THE MARIA RESSA CASE:

When Media Become The Abuser

In most circumstances, the media are outlets where the people can voice out their sentiments and grievances against the abuses of politicians, governments and institutions, and the rich and powerful.

There are, however, instances when media are used to do the opposite. That is, when media have programmed objectives contrary to social order and justice; when they are funded and controlled by questionable entities that have dark socio-eco-political agenda; when they act against the will of the people they suppose to do their service; when they become tools of black propaganda with malicious intent against a person or institution; and when the media become the abuser instead of the protector of the abused.

 

Most recently, the Rappler chief Maria Ressa, is again the talk of the town. She has again proven that she is the “Queen of Fake News” as tagged by the Pilipino people with her Twitter post blaming recently-elected President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr for her current predicament. She and her co-accused, Reynaldo Santos Jr, being recently convicted of the crime of cyberlibel they committed some ten years ago. 

Let us fact-check Ressa once more:

1. The cyberlibel complaint against her was filed on December 20, 2017, for an article published online by Rappler on May 29, 2012. The article was NOT about Marcos and it’s more than 10 years prior to him being elected president! 

2. The one who filed the case is Wilfredo Keng, and NOT Marcos! 

3. The published Rappler article, titled “CJ (Chief Justice) Using SUVs of Controversial Businessman,” was about Wilfredo Keng’s involvement in a controversy surrounding then Chief Justice Renato Corona as alleged by Santos Jr, and which has NOTHING TO DO WHATSOEVER with Marcos! 

4. Ressa and Santos Jr, were arraigned on May 13, 2019, more than three years BEFORE Marcos took office. 

5. The verdict of “GUILTY” of criminal libel was handed down on June 15, 2020. That’s more than two years BEFORE Marcos was sworn into office. 

6. It was appealed but the court upholds the conviction and declared it barely two days after Marcos took office.

The following are excerpts of the court decision penned by presiding judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa:

“.... the court finds the prosecution’s evidence sufficient in establishing the guilt of both Accused Reynaldo Santos Jr and Maria Ressa beyond reasonable doubt for violation of Section 4(c)(4) of Republic Act 10175....”

In Ressa’s claim that she had no participation in the said subject article, the court said it does not shield her from liability: “It is not a matter of whether she was actually involved in preparing or editing the subject article, because the law simply states that she, as editor and business manager, is liable “AS IF” she was the author, in accordance with Article 360 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to R.A. 10175.”

As to the mention of “freedom of speech,” the court said: “The right of every person to freedom of speech is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. It is the right to speak freely without fear of retribution or retaliation. The right of the press to freely report news and opinion without undue restraint is guaranteed no less. These rights are imbued with vast powers to advance the COMMON GOOD, TO EFFECT change and influence the minds of others IN THE HOPE OF BUILDING A SOCIETY where every person can be free. But when abused, THIS FREEDOM can SOW animosity and ENGENDER divisiveness and resentment THAT MAY LEAD TO disorder and chaos.... Indeed, the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and of the press. But this is a freedom burdened with responsibility for even the Journalists’ Codes of Ethics exhorts all journalists to ‘recognize the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.’ This the accused DID NOT DO even when the victim, Keng, pleaded to them to air his side or at least publish a clarificatory article.”

Furthermore, the court in its ruling said that Ressa “did not offer a scintilla of proof that they verified the imputations of various crimes in the disputed article.... They just simply published them as news in their online publication in reckless disregard of whether they are false or not.”

The judge even quoted Nelson Mandela: “For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” 

7. The law that was used to convict Ressa, the Cybercrime Prevention Act (R.A. 10175), was legislated in September 12, 2012. That was during President Benigno Aquino III’s time, which is almost 10 years before Marcos Jr was elected president!

So, how can she accuse President Marcos Jr of harassing and intimidating her? In reality, it is Ressa who is doing the harassment through her deception and manipulation of media, trying to tie her conviction as press suppression to the new president whose reputation she persistently seek to malign during the campaign period and continuously afterwards. 

MARIA RESSA’S TWITTER POST HAS BEEN FACT-CHECKED AND FOUND FULL OF DECEPTIONS! 

NOONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!

 

As to the comments made by Berit Reiss-Andersen, Nobel Committee chairperson, lawyer Amal Clooney, and United Nations (UN) rapporteur Irene Khan, allow me to voice my disagreement. 

First of all, the conviction was NOT about “freedom of expression.” It was about a news report published by Rappler more than 10 years ago containing false and malicious information about the person named Wilfredo Keng, and the failure (or willful intent?) of Ressa and her co-accused, Santos Jr, not to give Keng a chance to dispute the story as what journalists are inclined to do (Kindly read the court decision, some excerpts of which I have included here.). She was convicted of libel not because she uncovered something sinister about the person, but because she published FALSE information about the person, and did not give that person the chance to repute the allegation in total disregard for journalistic fairness.

Now, does the Nobel Committee chaired by Reiss-Andersen condone such a criminal act? If so, it would be a disgraceful blot, a wart, in the reputation of the very prestigious institution. For Clooney, you know the law, and clearly you also know President Marcos has NOTHING TO DO with the case that had been decided before he took office. For Khan, I think you are letting your clouded mind shows your ignorance of the matter, of the circumstances, on who’s to blame, and of journalistic ethics. You all better go back to school and start researching thoroughly! 

Secondly, why do you keep dragging the name of newly-elected President Marcos Jr to this case? He has NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO with it? Do you also have a HIDDEN AGENDA against him? Believe me when I say that this time around the entire Pilipino nation will not take this sitting down. Pilipinos have been silent for more than three decades of disinformation and historical revisionism, but NO MORE! 

