THREE CRISES FACE THE PHL

 By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

THREE crises face the Philippines. The first is the crisis caused by the pandemic; the second, the crisis caused by China's incursions into our territory; and third, the crisis of confidence caused by the two other crises. They leave a big question on our capacity to survive as a nation. We begin to ask where our nation will go. Shall we float of sink. We're like a piece of driftwood, floating on water and we don't know where to go. This is probably the worst crisis of confidence we face since the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

Allow me to discuss the crisis brought by the Covid-19 pandemic

WE’RE IN FOR A TOUGH RIDE

BRACE up guys! We’re in for a tough ride in the coming days. This pandemic situation could last until next year, when we will have to go to the polling precincts to vote in the 2022 presidential elections.

Rodrigo Duterte and his ilk have not come out until now with any workable solution on the pandemic. They are lost. They are basically defeated dogs, who could no longer sustain a battle. They are confused and don’t know what to do.

This situation is being compounded by Duterte’s unwanted admission the pandemic will persist, as more people will get sick and die in the process. He had tried to assuage our ruffled feelings by saying defensively that “hindi tayo nagkulang (we didn’t lack anything).” This was a statement that was met with guffaws and social ridicule.

On the contrary, they have failed. Their failure has led to the pandemic's second wave, which continues to hit us with an unprecedented number of victims and deaths, said to be a record breaker in Southeast Asia.

The Covid-19 virus and its variants continue to ravage the nation in the most unexpected ways. They are peaking in number of victims and deaths as indicated by official data from the DoH.

The daily average of infection cases is around 10,000 persons over the last ten days, while the daily number of deaths is around 150 to 200 persons. DoH data also showed the number of active cases has increased to over 193,000 as of yesterday. It would likely hit the 200,000 by today.

The overall number of infection cases has breached the 900,000 mark and is expected to reach over one million by end-April. DoH data also places the positive rate at 20%, which means that for every 100 persons who underwent testing, 20 were positive.

As indicated by his TV appearances, no immediate solution appeared in sight. Duterte and his acolytes have not adopted what could be described the “best practices” among countries, which, although they don’t have sufficient vaccines, have come out solutions to stop its spread among their people.

On the contrary, Duterte and his ilk had the temerity to discuss the vaccine self reliance program, which will lead to the establishment of a vaccine manufacturing plant here. They naively believe it would take six months to build it, when experience shows it takes five to six years to construct one. This was definitely off the mark.

The pandemic requires immediate solutions to arrest its spread among Filipinos. This plan could wait. But where are the vaccines earlier promised by the vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr., a retired military general, to flood the country within this year?

Vaccines are not coming. Even developed countries like the United States and Great Britain, which manufacture them, are having issues with their supplies. What they have earlier promised to give to the Philippines may not come at all because those supplies would have to go first to their people.

To make the long story short, we, the Filipino people, are on our own. We can’t expect much from our government. We shouldn’t let Duterte to lead our lives. We can’t expect much from them. They are useless.

What we have to do is to make clear to the presidential candidates to come forward with solutions for the pandemic. We have to make sure that we will only vote for the candidate that would come out with a spate of solutions

‘DEFEATIST’ FOREIGN POLICY

WHILE the pandemic has grown into crisis proportions, another crisis has erupted with neither indication nor provocation on the part of the Philippines. It is the crisis that is being brought by China right on our doorstep.

This is the crisis that is threatening our territorial integrity, as scores of Chinese vessels have swarmed our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine (WPS) and the reefs there. The WPS is part of the South China Sea, almost the whole of which is being claimed by China, the predatory power in the region.

Those Chinese vessels, the number of which range from 200 to 220, are not essentially after the rich natural resources in the Philippine EEZ. No, these vessels are not after the fishes, seaweeds, giant clams, coral reefs, and other marine flora and fauna, the total value of which could reach hundreds of billions of pesos.

Their presence indicates they want to establish China’s ownership of the South China Sea under the much maligned and rejected Nine-Dash Line Theory being espoused by China. This is the same theory, which the five-man Permanent Arbitration Commission of the United Nations Conference of the Law of Sea has dismissed as non-existent in the historic 2016 decision that reaffirms the Philippine maritime entitlements.

China's hegemony as shown by the unabashed presence of those Chinese vessels in PHL territory stems mainly from our foreign policy. No, it’s not that we don’t have a foreign policy on China. It’s not that we don’t know how to deal with China. But our foreign policy under the much detested Rodrigo Duterte has drastically changed since he became president in 2016.

From a policy of mutual understanding and treatment, it has degenerated into a policy of servitude. No, China and the Philippines are no longer on the same plane. Their relations are no longer based on equal terms. Duterte is the local running dog of Xi Jin-ping and the China Communist Party. He is their lackey, plain and simple.

Although the 1987 Constitution does not say that the incumbent president is the “chief architect” of PHL foreign policy, subsequent decisions establishes the power of the incumbent president to chart PHL foreign policy. But is does not mean the president could dictate what he wishes. They are usually subject to interaction and the constitutional precept of “checks and balance” by the three branches of government. This judicial doctrine is being thoroughly followed and adhered to in the previous administrations.

***

THAT Duterte is a Chinese lackey is not a matter of perception. Facts support this assertion. In 2018, Duterte was said to have prohibited the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard from conducting routine patrols of the West Philippine Sea. Then Magdalo Party List Rep. Gary Alejano revealed the prohibition, the information of which coming from his former colleagues in the Philippine Navy, and that has led China to establish military bases on those tiny specks of rock islands in the West Philippine Sea.

Duterte has agreed unilaterally to Xi’s suggestion for the Philippines to go slow in our assertion of the decision of the 2016 UNCLOS Permanent Arbitration Commission. Duterte cowardly agreed to Xi’s suggestion for the Philippines to resort to bilateral negotiations instead of asserting the UNCLOS decision. Incidentally, Duterte does not feel offended whenever he is described a “traitor” or a “quisling” in PHL-China relations.

