Category Archive for: bayan

komentaryo

and just like that…

By Joel Santiago

I practically exhorted my Mom into writing in fairness to the president. “This is a show of force, a fierce display of political will,” I said. This is how he’ll get things done in Philippines politics — with change happening so fast it’ll make the trapos’ heads spin. And isn’t this how you’d want it? The only possible way it can happen? The only way to dig out of our entrenchment in the status quo? (Yeah, I was on something of a roll.)

And just like that — the party, the defensive sisters, deleted tweets — he shows you why he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. That, on top of flatfooted government response so sorely in need of leadership and, you know, something that gives the impression of actual conviction — never mind love for countryman.

Sure, partying with the “troops” is just good management. And inviting their families a nice touch. But these guys would have been the first to understand if he couldn’t make it. And if they didn’t, it was his job to make these civil servants understand. That’s just better management.

A large part of my defense of his show of force was that the nay-sayers were mistaken and unfair, short-sighted and clouded by political bias. But there’s no denying the impression this gives, of an uncaring, unfocused president-who-can’t-prioritize, especially to the victims for whom this is no mere impression, but something — someone — they have to live with.

komentaryo

nasaan si PNoy? or where’s the party?

and this isn’t even about the fact of those tweets from the celebrity guests at what apparently was a christmas party in Malacanang on Sunday, December 18 — which cannot be denied, such is the curse of tweeting, such is the power of screen grabs / captures, and no those women weren’t irresponsible, they were being themselves.

what is irresponsible is the fact that there’s talk at all of a party happening at this point in the most powerful halls of nation, when we are in fact at a time that should be about mourning. this is what’s at the core of this backlash about news of a Malacanang party; it’s not whether or not the PSG can party, not about whether PNoy just passed by or stayed at that party. what’s at its core is a question about PNoy, as president, as leader, and what it is he has done.

or has yet to do. which is to make his presence felt. and no, not via twitter, not through his communications team(s), not through Abigail Valte and Manolo Quezon, not through press releases announcing how much money he’s allocated for relief operations, not through DSWD and Dinky Soliman.  

you of course will ask: what good will it do to hear PNoy at this point? what good would a public statement do? what good will it do for him to fly out to the grief stricken areas right now? what good would it have done had we heard from him on Saturday, when we realized the magnitude of the tragedy?

in fact plenty. in an almost how-to book on being leader in extreme situations, in extremis leadership, leading as if your life depended on it (2007) by Thomas A. Kolditz, puts common sense into words:

People are remarkably consistent in their needs and reactions around tragedy. Death is a great equalizer, and grief comes to the rich and famous, and the poor and insignificant, in exactly the same way. Leading is about people, and death presents both an obligation and an opportunity to lead. The obligation and opportunity are fleeting, though, so leaders must be ready to step up without hesitation. Both organizational practices and the leader’s intent have to be in place continuously, or the event passes unrecognized. (158)

in times like this one, PNoy’s voice is important because we need to recognize this event for what it is: a tragedy. we need to hear PNoy say this, we need for him to say that we are a nation in mourning, a nation in grief, because those words will become a way of dealing with the pain that is in front of us. i am certain that Malacanang knows of the value of proper communication, and so they must know too, that there is value in hearing PNoy say this, in seeing him on television, addressing the nation, telling us how to deal. because yes actions may speak louder than words, and PNoy might have delegated the task of action to the right people, but words are valuable too at a time like this.

<…> one important benefit of effective leadership in such crisis situations is to help reestablish a sense of control, predictability, and hope in the midst of confusion, chaos, and fear. (Kolditz, 155)

this requires that PNoy address the nation and be the symbolic center of what is a time for national unity and action. this can only happen if PNoy addresses the nation, if the image that we have of him is that of someone who has dropped everything because the task at hand is urgent, and because we need to see him on top of the situation, as a leader — as a president — should be.

in times of crisis, a president is supposed to comfort nation, he is supposed to “strike a precise balance of resolve and sympathy,” and yes, he does this through words, as he is also tasked to “make sense of the senseless, in the wake of national tragedy.” that we do not get this from PNoy is at the core of why the news that there was a party in Malacanang, that he was even at that party, is just difficult to let go of: it’s bad enough that we cannot count on him as symbolic anchor, that we do not hear him speak, that he puts off the visit to grief-stricken areas for four days. but to even hear of this talk about a party? it’s the last image of a leader we need in our heads.

but of course Malacanang will spin this, PNoy will brush all this talk off, and say it doesn’t matter, they know what it is that they’re actually doing. PNoy after all takes pride in delegating work that needs to be done to the people he trusts, which would mean that he’s doing so much more than if he were the one knee deep in the mud in CDO, or updating the nation in breaking news.

but the question is: why can’t he do both? why can’t he micromanage while he fulfills the presidential expectation that is to be a presence in our consciousness as we watch painful footage of this tragedy? why can’t PNoy be the soundbite that tells us to unite as nation, to come together, to help out, because we are all in grief and we can turn that grief into action?

the fact that this nation rises to the occasion, the fact that the middle and upper classes who have the time and wherewithal can unite without the voice of a president is a wonderful thing for sure. but this shouldn’t be taken to mean that PNoy can be irresponsible in the face of tragedy. and this isn’t so much about being at a party, as it is about proving himself our president, who will be hope and anchor, who will speak! in these, the most dire of circumstances. that is his role, too. and it isn’t asking for much really.

we don’t need a hero. we just need (to have the sense that we have) a president.

komentaryo

nasaan ang pag-asa?

this timeline via typhoonk shows how Sendong was being monitored a full week, since december 9, as a potential storm that at some point was considered part of “hurricane season.” PAGASA announces that a storm was headed our way on december 15, at 5pm, with nary a warning of how dangerous it would be. the storm hit Mindanao the following day, the 16th, and as predicted through CDO and Iligan in the middle of the night.

