ORDER IN THE COURT: JUSTICE OR MONEY?



Just when you think justice is served, it goes to the wrong customer.

Just days ago, Vizconde Massacre’s most infamous star Hubert Webb and six of his accomplices were released via acquittal, as ordered by the Supreme Court for the supposed failure of the prosecution to prove the convicted men “guilty beyond reasonable doubt”. Ten years after they were sentenced to life imprisonment. Ten freaking years possibly wasted for nothing.



When was the last time this balance was, well, balanced?



Now, Oakwood Mutiny’s main character Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and his supporting cast of 300 Magdalo soldiers were granted amnesty by President NoyNoy Aquino on the grounds that the government is looking to show a good example to other rebellious groups such as the MILF and CPP-NPA that the government is willing to talk and cooperate with them.

What is wrong with the authorities?

If Webb and company are supposedly innocent of the crime they were accused of doing, then why did they have to stay behind bars? Why did they have to suffer instead of the true killers that stabbed three defenseless women a combined 49 times?

And just when things are becoming clear, the Supreme Court goes on to “clarify” that just because Webb and company are not guilty beyond reasonable doubt doesn’t mean they are innocent of the crime.

WHAT THE F***?

Let me get this straight. If they are not guilty beyond reasonable doubt and not innocent at the same time, does that mean the Paranaque Regional Trial Court handed them a harsher sentence than they deserve? Does releasing them now mean that the Supreme Court did the right thing, given the answer to the previous question is yes? Does this mean that the judges today are more competitive than the earlier generations? If the court is not fully convinced that they are really responsible for the deaths of three innocent women, it leaves a possibility that Webb and co. are not guilty at all. Does that mean they are really innocent? If they are not guilt-free, does that mean they indeed committed the crime? Could there even have been a trade of a briefcase stuffed with paper bills and land deeds for a pair of balls and a flock of souls, leading to their release? How much more sorrow can Mr. Lauro Vizconde and his family contain, now that they just knew that justice was not served at all?

As if all the confusion’s not enough, here comes the case of Trillanes and the Magdalo squad.

These men fought for what they (and the masses supposedly) believe is right, I realize that. They were simply exercising their freedom of speech, I get that. They were not going to stand 15 hours on field duty, through the fire of their enemies and the water from the clouds, and just watch as our respectable, beloved, and honorable leaders do whatever it takes to save their country, I understand that. Their leader is a senator, I know that. The government is trying to appeal to all people that they indeed listen to us, I comprehend that.

But these rebellious soldiers are still, well, rebels. They still took a private hotel hostage. They set up mines and sniper rifles all over the place; through these actions they implied that they were willing to die to do what they want. Hell, even though they might not have wanted any civilians to be involved, if we learned any lesson from the Manila hostage crisis, chances are loss of innocent lives will be inevitable. Since the rebels are soldiers themselves and our military has been proven time and time again to be non-competitive, who knows how many would have died? And no matter how pathetic the Arroyo government might have been in 2003, the bottomline is the Magdalo group openly opposed the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

So do these situations imply that the ends justify the means? Or the means justify the ends? Were Hubert and co. acquitted because of money or reality? Did PNoy give the Magdalo group an amnesty because they deserved it? Or is it because the enemies of his enemy are his friends?

This is an alarming back-to-back move by the government and the judiciary system. Two of the biggest and most controversial cases in Philippine history apparently went from grandeur to failure because the authorities felt compassion. I’m not saying compassion is a bad thing; it is good. It is human nature. Unfortunately, unwritten law says that whatever these men do these days is just about a closer call to total chaos and civil disobedience. But can you blame the people for rallying on the streets when they keep making these decisions? Who knows how long our leaders have been “trying” to lead our country in the right direction? Because the way things have been going since who knows when, maybe just about anyone can form a band of crusaders, annihilate two hundred people with chainsaws, shotguns, and grenades on live television, receive massive media attention, get sentenced to die behind bars, get released ten years later because of lack of strong evidence, and become sympathetic figures of change. Now that would be such a wonderful world, now wouldn’t it?

You have got to be kidding me.

So how long will this trend continue? I don’t know, and I don’t think anybody else does. But if we want all of this distrust and disarray and disbelief to stop, everything begins with every single one of us. After all, who trusted these leaders in the first place to choose the right people for the other jobs and the right path to take? Who allowed themselves to be abused and sneaked upon for eternity and not really do anything about it? Who agonized in pain, more pain, and even more pain through all of this? We all did, didn’t we?

