Guard our money, Neri now in SSS

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Monday, August 11, 2008

Moro rebels began pulling out of nine Cotabato barrios six-and-a-half long hours after the military’s deadline Saturday. “Whew,” sighed generals in Manila; “Congrats,” beamed the commander-in-chief from abroad.

But what of the 85 houses the pillagers had razed, plus the hundreds of livestock and sacks of rice they stole, as reported by the military? What about the villagers who are now homeless and hungry?

Manila authorities, invoking “sanctity of the peace process,” forgot all about them. But if the victims organize a posse to recover their possessions and exact justice, expect the authorities to go after them.

* * *

Guard your money. That was Cora dela Paz’s advice to SSS members end-July as she turned over the helms of the provident fund to Romy Neri. It sounded more like an alarm. For, everything about the SSS is tempting to the immoderately greedy.

SSS is bursting with P248 billion assets, mostly forced contributions of 27 million private workers and their employers. Although a private fund, it is administered for the members by government. Malacañang picks the chief and trustees, who in turn flaunt loyalty to the appointer. A string of Presidents have abused the fund for brownie points, ordering nominees to give out doles even if unaffordable, so long as they looked good. When dela Paz assumed management in 2001, SSS barely had 12 years of life left. Erap Estrada had squandered hundreds of millions from it (and GSIS) in 1999 to prop up a crony’s sham stocks. Top managers either partook of the bounty or fell demoralized. But Dela Paz recharged the staff to nurse the fund back to health, extending its lifespan to a cozy 29 years. Members’ remittances were raised slightly and stock earnings sensationally. At present the SSS trades P200 million worth of stocks a day.

Enter Neri as unceremonious replacement. Dela Paz admitted she had long wanted out for health reasons, but that politics caused her sudden removal too. She declined to say more. Three reasons were whispered in political-business circles for her axing — all about shielding private SSS money from sticky fingers. Dela Paz reportedly had refused to have SSS subsidize the Palace’s plan for a universal ID system. This foiled some retired generals’ kickbacks from the ID cards. Then, dela Paz rebuffed a stockbroker close to Malacañang who wanted appointment as sole trader for SSS. Even for only one-percent fee from the P200-million daily trading, the influence peddler would have made a cool P2 million a day. The straw that broke the camel’s back was last May’s Meralco ownership fight. Dela Paz allegedly rejected buying new Meralco shares preparatory to wresting control from the Lopez clan. Neri had led the anti-Lopez campaign, though then with the Commission on Higher Education.

Only Neri can confirm the reasons for his hasty takeover. He pledges to run the SSS well for its members. But his role in last year’s ZTE scandal has left the public doubtful. In a Senate inquiry on the $330-million scam, Neri revealed a P200-million offer from then-Comelec head Ben Abalos to back the deal as economic minister. But when asked why his boss Gloria Arroyo approved it even after he reported the bribery, he clammed up. By invoking executive privilege, critics said, Neri gave weight to secrecy of presidential decision-making than to exposing high crime. He even risked constitutional crisis by siccing the Supreme Court on a Senate itching to arrest him for contempt. Then, he ignored pleas of whistleblower and close friend Jun Lozada for help against police abductors out to silence him.

Can a person of such character run the country’s biggest provident fund? Karina Constantino David, Civil Service Commission chief during the entire affair, perhaps summed it up best: “Like the rotten regime he serves, Neri has a gigantic perception problem. He has little credibility left — as a public official, as a technocrat, and as an academic. His name will forever conjure images of cowardly clueless-ness in the wake of high-level corruption, a failure of nerve in the existential battle with dishonesty and pretense. And now he is put in charge of the P248-billion fund belonging to millions of ordinary workers.”

The official basis for Neri’s move to SSS does not inspire confidence either. He had long wanted to return to the Cabinet, preferably his old post as economic secretary. In Dec., three months after covering up for Arroyo in the ZTE mess, he begged her for a meeting in which to plead his cause. But the boss was cold. Days before, Neri had also met with opposition Senators Ping Lacson and Jamby Madrigal, during which he thrice described Arroyo as “evil”. And there was word that he originally was to join the Nov. 29 siege of Peninsula Hotel by jailed Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim. Still came the SSS posting as Neri’s delayed consolation prize. Palace lawyers felt that he had to somehow be kept in the Cabinet (that despises him), so he can continue invoking executive privilege. Throwing him out could drive him into the open arms of the opposition, which is eager for more evidence on sleaze in Malacañang. So the SSS appointment was accompanied by an unprecedented marching order to put under Neri the GSIS, Dept. of Social Welfare and Development, and Dept. of Health. He was to lead them as a Social Welfare Task Force during the food and fuel crisis. This again sparked worries that Arroyo, thru Neri, would dip her fingers into private SSS coffers to dole to the disenchanted poor.

