The Soldiers and the People Deserve the Same: Justice

HAVING chosen a profession that obligates them to risk life and limb for country and people, the soldiers of our armed forces undertake risks on a daily basis no ordinary citizen does. It is precisely for this reason that our soldiers deserve good governance and the responsible exercise of authority, on the part of their superiors. It is for this reason that civilians must insist on every opportunity being given to our soldiers to be given due process. The redress of grievances and the delivery of justice are not only civilian rights, but the birthright of our soldiers as well. Just as the general population is entitled to expect government to protect and respect basic liberties and rights, so do our armed forces deserve the protections afforded by the genuine rule of law, and the principled observance of due process.

We in the Black And White Movement believe that just as every individual has his or her limit, when it comes to enduring the abuse of power and the violation of the principles of good governance and civil liberties, so too does every human institution possess a breaking point. Once reached, no tradition, no social contract, no government, can prevail in the face of indignation and anger.

We are concerned that appeals to redress wrongs, petitions to rectify injustices, calls for responsibility, accountability, and justice to prevail, have been ignored so continuously and so contemptuously, that our society is reaching a breaking point. The Constitutional Order is breaking down; its every mechanism has been tainted, its every operation compromised. Presiding over this state of affairs is an administration deaf to the public’s clamor for accountability, blind to the widening fractures within society and in every public institution, and mute in the face of the public’s insistence that government respond to its needs.

A country, a people, a society in such a state cannot long endure without some sort of deviation from the existing social contract. Our people are becoming radicalized. Our institutions, in such a perilous state, seem incapable of remaining relevant or deserving of their authority.

The Black And White Movement places responsibility for this state of affairs squarely at the feet of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her officials, who are obsessed with survival at all costs, and whose concern over the crumbling of our society and state extends only to an attempt to craft a new social contract for itself, by itself, and with itself, to the exclusion of all others. She is closing off all avenues to peacefully, and rationally, resolving a crisis of her own making. She is subjecting civilians and soldiers alike to an untenable choice: to abandon their liberties, surrender their rights, abandon their consciences, so that she may remain in power. No people can long endure, or accept, such a choice. She is hastening the day of reckoning, one in which the pent-up frustrations and resentments of a people must be painfully felt.

DEMOCRACY AND NOT DESPOTISM

As former President Corazon Aquino so clearly explained in her recent statement declining participation in the Council of State, the most pressing problem impinging on the national interest is neither political nor economic in nature. It is a moral issue.” We maintain that Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remains the obstacle to national reconciliation, and the strengthening, instead of the erosion, of our democratic way of life, and the return of the optimism, dynamism, and trust, that are necessary to improve the prospects of our country.

Mrs. Arroyo continues to think that democracy is merely about photo opportunities, and that the dialogue of democracy should be replaced by a monologue she delivers from within the comfort of the presidential palace. She continues to turn a blind eye to the moral and political bankruptcy of her government. She continues to play deaf to the consistent, and ever-increasing, clamor for her to make the ultimate and necessary sacrifice of relinquishing power. She continues to remain mute in the face of the public’s demand for her to make an accounting of her actions.

But we in the Black & White Movement believe it is wrong to think that the crisis confronting our country begins and ends with Mrs. Arroyo. It includes a vast army of the corrupt, selfish, and incompetent. The crisis we continue to face requires much more than Mrs. Arroyo’s resignation, impeachment, or ouster. It demands accountability and reforms in other institutions of the state as well.

Among the institutions that require to be cleansed and reformed is the Commission on Elections. We support the call made by so many concerned sectors, for Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos and all incumbent Comelec commissioners, to immediately resign. We support the need to have the present commissioners and their predecessors implicated in immoral and illegal transactions, to be brought to justice.

As the Senate of the Philippines has pointed out, the Comelec commissioners must go. A Supreme Court decision has found them culpable for their handling of anomalous contracts. The Ombudsman, however, has failed to follow-up the Supreme Court decision with an investigation and the filing of appropriate charges.

If justice delayed is justice denied, then the refusal of the executive department and of the Ombudsman, to implement the Supreme Court’s decision or heed the Senate’s statesmanlike call for action, can only be assumed to mean Mrs. Arroyo is not interested in fair elections – whether national, local, or in the form of a referendum.

