COUNTERING THE COUNTERREVOLUTION

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

(This commentary was earlier published by rappler.com)

What is currently taking place is a counterrevolution that seeks to destroy the nation’s restored democracy and replace it with an authoritarian regime that would work for the political redemption of the Marcos family and return to power. President Rodrigo Duterte leads the counterrevolution. He is being aided by two groups – those of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The counterrevolution has been initially launched as an anti-drug campaign in the 2016 presidential elections. Since then, it has expanded to include assaults on its democratic institutions, including the Supreme Court, Commission on Human Rights, and Office of the Ombudsman. It seeks to weaken democratic traditions too, including the adherence to human rights, rule of law, and due process.

The intention is to destroy the gains of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship and its 2001 sequel, where the military withdrew support from then president Joseph Estrada, leading him to resign the presidency. The immediate objective is to prove that the two revolutions have been failures to improve Philippine society and only the reinstitution of a populist, albeit authoritarian, regime could save the country.

The political goal is to reinstall a new dictatorship, enabling Duterte, or his envisioned successor, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, to rule beyond his term in 2022. They want to revise history to favor the Marcoses.

The coalition of authoritarian forces composed of Duterte, the Marcoses, and Arroyo are pursuing their counterrevolution through two political routes: declaring a revolutionary government, or RevGov, to jettison the 1987 Constitution; or amending the Constitution to change the presidential system by a parliamentary system and replace the unitary form of government by a federal system.

Mr Duterte intends to establish a RevGov because it appears to be the way to discard the 1987 Constitution, which serves as the anchor of the 30 years of restored democracy. The democratic ideals and traditions embodied in the 1987 Constitution have tied his hands, frustrating his attempts to cut corners.

But he is not gaining ground. Major sectors, including the dominant Roman Catholic Church, the defense and military establishment, and the business sector have been sending cold signals, virtually rejecting his RevGov in favor of restored democracy.

The November 30 nationwide show of force by the authoritarian groups was a dismal failure. Several rallies were held in major cities, but they attracted only a handful of participants. They hardly created any impression in the national consciousness.

Conflicting themes

Two conflicting themes dominate the Philippine postwar experience: democracy and authoritarianism. This dichotomy of political themes is evident over the past 7 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.

Pro-democracy forces are represented by middle elements that supported two people power revolutions (EDSA 1 and EDSA 2), political parties and organizations adhering to rule of law, and institutions like Majority Church, or the Roman Catholic Church, and Minority Church, or Christian and non-Christian denominations, their clergy, and various Church-based organizations. They are dubbed as the “Yellow Forces” since they helped to catapult Corazon and Benigno Aquino III into the presidency.

The authoritarian forces live in the past, as shown by persistence to revise history, treat the two people power uprisings (EDSA 1 and EDSA 2) as historical flukes, and re-impose the failed authoritarian system. The modern-day populism appears to be their ideological anchor.

Mr Duterte’s remarks, showing a heavy tilt toward the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, declaration of martial law – either in Mindanao or nationwide, and the establishment of RevGov, have fanned widespread anxiety and fear about a return of authoritarianism. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, showing unprecedented independence, has said the Armed Forces of the Philippines would not support his RevGov.

Although Philippine postwar liberal democratic system was put in place in 1946, Ferdinand Marcos, elected popularly in 1965 and reelected in 1969, touched the nerve of history by declaring martial law on September 21, 1972, plunging the country into a political experiment on “constitutional authoritarianism” or dictatorship. He was to step down on December 30, 1973, but he prolonged his stay in power by taking advantage of a loophole in the 1935 Constitution.

By a stroke of a pen, Marcos wrote finis to the country’s democratic traditions and destroyed its democratic structures. He abolished Congress, closed down mass media outfits, arrested and jailed without charges tens of thousands of journalists, activists, labor and peasant leaders, religious workers, and opposition stalwarts. He invoked the national security doctrine for martial rule, saying he wanted “to save” the country from the “conspiracy of the oligarchs and the communist rebels.”

After declaring Martial Law in 1972, Marcos ruled for another 13 years, but brought the following: first, centralized corruption, where he earned under-the-table commissions from big ticket state projects and deposited proceeds in foreign banks; second, crony capitalism, where his cronies cornered fat state projects, formed agricultural monopolies, and grabbed monopoly contracts in the services sector; and third, wanton human rights violations, where tens of thousands of anti-Marcos elements were arrested and imprisoned without charges, tortured, and summarily executed, and disappeared involuntarily without trace.

In 1986, the Filipino people, in their exercise of sovereign power, kicked the Marcoses out of Malacañang, toppled his dictatorship, and sent them to a 5-year exile in the US. But it happened not without leaving a country destroyed by their kleptocracy, or the use of power to plunder and accumulate ill-gotten wealth estimated at between $5 billion to $10 billion.

Democratic agenda

Although the counterrevolution has hardly gained ground due to the constitutional provisions providing iron-clad guarantees to prevent future political adventure in authoritarianism, the country’s pro-democracy forces have to move fast and assume a democratic agenda to prevent the Duterte counterrevolution from succeeding.

For instance, they could press for the impeachment, resignation, or ouster of Duterte, whose bloody regime has claimed the lives of thousands of victims in extrajudicial killings (EJKs). They could press for his prosecution before the International Criminal Court, where a suit of crimes against humanity has been lodged against Duterte and 10 others. Or they could continue fighting against the assaults on democratic institutions.

For instance, pro-democracy forces have bonded to help and defend Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the junior magistrate, whom then president Benigno Aquino Jr named to lead the judiciary. She faces an impeachment suit perceived to have been concocted by the trio of Mr Duterte, the Marcoses, and Arroyo. There are indications she could weather it because the charges are weak.

Ousting Mr Duterte is not complete. The post-Duterte era requires a democratic agenda to erase authoritarianism. For instance, pro-democracy forces could press the creation of a new commission to investigate those EJKs, identify the culprits, and recommend their criminal prosecution. They could redirect the anti-drug war to complete adherence to the rule of law and due process. They could work for the reeducation of law enforcement agencies on democratic ideals.

