It just took one hearing at the House of Representatives.

Its leadership suddenly halted the probe into the Jan. 25 Mamasapano tragedy. Their explanation: Too much emotions in the air.

Mamasapano saw 44 Special Action Forces (SAF), 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, seven civilians and an undetermined number of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) slain. The clashes stemmed from the hunt to get Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Usman Basit. Marwan is on the world’s most wanted list of terrorists,

Too much emotion may be right. Hawks have been calling for all-out war. Outside of Congress, the BIFF was bristling; engaged in firefights with the MILFF, their former mother group. Thousands of civilians had fled to safer ground. Families of the slain SAF men were angry by what they perceived as Mr. Aquino’s lack of empathy.

Members of the Philippine National Police carry the body of one of the members of the Special Action Force slain in fighting Mamasapano town, Maguindanao on Monday. More than 30 have been reported killed from the government side following a clash with Muslim rebels. Photo: Reuters via abs-cbnnews.com

But there were too many inconvenient truths surfacing, too. By then, ACT party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio had managed to raise one very important point: that President Benigno Aquino III had known of the unravelling debacle in the early hours of the morning.

The House leadership seem to equate defusing tensions with burying the truth.

Because a week later, they were huddling with Mr. Aquino in Malacanang — getting his word, and only his word, about who exactly was responsible for the tragedy. He told them that Alan Purisima, the suspended national police chief, had lied to him about events on the ground and the presence (or lack thereof) of reinforcements for the hapless SAF troops.

After that meeting, the House leadership said they would resume hearings. They have no intention to unearth the truth about Mamasapano. Rather, they are out to push, at the President’s instructions, passage of a law that would create a Bangsamoro autonomous body.

BEST FRIENDS IN CHARGE

Mr. Aquino, after several painful days of military and police officials raking each other to pieces, now blames Purisima — a police chief on preventive suspension for serious corruption charges — for the horror of Mamasampano.

Mr. Aquino, of course, ignored Purisima’s suspension and placed him in charge of what, by all accounts, was a very high-value and high-risk operations.

Mr. Aquino is commander in chief of the Armed Forces. He is also chief executive of the civilian bureaucracy. He has publicly proclaimed the peace process with the MILF as one of his top legacies.

In the legislative hearings, Mr. Aquino’s military officials stressed that the lack of coordination not only cost the lives of people; it also jeopardised the peace process he holds so dear.

Until tthe Senate hearing where Senators Nancy Binay and Grace Poe paralysed government witnesses with the simple questions — who told the President and when” — Mr. Aquino seemed removed, distant, from the Mamasapano mess.

DEFLECTING BLAME

The Chief Executive had several public appearances already where he spoke about Mamasapano.

• In his first televised speech, Mr. Aquino claimed that Purisima was on top of things until his suspension. Thereafter, he was called in only to advice on the “intricacies” and “nuances” of the operation.
• In his second televised address, Mr. Aquino went hammers and tongs after Special Action Force chief Director Getulio Napeñas, claiming he alone was responsible for the mess. The President said he had ordered close coordination with the military, an order which Napenas disobeyed.
• In the same speech, Mr. Aquino sorrowfully, almost angrily, accepted Purisima’s resignation (after Napenas had squealed that disgraced police chief had ordered him not to tell PNP Officer in Charge Leonardo Espina of the operation; and that Purisima had assumed responsibility for informing AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr). He was sad because Purisima was an old friend who protected him during his tenure as opposition senator.
• Kin of the fallen SAF troops, after a visit from the President, also told reporters that he kept on blaming Napenas.

PHOTO BY RYAN CHUA, VIA @ANCALERTS

Now, Mr. Aquino blames Purisima for misinforming him. That misinformation came via text messages between the President and his good friend.

But Purisima was only supposed to have given advice. So why was Purisima reporting on the day of the operation?

And yes, the President spoke only with him — before and during the Mamasapano clash — until things were so bad that he had to consult the military commanders and civilian executives who’d been left out in the cold.

Mr. Aquino never spoke with Espina, although earlier he had warned that anyone not obeying the latter would be punished.

Even granting that Purisima had hatched the hunt for Marwan and Basit Usman, there was no reason to leave out the PNP OIC. Government witnesses read through several regulations that say substantial movement of personnel and logistics need to be approved by higher officials.

Instead, insisting on a laughable “time on target” doctrine that seems nothing but an FYI — when action has commenced — Purisima and Napenas (on orders of the former) went their merry way.

What Mr. Aquino did was let a suspended police chief operate a shadow chain of command, with intelligence officers and the SAF director, bypassing their superiors and reporting directly to Purisima. Indeed, it was Purisima who arranged meetings with the President.

Alter-ego, snubbed.

The civilian official supposed in charge of the police forces, Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas, was clearly out of the loop.

• He was not told about ‪#‎Mamasapano‬ plans (fair enough, if Mr. Aquino was supervising directly);
• He informed the President in the morning of initial report of unraveling ops;
• President thanked him; no other comment) (President already knew from Alan Purisima that something had gone wrong; President did not acknowledge this with Roxas;
• No word on the plane from Prez about what his orders — to coordinate — were (apparently, no word to AFP, too); 
• Then President asks Roxas to find out what went wrong, and he is asked to ease anger in the SAF and the PNP;
  
• Then everyone is expected to salvage the situation. 

For someone given so much powers, Purisima tried to wriggle his way out of trouble by claiming he was only “advising” not ordering “Napenas”.

He would later claim that because he was suspended, he was not responsible for coordinating with AFP Chief of Staff Catapang.

All he was expected to do, Purisima said, was to inform Catapang. Which he did — after the fact.

WORTH DYING FOR?

PHOTO from abs-cbnnews.com

And throughout the Senate hearings, poor police and military officers tore themselves to shred.

Senators appealed for a halt to the drama.

Nobody seemed to realise that these were men (and women) expected to shed their lives for the sake of the republic, these were men (and women) who’d seen their peers mowed down and would have to live with that for the rest of their lives.

As one SAF personnel angrily stressed, in a dialogue with Roxas, for once they were confronted by the question: Is this country really worth dying for?

Who exactly was to blame?

The existence of rebels are a given. That’s why peace talks are underway. There are legitimate questions about overkill. Certainly, at least a few SAF men were “executed” and one video shows just how.

Military officials themselves have explained that once shooting breaks out, there’s no telling what can happen and that, certainly, ordering a ceasefire is easier said than done. The question of secrecy vis a vis the ceasefire protocols is a big debate.

Accountability is the question that hangs heavy over the nation. There are, after all, reasons why it is called preventive suspension.

It is one thing to be ready to die for country (and expect your spouse, son, daughter, friend to die for country). It is one thing to be told lies by the men who order you to die for it.

No wonder a frustrated Catapang did the unthinkable: ask for a higher, independent body to probe the entire mess. No one has followed up what exactly he means by that.

For many soldiers, however, there is only one thing higher than the officials at whose pleasure they serve — the people.

(Next instalment: MILF in major credibility test)

President Benigno Simeon Aquino tells a gathering of “Christian leaders” that he was fooled by Special Action Forces (SAF) Director Leo Napenas. Photo by ANCAlerts

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III snubbed the invitation of the Board of Inquiry created by the Philippine National Police. Instead, he chose to deliver his latest outrageous speech under very controlled conditions.

“Christian leaders” gathered this afternoon on the grounds of Malacanang to pray for the President’s deliverance from his critics.

This, as he added to the mountain of lies dished out since January 25, the day 44 Special Action Forces, at least 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels and six civilians died in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao.

His speech came just a day after the nation commemorated the 40^th day of the Mamasapano deaths. His speech came a day after widows of the SAF’s Fallen 44 begged him to tell the truth, and days after a surviving SAF hero of Mamasapano said the only justice he wants is to know who allowed his comrades to die. (Read: ‘No One Asked For Coordinates’ )

Napenas, only Napenas

What did Mr. Aquino have to say this time? That Napenas tricked him.

Just Napenas. There was very little mention of his best friend, disgraced Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima.

“Maraming wishful thinking si Napenas as opposed to reality. Maliwanag sa akin: binola niya ako … Sinolo ni Napenas. Siya ang nag desisyon at may times na yung desisyon niya palpak. Pag alis niya sa akin nung January 9, lumalabas ngayon na wala siyang intensyon na tuparin yung utos ko sa kanyang mag-coordinate.”

(Napenas was indulging in wishful thinking, instead of focusing on reality. It is now clear to me: he tricked me. Napenas operated as a lone wolf. He decided alone and those decisions were wrong. When he left me on January 9… I now know that he had no intention of obeying my order for him to coordinate.)

Mr. Aquino today claimed, that as early as the January 9 briefing in Bahay Pangarap, he already told Napenas that the SAF cannot deploy just 160 SAF troopers in Mamasapano to take out Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and Basit Usman when there were 3,000-4,000 potential hostiles in the area.

“He told me: ‘Sir, mag co-coordinate kami on jump-off.’ Sabi ko: ‘Hindi pwede yung pagkilos dapat iposisyon yung kanyon. Kailangan iposisyon yung tangke. Kailangan iposisyon yung plano, yung tao, yung gasolina at yung bala ng kanyon, yung bomba ng eroplano.” Hindi mo magagawa yan ng 30 minutes.”

(He told me, we will coordinate on jump off. I told him, you can’t do that because you need to position artillery and tanks, personnel, gasoline, ammunition and bombs from planes.)

Desperate tack

Christian leaders, led by Eddie Villanueva — father of the head of an agency that received plenty of pork from the President — listen to his latest defense on Mamasapano. Photo by ANCAlerts

Aquino betrays his desperation with this new tack.

The Commander in Chief now presents himself as a fool, just to evade accountability for the tragedy that has torn the peace process into shreds and sent tens of thousands of Maguindanao residents escaping from clashes.

It’s exactly what the #TruthAndAccountability Network forecast in its statement last week. 

“Various officials, from the Secretary of Justice to the Senate President, have tried to downplay the President’s role. Drilon has the gall to preempt the Senate’s investigative report, insisting no blame should be ascribed to the President.”

“Misguided, misled, misinformed. While he may have been all that, we warn lawmakers: Do not shield the President. Napenas answered only to Purisima and Mr. Aquino — because the President willed it.”

Pants on Fire

Simply put, the President lied today.

The lies are so bad they fly in the face of logic.

Today’s lies also show that he lied in his earlier speeches to the nation, when he claimed not to have dabbled into operational details about Mamasapano.

You wonder how his advisers – who must have monitored everything that has gone before – allowed him to mouth off in this fashion. Anyone can access news reports of the Senate Mamasapano hearings and related incidents.

But then accounts of the President’s willfulness are legion. Mr. Aquino has always had a problem dealing with reality – other than that which exists in his mind.

The fact is, the President is scared. Very scared. And he has a lot to be scared of, starting with the fact that the men he sacrificed in Mamasapano, and the men left holding the bag of blame, refuse to be silent.

The ship of state has so many leaks. Men in uniform themselves are punching holes in the President’s tall tales.

Time on target

What the Senate did not bring to light was leaked last week: a video of Napenas, the morning after the Mamasapano clash, briefing Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and a roomful of officers.

Napenas, in response to Roxas’ questions, said the President knew that coordination would be time-on-target. Did Napenas lie? If he did, so did BFF Purisima, who repeatedly defended to senators his concept of time-on-target.

• This is the same Purisima who told Napenas not to inform PNP OIC Leonardo Espina and Roxas of the operation. He never denied Napenas’ story before the Senate.
• This is the same Purisima who claimed the duty of informing the AFP chief of staff – and never did so.
• This is the same Purisima who escorted Napenas to brief the President; Purisima who stayed behind for a private chat with the President, and then gave his orders to Napenas.
• And this, by the way, was Mr. Aquino’s text mate as the Mamasapano tragedy unfolded.

Not Napenas. Only Purisima. (The President barely acknowledged Roxas’ text on the morning of January 25. And he did not bother to talk to Roxas – who shared the same Zamboanga City-bound plane – until things got so bad around noon.)

Pure Bull

The President now claims he ordered Napenas to preposition artillery and even mentions bombs from planes. That would have caused massive destruction on communities — which did suffer from the January 25 clash. Photo by Kenneth Guda, PinoyWeekly

If, indeed, Mr. Aquino warned Napenas of the need to marshall all possible personnel and equipment for Mamasapano, then he lied earlier in denying any operational responsibility.

But did Mr. Aquino really play the general in advising Napenas of what was needed in an operation where the SAF could face 3,000 to 4,000 enemies?

That is pure bull.

• Had Mr. Aquino warned Napenas of 3,000 – 4,000 enemies in Mamasapano, he would NOT have texted Purisima, asking why they left Marwan’s body behind, and then say the enemy strength was just over a dozen men.

• Had Mr. Aquino, indeed, warned of the hordes of enemies, he would not have flayed the SAF survivors for the failure to get Basit Usman.

• Had Mr. Aquino given the warning, Purisima would NOT have repeated again and again to the Senate, that time-on-target fantasy.

• Had Mr. Aquino said all that, he would have tore at his hair and shred his barong during his first televised speech.

