Whatsikat - political opinion

2016 is proxy war of Filipino billionaires

Patricio Mangubat — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 17:02:00 +0000

Since the proclamation of Senator Grace Poe as a presidential contender in the 2016 elections, there has been persistent talk about the involvement of Ramon S. Ang, chairman of San Miguel Corporation as one of several financiers of Poe’s election machinery. For me, this is expected since Grace Poe’s husband is one of San Miguel’s advisors and the company has been supportive of Poe’s late adopting father, Fernando Poe Jr. Aside from Poe, there has been talk of the involvement of the Zamora brothers, specifically Manny, Ronnie and . This explains why the Makabayan Bloc is now supporting the candidacy of Poe. It is well-known that the Zamoras have been supporting the Left since Congressman Ronnie Zamora entered into a tactical alliance with them during the

To be fair, it is not only Poe that has several names in the Big Business department as financiers or election supporters. Liberal party presidential bet Mar Roxas is reputedly being supported by the Ayala-Zobel-Araneta group. Roxas’ mother Julie is an Araneta, and as they say, blood is thicker than water.

Vice president Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is not spared from this talk. During the Makati building overpricing probe of the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee, Binay’s links with several big-named Chinese businessmen were exposed, with most of them meted arrest warrants due to their alleged collusion with the Vice president in those reported graft scandals. Early last year, PLDT chairman Manny Pangilinan’s name cropped up as a possible running mate of the beleaguered presidential contender. Talks ended when Pangilinan categorically denied ever planning to enter Philippine local politics.

It is not known who supports Davao Mayor Rody Duterte, but several businessmen reportedly grouped themselves together to raise 2 billion pesos to fund the presidential run of the hesitant Duterte. Last September 2015, Duterte already publicly announced that he is not running for the presidency.

Involvement of Big Business in National and Local Politics

Analysing the elections post-EDSA uno, we find that this phenomena is not at all surprising to say the least. In the elections of 1992, Fidel Valdez Ramos is said to be supported by several big named businessmen, including the supposed Ilustrado-Cono bloc of the Ayalas.

In 1998, presidential contender Joseph Estrada was said to have been supported by several billionaires, including Lucio Tan, the Gokongweis, David Consunji and George Ty.

In the 2010 elections, big named businessmen supported the presidential campaign of Benigno S. Aquino III. Some of them, specifically Air21 owner Bert Lina, is now the Customs chief.

Private-Public Partnerships

We ask ourselves—what is at stake here? Why are these businessmen now actively supporting “winnable” candidates especially in the presidential and the vice presidential derbies?

In the thirteen big ticket projects being undertaken by the Government, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is involved as a bidder in twelve of them, which includes the controversial 24.4 billion peso Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project, Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike Project (122.8 billion), Davao Sasa Port Modernization Project worth 18.99 billion and development, operations and maintenance of four provincial airports. Aside from the Bulacan Bulk Water supply project, SMC is likewise involved in the 18.72 billion New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project as well as the development of the 170.7 billion peso North-South Railway project (South Line) of which San Miguel Corporation competes directly with Metro Pacific of Manny Pangilinan.

All in all, these PPP projects amount to more than a trillion pesos!

Ayala Land Incorporated is one of the bidders for the 122.8 billion peso Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike project, under Team Trident which is composed of companies such as Megaworld, Aboitiz Equity Ventures and SM Prime Holdings Incoporated. Team Trident is competing with San Miguel Hodlings Crorp, Alloy Pavi Hanshin LLEDP Consortium.

Aside from this, Ayala is likewise involved in bidding for the operation ad maintenance of LRT line 2, under the Light Rail Mainla Holdings 2, Incorporated. If you review most of these PPP, Ayala is involved one way or another, as a competitor of San Miguel Corporation.

So, you ask what is at stake in 2016? The answer is more than a trillion pesos. And if I am a billionaire, what is 1 billion pesos in exchange for a trillion?

Call-to-Action

Let’s ask those who are running for elective posts, specifically the Presidency and the Vice presidency to expose their big business financiers. If any one of their financiers is involved in a current bidding for government projects, then, it is prudent to ask the funder to back away. We should devise a law that prohibits individuals with pending or future engagement or involvement in government contracts never to involve themselves in election funding.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano throws hat unto VP ring

Patricio Mangubat — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 16:50:00 +0000

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was in Davao when he announced his candidacy for the vice presidency. Many people thought that Cayetano was waiting for someone possibly mayor Rody Duterte who was, unfortunately, was not around to welcome the anak araw Senator. Duterte, sources say, was actively coordinating with security agencies on how to solve the kidnapping of foreigners right near his very own backyard.

Seems like there is someone who wants to see for himself how "tough" Duterte really is. The Davao mayor likes tough talk, but can he really walk the tough talk? Let us see here.

I am highly suspicious of the timing of this kidnapping. Seems like it is more political than criminal. Political in the sense that the kidnapping happened one month and a half before the arrival of APEC leaders here in the Philippines. Kidnapping of foreigners have been on-going in Mindanao for several years now, and this is entirely not a recent phenomenon. The question really is--why was it that media covered this entirely and why all the hoopla?

Anyway, let's discuss that in another time, since I still have to gather additional information about this thru my sources.

Cayetano, who is a member of the Nacionalista Party, probably thinks he can beat Chiz Escudero, anytime of the day, and I agree with him except that he is not a darling of the masses himself. If Escudero is, as they say, bull-headed, boastful and full of crap, same thing about Cayetano.

Nothing wrong with being ambitious and all, but one has to be objective, at least.

