40th Founding Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)

40th Founding Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP): Celebrating Forty Years of Continuous Denial of A Better Way of Life for Every Filipino by Col. Daniel A. Lucero

As the Communist Party of the Philippines celebrates its 40th founding anniversary, it highlights as it always does, its propaganda that it is fighting to achieve an equitable society through a democratic political system for the Filipino Nation.

Just like any insurgent group, the CPP, with its armed component, the New People’s Army (NPA) and its mass base organizer, the National Democratic Front (NDF), continues to promise anything to advance its political cause without any obligation and responsibility to prove it. It still uses the usual deceptive measures such as lying, cheating and exaggerating hoping that these can undermine the government’s credibility and press forward its political and social ambitions.

A case in point of this observation is the recent condemnation against the Philippine Army’s 48th Infantry Battalion based in Aurora Province which is another clear media trick initiated by the NDF, and supported by the proposal of the Multi-Sectoral Action Group of Aurora submitted to the Commission of Human Rights for the closure of the battalion’s camps in Aurora.

It speaks well of the NDF’s influence over an unsuspecting non-government organization. The Philippine Army has been positively receptive of any criticism from the public hoping that this can improve the delivery of its sworn security contract with the Filipino Nation. However, any request for a pullout of an army’s encampment is seen rather as a move of a local terrorist group to get rid of a hindrance to the achievement of its political aims.

Today, Aurora Province is the only remaining CPP/NPA/NDF’s sanctuary in Central Luzon, after nine guerrilla fronts have been dismantled in this year alone. As an added setback, in September of this year, four NPA members namely; Carlos Hurial, Ton-Ton Mijares, Orlando Aimboyutan and Jessie Garcia decided to turn their backs against the terrorist group in Aurora and surrendered five firearms to the government forces. Carlos Mijares even killed four of his comrades when they tried to stop him from joining the cause of the government and even took two M-16 rifles when he fled.

The story mentioned above is just one of the many stories of failure of the CPP/NPA/NDF. The group has continuously denied every Filipino of achieving a better life. It has continuously ignored the fact that there are still citizens and groups in our nation which only support them because of fear and reprisal. The CPP/NPA/NDF then has nothing to celebrate. (The author is the Commander of the Civil-Military Operations Group, Philippine Army in Fort Andres Bonifacio, Makati City)

OPINION

Mandatory Implementation Of Alternative Fuel Should Start Now By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr

The unabated rising prices of crude oil and other petroleum products in the international market is now unbearable to the millions of Filipinos, rich and poor.

Its influential power of creating a chain reaction of higher prices in all prime commodities and manufactured goods in the market and stores are irresistible to businessmen who do not want to be left behind by their counterparts in business and escalate as well the prices of all their products.

With the spiraling increase in prices of all kinds of consumable goods, the poor and the rich alike are feeling the bitterness of coping with their daily needs. Those who have very low income Filipinos have forced themselves to refrain from buying other household needs, which decades ago were also affordable to them.

They reduced their consumption of some goods so that they can still buy something they need for the next two or three days. That’s why the entire Filipinos are suffering because of our overdependence on gasoline and crude oil. The Philippine government is spending millions and millions of pesos yearly on gasoline and other oil products for vehicles and factories.

Because of our current hardships and economic miseries our government must not remain callous and insensitive to act. Members of both the Lower an d the Upper House must muster their political will to hasten the approval of a House Bill aim at making mandatory for all operators and drivers nationwide to use the Compressed Natural Gas(CNG)to run the vehicles and factories.

The aforesaid HB was co-authored by House energy committee chairman Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga and Parañaque City Representative Eduardo Zialcita. With the immediate implementation of this economic measure, our country can do away with being overdependence on imported fossil fuels, which greatly contribute to the heavy pollution in our big cities and the environment.

When this goal would be realized, the Philippines can have a huge reduction on fuel expenditures and its unabated heavy pollution in big metropolis where all types of utilities and factories abound would be greatly reduced.

Since we have no vehicles and cars suitable for the utilization of Compressed Natural Gas, big financing institutions should come to rescue and help the government to buy the needed vehicles in places like the USA,Canada,India,China and in other countries where vehicles design for compressed natural gas fuel are being manufactured.

The Malampaya-Palawan oil and gas fields in the country must be mined now and tap other potential oil and gas fields in various places of our nation to sustain our fuel needs. On the other hand, our big capitalists who choose to be consignees in this kind of business should not be tempted in the near future to mix compressed natural gas with crude oil like we have in all gasoline stations throughout the country, called kerosene by other name.

The mixture of two elements, we’ve just mentioned, like we are buying at gas station, especially if there is a blackout, will surely result to additional pollution in all our areas.

The additional pollution due to crude oil mixture with the natural gas is very evident by the soots gathered inside our noses the night before when we resort to kerosene use as temporary substitute for the absence of electric power. Have you not observe that in your home, especially in the households of poor Filipinos?

In contrast, unadulterated natural gas, if there’s a detection of any soot, is so insignificantly negligible to consider as pollution. Some of emission of kerosene (a mixture of natural gas and crude oil) put inside the lamps would also pollute our rooms the following day, if you have observed that as well.

This means that if in the near future some tricky and hoarding businessmen would be tempted to do this deplorable thing, the pollution in our environment would re-emerged. Hence, there’s an urgent necessity to screen the attitude of businessmen/capitalists who would like to participate in the Government’s venture in this kind of undertaking where the issue on environment-friendly fuel is at stake.

Considering this probable prediction of the money-oriented rather than service-oriented attitude of some businessmen to rake huge profit in the name of mixture elements, the House Bill must include as one of its provisions prohibiting any capitalist/consignee to mix CNG with crude oil.

A monitoring task force must be created that would include as members the Energy Committee Chairman, energy official and some honest and prudent NGO environmentalists for the purpose of monitoring and regular checking of CNG’s natural content before dispensing the fuel for private and public use.

Those businessmen who would violate the law must be slapped with huge fine and imprisonment. We seriously need honest and prudent investors/capitalists in the strict application of such law in order to achieve our goal to greatly reduced our environmental pollution which make adults and children in this country suffer from illness and eventual death to countless of lives. According to reports pollution also causes chronic coughing in millions of children across the globe.

Other alternative fuel or energy that has been tapped to provide electricity and run vehicles is the solar energy. It has already been experimented and found to be feasibly usable and suitably applicable in running vehicles and providing electricity in numerous households in the country. It’s a free source of limitless energy and is non-polllutant: one of the greatest gifts from Mother Nature that remain untapped for centuries by man.

The emergence of Great Minds in the field of Science and Technology are responsible for a huge leap in inventions and discoveries that have provided man his amenities including some of his needs in life more obtainable than before. We can also use electricity to run jeepneys and buses, which is also pollution-free.

Makati’s current use of electric jeepneys plying in various areas of the city, which is much lesser in fuel expenses for the drivers and operators compared to gasoline and crude oil, is very encouraging and worthy of emulation for other cities and provinces.
The experiments that our scientists, technical men and the experts have been doing are enough proof that the Philippine Government has the capability and the capacity to relentlessly pursue on these projects. A huge budget proportionate enough for its continual implementation must be made now for its effective realization.