China has been claiming ownership of a big part of South China Sea, citing as bases what it alleged as “historical presence” and the Nine-Dash Line theory. Over $5.3 trillion worth of commodities pass through the South China Sea to propel world commerce. China’s claim of ownership would restrict free passage of those goods along traditional sealanes, constricting free flow of world trade.

China’s claim of ownership of South China Sea on the basis of historic right and presence is being laughed at and ridiculed. China did not establish any foothold in South China Sea. What it had in the past were Chinese pirates, who marauded our villages, killed our men, raped our women, and snatched children for sale as slaves in some parts unknown.

The Nine-Dash Line theory, a modern-day invention, was an abomination because it was introduced in 2009 without mentioning the coordinates on the map to establish boundaries. It was laughed at and treated as merely a Chinese fiction.

In 2012, about 80-100 Chinese vessels swarmed the Panatag Shoal to form a phalanx as Chine’s way to establish ownership of that part of the West Philippine Sea. Some backchannel negotiations led by then Se. Sonny Trillanes happened and it prompted China to withdraw its maritime militia. In 2013, the PNOY government filed a case before the UNCLOS.

The Philippines won its case before the Permanent Arbitration Commission based in The Hague by dismissing China’s claim of ownership of South China Sea on the basis of the Nine-Dash Line theory. The 2016 decision is regarded historic because it forms part of the international law. This is their basis why the United States has brought its naval force in South China Sea.

Incidentally, the Philippines is not thoroughly pro-China. It government is divided into two factions: the pro-China faction led by Rodrigo Duterte, Bong Go, Jose Calida, or the so-called “Inferior Davao”; and the anti-China faction by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin. Duterte could not fire Lorenzana and Locsin because they are perceived to have the support of the United States.

The U.S., under Jose Biden, has changed its foreign policy to compete with China. Holding the 2016 UNCLOS decision, it has deployed its forces in the South China Sea to ensure freedom of navigation in that part of the world. China could not do anything. It is only Duterte and his ilk who have remained a lackey. His attitude has always been described as “defeatist,” as he kept on saying the PHL could not say no to China because it has weak maritime power.

The third crisis leaves us with the big question: Quo vadis, Philippines?

'MAKAPILI'

 Ni Ba Ipe

MGA HULING BUWAN ng pananakop ng nga Japones noong Pangalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig ng nagsulputan sa publiko ang mga kasapi ng Makabayang Kalipunan ng mga Pilipino. Tinawag sila na mga MAKAPILI.

Marami sa kanila ang mga dating kasapi ng Ganap Party, o mga Sakdalista ni Benigno Ramos, isang manunulat sa wikang Filipino. Auxiliary worker (katulong) sila ng Japanese Imperial Army kahit nakahingi sila ng karapatan na mabayaran tulad ng mga sundalong Japones (teka, marami sa kanila ang mga Koreano at Taiwanese na binigyan ng mga pangalang Japon).

Malalim ang mga alaala na iniwan ng mga kasapi ng Makapili. Sa mga pagkakataon na lumabas sila sa publiko, sila ang mga taong may suot na bayong sa ulo upang hindi makilala. Sila ang mga nagturo sa mga sundalong Japones ng mga gerilya at kriminal noong panahon ng Japon.

Hindi dumadaan sa proseso ng katarungan ang mga itinuro. Walang sakda; hindi sila dumadaan sa proseso ng hukuman noon. Kinukuha sila ng sundalong Japones sa kanilang tahanan upang ikulong at patayin. Maraming pagkakataon na pinapatay ang mga itinuro ng mga Makapili. 

Masidhi ang operasyon ng mga kasapi ng Makapili sa mga huling buwan ng 1944 at unang buwan ng 1945, ang panahon na nangyari ang tinawag na “Battle of Manila.” Base ng operasyon ng mga Makapili ang Maynila at kanugnog lugar tulad ng Makati at maging sa ilang bayan ng Laguna at Rizal kung saan malakas ang Sakdalista.

Lingid sa kaalaman ng mga Japones, maraming kasapi ng Makapili ang nakilala ng mga pamilya na kanilang itinuro. Sa pagwawakas ng digmaan, nagkaroon ng gantihan. Maraming Makapili ang pinatay ng mga taong hindi nakilala hanggang ngayon. Napilitan ang liderato ng mga Japon na dalhin ang mga Makapili nang umurong sila sa Cordillera sa pagwawakas ng digmaan nong 1945.

Marami sa Makapili ang hindi na lumutang. Pinaniniwalaan ng pinatay sila ng mga puwersang Japones na naging desperado sa pag-uro.  Iyong mga Makapili na hindi nakilala, nagbagong buhay at nakabalik sa daloy ng lipunan.

Ikinuwento ng aking ina ang isang konsehal sa Maynila na pinaniniwalaan niya na kasapi ng Makapili. Matagal siyang konsehal at umiwas sa mga kontrobersiya noong panahon niya sa pulitika. Pero ibang usapan na ito.

 Ngayon, ginagami ang salitang MAKAPILI sa mga taong pinaniniwalaan na naging traydor sa bayan.  Kasama na diyan ang mga taong makiling sa China. Hindi mawawala ang MAKAPILI sa ating talasalitaan (dictionary).

‘MR. SHOOLI’ GOES ONLINE

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

Blame it to the pandemic.

Veteran comedian, director, and pundit Jun Urbano, aka “Mr. Shooli,” was doing nothing during the lockdown arising from the pandemic caused by the so-called China-Duterte Virus (or Covid-19) when he had thought of reviving the famed “Mongolian Barbecue,” the TV satire program of the 1980s.

