Who Will Defend and Protect Our Rights? Who Will Fight for Us?

If we look at this administration, everything is like a well-crafted novel. It is like an expertly fashioned “tele-serye” or something. The plot is like this.

First, put everybody in. Let’s call it “Daang matuwid” (The straight path). Which then means, whoever is not within this “Daang matuwid,” whoever is “crooked” should be chopped off.

So what happens next? People bought his propaganda and Noynoy Aquino wins the presidency and a good number of senators and majority of the congressmen aligned to him. But then there is a problem. Many generals in the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) are not his. The ombudsman and the chief justice are not supportive of him. Majority of the senators are not really buying his ideas.

So, the next plot. Remove the generals who are not loyal to the chief executive. Remove the ombudsman who might not be ready to support and do whatever the president wants. And remove the chief justice. He is not useful. He will not help give this skilfully-crafted, thrilling novel a beautiful ending. And he succeeds. Some generals are now in prison. Others are now fugitives. The ombudsman stepped down before even an impeachment trial against her starts. And finally, the chief justice is overwhelmingly impeached by the only impeachment authority, the senate, sitting as an impeachment court.

 
And all this was done not only by the people within the “Daang matuwid” circle, but rather with the full participation of those who are supposed to be outside the club. But just as you think that they have become part of the whole thing, well, you are mistaken. They are still the crooked ones, right? They don’t follow the “Daang Matuwid”. So, what to do? Election 2013 comes. Spin them out. The election result is, 60, 30, 10 pattern. So a good number of the “crooked” ones are not falling down. They are still hanging on. But at least, they are now a minority. But they promised a good fight, even as a minority. So, if they managed to hang-on with elections. We know something better. Let us see if this time around you will still manage to hold-on.

 

And that’s were Janet Lim-Napoles comes in. Call it “PDAF, PORK BARREL” scam or whatever you call it. In any case, four “crooked” senators are now put on the line, Former senate president, now minority leader Juan Ponce Enrile, Sen. Bong Revilla, Sen. Gregorio Honassan, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. Apparently, there are two that will be named when the right time comes. Some of them have already washed their hands before even being implicated. I suspect these two will be senators Bongbong Marcos and Tito Sotto. Both of them “crooked” senators, so to speak. I suppose there will be a few others just to wash away all suspicions that they are skilfully manoeuvring everything. But they will just be pity crimes because the rest will be “kaalyado ng presidente” (allied to the president). So they will make sure that if anything, it will just be a kind of allegation that they can wash off very easily as erroneous report and no proof, baseless.

So that’s how the plot goes until now.

 

So, like watching a “tele-serye,” I would say…. “Tunghayan and susunod na kabata…” (Watch for the next episode)…

 

It is hard to imagine that a thing like this can happen to noble and honourable country like the Philippines. I’m not saying that none of those charged and convicted are not guilty. After all, if they are already convicted, then they are truly guilty in the eyes of the law. Furthermore, those who are currently charged like the then President Gloria Arroyo and many others of her colleagues as well as those senators and congressmen, if they are guilty then let them pay for the crimes they have committed against this great nation.

My question however, is, with all these people, politicians and non-politicians alike, who are not allied to the president being out of power, then “Who will now defend and protect our rights? Who will now fight for us up there?” Who will tell them this is wrong and that is not right if they are just mutually supporting each other from the Macañang down to the smallest barangay official? I say, nobody. Nobody because,

 

One. The House of Representatives has long been infested by people who don’t even want to think. They simply nod their heads and say yes to whatever the president wants. This was proven during the supposed to be impeachment of the Former Ombudsman Merceditas Guttierrez. The impeachment of the Chief Justice of the Philippines, the RH Bill, now RH law issue and many others. Again, I’m not saying that those charged were not guilty because they might have been or they might be. But the way it went so fast with hardly or no deliberation in congress at all, for me was a clear proof that those people are more than eager to jump at and do exact as the president says. I don’t know if most of them are even aware that they have the power to say no to the President if they so desire and with a reason.