The two alternative source of fuel and energy that we are discussing are sure ways that will eventually release us from our overdependence on gasoline and crude oil which is now very prohibitive to obtain.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr./Maasin City,Southern Leyte)

Konspirasi, Propaganda At Iba Pa Sa Batasan Bombing: Editoryal

Matindi ang mga ebidensyang nakuha ng pulisya at militar sa bahay sa Payatas, Quezon City na ginamit bilang hideout ng mga umano’y miyembro ng Abu Sayyaf na posibleng may kinalaman sa pambobomba sa Batasan Pambansa na ikinamatay ni Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar at driver nito, gayun rin ang dalawang iba pang congressional aides.

Isa sa napatay ay dating driver umano ni ex-Basilan Rep. Abdulgani Salapuddin na kilalang katungali ni Akbar sa pulitika sa kanilang lalawigan. Mariing itinanggi naman ni Salapuddin ang mga alegsasyong may kinalaman ito sa pagsabog o pagpatay kay Ustadz Akbar na dating commander ng Moro National Liberation Front, katulad rin ni Salapuddin.

Inaasahang magiging madugo ang halalan sa 2010 dahil sa naganap na pagpatay kay Akbar. Nagpahayag na rin ang Commission on Election na magpapatawag ito ng special elections sa Basilan dahil sa pagkawala ni Akbar.

Si Jum Akbar, na isa sa apat na asawa ng napatay na mambabatas ay siyang gobernador ng Basilan. Ang isa pang asawa na si Cherry Lyn Akbar ay alkalde naman ng Isabela City sa naturang lalawigan.

Mataas ang tensyon ngayon sa Basilan dahil maiinit pa ang mga tagasunod ni Akbar at inaasahang magkakaroon ng gantihan, partikular sa pamilya ng mga napatay na tatlong Muslim at tatlo pang iba na nadakip sa Payatas.

Sinabi na rin ng pulisya na si Akbar ang target ng pambobomba.

Isang motorsiklo na ipinarada sa south entrance ng Batasan Pambansa ang kinabitan ng bomba at saka ito pinasabog ng makalapit si Akbar sa kanyang sasakyan.

Talaga umanong may konspirasi sa pambobomba dahil ang CCTV ng south entrance ay ibinaling sa lugar mula sa orihinal nitong posisyon ng sa gayon ay hindi makita ang nag-iwan ng motorsiklo. Nakapagtataka rin na walang guwardiya sa lugar ng pinagsabugan.

Ilang saksi naman ang nagsabing nakita nila ang dalawang lalaking may suot ng itim na jacket at may marking House of Representatives na papalayo sa south entrance sakay ng isang motorsiklo at isa sa kanila ay nakasuot pa ng crash helmet. Ganito rin ang nasamsam ng mga pulis at sundalo sa hideout ng Abu Sayyaf sa Payatas.

Subalit sa kabila ng lahat ay pilit pa rin na iginigiit ng militanteng Gabriela party-list na target ng pagsabog ay si Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan, isa sa mga sugatan sa pambobomba. Nasawi rin ang driver nito sa pagsabog.

Paniwala ni Ilagan na siya nga ang tunay na target at hindi si Akbar. Ito rin ang isinisigaw ng Gabriela. Hindi lamang Gabriela dahil maging si House Speaker Jose de Venecia ay sinisabing target ang mga mambabatas sa pagsabog upang takutin ang mga ito sa anumang isinasalang na batas at imbestigasyon na posibleng may kinalaman kay President Arroyo.

Malinaw na propaganda ang habol ng Gabriela at ni De Venecia at gayun rin ang ibang nagsasabing sila ang target o pananakot sa mambabatas ang terorismong naganap sa Batasan Pambansa.

OPINION

Marianeth’s Fate - A Crude Wake-Up Call By Lala Fanagel

Eleven-year olds used to just play “Chinese garters” or “patintero” on the street, otherwise, they are at home doing their homework, watching TV, or simply doing what a normal 11-year old should be doing.

But Marianeth did not live a normal life. Hers was a life of poverty much too burdensome for her young mind and heart to take. Sadly, millions of children in the country are suffering from the same impoverished life that Marianeth have forsaken.

Many like her are victims of the rotten system made worst by the corrupt and immoral leadership in the country. In the city streets alone, one would find children as young as three begging for alms, while the older kids would be sniffing rugby, and some girls as young as nine are forced into prostitution.

In the countryside, children die every day due to supposedly curable diseases, extreme poverty or by man-made calamities. Though we regret that Marianeth’s case is not isolated at all; acceptance of such reality is a must if we wish to decisively fight the root causes that led to such a pitiful end.

Marianeth’s death is a crude wake- up call; a strong statement about the harsh poverty that the present generation of children are facing, a grim warning that the coming generations are to face a much worst plight.

May Marianeth’s death awaken a social consciousness for the continued advancement of the fight for a free, peaceful and just society for all children. A crucial part of this fight is to accept the truth which the government cowardly shuns.

May Marianeth’s ungranted wishes urge us to determinedly weed out the poverty that is caused because of the institutionalized exploitation of the poor by the moneyed and the powerful. Our grief and sympathies go to the bereaved family and to all the children who are victims of a socio-political system that deprives children of the basic rights to a healthy and peaceful life.

Justice to all children who are made impoverished due to the corrupt and insatiably greedy that monopolizes our country’s wealth.(PASAKA/Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao)

OPINION

DATA FROM BELOW: RATED PG By Ike Seneres

I was still surprised when I was disenfranchised from voting in the recent election, despite having voted in my usual precinct all these years. As I was told, the COMELEC did a “shaving” procedure (that’s the term that they used), moving some voters to other precincts. I could not see the logic of it, because all my relatives who live in the same neighborhood as mine stayed in the same precinct, including my wife. Whoever did the “shaving” did not seem to realize that logically, spouses should vote in the same precinct.

I do not know how many others were similarly disenfranchised, but it is very clear that the poll body failed in its duty to build and maintain its databases, diligently and properly, that is. No matter how high tech a computer system is, the final reckoning is still in the buildup of the content, because it is the quality of the content that measures the maturity of the data keepers, not the luster of the machines.

As a guest political analyst of UNTV, I was asked about the significance of that election. I said that since the barangay is supposed to be the smallest unit of governance, it should be the milieu where the delivery of public services are objectively planned, delivered, monitored and measured, in terms of data that should feed the municipal, provincial, regional and national databases, assuming that these are diligently built and maintained.

If the government really wants to report truthful and accurate data at the national level, it should gather the data from below, because the aggregate data should only be a sum of its parts. This rule should apply not only to the reporting of the crime rate, the poverty rate and the unemployment rate, but also to the reporting of deliverables in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the later being an international commitment.

If the government is not basing its reports on data that is coming from below, where is it getting the information that it brings out? Information is nothing but processed data, and there is no other way of producing it.

For more information about public governance, email: iseneres@yahoo.com

OPINION

Rated PG By Ike Seneres

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT

It is interesting to note that even the American companies that are doing business here in the Philippines are bound by their own laws to comply with Equal Opportunity Employment (EOE). America is several thousand miles away, but the power of their laws reach all the way up to here. In contrast, we do not seem to have EOE laws of our own, and if we do, nobody seems to be minding it.