Senate, as Impeachment Court, the higher interpreter of law

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 13:57:41 +0000

It is generally conceded that impeachment is more of a political than a legal process. However, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), supposedly the official organization of lawyers in the Philippines, has issued a statement raising an interesting legalistic claim regarding the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona. The statement argues that while the impeachment process itself against Corona is legal, some of the grounds relied on, particularly those which question the opinions of the justices applying the Constitution in actual cases, constitute an assault on the judiciary because impeachments based on such grounds amount to the House of Representatives arrogating unto it the power to interpret the law or the Constitution, a judicial function that belongs to the Supreme Court in our tripartite system. What the IBP is saying is that for the House to act as the “higher interpreter of what the law is” or of those decisions of the Court that have become the law of the land via the impeachment process is to allow judicial review to be “despoiled” and the doctrine of judicial supremacy to “completely crumble and fall apart.” And by force of the same argument, justices may not therefore be impeached because of their opinions, more so where they arrived at those opinions or decisions as a collegial body.

There is a ring of plausibility in the IBP’s claim. After all, in the long history of constitutional contestation in the United States, which handed down to colonial Philippines its constitutional system, there has been only one justice of the US Supreme Court (Justice Samuel Chase) who has been impeached for his judicial acts or opinions. Plausible, maybe, but not truthful, legally. Let me explain.

It should be noted first of all that there are very significant differences between the grounds for impeachment in the US Constitution (“treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors”) and those provided in the Philippine Constitution (“culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust”). That “culpable violation of the Constitution” and “betrayal of public trust” are ostensibly not provided as impeachable offenses in the US Constitution could be given as one explanation why there is only one case in the United States where a Supreme Court associate justice has been impeached for his judicial act or decision. This may be so because where for instance a justice has committed a wrongful (culpable) distortion of the Constitution, it would be as arduous a proposition to force such violation into the offense of “bribery” or “treason,” both of which have technical definition in criminal law, as to squeeze it into the more amorphous “other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Nonetheless, it does not deny the US Congress the checks and balance mechanism of “coordinate review” of judicial acts via the impeachment process because such quasi-judicial authority of congress, albeit essentially political, in the nature of the power of impeachment is expressly provided in the US Constitution.

It is well to underscore that impeachment, far from being a mere scarecrow, is the one potent rebalancing countermeasure against the myth of judicial supremacy, now unfortunately an honored doctrine in American Constitutional Law. It needs repeating however that while impeachment is expressly constitutionally provided,judicial review and judicial supremacy are mere judicial creations, the former having been enunciated by Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison (1803), and the latter more recently by Chief Justice Earl Warren in Cooper v. Aaron (1958).

By comparison, there is no mistaking that the authorization granted to the Philippine Supreme Court under the Constitution to hear “all cases involving the constitutionality of a treaty, international or executive agreement, or law” is an express grant of the power of judicial review.

Additionally, the Philippine Constitution defines judicial power as including “the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government (italics mine). This has come to be called as the expanded certiorari jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

All the foregoing notwithstanding, I advance the position that since members of the Philippine Supreme Court are liable to be removed by impeachment for “culpable violation of the Constitution” and that these violations are likely to be committed in deciding actual cases, it follows that members of the Court, individually or collegially, or the Court itself, cannot be considered as the sole agency responsible for the interpretation of the Constitution. For, when the Impeachment Court reviews the questioned decisions of justices to determine whether they are guilty or not guilty as indicted for “culpable violation of the Constitution,” the senators acting as judges of the Impeachment Court are equally responsible for the interpretation of the Constitution.

This is not the first time I have suggested that justices of the Supreme Court are liable for impeachable offenses committed in deciding cases. For instance, critiquing the Court’s decision in Neri v. Senate Committee and in Senate v. Ermita, I have grappled in wonderment with the question of why the Court had missed twice the constitutional meaning of “congressional oversight,” thus:

Oversight, which comes in many other forms than congressional inquiries in aid of legislation, takes up a lot of legislative time and is often observed as being improperly used for grandstanding purposes or gaining sound bytes by some ambitious politicians. It is perceived as counterproductive sometimes or perhaps most of the time. One thing is however certain: the scope and meaning of legislative oversight are not confined only to the so-called “question hour” under Section 22, Article VI of the Constitution as the Supreme Court had boldly pronounced in Senate v. Ermita and then reiterated in Neri v. Senate Committee.

How could the Supreme Court miss it twice?

The first time, it is possible the Court may have committed an “error of judgment” which is not punishable per se; the second time, it is as not as easy to justify the voluntary ignorance as other than a political decision by a partisan court, a judicial misconduct liable to rise to the level of an impeachable offense.

When the Supreme Court issued a restraining order in the MoA-Ad (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain) case, I have articulated the following:

I have argued that it is “blatantly irregular for the judiciary (the supposedly apolitical, publicly unaccountable and the least informed of the three branches of the government) to step in at the crucial negotiation stage for the Mindanao peace settlement or, in the guise of judicial review, actively participate in such a decidedly political matter by constraining the President, temporarily or permanently”; moreover, I have advanced that “even the senate (the president’s treaty-making partner under the Constitution) cannot meddle with this (negotiation) aspect of treaty making or of forging executive agreement in the same way that the court cannot interfere with the decision of congress or the senate to introduce ultra constitutional resolution [e.g., Senator Pimentel’s proposal for federalism] it deems appropriate to institute structural or systemic change in governance.”

The basis of the presidential power to conclude peace (or to wage war) is her commander- in-chief powers under the Constitution which demand great deference from the courts. By precipitously issuing a TRO against the executive in the matter of negotiating to conclude the MoA-AD, the Supreme Court has acted out of bounds and trifled unconstitutionally with a prerogative that is exclusively presidential.

Today, despite President Arroyo’s announcement during her SONA 2008 that “differences on the tough issue of ancestral domain were resolved” the night before her SONA address (when the MoA-AD was initiated by the parties), Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol is daring to claim that the GRP peace panel was only “given authority to negotiate but not full authority to sign” and therefore indicating that the MoA-AD is invalid the government panel having “had no authority to sign.”

