The Marcoses’ political rehabilitation II

Marcos 'inauguration' February 25, 1986

Through this blog, I wish to share comments and my responses to them re the entry entitled “The political rehabilitation of the Marcoses”.

Mon Casiple believes that many of the 2010 voters are young and have no personal recollection of Marcosian martial rule. And that name recall is the ‘name’ (pun intended) of the senatorial game.

He infers therefore that many of these voters without knowledge of the past voted for Bongbong. This is a hypothesis that can be verified empirically. Niva Gonzales is of the same persuasion.

Pancho Lara wanted to know my take on why the Marcoses, particularly Bongbong, managed to get elected to a national post.

My answer:

Bongbong ran a skillful campaign by emphasizing the ‘good things’ (including the electricity-generating wind-mills) he had accomplished while governor in Ilocos Norte. Furthermore, no negative vote campaign was mounted against him. All fire was concentrated on GMA and the most likely sources of criticism–Satur Ocampo and Liza Masa–were quite compromised given that they were on the same ticket with Manny Villar as standard-bearer.

Both would have done the nation a great service by attacking GMA and Bongbong simultaneously.

Akbayan I believe can also be found lacking in this regard.

If the nation’s memory continues to be spotty, then FM II may just be a cruel reality. If that happens, then much of the blame may lie on us–those who went through the horrors of the dictatorship–but have not apparently done much to contest revisionist history.

For example, I did not see us joining the lonely campaign of that educator (whose name I cannot even recall at the moment) to correct many of the public school textbooks, many of which continue to extol the dictator.

I believe the singular insight that we could draw from the Marcoses’ rehabilitation is that our work, our struggle is far from over. It has in fact taken on a new dimension.

We should never blame the mass of ordinary voters for the mandates of the likes of Senators Bongbong, Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid. It simply means that we have not done enough.

But this means we will have to seriously address the issue: how will we–those who fought against the dictatorship–make ourselves a weightier actor in the Philippine political arena?

How can we build bridges to citizens–both organized and unorganized–who have no experience of martial law and have vague recollections of the same so they could join us in rejecting an unrepentant Marcos faction at the polls?

How should we deal with the opinion of many voters who believe that Marcosian rule was comparatively better given the shenanigans of post-Marcos ‘democratic’ governments?

We need to give democracy a ‘good’ name and convince one and all that it is superior to authoritarianism.

Our general task is to transform our current procedural democracy (some say it is an oligarchical democracy) into a substantial one that is more responsive to the needs of the greater majority and the under-classes.

Specifically, we should bring the struggle to the door-steps of the Marcoses. We should wage a tit-for-tat, or better yet, a n > 1-tit-for-one-tat, struggle against them. We should not leave any self-serving interview or press release unanswered.

Though difficult, we should bring the struggle to Ilocos and Leyte even as we continue to consider the big picture.

We should not neglect the international dimension of the contest. We could draw on the support of the various anti-Marcos dictatorship movements in different parts of the world.

The work is cut for us! Will we be up to it?

The Imeldific hooting and wooting? Who can blame her given her family's good run at the polls?

The political rehabilitation of the Marcoses

Again, some prefatory disclosures are in order.  I was an ‘unwilling guest’ of the Marcosian detention camps from September 16, 1973 to December 12, 1974.  I was tortured during a tactical interrogation period of about two to three weeks or so at various security agencies (some of which are no longer in existence) including the Western Police District, Metropolitan Police Investigation Service (MPIS), and the 5th Constabulary Security Unit (CSU).

The namesake of the dictator (who painstakingly imitates his baritone voice) has just been proclaimed Senator of the Republic.

Bongbong Marcos

Imelda and the embalmed dictator

The flamboyant dictator’s wife (of the thousand-shoes-notoriety) is representative-elect of the second district of her late husband’s home province.

The former chieftain of the Marcosian national youth organization (Kabataang Barangay) will soon be governor of the same province by besting a cousin at the polls.

Imee Marcos

The sovereign people has spoken.

While these same Marcoses have gained popular mandates from their paisans in Ilocos Norte and Leyte in the past, the victory of Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. represents the first opportunity that a politician directly connected to the late dictator has won national approval.

Bongbong himself sought a senatorial seat in 1995 but failed.

The Imeldific stood for the presidency in 1992 and was blamed for splitting the vote that could have gone Danding Cojuangco’s way.

The political rehabilitation of the Marcoses have emboldened them not only to stick to the old position that the dictator (and by extension, his family) has nothing to apologize for with respect to his rule from September 1972 to February 1986.

Now you have Bongbong casting his moist eyes on occupying the presidential palace after the 2016 elections.  Perhaps, we may have to thank Jojo Binay, Chiz Escudero, and Mar Roxas for being available to thwart this nightmare.

