Instead, the Palace can focus its attention upon the people on the ground. Take the Mindanao observer Zen Malang, Executive Director, Human Rights Action Center, interviewed almost a fortnight ago over ABC News Australia. The observer’s comments are instructive. On the question about how he sizes up the renewed hostilities in Mindanao today, the observer’s curt reply was: “President Aquino cannot solve the conflict”.

Just like the past presidents of the Republic before him he is inadequate. He said, that Aquino’s own mother, the late Pres. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, who was much, more more popular and powerful as Head of State – coming just after a Revolution that toppled an autocrat, thought that she could bind the nation together by holding out open arms to Nur Misuari and Jose Maria Sison, making friends with rebels left and right and forgetting about and neglecting the armed forces, the members of the entire gamut of the security apparatus, who were fighting for the country with blood, sweat and tears.

Her national security adviser was asked to draft written orders to slash and burn about seventy percent of the budget for all military and security, intelligence forces. The act of cutting the fund to our armed services was actually done, when it was finally legal for the late lady president to sign the draft orders.

Subsequently, the late Mrs. Aquino failed in the quest to consolidate her hold on the country. She could not unify the nation neither heal the wounds that kept opening up one after the other, making it ripe on the part of the uniformed services for armed adventurism to smolder.

Now listen to what follows in the observer’s statement:  The true power in Mindanao is wielded by the agglomeration of fiefdoms – economic, political and those who flaunt power through the barrel of the gun.

These are the power vortices, he said that prevent the resolution of the conflict because for as long as the turmoil exists, these power centers exercise control over the resources of the island. These are much, much more powerful than the elected head of state and of course, the government of this Republic.

This revelation is not new. Douglas McArthur’s father (Arthur), a brigadier general assigned to Mindanao in the early 20th century, may have realized the nascent rise of the phenomenon called guerilla warfare. The .45-caliber Colt pistol was invented to stop suicidal amucks dead on their tracks. But guerilla warfare morphed into the fourth generation warfare, terrorism, now a global problem.

Going back to Pres. Pnoy’s dilemma, the Philippine Chief Executive should perhaps be more serious and down-to-earth in his pursuit of peace.

On the other hand, his idealism and the brave advocacy of good governance, that is taking much of the government’s time, talent and resources is slowly evaporating in the midst of the corrosive effects of corruption surrounding his government.

Go to any national agency and you will not find a worker who will tell you that his bosses are spanking pure and clean. Every single one of them are out to make big bucks while in office and sometimes, their actions cannot be fully kept from public knowledge. So the smaller ones down the line will follow the same dynamics guiding his own superiors.

The franchise to illegally make money using one’s position in government ttrickles down to the grassroots. Try doing business in any municipality and you will see what I mean – you will have to go through the gauntlet of corrupt schemes and mechanics it is like passing through the eye of a needle.

If you are lucky enough to pass muster the various local government units, you will end up several tens of thousands or even many millions poorer. That is why foreigners literally abandoned the Philippines as their investment haven because of WHOLESALE corruption. Unbridled, unstoppable, coming from the top down to the bottom.

Have you been to the premier district in the country lately?  In Ermita, Manila? The police precinct just in front of the United States Embassy Chancery is manned by policemen wearing sando and beach sandals. Visit their precinct quarters and you will see fifty fighting cocks kept in a gallinera. And listen to their talk about the latest events that brought in dirty money. To think that, “What the Manila Police District does, the entire Philippine National Police follows.” It is such as shame.

Even in the country’s court of last resort, the Supreme Court, the cases are not argued in chambers but discussed in private places in five star hotels or wherever the talks could be kept the least harried and tense. If you try to follow up very keenly on a case with the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, they will refer you to an official who is traditionally authorized to take the reasons for the court to favor your case. Guess who that official is?

These are challenges facing our beloved President. The question hangs above our heads, will the guy not really be up to it or can he still be able to hack it? We hope and pray for the latter.

