The "Teflon King" of Iloilo

A recent Agence France-Presse report entitled "Singaporean blogger suspended after government criticism" once again brought worldwide attention to Singapore's autocratic policies towards its local press. Apparently, a popular Singaporean blogger codenamed "Mr. Brown" was stripped of his column at the TODAY newspaper for writing a satirical article about the rising cost of living in Singapore. His offending entry believe it or not was entitled "Singaporeans are fed, up with progress!" Earlier, in April 2006, Singapore imposed restrictions on political discussions in blogs and websites.

I thought of citing the above news story to illustrate the widely contrasting conditions in Singapore and the Philippines. Singapore and the Philippines seem to represent two extremes. On one hand, you have Singapore which has one of the highest per capita income in Asia but has a "gagged" media and on the other hand, you have the Philippines which has been long known as the "Sick Man of Asia" but has one of the "freest" press in the world. While Singapore time and again has been criticized for its curtailment of press freedom, the Philippines has earned a reputation as one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world, next only to Iraq (if I'm not mistaken).

According to the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), a total of 81 journalists were murdered since 1986. The group has since advocated for the arming of mediamen so that they could supposedly fight back assassination attempts and reprisals against them. Since a large percentage of the murdered journalists come from the ranks of provincial media, many observers attribute this to the “different” way journalism is practiced outside Metro Manila.

Take for example here in Iloilo. In Iloilo, the most famous and perhaps the most "successful" journalist is Daniel “Danny” Fajardo. Danny Fajardo is the long-time publisher and now Chairman of the Board of Panay News, the leading daily newspaper in the region. A veteran journalist, Danny Fajardo was hailed by Manila Times columnist Dan Mariano as the “Hero of Hometown Journalism” and several national media associations consider him as a respected media practitioner.

Danny Fajardo likes to brag about the numerous libel suits filed against him. He claims to have faced a total of 146 libel suits. And he loves to boast to whoever is listening that he was found innocent in all but two of his 146 cases. He often shows off his numerous libel suits as if it was a badge of honor or a mark of how good a journalist he is. Incredibly, out of his two convictions, Fajardo was able to wangle a Presidential pardon for both cases! In local circles, Danny Fajardo has acquired the monicker “Teflon King” because no case can be made to stick against him and that he seemed "untouchable." All local politicians were afraid of him. That is, until Secretary Raul Gonzalez came along.

Most of his libel suits arose from the things he wrote in his “Lapsus Calami” column in Panay News. “Lapsus Calami” is an opinion column written without a byline that specializes in innuendos (huring-huring), scandals, “kucho-kucho” (rumors) and the latest political developments in Western Visayas. As Ilonggos love to read about chismis, "Lapsus" is probably one of the most closely-followed opinion columns in Iloilo today and is the main draw of Panay News. Fajadro has used his Panay News column as a bully pulpit, viciously attacking public officials and local businessmen who have incurred his ire.

Lately, Fajardo’s pardon has been revoked and he may finally see the inside of a jail cell. Kung sa Ilonggo pa, malapit na siya makahikap sang matugnaw nga rehas. He has attacked incessantly his nemesis, DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Sr. whom he suspects was the one who instigated the revocation of his pardon. He has also trained his sights on Secretary Gonzalez’s two sons, Congressman Raul Jr. and Book Board Chair Dennis Gonzalez. Fajardo has repeatedly called the two various names like “hermaphrodites,” “morons” and “imbeciles” in his column. (Read samples here, here, and here.) Despite his libelous attacks, the Gonzalezes have refrained from suing him in court largely because Fajardo might use it to gain public sympathy and come off as a “martyr.” Danny Fajardo’s long-standing and well-publicized fight with Secretary Gonzalez has been the subject of much discussion in Iloilo and local denizens are anxious to see who will be the last man standing.

Philippine media has become very powerful because it influences public opinion and could manipulate people’s perceptions. Hence, they can make or break a politician’s career (although Iloilo City seems to be an exception because adverse media coverage has never seemed to affect the Gonzalezes’ here). And as the case of Danny Fajardo clearly demonstrates, journalists who print libelous remarks do not get punished (his two arrest warrants have yet to be served) and that it has become so easy to destroy peoples' reputations in Iloilo.

