The “Massacre Camp” and the “Mis-encounter” Block

The Mamasapano tragic event where 44 Special Action Force met their demise seared into the nation’s consciousness, although for the n’th times, the Filipinos split into two camps with mixed reactions. To identify to which camp they belong – in the mainstream media or in the social networking sites – is on how they describe the fatal event: as a “massacre” or a “mis-encounter”.

The “massacre” block composed mostly of P’Noy bashers who at every opportunity, they could exploit, any slipshod they could spot or sense against P’Noy, they would dished it out with exaggeration in their platform. Their intent, of course, is either to weaken his Presidency, or to snuff out his influence, or purely for vengeance: because P’Noy had stepped on their toes. They are the army trollers of the internet whose mission in posting is to broadcast venom of negativity trending the minds of the netizens into their orbit. Any cataclysmic political event, just like demised of the “fallen 44”, if they could use this event to sow collective anger, they would salivate for an easy one-click stroke to instigate a mob rule, impeachment, or resignation. Most of these “massacre” camp people inflamed the parochial mentality of the Filipinos when they made an issue for example, of P’noy’s attending first to the inauguration of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Plant, rather than give importance to the arrival honors of the “fallen 44”. However, on January 31, 2015, P’Noy talked to each of the families of the “fallen44” for eleven hours.

Massacre is a word that connotes revolting imagery. It renders one’s heart to exact revenge or inspires war. So apt for people who advocate dissension.

The “mis-encounter” camp, however, comprised mostly of people on an even keel, sober, and contemplative. They don’t usually get their emotions clouded their perception. They are of the pragmatic type scouring every angle of the situation. They confined their thoughts more on the future than nourishing the wounds of the past. Although the “mis-encounter” camp people seek justice, this shouldn’t be in the form of violence but of jurisprudence. Most important of all, they advocate peace. They desire that the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) would sail through amidst the temporary setback.

While the word massacre seems to exacerbate an already revolting situation, the word mis-encounter somewhat tames and balms the cruel weight of the fatal event.

Admittedly, there were lapses, misjudgment, and miscalculation why the botch “Oplan Wolverine” occurred. Immediately, the SAF’s Police Director Getulio Napenas, accepted the full responsibilities and was relieved of his post. Various investigation bodies had been formed and in the coming days all, these investigations will bear fruits.

The nation mourned for this unfortunate event. No one would like this to happen to the young full of promise “fallen44” combatants. However, their deaths will forever indebted the nation for their bravery and heroism, as they saved more lives killing, Marwan, the terrorist.

“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” as Murphy’s Law states. Maybe that’s supposed to happen right in the midst of BBL peace accord because this event could fine-tuned the peace provisions of the BBL.

–
To which kind of people do you belong? To the “massacre block” or to the “mis-encounter camp”?

Putting the Best Foot Forward and Being Politically Incorrect

The Philippine government, from time to time is confronted with an issue of whether it wanted to put its best foot forward or to be politically incorrect. The issue surfaced after Pope Francis visit, when it heralded in the news that the Department of the Social Welfare Services (DSWS) herded an army of the destitute and the homeless who lives on the street to a flush resort in Batangas. Of course, the organizer of the Papal visit had this scenario considered. And they chose to be politically incorrect, because, if ever the issue would come out, the government has a ready answer for it.

As perceived by many, historically aided, Dinky Soliman, the DSWS Secretary, kept these homeless people out of sight of the pope. At first, Ms. Soliman didn’t admit this publicly because it was politically incorrect.

The past Philippine’s administration, Imelda Marcos and Gloria Arroyo, for example, did the same whenever world events involving world’s VIPs visited the country. They spruced up Manila’s blighted sceneries, which they thought as a disgrace to the visiting dignitaries. These, they did, the rationale of which was obvious. They wanted to put their best foot forward and leave no impression that the country looked miserable. The difference this time with Dinky Soliman was that she had come up with plausible explanations, which gave her the benefit of the doubt.

