By Lester Cavestany, Contributor
INQUIRER.net
IT would always be the same crooks, the same money interests who would take fullest advantage of democracy or any kind of government in the Philippines, while the poor and the brave would always lose out. The batters change in the game of Philippine politics, but the baseball team remains the same and the game remains fixed.
– Ninoy Aquino[1]
As we celebrate the 22nd8th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, it would be good to look back on the wisdom of the man who inspired us to unite as a people and to defend our country against a corrupt government. We are more aware of Ninoy’s oft-quoted, “The Filipino is worth dying for,” but I chose the one above because it is more suitable to our present times.
To fight again another day
After two weeks of excitement about Jun Lozada’s testimony, the opposition has yet to come up with more witnesses and more evidence that will prove the corruption in the Arroyo administration. Even after the show of support that the public has done to encourage more people to come out and testify, no new witness or evidence has appeared.
To be honest, I am a bit confused as to how other leaders can continue to demand for President Arroyo’s resignation when we haven’t even proven anything yet. We are being led to believe that having another People Power Revolution (EDSA III) will solve the problems and issues that our country is facing today. But if we listen to what our great hero Ninoy Aquino said, I hope you will also realize that many of the problems we face today are systemic ones and they can’t be changed by having another EDSA.[2]
Systemic problems need systemic changes
Last week’s Inquirer Opinion-Talk of the Town article, “Poverty reduction: What we know and don’t know,” gives us a concrete example of a systemic problem: the lack of rural development in the Philippines.[3] Nothing much has changed since 1781 when Gov. José de Basco y Vargas introduced commercial farming in the Philippines[4]. Moreover, no authentic land reform has been implemented in our country since the feudal Spanish times. The Americans tried in 1903 when Gov. Gen Howard Taft bought the friar lands in the Philippines from Pope Leo XIII with the intention of reselling it to Filipino peasant-tenants. The good intention never materialized of course, as wealthy Filipino businessmen and politicians (whose descendants still have clout in Philippine society today) stepped in and bought the land and converted them into their private haciendas.[5] And as they say, the rest is history.*
In a country where 70 percent of the population live in rural areas and where 2/3 of the people get their livelihood from agriculture, we must make sure that we have programs that promote genuine rural development. This is just one example, but it is a major one. Other systemic problems include public education, economic development, good governance, population control, environmental sustainability, peace and order, and many others. Other bloggers have also written their issues in Janette Toral’s Important Issues on Philippines 2010.
Of course somewhere in the wish list for political reform, you will also find fighting graft and corruption. But I hope we can all see that it is a small piece of the puzzle. In my personal opinion, we cannot call for President Arroyo’s resignation unless we have court-admissible evidence against her. Just because some opposition leaders are trying to convince us that President Arroyo is corrupt doesn’t mean we all have to believe it. The opposition leaders bear the burden of evidence. I say to them, Show us proof! Stop using us as your pawns! Stop using the court of public opinion to gain the upper hand. Take your accusations to the court of law and let your evidence, if you have any, speak for itself. And speaking of evidence, what proof or track records have you got to show the public that if you replace the present administration, you will do a far better job than President Arroyo’s government in addressing our systemic problems.[6]
Happy 22nd8th People Power anniversary!
In light of the lack of evidence plus the personal and social troubles that this J-Lo fiasco has caused, I believe that it might be best to set aside our calls for a change in the government and perhaps we should concentrate more on asking for changes in the government and in our country. Unless we are presented with new witnesses or new evidence in the ongoing political raucity, we, the Filipino people, should join the rallies and demonstrations with more focus on the the public outcry for truth and social reforms. I, for one, would love to join in!
And so from here in Hanoi, I would like say “Happy 22nd8th People Power Anniversary!” to all my kababayans in the Philippines and around the world.
Mabuhay po tayong lahat! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
=== Notes:[1] The Martyrdom of Ninoy Aquino Revisited, Joker P Arroyo
[2] Systemic problems have been with us even before the presidency of Pres Arroyo; even before 1565 when Spaniards who left from Mexico led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu; and even before 1521 when Magellan claimed our archipelagic country for Spain and called it Las Islas de San Lazaro. [3] “Poverty reduction: What we know and don’t know,” By Arsenio M. Balisacan
Philippine Daily Inquirer, 16 Feb 2008
[4] In Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History. David P. Chandler, William R. Roff, John R. W. Smail, David Joel Steinberg Robert H. Taylor, Alexander Woodside, David K. Wyatt, David Joel Steinberg. Allen & Unwin. Sydney, N.S.W. 1971 [5] The US Congress passed the Cooper, or Organic, Act of 1902, which authorized the American commission to sell Philippine government bonds to finance purchase of the friar lands in the Philippines from the Vatican — Bound to Empire: The United States and the Philippines. H. W. Brands. Oxford University Press, New York. 1992. * Atty. Ma. Gracia Rinoza Plazo has recently started an online forum to discuss agrarian reform issues. Please join the discussion and share your inputs. [6] Mom knows best! My Mama wrote a comment in my post, Sundin ang Utos ni Supremo. Also posted in www.lestercavestany.com
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February 26th, 2008 at 3:24 am
It is a proven fact that if a LIE is repeated over and over again, eventually it will be perceive as the truth. Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minister successfully practiced this theory in Germany.
