The greatest threats to democracy and the rule of law in the Philippines are not the communist and Muslim rebels or the Abbu Sayaff kidnappers or the Kuratong Baleleng-type organized criminal syndicates.
The real and insidious threats to Philippine democracy are (a) the educated and rich but corrupt and violent Filipino politicians who proclaim themselves as the defenders of freedom and justice and (b) the indifferent and coward Filipino voters who justify their callous inaction and silence by calling themselves as poor and abused victims of capitalist exploitation while selfishly commercializing their precious individual votes by selling them to the corrupt feudal warlords masquerading as political visionaries in their villages.
The beautiful Philippine island of Mindanao is the epitome of such a deplorable political cancer since time immemorial.
Mindanao is one of my greatest frustrations as a Filipino lawyer who is willing to die for democracy and freedom in his country.
The island is billed as the bread basket of the Philippines and the ultimate savior of Philippine economy by reason of its huge size and untapped resources.
But at the rate the massive political killings, violence and frauds are escalating in the island there seems be no hope and optimism in the foreseeable future in the political and justice systems of the island.
For the past few days, local and world media establishments have been carrying dramatic reports on the mass murder of almost 40 persons in Maguindanao (22 confirmed dead) committed by local Muslim politicians affiliated with the ruling party of Pres. Gloria Arroyo.
Many of the dead were women and media practitioners who were accompanying a group of local politicians to file their certificates of candidacy with the local office of the Commission on Election (Comelec) in the province. (The pompous parade turned into a mass murder). Some of the victims were reportedly raped and beheaded by their killers.
The Philippine campaign period for the 2010 general elections has not yet officially started but as of now the number of fatalities and casualties has begun to rise.
The “Mindanao card” has always been the last resort of national politicians who aspire to win by fraudulent and violent means in cahoots with the local Comelec officials, military and police officers, and local political and feudal clans.
Almost all Philippine presidents since the end of World War II have used and abused the Mindanao card, the latest among them being Pres. Arroyo herself, whose “Hello, Garci” scandal in 2005 almost brought her down from power. Ex-Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos was the most prominent master of the Mindanao card.
The Philippines describes itself as the showcase of American-style democracy in Asia, as the only Christian country in Asia, as the first republic in Asia, and as a melting pot in Asia (having been a colony of Spain for 300 years and America for 50 years).
It brags itself as a country with a very high literacy rate and with millions of well-educated, English-speaking and productive workers.
It claims that its elected leaders and technocrats are foreign-educated academicians, top lawyers, professional military leaders, selfless doctors and visionary philosophers who claim to possess a noble and clear vision of genuine democracy.
But all of the above are empty bravado and hypocritical mass self-hypnosis propagated by its ruling elite.
I estimate that it will take 200 years for the Philippines to genuinely reform and transform itself into a model democratic nation-state and to truly practice the noble tenets of truth, freedom and justice.
As a Filipino who loves his country, I am very sad to openly state this.
Let me share with you some of the recent news on the Maguindanao mass political killings.
State of emergency declared after massacre
(The Philippine Star) Updated November 24, 2009 02:01 PM
MANILA, Philippines (AP) – President Arroyo placed two southern provinces under a state of emergency Tuesday, giving security forces free hands to pursue gunmen who killed at least 24 people in one of the country's worst election massacres.
The emergency measures, including checkpoints and random searches by authorities, will remain in place until the president is confident that law and order have been restored in the region, Mrs. Arroyo spokesman Cerge Remonde said.
The attack Monday was on a convoy of vehicles filled with supporters of a gubernatorial candidate along with his relatives, including his wife, and several journalists. The candidate, Ismael Mangudadatu, who was not a part of the convoy, accused his powerful political rival of being behind the slayings.
The government stressed that it would go after the culprits, regardless of where the investigation leads.
"No one will be untouchable," Remonde told reporters, calling Monday's killings "unconscionable."
Officials were still trying to determine the exact number of people intercepted by about 100 gunmen and taken to a remote mountainous area, said Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno.
"We're hopeful that some people escaped, and we're hoping to find them alive," he said.
Police said the convoy of about 40 people was going to register Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan township, to run for provincial governor when they were stopped.
Soldiers and police later found 24 bodies, including those of Mangudadatu's wife, Genalyn, and his two sisters, sprawled on the ground or shot in their vehicles about three miles (five kilometers) from where they were ambushed, police spokesman Leonardo Espina said.
Mangudadatu said Tuesday that four witnesses had told him the caravan was stopped by gunmen loyal to Andal Ampatuan Jr., a town mayor belonging to a powerful clan and his family's fierce political rival.