Thirdly, Ressa is NOT A HERO of the free press! She has been labelled as the “Queen of Fake News,” because her booboos, yellow journalism and unresearched articles. In fact, in a recent Reuter Institute graph of the “Study of Journalism’s Digital Report” (2022) in the Philippines, it was shown that Rappler is at the lowest rank, the news organization that people “don’t trust.” There have been so many instances of Rappler publishing one-sided stories with biased political intent.

Fourth, Ressa kept claiming that there is no press freedom in the Philippines, but at the same time continuously, FREELY, giving press statements against the government in both local and foreign newspapers, TV interviews and online news posts. What a contradiction! Rappler for its part has been known to be biased against the Marcoses. During the election campaign period, it showcased a one-sided information drive in favor of Leni Robredo while discouraging people to side with Bongbong Marcos. They recycled old stories against his father, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, and always branding him with the “dictator’s son” tag with an obvious antagonistic intent. Something that fair press shouldn’t do. But the Pilipino people are now wise and enlightened, and can no longer be fooled by media manipulations and fake news.

Fifth, we are in a democratic society. If the news media are used to disseminate black propaganda and propagate discord among the people for the benefit of a certain group, then fascism is being introduced. The Philippines recently concluded a presidential election. The results are glaringly clear; President Marcos Jr won by an ABSOLUTE MAJORITY, with the biggest margin ever in Philippine history. Volunteerism won over media and celebrity hype! The Pilipino nation has spoken, nay, they shouted with all their might, but Rappler continues to sow disinformation with a clearly biased intent in favor of the defeated candidate. This alone is a violation of the Journalists’ Code of Ethics. Vox ilustrati populi, vox omnipotentis dei (The voice of an enlightened people, the voice of an omnipotent GOD).

 

NOTE: Top and bottom caricatures drawn by Glenzkie Tolo (Daily Tribune).

FIVE THINGS I HAVE IN COMMON WITH
PRES. FERDINAND “BONGBONG” MARCOS JR

1. We are both half-Ilocano. PBBM’s father, the former Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos, is from Ilocos Norte. My mother, on the other hand, is from Ilocos Sur.

2. We both love the Star Trek film and TV series. In a sense we are fellow trekkies! As a child Star Trek starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy was the first TV series that caught my attention. I still watch the re-runs on Netflix.

3. We have the same prayer call –“GOD, give me strength!” Whenever I’m feeling weak, down and troubled, I whisper this phrase. I’m sure PBBM does the same. It is written in Isaiah 40:31, “Those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles...!”

4. We read multiple books at the same time. I get bored and sleepy reading one book, so I would lay 3 to 5 books on the table or in my bed and read them simultaneously. I knew from an old Julie Yap-Daza interview of PBBM’s wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, that PBBM also read at least 3 books at the same time. We also have a common favorite author and book – Ernest Hemingway and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

5. We both love to cook. From youtube videos, I learned he is fond of cooking. Me, on the other hand, loves to experiment in my cooking. Sinigang, the world’s top food dish, is our common denominator. It’s PBBM’s top favorite, and so am I. For me, there’s no dish better than sinigang na hipon (sour-stewed shrimps).

NOTE: Pagbigyan niyo na ako rito, birthday ko ngayon eh!

 

 

HISTORY WITHOUT THE OVERCOAT

I believe in what Ambeth Ocampo said: “REAL History is about TRUTH, not lies, not fiction.” Being an engineer, writer-journalist and researcher, I believe that history, the “real” history, must be based on facts that are precise, consistent and irrefutable. Can we, however, say that to the current written Philippine History?

History to me is like a continuously flowing river. It carries with it whatever falls on its rapids: Dusts and stones, leaves and timbers, lives and deaths, freshness and pollutions, natural and man-made, everything becomes part of its waters. When you try to search for something, it will always be there but maybe difficult to find. Then there are instances when the river’s path is changed, either out of necessity or greed, either by nature or man’s machines. Yet when by the act of GOD, it takes just one instance and everything reverts back to its natural course.

Similarly, like the flow of a river being displaced, there are many instances when history is distorted by the people in power or by the one who wrote them.

For instance, many parts of Philippine history, especially those written by Spanish and American authors are half-truths and distorted. Examples: Many accounts about Lapulapu, the mock battle of Manila Bay, MacArthur's claim of the Liberation of the Philippines, etc.

In 1986, when Cory Aquino took over government, among her first orders were the purging, burning and destruction of all files, documents, records pertaining to programs and achievements of the Marcos administration. I am a witness to that. Then she ordered that school textbooks entries be revised, which made it possible, in a “biased” way, that she and her husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, be declared as heroes at the same time demonizing President Ferdinand Marcos. Then Aquino’s media collaborators – the oligarchs-owned radio-TV networks and newspapers – started to disseminate maligning information about the Marcoses. They invented gruesome stories about President Marcos, many of which are mere fabrications. This can be considered as the “chismis” part of our history. They did this for more than three decades. Many of the youth after the 1986 EDSA Revolt and the ensuing Yellow Regime, the so-called Martial Law babies, were led to believe that these entries in history were the untainted truth.

Fortunately, some concerned citizens were able to keep some of the pre-EDSA documents and records of the Marcos administration safe. These same documents and records, thanks to the Internet and social media, are being released for the public to read so as to understand the other side of the issues. These are physical and tangible evidences and not fake news or fabricated propaganda. It is not to revise history but, in a way, it is history being corrected from the distortions and biases imposed upon it. 

With regards to Ella Cruz, I believe in her youthful enthusiasm and unbiased comments about Philippine history. In a sense, she is also correct, because Philippine history, in its many segments is full of distorted entries; full of filtrations and added fabrications, biased in favor of the one who perpetrated those segments.