The post-Duterte government could pursue a diplomacy offensive to regain support of allies like the US and European Union and press for a redirection of foreign policy to acknowledge, adhere, and implement those international and bilateral agreements, to which the Philippines is a signatory, and other binding decisions by international bodies. They could work for an economic diplomacy offensive too.

Moreover, it could reinstitute the anticorruption campaign of the Aquino administration and reimpose the anticorruption ideals sidelined by the focus on the anti-drug war. They could likewise work to erase all vestiges of authoritarianism.

Probably the most important is a common but sustained initiative of the pro-democracy forces to “demarcosify” Philippine society by explaining to the Filipino people the Marcos legacy, which includes massive human rights violations, crony capitalism, and massive plunder of the national coffers.  - rappler.com

ESCAPE THROUGH THE BACKDOOR

By Philip M. Lustre Jr. 

Dictator Ferdinand Marcos did not make any distinction of his enemies. Any critic was fair game for Marcos. He did not distinguish if critics belonged to the legitimate political opposition, reformist mass organizations, or extremist groups espousing armed revolution against his government.

During the martial law period that covered 1972-1986, Marcos hounded and harassed his critics without letup. They were arrested and jailed without charges, tortured in most instances, and summarily executed in some. He also surreptitiously ordered their involuntary disappearances, giving rise to the Philippine version of “desaparecidos” (disappeared).

But not all slept during the dark days of our country. Political opposition against the September 21, 1972 declaration of martial law jelled and grew. A number of his political antagonists escaped the country only to go elsewhere and resume their opposition to his martial law regime, which later metamorphosed into a one-man rule.

When these political oppositionists could not escape through the front door, or the legitimate way, they went out through the backdoor. That was escaping through the circuitous route of going to either Zamboanga City, or Jolo in the South, travel by boat through Sulu Sea, and finally to Sabah. From Sabah, they first took flights to either Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur and later to the United States, their final destination.

Heherson Alvarez, Cecille Guidote

Heherson Alvarez, a student leader at the University of the Philippines, represented Isabela in the 1971 Constitution Convention that drafted the 1973 Constitution, which eventually became the blueprint of the Marcos dictatorship. Cecille Guidote, who came from a landed family in Manila, was an acclaimed theater scholar, who founded and led the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). They were about to get married when Marcos declared martial law.

Because Heherson was among the Constitutional Convention delegates, who opposed any term extension for Ferdinand Marcos or wife Imelda as his replacement, He was a marked man. Marcos ordered his military henchmen to hunt, arrest, and jail Heherson. Since he declared martial law, Marcos could do it even without any arrest warrant and formal charges against him.

When I was a reporter covering the Senate, Heherson Alvarez, who later became a senator in the post-Marcos Senate, confirmed that he escaped when Marcos declared martial because he was on the order of battle, or the list of people, who faced arrest and detention. Had he not escaped through the backdoor, he could have faced prolonged detention without charges or even torture.

But it was not easy for Heherson. According to Aquilino Pimentel Jr.’s book “Martial Law in the Philippines: My Story,” which contains his memoirs, Heherson Alvarez, a wanted man upon martial law declaration, told him he hid in the houses of friends for six months. But it was businessman Ricardo Delgado, “who went out of his way to help me escape,” Nene Pimentel said quoting Heherson.

Nene said quoting Heherson: “After successfully eluding the Marcos military on land, I hitched a ride in a small vessel in Manila that was bound for Hong Kong through Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. The captain of the ship agreed to smuggle me out of the country after I assured him that I was a social democrat, not a communist.”

According to Nene Pimentel, Heherson went to Paris from Hong Kong because at that time Filipinos who went there were not required to present visas. He laid low there for a while as he waited for a chance to the United States, where Cecille was already there, waiting for him.

In the absence of any formal ceremony, Heherson and Cecille had a “matrimonia de consciencia,” which has made them husband and wife. The exigency of those days prompted them to get marriage in an expeditious way. In the U.S., Heherson Alvarez along with Raul Manglapus, a former senator and Department of Foreign Affairs secretary, organized the Movement for Free Philippines, which became a strong lobby group that opposed the Marcos dictatorship in the U.S.

Other escapees

According to Nene Pimentel’s book, 1971 Constitution Convention Delegate Bonifacio Gillego, who later became a lawmaker in post-Marcos Congress, Charito Planas, Gaston Ortigas, Pacita LaO Manglapus, Raul’s wife, and their three sons, Raul Jr., Bobby, and Francis,and academic Gerry Jumat and wife Boots Ayson took that the southern backdoor to escape the Marcos dictatorship. They all settled in the United States, where they carried the anti-dictatorship struggle.

Nene said: “Gillego, Planas and Gillego told me of the harrowing experiences they went through their getaways. They shared with me their hair-raising chance encounters with people who knew them but who did not appear to have recognized them, or their near brushes with military agents. Gillego had to disguise themselves, the latter donning a wig, and had to use assumed identities. Charito wore a nun’s habit. Mrs. Manglapus was ‘Portia Molina’ in her escape, while Gerry and Boots Jumat used their ethnic connections with the Tausugs of of Sulu and Sabah to elude the Marcos rule.”

According to Nene, Raul Manglapus was on a stopover in Tokyo en route to the U.S. to deliver a speech when Marcos declared martial law in 1972. Upon his family’s advice, Manglapus proceeded to the U.S. but did not return to Manila. His family tried to follow him in the U.S., but Marcos did not allow them to leave through legal means.

Through the help of Joey Ortiz, a Philippine Consulate official, assisted Manglapus to go to Washington D.C. to become a political refugee. Ortiz lost his job. Meanwhile, Mrs. Manglapus and his three sons decided to leave through the backdoor. They first went to Zamboanga City. From there, they went to Sitangkai using a fast moving kumpit.

From Sitangkai, an island in the Tawi Tawi province, they went to the town of Tawau in Sabah and took refuge in a Catholic convent there. After a few days, they went to Kuala Lumpur, where they took a plane going to the U.S.