He refused to name the witnesses or offer other details.
"It was really planned because they had already dug a huge hole (for the bodies)," Mangudadatu said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said at least 10 local reporters were part of the convoy. Espina said they identified the remains of at least one journalist. Joy Sonza, head of a small private TV station, UNTV, said investigators told him they found the bodies of his correspondent and cameraman. A driver and an assistant cameraman were still missing, Sonza said.
If confirmed, it would be the "largest single massacre of journalists ever," according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
The army and police were searching for as many as 16 other people who were missing, military spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said, adding that troops were looking for more bodies in areas that appeared to have been recently dug up.
A backhoe was apparently used to bury the bodies, said army commander Lt. Col. Rolando Nerona.
Puno vowed there would be no sacred cows in the investigation. "Within day or two, we should be starting to call people or making arests. We have some information already about specific names but we can't disclose them," he said.
National police chief Jesus Verzosa relieved Maguindanao's provincial police chief and three other officers of their duties and confined them to camp while being investigated. One of the police officers was reported to have been seen in the company of the gunmen and pro-government militiamen who stopped the convoy, police said.
The Ampatuans were unreachable for comment.
The region, among the nation's poorest and awash with weapons, has been intermittently ruled by the Ampatuan family since 2001. It is allied with Mrs. Arroyo.
Mrs. Arroyo's political adviser Gabriel Claudio said he was meeting with Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the Automous Region in Muslim Mindanao, when the killings occurred Monday to try to mediate in the long-running rivalrly between the the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus.
"I really thought that at the time that the affinity, the relations between the two families, will be affirmed," he said.
He said the most important thing was to ensure there was no more violence.
"There has to be swift and decisive justice," Claudio said.
Philippine elections are particularly violent in the south because of the presence of armed groups, including Muslim rebels fighting for self-rule in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, and political warlords who maintain private armies.
The last elections in 2007 were considered peaceful, even though about 130 people were killed.
The decades-long Muslim insurgency has killed about 120,000 people since the 1970s. But a presidential adviser, Jesus Dureza, said Monday's massacre was "unequaled in recent history."
Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, said he doubted the national government's resolve in trimming the powers of political dynasties like the Ampatuans because they deliver votes during elections.
"Because of the absence of viable political institutions, powerful men are taking over," he said. "Big political forces and personalities in the national government are sustaining the warlords, especially during election time, because they rely on big families for their votes."
See:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=526369&publicationSubCategoryId=63
Maguindanao massacre
By James Mananghaya (The Philippine Star) Updated November 24, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Forty-three persons – including a politician about to file her and her brother’s certificates of candidacy (COCs), as well as journalists covering the event – were confirmed killed when heavily armed men waylaid the group on its way to the local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Maguindanao.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Office chief Lt. Col. Romero Brawner confirmed that as of yesterday afternoon, ground troops had recovered 21 bodies – 13 women and eight men – from the massacre site in Barangay Saniag, Ampatuan town.
Supporters of Buluan Vice Mayor Toto Mangudadatu and Mangudadatu Vice Mayor Eden Mangudadatu and their companions were on their way to the Comelec office to file COCs at around 10:30 a.m. when they were blocked at a checkpoint manned by some 100 Maguindanao police personnel and armed civilian volunteers allegedly led by Datu Unsay town mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr.
Ampatuan was not available for comment.
Reports from the Army’s 6th Infantry Division reported that a certain Police Senior Inspector Dicay of Shariff Aguak accompanied Ampatuan. Three vehicles owned by the Mangudadatu’s were found burned.
Toto Mangudadatu, who was not with the convoy, is reportedly eyeing the gubernatorial seat in the May 2010 elections and had asked his wife to file his COC.
Aside from Bai Eden, the other victims were identified as Genalyn Tiamzon-Mangudadatu, the vice mayor’s wife who was raped before being killed; lawyers Connie Brizuela and Cynthia Oquendo and her father, Bai Farinah Mangudadatu; Faridah Sabdulah; Manguba Bai Mangudadatu, Toto’s aunt; Farida Mangudadatu, Toto’s youngest sister.
The journalists were identified as Ian Toblan, Leah Dalmacio, Gina dela Cruz, Joy Duhay, Andy Teodoro, Mac-Mac Areola, Bart Maravilla of Bombo Radyo Koronadal, Henry Araneta of dzRH Cotabato, Bong Reblando of Manila Bulletin and Neneng Montano of local radio dxCP.
