When Hands are Raised

While Albay Rep. Joey Salceda and Rep. Sol Aragones of the 3^rd district of Laguna who are running for governor openly expressed their support for Vice President Leni Robredo's run for the presidency, that is not the case in Occidental Mindoro. The symbolic and actual raising of hands is yet to be seen.

Surprising

I am somewhat surprised why the top local political leaders belonging to the Liberal Party or the PDP-Laban and the rest, as of this moment, are not yet openly declaring who they will support in May 2022. As seen in the past elections, their open declaration came before the national campaign started. Rightly so, perhaps because the official campaigning for locally-elected positions will only start March 25, 2022.

I would not be surprised if even the opposing or rival politicians vying for the same position would go for the same president or vice-president in the end. I will tell you why.

Campaign funds should not be the ultimate factor in endorsing a national candidate, specifically for the presidential and vice-presidential positions. Good politicians, especially the incumbents, endorse a candidate because they know that they’re the best person to hold political office such as the presidency. Ideally, that is the case but in real life it’s different. Way, way different.

In the natural course of things, making an assessment of whom to endorse involve a lot of factors about who the candidate is, what they stand for, and what their goals are. Gone were the days of such statesmanship in politics.

I have heard from the grapevine that a huge amount of money is being offered in some provinces just for local political leaders to endorse a certain presidential candidate. Reportedly, it’s to the tune of 50 million pesos for an aspiring governor and Php 3oM plus for the incumbent or aspiring mayor. And I would not be surprised too if some quarters here in our locality would push for Leni-Sara or other possible "combinations".

Just being practical?

Most of the candidates intend to win “by hook or by crook”, especially in a competition as stiff as the next polls, most of them think in “practical terms”. What is important to them is to improve their chances of winning and be winnable whatever it takes and ultimately win. There is a big chance that rivals vying for same position in certain municipality would support the same moneyed presidentiable, the "highest bidder".

We do not have a law on political butterflies or turncoats so it became normal for them, the traditional politicians, to change loyalty or to abandon their hard-earned principles and long-cherished life values in exchange for their current political agenda. The politicians whose character is ever-changing like a weathervane will still prevail with the absence of such a law.

Free zones?

Gov. Eduardo B. Gadiano and congressional aspirant Leody Tarriela attended the Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio kick-off campaign for the May 9 elections at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. Gadiano and Tarriela are not members of Marcos Jr.’s party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP). They filed their candidacy under Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan or PDDS of Sen. Bong Go. Go already withdrew his candidacy leaving the supposed dominant party with no standard-bearer for 2022. Their support for Marcos Jr. is not yet officially cemented despite this fact. Suffice to say that it’s not as solid so far as the support has been thrown to Marcos Jr. by Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba and Narvacan Mayor Chavit Singson. 

On the other hand, as of this posting, it’s "all quiet on the Western Front" as far as Sato’s side of the fence is concerned. All the local politicians under her tutelage are also silent including the mayors belonging to the Liberal Party. Reportedly, there are still no instructions coming from her. But now, her supporters can only speculate that since Cong. Sato is a true-blooded Liberal Party (LP) honcho, he will endorse Robredo.

If this situation becomes permanent, placing their respective municipalities as “open city” or “free zones” is not a remote possibility. Every incumbent official or campaigner under her team can welcome or accept whoever candidate that would come to their jurisdictions or each of their party mates could endorse openly or discreetly their preferred candidates for president and vice-president.  

Not only liquids are fluid these days.

In the past

In case you are interested in knowing how Occidental Mindoro voted for presidents and vice-presidents from 1992 onwards, you can read my previous blog entry that can be accessed if you click THIS link.

Fast forward to 2016. As one of the top brasses of the Liberal Party (LP), Sato openly campaigned for Mar Roxas in the latter’s presidential bid in 2016.  