And so dela Paz was right to warn SSS members: watch your money.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Kasalanan ba ang family planning? (1)

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon
Monday, August 11, 2008

TINUTUYA ang abortion sa reproductive health bill. Igini­giit na ilegal ito kaya hindi kabilang sa family-planning services sa mag-asawa. Pero may pahabol na dapat lunasan agad ang inang naghihingalo dahil nagpalaglag — makatao lang. Kaya bakit tinatawag itong pro-abortion ng mga obispo?

Sa totoo lang, kontra ang mga obispo sa birth control. Para sa kanila, ukol lang sa mag-asawa ang sex, bilang obligasyon magparami. Anomang kontra dito, tulad ng pagbunot o pagpa­pa­ ligaya sa sarili, ay kasalanan (ni Onan). Sa mag-asawang ayaw magkaanak dahil sa balidong rason, payo nila ay pagtitimpi, tila chastity. Payag sila sa Rhythm o Billings Method dahil nagkataong likas na imposible mabuntis miski nais magparami.

Binabawal ng mga obispo ang artificial na paraan. Anila, imoral ang condom, operasyong vasectomy o tubal ligation, IUD, at iniiniksiyon o iniinom na contraceptives. At dito gumu­gulo. Anila, ang contraceptives ay pam­palaglag din. Hindi ito dahil lang sa kaba nila na “kapag pumayag ang lipunan sa contraceptives, kasunod na ang abortion.” Sa pananaw nila, kapag pinigilan ang pagbuo ng fetus, pinatay na mismo ito sa fetus.

Kahibangan ito para sa mga nag-iisip na Katoliko. Pinipi­ gilan ng pills, operasyon, IUD o condom ang pagta­tagpo ng egg st sperm. Kung walang buhay na nabuo, paano ito naging pagkitil sa buhay? A basta, nagiging dogmatiko ang debate, ‘yan ay doktrina, kaya dapat sumu­nod. kundi ay magdurusa habambuhay sa lumalagablab na apoy ng Impiyerno.

Kontra-agham ang linya ng mga obispo. Pero balewala ito sa kanila. May tradisyong kontra-siyensiya ang mga sinau-nang obispo. Sinupil nila si Copernicus, monghang nakatuklas nu’ng siglo-1500 na hindi umiikit ang Araw sa Mundo. Ginulo nito ang pananaw na sa Mundo nakasentro ang Paglikha. Nu’ng siglo-1600 kinastigo sina Galileo at Kepler na tumangkilik kay Galileo. Sumulong pa rin ang agham. Ipinagbawal ang turo ni Darwin nu’ng siglo 1600 na evolution. Nilait si Freud na nu’ng siglo-1900 ay sumuri sa utak ng tao, at sina Friedmann at Hubble na bumuo ng teyorya ng Big Bang mula sa General Relativity ni Einstein.

(Itutuloy)

Tiwala sa lider

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, August 8, 2008

GULAT na gulat si Senator at dating Olongapo City Mayor Richard Gordon. Nagbayad ang 500 katao nang tig-P25,000 para lang marinig ang talumpati ng ka-initials (na RG) Rudolph Giuliani, dating mayor ng New York City, tungkol sa “leadership in times of crisis.” Sabi nga ni Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco, isa sa mga nakinig, alam na ng mga pinunong Pilipino ang anim na katangian ng lider na binanggit ni Giuliani. Pero hayun, taimtim pa ring nakinig ang mga nagbayad.

Isa sa mga idiniin ni Giuliani ay dapat mapagka­ kati­wa­laan ang isang lider. Kaakibat nito, dapat malinis ang mga pinu-no dahil hindi pumapasok ang mga investor sa bansang maa­nomalya. Simple, hindi ba? Alam na natin ito, hindi ba? Pero bakit kinailangan pa ng isang dayuhan, na umaaming wala siyang gaanong alam sa sitwasyon ng Pilipinas, para ma­ batid natin ito muli?

Nasa paliwanag ni Sen. Kiko Pangilinan marahil ang sagot. Oo, kailangan nga ng lider na mapagkakatiwa­laan at malinis, kaya ito ang hanapin natin sa 2010. Pahiwatig ni Pangilinan wala na ang dalawang mahalagang katangiang ito si Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, kaya sa 2010 pa tayo magkaka-pagasa.

