Butterfly Carnival

The signs are clear. Politicians are switching from one political party to another, forming new alliances. Others would merge their parties to form a powerhouse coalition. Losers from the previous elections are starting to resurface, flaunting their faces to the public on tarpaulins with their ‘seasonal greetings’. And reelectionists are starting to make noise, vying a media exposure and ‘presence’ to the memories of the voting public.

To put it in a Ned Stark way: “Brace yourselves. Elections are coming.”

Strictly speaking, there is no definite ‘election period’ here in in the Philippines. Though the Commission on Elections, by law, provide a particular period for the filing of certificate of candidacy and the campaign period, there are (aspiring) politicians who manage to apprise the people of their intention to run for public office (eg. subliminal greetings on tarpaulins, increased visibility to the public, and a sudden wave of medical missions and other forms of service) even before the alloted election period.

But ‘presence’ on the public’s eyes is not enough. In order to secure one’s victory, strong alliances and coalitions must be formed. If you have to turn down your allies and seek for a more potentially strong, winning group, then so be it. In the political parlance, this is called ‘butterfly politics’, and the politicians who do it are called  ’political butterflies’.  The term came from the butterfly’s act of flying from flower to flower, sipping nectar from each flower. These kinds of politicians are compared to the butterfly, who sip nectar from one flower to another. If a butterfly has had enough of nectar - or if a politician has no more interest on a particular group - it will transfer to another flower with nectar - or to the party who will assure his victory and secure his interest.

Philippine election history has shown countless politicians who switched from one political party to another, months and even weeks before the elections. And we have heard some of their excuse, the most popular was their belief of the party’s principles and tenets. And no, they do not admit that that move was to secure their victory on the upcoming elections.

And the latest addition to the roster of these butterflies is no other than the Pambansong Kamao, world-class boxing champion-turned-Saranggani Congressman, Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Pacquiao. He formally joined Vice President Jejomar Binay’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) when he took an oath to Senator Koko Pimentel last night at the Makati Shangri-La. Although Manny was a member of the Nacionalista party with Sen. Manny Villar, he was an ally of President Aquino and the ruling Liberal Party.

But this was not the first time Manny transferred into another political party. When he first ran for the House of Representatives in 2007, he joined the Lito Atienza faction of the Liberal Party. In 2008, he joined the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) formed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. A year later, he formed his own political party People’s Champ Movement after declaring he would run for the lone Congressional district of Saranggani. Shortly before the 2010 presidential elections, Senator Manny Villar tapped him to join the Nacionalista Party. Barely a week after the elections, he was seen ‘flirting’ with the new Liberal Party under President Aquino.

Manny Pacquiao is said to be the PDP-Laban’s Gubernatorial candidate for Saranggani in the May 2013 local elections. PDP-Laban’s President Senator Koko Pimentel said that they took Manny not because he will ensure the party’s victory but because the latter believes in the tenets of the party.

Unlike other countries, our country has a multi-party system. We elect politicians running independently or under a political party and 20% of the total seats at the Camara de Representantes are reserved for party-list (multi-sectoral) representation. But in our multi-party system, there is no clearly depicted difference of ideology to distinguish one party to another. It only just turns out that one party is pro-administration and the other one is the opposition. And as what we’ve seen and observed over the past years, one’s membership in a party is not based on ideologies but on political power considerations.

Political butterflies. Turncoats. You name it. These are the elements that continue to have fun on this carnival called Philippine politics.

What can we do to stop this political culture? Writer Edwin Espejo suggests that “no one should be allowed to switch parties immediately preceding an election. Those who switch political party should be prohibited from running for any post in a scheduled election immediately prior to switching parties. In short, anyone who switches party should take a ‘leave of absence’ from at least one election.”. He added that this would not only discourage political turncoats but this would also strengthen the country’s multi-party system.