Also reported killed were Rasul Daud, driver of Mangudadatu, Wahida Ali Kaliman, Farida Sabdula, Zorayda Vernan, Victor Nuñez, Zaida Abdul, Pinky Balayman, Ella Balayman, Rahima Piopo, Abdullah Hajji, Patrick Pamansan, Meriam Calicol, a certain Unto and a certain Chito, and eight others who were not included in the list.
Toto said his wife and her companions left Buluan town at about 9 a.m. on board several vehicles and were flagged down by armed men at Barangay Kauran in Ampatuan, Maguindanao some 30 minutes later.
“Six members of the group that was to bring my certificate of candidacy to Shariff Aguak were beheaded by the gunmen that flagged them down at a portion of a highway near Shariff Aguak. The police and the military have to do something,” Mangudadatu told Catholic station dxND in Kidapawan City.
“I opted not to provide armed security escorts to the group to avoid possible tension during the filing of my COC,” he added.
The Mangudadatu clan is known to have a long-running feud with the family of Maguindanao’s incumbent Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., who police said is known to have his own private army.
Brutal death
Reporters have been trying to get information on the incident from the spokesman of the 6th ID, Col. Jonathan Ponce.
He, however, has not responded even if his staffers have confirmed that he is just inside the Army camp.
Sources from the Army’s 601st Brigade said unidentified armed men indeed flagged down several vehicles at a portion of the Cotabato-Isulan Highway in Kauran area,
which is at the boundary adjoining Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces.
The provincial police director of Maguindanao could not be reached for comment.
The tension worsened when text messages started circulating that the gunmen executed and killed four of the reporters who were with the group.
Local officials in towns at the border of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat said they still have to confirm from barangay leaders the veracity of the text messages that four journalist that accompanied the wife of Mangudadatu had been decapitated.
A source who requested anonymity said the victims were shot at random, and some were decapitated with chainsaws.
The same source added that the killers used a backhoe to dig mass graves where the victims were buried.
Brig. Gen. Medardo Geslani, chief of the army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, said they are now validating the reports.
Palace up in arms
Malacañang expressed shock and outrage over the executions and vowed that justice would be served.
Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio said the Palace is still trying to determine the facts behind the incident.
“We are in shock and total outrage,” Claudio said. “Justice will be served and the perpetrators will be punished, whoever they are.”
Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Jesus Dureza recommended to President Arroyo to immediately declare a state of emergency in Maguindanao.
“This is a gruesome massacre of civilians unequalled in recent history. Even women and working mediamen were not spared. I grieve for my friends in the media and all those killed while doing their job,” Dureza said in a statement.
“There must be a total stop to this senseless violence and carnage. I strongly recommend that a state of emergency be imposed in the area and everyone disarmed.
Anything less will not work,” he said.
Claudio said he had a brief meeting with ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan at the Palace to discuss Sulu politics.
Ampatuan was accompanied by outgoing Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison and other local officials. They sought a meeting to be assured of fair arbitration from the leaders of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, as Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan is also fielding his own local slate against Arbison’s group.
He said there was no discussion about Maguindanao politics.
NUJP condemns abduction of mediamen
Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the abduction and death of their colleagues.
“We demand that government, from Malacañang to the (ARMM) and Maguindanao, and its security forces, move swiftly to resolve this crisis and ensure that no harm befalls the hostages; and, if true that violence has been inflicted on some of the hostages, to ensure swift justice on the perpetrators, no matter who they are,” the NUJP said in a statement.
“Taking hostage someone about to file a certificate of candidacy is, by itself, a brazen challenge to efforts to strengthen our admittedly fragile democracy. And, if true that a local government official and a police officer are involved, then it says a lot about how far government has gone to eradicate the warlord politics that continues to reign over many of our provinces, very often the poorest and most underdeveloped,” the NUJP added.
“But to take hostage journalists who were merely going about their job of informing the public worsens the already heinous crime and elevates it into an assault on the Constitution itself and the freedom of the press and of expression it enshrines, and the people’s right to know which these freedoms serve,” NUJP said.
Pimentel: Send the Marines
At the Senate, minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. recommended sending the Marines to Maguindanao to control the peace and order situation.
Pimentel condemned the killings, which came on the heels of the filing of COCs for local and national posts.
He also said that the military should take control of the area to avoid further bloodbath.
“It’s going to lead to a bloodbath unless the government steps in. Arrest and jail whoever is responsible even if he might be a warlord. Send the Marines if need be,” Pimentel said. –With John Unson, Edith Regalado, John Paul Jubelag, Jaime Laude, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero
see:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=526314