While press people in Singapore live in constant fear of being censored, the Philippine press is not only unafraid but has traditionally adopted an adversarial attitude towards government officials. So much so that a friend who is a very keen observer of Philippine politics once quipped: “Kung ang parokyano hadlok sa pulis, ang mga pulis hadlok sa pulitiko kag ang pulitiko naman ya hadlok sa media." He adds further; “Kung ang pulitiko ga-pangotong sa parokyano, ang media naman ya ga-pangotong sa pulitiko.”

Most of our local journalists here in Iloilo are decent, hard-working and well-meaning individuals. Despite the meager income, many still persist in practicing their profession solely for the love of journalism. It is the few, rotten ones who give local journalism a bad reputation. While I am for press freedom and condemn in the strongest terms the killings of journalists in the country, I can also see why people somehow have become apathetic to media killings in the country. While I want to support NUJP's campaign against media killings, I hesitate to join their public protests because I don’t want to be identified as fighting for the rights of rogue journalists like Danny Fajardo. So long as the people see that abusive media practitioners are not punished, they will continue to be apathetic to media killings in the Philippines. Philippine media, therefore, must be able to discipline its ranks for it to win the public’s trust and confidence.

Sex Scandal Craze Hits Bacolod

While people in other Philippine cities are debating whether to teach sex education to their children or not, Bacolod City is currently grappling with a far more serious problem of children engaging and videotaping their sexual encounters. Carla Gomez of the Visayan Daily Star has written about the "Sex Scandal" craze presently gripping Bacolod City. And mind you, the videos proliferating in Bacolod do not just involve two high school sweethearts having sex. One parent who found a sex video in her daughter's cellular phone was scandalized to see 8 to 9 high school girls (aged 14 to 16 years old) performing sexual acts together.

This is not the first time Bacolod City was wracked by sex scandal videos. At any given month, there are "new" amateur sex videos being "released" through text messaging and as any "Pinay Sex Scandal" voyeur would attest, a lot of the sex videos circulating in the Philippines today come from Bacolod City.

City government and local church officials are hard put to explain why some of their children engage in scandalous and exhibitionist sexual behaviour. Moralists blame media and the internet for giving our youth the wrong messages. They cite for instance the case of American heiress Paris Hilton who was able to parlay her sex video notoriety into a lucrative showbiz career. Without any thespic talent or notable achievement whatsoever, Paris Hilton has become a much sought-after star in Hollywood. Observers say she symbolizes a new breed of celebrity: someone who is famous simply for being famous. Some impressionable teenagers might have made their own "sex scandal" videos as a way to achieve fame and notoriety in their circles.

All of us have our own stories of the stupid and goofy things we did in high school. But videotaping intimate sexual encounters goes way beyond mere "kapilyuhan" (naughtiness) and seems to point to the distorted morals of today's youth. I myself cannot figure out what goes on in the minds of young people who put their sexcapades on videotape.

Mexico Election Stand-Off

Mexico held its presidential elections last Sunday, July 2. TIME Magazine reports that with 96% of the votes cast already counted, presidential candidate Felipe Calderon (isn't he one of the minor heroes of the Philippine Revolution?) leads Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by a slim margin of 400,000 votes (which represents 1% of the total Mexican voting population). This early, both candidates have already proclaimed victory. Pundits predict that the slim margin between the two contenders could lead to a protracted legal battle and a long period of uncertainty for Mexico. Some Mexicans are already expecting widespread political unrest once a winner is declared. (Read the entire TIME Magazine report here. Interestingly, the old TIME Article "Voting With Their Feet" about Mexico could also refer to the Philippines.)

If this all sounds familiar, it may be because the Philippines has faced a similar scenario in the last 2004 elections. You may have heard the coffeeshop gossip and the various arguments propounded by supporters of President Arroyo justifying her need to cheat in the last elections. I myself have heard the argument which goes something like this: "GMA really won over FPJ in the last elections but only by a slim margin. She needed to cheat and show the people she overwhelmingly won to solidify her mandate and to prevent a protracted 'crisis of leadership'." Or words to that effect..

With the brewing "crisis of leadership" soon to hit Mexico, trust the Malacañang spin-masters to use this to their own advantage. Any time soon, expect Palace operators to go around town selling and pointing this out to people -- "See what's happening in Mexico? We also would have experienced a 'crisis in leadership' if GMA did not 'exert' all efforts to win. Do you also want that to happen here? Let us all move on." Or something to that effect...

Whether GMA won (or lost) by 10,000, 100,000 or 1 million votes we probably will never know. But the fact is, she is using the specter of a 'leadership vacuum' (which she claims would be devastating to the economy) as a means to garner support from the people.

