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

Open Letter of Filipino Patriots to Obama. P.S. Don't boost Gloria's "wrong side of history"

In anticipation of the scheduled July 30, 2009 visit of Philippine "President" Gloria Arroyo to the White House, a group of Filipino patriots wrote an open letter to United States President Barack Obama urging him to look into the genuine state of the Philippine nation. The communication reminds the US leader of his inaugural address that warned world leaders “who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent…[as being] on the wrong side of history.”

The signatories, which include two former Senate Presidents, former senators and cabinet secretaries, activist religious leaders, and the NBN-ZTE bribery scandal whistle-blower, urge the American leader to be well "mindfulof Ms Arroyo's legacy of corruption, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, bribery, election cheating, among others." The meat of the letter implores Obama "to inspire hope and be an instrument of change for the common good of the long suffering Filipino people."

**********
P.S.

US President Obama, this humble brown column asks you not to boost RP "President" Arroyo's "wrong side of history" position by letting your office be used to sanitize and legitimize her vile and mandate-less regime. Let me remind you of your Inaugural Address here at:

• Obama's inaugural speech

Excerpts:

...To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it....

May I also kindly ask you to read an interesting account of the history of your relations with Arroyo here:

• Obama's 'strategic interests' call to SE Asia's notoriously corrupt leader

Arroyo had gone on an aggressive seeking of the opportunity to meet up and try forging close relations with (translation 2: stalking) Obama as early as June 2008 when he was yet the presumed Democratic presidential nominee--apparently to ensure the political support of Bush's successor to her precarious presidency.

Her first attempt came via an expensive, 10-day, non-state visit to the US in the midst of the American presidential electoral process, but which failed to obtain even a glimpse of his charismatic presence....

But beware, half of the letter's signatories were responsible for installing the bogus "President" Arroyo. Allow me:

• The conspiracy of Edsa 2: how Gloria Arroyo managed not to let President Joseph Estrada finish his term

The Edsa II "People Power" coup d e'tat was hatched through the coalesced leadership of elements of political opportunists galvanizing under then Vice-President Arroyo, rebel military influenced by ex-President Fidel Ramos, Catholic bishops led by Jaime Cardinal Sin, and Philippine leftists such as former communist rebel Satur Ocampo. Undoubtedly, there were other groups behind the unconstitutional "fiesta" mob rule of the 2001 Edsa. There were the influential business elites, of course, and as well, the Protestant Jesus is Lord Movement by Bro. Eddie Villanueva. These groups could be said to be the plotters, each of which falls into the category of either being devious, vengeful, or well-meaning but misguided. Estrada was, after all, far from perfect. It was easy for those with poor democratic values to seek the Machiavellian way out of a President who acted like, and preferred to identify himself with the masses, perhaps much too much.

Then again, Arroyo fraudulently sought her own "mandate." Kindly read all about it here:

• Arroyo, "Hello Garci" and the Anniversary of Her Bogus Presidency

On June 24, 2004, a stealth operation of grave national impact was conducted by the Congress of the Philippines. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the controversial sitting President who took power after the popularly elected Joseph Estrada was deposed in the undemocratic EDSA II conspiracy in January 2001, was proclaimed as the victor of the 2004 May 11 elections in a manner that defied the spirit of electoral victory and the essence of a "proclamation." At around 3:30 am--yes, Virginia, at such a still-dusky morning hour when most Filipinos are generally still tucked in their beds--Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia raised the hands of Arroyo and proclaimed her "President-elect."

What explains the surreptitious proclamation that ensured the people who were supposed to have given the petite Arroyo the mandate of electoral victory (over "1 M" lead over opposition bet Fernando Poe Jr.) would not be able to share in a supposedly glorious moment is the conspiratorial story of cheating and cover-up sealed at the very halls of the Philippine Congress.

Arroyo's 2009 SONA are full of lies, as usual, actually. Historically, the majority of the Filipinos have taken her SONAs with considerable skepticism, as illustrated here:

• Arroyo's 2008 SONA as pack of lies, again

Only 14 out of every 100 Filipinos believe there will be any truth in the scheduled July 28, 2008 SONA, compared to the 86% percent who either disbelieve or remain undecided... An earlier Pulse Asia survey study held in October 2007 has shown that Filipinos regard Gloria Arroyo as the Most Corrupt President in Philippine History, even beating former dictator Ferdinand Marcos for the ignominious title. Ironically, Joseph Estrada, her predecessor whom she deposed in the 2001 Edsa revolt, is ranked number two as the Least Corrupt President, next to Corazon Aquino, during the post-Martial Law era.