What commander in chief would ask a SAF director to initiate a powwow with the AFP chief of staff?

Had the Commander in Chief informed Napenas that thousands of enemies were waiting for the SAF, he would have at least checked with the AFP chief of staff and PNP OIC and DND secretary. (Never mind, Mar Roxas, whom he apparently blamed for Purisima’s woes.)

Killing his own legacy

Flaglets calling for Truth and Accountability during a February 25 event in front of Camp Crame.

Had Mr. Aquino warned of thousands of enemies, then he was was willing to risk peace talks with the MILF. The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) do not have that many men in Mamasapano. Many of those thousands would have to come from the ranks of the MILF.

If Mr. Aquino ordered the prepositioning of artillery and bombs from planes, why was there no rescue of the hapless SAF? As a SAF survivor notes, they provided coordinates regularly. Every time they moved. They could have given the coordinates of the enemy had these been requested. There was no rescue until very late in the afternoon. (Read: ‘No One Asked For Coordinates) 

If the President was willing to pour fire and brimstone on the enemy, he would have told his AFP officers to bomb away. Those poor men, blamed for the deaths of the SAF, had the peace process in mind as they scotched tactics that would have scorched Mamasapano communities.

If the President was ready to sow destruction on those 3,000 to 4,000 enemies, why is he now appealing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Law? If the President was willing to bring that much destruction on the MILF, why is he asking Congress to reward them with the BBL?

(That is said with sorrow, because I truly believe the Bangsamoro deserve the right to self-determination. )

The Real Issue

Stop your lies. A message to the President from the #truthandaccountability network.

All of Mr. Aquino’s lies are attempts to coverup the main question of accountability.

He has failed to answer this: Why did you insist on appointing a disgraced police chief to head such a sensitive operation (thousands of enemies!) with the potential to wreak death and destruction?

Purisima’s role was not limited to advise. He directed Napenas. He reported directly to Aquino during planning and as the bitter truth unfolded.

You lied, Mr. President. You deliberately created a shadow chain of command.

Spare us the old claim of having noble intentions. Even a global terrorist like Marwan is no excuse for whole-scale upending of systems aimed at defending our fragile democracy.

Shadow chains of command are the domains of tyrants and rogues. Especially when these are headed by people accused of serious crimes.

You betrayed this nation, Mr. President. Tama na, sobra na.

Malacanang can rage till kingdom come. Sen. Antonio Trillanes can bluster till his skin turns blue and his puppy jowls fall off. And Justice Secretary Leila de Lima can spend hours justifying why the Philippine National Police (PNP) has been orphaned by its Commander in Chief.

Graphic courtesy of Manila Today http://www.manilatoday.net/editorial-cartoon-please-be-gentle-with-the-baby/

The bosses aren’t biting.

For probably the first time in the teflon presidency of Benigno Simeon Aquino III, the bosses are cracking the whip, telling the self-righteous little emperor that he truly has no clothes.

And it’s a sordid sight.

“Tama na, sobra na.”

Who could have imagined this proud son of icons being hoisted by his yellow ribbon, now splattered with the blood of those who fell in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25.

Pulse Asia has released results of an approval and trust survey conducted from March 1 to 7. Results show the President’s approval rating dropping from 59% in November 2014 to only 38% in March 2015, a drop of 21 percentage points — the lowest for Mr. Aquino since he assumed power in 2010.

The report comes just days after Mr. Aquino claimed more Filipinos believe the country is worth dying in his speech at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduation rites.

The survey was taken before Mr. Aquino’s surreal, mad-hatter performance before a tame, handpicked audience from a religious sect.

Sen. Grace Poe during the Senate investigation into the Jan 25 Mamasapano operation

Since then, the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry report into the Mamasapano carnage has come out.

Just today, Sen. Grace Poe released a damning report on a probe convened by the Senate commitees on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, and Finance.

The report states that the President knowingly allowed a suspended police chief to continue exercising official functions. It refutes government claims that Americans had no direct involvement in the Mamasapano operation.

The Poe report goes beyond the BOI acknowledgement of the presence of six Americans in Napenas’ command post. It bares details from executive proceedings, including an exchange that had an American ordering the head of the reinforcing military division to rain artillery fire on hostile forces.

Worse, it strongly hints that Mr. Aquino’s over reliance on Purisima even as the Mamasapano tragedy unfolded, may have hampered the search for a solution to save cornered the cornered SAF.

While Filipinos, especially those serving in military and the police, may believe the country is worth dying for, they may be wondering if Mr. Aquino is a commander in chief worth fighting for. The reference to the line made famous by his murdered father, Ninoy Aquino, was unfortunate — uttered by a man who has refused to accept any blame for the deaths of 44 elite. US-trained cops in Mamasapano.

The problem is, Mr. Aquino conflates “country” with himself. That autocratic streak and sense of entitlement that upends everything “People Power” stands for, are at the root of his current woes.

The President campaigned in the 2010 elections, pledging to be the opposite of his predecessor and waving the banner of “tuwid na daan” (straight path).

Mr. Aquino has led the charge against corrupt allies of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is under hospital arrest as she awaits the outcome of plunder raps. Yet the incumbent Chief Executive and Commander in Chief has shown a persistent refusal to hold friends to the same standards of integrity he demands of the nation.

The latest example is suspended national police chief Alan Purisima, who was allowed to lead a vital, sensitive and highly dangerous mission: capturing the terror suspect Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Abu Marwan, and his Filipino ally, Basit Usman.

Chain of Command

President Benigno Aquino III and suspended (and now resigned) national police chief Alan Purisima go a long way back.

The BOI pointed out that Mr. Aquino, as Commander in Chief, bypassed the PNP chain of command by entrusting the suspended Purisima with the Mamasapano operation.

The report, of course, also found Purisima and Special Action Forces Director Getulio Napenas guilty of the same. Purisima also usurped authority that was not his to wield.

The BOI rejected de Lima’s claim that the PNP, a civilian organization, does not have a commander in chief and that the break stopped with Purisima and Napenas.

The Justice Secretary reiterated her position following the release of the BOI report. Mr. Aquino’s spokespersons echoed that line. Even the Interior Secretary, who supervises the PNP and publicly mourned for the 44 fallen SAF, said Mr. Aquino holds no blame for the debacle.

The PNP probers have refused to blink and are standing by their report.

The BOI head, CIDG Director Benjamin Magalong said they ignored Mr. Aquino’s speech before his religious friends. This was where he gave a convoluted narrative of his supposed effort to warn Napenas against potential disaster.

The BOI report actually highlighted the President’s conflicting statements as the Mamasapano probe underwent various twists and turns. The Palace’s no-commander-in-chief defense has also been squashed by former president Fidel V. Ramos and former PNP chief and senator, Panfilo Lacson. The latter pointed out that the Constitution clearly states that the President of the Republic is Commander in Chief of its armed forces, to include the PNP.

NO BLAME. Graphic courtesy of Pixel Offensive

Commander in Chief at his own whim

Mr. Aquino himself caused the greatest damage to the official Malacanang spin. In at least two speeches, he referred to himself as Commander in Chief of the police. The first was during the 2014 graduation rites of the Philippine National Police Academy, where he vowed to come down heavy on corrupt, abusive cops.

The second, more recent one, was his televised address to the nation last February 6. 

“Hindi po madali ang landas tungo sa kapayapaan. Marami nang Pilipino ang nagbuwis ng buhay para labanan ang mga nais magpatuloy ang dahas at hidwaan. Ang pinakaayaw magkaroon ng digmaan ay ang mga pulis at sundalo, dahil sila ang una at pinakamalaki ang sakripisyo kapag nagkagulo. At bilang Pangulo at Commander-in-Chief, pasan ko naman po ang responsibilidad para sa anumang resulta, sa anumang tagumpay, pasakit, o trahedya, na maaari nating matamasa sa paghahangad ng pangmatagalang seguridad at kapayapaan.” **ialics/bold by author

The President’s speech was all about Mamasapano, which was purely a SAF (police) operation since Purisima and Napena failed to coordinate with the military – or only did so with a curious interpretation of “time-on-target” as to mean after the fact.

Mr. Aquino added:

“Ako ang Ama ng Bayan, at 44 sa aking mga anak ang nasawi. Hindi na sila maibabalik; nangyari ang trahedya sa ilalim ng aking panunungkulan; dadalhin ko po hanggang sa huling mga araw ko ang pangyayaring ito. Responsibilidad ko po sila, kasama ang buong puwersa ng SAF sa operasyong ito, pati na ang mga nagligtas sa kanila na nalagay din sa panganib ang buhay.”

This was the speech where he reluctantly, even angrily, accepted the resignation of Purisima as PNP chief, lauding the latter’s history of personal loyalty, including restoring his confidence — via an improved VIP protection program — after an ambush that led to the deaths of three of his aides during the 1987 coup attempt

Mr. Aquino was forced to accept Purisima’s resignation after Napenas exposed Purisima’s order to withhold information from PNP Officer in Charge Leonardo Espina and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. The President had earlier claimed  that Purisima had merely offered advice on the nuances and intricate points of the admittedly high-value operation.

Damning Report

President Benigno Simeon Aquino tells a gathering of “Christian leaders” that he was fooled by Special Action Forces (SAF) Director Leo Napenas. Photo by ANCAlerts

Even as Mr. Aquino’s aids struggled to undo the damage done by the BOI report,  Poe released her draft report on the chamber’s Mamasapano probe.

“The President must bear responsibility for giving assent to and failing to prevent the unlawful exercise of official functions by PDG Purisima in connection with Oplan Exodus. “

The report cited  a text exchange between Purisima and Mr. Aquino a day before the Jan 9 meeting with Napenas and PNP Intelligence Group Director Fernando Mendez. It shows Purisima arranging for the briefing on Oplan Exodus.

The suspended cop chief then escorted the two police officers to the Jan. 9 meeting, made them wait after the briefing while he had a private chat with Mr. Aquino, and then ordered Napenas to keep the operation from Espina and IRoxas.

“… even before 8 January 2015, Purisima was already “barred from performing the functions” of the Office of the Chief of the PNP. Yet, he personally took charge over the presentation of the updated plan to get Marwan and Usman before the President and accordingly made himself present when Napeñas gave the briefing and mission update on Oplan Exodus to the President at the 9 January 2015 meeting held at the Bahay Pangarap in Malacañang. Being on preventive suspension, Purisima should not have been at this meeting, where a highly classified police operation was being discussed. The President should have excluded Purisima from this meeting. “

Much speculation swirls around the President’s trip to Zamboanga on the day of the tragedy. His cops were dying as he did the rounds of hospitals to convey sympathies for victims of a bomb blast. Reporters waited for hours for a mysterious briefing that never happened. And then he went back to Manila the same night, without any acknowledgement of Mamasapano.

Both the BOI and the Poe reports note that Mr. Aquino — known as a lover of all things that go bang — was involved in tactical details and giving orders like a commander. The Senate report notes that he “gave instructions to PDG Purisima as to the conduct of Oplan Exodus on 25 January 2015, as when the President sent PDG Purisima a text message reading, “Basit should not get away.”

Lid off the kettle of lies. Graphic courtesy of Manila Today

The families of the slain SAF and the surviving members of the assault Seaborne unit have stressed that in their search for justice, they want answers on why no rescue happened till it was too late.

While the Poe report raises the possibility that the military could have done more, it lays the blame squarely on Mr. Aquino.

“Until late in the afternoon of 25 January 2015, it was Purisima who was providing the President with updates on the progress of the operation. While the President was in Zamboanga City for most of 25 January 2015 with the Secretaries of Defense and of Interior and Local Governments, as well as the Chief of Staff of the AFP and the OIC of the Philippine National Police, the President communicated only with Purisima about the operation.”

All of the President’s officers in Zamboanga say he did not consult them. Neither did these officials assert themselves. The report posits that had information been shared during those crucial hours, rescue could have been hastened and lives saved.

As the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines, the President exercises supreme operational command of the nation’s military forces. The President also controls all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices. He wields the awesome powers of government, and has its vast resources at his disposal. The President’s decision not to use these resources at that instance, must be explained by him. The President is ultimately responsible for the outcome of the mission.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal. Photo by abs-cbnnews.com

The President has described critics as war-mongers and presented himself as the nation’s chief peace maker. The Senate report lauds his efforts to salvage the Bangsamoro Law needed to complete the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Yet it calls to question the worthiness of the MILF as peace partners and minces no words about the massacre, the deliberate finishing off of wounded and helpless SAF.

The latter is an issue quite apart of Mr. Aquino’s failure, as chief architect of the current peace process, to factor in existing ceasefire mechanisms and agreements between his government and the MILF. The BOI emphasises this point. As a result, military officials — who are sworn to follow protocols imposed on them — were made the fall guys in the failure to rescue the SAF.

Command responsibility. The coddling of a friend facing grave charges of corruption. The wilful refusal to consult other security officials even during a crisis. The green lighting of an operation where the Americans played such a key role that they dared order military rescuers.

As the nation grieved for the fallen cops, the fallen rebels, the slain civilians, Mr. Aquino and his aides tried their best to keep the lid on these ugly truths.

