The Last Revolution

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
7/27/2007



Nine weeks after the last May elections and euphoria of victory of the anti-Gloria sentiment is waning fast. The economic life of the people has resumed its accelerated collapse as consumer prices shoot sky high, from vegetables to power and water rates. After twelve years of Ramos’ massive power privatization and four-dozen IPPs, the Philippines has rotating power brownouts again! Philippine industry is suffering its worst and longest depression since the Second World War with seventeen months of continuous decline of the manufacturing sector.

After twenty-two years of privatization of Philippine state assets started by Cory Aquino and intensified by Ramos and Gloria to improve the fiscal conditions, the foreign and domestic debt has grown to six trillion pesos, taxes have grown by leap and bounds with EVAT and RVAT - yet they will impose more privatization, fees and taxes in 2007-2008 in futile efforts to keep ahead of falling revenues. Corruption afflicts every institution from the executive to the judiciary in this “dying society”, AFP top brass perpetuates “endless war” for looting and the PNP breeds jueteng with new fecundity.

A Supreme Court decides the crucial Estrada vs. Arroyo to preserve its jobs and its chief later wrangle appointments to diplomatic posts, one decides a Meralco rate case favorably and gets a Lopez corporate chairmanship; AFP generals and PNP jueteng officials sic their forces on the people in the service of the corrupt system and get civilian posts and multi-multi-million sinecures, politicians legalize plunder in laws that create the highest power and water rates in Asia and astronomical taxes. The political opposition – what do they do?

The Gloria regime is defeated in crucial national elections considered a referendum on her, but within nine weeks elements of the “opposition” play footsies with Gloria to “inherit” her regime. They hope the 2010 will postpone for the nth time the popular awakening to this “disintegrating” and hopelessly anti-people system (as more and more Filipinos are coming to realize). The failure of the entire system, not the opposition, made Gloria the lame duck - not only quacking but “quaking” which Gloria tried to cover up in her SONA by overacting of strength.

Gloria’s Freudian slip was revealed on the Inquirer’s Internet edition headline (often her mouthpiece) on the eve of the Oakwood Bagong Katiupunero protest anniversary: “Arroyo in control until 2010—Palace”. What president would need to say that except the severely insecure? That paranoia is spreading to those behind Gloria– the rapacious corporatocrats, including the Inquirer’s owners who sustain FVR and Gloria, and the basic principle behind their governance a: the dominance of the corporate-capitalist system.

The corporate-capitalist system as distinguished from state capitalist or variations of socialized systems, touted privatization of state assets and free competition as the magic formula to develop society; but after twenty years it has only fattened corporate assets and profits, and worsened the economic and poverty crisis to the point of hopeless desperation of our people. The apex of this economic-political philosophy is what we have seen in the “automatic cost recovery” of power firms Meralco et al, and raised electricity prices by P 1.25 or 25% overnight since its implementation by the ERC.

This bitter experience with Meralco and Gloria’s complicity in the oppression of power consumers has been a wake up call to many Filipinos. I am not surprised that this scare campaign about power and water shortage is suddenly the content of the Establishment controlled media like ABS-CBN, the Inquirer and the Philippine Star. But our readers are astute, texting us: “I though we had a lot of IPPs? Why are there brownouts due to lack of rainfall? It is obvious most IPPs are non-operating but they are charging us consumers in the take-or-pay PPA.”

The proponents of privatization like Raul Concepcion or Peter Wallace, the chambers of commerce foreign and local, will argue that it because of this and that –open access was not provided by EPIRA, that the Transco has not been privatized, and that the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) was manipulated, blah, blah, blah, but the fact is they and their corporate-capitalist system has had twenty years to make things work but it instead caused growing exploitation and oppression, and the on going disintegration of our society.

The bedrock of the present political-economic system is corporate profit, versus sharing and development of the country’s wealth for every Filipino’s progress. The corporatocracy uses financial power in money-based elections to capture government, or stage coups as in Edsa Dos to enhance control and profit while deliberately eroding the Republic. The latter goal is clear in suggestions from Big Business to remove billons of government royalties on Malampaya gas to lower power prices – but increasing national deficit, debt, taxes and popular suffering – and preserving huge Shell and Lopez profits!

Today is the fourth anniversary of the Oakwood protest against the “dying society” and the “endless war”, it was led by young officers and men willing to share and risk their fate with that of the welfare of the people. That struggle started in 2003 won a massive victory in the last election with Senator Trillane;, but that was only the beginning. The mission to re-establish the “living society” and “a country without war” – The Last Revolution – is now forthcoming.

(Please visit: sundalongtagapagtanggol website; tune to 1098AM, M-W-F, 6-7pm)