“Wala akong ginagawa (I was doing nothing). I was unhappily retired,” Mr. Urbano says when asked what has motivated him to revive the TV satire program and Mr. Shooli, the loquacious but intelligent main character of that TV program.

Mr. Urbano says he wants to contribute his share to the national discourse on nagging issues confronting the country, but “I do not want to lecture.” That is the reason he had thought of bringing back Mr. Shooli to the public limelight. He has decided to talk through Mr. Shooli.

But reviving Mongolian Barbecue and bringing back Mr. Shooli to public consciousness were easier said than done. No TV network was willing to gamble on a TV program that has been out of public view for three decades. The commercial aspect was too obvious to ignore.

Besides, Mr. Urbano admits he is now 81. Young people, or the –so-called “millennials,” hardly know him. They have a vague idea of Mr. Shooli, the character whom he had created when he was 50 years old. But he is determined to reintroduce himself to the new audience by being truthful and politically correct. He knows he is on the right side of history.

Mr. Urbano admits he has no big money to spend for the return of his baby. The only choice is to go online, where production cost is much lower. Why not tap cyberspace for this new venture? It appears to be the perfect communications platform for its revival.

When friends have learned of his project either by reading his post or word of mouth, friends from various walks of life came to his rescue. Showing the much vaunted spirit of volunteerism among kindred spirits, they have volunteered their services – mostly free – to ensure its return on a new medium and platform in the cyberspace.

For instance, veteran music composer and arranger Nonong Buencamino, also a social media denizen, has volunteered to compose a jingle – free of charge – for the program. Mr. Buencamino has composed a new jingle, of which Mr. Urbano was already satisfied, but says he is not satisfied, as he intends to produce a “better one,” according to Urbano.

Friends of his sons have volunteered the use of production equipment – also free of charge, lessening the burden of initial outlay. He had heard several offers, including its marketing from his friends in the advertising industry. In the past, Mr. Urbano directed commercials under the auspices of those advertising agencies, which had corporate clients.

Mr. Urbano says he would not digress from the old formula that had made Mongolian Barbecue a successful TV program during the days when Cory Aquino dismantled the Marcos dictatorship and provided a much wider democratic space for the living arts. The revived Mr. Shooli would address the burning issues, including controversial political, economic, and social issues.

Mr. Shooli intends to inject humor in the program. Since the revived program is still having birth pains in this age of the pandemic and social media, Mr. Urbano says netizens would see the program being dominated by him. He intends to bring old characters like sidekick Kuhol in later episodes, as the revived program takes root in its new platform in the cyberspace.

The revived Mongolian Barbecue would have its maiden episode on Sunday (Nov. 1) on Youtube. They have yet to set the time.

Jun Urbano’s politics is essentially left-of-center. Since his days at the Ateneo University, where he completed his elementary, high school, and college education (he finished journalism), Urbano had come to relish and appreciate the value of public criticisms and the importance of instituting changes. Politics has been a staple stuff even in old Mongolian Barbecue and Mr. Shooli as its lead character did not hesitate to criticize and pontificate at times.

Mr. Shooli had blinded objects of his criticisms with his unrestrained combination of science and humor, endearing him to the TV audience. He had mocked and laughed at genuinely powerful people and those despicable characters, pretenders, and hangers-on who kept on strutting along the corridors of power.

Mr. Urbano feels the Filipino people are hungry for these stuff. They have not lost their sense of humor despite the grueling challenges of the pandemic and inept rule of the current leadership. While saying he was not that partisan, he has likened politicians to a series of tropical storms, which keep on coming over.

“Parang mga bagyo ang mga pulitiko. Mananalasa at maninira, at aalis. Pero eto na naman ang panibagong bagyo (Politicians are like storms, which come to destroy and leave),” Mr. Urbano says, as he expressed dismay over the vicious cycle of underperforming politicians. “Kanya-kanyang bata sa pulitika dito (it’s politics of patronage here).”

Mr. Urbano is aware that his new project could meet resistance from people with whom he did not see eye-to-eye. But being truthful has its own dividends, he says. He is hopeful that commercial sponsors would come to help the program to expand and stay in its new platform.

As Jun Urbano embarks on a new venture rightfully at the sunset of his life, he could not help but feel that staying at home and doing nothing at the height of a pandemic had its own virtue, bliss, and reward. The rebirth of his old baby is forthcoming.

13Santos Jr Pangilinan, Teng Montalbo and 11 others

PERSECUTED CRONY?

 

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

 RODOLFO Cuenca’s authorized biography book "Builder of Bridges: The Rudy Cuenca Story," which is reluctantly written by Jose "Butch" Dalisay Jr. and Antonette Reyes, contains details, which were mostly unknown to the public until it came out. These details were mostly on the dynamics of the relationship among cronies of dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the height of the infamous and detested martial law regime. Rudy Cuenca is best remembered as the guy who led what could be perceived the meteroic rise of Construction Development Corporation of the Philippines (CDCP), which became the country’s biggest and leading construction firm in the 1970s and 1980s.

Let us be forewarned that any authorized biography is no different from an autobiography. It contains feats worthy of records, conversations and associations with famous people, or some weird experiences that could be humorous, poignant, or striking. Any authorized biography could only contain what the subject of a biography wishes to divulge. Omissions and commissions are the likely aftermath of the written works.

According to Cuenca, CDCP was created in 1966 by an odd mixture of construction and banking guys. It was their response to the call of Ferdinand Marcos in his first year in office to strengthen the construction industry so that the country could pursue an ambitious infrastructure program. CDCP rose to the occasion, as it built over the succeeding years NLEX and SLEX, LRT-1, San Juanico Bridge and the 3000-hectare reclamation of the Manila Bay. It also diversified into other areas including construction projects in the Middle East, mining (CDCP Mining which later became Basay Mines), shipping (Galleon Shipping), labor subcontracting, among others. At its prime, CDCP had 38 subsidiaries. It was ranked as one of the biggest construction firms in the world.