The pus has bubbled over, spreading an ugly yellow stain on hopes for peace in Mindanao. The avalanche of poison from festering wounds threaten to swamp Mr. Aquino. And he has only himself to blame.

Ano ang limitasyon ng US involvement sa mga combat or law enforcement operations sa Pilipinas?

Sa usaping #Mamasapano, ito ang alam natin:

1. May 6 na Kano sa tactical command post sa #Mamasapano – na hindi daw alam ni Napenas ang bilang noong Jan. 25.
2. Sila ang may dala at nag-operate ng gamit na nagbigay ng real-time, on-gound info sa SAF
3. Tutok lang sa SAF 84 at ang target na si Marwan ang real-time surveillance – ayaw pa sumagot si Napenas kung nakikita ang buong #Mamasapano; may implications yan, kasi kung maraming armado na nakikita, dapat di na tinuloy ang ops ng walang kaakibat na on-ground na AFP support.

Sinabi ng Philippine National Police (PNP) Board of Inquiry (BOI) at Senate reports na higit sa intel at equipment support ang papel ng mga Kano sa Mamasapano. May isa pa nagtangkang mag-utos kay 6th ID commander Pangilinan na magpalipad na ng artillery. Ito ay inamin ni Pangilinan sa resumption ng House of Representatives probe sa mga nangyari sa Mamasapano.

Sa tanong ni Gabriela party-list Rep. Emmie de Jesus, binulaslas ni Justice Secretary Leila de Lima ang tayo ng gobyerno sa usaping US involvement.

Sinabi niya na walang problema kung nasa tactical command post ang mga Kano.

Academic discussion lang daw.

Ayon kay de Lima, ang Korte Suprema ay nag-desisyon na ang Visiting Forces Agreement ay walang banggit na limitasyon sa specific activities – broad limitations lamang na kasama dito ang involvement sa actual combat. Ito daw ang “spirit” nang maaring makilusan ng mga Kano.

Hindi daw tayo dapat mangamba na itataya talaga ng Kano ang buhay nila sa aktwal na labanan. Dahil ayaw na ayaw naman daw ng US na mamatayan ng tauhan nito.

Okay, di ba?

Pwede silang mambomba; pwede silang mag-utos na magpalipad ng artillery; pwede silang magmando na lumusob at pumunta dito o doon ang mga sundalo o pulis na Pilipino – hindi na bale na maipit ng kaaway – wag lang sila ang mamatayan sa labanan.

Ang bawal lamang daw sa Konstitusyon ay ang magtayo military bases, magpasok ng armas nukleyar sa Pilipinas at maghimasok sa patakarang panlabas ng bansa. (Syempre alam din natin na ang US policy ay neither confirm or deny sa usaping nukes.)

Pasok daw sa sovereignty ng isang bansa ang kalayaang humingi ng military intervention ang Pangulo.

Hindi daw importante ang klase ng operasyon na kinasasangkutan ng Kano – kundi ang control at ang kapangyarihan mag-desisyon ng gobyernong Pilipino.

At ayon sa daw VFA, kung gusto ni Pangulong Benigno Simeon Aquino III na bigyan ng karapatan ang Kano na magdesisyon sa particular na operasyon, kasama ito sa karapatan ng Pangulo sa ilalim ng saklaw ng decision-making powers nya.

Sa kabuuan kung gusto ng Presidente PWEDE nitong bigyan ang Kano ng karapatang mamuno at manguna sa isang combat operation, pwede – wag lang sila malagay sa alanganin. Ang kailangan lang daw ay pahintulot ng Pangulo. Sila lang daw ang makakapagpasya ng saklaw ng US involvement.

A lawyers’ group and various Christian churches are struggling against all odds to save the life of Mary Jane Velasco, a Filipino facing execution in Indonesia.

Velasco was convicted for smuggling heroin into Indonesia in April 2010. This is what happened, according to Mary Jane and her family.

Betrayed by a friend

The mother of two had just returned from a traumatic stint as a domestic worker in Dubai where, she says, her employer attempted to rape her. Desperate to help her children and her parents, she accepted a friend’s offer of a job in Malaysia.

“Christine” was the daughter of Mary Jane’s godfather. She brought Mary Jane to Malaysia. There was no job. She offered an alternative in Indonesia. Then she bought Mary Jane new luggage for her meager clothes. Mary Jane says she did not know the luggage also contained 2.6 kilos of heroin. She was nabbed at the airport by Indonesian authorities.

It is a story told too often. It is a story that has made Filipinos cynical.

We know there are Filipinos who knowingly accept offers to be drug mules. We also know many others are duped by smugglers of various contraband.

We can sniff and say, beh, buti na. But not too long ago, in more innocent times, we good-natured Filipinos thought nothing of accepting requests by strangers to accommodate their luggage.

I’ve done that before on trips where there was only a small bag to check in and someone next on the check-in line, with too much baggage, would beg to be relieved of the dreaded excess charge. I haven’t done that for years, of course, even when the person requesting the favor is a nice, sweet, 70-year old woman. Too dangerous.

Helping hands

But I’ve seen Filipino migrant workers in airports around the world and their host countries.

Left to their own defenses in hostile surroundings, Filipino overseas workers (OFWs) are torn between the need for caution and the very real need to help one another.

They step into the breach in countries where our embassies and consulates provide little or no aid to hapless peers. They rescue stranded and abused domestic workers. They provide funds, food and tender loving care to Filipinos wounded in the crossfire of host countries’ conflict. As former head of Bayan Mo iPatrol Mo, I have seen so many examples of the Filipino migrant’s innate generosity. So I cannot just dismiss claims of innocents who get into trouble.

Right to fair trial

I do not know whether Mary Jane Veloso is telling the truth. And neither does Edre Olalia, secretary-general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers.

Olalia’s group was approached by Mary Jane’s family two nights ago. They wanted help in a last-ditch attempt to save her life.

“I do not know what the truth is. But there are enough credible reports, including one by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which notes that she may been deprived of the right to a fair trial,” says Olalia.

NUPL will ask the DFA tomorrow for the Veloso case file. Among the documents they will request is a hand-written account by Mary Jane of her experience. This has been in the custody of the Philippine Embassy in Indonesia since 2010, says Olalia.

NUPL has also linked with an international lawyers’ group and Indonesian allies. They may file an amicus brief.

The lawyer was present at a forum at the Cubao diocese chancery yesterday, when religious groups and migrant organizations gathered to brainstorm the Save the Life of Mary Jane Veloso campaign.

Mary Jane Veloso’s father, Cesar, breaks down as he appeals for help in saving the life of his daughter. (Photo by Inday Espina-Varona)

Mary Jane’s father, Cesar, broke down seconds into his speech and had to be given some medical aid.

Her mother, Celia, later spoke on behalf of the family, narrating the horror of finding out through television news that her daughter’s appeal had been rejected by indonesia’s Supreme Court.

“We lost hope. We didn’t know who could help us,” Celia said in Filipino before thanking the alliance for the help. “

“Now we have found strength,” she said. “Maybe a miracle will happen.”

The Extra Mile

This is a poor family with little by way of resources and connections to save Mary Jane, and one under threat from the former friend – who remains at large.

By all accounts, Mary Jane is accepting of her fate though not bereft of a will to fight this last fight. 

UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Christof Heyns, had earlier appealed for Indonesia to stop the executions. She cited a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that said Veloso and other death row convicts did not receive sufficient legal services or the right to translators, and had no legal representation at all stages of their trials.

NUPL is doing research on a case of an Australian national whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on the same grounds invoked by Veloso.

Innocents do get executed by states. Some extra-judicially, some at the tail-end of trials stacked against them. In the United States, just recently, a man walked free after 30 years on death row, after being convicted sans fingerprint evidence, no eyewitness and employers and workings confirming his alibi.

This is all the family asks from you – to help them campaign for another review of her case.

As Olalia notes, “there is no further motion for reconsideration in the afterlife.”

How To Help

If you want to help Mary Jane get another chance to prove her innocence, you can do this:

Send letters, emails or fax messages calling on:

• Indonesian Pres. Joko Widodo to grant Mary Jane Veloso clemency on grounds of a mistrial and for humanitarian reasons. Letters may be coursed through respective Indonesian embassies.
• Philippine Pres. Benigno Aquino III to exhaust all means to save Mary Jane Veloso’s life and demand to know why Mary Jane Veloso and others like her were deprived of proper legal assistance by the PH government.
• The Philippine government to hunt down and prosecute Mary Jane Veloso’s illegal recruiter, “Cristina”, who remains at large to this day. “Cristina” is also said to be harassing and threatening Veloso’s family.
• The United Nations to investigate why there have been the most number of executions that pushed through under the Aquino regime.
• Migrants’ and human rights-based organizations to appeal for clemency for Mary Jane Veloso.

Sign the petition calling on Pres. Widodo to stop the executions in Indonesia:

Like and circulate to all networks the Save the Life of Mary Jane Veloso Facebook page

You may send your communications to:

H.E. President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo

Istana Merdeka
Jakarta Pusat 10110, Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 386 4816 /+62 21 344 2233
Email: ppid@setkab.go.id

Twitter: @jokowi_do2

H.E. President of the Republic of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III

Office: JP Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila, Philippines

Voice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80

Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968

E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph

Twitter: @noynoyaquino

UN Special Rapporteur Christof Heyns on extrajudicial executions

Email: eje@ohchr.org

Please send a copy of your email/mail/fax to the above-named government officials, to the address below:

Save the Life of Mary Jane Veloso

45 Cambridge St., Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines

Telefax: (+632) 9114910

Email: migrante2007@yahoo.com.ph

Facebook: fb.com/SaveMJVeloso, fb.com/migranteinternational

Twitter: @migrante_intl

Mary Jane Veloso’s family joins a candelight vigil for the migrant Filipino worker facing the death penalty in Indonesia. (photo courtesy of bulatlat.com)

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers has written Indonesian President Joko Widodo to overturn the death penalty of Filipino migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso.

IADL president Jeanne Mirrer urged Widodo to take into account the mitigating factors in Veloso’s case, including reports that she had been deprived of the right to a fair trial and adequate legal representation.

“We are gravely concerned about her case because of the numerous reported violations of the Veloso’s human rights, including the right to a fair trial and due process as guaranteed under both domestic and international law,” Mirrer said.

“IADL understands that Ms. Veloso was forced by economic circumstance to seek work outside of her country. Her intention was not to smuggle heroin into Indonesia. She only found out that was used to smuggle the contraband after arrival and arrest. Her sole intention was to find employment but fell victim to drug traffickers. IADL further understands that Ms. Veloso did not receive sufficient legal services or the right to translators, and had no legal representation at all stages of her trials.”

“We hope that the Government of Indonesia and its Courts will carefully consider this letter and other evidence put before it in respect of these violations.”

The lawyers’ group, the first non-organization accredited by the United Nations, reminded Widodo that execution is “final, irreversible, and engages the most fundamental of all human rights, namely, the right to life.”

It said focusing on the category of the offence rather than the individual circumstances of the offender is “arbitrary, disproportionate and contrary to the basic norms of due process.”

Central to the principle of an individualized sentencing is the consideration of mitigating evidence. The evolving standards concerning the application of the death penalty under Indonesian law, domestic laws of foreign jurisdictions, as well as the practice of international and regional bodies no longer allow for the imposition of a death sentence without consideration of mitigating circumstances.

Mitigating Circumstances

IADL letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Not to do so would violate an individual’s right to not be arbitrarily deprived of one’s life, to be free from inhuman and degrading punishment, to a fair trial, and to access to justice, the lawyers’ group stressed.

The need for individualized sentencing in every capital case, taking into account all aggravating and mitigating factors relating to both the offence and offender and resulting in a just and proportionate sentence, is inherent in any functioning criminal justice system.

As noted above, Ms. Veloso was forced by economic circumstance to seek work outside of her country. Her intention was not to smuggle heroin into Indonesia. She only found out that was used to smuggle the contraband after arrival and arrest. Her sole intention was to find employment. Ms. Veloso did not receive sufficient legal services or the right to translators, and had no legal representation at all stages of their trials.

The group also said international human rights bodies and agencies within the UN system see drug-related offences outside the scope of the “most serious crimes” for which the death penalty may be imposed. It cited published positions by the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, and UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE IADL LETTER SENT TO INDONESIAN PRESIDENT WIDODO ON BEHALF OF MARY JANE VELOSO
IADL letter for Mary Jane Veloso

DFA Asked To Turn Over Veloso Case Files

The letter, dated April 9, followed moves by the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) of the Philippines to help Veloso’s family seek a new review of her case.

The NUPL has written the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to furnish them with Veloso’s case files, including a 2010 handwritten account of her ordeal under Indonesian authorities. According to NUPL secretary-general Edre Olalia, the Philippine Embassy in Indonesia has custody of Veloso’s personal account.

Global campaign

Meanwhile, religious and human rights organizations, and advocates of migrant workers rights, launched a campaign to press Widodo into examining the case of Veloso. See HOW YOU CAN HELP SAVE MARY JANE here.