 

Two. The Judiciary. In connivance with the “crooked” ones who might have thought that aligning themselves with the President on this matter was a great move, the then Chief Justice Renato C. Corona was out in no time. I think they were simply taken by the “trial by publicity” that this government staged just to easily sway them on the president’s favour. Little did they know that the former Chief Justice was conceived by the president as a threat to his power knowing exactly that he was utterly anti-Nonoy Aquino. Of course, right or wrong, we have to point to the fact that he was a mid-night appointee of the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. However, he was not impeached because of his being a mid-night appointee. He was instead convicted of lying to the nation by not honestly declaring his correct SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth), as if those who convicted him are very honest about it. But still, if he intentionally did what he was convicted about, then let him pay for his crime. 

Now, the Supreme Court is headed by the Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno. Such a nice name. And it’s good to note that she is the first woman chief justice of this country. However, looking at her voting records, the Gloria Arroyo thing, Hacienda Luisita, etc., which proves that she generally, votes in favour of the President and the president’s interests, should race some eyebrows. So, she is not there for nothing. And it was not for nothing that her predecessor was kicked out of power.

Three. The Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales? Well, she is not there for nothing either. Whether we like it or not she is just a “tuta” (a puppet) of the president. All her convictions are the opponents of the president. Except two or three of his allies that either she didn’t like at all or she simply couldn’t protect them anymore because of the damning evidence or evidences presented against them. She denies this reality, of course, but a fact remains a fact. By the way, we have to be compassionate with her. Because according to her, and this is happily and readily made public by the media, she received a “death threat”. In case one wants to believe her story.

Four. The Department of Justice. Or, should I call this the department of injustice? Mind you, when Justice Secretary Leila De Lima was the head of the CHR or Commission on Human Rights, I must say, she was really effective in helping people and in making sure that human rights are equally applied to all. And nothing the then President Gloria Arroyo and her allies did that for her was not right escaped her watchful eyes. But now that PNoy makes her the Secretary of Justice, well, honestly, I don’t find her just at all. Everything that President Aquino and his colleagues want or do for her is alright. No more question of human rights.

Five. The COA or Commission on Audits. What else do we need to say? We all have seen how The Commission on Audit (COA) chairperson  Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan allowed the commission to be used in favour of this administration. She might be right. But another “trial by publicity”, like the Corona event, will not be beneficial for this country. And yet, the commission is supposed to be totally independent.

Six. The CHR or the Commission on Human Rights. The current head of the CHR is Madam Etta Rosales. She is an active member of the “Akbayan party-list”. She also represented the said party-list from the 11^th to the 14^th congress. That is, from 1998 to 2007) when President Aquino made her the head of this said commission. The said group used to be an activists group and “rebelde” by nature. So they used to say. Now that they are completely allied with the president as a group, I wonder if this woman is really up to the task. So far, I have not seen anything reasonable she has done in connection with her task as head of the CHR. It seems to me that anything the president and his allies do or say is alright with her. It is a pity though, that such a commission do not have a real head, a good leader. No wonder why not a single extra-judicial killing in the country has been solved since she was appointed “head” of the commission. I wonder if anybody has really been charged with this matter, let alone convicted.

The “Akbayan” group that Mrs. Rosales used to represent in congress, was originally formed to fight for the poor and the powerless. Now they fight for the rich and the powerful, unfortunately including the president.

Seven. The PNP (Philippine National Police). The PNP has really been very inefficient from the very beginning. In most municipalities, cities and provinces in this country, the local or provincial PNP chief becomes like the head of security details of the governor or the mayor. And anything the head of the LGU (Local Government Unit) wants they do even if they know that it is illegal or not right. And anything they don’t want they readily obey because it is the governor or the mayor that says so. Otherwise, they will not get any extra bonuses or worse, they will be thrown into far and physically dangerous areas if no mayor accepts them.

By the way, we have to give honour to our PNP personnel, because they recently came out as the number one most corrupt government institution in the country. That’s according to the “latest Global Corruption Barometer of the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (cf.  http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/07/11/964084/pnp-most-corrupt-agency-survey ). This is a very sad and unfortunate reality for us because those people who are supposed to protect us are the ones we cannot and should not count on.
 

I must also mention that the PNP is headed by the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) Secretary Mar Roxas. Roxas is now dabbed as the apparent front runner of the 2016 presidential elections. No wonder why President Aquino personally turned-over Janet Lim-Napoles to the PNP when it was the NBI that was looking for her. It was a well calculated move designed to slowly save the name of the PNP and that of its head, Secretary Roxas and probably his eventual candidacy during 2016 presidential elections.