But escaping through the backdoor was not easy, according to Nene Pimentel. The Sulu Sea had pirates. Moreover, Philippine Navy boats were also manning that part. Still, the opposition leaders managed to escape through the southern backdoor to fight another battle on another day.

NO TO MILITARY ADVENTURISM

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

THE proposed revolutionary government requires the support and participation of the defense and military establishment.

Without the tacit approval of the Armed Forces, as an institution, the proposed declaration of a revolutionary government is doomed even before its birth.

That is why Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana's statement that the defense and military would not support the proposed revolutionary government is quite reassuring.

It was a virtual slap on the face of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who had the effrontery to float this idea despite the three decades of a solid government under the post-EDSA restored democracy.

Lorenzana's message to the Commander-in-Chief was simple. The entire defense and military establishment is in no mood for another era of military adventurism.

There are two questions arising from Lorenzana's statement? Can we trust Lorenzan's words? Can the AFP's avowed avoidance of military adventurism hold?

Military officials can definitely be trusted. They are trained to make decisions and give their final words. They are essentially men and women of honor and integrity.

Even in the military schools, particularly the Philippine Military Academy, the country's premier military school, prospective military officials are trained to speak out the truth even on the first day they step on their premises.

Lorenzana, a retired military general, is not inclined to engage in treachery, perfidy, and foolishness. He is a man of honor, whose words could be trusted.

History shows that military officials could be trusted with their words. When the Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, as AFP vice chief of staff and PC-INP chief, said "yes" to Juan Ponce Enrile's proposed breakaway from dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his word signaled the start of the fateful 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

When he said "yes" to support the fledgling government of Cory Aquino, Ramos was instrumental in frustrating the seven military coups against the Cory government.

For the first three years of the Cory government, Ramos as either AFP chief of staff or defense secretary, moved to block and stop one coup after the other, becoming the stabiliizing factor of the restored democracy.

He did not in anyway waver. Even at the height of the 1989 military coup, the seventh and last in the series, Ramos showed tremendous resiliency and grace under pressure.

Incidentally, the 1989 coup was the biggest, bloodiest, and longest coup (it lasted five days). It was the most traumatic, as brother officers shot each other; the same with foot soldiers.It was a winner-take-call situation.

The 1989 coup virtually finished the unfinished business of military adventurism. The specter of a politicized military did not happen except on 2001 Second EDSA People Power Revolution, when the military, this time as an institution, withdrew support from Erap Estrada, the hard drinking and incompetent president.

Even at the height of the "God Save the Queen" putsch, the third of the seven coups, in November, 1986, military generals displayed their words of honor.

When Maj. Gen. Renato de Villa, then chief of the PC-INP, felt nervous about the loyalty of Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Canieso, then the Army chief, he went to him to question where he stood.

This was a big no-no in the military culture and traditions, where a PMA underclassman questioned an upperclassman. De Villa belongs to PMA Batch 1957; Canieso, PMA Batch 1956.

"Rene, I'm with you all the way," Canieso told de Villa to express support to the fledgling restored democracy. The conversation lasted five minutes; it was enough for two first class warriors.

It was a classic response, so similar to the Spanish Civil War, where Loyalist and Falangist forces fought toe and nail. "Somos o no somos?" Are you with me or not?

Incidentally, the "God Save the Queen" military adventure finally ended the partnership of Enrile and Ramos, or the bond of brotherhood they developed in the first EDSA uprising.

By telling the entire military chain of command to disobey any orders from Enrile and his RAM supporters at the Ministry of National Defense, Ramos gave his stamp of approval for the Cory Aquino government. History shows he was right all along.

Over the last 27 years, except the brief interregnums in 2001 (EDSA Dos) and 2003 (Oakwood Mutiny), AFP's avoidance of any military adventurism has been holding.

In fact, the defense and military establishment continues to evolve as an institution completely loyal and devoted to the 1987 Constitution. The public perception of the AFP as an institution of constitutional soldiers is quite prevalent too.

Reforms have been undertaken to strengthen the AFP as an institution. Over the years, the reforms include devising ways to stop massive corruption in the military establishment and inculcating democratic values like human rights and the rule of law among soldiers.

Their actuation shows they accept those values and submit to the constitutional precept of civilian supremacy over the military. Never did they ever question the civilian supremacy despite the political noises, which are common among democracies.

In fact, the military leadership has taken steps to insulate the defense and military establishment from political pressures and grandstanding. In fact, military leaders have indicated they are comfortable with the current set up.

Hence, Lorenzana's statement showing AFP's refusal to support a revolutionary government is most logical under the current situation.

The proverbial argument is the classic "why fix it when it's ain't broke." The participation and support of the defense and military establishment could mean military adventurism, which the current crop of military officers and foot soldiers have learned to disavow over the years.

In brief, it would appear their own Commander-in-Chief, in a moment of undefined frenzy, has totally misread the prevailing mood among military officers and soldiers under his command.

In brief, the Commander-in-Chief hardly knows the people in his command, as he apparently thinks that they would be at his beck and call just like a private army.

The proposed revolutionary government, at this point, is a counterflow to the march of history. It is founded on ignorance of the flow of history.

The other day, I was with two friends, both retired military officials (a general and a colonel). Over cups of coffee, we discussed the issue of revolutionary government floated by some souls in social media.

We came out with the conclusion that it would not generate support in the military and eventually fail. We discussed its lack of support among the local intelligentsia, as its supporters are men and women of dubious reputation.

The retired general said: "Ikaw ba'y magpapakamatay kay Vivian Velez (will you lay down your life for Vivian)?" End of conversation.

THE 'LUGAO' VENDOR OF YLAYA STREET

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

THIS narrative is not about Vice President Leni Robredo, who was maliciously tagged as “lugao queen” by paid propagandists and bloggers of the madman and BBM. This is about the comely vendor, who sold congee (lugao), fried tofu, and lumpia at the sidewalk of Ylaya street in Tondo in the mid-1970s.

