The (Octopus) Tail(s) Wag(s) the Dog

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW
Linggoy Alcuaz
11/7-13/2011



P-Noy, the President, the Commander-in-Chief, the son of Hero, and Martyr Ninoy and Saint Cory, is a mere dog being wagged by its tail(s).

First, at noon of June 30, 2010, Noynoy, the newly elected (by a landslide) but naïve 15th President, reversed his freshly-won mandate of May 10, 2011, by appointing his entire audience as his “Boss”.

The “not-so-secret” formula of representative democracy is that, while all elective officials have to bow to the electors and/or voters on election day, once they are proclaimed, take the oath and assume office, they, in effect, are the “Boss” for three or six years and more.

They continue to consolidate, both leadership and power, during their incumbency and term of office, as well as beyond, in a second or third term, if allowed by law.

To Impeach a President
Under the 1987 Constitution, the President, the Vice President, as well as other officials of Constitutional Bodies, down to the Ombudsman are immune from suit and can only be removed from office by Impeachment.

As we saw in the 2000 – 2001 Impeachment of President Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada, and the various attempts to impeach, “Not once, but Twice,” Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in 2005, 2006 and 2008, it is very difficult to impeach a sitting President.

If the Impeachment by the House is successful (requiring only a vote by one third of all its members) as in the case of Erap, getting a successful conviction in the Senate as the Impeachment Court is doubly difficult (requiring a vote by two thirds of the total membership).

Erap was never convicted by the Senate Impeachment Court.

The Trial was never completed.

He was ousted by a Conspiracy, plus Prosecution Walkout in the Senate, plus EDSA People Power II with an AFP and PNP Withdrawal of Support.

P-Noy impeached himself in his “No Wang Wang!” speech. He knew no better then.

Slip is Showing
Second, P-Noy quickly showed his slip (as in “slip is showing”), when on several occasions, he could not discipline, fire or delineate his Kabarkadas, Kabarilans, Kabugaws, mga Kaklase and Kamaganaks.

Notables among these, were DILG Undersecretary Rico Puno, DOTC Assistant Secretary for LTO Virginia Torres, Bureau of Corrections Director Jose “Totoy” Diokno, Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs (PAPA) Ronald Llamas, and the Don of the CESO (Classmates of Ex-Sec Ochoa as opposed to the Career Executive Service Official).

The best words - that exemplify the art and science of a tail wagging the dog - were spoken by Rico Puno: “I’m one of the few who can tame him!”

The best posturing, as in doing a MacArthur, were broadcast by “I shall return!” Virginia Torres.

The best squid tactics employed by an octopus on its own head, are those performed by the invisible man himself, Executive Secretary Attorney (Of the new “The Firm” – the “MOST”) Paquito “Jojo”, the “Midget President”, Navarro Ochoa.

The very people he trusts to help, protect and save him, are the ones wagging him downwards.

P-Noy Pushed around?
Third, P-Noy, the Head of State and the Defender of our Sovereignty, allowed himself, his Administration and the Government and the State of the Republic of the Philippines and its People to be wagged and pushed around by bandits, minorities, rebels, secessionists and so called “Lawless Elements”.

Historically, both the MNLF and MILF, as well as the Abu Sayaff, were already in a terminal state when they were revived by the naiveté of Female Presidents.

To add insult to injury, both women were fooled by the same person, Norberto Gonzales.

After 14 years of war, splits and negotiations, the MNLF and its Chairman Nur Misuari were at a terminal low state in 1986.

Their heydays lasted from the MNLF’s founding on March 18, 1969 until the 1976 Tripoli Agreement. The founding was sparked by the March 18, 1968 Jabidah Massacre on the island of Corregidor.

The Jabidah Massacre
According to the Official MNLF blogsite: "In 18 March 1968, between 14 to 68 Filipino Muslim military trainees were massacred in Corregidor by soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under its Commander in Chief President Ferdinand Marcos. It was popularly called the Jabidah Massacre.

"The impact was an outrage among the Muslims in Mindanao, especially those who are from Sulu, where these military trainees were recruited. Not taking this lightly, Nur Misuari, a University of the Philippines professor rose to become the leader of this outraged group, and he founded the Moro National Liberation Front in 1969.

"After a few months of setting up the organization, in 1970, the MNLF officially proclaimed itself a political party.

"After recruiting sufficient number of armed freedom fighters, the MNLF launched a protracted armed struggle.

"At that time of the conception of the MNLF, it recruited members with an original objective of regaining the independence of the Bangsamoro People and separate its sovereignty from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRPH).