The bold presidential flip-flopping notwithstanding, the newly announced intention of the President to set aside the MoA-AD pertains to no less than another executive prerogative the exercise of which the Supreme Court can only interfere with on unconstitutional authority.

In short, even if the Supreme Court decides, in the cases before it, that the MoA-AD is constitutional, it cannot by our Rule of Law command the President or her alter egos to proceed with the agreement should she now choose to explore other alternatives or simply decide in a different way, e.g., flip-flop completely to pursue a new policy of “disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation” or otherwise renege unilaterally on the government’s commitments, putting at naught all the time, efforts and emotions invested by both parties in the MoA-AD.

Again, no other possible conclusion can legally and constitutionally be had than for the judiciary to respect the presidential prerogative because the decision to resume hostilities or conclude peace with MILF belongs to the President alone and none other. Hence, any attempt by the Supreme Court to constrain this presidential prerogative either by TRO or by permanent injunction constitutes arrogation of unconstitutional powers that may amount to impeachable offense on the part of the individual justices.

(Note: My extended critique of the SC decision in Province of North Cotabato v. GRP declaring the MoA-AD unconstitutional can be accessed here. You could also check The other autocrats for another discourse on the subject.)

In Neri v. Senate Committee and in Senate v. Ermita, the Supreme Court has acted as a super-legislature but the political will was nowhere at hand then to resort to the impeachment process. In the MoA-Ad case, the Court has assumed to be a super-executive but public opinion was unfortunately supportive of its ruling. Since neither the political branches of the government nor the people have been incensed by either decision, the Court simply got away with it.

But a clearer example of culpable violation of the Constitution, if only to drive home the point, would be a situation where the Court in an actual case decides to deny a woman to be a judge for the reason that being a woman she lacks the independence to be a member of the bench. The justice writing such a preposterous opinion as well as the justices concurring in it should rightfully be considered as removal by impeachment for palpable acts in violation of the equal protection clause. Should the same justices, who the Constitution requires should be “of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence,” if shown to have culpably abetted through a judicial order the attempted escape of an individual from the processes of the law, be similarly impeachable?

The Constitution provides, and very wisely so, that the Senate, and none other, has “the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.” I would go further to say that within that limited sphere the Senate is in fact the sole institution responsible for the interpretation of the Constitution with finality. The implication of this position is that the Supreme Court may not use its so-called expanded certiorari jurisdiction to overturn the verdict of the Impeachment Court upon any pretext of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Senate. To do so is to render impeachment as a check and balance mechanism entirely nugatory and, as judicial and congressional powers clash in such an absurd and fruitless runabout, it will inevitably lead to a constitutional crisis.

It goes without saying that when the Senate tries and decides impeachment cases involving members of the Supreme Court, it should not be seen in any way as demanding, contrary to the warning of Ateneo University law dean and the Court’s favorite amicus curiae Fr. Joaquin Bernas,*1 that the justices “capitulate . . . and yield what is constitutionally theirs” but acting so merely, just as when the Court normally decides cases brought to it, in accordance with the authority constitutionally allocated to it as the Impeachment Court.

Yet, what if the Senate acting as the Impeachment Court has in fact abused its discretion, is there no review process or corrective relief available anymore? There is, obviously, because unlike the justices of the Supreme Court, the two houses of congress and the President are directly accountable to the people and therefore subject to their ultimate review as the final arbiter, to whom the Constitution belongs.
__________

*1 Bernas, in his Philippine Daily Inquirer column of Dec. 19, 2011, seemed to have clarified himself by insisting that the justices of the Supreme Court may be “(disciplined) for treason, bribery, graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, other high crimes or betrayal of public trust . . . but not for collegial decisions with which the Congress disagrees.”

The post Senate, as Impeachment Court, the higher interpreter of law appeared first on Filipino Voices.

The usefulness of election surveys

Sun, 27 Sep 2015 14:14:59 +0000

Surveys if conducted by professionals and executed with integrity are gauge of the sentiments of the people.

I have to stress “executed with integrity” because during election season, there are surveys and surveys. One has to check on the background of the survey firms, who commissioned the survey as well as the questions asked.

Grace Poe

As Sen. Grace Poe said, thanking her supporters for their trust that put her as the frontrunner among presidential aspirants, “Surveys help us check if we’re on the right track.”

But she said, “We derive our inspiration from the needs and aspirations of our country, with or without surveys.”

Poe declared her presidential candidacy for the 2016 elections last Sept. 16. The next day, fellow senator who is also known as her mentor, Chiz Escudero, announced that he is Poe’s running mate.

The Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia released last week their latest surveys. SWS conducted their survey last Sept. 2 to 5 while Pulse Asia started their poll earlier, Aug. 27 up to Sept. 3.

In both SWS and Pulse Asia polls, Poe was the frontrunner followed by Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas in the third place.

The most significant in both surveys is the huge jump of the ratings of Roxas, who used to be a perennial cellar dweller. Although Roxas is still number three, analysts say that the huge increase of his numbers have put him in a “statistical tie” with Poe and Binay, whose numbers have gone down significantly since the investigation of alleged anomalies in the Makati City building projects.

Jejomar Binay

In fact, in one survey of SWS, which asked for three names on “Best leaders to succeed President Aquino in 2016”, Roxas was number two, overtaking Binay for the first time.

The survey was criticized by those knowledgeable on surveys for asking for three names when the position is only for one person.

While surveys are used by candidates to find out their strength and weaknesses and plan their campaign guided by the findings, its most important use is for businessmen-contributors.

Businessmen rely on surveys to decide who to give the most donation (they try to give to all candidates). Reliable sources said San Miguel Corporation’s Ramon Ang has thrown his support for Poe and so are at least four other businessmen, who are known to be major election contributors.

