Riding the tiger

PINOY KASI
Riding the tiger
By Michael Tan
Inquirer
Last updated 01:28am (Mla time) 07/26/2006

Published on Page A13 of the July 26, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THREE years, eleven months and six days. As of Monday, by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's own count, that's how long she intends to stay in power.

Which got me thinking: Since she took power on Jan. 20, 2001, we've had her, as of Monday, for five years, six months and four days.

Ms Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (Sona) has been criticized for not dealing at all with where we are now, instead dishing out unrealistic promises of infrastructure projects. But if you look at the years, months and days of her presidency, it becomes clear that the Sona was indeed a political update, although one that, Gloria-style, revolves around herself. Her Sona was her way of saying: "I've survived beyond five years, the normal term the Constitution gives to a President, and I did that against all odds. Moreover, I intend to survive till 2010."

Payback

With that context, it's easier to understand how Monday's Sona was crafted as a kind of theatrical payback to all who have kept her in power. Thus, the extended "thank you" portion to start off her speech, as she named all her loyalists, each sentence interrupted by applause.

The most lavish praise went to her supporters in the military, for obvious reasons. Then there were the loyal members of the House of Representatives, the ones who blocked impeachment investigations. There were the governors, mayors and local government executives, key players in moving the "people's initiative" forward to change the Constitution.

Significant, too, were her silences. She completely ignored the senators, reciprocating their deep affection for her. Strangely, she didn't heap praise on the Catholic bishops, whose last pastoral letter stunned the nation with its subservience to the regime.

But Ms Arroyo's speechwriters know better than to stoke the allegations going around about bought bishops. The Sona acknowledged the bishops through another route: a silence on population issues. That didn't pass unnoticed, with several commentators, from Rep. Gilbert Remulla to TV host Dong Puno and guests on the latter's talk show, expressing amazement over her continuing denial of this aspect of family welfare and national development. As I mentioned in an earlier column, the bishops seem to have bartered the nation's soul in exchange for assurances that Ms Arroyo will maintain her "pro-life" (read: anti-family planning) stance.

After the praise came the promises, in effect saying, "If you stick with me till 2010, and maybe beyond, here's what I have to offer." Amid the thunderous applause, one could almost hear the cash registers ringing in the politicians' heads as she described infrastructure projects. It was not accidental that she hardly mentioned education and health, in which juicy commissions and kickbacks are harder to come by as compared with roads and infrastructure funds.

I squirmed, too, upon hearing mention of super regions in the Sona. There could be another carrot in there for our political mules, these super regions possibly being an appetizer for the proposed federal system that would be introduced if we change the Constitution and shift to a new parliamentary system.

State of war

There was no lack of incentives for Ms Arroyo's loyalists, but on the night of the Sona, ABC-5 television had an excellent documentary, "State of War," to remind us that the biggest winners in the current political chess game are the militarists among her advisers.

"State of War" focused on the President's declaration of "all-out war" on the communists and featured interviews with the military, the New People's Army (NPA), cause-oriented leaders, and residents in several communities labeled as sympathetic to the rebels.

It was from "State of War" that I learned of another count, coming from the human rights group Karapatan, which alleges that there have been 709 extra-judicial executions during the Arroyo presidency, a figure only slightly lower than the 766 killed from 1986 to 2001 during the presidencies of Aquino, Ramos and Estrada.

The documentary showed a military "interaction," targeting villages suspected of being sympathetic to the NPA. There was chilling footage of military men hired to try to "win over" the villagers through a combination of tearful demagoguery ("What are the communists doing to our beloved Mother Country?") and slapstick humor.

There were outright threats, too. In one scene, villagers were warned about a neighboring town's priests, described as "makademonyo" [pro-demon]. The villagers were then asked if anyone had, in the last elections, supported party-list candidates from Bayan Muna, Anakbayan, Anakpawis, Akbayan or Gabriela. "Come forward and clear your name," the military man cajoled them, "because for sure you are a member of the [Communist] Party."

I wondered if the military men knew how ideologically diverse these groups are, but then, do they really care to make distinctions?

Then there was the daughter of a peasant NGO leader, tearfully expressing her fears for her father's life. That segment was a stark reminder that both the Armed Forces and the NPA have their arms while the NGO leaders only have their commitment, which unfortunately will not ward off the bullets. Should it be surprising if more of these leaders and their followers eventually give up on democratic processes and take to the hills? "State of War" had interviews with NPA cadres, including students who had joined the rebels.

The controversial Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, singled out for praise in Ms Arroyo's Sona, was the star of the documentary. Some of the general's remarks were vintage doublespeak. An example: "I don't think most of them" -- the victims of summary executions -- "are really innocent."

At one point, Palparan described the military: "We are the coercive power of the state." I don't know if he is aware that such a description is also used by Marxist revolutionaries, who argue that because a state survives through coercion, there is no way to achieve social change except through armed struggle.

After the Sona, after "State of War," I thought, sadly, of how Ms Arroyo's promises and praise have further reinforced traditional politics with its horse-trading and bartering. Worse, hounded by her own insecurities, she has chosen to ride the military tiger which she will never be able to dismount, placing herself and the nation in deep peril. Before the end of her term, a mere 1,431 days from now, she may yet have another dubious achievement: reviving Southeast Asia's last communist insurgency.

'Bad Kings'

Bad queens aside, Gilda Cordero Fernando's new children's book, "Bad Kings," will be read out tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Podium by the likes of National Artists Virgilio Almario and Napoleon Abueva, Repertory Philippines' Joy Virata and Cultural Center Chair Emily Abrera.