Nearly 20 years after it was formed, CDCP fell flat on the ground, a victim of its own ambition and faulty finances. Rudy Cuenca, while busy to conclude contracts with the foreign and the Marcos governments, failed to check its own finances. Because of over-extension, it had failed to collect payments of its projects, leading to severe liquidity issues. According to Cuenca, CDCP was busy pursuing projects and spending for their completion, but could hardly collect payments so that it did not have sufficient funds to finance its operations. The mismatch was something it could not handle.

For a while, CDCP resorted to short-term borrowings, or through issuance of commercial papers, which was then a common practice during those days. They were quite exorbitant because they carried short repayment periods and high interest rates. CDCP kept on rolling those maturing commercial debts , but there was a limit for those loan rollovers. In the end, it collapsed because of its own weight. Its debts were so huge to the point it could not service them.

The authors did not discuss the major financial antecedents that led to CDCP’s liquidity issues. There was omission of the Dewey Dee affair. Dewey Dee was a Chinoy businessmen, who absconded over P600 million in debts. The Dewey Dee caper led to drastic reforms in the local financial system, including a tight squeeze and control on the issuance of commercial papers. Hence, it came to the point when CDCP could not issue new commercial papers. Hence, it could no longer roll over its maturing debts.

Moreover, the book did not discuss CDCP’s ownership – beneficial, or whatever. While the authors named Rudy Cuenca and his business associates as among its owners, they did not in any way indicate if Ferdinand Marcos was among the owners. Knowing the insatiable greed of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, it is inconceivable that Marcos did not own a big part of it. The manner how it cornered big ticket projects during the days of the dictatorship showed Marcos somehow favored from it. The authors did not discuss why Marcos did not help Rudy Cuenca to save CDCP, but instead allow its corporate demise.

Also, the book did not discuss Rudy Cuenca's failure at length. This is to be expected. While the book was brutally frank, it was written to serve Rudy Cuenca’s purpose and interest. Authorized biographies are essentially self-serving. Re his debacle and downfall, Rudy Cuenca laid the blame squarely on three major characters, whom he claimed to have ganged up on him. He did not use the word "conspiracy," but Roberto Ongpin and siblings Imelda and Kokoy Romualdez did everything that he would lose everything.

Roberto Ongpin, the fourth most powerful man during those days after Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, and Cesar Virata, served as Marcos’s hatchet man. Roberto Ongpin readily accepted Rudy Cuenca’s invitation to become chairman of the CDCP board. Rudy Cuenca could not help but felt bitter because instead of helping CDCP in his capacity as its board chairman, he led in CDCP’s slaughter. The government took over CDCP as government debts were converted into equities. It has been renamed the PNCC or Philippine National Construction Corporation.

The authors did not mention any fallout between Ferdinand Marcos and Rodolfo Cuenca. Why Ferdinand allowed its slaughter and used Ongpin as the hatchet man of its financial demise is worthy of future investigation. But the CDCP affairs also pointed to the dynamics among the people in power during those days.

Rudy Cuenca claimed that Imelda Marcos was apparently envious or jealous of Rudy Cuenca’s access to husband Ferdinand. Rudy Cuenca avoided to get closed to Imelda during those days. He bypassed her. He did not see it fit to pay obeisance to her. He felt he could go directly to Marcos. Rudy Cuenca apparently misunderstood that Imelda was the other half of the conjugal dictatorship during those days. Imelda resented his antics. He misread the situation.

Rudy Cuenca claimed he gained Kokoy Romauldez’s enmity after CDCP bagged the contract to reclaim 3,000 hectares of sea in the Manila Bay area. Rudy Cuenca claimed his firm bested Kokoy’s construction firm, which he did not identify, in the bidding.

Rudy Cuenca is still alive at 94. It’s interesting how those powerful guys slit each other’s throat during the heady days of the Marcos dictatorship. #

THE NINOY AQUINO MURDER IN RETROSPECT

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

HINDSIGHT is always 20/20.

Had opposition leader Benigno Aquino did not return to the Philippines in 1983 and opted to stay as a laid back academic in the United States, the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos could have extended a little longer, probably a decade or two. Who knows Imelda Marcos could have followed Ferdinand, and then children Imee and Ferdinand Jr.

But Ninoy Aquino thwarted their political plans to establish a dynasty by going home. He had decided to present himself as a democratic alternative just in case the dictator’s kidney surgery worsened, leading him to die eventually. At that time, a kidney transplant operation was not a perfected surgery much unlike today.

Ninoy Aquino’s single act of bravery and moral courage pursued and done at the most crucial moment in history virtually altered the political equation. It deflated the planned takeover of Imelda and Gen. Fabian Ver, the dictator’s loyal aide, who rose to become the Armed Forces chief of staff. His homecoming put them in an awkward situation, prompting them to pull the trigger and kill Ninoy Aquino.

Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, which was treacherously done on the airport tarmac in the early afternoon of Aug. 21, 1983, gave the single spark that torched the Marcos dictatorship. It was the single event that galvanized a single anti-dictatorship front, uniting the various anti-Marcos forces from all walks of life – from the perfumed elite of the Makati business district to the poor and hungry farm hands.

It led to a series of events that exposed the weaknesses of the Marcos dictatorship, particularly the dictator’s lack of mandate. Cornered like a scalded cat, Marcos had no choice but to call the Feb. 7, 1986 “snap” presidential elections that resulted in massive cheating and fraud to mar the purported political victory of Marcos.