They have also called on the government of President Benigno Aquino III to safeguard Veloso’s family, reportedly under threat from the narcotics smugglers who duped the migrant worker.

At the same time, the militant migrant group, Migrante, also sought a probe into why Mr. Aquino’s government has chalked up the biggest number of overseas Filipinos falling to state executions since the start of the workers’ exodus in the 1970s.

If her execution pushes through, Veloso will be the eighth Filipino to be executed by a foreign state under Mr. Aquino’s rule, says Migrante Worldwide, 122 other Filipinos face the death penalty.

The leftist underground umbrella, the National Democratic Front (NDF) also took up the Veloso family’s appeal for help and said it had asked Indonesian allies to mobilize and stage mass actions to focus attention on her case.

So someone sent me this email, asking me to sign a petition. It screamed: Urge New York restaurant to stop serving balut – unborn duck fetus!

The petition was launched on YouSignAnimals.org. Because I believe in free expression, here’s the link for those who want to sign the petition.

Here’s the text of Gabrielle Hardy’s petition:

Maharlika, a restaurant in Manhattan, New York is selling what seems to be the strangest food one can possibly eat in the Big Apple. The name of the dish is called balut. It’s essentially a hard boiled egg that contains a partially formed duck fetus inside. In other words, the baby duck has not yet even been born!

The official name you will find on the menu is ‘fertilized duck egg with embryo’

A team from ‘Business Insider’ met with Nicole Ponseca, the restaurant’s owner, and learned how to eat and enjoy this dish. The owner is really proud of selling this food, claiming it is delicious and full of vitamins and proteins essential to humans.

A team from ‘Business Insider’ met with Nicole Ponseca, the restaurant’s owner, and learned how to eat and enjoy this dish. The owner is really proud of selling this food, claiming it is delicious and full of vitamins and proteins essential to humans.

The truth is that this food is disgusting an should not be served in restaurant. I am therefore asking the restaurant to get balut off the menu as soon as soon as possible!

Sign now if you find this food disgusting and distasteful!

Well….

I don’t eat balut. To be accurate, I love the juicy part of balut and the yolk. But I can’t eat a little dead bird, cannot stand the thought of slurping bones and feathers and claws.

Most products in the Philippines are 17 days old, thus missing these body parts. Still, I have this runaway imagination. So I prefer penoy, which is nine to 12 days old and only contains the yolk.

But hey, I don’t kid myself. It’s the same animal.

Now, every egg sold contains a yolk. Here’s the Merriam-Webster definition:
1) the yellow spheroidal mass of stored food that forms the inner portion of the egg of a bird or reptile and is surrounded by the white — see egg illustration
2) the whole contents of an animal ovum consisting of a protoplasmic formative portion and an inert nutritive portion
3) material stored in an animal ovum that supplies food to the developing embryo and consists chiefly of proteins, lecithin, and cholesterol

Maybe it isn’t exactly an “embryo.” But to life-begins-when-sperm-meets-egg folks, the yolk represents a life nipped in the bud. Check out the arguments against pills, though I suspect a lot of these good folks probably pop an egg or two a day.

The problem is, the petition doesn’t state its philosophical stand.

“Disgusting” and “distasteful” is not a good enough excuse to run people (or establishments) out of town.

If it’s really all about animal rights, why doesn’t the petition mention pigs squealing as they’re butchered, or cows stuffed until they’re ready for the sharp knives? Or chickens and ducks being gutted? Or hunters shooting animals?

If it’s about the unborn, well, New York has a very liberal abortion policy. It does not have any major restriction on the practice.

It’s a matter of perspective. I don’t believe in abortion but will respect states and peoples that legalize it. It’s illegal in the Philippines but I won’t drag some poor, desperate woman to jail for it.

I’ll never eat balut but won’t curtail people’s right to eat it — or serve it. Ducks are not on the list of endangered species. They’re farm animals.

Disgusting? The only reply I have is, heck, stay away. Get a life.

The personal touch has always been one of President Benigno Aquino’s greatest strengths. It has also been a major weakness of the Philippine’s incumbent Chief Executive.

When it moves him, Mr. Aquino can be dogged, emphatic, unleashing the Aquino charm. Conversely, the President comes off as unfeeling and uncaring, and prone to convoluted logic when put on the defensive. (Read, Mamasapano and the SAF 44).

In the temporary stay of execution granted Mary Jane Veloso, Mr. Aquino must be credited for reaching out to the Indonesian government and for suggesting that targeting big narcotic fishes, instead of little mules, would be in the best interests of both countries.

No less than Indonesia’s Attorney General confirmed that Veloso was spared after Aquino’s appeal that Veloso be used as a witness in the impending case against her recruiter Maria Kristina P. Sergio, also known as Mary Christine Gulles Pasadilla.

“There was a request from the Philippine president regarding the perpetrator who’s suspected of committing human trafficking and surrendered in the Philippines. Mary Jane is needed for her testimony,” Tony Spontana, the spokesman for Indonesia’s Attorney General, said in a text message to media.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had remained silent following a personal appeal from the Philippine President during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Based on a Reuters report, the reported “surrender” of Mary Jane’s alleged recruiter tipped the scales for the hapless Filipino woman.  The Indonesian Cabinet secretary has also acknowledged that activists, who helped in Jokowi’s rise, played a major role in their President’s change of heart.

Keeping one’s eye of the big fish is, by the way, a strategy long practised by the best intelligence units — whether dealing with illegal drugs, human trafficking or terrorism. Sometimes, zeal gets the better of them and they find themselves abetting illegal, criminal actions while trying to hook the big fish. There are laws that ban such practices and, if caught, law enforcers may see their target walk.

Mr. Aquino’s aides note, rightly, that he was so adamant he broke protocol  to save Mary Jane’s life. That means talking to officials other than Jokowi, his counterpart.

I’d laud him for that, too.

I’ll also point out that it was the least he could do.

Failing Mary Jane

You see, a big part of why Mary Jane found her self on the verge of execution was because the Philippine government had done nothing to follow up her claim that she was duped into carrying narcotics.

It started as a human trafficking case.

Cops were somber as they listened to narratives of Mary Jane’s ordeal. Photo by author

As many hapless Filipinos have experienced in the Middle East, Mary Jane was abused by an employer and forced back home. Bereft of any hope for a productive job, probably still in the process of paying off debts incurred in her first trip, she sought the help of Kristina Sergio.

When no job materialized in Malaysia, she was invited to try out her luck in Indonesia, given a new luggage, some new clothes.

Mary Jane’s Indonesian lawyers were not remiss in telling the Philippine government that going after Sergio was critical to saving their client. Mary Jane had sworn testimonies. Her family also coordinated with the government. They were told that making noise could endanger Mary Jane, told to trust in the system.

That is the context around President Aquino’s last-minute efforts to reach out to Indonesia.

He did his part at crunch time. But there can be no denying that the system, this government – his government – failed Mary Jane big time.

Sin of Omission

Even after Mr. Aquino wrote Indonesian leaders to request clemency for Mary Jane, NOTHING WAS DONE?  What were those letters premised on, simple mercy?

Mary Jane’s lawyers and allies were clear: their request for a review, for a step back hinged on the tenet that with death so final a punishment, it is but just to exhaust all remedies that allow a sentenced person to prove her case.

In Mary Jane’s case, flaws in the Indonesian system (a lack of translator that confused Mary Jane, among other things) and the greater flaw at home — nothing was ever done to follow up her claim.

Governments should not be even staging last minute saves – unless during a clear, sudden accident. Governments should ensure that citizens get the best possible service, especially when their lives are at stake, especially when they find themselves toiling in harsh, dangerous and hostile conditions.

Well, this is what the government will do NOW.

“Our Department of Justice will do a case build-up and provide the information to the Indonesian authorities, so that the position of Mary Jane may be clarified, that she was a victim of a human trafficking and illegal drug trafficking syndicate,” Coloma said.

The question is, despite documents, why wasn’t it done BEFORE?

I understand private lawyers and migrant groups are closing in on a paper trail that could shed light on why Mary Jane was abandoned on the most important part of her defense, even as the government went through the motions of “helping out”.

The least of the cases

I heaRd Kristina Sergio over dzMM. She, of course, denies having anything to do about narcotics. She also denies she is an illegal recruiter.

In the interview I heard, she claimed to be a legitimate representative of a legitimate and credible employment agency. No names were given (and none asked by the anchors).

Sergio claimed Mary Jane approached her. I’ll buy that. The countryside gossip network is vast and operates overtime, especially on matters of livelihood.

Her later interviews, however, give lie to the story of being a legitimate employment agent.

A legitimate manpower agent deals directly with clients, ensures that a job and a proper contract are available and waiting, and that all government requirements at home and abroad have been met, before sending an OFW to greener pastures.

A legitimate employment agent is not an escort service, not someone who shells out considerable funds for someone’s plane fare, hotel accommodation, plus some pocket money, for a possible job. That is a classic human trafficking set-up.

Everywoman

If only on that score, the government’s inaction in the case of Mary Jane is criminal.

That the human trafficking eventually turned out to be narcotics smuggling only makes the omission more grave.

Even on the day the Indonesians bent back to give Mary Jane a chance to make good her story, Serigio was not under arrest. She was under protective custody because of alleged threats received in the run up to the scheduled execution.

If the government really wants to show the world it is determined to go mano-a-mano with narcotics lord, it must also provide the answers to questions surrounding Mary Jane and Sergio.

You see, that was the crux of the matter: The Philippine government was begging Indonesia to save Mary Jane after it failed to do so.

Ten percent of our nation is scattered to the winds. Mary Jane could have been a sister, a friend, a parent, a spouse, a partner.

I’d have broken protocol, too, if I were the President. There was no other choice.

With the blinding speed of a knockout punch, cheers for People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao turned into jeers.

INJURED. Manny Pacquiao failed to disclose his shoulder injury in a form required on the eve of his fight with Floyd Mayweather.

A scheduled surgery for an injured shoulder has replaced the homecoming parade. Worse, Pacquiao faces an investigation by Nevada’s attorney-general for dishonesty on the matter of his fitness.

READ:World Boxing Federation General Medical Guidelines

 (Update: Koncz, not Pacquiao, filled up medical questionaire )  

For hours following his defeat, Pacquiao fans hailed his valiant, attacking style. They dumped on the American fighter for spending much of the fight dancing away from Pacquiao or hugging him to evade the Filipino’s powerful fists.

Complaints about the fight’s outcome – on points, a unanimous win by a big margin for Mayweather – continued even after computers spat out the numbers. Whether in attempts or landed blows, Mayweather led Pacquiao. But tell that to Cambodian Premier Hun Sen who refuses to pay his $5,000 (losing) bet.

Time running out? The world had been waiting five years for The Fight of the Century, and Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather are no longer at their prime.

The Filipino single-handedly supplied the drama and the flash. But analysts say the number of blows from Pacquiao was below his average performance. Most early criticism centered on his failure to pursue the advantage gained in the fight’s middle rounds, when he rattled Mayweather a couple of times.

Then the Pambansang Kamao (National Fist) came out with a stunner.

Pacquiao told media that he went into the fight with an injury that apparently diminished his lethal powers. Progressively, that story got stranger.

Injury

The world first heard of the injury when Pacquiao appeared post-fight with his arm in a sling.

Doctors discovered a tear in his shoulder muscle hree weeks before the fight, he said.

Immediately, critics pounced on him for justifying his defeat once charges that he was robbed of victory could no longer stand.

Then Pacquiao’s camp said they had sought permission for pain-numbing shots, a request thumbed down by the Nevada Athletic Commission. It became a full-blown conspiracy theory when Pacquiao claimed Mayweather knew of his injury and deliberately attacked his vulnerable point to wear him down. The American boxer, he added, had a spy in the Pacquiao camp.

“Alam niya, ito ang hinahawakan niya,” Pacquiao told reporters Sunday in Las Vegas (Monday morning in Manila), while grabbing his right forearm.

“I’m sure alam niya. Nag-leak ‘yun. Alam nila,” he said.

“Nakita mo ‘yung hinihila niya ‘yung kamay ko? Kasi alam niya. ‘Di ba, hinihila niya?” he also said.

Fraud?

Now, Nevada Athletic Commission chair Francisco Aguilar warns of a state probe.

“Pacquiao checked “no” a day before the fight on a commission questionnaire asking if he had a shoulder injury.”

It’s a serious threat.

“Pacquiao could face a possible fine or suspension for not answering the question accurately on a form he filled out just before Friday’s weigh-in,” says the Associated Press.

The mood has turned ugly.

People who placed bets on Pacquiao (despite bookies favoring Mayweather) are now asking if hiding his injury constitutes “fraud”.  There are insinuations that Pacquiao never intended to win.

There is little proof to back this up.

Other critics say Pacquai should have informed fans early on of his injury.  Some sports journalists have also raised the question of ethics — the subtext being, that neither Pacquiao nor his agent, Bob Arum, wanted to give up the big money that came with the Mayweather fight.