"The MNLF proclaimed itself a Mindanao liberation movement and proceeded to start the insurgency against the dictatorship of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

"The seven years (1969-1976) of intense armed conflict between MNLF and the GRPH resulted in the deaths of thousands of government soldiers and MNLF freedom fighters, as well as the displacement of thousands of families all across the Bangsamoro Land."

Tacbil Mosque Massacre
The arming of the MNLF was facilitated by the Chief Minister of Sabah in the first half of the 1970’s, Tun Mustafa. He was born in Sulu, sympathetic to the Tausog-led MNLF (Nur Misuari comes from Sulu).

Continuing with the MNLF Blogsite: "Another important event in the MNLF history is the Tacbil Mosque Massacre.

"In 24 September 1974, a total of 1776 innocent and unarmed Moslem churchgoers were massacred by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Malisbong, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao.

"While the muslims were praying, they were sprayed with bullets by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

"As of 2011, a marker in the massacre site reads:

'Bangsamoro Republic Moro National Liberation Front Hadji Hamsa Tacbil Mosque Malisbong, Palimbang Province of Sultan Kudarat... This old mosque was constructed and owned by late Hadji Hamsa Tacbil, a former strong MNLF finance supporter. Tacbil mosque a placed where more than one thousand muslims civilians was massacred by Philippine Army 15th 1B infantry battalion on 24 September 1974 under the regime of then President Fedinand E. Marcos. Compliment by Comdr Tuan Bazar G. Tacbil (MNLF) and Tacbil Family.'"

Tired of War
The above incident and massacre facilitated greatly in securing the widely-known support from Moammar Gaddafi and the Organization of Islamic Conference (Now Coordination, OIC).

However, by 1976, Tun Mustafa’s Opposition (To the UMNO.) Party had been defeated. Marcos had sent Imelda to Libya. Everybody, including Gadaffi and Misuari were tired of war.

Ninoy was assassinated on August 21, 1983.

Cory ran in the February 7, 1986, Snap Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections.

RAM’s Coup was discovered and failed.

EDSA People Power ousted Marcos and installed Cory in a Revolutionary Government.

Harmless in Exile
By a fluke, the MNLF and Malaysia had, earlier in 1980, become the hosts of Fr. Archie Intengan, S.J. and Norberto Gonzales in Jampiras, Sabah, Malaysia. Intengan and Gonzales’s PDSP was supposed to be a part of a Coalition of Non Communist Armed and Violent Freedom Fighters inspired by and supportive of Ninoy in Exile under the April 6 Liberation Movement.

They fled the country instead of fighting the Dictatorship after the discovery of unexploded bombs planted on June 24 or 29, 1980, the arrest of NPDSP or PDSP leaders Emmanuel “Manny” Cruz and Charlie Serapio in Greenhills in July, 1980 and the explosion of a bomb at the Valenzuela residence in Industrial Valley Subdivision in Marikina City.

From Sabah they made their way to Spain. There, they were as harmless in exile as Nur was in Libya.

Of Splits & Break Aways
Meanwhile the MNLF had suffered two major splits, First, Dimasankay “Dimas” Pundato, a Maranaw, had led the Reform MNLF away from Nur and Libyan influence.

Second, in 1976, Hashim Salamat, a Maguindanao Iranon and a veteran of the Afghan Wars and a religious leader (unlike Nur Misuari who was a secular leader and a product of UP), gravitated to Saudi Arabia and broke away from the MNLF as the MILF.

These two splits took a big percentage of the Maranaw and Maguindanao members and supporters, out of the MNLF.

It left the MNLF and Nur mainly with Tausogs from Sulu and Tawi Tawi.

(In 1991, the Abu Sayaff also split away.

In 1995 a National Islamic Command Council (NICC) was organized from components and factions of the existing armed organizations and raided the town of Ipil in April).

It's Butz's Fault
It just took Archie and Bert to introduce Nur to Butz Aquino.

In turn, Butz presented the MNLF’s case to Cory.

In turn, the next thing Cory did, after releasing the Communist prisoners, was not only to allow Nur to come home legally, but also to allow him to rearm himself and roam around Mindanao armed and flags flying.

Fifteen years later, under the bigger and now direct influence of Norberto Gonzales (as Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns, then National Security Adviser and finally as Secretary of National Defense), GMA returned to the MILF what President Estrada had captured, taken from and deprived the MILF of in the April to September 2000 “All Out War.”

A Strong State, A Failed State
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sabotaged the desire for and vision of a Strong State with the ingredients for a Failed State.

P-Noy is the political heir of both the achievements and mistakes of Marcos, Cory, Ramos, Erap, and GMA.

Will he ride on the achievements, correct the mistakes and lead the nation?

Or, will he remain a dog wagged by a multiple of tails?

Will he let the bandits, minorities, rebels, secessionists and so called “Lawless Elements” keep on dictating their terms?