Some of you might say that we should give Bongbong the benefit of the doubt; that we should not visit the sins of the father (nay the parents) upon the son.

But that argument rests on the premise that he was not complicit with his father’s crimes; that he did not personally benefit from the same; and that he did not at the very least commit sins of omission.

He sees nothing wrong with his father’s rule.  He denies they acquired ill-gotten wealth. He denies his father cheated during the 1986 snap presidential elections.  He maintains that his father’s ouster was an American-inspired conspiracy.

In a recent interview with Agence France-Presse, Bongbong elaborated the following thoughts on alleged human rights abuses during his father’s rule:

1.  He initially said that some minor incidents–such as a drunken soldier beating some one up–MAY have occurred while his father was in power. Meaning he was not even sure or he is not willing to concede that even a MINOR incident even happened.

I will assure Senator Bongbong that the policemen and the intelligence officers who tortured me and my companions during my tactical interrogation sessions were quite sober.

2. He asserts however that it was not national policy to commit human rights abuses.

Retort:  Assertions to the contrary are cheap.  Hasn’t Senator Bongbong heard of command responsibility?  During the Nuremberg war crimes trials, the defendants sought to excuse themselves by claiming they were simply following orders.  In this case, you have Bongbong saying we are blameless because the soldiers and the rank-and-file were acting on their own.  Talk about a novel defense.  In my language, I call it konkretong palusot!

3.  Pushed further on issues such as the detention of journalists, the closure of newspapers, and the imposition of martial law, he said that such measures were needed to contain wars against Muslim and communist rebels.

He adds:  “So the war rules applied, I suppose, in that regard.”

I can’t help but get sarcastic with the new legal scholarship forwarded by Senator Bongbong Marcos.  Can he cite the pertinent sections of international conventions on war  that permits the detention of journalists and closure of newspapers? Not unless he justifies unbridled war?

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Imeldific was confident of winning back much of the wealth seized from her family.

The Lady, known for her large collection of jewelry and 1,200 pairs of shoes, said she would not accept a compromise deal but would pursue her claims through the courts.

“I am sure that the things that are ours and truly ours will come back,” the 80-year-old told Reuters by phone from the northern Ilocos Norte province. “Truth and justice sometimes grind exceedingly slow, but grind exceedingly well”.

Indeed, the contestation regarding truth over Marcosian rule will get fiercer over the next six years given the recent rehabilitation of the Marcoses on the national level.  Such contestation will determine whether another Marcos will occupy Malakanyang come 2016.

In praise of Romulo J. Gracia, Jr. (1945-2010)

Allow me once more to use this space to blog about family–particularly of a brother-in-law who passed away last 9 May 2010.

I delivered this eulogy in his honor last 15 May 2010. I am sharing this with my readers and implore for prayers for his soul’s eternal repose.

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He was a good man. He was a caring one.  He was an honest and humble man.

These qualities have been extolled by others before.  However, let me pay my personal tribute to Manong Molito, my esteemed brother-in-law and fellow public servant.

Within the extended family, Manong Molito was a godfather to us, especially after the death of our parents. He was most happy when we were gathered together indulging in our favourite activity—eating humongous amounts of food and exchanging the juiciest bits of chismis.  Of course, most of the time, siya ang taya.  He will make sure that the most succulent foods would be served on the table.  This especially in the beach house in Paratong, Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur.

He was especially solicitous to me, probably because I married his favorite sister residing in the Philippines (the only other one is a New Yorker). He would make sure every time I visit that my favourite sinigang and dinengdeng were properly heated for my delectation.

He is a man driven by thoughts of serving the people of his beloved town, Santa Lucia.  When he was contemplating on a political career in 1992, I gave him whatever advice I could give him.  Ultimately, however, he actually did not need my advice much because his native intelligence, knowledge of local conditions and current events, mastery of appropriate laws (such as the Local Government Code), and intimate ties with the people were enough not only to enable him to win elections but also to serve his post well.

He served as councilor for two terms, vice mayor for almost a term, and assumed the mayoralty after the incumbent mayor was assassinated allegedly by operatives of the New People’s Army (NPA) while on a campaign sortie in May 2001.  Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in his bid for a full term as town mayor.

He then told me that he would have demonstrated to his town-mates what new and good governance would look like if he was given the chance.

Yet even as he was no longer an elected official, people still came to him and he tried to help to the best of his abilities. Up to his dying days.

He was a humble person.  Though born to one of the most prominent families of Santa Lucia, he did have the airs of an aristocrat (even if one can say he had the K).  He dealt with anybody, high or low, on an equal basis.

He had dreams and high hope for his beloved Santa Lucia—a town to be blessed with good governance, responsible citizens, a prosperous economy, and a bright future for its children and grandchildren.