The final tally in Occidental Mindoro as far as the presidential result in 2016 is concerned is as follows: Mar Roxas convincingly edged out his closest rival Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP-Laban. Roxas received 72,644 votes while Duterte only got 38,701 votes. Early favorite Jojo Binay (UNA) came in third with 37,886 votes.

Judging only from the result of the 2016 vice-presidential race, Occidental Mindoro is not a Marcos country. Leni Robredo also got a big margin, earning 79,411 votes. Robredo won over Marcos, Jr. who only garnered 57,115 votes. It was the only time in post-EDSA elections when a tandem, Roxas and Robredo, won in the province endorsed by a sitting politician by the name of Josephine Sato, then LP’s secretary-general. 

Believe it or not, Roxas and Robredo won here in our province despite Duterte’s arrogance, social media lies and him being a populist national leader. And that is something that we all could be proud of today when he is about to finish his term as a reign of combined terror and humor. 

By the way, to this very day, Duterte still holds his ground saying that he will not endorse Marcos Jr. or any candidate for president. For the “resibo”, just hit THIS.

Patronage Politics

If endorsement impact remains at the backseat of a political wagon, why local politicians are still doing this? But before we answer that, let us go to the 3 major things to consider in one’s campaign: volunteers, voters, and financial campaign contributors. Endorsements, compared to the animal kingdom, just prey to attract the predator (read: money and volunteers) and hope the majority of the voters will follow. These three things need to be considered over and above one’s political platform and/or party affiliation, including strategies and mechanisms.

Endorsements are only indicators for voters as to whether or not they could be comfortable with their chosen candidate but it can never be a driving point in any electoral contest. At the end of the day, the endorsers’ campaign will be prioritized and given more weight and importance.

Another thing is certain: the nasty Patron-Client relationship does not only exist between the politician and the voter but between local politicians and national politicians as well.

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Photo: Manila Bulletin

Catholics as Believers of Marcos Lies

Why do Catholics who are avid (and rabid) supporters of Marcos Jr. wrongly invoke the constitutional provision known as Separation of Church and the State when a certain candidate is prayed over by the bishops from dioceses all over the land while tight-lipped on the same act of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy or Brother Mike Velarde?

This is the separation of heart and the state (of mind) eating the very essence of our faith. The present political realities and patterns must be evaluated against the social realities and patterns designed by God of course from the perspective of their doctrines and teachings or interpretation of the scripture. How would a Catholic root or vote for a presidential candidate that cannot be trusted and dishonest in his educational achievements, for example?

I pray for my Catholic brethren who are pro-Marcos Jr. that they may be enlightened on this constitutional provision. The “Separation of Church and the State” is about mutual autonomy and the respect of that autonomy but rooted in cooperation from both the Church and the State for the common good and welfare. Is it good for the country to be led by an unrepentant or unapologizing sinner or a felon? It is for the common good and welfare if you vote for tax-evaders, liars, and grafters?

Are the Catholic Marcos-Duterte supporters feel good when their non-Catholic co-member in political partisan groups disrespect his or her church’s teachings and her priests, bishops, and nuns? As faithful laypeople, we have no other choice but to defend our faith and our ministers not only against those who trample democracy but even from de-orbited Catholics in our midst, in many religious organizations around us.

Reportedly, there are also Marcos-Duterte supporters both from the ranks of the lay and the clergy. They believe in lies spread by Marcos trolls that Pope Francis said that Marcos Jr. is "an intelligent leader" and that the Pope "hopes" Marcos wins the presidency in 2022. The post was published by a group called "POGINGSANDRO next generation MARCOS Pa rin," last November 9, 2021.

They also believe in the lie Marcos Sr. is the “highest scorer” in bar exam history without trying to verify the claim. This is one of the many Marcos lies because the fact is, it was former Supreme Court Associate Justice Florenz Regalado who still holds the record with a sterling score of 96.70%, not Marcos Sr.