Eight. The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). Surely I will not be wrong if I say that every single wing of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is totally under the President’s control. They claim neutrality. But I doubt very much. With all the replacements and manoeuvring of personnel in the AFP in the span of one or two years by no less than the president himself, surely was not done for nothing. After all, he knows that the AFP can turn against him anytime like it did with his mother former President Corazon Aquino.

Nine. The BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). Of all people in the Cabinet of the President, the BIR Commissioner Kim Henares is supposed to be the most independent. But time and again, she allows herself to be used by the administration. She ran after several personalities not allied with the president. When the Janet Lim-Napoles event came up, she made a public statement that she will make investigations regarding Napoles’ tax records as well as those allied to her. So, who knows what else she can do for this administration. I’m not taking Napoles’ side because she might truly have pocketed Billions of Pesos from the PORK BARREL. However, I don’t think it was right for the BIR Commissioner to make IPAL at the most critical time. If she could have done that privately, she might have been more effective. After all, if her intention really was right, then I don’t see any reason to make it public before anything was done.

Ten. The Senate of the Republic of the Philippines. Now, with Sen. Frank Drilon as the new senate president and with most of the senators being allied with the President, I don’t know if anything truly good for this country can come out of this senate. I fear that from now on, most of the senators will just be another “tutas” (puppets) of the president. After all, you will never say anything against the president once you know that the moment you open your mouth against him, you are in deep trouble.

Eleven. The NBI (National Bureau of Investigation). The NBI has always been under the president’s power. It has never come up with anything truly independent. And now, with the apparent, resignation of the NBI Dir. Nunnatus Rojas, Aquino will just put another person that he can easily tell what to do and what not to do. But if the president will not accept his resignation, then, this just goes to say that he is just as useful to him as has always been.

Twelve. The National Media. In the Philippines, the media has always been deemed to be totally independent. It used to be. But is it still now? Well, media groups and personalities might not like this. But most of our national media that there is now is simply protective of the president beginning with the powerful ABS-CBN media group, Inquirer, GMA, TV5 and so forth. That is why whenever something that will likely implicate the president and his allies come out, the media covers it up so as not to be seen and known by the public. On top of that, whatever the president deems important and whatever his programs of government are, the media readily supports. And this kind of connivance is very unfortunate and dangerous because this means, no one will really tell us the truth from upstairs anymore.

I take for instance, what the media had been claiming time and again. The FOI bill. They know that the president is not at all supportive about this matter. But did the media really say something truly critical against Noynoy Aquino for not supporting this bill as he used to shout during the campaign period? Well, they say a little word here and there but they never insisted, not even a little bit. This is because they don’t want to put the president in the spot-light. After all, they are not behind him for nothing. They are one of his tools for better publicity.

Thirteen. Vice President Binay. What do you say about our VP? Well, from the time he became the Vice President, I have never heard Binay saying anything against the President. Anything the president says, he approves. And yet, he calls himself an opposition. I wonder what kind of opposition personality he is. Can you imagine, when the clamour from the people to abolish PORK BARREL came up, Binay was interviewed by one reporter, at that time, PNoy did not denounce the PORK BARREL yet. He said, “the PORK BARREL is needed for the country”. But when the President made a public statement reconsidering his position on the issue, he also said, he supports the President’s position on the matter. Mr. Binay, do you really stand for something or you are simply worried about your own popularity. I mean, how can an opposition leader be silent when he knows that all his “Kaalyados,” both in senate and in congress are under fire, by the very person and people he is opposing? I pity you Sen. Enrile and your colleagues, but you are alone in this struggle. You cannot count on Binay. On the other hand, if any of you are guilty of any crime against the people of this sovereign nation, then, you better pay for it.

So, if the crooks played the game of the president in their crookedness, well, the president proved to be more “crooked” than they are.

So, coming back to my question above, who will now truly protect the interests of the people and this entire nation? My dear Filipino people, we cannot count on anybody on top anymore. So if we want this country to be truly “matuwid,” we should not count on the president or anyone in power for that matter. Fighting against powerful and influential people might be hard. And, alone, we cannot do anything. But if we stay united for the common good, I think we can do something. Together, we can be a force to reckon with. And together we will win this battle against this people who are abusing our kindness. We have proven that during EDSA People’s Power I and II. We have proven that during the “Million People March.” And I think together, we can do something. So, we should be together, united when necessity arises and to produce  a better result for this great nation.