A town united despite occasional divisions during elections.

A town determined to improve itself largely through its own efforts, intelligence, and creativity.

We will miss Manong Molito.  But Manong will not want us to be sad with his passing away because he was basically a happy person.  For this reason, he concealed his illness from us and agreed only to consult with physicians when the pains of cancer were just too unbearable.

Manong would want us to celebrate life and to look forward for the good things that life will bring us in the future.

Manong Molito, bon voyage and say hello to our relatives and friends and Big Bro up there.

Premature celebration, premature congratulations?

I really hate to be a spoil-sport but I will go on just the same and raise some questions re the May 10 general elections.

The Inquirer today reports that “[T]he number of disenfranchised voters in last Monday’s election may range from 2 million to 8 million, a figure that could have changed the picture of the vice presidential and senatorial races, according to the Commission on Elections’ consultant on queue management.

While the automated voting was a success, Marvin Beduya said other aspects of the May 10 computerized elections may be considered a failure.

Beduya is quoted saying: “I think we should celebrate the success of the automated voting soberly and with the thought that it may not have delivered the true will of the people, the key purpose of elections, in a manner that is very difficult to prove”.

The long lines and the crowds wilting outside the polling precincts may have discouraged millions of voters from exercising their right to vote, said Beduya, an adjunct professor at the Asian Institute of Management, in his blog http://www.synthesistblog.com.

He said this may have affected the outcome in the tight races, particularly in the vice presidential contest between Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Sen. Manuel Roxas II. The margin of votes between the two candidates was just under a million votes.

Basing his computation on the voter turnout, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting data, and the historical record, Beduya said between 1.91 million to 7.92 million voters may have decided not to turn out and vote—what other analysts have termed “self-disenfranchisement.”

“I am inclined to believe that these discouraged voters who came from the demographic of the elderly and the disabled, mainly in the urban areas and so may have voter preferences skewed to certain candidates,” he said.

Aside from the vice presidential race, this management failure may also have affected the contest among the 11th-, 12th- and 13th-placed senatorial candidates. Based on historical data, the margins between the candidates in these spots are small.

Beduya said the congestion at the polling centers was due to such factors as the clustering of the precincts, the board of election inspectors lack of training to handle the large numbers of voters, and technical anxiety about the voting machines.

Let me comment on Beduya’s observations.  How can anybody celebrate the ‘success’ of the automated election system if one similarly recognizes that it may not have reflected the ‘true will of the people’ given the large numbers of apparently disenfranchised voters?

I also argue that Beduya makes an unwarranted conclusion when he declares that the disenfranchisement only affects the contest between Roxas and Binay for the vice presidential post as well as the contest for the 11th up to the 13th senatorial posts.

I think it can also affect the presidential contest between Noynoy and Erap.

Let me first declare that I will give up my Filipino citizenship if Erap gets a second lease in the presidential palace.

Let me also say that I have already accepted Noynoy as the 15th president of the Republic.

However, if some 2 to 8 million voters were disenfranchised last Monday, then even Noynoy’s spectacular lead over Erap of close to 5 million votes does not guarantee that he actually won the polls especially if we take the high end of the estimate.

Of course, we will not know how the disenfranchised would have voted last Monday.  For all we know, most of them would have still voted for Noynoy.

But that is precisely the point.  We will not know and we cannot know–a point that Beduya himself recognizes.

We should really pay attention to improving the queue management system, as Beduya was reported to have recommended last Tuesday.  It may have been a mistake to cluster precincts and prior time-and-motion studies should have been mounted to see if 1,000 voters per clustered precinct could be properly serviced within the designated voting time period.

Conrad de Quiros and Harry Roque are reportedly happy to be proven ‘wrong’ re their apprehensions over the new voting system.  The local bourse also reacted favorably with upbeat indices.

Elsewhere, Moody’s believes the absence of doubt re Noynoy’s victory is favorable to the country’s credit rating.  The credit rating agency said the seeming consensus that Aquino was the clear winner of the 2010 presidential election meant that the probability of disruptions created by protests by losing candidates is low.

Consequently, Moody’s said, the absence of chaos in the political front appeases investors and encourages a positive outlook on the Philippine economy.

Given Beduya’s observations regarding substantial voter disenfranchisement, aren’t the celebrations and congratulations premature?  Or shouldn’t they be at least qualified?

I strongly share Mr. Beduya’s opinion and concern that we cannot simply move on and feel good about Monday’s elections.  We need to dissect our first stab at automated elections, identify shortcomings, and implement measures to correct them so they will  not happen again in future elections.

Finally, can’t the COMELEC be put to task for allowing disqualified presidential candidate Acosta to still be made available to voters?  Large notices regarding his disqualification should have been posted in every precinct to warn voters who will choose him that they are wasting their votes!