In brief, the murder of Ninoy Aquino was one of the series of antecedents that led to the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the single defining moment in history, where the  Filipino people, in their exercise of souvereign right, toppled an overstaying dictator from Malacanang.  Aside from becoming the universal template on how to topple dictators, the EDSA Revolution has led to the restoration of democracy.

The Philippine political experience teeters on two themes: democracy and authoritarianism.  While we acknowledge the need for a democratic government that upholds the Constitution, the rule of the law and individual rights and freedom, a part of our polity favors authoritarian rule purportedly to promote national security.

Ninoy Aquino’s murder and the subsequent EDSA Revolution shatter this docrine of national security.  It is a strongman’s doctrine to institutionalize an authoritarian rule and prolong his stay in power.

Fast forward to the present. We could sense an ongoing counterrevolution to invalidate the gains of EDSA Revolution and destroy Ninoy Aquino’s legacy and time-tested adage that “the Filipino is worth dying for.” We see a deranged president who wants to touch the nerve of history to prove that the restored democracy is a fluke.

We see authoritarian forces who want to revise history and present the sacrifice of Ninoy Aquino and other democratic heroes are not worth remembering at all. But against the backdrop of the conspiracy of anti-democratic elements, we see Ninoy Aquino’s legacyrising above the tempest of authoritarian tendencies.

The counterrevolution is bound to fail. Yes, the Filipno is worth fighting for.

FAILED REBEL ARMS SHIPMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

Unknown to many Filipinos, rebel forces and even the burgeoning First Philippine Republic, also called the Malolos Republic, engaged in failed arms smuggling to bolster their forces, but they had failed. Because of their inability to procure arms, their revolutionary efforts did not generate steam to defeat enemies. Two failed arms shipments are prominently mentioned: the 1899 arms shipments from Japan to help the Filipino revolutionary forces fighting the invading American forces; and the 1972 MV Karagatan episode where arms shipments from China were stopped by state troopers.

In the book “Mariano Ponce y Collantes: Dangal ng Lahing Pilipino,” which was edited by historian Jaime Balcos Veneracion, former chair of the UP Department of History, historian Resil Mojares wrote Mariano Ponce, whom Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the First Philippine Republic, named as Philippine ambassador to Japan, quietly worked with Japanese right-wing activists for some arrangements so that he could smuggle arms shipments to the Philippines.

A few notes about Mariano Ponce: He was one of the three pillars of the pivotal Propaganda Movement in Spain, the other two were Marcelo H. el Pilar and Dr. Jose P. Rizal. He went to Spain in 1887 to complete his medical studies. He became a medical doctor two years later but not without becoming part of the Comite de Propaganda, which spearheaded the Propaganda Movement in Spain.

He worked with del Plar and Rizal in the La Solidaridad, the newspaper that contained ideas of the reform movement that sought greater latitudes of Filipinos and the Philippines as a Spanish colony. He was with del Pilar from 1887 until he died and the newspaper closed shop in 1895 for lack of funds.

Mariano Ponce moved to Hong Kong in 1896, when the war for independence against Spain was raging. He led in the creation of the Comite de Central de Filipino, or the Hong Kong Junta composed of overseas Filipinos, who worked to collect funds for the revolutionary forces and seek recognition for the about to be formed revolutionary government.

Mariano Ponce announced the death of Jose Rizal by issuing a press statement that contained his poem “Mi Ultimo Pensamiento.” He was Aguinaldo’s secretary in Hong Kong when Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries went on exile there in 1897 as a condition for the cessation of hostiities under the Pact of Biak na Bato. Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines on May 17, 1898.

The Hong Kong Junta assigned Mariano Ponce to Japan mainly to get support from the Japanese government. On June 29, 1898 he landed in the port city of Yokohama, where he established his base. Dr. Mariano Ponce was an avid letter writer and he made friends with many revolutionaries, including those leading leaders of the revolutions in Puerto Rico and Cuba. He wrote them letters and had healthy correspondence with them.

Dr. Mariano Ponce had befriended many Japanese leaders, including those in the right-wing fringes. But the most outstanding friendship he made was with Dr. Sun Yat-sen, reputedly the father of modern China and president of the first Chinese Republic. It was Sun who helped him in the arms smuggling to the Philippines, as the latter gave him the Japanese contacts.

According to Mojares, Dr. Sun Yat sen introduced Dr. Mariano Ponce to two former Japanese samurai – Toten Miyazaki and Shu Hirayama – to build up a network to help the Fiolipino revolutionaries. Ponce also met Japanese intellectuals, who were advocates on the Pan-Asiatic movements there. They included Inukai Ki, who networked with Haizan Nakamura, a member of the Japanese Diet, who eventually made arrangements for the arm shipment to the Philippines.

Together with his Japanese contacts, Dr. Ponce bought a tugboat – Nunobiki Maru, for use in the arms smuggling. On July 19, 1899, the tugboat sailed from Japan en route to the Philippines bringing 10,000 Murata rifles, six million bullets, six machine guns and some pieces of artillery and three Japanese volunteers, who would teach Filipino revolutionaries on their use.

The tugboat sank after it encountered a storm near Saddle Islands, 100 miles from Shanghai in China. The sinking of the tugboat disheartened Dr. Ponce and the Japanese supporters and the arms smuggling project was immediately stopped.

Dr. Ponce offered to resign to the Hong Kong Junta but it was not accepted. Dr. Sun calmed him down saying “it was all part of the revolution.” Relentless and committed, Dr. Ponce planned to smuggle arms to the Philippines anew in January 1900.

But it did not materialize after one of the Japanese contacts – Nakamura – was said to have pocketed the money. It created ripples among the Japanese supporters because they were firm adherents of honesty and transparency in their networking activity.