In fact, I admire the young actress’ exuberance and show of respect for everyone’s opinion, and her courage to voice out her viewpoints amid such a high-profile issue. The words “no comment” can sometimes be attributed to playing-safe or being dumb. Well, she is definitely not. She is smart and witty, unlike some bitter worn-out starlet of the past or some yellow activist-pretender. Then came model-starlet Dawn Chang, comedian-actress Pokwang (real name Marietta Subong O'Brian), radio-TV newscaster Arnold Clavio, et al., all bitter losers, who have been ganging up on her. No one has the right to teach her what to say, or teach her lessons she can get herself, from research, school, or her parents’ counsels. So, for those self-proclaiming know-all social intriguers, I suggest you also respect every person’s opinion and stop making a fool of yourselves.

Furthermore, those who make comments about her in social media are making a fool of themselves. Like Giselle Toengi who posted she “would love to share” to Ella her experience “at 8 years old in 1986” as she “marched to the streets along with countless others who were part of history...” How can that be? When she was already 15 years old when she first came to Manila to live with her mother. Now, who’s gossiping?!

Lastly, I also believe that history has the uncanny ability to correct itself, no matter how long it takes, no matter how big the obstacles are, the truth can never be hidden forever. And karma, once the road to redemption begins, will clearly show which segments of history were written correctly!

 

NOTE: Photos are taken from Facebook posts, and hereby given due courtesy to Philippine Star, Global Daily Mirror and Balita. 

VOLUNTEERISM WON OVER MEDIA AND CELEBRITY HYPES

PEOPLE’S VOLUNTEERISM
WON OVER
MEDIA AND CELEBRITY HYPES

Three months ago, on March 24, 2022, I predicted that Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr (a.k.a. BBM) will win the May 2022 Presidential Election. I gave seven reasons why. The Number 2 reason I gave was “BBM’s supporters are driven by volunteerism and hope.” Then on my April 20, 2022 Facebook post, I predicted that he would win by a landslide margin of 17 million votes, which I reposted on Blogspot as “Iginuhit ng Tadhana” (Drawn by Destiny).

Looking back from the time in July 2021 when BBM was contemplating on running for the highest position in the Philippine government, to the time when different Loyalist groups started the call to assemble both online and on the streets, to the time when he filed his candidacy on October 6 and then forming the UniTeam alliance on November 29 with Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (who would be his vice-presidential running mate), to the rigorous campaign period that lasted four months and culminating in a glorious absolute majority victory on May 9, one thing stands out – the people’s volunteerism.

Reminiscing the volunteerism shown by BBM supporters throughout the country and the solidarity that binds them, it’s like looking at millions and millions of sea turtles hatching simultaneously in all the shores of the Philippine archipelago and together instinctively going to the sea to participate in an awakening adventure. It’s near-miraculous, truly destiny being painted.

Indeed, aside from being the international symbol for peace, the “V” sign that BBM and his supporters are flashing also symbolizes “volunteerism,” the poignant characteristic inherent in every Pilipino. The nearest native word akin to the term is Bayanihan. That is, unpaid and unherald, but willing to participate in the endeavors and the quest. Together with another hand sign, the forward closed fist, which is a patented Duterte political badge and symbolizes solidarity, the combination (Bongbong Marcos Jr and Sara Duterte) led to another “V” symbolism – Victory!

The last May 9 Election showed us that the so-called media and celebrity hypes are no longer a big factor to Pilipino voters. It is the volunteerism of the people, bikers, bloggers, caricaturists, engineers, farmers, fishermen, hackers, jeepney drivers, journalists, OFWs, street vendors, students, workers in all fields, the common “tao,” that really brought the landslide win for the BBM-Sara UniTeam.

The people felt indignant after the 2016 Presidential Election when the person they voted for the vice-presidency was robbed of the office. When the Aquino-appointed justices of the Supreme Court sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal dismissed the electoral protest filed by BBM against Robredo, the people took it very personally. Their patience reached a boiling point and they took it upon themselves to light the torch that would soon become a blazing patriotic flame that would redden the entire nation.

It all started in Ilocos Sur on November 7, 2011, when around eight thousand bikers started the “Unity Ride” that spanned more than 27 kilometers. Two weeks later, a much, much, bigger Unity Ride set forth from Ilocos Norte filling the Manila-North Road going southward. Estimated to have more than 70,000 participants wearing red shirts, and spanning around 125 kilometers, it is probably the largest and longest bike ride, worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records. Looking at drone camera coverages, the streets literally turned red. For the first time, the Yellows started to worry and took the matter seriously.

The Yellows’ answer to this was black propaganda. They started recycling old issues about the Marcoses in an attempt to discredit BBM. Anti-Marcos people started filing one disqualification cases after another in the COMELEC to thwart the young Marcos’ presidential bid.

The oligarch media networks re-ran the lines “dictatorship,” “Martial Law,” “ill-gotten wealth,” and added “unpaid taxes” to the mix. All of these, however, are issues already answered by former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos and BBM himself in previous interviews. Their social media counterparts, such as Facebook and Twitter, blocked and suspended the accounts of the so-called Loyalists who were trying to defend the Marcoses, to prevent and thwart the upsurge of supports. But even at the onslaught of biased media black propaganda and repressions, the Loyalists will not be perturbed or dissuaded, their volunteerism persists.

It’s so overwhelming to see children, parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents were out on the streets shouting BBM, showing and bannering Marcos legacy pictures, and singing “Ako’y Pilipino” (I’m a Pilipino) and “Bagong Lipunan” (New Society). While on the opposing side you see celebrities wearing pink but showing placards of hate messages. The people clearly saw the difference.

On December 8, 2021, Bongbong Marcos Jr and Sara Duterte astounded the Philippine political realm when they held a rally in Quezon City, long thought to be a yellow bailiwick in which the sitting mayor, Joy Belmonte, is a known pro-Aquino and anti-Marcos. The crowd estimate, which they refused to accept, was around 125,000 strong, from Quezon Memorial Circle dominating the Commonwealth Avenue going to Welcome Rotonda. The mainstream media tried to downplay the event, but pictures and videos taken by volunteers immediately flooded the Internet in real time allowing the public to see firsthand the unfolding events.

