By Lester Cavestany, Contributor
INQUIRER.net
FILIPINO patriots went for a swim Monday morning, the 21st of April, to cool down and relax in the crystal clear waters of Manila Bay. Well, not exactly! They dived into the swim-at-your-own-risk waters of Manila Bay to protest against the ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Pro-JPEPA senators will be feeling the heat from Filipinos who believe that the government has once again outdone itself when it comes to pimping our motherland to other countries.
According to the swimmers who braved the waters of Manila Bay, the treaty will allow large and high-tech Japanese fishing vessels to sweep our waters and get all the fish they want. But the government says that we don’t have to worry about any shortage in fish supply. Keep in mind that this is the same government who’s also telling us not to worry about the shortage in rice supply. So I guess it’s okay for Japan to catch all the fish they want because our government says it’s alright.
Greenpeace has also protested against JPEPA saying that it will allow Japan to ship toxic waste to the Philippines. “It’s okay,” the Philippine government says, “we don’t have to revise the treaty because ‘notes’ have already been exchanged between Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo and Japan Foreign Minister Taro Aso.” They now have a “gentleman’s agreement” that toxic waste will not be dumped in our country. I would like to believe the foreign ministers and I am sure they are men of their words. But the thing is, I can’t forget what happened in August 1999 when toxic waste from Japan was found in 92 (yes, 92!) 40-foot container vans. They were marked as recyclables but they contained used diapers, used syringes, incinerator ash, radioactive waste, and other disgusting things we should never speak of again.
If you still insist that it’s okay to be the trash can of a rich country because they will help our economy by providing jobs and by allowing our exports to enter their country with no tax, then you may join the ranks of our Politicos In Mama Pilipina, PIMPs for short! Join them as they try to convince the nation that JPEPA is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Join them as they say: “Let’s take in all of Japan’s toxic waste and let’s give all our fish to Japan so that they will give us jobs and economic aid.”
O Inang Bayan, patawarin mo po kami.
Also posted in www.lestercavestany.com
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May 2nd, 2008 at 10:46 am
Free trade agreements, like JPEPA, is a modern day war for economic supremacy and subjugation. The weak and corrupt countries being targeted as resource (human, food, minerals, petroleum) with the latter (Phil) integrated to serve the highly industrialized country (Japan). China and Japan are both racing in capturing these Phil resources with China under Asean China FTA while Japan employed two pronged approach, which is through an EPA (economic partnership agreement) with individual Asean country and also through Asean Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership. If you think that Phils will become an industrialized country in the next 20 years, as peddled by gma, forget about it. The truth is that most of Phil manufacturing sectors are slowly dying due to global trade. Our local producers cant compete with other countries because of high power costs (second highest in Asia), poor infrastructure, corruption costs (from barangay to malacanang), etc.
Going back to EPA with Japan, our neighboring countries has properly protected their local economy with Malaysia reserving their Bhumiputra policy (local Malay first) in all business areas that Japan is interested to invest; Indonesia imposed also so many performance requirements (compliance with local laws); etc. Because our local negotiators when they went to Japan during jpepa negotiations were doing sightseeing and shopping (courtesy of Japanese) and left the drafting of jpepa to Japanese; they failed to include the limitations under the Phil 1987 Constitution, fishery laws, mining laws, labor laws, etc.
I’m sure the next big business will be brokering for Japanese investors in these sensitive areas, the last and remaining resources of the Phils. These faggots will certainly make a lot of money from jpepa and other trade or cooperation agreements with other countries.
The next five years will be extremely rough and bumpy ride for all Pinoys (and other countries as well) – food crisis, fuel crisis (? US$300/barrel), higher prices of commodities (grains, cement, steel, etc.). Our govt do have a long-term foresight and preparation for these events? God bless us and our country.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:29 am
Imagine, giving the Japanese the right to fish in our economic zone! We are running out of fish and yet, we give rights for other countries to fish what remains in our water?…..wonderwoman
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That’s the legacy of colonialism spanish style. They used the swords and the cross to subjugate and once free people and the cross had proven to be more potent than the swords in rendering the succeeding generations of Filipinos worse than the worst case of mental retardation. They think of heaven day and night yet they can only sense the outer image, the concrete visual image of
God. They could master as far as the concreteness of their successes but could not connect them with their conscience and moral values. They do things for show wishing them noses to be broader and their skin to be fairer. In short, dignity and integrity they could not comprehend nor appreciate.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:18 am
The reason why our government is not so sensitive to the needs and welfare of its people is that 95% of people occupying the very sensitive positions and decision making in our government being dominate by ethnic chinese, or Psuedo Filipinos. They don’t mind if the ethnic Filipinos suffer. They are not move if they hear that a seven year old kid eats sugar and rice for his suffer, because the parents is too poor to buy the right kind of food. As long was these PARASITES are in our government, we don’t expect any benifit to our countrymen…Wonderwoman said.
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BUT Not really. The Philippine government is dominated by morons. Not Chinese or what not. That’s an old worn-out excuse by the likes of you who try to simplify the problems that started when the first rajas and datus willingly allow themselves to be converted into Catholism. This religion’s hold on the Filipinos were so complete there are nothing more any foreigners need to do to repeatedly fool them. The Filipinos do what is right, not because it is right, but because they wanted to go to heaven. The Chinese do what is right because they are Chinese and HIYA. They do not want to shame their ancestors. The Chinese who have been Filipinized and got converted into Catholism are the ones dominating the power houses of the Philippines, not because they are Chinese, but because they have been contaminated with the slave mentality, which is the legacy of this religion. Catholics must do right not because they are right but because they have been made to believe that obedience will get them to heaven. No question asked. Even their prayers for centuries have been memorized and are repeatedly recited without connection to their brain, heart, and conscience.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:14 am
As you mentioned pimps I’ll add Sluts to that. Meanwhile Malacanang has gone into bread business.
Government in this bakery business - progressive or counter progressive?
But most Juan dela Cruzes from the observer standpoint have their own question, too - “Ano na namang pautot ito?” The man in the street has not read historical Materialism, but the principle is very much practiced by him. Indeed, what kind of superficial gimmick is this bread business by Malacanañg?
If I may synthesize them: So, Malacanañg is selling cheaper and bigger bread than that my baker-neighbor is selling. And they come in more expensive packing as shown in TV. They must have cost higher than what my baker-neighbor is producing. This must be good business for government supplier or suppliers, presumably big bakery businesses, which is nothing wrong per se and in some aspect is, in fact, progressive.
But, is this bread business by government sustainable or is it another of those pains in the ass of Juan dela Cruz in the long run? And, is the State ready to assume the role of those it displaced? And looking at the already high un-employment problem, what happens to those who will be displaced?
Why does not, or cannot government just simply bring in or affect cheaper flour (LPG and electricity, too) for all Filipinos? Looking at the situations, I don’t think that this bread program can even be pushed Metro Manila-wide. Yes it will make some sections of Metro Manila happy. This ought to be done country-wide. Malacanañg has reportedly appropriated P5 billion pesos for dole out to Filipinos reduced to beggars out there. But as we all know, Juan dela Cruz who is shouldering all these, is not that rich.
Juan dela Cruz appears to be right – it looks like another pautot to prop Malacanañg hopefully until 2010. Everybody does that in his or her term - let the next administration pick up the bills later, ha-ha-ha?
April 29th, 2008 at 4:45 am
May you rest in God’s kingdom, we will all miss you.