Sen. Alan Cayetano’s lackluster survey ratings, despite his non-stop TV ads for almost a year, is the reason why he has lowered his sight to being running mate of Roxas, who has not yet obtained the imprimatur of President Aquino.

Dr. Segundo Romero, who provides consultancy services on governance, likens surveys to a thermometer, a tool that measures temperature — how hot or cold the place or something is.

Mar Roxas

However the more manipulative candidates try to influence survey findings.

Romero said, if that happens, the survey is no longer a thermometer. It becomes a thermostat – an automatic device for regulating temperature (as by controlling the supply of gas or electricity to a heating apparatus).

Candidates employ experienced pollsters in their campaign staff who advise the kind of events to hold close to the dates the survey would be conducted.

The formulation of the question is an important factor in the survey results.
Surveys to be truly reflective of the people’s sentiments have to be free of manipulation.

Or else, naglolokohan lang tayo.

Grace Poe Friends Treated Her Cousin Sherly Cruz "like it was martial law"

Patricio Mangubat — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 10:52:00 +0000

I watched the interview of Sherly Cruz, the last person you"'ll expect to say something against Grace Poe. Cruz and Poe are cousins. The fact is, urban legends say, they are "sisters" because malicious tongues say, Poe is reportedly the product of a tryst between former president Ferdie Marcos and Rosemary Sonora mother of Sherly Cruz.

This legend has gone the rounds for over fifty years, and it persists because there is simply no resolution. On the part of Cruz, according to her interview, this is simply malicious talk. Sherly does not accept this because it is highly incredible, and she knows that there were only three kids which her mother sired and she is the true daughter of the highly respected actress, Rosemary Sonora-Belmonte.

But, how can you not suspect and probably believe this urban legend when the very friends of Grace Poe, reputedly one of her financiers, have tried very hard to pressure Sherly to retract her earlier statement in a newspaper (ManilaStandardToday) saying that she does not agree with Poe running for the presidency.

Sheryl describes her cousin as "unprepared" since for her, running for the highest post requires the highest preparations. Do you see anything bad about this statement? I didn't see anything wrong about it.

The fact is, Sherly is just stating a fact. However, many of our people are pretending that this is not so, that Grace Poe is a "great Leader". Okay, if Grace is a leader, tell me just one project which she handled that improved our lives, then, I'll keep my peace.

Grace Poe daw is not corrupt. Okey. What is the possibility that the post will not corrupt her, when, this early, Poe and her friends have shown how they reward "traitors" like Sheryl Cruz.

Imagine, according to Cruz, her talent manager was pressured to drop her by Tony Tuvera, a producer and financier of Poe. Worse, she was reportedly threatened by June Rufino and Dolor Guevarra that she'll lose future projects if she refused to retract her statement of non-support?

Ngayon pa lang, Grace Poe is flexing her muscles as a Dictator, or at the very least, her friends are acting as if they own the Philippines already--that they can dictate what every Filipino should and should not think about Poe.

They fear kasi that the public will really see who Grace Poe really is--and they are deathly afraid. Well, that's the risk that I am saying here since the very start---Poe is a satyr, and there are many things that she is not telling us, and those are risks.

Why is she rushing things? What is so important about 2016? She has a full six years infront of her, and she can still do wonderful things and complete her senatorial record in an excellent way.

Lack of Leaders and Definite Succession Plan leading RP to peril

Patricio Mangubat — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 09:06:00 +0000

Are the gods really playing on us? I mean, thirty years ago, and the problem back then was who would succeed Ferdie Marcos Senior who lies in bed, afflicted by a rare disease called Lupus. Thirty years later, and we see none of the vestiges of the old regime, but we are facing the same problem that actually sparked what we now term as EDSA uno--the problem of succession.

PulseAsia and SWS surveys say there is a statistical tie between and among presidentiables Grace Poe, Jejomar Binay and Mar Roxas. Meaning, if elections are held today, then, we will see a rare occurrence---a president elected via the slimmest of margins. It will not be a minority president, oh no. It will be a minority president of a minority. Meaning, more than 80% of voters actually does not want him as president but because neither of two forces wanted to give way, it created a scenario which requires only 20% and you win the presidency.

Such a scenario would be extremely bad for the country because we sincerely need a leader to lead us post-Aquino wise. We need a majority president, because what we require for the next six years is political stability to sustain the economic gains we have achieved this last six years.

If we elect a minority president, there will be chaos for six years. Who wins eventually? It would be the big-time businessmen who thrives in a chaotic environment and who sees an opportunity during chaotic moments.

Grace Poe's financier tries to pressure Sheryl Cruz to retract statement of non-support for Poe

Patricio Mangubat — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 16:07:00 +0000

I shudder what would happen to the Philippines should Grace Poe wins the presidency. She is still a presidentiable, yet her minions are acting like she won already.

Look at how they treated Sheryl Cruz, cousin of Poe. In various interviews, Cruz revealed that Poe's financier, Tony Tuvera, was the one who asked her talent manager to drop her from his roster of talents. Cruz also identified June Rufino and a certain Dolor Guevarra as those who tried to pressure her and her talent manager.

Was there any earth-shaking event or incident or even a very incendiary statement that she issued against Poe that took the goat out of these people?

" Wala, I just granted a reporter an interview and it so happened that the reporter asked me what is my take on the issue of Grace running and I just expressed my own opinion, and that is it. They have wanted me to retract since last week. Am I not entitled to my own opinion? " says Cruz in one of her interviews.

Imagine that--- just one citizen just expressing her views and Poe and her minions want her silenced?! And to think that Poe is reportedly supporting the FOI--probably her totalitarian version.

How impertinent these people are for trying to curtsy Poe's good side at the expense of violating the rights of others.

I am doubly fearful of a Poe presidency, because at this early, Poe's closest friends are acting like brats. What more if Poe really wins? They would deprive thousands even millions of their livelihood all because someone reacted negatively against her.