Tama si Pangilinan. Talamak na ang katiwalian at pag­bubu­laan ng Arroyo admin kaya basag na ang tiwala ng taumbayan. Sa huling SWS performance survey nitong Hunyo, 60 percent ang disgustado kay GMA at 22 percent lang ang apro­bado, kaya negative-38 percent ang rating niya. Bago mag-State of the Nation noong nakaraang Lunes, 40 percent din ang nagsabing magbubulaan lang si GMA. At lumabas din ang Pulse Asia survey na 75 percent ang naghirap nitong naka­raang dalawang taon sa ilalim ni GMA.

Bunga ito ng mga anomalya sa ZTE, Northrail, Southrail, ghost fertilizer at piglets, Hello Garci, smuggling, at marami pang iba. Lahat ito hindi maipaliwanag nang lubos ni GMA o mga kamag-anak at alipores na sangkot. Pinagtakpan lang nila sa pamamagitan ng panlilito sa media o ng executive privilege. Akala nila maloloko nila ang taumbayan.

* * *

Lumiham sa jariusbondoc@workmail.com

The man who lived RP nationhood

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Friday, August 8, 2008

When I was an iconoclastic student activist in the ’70s, Sen. Lorenzo Tañada was one of few politicians I admired. He came from the landed rich yet would join radical demos, stepping out of his cozy office to be with the poor. At 72 he was tapped to study the unrest that led to the First Quarter Storm of 1970. In a report six weeks later he trashed the Marcos admin line that communists were agitating even moderate campuses. Instead he traced discontent to social ills: a vast gap between rich and poor, resistance of the economic and political elite to change, and colonial nature of RP-US ties. “Welcome dissent,” he counseled riot cops and snooty capitalists. “If we make the right decisions, with courage and compassion, in brotherhood for reform, we will find beyond these crossroads what we have been seeking for so long — prosperity and well-being of all Filipinos.” At Sunday mass our neighbors and I would come up to Tañada with a silent prayer for longer life for such a nationalist.

Tañada did live to 93, marking vital events in the Filipino struggle for nationhood. Born 10 Aug. 1898 in what is now Quezon, he was three days old when American and Spanish forces staged a mock battle for Manila. It was a bitter lesson for Katipuneros whose imminent capture of the capital was thwarted by a new aspirant for colonial reign. At UP some years later Tañada ruffled the rulers by exhorting fellow-ROTC cadets to train well to someday use their rifles against the American trainers. Even then he declared himself to be not anti-American but anti-colonialist. He even went as a government scholar to Harvard Law School to become Dean (later US Supreme Court Justice) Felix Frankfurter’s best foreign master’s student, and returned to Manila to lawyer for some American clients. The Pacific War saw the entry of yet another colonizer. Tañada joined the resistance in his Gumaca hometown. Upon Liberation a fresh appointee as Solicitor General, he brought up charges against Jose P. Laurel and Claro M. Recto for collaborating with the Japanese. A grant of amnesty overtook events. Still Tañada wondered why he couldn’t locate the records he would have needed to prosecute them. Only after reading William Manchester’s 1978 book American Caesar did he realize that Douglas MacArthur, as promiser of Independence on July 4, 1946, had hid them.

As in Rizal’s enlightenment from Europe or Aguinaldo’s defeat in open election or Mabini’s kissing the Stars and Stripes to end exile, a nationalist’s life takes ironic turns. Tañada’s too. At the height of Laurel’s trial, son Pepito Laurel (later Speaker) and several Batangueño toughies cornered the prosecutor and assistants at a cafeteria and challenged them to brawl. Prudence beat valor as Tañada retreated to another room. Pepito would later help ensure Tañada’s win as senator in 1947 and thrice more, to make him the longest-serving senator for 24 years. Tañada also received in 1982 the Dr. Jose P. Laurel Award for constitutional law, conferred at the Lyceum University run by another son, Sotero Laurel. Recto under trial had demolished the authority of Sol-Gen Tañada’s jurors, for an acquittal. In 1957 presidential candidate Recto tapped Tañada as running mate in a (losing) “nationalist alternative”. Tañada endorsed in 1969 reelectionist President Ferdinand Marcos, who capitalized on the senator’s speech in campaign materials. Marcos’s troops later struck down with truncheons, teargas and water cannons Tañada, who in his ’70s led countless marches against martial law. Tañada bore the pain of two sons in political prison, another in exile, and grandchildren underground fighting Marcos. He had the last laugh, so to speak, by way of predicting the dictator’s downfall “three or four years after” the 1983 assassination of Ninoy Aquino.