Somewhere, I hear voices crying. I see heroes dying. I taste blood that is drying. I feel tension rising.

Why? Questions remain unanswered. Answers remain unquestioned.

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE PHILIPPINES

How many more heroes will die just to prevent this from happening?

In a time when the threat of an anthropologically-caused environmental (and social) catastrophe is very real, some idiots still have the nerve to do this:

“The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday expressed alarm over the killings of forest protection officers in Surigao del Sur over the past months.

In a statement, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje condemned the killing of forest protection officer Rolando Sinday in Lianga town last Monday, calling it an “obvious attempt” by illegal loggers to get back at the government for its anti-illegal logging campaign.

“This, like other killings that took place before, is making a mockery of the rule of law, and further entrench the existing culture of impunity that has defined illegal logging activities in the province,” Paje said.

Sinday, a DENR employee, died on the spot last Monday after he was shot thrice by two unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen while on his way home to Barangay Aniobongan .

Sinday’s killing came a little over a month after another DENR anti-logging operative, Nelson Luna, was gunned down in the same province.

The DENR had tagged Surigao del Sur as a “hot spot” area for illegal logging activities. The department has launched a campaign called “Oplan Kalasangan” in the province to run after persons involved in illegal logging in the area.” (Source: GMA News Website)

Wow. Whoever these people are should really think twice about doing these nowadays.

First of all, Mindanao is easily the least developed part of the Philippine regions mostly because of its location away from the center of commercial, industrial, and political affairs in the country (Metro Manila), the still-has-not-been-stopped-yet-should-have-been-stopped-years-ago disruptions from local rebels, separationists, and international terrorists, and the differences in culture with the people of Luzon and Visayas; these are the reasons why some of the poor locals there did not have the opportunity to attend schools and live great lives and end up killing innocent people for some selfish freaks who only care about filling their undeserving pockets.

Regardless, even though these poor locals are less guilty than their bosses, it still does not give any one of them an excuse to eliminate professionals who are simply doing their job of preserving the declining breed of forests in the Philippines. Even though they may not know the scientific principles behind the effects of illegal logging on the environment, whatever their religion may be (and with all due respect to those religions), I am very sure that their recognized God has at least mentioned something that lies along the lines of protecting God’s creations, like the forests. Am I making sense?

It is not only the locals’ fault. It is, as usual, the government’s fault. Just what in the blue hell are they doing? Had these officials been focusing on our country’s problems and not on going to America to watch Manny Pacquiao’s squash bout with a Mexican, the problems in our country would not be as bad. Maybe the prison cells will be packed with more criminals, such as illegal logging masterminds and their henchmen, but at least they get the punishment that they deserve. Maybe landslides and flashfloods will not occur as often not only in Surigao del Sur, but throughout the archipelago. Maybe poverty will not be as intense. Maybe there would actually be peace in Mindanao. Maybe.

Just another bunch of souls needlessly sacrificed. Just another incident that could have been stopped. Just another day in the Philippines.

ARE YOU PNOY?

Can we actually make this picture come true?

Nobody said it would be easy. No one should make it this hard, however.

I have observed the first 151 days of the presidency of President Noynoy Aquino. Although I clearly rooted for Gilbert Teodoro, I am content with the President's performance. He had some successes and failures, just as any other person will do in the office.

In fairness, the President has shown that he has indeed what it takes to be a great leader. For once, we finally have a leader who has the balls to enforce the laws as they are. "Walang wang-wang, walang counterflow?" Not counting the occasional mood swings of the skies and the poor quality of our roads, the traffic situation in the country has not only been more peaceful, but also more free-flowing. And despite the never-ending rise of prices of just about any item you can think of, the economic situation of the Philippines has looked less bleak; in fact, it is already out of any danger of recession. (I know Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo deserves most of the credit, but the seamless transition of power and therefore, the operations of the government earns a little praise as well).

And in case you have been missing it, PNoy has also shown quite the character that every leader should have. He leads by example. Heard him say the government will cut costs? Saw him on TV actually buying hotdogs on a stand in New York City? Quite the contrast from the infamous million-peso, Le Cirque dinner by GMA's delegation last year, isn't it? Oh, and do not forget his humility. Whenever the man speaks, you can really sense just that. Calm, friendly, no overdramatic (bleep). Assuming responsibility for a big mess, such as the mishandling of the Manila hostage crisis, that clearly your men (not PiNoy) mainly created takes guts, but he did it.