But I doubt this would be put into legislation. How can you expect our Legislators to file this ruling that would greatly affect their political career? The future of this culture is still at the mercy of these butterflies -not unless the people clamor for it. I think there’s still hope and the power is with the voting public - choose our leaders wisely.

A few weeks ago, my Twitter timeline was plagued by the hashtag #PacquiaoPositive. At first, I thought it has something to do with a medical test and substance overuse. But it turned out to be a marketing gimmick to introduce his latest endorsement, Sting Energy Drink with Malunggay.

I didn’t know that there is one kind of butterfly who loves ‘malunggay’.

Note: I got the title ‘Butterfly Carnival’ from one of my favorite Sandwich song of the same title. Though the song’s meaning is different from the point of this article, I used it to describe two elements - political butterflies and the carnival-like circus that is Pinoy politics.

Read more here:

• Pacquiao floats like a butterfly, out of the ring (Inquirer.net)
• Pacquiao officially joins Binay camp (ABS-CBNnews.com)
• Loren Legarda - The Political Butterfly - A 2009 article about Loren Legarda and her road to the Vice Presidency
• Pacquiao Politics: Political Butterfly - A 2010 article by Edwin Espejo

Source: juanrepublic

17 April 34 Permalink

EDSA Dos: A Historical Repression

Today is the eleventh anniversary of the conspiracy that ousted Former President Joseph Estrada from Malacañan Palace and put Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the helm of power in January 2001. We commonly know it by the name of EDSA Dos. And no one seems to give a damn to throw a celebration.

I have been observing the internet (Twitter, Facebook, and news websites) the whole day and no one posted a stuff about the day that changed our Political history. I searched the word “EDSA” on Twitter earlier and I only saw less than 10 tweets (mine included) about EDSA dos (The results are mostly MMDA’s traffic update on EDSA.).

How come nobody commemorated the events that happened eleven years ago at EDSA Shrine? Maybe because we are too busy talking about Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial. Maybe because some of us chose to watch the filming of Bourne Legacy in Manila. Or too excited for Katy Perry’s concert. Or too busy watching the season premiere of American Idol and the finale of My Binondo Girl. 

Or is it because EDSA Dos is considered a nightmare, a dark part of our history that should be forgotten and should never be repeated again? Maybe yes.

Where were you eleven years ago?

I was eleven years old then, a graduating student in Elementary. The last days of the impeachment trial and the mass protest in EDSA Shrine coincided with our third quarterly exams. Prior to that, whenever I go home early from school, I see to it that I watch the impeachment trial. I can still remember how my classmates and I would horse around, imitating the Chief Justice, the Prosecution, and the Defense Panel. The words Objection your honor, overruled, and sustained became a part of our daily conversation.

I remember watching the controversial voting whether to open the second envelope or not with my father. I can still recall how Senators Pimentel and Drilon hugged each other and in tears, how Senator Legarda wept, how Chief Justice Davide removed his judicial robe, how the Prosecution panel resigned and walked out in disgust, and how the aunt of our current President, Senator Tessie Aquino-Oreta danced a la dougie in jubilation. Minutes after the controversial decision, the streets are filled with protesters, the car owners are blowing their horns, and the members of the crowd in EDSA Shrine, increased in number.

The next day, I remember my father putting up a printout of JOE’S COHORTS in the windshield of our car as a sign of protest. It is a mnemonic of the Senators who opposed the opening of the second envelope - Jaworski, Oreta, Enrile, Santiago, Coseteng, Osemeña, Honasan, Ople, Revilla, Tatad.

Text messaging is a new technology then (There were no unlimited text and calls promos though) and it also helped to spread the message to gather in EDSA Shrine and force the President to step down from office. As expected, ERAP jokes became rampant to taunt President Estrada. The Senators who opposed the opening of the second envelope were also not spared from taunts and heckling. Some of the famous lines then which I can still remember are Tadtarin si Tatad!, Oreta Dancing Queen!, and  Ninoy Aquino’s photo with the lines ‘My sister is not worth dying for’.