Cory Aquino Declines Invitation to Council of State

CORAZON C. AQUINO

I regret that I cannot attend the Council of State meeting on January 24 for reasons of principle. By that action, I do not mean to be disrespectful of the Council nor to renege on one of my duties as a former president. Nevertheless, I apologize to the Filipino people, particularly those whose sense of propriety I might be offending.

While I value the Council of State highly as an institution, I believe that it can only function effectively as a top-level advisory body in an atmosphere of trust. And there lies the problem. At the heart of the crisis besetting the current administration is the fundamental issue of trust.

The very legitimacy of the President’s mandate remains under a cloud of doubt despite the administration’s self-serving statements to the contrary. Rather than resolve the issue in a transparent and forthright manner, the President has opted to muddle it further by insisting that any allusion to the legitimacy issue is part of a grand conspiracy to unseat her.

This is most unfortunate. This posture does nothing to restore the people’s trust in the presidency and in the government. Worse, my presence in the meeting may create more confusion as to where I really stand with regard to my July 8, 2005 statement seeking her voluntary resignation. The absence of trust on both sides gives me great discomfort to even contemplate participation in the forthcoming meeting of the Council of State. I believe that I would be serving the interests of the Filipino people better at this time by sustaining my efforts to help strengthen our fragile democracy.

Over the short term, this entails working to restore confidence in democratic governance by advocating constitutional avenues out of the present political crisis. To this day, I maintain that the least painful path for the nation is for the President to make the supreme sacrifice of relinquishing her office. Short of that, I believe our nation would be due for protracted political turmoil.

Over the long term, my dream is to create an empowered citizenry as the foundation upon which our democracy can endure and flourish. Toward this end, I have reached out to various sectors to undertake major initiatives to improve the lives of the poor, who stand to suffer the most from the persistent crisis. By systematically lifting millions of Filipinos from poverty, we can help them regain their human dignity and make better choices as part of mainstream society.

Let me also ask the Filipino people to join me in praying for our nation at this critical time. For it is my belief that the most pressing problem impinging on the national interest is neither political nor economic in nature. It is a moral issue that cannot be resolved by structural or legal interventions and by government programs endorsed by the Council of State. It can only be addressed by the President herself.

(reprinted with the kind permission of mlq3)

Is Impeachment the Only Way to Remove the Comelec Commissioners?

A Truth Forum on ELECTORAL REFORM sponsored by

The Black & White Movement

Date: Wednesday, 18 January 2006

Time: 1:00 P.M. (Late Lunch)

Venue: Metro Club, Estrella Street, Makati (across Rockwell)

On January 13, 2004, the Supreme Court released its decision nullifying the contract signed by the COMELEC with Mega Pacific eSolutions, Inc., directing the Office of the Solicitor-General to exert all efforts to recover the money and the Ombudsman to “determine the criminal liability, if any, of the public officials (and conspiring private individuals, if any)” involved in the subject contract.

The Supreme Court decision is now two years old, yet nothing much has happened. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has released Report No. 44 which recommends the resignation of the commissioners. The report further suggests that should the commissioners not resign, they can nonetheless be charged criminally by the Ombudsman.

Time is running out. If we want clean and credible elections and ultimately automate the process, then the COMELEC commissioners must resign. For as long as the present Commissioners remain, there is no hope for credible elections.

The Ombudsman must release their report and must elevate the case to the Sandiganbayan. NOW!

Listen to the original petitioners who brought the case to the Supreme Court and to special guests as they expound on the culpability of the commissioners and the options available to us.

Forum Panel:

¨ Senator Jovito Salonga, Chair, Kilosbayan

¨ Dr. Clarita Carlos, Professor, UP Political Science

¨ Atty. Harry Roque, UP Law Center

¨ The original petitioners

o Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines

o Maricor Akol

o Augusto Lagman

o Miguel Uy

o Manuel Alcuaz

o Rex Drilon II

o Miguel Hilado

o Ley Salcedo

o Edu Lopez

RSVP: The Black & White Movement, Tel: 426-6064, 927-6349, 426-5938 or email info@blacknwhite-movement.com

And the Survey Says...?

The latest survey of Social Weather Stations, taken just last December, says 54% of Filipinos agree that Mrs. Arroyo should step down before the end of her term. Of those asked, 54% said she should've left last year. It will be far more interesting to read the the latest report, here is the link: SWS Events.

