were galvanized into one strong unstoppable force?
Even the execution was unique, notice how the military defenders were “softened” by an unexpected front line – a peaceful, prayerful, hopeful, forgiving, group of people seemingly saying “we are your brothers, your sisters, your fathers, your mothers, your family, come back to us.” Contrast that to an loud, uncontrolled, angry, foaming in the mouth, rabid, mob out for blood – that normally elicits armed response even from the most saintly of security guards.
If we are to look for inspiration from the EDSAs, its knowing that there is truly strength in a united Filipino nation, and that we do have the capacity and capability to overcome seemingly impossible odds and achieve lofty goals if only we commit ourselves to them, roll down our sleeves, and get down to serious work.
We need to know what we are capable of doing otherwise we will succumb to apathy, we need to use the legacy of the EDSAs as inspiration. Otherwise, we are again telling ourselves that we are dismal failures when left to our own resources and again making ourselves vulnerable to people who will “save us from ourselves.”
Jug, with the Filipino attitude of bahala na, ningas cogon, manyana habit, etc, kung minsan, kailangan din natin ng iron hand somehow.
Let us just stop the blame game and just work with what we have left from all the corruption that plagued us for 25 yrs.
psb,
True, its time to stop the blame game and focus on solutions.
We already have ample research on the etiology of corruption and military politization, we already pinpointed the root causes. What are we going to do about it?
We have to learn to use the EDSA as an impetus for achieving, turn it into a “YES, WE CAN!” mantra…
#51 petite: Ang EDSA 1, ay isang aral sa kasaysayan, ang EDSA 2 ay muling-aral sa kasaysayan, ang EDSA 3 ay muli’t-muling-aral sa kasaysayan… Sana wala nang EDSA? At muling i-balik ang ngalan nito na Highway 54.
Oo nga noh, para wala ng Edsa! Pati mas maganda ang tunog ng Highway 54 walang bahid ng civil society! 🙂
Yes we can, if the Samar and Balay will work together, walang balyahan. I don’t doubt the sincerity of Pnoy to lead the country to progress but he should order the two warring faction to come to terms and start helping him attain his matuwid na landas.
You and I, majority of ordinary pinoy will sure cooperate with the leadership that is trustworthy, walang duda yan…pero ipakita nila na matitino sila at hindi pulitika lang bawat galaw. Pumuta si Binay sa China, may nagpapunta naman kay Mar sa Taiwan. A ewan!
Parehong bokya Chi ang pagpunta ni Binay at Mar.Nainsulto pa yata ng Taiwan si Mar.
Pano na ngayon iyan? hindi na raw yata tatangap ng OFW ang Taiwan. Saan na sila ipadala. Magulo na sa Libya.Baka mamaya tinupak na naman si Osama Bin Laden guguluhin na naman niya ang Saudi at Dubai.
Marami na ring TNT sa USA.
Mga Bangladesh na yata ang kukunin nilang OFW sa Taiwan.
Mali yata iyung pag papadeport ng Taiwanese sa China. Bagsak yata sa History subject iyung nag padeport sa immigration.Hindi ba nila alam na China is at War with Taiwan kasi gustong humiwalay ang Taiwan sa China at gusto nilang mag independence country.
I like the competition. The two factions in Pnoy’s cabinet coz it may actually bring in better performance because they will try to outdo one another. I hope the competition will be healthy though. Huwag lang silang magsiraan. Maganda rin yung style ni Pnoy na pinapadala niya yung mga nagaaway away sa ibat ibang assignments.
Ayaw ko naman, psb. Kasi dalawang orchestra ang kinukumpasan ni Pnoy, pareho tuloy sintunado. 🙂
cocoy,
Binay was sent to China as the official envoy to plea for the lives of the Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking, Mar was sent to Taiwan as a private citizen to pacify the Taiwanese government re deportation of Taiwanese who committed crimes in China. This was the only way to go around the one China policy. Both were mission impossibles, but they went with our hope that China will see that these “drug mules” are victims of the real culprits, the big time drug syndicates operating borderless. Hopefully it can buy some time until Chiz Escudero’s “prisoner transfer” thing can take effect and these Filipinos will be repatriated to the Philippines to serve their sentences. We are banking on mutual cooperation with China, serving mutual interests, in the long run.