Today, with the ever enhancing, very swift electronic forms of communications, criminal activities have given thieves in both government and the private sector, drug lords, firearms smugglers, white slavery and human trafficking perpetrators more money than all the mythical and legendary crime kingpins in human history combined.

In the case of the public sector, thieves in the government, for instance in the military, are the sad raison d’ etres for the loss of lives of our soldiers in the field who are issued mediocre equipment, war materiel and poorly performing ammunition. The thieves enrich themselves needlessly while the poor soldiers get to be killed senselessly in the field. Why? Where is fairness in this?

Our current crop of crime ‘specialists’, even terrorist groups among them, have succeeded in actualizing Toffler’s prediction and today are extremely rich beyond all our imaginations.

The dangers of many groups therefore — that want to get rich quick, that have the means and financial backers — getting into the act and growing big, cannot be overemphasized.

Staff and officers of security organizations, financial empires, transport companies, among other estblishments are vulnerable to recruitment in the crime game. I know of a group inside a transport company that is engaged very intensely in drugs and guns smuggling. You would wonder if the owner or if their key officers know? Or if some of those high up are also involved?

If this is the case, what happens to the people that patronize these kinds of organizations? Are they not being placed in undue risk by the staff and officers that are engaged in highly criminal activities?

Innocents are always the big victims. Somehow, there must be a way to stop these practices from ever continuing. While it is nice for those with warped minds to hear that criminal elements are now getting rich faster than you can say dineros, there has to be a balancing factor that would prevent the public from being needlessly endangered by the sheer temptation of rapid wealth creation.

If there were no more laws, statutes, rules and regulations I’d say, if some of Toffler’s children cannot be aborted at birth, it’s better to remove them from this planet. Inshallah!

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE LAW – SECRETARY LITO ATIENZA

October 26, 2009

 

The Climate Change Act of 2009, which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law, puts local government units into the center stage of governance, given the important roles city, town, and barangay leaders play in the implementation of whatever plans and programs on climate change adaptation and mitigation measures that will be crafted by a body tasked under the new law.

 

The substance and efficacy of Republic Act (RA) 9729 will only be as good as those executing climate change measures. The new law may even be a potent tool in bringing about a stronger green-minded electorate because of the centrality to local elected officials in mainstreaming the climate change agenda into their platforms of governance at the provincial and down to the barangay level.

 

See more about Sec. Atienza’s post here…

We would like to encourage the Philippine Government, Asian Governments, combines like the United Nations, ASEAN and financial institutions World Bank, Asian Development Bank, to support this milestone activity from the remainder of 2009 up to 2010.

ANNUAL ECOLOGY CRISIS CONFERENCE

The Resource Recovery Movement will hold the first 2010 Hazards Mapping and Environment Summit (Eco 2010 Summit) in Manila, Philippines.

This is ultimately borne about by the tremendous changing of the Philippine landscape and those of other countries in the Pacific Rim in the last few decades.

All efforts towards risk mapping in relation to calamities and disasters in the past should now take into consideration the great shifts and transformations in land mass, the enormous amount of rainfall brought about by Climate Change and many new factors that were heretofore not factored into national and sub-national planning by governments as well as even by business establishments and non-government organizations.

Click this link to sign up: Join Resource Recovery Movement!

The 2010 Hazard Mapping and Environmental Summit (HMES) is intended to develop better approaches to mapping risks and dangers to communities in the Philippines and other countries with tropical climates…  

Note: The organizers reserve the right to make minor changes in the Conference details prior to the actual Event.

HMES 2010 Organizers

Read more about this post here

 

it’s that time, the time of Ramadan and i cannot keep myself from reflecting, reflecting and reflecting. i don’t consider myself an exempted Muslim, though i don’t practice the rituals perfectly. to compensate, i do a little slowing down during Ramadan.

for whatever it’s worth, i decided to write in a blog about responses to certain incomprehensible and thoughtless, brainless attempts at writing by some low-crawling creatures. one of these several of responses to various pieces found in the internet is found here.