Those who belong to mandated religious organizations, the faculty and students of diocesan schools, heads of the pastoral offices, and ministries such as church choirs, and Basic Ecclesial Communities or the Pamayanang Kristiyano, altar servers and other apostolates, those who run the diocesan radio and other social communication entities of the Church, etcetera. In this coming May 9 elections, our faith expects us not to vote for an unrepentant sinner and thief who refused to return their loots to the people. Unless Marcos Jr. shows remorse for his lies and his parents' wrongdoings, his association with known plunderers, his assertion for the unity of all would be nothing but a "noisy disorder" (Matt. 9-23).

Every lawyer in the province and elsewhere, Catholic or not, knows that the Separation of Church and the State” is strictly defined in the 1987 Constitution referring to two points ONLY: “1) that no religion may be established as the official religion of the State; 2) that the State may not favor one religion over others. At the same tie, if I may emphasize, the State shall forever allow the free exercise and enjoyment of religion and shall not require any religious test for the exercise of civil and political rights. It does not require division between belief and public action, moral principles, and political choices. Rather, the “Separation of Church and the State” protects the rights of believers and religious groups to practice their faith and act on their values in public life. This thing is called “Religious Freedom”, and it includes our moral stand of voting against a liar and a thief and supporting the candidate who animates your church’s values, teachings, or doctrines if there is such a candidate available on certain occasions.

I do not understand why the Marcos Jr. supporters from the ranks of the Catholics are also mum over the endorsement of certain cults and sects sponsoring bloc-voting without respecting and even mocking the individual voting preference of the priests, bishops, and nuns. Supporting him who is running for the presidency with no platforms, but carrying only his will to bring back his family to power, and who refuses to acknowledge the atrocities of his family is against the values of our faith. 

We should never support a Martial law enabler, a tax evader, a thief, and a pathological liar. When Catholics, including the clergy, assert that the truth shall set us free but continues to support unrepentant and unapologizing liars, that’s very hypocritical if not downright un-Christian.

This coming May election, Catholics must remember first the 7th Commandment before voting for the 7th presidential candidate. Is that a coincidence? I do not know. All I know is Albert Einstein once said, "A coincidence is a small miracle when God chooses to remain anonymous. The 7th  Commandment of God is, "You shall not steal" and Marcos Jr.'s ballot number is 7.

But if the Catholics, the laity, in particular, are going against lies and thievery by way of telling the truth and condemning felonies and crimes. By so doing, the members of the mandated religious organization, the BECs, the pastoral ministries are completely identifying themselves with Christ. In that manner, we are spreading the Word to the world.

The Jews who plotted to kill Jesus also claimed that they were likewise Abraham’s children or God’s chosen people (John 8), not unlike the assertion of the Marcos-Duterte diehard supporters of today, Jesus said to them brusquely, “You belong to your father, the devil…the father of lies.”

Christ could authoritatively and divinely echo those words today to the modern-day bigots and their supporters who want to get rid of His Truth by voting a liar.

Cum omni reverentia.

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(Photo: ABS-CBN News)

Teachers as Believers of Marcos Lies

I cannot imagine as I truly lament teachers being Marcos apologists. They are the kind of human beings who first taught us the evils of cheating, lying, and any form of academic, behavioral, and disciplinary misconduct, but continue to defend a cheater and a liar joining the Philippine presidential race.

The biggest “scholastic dishonesty” that Marcos Jr. and his minions of teachers-apologist is when he lied about his educational achievements. I was surrounded by teachers at home and relatives and friends beyond it, both real and virtual. I cannot remember any of them lying about their educational status. Much more they are condoning those who lie about it or any other lies related to the pursuit of education, teaching in particular.

But some mentors are fighting nail and tooth for the truth about the evils of the Marcos dictatorship just like the teachers from all over the world condemning Hitler’s Nazi regime. 

This blog entry is for teachers only to react and just focus on his claim that he was really an Oxford graduate (other lies or issues are to follow).

Oxford graduate?

