Lessons for the anti-GMA struggle

INFOWARS
Herman Tiu Laurel
2/18/2008



"Ramos still for Arroyo." One headline blared. I often hear that "Wisdom comes with age," but clearly this isn't always so. Take the three– 77 year-old DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez, 73 year-old presidential legal adviser Sergio Apostol and 79 year-old FVR – they’ve all cast doubt on the traditional reverence we have for elderly wisdom. Thankfully, the vast majority of Filipino seniors are not like them, and hopefully the Filipino nation older by twenty-one years since the Edsa I in 1986 should have learned from its history too.

Wisdom can come with age - as we see in the unifying embrace of President Estrada's political shepherding, in the indefatigable crusade of political-economist Alejandro "Ding" Lichauco against inequitable "free trade" economics, in former U.P. president Dodong Nemenzo's continuing struggle against the unjust social order, in former Vice President Teofisto Guingona's long march to liberate this nation, in 81 year-old Bishop Labayen's fight for a "Church of the poor." These venerable icons of elder statesmanship all share one thing – unrelenting struggle to finish "The Unfinished Revolution."

That unfinished revolution is not the People Power that have twice retrogressed into restoration-with-a-veageance of the power of the traditional oligarchy and reinforcement of the neo-colonial status of the Philippines under "free trade" exploitation. The Unfinished Revolution is the 1896 Revolution aiming to free this nation and led it into a modern, sovereign state. Its fight is not just against corruption, as Ding Lichauco pointed out succinctly in a recent Tribune article (correcting an Inquirer editorial limiting the current anti-GMA rage to the issue of corruption), the unfinished revolution is about freeing the Filipino from the economic shackles of neo-colonialism.

Sovereignty is the anti-thesis of "free trade" with foreign economic-political powers, yet these are two foundations of the Makati Business Club (MBC) cabal's economics. Today, as in Edsa I and II, the MBC is again attempting to steal the anti-GMA struggle patriotic forces have waged the past seven years against the MBD’s corrupt marionette, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The local oligarchy stole the 1986 Edsa I insurrection and instigated the 2001 Edsa Dos to institute and expand their control and exploitation of the country's wealth. Their corporate profits grew astronomically the past two decades while the country grew poorer. They are trying to do the same again to the present revolution.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala danced at Edsa Dos at the Edsa Shrine while the beaming Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was crowned that January 20, 2001. Gloria beaming is gone but the Ayalas are still dancing day in and out as profits continue to flow from Manila Water, which got billions in tax holidays from Gloria; Globe got billions of telecom taxes transferred to oil. The Aboitizes had Gloria transfer a whopping P 19-B from Land Bank to their Union Bank. Of course, there's Enrique Razon, but thanks to the ZTE exposé I need not elaborate on him anymore. The foreign economic predators enter the local stock market, siphons of profits from stocks in these companies and then exit the country.

But Gloria’ corruption has been exposed, now these oligarchs are preparing a new dog to fill in the old dog collar – Noli de Castro as their new puppy. The Philippine has fallen close to the bottom of the Asian economic growth ladder because of the two decades of liberalization, sovereign guarantee for loans and privatization of public revenue generating assets, and de-regulation. The Tiger Economies took the track of nationalist, internal development of industrial production and investment in research and development (R&D) like China, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, et al, which are not without corruption, but they grew: the real problem is not just corruption; it is subservience to foreign and local oligarchs.

Corruption becomes the major problem only because corrupt politicians and generals like Gloria and Angelo Reyes’ ilk sell the country to the highest bidders. FVR and Gloria were set up to take over in cheated elections and power grabs to ensure a government subservient to economic enslavement and exploitation. While I marched at the Paseo de Roxas to Ayala Avenue with the November 29 Movement last Friday, all this was running in my mind: the great mass of middle class professionals and masa with us in the various groups converging at the Ninoy statue may not be aware of the irony of marching in the oligarchy’s avenues while calling for social and economic change and progress.

They cheered Joey de Venecia, who really was willing to “deal” until Abalos and FG wanted the lion’s share. The Executive Intelligence Review highlights the complexities: "Shultz's Boys are Running Yet Another Coup in the Philippines… Feb. 12 (LPAC) -- …the same nest of scoundrels who served as the flunkies for George Shultz in 1986 and 2001, in carrying out military-imposed regime-change in the Philippines under the cover of "people's power," are now preparing to oust … Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who apparently no longer serves their masters' purposes...Gen. Fidel Ramos and...Jose de Venecia...the primary asset of the Heritage Foundation circles in Washington, offering up the Philippines for sale, cheap, to the London-New York speculators, with debt for equity schemes and Constitutional changes to allow the foreign takeover of mining and other industries..."

Gloria is as rotten as FVR and de Venecia, and deserves to be ousted immediately for selling the country off to both the U.S. and China – getting gored in the horns of the dilemma of the two competing powers. Think about this too: Lozada's immediate boss was enigmatic spy chief Victor Corpus who is justifiably believed to be in the employ of a foreign intelligence service. This does not subtract from the good Lozada has done, but it casts an additional light on events: This exposé is more than just a morality play, it involves great stakes for two superpowers are involved, and even greater stakes for all of us Filipinos.

Seven years of GMA corruption and oppression, years of worsening life for all Filipinos has generated new revolutionary fervor – will it lead to genuine change of just more of the same worsening conditions? We cannot let the Makati Business Club and the oligarchs steal this new revolution again! After twenty-one years and two errors, we should be wiser. Let’s go for real change, a new revolutionary government – with the help of our nationalist military leaders – and set up a Transition Revolutionary Government, clean up Comelec, the judiciary, re-direct the economy and call for new elections. This is an imperative today as the worldwide economic depression and foreign powers threaten the very survival of this nation as a country.

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