“Patriotism is not a frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime,” Adlai Stevenson said. Tañada’s numerous legislations and causes aimed to build a strong nation. He fought the US-built Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and led conferences to end US basing rights. He was at the gallery in Sept. 1991 when his son Bobby and 11 other senators voted against extending the RP-US bases treaty. By the time Tañada passed away the following year, bulk of US forces in Clark and Subic had pulled out.

* * *

Observers wonder why Gloria Arroyo would sign a peace pact with Moro separatists in Malaysia. That country secretly had funded the Islamist secession in the ’70s, to begin with, to weaken RP’s claim over Sabah as part of the Sulu sultanate. Today it acts as a “peace broker” with hidden agenda. Arroyo should have thought twice about letting the fox into the chicken coop, so to speak.

Then again, it may be deliberate. She doesn’t care about the Sabah claim, as was revealed in the autobiography of Tito Guingona, her erstwhile VP and foreign secretary, to wit:

“Before leaving, I had a talk with President Gloria. We spoke about the looming case before the International Court of Justice concerning the claim of Malaysia versus Indonesia covering two islands off Sabah. I informed her that we should perhaps have to file an action for intervention in the international tribunal in order to ensure our rights in the main case with Malaysia over Sabah itself. She remained pensive for some moments. Then she said, ‘You know, Tito, we may have to forego our claim to Sabah at some point in time.’ It was said matter-of-factly, not as a serious proposal, and I just responded that it seemed a controversial issue which would divide the nation. She did not press.

“To me, however, it was an eye opener. When a nation stakes a claim, as was done by us in the ’60s through President Gloria’s father, Diosdado Macapagal, no less, than that nation should stick to the claim because it is a right that is legal and valid.”

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Habitual opacity, low credibility

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Senator and Olongapo City ex-mayor Richard Gordon wonders why Filipinos would pay P22,000 to hear fellow-”RG”, New York City ex-mayor Rudolph Giuliani, speak on “Leadership in Time of Crisis.” More so since, as Navotas chief Toby Tiangco, one of the 300 who paid, notes, we already knew what Giuliani had to say yet listened as if hearing them for the first time. “Choose a leader you can trust; a leader must be honest,” the two-day visitor said, adding that he doesn’t know enough of RP domestic issues to speak about it with authority. Still, many felt Giuliani was talking about us, Senator Francis Pangilinan sighed. Or, to be exact, he seemed to know what we don’t have in our leaders.

Trust? Gloria Arroyo cannot claim to have that key leadership virtue. In her latest poll, 60 percent said they were dissatisfied and only 22 graded her okay, for a net rating of negative 38. Before her State of the Nation last week, 40 percent were sure she would lie as usual and only 19 percent gave her the benefit of the doubt. Of her performance under food and fuel crisis, 75 percent said they are worse off today than in the past two years.

The Arroyo admin doesn’t even understand the word trust. When the poor ratings came out, a spokesman scoffed at the surveys, saying, “let the people and not just a few respondents decide.” Strange, but in polls where Arroyo scored well, they proclaimed, “the people have spoken.” Yet they prattle as if she is not forbidden to run again in an election where the people can decide or, worse, as if her last election was not rigged.

Honesty? Arroyo can’t claim to that either. Her admin’s sleazy deals stink to the core. In order to win the Presidency, there were the ghost swine (P2b) and fertilizer (P728m) deliveries. Afterwards, there were Northrail ($503m), Southrail ($692m), ZTE ($329m), cornered telecom frequencies, smuggling, and overpriced coal purchases. And to cover up, there were the P500,000 bribes to congressmen and governors. Not to mention, the buyout of bishops and generals.

Because crooked, the Arroyo admin can’t take constructive criticism. It has taken to maligning even past staunch allies. At ousted Speaker Joe de Venecia, Arroyo’s executive secretary sneers: “He’s beginning to behave and talk like any other opposition member, so we don’t give him credibility.” And ex-President Fidel Ramos they are smearing by text brigade; eg., from 0915-4129036: “FVR shud stop hitting GMA policies n talk abt resignation hyatt10 what he left us r problems up 2 now filipinos remember IPPs, PEA-Amari?”

Instead of being trusty and honest, the admin is habitually opaque. If asked to explain irregularities, cabineteers invoke executive privilege even when no national security or diplomatic ties is at stake. Officials who wish to blow the whistle are kidnapped or demoted or ordered to stay away from the Senate. Investigative journalists are harassed with false raps.