The survey groups tried but couldn’t lie. Most of the survey groups are known to be pro-Yellows. So, when the survey results came out largely favoring BBM, the yellows’ worries turned into panic – the Yellows turned Pinkish. Pulse Asia tried to delay the survey results, and concentrated on the youth which they thought would favor Robredo. But they were wrong. Most millennials, Generation Zs and would-be first-time voters turned out supporting BBM. This, may I add, is one reason why some supposed student activist groups couldn’t muster enough numbers in their rallies against BBM. These "activist" if they are really riding on a nationalistic ideology should know that "No protest can succeed against the people's will." SWS discontinued its surveys as early as February and didn’t even release their last survey, because it would show BBM ahead in voters’ preference percentage more than doubled that of Robredo.

The Robredo supporters even tried a hokus-pokus, posting fake survey results with preposterous figures showing Robredo ahead with 80 to 90 percent voters’ preference. As it turned out, most of them are mathematically bogus. Well, they fooled only the gullibles.

What about BBM refusing to be interviewed or go on a public debate? The most widely talked-about was the Jessica Soho interview. The Yellows-turned-Pinks thought they could ruin BBM’s momentum capitalizing on this issue. Again, they were wrong! Well, BBM doesn’t need TV exposure if it’s going to be biased. It’s better to go direct to the people. It’s not BBM’s loss. He’s already miles and miles ahead in all surveys; garnering an “Absolute Majority” less than 4 months before election makes him perceptibly unbeatable. In fact, GMA7 lost 28.7 million pesos in revenues when 10 of its advertisers withdrew from Jessica Soho’s program after they learned BBM declined the interview. In today’s Internet and cellphone era, the people are already well-informed and no longer rely on the tri-media. TV, radio and newspapers are no longer as “deistically powerful” as it was four decades ago.

What did the Soho interview proved anyway? (1) BBM’s popularity among the Pilipino masses now exceeds GMA-7’s media influence and clout. Even the advertisers know this. (2) None of the other four major candidates are deserving to be president in the eyes of the viewing public. One word to describe each of them: Lacson – Past, Moreno – Dreaming, Pacquiao – Ambition, Robredo – Nonsense. (3) The four presidential aspirants showed their inherent weaknesses. And they did this in a televised interview. It’s not even a debate. What blunders they have spoken they can no longer retract once a real public debate comes. (4) Most of the issues taken in the interviews are repetitions and, yes, it is a tactical success that BBM declined his interview. It would have no bearing whatsoever with regards to what the Pilipino masses perceive of him. In fact, the move would later even endear him to the people – declining a powerful and influential network’s invitation is to them courage with intelligence.

Then the Philippine Arena UniTeam proclamation rally in Ciudad de Victoria, in Bocaue, Bulacan, on February 8, 2022. The premonition of triumph is all there in the “City of Victory.” The largest Philippine indoor stadium was filled to the brim, and the grounds of the two-hectare sports center were also covered with people wearing red and green. Actress Toni Gonzaga wasn’t wrong when she decisively shouted “May panalo na!” (There’s already a winner!).

BBM promised to bring unity to the country as this is the supposed solution to the nation’s ills: “If we study the history of the Philippines, everything that has happened to us, all the hardships and calamities our beloved country has endured, we have survived only by being united.”

This was followed by one rally after another, every one of which exceeding the hundred-thousand crowd estimate. The yellow-pinks couldn’t believe what they are seeing. The world took notice, the immediate question was why are these masses of people favoring a person portrayed for decades as a “son of a dictator;” the foreign press started researching anew the Marcos legacy; they started to realize that much of the things said about the Marcoses were mere fabrications; and out of nostalgia they called it “the BBM Phenomenon!”

All over the world, the same sentiment of volunteerism was shown. Pilipinos living or working in the seven continents joined together to show their support for Marcos Jr. As early as mid-March, the road back to Malacañang was paved!

By this time, the yellow-turned-pink troll farms were running languidly coughing-for-breath. They tried every dirty tactics they could invent. ABS-CBN and Rappler muddled the news with inclusions of fabrications and recycled dirty propaganda. They were later labeled by Reuters graphics as two news organizations that the people “don’t trust” the most. The Leni-Kiko trolls started massive disinformation campaign and fake news posting online, while their endorsing celebrities did the same in their campaign sorties. Their tacticians used pink paper flowers, banners, balloons, umbrellas and whatever it is they could turn pink to make it look like their sorties have more numbers. The people looked and listened but were never fooled.

The Catholic church joined in the political mudslinging, again, by continuously recycling vicious unfounded accusations against the Marcoses. Bishops and priests, going against biblical teachings, spewed evil words against BBM even inside the church to the dismay of the hearing public.

After the election, and BBM winning with almost 32 million votes (58.77%), one bishop even distorted a scriptural event about Christ’s crucifixion saying “Nagmukhang talo si Jesus nang ipako siya sa krus. Tukod langit sa kahihiyan. Nagimbal ang mga alagad. Nahiya. Nanlumo. Nagtago. Hindi nagkatotoo ang akala nilang mananalo sila. Parang tayo di ba?” (Jesus looks defeated when he was nailed to the cross. Shame reaching heaven. The apostles were shocked. Shamed. Disheartened. Went hiding. The thought of them winning did not happen. Just like us isn’t it?)

The Catholic bishop was referring to Matthew 27:20, comparing and insinuating that the people that voted for BBM were like the people that crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. Clearly, this bishop either didn’t read the Bible or he didn’t understand the Holy Scriptures. Because in the Bible (Matthew 27:20): “The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask Pilate to set Barrabas free and have Jesus put to death.”

