Milking cows, "White X-mas"

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
11/28/2007



By the time the morning sun shines on this column and readers sip coffee while scanning the op-ed pages, I’ll be cruising to the Central Luzon State University with Philippine dairy pioneer entrepreneur Danny Fausto to join President Joseph E. Estrada, Gov. Aurelio Umali and the center’s pioneering scientist Dr. Libertado Cruz in reviewing the progress of the new, improved carabao breed that promises a “white revolution”; that is, a radical increase in Philippine milk production to start reducing import dependency for this basic necessity. While “coup” guru Ding Lichauco hurries the putsch, this other revolution has already changed the lives of thousands of rural Filipinos for the better.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is also milking cows: there’s the ZTE and the Cyber Ed, and now the impending privatization sale of Transco being set up by the same Edsa Dos elite conspiracy: PSALM president Jose Ibazeta, erstwhile gofer of Ricky Razon at the ICTSI before appointed by Gloria to his powerful new post, is now maneuvering the Transco sale under his charge into the stable of Razon for milking with the State Grid of China. Research volunteer Zaida Reyes, searching the China Daily, has uncovered that the State Grid of China is in partnership with the Carlyle Group of Bush, Cheney and company – and the Transco takeover is brokered by its Asia-Pacific “consultant” Fidel V. Ramos.

The Transco sale should trigger a revolutionary political coup move, if anything at all can still trigger it. This privatization beats so many of them in sheer size, greed and treason in a long time – not since Petron which was earning only P 500-M before it was privatized in the mid-90s also by FVR; but Transco earns between P 16 to 18-B per annum and the new private owners (if they succeed in swindling the people despite all our warnings) will also get the multi-billion benefit of using the Transco grid for laying out optical cables for the new generation of broad band and other telecommunications businesses. Hopefully, Pimentel and Madrigal will not lift their stonewalling of this privatization.

The whole country is made a milking cow by the powerful special interest blocks, mainly the local elite and the foreign chambers of commerce who are behind the installation of Gloria (they concern over “extra judicial killings” is just pressure on Gloria to give in to more of their demands) and her pro-corporatist policies. Take this inane lobbying for decreasing the tariff on oil products from 3 to 2%, government will lose revenues and increase our dependency on debt! Oil companies’ profits have been leaping by 35 to over 50% every year since Edsa Dos! Is there no one discerning enough, aside from this column, to demand that oil companies’ profits be cut by restoring regulation on their prices?

We’re happy several radio anchors like Anthony Taberna and Jerry Baja have been helping educate the public on the oil deregulation problems. Gov. Tet Garcia of Bataan is still vocally denouncing the failures of deregulation, reporting how oil companies always base their oil prices on the highest rates even when they actually buy at a lower price. Gov. Garcia should also consider other means of controlling the rise in prices, such as expanding our stockpile and outright re-nationalization of the sector. That again, brings us back to the need for a political revolution to restore control of the government and the economy to the people and away from corporate control.

There are very many sectors in society who see the need for revolutionary change to save this nation from its spiral down into hell . This Friday, November 30, the Bonifacio Day, there’ll be two major rallies; one is led by KME (Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomista) with a phalanx of progressive bishops at the head of its march starting at 1:30pm from University of Santo Tomas to Plaza Miranda, the other is led by Bayan Muna to converge at Liwasang Bonifacio. The latter effort has always attempted to pre-empt the KME and bishops’ march and demonstration – just as it did last year where KME and allies had to stage it at Balintawak to avoid a mix up with Bayan Muna’s march.

It’s important to distinguish the two marches, and join the KME because the signals to the AFP nationalist should be very clear – we do not condone the killing of fellow Filipinos to achieve political change. The movements hoping for nation-oriented change should cultivate the military nationalists and not alienate them, as the Bayan Muna errs in by its insistence on its passé ideological assumptions and denying the imminent rise of nationalists in the AFP to help lead the nation out of its present morass. Let’s build up the momentum for the major actions slated by the next people power exercise when the New Year begins with a new hope.

Meanwhile, let’s prepare for a “white Christmas”, i.e. to distribute milk from the Carabao Centers President Joseph E. Estrada helped inspire and fund with his legislation as senator in 1994. The realistic and pragmatic economics of President Estrada shows the way to a self-sufficient, self-sustaining economy – such as multiplying real milking cows so we will not be milked dry on import dependence. Aspirants to the 2010 elections like Villar and Roxas, would do well to learn more from Erap.

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