Mar on the other hand had to approach via our long history of mutually beneficial relationship with Taiwan, hoping that our friends there will understand our predicament. Nobody here woke up one day and suddenly decided to offend Taiwan, it was a hard choice to make, but had to be made, in the light of current foreign policy. But it seems that it didn’t work out was we hoped it would, but then again, in real life there is no pleasing everybody.
If the Taiwanese government will decide to expel all the Filipios in Taiwan, regardless of their contribution to their economy, what can we do? Its one of the risks in exporting our manpower, like any other product, they can be rejected. Perhaps these series of unfortunate events will finally give our leaders and the business community the impetus to ramp up local job creation as the OFW option entails such risks?
Whatever happens, its going to be a bitter pill to swallow, hopefully, humiliation due to failure will lead to renewed determination to establish long term solutions to this diaspora.
These quotes I Like:
juggernaut – February 26, 2011 11:12 am
rose – February 26, 2011 12:58 pm
…I would definitely blame Marcos…forever!…
And gloria didn’t have to declare the rule of the military…
Just the rule of the money…and, perhaps, the rule of the mighty…este mike eh!
A pattern of sorts…
From military sense
To housewife sense
From money sense
To none* sense
I’m optimistic, PNoy may yet to become our best leader so far…
—–
*Of course, meaning “no corruption” according to the plurality who voted for him
Sick and tired of the blame game against FM. As Tongue quite rightly remarked,
He suggested that the way to perhaps stop this blame game is to draft a comprehensive matrix, and he proposes to “compare it to what the present score is, apple-to-apple, and indeed, we want to know where we are all at?” A judicious suggestion indeed!
We all know that the raison d’être of Mr Aquino, his allies, his friends, his supporters in mainstream media is they were and are all anti-Marcos. In fact, let’s face it, they wouldn’t be where they are at if they had not been anti-FM all their lives. If they dropped that raison d’être mantra of theirs, there is every chance they would lose their political bearings, and of course, their reason for living.
President Marcos was in power all of 21 years (1965-1986) and the anti-Marcos forces have been in power for 25 years to the day. Sadly, I don’t believe Mrs Aquino could lay claim to concrete achievements (if you adopt the doctrine of comparing apple to apple), except perhaps, in matters of a liberal and often anarchic press freedom.
We all recognise that the Aquinos have been the political firepower for a whole generation (and more likely beyond). All those who succeeded her from 1992 onward, save perhaps for Erap, but definitely including Arroyo, were brought to power thanks in great part to her. And even after her death, she continued to wield great influence over the conduct of politics in this nation, i.e., either you are pro-Aquino or you are not. So, in that sense, her political legacy lives on.
Given that all these avowed anti-Marcos Aquino people, their allies, friends, mainstream media (who are having a field day bashing the son of Pres Marcos), and the governments that succeeded Pres Marcos have been trying to justify their failure at good governance these last 25 years (4 years more than FM was in power) through sheer powers of deflection, it’s time to get down to brass tacks and compare records.
As Tongue suggested, let’s compare apple to apple — compare the records of FM’s 21 years in power and the Aquino and the post Aquino governments of these last 25 years who took and have been taking pride in their Edsa fiestas, and I’m confident that FM will come out with a substantial and defenible record of achievements if not better than those that succeeded him.
We all want the truth out, in the open, transparent, don’t we? Then let’s draft a comprehensive matrix comparing records of everything… just as Tongue enumerated, and perhaps more, e.g., “Plunder? Election cheating? Human Rights? Poverty? Military abuse? Joblessness? Social services? Prices? Education? Whathaveyou?”
Then perhaps, once the truth is out, we’ll all be done with the blame game and our leaders, media, etc., can face the future squarely and stop free riding on the back of the late President Marcos
Ooops, “defensible record of achievements
“compare the records of FM’s 21 years in power and the Aquino and the post Aquino governments of these last 25 years who took and have been taking pride in their Edsa fiestas, and I’m confident that FM will come out with a substantial and defenible record of achievements if not better than those that succeeded him.”