The economic figures she presented in what should be her last SONA are as apparently doctored as the 2004 Congress' tally of her supposedly winning votes vs. Fernando Poe Jr. Your American excellency, kindly take note of the point-by-point exploration of her fantasy "Arroyonomics:"

• Arroyo's SONA Fiction- Estrada

Former President Joseph Estrada, reacting point by point to the achievements claimed by President Arroyo in her State of the Nation Address (Sona), yesterday said the speech was a work of fiction, pointing out that this is due to "Arroyonomics" which he described as a "kind of economics out of touch with reality and real facts."

He also charged the Arroyo administration with implementing anti-poor policies in education, health, housing, agrarian reform and other areas over the past eight years.

Mr. Obama, know what the Filipino people are truly experiencing under their incumbent "President" based on nationwide surveys and not government figures of dubious authenticity. I implore you and your office to check these out:

• Philippine Unemployment at Record High

The First Quarter 2009 Social Weather Survey, fielded over February 20-23, 2009, found adult unemployment rising to record-high 34.2%, or an estimated 14 million, from 27.9% or estimated 11 million from the previous quarter... Unemployment has been over 20% since 2005.

• 
  Philippine Hunger Rises to Near-Record Level: 1 out of 5 Families Affected


The Second Quarter 2009 Social Weather Survey, fielded over June 19-22, 2009, found the proportion of families experiencing involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months rising to 20.3% or an estimated 3.7 million families, from 15.5% or an estimated 2.9 million families in the previous quarter.

The new Hunger figure is just 3 points lower than the record-high 23.7% (or estimated 4.3 million families) in December 2008, and is 8 points above the ten-year average of 12.8% [Chart 1, Table 1]... Hunger has consistently been in double-digits for five years, since June 2004.

Great President Obama, you've successfully campaigned on a mantra of "Change." Eight thousand six hundred miles away, the present-day people of the Southeast Asian country that your early predecessor, the 25th US President William McKinley, decided to colonize--the poor Philippines--earnestly count on you to keep your word in their struggle against a most conspiratorial, most power grabbing, most fraudulent, and most repudiated "leader" in the islands' history. Can Filipinos count on you?



____________________________________________________

Postscript

After playing hard-to-get for several months, Obama ultimately invited, and met with, his Filipino stalker of rather midget proportions. The scene reminds this column of two historical entities circa turn-of-the-past-century: two groups of traitors during the Philippine American War--a group of "Macabebes", traitors to the Filipino side; and deserter black American soldiers, traitors to the American side. The "Macabebes" were some local mercenaries from the Philippine province of Pampanga--where Arroyo partly hails--who were paid by the US forces tracking down the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo; on the other, the 29 black American deserters of the first US imperialistic war of conquest deplored their ironic role in "an unjust racial war," leading them to abandon their American posts.
Arroyo can be likened to one of the Macabebes who betrayed Aguinaldo, while Obama, being one dark-skinned biracial, looks like Private David Fagen of the 24th Infantry's Company I who even became a captain on the side of the Filipino revolutionaries. Of course, Obama is no traitor to the American side. During the two presidents' meeting, the 44th US President actually behaved more like a white-skinned, trimmed-down McKinley as he asked his counterpart to serve as the "chief coordinator in Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)" for the US! The 14th RP "President" gleefully accepted that role of servitude but surely not without a payment of sorts, just like the Macabebes of old.


________

References:
Dizon, Lino. Macabebes 1571-1901: More than a footnote in history. http://www.geocities.com/kapampanganx/s4_1.html
Dumindin, Arnaldo. Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. http://www.freewebs.com/philippineamericanwar/thewarin19001901.htm
Ellen Tordesillas. http://www.ellentordesillas.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/letter-to-pres-obama-72909.pdf
Gloria propaganda gone wrong. 4 August 2009. http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20090804com1.html
Pelorina, Renato. "Ang Mga Macabebe sa Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano (1899-1902)." Philippine Social Sciences Review, 58-59.1-2 (Jan 2006-Dec 2007). Abstract. http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/pssr/article/view/1270
San Juan, E. African American Soldiers in the Philippine Revolution. http://philcsc.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/african-american-soldiers-in-the-philippine-revolution/



Photo Credits:

Social Weather Stations. http://www.sws.org.ph
Pulse Asia. http://pulseasia.com.ph/
http://cm1.theinsider.com/
AllPosters.com
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/letter-to-pres-obama-72909.pdf
Philippine Commentary. http://philippinecommentary.blogspot.com/2009/07/gloria-upstaged-by-beer-summit.html

Is Pacman a hero of the Philippines?