It was on the 4th of July 1972, when Tony Gomez, a logger and businessman, spotted a ship anchored opn the coast of Palanan in Isabela. Riding in a light plane, Gomez noticed men unloading cargoes in small boats and boxes along the beach. He reported it to the Philippine Constabulary provincial command and a contingent of constables including LT. Edgardo Aglipay, who rose to become PNP chief, was among the small team.

The PC team searched for the ship and they could it moored in Digoyo Point in Isabela. When they boarded the vessel, they were fired by rebels of the New People’s Army (NPA), military arm of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines. The ship was later untowed and a raging typhoon threw it out into the open ocean. Aglipay and his men had to stay three days in the open sea.

The ship was later identified MV Karagatan. It brought crates of arms shipments from China and ammunition mainly to sustain the revolution against the Marcos government. Aglipay and his team survived the ordeal and returned to their bases, where they planned with the Army an attack to the rebel forces who hid in the jungles of Isabela.

The state troopers attacked and in the ensuing gun battle that lasted for days, the rebels retreated leaving behind the arms shipment. Government troopers initial;ly recovered more than 100 M-14 rifles and ammunition. Further operations led to the capture of more than 500 M-14 and Garand rifles firming beliefs that the arms shipment could be sizable.

Marcos played up the MV Karagatan failed arms smuggling in mass media. It served as one of the bases for the September 21, 1972 declaration of martial law. In his book, Gaston Ortigas identified the owner as MV Karagatan – the family of Allan Jazmines, who is now believed to be one of the members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Because of the MV Karagatan failed arms smuggling, the Chinese Communist Party had rejected overtures for another arms shipment. Netizen Dick Malay has narrated this story in one of his posts in this social networking site. 

A VISIT TO MALOLOS CITY

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

A visit to Malolos City is a historical pilgrimage.

I have learned the rich heritage of Malolos City, when I went with a group of colleagues and friends for a brief visit on a rainy Friday, Aug. 21, 2015, an official holiday.

Malolos, 45 kilometers north of Manila, is the capital city of Bulacan province. Because of its proximity to Manila, Malolos City is getting industrialized as indicated by the rising number of commercial establishments and factories that have relocated there. It is a first class city with a population of slightly over a quarter of million people scattered in 52 barangays.

Malolos City is described as Bulacan’s premier heritage center because of its numerous ancestral houses, chapels and historical sites, and structures that date back to the Spanish and American colonial rules. In 2001, the National Historical Institute has declared as national heritage landmark the historic center of Malolos City. It is now known as the Malolos Heritage Town. Hence, Malolos City has joined the likes of Vigan City, which has been declared earlier as a World Heritage Site, Taal in Batangas, Guinobatan in Albay, Zamboanga City, and several others known to possess the charm and ambiance of Hispanic towns that have survived the ravages of time.

Our first stop was the historic Barasoain Church, site of the First Philippine Congress (or Malolos Congress), which convened on September 15, 1898 to draft the first Philippine Constitution, or the Malolos Constitution, to govern the First Philippine Republic. Located along Paseo del Congreso in the heart of this city, this church was also the site of the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic on January 23, 1899. 

Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the revolutionary forces that defeated the Spanish colonial power, took his oath in this church as president of the First Philippine Republic. A hundred years later, movie actor Joseph Estrada took his oath here as the 13th president of the Philippine Republic. It was a coincidence that the two presidents, who took their office there, did not finish their terms of office. Aguinaldo was later captured in the coastal town of Palanan in Isabela province, while Estrada was kicked out of office in the second EDSA People Power Revolution, aptly called "EDSA Dos," in 2001.

Jose Roly Marcelino, officer-in-charge of arts and culture of the Malolos Tourism Council, welcomed us at the doorstep of the Church’s adjacent two-story convent, where Aguinaldo held office as president of the revolutionary government. Before going to the real beef, Roli showed us the horse-drawn carriage, which Aguinaldo rode en route to the Church to take his oath. Motorized cars were non-existent during those days. Hence, the carriage, preserved in its original form, was the  perfect vehicle. It was on display on the ground floor near the staircase to the second floor.

Although the convent has been preserved in its original form, its second floor has been converted into the Barasoain Museum since 1999 to house the various relics, pictures, and other materials related to the First Philippine Republic. Roli, who served as our guide during our visit, told us the other change made to the convent is the construction of two additional wings, where the parish priest holds office and resides with other church workers. The new wings were built shortly after Estrada took his oath of office there in 1998.

Our visit to the Barasoain Museum was a virtual trip to memory lane. Jose Ruel Paguiligan, museum curator, joined us and provided an audio video presentation of the events that took place in that particular place. Aguinaldo held office there; he met his military generals , civilian officials of the First Republic, and visiting dignitaries in the convent. He discussed issues confronting the fledgling republic and wined and dined with them there, according to Ruel. The Museum also houses the life-sized diorama of Aguinaldo and members of His Cabinet. At this point, we discussed why Aguinaldo chose to relocate his government there instead of staying in Kawit, Cavite, where he declared independence from Spanish colonial rule. The answer: The American invading forces made a beachhead in Manila. It was easy for them to attack Kawit, which is near the Manila Bay, than Malolos, which was an interior town those days.

While going through the photographs, mostly culled from American sources and enlarged for improved viewing, we discovered bits of history that we never knew before. A picture showed William Day, head of the U.S. delegation that negotiated the Treaty of Paris, handling the check of $10 million, representing half of the $20 million cession money, to French Ambassador Jules Cambon. Luz Palacios, a former Department of Foreign Affairs official and now a faculty member of the De La Salle University – College of St. Benilde, expressed surprised why the check was given to the French diplomat instead of the Spanish delegation members.