Poe denies her biological ties with a dictator, yet I do understand now why Poe is always, always being compared with the former dictator---because her close friends know how her true personality is exactly like that of the dead man.

The fact is---Poe does not need a DNA test. Her behaviour is proof positive of her lineage as likened to the late strong man.

Antonio Luna not assassinated? Puñeta

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 14:56:12 +0000

Aguinaldo descendant Emilio Joseph ‘Jun’ Abaya

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya is a great grandson of Emilio Aguinaldo, considered as the First President of the Philippines (1899–1901).

Aguinaldo was head of the revolutionary forces that proclaimed Philippine independence from Spain on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite.

The current box office sensation is Jerrold Tarrog’s “Heneral Luna”, a movie about Gen. Antonio Luna, the disciplinarian and temperamental commander of the Philippine Revolutionary Forces.

Tarrog’s “Heneral Luna” was based on the book “The Rise and Fall of Antonio Luna” by retired University of the Philippines Professor Vivencio R. Jose.

The most powerful scene in the movie was the brutal assassination of Luna. Scenes previous to that suggested it was on orders of Aguinaldo.

So powerful is that scene that it’s almost impossible not to hate Aguinaldo after watching it.

Interviewed Thursday on the “Heneral Luna” movie, Abaya said “I’ve read enough books, there are other versions. As to what really transpired, I don’t think he (Luna) was assassinated.”

Abaya’s comment instantly drew derision in social media reminiscent of his infamous remark about Metro Manila traffic “not fatal.”

Jowana Bueser said, “Hindi ‘assassination’? Suicide ba ang ikinamatay ni Heneral Luna?

“Mawalang galang na po Sir, hindi tulad nang pagkakaintindi mo sa trapik, ang mga sugat na natamo ni Luna ay fatal.”

Eimee C. Lagrama said: :”Paano yun? Tinaga nya sarili nya?”

Ging Villanueva Gumabay dripped with sarcasm: “Likas lang daw kasing bayolente ang pagkatao ni luna kaya’t tinaga at binaril nya ang kanyang sarili.”

So was Marilyn Robles, a Lupus patient, “Ah nakatayo kasi sa initan si Gen. Luna. Hinimatay. Nilapitan. Patay.”

Puñeta.

Photo from Eimee C. Lagrama’s post

Abaya should read this part of the article by Mylah Roque, who interviewed the author, Jose, for VERA Files: “The scene that people would probably remember most would be the murder of Luna by soldiers from Kawit led by Capt. Pedro Janolino (Ketchup Eusebio). Soldiers took turn hacking Luna by the Cabanatuan convent. The scene is faithful to the accounts of primary sources as narrated by Jose: Luna dying with fist clenched; of the soldiers fearfully stepping back when Luna, already on the ground and dying, turned to his right; Buencamino ordering the soldiers to get all papers from his body, an old lady asking from within the convent if Luna was still moving; and of the soldiers looting the bodies of Luna and Col. Francisco ‘Paco’ Roman. One of the accounts about the killing indicated that the hacking of Luna was so violent that ‘even the intestines were already out after the undershirt had been taken off up to near the waist.’

There’s also the column by historian Ambeth Ocampo in the Inquirer titled “The way Antonio Luna died.”

Ocampo used the word “assassinated.”

Here are portions of Ocampo’s column:

“What many people do not know is that an even bigger treasure was neglected in the Heritage Art Gallery—the papers and memorabilia not just of Juan Luna but also of his brother, the ill-fated Gen. Antonio Luna, who was assassinated in Cabanatuan in 1899 by soldiers he had disarmed and discharged. These soldiers were loyal to Emilio Aguinaldo, who took most of the blame for Luna’s assassination when the list of conspirators should include others in his cabinet who wished Luna dead.

“While everyone was busy going over the Juan Luna paintings and speculating on the scads of money these would command in the art market, I was allowed to examine the boxes of papers and personal effects of which nobody took notice. In one box, for example, I saw the painting frock of Juan Luna as well as his brushes and palette. In another box, I saw the bloodied uniform of Antonio Luna that was preserved by his mother as a grisly reminder of his tragic death.

“I focused on a box that contained Antonio Luna’s papers—his student notebooks (which came complete with fine drawings of specimens he observed through a microscope) and the papers of his mature life: letters (including a batch of racy love letters from a woman named “Paquita”), parts of a journal, official military papers, etc. …

“When I was watching the film “Heneral Luna,” I waited for the assassination scene and got more than I bargained for. The violence in the last part of the movie would definitely merit an “R” rating in my book, but in the Philippines, people are more offended, or pretend to be offended, by sex in the cinema.

“I went through my notes after watching the film, and wondered why the assassins were never punished. It is odd to even think that it was a case of self-defense because it was one man against a company of soldiers. One would think that once wounded, Luna was easy to disarm and contain, but that he received more than 30 wounds from bolos and gunshots is proof that much anger was released in that killing. One or two fatal wounds would have been enough for an ordinary murder, but 30? Then, of course, we have heard of Aguinaldo’s mother watching the murder from a window in the convent and, when all was done, shouting for confirmation that Luna had indeed been killed: “Nagalaw pa ba yan?”

“Luna’s last will and test re found in his papers after his death. It is dated March 31, 1899, and written en route from San Fernando to Calumpit: “1. I leave whatever I have to my mother. 2. If they will kill me, wrap me in a Filipino flag with all the ament we clothing with which I was dressed when killed, and bury me in the ground. 3. I wish to state freely that I would die willingly for my country, for our independence, without thereby looking for death.”

“With his tragic death Luna will be remembered for a long time because the way he died continues to our time.”

Last June, Ocampo’s column was “Who really ordered Luna’s murder?”

Antonio Luna not assassinated? Puñeta.