Reprinted from Newsvine (Sun May 3, 2009 9:12 AM HKT)

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, aka Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao. The legendary Filipino boxing champion currently rated as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the whole world, so says the Ring Magazine. Already an undisputed world boxing great who holds the record of being the first Asian boxer to hold four world titles in four different boxing weight divisions. He may not be handsome, but he ultimately demolished every Mexican boxing superstar--the good-looking Marco Antonio Barrera; Juan Manuel Marquez; Erik Morales; Oscar Larios; Jorge Solis. Pacquiao even brought down the iconic and Olympic gold medalist Mexican-American Oscar De La Hoya. Today, he goes up against British Ricky Hatton, holder of the IBC and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight titles.

Standing at 5 feet 6.5 inches, Pacquiao hails from Bukidnon province in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. His boxing exploits have made him not only popular and rich, but also earned him a level of admiration so great that some even of his countrymen/countrywomen regard him as a modern-day Filipino hero. During his preparation for the WBC lightweight title bout versus David Diaz, AsianWeek, "The Voice of Asian America" publication, called him a "Philippine hero [aiming] to become [the] first Asian to win titles in four weight classes." Does Pacman deserve to be honored along with the rest of the pantheon of heroes such as Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, Emilio Jacinto, Apolinario Mabini, Antonio Luna and the likes? Is Pacquiao patriot material, or just an iconic boxing figure with an eye on patronage politics?

Pacquiao's matches sure draw the arena and broadcast crowd as he also rakes in millions of dollars in earnings, which grow with every bacon he clinches. A regular group to his matches are no less than scores of Philippine congressmen who fly en masse thousands of miles just to watch Pacman in action live. With the multi-million US dollar earnings of the boxing legend, a portion goes to the Filipino people. Good. Good? Nope, far from it, because what the Filipino masses lose is far greater than Pacquiao's taxes that supposedly go to government service for them.

With his every bout a junket of 20, 50 or so congressmen, along with other favored officials of the Gloria Arroyo government, cross the high seas to watch Pacquiao fight in person. The Filipino thereby loses indirectly by way of absentee legislations, and directly by the millions of dollars they foot for the junket. In practically every major fight of Pacquiao under the Arroyo administration, the First Gentleman and/or scores of congressmen travel first class, stay in the best hotel suites and show up to cheer their idol and political friend Pacquiao. All at the government's expense--despite claims to contrary. In June 2008, even while Typhoon Fengshen was ravaging the southern portion of the Philippines, 59 congressmen hitched a junket during Arroyo's Obama stalking in the United States, to watch Pacman in the works live. Something similar happens today for the Pacquiao-Hatton fight.

But is it his fault that the corrupt minions of the Arroyo administration milk the Philippines dry till-the-next-international-loan just to watch his fights that have been a source of the country's national pride? Of course not, IF only Pacquiao has not been an ardent supporter of whom The Windsor Star described as "political dominatrix Gloria Magapagal Arroyo, who seized power in a 2001 palace coup," and who is regarded by majority of the Filipino as the "Most Corrupt President in Philippine History."

But Pacquiao is Arroyo's avid supporter willing to let his popularity by used as her desperate PR tool. The relationship between Pacquiao and the notoriously corrupt administration of Arroyo is perhaps best seen in the following editorial from The Daily Tribune:

Gloria Arroyo has been hanging onto the tails of Pacquiao's fame for all its worth in her wishful thought that some of Pacquiao's star quality that is coupled with a huge popularity among boxing fans in the country--and they are legion--would rub on to her.

So popular was he and a hero in his hometown that Gloria, desperate for her endorsed victory to prove that hers was not a kiss of death, tapped Pacquiao, who was persuaded by her to run for Congress in the 2004 elections in his home province, South Cotabato, but was soundly beaten by a tiny slip of a feisty girl, Darlene Antonino-Custodio.

Pacquiao must know about Arroyo's illegitimacy and corruption. Every soul in the Philippine Islands does (although, of course, her supporters-cum-beneficiaries of this government would not admit to it). Everyone knows about the power grab from the sitting President Joseph Estrada back in 2001, and the "Hello Garci" expose of the cheating during the 2004 presidential elections. And who does not know about her never-ending litany of corruption, the latest of which is the World Bank project rigging scandal that involves her very own husband, "First Gentleman" Mike Arroyo? The boxing great should particularly know Arroyo's brand of politics because he ran under her party as a congressional bet.

Awareness of Arroyo's evil, however, does not stop the 'modern hero' from helping in the continuing megalomaniacal rape of the Filipino people by a fake President eager and adept at turning every Manny Pacquiao victory into an opportunity to help perpetuate herself in power. At the height of the NBN ZTE broadband deal, following Pacman's triumph against Marquez for the World Boxing Council superfeatherweight title, Arroyo promptly exploited the national victory to placate the public outraged by the sheer value of alleged kickbacks involved in the anomalous deal. In a statement, Arroyo called Pacman "truly one of our nation's heroes who can unite us even in times of divisiveness. An icon of the masses, Manny Pacquiao mirrors the champ within every Filipino, here and abroad."

