PARENTHESES

Proclamation 1081 and Proclamation 1017 are almost identical that even the Chief of Staff of the AFP fumbled on it not once but twice.

Gen. Generoso Senga declared in a dzMM radio interview, “This morning, I issued a guidance to all commanders down the line so they would know the guidance in the implementation of Proclamation 1081, as well as general orders we received from our commander in chief.” Earlier, asked about the implementing guidelines he issued during a command conference earlier, Senga referred to “Proclamation 1081” as he enumerated the guidelines.

Senga or any enforcer of Proclamation 1017 might from time to time commit the same mistake, but they can just correct the slip by simply shifting to the correct numbers. But perhaps Senga is not mistaken afterall because he knows that, to use a military parlance, “it’s the same banana”.

Now, the nightmare begins.

1. Professor Randy David, a sociology professor at UP Diliman, together with Ronald Llamas, President of Akbayan Partylist and lawyer, Atty. Argie Guevarra were arrested by plainclothes policemen in a rally commemorating the EDSA revolution 20th anniversary that was violently dispersed by the Police yesterday. The three were released by court porsecutors due to lack of evidence on the charges of sedition filed against them.

2. Former Senator Gringo Honasan together with other individuals mostly RAM members were charged before court for complicity in the failed Coup de etat (read: the Oakwood Mutiny). Gringo et al were charged of a crime that happened three years ago. His house was raided by police yesterday. Gringo is now nowhere to be found.

3. The office of Tribune, a known opposition newspaper, was raided by the PNP and its properties confiscated.

4. Congressman Crispin Beltran of the militant Anakpawis Partylist has just been arrested by the PNP in Bulacan.He is charged with a sedition case filed against him in 1985, a period when everyone else who is fighting the Marcos dictatorship were labeled rebels.Congressman Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna Partylist eludes arrest.

5. Police arrested today retired General Ramon Montaño while he was playing Golf in Cavite.

Who’s next? The count continues…

Try to read this,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, XXX , President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested upon me by Article _, Section _, Paragraph _ of the Constitution, …, in my capacity as their commander-in-chief, do hereby command the armed forces of the Philippines, to maintain law and order throughout the Philippines, prevent or suppress all forms of lawless violence as well as any act of insurrection or rebellion and to enforce obedience to all the laws and decrees, orders and regulations promulgated by me personally or upon my direction

and this,

NOW, THEREFORE, I XXX , President of the Republic of the Philippines and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested upon me by Section _, Article _ of the Philippine Constitution … in my capacity as their Commander-in-Chief, do hereby command the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to maintain law and order throughout the Philippines, prevent or suppress all forms of lawless violence as well any act of insurrection or rebellion and to enforce obedience to all the laws and to all decrees, orders and regulations promulgated by me personally or upon my direction

Now, which is Proclamation 1081 (Proclaiming the State of Martial Law in the Philippines) and which is Proclamation 1017 (Proclamation Declaring the Philippines under a State of National Emergency)?

Where lies the difference?

An explosion rocked Malacanan Palace at noon today.The PSG immediately downplayed it by saying that the explosion didn’t come from any explosive material. Only minutes after the explosion the PSG had already theorized that the explosion might have been triggered by a lighted cigarette thrown into the garbage box that has some chemicals compacted inside it. This theory was affirmed later on by Mike Defensor after an emergency meeting with the Presidential Staff saying it was a lacquer thinner that caused the explosion. Earlier on Mike Defensor blamed destabilizers planning to oust GMA as perpetrators of the bomb explosion.

The group Young Officers Union New Generation (YOUNG) and the Reformist AFP (RAFP) issued a press statement claiming responsibity for the Malacanan bombing. The group said that it is the start of a series of explosive protest they are going to launch till GMA steps down. As expected, Malacanan downplayed the group and their bomb threats.

Usually it is not so reassuring when government starts to downplay threats. On the contrary, it gives us more reason to speculate that something must indeed be brewing. We might be facing quite an interesting EDSA week ahead of us.

Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor. – Sholom Aleichem

I was gripped with grief and anger as I watched on TV the reports about the stampede at ULTRA that took 73 lives and injured a hundred more.

Wowowhat? That’s BS!

What help to Filipinos do these TV game shows provide? Besides peddling trash entertainment, the only thing these game shows provide to our poor is the perpetuation of an illusion to get rich the quickest way. Everybody knows that giant TV Networks are just using the situation of poverty of the people to outdo each other for ratings and commercial revenues beefed up by viewership and patronage.

For all we know these game shows, in the guise of helping filipinos, earn much more than what they give as prizes. Among big Corporations, the much hyped Corporate social-responsibility advocacy is nothing but another do-good PR and marketing strategy intended to ease tax accountabilities through charitable contributions while banking on the abject poverty of the masses to rake more profit.

