The "Pagpag" Legacy of the Yellow Administrations of the Philippines

AFTER Ferdinand E. Marcos was deposed, democracy was supposedly restored and the lot of the Filipinos improved. Or is it? Beyond what have now been called the "yellow surveys" and official government pronouncements of economic growth, the better gauge of what our people has become is what they EAT, or what the poor people stuff their stomachs with.

The (forced by poverty) eating habit of the marginalized sector of a country speaks not only of the level of poverty of the poor but also of the indignity (or otherwise) that they are experiencing. After three successive yellow presidents--interrupted only by the brief leadership of Joseph Ejercito Estrada, the only one with the most definitive and unquestioned electoral mandate of the Filipinos--ever wonder what is the state of this country called the Philippines (but which I'd prefer to be renamed as either Taga-Ilog or Maharlika)?

The following, an award-winning sort-of documentary film, made several years after Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's "EDSA 2" power grab, perhaps best describe the continuing piteous plight of the urban poor Filipinos. A short film entry to the 56th Berlin International Film festival, it topped the competition when it was adjudged the Most Popular Short film.

While Dimadura wants to bring the point that globalization causes world hunger, his thesis is unsupported, apparently because of its delimiting mere 9-minute run. Besides, isn't it that in a country where the government is run by patriotic, moral, truly elected servants of the people who do not exploit but truly serve the nation, whatever ills globalization brings are dutifully addressed. In such countries, the table scraps (kaning baboy) are recycled for the animal consumption and definitely NOT the poor people's.

As a social reality film, Dimadura's work works to haunt the mind and the conscience. Perhaps wanting to make the rich or comfortable among us not forget nor feel indifferent, he completes the affecting, perhaps revolting, images with his own musical composition that should strike at the hearts of us all:

"Let me tell their story that no one else can hear./

How can someone's laughter bring me close to tears?/

And you'll never know cause you're never there./

After what we've seen, can we close our eyes again?/

Let me tell their story you won't think is true./

I have not forgotten so I'm sharing it with you./

For all the things we know what have we really learned?/

Though i close my eyes the images remain./

And their story begins... again."

As we remain under the clout of the ruling elites under the newly seated HOCUS PCOS Illegitimate, watch and ponder on the true, or more real, unfortunate legacy of the yellows.

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Why The May 10, 2010 Philippine Polls Failed: The PCOS Forensics

ONE of several arguments that strongly point to systematic, nationwide fraud to favor a “secret candidate” of the Philippines’ preceding Illegitimate “President” Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the fact that the recent automated elections despicably failed to meet the minimum standards for “transparent and credible” electoral process. Central to the questions on the integrity of the AES polls last May 10, 2010 are the Precinct Count Optical Scan or PCOS machines supplied by Venezuelan firm Smartmatic-TIM.

The PCOS is perhaps most infamous for Comelec’s admission at one point of the machines as having ascandalously high error rate ranging from 15-30 percent instead of the tolerable rate of a mere 0.005 percent. There have been a host of other PCOS issues, however, even several weeks prior to the elections. Mr. Roberto Verzola, the “Father of Philippine Email,” made a pre-electoral assessment of Comelec’s adopted technology and predicted a mere 25% success rate for the Southeast Asian country’s first automated elections. On the particular issue of the Smartmatic-TIM’s PCOS machines and what Comelec’’s relevant actions, he listed the following points of electoral insecurities:

•    “no mention of full testing and acceptance by the Comelec: of the 82,200 PCOS machines delivered”
•    disabling of what was the built-in PCOS feature of voter verification and confirmation feature
•     amidst the PCOS’ use of two memory cards and purchase of extra memory cards, the potential risk of malicious capability for memory card substitution in 21.5 percent of the PCOS machines.

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance or CenPEG also made its assessment five weeks before the polls that the technology adopted by Comelec falls short of the minimum safety requirements, as well as industry standards that the law mandates. Strong evidence indicative of the grievous insecurities of the PCOS machines were exposed during the forensic investigation on the 60 PCOS machines found in the residence of a Smartmatic technician in Antipolo City.

It is most unfortunate that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile did not wait for the final forensic report and pushed through with the proclamation of the supposed presidential and vice-presidential “winners” of the May 2010 elections. Nonetheless, the said report reveals the utter unreliability of the PCOS machines for any serious electoral exercise. Amidst the findings on the Susana compact flash (CF) cards, the report adds to the many evidences that seriously indicate HOCUS PCOS poll fraud during the last AES polls.

What follows is the encoding of the  final report of the National Board of Canvasser's Joint Forensic team that investigated the PCOS machines suspiciously found in the residence of a Smartmatic technician (hardcopy provided by the office of Sen. Jamby Madrigal).

(Summary of Findings:)

Extracted Hash Code Did Not Match Published Hash Code.

The has code is an output of an algorithmic process that will verify if an electronic file is authentic or not. The hash code of an electronic file is always unique–it would change if the content of that electronic file is modified. The hash code is to an electronic file as the fingerprint or DNA is to humans. (p. 2)

Absence of Machine Digital Signatures.

Examination of the PCOS machines revealed that there was no evidence found to prove the existence of digital certificates in the PCOS machines, contrary to the claims of Smartmatic. (p. 3)

PCOS Machine Can Be Controlled Through Its Console Port.

The PCOS machine contains a console port, which Smartmatic claims is only a one-way out put port, used for diagnostic purposes only. The forensic team, with the allowance of Smartmatic technicians, was able to connect an ordinary laptop computer to the console port of a PCOS machine, via a serial cable provided by the latter.

“… the serially connected laptop computer was able to access the operating system of the PCOS machine… [without need for] username and password….

“The Linux operating system of the PCOS machine was exposed to full access and control….

“Smartmatic cannot offer a technical explanation for this major loophole” (pp. 3-4)

Hon.  Anne Susano’s CF Cards.

“The forensic team is of the opinion that the three (3) CF cards, one (1) of which is a main CF card, are all authentic CF cards, meaning that are all original and duly issued by Smartmatic or COMELEC.

“This finding would then belie the announcement of the COMELEC NCD Director that all the CF cards within Metro Manila had all been accounted for and turned over to the COMELEC.” (p.5).

Final Recommendations.

The Recommendations and Conclusions, as embodied in the Preliminary Report remain standing except for Item No. 1, which should now read, as follows:

“1.  To allow the forensic team to further explore the console port of the PCOS machine and perform tests as to its capabilities and vulnerabilities. For example, to allow the forensic team to store an executable code in the PCOS machine’s RAM disk and verify as to how the PCOS machine will behave with such a load in its RAM.”

It is further recommended that the forensic analysis of the PCOS machines be allowed and expanded by the incoming 15th Congress to include those PCOS machines which are subject of electoral protests and suspected of having been used as instruments of electoral fraud.

For your consideration and approval.

Sincerely yours,

Atty. AL. S. VITANGCOL III. CHFI

For the Joint Forensic Team  

Importance of Digital Signature

Digital signature forms the lifeblood of authenticity in electronic transactions. It is a cryptographic process through which the Private Signature key of the sender is signed into a PRISM message, enabling the message's recipient, who has the correponding public key, to accurately authenticate the message. It serves to validate both data and identity to make sure that information has not been changed--in other words, not tampered--from the time it was created to the time it was sent to the time it reached the receiving party.

In all secured electronic transactions, including the critical election process, digital signatures constitute a fundamental infrastructure element for electronic voting. That the Comelec did away with it with its March 10, 2010 resolution--in violation of the Republic Act 9369 and its pledge before the Supreme Court in the Harry Roque - COMELEC-Smartmatic case--highlights how the 60 PCOS machines having been found in a Smartmatic technician's residence in the province of Antipolo have possibly been used to commit electoral fraud. As explained by Hermenegildo R. Estrella R. Estrella Jr., Management Systems Advisor for public and private consulting projects:

The purpose of the digital signature is for the receiving entity, in this case for example, the municipal or city board of canvassers, [to] know exactly where that particular vote count is coming from; and whether (1) it is authentic, (2) it can be verified, and (3) really accurate.