A hero?

A hero. The wicked, notorious Arroyo calls her ally Pacquiao a 'hero.' But what is a hero? Merriam-Webster's Dictionary gives two applicable definitions. The first is "one that shows great courage;" and the second is one "admired [based on one's] achievements and noble qualities." Using the first definition, Pacquiao can indeed be considered a "hero," a boxing hero that is. There should be little doubt that Pacquiao has exhibited great courage in demolishing his recent boxing opponents who are all legends in the boxing world.

Despite his stellar victories, however, such is not enough to regard him a hero of the Filipino because he lacks genuine patriotism. He sure has brought unprecedented sporting pride to the country but that still won't turn him into a hero. When the second definition is applied, Pacman definitely won't qualify as a hero of the Philippines. He might have gained the admiration of the Filipinos and other races based on his boxing achievements; however, he fails when graded on the aspect of "noble qualities." While it is true that the famed boxer dedicates his every fight and victory to the Philippines, he remains blind to the immoral governance of the "President" he has chosen to support. Given his extreme popularity and charisma, the least Pacquiao could have done was to remain politically neutral and thus, refuse to be a political pawn of a leader consistently shown by surveys here and surveys there to be repudiated and distrusted by the people.

In today's boxing match, this column predicts that the "People's Champ "will triumph against Englishman Hatton--albeit only via technical given the impressive records of the two. Half the bettors will cheer, the Philippines will (mostly) celebrate, and the wicked Arroyo administration will once again ride high on Pacman's popularity. Now, is Pacquiao a hero of the nation? Let history be the best judge.

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References:

Arroyo 'junket': Like fiddling as Rome burns. Inquirer. 25 June 2008. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080625-144625/Arroyo_%91junket%92%3A_Like_fiddling_as_Rome_burns

Boxer Pacquiao. Fights for History: Philippine hero aims to become first Asian to win titles in four weight classes. AsianWeek. 27 June 2008. http://www.asianweek.com/2008/06/27/boxer-pacquiao-fights-for-history-philippine-hero-aims-to-become-first-asian-to-win-titles-in-four-weight-classes/

Fight of the century. 16 March 2008. The Daily Tribune. http://www.tribune.net.ph/20080316/commentary/20080316com1.html

Guinto, Joel. Arroyo: Pacquiao 'hero,' 'icon of masses.' Inquirer. 16 March 2008. Arroyo: Pacquiao 'hero,' 'icon of masses. ' http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20080316-125058/Arroyo-Pacquiao-hero-icon-of-masses.

Manthorpe, Jonathan. Indonesia's time to shine. The Windsor Star. 3 April 2009. http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Indonesia+time+shine/1458816/story.html

"Manny Pacquiao." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2 May 2009, 18:01 UTC. 3 May 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny_Pacquiao

Table 2: Most Corrupt President in Philippine History. Pulse Asia Site. 21-21, 2007. http://pulseasia.com.ph/resources/photos/table2_corruption_0710.gif

Photo Credits:
Museo Oriental de Valladolid Site

The Daily Tribune
TeamPilipinas.info
Newsday.com

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Blaring Simbang Gabi sound speakers and the flagging Christmas spirit

The blaring sound system speakers of a Simbang Gabi pre-dawn mass being held at a not-so-nearby church rather irreverently woke me up from my sleep a few days ago. While already an "eclectic" and simultaneously pro-evolution believer, I've been raised a Catholic such that I still hold some respect for the religion of the Pope. However, the irksomeness that an unconsummated sleep naturally brings has led me to reflect on what the Christmas and Catholic traditions have become in the Philippines. While church bells have indeed been traditionally used to announce the start of the celebration of the mass, particularly those held at Christmas dawn, is there really a need to broadcast the entire Mass service to half the town through full-blasted speakers at 4 am in the morning? Intended to beckon the faithful to take part in a merry religious tradition, it's appears to be a despairing move of the bishops to buoy up a tradition that is slowly dying under the reign of political evil the Philippine Catholic Church itself is partly responsible for.