A certain Jacques Aboy, apparently a teacher from an organization called Rise for Education Alliance rightly puts it: “The worst kind of Marcos apologists are the learned ones, especially teachers. Imagine being exposed to research in the academia but would rather believe in the conspiracies from Tiktok, YouTube, and other unverified ctto sources. And there is a potential of them perpetuating lies to their students.” I just stumbled quote over Twitter yesterday so my fingers immediately hit the keyboard.

Speaking as a teacher by profession, those conspiracy theories about Tallano gold, Marcos Jr. as the true first man on the moon, his lies about his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University, among many, many, many others. But allow me to focus only on the Oxford thing for last night, as a participant in the SMNI Presidential Debate, Marcos Jr. was referred to as an “economist” twice by anchor Mike Abe which is outright dishonesty. Simple research would lead us to the truth that a special diploma in social studies is not a degree.

Talking of research at the backdrop of that Marcos Jr.’s Oxford dishonesty, it was Ferdinand Sr. who first lied on his son’s academic achievements. Joel Ariarte Jr., Miguel Paolo Reyes, and Larah Vinda del Mundo, researchers from the University of the Philippines that the lie began in 1978 when Marcos Sr. mentioned in his address before graduating students of the Philippine College of Commerce (now Polytechnic University of the Philippines) that his only son was "still a senior at Oxford." Truth is, Marcos Jr. was then preparing not for a college degree in which he had a senior standing but for a "special diploma in social studies."

Indeed, Jr. is his Sr.’s son. He shares the sins of his father. He benefitted from them.

To those in the academe who wants to delve more into studies and research, for verifiable and scientifically researched historical facts, to aid you in educating your students about the Marcos Regime, try to scroll, read and ingest the entries in this scholastic research and not just those from TikTok, Facebook or YouTube. The site can be accessed HERE.

Accessing this is good for your academic journey and …. sanity.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is both imperative for the teacher and the learner, the educator, and the student. They must look at a source document critically in their discussions. I was taught by my teachers that the education the students get from schools is a major factor in developing critical thinking.

In the contemporary Philippine setting, the teachers and the students themselves are so accustomed to having any information they need at their fingertips, they don’t realize that not all of this content is from YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, and other unverified sources is real especially Marcos’s Oxford lies.

I am very lucky to have my former mentors like Norma Malilay and Clemencia Mabalot, to mention just two, for instilling to my mind such a priceless virtue. Ma'am Clemen is my Philippine History teacher way back in college while Ma'am Norms taught the Works and Life of Jose Rizal.

In the end, all of us are responsible for the formation of our children, biological or otherwise. We, as a community, are the biggest influencers that will shape the hearts and minds of our children as we move on fighting for and telling the truth against lies.

Hope the scales fall from the eyes of those who don't.

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Photo: Malacanang Museum and Library

 

 

Former Activists as Believers of Marcos Lies

Firmly standing on my ground as a human rights defender and an advocate for the (Catholic) Church’s Social Teachings, I am bothered seeing politicians who are with, or identified with the progressive Left before but now enablers, endorsers, or supporters of Marcos Jr. I am having goosebumps seeing former militant activists now collaborate with the reactionary politicians or those with progressive mindsets joining the bits and bobs of the narcissist and fascist Marcos dictatorship. Like Harry Roque and the rest.

Is this a mere critical collaboration in aid of election? Or they are only being practical and already had a change of heart? Whatever,  I have my translation of the English word “collaboration”. It is “gamitan” – as in, I scratch your back, you scratch mine. I could forgive seeing former activists “socdem”, “popdem” “natdem” or whatever "dem" endorsing other presidential candidates but certainly not Marcos Jr. This collaboration, with no intention of putting the monkeys in a bad light, spells the so-called “monkey business”. It’s an insult to my fallen comrades - those tortured, summarily executed, raped, looted, and manhandled - and the masses and all the innocents who had been victims of his father's authoritarian rule and all the abuses that we have witnessed on those dark, brutal, and cruel days that happened right at our own noses. I wept with the aging parents of Abet Enriquez, a human rights worker who was abducted by the military in August of 1985 in Lucena City. They died without seeing Abet again. My heart also bled knowing the story of Puri Pedro, a social worker and church worker who in 1977 is suspected to have been tortured by Marcos's intelligence agents inside her hospital room in Bataan strangled by a piece of wire, and in her hands was a medal of the Virgin Mary. Including the story of medical intern Leo Alto who was brutally murdered by a unit of the Philippine Constabulary on August 1, 1975. Leo is the eldest brother of Ma'am Minda, MPDC of Municipality of Sablayan. 