Had Comelec not dismantled the requirements for digital signatures, and had the third party certifying the authenticity of such signatures been independent (as required by law, should have mainly been the National Computer Center and NOT Smartmatic itself as is the case, constituting constitutes blatant conflict of interest), the discovery of the  PCOS machines in a private residence should not have been an issue. This is because digital certification by the BOE inspectors would have allowed the PCOS machines to bear his or her  identifying number no matter if s/he uses other PCOS machines as necessary in transmitting the electronic voting data, thus serving to verify the sender and help authenticate the transmitted election returns.

However, exactly because there was no digital security safeguard, who's to tell the machines were not used to transmit fraudulent votes? In fact, it is probable that the said PCOS machines, which obviously constitute part of the extra machines Comelec had ordered but found in apparently scandalous circumstances, were used in the unexplained transmission of ghost votes reported by the mainstream media on the night of election day. Jonathan Manalang, the Operations Director of the technical support center of Smartmatic, testified in Congress on how the media was astonishingly reporting 50 percent vote transmission when there was, in fact, only 20 percent votes yet being transmitted from the headquarters of Smartmatic-TIM.


Forensic Report of No Digital Certificates in PCOS

That the forensic report of the Congressional Canvassing body shows the ABSENCE of the machine version digital signature by itself glaringly reveals even more how highly anomalous the automated elections held last May 10, 2010 were. What, are the people supposed to believe that Comelec did not bother inspecting the delivered PCOS machines? Or, did the poll body even cared to test the capability of Smartmatic during the bidding (and post-bidding) process? Father of Philippine e-mail RobertoVerzola in fact made a March 2010 pre-electoral assessment that reports of how Comelec made no mention of having fully tested the delivered PCOS machines.

In the context of the discovery having been made amidst the lying claming of Smartmatic that (1) signature was present in the PCOS machines; (2) Comelec's bullying insistence that Smartmatic bag the P7.3-billion contract for AES; and (3) Comele's adamant claim that Smartmatic technology is unhackable, the revelation categorically points to collusion between the previous Arroyo administration, as represented by Comelec, and Smartmatic. These two entities apparently worked in conjunction with each other in paving the way for insecure, unsuccessful automated polls.


Hash Code

Hash codes are unique digital fingerprints that serve to authentically identify electronic files. That the hash codes extracted in six of the PCOS machines did not match Comelec-published results further adds to the fraudulent anomaly of the Philippines' first AES. One wonders whether there were other PCOS machines that carried hash codes  not matching the ones published by Comelec?

That Comelec belatedly claims the extracted harsh code to be the correct one indicates incompetency on the part of the poll body at the very least and, more likely, deliberate fraud by the administration at its worst. Moreover, that the Philippine poll body apparently bothered not knowing the PCOS machines' genuine hash code until the fact of the incongruence of the extracted and of the Comelec-published hash codes was shown by the final report of the Congressional Canvassing body--which was released only on June 9, 2010 or nearly month after the polls--probably point to how the entire elections was intended to be fraudulent.

Why so? Because this incredible level of technical nonchalance by Comelec diametrically counters--and belies--Comelec's insistence that the security features of Smartmatic's PCOS machines are not hackable. Such diametrical opposition of fact versus Comelec pronouncement, amidst the poll body's illegal forfeiture of the digital security feature basic to any successful secured electronic process, only indicates systematic  intent to deceive and con the Filipino electorate.


Forensic Discovery of  Secret "Backdoor" Control

The discovery of the secret control "backdoor" in the console part of the PCOS machines is another grave issue that clearly points to Comelec-Smartmatic collusion for poll failure or automated poll fraud. Smartmatic having claimed the backdoor was merely a one-way output port for diagnostics when it could easily be exploited to fully manipulate the  machine's actual operations through its sash interface loudly cries deception. That Comelec has been pronouncedly amiss in ensuring the security of the AES, among others, by certifying, and testing the PCOS machines, even when it has vouched for their supposed non-hackability, unquestionably show intent to deceive.


Conclusion

In sum, Congress' final forensic report of the PCOS machines inappropriately housed in the residence of a Smartmatic technician reveals the (1) mismatch between the Comelec-published and the extracted hash codes; (2) absence of digital certificates in the PCOS contrary to Smartmatic's claim; the (3) the alarming presence of a secret "backdoor" to easily control PCOS operations; and (4) even Comelec's inability to secure all its duly-issued CF cards. Amidst Comelec's move to forego of the digital security feature requirements of R.A. 9369, including that most fundamental digital signature; it's bullying insistence to acquire the services of Smartmatic; and highly suspicious failure to fully test the delivered PCOS machines while loudly vouching for them as supposedly being not hackable, the poll body in complicity with Smartmatic seemed to have plotted the failure of the Philippines' first automated elections. Beyond the failure in terms of a secured automated environment and authenticity of counted votes and election returns, it appears the previous Arroyo administration had ensured the victory of its secret anointed one HOCUS-PCOS style.

__________


References:

Baldo, Gerry. President, VP named within 3 days — NBoC. The Daily Tribune. 7 June 2010. http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100607hed1.html

CenPEG. Comelec’s unyielding stance spells trouble. Issue Analysis. No. 3, 2010. http://www.cenpeg.org/IA%202010/IA%20HTML/IA_03_s2010.html

Deliberate fraud. The Daily Tribune. 30 June 2010. http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100630com1.html

Digital Signatures: Will Goverhnment Registration of Users Mean that Anonymity in Transactions on the Internet is forever Lost? http://www.law.illinois.edu/lrev/publications/2000s/2004/2004_4/Morgan.pdf

Talk to H. R. Estrella, Atty. Mon Pedrosa and Adolfo PaglinawaGNN Talk to Harry's. http://www.might-e2010.com/videos/unbiassed.html

Kofler, Robert, et al. The Role of Digital Signature Cards in Electronic Voting. 2004. Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. - Track 5. http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/abs/proceedings/hicss/2004/2056/05/205650116aabs.htm

Verzola, Roberto. A Vote of Confidence in Smartmatic? http://rverzola.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/halal-analysis-of-aes-risk-of-failure-as-of-march-201.ppt

Scan copies of the Final Report of the Joint Forensic Team. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15830&id=131019746931245


Special Credits:

Sen. Jamby Madrigal

Maite Quesada (forensic report copy)

Bilimoto.com (photo)

************

Typhoon Ondoy Death Toll in the Philippines: Killer Mall or Killer Corruption Figured?

TYPHOON Ondoy (Ketsana) that struck the Philippines’ capital region in late September 2009 with the “record amount of rainfall” officially left more than 300 people dead and nearly P9 billion in total damages to agriculture and infrastructure. The responsibility for its destructive flashfloods has been blamed by certain sectors on the administration of “President” Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with regards failed disaster management prevention and management. Based on a November 6, 2009 tabloid article and limited but rather persisting offline and online talks, it may be that a Metro Manila mall is also partly culpable for the Ondoy casualties.

According to the Remate article entitled “Ondoy prober with the Galas PNP sings: Death by Drowning of 100 people inside a Mall Kept under Wraps,” an investigator connected with the Galas Police Station squealed the news on the death of customers, mall tenants, and employees and security guards inside a mall during the typhoon. The victims were supposedly trapped inside the mall’s grocery section when mall management ordered the area secured so as to prevent theft of store items.


The Story

The investigator recounted the testimony of a witness who claimed she was one of those who managed to leave the grocery section before the roll-up door was locked. Power outage ensued, followed by the rise of flood waters, which thus prevented any easy opening of the door. According to the witness:

“I heard the shouts inside. That strong wailing. Hearing those pleading for help sent shivers through me. I asked a guard outside why they would not do something in order to raise the roll up door but he only said that it was mall manager’s order so they could not do a thing.”