Despite these admirable traits and accomplishments, PNoy has had his share of failures. Just because the policemen and local officials are <em>mainly</em> responsible for the tragedy does not mean PiNoy is completely free of any responsibility for the incident. And speaking of his men, some of his choices for certain positions have been revealed to be questionable, either due to lack of experience or disputable backgrounds. Just look at Jesse Robredo, current Justice secretary and Rico Puno, his then-Undersecretary. Sec. Robredo admitted he and PNoy had a pre-arranged deal that he would only oversee the local government affairs as the President takes care of the local enforcement agencies. Now, if you know you cannot handle the full responsibilities of a position you are being offered, even if help from your boss is assured, you should not accept it. This is not a school government, where you can use your friendships, connections, and popularity to assume control and do your duties. This is the big league, where mandate-wise you are given the task of fully handling one important aspect of your country and take care of it. Defy it in any way, and you are technically a criminal and obviously, a poser. Now that we mentioned posers, the ex-Usec. Puno admitted that he, as well as other officials, have no experience handling hostage situations. Are you kidding? Did PNoy simply forgot to think of extreme situations like this when considering "highly-competitive" people for positions? Or is it a matter of friends, buddies, and pals?

I can mention other achievements and disappointments in the President's first 151 days in office, but this is only part of the whole point of this article. As you may have seen, being the President is easily the toughest job any one can ever have. Every word you say, every move you make, every single thing you do will be judged. So the criticisms will obviously be there. And right now, I think most of the criticism PNoy has received is unfair. People will say "Wala namang nangyayari sa amin, eh", "May nagbago ba?", "Hindi dapat namin siya binoto", etcetera, etcetera. First of all, as much as I preferred Gibo over PNoy, the guy has only been in office for less than 6 months. Even though the transition period is over, the common Filipino (like me) have to understand that the problems the Philippines has (poverty, corruption, inflation) are very, very bad; so bad, they require surefire, long-term solutions, not short-term and immediate relief. These problems have been prevalent in our country since forever, but it is quite obvious that the previous Presidents have either ignored them, failed to solve them, or made it worse.

The attacks are not only coming from the outside, but also within the President's circle of allies. The groups that supported PNoy are now suddenly rallying on the streets, hypocritically demanding to have a word with the President just because of their impatience. The same voters who wore yellow and raised their hands in an L-shaped manner are now beginning to jump out of the bandwagon and playing the blame game. Well, if these people truly believed in the President's advocacies, supported his agenda, and admired his character, unless something truly horrible happens, they must show support for him through the good times and the bad. Oh, what am I talking about? This is Philippine politics. It's every man for himself.

With this kind of culture in the Philippines, no wonder we are not making any significant progress. Not helping is the fact that the elected President only gets a plurality, not the majority of votes, which indicates that only a minority of the entire nation wholeheartedly supports the eventual head of state. And among these voters, a lot of them are swayed by family name, campaign color, gimmick, or celebrity endorsements. Theoretically, we can even say that only around 20% of the country's voters fully supports the President. By making on-the-fly choices instead of well-thought-out decisions, disagreements will always become widespread, and the end result? We all lose the game.     

What I'm trying to say is, give PNoy a chance. He is just a human being, not a God who can do everything at once if He wants to. He makes mistakes. He misjudges. We need to support him. Because no matter how corrupted, demented, or evil a President or any high-ranking government official is, you have to believe that they are trying to give us food, shelter, jobs, and any other relief we can think of to make our lives less miserable. These ladies and gentlemen at least know that they need to save themselves some face because let's face it, they couldn't possibly think we are that dumb and ignorant to not notice their failures, could they? This is why we should be assured that they will give their good, if not best shots to destroy all the roadblocks halting our nation's road to prosperity. 

The path to progress is not just a one-way street, however. We have to do our part to contribute to the betterment of our society. Work hard, harder. Always give it your best shot. Do not just randomly blurt out criticisms just to sound cool. With freedom of speech comes a big repsonsiblity. Use it wisely.

As PNoy said, "Tayo na sa tuwid na daan". Let's not make that road go anywhere.

