THE NEW NORMAL: COUNTERREVOLUTION, TREASON

THE NEW NORMAL: COUNTERREVOLUTION, TREASON

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

Paper before a group of seminarians

February 23, 2018, Quezon City

Thank you for inviting me to discuss the nagging issues of the day.

I will go straight to the point.

Two major issues confront us: first, the ongoing counterrevolution that could give rise to authoritarianism; and second, the continuous flirtation with China, which could be viewed as treason by our leaders.

Incidentally, two conflicting themes dominate our postwar experience: democracy and authoritarianism. This dichotomy of political themes is evident over the past seven decades.

Pro-democracy forces want the democratic institutions and structures to thrive and the democratic processes to flourish. They believe in pluralism, where various belief systems, world views, and advocacy have spaces for coexistence and growth.

This is not something that could be said of the authoritarian forces. They are the complete opposite of the democratic forces.

Counterrevolution to EDSA

Thirty two years ago, the Filipino people demonstrated to the entire world their finest quality as a people. Rising like the proverbial phoenix from the morass of mass poverty and misery in the 1986 EDSA People Power, the Filipino people, in the exercise of their sovereign right, toppled the Marcos dictatorship and sent the dictator, his family and ilk scampering for safety to become exiles in Hawaii.

The 1986 EDSA Revolution has become a global template, when deposing a despot and ushering a peaceful transition. It was a defining moment for the Filipino people, who hold the collective bragging rights that even the most powerful and entrenched dictator could be toppled if only the people would unite.      

What is currently taking place is the deplorable and condemnable counterrevolution to the EDSA Revolution. This counterrevolution seeks to destroy and dismantle our restored democracy and supplant it with an authoritarian regime to entrench a cabal of gangsters and political dynasties in the many years to come.

This counterrevolution is characterized by the audacity and indecent haste to work for the political redemption of the Marcos family and their return to Malacanang. Rodrigo Duterte, the populist sick old man of the South, leads the counterrevolution. The uncouth leader is being aided by two moneyed families – those of Ferdinand Marcos and ex-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Initially launched as an anti-drug campaign in the 2016 presidential elections, of which 16 million of naïve, hapless, and clueless voters were hoodwinked, the counterrevolution has expanded to include assaults on our democratic institutions, including the Supreme Court, Commission on Elections, Commission on Human Rights, and Office of the Ombudsman.

This counterrevolution seeks to weaken democratic traditions, including the adherence to human rights, and twin principles of rule of law, and due process. It seeks to bastardize the 1987 Constitution by adopting a federal form of government. The recipe for national suicide is indeed being prepared by men and women – mostly political dynasties – leading the counterrevolution.

Their intentions are obvious. They want to do away the 1986 EDSA Revolution, or EDSA Uno, and its 2001 sequel, or EDSA Dos, where the military withdrew support from the corrupt Joseph Estrada, leading him to resign the presidency. They want to present EDSA Uno and EDSA Dos as historical flukes.

They want to prove the two revolutions did not improve Philippine society and only the reinstitution of a populist, albeit authoritarian, regime could save the country. The goal is to reinstall a new dictatorship, enabling the sick old man, or his designated successor, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, to rule beyond his term in 2022. They want to revise history to favor the Marcoses.

RevGov as route

The coalition of authoritarian forces composed of the sick old man, the Marcoses, the Arroyos, the Estradas, and a number of fat political dynasties are pursuing their counterrevolution through two political routes: declaring a revolutionary government, or RevGov; or amending the Charter to replace the unitary form of government by a federal system.

The sick old man intends to establish a RevGov because it is the way to discard the 1987 Constitution, which serves as the anchor of the 32 years of restored democracy. The democratic ideals and traditions embodied in the 1987 Constitution have tied his hands, frustrating attempts to cut corners.

But the sick old and his minions are not gaining ground. Major sectors, including the Majority Church, or the dominant Roman Catholic Church, and the Minority Church composed of various Christian denominations and evangelical groups (with the glaring exception of the opportunistic Iglesia Ni Cristo), the defense and military establishment, and the business sector have been sending cold signals, virtually rejecting his overtures to assault the democratic institutions.

For instance, the Nov. 30, 2017 nationwide show of force by the authoritarian groups for RevGov was a dismal failure. Despite the state resources in their hands, they could not sustain the counterrevolution. The rallies supporting RevGov in major cities attracted mere handfuls of participants. They hardly created any dent or impression on the national consciousness.

This only goes to show that ours is no Weimar Republic, the weak German republic that replaced the monarchy shortly after the end of the First World War. It did not take two decades of existence for the Weimar Republic to collapse when Adolf Hitler took over Germany and instituted a dictatorship to ignite the Second World War.

The post-Marcos democratic government still holds. Those mentally crude gangsters in government seem lost and, ergo, could not sustain the counterrevolution. But this does not mean the democratic forces should rest on its laurels.

Quisling in Malacanang

There is no way to describe the subservient attitude of the sick old man and his minions to China. It is plain and simple treason. They love China more than the Philippines. They will give everything to their master before their country of origin.

Our country has gained the momentum and advantage in our quest to protect our territorial integrity. In July 2016, the arbitration tribunal of the United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea has decided in our favor concerning our maritime struggle on the West Philippine Sea.

But the sick old man and his government have squandered our gains. They have surrendered almost everything, enabling China to build bases on that particular part of the world. It is essentially a no-contest on our part.

When it comes to China, it would appear that our leaders particularly the sick old man of the South is sick. He never raises a whimper. He has become as soft as marshmallow despite the touch image he wants to cultivate before our people.

The sick old man personifies weakness, subservience, powerlessness, and helplessness when dealing with China. He is far worse than a henpecked, cuckolded husband.

There is no way to describe him but a modern-day Vidkun Quisling, who sold his Norway to Nazi Germany. His day of comeuppance will come.

Imperatives for democratic forces

On the contrary, the democratic forces must defend the democratic institutions and the people who represent them, fight for the democratic traditions, particularly adherence to human rights and rule of law, and demonstrate the political will to keep the restored democracy.

The country’s democratic forces must unite under a single flag and a single set of principles specified by the 1987 Constitution. Nothing beats the flag and 1987 Constitution as symbols of our nationhood.

The Constitution confirmed and ratified by the Filipino people in the 1987 referendum reflects our commitment as a nation and people to the ideals of democracy to which every Filipino stands for.

Today, we are witnesses the forces of darkness assaulting our democratic institutions and system of government. We see a cabal of mobsters attacking our democratic way of life, traditions, and culture. They are not resting.

Hence, it is important for all democratic forces to unite. If EDSA Tres has to happen, so be it. Incidentally, there was no EDSA Tres. The mass action that happened in front of Malacanang on May 1, 2001 was not EDSA Tres. It was more of a riot.

Allow me to end this brief paper by quoting Jose Rizal in his novel “Noli Me Tangere”: “Not all are asleep in these dark days of our country.”

Good day to all of you.