The witness supposedly cried when s/he went up to the second floor especially when the shouting and wailing ceased as the waters greatly rose and those below drowned. She said there were other witnesses, including the salesladies on the second floor who were also crying because they were aware of what was going on.

According to the news report, some salespeople recounted how management secured the grocery store when the flood subsided. A sunglass saleslady narrated the revoltingly foul and pervasive smell of decomposing human flesh below. A mall official admitted that many died and they brought out the decomposing bodies in the evening. The report adds that according to the investigator, the story met with news blackout because “everyone had been tipped off.”

Remate says it tried but failed to get the side of the Galas PNP head. Based on a broadsheet article dated Oct. 16, 2009, the Galas Police Station Commander around the Ondoy flooding period was Supt. Edgardo Pamittan.That Galas investigator and the witnesses to the actual event are not the only ones who know about the horrible mall deaths. There was considerable talk about the deaths even before the November 6, 2009 issue of Remate came out.

Some two weeks before that tabloid account, I already heard about “the many who died in the xxx mall in Manila” from my husband’s sort-of-relative nurse assigned during the Ondoy disaster operations.  According to her, at least some of those who died in the mall were made to appear to be part of the death toll in Marikina [which was the most Ondoy-devastated area in Metro Manila].


What’s that mall (If the story’s true, that is)?

If the report and talks were true, what could that mall (or there was more than one) be? In my husband’s conversation with the nurse, the name of the mall was mentioned. Obviously, one way of telling whether such reports are possible is by ascertaining whether that mall had indeed been damaged by the flood.

Mall flooding during Ondoy was not isolated but Wikipedia talks of a mall in Metro Manila that became rather significantly affected by the typhoon, with the flood waters almost reaching the ceiling of the lowest level. That entry that was first inserted around 8 a.m. of September 30, 2009 came from IP 119.92.245.23 and unreferenced, but has been retained in that Wikipedia page. While it is Wikipedia’s policy that entries (especially the controversial ones, I believe) should be referenced, said entry has escaped deletion or even challenge because it writes of a commonly known fact.

In its present revision form, that particular edit entry on Wikipedia’s page on a Metro Manila mall is now footnoted. Interestingly, the footnote leads to a mainstream newspaper report about the reopening of the mall’s lower ground level but without directly discussing Ondoy’s impact on that mall. At the website or related website of that mall, the great damage wrought by the typhoon on said mall is mentioned.


News blackout

If such mall deaths did occur, certainly the news blackout has been very effective. I’m not sure if other tabloids also carried the story but such can hardly be found in any ‘authoritative’ site. It’s certainly not in any online Philippine mainstream news media.

The mall death story was also the subject of limited public discussion in the internet, but only in a very few websites. I searched hard and long to find references to it, ultimately hitting on pages in YouTube and Pinoy Money Talk websites. It should be noted that references to the story definitely appear only in the comment threads.

In two uploaded videos showing the gush of water in perhaps the same lowest floor area of the mall, the supposed deaths in the building during Typhoon Ondoy was discussed. The oldest YouTube comments dated “3 months ago” (October 2009) or at least 1 or more weeks just after the Ondoy onslaught, talk of the 26 to over 30 people who died as they got trapped in the mall’s grocery area. Someone writes that a neighbor manager of another branch of the mall informed them of the deaths, but which has not being publicly disclosed. Others talk of the mall’s foul smell that could be detected even as far as a nearby subdivision.

The only well-reported incident that got anywhere close to the mall and looting story involves not Typhoon Ondoy but, rather, Typhoon Pepeng (Parma), which ravaged  parts of Luzon excluding Metro Manila. If I’m not mistaken, Channel 2 (ABS-CBN) anchors mentioned about a mall outside Manila having been locked from the inside to secure store items. (The mall owner later clarified that no looting took place because the grocery items simply floated and got out during the flooding). There was absolutely no mention of deaths occurring in that provincial mall, however.


Mall Death Cover-Up…

I hope the cover-up angle and the mall deaths are not true at all because, together, they don’t paint a pretty picture of the Filipino sense of humanity, or lack of it. Possibly denying and covering up any such mall deaths are criminally much too much.

What are involved here are human lives that were possibly ended by an unwise and fatally unethical capitalist decision. If the Ondoy deaths in that building were true, so what if that gargantuan mall suffers bad business from the exposure of the tragedy. It’s their fault that human lives were needlessly wasted so it is fair and just to make its management take responsibility. Besides, from an economic, there are other malls/mall chain that would only be too glad to absorb their possible business lost.


…Or a government conspiracy?

Thus, if the mall death reports–whether it’s really over a 100 as indicated in the Remate report, or much less—did occur, it does not make much sense that the government is going along with its cover-up. Unless, perhaps, the government is covering up its own responsibility in the bigger picture–that its faulty actions led to the disastrous levels of the Ondoy flash flooding.

Government culpability for the Ondoy tragedy has been suspected by not a few people. A blog entry perhaps best conveys that feeling of “conspiracy.”

Ondoy killed a lot! There was some sort of a news blackout. According to the reports, there were only about 300 that perished. It’s more than that. For one, everyone I talk to had somebody died in their network….

There’s some kind of conspiracy, I think.

…It’s like they let lose all the dams all at the same time and they’re not admitting the miscalculations that caused the disaster. Blame it on Ondoy.

Other blog posts and comments, such as those found here, are more direct in pinning the total Metro Manila deaths and damages on the supposed dam release(s).

These views come despite the official statement of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Administrator that excessive rainfall was solely responsible for flooding and that “In as far as the flooding in Metro Manila is concerned, there’s no contribution from Ipo or Angat dam.” (The clogged or limited-capacity waterways have supposedly prolonged the decline of flood waters).

If the dams or government inefficiency didn’t figure in the disaster, as claimed by the Philippine weather bureau, is it perhaps the case that the mall deaths’ cover-up–if indeed true–is part of the bid of Gloria Arroyo’s government to prevent further attention from being drawn to its possible misuse or malversation of calamity funds?

The IBON Foundation research group asks the Gloria Arroyo government to account for the US$1 million reconstruction relief and rehabilitation funds it received in 2006, along with the $6.6 million disaster preparedness allotment out of the total US$8.5 million in humanitarian aid commitments, and the $1.9 million emergency response official development assistance (ODA)  it got in 2007.

During a Senate hearing in October last year, PAGASA Administrator Nilo Prisco clears the weather bureau of responsibility for the Ondoy disaster. His reasoned that while the country has satellite information tools, there were yet no Doppler radars for measuring rainfall volume. Similarly, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro who headed the National Security Council defended the government’s delayed rescue response to the flash floods by saying that the country only had thirteen rubber boats during that time.

So based on the IBON figures, where did the US$9.5 million, or roughly P430 million go? Did the funds go to Arroyo’s lavish Le Cirque and Bobby Van’s Steakhouse stateside dinners, or to Mickey Arroyo’s reported plush and equally stateside houses, or both and more? In the first place, shouldn’t the government have been able to prevent such a horrible disaster with the huge funds at its disposal? If the mall deaths were indeed true, is it possible that the Arroyo’s government has gone along with the news blackout so as to minimize perceptions of its own responsibility for the deadly flash floods?


Killer rumor or what?

Of course, the Remate report on the investigation by the Galas Police Station, along with the offline and online talk of Ondoy-related deaths in that mall, could just be plain baseless “rumor.” However, what makes this rumor angle rather weak is the fact that mainstream media is eerily silent about it.

For something as serious a claim as a killer mall, and in the face of at least one print-published report on it, shouldn’t questions have been raised by other media outfits or, if not, a preliminary/informal investigation conducted by the government? It should be noted that the Remate report involves a collaborative authorship bylined as “REMATE INVESTIGATIVE TEAM,” indicating that the newspaper, tabloid though it may be, took the matter seriously.

Corollary to this, if the mall deaths were really untrue, shouldn’t the Remate Investigative Team itself be investigated for such a severe, unfounded report? It is so sad that such a story has been almost totally ignored, if not systematically kept under wraps. Makes one lament over what has possibly become of the Filipinos.