The Filipinos have this embedded mores, as part of their hospitality that whenever there are visitors coming to their place they make sure nothing in the surroundings would elicit bad impression, as this would hurt the host’s ego. So as much as possible this is an event that they have to put their best foot forward. And this custom possibly elevate in the macro level, as in the case of the Government.

Homelessness as a corollary to poverty is an age-old problem. The egalitarian society like the Western countries, although they can afford substantial allocation to the poverty problem, still they are not able to solve it completely. In their cities, they, too, have blight spots as haven of the homeless. The poverty virus knows no boundaries, and of resilient strains, that vaccine for it has not been found yet.

The Philippines have allocated resources, too, to alleviate the plight of the poor. But that seems not enough to sustain the 88 percent of the Philippine’s population who are poor. In addition, there are funds that are diverted to corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Moreover, and this had been the great dilemma of anyone who head the DSWS, these homeless people don’t want to get help. Well, they want, but no string attached. They would rather loiter on the street, no rent, or bills to worry about and if they are lucky earn or bum 100 pesos a day, that’s enough for them. Unlike if, they are under the supervision of the DSWS with imposed conditions and criteria that they have to oblige. What they want, if the government can do it, is a freeloading arrangement for life. If there is such a thing as “professional squatter” these people are “professional destitute”.

Because of limited resources, of course, the government wouldn’t pour resources on them if they don’t want to help themselves and so they’re back on the street.

The irony is where these homeless people are concentrated; it is the front and center of every world event activity. Therefore, the Government of whichever dispensation is always in a bind. Would they clean the metropolis of these homeless people during the event, which is politically incorrect? Or round these homeless people up, put them in a safe place for a while, to put their best foot forward?

Pope Francis, PNoy Battles With Corruption

Pope Francis and the Philippine’s President Benigno Aquino seemed to have compared notes before the two spoke during the welcome ceremony of the Pope to the Malacanang Palace. One of the themes that they both discussed, which captured the sensibilities of the Filipinos centered on corruption.

Pope Francis early on after his election as Pontiff showed his deep concern about the impact of corruption in his own turf, the Vatican. On November 11, 2013, in one of his strongest homilies since his election, said “Christians who led ‘a double life’ by giving money to the Church, while stealing from the state were sinners, deserved to be tied to a rock and thrown into the sea,” quoting from St. Luke’s gospel.

While Pope Francis shunned of saying the corruption inside the Holy See, he want to forge ahead to root out cronyism within the Roman Catholic Church. His sermon was in response after the scandal broke out inside an ancient religious order linked to the financial irregularities of the Vatican bank.

On December 22, 2014, to end the year, Pope Francis again spouted off scathing remarks for the high-ranking Vatican officials in his Curia speech. He mentioned 15 ailments that plaque the Vatican power hungry-bureaucracy.

Three of these ailments manifested on some of the clergy of the Philippines. 1) Feeling immortal, immune or indispensable. If they don’t correct, update, and improve themselves, they are sick. 2) Glorifying the bosses. It’s a malady to suck up with their superiors hoping for their benevolence. They are victims of careerism and opportunities, they honor people aren’t of God. 3) Seeking worldly profit and showing off. The sickness of an insatiable that for them to accumulate more power they resort to discrediting others in the media to exhibit they are more than capable than the other.

As Pope Francis could relate to how corruption affected the lives of the poor Filipinos, so he challenged the Filipinos by saying, “all levels of society must reject all forms of corruption, which divert resources from the poor.”

PNoy must have been brief of the scathing remarks made by Pope Francis to the Vatican Curia, so he ventured to inform the pope that some of his flock in the Philippines are having those same ailments that he talked about in the Curia. PNoy in his speech tells his own life experience of how the church keeps silent on corruption and abuses of his predecessors.