I was then a college student at the University of the East. After my evening classes, I would take a jeepney ride on my way to Divisoria and go to her makeshift stall along Ylaya to eat lugao mixed with shredded pieces of cow’s innards (isaw, tualla, or heart) and a piece of fried lumpia. For a while, I was one of her regular customers.

After taking my little meal, I would take another jeepney ride to go home in the sub-district of Gagalangin in Tondo. I normally took my dinner at around 11 pm, when I was deep in my books and studies. That was part of my daily routine during those days.

As a regular customer, I came to know her name: Lorna. I must confess I was drawn to her because of her “morena” (brown) skin complexion. She looked like a piece of art with her smooth brown skin glistening under the shining moon. She appeared like a brass goddess to my eyes. I liked her. I was mesmerized by her brown beauty.

Lorna noticed the heavy books I usually carried and borrowed from the school library.  She perfectly understood I was a college student. When I asked her if she was going to school, she told me she stopped after completing her elementary education in one of the public schools in Tondo.

“Nagtrabaho na lang ako. Eto nagtitinda ng lugao (I went to work instead. Here I am selling lugao), Lorna said. “Ang hilig ko’y maghanapbuhay hindi mag-aral (my preference was to work, not to study),” she said, as he shredded with a knife a small piece of meat to be mixed in a bowl of lugao. It cost me a peso for that bowl.

She told me her daily routine was to bring at least two big cauldrons of lugao from their house in the old Kagitingan street, two kilometers away from Ylaya, using a four-wheeled pushcart (cariton). By sundown, they would put up the makeshift stall on the busy street, which is part the busy Divisoria commercial district.

I must confess that I was a little intrigued by Lorna’s beauty. So, I flirted. Every night I dropped by her stall, I whispered a single line, which I felt somehow registered my presence in her consciousness. It was a single line, which I felt tickled her heart.

I would go near her to whisper that devastating single line: “Ang ganda-ganda mo naman (you’re too beautiful).” Afterwards, I clamped down and said nothing until I finished my bowl of lugao, and, if my personal funds permitted, a piece of fried lumpia or tofu mixed with suka’t toyo (vinegar and soy sauce). Then, I bade her goodbye and quietly left for home.

I habitually whispered those words every night I dropped by her stall. I saw her smiling, obviously scintillated by those little words of admiration. Although she preferred to ignore me for whatever reason, we did not exchange words after I delivered the little message of the night.

But she did her own quiet repartee for my advances. I noticed that the size of the piece of meat she mixed with my lugao was getting bigger every night. At a certain point, I noticed it was more than double the regular size. How lucky I could be, I told myself. For about a month, this was the unmistakable trend.

One night, I failed to drop by her stall. I was with my co-majors doing a group paper in a certain major subject. I was the group leader and I had to be with my fellow students. Indeed, I was majoring in sociology in my undergraduate studies.

The following night I drop by to eat my usual bowl of lugao. Lorna met me with a big smile and said: “Uy, bakit hindi ka dumaan kagabi (how come you did not drop by last night)?” I was stunned by her remarks, but said I was busy doing our group works. Yes, she seemed to have been checking my attendance.

Quietly, I was telling myself I was already a winner and my devastating single liner was effective. I was on her radar. She was indeed checking my presence in her busy soul. “Tsinetsek pala niya ang attendance (she was checking the attendance),” I told myself.

No, I did not have the heart to court her. I was just a little mischievous during those days. Mi corazon caraja (my foolish heart), so they say in Spanish. It was enough for me to flirt.

But it was something that was not meant to end on a good note. One night, while eating at her stall, one of the street toughies of Ylaya quietly went to my side and whispered: “Pare, hawak ng siga iyan dito iyan. Huwag mong ligawan. Baka magripuhan ka (she’s the girlfriend of the street toughie here. Don’t dare to court her. You’ll get a leak in your body).”

I tried my best to appear calm and poised in that situation. I replied: “Ah, ganoon ba? Walang problema (so, that’s it? No problem).”

Next day, I did not dare to go again to her stall. I perfectly understood the message. The jealous lover could be after my neck. After all, it was not my intention to pursue her. 

I deliberately avoided that street and pass by another street to go home. No more lugao for me. No more those little acts of flirtation.

In my mind, it did not pay to go against the flow when I did not have the will. I quietly finished my studies and pursue a career in journalism. 

NO REVOLUTIONARY GOV'T, NATIONWIDE MARTIAL LAW

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

No, the sick old man of the South is not in any position to declare a revolutionary government or impose a nationwide martial law.

He is not in the position to touch the nerve of history and plunge the nation into another era of political chaos and uncertainty.

The sick old man has been completely and effectively neutralized. His hands are handcuffed; his feet, chained. Any move by the sick old man to challenge and disturb the nation's restored democracy would be equally met by counter movements to stop his initiatives. If push comes to shove, he would certainly be deposed.

Premises

Let's lay down the premises

First, the sick old man is truly sick. He is suffering from many ailments. He does not possess the intellectual, mental, physical, and even spiritual qualities to sustain any move to touch the nerve of history through a revolutionary government or nationwide martial law. He is perceived to be mentally sick too as indicated by his erratic statements.

At 72, he is a spent force. Even the international community knows and understands that his health could not withstand the rigors of a revolutionary government or martial law administration.

The international community likewise knows and understands that the sick old man is a mere populist leader, who hardly possesses the commitment to the essential tenets of democracy. Although he tends to be bombastic, he is not meant to be taken seriously.

Even his political victory in 2016 is being viewed as a fluke and not necessarily reflective of the people's will. Moreover, he is perceived as being surrounded by political lightweights and court jesters, who could hardly make any difference in governance - that is running the country.

Second, his planned revolutionary government and nationwide martial law has no basis. There is no existing people's revolt to warrant the establishment of a revolutionary government. Cory Aquino established a revolutionary government in 1986, but her government had the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution as its father.

Furthermore, the conditions that would require the imposition of a nationwide martial law does not exist. All those noises of destabilization are just noises. In many instances, the sick old man himself is being perceived as the destabilizing force.

