Queen’s gambit

As a student of political science, the orientation I have of politics is basically that of “the seizure of power and the preservation thereof,” depending on which side you are on. It also means governance and the elements of the state, but these could be viewed as mere technicalities – coordinately laid-out for compliance in order to complete the bigger picture. Ethics, principles and ideologies are abstract matters that could not be precisely measured nor be evaluated. In the end, a student of politics is left with no other recourse aside from his analytical skills given a set of circumstances.

It is on this context that I somehow admire, no matter how faulty it may sound, the way GMA and her men are handling the issues surrounding her administration. From her ascendancy to the presidency during EDSA II up to the latest display of unrest of the Philippine Marines at Fort Bonifacio, her administration had shown savvy in dealing with the different threats facing her administration.

Up to the present, some people from the legal circle are criticizing the way EDSA II was justified. They say that the Supreme Court’s Decision does not conform with the series events that transpired on January 2000. Simply put, they say that GMA was inaugurated as president way before Erap delivered his supposed resignation speech. This is the same anchor justifying her advancement to power. But needless to say, GMA had passed this legal impediment and given the time that had lapsed, said decision is but another archive in our history.

Then there was the “Hello Garci!” controversy and the “I am sorry for the lapse of judgment” speech which led to the junked impeachment complaint. Lozano’s weak complaint at Congress could not be cured by an amendment and the sheer number of the administration Congressmen ensured its dismissal. Only last January, Lozano again filed another complaint which is expected to be the subject of yet another debate. From my point of view, said complaint is critical to ensure that an impeachment complaint to be filed in June by the opposition would be muddled with issues regarding Lozano’s recent complaint. In short, pampagulo ito sa magulo nang proseso.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had been muddled with controversies and unrest among its officers. The Oakwood mutiny presented the dissatisfaction of the young officers with how the administration is treating its soldiers. The recent custody of Brig. Gen. Danny Lim and other top brass officers for questioning had also shown that amongst the ranks of the military, there are signs of dissent and agitation fermented by alleged corrupt men in uniform.

GMA is facing this threat by showing that she cares for the welfare of the soldiers. In the last few months, she had been rounding different military camps checking on the loyalty of its officers and doling out funds for the shelter, uniform and pay of its members. As always, prevention is better than a pound of cure. The intelligence community had been buzzing with rumors of a coup and the administration did not hesitate in naming names and taking-in custody those who are involved. Needless to say, the fire was extinguished even with only the slightest sign of smoke.

By appointing Gen. Allaga to handle Col. Querubin’s barricade at Fort Bonifacio, she did not let the fire spread out to the other branches of the military. It was the Philippine Marine’s problem so let the Marine’s solve the same using its own rules and regulations. By using as a banner professionalism and loyalty to the Constitution, a soldier is reminded of being apolitical and was warned that they are only being used by politicians who are interested only on their own affairs.

Then there is the announcement of a state of national emergency. Some say that this is a soft-form of martial law. To others, however, this is necessary to prevent lawless violence and to curb any rebellious attempt. But no matter which side we look at it, this is yet another political maneuvering to ensure GMA’s stay in power. Along with the Calibrated Pre-emptive Response (CPR), this is meant to suppress the inherent right of the people to peaceably assemble and redress their grievances. Parallel is EO 141 which intends to suppress information from leaking-out of Malacañang. Even the staunchest of GMA’s allies such as Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago assails its constitutionality. Ang nakakatawa dito, bawal na ngang magpakita sa Kongreso ang mga miyembro ng Gabinete, nagdi-disappearing act pa ang mga ito.

Should I even mention how the fertilizer fund was used? Or how about the proposed charter change, a seemingly change of rules in the middle of the game? Fact is, GMA is facing a battle on quite different levels. The economy is collapsing so she tries to resolve it with additional taxes. People are pouring on the streets so she issued orders to be implemented by the PNP. The media is critical of her administration so she sends out a warning that they must comply with the standards of the government. The Right and Left are conspiring so a warrant of arrest was served to Rep. Crispin Beltran and some military officers are taken into custody. The poor are dissatisfied with their poverty so she lets them be. For hunger, as they say, has no power.

Niccolo Machiavelli once said that, “The end justifies the means.” Sun Tzu’s Art of War suggests that “to know the enemy is equivalent to victory.” GMA learned from the experiences of her predecessors and she is applying the same hard-earned lessons to preserve her administration. Marcos stayed in power for 20 years using the same tactics. Little-by-little, inch-by-inch, she asserts the power of the Executive Branch in its full extent. True enough; a student of history has the advantage of out-maneuvering his opponents.