Heneral Luna: I salute the producers of this movie!

Patricio Mangubat — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 08:38:00 +0000

I read in the Philippine Daily Inquirer that when the producers of the movie, " Heneral Luna" first met to form the production outfit, Artikulo Uno, they agreed upon themselves to produce a "fuckin damned" Filipino-made movie. After spending 80 million pesos, they came out with this film which is not just fucking damned---but fuckin damned and notoriously excellent!

Heneral Luna should be the standard of all other Filipino films being megged right now or being planned. Tight script, excellent cinematography and not one artist miscast-ed, Heneral Luna is a film that says what it wants to say without sounding offensive.

What I fear though is that people would remember the smart quote in the trailer rather than what the entire film is all about. Heneral Luna talks about the continuing treachery of the elite--something which arose as early as 1892 but manifested its ugly head only in 1898 onwards. Luna was one among many Filipino leaders who fell victims to the treachery of their compatriots.

One famous victim was, of course, you know, Andres Bonifacio. Bonifacio, the second Supremo of the Katipunan, was tricked by Magdalos, shot in the neck, dragged to a rump court, given a death sentence and was buried in a shallow grave somewhere in the jungles of Maragondon. In my book, "Bagong Istorya", as early as 1892 when the Katipunan arose from the ranks, several traitors were already identified yet the Camara Reina failed to arrest and executed. General Emilio Aguinaldo was one of these traitors, who as early as 1894, tried to wrest control of the revolutionary government from the true Nationalists, and thereafter, make it as a tool for negotiations with the ruling Colonial Powers.

Heneral Luna was described as an opposite of Bonifacio in demeanor--hot-tempered, boastful, etal. These character

Atty Claire Castro--my kind of lawyer

Patricio Mangubat — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 08:13:00 +0000

I don't know what others think, but I admire what Atty. Claire Castro did last night. Castro spent time in jail after she reportedly engaged a police officer in an argument over the illegal arrest and detention of her client, a certain Chua. Castro went to the Manila Police District (MPD) after she found out that MPD cops arrested Chua without any arrest warrant while Chua was talking with his estranged wife. Chua went to the meeting with the understanding that his former partner went there to amicably settle the issue of custody of their common child. Instead, Chua landed in jail. Castro said, what the cops did was a form of frame up, because there was still no case filed against her client.

Castro is right. It is an elementary principle in the arrest of any person that such arrests be covered by a warrant issued by a court. No arrests shall be made without such warrants.

Of course, our laws provide for warrantless arrests, such as when a crime is being committed or was committed. I don't know about you, but is it a crime to talk with your partner to settle in an amicable manner a domestic issue such as custody of a child? I know of no such crime in our statutes.

Besides, even if the cops front a defense, saying that Chua committed kidnapping (since I think the kid was a product of an illegitimate relationship), the cops should have filed the case first and should have waited for the issuance of a warrant before doing what they did.

Hey, MPD cops, we are not under martial law. And even if we are, still, warrants are requisites for someone's arrest and detention.

And it is well within the rights of Castro, who is a fearless lawyer of note, to protest the illegal arrest and detention of her client. As they say, when you witness an injustice, it is your duty to protest and shout it out loud. That's what Claire Castro did.

We need people like Atty. Claire Castro. MPD release her immediately now!

I am appealing to my friend, PNP chief Marquez--investigate and mete the proper punishment to your men who committed this shameful crime against a co-officer of the law.

Is there something more in Lim’s ‘China election sabotage expose’?

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:13:31 +0000

Comelec Commissioiner Christian Robert Lim

I really hope that Election Commissioner Christian Robert Lim’s allegation that China is out to sabotage the 2016 elections is just a burst of irresponsibility that has been in abundance in this administration.

What is more worrisome is if the sinister scenario that Lim raised is a camouflage for an operation just like what the operators of Gloria Arroyo did in the 2004 elections to ensure her “winning” the presidency against Fernando Poe, Jr.

Lim was one of the lawyers of the 2010 Aquino-Roxas team and it is well known that Mar Roxas, the Liberal Party’s presidential candidates in the 2016 elections, pushed for his appointment in the Commission on Elections.

At the budget hearing for the Comelec last week at the House of Representatives, Lim revealed they “have received intelligence reports that there may be an attempt to sabotage the elections by China… I feel personally that the biggest threat to the 2016 elections is China.”

He said the information was relayed to him by a commissioner who had a contact in the military which prompted the Commission to request Smartmatic, the supplier of the ballot-reading Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, to transfer to Taiwan the production of new 79,000 optical mark reader (OMR) units to be used in the 2016 elections.

Without commenting on the security aspect, Smartmatic agreed to Comelec’s request.

Cesar Flores, president of Smartmatic Asia Pacific said, “We have agreed to the said request despite the fact that such a transfer will force us to shoulder an additional cost amounting to 5 percent of the total contract price. Moreover, although both facilities in China and Taiwan operate under the strictest international standards and both are capable of manufacturing the machines to specifications, we respect the Comelec’s decision and have therefore acceded to the request.”

It’s an information so important that involves the country’s national security and yet Lim said he didn’t inform the President about it.

That’s why, when asked about Lim’s expose, Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the President was not aware of any plot by China to sabotage next year’s elections.

“It is best that Comelec explain this matter as we have no information on the point mentioned by Commissioner Lim in the House hearing, “ he said.

It’s not only Malacanang that was clueless about what the Comelec Commissioner told the public about something that has grave security and foreign relations implications.

The military, which is the supposedly the source of the information, knew nothing about it.

AFP spokesperson Restituto Padilla issued this statement:”This is the first time that the AFP received information on the matter and after checking with our concerned staff offices, we found out there is no report in our files to substantiate this. Hence, we could not comment on an issue we know nothing about.”

The Chinese Embassy in Manila, as expected, dismissed Lim’s expose as “ totally groundless and a sheer fabrication.”