Besides, the 1987 Constitution stipulates stringent conditions for the imposition of a nationwide martial law. There's hardly any way for him to tinker with its provisions and use it to prolong his stay in power.

Knowing the experience when dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law in 1972 and imposed a one-man rule that only ended in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the 1987 Constitution is essentially against any imposition of martial and its use to reimpose any semblance of dictatorship.

Regional security

The third premise is essentially the current situation in East Asia. Northeast Asia, of which Japan and South Korea are the leading powers, have to contend with the recidivist hermit kingdom - North Korea, which threatens to disrupt regional security with its use of its nuclear armament.

Southeast Asia, which has the ASEAN member-states, has to deal with China's hegemony, particularly on the South China Sea. Again, the issue is regional security. China and North Korea have to be contained. The United States, Japan, and other developed countries plus ASEAN have to deal with those threats on regional security.

The major powers would certainly stop any centrifugal tendencies that could disrupt the balance of power in East Asia and plunge the region into uncertainty and chaos. Every nation within the U.S sphere of influence has to toe the line.

Despite the bravado and bravura of the sick old man, the major powers look at him as a joke. They look at him as all bluster, lacking the substance to become a genuine leader of influence in the region.

As events unfold their policy towards the sick old man and his government is a combination of carrot and stick: carrot in the form of concessional loans and grants-in-aid; and stick in the form of veiled threats of canceling and withdrawing those loans and aid if ever he veers away from the tenets of democracy and plunge the Philippine in another political experiment of authoritarianism.

Foreign aid

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised the extension of more than P480 billion in concessional loans and grants-in-aid to the Philippines, but this has been premised on the strong conviction that it pays to help a neighbor in need than humiliating it in the family of nations.

Japan's extension of foreign credits and grants-in-aid is not a charity work. It is premised on the old sick man's promise he would not disrupt the country's political stability and contribute to any instability in the East Asian region.

That the Philippines remains within the sphere of influence of the U.S., Japan, and other developed countries is likely to be bolstered when U.S. President Donald Trump goes to the Philippines by the middle of this month.

Trump is to announce the U.S. own package of assistance to the Philippines, which has been traditionally described as its main ally in the Southeast Asia. Again, the U.S is not doing any charity works for the Philippines. Any assistance it extends is usually tied to certain political objectives.

The political objective is certainly to prevent any disruption in East Asia and keep the world a little safer.

Marshall Plan doctrine

It has been asked why major powers continue to the help the Philippines despite its continuing violations of human rights. The answer lies on history.

When the Allied Forces, led by France, United Kingdom, and the U.S. won the First World War, they exacted heavy price from the losing Central Powers, led by Germany. They came out with the Treaty of Versailles, which contained onerous provisions that required Germany to pay heavy reparations and demilitarize itself.

The Treaty of Versailles became the rallying cry of Adolf Hitler, the Austrian corporal who eventually rose to become Germany's dictator. The Allied Forces learned their lessons. Hence, no more Treaty of Versailles.

Instead, the U.S. came out with the Marshall Plan, which helped Germany and other losers in the European theater to rise and rehabilitate. The Marshall Plan, named after then U.S. State George Marshall, has enabled Germany to become a major economic power.

The U.S. has likewise helped Japan to rise from its bitter defeat to become a major economic power after the war. It has been asserted that they accomplished a lot during the post war period.

But the U.S. and other Allied powers did not help without preconditions. Germany has to completely denounce Nazism. In fact, German laws ban the Nazi Party; the mere display of the swastika flag is prohibited.

Japan has to adopt the Peace Constitution, which Gen. Douglas McArthur, as wartime governor of Japan, had imposed. The Peace Constitution has put a cap on Japan's defense expenditures to one percent of its GNP. This has been relaxed lately to counter China's rise.

The Marshall Plan doctrine somehow stipulates that it is always better to help a country to rise than humiliate it. Usually, the foreign aid is always subject to some strings usually attached to political objectives like commitment to democracy and world peace.

Unstable but manageable

The international community, particularly the major powers look at the sick old man as fundamentally unstable, but manageable. They have using foreign aid as the virtual handcuffs on him.

Actually, the sick old man hardly has the domestic support. The Church, both the Majority (Roman Catholic Church) and Minority (various Protestant denominations and Christian evangelical groups), oppose the state sponsored spate of extrajudicial killings (EJKs).

He does not have the support of the Armed Forces on specific issues, particularly the planned martial law and revolutionary government. The defense and military establishment looks with suspicion his perceived dalliance with the Left, particularly the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People's Army, its military arm, and the National Democratic Front, its political arm.

Actually, in his own isolation, two major key sectors - Church and military - is perceived as factors that would define the country's future directions. As the threat of a revolutionary government declaration and nationwide martial law declaration is being nipped in the bud, the pro-democracy forces could focus on the current political imperatives.

The imperatives are to neutralize the cooptation of democratic institutions like the Supreme Court, Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Elections, and even the Commission Human rights. Democratic forces have to energized themselves to counter the threats to weaken their leadership through impeachment processes.

For the meantime, it pays to understand that the sick old man is not a threat to the restored democracy. 😌x

GROUP DANCING AT ITS BEST

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

Call it a serendipity, or a pleasant discovery, but group dancing is certainly entertaining.

Last night was a night of fun and meaningful entertainment, as I and my friends watched several men and women did group dancing in a nightspot in Quezon City.

The occasion was the opening of Sugar Ray’s Sports Pub and Resto in the Fisher Mall complex along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. Sugar Ray’s is the former Morita Resto, which had a slot at the other end of shopping mall complex, but had closed shop. Bobby del Rosario, a fishing magnate, owns Fisher Mall and Sugar Ray's.

Our Clouds@Night, a band led by Gabby Claudio, a former political affairs secretary in the Ramos and GMA administrations, provided the live music. Gabby, now a Pagcor board member, played the lead guitar. Hermie Aquino, a friend, treated me and another friend at Sugar Ray’s.

Aside from booze and excellent cuisine, Sugar Ray’s offers ballroom dancing to patrons and denizens. Dancing couples could go to the dance floor, but, at certain intervals, they can join group dancing (or line dancing), which is led by a dance instructor, who provides the dancing moves, which have to be followed religiously by the dance enthusiasts.