Simbang Gabi and the Festive Filipino Christmas

Christmas as a religious festival is said to have its longest manifestation in the Southeast Asian archipelago of the Philippine Islands. Filipino celebration of the season is also one of the merriest, combining generous Spanish-taught religiosity and festivity with American secularism to produce a celebration filled with the colors of beautiful lanterns and Christmas tree lights, richness of traditional rice cakes and Western-introduced food must-haves, spiritual enrichment the Catholic way, merriment gained from gifts and gift-buying, and the gaiety of socializing for which Filipinos are fond of. The religious highlight of the season is the Simbang Gabi, or Rooster's Mass, which is a 9-day tradition of dawn masses that starts on December 16 and ends on the 24th.

Simbang Gabi is actually a novena to the Virgin Mother that culminates with the Christmas Eve mass termed "Missa de Gallo." The tradition of pre-dawn masses traces its roots to the Spanish colonial period in Mexico when Pope Sixtus V granted the petition for outdoor Eucharistic celebration in order to accommodate the big number of faithful flocking the churches. The pealing of the church bells announced the start of the pre-dawn masses, with rural farmers and fishermen waking up early to listen to the Gospel before embarking on their way to work.

Elements of Simbang Gabi that have survived to the modern times in the Philippines are the colorful lights and lanterns or "parol" hung in every window of houses, the singing or playing of yuletide songs in both Tagalog and English, hearing of the mass by the entire, or at least most members of the, family, modest after-dawn mass feast on native delicacies like puto bumbong; the climax comes after the Christmas eve mass when the whole family gathers to celebrate Noche Buena with a generous feast of various delicious delicacies and dishes such as queso de bola, puto bumbong, bibingka, rice cakes, Chinese ham and hot chocolate or salabat.

Filipino Christmas on the Decline

The post-millennium decade, however, has seen a markedly noticeable decline in the colors and merriment of Simbang Gabi and Christmas celebration as a whole. As recently as the 1970s and early 1980s, the start of the "ber" months (September until December) already signaled the coming Christmas season, raising gleeful anticipation among Filipinos. Come the mid-to-the-late 1990s, the Christmas spirit and its materialistic expressions seemed to have moved further down the "ber" months. Outside the often artificial buoying up of Christmas spirit in the TV and other media, the early years following the turn-of-the-millennium definitely confined Yuletide thoughts and gifts-buying among the greater majority of the people of the Philippine Islands to the Christmas month proper, December.

An analysis of nationwide yearly surveys by the Pulse Asia research institution show how majority of Filipinos have consistently harbored anticipations of a less prosperous Christmas season in recent years compared to better times. A majority of Filipinos expected the 2005 Christmas season to be poorer than the preceding year, 2004, and beginning 2006 until 2008, an overwhelming majority have expressed expectations that the season of Christmas will only be the same as the previous years in terms of prosperity. In effect, the four-year periodic studies bare how the Filipinos' annual views and feelings of Christmas prosperity have generally remained much lower than 2004 levels. Even in terms of the spiritual aspect, there have been less people hearing mass, particularly among the young people, as according to the observations made by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) itself during the Simbang Gabi period in 2005.

Hunger and Suffering under the Wicked Reign of Arroyo, the Illegitimate President

Materially and spiritually, the Christmas seasons in the Philippines have now been running shorter and bleaker. With less houses lit with Christmas lights and parol, shorter anticipation of and preparation for the Yuletide, and less mass attendance, it is not hard to conclude that the overall Filipino Christmas spirit is on the decline and under siege.

Material-wise, the bad state of the economy under the scandal-laden Gloria Arroyo administration has apparently been responsible for the less and less merry Christmases of Filipinos. This is hardly surprising since the highest levels of total hunger and of total poverty are all registered during Arroyo's time. The latest 2008 4th quarter Social Weather Stations or SWS survey shows the highest ever level of hunger in the country, beating the previous percentage high of 21.7 in September 2007. An estimated 23.7 % of Filipino households, or a record-high of around 4.3 million families have been suffering involuntary hunger at least once in the preceding three months.

Catholic Church Culpability

That Christmases in the Philippines have become less bright in both material and non-material terms are perhaps to be expected when the nation wallows in the darkness of an immoral leadership. Beginning from the unconstitutional ouster of President Joseph Estrada to pave the way for the installation of the power grabbing Arroyo in January 2001, the Constitution and democratic institutions of the Philippines have been mangled and corrupted, alongside the crumpling of the sacred right of suffrage of Filipino citizens. Crucial to the success of the EDSA 2 mob that deposed the hugely-popular-with-the-masses Estrada and installed bogus "President" Arroyo is 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. 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.

Unpopular Political Move by the Catholic Church

The decision by Cardinal Sin to conspire in ousting Estrada and installing then Vice-President Arroyo was illogical at best, and undivinely inspired at worst. Two months before the EDSA 2 uprising, following allegations of jueteng-related corruption against Estrada, an SWS nationwide survey showed that majority of Filipinos wanted Arroyo to support and not to criticize the President. Another SWS survey in December showed that Estrada still enjoyed a total of +9 percent satisfaction rating, in contrast to Arroyo whose public approval nosedived to -4 percent.