Observing the present trend of the people demostrating, the Bishops, and the politicians, I have no doubt that eventually they will succeed in removing Gloria from the presidency. Then WHAT ?
As soon as a vacumn is created, a lot of characters will be sucked in into that vacant space, and the show will start all over again. This will be just another cycle in the life of the Filipinos. It is almost tragi-comic. A Zarzuela indeed.
February 26th, 2008 at 3:24 am
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Reggie Says:
February 25th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
The headline in the Inquirer today speaks of badttaste for Senate President Manuel Villar.. He should at least wait if anybody in the House of Representative would like to file an impeachment over PresidenT GMA. The good senator should stay neutral and as senate president he should have the decency of balance. Whats the rush Mr. Senator??? HIndi ka ba makahintay???
Reggie
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Did they wait for the truth to come out during the impeachment trial of Erap? Nooo! In fact they kick him out without any due process of the law; Why should be different now? when we all know in fact that there is solid evidence against Gloria Arroyo, For being the biggest thieves. I’ll say, Kick her out its over due!
February 26th, 2008 at 3:21 am
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Reggie Says:
February 25th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
The headline in the Inquirer today speaks of badttaste for Senate President Manuel Villar.. He should at least wait if anybody in the House of Representative would like to file an impeachment over PresidenT GMA. The good senator should stay neutral and as senate president he should have the decency of balance. Whats the rush Mr. Senator??? HIndi ka ba makahintay???
Reggie
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Even though they’re going to impeach Gloria Arroyo, Nothing good well happen to this impeachment because her allies in congress just going to kill it. Its already been proven before, Everytime they impeach her it just went to the trash bin.
Because she had plenty of money to buy them off. Why bother impeaching her when we already know is not going to work.
The only way to succeed getting rid of her is for not PAYING TAXES, AND THE OFW’S STOP SENDING MONEY BACK HOME WITHOUT THESE MONEY HER BOGUS REGIME WILL NOT SURVIVE. WITHOUT ANY MONEY COMING IN THEY DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY TO STEAL.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:09 am
For me this administration is falling apart.It would not take long we will have another president.The mechanics for another bloodless revolution are in place.There is no turning back.So right now we would think of somebody who will replace not only GMA but the entire system.That is now the question,who will lead us?We cannot trust no one,do you?huh!
February 25th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Extra-ordinary situation calls for Extra-ordinary measures.
ESDA-type model to oust GMA is only a small step in changing the political and economic landscape of the society. By all standards, we haven’t leap forward and live the ideals for EDSA I for the simple reason that we have succeeded only in changing political personalities, not the system. If we call this a revolution so be it! A revolution inspired EDSA - non-voilent and critical participation of organized groups in the society. This is the time to call upon all contending political parties whether they open or underground to participate in the extra political process to participate in charting a new direction of the nation.
Starting from VP Noli, Senate Chief Justice, Senate Pres. and House Speaker with the highest conviction of statemanship, patriotism and nationalism to rise up and stand firm on moral ground to declare that the President has lost moral authority to govern the country.
Care taker government that is of composed astute individuals will be created to run the government for 5 years. The caretaker gov’t will be composed from major sectors of the society, i.e Religious, Muslim, Left, Right, Business, Labor, business, and academe.
Cleansing of the bureaucracy is the first order of the day. Prosecute and send big and small fishes to jail.
Reconcilation is next. Ceasefire and peace talks with NPA, and muslim brothers will be initiated. The country will move accelerate faster if insurgency is solved. Good governance and real country-side development will win over the communist ideology in the long run.
Constitutional amendments that will reform the Electoral process. No more father, mother, children taking turns in electoral posts.
Provide a climate of stability where investors will have peace of mind to put their dollars into the country.
Create country-wide back to basic program such food security, rural development, and social services.
With less corruption, gov’t money thru social services and infrastructure will flow down to rural areas benefitting millions of Filipino people, and raising them up above poverty.
With millions of Filipino people with increased purchasing power, local factories will increase feeding the demand of the market as more Filipinos will have jobs.
This a dream, call it utopia. But I can only hope and pray that this country of ours will be day rise up and be Great Again.