Customers, who are not in the mood to participate, or who simply do not know how to dance, could stay on their seats and watch the group dancing. I swear that watching them is entertaining and relaxing too.

While Gabby’s band played a series of disco music, nearly two dozens of women went to the dance floor and joined the dance leader for 30 long minutes of line dancing. I and my friends were happy to stay on our seats and watch group dancing, which is certainly a form of aerobic exercises.

I had fun watching the odd mixture of women, who went to the dance floor to show their dancing prowess. Bored housewives, mistresses guarded by their jealous lovers, middle-aged professionals, obese women who wanted to shed off extra adipose tissues, and ladies, who just want to have extra endorphins, were among the participants.

I saw a short, roly-poly woman, who stands barely five feet, but she danced feverishly and she did it without any trace of inhibition on her face. She is probably a member of the Club 40 Plus, as indicated by her girth. Incidentally, this club does not refer to women aged 40 and above; they are women with a waistline of at least 40 inches.

A woman with a pair of eyeglasses looks nerdy, but my naughty mind could not help but muse if she were a daughter of a pair of strict parents, who did not allow her to go on date during her younger days because she was going after for some scholarship or cum laude honors in college. She too danced passionately as if the salvation of her soul depended on it.

A trio or seemingly bored middle-aged housewives appeared to have found their freedom on the dancing floor, as they kept on gyrating in wild abandon. The dance floor seemed to have been their sanctuary; the dance leader, their high priest.

I gleefully watched a comely young woman joining the group dance, even as his lover, an aging gigolo with a pair of beagle eyes, watched her approvingly on the sidelines. When the music ended, they hurriedly paid their bill and left. They could have a different agenda.

Some millennial women joined several ladies, presumably over 60 or senoritas (senior citizens). The senior citizens sported heavily dyed black hair ostensibly to look a little younger. They too enjoyed the night. The younger ones had their hair dyed either blonde or auburn.

They danced and gyrated in complete abandon and, of course, to their hearts’ content; there was no dull moment watching them. Most had perfected the steps shown by the dance leader, while others made occasional lapses. But they were happy.

By 10:30 pm, the music ended. It was time to go home. I was told Sugar Ray’s opens at 6:30 pm and closes at 10:30 pm, although customers are given an extension of 30 minutes to finish their drinks. By 11 pm, it closes automatically.

I have the impression that the place does not intend to compete with the likes of Pegasus, Classmate, Heartbeat, and other high-end nightclubs along Quezon Avenue. Ergo, Sugar Ray’s is for clean fun.  It's not for dirty fun, or something that has a happy ending. It’s for legitimate people looking for legitimate fun.

I saw the guys leaving the place with smiles on their faces. Yes, group dancing could be therapeutic too.

MENTAL FARTS OF A MAD MAN

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

This afternoon, the man in Malacanang had threatened to declare a revolutionary government to replace the constitutional government. But he laid down a basic premise - if what he has perceived as the current “destabilization” continues. A big if, indeed.

The problem with him is that he keeps on threatening, as if everybody is a simpleton, who would kowtow to his every wish. There is no discernment in his public pronouncements. Everything that comes out of his big mouth is a spur of the moment thing.

There are three things to consider in his latest public statement.

The very first issue is the state of his mental health. Considering the series of erratic public utterances he has been making over the last 15 months, the key question: Is he sane enough to stand the rigors of the presidency?

The man is Malacanang is a mad man, who has gone wild. He is perceived to have gone nuts; he is not in control of his mental faculties. A mad man is most dangerous; he could not be held accountable for his insane acts. Neither does he have a concept of public accountability.

If he is insane, will the critical sectors like the military establishment support his revolutionary government?

The second issue is the nature of a revolutionary government. By its very term, it implies that a revolutionary government is a function of a revolution.

To his eternal misfortune, there is no revolution, existing or impending. There is no conclusive revolution to justify the creation of a revolutionary government. Hence, a revolutionary government is totally unnecessary.

Cory Aquino established a revolutionary government because the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution occurred. She had obtained the mandate from the sovereign people to dismantle the Marcos dictatorship.

Cory Aquino did not abuse the people’s mandate. Her revolutionary government operated under the temporary “Freedom Constitution” of 1986. It paved the way for the re-establishment of a constitutional government under the newly restored democratic set-up.

Soon after the February 7, 1987 referendum that ratified the Constitution, Cory Aquino totally abandoned the revolutionary government and nurtured the country towards a newly restored democratic era.

The proposed revolutionary government does not have the political justification. Even the man in Malacanang could not say categorically if he is leading a revolution against the restored democracy and bring the country back to authoritarianism.  

From a conceptual standpoint, a revolutionary government operates outside the ambit of the existing constitution. As an example, Cory Aquino threw away the 1973 Constitution, which served as the blueprint of the Marcos dictatorship.

Hence, any declaration of revolutionary government is dangerous. It means throwing away the established order, paving the way for one-man rule, which is most politically unpalatable given our collective experience under the Marcos dictatorship.

Hence, a revolutionary government led by a mad man is political suicide that would only divide the nation and plunge it in a bitter civil war, the end game of which is not easily discernible.

The Filipino people could find comfort in the constitutional provision that mandates the Armed Forces to be the “protector of the people.” Given the centrifugal tendencies of the current political leadership, the Armed Forces could serve as an excellent counter force to negate those adventurist tendencies from the mad man and his minions.

The third issue is destabilization. This word is in full quotes; it comes from him.

The 1987 Constitution provides sufficient remedy against unsavory political movements and developments. It empowers the president to place the entire country or certain parts under martial law in case of invasion or rebellion. Destabilization, which is milder than invasion or rebellion, is not mentioned.

Destabilization, by its very nature is neither rebellion nor invasion. It could refer to challenges to the status quo, to the political leadership. It could mean a call for him to step down, or clamor to basic sectors, particularly the political opposition, to remove him for office.