In my work as Chairman of the Inter-Charity Network (ICN), I am always confronted with the challenge of finding jobs for people who are above 30. That’s right, 30 is not really old, but in this country, workers who are above the “calendar days” are already considered “old”, and therefore above the so called “age limits” here.

Again in contrast, even the local employment agencies that are recruiting for American clients from over here do not impose “age limits”, knowing that it is against American laws. The same is true for those that are recruiting for Canadian companies, indicating that these two countries are far more advanced in their respect for equal opportunity.

Imagine that if workers in their 30’s are already discriminated against, how much more for our senior citizens who are past their 60’s? The truth is, senior citizens are not the only ones discriminated against in this country, because the list also includes handicapped persons, cultural minorities and even women, yes women!

In the darkness of these very discriminatory practices, I have seen the light of day in the now booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industries. I think there is a lot of potential in having outsourced services provided by these marginalized sectors, in cooperation with companies that are committed to the fulfillment of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives. Right now, I have a group of handicapped people who are ready to take on jobs as encoders, after being trained by a foreign foundation. Do we have any takers out there from the CSR programs?

For more information about public governance, email: iseneres@yahoo.com

OPINION

Abused Democracy By Karib J. Muhalli

The Congress should now focus to reforming the government, more than the talks on the ZTE broadband deal scam principally implicating President Arroyo and the First Gentleman in the kickback; the administration proposed 2012 Charter Change road map apparently instigating the Malacañang bribe some congressmen with stashes of cash gifts for their majority supports of the proposal; the ousted President Estrada withdrawal of motion for reconsideration of his plunder case before the Sandiganbayan unconditionally seeking presidential pardon; and the Glorietta Mall explosions, and related incidents that may usually erupt obviously aggravating or diverting the coupled controversies that rocked the Arroyo administration and the country.

If there is a move to urgently reform public office/s, it should be the Commission on Elections (Comelec), one of the main pillars of Democracy — thus, abusing the Comelec is abusing the Democracy, they say. This is if the government are decisive in overhauling our electoral system, the most troubled office under the executive branch. This is if they are to avoid the repeat of the like of the “Hello Garci” polls scam involving Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Elections Director Virgilio “Garci” Garcillano allegedly rigged the election retruns in the 2004 Presidential Polls in favor of her over close rival Fernando Poe Jr, now deceased (may he rest in peace).

To reckon, few months prior to elections in 2004, incumbent President Arroyo issued Garcillano ad interim appointment as Comelec director in Northern Mindanao. The issuance of appointment was done while the Congress was on recess or vacation, so, said appointment bypassed the scrutiny of the Senate-Congress Committee on Appointment (CoA). Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and former Rep. Didagen Dilangalen of Maguindanao, along with few of their colleagues, questioned said appointment, nagging that Garcillano’s shady past having been taunted as votes manipulator in Mindanao in the previous elections in 1992 and 1998; hence, Garcillano is unfit to hold again electoral post. Their inquiry, however, was to no avail.

The lawmakers should revise and amend at all costs the Wire Tapping Law that the use of the high-tech cellular phones with built-in camcorders or video cameras and similar electronic devices should be legalized if only to spy the political activities of politicians, candidates or political wannabes. The duration of nationwide surveillance works should be set at the start of campaign sorties until the conduct and canvass of elections to eradicate poll frauds, election-related violence, political killing, and jail the violator thereof.

To effectively implement this law and for transparency and accountability, however, there should be created non-partisan body, election watchdog composed of persons preferably of unquestionable integrity and personality duly authorized and tasked to constitute the espionage operations and inspections especially in the canvassing centers or the Comelec offices. Such electronic means and the wire-tapped or photographed election-related violations and crimes should be exclusively used as strong evidence before the proper court in this special case, as long they are obtained by operatives of the election watchdog.

Early this year, the Congress already passed the election reform law, which is more on the proposed implementation of modernization of vote counting and canvassing starting 2010 National Elections, and the strict penalization of crime upon any one violating the law.

Now the Comelec under acting Chair Resurrection Borra is readying to file charges against Lintang Bedol, elections supervisor for Maguindanao. Bedol is alleged of votes compromise for the Administration’s senatorial candidates in 2006 national and local elections. Bedol is allegedly instrumental in Miguel Zubiri’s winning for the 12th senatorial slot after the re-canvassing of ballots although in the preliminary canvassing it was Luis “Chavit” Singson led the votes in Maguindanao.

Both Zubiri and Singson were running for senator under the Administration’s Team Unity, a party that had made public announcement for the first time of proliferating Command Votes (a coerced or paid votes or votes obtained by hook or by crook). In fact, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales and Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan even campaigned to give P10 thousand and P100 thousand, respectively, to local leaders who could deliver a sweep of 12-0 vote for TU’s senatorial lineup.

Their poll scheme, allegedly to buy voter's suffrage, overwhelmingly worked only in Maguindanao, a home province of the ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, Chavit’s real buddy. But to bring Bedol to justice is not enough. While we appreciate such initiative, we are appalled to think that those of his accomplice or occasional bosses are moving scott-free and lurking in out there. Toughest and untouchable. They’re used to giving bribery and bonanzas as part of their gimmicks to reign forever in politics. They can buy-off or pressure witnesses to recant testimonies against them (political Mafias) in court.

Worse, having mastered the loopholes of the law, they keep on abusing it (law) for their own advantages. Awful. Our law seems not working in penalizing the Big Fish in the country. Their influence is above the law, thereby making our law in part ineffective, of course with the exception of the Pres. Joseph Estrada’s mere plunder case. Estrada— after being f----d up [Judased] by his best gambling pal-turned-worst political foe Chavit, backed by the same Big Fish, Estrada’s political rivals— has been started serving his sentence.

Still a lot of personalities including Church leaders are also receiving Jueteng or gambling kickbacks, but Erap is singled out here. Of the Juan de la Cruz, a symbolic name to describe poor Filipinos — there’re lots of Juans and Juanas within us willing to accept even petty gifts. Perhaps out of abject poverty where they have been languishing in, they are desperately resorted to receiving bribery from politicians.

It is a common practice especially during campaign period to elections day in the Philippines. Vote-buyers and –sellers, flying voters and politicians alike, like hopping buzzing moths, are scampering around and flocking for money and promises of landslide votes. Trails of bribery go on up to the Comelec doors and Malacañang Palace. Sometime it takes more days, weeks and months to finish canvassing of ballots, and proclaim the winners later if not earlier. How cunning is the network of this same Administration Party in maneuvering events ranging from the switching of election results to the evading of impeachment attempts logged by the opposition camp.

See. We are even smudged a country of having longest period in counting votes. Shameful and shocking but we must simply accept the reality— that this oddity also adds to the country’s already bad records: the most corrupt country in the world, and second only to Iraq in term of greater numbers of killings of leftists, journalists and political opponents. Can we then expect reform for our government starting from the highest down to the lowest echelon in our society? We cannot for it is hard to reform Apo Trapos (traditional politicos), our mortal Gods up there dominating in the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial Bodies.