It is very clear that it was not the people in their own volition that cause the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, but the priests who instigated and coerced them. Just like what the Catholic priests did during the Spanish time, when they caused the deaths of many of our revolutionary heroes, including Dr. Jose Rizal, our National Hero.

The Leni-Kiko tandem employed celebrities and newscasters from the three major TV networks to try to somehow catapult them over BBM, but to no avail. The mistake in this is that the celebrities, like their political employers, used black propaganda and dirty campaigning to get the people’s attention. But as I’ve said many times, “Ang taong-bayan ay mulat at gising na sa pagkakatulog, at hindi na muling palilinlang!” (The people are already enlightened and awaken from slumber, and will no longer let themselves be fooled).

The bulk of these celebrities’ campaign lines bordered on yellow journalism and black propaganda, repeating one maligning accusation after another. The people are tired of these. Their fans tried to tell them they are doing the wrong thing and supporting the wrong people. So does the much older celebrities, who really experienced the “before” and “after” of the 1986 EDSA Revolt. But these young celebrities who were not even born then relied on distorted information fed to them for more than three decades, and all the advises fell on deaf ears. Because of this, more than half of their fan base left them.

Now, these celebrities as well as news personalities who openly voiced their anti-Marcos propaganda, like Angel Locsin, Iza Calzado, Michael V, Karen Davila, Ted Failon, etc., are trying to win back their fans by saying it’s time to move on? It’s good if it’s sincere, but the problem is in most of them it is not! Kasi magsasabi ka ng isang bagay – “para sa bansa” – tapos sa huli magpapasaring ka kay BBM at sa mga supporters niya, at pupurihin mo pa ang mga maling ginawa ng mga kakampinks (Because they would say one thing – “for the country” – then at the end they would insinuate something on BBM and his supporters, and praising the wrong things done by the yellow-pink supporters). Some of them, Agot Isidro, Janno Gibbs, Kakie Pangilinan, Melai Cantiveros, Mo Twister, Tuesday Vargas, and the likes, are still very antagonistic and bitter until now, and you can read and see them in their Internet social media posts. Some of them pledged to leave the Philippines if BBM wins. So, what’s their excuse that they are still here, still blabbering like turkey ass?

They would even dare to claim Robredo is good-hearted to be the first to concede. That’s bullshit! Even at the face of the people’s absolute majority vote against her, she never conceded until the last moment when she was about to leave for the U.S., and she continued to be bitter and blabber about it until now.

Most of the media networks, on the other hand, have removed the tag “dictator’s son” they usually associate with BBM. Some even foster the BBM-Sara UniTeam campaign motto – “Sama-sama, Babangong Muli!” (Together, Will Rise Again!) – in their editorial “moving on” prospectives. Well and good, just show sincerity!

BE SINCERE! THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN; HEED THEIR CALL! IF YOU REALLY MEANT TO JOIN WITH THE PEOPLE’S SOLIDARITY, THROW YOUR BIAS AWAY! DISCARD THE EVIL FED INTO YOUR MINDS AND TRY TO DISCOVER FOR YOURSELVES THE TRUTH!

GIVE PEACE AND UNITY A CHANCE!

 

WHY THE MARTIAL LAW ERA

NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED?