Anna,
Agree ako dyan sa suggestion ni Tongue, and I also believe that Marcos will come out a better leader than those who succeedeD him, even Cory. But I guess they, the Anti-Marcos, their allies including media, DO NOT want to do that because they will lose all the glories that they “worked for”. Although there are truths to the bad things said about Marcos, but those issues are MAGNIFIED with their PROPAGANDA to fool the people!
“… and perhaps more, e.g., “Plunder? Election cheating? Human Rights? Poverty? Military abuse? Joblessness? Social services? Prices? Education? Whathaveyou?”
All the presidents after Marcos… that means Cory, Ramos, Erap especially Gloria are NOT spared from those issues. So may ipinagbago ba tayo? So it is time to roll up our sleeves, get down to business and work hard to uplift the plight of our people. Tama na yang pagmamagalingan ng mga nakaupo. Tigilan na yang grupo-grupo at parti-partido. Malaki na ang problema ng bayan na dapat solusyonan!
To quote #46 once again…
rose – February 26, 2011 12:58 pm
An incomplete, abbreviated matrix was presented above:
Military sense by the Apo
Housewife sense by the mother Aquino
Marcosian rule sans the martial rule, aka money sense or extreme corruption, by arroyo
This one a prelim: None sense, aka no corruption, by the son Aquino
An element to put in the “Plunder” factor post Edsa governance?
P400 million withdrawn from CAAP funds by Arroyo government — union Question: Where did it all go?
Four este to be exact five presidents after Marcos and no one learned from his mistakes. What a waste of opportunity!
Four este to be exact five presidents after Marcos and no one learned from his mistakes. What a waste of opportunity!
– chi
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Precisely!
Marcos had 21 years to turn the country around, but he didn’t. Why? The answer can be summed up in one word “BOGUS!” He had all these “projects” , controlled the purse strings, controlled everything, but why did Singapore and a host of other asian countries develop and the Philippines lagged behind?
It seemed as if Marcos had all the money he needed, all the power he needed, but he still did what normal Filipinos do when given a project – fly by the seat of their pants, oido…All those money, all those projects, wasted, as there real plan, no urban plan, no rural plan, no effort to integrate eveything into one SUSTAINABLE, long term plan. There was no GLORIOUS SCHEME. Each project, infrastructure, agricultural, educational, manufacturing, etc, were all dictated by crony capitalists and corrupt politicians that had only one thing in their minds – TO MAKE MONEY, lots of it.
The problem is, it didn’t stop with Marcos, its the same cycle being perpetuated administration after administration, each time our debts grow higher and higher compounded by inflation, foreign exchange, and interest rates.
If you notice, every president has his own “different” agenda, dropping the past, discontinuing what was started before, building roads, digging up roads, building roads again, oftentimes in the strangest places?
If no one has seen this pattern, then we have indeed a vbery low IQ, we have a very low aptitude for learning, and these greedy crony capitalists, politicians cum capitalists (ala Villar), and foreign multinationals, etc, etc, will continue to milk our countries coffers for all its worth.
So if you ask me, perhaps as this point in time, we have to put a stop to all major spending first, focus on the essentials. Put our house in order, balance the books, rationalize the budget, save, save, save…Set up our institutions that they can independently function beholden to no one but the state.
We do all these while setting up a major, long term, sustainable plan, one that has no shelf life of 6 years only, one that each administration must continue until we achieve our goals. It has to be comprehensive enough to address our economic, political, educational, environment, health, infrastructure planning (based on a broader national plan, not on turf).
Someone must finally ask the hard questions, like where are we now? where do we want to be 10 to 20 years from now? how do we intend to get there?
As it is, all our leaders have run the government under a term shelf life, and used unfinished business to justify staying longer in office, I hope these unfinished business was in the interest of the county…
…and we use our patriotic fervor, commitment to reach our goals, unity, political will, that we displayed in all these EDSAs – harness this energy and point it in the right direction, at last!
Someone must finally ask the hard questions, like where are we now? where do we want to be 10 to 20 years from now? how do we intend to get there?
__
Sakto, jug! And this must be every president’s contract with the people, complied with with certainty. Did you know of a presidential candidate who presented a blueprint of progress contract with the people on his campaign trail? Ako, wala! That is exactly what we need, hindi suntok sa buwan!