Critics say the Abu Sayyaf Group is the creation of the C.I.A. in coordination with the Philippine's toughest thugs, a network of few personalities among the AFP top officials, businessmen and politicians, to carry out sabotage mission in Muslim-dominated places in Mindanao particularly in Sulu, the center of economic-political conspiracy in the country. It seemed that they have intensified their operation and fiddled on sabotaging peace and business deals and other development in the archipelagic Sulu, an internationally known province for its vast deposits of mineral resources such as offshore raw oil or deuterium reserves in Sulu deepest sea.

Their clandestine plan is to keep on depriving the Moros— whose forbears religiously and patriotically defended from the very start this Morolandia, now Philippines— from the waves of foreign aggressors: Spain, Japan and America. Nevertheless, barely a numbers of the local Abu Sayyaf recruits, who are not embed themselves in criminal activities of kidnapping and beheading of the innocent and helpless captives, will be turning out the "newly self-proclaimed heroes", analysts warned.

The emerging of ASG was significantly started in 1995, during the mid-incumbency of the Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos—an Amboy— who obtained his military career at West Point, U.S.A. Hitherto, the doppelgangers of imperial America and sycophant Philippine governments are doubling efforts to sophisticate their ploy to establish US-bases in Sulu Sea, before China will hold domination of the region, as independent muckrakers speculated.

And this will temporarily work by orchestrating again similar notorious 911 Holocaust, but this time perhaps in the sea to blast luxury ship of the Asian Liner cruising across the Asia Pacific polygon as the U.S.'s justification to meddle in the region's affairs, and, as usual, to vigorously implicate the ASG along with the Jemaah Islamiya, Al-qaeda terror network of ex-CIA Osama bin Laden operating in Asia the culprit.

Dubya's war doctrine is to "eradicate terrorism" as new war of the century having toppled Communism of the stronger Russia. Obviously this time is singling out Islam —the fair religion that pioneered civilization with modesty— being regarded the only remaining strongest power critical of Democracy.

Vent on pursuing the ultimate mission: Global Re-positioning and Crusade Against Islam as their New World Order and over-confident with their highly advance weapons, they believe to win this stupid war in a snap over Islam; nay they are but edging to premature Armageddon-- a curse to their own doings.

How could the bond of dudes in this ephemeral world crush Islam— a universal religion-- which forces and protectors include angels and the elements of matter: water, air, soil and fire? Unless they deny salient Islamic history and Qur'anic verses regarding the Islamic defensive wars, they will surely be doomed to fiasco, Allah wills.

OPINION

"SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT" RATED PG By Ike Señeres

How could local government units sustain their solid waste management programs? A garbage crisis now looms over Metro Manila after Rizal Province Governor Casimiro Ynares III declared that the newly opened dumpsite in Rodriguez, Rizal is exclusive only for the use of his province.

I hate to sound off tangent, but in this time and age, dumpsites should be banned already because it is a dead end method, because there could never be enough dumpsites that could serve the needs of all localities in the long run.

Sanitary landfills in the real sense of the word are the logical alternatives, but realistically speaking, we seem to be too far from building a real compliant one, based on internationally accepted standards. Just the same, I do not think that there would be enough landfills that could serve the needs of all our localities in the long run.

Believe it or not, there is a more sustainable method that could work in the long run, and it is not even high tech. The Municipality of Los Banos in Laguna has successfully built a materials recovery facility (MRF) that has completely eliminated the need for dumpsites, and of course, landfills too. The secret is to give market value to the recoverable materials and as a result, I am told that local residents are now fighting over the ownership of the garbage in their midst.

Using the MRF as the core method, I worked with the Los Banos team to develop a more comprehensive approach, adding some elements that were missing in the original pilot project. The new approach now includes solutions to the problem of disposing diapers, an element that was missing in that pilot. It also includes ways to dispose kitchen waste, another element that was missing earlier.

As an added advantage, the new approach now includes the production of feeds and fertilizers, to add to the market value of produced outputs. Using the new approach, we could truly claim that we could achieve “Zero Waste”, an ideal that was just a slogan until now. (For more information about public governance, email iseneres@yahoo.com)

OPINION

Save Malacañang by Karib J. Muhalli

To implicate the administration Arroyo in the ZTE deal payoff is hardly to come about.This is what the administration camp may think right now.

But the Administration is not there to wash hand off the recent crisis with Atty. Benjamin Abalos, then chief of the national polls body under the Executive Branch, being the primary representative of the country party to the contract with the Chinese ZTE Corp. on the National Broadband Network project.

And the mention of the name and involvement of the First Gentleman in the ZTE contract is something sounds Malacañang is behind the controversy. Yes, the synchronized events of resignation of Abalos from Comelec post and the termination of President Gloria Macapgal-Arroyo of the contract with ZTE will not deter the Senate from conducting the Senate inquiry of the issues.

Like Hello Garci scam on alleged polls rig involving President Arroyo, this controversy will just end up nothing but a waste of times and money of the taxpayers, our money. Our Laws is not inutile per se.

The majority lawmakers, the sycophant lawyers, the wealthy tycoons and the influential personalities are always there tend to divert the laws to their side. Worse, these thugs even make the courts their proper places for them to show and express their art of lie and the art of truth. And their work of wickedness is recurrent.

Ours is a nation of curse with unstoppable and rampant graft and corruption, a personality syndromes that only Angel of Death can reform, which means when they’re all dead.

OPINION

BANTAY GOBYERNO by Ike Señeres


BAKIT TUMAAS ANG PRESYO NG KURYENTE?”

BANTAY GOBYERNO: Presyo ng kuryente tumaas na naman. Ano ginagawa ng mga kinatawan ng gobyerno sa Meralco? PLS PASS.

Tuwing tumataas ang presyo ng kuryente, bakit wala tayong naririnig sa mga kinatawan ng gobyerno sa Meralco? Ano ang ginagawa nila?

Sila ba ay kinatawan ng mga tao o kinatawan sila ng mga Lopez?
Dapat man lang, marinig natin kung ano ang kanilang ginawa upang tutulan ang pagtaas. Sila ba ay basta basta na lang na sumang-ayon? Hindi man lang ba nila nilabanan ang pagtaas?

Magkano ang dahilan?

Bakit bigla na lang tumaas ang presyo ng kuryente na wala man lang tayong naririnig? Wala ba itong mga hearing na maaari nating salihan?

Kung hindi kaya ng mga kinatawan ng gobyerno na ipagtanggol ang ating interest sa board ng Meralco, seguro dapat na silang palitan!
Madalas sabihin ng gobyerno na hinahanda na nila ang mga alternative sources of energy, ngunit kailan pa natin matitikman ito sa pamamagitan ng pagbaba ng presyo ng kuryente?

Hindi ba alam ng ating gobyerno na pinakamahal ang presyo ng kuryente dito sa Pilipinas kumpara sa ibang bansa? Dedma lang ba sila sa katotohanang ito at wala silang ginagawa?

Dahil sa taas ng presyo ng kuryente, maraming mga investor ang umaatras sa Pilipinas, kaya nawawalan din tayo ng maraming trabaho.
Kailan pa kaya magmumura ang kuryente upang magamit na natin ito sa pagluto ng pagkain? Kaya kaya palitan ng kuryente ang LPG?