Press Secretary & Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) Chief, Rose Beatrix “Trixie” Cruz-Angeles, recently made a statement: “Martial Law is a mine in itself... Why don’t we allow a discourse? I think everything should be open to debate, even scientific theories and established facts are always open to question... We don’t have to come to a conclusion. Let us not limit discourse...”
To this the yellow and pink trolls reacted so obviously without thinking. So biased and one-tracked, they are stuck with the argument that Martial Law is all bad.
One particular comment is from a self-proclaimed political analyst, Richard Heydarian: “FYI, there’s nothing to debate on dictatorship, especially the uber kleptocratic kind that produced zero world class industries a la neighboring Taiwan and Korea. Facts clearly show: It was a governance, economic and human rights disaster on so many level! Period!”
A real political analyst would know the moment he read his comment that this guy is a quack – a pinquack!
Allow me to point the real facts, social, economical and historical, the Cory government tried to erase in collaboration with the oligarchic-controlled media.
During the Martial Law era, the people were discipline and valued the traditional giving of respect to their parents and grandparents, to older people, to people in authority. Law and order are strictly preserved. You can walked at night alone without fearing of getting mugged or robbed; you can leave your bicycle in the street unattended without fearing it being stolen; narcotics are a rarity because drug lords are not cuddled but sent to the firing squad! In fact, it was probably the only time in history when the chaotic Divisoria is clean and orderly!
Economically, the Philippines was at its peak during the administration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos. The rice crisis inherited from the previous administation was solved through pioneering government programs and, by the middle of the 1970s, the country was already a rice exporter, probably the only time in our history that it happened.
Anti-Marcos proponents alleged that the Philippines was the “sick man of Asia” during the Martial Law Era. Again, this was the result of Cory Aquino Regime policy of adulterating the school textbooks. Looking back at history and World Bank records, however, says otherwise. The “sick man of Asia” connotation perhaps better pertained to the Philippines that Marcos inherited from President Diosdado Macapagal.
Based on World Bank data, the Philippines’ Annual Gross Domestic Product grew from 5.27 billion dollars in 1964 to 37.14 billion dollars in 1982, and Philippine GDP per capita more than quadrupled from 175.9 dollars in 1964 to 741.8 dollars in 1982, the second highest in Philippine history. Though it fell to 568.8 dollars in 1985. This despite many compounding factors, including extremely high global interest rates, severe global economic recession, and significant increase in global oil price, which affected all indebted countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Philippines was not exempted. All in all notwithstanding the 1984-1985 recessions, GDP per capita grew at an annual rate of 5.8 percent. Indeed, according to the U.S. based Heritage Foundation, the Philippines enjoyed its best economic development between 1972 and 1979. The economy grew despite two severe global oil crises in 1973 and 1979. World Bank data also show that Philippine Agriculture, crops (rice, corn, coconut, sugar), livestock and poultry, and fisheries grew at an average rate of 6.8, 3.1 and 4.5 percent, respectively from 1970 to 1980. During the Marcos’ “Green Revolution” and “Masagana 99” programs, the annual rice production in the Philippines increased from 3.68 to 7.72 million tons in two decades and made the Philippines a rice exporter for the first time in the 20th century. Mathematics do not lie. No other president before or after Marcos was able to achieve this.
The anti-Marcos accused the former president of stealing tens of billions of dollar from the government coffers during his rule. The reality of which no factual or physical evidence has been presented in any court except for intangible allegations. In fact, most of the cases filed against the Marcoses both here and abroad were already dismissed. Marcos himself was quoted as saying: “I have committed many sins in my life. But stealing money from the government, from the people, is not one of them.” How do we go about checking this?
Again let’s do the Math, or the logical estimates, at least. How much money is there really in the Philippine coffers during the Marcos administration? If we include the local and foreign funds, donations and debts, how much money was there available for Marcos? Now, let’s go to government expenditures, how much money do you think his government spent with all the infrastructures built during his time? Five of the eight major dams and 17 hydroelectric and geothermal power plants still fully functional today were constructed during the Marcos era.
In 1983, the Philippines became the second largest producer of geothermal power in the world with the commissioning of the Tongonan 1 and Palinpinon 1 plants. It is also worth mentioning that because of the focus of the Marcos government on renewable energy sources, the country’s dependency on hydrocarbon fuel was at its lowest from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
Aside from this, more than 90 percent of the bridges, more than 70 percent of the roads and highways, over 40 percent of the state colleges and universities still existing today throughout the country were built by the Marcos government. Not to mention the Light Railway Transit (LRT) system, sea and air ports, irrigation and flood control projects, water supply and drainage facilities, the Kidney, Heart, and Lung Centers, thousands of public markets, hospital and health facilities, arts and cultural buildings, etc. Marcos also spearheaded the development of 11 heavy industrialization projects including steel, petrochemical, cement, pulp and paper mill, and copper smelter. Add to that he Pilipinized major industrial companies previously owned by foreign congomerates.
Historians will one day ask: What would the Philippine Archipelago be without the Pan-Philippine Highway? What would Luzon be without the Candaba Viaduct, the North Luzon Expressway and the South Luzon Expressway? What would Visayas be without the San Juanico Bridge? What would Mindanao be without the Atugan Bridge?
During President Noynoy Aquino’s time, the entire archipelago suffered from drought and water shortage in an El Niño occurrence. The supply of water for irrigation in Bulacan and Rizal were cut-off just to maintain a reduced supply of drinking water for Metro Manila. Imagine if Angat, Ipo and La Mesa dams were not constructed during Marcos time. We would be exporting water from China, perhaps. On the other extreme, imagine if Magat and Pantabangan dams were not constructed. Northeastern and Central Luzon would turn into giant lakes during typhoon seasons. Imagine if the flood control system of Metro Manila was not rehabilitated during Marcos time. The inundation, destruction and damage after Typhoon Ondoy and the 2010 habagat onslaught would be more than tenfold. By the way, the Marcos government master plan of the flood control system for Metro Manila and surrounding suburbs was scrapped and construction discontinued during President Cory Aquino’s regime, simply because “it was a Marcos project.” No alternative plan was ever set in place. The same fate happened with the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which could have prevented the energy crisis of the 1990s and succeeding energy crisis that followed.
The 1986 revolt that ousted Marcos happened in the Ortigas intersection along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). But did you know that EDSA (known as Highway 54 and Avenida 19 de Junio during President Manuel Roxas’ time), the 23-kilometer long highway we know today, was paved, lengthened, modernized and concretized by the Marcos government?
How much do you think all the aforementioned projects cost? Add the social services, the salaries of government workforce (civilian, police and military), and the miscellaneous expenses of the national government. I wonder, was there anything left to steal? The bigger wonder that the yellow and pink trolls refused to accept is the possibility that Marcos didn’t steal a centavo but, on the contrary, forked out billions to finance and complete his administration’s massive infrastructure projects.