“China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference into other countries’ internal affairs, ” Li Lingxao, the embassy spokesperson said.

Lim related his concern to the suit by the Philippines against China over the West Philippine Sea territorial conflict before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal. He fears that if the Philippines wins the case, China might decide on trade embargo.

“So any product made in China will not be coming in the Philippines. Walang machine. There’s a lot of possibilities,” Lim said.

No one can accuse Lim of not thinking far ahead and about all possibilities.

We imagine Lim also has thought of the possibility that Mar Roxas,his former principal, would not get enough votes to realize his dream of becoming the next Philippine president.

" Let the people decide on Poe"? So, why do we still need laws?

Patricio Mangubat — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 11:56:00 +0000

Several columnist friends are echoing what President Aquino told Tina Munoz-Palma about the case which involves Senator Grace Poe---" Let the people decide."

Hearing this from the man responsible for taking his oath seriously as the main promoter of our laws makes me very sad. The case filed against Poe is not about her candidacy for the presidency, since she has not even filed for it. The case, Mr. President, is about her citizenship--whether she is natural-born or naturalized.

What other lawyers, namely Attorneys George Garcia and his mentor, Atty. Macalintal who is running for the Senate under Grace Poe, are saying about the case are all crap. I know George personally and as expected, his arguments are more for propaganda than enriching our legal knowledge. Garcia should go back to processing election papers to overturn a decision.

Macalintal's for his part, already erred when he tried to suggest to Poe's lawyer Atty. Poblador to call for the junking of the petition due to wrong venue. Macalintal may be a brilliant lawyer and we all know how election lawyers managed to become "brilliant."

If We are to follow the president's logic (if that is indeed one), then, let's just dispense of the elections, and annoint or elect Poe today. We want her to win thru the elections, a constitutional requirement for one to ascend to the rungs of Power, yet we do not recognize the law that questions her candidacy because it does not favor her? Why the double standard?

Dura lex sed lex--or loosely interpreted the law may be harsh but that is the law (the law is the law). Why do we waste our time with Grace Poe, when we all know that: 1. She is definitely not prepared for the presidency and if she wins, Chiz Escudero becomes her Rasputin. That's worse than the corruptible Binay and the pitiful Roxas.

What the Powers-that-Be want is for the public to accept the possibility of a 3-man fight---something statistically plausible. What these people do not realize is that the minute this coming elections becomes very chaotic, forget that an election--we will get our new leaders from the chaos, anyway.

A

Dear Congresswoman Leni Robredo

Cocoy — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 03:43:14 +0000

An Open Letter to Congresswoman Leni Robredo

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Aquino, Del Rosario and Gazmin should watch ‘Heneral Luna’

Sun, 20 Sep 2015 15:56:21 +0000

I watched “Heneral Luna” last Friday at Southmall in Las Pinas and I witnessed something that re-affirmed my faith in the Filipino: after the screening the students in the audience clapped.

I should not be worrying much about the future of our country.

Actress, writer and director Bibeth Orteza, who is a member of the board of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board posted a suggested in Facebook: “I’m saying this in my individual capacity, not as a member of the MTRCB. If I were the producer of “Heneral Luna” I’d bring the film back to the MTRCB, seek a lower audience rating classification, and then bring it around the country for a school tour.”

Heneral Luna is rated R-13, which means only those age 13 and above can watch the movie. It must be because of the violent scene in the movie, which were essential to underscore the intensity of the power struggle at that time. I myself had to close my eyes in the murder scene.

Joji Villanueva Alonso commented on Bibeth’s post: “Sadly, the MTRCB rules do not allow another review of the film, after the lapse of 5 days from receipt of the first permit. The producers would have to submit a new cut altogether of the new film to get another rating. In any event, school screenings won’t be a problem – this is really the next step.”

That’s good to know.

But the ones who really need to watch “Heneral Luna” are our officials who still look up to America as savior led by no less than President Aquino.

Oh well with Albert del Rosario as foreign secretary and Voltaire Gazmin as defense secretary, what do we expect.

“Heneral Luna” is film about Antonio Luna, the hot- tempered commander of the revolutionary army played brilliantly by John Arcilla.

Under the competent direction of Jerrold Tarog, the movie brings us back more than a century ago when the country, after 300 years of being a colony of Spain, was faced with another colonial master: United States of America.

Luna, one of the talented and highly-educated Luna brothers, wanted genuine independence for Filipinos but the members of economic elite preferred to be under the Americans.

Luna’s remarks to the pro-Americans in the Aguinaldo cabinet namely Felipe Buencamino, Sr. and Pedro Paterno were sharp and biting.

When the two were enumerating the benefits the country would get from continued American rule, Luna slammed them: “Para kayong mga birhen na naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta.”

Luna also asked them pointblank: “Negosyo o kalayaan? Bayan o sarili? Pumili ka?”

I would like to throw the same question today to Del Rosario and Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Cuisia.

The movie was set in 1898 but the problems Luna faced are the same problems that beset our country today. As Luna said (not an exact quote): “May malaking kalaban tayo kaysa mga Amerikano: ang ating sarili.

The movie is on its second week in commercial cinemas. Don’t miss it.

***
I join the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines in condemning the military’s harassment of journalist Inday Espina-Varona .

A Facebook meme tags Varona as a “propagandist” of communist rebels.
NUJP said “The meme accusing Varona of being a communist rebel “asset” (https://www.facebook.com/895347650525928/photos/a.935203763206983.1073741828.895347650525928/968888443171848/?type=1) is a cheap and desperate move to discredit a highly respected and multi-awarded journalist who has consistently fought for the rights of journalists and against unjust and oppressive acts on the marginalized.