Presidential elections in this country have always been marred by allegations of cheating. In the 1986 Snap Elections, Marcos cheated Cory Aquino, and the walk-out of Comelec computer personnel at Greenhills was then seen by the people as proof of the massive cheating that went on. In the 1992 elections, Ramos also was accused of cheating and Miriam Santiago's allegations hounded him until the end of his term. In 2001, operators of Joe de Venecia supposedly tried to cheat Erap but soon gave up when they saw the huge lead Erap had over de Venecia.

Filipinos have always suspected that candidates cheat during elections. Sadly, people nowadays seem to accept cheating and dagdag-bawas as part of the "hazards" of the trade. For example the late Raul Roco, who was seen by many as the most intelligent and qualified of the 2004 presidential candidates, lost his campaign mainly because Filipinos saw their votes "wasted" on him because he was seen as not having the machinery and money to prevent his being cheated. As Ping Lacson aptly said, "anyone who cannot protect his votes has no business being president." Sad but true.

So I guess the real question facing Filipinos nowadays is this: How do we change people's attitudes towards choosing their leaders?

Is Jamby the New Loren?

Neophyte Senator Jamby "Hot Legs" Madrigal is currently in hot water for issuing a joint communique with Communist leader Joma Sison calling for the resumption of the Peace Talks. Jamby reminds me of former Senator Loren Legarda who also flirted with the Left during her heyday. Legarda even "facilitated" the release of Major Noel Buan (now a Lt. Colonel and Medal of Honor Awardee) who was captured by the NPA in Mindoro a few years back. So is Jamby now the new poster girl of the Communists replacing Legarda who seems more preoccupied with her election protest nowadays?

Isn't she aware that being associated with Joma is a political kiss-of-death? I remember during the 2004 elections, some businessmen and military officers did not support Loren because of her perceived "closeness" to the Left. Likewise, Speaker Joe d V wanted to be known as a "Peace Broker" but also lost his bid for the presidency. Even a political science sophomore knows that voters distrust politicians who they perceive are sympathetic to the Left.

I wonder who is handling Jamby's PR nowadays? Wala na yatang planong manalo itong si Jamby sa susunod na election. There are far better ways of getting media mileage than by raising your legs in front of the cameras, crying in the Senate Plenary Hall and executing that cheap publicity stunt in Utrecht. Because of her antics, people now view her as a joke and don't take her seriously. She will definitely need more than just a catchy "Jajajajamby" jingle to win the next elections. My advice to Jamby is - relax, you don't have to make people laugh everyday.

So the "TOTAL ALL-OUT WAR" is on! In recent weeks, the AFP and local insurgents have stepped up their operations and sporadic violence has erupted in Western Visayas.

Sometime last week, Wilfredo Cornea, a leader of Task Force Mapalad was assassinated in Sagay, Negros Occidental. Nenita Cornea, the wife of the slain peasant-leader, accused a certain Amador Villa alias "Badong" as the one who shot her husband. According to news reports, Badong is a member of the RPA-ABB operating in the province (read more here). In Iloilo province, rebels tortured and killed a certain Nestor Forcrey, a buy-and-sell businessman from Miag-ao town. A certain "Ka Bona" of the NPA-Napoleon Tumagtang Command claimed responsibility for the killing, accusing the slain man as a military spy. Earlier, NPA rebels killed Jomar Magalang, a barangay tanod in Sibalom, Antique on suspicions that he was also spying for military intelligence (read more here).

Understandably, the killings have not merited national media attention because the victims were unknown personalities or probably because the killings were not grisly enough. I hate to think that a lot more of these "incidents" are happening without being reported even in the provincial media. It is also apparent that while Leftist congressmen are strongly denying that the 400 or so party-list activists already killed were NPA regulars, military authorities on the other hand are likewise insisting that the citizens killed by the NPA were not their intelligence assets. So are all these victims therefore just innocent civilians? Are they all just "collateral damage?"

Total War or All-Out War may be an inappropriate term to describe the next counter-insurgency war. As I have written previously in this blog, the next "war" will take place right in our midst (in the cities, town centers and thickly-populated areas) and not in the mountains, remote barangays or the countryside as in the past. This is so because majority of the NPAs are no longer based in the boondocks but are now in the periphery of town centers living as ordinary farmers, factory workers and fisherfolk. And the battles will not be long-drawn, battalion-sized encounters but sporadic, low-intensity and small-unit actions. This is so because the NPA has been so reduced in strength that it could hardly summon enough men to mount battalion-sized engagements. So the next war is limited and small, not Total and All-Out.