Journalists, on the other hand, have been chided for remaining oblivious to the reported injury. Indeed, as Pacquiao’s training progressed, there were only superlatives about his prowess, his strength, his return to former levels of agility, and that killer instinct coming back.

In fact, most of the questions about fitness were addressed to Mayweather, who was secretive about his regimen.  Pacquiao’s every training move, in contrast, seemed to be a party. Except for the real sparring – that was out of bounds to media.

It was the sparring that made the old shoulder injury flare-up on May 2.

Everything since then was bravado and grit (if you love Pacquiao) or a farce (to his critics).

“Naka-focus kami, right hook pero last 3 weeks before the fight, ‘di ko na na-ensayo kanan ko. Training ko bawat araw, kaliwa lang kaya wala pwede manood sa (training camp),” he said.

Spy vs spy

It’s hard to swallow the “Mayweather-had-a-spy” excuse. Every coach worth his title scouts the enemy long before D-day.

In elite athletics, a fraction of a second, a shot, a saved ball, or the ability to evade harm – and inflict harm – spells the difference between victory and defeat. Technique and strategy change with every opponent. S everybody spies on everyone and his mother. I’d be really disappointed if Roach did not attempt to hook a spy from Mayweather’s camp.

Everybody is also paranoid, as Pacquiao’s own evasive tactic shows:

“Doon na kami sa dressing room, ayaw nilang payagan na ma-injectionan… natunugan nila na iyun nga, may deperensya ako sa balikat, and then ang katwiran naman ng commission, is hindi daw namin finil-up-an iyung form which is nandon sa record nila eh. Iyung form na finil-up-an namin,” he said. “Alam nila iyon, nagbigay kami 2 weeks ago. Hindi lang sila sumagot.”

Mayweather can’t be faulted for targeting Pacquiao’s injury. Every boxer aims for the split eyebrow or lip or the black eye. Every ring gladiator waits for the first sign of weakness and then goes in for the kill. Mayweather was just more methodical, both in his attack (jabs) and defense (dancing, hugging).

Always a fighter with flair, Manny Pacquiao got big credit when he started boxing smart.

I don’t blame folks for getting infuriated. But boxing has long ceased to be the exclusive turf of brawlers. Even Pacquiao’s rise to world-class level was credited to  a change of strategy – though he is loved because no amount of polish will ever transform him into a mere points-scoring machine.

Agony and Ecstasy

In the highest ranks of professionals, love for money is a given – as with an inability to handle money, except for the few shrewd ones.

The will and super ego that drives the champion athlete are the same things that also make us want to throttle him or her half of the time.

Stubborn, prideful, obsessive, superstitious, cagey; arrogant, boastful, manipulative, mercurial… the most beloved athletes are the champions with the most human of flaws.

There is a very thin line between brave and reckless.

Let’s face it: The reckless who wins reaps accolades. Those who fail make people wring their hands.

Pacquiao was right to keep his injury from media, especially if his doctors, trainers and coaches had reassured him he’d be in top form by the Fight of the Century.

But it’s also unfair to expect the Nevada Athletic Commission to ignore his failure to be transparent with regulators. The commission and the anti-doping body would be crucified if they allow athletes access to painkillers and other meds without a full medical report to back up their requests. (The anti-doping body claims it was the duty of the Pacquiao camp to inform the commission about the medical background behind their request for medication.)

Aside from our jealous assertion of an audience’s right to entertainment, here’s the bigger issue: Non-disclosure of an injury could endanger an athlete to the point of no return. In any form, boxing is a dangerous sport.

Pain is an alarm bell. Any substance that hampers the conduct of pain increases the danger to athletes. It would also give them leverage against those without aids to block the natural pain of athletic exertion.

Many athletes, driven as they are, will try to understate injuries. Nobody wants to show the opponent any weakness. On the other hand, weasels will try to find an excuse for getting out of a contest they are sure to lose.  Regulators also have to guard against these cheats.

Athletes have a very short shelf life; top tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovich are now considered as elders in that game.

Every postponement of a contest, every pull out from a tournament, can affect one’s place in the history books. It can also have immediate effect on ranking – and the accompanying clout for purse money or endorsements.

While not conclusive,some studies have tried to parse out why some athletes push themselves past breaking point.

In work with injured athletes, some sport and exercise psychologists have proposed that certain attitudes might predispose athletes to injury (7). According to this research, the attitudes that coaches often try to instil in their athletes can actually backfire with regard to injury risks. For example, the ‘no pain, no gain’, and ‘give 110%’ attitudes might unwittingly lead to athletes taking undue risks. In many sports, participants need to be assertive and play hard, but within safe limits, employing appropriate techniques and strategies. This doesn’t just apply to contact sports since many other exercisers attempt to go through the pain barrier and as a result suffer overuse injuries or over-train.

Much like artists, top athletes are high-strung individuals. Most rely on people to take up the slack on practical details, so they can focus on winning. They also constantly need validation and will come to depend on the wisdom of people who have accompanied (and survived) their rise to fame.

I don’t feel cheated by Pacquiao. I was dazzled. But then, I’m not a betting person.

Still, Pacquiao knows the rules. If he was caught violating one rule meant to protect fighters from unnecessary harm, then he must take the lumps.

The Philippine State owes Celia Veloso an apology 

“Maniningil ako.”

Social media crucified Celia Veloso because she demanded accountability.

Now victims or would-be victims of Mary Jane Veloso’s recruiter are coming out to testify against Ma. Cristina Sergio. Law enforcers spit out details of Sergio’s frequent travels to countries known as hubs for narcotics smuggling. They reveal database inputs, harking four years back, tagging Sergio and her partner as suspected drug mule handlers and human traffickers.

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In the middle of an interview at the headquarters of Migrante, supporters relay to Nanay Celia the latest details on the Sergio case, including one victim authorities are still trying to trace.

Mary Jane’s mother wipes her eyes. She sighs. Her fists clench.

“Ilan pa ang mga biktimang di natin alam? Ilan pa ang nawawala?” (How many other victims are out there? How many more are missing?)

READ: EVENTS LAST WEEK VINDICATE HER DEMAND FOR ACCOUNTABILITY SERGIO – human trafficking

WATCH : NBI: Veloso may have been set up. 

READ: Mary Jane Veloso’s recruiters admit being part of int’l drug ring 

Take away alleged dummy accounts. Take away alleged payments to Canadian market research firms in 2013 and 2014. Take away the excess campaign contributions.

Ranged against his Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALNs), Vice-President Jejomar Binay’s bank deposits and withdrawals, listed in the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report that formed the basis of the May 11 Court of Appeals freeze order, raise awkward questions.

The SALNs from 2006 to 2013, from his days as mayor of the country’s financial district to his current post as the country’s second highest official, Binay and his wife Elenita, disclosed their cash assets:

Binay Cash Assets
2006      3,293,307.97
2007      1,511,766.49
2008      1,325,195.58

2009         806,000.00

2010     17,000,000.00
2011     21,339,723.79
2012     22,579,259.00
2013 28,783,088.00

  http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/05/18/15/source-binay-personal-funds-puzzle

‘Binay-Limlingan joint accounts used for campaign funds’

The House of Representatives Committee on Justice has approved a resolution seeking house arrest for former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The administration of her successor, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, has filed several criminal charges against Mrs. Arroyo.

Mr. Aquino’s administration managed to stop Mrs. Arroyo from leaving the country, ostensibly to seek medical treatment for a degenerative neck and spine condition. She has since been under hospital arrest at the Veterans’ Medical Center in Quezon City.

Why are lawmakers scrambling to accord special treatment for the ex-president?

Even if that resolution is non-binding, the concept behind it shows them bending backward for the former leader.

The committee, headed by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, green lighted a resolution for Mrs. Arroyo to be placed under house arrest.

Why?

While some cases against Mrs. Arroyo has been dismissed, she still faces a plunder case. That’s probably one of the most serious crimes a national leader can face.

The only other crime that comes near it is mass murder or serial murder. That’s more the turf of the man Mrs. Arroyo once loved to call her hero.

Here’s what Tupas said:

“According to the Philippine National Police, Arroyo is not a flight risk. We asked doctors, and despite her medication, Arroyo has not been responding…,”

If it’s a physical problem, then all the more reason for her to stay put in the hospital. If Tupas is tip-toeing around the notion that Mrs. Arroyo is suffering from depression, I will commiserate. But that is still not enough reason for the special treatment. Any survey of any jail around the country will find a substantial percentage of prisoners saddled with the blues, whether they just be in the dumps or actually suffering from clinical depression.

There’s little reason for Mrs. Arroyo to be allowed the comforts of their sprawling La Vista residence. She has very comfortable space in that hospital. I doubt if more than a handful of soldiers wounded in battles aimed at preserving the republic have ever enjoyed that kind of accommodation.

News reports have quoted the prosecution opposing Mrs. Arroyo’s request for the Sandiganbayan to allow house arrest:

In a comment filed by the prosecution before the Sandiganbayan First Division, they opposed the former president’s Motion for Modified Custodial Arrangement, wherein she requested that she be transferred either to her Quezon City house or Lubao, Pampanga house.

The prosecution said “the argument raised by the accused that she be placed under house arrest runs counter to her actual medical conditions.”

The prosecution also emphasized that there is “no rule that allows house arrest to an accused whose bail petition and demurrer have been denied.”

Some people note: “But she’s a former president. Give her the respect she deserves.”

Last I checked, leaders — with all the privileges, perks and powers they enjoy — have very clear legal guidelines on what or what not to do during their terms of office.

Pomp and circumstance should not be mistaken for respect or one’s right to it.

Respect is earned when you do the right thing for the right reasons, no matter the difficult odds faced.

Those who, having been given plenty by the people, and choose to trample on their sacred tasks, are not deserving of respect.

That goes for officials of the incumbent administration, including President Aquino’s favourite protector, his chief dispenser of pork, as well as the Vice President with the mostest.

This resolution has nothing to do with compassion. I suspect it is in aid of contributions. Or votes.

READ :

I am not surprised by Tupas and company. Legislators once urged a pardon for convicted plunder president Joseph Estrada. He’s not only Mayor of Manila today; he is also thinking of running in the 2016 national elections — or positioning himself as king (or queen) maker.

[The prosecution handling Mrs. Arroyo’s cases have pointed out:  “in Estrada’s case, his house, which was adjacent to the Philippine National Police’s Camp Capinpin, was converted into a police camp and was “for all intents and purposes” a police camp”. That didn’t stop the fun, by all accounts.]

You can only wonder who’s the next beneficiary of legislators’ bleeding hearts. Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile? And after this administration steps down, friends will remember and return the favor.

In fact, many so-called exit strategies in this country seemed aimed at finding protectors who will shield them from accountability.

And we wonder why some things never change.

They probably mean well, but I’m not sure that those who call for “all-out peace” reflect the sentiments of the Bangsamoro or even just the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

I’ve always thought genuine peace can sprout only if rooted in the soil of justice – only with the easing of pains caused by historical injustice and ensuring that no social group slips between the cracks of any new system.

Maybe, the groups calling for “all-out peace” also feel the same way.

But they have not said as much, not in the aftermath of that ad hoc committee farce of a hearing on the draft Basic Bangsamoro Law. Some party-list representatives from the “all-out peace” bloc voted with the administration bloc to uphold the surprise working draft of the committee chairman and vice chairman.

There’s been scant criticism from this sector of the changes to the original draft, which was based on the comprehensive peace agreement between the MILF and the government of President Benigno S. Aquino III.

I can imagine the thought bubbles:

Mr. Aquino called congressional allies to the Palace. They came back with a new working draft, with administration bloc whip Neptali Gonzales to backstop the waffling ad hoc committee chair, Rufus Rodriguez. The marching order was to vote for the draft and defeat any opposition. Success! Now, we have to defend the bill against all critics.

I am sure members of these groups sincerely think they stand beside the MILF on the issue of self-determination. The mystery is, nobody seems to have spoken with the MILF on the matter of the last ad hoc committee draft (also taken up by two other committees).

Nobody seems to have asked the other party in the peace agreement whether the new working draft is acceptable.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal explains why the Bangsamoro need genuine self-determination.

The word “peace” does not exist in a vacuum. Anytime between now and the weekend, MILF peace panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal will be sending Malacanang this message: If the House of Representatives passes what the ad hoc committee spat out, the MILF will reject the BBL.

Chairman Iqbal, of course, has said the MILF will continue to push for peace even if the BBL dream crashes to the ground.

That, however, does not mean the MILF will accept – for the sake of peace – whatever scraps from the table the powers deign to throw its way.

Crushed hopes

The BBL will most likely crash. Eleven senators support Sen. Miriam Santiago’s report that clearly calls the measure unconstitutional. Any version coming out from that chamber will definitely be unacceptable to the MILF. That is, if the Senate actually passes a counterpart measure.

Can government supporters now sigh with relief because they can blame someone, something for the failure of the BBL?

Not too fast.

Outpouring of joy as the government of President Benigno Aquino III and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) sign a comprehensive peace agreement. Photo from abs-cbnnews.com

Iqbal and the MILF leadership have given up a lot for peace. I’m sure critics of the BBL will disagree with this – most critics feel the government has conceded too much to the MILF.