We did not have a ready answer; neither were our resource persons. In the end, we surmised that since the negotiations were held in Paris, which was a neutral ground for the Americans and Spaniards, it was natural that the refereeing Frenchman held the check. Or was it because banking during those days was different than we use to know today? These were all conjectures though. The Barasoain Museum houses several paintings of the Fernando Amorsolo, a national artist.

Roli guided us to our second stop: the Barasoain Church. We entered into one of its side doors and marveled at the intricate artworks of its interior. Except for the roof, which gave way to the wear and tear of the years, everything remains intact. Church authorities have decided to preserve its original form, particularly the altar. By all means, it is a medium-sized church, when compared to other churches like the bigger Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City, or Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila. But it appears spacious and comfortable to accommodate the 120 or so delegates, who met there to comprise the First Philippine Congress. Roli told us that it was built using those hardened lava rocks obtained from the foot of Mt. Arayat, now an extinct volcano. They used the mixture of the white part and shells of chicken eggs and lime (apog) to build it. That mixture had strong adhesive power comparable to modern-day cement.

Roli threw an interesting question why Aguinaldo chose the Barasoain Church for the Malolos Congress. I surmised some reasons. They could not do it at the Manila Grand Opera House in the Manila district of Sta. Cruz because they were running away from the American forces, which started to attack Filipino forces. The luxurious Manila Hotel was not yet around. There was no structure, which was spacious to accommodate the Malolos Congress delegates. Roli knew I had a point, but he stunned us by telling us that the Barasoain Church has a very good acoustics. “The sound does not create echoes here. They did not have microphones during those days,” Roli said. “It was important to have good acoustical designs for structures.”

But the bigger reason, according to Roli, was the existing railroad system during those days. Roli surmised that Aguinaldo found it easy for the retreating Filipino soldiers to settle at the Barasoain Church because it was near the railroad station, which was then less than a kilometer from the church. Ruel explained the First Philippine Congress had 120 members but only more than 40 came from other provinces. Because of the distance and poor transportation, Aguinaldo had to handpick the other delegates from various parts of Bulacan. They were mostly Ilustrados, or of middle class origin.

The third stop was the ancestral house of Don Antonio Bautista, Aguinaldo’s aide de camp during the short-lived Malolos Republic. It is located on the same Paseo del Congreso, about 200 meters from the Barasoain Church. Built in 1812, the house has endured two wars: Philippine-American War and the Japanese Occupation. Lori Bautista de los Santos, the caretaker and a descendant of Don Antonio Bautista and Don Epifanio de los Santos, welcomed our group and explained that his family has adopted an “open house policy,” where interested parties are free to visit the ancestral house, see, and feel its uniqueness and charm.

The two century old ancestral house is a typical “bahay na bato,” which distinguished it from the nipa huts of the ordinary Filipinos during the Spanish and American colonial rules. It is a middle class structure of those days; it is made up of sturdy materials like bricks and hard wood. It spacious interior, high ceiling, and sides with doble ventanas (double windows) are all intended for ventilation. It furniture dates back from the Spanish colonial rule. We saw a room with a pair of Spanish wooden beds. It has a garden too. It has a land area of about 1,500 square meters, which is common during the Spanish colonial era.

Lori briefed us about the place and its owner. His great grandfather, Don Antonio Bautista, led a quiet life after the Filipino-American War. Since he inherited many pieces of property from his parents (he was the only child), he led a fairly comfortable life as an entrepreneur. He supported Manuel Quezon, although he was friendly with Aguinaldo. But he later parted ways with Aguinaldo when the latter ran against Quezon in 1935 and advocated U. S. statehood for the Philippines. When he was running for reelection in 1969, President Ferdinand Marcos had dinner in that house along with Bulacan political leaders led by Blas Ople, Governor Ignacio Santiago, Rep. Teodulo Natividad and several others. Lori even showed us several pictures of that event.

But these were not all. Somehow, Lori managed to spice up her narrative when she talked about some ghost stories about the house. Yes, there are ghosts in that house, Lori confirmed, but they are harmless ghosts, who could be her forbears who feel attached to the old house. Lori narrated how some workers doing rehabilitation workers encountered an old lady, who was mad at them for moving some pieces of furniture, including the piano. “Huwag ninyong gagalawin iyan (don’t move them),” the workers quoted the old lady as telling them. Lori gave a big laugh when told about the story, telling them it could her grandmother. Lori said she stays in the house with a daughter, but they have yet to encounter a ghost. Some workers who stayed there while doing construction works heard noises, but they did not see anybody in the house.

At this point, Vicente “Bong” Enriquez, president of the Women of Malolos Foundation, joined us at the dining table for brunch and discussed the rich cultural heritage of Malolos City. According to Bong, Malolos had created a strong middle class out of the Chinese migrants, who settled there and intermarried with the native women. This explains why many residents there have Chinese sounding names like Lim, Tanchanco, Tiongson, Tantoco, Uitancoy, Tanjosoy, Yupangco, among others.

Our discussions were incomplete without talking of food, of which Bong was knowledgeable since he is the son of the noted food historian Mila Enriquez. According to him, Malolos is an old town that existed even before the Spaniards came. Its inhabitants had booming trade and commerce with the Chinese, who later came over, settled, and married local women. This gave rise to a merchant class, which later emerged as the Ilustrados during the Spanish rule. They were rich and, ergo, came to like good food. Hence, the people of Malolos have their own cuisine, which is heavily influenced by the Chinese.

Our fourth stop was the house of Alberta Uitangcoy Santos, one of the famed 21 women of Malolos, who asked Spanish Governor Valeriano Weyler in 1888 to allow them to hold night classes to learn the Spanish language. The Spanish villa is one of the old ancestral houses near the Malolos Cathedral. Malolos City has three churches: Barasoain Church, Malolos Cathedral, and the Sta. Isabel Church. When the Filipino army retreated northward to escape the American forces, Aguinaldo ordered Gen. Antonio Luna to burn the Malolos Cathedral as part of his scorched earth policy. Luna did it. It was restored during the American colonial rule.