What have the Filipinos become?

More than a century after Andres Bonifacio founded the Katipunan revolutionary movement and adopted the laudable Kartilya code of conduct/ethics; more than a 100 years after our hard-earned Independence was practically stolen by the Stars and Stripes; more than 60 years after we were granted our post-World-War-II “independence,” it seems that the 21st century Filipino elites’ respect for justice and the lives of their countrymen and countrywomen are fatally lacking.

Greed for business profits, and political power and the monetary “rewards” that come with it appear to dominate the mindset of the elites–to the detriment of the common “tao.” Worse, the masses and those just above them seem to have developed incredible tolerance for unethical, immoral, and even essentially unlawful actions by the powerful.

In one of the YouTube pages, a commenter says that the victims’ families were offered or paid 1M pesos each (although those who were hesitant to settle or wanted to file court cases were reportedly threatened by namedropping a general).  Assuming that the mall deaths did happen, granting good faith in that the incident was purely unintentional, and further assuming that justice by way of generous monetary compensation has already been served, should not the truth matter at all? That is, if one believes that the Filipinos deserve to know which malls are conducive to their lives and safety.

Another post dated December 2009 has the commenter remarking that the story shows just how “Money makes the world go ‘round.” I wonder how far round the Filipinos’ heads should go.

Not true those talks of Ondoy mall deaths at all? Let’s go talk about it then. Disprove, don’t just ignore the “rumor.”
_____________

Image credits:

SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce
http://mhauckonline.blogspot.com/2009/09/philippines-is-in-urgent-need-for-help.html
Remate (scans of cover and inside pages)
http://www.manila.world-guides.com/manila_shopping.html

References
“2 storms’ damage now P8.4B. 5 Oct. 2009.” Business Mirror Site. http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/16918-2-storms-damage-now-p84b.html
Felipe, Cecille Suerte. “800 Marikina residents rescued from flood.” Philstar.com. 28 September 2009. http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=509175
“FLOOD….” YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPmNBhoCsQ4
Hermosa, Jessica Anne and Liu, Kristine Jane. “Typhoon delays Baguio ecozone shipments….” Business World.  http://www.smprime.com/smprime/index.php?p=587&type=2&sec=49&aid=4376
Ibon Foundation. “Where Did Millions of Aid for Disaster Relief Go? Ibon Wants to Know.” Bulatlat.com. 2 October 2009. http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/10/02/where-did-millions-of-aid-for-disaster-relief-go-ibon-wants-to-know/
Kwok, Abigail. Man dies in Quezon City daylight robbery.” Inquirer.net. 16 Oct 2009
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20091016-230409/Man-dies-in-Quezon-City-daylight-robbery
“No water release from dams in Ondoy floods.” Inquirer.net. 5 October 2009. http://newsinfo.inquirer.netbreakingnews/nation/view/20091005-228488/No-water-release-from-dams-in-Ondoy-floods
Of typhoons and dams. Stuart Santiago Blog. 29 September 2009. http://www.stuartsantiago.com/of-typhoons-and-dams/
“Ondoy Killed ‘em .” 17 December 2009. Cobwebs of My Mind blog site. http://cobwebsofmymind.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html
Padilla, Arnold. “Analysis: Beyond Ondoy and Climate Change, Blame Goes to Arroyo, Teodoro.” Bulatlat.com. 2 October 2009. http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/10/02/analysis-beyond-ondoy-and-climate-change-blame-goes-to-arroyo-teodoro/
(Pics) Bagyong Ondoy lashes the Philippines. Pinoy Money Talk. http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/storm-typhoon-ondoy-pictures/
Sotelo, Yolanda and Cabreza, Vincent. “SM execs belie looting reports.” Inquirer.net. 10 October 2009. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20091010-229405/SM-execs-belie-looting-reports
“Typhoon Ondoy Tragedy — Flood….” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avt5voh2kAw
VERA Files. “Arroyo’s $15,000 dinner in D.C.” 12 August 2009. http://verafiles.org/index.php/focus/302-arroyos-15000-dinner-in-dc

God, Typhoon Ondoy & the Philippines: Review of Church-Arroyo relations

IN the face of the devastation and casualties wrought by typhoon Ondoy, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines head Rev. Angel Lagdameo asks whether God is giving the Filipinos 'hints' of the "future and even the coming elections?" He wonders whether there is a connection between all the corruption and lies, the loss of integrity and the mounting "destruction of morality and moral values" under the government of Gloria Arroyo and the natural "calamities occurring in increasing number and intensity."






According to the website of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the typhoon's interaction with the seasonal southwest moonsoon gave a "record 13.43 inches of rain fell in Manila in the six hours between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time, which is equivalent to about a month's worth of rain for the area." The resulting enormous flash floods washed away homes, cars, downed fence walls, stranded people in the streets, drowned others, and sent even city people to rooftops and the desperate crossing the cables of electricity posts for safety. Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) left the capital and other parts of Luzon island devastated, with over 300 dead and damages worth P2.75 billion to infrastructure and P6 billion to agriculture.

Why don't the bishops partly take responsibility for the Arroyo evil? After all, the Philippine Catholic Church by and large supported the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada and the para-constitutional installation of the Illegitimate back in early 2001.



What follows is a look back to the eight-year Arroyo-Church relations based on my August 2006 and 2008 archived articles.


Background: (Church helps oust Caesar, circa 2001)

Back in early 2001, the Catholic Church was instrumental in the constitutionally anomalous ouster of Joseph Estrada and in Arroyo's succeeding as President. Crucial to the success of the EDSA 2 mob that deposed the hugely-popular-with-the-masses Estrada and installed bogus "President" Arroyo was the support of the Manila portion of the Catholic Church led by then Cardinal Jaime Sin.

Seemingly blinded by Arroyo's facade of Catholic religiosity, then-archbishop of the Archdiocese of Manila committed the seditious sin of going against Caesar by conspiring with then-Vice President Arroyo, former presidents Fidel Ramos and Cory Aquino, Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, and certain elite members of business, military, and even the media to grab the presidency using the cloak of "People Power." Cardinal Sin first exhorted Filipino Catholics, including minors from Manila Catholic schools, to rally and pressure Estrada into resigning, and when it became clear that the properly President would not give up, to depose him only 2 1/2 years into his term, supposedly on corruption and moral grounds.

August 2006 - The bishops should undo an Arroyo wrong

Data from a top independent survey firm show an alarming trend of double-digit incidence of hunger in over straight years. Corruption in government ballooned to unprecedented levels such that since Arroyo's ascent to power, Transparency International has consistently rated the Philippines with having endemic corruption. Violations of human rights are back to, or worse than Martial Law levels, 25 years ago. The gory deaths of two university coeds add to the hundreds of extra judicial killings recorded in only five years. Amid all these crises, the Filipinos have been waiting for the Church leaders to beckon them to a moral but decisive course of action.

The least the bishops should really do now is to collectively declare support for the impeachment in order to boost its chances of passing through the administration-controlled Congress. The more ideal move, though, would be for the Catholic Church to join in the clamor for Arroyo to step down, as it so loudly and boldly did against then President Joseph Estrada. But as the CBCP, the official organization of Catholic episcopacy, chose to remain lame and tolerant towards a publicly pious regime but which runs the country like hell, any sensible Catholic can't help but question and suspect.

It is perplexing how the wise fathers can continue to believe Arroyo's virtual reality of good governance and moral leadership. Is it that in the Church's calling to influence state policies affecting morals, they have elected to regard the stifling of basic political freedoms as necessary collateral damage? Or is the CBCP simply afraid to admit that the EDSA II Revolt, which deposed her predecessor, was a debacle of grim national proportions? Or are the bishops perhaps amiss with the spirit of humility such that they refuse to atone and undo their Arroyo wrong?