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OPINION

RATED PG by Ike Señeres


GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS.

How could government agencies communicate securely, economically and efficiently with each other? This appears to be the three main government considerations in communicating with each other, to make it secure, economical and efficient.

As it is now, very few agencies seem to be concerned about their data security, as evidenced by the fact that only a few agencies have their own proprietary encryption. Truth to tell, encryption is the way to secure both data and communications, regardless of how and where messages are sent. Logically speaking therefore, government agencies should invest more in encryption rather than in the bandwidth where messages are transmitted.

Long before Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) became popular in the public mind, the Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology was already available, with no government agency taking advantage of it. To this day, VPN is still available, and still no government agency is using it.

Simply put, VPN enables users to have their own secure network within any other network, commercial or otherwise. To be more specific, users could have their own VPNs within the networks of Smart, Globe, Sun Cellular, BayanTel and PLDT, and it would work securely, as if they have their own.

On the side of economy, users could run VoIP within a VPN, thus eliminating the need to spend for commercial calls within the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS). This is another issue, as the carriers may not like the idea of reducing their POTS revenues. Practically speaking however, the costs of National Direct Dialing (NDD) long distance costs within the POTS has already gone down to ten pesos for unlimited calls, thus making it very economical already.

Considering all the telecom options that are already available, the government should instead come up with a policy that would guide employees which options should be used to save money the best way.

OPINION

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OPINION

Respect Our Religion By Amirah Ali Lidasan

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro should listen to UN Rapporteur on Racism about the danger of Islamophobia.

I wish that the UN report delivered by Doudou Diene, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism, will strike at the heart of Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro who announced earlier gave signal to the military to continue their offensives despite of the Ramadhan.

In his speech at the UN Human Rights Council this month, the UN Rapporteur commented that media and political leaders in Europe ‘were equating Islam with violence and terrorism’ and some were even seeking to ‘silence religious practices.’

It is so insensitive of the defense secretary not to think about the plight of the Moro people and not to respect our religion and culture. If military operation would push through, it would be difficult for some Muslims to fully observe fasting, as military operation would mean displacement of people, a very strenuous activity for a person who is supposed to refuse food and water the whole day. Not to mention the tension brought about by constant reminder that war is at hand and that a day or so a bomb would fall in their communities or hit people.

More than 24,000 residents of Basilan and Sulu have been displaced because of the military operation directed against Abu Sayyaf men who were accused of beheading ten elements of the Philippine Marines on July 10, 2007.

In the past, the military operations always involve the displacement of families and individuals, sometimes the whole population of one village. Displacement would mean, families expecting their crops to be harvested will find it difficult to come back to their communities, or they risk being hit by shrapnel of bombs. That’s precisely what happened to Sarah Lumandog, a mother of ten-month old baby who was hit on the leg on August --- while trying to harvest her crops in Ulangkaya Pukan town in Basilan, the site where the marines were supposed to find the presence of the Abu Sayyaf.

A Muslim in fasting has to have his or her community with him or her. It is not just about fasting for the whole day but also a community gathering in the evening and a gathering for congregational prayers in the evening until dawn.

Moros in Manila and elsewhere in the Philippines even go home to their provinces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao just so they could be with their families on September 12, the first evening before the day of fasting, the day that we Muslims cleanse ourselves and pray for our intention to fast for the month of Ramadhan.

Fasting is supposed to cleanse oneself of impure thoughts. Imagine what all the Moro integrees of the Philippine Army are thinking when they are ordered to attack their fellow Moro communities while in fasting? I wonder if Secretary Teodoro and AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon would issue the same war directives during Christmas time.
In the Philippines, it is easy to use the Abu Sayyaf menace and terrorism to mask religious intolerance of some political leaders of our country when it is very clear that most of the anti-terror policies have affected the Muslim’s observance of Islam.

It is still fresh in our minds how the military bombarded a mosque and the houses in Buliok and Pikit in North Cotabato during the Eid’l Adha on February 11 in 2003 as a way to flush out the the Moro Islamic Liberation Front whom then defense secretary Angelo Reyes accused as terrorists. And the eating of roasted in pigs inside a mosque in then Camp Abubakar during a military operation in May 2000 which was supposedly participated in by no less than former President Joseph Estrada.

Our fellow Filipinos are becoming wary of our Mosques and madrasahs (madaris) which are being tagged as terrorist training camps with their ustadz (asatadiz) being accused as terrorists. It is unfair that with the warrant of arrest issued to catch those who beheaded the ten marines, the 15 ustadz who were included could not come forward and clear their names.

It is unfair for Ustadz Tuan Yang in Talipao, Sulu whose face was put in place of the real Abu Sayyaf leader Yasser Igasan in a booklet released by the US troops.

I do hope that Secretary Teodoro and the AFP would give the Moro people a pause in the military operation, even for the duration of Ramadhan. This would mean a lot for our Muslim brothers and sisters, that for a time we were seen first as Muslims than as terrorists here in our country.

Ramadhan Kareem and Ramadhan Mubarak to all!

OPINION

Sleepless In Basilan: A Postscript by Antonio Manaytay


ISABELA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 27 Aug)- Expecting for bangs and booms upon my return to Basilan province after more than ten years of absence, I was in for a big surprise.

The same warmth of welcome from people at the port you don’t even know by name and the impish smile from children as you pass them by. No rolling cannons to rock you up from being mesmerized and endlessly marveling the beautiful seascape that divide Zamboanga Hermosa and Basilan.

A life of a monk is not impossible in a place like Basilan where the decision either to stay in your rented room or to go out for a night of light moments is not a matter of choice. It is an imposed option. But as I insisted to go strolling the dimly-lighted streets of Isabela, I found it comforting far apart from what I have heard about the place from media reports. In fairness, walking through the nearly empty streets of the capital city is as safe as walking in the streets of Davao and Dumaguete.

The same old Isabela greeted me with rustic buildings lining up the streets. Of course, except for Jolibee-Basilan that stood like an anomalous creature in a landscape filled up with squalor. Although I heard that Basilenos take pride of the “happy-Bee” in their backyard despite of noticeably high-priced menu compared to their mainland counterparts.

I guess one has to learn to count one’s blessings when in the island and discover the value of patience while surfing the internet super-highway at a local internet café in a speed of a bicycle. It seems like years to wait for the website to display its contents. Thanks to some enterprising people like Jamju Rivera, the executive director of the Basilan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a friend who ventured into net-café business.

The grounds beneath the rubber trees were no longer littered with dry leaves as “wintering” was over. Wintering is a period when rubber trees shed off their old leaves to give way to new ones. It is during this time where the harvest of rubber latex is at its lowest.

In my mind, despite of the fast-paced development in other places, I am still returning to the same old Basilan. Very Basilan as I used to say.

Considered as one of the less populated with more than 300,000 multi-ethnic population, Basilan is teeming with natural resources, business and employment opportunities. The island province, in fact, is one case of a company province with most of its population deriving their income as employed agricultural workers.