Every presidential campaign has a different tune, but if anyone noticed, the theme is the same, the message is the same, they may come up with so many jingles, even rap songs, throw mud at each other – but the underlying message is the same, its how you sell it to the people that matters.
Why can’t we just come up with a grand national plan, make it smart – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. Then when we choose presidents, or even decide a form of government, we base our decision on who or how well these jokers can help us attain these goals.
Aquino is definitely now the answer to all our problems now, he’s no messiah, and definitely will no get my vote for CEO of the year, but we need to stop, slow down, for a bit, and think, think, think…
So basically its not enough that we bash every one in sight, critiquing is very easy, comparing is very easy, we can come up with all the complaints in the world – as it easy to say what we don’t like, we are experts in knowing what we don’t like, and we are experts in telling others what they are doing wrong! but have we ever bothered to ask ourselves what specifically should be done? Have you ever had a problem with a 3 year old who doesn’t seem to want to eat anything, and everytime you show him something all he says is “I don’t like!” – thats precisely how we sound like!
Chi,
Ito suntok sa buwan pa rin at malamang maraming aangal dahil sa pangalan. But let us think fair and study this guy. Sabagay malayo pa ang 2016. Baka wala nang eleksyon. O Baka Na-Rapture na kami. Hehehe!
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/306420/the-real-bongbong-marcos
luz,
Wow. I liked that really. We may not agree with some of Bongbong’s statements, but he is still his father’s son and I believe in redemption and so do most people.
The fact that the Marcoses and the Aquinos have been at peace is a good sign of maturity, and it bears well for our country, maybe the supporters are the ones who still want enmity? If Bongbong can become a president someday, no one can tell, but given the right circumstances I will vote for him, past or no past. I do not believe in letting the son pay for the sins of his father, and I may have been guilty of falling into that temptation at times, but its not right.
IF he wants to remember his father the way he wants to, its his right, and I would in the end respect him for fighting for it also.
luz,
If he does run for president and you campaign for him, I will vote for him. It will be an uphill battle I tell you as there are some people who still have unhealed wounds (its funny because the Aquinos have already moved on) and will make it very hard. Then again, I like a good fight… 🙂
Jug,
The main issue in choosing the right person to lead the country is his ‘attainable’ programs to uplift the plight of the people. Hindi drawing lang. Yung magtatrabaho talaga at hindi puro papogi at puro asa lang sa mga nakapaligid sa kanya. Tama na at tigilan na yung pamumulitika at puro propaganda. Sobra na ang paghihirap nating mga Pinoy. Pero huwag na nating hintayin ang 2016. NGayon pa lang ay dapat na sa pag-usad ng bayan ang kasama sa pag-usad ang buhay natin.
And yes jug, kung patuloy ang good showing niya until election time at kung tatakbo siya, eh ikakampanya ko siya.
If ever there was a more powerful motive to achieve, its redeeming your father’s name, that and the capability to do so. Its a matter of convincing people to give the guy a chance, not highlighting his father’s past, but his own track record of integrity and sincerity, competence is a given. He must not be a lesser evil, in fact, he must not be perceived as evil at all.
Bongbong speaks with coolness, hindi siya pikon maski controversial ang tanong. He searches for kind words to say… Evidence of intelligence.
Interview with Ces Drilon -ANC’s RUNDOWN- June 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTe_Q3XAbwI
luz,
I doubt if uusad ang bayan natin ngayon, if ever may uusad, its every man for himself pa rin. This is a good time as any to prepare for changes, but to actually make major ones, its next to impossible for the system and the forces that have been dragging us down are still intact.
My only hope is at least we find, lessen, or put a stop all together the seemingly incessant hemorrhage of money and repair the institutions. Leave the big expensive projects to the next administrations if possible. If ever, just go into projects with the least government capital. If Aquino and his team can come up with a long term development plan so much the better, only thing is, the ones who will make the plans will not stand to get anything out of it in their term, they will have to do it because they are paid to do it, and for love of country. Easier said than done.
The main issue in choosing the right person to lead the country is his ‘attainable’ programs to uplift the plight of the people.
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This is precisely our country’s problem – HIS programs. It should be the leader’s capability to ensure that OUR long term development plan is followed and OUR long term development goals are achieved. If not, we will jUSt be disappointed, president after president, because we still allow them to push their own agendas and not ours.