Not since the Spanish colonial era has the Catholic Church in the Philippines enjoyed the kind of influence it wields under Mrs. Arroyo's reign. Is it not enough that the devoutly religious Filipinos have tolerated the blurring of the divide separating the Church and the State? Only a month prior to the impeachment issues, the Church lauded the repeal of the death penalty in an unusually hasty action by Congress. When its leader Rev. Angel Lagdameo restated a few days later that the CBCP will not stand to support another impeachment nor will ask Arroyo to resign, the bishops have invited seemingly valid suspicions that the Church is as power hungry as the President it helped install. It is either that or in the crusade to save the unborn and the capital offenders, the Church in the Philippines blindly refuses to break its pact with the devil.

December 2008 - Flagging Filipino Christian spirit

An essential element to goodness is to admit to a wrong, no matter how heinous and collective, so that the wrong can be undone. Just recently, Ex-President Aquino recently publicly admitted to her wrongful part in the EDSA 2 uprising, and apologized to the deposed and defamed President Estrada in no uncategorical terms.

The Filipino cardinals and bishops can do no less. Archbishop Oscar Cruz has already written about Arroyo's "consistent high rating in corruption in form of big guile and gross deceit in the management of public funds [and] a continuous low grade of approval in terms of pervasive distrust and enormous dissatisfaction." However, if the local Catholic Church is to regain its moral ascendancy in the Philippines, the CBCP would have to officially admit to their seditious role in EDSA 2 with as much consensus as they wielded in calling for Estrada's resignation and ouster back in 2000-early 2001, and in installing and continuing to support an Arroyo who never had the genuine mandate to serve as president. Next step is to help give back to the Filipinos the right to be governed by the leader they have truly elected and not just any one falsely legitimized by a conspiracy of powerful elites.

Undoing the terrible wrong that is Arroyo is righteous because it is the spiritual and social responsibility of the Church to fight the cloud of evil reigning in the land. It has erred against the people and against the Church when it conspired against a properly elected president. Only by helping ensure righteous and popular governance in the land can there be a chance of regaining the Filipino Christmas spirit that is merry in both righteousness and material grace.

[In exchange for Catholic prelate support], she practically adopted Church teachings on population planning and even gave in to Church pressures against the death penalty. Despite the backing of the Church however, Arroyo's presidency has been shown in periodic surveys as the most distrusted and disliked, with double figure negative trust ratings and with more than half of the population, the masses in particular, wanting her to either resign or be removed...

So clear that the Philippine Catholic church is in part responsible for Arroyo's reign of political immorality and disastrous governance. The government they helped install and have supported for so long is so corrupt and mismanaged it couldn't even give the capital region a semblance of decent preparedness for natural disasters. Many have decried that the government was nowhere during the critical hours of the Ondoy flash floods, with its responsibilities taken up largely by private entities and the broadcast media.

Lagdameo concludes the very politically polite CBCP statement with: Nagtatanong lang kami! We do not have the answer! That is why let us also pray!"The men in robes are unsure of the answers now but they were so sure what to do during the heyday of the anti-Estrada movement. The prelates and nuns should have just confined themselves to praying back in late 2000-January 2001.

Excerpts taken from:

Bernardo, Jesusa. Will the Filipino bishops undo an Arroyo wrong? August 2006. Published at Sobriety for the Philippines Blog 4 May 2007. http://forthephilippines.blogspot.com/2007/05/archived-article-august-2006-will.html

Bernardo, Jesusa. Blaring Simbang Gabi sound speakers & the flagging Christmas spirit. 23 December 2008. http://forthephilippines.blogspot.com/2008/12/blaring-simbang-gabi-church-sound.html

(Updated Oct 6, 2009 1:30 AM HK+8 )

__________

References:

Additional Findings on Corruption-Related Issues (Most/Least Corrupt Philippine Presidents). Pulse Asia Site. 2007. http://pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?id=632

Lagdameo, Angel. Year 2009, Typhoons: Are they God's Hints?. CBCP Website. 2 October 2009. http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/10691

NASA. Hurricane Season 2009: Typhoon Ketsana (Western Pacific). http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2009/h2009_Ketsana.html

"Second Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey: PGMA’s net rating falls to record-low –38." 18 July 2008. Social Weather Stations Site. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr080718.htm

The Most Corrupt President in Philippine History: Table 2. PulseAsia Site. http://pulseasia.com.ph/resources/photos/table2_corruption_0710.gif

2 storms’ damage now P8.4B. 5 Oct. 2009. Business Mirror Site. http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/16918-2-storms-damage-now-p84b.htmlop News

Photo Credits:

BBC.com. Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy). 30 Sept. 2009. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/typhoon_ketsana_ondoy.html


BBC News. In pictures: Cardinal Sin's life. 21 June 2005.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4114016.stm


Philippines is in Urgent Need for Help: Typhoon Ondoy Aftermath. http://mhauckonline.blogspot.com/2009/09/philippines-is-in-urgent-need-for-help.html#more

Slideshow: After ‘Ondoy,’ Grief. Bulatlat.com. 30 Sept. 2009. http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/09/30/slideshow-after-ondoy-grief/

UNITAR/UNOSAT.  Canadian Space Agency Image processing. Map created 29 Sept. 2009. http://www.disasterscharter.org/image/journal/article.jpg?img_id=56046&t=1254300668961

The Filipino Desaparecidos

Today, August 31, is the National Heroes Day for the Philippines. Yesterday was no less significant with the global observance of the International Day of Desaparecidos. Bulatlat produced a video (Philippines: Remembering the Disappeared) for the rather morbid celebration in honor of the "more than 200 Filipinos--mostly activists--[who] have disappeared" under the reign of the EDSA 2 Illegitimate.


Philippines: Remembering the Disappeared from Bulatlat on Vimeo.

The video presented some 40 or so "victims of the regime's brutal policy against critics, particularly the Left." The first human face of the contemporary Filipino desaparecidos under the Gloria Arroyo regime is Honorio Ayroso who disappeared February 2002 in Nueva Ecija. Not even the elderly seems spared, as evidenced by the case of Patricio Abalos, who was 61 years old when he went missing in March 2005 at Catbalogan, Samar.

Even women count among the desaparecidos. A matured face belongs to Gloria Soco who, by newspaper accounts, was not even a member of any left-wing group although she was a sister-in-law of a consultant of the National Democratic Front. Perhaps, most harrowing were the cases of Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan--promising young lasses from the University of the Philippines and who remain unaccounted for since being abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan last June 26, 2006.


EDSA 2 Ironies for the Media & the Left

The penultimately featured desaparecido is Jonas Burgos, whose disappearance can be called an indirect case of press freedom irony, given that Burgos is no less the son of Joe Burgos, press freedom icon and founding publisher of the newspaper Malaya. It can be recalled that one of the ludicrous claims made back in January 2001 was the supposed absence or "death of democracy" under former President Joseph Estrada, who was actually too human-rights-conscious to disperse the irreverent mix of EDSA 2 conspirators and gullible mob.

The traditional media organizations went practically all out in support of the swift ouster of the democratically elected Estrada and the installation of Arroyo. As things unfolded, it proved to be an unwise, nay, stupid "People Power" exercise that gave birth to a government that turned out to be not only the most unpopular in Philippine history but one which, as the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines puts it, stands to leave "a legacy of bloodshed and repression, its acts of omission and commission nurturing the impunity with which the enemies of press freedom have operated."

Beautiful but dreadfully poignant Tagalog poetry graced the presentation. The Balagtasan-style ode to the missing stirs the patriotic and compassionate heart:

Hinahanap-hanap ka sa payapang dagat,
Sa bawa't kislot na aking maaninag;
Pinaghahanap ka sa tilamsik ng alat,
Sa bula, sa kislap ng bawat lagaslas.


Maging ang buhangin ay pinagtanungan,
Saan aabot ang dalampasigan?
Hapag kainan ba ang paghahandaan,
O kurona't ilaw ang iyong tahanan?


Hahanapin kita sa angil ng punlo,
Sa tinik ng gubat, silahis ng sulo;
Ipagtatanong ka sa libong kamao,
Sa kaway ng bandera't dagundong ng maso.