Malacañang ignores transparency. Though claiming to represent the people, it has not bothered to consult Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan folk who will be most affected by ceding territory to armed separatists. It wanted Filipinos to pay $329m (P17b) for telecom tools from ZTE, whose contract it hid on the pretext first of theft, then on confidentiality of proprietary info. It exiled Jocjoc Bolante to prevent testimony on the fertilizer scam that funded the 2004 presidential run. It induced Ignacio Arroyo to own up to the Jose Pidal alias bank account of First Gentleman-brother Mike. Worst of all, Arroyo herself obfuscated about her two-dozen phone calls to an election official while her votes were still being canvassed.

Palace officials are wondering why Arroyo’s survey ratings are so low. They can’t seem to get it: dishonesty has led to public distrust.

* * *

In his talk Giuliani recounted a basic lesson he learned from his dad on human relations. It was to make it a point to attend weddings, which are the most joyous of persons’ lives, but more importantly funerals, when the grieving kin need consoling.

Makati Mayor Jojo Binay, whose foundation was among the sponsors of the leadership talk, knows that maxim well. In his many years in public office since 1986, first as officer-in-charge, then as elected mayor, and once as husband of the mayor, he has made it a point to go to eight to ten wakes a night. To date he has been to roughly 60,000. In the process, Binay not only endeared himself to constituents but also got to feel the public pulse. That, along with regular meetings with business and civic leaders, gave him the best ideas for directions and projects.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Sikretong MILF pact pipirmahan ngayon

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, August 5, 2008

HABANG sinusulat ito, patuloy ang paglusob ng armadong Moro Islamic Liberation Front sa mga sibilyang baryo sa North Cotabato. Mahigit 70 kubo ng magsasaka na ang sinunog nila, nagnakaw ng daan-daang baka’t kalabaw, at nanakit ng mga nagtatanggol sa ari-arian.

Habang sinusulat din ito, lumabas ang kautusan ng Korte Suprema sa Malacañang na ibunyag sa mga maaa­pektuhang mamamayan ang nilalaman ng pipirmahan nitong kasunduan sa MILF ngayong araw.

Palihim pero apurahan sanang pipirmahan ngayon ang umano’y “peace pact.” Wawakasan daw ng kasunduan ang karahasan ng mga armado sa mga sibilyan. Pero hindi maarok ng mga taga-North Cotabato kung paano ito mangyayari, gayong nilulusob sila ng mga MILF pero hindi maipagtanggol ng PNP o AFP.

Kung tutuusin maaring kumalat pa nga ang karahasan. Nakakuha ako ng kopya ng kasunduang pipirmahan ngayon, Agosto 5, at nililista rito ang mga pook na isusuko ng Malacañang sa MILF. Tiyak na hindi papayag ang mga halal na civilian officials sa mga lugar na ito, Kristiyano man o Muslim, na mapailalim lang basta sa lokal ng MILF commander. At tiyak sa igigiit naman ng huli ang kasulatan upang manakop. Kaya gulo ang kauuwian.

Saad sa peace pact na magpe-plebisito sa mga “Bangsamoro ancestral territory” kung nais nilang masakop ng Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao. Kabilang dito ang malalaking bahagi ng: Zamboanga City, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, at Palawan.

Saad din na pact ang “Bangsamoro territory” — lahat ng lupa, ilog, dagat at himpapawid sa Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan na tinuturing batay sa kasaysayan na homeland o ancestral domain. Miski tituladong lupa, ayon sa paliwanag, ay maaring mapasailalim ng Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

* * *

Lumiham sa jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Petisyon na ibunyag ang GRP-MILF deal

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, August 4, 2008

NAGNGINGITNGIT ang mga taga-Mindanao. Kasi ni wala man lang konsultasyon sa kanila, pero ipamimigay ng gobyerno ng Maynila sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front ang mga purok nila na nasa ilalim ng sibilyang pamahalaan. Ibig sabihin, biglang mapapasailalim ng lokal na MILF commander ang mga halal na gobernador at mayor.

Lumalaban ang mga halal na opisyal. Sa pamumuno ni North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Piñol, nagkaisa ang mga pinu­nong Kristiyano at Muslim para dumulog sa Korte Supre­ma. Hinihingi nila sa Korte na ipabunyag sa Palasyo ang mga detalye ng napabalitang peace agreement sa MILF. Bahagi ng petisyon ang pagpapatigil sa napipintong pirmahan.