But try stepping into the shoes of the aging leaders of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group. The MILF broke away from the MNLF when some guerrillas felt the latter was selling out the dream of self-determination.

How can the MILF go back to the Bangsamoro people and explain acceptance of a law that, in the words of Iqbal, may have 90% of the number of provisions in the peace agreement – but only half, at most, of its most substantial provisions?

In earlier articles, I mentioned what would be deal breakers for the MILF: the provisions on security, fiscal autonomy, control of natural resources, especially the critical areas of water, including watersheds, forestry, minerals; the right to contract with foreign entities. (I missed out of the Wadi, probably because of ignorance of what that would mean to Muslims.)

Read: MILF could lose critical powers when House votes on BBL

Read: BBL shows social fault lines that fueled Mindanao conflict

Deal breakers

Most critics focus on the huge sums that will go to the Bangsamoro government should a plebiscite uphold the BBL. But most wars for self-determination – whether ethnic or otherwise — are often all about control of a territory’s natural resources. The MILF wouldn’t be worth its name if it just grovels at the altar of mammon and forgets all about its reason for being.

If you were in Iqbal’s shoes, you’d see why the ad hoc committee version is a setback. The MILF had accepted that loans needing sovereign guarantees be approved by the national government. Now, they find that even grants and donations by foreign governments need to be approved by the Philippine national government. That would mean imperial Manila dictating once more what aid it sees fit for the Bangsamoro.

That to them is not self-determination. That is being a ward of imperial Manila.

If the national government controls decisions on the exploration and utilization of the most crucial natural resources, it would make the Bangsamoro just as vulnerable to other communities in the country that thumbed down big mining concerns and other industries encroaching into indigenous lands, only to be overruled by the national government. The MILF sees that clearly.

The MILF says it does not like the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997, not because it thinks non-Moro indigenous peoples are a sub-class, but because they have seen how the law has been used to screw IP communities from Luzon to Agusan and Surigao, in Mindanao. Some people suspect Muslims may look down on IPs; that’s an issue for the second part of this series, which will tackle some miscues of the MILF.

Those guns

A dream interrupted: To the MILF, genuine peace will come only when the comprehensive peace agreement is finally implemented. Passage of a BBL is the first step. Photo by abs-cbnnews.com

Many critics of the BBL, overjoyed by the Senate’s stand, may say this is all water under the bridge.

The MILF has said it will always hold the door open for peace. But remember, any decommissioning depends on implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement.

The guns will remain silent, hopefully, in the immediate future. But they will remain in the hands of the 20,000-strong MILF unless and until government’s promises are fulfilled.

Japan’s entry into a regional maritime dispute in the shadow of two bristling superpowers can only worsen security concerns, say former senators and foreign policy experts.

“It may exacerbate the problems,” said former senator Rena Saguisag, who pointed out that the Russians are joining the fray, with exercises scheduled in the disputed areas by 2016.

“That’s going to be another harmful provocation,” Saguisag said at the June 8 launch of P1NAS, a new coalition that seeks to promote an independent foreign policy for the Philippines.

READ: Citizen diplomacy needed amid superpowers clash

The former senator, who was part of the Senate bloc that voted in 1991 to oust the largest American bases outside of the US homeland, said the presence of foreign troops is not necessarily bad. He cited the battalion of military engineers sent by South Korea to assist communities devastated by super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

It is when countries send troops to promote belligerent interests that security conditions become dangerous, Saguisag explained.

Modernization woes

Former senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, who gave a “critical yes” vote for the retention of the US bases, agreed with Saguisag.

Both joined P1NAS to send a message to the powers now manuevering in disputed waters that form one of the most important global maritime highways.

“I was for modernization of the Armed Forces,” Shahani said, criticizing successive Philippine governments for failing to use bases privatization earnings to upgrade facilities and equipment.

“Where has the money gone?” the former senator asked.

Independence and self-reliance are important, Shahani said. China and other countries will always turn covetous eyes on the Philippines because of its rich resources, including vast quantities of natural gas and minerals.

She said even a victory in a UN-backed tribunal hearing a case filed by the Philippines against China is no guarantee for peace. 

Shahani also gave this advice to Mr. Aquino – who spoke of multi-generational friendship during his recent Japanese trip: “Don’t forget they (Japanese) invaded us.”

Bristling powers

President Benigno Aquino III has expressed support for Japan’s planned review of a pacifist constitution to improve contribution to “collective self-defense” in the region.

Japan has offered to help beef up the Philippines’ supply of patrol vessels. READ – Palace Sees More Japanese Military Aid to PH

Leaders of the two countries have also broached the possibility of crafting a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) for Japan, which would give the East Asian country the same controversial privileges granted the American military.

The Philippines has an  Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States. Reports say there are plans to allow the operation of eight new military bases once constitutional issues are resolved.

Philippine and US officials often frame these pacts as a way of bolstering the defense capacity of a weaker ally. But aid is not automatic. Critics say the US is only out to ensure free use of one of the world’s busiest maritime highways with no commitment to upholding Philippine claims on disputed waters.

Even Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang acknowledges that American commitments under EDCA do not include defense of the West Philippine Sea

Bad Memories

The VFA is controversial because critics believe it bends over for foreign troops that misbehave or commit crimes in the Philippines.

The issue is bound to become more critical where the Japanese are involved because of the atrocities that occurred during that country’s World War II occupation of the Philippines.

A study by the Philippine government from 1997 to 2002 estimates there were over 1,000 enslaved women in this country. They were taken to some 17 comfort stations scattered all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Digital Museum on the Comfort Women Issue lists the locations of their enslavement, with an accompanying map.

A special United Nations-commissioned report has found that the government of Japan orchestrated the enslavement of “comfort women” as part of their policy of war. Filipinos, to be sure, were not the only victims. Koreans, Chinese, Malays, Indonesians, Burmese — no one escaped the cruelty. READ : The Unforgotten: Valor and Our Comfort Women.

Japan has not officially apologized for the comfort women outrage in many Asian countries, including Korea, China and other Southeast Asian nations.

Patrons

Japan is also strengthening its military ties with the United States. The two countries released a new set of security guidelines in April, integrating ballistic missile defense systems and giving Japan a bigger security role.

Malaysia, meanwhile, has agreed to strengthen security ties with Japan, with the goal of transferring defense equipment and technology.

The Diplomat reports upcoming naval exercises by Russia and China in disputed waters.

“Russia and China intend to hold naval exercises in the South China Sea, according to comments by Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov. The exercises will include Russia’s allies in the Asia-Pacific region, though Antonov did not clarify which countries, beyond China, would participate in the exercises. Russia maintains close relations with several Southeast Asian states, especially with Vietnam, for which Russia is an important provider of arms. China, however, is involved in territorial disputes with four Southeast Asian states — Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei — over the sovereignty of various islands and reefs in the South China Sea.”

Both Saguisag and Shahani know aid is a fact of life, given the disparity in wealth and powers among nations. However, they want the Philippine government to be more discriminating and judicious in accepting and using military aid.

They fear that legitimate concerns about China’s muscle-flexing could fuel a greater cycle of dependency that other countries, like Japan, could exploit to strengthen their own interests.

“We cannot be at the begging end forver,” said Shahani, who urged Mr. Aquino to stress that any military aid would be used for an independent foreign policy.

“We must know how to draw the line,” she added. “An independent foreign policy is not immediate. I have no illusions about it. But let us not lose sight of the long-term goal.”

House of Representatives members of the Liberal Party are acting like attack dogs in their attempts to force Manila Standard reporter Christine Herrera disclose her sources on a series of controversial stories.

I can understand the anger among lawmakers. At the height of the controversy over the Bangsamoro Basic Law, when the administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III was trying its best to push for its final approval at the House, the Standard came out with this story: Crime Lord Paid for ‘BBL’ Payola?

It’s explosive; the sources for the main charge are mainly anonymous. But Herrera did attempt to get the side of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Bureau of Immigration officials — about efforts to stave off Wang’s deportation.

THE Aquino administration used funds from an alleged Chinese crime lord to raise campaign funds for the ruling Liberal Party and to guarantee the swift approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), The Standard learned Sunday.   Lawmakers received millions in hard cash from Monday to Wednesday last week, shortly after Wang Bo, who is wanted by Interpol and the Chinese government for allegedly embezzling $100 million, was ordered released by the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, highly reliable sources said.   “Unknown to the lawmakers, the funds they are receiving from the Palace to change their votes and blindly pass the BBL came from the leader of a crime syndicate in China,” a high-ranking official at the BID, who requested anonymity, told the Manila Standard.

Curious tale

The House of Representatives is probing the Wang Bo scandal. And it should, since Bureau of Immigration officials have been blaming each other for preventing his deportation to China, where he is wanted for alleged illegal gambling activities.

Even taking away the briber angle, it’s a curious tale.

• One of the deputy commissioners, Gilberto Repizo, is a member of the Liberal Party and lawyer to the treasurer of the LP, Oriental Mindoro Gov. Alfonso Umali.
• Umali and BI chief Siegfred Mison have been throwing brickbats at each other. Umali claims it was Mison who made a deal with Wang. Mison claims it was Repizo who turned around after meeting with Wang’s representatives.
• Another story, which Mison denies, quotes an official of the bureau claiming an influential Cabinet official with “leftist” ties (that is, “leftists” allied with President Aquino), is behind the attacks on Mison. The BI chief has denied any statement about this, and says a malicious email spread the news.

This much is clear: The Chinese government has asked for the deportation of an alleged big-time gambling lord, a beneficiary of our welcome arms policy for foreign investors with a thriving business in the Cagayan economic zone.  The request was ignored or people sat on said request, depending on who’s talking.

One of the strangest explanations came from Repizo, who linked his action to prevent deportation to Mr. Aquino’s defense of Philippine territory. How the LP has people who can connect the West Philippine Sea controversy to a wanted gambling lord is anybody’s guess.

Herrera’s latest story quotes a transcript of a BI meeting that tries to, well, resolve the problem in a creative way. Considering they are a quasi-judicial body discussing public documents, it’s pretty damning.

Threatening a journalist

Now the House of Representatives wants to force Herrera to reveal her sources, threatening her with charge her with content if she refuses to bow to their will.   Another LP leader, Cavite Rep. Elipido Barzaga, has given Herrera a week to reveal her sources, including some House members who reportedly gave her the story.   That’s just bullying. Media should protest this threat.

This country has a Shield Act that protects journalists from being forced to reveal their sources unless a court or Congress determines the information is needed to protect the security of the state.

Even a more recent law, RA 10173, which aims to protect citizens’ personal data, states:

SEC. 5. Protection Afforded to Journalists and Their Sources. – Nothing in this Act shall be construed as to have amended or repealed the provisions of Republic Act No. 53, which affords the publishers, editors or duly accredited reporters of any newspaper, magazine or periodical of general circulation protection from being compelled to reveal the source of any news report or information appearing in said publication which was related in any confidence to such publisher, editor, or reporter.

The problem with politicians is they often equate security of the state with security of their dirty backsides.

Remember the 2007 ZTE Telecommunications-National Broadband Network (ZTE-NBN) scandal? The Senate ethics committee also tried to force a journalist, the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Juliet Labog-Javellana to reveal sources who exposed details of a closed-door hearing. Her report claimed then Sen. Joker Arroyo stopped former NEDA head, Romulo Neri, from revealing what he knew about the deal. Four other senators backed Arroyo. The Inquirer stood by its story and refused to give up its sources.

Track record

The Standard’s first story contains details that seem too good to be true: cash being delivered to the HoR, CCTV footage overwritten. That is, until you realize, oh, yeah, this is the Philippines and this is the House of Representatives.  

Anyone who has chatted with congressional staff will tell you that, yes, cash exchanges hands in the august halls ruled by these honorable men and women.

Remember Epira? We’ve also had past coverage of lawmakers trooping to visit Malacanang in 2007 and emerging with brown bags full of cash.

We could say, but wait, that was Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. But then we have the Development Accepleration Program (DAP) goodies in the time of tuwid na daan.   Allegations of millions of pesos pushed towards lawmakers for the prosecution and ouster of disgraced chief justice Renato Corona emerged long after his exit.

Malacanang, which had desperately tried to keep DAP out of the public eye, denies using it as a bribe. But DAP is hardly fiction; in fact, it has been slapped down by the Supreme Court.

Herrera stands by her story. “They are based on credible sources and solid evidence. I (exerted) efforts to verify and corroborate the story before submitting for publication,” she told lawmakers Tuesday.

The HoR is better off probing the flaws and/or deliberate actions that may have protected Wang. Those of the ruling coalition who still claim to be activists should stop this nonsense. Those of the Liberal Party who like to talk nice about rights and democracy should rein in their attack dogs.   Congress should keep its hands off Herrera. Media organizations should also stand up for our colleague.

Unless someone — probably, senator Grace Poe — manages to dim Vice President Jejomar Binay’s light, he could become the next President of the Philippines. Binay is facing plunder charges in the Sandiganbayan. Plunder is a non-bailable charge.

