RedBlueThoughts

Last September 7, 2008, the Philippine Air Force reportedly bombed a village in Maguindanao, killing civilians, including a pregnant woman. The AFP and the PAF tried to deny that there was indiscriminate bombing. The official AFP statement: these civilians were caught in a crossfire.
Yeah, they were. These civilians were in the air, caught between a flying attack Bronco and MILF rebels firing in the air. Look at these photos sent by a friend. See whose telling the truth.

Malacanang has just declared that it is not going back to the negotiating table. This, after MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad ordered all MILF commanders to “stand down” and pledged to go back to the peace table. US Ambassador Kristie Kenney said this is good news, since the Bangsamoro rebels are still open to negotiations for peace.

As what we have feared, war became the consequence of the apparent `failure’ of the peace talks between the government and the MILF. Casualties are mounting.  Destruction of property are affecting the local economy and media is reporting human rights violations left and right. 

Gloria and her rapacious gang want us to dance the cha-cha. One of her rah-rah boys, former AFP Chief of Staff and now “peace” adviser Hermogenes Esperon says an amendment to the Constitution is needed to hammer out the kinks in the peace pact between the GRP and the MILF.

So, ah, many seems to think, the cat is out of the bag. So, that’s it. Gloria again wants to tinker with the Constitution to make herself ruler of this tiny republic of the South China sea. Since 2001, I had a very bad feeling with this midget. She’s small alright but she packs a punch. Well, I’m not surprised. Why? Big surprises come in small packages.

Well, if Gloria thinks that she can get away with this, well, she’s dead wrong. Her puny mind did’nt consider that even the Bangsamoro People don’t want her to use this 40-year old problem as an avenue for her dastardly and selfish plan. The Bangsamoro, though they really want their own government now, can wait. Yes, they will wait only to avoid further escalation of the problem.

Inday Santiago, the chair of the Mindanao Commission for Women thinks that it’s better now to pursue the peace process, but the implementation should be undertaken by the next president. Meaning, though the Muslims in Mindanao want this war to end now, they can probably wait for another 3 years if need be.

That’s how people nowadays feel about Gloria. They hate her sooo much that everybody is willing to even go to war just to prolong the peace process and prevent her from changing the charter to suit her own puny plans.

So, Gloria, I hate to say it. Though I support the development in the Mindanao peace process, I will not support your government’s insidious plan to change this charter. No sirree!

You have caused us so much misery, so much hatred, so much disillusionment and so much damage to all institutions of government and even destroyed the very values of this nation that not even the prospect of a prolonged war in Mindanao can convince us to extend your evil regime.

No, Gloria, we will not dance the cha-cha.

Peace panel member former general Rod Garcia yesterday belied lingering doubts on the real intention of government behind the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). He says government does’nt have any intention of opening the cha-cha door thru the MOA. They consulted Constitutionalists Fr. Bernas and Sedfrey Candelaria and at no point did they view the MOA as violative of the charter. Yes, they may be some constitutional changes, but this does not involve a suggestion or a proposal for Gloria to extend her term beyond 2010.

Ding Deles, former peace adviser hit the government for going to the peace table with “unclean hands”. She says government can’t deliver its promises because the MOA will go thru many constitutional processes before it can be effected and it might hit many snags.

What Deles is actually saying is that this government and any other administration after it, cannot really enter into any agreement with the MILF because it really cannot deliver what the Bangsamoro is aspiring for. Because if this administration will not deliver, then, what’s the chance that the next one will?

” If you have it, flaunt it.”–Anne Curtis, Philippine actress

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) did exactly that today. They have arms, and lots of it, and they flaunted it by attacking barangays in North Cotabato. Former Congressman Lavina said, the MILF attacked them as early as 18 July, long before the expected signing of the MOA. So this incident, he says, is not a reaction to the botched signing last Tuesday. So, what was it?

What it is is muscle flexing. The MILF wants Filipinos to know that they are worthy of having a belligerent status. Under International law, belligerency means having the means and the power to fight an opposing force. The MILF was granted by this government a status of belligerency. That explains why the MILF was accorded equal status on the negotiating table. To sustain this status, the MILF needs to prove to the world that it has the armed capability to repulse any attack or conduct tactical maneuverings such as this one in North Cotabato. So, they flaunted it.

What the MILF does’nt realize is, they fell into a pathological trap set by this government. By allowing them to neutralize opposition, they are now being pictured as brutes or bullies. Or, more appropriately, bullies deprived of lollipops. That’s their image right now.

So now, this attack puts them into a very dangerous and untenable situation. Should they push back, they’ll be portrayed by the international community as having weaker or lesser force. If they can’t claim what was allegedly theirs now, how can they do so when they sign the pact? Surely, the international community expects them to have enough force or firepower to neutralize those who’ll threaten their new state. If they can’t flaunt their powers now, they can’t do so even if they have their own government.