A HEAVY INVESTMENT NOT WORTH TAKING

November 13, 2010. (UTC -06 time zone) Manny Pacquiao claims his 8th world championship in a record-8th boxing weight division, defeating Antonio Margarito via unanimous decision.

Should it go down as a historic night in Philippine history? Or is it simply a career highlight?

OK, the Gen-San-turned-Saranggani hero won. Every professor will make occasional references in class about it. Every media outlet will headline it. Every government official will claim it as a national triumph.

But, when you really think about it, IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER TO US.

This is not to disgrace Pacquiao as an athlete. He is truly one of the all-time greats to set foot in the squared circle. When a guy wins 52 bouts, 38 by knockout, you know he is the real deal. His Southpaw style, his speed, and his combinations, add them up and we have a spectacle. And checking on his opponents during and after the match? Showing mercy? That is humility and sportsmanship, two things you can rarely find in pro sports these days. In a real-life, one-on-one uncensored fight, you will probably get knocked out by a single shot to the temple by PacMan. I know I will.

However, I do not understand why everyone is labeling this as a victory for the Philippines while in fact, this is only a win for Manny and his fans. Unless all (and only all) people living in the Philippines are fans of PacMan, which is of course not true. Remember, Manny Pacquiao is not representing the Philippines in his fights. Boxing is not like a beauty pageant with all the ladies competing for the coveted crown representing their countries. It is nice for Pacquiao to recognize and honor his origins, but let us not lose the real point here. WE should NOT be claiming any Pacquiao win as a national victory.

Take a beggar for example, walking the smoky streets of EDSA on a hot Sunday afternoon, wandering on the streets staring on a road to anything but prosperity and comfort. It so happens he passes through an eatery, with all these guys with big bellies and fifty pesos to bet on, watching as they await for the official decision. He then sees Pacquiao's hand raised on the TV screen. The majority of the guys watching will jump and celebrate, teasing their just-lost-fifty-pesos neighbors. The beggar then asks for spare money from one of the winning bettors. He is turned down. The beggar then walks away.

See, Pacquiao's triumphs will only give us a false sense of pride. What exactly are we proud of? A Filipino boxer claiming gold? If we are really proud of our country or at least our countrymen, why do we only say or feel pride when Pacquiao wins? Is his win any different from an achievement by, for example, a Filipino inventor solving the energy crisis? Don't you think it is unfair to all other world-class Filipino achievers that they have done something that will definitely help solve our current problems, but they do not receive the necessary exposure to help the cause? More importantly, when Pacquiao beats a Mexican boxer, a lot of people will claim, "Mas magaling ang Pilipinas kaysa Mehiko sa boksing". Is this true? What's true is that PacMan is better than that Mexican boxer.

Also, think about this. Maybe after PacMan knocks some sense into Floyd Gayweather in his final bout, he will most likely retire. After all, that would be the perfect ending for his career (and my own satisfaction since I despise Gayweather) and well, despite his powerful fists, he is only human. When the current Saranggani representative finally stays in Batasan Complex to do his legislative duties and of course, the never-ending TV appearances and a movie or two, I wonder if these patriotic, self-professed nationalistic authority figures and their "I'm proud to be Pinoy" thing will continue to be prominent. I mean, seriously, do we really have to wait until a 30-plus-year-old man will suffer from consistent body pain, near-bloodshut eyes, and constant retirement requests from his mother just to remind us of the fact that we are Filipinos? That we should be proud that we are Filipinos?

We are in the right direction. We are looking up to PacMan not just as a legendary, Hall-of-Fame-bound boxer, but a role-model Filipino. Thing is we should not just cheer him. We should follow his example. Maybe at the start of his career, he was simply fighting to get those paper bills to support himself and his family. He doesn't think about his country. He was out for himself. But now that he is on top, by recognizing his origins (albeit the wrong one at the moment because he is truly from General Santos City) and continuing to be virtually the same humble, respectful, religious person who truly loves his land, perhaps we should adopt the same attitude. And we can showcase that in more ways than one. How to show that is up to us. If you can read this (or have someone translate this for you), I am sure you are also capable of thinking about that as well.

Just don't forget. Do not be like the Clevelanders who felt betrayed because they heavily invested themselves on that self-professed basketball King who should have went to college to learn lessons of humility and respect.

Again, this is a heavy investment not worth taking.