The SWS poll commissioned by ABS-CBN on January 6-9, 2001 during the Estrada impeachment trial clearly reveals how Estrada was still trusted by the people (+11 national net rating), as his perceived antagonists became distrusted. Arroyo received a dismal -34 trust ratings in the National Capital Region alone, and all-negative figures across all socio-economic classes. The public trust of the anti-Estrada former presidents Fidel Ramos and Cory Aquino also plunged to practically double-digit negatives. Most astonishingly, the level of trust towards Cardinal Sin plunged to -4 and 0 percentage points in December 2000 and January 2001, respectively.

Estrada, who is viewed as the only post-Martial Law President to have ascended to the presidency with a clear mandate from the people, became a victim of a coup d etat conspiracy blessed by the powerful Catholic Church. Commenting on the developments surrounding EDSA 2 and the ouster of Estrada, Time Asia predicted with a rather uncanny wisdom of foresight how "One loser among the coup makers will be the Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, and his church." In a pro-agrarian prayer rally only this December 2008, the farmers were practically asking the bishops to "turn against" Arroyo and be solid in fighting corruption and upholding social justice.

It thus appears that the disillusionment with the political bias of the bishops have caused the Church less adherents or less attendance in their Simbang Gabi and regular Eucharistic services. The real losers, of course, are the Filipino masses who now have barely enough to put on the Christmas table. Forced to contend with a traitor Vice-President who grabbed power, and who is widely regarded to have cheated in the 2004 elections and to be the "Most Corrupt President in Philippine History," the masses, especially, have borne the severe effects of the illegitimate, immoral and deceptive, self-aggrandizing, and callously unpatriotic administration of Gloria Arroyo.

Scandals after scandals--from the IMPSA power plant deal, to the "Hello Garci?" electoral fraud, Malacanang bribery scandal, to the Bolante fertilizer scam, the "guilty" verdict on Estrada plunder case, the infamous NBN-ZTE project, and everything in between--have eroded the people's faith in government and in the Catholic Church. Even international anti-corruption and human rights watchdogs and lending institutions, such as Transparency International, Amnesty International, World Bank, Bertelsmann Foundation, Worldwide Governance Indicators, MCC and even the European Union have not failed to notice, eventually either castigating Arroyo or impeding loan/aid releases.

Bringing Back the National Christmas Spirit

Loudly blaring the external church audio speakers so the rest of the community can celebrate the Simbang Gabi Eucharist won't enliven Christmas, nor bring disillusioned Catholics back into the novena tradition because artificial just don't cut it. As much as Christmas is the season of loving and forgiving, so is it a time for celebrating and pursuing goodness and shunning evil. 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. ____________

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

Bernardo, Jesusa. "The conspiracy of EDSA 2: how Gloria Arroyo managed not to let President Joseph Estrada finish his term." Newsvine. 25 January 2008. http://jesusabernardo.newsvine.com/_news/2008/02/25/1324358-the-conspiracy-of-edsa-2-how-gloria-arroyo-managed-not-to-let-president-joseph-estrada-finish-his-term

"Cory sorry she helped oust Erap." ABS-CBN Site. 22 December 2008. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/22/08/cory-sorry-she-helped-oust-erap-2001

Cruz, Oscar. "Highest in corruption, lowest in approval." The Daily Tribune. 22 November 2007. http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20071122com5.html

Filipinos prefer GMA to support, not criticize, the Estrada administration --- SWS Survey . Social Weather Stations Site. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr_81100.htm

Fourth Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey: Hunger at new record-high 23.7% of families; Moderate Hunger at 18.5%, Severe Hunger at 5.2%. Social Weather Stations Site. 22 December 2008. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr081222.htm

January 27, 2001: SWS SURVEY ON PEOPLE POWER 2 AND CHANGE IN THE PRESIDENCY Table 7. Social Weather Stations. http://www.sws.org.ph/atin-t7.htm

Mangahas, Mahar. SOCIAL CLIMATE:JANUARY 2001. Updated 29 January 2001. Social Weather Stations. http://www.sws.org.ph/jan01.htm

Power Grab From President Joseph Estrada. YouTube Site. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh9bECSgfqk

Pulse Asia's October 2008 Nationwide Survey on the Holiday Season and Religiosity of Filipinos. Pulse Asia Site. 16 December 2008. http://pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?ID=661

Punay, Edu. CBCP: Fewer young people going to Mass. The Philippine Star. 19 December 2005. In Newsflash Site: http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/ht/ht005740.htm