Again to the eternal misfortune of the man in Malacanang, this kind of destabilization is legitimate dissent. It is within the ambit of the 1987 Constitution.

His problem is that he could not distinguish legitimate dissent from other political cataclysms. For him, legitimate dissent is an affront to his political authority. He does not understand that it is part of the political dynamics in a restored democracy like ours.

Now, the ultimate question: What if he proceeds with his threat and declare a revolutionary government?

Chances are, he won’t generate the political support to succeed. He would only fail. Hence, his declaration of a revolutionary government would only hasten his political downfall and removal from office.

Who is insane to follow an insane president? Who would implement it? What would be reasons to declare it? Is legitimate dissent - or the elimination of his political adversaries - a justified ground for its declaration?

There are many questions to answer before he could even declare with total confidence.

What the old man in Malacanang has said could be regarded merely farts of his demented mind. He should not be taken seriously. His concept of revolutionary government should be totally ignored.

QUESTION OF IMPLEMENTATION

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

(Well-meaning netizen-friends have asked my views concerning presidential threats to declare martial law nationwide. This is my response.)

Whoever sits in Malacanang has the power to declare a nationwide martial law. That’s a settled doctrine. But the 1987 Constitution contains stringent conditions when it comes to the exercise of emergency powers.

Learning from the 1972 martial law declaration that led to the installation of the Marcos dictatorship, the framers of the 1987 Constitution have made sure that the martial law declaration would not lead to the suspension of the 1987 Constitution.

The framers have included provisions that allow the civilian courts and Congress to operate. Hence, it does not supplant the civilian authority over the military even when the entire country is in a state of martial law.

The Constitution specifies conditions before the president can declare martial law. He can only do it when the country faces invasion or rebellion. The duration is also specific: sixty days. It is also subject to automatic judicial review by the Supreme Court.

The President can declare nationwide martial law anytime, but only when the country faces two conditions: invasion or rebellion. He can’t use it to prolong his stay in power just like what Ferdinand Marcos did in 1972. Neither can he use those emergency powers to run after his political opponents.

The 1987 Constitution is clear on these issues. The martial law law powers are not meant to stifle dissent.

Ultimately, this is the question: “Can he implement a nationwide martial law?”

Given the questionable state of his mental health, it would be difficult for the president to use martial law powers to get what he wants. His motives would be suspect to the men and women of the Armed Forces, who would be tasked to implement it.

They would not follow orders because he says so. The men and women in uniform would certainly follow legal orders – and disobey illegal orders. 

Likewise, the president has to put every order in writing. Verbal orders would not be followed by those people, who, because they hold the guns, would be accountable for everything they do.

The president can’t just bamboozle his way to establish a new dictatorship. He is not in the position to touch the nerve of history the way Marcos did in 1972.

His hands are tied even if he declares a nationwide martial law. In fact, it would be foolish for him to place the entire country under martial law.   

GOV'T RECASTS INFO STRATEGY, BLOGGERS FACE EXCLUSION

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

Stung and stunned by mounting public outrage over the spate of fake news emanating from several pro-government bloggers, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is recasting the state information strategy mainly to boost the sagging credibility of the Duterte government.

PCOO Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco said the overall strategy has the following elements:

-         distancing from the pro-government bloggers, who currently face  widespread public criticisms for authoring fake news;

-         prevent them from using the government information infrastructure as their communications platform; and

-         re-instituting editorial independence for its government information agencies.

Egco said the government could not stop bloggers, whether pro or against the government, from expressing themselves, but they should use other communications platforms, which are not the government’s.

Initially, Egco said the PCOO has formed an eight-man editorial advisory board to guide the state-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA) in the dissemination of news that involve various government agencies.

One of the members of the eight-man advisory board said this is intended to prevent the likes of blogger and PCOO Assistant Mocha Uson from using the PNA as their platform for their blogs earlier criticized for containing fake details.

“Those bloggers use to have their say to press editors to carry their blogs on PNA wires. They throw their weight around, drop names of the higher ups to have been published, and callously order editors them on what to do with their copies,” the source said.

“This should never happen again as the advisory board sets up editorial policies,” the source said.

Egco did not deny what the source had said but added that a draft department order has been prepared to put an editorial structure for the PNA and ensure its editorial independence from outside parties, including bloggers.

Egco said pro-government bloggers could use social media as their platforms and the PCOO would not intervene.

Egco earlier said in the public hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media last Thursday that the websites that publish fakes news carrying the President’s name could adversely affect the government because the public could perceive these websites as part of the state information machinery.*

RICHARD GORDON IN PERSPECTIVE

RICHARD GORDON IN PERSPECTIVE

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

(Author”s Note: I almost forgot that I bought a great book ten years ago. While browsing this book this morning, I found a chapter devoted to Richard Gordon, the autocratic ruler of the port city of Olongapo, some 130 kilometers north of Manila. Olongapo City hosted a part of the Subic Naval Base. The bigger part of this former U.S. military facility turned free port and industrial zone lies in the province of Bataan. This article is about Gordon, his family, and his style of governance.)

CHAPTER Five of Donald Kirk’s book,”Philippines In Crisis: U.S. Power Versus Local Revolt,” is aptly titled “Free Port or Hacienda?” It virtually shows the uniqueness of how Subic Free Port was then managed by Richard Gordon, the roly poly autocratic Olongapo City mayor, whom President Fidel Ramos named as chair of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SMBA) even before the 1992 expiration of the U.S. Military Bases Agreement. The SBMA is the state agency tasked to develop and transform the former Subic Naval Base, a U.S. military facility, into a modern-day free port and industrial zone.

The chapter title shows that although Subic Naval Base was undergoing transformation into a modern free port after 1992, it was being managed like an hacienda, where a cacique (feudal landlord) in Gordon reigned supreme. Incidentally, hacienda is the Spanish term for those vast tracts of farmlands that typified a feudal estate.

Donald Dirk, a veteran roving American correspondent, took off from the November 24, 1992 scene when Richard Gordon, nicknamed Dick, as the newly appointed SBMA chair, and wife Katherine, or Kate, as the Olongapo City mayor, attended the ceremony, where U.S. base authorities formally turned over the Subic Naval Base to the Philippine government.