How can a typhoon that has been under observation by NOAA for almost a week, has kept pretty much to its forecast track, has made landfall 12 hours before, and has been travelling across Mindanao and the Visayas, take anyone BY SURPRISE?

and yes, we help, it is what we must do at this point. but also we must demand that someone take responsibility. someone has to.

komentaryo

in fairness to the president

via stuartsantiago.

and then really i realized PNoy didn’t order the release of any political detainee / prisoner on human rights day.

perspective on the wheel of justice.

komentaryo

why free Ericson Acosta

Ninoy Aquino and Ericson Acosta might seem light years away from each other, and yet i’d like to think that more than what makes them different, what carries weight here is what makes them the same.

illegal detention, trumped up charges, a military blinded by getting some “big fish” and not getting enough of the red scare, being forced to face your accusers everyday, being removed from and having limited access to the outside world, being treated like some dangerous criminal, in the process making you feel less and less like yourself.

look at the timeline of Ninoy’s detention here and here, and the timeline of Ericson’s detention here.

now the hunger strike.

in April 1975, Ninoy went on a hunger strike, and in a letter addressed to Cory, his mother, his children, his sisters and supporters, explained why. Ninoy’s said:

<…> “when the Military Commission suddenly made a complete turn-about and forced me, against my will, to be present in proceedings which are not only clearly illegal but unjust, I said I shall have no other alternative but to go on a hunger strike in protest against a procedure that is intended to humiliate and dehumanize me, considering that all they wanted was for me to be identified as a common criminal, and not only for myself but on behalf of the many other victims of today’s oppression and injustices.”

on December 3 2011, Ericson began his hunger strike. detained artist since February 13 2011, Ericson was arrested without a warrant by the military in San Jorge Samar, at 10AM. he has been kept in the Calbayog Jail since then, on the false charge of illegal possession of explosive – a hand grenade which was planted on him and which the military says he attempted to take out of his pocket (in broad daylight?!?) during his arrest.

From February 13 to February 16, Ericson was not allowed to contact his family or his lawyers, and in those four days, he was not only illegally detained, he was also moved from military detachment to PNP headquarters to the hospital to the Calbayog Hall of Justice. for four days no one knew what was going on with Ericson.

for the past 10 months he’s been in jail. Ericson says:

<…> “it is utterly baseless to undergo a full-blown trial for this trumped-up charge <…> instead, i should have the right to charge the state elements responsible for violating my human rights.”

his hunger strike is also a demand for the

<…> “pull out of the highly irregular if not illegal presence of a squad of military men near Ericson’s place of detention. A platoon of soldiers from the 87th IB were first deployed in the nearby barrio in July on the pretext of military operations, but it has become apparent that the soldiers are there to “guard” Acosta.”

it goes without saying that Ericson’s hunger strike is also his demand for immediate release.

and lest you think I am dreaming here, what PNoy said last year resonates for Ericson’s case:

“We recognize that their right to due process was denied them. As a government that is committed to the rule of law and the rights of man, this cannot stand. Therefore, I have ordered the DOJ to withdraw the informations filed before the court.”

his then Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr. also said “questions raised on the legality of their arrest justify their release.”

PNoy was talking about the Morong 43. also illegally detained, also with trumped up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, also denied due process. last year, PNoy ordered all of them released in time for Christmas. he also said:

“Let this be a concrete example of how our administration is working in the broad light of day to build a country where the law protects us equally. The culture of silence, injustice and impunity that once reigned is now a thing of the past.”

and lest this isn’t enough to justify the release of Ericson, the voice of Ninoy might help. he was after all also political detainee, turned gaunt and sick by a hunger strike that was not just a demand for his release, but the release of so many others like him, as it was about shining a light on the system of warrantless arrests and impunity.

“But peace and order without freedom is nothing more than slavery. Discipline without justice is merely another name for oppression. I believe we can have lasting peace and prosperity only if we build a social order based on freedom and justice.” – Ninoy’s letter to the military commission, August 1975, in Ninoy Letters.

“I believe that freedom of the individual is all-important and ranks above everything else.” – Ninoy, “A Christian Democratic Vision” in Testament from a Prison Cell.

i cannot claim to be friends with Ericson, but i can claim to be a fan: in my undergrad years in U.P., his was a voice that was always loud and clear, but also very human and grounded, intelligent and creative. i never thought about his freedom because i presumed he would always have it. when he lost it, i found that his illegal detention meant a palpable silence to me, no matter that he’s been blogging and singing (here and here), no matter that i had lost touch anyway with the work he was doing after U.P.

now on his hunger strike, Ericson’s struggle as cultural worker turned political prisoner shines a light on the fact that all this time, since his detention, what was always on the line was not just his life. it’s also always been our freedoms — as writers and journalists, as cultural worker of any kind.

it seems to me really, that we owe it to freedom to demand for Ericson’s release.