Its important that we focus on the new leaders capability and sincerity to push for THE NATION’S AGENDA an not his or his party’s own as well as not to get carried away by personal charm or wit alone. Otherwise, we don’t need a president who has a college degree or MBA, whatever – the best salesman will do.
If Bongbong will show himself to be grounded, meaning, not living in his father’s fantasy, he is aware of what went wrong, knows how to assign responsibility and take some, he may be on his way. Other than that, he’ll be wasting money and effort for he will never win, the people will overwhelmingly vote against him. Even if he showcases his intelligence – lalo na, as most dislike peacocks. Sincerity and integrity are still the deal closers in any transaction, followed by everything else.
For the all the EDSA bashers out there, here’s something from the greatest basher of them all, unfortunately so many people agree with her lately…she was right, put her back in power!
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President insists: World will not forgive PINOYS for people power 3.
President Gloria Arroyo on Monday repeated her warning on mounting another people power – that the world will not forgive it.
Her statement, similar to what she said Sunday, came on the 22nd anniversary of the first people power.
“The world has permitted the EDSA People Power 2, but the world will not forgive Filipinos for having EDSA People Power 3,” President Arroyo said at an activity in Cavite.
http://archives.manilatimes.net/national/2008/feb/26/yehey/top_stories/20080226top2.html
“There is no place in a fanatic’s head where reason can enter.”—Napoleon Bonaparte
“There is no place in a fanatic’s head where reason can -enter.”—Napoleon Bonaparte
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xman, look what happened to Napoleon? he’s hardly a role model, why quote him? haaay naku…
Hahaha! And look at Napoleon, he’s just as tiny as Gloria Arroyo! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Jug, if Pnoy can lessen corruption, I will forever thank him. If he can draw plans for our future development, this would be a big A plus. I am just content that in his regime, corruption is curtailed. I do not expect more than that. It is corruption that is eating up our resources to move forward. Less corruption, more money for our infrastructures and services.
I would like to remember Pnoy as the CORRUPTION BUSTER!
Monopoly of Power in the Armed Forces of the Philippines
by LtGen Antonio E. Sotelo
the AFP has too much power and that this power is in the hands of a well knit elite group composed of PMA graduates.
Remember that GMA was installed as President by the AFP, under the leadership of the late Gen Reyes, a PMA graduate, then Chief of Staff. When there were attempts to overthrow her, her generals (which she doubled in number during her tenure) were there to protect her government. Naturally, she lost her ascendancy over her generals. Unmitigated corruption followed.
As we speak, the PMA graduates have wove themselves into the centers of power in the executive and legislative government. In the military and police organizations the PMA graduates have absolute control which I characterize as monopoly of power . No other group can now provide the check and balance essential in a democratic system.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/nick-sotelo/monopoly-of-power-in-the-armed-forces-of-the-philippines/10150106291390825
psb,
I doubt Aquino can do that directly, but he certainly moved the pieces that strated the “stranglehold of generals busting.”
Jug, if Pnoy is not a visionary as people say he is not that smart, I would just like him to concentrate on making sure that all the government agencies are at least corrupt free. Removing erring public officials like the Malditas is a good start. If Malditas can not function right, she has to be replaced. If Pnoy can do this as well in other non-functioning government agencies because of putot’s influence, let Pnoy take all these officers out of the system. He is the only one who can wield a “clean” mandate coz he has not been embroiled in a big scandal yet. Putot’s men want to link Pnoy to the Luisita mess but good luck to them. They too will have to wait until Pnoy has stepped down.
Agree completely, PSB.
I might add, even if his role is purely that of a vanguard against corruption, Pinas will go a long, long, long way:
ang sabi ni Imelda””they went looking for skeletons in my closets and found my shoes instead”..what a gal!
“He is the only one who can wield a “clean” mandate coz he has not been embroiled in a big scandal yet.” – psb
If Pnoy is not careful, his little president, Jojo Ochoa, will undo all that buildup in a flash. A brand new P40M glass mansion in QC had just been traced to his wife, despite corporate layering of ownership, hidden behind the law firm Marcos+Ochoa+asso. shell company.