Dirk, who interviewed a lot of people for the specific chapter, including the Gordons, mentioned casually how the Gordons immediately took what he described “a  self righteous campaign to rid the town of the sleaze and scum associated with the American era.” The Gordons got their inspectors to close down those roaring bars outside the main gate along Magsaysay Street. Dirk also said:

“They ordered their minions to harass the aging Americans Australians, and other foreigners still running bars along several miles of roads running around the bay in Barrio Barreto, a beachfront strip envisioned as a luxury resort area for rich and powerful investors lured into both the base and the town.”

According to Dirk, the first Gordon to have arrived in Olongapo City was John Jacob Gordon, the offspring of Russian Jewish parents, who settled in Kingston, New York. He was a member of  U.S Marines, who joined Admiral George Dewey’s fleet, which defeated the Spanish fleet in the mocked Battle of Manila Bay. He first settled in Sangley Bay in Cavite, but moved to Olongapo, then a fishing village. It was soon developed by the Americans to host the naval base.

Dirk said first Gordon married a local beauty and had four sons, three of which survived but they all migrated to the States. He remarried Veronica Tagle, a Spanish mestizo, and bore him a son, James Gordon, Richard’s father. John Jacob operated “Gordon’s Farm,” a saloon frequented by American servicemen for its good food, booze, and women. But it was James the son, who prospered as he put up a hotel and cabaret, movie theater, radio station and a popular restaurant. 

Just like his father, James enriched himself from the American servicemen’s patronage. James married Amelia Juico, who belonged to a landed family. They have five kids: Richard, three daughters, and James Jr. 

Dirk said about the Gordons: “The Gordon name remains a constant in the evolution of Olongapo, at every stage reflecting and refracting the history of a community that sees itself at the end of the twentieth century as epitomizing the Philippines’ economic revolution.   The family – not merely Dick Gordon but also his forebears, along with a complex web of in-laws and other relatives – has strived, ever since the original John Jacob Gordon set up his saloon on the fringes of the American military holdings, to work with the Americans even while asserting independence form them.”

According to Gordon, mother Amelia did not like Richard’s choice of a bride and this had caused animosity in the family. Richard had to assert his independence, as he defended his marriage to Katherine Howell, an illegitimate daughter of an American serviceman by a local beauty, who and managed and operated a nightclub that featured bikini-clad dancing women and hostesses. Although Richard prevailed over her mother, the two women were described as “hostile toward each other, often on nonspeaking terms for years.”

James Gordon was elected mayor of Olongapo City in 1963, but because of what Dirk described as a result of “cutthroat politics and payoffs,” he was assassinated on February 20, 1967. Richard was too young during those days. Hence, mother Amelia took over the city’s top political post. 

Richard Gordon’s first entry in politics was in 1970, when he was elected delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention that drafted the new constitution to replace the 1935 Constitution, which was then described as colonial because it was written under the American colonial rule.

Richard was elected mayor of Olongapo City in 1980, but he allied himself with dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a political career marked by opportunism, according to Dirk. He saw his future with Marcos. But he got the shock of his life when Marcos was deposed in 1986 and Cory Aquino took over. Gordon was among those replaced by the Cory Aquino government. He confessed to have nightmares from that episode, Dirk said.

He regained power in 1988 when he won as mayor, even as he remained hostile to Cory Aquino. He supported Danding Cojuangco in the 1992 elections, but found himself in a tight fix when Fidel Ramos, or FVR, won. He nevertheless switched sides, as he delivered speeches that flattered FVR. Soon, FVR named him as SBMC chair to preside over Subic Naval base’s transformation into a modern free port and industrial zone.

According to Dirk, Richard Gordon went into a PR binge that sought to project Subic as the new growth center of Asia, even likening it to the new Hong Kong. The American author mentioned Gordon’s launch of the much ballyhooed volunteer program as sort of what Gordon described a “social experiment.” Dirk said:

“There was however no real ‘social experiment.’ The reality was that Gordon, for all the wealth already accumulated by him and his wife, each related by blood and marriage to still more wealth, did not want to pay from his pocket the paltry salaries he might offer the large unemployed labor force suddenly made available by the Americans’ departure. His grip on the levers of local government and his political resources enabled him to compel thousands to volunteer on the promise that some day, if they did well and the base prospered in its reincarnation as a free port and industrial zone , they would all be paid paying jobs.

“Gordon’s volunteer program was a powerful lure. In the first months, college graduates, with some of them with degrees from prestigious universities, joined laid off clerks and typists, grass cutters and weed pullers in working for nothing. The college graduates and office workers – those with connections and loyalty – were assured of paying jobs within a year or so.

“Political loyalty, not professional qualifications, was the litmus test. No one associated with the political opposition had a chance. The Gordons’ intelligence system was pervasive. There were stories of dismissals of who who got into the payroll – and then were reported to be of dubious loyalty. Volunteers identified with the foes were either frustrated in getting regular jobs or were dropped altogether from what they were doing.”

In brief, the volunteer program was a failure. But it did not stop Gordon from pitching high notes about Subic’s potential as a free port and industrial zone. He minced plenty of words for Subic as a potential destination of foreign investments that would move out of Hong Kong, when the British government turned over its former colony to China in 1997. There were comparisons during those days, Dirk said.

But, as it turned out, all those posturings were empty boasts. Dirk said: “Businessmen also had their complaints. Japanese bankers in Manila were reluctant to invest heavily in a free port “when the future is so insecure.” Shippers said the port was charging so much and were reluctant to put for short visits – or even minor repairs. Investors had horror stories tales of encounter with young and inexperienced bureaucrats that Gordon put together, many from among his following of friends and hangers-on. The chairman, it was said, was too often out politicking or partying with friends.”

Dirk also mentioned Gordon’s “passion for control.” He made all final decisions and nothing got in without his approval. No wonder, the SBMA has yet to actualize its much ballyhooed potentials as a free port and industrial zone.