Panunuya ang naging tugon na Malacañang. Wika nito, saka na lang magsampa ng kaso sa korte ang mga apektadong taga-Mindanao, kapag napirmahan na ang agreement (at huli na ang lahat). At sobra na talaga ang kapalaluhan at pagkamalihim ng Malacañang. Ayaw man lang ipakita sa mga masasakop na mamamayan kung ano-ano’ng lugar ang isusuko sa MILF bilang “bahagi ng Bangsamoro ancestral domain.”

Walang magawa sina Piñol kundi umasa sa galing ng mga mamamahayag sa pagkuha ng detalyes tungkol sa Mala­cañang-MILF agreement. Isang draft ang nakuha ko. At sa papeles na iyon, itinuturing na bahagi ng teritoryo ng MILF ang Zamboanga City, North Cotabato at ikatlong bahagi ng Palawan — mga lugar ng dominado ng Kristiyano. Ito’y bukod sa walong bayan sa Lanao del Norte na dominado ng Muslim at nais sana sumapi sa Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao — pero hindi tiyak kung nais magpailalim sa MILF.

Kung ano ang pagmamatigas ng Malacañang laban sa Oposisyon, siyang lambot nito sa mga separatista. Pinaaapura nito sa mga alipores sa Kongreso ang pagkansela ng ARMM elections sa Agosto 11, dahil ‘yon ang nais ng MILF. Bakit nagka­ gan’un bigla ang Malacañang? Ani Piñol, may kinalaman ito sa natural gas at langis sa Liguasan Marsh na sasakupin ng MILF at pagpapartehan sa gobyerno nang 75:25. Pera na naman?

Why is Malacañang hiding MILF pact?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Monday, August 4, 2008

Scores of Moro separatists rampaged last week across two villages in North Cotabato, razing 85 houses and rustling dozens of cattle. The mostly Christian and some Muslim farmers ran to the poblacion for help. When none came, Vice Gov. Manny Piñol decried on radio the military’s failure to repel the marauders. “They told me they were under orders to hold their fire,” he fumed. “They were to not jeopardize the signing of the peace pact.”

That “pact” is supposed to be inked tomorrow in Malaysia by reps of Malacañang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Ostensibly it will usher in a peace with the 22,000-strong force that has been seceding from RP since 1976. The Palace has been hiding the draft, though. Residents of Mindanao and beyond who will be most affected have not been consulted. Elected Christian and Muslim leaders doubt this early if the accord truly can end war. For, the “Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain” spells a “territory” to be ceded by Malacañang to the rebels. Such territory would cover cities and towns that thrice already – in plebiscites in 1976, 1988 and 2001 – had rejected inclusion in a Muslim zone. The intended resistance of those communities could be met more harshly by the MILF, which will retain its arms. In effect, the peace pact might bring worse violence.

The pillage in Aleosan and Midsayap towns last week could be the preview. Commander Ameril Umbra Kato of the MILF 105th base command led the raiders. Muslim leaders said the terrorism was not about Islamists versus Christians but armed bands against peace-loving civilians. The pact has yet to be signed, but the MILF already is displaying its suppression tactics on areas to be put under its rule, they opine.

There’s confusion on the ground. A government peace adviser said the MILF central command treated the Cotabato incidents as police matters, not ceasefire violations. Kato’s group purportedly is a “lost command”; he is loyal to deceased MILF founder Salamat Hashim, not to present chairman Al Haj Murad, and cannot be controlled. The burning of villages allegedly stemmed from a land dispute. Even then, Piñol asked, “is this what the MOA will bring to us, the rule of roving rebels?” With the Army’s token resistance, a mix of soldiers who have relatives among the stricken farmers reportedly broke ranks to fight off the raiders.

Land is the core of the Malacañang-MILF pact. It sets as Bangsamoro historic homeland all land, rivers, seas and air “embracing the Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan region.” A Bangsamoro Juridical entity – to be led by the MILF, of course – shall have full control over police, trade, mining, forestry and agriculture therein. Extracted natural resources shall be shared 75:25 by the BJE and national government. (The STAR obtained a copy of the MOA, yet unsigned but already initialed by the chief negotiators.)