A Game of Blink

We waited with bated breath as the New Year approached. Apart from being finally rid of 2005, we eagerly waited to see if Mrs. Arroyo would agree to comply with past-President Fidel V. Ramos' ultimatum to quit in 2007 as requested. Instead, we were greeted by a New Year week filled with icy silence from GMA perforated by news of clandestine meetings among FVR and opposition figures.

Yesterday, during a rambling and occasionally rumbling press conference, FVR repeated his challenge to Mrs. Arroyo - quit by 30 June 2007. He said that if she stepped down, among other things, she would avert a possible uprising by long-suffering, poverty-stricken Filipinos.

Today, through Press Secretary Bunye, Mrs. Arroyo has effectively rejected Mr. Ramos' proffer of resignation a second time. Bunye said that Mrs. Arroyo plans to continue as President till 2010 unless she is unseated by the Filipino people via constitutional means. Uh oh.

This is beginning to look like a game of blink between FVR and GMA. And it looks like he's blinked twice. This brings to mind what a friend recently said about this situation, "Watch, ha? He'll (FVR) threaten her (GMA) and say 'O, deadline na 'to'. Then she'll ignore him, so he'll say, 'Sige, bigyan kita ng last chance'. Then she'll ignore him yet again, and he'll say, 'Sige ng nga, this is the last, last chance', and so on". It certainly is looking that way. Some are of the belief that this is showdown time between the Titans, others think that Mr. Ramos no longer has the credibility he used to enjoy with the people, referring to recent surveys that claim that after GMA, he is considered least favored to lead the country at this time.

Are there alternatives left to FVR? Some say that he should just play meek elderly statesman and contemplate on his new tattoo. Others say that he should cut ties with GMA and join the opposiiton, become it's "unifier". There is fear that if protestations to FVR's proposal by Majority Leader Nograles are echoed by many in the Lakas Party, and if rumors are true that GMA's dangling money and manna to keep her hold on power, FVR may find himself left out in the cold come Saturday night. Uh oh.

We in the Black & White Movement hope that Mr. Ramos will ultimately withdraw support from GMA, call for her resignation, as well as the resignation of VP Noli de Castro (Mr. de Castro seems to have painted himself out of the picture, unless he thinks he can win the Presidency or Prime Ministership) and become a champion for truth. Mr. Ramos has the benefit of experience, we hope that his trust in it will show him the right way.

And how do the people feel about all this? We are partcularly interested in the middle force thinking. Sad to say, either way this particular game plays out, the bulk of the middle forces may continue to be disinterested. Many appear unbothered by the danger of a NO-EL situation, the Constitutional Commission's flimflam revisions, the "children" of the "Mother of all tapes". It seems the callous grown from the lack of true change after two EDSA Revolutions has become too thick to file through. The Black and White Movement continues to work hard at breaking through calloused hearts. We are of the strong conviction that despite the power of the enemy, we will stay the course.

Erratum

Our Media Bureau was surprised by calls from ANC last Friday. The flurry of calls had to do with a statement made by Senate President Franklin Drilon in answer to a question posed by a Philippine News Agency (PNA) reporter. The answer, according to ANC, was that he was not inclined to heed the call of the Black & White Movement to head a transition government (you get the drift of the question, yes?). Now, that was as much a surprise to us as it was to the reporters that heard it.

We have never asked the Senate President to head a transition government, the implication being that we would back a revolutionary transition government. Indeed, Senator Drilon is correct - we have never engaged him, nor have we asked him to join our cause. The current stand of our movement, as of 30 November 2005, is this: in the event that the President and Vice President resign, or are ousted through non-violent means, per Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, the Senate President shall "act as President until the President or Vice President shall have been elected or qualified". As of this writing, although we are studying other scenarios, our stand remains unchanged.

There is no need for us to engage Senator Drilon simply because his role is defined by the Constitution. Far be it for us to tell him what to do. We have not formally engaged the Liberal Party either, but it is common knowledge that we consider Sec. Butch Abad a friend.

All this begs the question - where and how did the PNA reporter, Mr. Louie A. Belmonte, get his information? We do not recall speaking with him of late. We are not "in the dark on whom to tap to simulate another destabilization effort". We believe Mrs. Arroyo is doing a bang up destabilization job herself.

Here is the latest on this little story. We were gratified to learn, as we watched the late afternoon edition of ANC News yesterday, that the PNA acknowledged their mistake and retracted their story. Just to make sure, we checked out their website. Alas, we found no retraction. Where, oh where, can it be?