Hahanapin kita sa luntian bukirin,
Sa ngiti ng sanggol, sa ihip ng hangin;
Kung sa paglaya na ang iyong pagdating,
At wala ka roon ay hahanapin pa rin.


Hinahanap hanap ka, hanap ka.


--Adora Faye de Vera

Apparently, the victims of extra-judicial killings or disappearances under the Arroyo government have mostly been the left-leaning activists. Such is no surprising news because their side of the political spectrum has traditionally been the target of repression by a government who holds "special friendship" with its former colonial master and global nemesis of the communists, socialists and nationalists, the United States of America.

However, in another EDSA 2 irony, it is a fact that the repressive Arroyo government was a product of the 2001 power grab conspiracy that well included the Left. In a way, the Left who came to EDSA 2, or at least the leaders who forged the anti-Estrada coalition with the forces of Arroyo and ex-President Fidel Ramos, are indirectly responsible for the obtaining spate of disappearances and other forms of human rights violations. Arroyo, in a sense, is a big, big stone the leftists hit their own heads with. Still, that's no excuse not to contribute one's voice in the campaign against possible state-enforced disappearances or murders of Filipinos.

Pragmatic in perspective as I am, this article and the independently disseminated video will most probably be heed only by a few. To activate the gentler, just side of human nature of even not many a soul is good enough for me, though. Who knows if it can eventually lead to a government that refuses to be stained by the blood of Filipino desaparecidos, those of the leftist ones, at least.

________

References:

Video: Remembering the Disappeared. Bulatlat.com. 30 August 2009. http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/08/30/video-remembering-the-disappeared/

The Media Under Arroyo: A Legacy of Bloodshed and Repression. July 2007. National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Site. http://nujp.org/v4/2009/07/the-media-under-arroyo-a-legacy-of-bloodshed-and-repression/

VIDEO: Cory Aquino Tributes & the Philippine Story (EDSA 1, 2, & 3)

Companion video to article

"Cory Aquino Tributes & the EDSA 2 Denial Syndrome":

The necrological services on the fourth day of the wake of former President Corazon Aquino struck this column as disconcertingly Edsa 2 in composition and sound, no matter that the VIPs who remained in their pews represented all the Edsa revolts--Edsa 1, 2 & 3. Except for Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, the public figures who took the podium were movers or stalwarts of the 2001 "People Power" power grab.

READ MORE

POWER GRAB FROM PRESIDENT JOSEPH ESTRADA

Video on the infamous power grab in recent Philippine history.

The victim: the democratically elected President Joseph "Erap" Estrada.

The conspirators: Bogus President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and husband; Mike Arroyo; ex-President Fidel Ramos; Jaime Cardinal Sin; business elites; Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes, Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide, etc.

The unwitting conspirators: the gullible mob of Edsa 2.

The greater victims: Philippine democracy and the millions who cast their votes in the 1998 Presidential elections.

According to the Honorable Cecilia Munoz-Palma, former Supreme Court Justice and chairperson of the 1987 Constitutional Commission, Edsa 2 caused the 1987 Constitution to suffer.

This happened when the ongoing impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada, was unceremoniously disrupted and discontinued, and the issues on hand were brought to the streets. The rule of law was set aside and the rule of force prevailed..

________

Source:

Youtube. Power Grab from President Joseph Estrada. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh9bECSgfqk


****************

Cory Aquino Tributes & the Edsa 2 Denial Syndrome

Companion YouTube Video here:

Cory Aquino Tributes & the Philippine StoryCory Aquino Tributes & the Philippine Story (EDSA 1, 2, & 3)




The necrological services on the fourth day of the wake of former President Corazon Aquino struck this column as disconcertingly Edsa 2 in composition and sound, no matter that the VIPs who remained in their pews represented all the Edsa revolts--Edsa 1, 2 & 3. Except for Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, the public figures who took the podium were movers or stalwarts of the 2001 "People Power" power grab.

There were, of course, the touching and insightful anecdotes from Cory's relatives and family or private friends, but the speeches of Congressman Teddy "Boy" Locsin, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, the wife of ex-House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Arroyo party-mate lead prosecutor in Estrada's impeachment trial, Mayor Sonny Belmonte--along with the mentioned seated presence of ex-President Fidel Ramos--seemed much too much a reminder of the 2001 Edsa conspiracy. Lim, it should be recalled, was the Secretary of Local Government who deserted his Commander-in-Chief, President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, during the penultimate day of Edsa 2; meanwhile, Locsin was one of those who actively campaigned for the "withdrawal of support" against Estrada. Fidel Ramos, on the other, is the ex-President Estrada wanted investigated for the "Centennial Expo" scandal but who connived with then Vice-President Gloria Arroyo, ex-President Aquino, Jaime Cardinal Sin, and business and military elements in unseating the popularly elected leader.



Add to this were the speeches of Cory's son, Sen. Noynoy Aquino, and Locsin that seemed to suggest that Edsa 2 was not at all a blunder. In no way was the 2001 "People Power" coup d'état "--of which President Aquino was a key advocate--actually mentioned by the politicians and private and religious speakers who paid the late President a tribute on that day, or the entire wake and burial, it seemed. Actually, the Edsa 2 ousting of President Estrada described by foreign news media back then as "'a defeat for due process," as "mob rule," as "a de facto coup,'" but ridiculously hailed by the traditional local media as a triumph of "democracy and "People Power," was most conspicuously a no-mention in the Cory tribute activities, funeral and media coverage thereof. Like a scourge, a leprous part of Cory's and the nation's recent history. The omission of Edsa 2 in all references to the contributions of the female "democracy icon" to Philippine politics was an almost unwritten rule. Recollections and images of the 1986 Edsa 1 "People Power" bombarded the screens, pages, and programs of news/opinion media but there appeared nary a single reference to the divisive and counter-democratic 2001 Edsa coup.



In recounting her mother's uncanny courage, unwavering love, faith in God, and righteous determination in service of patriotic duty even in the face of military artillery, Noynoy mused how he has not yet seen her "make a mistake" ("hindi ko pa ho siya nakitang nagkamali"). In describing how his stint with Cory as one of her advisers (Press Secretary) had led him to a "moral discovery," Locsin described her as "a woman who never did wrong." Of course, the contexts of these descriptions of Cory as perfect in no way referred to Edsa 2. Noynoy's remarks are especially understandable, coming from a son in tribute to his remarkable and beloved mother.



Then again, didn't Noynoy earlier try to present her mother's apology as having been said in 'jest'? The apology was made during ex-Speaker Jose De Venecia's book launching last December 2008. It was Cory's turn to take the stage and at some point in her speech, looked at Estrada and said: "I am one of those who plead guilty in 2001. All of us make mistakes, just please forgive me."

Can something as serious as a matter of an apology over a conspiratorial ouster be possibly turned into a humor by President Aquino? Even in the supposed context of an exchange of humorous quips, it seemed out-of-character for a sincere, truthful and honest Cory to publicly make any such "joke."


I reviewed the news clip on that famous apology and, based from the late President's facial expressions and slight turn of the head away from Estrada's gaze just before she let out the fateful words of apology, it revealed either a hesitancy or a moment of unease that come from a feeling of regret or some shame. Take note that her apology came after she was diagnosed with cancer. It seemed that even for an honest and sincere person like her, it had to take the diagnosis of an often-terminal disease before the admission of guilt to a great blunder could be made. A blogger earlier wrote that people should just "ask Cory" to clarify whether it was a 'joke.' Well, she did clarify it through her spokeswoman who said that it was indeed said in "jest," "But she's not taking it back". Unless the Cory who apologized wasn't at all the Cory we knew, saying it in jest merely served as the vehicle to express what she had long wanted to tell.