The “silence” that PNoy meant must have been the absence of louder condemnations of corruption from the CBCP, which would force the government to take concrete action to discourage, if not to eliminate entirely the incidence of corruption. True, the CBCP during Arroyo’s time made some pronouncements against corruption, but they were muted and not as strong as what they did for example, to reproductive health bill. Had it been the Arroyo’s dispensation made a dent in curbing corruption, then, there were no issues by now. However, as later PNoy found out, large-scale corruption grew and prospered under Arroyo’s watch. This is what PNoy probably meant of the “silence” of some member of the clergy. It was as though they let the corruption happened without being disturbed and just sat idly by, because, somehow, the quid pro quo had a role. Now, contrast that with steps that PNoy had taken to combat to corruption.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican Spokesperson commented on PNoy speech. He said, Pope Francis would take seriously all that was said with respect. And he will seek information and opinions from the bishops, the priest and the people to evaluate and have a general perspective.

Avenging Defeat and Humiliation

Cornered with corruption charges from Sen. Franklin Drillon, Sandigan Bayan and PNoy, former Congressman and former Director General of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco Jr., uses the courts as a venue to avenge his defeat and humiliation.

Syjuco was incensed of his lost to Frank Drillon’s man in the second district of Iloilo in the May 13, 2013 elections as an incumbent. This kicks off the tit for tat between Syjuco and Drillon. On September 2013, Syjuco filed a plunder case at the Office of the Ombudsman (OOO) against Drillon. Syjuco said that Drillon plundered some P75 million for retrofitting the Iloilo Hall of Justice of 1991 damage by the earthquake. The following month, on October 1, 2013, Syjuco, lodged another plunder complaint. This time, he said that in 2006, Drillon using his PDAF, made a fraudulent property purchase intended for public use. On December 1, 2014, thru his aide, Romeo Laguardia, Syjuco filed anew a plunder rap for Drillon. Syjuco said that on the recent COA findings, his 2011 PDAF of 75 million allocated for the nationwide construction of 138 classrooms remain unaccounted for.

On October 7, 2013, Syjuco filed a petition to the Supreme Court urging the high court to declare the creation and implementation of the Disbursement Acceleration Fund (DAP) as unconstitutional. Syjuco listed Drillon and Florencio Abad, the Budget Secretary as respondents. He tasked the Supreme Court to file a criminal and administrative charges against them; Drillon, for the release of the 50 million pork barrel fund, which were allegedly used for Chief Justice Renato Corona’s conviction, and Florencio Abad, being the creator of the DAP.

Syjuco is swamped with numerous graft and corruption charges before the Ombudsman and the Sandigan Bayan. These charges range from various irregularities that render government in the disadvantageous position, like in the fertilizer scam, in which he was slapped with a hold departure order, or overprice of training materials when he was head of the TESDA.

However, Syjuco couldn’t be just quiet. He petitioned to the high court to declare inoperative one provision in the Ombudsman Act, which he thinks violates the constitution – that is granting the OOO independence to veer away from partisan politics. He said, he endured injustice and injury because of Pnoy’s order to prosecute former President Arroyo’s allies. The Supreme Court junked Syjuco’s petition.

Perhaps what could have made Syjuco seethed in anger was when P’Noy in his 2013 State of Nation Address with million Filipinos tuned in. P’Noy mentioned him as like the poster boy of corrupt bureaucrat and politician in regard to the overprice of the TESDA’s training material, one among the many cases, which he was indicted for at the OOO, and now free on bail. Syjuco, in one of the press releases asked why Pnoy make him as his “punching bag”. This wouldn’t silenced him not to file a libel charge against Pnoy.

Because of Syjuco’s humiliation, it became his obsession to clutter the courts of his complaints and petitions. In November 2014, he filed a petition to the high court that the 2015 national budget saying, the lump sum amounts in the National Expenditure Program can be considered as a pork barrel system same as PDAF. Still, not satisfied, in December 2014, after the 2015 General Appropriation Act was approved; he filed again another petition reiterating the same positions.

With Syjuco’s filing of too many petitions in the courts, he could be likened to Atty. Oliver Lozano, former legal counsel of the Marcoses who is a prolific impeachment filer. However, they are motivated differently. For Lozano, it is to maintain his notoriety as “Impeachment Filer King”. For Syjuco, however, it is to avenge his defeat and humiliation.