Abet, Puri, and Leo are just 3 of the 11,103 victims of the regime from 1972 to 1986 which the presidentiable Marcos Jr was part of and benefitted from.

Such collaboration is an outright disrespect of those martyrs whose names and stories are inscribed in history and the book “Ang Mamatay nang Dahil sa 'Yo: Heroes and Martyrs of the Filipino People in the Struggle Against Dictatorship 1972-1986” and more. The present historical distortion being spewed in political campaigns demeans their memory. Forget and move on but do not condone. My 25 years in my diocese's social action apostolate as a lay worker taught me that.

Do the former anti-Martial Law activists-politician seriously support the dictator’s son or they are just using him to wangle funds and other logistics from him or the entire Marcos-Duterte political machinery? It is my humble opinion that still, win or lose, a politician should stick to his or her values and principles and every problem will be solved once and for all.

I firmly believe that politicians from the society’s outskirt can win independently without any support from national politicians with autocratic tendencies and backgrounds. Isn’t it the great helmsman once said that “The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of history”? Well, I may not be in a position to say this because I am not a politician. You have all the right to judge me that way. 

But, his father's son, Marcos Jr has never accepted the crimes that happened during the dark days of Martial Law and has never apologized for it, sought pardon, nor provided amends to countless innocent victims, the poor and the oppressed, and their loved ones whose lives had been devastated or ruined. We, human rights activists back in the day worked for and struggled with the victims and their relatives almost 18 hours a day.  

“Gamitan” could also be called “Quid pro quo”, a Latin term for "something for something". It describes a situation when two parties engage in a mutual agreement to exchange anything reciprocally. “Gamitan” too has sexual undertones. (Understandably so since politics is a relationship, it also has sexual allusions.)

Their candidacy is cultivating more than mere historical amnesia, as to how Joseph Scalice puts it, but a national lobotomy. These former activists now believe that the "Golden Era" of the Philippines was during the Martial Law days. The greatest lies of Marcos Jr.

To my mind, “tactical collaboration” and/or “strategic collaboration” are collaborations still. Call me whatever you wish but it's one of many things I do not understand in party politics up to now that I am already old. But how could one respect one's political opinion if s/he could not respect historical facts?

Collaboration with this “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” actuality is plain and simple opportunism which is the art or practice of taking advantage of opportunities or circumstances, or of seeking immediate advantage with little regard for ultimate consequences and moral and ethical grounds. With this, opportunism for me in whatever form is not acceptable. Opportunism is not and will never be a positive and desirable value. Besides, according to Lucius Annaeus Seneca and Stephen Crane: “Every sin is the result of a collaboration."

My bias against this issue of “tactical collaboration” and “strategic collaboration” centers on this line of thought I’ve learned from one of the Church’s Social Teachings: “The value of any political goal stands or falls with the values which it embodies and promotes. It can be manipulated for reasons of power. Democratic practices without values easily turn into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism, regardless of ideological principles and leanings that its sponsors believe in.” (John Paul II in section 70 of his Encyclical Letter “Evangelium Vitae”) If it is true with political goals, it is also true about an individual politician.

Pardon me for seeing this issue on “old and narrow” lenses of human rights principles and my church’s social doctrines, the monocles in every socio-political opinion that I blog.

I am an old-school purist.

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(Photo: Jennifer Laude Facebook)