If they indeed stay, they risk meeting a tremendous force coming from the sponsored armed civilian groups by those politicians, caciques and landowners not only of North Cotabato but even as far as Negros (as what Sen. Mar Roxas reported in the Manila Times). North Cotabato will become a war magnet, attracting anti-Muslim forces from all over the country. Surely, if that happens, that would risk a national war of such magnitude as to ultimately cripple the entire country.

This is the situation that Gloria and the peace panel obviously did not anticipate. For them, it’s simple. When push comes to shove, they may need to declare Mindanao under a State of National Emergency, or worst, even suspend the writ of habeas corpus and ultimately martial rule. If that happens, that’ll be too late because by that time, the conflict has reached alarming proportions that no amount of state action is enough to regain peace and order.

(as of presstime, the MILF has decided to “reposition” its forces in North Cotabato. Whatever that term means, it means capitulation. They decided to choose a better option.)

Philippine security services are on high alert after the Philippine Supreme Court issued a TRO on the signing of the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The Philippine Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are preparing troops to protect areas covered by the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) since elections are just days away.

Two stunning defeats all in one day. 

In Chief Presidential Counsel Sergio Apostol’s mind, we are in the state of war. That’s why the palace needs to extend Esperon’s term. Ah, this is new.

Only Apostol thinks that we are at war since he works in a besieged administration. Working for Arroyo makes everybody paranoid. That’s why Apostol is again, making a fool of himself.

A declaration of war can only be done by Congress. Since there is no law or resolution declaring war against the MILF and the CPP-NPA-NDF, technically speaking, we are not at war. For if we are, then, why the hell do we have peace talks with the insurgents. If this is the official palace line, then, its time to say to our brothers in the MILF to declare jihad. Why? Because this government is just trying to fool them, making double talk while preparing for war. Likewise, I would like to encourage the CPP-NPA-NDF to undertake full preparations since peace talks with this government will lead to nothing. The Palace is under a state of war.

Apostol is my kababayan. But, I don’t admire him one bit. Like In Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, Apostol represents the worst kind, the most humiliating figures in Philippine history. However, I thank God that we have such people as Apostol and Gonzales. It makes us realize that we indeed, need change.

In 1967, Marcos suffered one of four failures in his political career–he failed to amend the 1935 Constitution through constitutional means. The attempt at changing the charter would have fast-tracked his path to glory without shedding any blood. However, the people failed him. It was only in 1972 when he achieved what he wanted–absolute power through a constitutional dictatorship.

Forty years past and now we see another attempt at charter change. Arroyo, the beneficiary of an illegitimate power grab, wants to change the charter, ostensibly to address one major issue–the increasing Bangsamoro insurgency. Spokesmen of Arroyo are now going the rounds, convincing the people of the necessity of changing the charter to honor the commitment of the government in granting ancestral domain to the Bangsamoro people. Peace adviser Jesus Dureza revealed that the administration decided to again revive the Cha-cha train to honor its commitment last November 2007 to the MILF on the granting of ancestral domain.

I studied the Constitution and found that, yes, the GRP needs to amend the Charter to accommodate the ancestral domain issue. However noble the intention is, unfortunately, this cha-cha thing came at the worst time. It came at a time when Arroyo is nearing the end of her term. Obviously, people will suspect the real intention of the government in reviving cha-cha. It likewise verified earlier reports and suspicions that Arroyo and her gang of thieves want to use the Bangsamoro Question to justify a change in the structure of government. And we know who will benefit from such a change–Arroyo.

Marcos used the Communist bogey in justifying martial law. Now, Arroyo is using the Bangsamoro for her own nefarious scheme. It is quite obvious that Arroyo will use all means to justify a change in the charter.

This early, there are reports that government will use its barangay network to again, muster enough signatures for cha-cha. Late January, Congress thru Cong. Ortega (an Arroyo stooge) will revive cha-cha talks on the committee level.

Reports reaching NPR revealed that government is preparing its security forces to provoke the MILF for another round of war. Expect bombings in the name of cha-cha to again hug the headlines. Expect a “rise” in “terrorist” activities, ostensibly to prove to the Filipino people on the necessity of charter-change.

Opposition groups know about this Arroyo scheme. That’s why these camps floated the issue about certain personalities running for 2010. What will these groups do in the event that Arroyo, indeed, force her way for cha-cha? Apparently, Arroyo does not want elections in 2010.

What would Roxas and the Liberal Party do? How about the Nationalista Party of Senator Villar? And more so, Lakas?

It seems that 2008 will be quite an interesting year for all political forces because this early, this administration has shown that it will do everything in its power to perpetuate itself beyond 2010.