These are concrete evidences that stood the test of time even though much of the records and documents concerning these Marcos programs and projects were ordered purge, burn and destroyed during Cory’s regime.
How about the allegation of human rights abuses? While there are real victims, it can be argued that he was not directly involved. Most of the cases happened during the time when he was already perceived to be at ill-health. He was not the one signing the arrest warrants nor ordering the alleged torture, abduction or killing, and he was not at his full faculty during the time. According to Amnesty International, most of the human rights abuses emanated from the Philippine Constabulary controlled by then General Fidel V. Ramos, who later staged a coup against Marcos. With favors and influences coming from the Democrats bloc in the United States, he was installed as president of the Philippines after Cory Aquino.
The alleged human rights victims were said to number more than 120,000. That many? One might want to check the list. Were they all happened during Marcos’ time? And again, did he really order the arrest and torture, or was it Ramos and the Constabulary, a tactical maneuver offered by the C.I.A. to create chaos and add dissent by the people against the Marcos’ government? I’m very sure the list will shrink considerably upon close scrutiny.
Every administration has a share of its gruesome acts of human rights abuses. Has everyone forgotten the 1987 Mendiola Massacre? The Hacienda Luisita Massacre? How come no one, no command responsibility prosecution was made accountable for this grave killing of peasants? Let us not splash a stigma on Martial Law or on one administration alone.
As we remember Marcos’ undoing, we should also recall his one last act of statesmanship. At the height of the EDSA Revolt, General Fabian Ver was coaxing President Marcos to launch an all-out offensive against Ramos and Enrile, but he refused because many civilians will be caught in the crossfire. That part was seen on television, but not once was it replayed. Had Marcos agreed to Ver’s plan, the scenario would be like the Tiananmen Square carnage in China. Thousands would have perished. Colonel Irwin Ver, then head of Presidential Security Command (PSC), in an interview recalling his last days at Malacañang, remembered Marcos ordering him for “strategic withdrawal to Ilocos.” When he apprised the president that they still have the capability to defend the palace for a long time, the latter responded: “I don’t want us to be shooting at our own people. We must resolve this peacefully.” In the young Ver’s own account: “Here’s my president who many thought was a monster, his back forced against the wall, and though armed with tremendous firepower at his disposal, would not fight his way out, but clear in his mind that he would rather avoid it. At the point when the only option left was to defend the seat of presidency, he chose to leave. He would not fire back at those who were ready to shoot him down. At that moment, I felt deep in my heart that I have served the right commander-in-chief.” Marcos’ last act of ceding power rather than see the shedding of a Filipino’s blood is a noble legacy in itself.
Incidentally, some miswritten books and Internet blogs should be corrected: Marcos didn’t flee to Hawaii. He wanted to go to Paoay, Ilocos Norte, but he was “kidnapped” to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, before being taken to Hawaii, on the adamant insistence of Cory Aquino to U.S. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth that Marcos should be exiled outside of the Philippines immediately. There are documents, tapes and records to this effect.
Most Filipinos would know that Ferdinand E. Marcos as the tenth president of the Philippines who ruled for 20 or so years. Political information buff would know that he was once a Liberal Party member and the aide of former president Manuel A. Roxas; that he and Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino were best of friends then; that he became the Philippines’ youngest Senate President in 1963; that he joined the Nationalista Party and became its presidential nominee in 1965 after then incumbent president Diosdado Macapagal reneged an agreement that Marcos would be the next LP standard bearer; that he first became president in 1965 beating reelectionist Macapagal; and that he founded the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) in 1977. Trivia enthusiasts, on the other hand, would know that his favorite numbers are 7 and 11; that he garnered 98.8 percent in the 1939 Bar Examination, the highest score ever recorded; and he was the Philippine Free Press “Man of the Year” in 1965.
Did you also know that from 1972 to 1986, the Marcos Administration codified laws through 2,036 Presidential Decrees, an average of around 145 per year during the 14-year period? To put this into context, only 11, 12, and 14 laws were passed by the Aquino administration in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. Almost all of the laws passed during the term of Marcos remain relevant, still in force today, and are embedded in the country’s legal system.
Without going into lengthy arguments about his military medals, as there are those who claimed they were fake, two American presidents confirmed the awarding of those medals.
On August 8, 1985, President Marcos received a Soviet Medal of Valor “in recognition of his deeds and heroism against the forces of fascism and militarism” during World War II. And this is on record.
There are, however, many things yet probably unwritten about Marcos. Do you know for instance that his favorite color is white and red? White because, according to him, “is the essence of purity of mind, heart and spirit,” and red “represents courage and revolutionary thought.” Now you know why Marcos Loyalists wear red t-shirts.
Now let’s go on to heavier matters. Activists, radical, reactionary or otherwise, have been calling Marcos tuta ng Kano (American puppet), even until now. Let’s cite some instances which prove this wrong. On his first term as president, Marcos received a note from visiting U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson asking him to announce publicly that he should send Filipino combatants to Vietnam. Marcos folded the note, put it in a matchbox and throw it in the waste can. In his speech, he vehemently refused: “As long as I am president, I will not send armed combatants to Vietnam.” He sent an engineering battalion and a medical mission instead. President Johnson got mad and was quoted as saying “who does this McCoy think he is?” The western press picked-up on the slang “McCoy.” When Tagalized out came Marcos’ street sobriquet, Makoy.
Another casing point is the declaration of Martial Law, the act of which became sort of a phobia among its victims and his political nemeses and, up to now, is being used as a national stigma. We will not talk about the reasons for declaring Martial Law (as there are a lot of Internet sites where you can google them), but the act itself. Immediately after it was declared on September 1972, U.S. president Richard M. Nixon called on Marcos telling him to abort and that the U.S. government will not support this action. Marcos defied “Uncle Sam,” the first and perhaps the only Philippine leader, until President Rodrigo Duterte, to do so. Since then, his friendship with Nixon soured.
Martial Law, with all the ill-effects glued to it, was also instrumental in pushing for the much-needed economic and social reforms in the country. It stopped the lethargic bureaucracy of the Philippine Congress. “The powerful opponents of reforms were silenced and the organized opposition was also quilted. In the past, it took enormous wrangling and preliminary stage-managing of political forces before a piece of economic reform legislation could even pass through Congress. Now it was possible to have the needed changes undertaken through presidential decree.” This was aptly pointed out by University of the Philippines economics professor and former NEDA Director-General Dr. Gerardo Sicat.