For the latest Philippine news stories & videos, visit GMANews.TV

Based from the feelings of having been "betrayed," as violently expressed by the few remaining but very loud Edsa 2 forces across the blogosphere and the traditional media, President Aquino's apology has been widely read as real. Puzzlingly, a number of these same people also assert it was all a joke. It appears they're out on a damage control operation of sorts to protect their reputation as "decent" and "intelligent" people who definitely knew better than Erap's "less educated" supporters--and Cory's non-withdrawal of support for Edsa 2 was an important component of it.



Edsa 2 Amnesia or Edsa 2 Sanitizing?


Nonetheless, amidst the eulogies and media's pronounced harping on Cory's contribution in toppling Marcos, her succeeding presidency, and her campaign against the Arroyo presidency--while being almost dead silent on her role in the intervening unseating of Estrada and 2004 presidential campaign for Arroyo--the necrological services sounded not only like a silent approval of Estrada's unconstitutional ouster but also a deliberate and dishonest representation of the late President. Cory, after all, tried her best to undo her grievous and misguided support of Arroyo. Firstly, in 2005, she asked for the latter's resignation following the "Hello Garci" electoral fraud expose, befriended and supported the widow of the "defeated" presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr., and later, in December 2008, publicly apologized to Estrada for the 2001 "uprising."

Why are these prominent chapters of Cory's public life conspicuously missing in the tributes offered to her? Obviously, the Edsa 2 no-mention that gradually began a few years ago only means that the 2001 exercise is a discredited "People Power" movement. Still, the question is whether Cory's sustained campaign against the present administration's excesses and greed for power can stand on its own in the chapter on her post-presidency? Why, even her anti-Cha-Cha campaign during Ramos' time was hardly mentioned, if at all.



Is Cory a "democracy icon" only because of her role in ousting Marcos, restoring free elections, bringing back the system of check and balances, and helping ratify the 1987 Constitution? Or is President Aquino the "mother of democracy" because she continuously worked to preserve democracy, including through her sincere efforts to undo the damage she helped inflict on it when, in not trusting the system she herself restored, she chose the Machiavellian path and worked for Erap's ouster?

In the first place, would President Aquino have really wanted a sanitized version of her life in a book dedicated to the Filipino people? The religious, the friends, the politicians--they have all been hailing her for being "honest," "sincere," "clean," "moral," and "transparent"--traits reflected in her presidency and in her post-1992 advocacies. Shouldn't it be proper that such uncanny honesty and truthfulness, to be tempered of course by due respect, also mark the eulogies and tributes to her? Wouldn't Tita Cory have preferred to be remembered for what she truly was--unpretentious in her ways and beliefs?



A sober one may get to wonder--are they merely protecting Cory's memory, or protecting their own "reputation" and interests? A case of collective amnesia, or conspiracy of silence? A 2001 New York Times article should remind them how Edsa 2 operated outside the democratic framework:

The man they overthrew, Joseph Estrada, was a democratically elected president half way through his six-year term. The popular uprising took place when it became clear that due process ? his impeachment trial in the Senate ? would not produce the result many people hoped for: his removal by constitutional means.

Cory a "Saint"?

Unfortunately, the sanitizing, nay, sanctifying, bandwagon seems not confined to the local media. Time magazine will feature Cory Aquino once more as cover article, calling her a "Saint of Democracy." In a precursor article entitled "People Power's Philippine Saint," author Howard Chua-Eoan devoted just one sentence to the now discredited Edsa 2—but even misrepresented Aquino's role in it by claiming that "She joined crowds that led to the overthrow" of Estrada. My, my, since when has "led" become synonymous with "joined"?



A Yellow Celebration of Cory

Of course, the fourth day eventually turned multi-colored as two of the Marcos children came to the wake. The earlier days and nights of the wake also showed the broad spectral range of political forces that "Tita Cory's" death managed to unite--a trend seen from the first day of the wake until the historic funeral on August 5, 2009. Every one of every political color came, the more notable of whom was the primary victim of the 2001 conspiracy of which Cory was a party to--President Estrada who came with his cabinet members in full force, along with his wife ex-Sen. Loi and son Sen. Jinggoy. The half-sister of Arroyo, Cielo Macapagal-Salcedo, also attended the funeral mass. Even Arroyo came to the wake in the wee hours of the funeral day.

I'm proud to have been part of the historic funeral, at least part of it. We were actually late for the requiem mass but we reached Roxas Blvd. just after the cortege left Manila Cathedral. As we approached, a sea of near-yellow was coming to our direction--flocks of people in either yellow tops, ribbons, jackets, or caps emerging from the Anda Circle in Bonifacio Drive. Yellow balloons were flying to the air, as some people held or tied similar balloons to their vehicles. We witnessed the yellow and white confetti showers from a green military helicopter flying rather close to ground. For a moment there, it seemed that the spirit of the genuine and original "People Power" were upon us. Actually, I could swear it was.

From our position, in the center island across one of Metro Manila's fire trucks parked along the Manila Bay side of the boulevard, we saw people who lined the streets wave the "L" for "Laban" ("Fight") sign at each other, to those in the funeral procession, and to the VIP, participants' and media vehicles passing by both lanes. People chanted "Cory" or "Laban." We joined in the act of solidarity that felt like a combination of mourning, revelry, and militancy against the perceived enemy of democracy, Gloria Arroyo's government. I remember the media vehicles, banners representing various groups including some militant organizations, and even some Mar Roxas placards/banners that appeared like a show of irreverent politicking. At any rate, everybody just seemed one that day.

The flat-bed truck passed bedecked with beautiful yellow flowers, and in the middle was President Aquino's casket draped in the Philippine flag. Holding back my tears, I stood in silent reverence and muttered "Goodbye, Cory. You were not perfect but seemed to have always done what you think was best for the people." The honor guards looked both impressive and gallant, as befit a funeral for a well-loved former leader of the land. The Cojuangco Family bus, or one of possibly several, passed by the left lane and the "L" sign continued to be exchanged. Pervading the air was the spirit of solidarity behind Cory, her family, and the ideals she campaigned for, as much as the mixed feelings of mourning and jubilation of a public life well lived. It seemed like Edsa 1 all over again--Filipinos united for the common cause of democracy and marching behind the yellow rays of the sun, the revered color symbol of Cory's "Laban" ("Fight") for democracy.

"Laban," "Cory," "Erap"

The trip to Cory's funeral was rather long and hard, given the bad weather, but I had no intention of missing this historic and meaningful moment. I had decided to offer my humble time and presence to her in honor of our country and in recognition of her fallible but patriotic and lovingly heroic campaigns for democracy. Just a glimpse of her cortege, and being part of the crowd was enough, well enough.

Then, we got our unexpected bonus. President Estrada's vehicle approached, as we were alerted to it by others along the island. Oh, girl! Another imperfect but beloved figure! I grabbed the chance and did as others did--reached through the open window and shook the waving hand of a smiling Erap! As he passed by us, some of the small crowd in our position still chanted "Erap, Erap." I unfortunately never got to see Cory close up in person--not alive, not dead (because I chose to attend the funeral than queue for the wake's public viewing) but the case turned out differently for Estrada. Yes, I've seen him before a couple of times but always only from a distance.

It was a mixed feeling being up close to the man I never voted for--not even as Senator and Vice-President--but who became my President after I realized the fallacy of the "Erap Resign!" and eventual ouster / Edsa 2 movement. Estrada is the President I now reluctantly liken to our other national hero, Andres Bonifacio, on account of their being both pro-masa and having been victimized by a conspiracy of the elites. Of course, Erap can't compare with Bonifacio in most respects--much in the similar manner that Arroyo is far, far worse than Aguinaldo. Perhaps, it's a reflection of the times they lived in or the disastrous politico-cultural effect of America's colonization of the country. I'm not sure....

Love and Respect



The outpouring of sympathy or support for Cory was spectacular, as we soon found out after deciding to be part of the "advance party" by moving ahead of the cortege from Roxas Boulevard, to Quirino Avenue, to Osmena Avenue, and to South Superhighway until Makati. The lines of ordinary people waiting for President Aquino's cortege to pass by on the way to Manila Memorial Park were thick on both sides. Old and young people showed ardent and spontaneous feelings of love and respect. There were organized "tourists" from the provinces who carried small and big banners or placards with tribute lines for Cory.