I don’t know though if the change of ownerships of the major agricultural plantations from Menzi in Isabela, Enrile in Tipo-tipo, UP Land Grant in Lamitan, Sime Darby in Tumahubong, and Firestone in Sumisip to the farm-workers who benefited from the implementation of the agrarian reform way back in the ‘90s really made wonders to the economic life of the poor.

There was a promise of a better life when the farm-workers won their battle in demanding the inclusion to agrarian reform of the plantations owned by capitalists from Manila and multi-national corporations. Judging how things are in the island province, I am afraid that the promise of a better life remains a promise.

What is glaringly obvious, however, is the change in the political landscape of the province. The Tugungs and Salapuddins are no longer in political power. Even the Biels in Isabela City are no longer a political force, at least for the moment. The island province’s politics is practically under one family --- the Akbars. Except for Lamitan, Congressman Wahab Akbar and his family lorded over the local politics. This alone speaks a lot about the province more than any commentaries and reports can do.

Perhaps, a lot have changed over time since my last stay in Basilan more than a decade ago. I was working then for the special agrarian reform desk of the National Federation of Labor as my rite of passage into community organizing work in the exotic yet dangerous places like Sampinit Complex near Sumisip and Tipo-tipo.

The fundamentals, however, remain the same to say the least. Despite of the government efforts to make Basilan appear to be progressing with few artificial face-lifts in the form of limited infrastructure development, the quality of life of most Basilenos is wanting. No need for statistical prints from the government to show how little progress did set in the island province. A walk into the streets of Isabela or Lamitan, and a visual tour of the island will give you the sense that life is not easy for Basilenos.

Ironically, under other circumstances Basilan could have been one of those idyllic tropical islands with its amiable stretch of coastal lines and fine beaches. But this little speck in the Sulu Sea becomes a place of hardship and misery for most of its people. It ranks among the poorest provinces of the country where only one in every four families has access to health facilities and safe drinking water.

This irony is perhaps best exemplified by the peace memorabilia at the entrance of Basilan Prelature's Bishop Querexeta Formation Center. I found it very queer to have the jeep which the victims, who were all church workers, used on the day they were ambushed on their way to the Formation Center years ago as a memento for peace.

Allan, a local peace activist, told me he found it very disturbing to have the cannibalized jeep as a peace memorabilia.

Or maybe as ironic as the permit from the City Hall that allows your group to hold a peace rally but refraining you from using speakers, megaphones, streamers, and other paraphernalia, I quipped. To which Allan laughed in mock resignation but defiant. Defiant because they still insisted to hold the peace rally at the city plaza with a score of young people in attendance under the watchful eyes of a dozen local police. It was my first time to see a real silent march and rally in the real sense of the word. Well, if you are in Basilan you must learn how to be creative.

My expectations for bangs and booms due to a well-publicized war in Basilan upon my return to this island province were not unfounded at all. As I can see, war still rages in Basilan. Not the kind of war being mounted by the government in pursuit of a handful suspects of the July 10 tragedy. But the kind of war being waged by the ordinary folks like Allan, Rhiedz, Julie, Tahir, and nameless others who continue to wage peace in order to win the war.

One can't help but admire these ordinary people who are resolute in their struggle for peace. They have no other island but Basilan, they said, adding that “we were born here, we live here, and we will die here.”

Anybody could have easily said that. Except that these people who uttered these words were not the kinds who are ready with their passports just in case things will go wrong. These are the people whose discontent steeled them to brace for a more honorable and courageous stand of waging peace. (Antonio M. Manaytay, a research officer of the Davao-based Initiatives for International Dialogue, was the media coordinator of the International Women's Peace and Solidarity Mission to Basilan and Mindanao last August 10-14, 2007. He also writes for the Mindanao Examiner)

OPINION

THE MORO PEOPLE HAVE HAD IT WITH ALL-OUT WARS! By Amirah Ali Lidasan

Make Room for Peace, Pull-out troops in Basilan province.

For most of us Muslims who are observing the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, we are saddened by what is happening in Basilan for the past few weeks.

According to the provincial administrator of Basilan, more than 900 families have been displaced as a result of the added deployment of marines in Basilan in response to the beheading of 10 members of the Philippine Marines who were slain in an encounter with the MILF in Al-Barka town.

Who committed the beheading and why did the perpetrators committed such act is a very controversial and sensitive issue that should have been responded with discretion rather than warmongering. For weeks, it is as if every Muslim has to answer for the act of beheading and Islam is once again put in the limelight and debate.

While the MILF owned their responsibility over the death of the 14 elements of the Philippine Marines. They qualified this as a legitimate one for it was a consequence of the Marines’ forced entry in their recognized political territory in Basilan.

For those who are not familiar with the on-going GRP-MILF peace negotiations, it might be difficult to understand why such territories exist? In previous agreements, the two groups have come to terms about respecting MILF camps and presence to avoid conflicts in these areas – an agreement that is prone to violation.

Since the signing of the ceasefire agreement, the Philippine government under President Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called a series of all-out wars against the MILF that resulted to thousands of displaced Moro people in Mindanao: the all-out war directed at Camp Abubakar in 2001, the Buliok War and “selective attack” on MILF areas in 2003, and the on-and-off skirmishes between the GRP and the MILF as a result of the military’s “hot pursuit” operations against the Abu Sayyaf.

In the case of the beheading of the marines, series of investigations have been conducted by both the MILF and the local government of Basilan, and both have unearthed previous atrocity of the Marines that might lead to the answers on who and why such beheadings took place: that the military operation did not take place only on July 10 but days before it and that these created “fear and chaos” among the community.

But nobody from the military and the Arroyo administration wants to hear what the MILF or the people in Basilan has been shouting for almost two weeks now -that the MILF is not responsible for the mutilation of the bodies of the marines.

Secretary Norberto Gonzales and the Armed Forces of the Philippines would hear none of these results and the calls of non-government organizations for a stop to the pursuit operations. The bloodthirsty cabinet members and hawks in the AFP are whipping up the public’s sympathy over the beheaded marines and using it as a take-off point in calling for an all-out war against the MILF.

Had Fr Giancarlo Bossi not surfaced in Karomatan town in Lanao del Norte province, the AFP would surely pursue relentlessly the MILF for what they believed was “coddling” Fr Bossi’s kidnappers.

Now, Basilan is once again hostage by more than 5,000 marine soldiers. The 103rd Infantry Brigade of the Army, naval and air forces are also being readied for strike.

Most of the people in Basilan are reminded of the 2001 intensive military crackdown, where 14 battalions from the AFP were deployed and in 2002, a US-RP joint military exercise also took place in Basilan.

Basilan had been black and blue from previous military operations and exercises. Numerous human rights violations were reported: cases of torture, extra-judicial killings and disappearance against what the Arroyo administration believed to be Abu Sayyaf sympathizers and members in Basilan.

The people in Basilan fear this will again escalate into an all-out war. And we people of Mindanao fear that this will spill-over the whole of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The Moro people have had it with the all-out wars! If the government is true with peace negotiations then it should prioritize its peace agenda in Mindanao. Even the future of peace negotiations was not tackled by the government in the SONA. Her praise for the Philippine Marines obscured the human rights violation record of the marines and the rest of the Philippine military in Basilan.