This time, Bong Enriquez played host. He met our group at the doorstep of the old ancestral villa and recounted the story how the 21 women of Malolos took the matter into their hands by asking the visiting Weyler to allow them to study the Spanish language despite protests by the Spanish friars, who, during those days, exerted enormous influence in Philippine society and, ergo, did not like to teach the natives of their own language. Although the Spanish official gave way to their request, the school only existed only for a few months because of persecution and harassment by the friars. Bong recounted how Jose Rizal, the national hero, extolled the women of Malolos for standing firm on what they believed was right and for empowering themselves through education.

Built in 1890, the Alberta Uitancoy-Santos ancestral house is another typical “bahay na bato,” in terms of architectural design and maximum comfort it offers to its residents. It has become a museum of sort as various pictures and mementos are on display for visitors. Bong, a descendant of one of the 21 women of Malolos, holds office there as president of the Women of Malolos Foundation.

Incidentally, Bong told us that descendants of owners of most ancestral houses in Malolos stay elsewhere; they are either in Manila or abroad. They are left to the caretakers. Their owners have adopted the “open house” policy, as visitors are allowed to take a peep of their interiors. This is why various groups in Malolos City have launched initiatives to conserve these ancestral houses for tourism purposes, Bong said. “This way, we can educate the people about what Malolos has played in history,” he said.

Our fifth and last stop was the ancestral house of Dr. Luis Santos, the son of Alberta Uitancoy Santos, which is about 100 meters away from his mother’s house. Unlike the two previous ancestral houses we earlier visited, this house has an art-deco architectural design, which became vogue during the American colonial rule. It was built in 1930, using a combination of rare Philippine hardwood from various parts of the country. Dr. Luis, who practised medicine in Malolos, was a man of exquisite taste, a perfectionist who did not settle for anything less than the best. He made sure that his house would reflect such taste for perfection and beauty.

Right at the doorstep, the opulence was readily visible. The floor at the front door is made of granite of the highest kind, while the handrails are solid marble. Upon entering the door made of narra, Ms. Anita, the caretaker, told us that the entire first floor is made of slabs of tindalo, the local teakwood acquired from the rainforest of Mindanao. Upon going to the second floor, we all looked up the ceiling to find the painting of Fernando Amorsolo, a national artist for painting. We could not help but marvel at the sight of this house.

Almost everything in the second floor is made up of hardwood of the highest quality - tindalo, narra, dao, and yakal. We were told termites could not attack the hard wood. The pieces of furniture are mostly antique that dates back to the Spanish and American colonial rules. Words were not enough to express the magnificence of this ancestral house. It all left us enthralled.

We ended up our visit to this historic city with a big smile. No, it was not an ordinary visit. It was not a sightseeing visit alone. It was not just seeing and feeling the city. It was an education. The visit has left a deep impression into our collective mind. Our country is quite young when compared to some European and Asian countries, but it is equally rich in heritage.

Our visit likewise firmed up our belief that our country could offer the two levels of tourism: ecology and heritage. We have our beaches and scenery to give tourists - local and foreign - a breather from the drudgery of daily existence. But we also have the heritage to make every soul richer.

‘CIVILIANIZATION’

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

WE first heard this word from Gen. Renato de Villa, who was then AFP chief of staff of President Cory Aquino. That was sometime in 1991, after the country underwent the seventh yet the biggest and bloodiest military coup in its political history. It was a winner-take-all coup and the rebel military forces lost in the confrontation that lasted for several days.

Obviously, this word was concocted to refer to the process of re-inculcating the precept of civilian supremacy over the military. During those days, the military could not accept civilian supremacy. The Marcos dictatorship, in which the military was part of the ruling coalition, had nurtured a military establishment that could not re-integrate itself in the post-Marcos era.

Many military officials could not accept the primacy of civilian rule over the military. They had a hard time accepting that the restored democracy that has replaced the dictatorship could mean they have to accept orders from civilian rulers.

The civilianization process involved going back to the barracks, immersing themselves in new doctrines that include acknowledgement and acceptance of the human rights of the civilian population, and retraining to learn the so-called “civilian mind.”

The process started with the three branches of the Armed Forces – Army, Navy, and the Air Force. It extended to the Philippine Constabulary – Integrated National Police (PC-INP), the precursor of the present-day Philippine National Police (PNP).

When Congress enacted the PNP Law to replace the PC-INP, the PNP leadership adopted a new set of uniforms to stress the civilian nature of the new institution. Police officers were required to wear the neutral brown uniform. People teased the police officers by calling them “chocolate boys.”

Police officers were amused, but they were not mad. After all, the people did not feel threatened. A decade later, their brown uniform has been changed to blue. People called them “sekyu” because their blue uniform somewhat resembled the blue guards. They felt comfortable.

Now, police officers wear camouflage uniform, which is very similar to the Army’s uniform. Soldiers don’t feel comfortable because certain people, according to them, mistake them for police officers. They consider it an insult because of apparent inter-service rivalry.

Is the use of camouflage uniform part of the ongoing militarization?

It appears so. The police force behaves as somewhat the private army of Rodrigo Duterte. Police officers hardly possess the civilian mindset which has been imparted to them after more three decades of restored democracy. Many police officers feel they can do what they want, including human rights violations.

Ordinary citizens avoid them. They are not trusted. A number of police officers have adopted the monster attitude that they are now the ruling class, not the guys mandated to promote peace and order. Many people look at them as epitome of abuses. Or, because of their huge salaries, modern-day mercenaries of the ruling elite, sarcastically called "inferior Davao."

“Mag-iingat sa pulis” has become a routine piece of advice among citizens. God bless the Philippines