“Ancestral domain” comes into conflict with landownership as legally understood. Settlers in Mindanao who acquired land by homestead rights in the ’50s and Torrens titles afterwards could find themselves in limbo. A Malacañang executive summary on the MOA states: “Ancestral domain ... is more than just land and its proprietary ownership... At the heart of the concept is respect and acknowledgment, not only of the Bangsamoro people’s rights and freedoms, but also vested property rights and religious and cultural liberties of other peoples.” Critics have challenged the MILF’s authority to represent the Bangsamoro people, since it has not participated in any election. Incidentally the MILF wants Malacañang to scrap the Aug. 11 voting for governor and assemblymen of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.

The MOA vests territory on the BJE. Forming its core are the present ARMM (Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan), plus six towns in Lanao del Norte that voted in 2001 for ARMM membership. Malacañang must hold a new plebiscite within six months from MOA signing to include 721 more barangays. The MILF calls these villages peripheries of the ARMM. But most are in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur and Sibugay, Lanao del Norte, Iligan City, Bukidnon, North Cotabato, and Palawan – not only predominantly Christian but also political divisions created by law.

But this is going ahead of the conflict. Malacañang must first explain to the affected folk what it intends to do with their lives.

* * *

The building of the first of 40 homes for the homeless will kick off the Sigma Kappa Pi Fraternity’s 40th anniversary celebration. The EKIT Alumni Association has tied up with Gawad Kalinga to erect a full housing block at Recomville, Caloocan City, starting Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008.

The nationalist service brotherhood born in 1968 will also hold a two-day birthday fete on Aug. 29 and 30 at the U.P.-Diliman. Holy Mass, Balik-Tambayan, and video-ops will be held on Friday the 29th. A national convention, election of officers, and testimonial dinner-ball follow on Saturday the 30th.

The EKIT 40th will honor the founders and outstanding brods. For details, call Dante Gozum, 0918-9076281; Lito San Antonio, 0918-9014070; or Bing Villarta (40th chairman), 0905-2801782.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

MILF letter to Bush sped up settlement

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Friday, August 1, 2008

Mindanao folk are incensed. Without consulting them, the Manila government is ceding to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front their civilian-ruled locales. That means elected officials suddenly will be under the local MILF battalion commander. Christian and Muslim governors and mayors are resisting. A plea has been filed for Malacañang to disclose the details of an impending settlement of the MILF secession. Part of the petition in the Supreme Court is to suspend any pact signing until the affected folk can study the draft.

But the Palace is insistent. Congressional allies have been mobilized to cancel the August 11 elections in the Muslim Autonomous Region, as the MILF demands. In typical opacity and arrogance, Malacañang is taunting the Mindanao leaders to contest the political accord only after the signing. Worse, it continues to keep secret what areas will be yielded to MILF rule, although leaked drafts list Zamboanga City, North Cotabato and a third of Palawan as “part of the Bangsamoro ancestral domain.”

Today’s flurry of events partly was prodded by a letter in 2003 of then-MILF head Salamat Hashim (now deceased) to the US President. No less than a Filipino national security officer helped the separatist leader craft the invitation for American intervention in the on-again-off-again talks. The official US response is its state secret. But soon after the Hashim letter, all US-AID projects in the Philippines were moved to the Muslim Region. Washington also promised millions of dollars in instant and annual help once a settlement is forged.

Following are Hashim’s words:

20 January 2003
His Excellency George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House, Washington D.C.

Your Excellency:

In the name of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), we send our profound and felicitous greetings of peace on behalf of the Bangsamoro People of our historic homeland in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.

The Bangsamoro People have always looked upon your country, the United States of America, and its people, with esteem as a great champion of freedom and democracy. The founding fathers of the American Nation as firm believers of “self-evident truths” and “inalienable rights” have become inspirations for the Moro Nation in our quest for the right to self-determination.

Your ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Francis J. Ricciardone, who recently addressed the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, raised the question of the US Government’s desire to know “what they (MILF) want and how it’s (the Problem) going to be resolved”.

We take this opportunity to inform Your Excellency that the MILF is a national liberation organization, with leadership supported by the Bangsamoro People, and with legitimate political goal to pursue the right of the Moro Nation to determine their future and political status. As part of this process, we have an ongoing negotiation with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines to arrive at a negotiated political settlement of the Mindanao conflict and the Bangsamoro problem, through the mediation and tender of the good offices of the Government of Malaysia.

Your desire to be informed of the MILF goals remind us of the historic, legal and political relationship between the Moro Nation and the US Federal Government as borne out by documents, treaty relations and instruments. Your official policy, under President William McKinley’s Instruction to the First Philippine Commission of 1900, treated the Moro Nation initially as a Dependent Nation similar to the North American Indian Nations under treaty relations with the US Federal Government. Subsequently, the Moro Nation was accorded the political status of a US protectorate under the Kiram-Bates Treaty of 1899, confirming the Treaty of 1878 between the Sultan of Sulu and Spain.