The Suara Bangsamoro reiterates its call for pull-out of the military in Basilan. Let the cool heads and the peacemakers (if there are still left) in the cabinet come forward and listen to the people’s call for peace and not military operations in Basilan. (SUARA Bangsamoro)

HOW TO NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS By Hurricane Harry

This brief blog entry takes you through a series of negotiations over time between peacemakers and terrorists:

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of a line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker introduces himself. The terrorist kills him.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker asks, "why did you kill my friend?" The terrorist kills him and rapes his wife.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker says, "Stop that!" The terrorist kills him, rapes his daughter and kills his wife.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker says, "I'll pay you $1000 if you stop attacking us." The terrorist agrees to the deal, takes the $1000, and kills him.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker appeals to the United Nations. The United Nations says the peacemaker is at fault. The terrorist kills him.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker now has a gun, and threatens to use it. Other peacemakers start chanting the old 60's whine, "Can't we all just get along?" The peacemaker hesitates. The terrorist kills him.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker tries to convince his peacemaker friends that the terrorists aren't going to respond to negotiations, but they insist that if he kills the terrorist it'll just make the other terrorists mad. The peacemaker reluctantly agrees to try negotiating again. The terrorist kills him., his entire family, and his neighbor's family.

A heated debate now ensues between the peacemakers who want to be nice to the terrorists and the peacemakers who believe that there can never be peace until the terrorists are all dead. While they are debating, the terrorists kill 15 more peacemakers.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker asks himself, "Which is more important: being liked by everyone, or protecting my family?" The terrorist pulls a knife to kill the peacemaker, but the peacemaker pulls a gun and kills the terrorist first. The United Nations condemns the peacemaker's use of unproportional force. Many of his peacemaker friends turn against him.

A peacemaker walks up to the left side of the line. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line. The peacemaker apologizes for what his friend did to the other terrorist. The terrorist kills him, his entire family and his neighbors, and threatens to destroy the city as soon as they develop a bigger weapon.

A peacemaker refuses to meet at the line because every time a peacemaker goes to the line the terrorist kills him. A terrorist walks up to the right side of the line and fires rockets into the peacemaker's town. The United Nations condemns the way the peacemaker provoked the terrorist by refusing to come to the line and meet with him.

Generations pass and not much changes until one day when the son of a peacemaker decides that the old strategy simply won't work. He walks up to the left side of the line a little early. As the terrorist approaches the right side of the line the peacemaker shoots him. Another terrorist approaches to replace the first, and the peacemaker shoots him too. This scene plays out several more times.

Then a terrorist approaches carrying a white flag, but he also has weapons. The peacemaker shoots him. A terrorist next approaches with a ceasefire resolution from the U.N. The peacemaker shoots him also. A large group of terrorists approach and the peacemaker shoots them all and drops a nuclear bomb on the city they came from. The peacemaker continues killing the terrorists until the terrorists are all dead.

There is finally peace on earth and the United Nations takes the credit. (http://hurricaneharry.blogspot.com)

OPINION

Stuck in Sulu Quagmire by Patricio P. Diaz

Hostilities between Moro and military forces in Sulu flared up anew when the Moro National Liberation Front under Commander Habier Malik mortared the Marine camp last April 13. Fighting is still raging, 21 rebels and Marines have been killed, and 42,000 from six towns have evacuated.

This latest incident only shows how deeply the Philippine government is stuck in the Sulu quagmire. The Arroyo administration appears clueless on how to solve the problem that had been there long before it took over the government in 2001, optimism to the contrary.

Vs. Terrorism

The Sulu quagmire is as old as Philippine history. Until the MNLF rebellion in the 1970s, the military had warred against bandits; from the 1970s until the early 1990s, against rebels; from the emergence of the Abu Sayyaf until the present, against terrorists. Altogether, the unrests in Sulu are problems Manila and the military have long been mired in.

Since September 2001, the Arroyo government has tied the Sulu (including Basilan) campaigns to the global war against terrorism of the United States. U.S. President George W. Bush has praised President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as his closest ally in Asia. Since then the Sulu campaigns have been assisted by the U.S. Special Forces.

Under the cover of the RP-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement, the U.S. Special Forces have been training Philippine military forces in anti-terrorism warfare, in intelligence work, and in the use of modern weapons. The Special Forces have also been engaging in civic action projects – lately, extending these to other parts of Muslim Mindanao.

Not so long ago, President Arroyo proclaimed the near-end of terrorism in Sulu. Almost all known top commanders of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Sulu had been killed. Only a handful of Abu Sayyaf terrorists – less than 100 – have survived and are being mopped up by the military forces.

Contradictions

Either the President’s pronouncement was based on erroneous intelligence or the Abu Sayyaf, like the mythical bird phoenix, can rise from its ashes. More military battalions have been sent to Sulu. In today’s news (April 20), the Abus, now numbering 400, are as savage as ever – beheading seven captives and sending the heads to the military camp.

A few times in the earlier past, the military and the President had predicted the extinction of the Abu Sayyaf only to rise in bigger number in succeeding news reports. It seems that part of the quagmire, as the contradictions indicate, is faulty intelligence and reckless propaganda. Minds are won not by glowing words but by visible facts.

Reports from the Palace and the military intend to convince the nation of the successes in the fight against terrorism in Sulu. But the people of Sulu, obviously, are not. The fight can only be won in Sulu not in Manila or elsewhere in the country.

While beneficiaries appreciate civic action projects, they and the non-beneficiaries in greater number evidently continue supporting tacitly the Abu Sayyaf and other terrorists.

Evidently, too, most – if not all – people of Sulu do not see the Manila-labeled terrorists as terrorists but as champions of their historic grievances against the government.

Vs. MNLF, Too

The military campaign in Sulu is not just against the Abu Sayyaf but also against MNLF groups known to be loyal to detained Chairman Nur Misuari. Best known among these is Malik’s group. Prompted by Misuari’s protest against the ARMM election, his group attacked the military camp in Panamao, Sulu in November 2001.

For this and the simultaneous attacks of the Southern Command and the Cabatangan Complex in Zamboanga City, Misuari was detained and charged with rebellion. Since then, MNLF-Misuari loyalists have been labeled as Misuari break-away group to make it appear that the mainstream MNLF is true to the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.

But which MNLF faction is the mainstream? The Organization of Islamic Conference has always recognized Misuari as the MNLF chairman. In the review of the 1996 FPA, the OIC has asked the Philippine government to release Misuari so that he can lead the MNLF delegation to Jeddah.

Since November 2001, Malik has challenged the military more than twice. Each time, his camps were captured but later abandoned after negotiations to allow him to re-occupy them. His group would be called “rogue MNLF” each time he attacked the military.

After attacking the Marines last April 13, two of his camps were reported captured. A one million-peso bounty was offered for information leading to his capture. Again, his group was labeled “rogue MNLF”. Will the camps be returned to him again after another negotiation?

Calls for Ceasefire

The government has refused the call of the OIC for a ceasefire and negotiation. President Arroyo told the OIC her government is not fighting the MNLF but the Abu Sayyaf which Malik’s group has joined. In response, the OIC has urged its member states to press for the immediate end of the week-old clashes in Sulu.