The worst legal scenario for him: Arrest for plunder and jail while undergoing trial. If so, a Binay victory in the 2016 polls would give Filipino pride a boost: World, meet the Absentee President.

Yes, he can

The vice president says he’s “running scared”. But he’s still got plenty of steam left.

Some young people are aghast that someone charged with plunder could challenge — and possibly win — the presidential race. They haven’t heard of Romeo Jalosjos, the Zamboanga del Norte congressman who won congressional races, in 1998 and 2001, as a Bilibid (national penitentiary) inmate awaiting appeal of his conviction for the rape of a minor. The High Court handed down the final judgment on Jalosjos in 2001. Guilty; that also meant perpetual disqualification from public service.

But the commutation of his sentence in 2007 by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and release from jail in March 2009, gave Jalosjos a novel appreciation of “new lease in life”. He tried to join the mayoralty race in Zamboanga City. His comeback attempt was only stopped in 2013 by the Supreme Court.

The only force that can stop a Binay presidency is the people. Under the Omnibus Election Code, disqualification from candidacy and holding public office comes only after final judgement for an offense with a penalty of more than 18 months.

It’s not a bad law. It’s premised on the basic democratic tenet: Everyone is presumed innocent unless judged guilty. As Comelec spokesman James Jimenez notes, if cases become reasons for disqualification, everyone could stop anyone from running.

Jalosjos isn’t the only politician to benefit from the law. Binay basher-in-chief and former mutineer, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, campaigned while under military detention. Later, he did his Senate duties via remote control — chalking up helluva operational costs. There’s little chance of the senator challenging Binay’s right to run in 2016.

What If?

The vice president’s rivals will, of course, continue demonising him. Binay will try to prove his innocence. Government prosecutors have bungled big corruption cases; check out Imelda Marcos and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the latest news from the Sandiganbayan.

So the charges may fizzle out.

But if even if the plunder case goes up to the Sandiganbayan before the elections, and the Supreme Court doesn’t issue a temporary restraining order, the vice president may yet replace the brother of the women who love him so.

You can’t jail a sitting Philippine President. You need to impeach him or her and get a guilty sentence in a Senate trial — or go for ouster. But neither can you release a person already standing trial for plunder just because he or she wins the Presidency.

Seat of power

Let’s try an exercise in imagination. What happens when Malacanang gets an absentee tenant?

No court will allow Binay residency in Malacanang until and unless he is acquitted. Some things do remain sacred in this country.

God knows what real estate is left over from the slew of VIPs now facing plunder raps.

Binay can probably follow the example of his friend, former president and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada, and petition for house arrest in his sprawling Batangas property. Except that he claims it’s no longer his.

They could probably transform Alan Purisima’s White House into some chi-chi detention cell. It’s in a middle of a presumably secure location. It’s within sprinting distance of a hospital. It will give Binay-the-president room to host those vin d’honneur — in batches. They can always hold Cabinet meetings in the Camp Crame grandstand.

Or Binay can try for great theater by letting the afflicted and the weary find their way to his detention center, there to cry and plead for the attention of their great, persecuted leader.

Detention comes with a certain diminution of rights. No telephones, landline or mobile. (That’s probably fiction. Convicts have phones in Muntinlupa, Crame detainees have theirs, too, to be hidden when political heat forces those staged crackdowns.)

Even if the Courts don’t cut Binay-the-president some slack, the man will be wallowing in enough pork to hire an army of stenographers and secretaries to record every word, and order, and sniffle, and slurp, and belch in the line of duty.

He’ll have enough cash to do anything. And you, dear enemies of Binay who happen to be pork lovers, can enjoy watching his unaudited use of intelligence funds and other discretionary monies as he runs you down.

Of course, wheeler-dealers in government will be encouraged by the President’s ‘absence’ and curtailed circumstances. So expect sky-high corruption levels, rampant rights abuses and serious neglect of public services.

The Real Loser

Power and money are an unbeatable combination.Personal interest is a great motivator. As is revenge.

Narcotics lords in remote and shifting locations rule empires with the income of mid-sized countries. Politics in this country is all about business as usual. Binay won’t even lose sleep under this scenario. There will be only one loser — the people.

So those who really believe that Binay is Satan’s spawn had better improve their evidence-collecting skills.

Get off your desks and head off to where the voters are — there, dudes, in the congested ‘squatter’ communities you so like to demean, in rural hovels, everywhere where people are hungry and lack water and shelter and everything the middle-class takes for granted.

You see, the only force that can stop Binay are the people you call bobotante.

You don’t convince them just by heaping hate on a person. You win them over by showing them your love or, at the least, by pretending you don’t detest them.

It’s probably too late in the day for you to win their hearts. There’s one fighting chance. Present them with someone who can show them a little love. Otherwise, start preparing for the Absentee President.

VICE PRESIDENT JEJOMAR BINAY HAS LOST A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF D VOTERS. But guess where he improved his ratings?

MANILA – The strategy of patronage has a point of diminishing returns when it comes to national elections.

When the media banner voters’ top issues of concern, and race leaders trip under the spotlight, other candidates can play catch up without breaking the bank, according to political scientists assessing the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey.

In the Philippines, voters’ preference for “pro-poor” bets has long been interpreted as a boon for contenders who bribe voters with cash or services sourced from their pork barrels.

Political scientist Temario Rivera, however, points out that results of past national elections show that poor voter choose on the basis of their core issues. In the last half decade, these have been  graft and corruption – and equal enforcement of the law.

Perception that Binay cannot walk the talk has cost him substantial support from the critical D and E voting blocs, says Bobby Tuazon, director of policy studies at the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPeg).

Rethinking ‘bobotante’

Good governance and election watchdogs like to trace  the Philippines’ endemic corruption to the huge base of poor voters with low-educational levels.

The message can be grating: “bobotante” (stupid, unthinking voters) elect corrupt politicians in exchange for a few hundred pesos worth of bribes and other displays of patronage.

The latest series of presidential preference surveys by Pulse Asia, however, show a different story.

Binay, long known as king of largesse – decades of twin-city programs and a vast array of social services and quaint perks for Makati City residents — has slumped among the crucial Class D and E voter demographics.

(The D class accounts for 60% of the population, according to a report released in 2011 by then National Statistics Coordinating Board (NSCB) head Tomas Africa. The lowest end of the middle class, or the higher end of the poor — monthly income from P8,000 to P15,000 — comprises the D voters. Rivera places the D voter base at 60% to 65%, and the E class — the real poor with a monthly family income of less that P5,000 — at 25% to 29%.)

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, who for now has the administration’s formidable resources behind him, continues to inch up the surveys, not enough to ease concerns about his “winnability.”

Independent contender, Sen. Grace Poe, meanwhile, zoomed past Binay, doubling and tripling her ratings in crucial economic demographics and the most vote-rich areas.

Crucial base

In the latest Pulse Asia report, Binay saw a drop in Class D and E backers, from March to May this year.

The period featured legislative and legal probes into alleged corruption which led to a freeze of his assets and that of kin and trusted aides.

His portion of D voters slipped from 30% to 20%. From 33%, his class E share went down to 25%.

Why the slump?

Holmes, in an interview with ANC, said there were days when Binay’s alleged links to corruption was “only thing hogging the news.”

Political science professor Antonio Contreras agrees with Holmes.

“I guess the CDE voters for Binay are now getting the message,” he told ABS-CBNnews.com.

Some broadcasters are “very effective in painting Binay as a crook in dramatic ways,” he pointed out.

“Alam mo naman ang CDE, yan ang nakikinig pa sa radio,” Contreras said. (The CDE classes listen to radio.)

Tuazon believes Binay’s defense against mounting corruption issues was flawed.

While his lawyers, political allies and children tried to fend of charges raised in and out the Senate, “the effort was not consolidated”.

“The perception is, that he has been avoiding tackling the issues head on,” Tuazon said.

Poe, on the other hand, gained from the almost daily coverage of the emotional hearings on the Jan 21 Mamasapano carnage that claimed the lives of 44 elite cops.

She also oversaw hearings on issues important to the D class – the breakdown of the MRT system used daily by half a million Metro Manila residents.

Rivera said attempts to attack Poe using her status as a foundling backfired in a culture where abused underdogs are a favorite conversation topic.

ABC support

Strangely, as senators crowed about new evidence of alleged plunder, and details of bank accounts in the billions of pesos were leaked to media, Binay’s ABC supporters increased.

In fact, Binay has seen a steady increase in ABC believers since Pulse Asia’s November 2014 survey, when news reports were already full of details from the Senate probe spearheaded by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

From 17% last November, Binay’s ABC preference rating rose to 22% in March and to 29% in the latest survey conducted from May 30 to June 5.

Traditional wisdom, oft quoted by political pundits, assigns to the middle and upper classes the conscience vote, the high ground focused on issues like corruption and good governance.

In 2010 presidential candidate Benigno Aquino III used the slogans, “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” and “tuwid na daan” (straight path). It caught fire in the end days of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s scandal-plagued administration.

What could account for the rise in Binay’s ABC rating?

Contreras said, “the rise of Binay among the ABC is perhaps sign that the elites are getting irritated at the no-holds barred lynching of Binay. ”

Political opinion-writer Beth Angsioco was also puzzled by the rise in Binay’s ABC ratings, “unless people in this cluster think that he is being unfairly crucified.”

But while allies of Roxas and the LP went all out against Binay, the biggest beneficiaries was not the Interior secretary, but Poe and Duterte, she pointed out.

Did Binay become the “protest choice” by anti-corruption advocates angered by the Aquino administration’s display of “double standards” on issues of governance?

Activist artist Mae Paner disagrees.

“I don’t see those disappointed in Aquino, on issues of transparency and fiscal abuse, and corruption by his aides, going for Binay,” Paner said. “They will be looking for an alternative to these two examples of trapo politics.”

Rivera, however, downplayed the increase in Binay’s ABC support, calling it “statistically insignificant.”

While the figures may seem substantial, he said the small representation greatly increases the margin of error, especially with the AB class, which is traditionally reluctant to participate in surveys. The demographic’s margin of error, he pointed out, can be as high as 20%.

Tuazon said the ABC figures could be a reflection of the old Binay-Roxas polarity.

Both have long signaled their plans to contest the presidency, he pointed out. In contrast, the other perceived contenders – Poe, Duterte and Estrada – have not issued clear statements on their political ambitions.

“That (ABC) figure will dramatically change once the candidates come clean about their plans for 2016,” said Tuazon. READ MORE AT http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/06/19/15/candidates-need-rethink-bobotante

They stop mid-stride, stare wide-eyed.

One woman huffs and puffs and, hands on her hips, calls out, “Mister, nawawala ka yata.” (Mister, you seem lost.)

My friend is butch, around 5’6”, hefty and prone to wearing jackets. She straightens up from her slouch, thrusts out cup-C breasts and, with one raised brow, confronts the shocked audience of four in an upscale Makati mall toilet.

Cita (not her real name) used to bind her breasts. Then she discovered her full sensuality.

“Butch – tough butch –all woman,” she drawls. She’s being ironic when she does that. A lesbian is, of course, a woman.

Decades back, only lesbians who looked “manly” qualified as butches. Today, there are lipstick butches, soft butches and butches of all shades. My friends told me ten years ago: it’s the energy, not the look. Now, some friends reject the notion of lesbian labels. They can be femme, butch, a combination of both.

But Dom, another friend, identifies fully as male and chafes about her breasts, her hips and having to wear mid-height heels. There is great anger in her from a lifetime of having to fit in. She’d be chased out of toilets for males, so Dom doesn’t even try.

Her buddy, Ebe (real name Eve), looks like a rangy adolescent from the back. She has “always lived as male” in the United States where she grew up.

She not only trounced guys at elementary softball, skateboard and track and field; she joined them in peeing standing up. That is, until horrified mothers broke up their innocent fun.

Ebe’s has what she wryly calls “itsy, bitsy buns” on the chest. She finds bindings too painful.

“Until I do, they’ll hassle me,” she says of trips to toilets for males.

So daily, the Filipino-American braves the double takes from women.

And then there’s Faith, a transgender woman who stubbornly tries daily to use comfort rooms marked “female.” She says her success rate is 80%.

She’s not just doing it as a statement. When she “fails,” the emotional fallout is terrible: the sexist croons, sexual jests and jeers from males who see the 5’2”, 110-lbs Faith as a vulnerable target.

These encounters leave Faith depressed, sometimes in tears.

Her only consolation is, that there are males, yes, who actually defend and stay to guard her from harassers. One time, a brawl erupted in a mall when Faith’s tormentors also turned against the strangers who tried to protect her.

These are real people, real lives. So I don’t really know how to take the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announcement about “communal” toilets.

Senior citizens and persons with disabilities should be given comfort rooms that cater to their special physical needs.

But as good friend Giney Villar notes, many LGBT members have the same needs as other people. They just have identities other than the traditionally accepted ones.

“Communal” made me imagine a room full of cubicles, available to male, female and any other identity and gender on a first come, first served basis. The CAAP idea isn’t much different from what now serve us in, say, Starbucks. I always thought that was more a matter of space logistics and economics that of gender sensitivity.