On a more positive note, organizers of the First National Conference on Tricycle Transportation Development held recently in Iloilo City unveiled the Hawk Electric Motorcycle dubbed the "Motorcycle of the Future." Imported from Thailand, the battery-powered motorclycle is manufactured by Takohama Motors and is being sold for P45,000. Since it is electricity-powered, the motorcycle does not emit environmentally-harmful fumes. With gasoline prices rising at an average of 50 cents a week, people are looking for more cheaper alternatives to gasoline. In fact, more and more people in the provinces are using motorcycles rather than vehicles as their primary mode of transportation. (Read more here.)

A Dose of Their Own Medicine

Although both my parents are from Iloilo, I grew up inside the Victorias Milling Company (Vicmico) compound in Victorias, Negros Occidental because my parents worked there. Vicmico is the largest sugar refinery in Asia and its compound in Negros Occidental is a classic example of an economic “enclave.” Inside the Vicmico compound are schools (Don Bosco for boys, St. Mary Mazzarello for girls), American-style homes for its executives and a pleasant housing project for its rank-and-file employees (Canetown Subdivision), churches (i.e. Church of the Angry Christ), a world-class golf course, a medical clinic and a grocery store ran by the employees’ cooperative. People there lead simple, work-oriented and family-centered lifestyles. Vicmico is one of the few places in the country I know where all the adults are employed and all children attend school. People also didn’t worry if they get sick because of the company’s “womb-to-tomb” policy. For aside from the clinic in Victorias, Vicmico also operated a small hospital exclusively for its employees in Manapla, a town about 30 minutes away from Victorias.

My idyllic, sheltered childhood in Vicmico was shattered by two events that occurred in the mid-1980s. One was when pictures of the malnourished “Batang Negros” came out in international magazines. Up until that time I thought all adults had jobs and that all children like me went to school. Of course, I was aware that life for the sacadas in Negros was hard but I did not think that they were so poor to the point that their children already looked like the starving children of Ethiopia. It was the first time I remember feeling lucky about my lot in life and wanting to do something for my less-privileged countrymen.

The other eye-opener for me was when the NPA rebels raided the town of Manapla killing several policemen and innocent bystanders. As Manapla was only 30 minutes away from our town, I remember feeling very scared and resolving to die fighting should the NPAs continue on with their rampage in Vicmico. I still remember the incident clearly because it was the first time my father allowed me to carry his .22 caliber Beretta pistol so that I can supposedly use it to defend my two little sisters when the NPA attacked. I was around 12 years old at that time but I felt I became a man that night.

I learned later that the local NPA provincial commander tried to extort money from company executives by threatening to burn down sugarcane fields and railcars used to transport sugarcane from the haciendas to the Vicmico sugar refinery. As the largest sugar refinery in Asia, the local insurgents thought they could shake down a few million pesos in exchange for “industrial peace.” The management decided not to give in to the NPA’s “request” for a monthly “revolutionary tax.” The Manapla Raid was therefore a scare tactic to make company executives give in to their demands.

Instead, Vicmico executives decided to employ a company-size “private army” comprised of ex-Scout Rangers and former Philippine Army personnel to defend company property. The new “company security personnel” were quartered at a camp near the golf course and provisioned with the latest automatic weapons, vehicles and battle gear. Soon, our peaceful community looked more like a military camp as the fierce-looking mercenaries regularly patrolled our compound. We all felt like we were under siege and as an impressionable teen-aged boy I idolized the recently-arrived soldiers-of-fortune who are protecting Vicmico from the NPA. It may also be that the conditions then glorified “men-in-fatigues:” it was the time when Top Gun, Platoon, Apocalypse Now and Hamburger Hill were betamax hits and Gringo Honasan’s RAMBoys were then the “crush ng bayan” all throughout the Philippines.

Eventually, the NPA insurgency in Negros Occidental was defeated through a large-scale AFP operation now known as the “CHICKS Offensive” which was led by the controversial Brigadier General Raymundo Jarque (controversial because Jarque defected to the NPA years back but has since returned to the fold). CHICKS by the way is the acronym for Candoni, Hinoba-an, Ilog, Castellana, Kabankalan, Sipalay; municipalities located in the southern portion of Negros Occidental province where the military campaign took place.