Other groups are also calling for a ceasefire and negotiation. Among them are the Suara Bangsamoro Partylist and the Stop the War Coalition – Philippines whose April 17 manifesto was signed by 75 organizations and four individuals as members. The number of refugees is increasing; and so is the need for relief.

Will President Arroyo and the military continue ignoring the call of the OIC at the risk of sanctions which the Associated Press hinted in its report? Will they ignore the local and nationwide calls and the suffering of tens of thousands of civilians?

Will either another ceasefire and negotiation or continued military campaign be the way for the government to pull itself out of the Sulu quagmire? Has it any better alternative?

Roots of the Problem

Neither past ceasefires and negotiations nor escalated military campaigns solved the Sulu problem. In their calls, Suara Bangsamoro Partylist and Stop the War Coalition-Philippines have pointed the way: Address the roots of the problem. To the number of roots they enumerated, more could be added if sought from concerned groups in Sulu.

The heart of the Sulu quagmire is poor military and government intelligence – one that feeds their biases, ignoring the roots of the problems. Such intelligence is not conducive to fruitful dialogues.

Knowing well the roots of the problems despite biases for national interest, government will be ready to understand and grant legitimate, valid and reasonable demands. On the other hand, biased intelligence will tend to ignore and misunderstand such demands.

The historical roots of the Sulu problem must be understood and solved from the viewpoint of Sulu, not of Manila. Demands deemed excessive can be satisfactorily toned down according to conditions prevailing only in Sulu and the sentiments of its people.

Manila should be ready to compromise its biases for national interest with the social, economic and cultural welfare of Sulu to the satisfaction of its people. There is no better way out of the quagmire.

OPINION

TIGIL MUNA ANG PUTUKAN By Chris Navarra

Batbat ng dalamhati, pag-aalala at kalungkutan sa ngayon ang karamihan ng residente ng Sulu. Ito ay kaugnay ng patuloy na opensiba na inululunsad ng mga militar sa Moro National Liberation Front sa kabila ng panawagan ng iba’t ibang mga grupo, natibo, NGO, civic groups at maging ng Organization of Islamic Conference para sa ceasefire dahil na rin sa apektong dulot nito sa mga mamamayan ng Mindanao.

Matatandaang nitong mga nakaraang lingo ay kabi-kabilang opensiba ang isinagawa ng parehong kampo ng MNLF at AFP bagay na naglagay sa karamihan ng resident eng Sulu sa bingit ng kamatayan at nagbaon pa lalo sa kahirapan.

Ang pamahalaan sa kasalukuyan ay walang inilabas na preventive measures upang protektahan ang mga naapektuhan ng giyerang ito. Sa kasalukuyan ay tinatayang karamihan ng mga pamilyang nasa war dreaded areas ay nagsilisan na sa pangambang pati sila ay madamay sa walang habas na giriang ito.

Sila ngayon ay nagtitiis sa mga evacuation areas at maging mga waiting sheds ay naging pansamantalang tahanan ng mga kaawa-awang residente ng Parang,Indanan at Patikul sa Sulu.

Walang bahay na babalikan at maging ang sakahang tanging pinagkukuhanan ng pagkain sa araw-araw ay winasak na ng mga daan-daang mortar na walang tiyak na patutunguhan.

"No person shall be deprived of life…nor shall anyone be denied the equal protection of the laws," nakasaad sa pinakaunang artikulo ng Bill of Rights. Ito ang probisyong dapat sana ay poprotekta sa mga mamamayan ng Mindanao. Ang probisyon sa konstitusyon na sinumpaang itataguyod ng mga opisyal ng ating bayan.

Marami na ang nasawi at patuloy na dumarami at dahil dito ay nananawagan kami sa mga lokal na opisyal, militar at maging sa Commander-In-Chief ng AFP na gumawa ng kaukulang hakbang para maresolba ito sa agarang panahon.

Peace talks. Ito ang nagbigay pagkakataon sa Mindanao noon na makaahon sa ekonomiya mula sa dekadang giyera na kanilang dinanas. Kabuhayan, mga bagong inprastraktura at seguridad sa kanilang buhay ang ibinunga ng hakbang na ito taong 1996. Bagamat di gaanong nakitaan ng mabilis na resulta ay naging daan naman ito upang magbukas ng maraming oportunidad sa mga kapatid nating Muslim na magbagong- buhay.

Naniniwala kami na konkretong solusyon at di sa marahas na paraan mareresolba ang gulong ito. Walang ibang paraan kundi itaguyod, igalang at pagtibayin ang Peace Accord ng 1996 at maupo muli at pag-usapan ang dahilan ng paglabag sa mga ito ng mga nakaraang taon.

Dapat rin ay magkaroon ng mga hakbang o guidelines kung paano maiiwasan ang mga paglabag dito. Walang ibang pupuntahan ang giriang ito kundi ang mesa at bago mahuli ang lahat at maraming inosenteng buhay ang masawi ay hinihimok namin ang pamahalaan na umayon sa panawagang ito.

OPINION

MOROS, LUMADS ARE INHABITANTS OF MINDANAO By Hassan Hatab

The early inhabitants of Mindanao to include Zamboanga City were Moros and Lumads. During the Spanish era, the Muslim natives of Mindanao were called Moros by the Spaniards. The term Moros derived from the word Moors, the name given by the Spaniards to the inhabitants of Mauritania and Morocco.

Waves of migrants from Luzon and Visayas to Mindanao and Sulu to include Zamboanga City, increased after the United States annexed Mindanao and Sulu to the national territory of the Philippines in the grant of Philippine Independence to the Filipino people on July 4, 1946.

This was the beginning when the chapter of Muslim History became distorted and worrisome because of the considerable number of Christianized Filipinos who settled in Mindanao and later on became prejudiced, bigoted and mistrustful to the Moros or Muslims in Mindanao particularly in Zamboanga City.

On January 7, 1977, the negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were formalized as both sides agreed to form their respective peace panels. On July 18, 1997, both parties signed the agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities and committed their respective Armed Forces to the cessation of hostilities in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.

In the negotiations, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) proposed a single talking point agenda with the Philippine government and that is on "how to solve the Bangsamoro Problems".

In the process of negotiations, the MILF cited some centuries-old historical landmarks and documents to assert their historical rights and evidences to support their claim for governance over their ancestral homeland and domain in Mindanao to include the city of Zamboanga.

Parts of these historical landmarks are the relics found in the city hall of Zamboanga City. At the right side of the main entrance to the city hall, there is a black iron placed on the wall with inscription in Tagalog dialect that reads "Ang lalawigan ito ay lalawigan ng mga Muslims".

Another historical relic is the black iron door located at the accounting section of the city hall with inscription "Treasury, government of the Moro Province".

All these historical relics implied that Zamboanga City was formerly governed by the Muslims and not by Spaniards or Spanish speaking people. Nobody can deny the true history of Mindanao especially Zamboanga City.

So, people should not surprise or oppose when someday Zamboanga City will be ruled again by Muslims. After all historically this city was once ruled by Muslims.

OPINION

PEOPLE MUST KNOW By RC Montebon

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