Your policy to consider the Philippines as an unincorporated territory of the United States paved the way for the US Government to administer affairs in the Moro territories under a separate political form of governance under the Moro Province from the rest of the Philippine Islands.

Your project to grant Philippine independence obliged the leaders of the Moro Nation to petition the US Congress to give us an option through a referendum to either by remaining as a territory to be administered by the US Government or granted separate independence fifty years from the grant of Philippine independence. Were it not for the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Moro Nation would have been granted trust territory status like any of the Pacific island states who are now independent or in free association with the United States of America.

On account of such circumstances, the Moro Nation was deprived of their inalienable right to self-determination, without waiving their plebiscitary consent. Prior to the grant of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946, American Congressional leaders foresaw that the inclusion of the Moro Nation within the Philippine Commonwealth would result in serious conflicts in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, arising from the inability of the Filipino leaders to govern the Moro people. This condition or states of affairs have continued to prevail to the present day.

In view of current global developments and regional security concerns in Southeast Asia, it is our desire to accelerate the just and peaceful negotiated settlement of the Mindanao conflict, particularly the present colonial situation in which the Bangsamoro people find themselves.

We are therefore appealing to the basic principle of American fairness and sense of justice to use your good offices in rectifying the error that (sic) continuous to negate and derogate the Bangsamoro People’s fundamental right to seek decolonization under the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960. For this purpose, we are amenable to inviting and giving you the opportunity to assist in resolving this predicament of the Bangsamoro People.

With assurances of our highest esteem and cordial regards.

Very truly yours,
Salamat Hashim
Chairman

Through: His Excellency Francis J. Ricciardone
United States Ambassador to the Philippines and Palau
US Embassy, Roxas
Boulevard, Manila

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Constitution and security experts would do well to read between Hashim’s lines. He cites treaties and agreements that the US historically has chosen either to ignore or uphold depending on the need of the time. The first decade of the millennium is marked by the global war against Islamist terrorism and search for new oil sources. North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Piñol says the GRP-MILF draft grants the latter 75 percent of extracted natural resources. And there’s natural gas, possibly oil, in Liguasan Marsh.

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Gaano mo kakabisado ang iyong katawan?

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, August 1, 2008

ANG pinaka-malaking cell sa katawan ng tao ay ang female egg. Ang pinaka-maliit ay ang male sperm. Kung pagtabi-tabihin ang 2,000 cells ng tao, pupuno ito ng isang pulgada kuwadrado (square inch).

Pitong segundo para umabot sa tiyan ang iyong nilutong pagkain. Kasinlaki ng soft ball kapag puno ang pantog.

Kayang buhatin ng isang buhok ng tao ang tatlong kilo. Kung hindi mag-ahit ang karaniwang lalaki, 13 talampakan na ang haba ng balbas niya sa kanyang pagyao. Mas mala­mang magka-cirrhosis sa atay ang lalaki na walang buhok sa dibdib kaysa balbon.

Mas matibay pa sa konkreto ang buto sa hita.

Bakit ka may dimples? Dahil sa pagkakakapit ng muscles sa balat sa pisngi.

Tatlong haba ng kanyang hinlalaki ang karaniwang ari ng lalaki.

Mas mabilis tumibok ang puso ng babae kaysa lalaki. Doble rin kumurap ang babae kaysa lalaki.

Karaniwang may isang trilyong bacteria sa paa mo. (Kaya ba mabantot?)

Ang bigat ng balat ng karaniwang tao ay doble ng utak.

Kapag tinititigan mo ang iyong sinisinta, bumubuka ang pupil (puti sa gitna ng itim) ng mata mo. Gan’un din kapag tumititig sa kinasusuklaman.

Hindi mo malalasahan ang laway mo kapag wala itong nilulusaw. Mas maraming namumuong luga sa tenga kapag natatakot ka.

Kapag nakatindig ka, 300 muscles sa katawan ang nagbabalanse sa iyo. Mas mababa nang limang pulgada ang karaniwang babae kaysa karaniwang lalaki.

Ilang nakatutuwang kaalaman lang ito tungkol sa ating katawan. Hoy, kayong mga lalaki, hangga ngayon ba naka­ tingin pa kayo sa inyong hinlalaki? At kayong mga babae, tinitingnan n’yo ba ang hinlalaki ng lalaki sa tabi n’yo?