Anyway, I am sharing my childhood memories to put into context the current debate on the “All-Out War” policy directive of President Arroyo. Recently, Malacañang announced that P1 billion will be allocated to stamp out the CPP/NPA in 2 years and that they will sue businessmen/corporations caught paying “taxes” to the Communist rebels. As to be expected, the “All-Out War” was condemned by Joma and his local Communist supporters and likewise by some Filipino businessmen caught in the middle. Leftist party-list groups have since accused Arroyo of masterminding the systematic extermination of their activists and peasant-leaders and have singled out General Jovito Palparan as the brains behind the ever-increasing bodycount of dead activists in the country. The Left have also raised concerns that the “All-Out War” will result in “collateral damage” and innocent civilians killed.

If the accusations propounded by the Left are true and they have the evidence to prove it in court, by all means they should sue the concerned military officials in court. They should also concentrate on unmasking the perpetrators and build a solid case against them instead of coming up with lame and unconvincing arguments in the media to win public sympathy. I also suggest that the leaders of the Left take care of the families of their murdered supporters.

People must be made to understand that the next counter-insurgency war will take place right in their midst (in the cities, town centers and thickly-populated areas) and not in the mountains, remote barangays or the countryside as in the past. This is so because majority of the NPA are no longer based in the boondocks but are now in the periphery of town centers living as ordinary farmers, factory workers and fisherfolk. And the battles will not be long-drawn, battalion-sized engagements but sporadic, low-intensity and small-unit actions. This is so because the NPA has been so reduced in strength that it could hardly summon enough men to mount a battalion-sized formation.

Whoever thought of the idea of forming “death squads” to go after the Communists one-by-one must have watched the Steven Spielberg movie “Munich” (where a small group of assassins was hired by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir to exact revenge on the plotters of the Munich Olympic Massacre) and concluded that the Israeli method could be applied effectively here. And the strategy seems to be working – Leftist leaders seem at a loss on how to effectively “address” this new “initiative” by still-unidentified groups.

The “silent extermination campaign” of selected communist cadres is the Filipino version of a “surgical strike.” Killing off Leftist leaders individually is a cheaper and most cost-effective way of neutralizing enemies of the state. Cheap because you only need to fund a small band of well-trained, highly-motivated operatives to track down and eliminate the rebels. Cost-effective because it does not entail large-scale troop deployments and conventional warfare-type of operations. Assassinating communists one by one is also an efficient way of minimizing “collateral damage.” Batallion-sized operations often result in hundreds of innocent civilians getting caught in the crossfire. During the CHICKS Offensive for example, thousands of Negrenses were uprooted from their homes and many died of diseases in the temporary refugee camps set up by the AFP. These are the conditions that are being exploited by the Communists to recruit more members to their cause.

The NPA rebels and the mainstream Left have long used to their own advantage the “democratic cover” of the very institution it seeks to abolish. I remember reading a newspaper columnist once explaining that technically, only government troops and police officers can be charged with human rights violations and not the NPA. It is so, he argued, because our military and police officials have sworn an oath to uphold the law and respect human rights while the NPAs operate outside the ambit of law and therefore cannot be made to answer for something they did not swear to. So, while the NPA is free to use all means (including landmines) to defeat the military, the military is hampered and constrained to observe certain rules of warfare and procedures in pursuing its anti-insurgency campaign.

As a neutral observer, I find it quite amusing to see the CPP/NPA receiving a dose of its own medicine. The guerillas are being defeated in their own game of guerilla warfare. The CPP/NPA committed a big tactical error in withdrawing from the Peace Talks and their ground commanders are all running for cover. I wonder what will happen now to Joma’s long-term strategy of “waiting out” democracy? With the way things are going, his Communist movement might not survive long enough to see that day.

Going back to my two life-changing childhood experiences in Negros, I learned early on that bearing arms against the government is not the solution to solving our country’s problems. While I questioned and condemned the existence of a government that allowed its children to starve, I saw that there are far more effective ways of solving our problems than armed rebellion. Eventually, the problem of the malnourished children was solved not by the NPA but by community spirit, “pagkakaisa” and “damayan.” In the aftermath of the global media exposure of the “Batang Negros,” international and local aid poured in and the children were saved. Local hacienderos were shamed into treating and paying their workers better. Even Filipino folk singer Freddie Aguilar chipped in by raising awareness to the plight of the malnourished children thru his song “Sagipin Natin ang mga Bata sa Negros.” The “Batang Negros” episode clearly demonstrated that if we all worked together, we will be able to solve our problems. It is a shame, however, how Filipinos tend to wait until the problem becomes acute and unmanageable before he can be moved into action.