The urban poor carried makeshift placards with touching messages, ranging from the simpler "Mahal ka Namin," and "Salamat, Cory Aquino;" to the more militant "Ipagpapatuloy po namin ang inyong ipinaglaban," and rather poignant Cory quote "'Take care of each other.' --Ina ng Bayan" or something to that effect. I remember yellow balloons also dancing in the air among the waiting crowds along the Quirino Ave. leg of the funeral procession exit, along with yellow plastics tied to one or more pedicabs and other vehicles. A low, single-sitter carriage powered by a beautiful brown horse caught much attention. I even noticed a woman grasping a dove. Some held pictures of Cory: a woman holding a big banner-size framed picture of the late President proceeded alone, as if trying to make sure that others remember Tita Cory. There were some banners and placards that bore Arroyo's name, rather indignant ones that asked for her ouster.



We ended our offering for Cory around past 2PM, turning right at Zobel Roxas Avenue in Makati. News reports later showed us the more complete picture of the funeral procession and confirmed our experience, partial though it may be, of the massive outpouring of love and sympathy for the 11th President of the Philippines. In this case, still pictures (and videos) tell it all--Filipinos united for the wake and burial of Cory Aquino.


Cory Magic Renewed

I was mildly and joyfully flabbergasted by the very massive and heartfelt outpouring of sympathy and support for President Aquino. I was initially skeptical because I knew that the "Cory Magic" had long faded away, and wasn't even able to secure Arroyo's victory in the 2004 presidential polls without the latter having needed to cheat the "Hello Garci" style. As we moved along Quirino Highway towards the Makati City part of South Superhighway, I realized that months before her death, she had managed to win back the population she alienated when she joined the rather elitist movement against a highly popular and incumbent President. The human sea of love, that included the "great unwashed," made me certain that before she bade Filipinos goodbye, Tita Cory managed to unite the forces of the two successful and one unsuccessful "People Power" exercises in Edsa.

She began the healing process some five years back with her show of touching kindness to Fernando Poe, Jr. whom she visited when he was in the throes of death. Next, Cory issued, in effect, the posthumous acknowledgement that FPJ was the genuinely elected 14th President of the Philippines when she asked her former protégé Gloria Arroyo to resign and "make the supreme sacrifice." She sealed her renewed covenant with the Filipino masses--within the context of the higher goal of preserving democracy--when she publicly voiced her apology to Estrada over her part in the big blunder of Edsa 2 soon after she was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.


The late 2008 apology to the imperfect Estrada, the "Father of the Masses" was Cory's supreme show of statesmanship. True to form, the late President once more demonstrated her remarkable sense of humility and determination to do what is righteous, even if it meant admitting to her own wrong. In the process, Cory dared defy, and invited the cruel ridicule of, the still unrepentant Edsa 2 gullibles and conspirators--those traitors to the 1987 Constitution, conceited subverters of the spirit of Edsa 1, pretentious conspirators against genuine Philippine democracy.

Cory: Edsa1, EDSA2, Edsa 3

Some news pieces/videos carried titles to the effect of claiming that "Cory brings people back to the streets.' What is the more complete picture is that Cory was able to restore the "People Power" zeal that Edsa 2--of which she was one of the leaders--almost killed. It was her apology and subsequent friendship with Estrada that helped lead to the reunification of a country split by Edsa 2 and the unsuccessful Edsa 3 and their consequences.

To gloss over the mistakes of President Cory, if not categorically depict a persona of political infallibility, is to cover up not only her mortal blunders but her admirable efforts to correct or undo them for the sake of the nation. To deny Cory's wrongs is to deny what her actions revealed to the Filipinos--that Estrada should not have been deposed and Arroyo not have been installed as successor in 2001, and that Fernando Poe Jr. had been cheated of the Philippine presidency. To deny or even omit her misguided roles in Edsa 2 and the 2004 campaign for Arroyo is to censor factual and reported parts of Cory's history. To deny Cory's public apology over the Edsa 2 coup d'état is to misrepresent her sincere brand of patriotism, and to deceive not only one's self but, also, the entire Filipinos.

To maliciously rewrite history by glossing over or excluding the fact of Cory's sincere apology and gestures of making up with the key victims of Edsa 2--Estrada and FPJ--is to pretend that those important chapters in her life and the nation's did not happen. President Aquino realized and did not hesitate to take personal responsibility for the 2001 and 2004 conspiracies to subvert the workings of the very democracy that she restored in memory of her husband Ninoy Aquino.



The remaining unapologetic anti-Estrada forces of Edsa 2 may claim Cory as exclusively Edsa 1 in her death. That would be so far from the truth because it was her show of statewomanly humility to admit to blunders amidst her consistent patriotic yearnings that have endeared the "People Power" President back to those alienated by her role in the undemocratic January 2001 exercise. Cory herself would have corrected those eulogies and tributes that sanitized her role in Philippine politics. I'm so sure that the sincere, honest, and transparent President Cory would have asked that she be pictured for everything she has done--as Edsa 1 "People Power" heroine; as part of the Edsa 2 fallacy; and a mortal "mother of democracy" that made peace with the movers of Edsa 3, the Filipino masses.

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References:

Beech, Hannah. "Corazon Aquino 1933-2009: The Saint of Democracy." Time. 17 August 2009. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914872,00.html?loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r3:c0.169565:b26885172&xid=Loomia
Calica, Aurea and Porcalla, Delon. "Cory apology to Erap dismays EDSA players." Philstar. 8 August 2009. http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=426412
Chua-Eoan, Howard. "People Power's Philippine Saint: Corazon Aquino." Time. 1 August 2009. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1914125-2,00.html
"Erap, Cabinet pay last respects to Cory." GMA News. 2 August 2009. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/168869/Erap-Cabinet-pay-last-respects-to-Cory
Estrada's son lambasts Gordon on Cory apology. The
Manila Times. 26 December 2009. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/dec/26/yehey/metro/20081226met2.html
Laurel, Herman Tiu. "Learning from CCA." The Daily Tribune. 3 August 2009. http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20090803com4.html
Mydan, Seth. "Expecting Praise, Filipinos Are Criticized for Ouster." The New York Times. 5 February 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/05/world/05FILI.html?ex=1204174800&en=835b6565116a0dd1&ei=5070
"Palace brags Gloria first in reconciling with Erap." The Daily Tribune. 24 December 2008. http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20081224hed2.html
"Saksi: Cory apologizes for taking part in People Power 2." GMA News.TV. 22 December 2008. http://www.gmanews.tv/video/33611/Saksi-Cory-apologizes-for-taking-part-in-People-Power-2
VERA Files. Cory back on Time magazine cover, dubbed 'Saint of Democracy.' 7 August 2009. http://www.verafiles.org/index.php/focus/295-cory-back-on-time-magazine-cover
Vigilia, Wendell. "Cory to Erap: Sorry for Edsa 2." Malaya. 23 December 2009. http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec23/news6.htm

Photo Credits:

ABS-CBN. www.abs-cbnnews.com
Associated Press. www.ap.org/
Corazon Aquino (1933 - 2009). Washington Post. 31 July 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/07/31/GA2009073103281.html?sid=ST2009073103362
Ellen Tordesillas Blog. http://www.ellentordesillas.com
http://www.geocities.com
Gomez, Jim. "Filipinos bid farewell to democracy icon Aquino." Newsvine. 2 August 2009. http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2009/08/02/3106398-aquino-mourned-at-wake-by-thousands-of-filipinos
Kapirasong Kritika Site. http://kapirasongkritika.files.wordpress.com
GMA 7 News. http://www.gmanews.tv/
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Official website of President Corazon Aquino. www.coryaquino.ph
Time Magazine. http://www.time.com
Vera Files. http://www.verafiles.org/