The government’s war against radicals (Part 1)

EVERYMAN

Prof. David Michael San Juan

De La Salle University-Manila

11/2/2012

This may sound idiotic to Europeans and most Asians, but in the Philippines, it is really necessary to define the term "radical" in any article, lest you are labelled an "enemy of the state," even a "terrorist," right away. Hence, this article clearly states that "radical" is the exact opposite of "conservative." If a "conservative" does everything to preserve the unjust status quo, the "radical" does everything to change or transform the status quo for the better. For example, a conservative thinks it is ok for capitalist firms in the Philippines to pay only a 30-percent corporate tax rate and still receive lots of tax exemptions through bogus donations to equally bogus charitable institutions, not to mention tax holidays (tax-free status for a number of years) while typical university instructors/lecturers and professors pay AT LEAST a 30-percent income tax rate WITHOUT ANY SIGNIFICANT TAX EXEMPTIONS. Meanwhile, a radical thinks it is necessary to increase the tax rates for the richest corporations and individuals —just like what France recently did by imposing a 75-percent tax rate on euro millionaires—so that the government could have more money for public/social services such as education, health care, housing, and transportation.

Simply put, at least in the Philippine context, radicals are good people while conservatives are mostly evil, or at the very least, stupid people (if you still require an explanation, you are definitely a conservative). One wonders now why the Philippine government has waged a war against radicals, and how it is implementing a variety of seemingly diverse and unrelated schemes to win this big war.

The Philippine government hates radicals so much because they are a threat to the unjust status quo. As conservatives have dominated the Philippine government since the 1900s (when the Americans first imposed "elections" in the country), it is obvious that all Philippine administrations are basically conservative/anti-radical.

The perks of being petibourgeois
With the advent of social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.), radical segments of the middle class and some of the lower classes who have access to such, are able to effectively mouth radical propaganda to an increasing number of citizens, beyond the reach (and/or influence) of traditional radical propaganda such as written statements and public assemblies/rallies. Hence, it is now clear that social media has become another weapon in the arsenal of radicals who passionately would want to transform the status quo. Simply put, radicals are now succeeding in radicalizing a significant number of previously non-radical and even totally conservative elements of the middle class and segments of the lower classes that have access to the internet.

The Philippine government is afraid that an era where privately-owned conservative media (newspapers, radios and televisions) and the government's own media outfits dominate the scene and exert influence on the people is fast ending. Within the context of Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony, the Philippine government has now realized that Facebook, Twitter and other petibourgeois perks are de-facto radical counterhegemonic weapons against the unjust and now crumbling (though not yet totally defenseless) status quo —weapons that enlighten the masses and the petibourgeoisie (middle class) and even some (younger) segments of the elite previously blind to social realities and the struggles for their transformation, due to the previously unbeatable influence of the mostly conservative traditional media on their (un)consciousness. In other words, the Philippine government is convinced that the imminent revolution to obliterate the status quo (a revolution which, they officially declare as dying or fading) might be "Facebooked or Twittered," to paraphrase the title of an Irish documentary on Hugo Chavez' socialist Bolivarian revolution ("The Revolution Will Not Be Televised").

Indeed, with the current internet penetration in the Philippines pegged at 30 percent (three out of 10 Filipinos have regular access to Internet), the Philippine government's fear of the revolution being Facebooked or Twittered is not entirely baseless. The popularity of non-aligned Facebook pages such as "T*ng-Ina This," "Pixel Offensive" and "Showbiz Government" that expose the current regime's anti-people and anti-democratic character is a proof that Facebook and other social media sites have become new fronts in the battle for and against ideas and perspectives. The successful entry and propaganda work of traditional radical organizations in Facebook and other social media sites further bolster the power of social media for genuine social liberation. Despite differences in style, tactics and over-all objectives, these groups that have mastered the use of Facebook and other sites for radical propaganda, are in fact strengthening social media as counterhegemonic weapons.

The Cybercrime Act as a tool
With the aforementioned, it is not surprising that the second Aquino administration—despite fashioning itself as a liberal-democratic regime —has doggedly fought for the passage of the anti-democratic Cybercrime Act of 2012. The said law authorizes the Philippine Department of Justice to shut down Web sites found to have libellous remarks, even without any court order. At the micro level, it also criminalizes the liking and/or sharing of libellous remarks in social media. Hence, all radical propaganda would simply be labelled as libellous and voila, the Philippine government could instantly obliterate any chance of the revolution being Facebooked or Twittered. Indeed, the Cybercrime Act of 2012 would psychologically compel some segments of social media users to censor themselves by refraining from liking and/or sharing counterhegemonic material which the government might consider as libellous. Instantly, the broad online counterhegemonic coalition is at least psychologically undermined. Hence, this law is a potent government weapon in its war against radicals.

Continued tomorrow

Mr. David Michael San Juan is an instructor of the Filipino Department, De La Salle University-Manila