The tragi-comedy and the Force

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
11/28/2005



Bishop Oscar Cruz is right when he describes the impending Garci appearance at the legislature’s investigations to testify as “entertainment” coming soon. Not that there is nothing comic about among the Church’s actions either, there are many; the latest is the CBCP’s call for prayer for political peace when what we need is justice for political peace; and prayer for “bird flu” when that “pandemic” threat is turning out to be more like the “Millenium bug” scare for some corporatocrats to make loads of money (like the Tamiflu makers).

Early last week the country was also treated to a good laugh. That was when some quarters suggested Miriam Defensor-Santiago for the post of Chief Justice. Not that she is not qualified; on the contrary, she is a far superior material than Davide and candidates like Panganiban who was caught in his book lying about he and Davide’s Edsa Dos decisions or Quisumbing who’s an FVR gofer. Davide, Panganiban and Quisumbing have made fools of themselves quite often but they can’t beat Miriam on that – having promised to jump for a plane and other things if proven wrong on issues and reneged.

Another comedian is Bangko Central ng Pilipinas chief Amando Tetangco, Jr. who’s been quoted as seeing the peso at P 53 to the dollar next year. The real BSP prognosis is P 56-57 for 2006 and all the talk about the peso sustaining the up-tick is laughable. In the meantime, the currency speculators are having a field day loading up on cheaper dollars that will swing back up next year, and that’s what the currency traders and bankers are selling to businessmen now – buy the futures now and cash in next year. It won’t be funny for Tetangco when we recall his lie next year.

All the country is a stage and many people on in are mere actors. That’s especially true at the ConConCom (Consultative Constitutional Commission), tasked to look into the serious matter of Constitutional changes; but as we said a long time ago it’s all a predictable farce, comedy and tragedy. We said that the real target of the exercise in constitutional change is the “nationalist” and “protectionist” provisions of the present Constitution. Charter change proponents threw a red herring to distract the people: the change from presidential to parliamentary-federal system.

The cat is out of the bag and the real intent of the exercise is being let out now that the political accommodations have been ironed out. Various newspapers have released the report that “business and labor leader favor the opening up of industries and sectors to foreign interests through changes in the 1987 Constitution”. The ConConCom has that acronym because it is a double-con game led by Jose “Pepe” Abueva whose idea of the cosmopolitan Filipino is the “little brown American”. The obliteration of Filipino entrepreneurship will be complete.

The Washington Consensus’ globalization (a.k.a. colonization) of the Philippines will be completed by these charter changes. Dreams of the 1986 Revolution and Mabini’s dream of an independent, sovereign and industrialized economy will be delayed by decades or completely buried. We will become a country of peons to American, British and Chinese. The “Black and White” group will be delighted as gofers of the World Bank’s (WB) trans-national NGO’s, likewise hired hands of multi-nationals in Makati Business Club; entrepreneurial Filipinos will be suppressed.

Compliance with the Washington consensus has already emaciated the country’s economy today, and it still hasn’t stopped carving out more flesh. The Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and power privatization was a WB campaign. We fought it since 1999 and predicted disaster if and when passed into law, and we have felt its devastating impact since 2002. Under this law IPPs like Mirant could earn as much as 95% gross profit, while Napocor is obliged to buy fuel for their plants and get caught by the fuel price increases.

Power privatization was supposed to be good for the country but the truth is we have been looted by the IPPs. Mirant submitted itself to bankruptcy court supervision in the U.S. before it set up shop here, last week it announced that it may sell off its hugely profitable 8 power plants for US $ 3-B to return its operations to the U.S. They’ve turned around the bankrupt company on our PPA payments! Now the country is saddled with the highest power cost in Asia and its damage on Filipino manufacturing and service sectors has been staggering.

The political and social establishment has created a horrendous national tragedy and waylays the people by political comedies. A genuine political opposition’s role is to bring the truth out for the people to understand and act upon under the leadership of an opposition party. When Cheez Escudero says “there’s no unifying force to oust Arroyo” he misses the point. The unified and determined force is there, represented by President Joseph E. Estrada with the masa and middle classs, steadfast in the struggle against hunger, oppression, political persecution and economic bondage.

The fight against the 2001 electoral fraud is all right, but the greater issue of oppression is summed up in the struggle of Estrada who’s been incarcerated for five years. Why do they keep him locked away? Because he is the Force that can unify the nation against the evils bedeviling it.