Simbang Gabi. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Site. http://www.rcam.org/library/SIMBANG_GABI.htm. Table 1: Holiday Season (October 2005 to October 2008/Philippines. Pulse Asia Site. http://pulseasia.com.ph/resources/photos/table1_Holiday_UB0810.gif

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

Third Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey: Hunger rises to 18.4%; Moderate Hunger is up by 3, Severe Hunger is down by 1. 20 October 2008. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr081020.htm

Third Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey: Self-Rated Poverty is 52%, Self-Rated Food Poverty is 38%. 8 December 2008. SWS Site. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr081208.htm

"Saksi: Cory apologizes for taking part in People Power 2." GMA News. http://www.gmanews.tv/video/33611/Saksi-Cory-apologizes-for-taking-part-in-People-Power-2

SWS SPECIAL MEDIA RELEASE: 22 December 2000. Social Weather Stations Site. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr122200.htm

Photo Credits:

http://www.inquirer.net/jueteng/images.htm#

http://www.inquirer.net/jueteng/images/edsa02sml.jpg

http://hubpages.com/hub/Filipino-Christmas-Tradition-Simbang-Gabihttp://flickr.com/photos/51035780361@N01/74203179

http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=2726&pst=778796

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The Stupidity of the EDSA 2 "People Power" Gullibles Relived

A running broadcast advertisement is reliving the stupidity of the EDSA 2 crowd conned into deposing the constitutionally-elected Joseph Estrada and installing Gloria Arroyo as successor. The anniversary advert running in Philippine television stations shows Arroyo swearing in as "acting President" amidst the seditious sea of mob humanity who flocked the streets of EDSA. What follows is a series of 'testimonies' of ordinary individuals who claim to have experienced economic gains after the revolutionary change in government. Amidst the consistent surveys showing the worst levels of hunger, worst perceptions of corruption and worsening personal and national quality of life and--all under Arroyo’s illicit reign--the political spot comes as almost a complete joke.


This laughable political advert is part of the "Arroyo administration's seventh anniversary celebration of the now infamous EDSA 2 putsch-cum-People Power that overthrew the popular Estrada, and which sent the Filipinos into seven years of polarization and political instability. It illustrates how Arroyo has used the power of media to seize power and even, to maintain her hold on it.

The traditional local media had largely hailed the 2001 coup as a "People Power" triumph over the supposed corruption of President Estrada. In fact, the mainstream broadcast and print Philippine media have served as an influential force in advancing the demonization and ouster of the sitting President and further, in deviously disguising before the Filipinos the constitutional anomaly that is EDSA 2.

Anti-Estrada Propaganda

The 'Estrada is Guilty' and 'long live EDSA 2!' propaganda campaigns participated in by most of the Philippine media actually began months prior to January 2001 during the drive to depose President Estrada. In what has been later exposed to be a well-orchestrated scheme by elitist elements that included the camp of then Vice-President Arroyo and former President Fidel Ramos, the local broadcast and print media played an instrumental role in demonizing Estrada and generating some public support for his ouster. Soon after Estrada decided to leave Malacanang to avoid any possible confrontation with his followers, the largest television stations, GMA-7 and ABS-CBN, ran for several weeks their 'victory' footages of the four-day revolution, acclaiming it as supposedly a victory for democracy in the land.


In contrast, the foreign media were in general agreement in their critical coverage of EDSA 2, describing the event as a power grab instead of as transition enabled by "People Power." Phil Bowring of the International Herald Tribune decried the impeachment walkout and the revolt, saying that "far from being a victory for democracy that is being claimed by leaders of the Anti-Estrada Movement such as Jaime Sin, the evolution of events has been a defeat for due process.” Time Magazine, in its February 19, 2001 issue, saw how “People power 2 was swift justice indeed--as in a lynching, it repudiated the very essence of due process enshrined in the constitution.”

Even foreign politicians and analysts shared the criticism of EDSA 2. Then Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew was quoted by The Straits Times on how he viewed "the change of power in the Philippines [as being] no boost for democracy because it was done outside the constitution." Wikipedia also quotes Hong Kong-based political analyst William Overholt who referred to EDSA 2 as "mob rule or mob rule as a cover for a well-planned coup."

In contrast to what the local media wanted the Filipinos to believe, EDSA 2 was no real showcase of "People Power" but rather, the fruition of a sophisticated and complex power grab conspiracy. Part of the planning and execution of the coup-in-disguise included the exercise of subtle psychological warfare by a major general who is a veteran in this game. In the midst of the Estrada impeachment, his predecessor Fidel Ramos--himself beleaguered by corruption charges--marched on the streets of EDSA in a move that seemed to (successfully) beckon the people to protest and follow suit.