The communal toilets are convenient. But my LGBT friends are right: it’s not going to free them from the hassles they face. (Read more)

“Setting up gender-neutral toilets is an exercise in gender segregation,” says Ferdie Mendoza of Kapederasyon. “It will only lead to more discrimination of LGBTs.”

Ferdie says CAAP should recognize gender recognition as the unique facet of the transgender struggle.

“Simply put, gender recognition is the acknowledgment of gender identity—that, transgender women are women, and transgender men are men,” Ferdie points out. “And that they should be allowed to use restrooms based on their gender identity. This is what is known as gender integration.”

I’m no expert on gender and sexual identity theory. Heck, I even make mistakes like using the “he” pronoun for Ladlad’s transgender leader, Bemz Benedito.

As Barack Obama said of race, the subconscious bias and the holes of ignorance in us will need much putty to plug.

LGBT individuals are patient with some mistakes. They know the world won’t change overnight. However, they’re also not going to be deluded by breathless announcements about solutions that are but panaceas.

Those who think discrimination against LGBTs is just a fantasy should go with Faith the next time she is forced out of our bathrooms and forced into the company of hostile males.

That’s as simple as it gets.

Accommodation is patronizing, condescending. What LGBTs need is a recognition based on genuine respect for their human rights.

If Manny Pacquiao’s visit to Mary Jane Veloso‘s Yogjakarta prison pushes through tomorrow, they will be celebrating some good news.

The Department of Justice today indicted Kristina “Tintin” Sergio and Julius Lacanilao for illegal recruitment, estafa and human trafficking.

The news from DOJ comes on the heels of the Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court’s decision to reject the suspects’ motion to dismiss the large-scale illegal recruitment case filed by other witnesses.

The partners are supposedly responsible for offering Mary Jane a job in Malaysia and then sent her to Indonesia with new luggage — and heroin hidden in its lining.

The help they offered the desperate mother of two, who’d fled from an abusive employer in the Middle East, landed Mary Jane in Indonesia’s death row.

It’s great news for Mary Jane and her family and the many Filipinos worried that the end of Ramadan next week could prompt another round of Indonesia executions that could include the Filipino.

Mary Jane’s Filipino lawyer, Edre Olalia says via text message:

“There is presently no A1 news, report or information either way on her indefinite reprieve… Our counterpart Indonesian lawyers we have real time contact (with) say there is no significant update yet. Indonesian migrants and women’s organizations with (whom we) have real time coordination are keeping their eyes on the ball always.”

“Mary Jane is naturally anxious about the progress of the cases in the Philippines against her remorseless and quite arrogant illegal recruiter,” Olalia adds. “Otherwise she is fine and holding up.”

Let’s all be optimistic. Indonesian President Joko Widodo gave Mary Jane this reprieve because Indonesian migrant rights activists argued that the Philippine government had failed a victim of human trafficking. Mary Jane, after all, was a sister to thousands of Indonesians worldwide suffering the same plight.

With the Philippine government finally giving credence to Mary Jane’s defense, he will probably find it in his heart to wait for justice to take its course. Read: No Choice But To ‘Break Protocol’ For Mary Jane

You see, Mary Jane’s Indonesian lawyers were not remiss in telling the Philippine government that going after Sergio was critical to saving their client. Mary Jane had sworn testimonies. Her family also coordinated with the government. Several times.

They went to the Department of Foreign Affairs. They went to the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA). They went to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). They were willing to file charges. Witnesses were willing to testify on Sergio’s direct role in Mary Jane’s tragedy.

They were told there was no case – even with witnesses. They were told that making noise could endanger Mary Jane, told to trust in the system.

President Benigno Aquino III did his part at crunch time. He did his part at crunch time. But there can be no denying that the system, this government – his government – failed Mary Jane big time.

It took a global crusade, a last-minute petition on Change.org (almost half a million signers now) and plenty of hustling from Migrante and its Indonesian allies, and Olalia and an international group of lawyers, to get Philippine authorities finally moving against Sergio.

News that the human trafficking suspect was finally in law enforcers’ custody was a tipping point for Widodo.

Only later would it come out that authorities confirm that they had already had their eyes on Sergio. And, finally, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) acknowledged that Mary Jane could have been set up.

I’m happy to see the government moving, though this case could still drag on.

But I’d be happier if another probe body, maybe the Senate – because it IS an issue in aid of legislation – investigates why nothing was done for Mary Jane before it was almost too late? Read: Celia Veloso’s Righteous Rage

Were there previous efforts from some quarters to protect Sergio? If so, who were these groups or individuals?

Mary Jane’s family followed the advice to keep silent – until despair made them grab Migrante’s helping hands. That silence could have swept the truth aside, especially if Mary Jane’s execution had gone through. It was the noise, the spotlight suddenly thrust on the case that brought the truth out.

Malacanang says President Aquino told his Indonesian counterpart, that the world would be a better place if they go after the big fish. I totally agree with that.

But if the government really wants to show the world it is determined to take down narcotics lords, it must provide the answers to questions surrounding Mary Jane and Sergio.

Until protectors of criminals are flushed out, we will never run out of Mary Janes.

“Namulat sya sa kandungan ng mahihirap at sunog sa araw na mga magulang… Kaya malinaw nyang naintindihan at naranasan ang hagupit at dahas ng kahirapan… habang lumaki, kanyang nasasaksihan ang pagwasak sa ninunong lupa at kalikasan.”

“Parang kalayulayo ng pagkaiba ng salitang katutubo at aktibista, ngunit ang panlulupig, pangangamkam at pangalipusta ang sing bagsik ng bagyong nagtulak sa kanya upang sumanib sa kilusang layong ay lumaya.”

(He woke up to the world, in the embrace of poor, sunburnt parents. He learned to understand the cruelty and lash of poverty and, as he grew, saw the destruction of his ancestors’ lands. There is a vast difference between the word lumad and activist, but oppression and thievery, plunder and humiliation were storm winds that drove him to the movement of people who seek to be free.)

The middle class audience stirred at the start of this poetry of rage, discomfort clear as they listened to the slight, 12-year-old boy. But as Apad Enriquez went on, kerchiefs came out to wipe eyes filled with tears.

This was a child, talking about blood spilled on the land of his people, the Manobo of Surigao del Sur. This was a child who cried himself to sleep at night, wondering whether his father would be given one more night of freedom or be caught in the enemy’s trap.

This was a boy, the same age as their own children, who had just made a 300-km trek from the mountains of his hometown to the national capital.

“My boy complains that he lacks ‘load’ for his cellphone,” said Tess, a banker. “Apad talks of schools burnt and bullets raining on their homes.”

Despite regular disruptions to his schooling, the son of wanted indigenous leader Genasque Enriquez chatted easily about math and science (the stars and planets and the universe) to his new friends in Manila. He and his cousin, Ben, and 14-year-old Angeline also got praise for their flawless English and Filipino.

They thanked teacher Anabelle Campos, with them on their Lakbayan, for her dedication.

Work exacts a tough price from Campos, who was also schooled in alternative learning centers managed by faith groups.

Campos has been threatened with arrest. Whenever forced to evacuate to the town center, she faces a barrage of taunts: “There goes the teacher of the children of the NPA.”

The communist New People’s Army is strong in the hinterlands of Mindanao, as it is in the country’s poorest provinces. Other rebel groups, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), traditionally find recruits amid a vacuum in governance and the struggle over land and natural resources.

Children ask, ‘Why?’

Despite the poverty of their lumad community, Campos and children managed to keep tabs on Pope Francis’ January visit to the Philippines.

In havens for children of militarized communities, rooms fell silent as the Pope embrace Glyzelle Palomara, a former street waif, who broke down asking why God allows children to suffer.

Campos’ Manobo wards come from a different milieu but they, too, struggle with emotional scars from early exposure to violence.

Ben’s brother was tortured.

One of the children had braved interrogation by armed men on the hunt for his neighbor.

A few minutes after Angeline wowed her Manila audience with a lyrical Filipino poem, she learned that parents and siblings had fled their village for the nth time. She would be going home to an evacuation center.

Apad laughed when asked why he was on the streets, not in school.

“Bakit doon, bakwit dito, walang katapusan” he replied. (There is no end to our flight.)

Like Gizelle, like the indigenous people of South America forced into subjugation by colonizers, the children of the Manobo wake up asking, “Why?”

Why does death haunt their people? Why do strangers want their land?

Why do fathers have to leave and mothers have to weep when husbands and children are brought home bloodied?

Why do their calls for help, for justice go unheard?

Pope urges action

Nardy Sabino of the Promotion for Church People’s Rights (PCPR) says that in Bolivia, Pope Francis spoke to all the world’s indigenous peoples.

The Pope, he says, did not just call for a stop to injustice. He actually asked Catholics – and anyone who cares to listen – to actively work for change.

The Pope, he adds, was emphasized the need for a “preferential, evangelical option for the poor”.

The world’s first Latin American Pope traced his call for Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Sabino asks, “Will the faithful follow Pope Francis?”

Marian Ching, a young development activist who has worked with lumad and Muslims, says Filipino IPs need Pope Francis.

“Reading Pope Francis’ support for indigenous peoples in his second encyclical, where he says ‘for indigenous communities, land is not a commodity, but a gift from God, a sacred space,’ meant a lot to me given my work here in Mindanao, where indigenous peoples are among ‘the lowly, the exploited, the poor and underprivileged’ and constantly subjected to human rights violations as they struggle for land and their rights. “

It is important to heed the Pope’s call to recognize those of the faith who dedicate their lives to the people’s struggles, “often standing alongside the native peoples or accompanying their popular movements,” says Ching.

She cites the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Marbel that has “tirelessly supported the B’laan’s fight for land and rights in Tampakan, South Cotabato.”

That struggle against foreign corporation Glencore and its local allies has led to the murders of at least ten indigenous leaders in the area.

Ching also credits church leaders who “voice “their support for the peace process, which hopes to address injustices committed against our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters, who may also be considered a minority population in our country.”

Tradition of service

Clemente Bautista, the national coordinator of environmental group Karapatan has another question. “With the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) take up Pope Francis’ challenge?”

Philippine IPs face a crisis, say Bautina, Sabino and Ching.

Karapatan reports that more than 30 of the 48 environmentalists killed in the last six years are indigenous leaders. The trail of killings sprawls from northern Luzon and Palawan and to the provinces of Mindanao.

In Northern Mindanao alone, 23 IP leaders have died since October 2014, according to the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines. That’s three IP leaders every month. In most cases, the suspects are big corporations or political clans out to wrest IP land.

Sabino believes Pope Francis will galvanize religious of all faiths and the laity.

The Pope apologized in Bolivia for the Catholic Church’s role in the subjugation of indigenous people’s. But he also took pride in clergy who risked their lives to serve oppressed communities.

“We cannot believe in God the Father without seeing a brother or sister in every person, and we cannot follow Jesus without giving our lives for those for whom he died on the cross,” Pope Francis said.

The Philippine churches have a rich tradition of serving the rural poor. Priests, nuns and lay leaders in basic Christian communities have all fallen to death squads while campaigning against human rights violations and other abuses.

“When we give succor to communities, we do not ask if people are Catholics,” says Spanish Claretian missionary Angel Calvo, who has spent decades in the island-province of Basilan.

Thirty years ago, Bacolod Bishop Antonio Fortich thundered at military officials who accused his priests of feeding communist rebels.

“A hungry stomach knows no color,” said the prelate who braved threats, and even a grenade attack on his residence, and succeeded in convincing the more conservative Pope John Paul II to confront the Marcos dictatorship on the issue of human rights.

Listening with his soul

The religious continue to serve and they continue to minister under grave threats in Mindanao. No less than the Philippine Secretary of Social Work, Corazon Soliman, has attacked their work with the IPs.

Seeing lumad children among a crowd protesting militarization in Talaingod, Davao Oriental, Soliman accused the church groups of violating children’s rights.

Piya Macliing Malayao, secretary general of the indigenous alliance KATRIBU), said the official was trying to gloss over the government’s responsibility for lumad children’s plight.

“The children were at the rally because they had lost their schools,” Malayao pointed out.

Pope Francis, a hugger to all comers, is very much a people’s prelate, eschewing abstractions for messages that reflect on people’s daily lives.

Campos earlier said the Pope seems to have the ability to listen “at the level of soul.”

In Bolivia, he spoke of names and faces, of hearts breaking because of sorrow and pain. Praising community organizers and those to live with indigenous people, the Pope stressed the difference between “abstract theorizing” and the empathy borne of seeing and hearing the pain of others and absorbing this as one’s own.

“That emotion which turns into community action is not something which can be understood by reason alone,” said the Pope. “It has a surplus of meaning which only peoples understand, and it gives a special feel to genuine popular movements.”

He could have been talking of Apad of the Manobo and other youth of other tribes and ethnic groups across the country.

Apad may never get the chance to meet this Pope. But in his pain-wracked nights, this young man can take comfort knowing that Francis believes in what little people can do.

This is a Pope who hears Apad’s song and understands that his people need to fight for their land – or die as slaves.