Again, what social responsibility? Even the tragedy like the ULTRA stampede is treated as a scoop and raised to sensational proportions by these rapacious networks. A TV anchor while reporting the news even had the audacity to use the word “phenomenal” to highlight the attraction of a huge crowd to the anniversary of Wowowe. As if the tragedy doesn’t really matter, what is important is that the Wowowee game show was able to mobilize such mamoth crowd. Willie Revillame even wanted the show to go on despite the deadly stampede, according to the Daily Tribune. And for sure the other network will capitalize on this tragedy to undermine its rival.This is sickening.

Naturally ABS-CBN being producer of the show took the responsibility of shouldering the funeral expenses of all victims and the hospitalization for those who were injured. While Willie Revillame plans to take a leave to personally condole with families of victims. But this is not enough. These are but consolation prizes for a game show that was paid dearly by the lives of poor people. Even if it was an accident, someone must be held liable for this tragedy. Unlike natural calamities where we only have our faltering faith in God and the corruption in Government to blame for its disastrous outcome, the ULTRA tragedy is an accident that was bound to happen. The organizers have already saw the influx of a big crowd days before the actual event. The Devil is in the detail, they must have given extra attention to it.

If anything, the ULTRA tragedy like all tragedies that befell our country, highlighted a grim and sad reality of our society. As mentioned by Willlie Revillame, “This accident only shows how hard life is for many of our countrymen.” I completely agree with this statement if only to point out that the Government is as guilty as the giant TV networks. Guilty of making poverty in this country the biggest reality show.

While everyone are still in high spirits about Pacman’s victory and coup rumors are constantly being fed to the public mind, nobody seemed to notice about a looming plague that will soon hit our country. The EVAT is going to be fully implemented on February.

I’m posting here an email I got about the truths and lies of EVAT which I completely agree. Here goes;

LIE: Revenues from EVAT will be used to fund social services and public infrastructure.

TRUTH: Proceeds from EVAT will be wasted on servicing of debt including illegitimate and onerous ones such as the Bataan nuke plant and IPP contracts. Debt payments gobble up 70 centavos of every peso of the proposed budget this year and a staggering 80 cents of every peso of tax collected last year. Of what little remains, massive corruption will take a large piece and crumbs are all that will be left for government services.

LIE: The EVAT is not anti-poor.

TRUTH: Government propaganda highlights that families spending not more than P60,000 per year will only pay 0.2% of that on taxes like EVAT. But who are these? These are the hungry poor that spend a mere P28 per day. They will hardly pay for EVAT but only because they hardly spend or eat at all! Instead the average working class family will spend an additional P428 per month due to EVAT on electricity, LPG and food. This is more than a day’s wage lost by workers to EVAT.

LIE: The EVAT is progressive because it is a consumption tax and therefore the rich who consume more VATable goods and services will pay more.

TRUTH: Consumption tax is regressive by nature. The poor may consume less in nominal terms compared to the rich, but a higher percentage of their lesser income is spent on consumption. Thus EVAT in fact imposes a heavier burden on the poor than the rich. It is a Robin Hood in reverse, taking from the poor and giving to the rich bankers and debtors. Regressive taxes like VAT are raised to make up for the billions in revenues lost due to rapid reduction of tariffs and generous tax holidays for investors. Thru EVAT, poor Filipinos are in fact subsidizing not just the rich but also the giant multinational companies!

Think about it!

No, he’s not Abu Sayyaf’s Khadaffy Janjalani in disguise, he’s Garci!

After a long period of hiding Garci is now back with a load of stories to tell and a new image to match.

Garci allowed himself to be interviewed by ABS-CBN Reporter Henry Omaga Diaz somewhere in Mindanao. The mode of the interview was quite similar to interviews conducted to underground personalities: the interviewer being fetched, blindfolded, vehicle switching, made to negotiate difficult terrains and cross rivers until reaching a hut in the middle of nowhere where the interview is conducted.

Garci’s handlers, whoever they are, really made sure they mounted a good set-up that stirs one’s cinematic imagination. Even Garci’s get up fits the plot. That is of course to put flavor on Garci’s present status – a good man hiding from the bad contrabidas just like in the movies.

Few days ago Mrs. Garcillano denied that she and her husband left the country. She added that her husband has been hiding in Mindanao to prevent authorities from capturing him. “I have to make myself rare for a while for fear of my life and that of my wife,” Garci said during his interview. He added that he is willing to face any inquiry to clear his name provided that his warrant of arrest and the bounty on his head be called off.

In the meantime, Garci, now assuming a new image and perhaps a new name like Abu Garci continues to enjoy his adventure as a quasi-underground figure. Garci should just pray that he wouldn’t end up mistaken as somebody posted in the PNP’s most wanted terrorists like what happened to that poor one armed guy.

Garci’s surfacing now brings more questions than answers. And quite like a movie thriller, we wait in anticipation for what will happen next.

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Photo taken from ABS-CBN Interactive