But there is also a lesson in history that GMA must dare not forget: History has a strange habit of repeating itself.

They say that power begets power and we must not be blinded by its glitter. In a strange sense, I admire GMA and her efforts to preserve and to stay in power. Being a student of political science, I see her maneuvers and tactics as a game of chess, a queen’s gambit in a political sense. It does not help however that the crowd are booing, her pawns are running-out, and her fortress are falling apart. Para hindi ma-checkmate, pwedeng mag-resign.

Suicide run

A police report featured at TV Patrol caught my attention last February 9, 2006, just about the time when dinner was being served. It was a story of an 18-year old who tried to jump-off a billboard at Katipunan Ave., Quezon City. His name is Alvin Sangcalan, a native of Cagayan Valley. He was shivering in front of the camera, lying on the floor, all dirty, half-naked, and he was forcing himself to speak. He looked like a taong grasa.

Policemen later told the reporter that Alvin tried to commit suicide because he was hungry. Presumably lured of a promise of a better life, he left the province and went to Manila to look for a job. The story said that he worked as a kargador for a short period of time but was later fired. Having no relatives and no money for transportation, he wandered the streets looking for a job and for food.

I surmised that he tried to walk his way home, Quezon City being the exit towards the north. Out of desperation and hopelessness, he decided to end his life. What better way than to jump-off a billboard; there is no need for a piece of rope and a tree to hang himself into, or of motorists who could press on the brakes. All there is is the wind beneath one’s feet and that feeling of vertigo.

I always argued that hunger is the reason why there are so many taong grasa. Apart from the fact that they only have the clothes on their back, being exposed to the elements of nature day-in and day-out could have a big effect on the mind of a person. Hunger is a slow form of torture; your insides being eaten by its own emptiness, your spirit being sucked-out of all of its hope. Come to think of it, Alvin was luckier not because he was stopped by authorities from killing himself, but because he had not completely lost his mind. Maybe the taong grasa we see on the streets had already lost their wits before they had lost their courage to live.

But isn’t lining-up among throngs of people for a chance to win an instant million in itself suicidal? Suicide denotes hopelessness, of despair, and of desperation. We buy raffle tickets to test our luck but it is quite different when you line-up for a few days – afraid to leave your space lest others might overtake your turn.

And isn’t it also suicidal the way citizens take-up arms, whether in the military or not, to simply air their grievances. From the members of the Magdalo group to those who go to the mountains to demand for a change in the system, they risk both life and limb for a chance to be heard.

Or of the way the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) spent its fertilizer fund? To deprive someone of his chance to enrich his livelihood is to assist someone in his suicide. It might have meant the survival of the current administration, but it also spelt how graft and corruption could be so blatant.

According to Sen. Franklin Drilon, magaspang na magaspang. To use the words of Bro. Eddie Villanueva, garapal. Purportedly meant to assist small farmers, it allegedly ended up at the hands of administration candidates to boost the campaign of GMA. Isusubo na ng magsasaka, inagaw pa.

Fact is, when we look at the broader side of things, our nation is somehow conducting a suicide run; the way the government are running things; the way we look at ourselves as a people; and the way poverty is increasingly creeping among our midst. And they say that the economy is getting stronger by the day. Tell that to those who could not afford a decent meal.

And yes, let us not blame the government for the Wowowee tragedy. Let us also not put political color in the fertilizer fund. Let us all inculpate fate for our unfortunate existence. We must share the blame and the destiny of being damned. In spite of our jobs and our own contributions to the economy, of us shouldering the Reformed Value Added Tax (RVAT), the government should not be falsely accused.

But it was Confucius who said that, “In a country well-governed, poverty is a shame. In a country badly-governed, wealth is a shame.”

A carpenter or a jeepney driver who works from dusk ‘til dawn is far more deserving of a vacation than those who basked in Manny Pacquiao’s glory. Why can’t homeless families have even a quarter of the comforts of the residents at Malacañang? Why do we have to suffer in traffic while government big shots whisk their way using loud sirens and police assistance? And why do public officials, in spite of the small salary that the Constitution allows, have so much money? It is truly mind-boggling.

In Administration Law, Atty. Alfredo del Rio elucidated to us that public office is a public trust and public officers and employees are public servants. Both are mandated by law to perform their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, and lead modest lives.

Ganyan talaga sa Pilipinas pero hindi dapat ganyan sa Pilipinas.
Hunger, poverty, hopelessness. One does need to be covered in dirt in order to live the life of a taong grasa. Figuratively, one does need to jump-off a billboard to commit suicide. For the growing margin of the underprivileged, poverty is a way of life. Hunger and hopelessness is its most trusted companion.