Inday Espina-Varona

“Varona is a former editor-in-chief of the Philippines Graphic magazine and the 2007 awardee of the Marshall Mcluhan fellowship.
“This move comes following Varona’s reports for ABS-CBN online news site and posts in social media decrying the September 1 killing of lumad (indigenous people) leaders in Surigao del Sur by suspected military-backed militias.

“She has also reported and has been vocal on the misrepresentation of the Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the statement of United Nations Special Rapporteur for Internally Displaced Persons Chaloka Beyani regarding the evacuation of lumad from Davao del Norte and Bukidnon at the Haran sanctuary of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines in Davao City.

“The NUJP is also alarmed of the red-tagging against Varona, a tactic that has been used against activists and political dissenters, many of whom were subsequently targeted in summary killings, abduction and persecution through the filing of trumped-up criminal charges. It indicates that almost 30 years after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, the martial law mentality continues to prevail, even under a supposedly ‘Daang Matuwid’ administration.”

NUJP demands that authorities investigate and apprehend those behind these attempts to intimidate Varona and other journalists exposing human rights violations and other injustices

Wala daw maiiwanan sabi ni Grace Poe at Chiz Escudero. Bakit Grace Poe, hindi mo ba tinalikuran ang pagiging Pilipino noong 1995?

Patricio Mangubat — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 09:39:00 +0000

Sumisigaw ang taumbayan--nasasaan kami sa kaunlaran? Nasasaan ang pangako ng kaginhawaan, ng pagbabago, ng progreso? Habang buhay ba kaming magtitiis na magpa-alipin sa mga pinunong gahaman sa kapangyarihan, sa kayamanan at sumasamantala sa aming pagkakawatak-watak bilang masa?

Tignan ang Tuwid na Daan---maganda sa pandinig ngunit sa kalaunan pala'y ang "i" na simbolo ng pagiging tuwid, napalitan ng "a" simbolo ng pagyuko. Mula sa Tuwid, dumating tayo sa pag Tuwad--pagtuwad sa interes ng mga mangangalakal na nagpondo nitong eksilaradong slogan.

Kumbaga sa aming mga taga industriya--overpromised, under delivered.

Ngayon, maraming nalalansi nitong islogan ni Grace Contreras Militar a.k.a. Grace Poe-Llamanzares. Ipinapangako niya ang isang "Bagong Umaga" sa sandaling niluklok natin siya sa Palasyo. Ang tanong--may bago ba sa kanyang mga pahayag?

Wala. Ang kanyang talumpati pati na rin yaong ginawa ni Chiz Escudero sa Club Pilipino ay isang rehashed na talumpating mayroong pinaggayahan at dayuhan pa ang hinalawan---ang talumpati ng Amerikanong pangulong si Barack Obama.

" Walang maiiwan" ay isang walang laman, puno ng pandaraya't kasinungalingang islogan.

Tanong kay Grace---nasasaan ka nang ipinakikibaka namin ang pandaraya sa iyong ama sa Welcome Rotunda? Ni anino mo, wala dun. Walang maiiwan--matagal mo na kaming iniwanan.

Noong 1991 at 1995--kasagsagan ng kaguluhan sa Pilipinas, nasasaan ka? Hindi ba't naglilimayon kasama ng iyong Amerikanong asawa? Lumahok ka ba maski sa isang katiting na demonstrasyon o rali para itaguyod ang kapakanan ng mga maliliit na Pilipinong na ibinebentang unti-unti ng kanyang mga pinuno ang nakamit na kalayaan?

Nang sumumpa ka ng katapatan sa harap ng bandila ni Uncle Sam, tinalikuran mo at iniwanan kaming mga nagtitiis na Pilipino sa isang sistemang bulok, hungkag, at baluktot.

Anong Bagong Umaga ang aaasahan namin sa yo, gayong ngayon pa lamang, para kang talipandas, isang babaeng nagbebenta ng aliw sa sinumang maaakit mo sa iyong matatamis na salita?

Partido Pilipinas ba kamo? Parang tulad ito ng "Public-Private" partnership program ah, na siyang behikulo ng mga financiers sa halalan para mabawi ang kanilang mga naipustang kayamanan.

Maraming proyektong nakasalang si Ramon S. Ang ng San Miguel Corporation na kaagapay ang gobyerno. Kaya naman, protektadong protektado ka ng kanyang pondo. At huwag mo naman kaming linlangin na sa sandaling manalo ka, hindi mo babayaran ang milyon-milyong campaign funds na siya niyang ibinigay sa iyo.

Sabi mo nga, tinuruan ka ng iyong mga magulang ng utang na loob--isang kahanga-hangang katangian ng isang Pilipino na sa isang banda, isang kasumpa-sumpang ugali kung gagawin sa pulitika.

Hindi na rin ako magpapatumpik-tumpik pa--ano ang naipangako mo sa magkakapatid na Zamora? Na pababayaan mo silang pasabugin ang ating mga kabundukan, patayin ang mga katutubong dun naninirahan, makuha lamang ang mga taglay nitong kayamanan?

Tiyak makikinabang ang mga minerong tulad ni Zamora na keso magkandamatay ang libo-libong mga Pilipino bunga ng baha, pagkalason sa hanging dala ng minahan at pagkamatay sa sakit dulot ng lasong nagmumula sa mga tagas, sigurado kong magsasawalang pansin ka't isasara ang iyong mga tenga at mata, para lamang makapagbayad ka ng utang na loob?

Sa mga nalalansi sa matatamis na salita nitong si Grace Contreras Militar a.k.a. Grace Poe-Llamanzares, pakitignan ang SALN nitong isusumite sa Enero.

Tiyak kong malaking pagbabago sa assets nitong si Poe. Kung wala, tiyak na tiyak kong mayroong naging milagro.

Sa mga Pilipino---palagi nating alalahanin ang turo sa atin ng ating mga magulang---mayroong masamang dulot ang sobrang matamis na salita.