The protest to became festive with artists and bands performing at the stage and with the presence of, uhm, some artistas. (The most memorable personality then was President Estrada’s friend, Nora Aunor, who joined the crown on calling him to resign. But if there is one song which I can associate with the protest, it would be Sam the Sham and the Paraoh’s ‘Wooly Bully’ which the protesters sang as ‘Huling-huli! Si Erap! Huling-huli!

Though I was not present with the protesters during that time, for obvious reasons, I made myself updated by constantly tuning in to news programs on television. And some of the memories were still vivid because when I was in high School, my tambayan is our library and I have repeatedly read this coffee table book:

The President was ousted eleven years ago today and his Vice President succeeded him - with the help of the high-ranking military officials, political and business elites, and the Catholic Church led by Jaime Cardinal Sin. Conspiracy, as they say, to oust the President extra-constitutionally, a de facto coup that led to the  proclamation of Gloria Arroyo.

In the later months and years, Erap would be arrested, EDSA tres would happen, Erap would come out saying he was forced to sign a resignation paper during the height of EDSA Dos, and Gloria Arroyo would become the infamous President that we know today.

Is EDSA Dos a historical success? No. Did it play an important part in history? Maybe, but what we learned more are lessons for the future of our country.

A contemporary Filipino writer who goes by the pen name Bob Ong, wrote something about EDSA Dos in his book Stainless Longganisa. He compared the protest in EDSA to drinking antibiotics to cure a disease.

He wrote that it is wrong to immediately go to the street to call for the resignation of a leader - or to immediately drink antibiotic without first consulting the doctor. Time will come that the bacteria would become immune to antibiotics and it would be more difficult to cure the disease. Just like the cancer of our society, the more we use the usual way of cure, that is, to march in the streets and call for change, time might come that the usual way will no longer work for us. And worse, during the time when we really need change.

Many of the prominent personas involved during the EDSA Dos have already expressed their regret on being a part of that event. And maybe, most of the participants in EDSA and in key cities of the country who helped, in a way, put Gloria Arroyo into power in 2001 did the same.

It is said that we cannot change history, and that there are no ifs in it. But we can always carve the future of our country. May the lessons of the events of yesteryears be a guide on making a better future for our country.

Today is the eleventh anniversary of EDSA Dos. Did it already become a repressed memory? Do you still give a damn about it?

Today is the eleventh anniversary of the EDSA Dos. And no one seems to gives a damn to throw a celebration. And I don’t think the woman who replaced Joseph Estrada, who is now detained at the Presidential Suite of Veteran’s Memorial Medical Center, is celebrating either.

Elsewhere:

• When Last the Military Withrew Support (2006) - Dean Jorge Bocobo’s (and Amando Doronilla’s) commentary and chronology of events of the EDSA Dos. Some of the details here are unknown to me until now. This is a must read.
• The Stupidity of EDSA 2 People Power Gulbles Relived (2008)
• ‘Never Again’, says girl holding Bible at Arroyo oath-taking - Remember the girl who held the Bible during Arroyo’s oath-taking in 2001? (This is a thread of comments. Please refer to the post of ‘dokdok’.)

Source: juanrepublic

20 January 56 Permalink

Oplan: Put the Little Girl to Sleep

This is an alleged plot to kill Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, according to her spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn.

My two cents:

1. First things first, Gloria Arroyo is not a girl.
2. Yeah, she’s little so that plan could really refer to her.
3. Whoever made this name must be really excited for next year’s two (2) Snow White movies. How do you suppose to let Gloria sleep? An apple?
4. Personally, I think this is insane. And stupid. And just a diversionary tactic.
5. Dude, you cannot outshine the KC-Piolo issue with this one. Try something creative okay?
6. Paano kaya sila nakakatulog sa gabi?

30 November 87 Permalink