People Power II Myths

Contrary to the lying claim propagated by the Arroyo administration and EDSA 2 stalwarts though media propaganda, the unseating of Estrada did not come about because of a well-intentioned, spontaneous popular revolt. An interview conducted by renowned author Nick Joaquin and which first appeared in the Philippine Graphic revealed that a power grab from Estrada had been planned long before the impeachment and that two of the key putschists were no other than Gloria Arroyo and her husband Mike Arroyo. With or without a popular component, the overthrow of the President with the highest plurality vote in history would have pushed through.

The defection of the military's top brass was the focus of the putschists' Plan A. This priority plan was what brought in the campaign to bring people to EDSA through media propaganda and centralized invitation by cellular texting. Arroyo's camp managed to convince then Chief-of-Staff Angelo Reyes to join, but on the condition that there will be a million-strong crowd in the streets of EDSA to help convince the service commanders to join.

Arroyo and Singson's camp also had a Plan B that included having elements of the military strike the initial blow by withdrawing from the government, to be followed by other groups such as the Philippine Military Academy graduates from Class '71, Class '72, etc. Moreover, they had a bloody "back-up strike force" given the orders to shoot against every place in Metro Manila and the provinces where Estrada forces will resist. It is herein seen that the unseen hand that directed the propaganda and political machinations against Estrada had a heartless determination to grab power. For all the illusions of the EDSA 2 people, it has become apparent that they had simply served as pawn to overthrow a very popularly elected leader. Worse, the EDSA "People Power" principle of a peaceful revolutionary change in government was in no way a consideration for the elitist elements who never respected the millions of masa (lower-class) votes received by Estrada.

Concededly, though, idealistic elements were present in the civilian support of EDSA 2. No less than members of the youth and the academic community lend some dignity to the rebellious occasion. It is even safe to state that the country's premiere university, the University of the Philippines, attended in majority force. It is just so sad that for all their intelligence and patriotic aspirations, the more honorable of the EDSA 2 civilians had been, well, had. Conned by political opportunists and elitist elements who envision democracy to work according to their convenience, they prejudged Estrada as guilty without the benefit of a fair and complete trial. The seemingly possessed EDSA 2 mob then dropped half their principles and acted in a Machiavellian fashion to taunt, jeer and malign Estrada. The climax came rather swiftly as the threat of the lynching mob--foolhardily ignorant of the putschists' machinations--was conveniently used to negotiate Estrada's departure from Malacanang. Aided by the seditious "party" animal, then Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, and failing to smell the odor of the wicked wolf in their midst, the pathetically jubilant mob then foolishly handed the Presidency to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a silver but tainted platter.

Revolution towards Greater Hunger and Corruption

It is most ironic that the 'Oust Estrada' campaign rode on the wings of anti-corruption and moral recovery promises but ended up driving the country into probably unprecedented post-war levels of misery, a corruption and immorality.



2007 was particularly a year of ignominy for Arroyo on several counts. Despite her proud but dubious claims of steering the country into economic stability, a Social Weather Station survey study shows that the level of total hunger hit its highest last year--the second time in her administration. Another 2007 survey, this time by Pulse Asia, betrays how Filipinos consider themselves and their countrymen worse off now than some years back ago.

It is in the area of morality, however, that Gloria Arroyo received the worst disgrace of her political life. The October 2007 Pulse Asia nationwide survey on corruption revealed how Filipinos view her as the "Most Corrupt President in Philippine History." The survey results prove particularly embarrassing not only for Arroyo but, perhaps, also for those responsible for her unconstitutional ascent into the Presidency because she even beat Guinness-holder Ferdinand Marcos for the inglorious title. Estrada, who has faced the politically-suspect Plunder charges and seven years of consistent demonizing by the Arroyo administration and elitist camps, placed only third in the list. What had made Gloria Arroyo top the "Most Corrupt" list is nothing else but a long litany of corruption issues that began soon after the EDSA 2 "People Power" gave her the reigns of illicit power.

Mea culpa

A number of personalities and participants of EDSA 2 have already admitted to the mistake, nay stupidity(?), of the Estrada ouster. Prominent among them is former President Corazon Aquino. While admission and penance may not necessarily bring back the constitutional order of the government, nor undo the defamation of Estrada, nor perhaps the lives of those who died by hunger or poverty-related suicide due to corruption of public funds, nor return the lost honor of the Supreme Court, it is a step in right direction. The zeal for change may sometimes override sobriety and foresight, and lead people to stupid decisions. Let EDSA 2, then, be a bitter blunder to rectify because otherwise, the nation as a whole will suffer worse.

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