President Duterte is being recently lambasted by rightist and oligarchic elements for having an independent foreign policy. That is, a foreign policy not solely, mendicantly, dependent on the U.S. He is, however, not the first president to do so. In 1975, then First Lady Imelda Marcos went to Cuba. She learned from Fidel Castro that “after 30 years, any lease agreement between sovereign nations concerning land occupancy becomes permanent, and may only be abrogated by mutual consent.” This was based on Cuba’s experience regarding the Guantanamo Naval Base. That is how the base inside Cuba became US property. Since sovereignty was absolute within the premises of the said base, and the lease agreement cannot be unilaterally terminated. Upon knowing this, she immediately told President Marcos knowing fully its parallel consequence on Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base.
The US military bases in the Philippines were established through the Parity Agreement in 1947, which also started the so-called “mendicant foreign policy.” Interesting to note that it was President Roxas who initiated this policy. Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel opposed it. President Roxas even made a public speech of loyalty (according to Recto, more like subserviency or sycophancy), “kissing the American anus,” at the Kelly Theater on April 15, 1948.
After the abolition of the 1935 Constitution, and the ratification of the 1973 constitution, subsequent amendments and provisions thereafter was made and the military bases became renegotiable every five years. This made it possible for the Philippine Senate under Jovito Salonga to vote for the removal of the bases in 1991. President Cory Aquino was for the status quo. In reality, it is Marcos that we should thank, for the removal of the US military bases. Senator Salonga, for his part, paid a dear price for disobeying President Aquino. He was voted out as Senate President and his financial backer in the business community withdrew their support for his presidential bid.
Aside from this, current brood of students of activism should also know that it was during the Martial Law era that Claro M. Recto’s dream of cutting the chain of “mendicant foreign policy” became a reality. On April 1972, President Marcos initiated the establishment of diplomatic relations with socialist countries of Asia and Europe, which led to progressive trade relations and cultural exchange programs. This in turn marked the end of the Philippines’ period of mendicant policy in foreign affairs and the beginning of a new era of self-reliance. Recalling history, Marcos went to China in June 1975, where Chairman Mao Zedong shook his hand and told him “You must lead the Third World.” The following year, he visited Moscow and established diplomatic ties with Russia.
We owe it all to Recto’s dream and Marcos’ act of defiance against the US. Perhaps, the foremost reason, more than the alleged charges of abuses he committed, why he was stabbed in the back by “Uncle Sam” and ousted from office.
Can Marcos be considered a revolutionary? Before many activists’ eyebrows start flying, let’s profile the man through his writings and principles. In his book The Democratic Revolution in the Philippines (1979), he wrote: “The Democratic Revolution is a rededication to the historical aspirations of the Filipino people, but it makes demands not only on the political authority itself but on the very foundation of that authority: the people,” and “The fundamental reason for building a new society involves the outstanding fact of our age: the rebellion of the poor. This is a rebellion over which the might of government can have no avail, for the poor are, in many ways, the people for which government exist.” It gets more intense in the succeeding book, An Ideology for Filipinos (1980): “What this (democratic) revolution requires is a political leadership that finds reason to institute radical reforms and, more important, has the courage to act on behalf of the people, and thus against the (oppressing) oligarchy, including its power brokers in the ranks of the intellectual elite.” He summed it up with his rallying cry: “Of what good is democracy if it is not for the poor?!”
One of the primary objective of Marcos establishing a “new” society is the “conquest of poverty.” Among the poorest poor and the most exploited in the Philippines are the peasant farmers. Land reform was the priority program of the Marcos presidency. But the fact is that before Martial Law was declared, the Philippine Congress was occupied mostly by landlords, oligarchs owning huge landed estates, and feudal vassals, and any and all attempts to pursue a genuine land reform program will not even reach first reading. Marcos had enough of this: “Our people have known enough of exploitation. It is time that our people shared equitably in the fruits of their labor and their land.”
On September 26, 1972, just five days after declaring Martial Law, Marcos decreed the entire country a land-reform area. A month later, he enacted the “Tenant Emancipation Decree.” It was put on paper with his own handwriting: “Decreeing the emancipation of tenant farmers from the bondage of the soil, transferring to them the ownership of the land they till, and providing the instruments and mechanism thereafter....” Marcos wrote it with his own hand because he felt it was both the pioneering and milestone program of his “New Society,” and to show his sincerity. For he knew then: “If land reform fails, then the entire program of the New Society fail.”
In the field of environmental concern, no other president made such radical and drastic move of abolishing the Philippines’ log exports. Upon seeing the studies made regarding Philippine forest, that the rate of falling trees was nearly a hectare per minute, Marcos issued a series of conservation decrees. In 1973, he directed the phasing-out of log exports and set January 1976 as the deadline for a complete stop. Under Martial Law, the once powerful logging concessions in the country could only whimper. Tree farming, on the other hand, was added as a “pioneer industry” in the investment incentive list of the Board of Investment. Marcos also enjoined the C.A.T. and R.O.T.C. cadets to participate in tree planting throughout the country. More than 10 million trees were planted and, by the early 1980s, areas near watershed were already reforested. Sadly, however, after Marcos was removed from power, the logging concessions returned and even the reforested areas were logged over bald.
Marcos initiated the development of the “Filipino Ideology.” This he did with the help of former activists and rebels, Nilo Tayag, Noni Villanueva, Horacio Morales, Dominador Arellano, to name a few. Tayag was the co-founder of the Kabataang Makabayan (KM), the forefront of youth and student activism during the first to the fourth quarter storms, and the idea and founding of the Kabataang Barangay (KB) undoubtedly sprouted from this concept. Instead of protesting on the streets against policies of government, why not be part of improving such policies; be part of building a “New Society.” Many other ideas deemed revolutionary like the movement for livelihood and development, Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (KKK), the pro-consumer market, Kadiwa, the Green Revolution, the Masagana 99, the Sariling Sikap, etc., were instituted by Marcos upon the advice of these former activists and rebels.
Marcos was a man bound by a visionary objective: “Our revolution’s mandate, indeed, is to render to our people the justice and the good life that are their birthright. Translating this broad mandate into principles and specific policies is the great mission of our time.”
All these reasons bottled up in the hearts and minds of the Pilipino people. For three decades they waited until another Marcos is ripe enough to carry the torch left by his fathers. Then the outpouring, the volunteerism, the solidarity, the courage, the vigilance, exploded in the May 9, 2022 Presidential Election. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr won by absolute majority, with a margin of votes bigger than his closest rival. History cannot be stopped in correcting itself. Destiny maybe fulfilled.....

But there’s a lot more to tell!
[Posted on Facebook on June 7, 2022. Most of the contents were taken from my earlier Blogspot posts]